Dypmphna Skehill

Dypmphna Skehill
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Another from the Dymphna session. This one is going to be on the cover of the CD. It had been a long hard day's shooting and she wanted a drink. NOW! :)

Shot in the doomed Crown and Goose in Camden. Lovely evening light reflecting in off the white wall building opposite.

Camden Horse Hospital Embrace

Camden Horse Hospital Embrace
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Bless :)

Dwain Chambers - one more opinion

He did the crime, he did the time.

Can't argue with the results.

If bans are lifetime, then it has to be across the sport, not by one organisation. And Norway.

If we're talking the "purity" of the Olympics, then let's get back to sports that are useful in combat. So track, field, archery, horse events, shooting, boxing, shooting are in.

As is beach volleyball. Aesthetics are important after all.

Kung Fu Panda - Detailed Review.

There were LOLZ and not a few yuks.

It was very big on IMAX.

If anyone disses it without seeing it, they are humourless assholes.

Allée Gaugin, Les Puces, Paris

Allée Gaugin, Les Puces, Paris
Originally uploaded by davehodg

More from Paris. While she was off looking at dusty old books.

Paris, 2e

Paris, 2e
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Lovely weekend in Paris, wandering around, doing museums and eating :)

Dymphna Skehill

Dymphna Skehill
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Did a photo shoot in and around Camden on Sunday for Dymphna's new album. This one is far and away my favourite, ethereal and Celtic like the lass herself.

Gillian Glover, Bullet Bar

Gillian Glover, Bullet Bar
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Oh yes. Second time in two weeks I've seen a second gen star and trust me, Gillian is the real deal. Just a lovely gig.

Grace Solero, @ the 12-Bar

Grace Solero, @ the 12-Bar
Originally uploaded by davehodg

For those of you who follow my pix, you know I found Grace busking at TCR tube a while back. This was the first time I've seen her since I've been back in London and also my first time at the 12-bar.

It was nice :)

Friday 13th

Of course I don't believe in that superstitious bollocks, but obviously today was the day the DLR chose to be crap and I missed my flight.

Doesn't help that mercury is retrograde too.

Logan Plant, Sons of Albion, Camden Barfly

Logan Plant, Sons of Albion, Camden Barfly
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Odd one this. Somehow I expected more. The last time I was in the Barfly, it was packed and sweaty for Candian and Taiwanese metal. Last night, it was thirty or so slightly diffident, possibly trendy, folks here to see a legend one step removed.

Plant Jr. certainly had the sound and the moves and the band were very tight but it all sounded too much like a Zep tribute. Maybe they'll come across better at Download this weekend.

Riot:Noise, Single Launch

Riot:Noise, Single Launch
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Went to see Marty and the boys at the dreadful Bar Monsta on Saturday where they rolled the rock in awesome style. Nice one guys.

Now people - buy the damn single! It's on iTunes. Annoy the neighbours!

The Laurel Collective

The Laurel Collective
Originally uploaded by davehodg

First gig on my return to London.

Up in Hoxton, after a passable bowl of Vietnamese vermicelli soup. Light was terrible and the band didn't come across on the crappy stage and the terrible PA nearly as well as they're recorded.

Technical Support for LDR's

OK, folks, now that I'm nauseatingly loved up but for now, it's a long-distance thing (again) I really want to make technology bridge the gap and keep things simmering over. So, for others in the same situation, I want to write a guide to using tech for LDR's.

Off the top of my head, I can think of:

1. Skype. With video. Obvious smutty uses aside, it's great for just seeing and talking to your loved one.

2. Cheap telephony. In the UK 18866.com gives stupidly cheap landline/mobile to landline calls across countries. There are others.

3. Texting. Can be expensive across borders but still good.

OK, folks, so anything else you use to keep in touch?

Ta,

Sunset from Bos en Lommer

Sunset from Bos en Lommer
Originally uploaded by davehodg

I hope the sunsets from my balcony in Camden will be as nice as this :)

Free cheese!

