Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Dominion Theatre

London UK

January 20th 1981

Reposted from November 2020

An enjoyable romp through some classics from the amazing Mr. Dury and his partners.

This was a hell of a band with Wilko Johnson on guitar at this point.

regards

Titus

01 Upminster Kid

02 Clever Trevor

03 Sink My Boats

04 I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra

05 Superman's Big Sister

06 Yes & No (Paula)

07 Uncoolohol

08 Delusions of Grandeur

09 Dance of the Crackpots

10 What a Waste!

11 Hey, Hey, Take Me Away

12 Manic Depression (Jimi)

13 Mr. Peanut

14 Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick

link

Earth experiences two to five solar eclipses every year.

A total eclipse only happens somewhere on the planet

roughly once every 18 months and any single specific spot on the globe

will only see a total eclipse about once every 400 years.

A solar eclipse has never caused a widespread loss of electricity

or a major power outage.

While eclipses temporarily reduce solar panel power output,

grid operators routinely forecast these predictable celestial events

and successfully balance power networks using backup generation,

such as gas or hydroelectric power.

The price of electricity for Wednesday evening rose

to more than £211.40 per megawatt-hour at 7pm, its highest level since June 30th.

Notice how the price increased when there was lots of sunshine

but also increases when there is slightly less?

When will conditions align to trigger a price reduction?

I won't hold my breath.

I suspect this is just a money-making scam. (I think he's on to something...Ed.)

"Don’t use electricity during the solar eclipse" Octopus Energy warns :)

I can't see how a brief drop in sunlight could have any significant effect.

If so we'll be in major trouble by the Winter Solstice.

The BBC are taking a different approach:

"How to watch today's solar eclipse live online from anywhere in the world"

Running a washing machine typically costs between 13p and 30p in electricity

per cycle in the UK. This equals about £43 to £55 a year

for an average household doing around four loads a week.

Your internet uses roughly 150 to 250 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity

per person per year when factoring in data centres,

transmission networks, and local Wi-Fi routers.

At typical UK electricity rates of about 24p to 30p per kWh,

this costs each user roughly £36 to £75 annually in electricity.

I asked AI two questions:

"should i use a washing machine during the eclipse?"

You should avoid using your washing machine today (Wednesday, 12th August 2026)

between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm BST.

"should I use the internet during the eclipse?"

Yes, you can safely use the internet during a solar eclipse

because the phenomenon does not emit any harmful radiation or physical energy

that disrupts Wi-Fi, fibre optic cables, or broadband routing.

The Trump administration has spotted that solar panels don't work at night:

In mid-2026, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum

faced public scrutiny for sharing charts pointing out

that solar power "failed after sunset" or produces zero electricity at night.

(Nothing gets past these eagle-eyed operators)

In conclusion: the eclipse is irrelevant but has become a commercial event

exploited for profit based on a web of BS and self interest.

Best time to buy eclipse-viewing glasses?

   tomorrow.

regards

Titus

I will briefly blot out the sun tomorrow evening.

Don't look directly at the eclipse.

regards

Titus

AC/DC

Rock Goes to College

University of Essex

Colchester, England

October 28th 1978

Remastered digital rebroadcast.

The rebroadcast didn't play the end of 'Let There Be Rock'

I patched that in from an alternative source.

The first half of 'Live Wire' was never broadcast as far as I'm aware

so I used an alternative recording to restore the full song.

regards

Titus

01 Live Wire

02 Problem Child

03 Sin City

04 Bad Boy Boogie

05 Whole Lotta Rosie

06 Rocker

07 Let There Be Rock

link

I

n Time (2011)

A dystopian future where time itself has become the currency.

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American singer, songwriter,

actor, record producer, and dancer.

Despite my instinctive dislike of him he's reasonably ok in this film.

It's not a masterpiece by any means but I like some of the ideas.

Optional multi-subs are included.

regards

Titus

link

Jane

Audimax

University of Hamburg

Germany

April 14th 1978

Remastered audience recording.

Medium quality.

Not complete but a decent 73 minutes long.

They played two sets and this appears to be culled from both

and not necessarily in the correct running order.