Free cheese!
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Am I going to miss Amsterdam? Not convinced...

Laser314 exhibition in Amsterdam

Emily
Originally uploaded by davehodg

I've been doing quite a bit of art recently, in Amsterdam, Berlin, London and LA just for giggles. Some of it has left me distinctly cold, like the Magnum retrospective at the Stedelijk and some has been outstanding and moving like the internment exhibition at the Japanese-American museum in LA.

So, to the latest: laser314's thing at the ABC Treehouse gallery near Spui.

Sadly, it's meh.

His stuff is part of the fabric of Amsterdam. When you're out you'll come across a deeply moving phrase bleeding from a hoarding that makes you stop and think. And as this example shows, he's literate too.

Sadly, out of context and hanging on a gallery wall, I'm not in the least convinced it works.

YMMV?

The ABC building is awesome though :) I want a desk there. And wifi.

Tagged!

I hate this crap but, since I've been tagged by such a superstar I'll play just this once.

So, six random things about me:

1. I pretty much have amusia: I can't tell a fourth from a fifth or a sixth from a third.

2. My grandparents are from each of the four corners of the union. My Irish clan is the O'Donoghue's and Kilkenny Castle is the family seat.

3. My ideal weight is 10st 8lbs.

4. Yes, love at first sight is possible. Reciprocation may, however, take several years and cause both people a lot of pain.

5. My son was taller than me when he was 14. He's now 6' 2" at 15.

6. The only two things I currently have on my "things to do before I die" list are: go to Taiwan and be in a rock and roll band. The second might be hard because of factoid 1.

I tag Dave Cross, James Hurst, Spiros, Indy, Joana and cowfish.

It appears...

...I've volunteered to tour manage a friend's band's tour in July.

I don't *think* I was that drunk...

Chuffed

Only been here a few days, and fame of a sort already :) I'll take a little featurette in laist!

This calls for a celebration!

Calamity Magnet @ The Viper Room

Calamity Magnet @ The Viper Room
Originally uploaded by davehodg

So this has turned into a bit of a busman's holiday. I got randomly invited (thanks Genevieve!) to the launch of Calamity Magnet's EP at the Viper Room. Now, I'd say being on the guest list at the Viper Room is on the "list of things to do before I die" so I gladly accepted. And it was good to get back into the shooting saddle again.

OK, so they're not exactly my genre, but I really enjoyed it. Nice, wistful, country-tinged rock with more than a little whimsy. Highly recommended. UK bookers take note: these guys are GOOD.

Props also to the support bands: Let's Go Sailing and the other guy.

Dear California...

It's all very nice this attempt to go green, but to still insist that a pack of six bottles of beer go in a bag is just bonkers. It's not the prohibition any more!

ktxbye

Colour

Colour
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Wolfgang Tillmans "Lighter" at the Hamburger Bahnof, Berlin

I'd seen some Tillmans as part of my course at Bath Univerity a year or two ago and his work remained of interest. So when the opportunity came up to see a full-on retrospective in Berlin, I jumped at the chance.

First though, a few words about the Hamburger Bahnof. Formerly the terminus for the Berlin-Hamburg railway and close to Berlin's cavernous, new central station, it has been converted into an amazing space for art with a light, airy main hall, free coat check and the obligatory busy cafe serving all manner of culinary delights. Not as impressive a building as the Tate Modern perhaps, but definitely calmer and more civilised.

So to the exhibtion.

It made me smile.

Such a wide variety of works were on display in a surprisingly higgledy-piggledy manner, yet all conistent with the man himself: from simple canvases of colour, through his signature group sweaty nighclub shots to a fascination with windows.

By the end of four rooms of his work though, I was saturated with colour, and generally art-ed out, which I guess is a good thing!

Highly recommended.

Brighton beach

DSC00726
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Lovely sunny day out to Brighton with Joana, but BOY was it cold!

Hoarding art

Hoarding art
Originally uploaded by davehodg

The definition of "poverty"

Should be: "anyone without a Mac running OS X"

Curse you TV

"Ashes to ashes" has cost me a fortune on iTunes in music I already bought the first time round. Which is now on obsolete media. Grrrr.

Lovely pair

Lovely pair
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Shot from the hip on the obs deck at Schiphol. A moment, as they say.

Skinny Bridge again.

Skinny Bridge again.
Originally uploaded by davehodg

I want another weeked day :(

Skinny bridge

Skinny bridge
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Today was the first day of spring. The transformation in Amsterdam and indeed my own feelings was just amazing. More please!

New MacBook

My trusty and only slightly tuna-infused G4 is nearing the end of its Applecare eriod and has a couple of warranty, as opposed to abuse, related niggles that need fixing. So in preparation for sending it off and bequeathing it to my progeny, I had a new laptop in my sights. After much evangelising from my old colleague CMS, I was persuaded that a simple MacBook would suffice rather than the pro. The differences between the two were minor and white plastic wasn't that gay after all.

So, off to PC World and return with a remarkably slimline box.

First impressions are very good indeed. Bright screen, no lid latch to fail and after the annoying intro video, a breeze to get through initial network and user setup.

First niggle: MacBook couldn't see my G4 over firewire to import my not insignificant volume of data. Having been warned off rsync by the aforementioned cms, I consulted the Mac shop in Bath who suggested looking at the system profile to see if the G4 was seen at all on the firewire and then run the disk utility to see if the volume was visible to be forcibly mounted. After much, much cable plugging, magically both became true. It was then a simple matter to repair the G4's disk from the MacBook and mount it. Woohoo!

First epiphany: all my apps run on Intel. Woo for fat binaries!

Second and final niggle: my Vodafone USB dongle doesn't work. The USB bus sees it, the Vodafone software spins. I haven't had the time or the energy to work it out. Not sure if I care.

Result: MacBook: 6/5.

What precisely do recruiters actually do for a living?

These are £100k+ jobs and two recruiters have recycled the same spec and added no value. Compare recruiter 1 and recruiter 2.

At least one has been smart enough to bump the salary to get the greater interest.

Blogging less?

Anyone else find they're blogging less since Facebook took over their lives?

Ob Moon

Ob Moon
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Wouldn't generations before us have killed to get the images we capture so casually?

Robinson, Way and Co.

Ok, this is worth a blog entry on its own. A long time ago I blogged about a notorious debt-chasing company and their overbearing underhand tactics. Well, this was left as a comment to that blog:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Robinson, Way and Co.":

all you are doin is black spoting your name if u dont pay i wrk for them

Kinda says it all really. Illiterate and missing the point totally. I didn't owe the fucking money in the first place. But of course, work for a company hassling people for money and you get a different view of the world. Oh, to make a fly-on-the-wall documentary in that firm...

Misty morning on the Amstel

Misty morning on the Amstel
Originally uploaded by davehodg

OK, so it's not a sunrise. Perhaps the next best thing? Leaving my flat, it was just plain miserable,but by the time I got to walking across the Amstel, it was misty enough to produce this. And aside from some blue barge boards on the boat and some red guide lights on the lock in the distance, the scene was already mostly in black and white.

Swimming

They say that part of being motivated for something is to make a public commitment.

As part of my near year's changes I am going to swim twice a week. I'll be happy to do between 10 and 20 25 meter lengths to start with but would aim for 50 in a reasonable time (what's reasonable, anyone? a couple of days?!) after a few months.

Just getting my kit together now and I'm off to the Zwembad.

Update: 20 lengths of 30 (ish) meters. I'll take that.

Doris "Thunder Tears", Chthonic, Riff's Bar, Swindon

Doris "Thunder Tears", Chthonic, Riff's Bar, Swindon
Originally uploaded by davehodg

And another Doris picture for your delectation.

Layla

For a long time, I didn't get it, especially the acoustic ending.

Now, vaguely knowing the participants, it all makes sense. 40 years too late.