It was the debut live performance of 'Auroville'.

regards

Titus

01 Between Heaven and Hell

02 Daytime

03 Auroville

04 Lady

05 Windows

link

The African Queen (1951)

Two people from completely contrasting backgrounds

are thrown together by circumstance

and against all the odds they eventually fall in love.

This premise is quite surprising when one first encounters it as a kid.

Once you have become wiser and more cynical

you can see it coming from the opening scene.

It's part of growing up, a rite of passage if you will.

Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn absolutely nail it here.

Unlike the special effects team who made very little effort for the dramatic finale.

I 'served my time' as an engineering apprentice at British Leyland.

The place was vast beyond belief.

They never bought anything, they just made it.

I was seconded to No.8 shop in Farrington aged 17.

Day one...first brew time...

There had a brew area with a huge hot water boiler.

Made 'in house', it was an enormous dome of copper

with huge rivets straining to hold the flexing cauldron within.

On the side was written...African Queen.

I nearly scaulded myself laughing.

regards

Titus

link

Big Big Train

Town Hall

Birmingham UK

October 30th 2019

Reposted from September 2020

This band have a devoted following of retired, prosecco drinking,

college lecturers. teachers and social workers who are known as 'the passengers'.

They buy all the gig tickets then resell them (at face value to be fair) on their FB group.

So every gig is 'sold out' in minutes.

I persuaded the Frau Luxor to join their FB group and they furnished us

with 3rd row seats for a "sold out" show in London a few years back.

The line-up includes Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard),

Dave Gregory (XTC) and Rikard Sjöblom (Beardfish)

regards

Titus

Disc 1

01 intro (Novum Organum)

02 Alive

03 Hedgerow

04 Theodora in Green and Gold

05 Winkie

06 The Florentine

07 Brave Captain

Disc 2

01 Voyager

02 Homesong

03 band introductions/Wassail

04 Drums and Brass/East Coast Racer

link

Progglådan Box D: Melodisk Rock

CD 404

Första Förband/Kabaréorkestern

Första Förband (first-aid dressing)

The Wiehe brothers have already featured in the series.

Here is Thomas playing with this, difficult to research, band.

A mixture of rock n roll, pop and some folky tunes.

When the first song came on I was skeptical

but it really grew on me as their eclectic nature unfolded.

I ended up loving it!

Kabaréorkestern (The Cabaret Orchestra)

Featuring Mikael Wiehe (slightly more famous brother of Thomas)

Another belter: inventive song-writing with great horn arrangements.

regards

Titus

link

Moon (2009)

Moon is a science fiction film directed by Duncan Jones (in his directorial debut)

This copy is in wide screen cinema ratio which looks thus:

'video-crop-16:10' in VLC looks about right if you prefer a fuller screen.

The film won numerous film critic and festival awards.

It was nominated in the BAFTA Award for Best British Film category

and won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2010.

Optional multi-subs are included.

Is there a major difference between Portuguese and Portuguese (Brazil)?

I'm curious.

regards

Titus

link

World War II in Colour (2008)

Episode 13 - Victory in the Pacific

This is the final episode in the series.

The US wipes out Japan's air force through a strategy of island-hopping.

As the Americans face the decision of what to do with mainland Japan,

President Truman decides to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons.

Japan had no choice but to surrender, and the Cold War begins.

regards

Titus

link

The Thing from Another World (1951)

Classic Sci-Fi'

A United States Air Force crew and a team of scientists

find themselves in conflict with an aggressive E.T. carrot played by James Arness.

An artistic manipulation of my favourite scene:

(A big one framed would look pretty cool)

Optional multi-subs are included.

You'll need to be a speed reader though because it's a very wordy script

and even the English subs struggle to keep up.

The German one looks like a nightmare :)

Mach die Karotte fertig! (Not a line from the film...Ed.)

regards

Titus

link

The United Jazz & Rock Ensemble

Live im Schützenhaus/Live in Berlin

A jazz fusion gem featuring an illustrious line-up.

Barbara Thompson — Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)

Ian Carr — Trumpet

Ack van Rooyen — Flugelhorn, Trumpet

Albert Mangelsdorff — Trombone

Charlie Mariano — Nagaswarm, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)

Volker Kriegel — Guitar

Wolfgang Dauner — Clarinet, Piano, Synthesizer

Eberhard Weber — Bass

Jon Hiseman — Drums

regards

Titus 

CD 1 - Live im Schützenhaus (1977):

01 Circus Gambet

02 Hey Day

03 Steps of M.C. Escher

04 South Indian Line

05 Hypnotic Pignose

06 The Love That Cannot Speak It's Name

07 BeBop-Rock

CD 2 - Live in Berlin (1981):

01 Ausgeschlafen

02 Red Room

03 Storyboard

04 Out Of The Long Dark

05 Freibad Süd

06 Des'sch Too Much

07 Simply this

08 Tranz Tanz

09 South Indian Line

link

Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance (1976)

A short adaptation  of the M.R. James story 'The Diary of Mr. Poynter'.

Produced by Yorkshire Television with Geoffrey Russel in the title role.

Worth having if you're a fan of the author

but it lacks the sense of terror conveyed in James' original text.

regards

Titus

link

Phineas Foam

Soundboard 1992

This is a new version of the original post from November 2022

Ah...the memories come flooding back...the groupies, the drugs,

the bowls of Smarties with all the red ones taken out.

I'm playing bass. I do OK but there's an awful bum note in Untitled.

(I was full of Smarties at the time you have to bear in mind)

We often opened with Human Zoo

because it has an energy draining 2/4 drum beat

and drummers were glad to get it over with :)

Dave C. does a great job here on the kit.

From a different musical background to ours.

His idea of a top album was a 1950s B-movie soundtrack.

These had about 172 tracks and he would fevourishly

play 'highlights' to me in his Mum & Dad's front room.

He sometimes struggled with Moonsong but nails it here.

We first encountered Dave in a band called Gnarl (cool name)

It was him on the drums and two bass players.

Now that sounds ace even if you never heard it...right?

I think we were opening for Half Man/Half Biscuit (if anyone remembers them?)

My personal view of gigging? It's shit.

When you're on stage it's great. Everything else is shit.

I've asked before, but I'd love to hear any stuff you may have.

That rough recording of the punk band you were in?

Those unrealeased anguished songs from your youth?

regards

Titus

01 Human Zoo

02 Dry Up

03 Dance of Love

o4 How's Your Baby Now?

05 Like the Moon/Moonsong

06 Untitled

link

World War II in Colour (2008)

Episode 12 - Victory in Europe

From three sides, the British, Canadians, Americans, and Soviets

are starting to shred through what is left of the Third Reich.

As the Nazi forces see their final days, Hitler commits suicide,

and the Allies begin dividing up Europe.

regards

Titus

link

Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan

Episode 37

Musical instruments is Bob's topic today.

A subject very dear to my heart.

I once bought a clarinet but could never figure out how to play it properly

so I advertised it for sale in the local newspaper (doesn't that sound archaic?)

A middle aged/middle class dude turned up with his young son and bought it for the boy.

I'd paid £95 (second hand) and sold it to him for £100.

Made a slight profit LOL.

It was a really good one made by Boosey & Hawkes.

Vintage B&H clarinets can set you back up to £2K these days.

Wonder if the kid ever learned to play the darn thing?

I expect Dad forced him to learn boring classical music.

Maybe, years later half way through his college music degree course,

he dropped out and joined a jazz-fusion band?

I hope so.

regards

Titus

link

Dracula (1958)

Something to get your teeth into?

The first in the series of Hammer Horror films

starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula.

I find them pleasingly kitsch now but they still frighten the Frau Luxor :)

Journalist and historian Timothy Randolph Stanley  wrote of Lee's performance:

"Lee's sensuality was subversive in that it hinted that women

might quite like having their neck chewed on by a stud"

This is the US release which was retitled 'Horror of Dracula'.

Fangtastic stuff...Lives are at stake...(That's quite enough...Ed.)

With optional multi-subs including Transylvanian.

regards

Titus

link

Status Quo – Doing Their Thing (1970)

Granada TV Studios

Manchester, UK

July 31st 1970

Classic footage of the early Quo.