If you get a chance, catch Patti Boyd's photo exhibition.

Chthonic, Illingen

Chthonic, Illingen
Originally uploaded by davehodg

And finally, the pictures are uploaded. Great night :)

Chthonic - a class act

You know you're dealing with a class act when the headlining band, having had to cancel playing the show, still turn up to the last night to watch Chthonic one last time and then everyone is in tears when the aftershow, end of tour party, breaks up 'cause we have to leave for Amsterdam.

*sniff*

So metal!

Out of the country...

Just did some arithmetic today (for insurance purposes so the hospital gets paid for fixing my brane) and totalled up that in the 6 months I've been "living" in Amsterdam, I've actually been away for 59 complete or partial days.

What's the point of having a great apartment?

(Actually, I know the answer to this: HACKERKITCHEN!)

Sick of hospitals

First, I ended up in hospital. I got punched in the face in Leidseplein in the wee small hours of Saturday morning two weeks ago and ended up with a fractured skull. Don't ask me what happened, I really have no recollection. I wasn't even very drunk according to the hospital blood tests. Kudos to the hospital: they were AMAZING. X-rays, scans and extremely attentive care (they were concerned about meningitis and concussion). If you're going to be ill, be ill in Holland.

Then as I was getting out of hospital, my dad went in. It seems like it's a consequence of his rheumatoid arthritis medication (methotrexate, evil, evil stuff) suppressing his immune system and letting a chest infection get out of hand. He's now been in ITU for a week and it looks like he's turning the corner. What happens after he comes round is open to question, apparently RA causes lung damage too. My family have been amazing, rallying round, visiting and generally keeping the excellent ITU staff on their toes.

Fed up with hospitals. Bah.

Chthonic UK Tour - 2007

Doris "Thunder Tears" - Cthonic
Originally uploaded by davehodg

The path to Hell is paved with good intentions: it must be very soggy underfoot.

A couple of weeks ago, I'd volunteered to drive the Taiwanese black metal band, good friends and wonderful people, on their week-long UK tour, intending to keep a tour diary. Well, in between the gigs themselves, the driving and the sleeping, there was very little time to do anything else much!

In typical touring dartboard style, we did:

Telford - Not a gig as such but a PA for a Taiwanese businessman. Very surreal, but he paid for our motel so no complaints there!

Wolverhampton - good gig, lovely promoter, CJ got to meet his idol RIck Wakeman. I bought a totally Indie scarf. It was curry night at Yates' across the road and the band got their first taste and were hooked. The Hopwood Park Welcome Break on the M42 is LOVELY. Nice people, clean showers. Recommended!

Southampton - The guys got a takeout curry on their rider continuing the curry theme. The local support bands brought a flock of lovely young ladies who moshed quite adorably. The 3ioB guys were most taken at the way they kept popping out of their tops.

Minehead via Stonehenge - On to Butlins Minehead for Hard Rock Hell. But first, to take the rockers to the rocks where they were the perfect, if a little frozen, Asian tourists.

Now, Minehead was surreal. 5000 or so rockers, 50 or so bands. We were on pretty much as soon as we arrived, to a great reception on the stage to be crowned by Chthonic's heroes and mates Cradle of Filth later in the evening. Load-out and catering followed. Now, catering. Actually, it was a complete holiday camp carvery and rather good it was too. Again, curry on the menu but a bit mild for the band's tastes. Dani did however discover Colman's English mustard so all was well. I got to say hello to John McCoy but totally missed Bernie Tormé as he'd cut and dyed his hair!

There's a legendary piece of video on YouTube of Jesse wigging out in a chalet with some emo drummer. Priceless!

But!

Alexis from 3 Inches of Blood managed to smash his elbow in a BRI (Booze Related Incident) and ended up in hospital, leaving Chthonic without a headlining act. After much wheedling of both 3IoB and MattC from Biomechanical (they knew each other from touring before and Chthonic were in the slot Bio would have had if they hadn't broken up), I got them to agree to rehearse and at least have a stab at the Camden gig.