24 minutes of heads down/no nonsense boogie.

regards

Titus

Roadhouse Blues

Down the Dustpipe

Spinning Wheel Blues

Is it Really Me?/Gotta Go Home

link

Blitz Wolf (1942)

This was Tex Avery's Directional debut for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

An unashamed WWII propaganda cartoon which was nominated

for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons

but lost out to 'Der Fuehrer's Face',

another anti-Nazi World War II parody featuring Donald Duck.

It is based on the Three Little Pigs children's story

with Adolf, unsurprisingly, cast as the Big Bad Wolf.

Tex Avery was always controversial

and there are many things of interest to the keen eyed viewer.

Alongside the smorgasbord of cultural references there are various 'edits'.

Some were done to the original before release.

Others were done later.

Here's a selection of things I find interesting (there are numerous others)

The sign labelled "No Dogs Allowed" has 'Dogs' crossed out.

'Dogs' was originally replaced by 'Japs' but it is blurred out in yellow.

When one of the shells hits the wolf's tank it turns into cans.

A reference to the scrap metal drives during World War II.

Sergeant Pork was based on a famous World War I hero Sergeant York.

The two pigs sing to Sergeant Pork:

You're in the Army Now,

You're Not Behind the Plow,

You're Diggin' a Ditch,

[pause and motion freeze],

You're in the Army Now!

The pause was inserted to replace the line "You Son of a Bitch",

which was deemed inappropriate for a film at the time.

regards

Titus

link

World War II in Colour (2008)

Episode 11 - The Island War

An aggressive war is being waged against the Japanese.

The United States is now starting to use a new tactic of island-hopping,

resulting in the slow crumbling of the Japanese air force and navy.

regards

Titus

link

Jerry Sadowitz is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician.

I saw him perform a couple of times in the late 1980s.

It's not something one ever forgets.

I enjoyed watching the audiences gradually thin out

as he explored every possible avenue to offend everyone.

Sadowitz was born in June 1961 in New Jersey, the son of a Scottish-Jewish mother

named Roslyn and a Jewish-American father who worked as a scrap metal merchant.

His parents split up when he was three, and he moved with his mother

back to her native Glasgow when he was seven.

Jerry has had very little TV exposure due to the uncompromising nature of his humour.

He shocked me too at times but I stuck it out because that's the fucking point.

There's little around online but, in a very old box, I found this very old DVD.

Non-Brits (and even some Brits) may find his accent difficult to understand.

In 1991, Sadowitz was knocked unconscious by an audience member

during a performance at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal,

where he mocked French Canadians,

starting with the greeting "Hello moosefuckers! I tell you why I hate Canada,

half of you speak French, and the other half let them."

The rarely quoted follow-up line,

which Sadowitz claims is what actually led to him being attacked,

was "Why don't you speak Indian? You might as well speak the language

of the people you stole the country off of in the first place."

Sadowitz's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show was cancelled after one night

because staff members—and, reportedly, audience members

at the Pleasance theatre found the material offensive.

The venue later clarified that this was due to

"racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny",

that "the material presented at his first show is not acceptable

and does not align with our values",

and that he had exposed his penis to a member of the audience.

He is a fantastic magician particularly skilled in card tricks

including amazing close-up work.

A subject on which he seems to be something of an expert/historian.

So I hope anyone unfamiliar with Jerry will understand

this is not suitable for the easily offended

and even the difficultly offended amongst you may take the odd hit :)

regards

Titus

link

p.s. If you click on the Jerry Sadowitz label

you can read a older post I wrote about him and David Icke.

My Great (x50K) Uncle Thug invented music just over a million years ago.

He would bang on some wood with another piece of wood...rhythmically.

It annoyed the neighbours who would bang on the adjoining cave wall.

So he invented that too.

You can still hear his music coming from VW Golfs.

He never received a penny in royalties.

The family is still embroiled in legal disputes to this day

which have dragged on for just over a million years.

In 1966 time travellers travelled back in time

to film the documentary 'One Million Years B.C.'

They were looking for extras and my Uncle Thug volunteered.

He played a supporting role alongside Raquel Welsh's bra.

The documentary proved, once and for all, that dinosaurs and humans

did, in fact, co-exist (at the same time) but didn't mix socially.

regards

Titus