Swindon via Bath - Stopoff in Bath. I gave the guys a quick run round my home town in the failing light. I think they were happy, they got to see the Abbey and the Royal Crescent.

And so to Riffs. Firstly, big kudos to Riff and Tiggy for their hospitality and especially to Tiggy for her eye-wateringly hot curry. If the drumming was extra-urgent that night, that's why. I've been to Riff's a couple of times and it's always been a nice cosy place but that night it was metal mayhem. Riff did the sound and it was possibly the best FoH mix I've heard for Chthonic so far.

Sadly, Brighton got cancelled so we got to hang out with the Taiwanese Conspiracy in Harrow again and CJ got to cook, which was nice :)

Camden Barfly - and so for the big one. Not just for Chthonic, but for MattC who, in two days had nailed 5 3IoB songs beat for beat and one cover. Took most of the guys over the road to the Brasilian restaurant to blow their PD's on big chunks of beef and then it was photoshoot and show time. And the show was immense. Really, really good. The place was rammed and the audience bouncy. 3IoB did amazingly well. Matt nailed 5 songs plus the Immigrant Song, as Matt quipped: "cheaper than a Zep ticket". I have some tasty video of both bands I may post at some point.

And so to Stansted - Having dumped the slightly bent van in Hendon earlier in the day, it was left to our chauffeur to spirit us to Stansted and a cold, hard floor for the 7am flights where we took our leave of each other: them to Vilnius, me back to Amsterdam.

Ah, good times :)

Go Taiwan!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7102347.stm

Flex the muscles you have...

Yep, it's life on the road...

Jesse, Chthonic
Originally uploaded by davehodg

It's pissing down with rain and I'm dodging the load-in because I've just done a 3 hour hurtle from Birmingham to Southampton 5 hours late courtesy of a lack of instruction about the van electrics and the complete unwillingness of the AA to be useful. Less said about the van hire company the better.

Chances of catching some Z's with the rain hammering on the roof?

Zero to none I'd say.

Rock and roll...

Dipsy knows all

[02:13] _Dave: rule 20?
[02:13] dipsy: rule 20 is get home from work, get 7 hours sleep THEN party with the Lithuanians
[02:17] _Dave: rule 12?
[02:17] dipsy: Never refuse a job in Amsterdam.

Can't argue with that.

The peril for markets when computers miscalculate

Brilliant article from the economist. Especially check out the paper referenced at the end. Backtesting FTW!

On the road with Chthonic

I'm now booked to drive and shoot Taiwanese black metal band Chthonic for a week in the UK in November supporting 3 Inches of Blood.

Doing the same last year for Fortune Drive was fun and great experience and I'm looking forward to doing the same with another lovely group of people.

Anyone else going to be at Hard Rock Hell in Minehead? :)

Status update

Heading to Museumplein
Originally uploaded by davehodg

I've fallen off the radar recently since I've been buried at work and my personal life has been turbulent to say the least, as anyone watching my "relationship status" flag on Facebook will attest.

But!

That's all pretty much behind me now and through it all has been the constant of the support (and occasional healthy abuse and ridicule ;-) of my friends and the all-embracing gezelligheit of Amsterdam.

Ah, Amsterdam. Could one ever tire of it? There's always something new to do and interesting people to meet! And of that fails, just go for a walk and look around!

The Secret dissed on Forbes

Ok, so the author is editor of skeptic magazine, but it's still good to see a mainstream publication printing that The Secret is evil.

Excellent. More please. Is Oprah off her perch yet?

Brilliant accidental entendre

"Glad there was a breeze to lift the flag"

"Well it would have looked pretty crap just hanging there"

Well, yes. Exactly.

Berries cran

Berries cran
Originally uploaded by davehodg

It's autumn.

Wah!

The English language

My Purple friends will know Pavel "SFMPE" where that means "Sorry For My Poor English".

Well, actually, his English was fine, if recognisably of Polish origin.

Tonight, I had a Taiwanese friend apologise for her English when I knew exactly what she meant.

I realised that maybe, the reason why English is so adaptable and why we not only tolerate but love to hear it spoken and mangled around that world is that English is totally distorted within this septic isle! From Geordie to Weegie to Brizzle to Mockney, there are dialects within an hour's drive. Why should we care if it's a common tongue for Chinese and Nigerians to communicate with taxi drivers in Santiago?

Today I mostly...

Ran around:

• Sent my old Fiesta off for scrap, but not before I got a ticket for an expired tax disc
  
• Posted the arse end of the V5 form saying the car's been scrapped
  
• Been to the doctor twice
  
• Got the code for the car radio
  
• Bagged up a metric FUCKLOAD of recycling
  
• Got a replacement phone
  
• Went to PC *spit* world and failed to buy a flatscreen monitor
  
• Installed all the Mac voodoo to get iCal, iTunes, iPhoto to work with a Nokia N95
  

I don't expect tomorrow to be much different.

Chopper to EWR

Chopper to EWR
Originally uploaded by davehodg

I forgot to blog this. It was amazing. Highly recommended and a codeshare with continental so you can wave goodbye to your bags in Manhattan and get on with the business of traveling.

Aerial pic of Bath

Why window seats are important when flying.

Professors are arsewits too...

Liquidity is not P&L. Film at 11.

Stupid people

How stupid can people be?.

Oh yes, in Daily Mail world, they can be THIS stupid.

Damn, I forgot rule 1.

Led Zep reunion

Nothing to see here, move along.

One gig in several decades? Some bands of that era, with a better signature riff have been doing 100+ gigs a year since 1984...

Spirit of freedom

Chopper to EWR
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Chopper to Newark. Got this view!

Osteria al Doge, 142 W44th St, NY

OK, so my colleague had been grumbling about trying to find a bar somewhere round Times Square where our crack-fuelled travel department had put us. I said no to many seedy tourist traps, trusting that my trusty beer compass would find somewhere decent. After a sojourn in the insanely huge Toys'R'Us, I started registering quality on the radar and we found the above establishment.

Superb antipasti and the bartender mixologised me a superb espresso Martini. Wonderful.

Venice Beach

Venice Beach
Originally uploaded by davehodg

I have to say it. I'm really enjoying the left coast. There's annoying American stuff like the weird accents, pretty ordinary food and the really sleazy boardwalk but, like my hometowns of Amsterdam and Camden, this stuff is easily filtered out, leaving what you really want. In my case, the weather (30C and sunny), the ocean and the kitschy Venice canals. These are really hitting the spot.

Now to find something I can do from an oceanfront condo. Surely the LA's need yet another photographer?

Universal studios

A good day out. The "front of line" passes are recommended! We managed to hit everything we wanted to by 4pm. The Blues Brothers show made us smile, but Waterworld was probably the most impressive. With real "name" actors too!

Universal studios
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Zushi, Amsterdam

Just went to Zushi, beind Rembrandplein:

http://www.zushi.nl/

Better than I expected, given the touristy nature of the area. Tempura doesn't
start until 17:00 so I had the ebi fry, which was excellent. And the crab meat
and sweetcorn soup was *excellent*: lots of meat and just the right hint of spice.

Not the cheapest in the world, but it hit the spot exactly for what I was after at that moment.

Live music photos for sale!

Finally, I've started putting photos up for sale!

It's been a long time coming, and it's only a select few gigs so far, mostly Deep Purple and Fortune Drive. If there are any gigs you've seen me at that you want prints from (Quireboys? Planet of Women? Biomechanical?) then let me know and I'll prioritise them.

Let me know!

lolgods

Teh Biblez for a new generation.

Atheist insurance?

Are there any insurance policies that don't attribute certain events to an "act of God"?

I'd have thought the quantitative actuaries would have been among the first to expunge a magic sky pixie from such important documentation.

Playing pool and drinking beer...

100_4219.JPG
Originally uploaded by Luis Motta Campos

Playing pool and drinking beer
Nothin more'n the occasional tear
But this man's life goes on and he gets greased all over
from time to time
At the strip joint, where we met
He said 'Hi, my name is Ted
See that one over there
That ball of thunder
Every time she goes Vavoom,
I wiggle in my chair
Can I buy you a beer?
What a guy

It was actually the middle of the afternoon, but at the back of the Waterhole it could have been any time of the day or night...

Braintoy - new tracks

It looks like I'll be off to Toronto for a few days which means I should get a chance to hang with the Braintoy boys. I've still not seen them live and the last time we got to crack a few brews was when they came to see Deep Purple play my birthday in Toronto. This time we might even end up in the Bovine Sex Club.

Anyhow, they've got three new tracks for download. Check 'em out. I love 'em.

Marcus Brigstocke via the Penitent Atheist

Bizarrely at the same moment, Scott Adams posts this, claiming Atheists are bonkers.

Enjoy.

Blood of Ash, Porter Butt

Blood of Ash, Porter Butt
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Yay Marcus. Metalcore got ripped a new one last night.

Car for sale

Anyone in the Bristol/Bath area need a banger? My trusty Fiesta 1.1 LX is for sale. Circa 1994 (L reg) it's done a hundred and mumble thousand miles has been very reliable (when it's used regularly) has MOT till the end of the year and tax until the end of August. Costs me £9/month to insure 3rd party.

Probably a great first car for a teenager.

£100 to you, my son.

Anyone?

Fortune Drive - Girls in Stripes video

All right I spose.

Thank you David Byrne - US travel restrictions explained

A message from David Byrne's webmaster gave me a good clue as to what he was referring.

It's the extension to the US-VISIT program which will start to collect 10 fingerprints and possibly a retinal scan in addition to the current face print and 2 fingerprints.

References:

• The Federal Times from nearly a year ago. The first reference I found was from the beginning of 2006 and the system was "coming in a month or two". Heh.
  
• US EU Mission - not impressed with the literacy of the US representative. "Very unique"? That's up there with "A bit pregnant".
  
• From Wired
  

Overall, I can't say I'm quaking in my boots. I know some people who are now boycotting US trips over privacy and Guantanamo issues (hi Alex!), but I've been back a few times since 9/11 and the it's asinine "being seen to be doing something" restrictions on hand baggage, liquids and so on and stupid, untrained, rude security that is more of a problem IMHO, even at the front of the plane.

Thanks again to Tech for the clue.

Sorry for the rant. We now return you to your regularly scheduled photographs.

Trivia

I lost my denim jacket. It was special in so many ways. I'd lost my previous (and first!) jacket when it was pinched from Madam JoJo's on the Fortune Drive tour. I say pinched, it probably got unknowingly packed up from the backstage area by one of the bands. Still, I was down one denim jacket.

So, last Christmas me dad sent me a Next voucher and in January I wandered into Next in Covent Garden, found the "sale remnant" rail and there, the only item of clothing in a "medium" size: my new jacket.

Yesterday, I missed it and couldn't remember where I wore it last. Then again, I've only been out to three places in the last week so we hit them again and the wonderful Cuban Cigars on Utrechtstraat had it in the broom cupboard.

I love you guys!

David Byrne makes wild assertions

I'm trying to find any reference to what David Byrne refers to in his blog.

Increased restrictions on business travel to the US? Not at Newark when I went there a few weeks back. In fact the whole immigration process was somewhat smoother than it's been for a while.

I've mailed his webmaster, but if anyone has any clues, please shout!

Bark

Bark
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Tonight's Amsterdam randomness. On the way to Pata Negra.

Best music video EVAR

Arsonist.

'nuff said.

Camera back in action

Amsterdam
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Expect Amsterdam goodness.

Rant

Very angry left..

Love it.

The word of the day is...

"copula".

Fun fun.

London "bombs"

Real life isn't like Duke Nukem.

In 2001 after 9/11 I went on record that the "Muslim community", whatever that is, was reverberatingly silent in their condemnation of that act and there was a feeling that somehow America deserved it.

Finally, there seems to be an awareness that "something needs to be done" and that the community has failed its own young people who are turning to corrupt "leaders" for answers.

Could it be that the rising swell of a firmer brand of atheism, that as more people become intolerant of believers in fairies, they're realising how ridiculous and untenable their medieval superstitions are?

We can hope.

Blogging from Amsterdam?

I've been here over a month now, without my trusty Nikon but with my phone camera. And of course it's Amsterdam so of course surrealities abound.

Should I blog them? Or carry on like all the other cloggies like this stuff is normal?

Vote now!

Not sweary enough apparently

Mingle² - Online Dating

I'm deeply disappointed. Given that I was the sweariest person on #london.pm for a long time I need to cut the bullshit and get the fucking lead out on my blog.

Mash the lemon, split the leather...

You had to be there. Spinal Tap meets Amsterdam...

Google knows all

Googling to check that an old colleague's address was the same, the top hit was acutally a list of emails and addresses that looked like a direct dump from a mailer. Clicking on a link on that page brought me to a PDF of a dump from an Outlook address book. Which includes credit card numbers, assorted utility account numbers and PIN codes and so on.

For a lawyer.

Not good, folks.

5 hour sunset

5 hour sunset
Originally uploaded by davehodg

Flying out of LHR at 2030, there was a purty sunset which lasted 5 hours as we chased it across the Atlantic. Worringly, it was out of the right (starboard!) window which I'm assuming was the North. I guess I could work out the geometry of it if I could be bothered.

Still, it was lovely.

KLM suck

Just registering a point on the suckometer.

0755 to LCY cancelled for "technical reasons". Shyeah. Routed onto 1015 to LHR.

Luggage going via Miami presumably.

Stupid Blogger language default

Just because I'm *in* Holland, doesn't mean I want the Blogger interface in Dutch. Especially as my gmail login knows damn well who I am and where I'm from.

This also leads to weirdness like the popup over "BERICHT PUBLICEREN" being "Now Blogger saves your drafts automatically!"

Sorry Billy, please re-post your comment on the 7 ages of rock blog!

Shame on you Blogger losing Billy's comment.

BBC Seven Ages of Rock: Heavy Metal

An entertaining romp through the history of metal, touching on all the important stuff from Sabbath, Purple of Course, Priest, Maiden, Motley Crue and Metallica.

One BIG gripe: metal did NOT end with Metallica. It might have gone through one if its regular dormant periods in the 90's while grunge had a quick play, much like punk was allowed to in the 70's, but since the turn of the millenium, metal has exploded again with genres and subcultures drawing from the original roots. I should know, I've been involved with a load! From Goth-metal through Metalcore to epic Scandi-metal, the genre is completely alive and well. The Download festival I'm missing is testament to that.

See you at Wacken Open Air in August!

Wet

It's been horribly sweaty today, even more so on the train back from Utrecht which got diverted via Hilversum and was packed and sweaty and ended up at the Central Station. As I was walking from the tram stop to my flat, the heavens opened with a huge electrical storm. In a hundred yards, I was drenched to the skin. Hopefully it's cleared the air!

Do I look like a local then?

Wandering around Amsterdam this evening, I've been asked directions no less than THREE times by lost tourists.

I suppose I should be flattered.

Wifi radiation

At last, the truth about Wifi radiation.

Ten minutes of Amsterdam life

From the legendary Staalmeesters near Rmbrandtplein.

Furyon, ULU
Originally uploaded by davehodg.

My last hurrah in London, seeing some old friends in a new incarnation: Furyon. Previously, they were mildly AOR. Now they rock big stylee.

Check it out.

Good to catch up with Matt, July and Jamie for one last beer too.

Update: Pics on flickr as usual!