The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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This Website

by 95 Comments

No longer a blog, but a forum it seems.

One of my favourite places on the internet despite occasional grumpy exchanges.

I appreciate all the work that has gone into creating it, adding new features and keeping it going.

However other forums/message boards that I visit have very nice user friendly features like notifications when someone quotes or replies to something you have posted, also likes can be applied to any post and you get notifications about that too. Also easier to post photos and navigate on a phone etc

Just wondering what people might think about having something similar here. The main area of the site could remain the same, but the message board/forum would become sexier and easier to use.

Fully understand if that is not wanted here, but interested what others think.

Tattoos

by 123 Comments

I am middle aged, I look with dismay at the fad that has been going on for a few years with so many younger people getting them. In my day the only people I knew with tattoos were either ex servicemen (navy mostly) or very hard people.

I think a good business to be in in about 10-15 years would be a tattoo removal service. can’t help but think that many may regret what they have had (almost) indelibly placed on their previously lovely and unblemished bodies.

Do you have one or more? Are you thinking of getting one?

Live Concerts – the future

by 10 Comments

So today I got this email about an upcoming show in Ottawa, looks to be possibly a test case for bigger events. Late March is fairly optimistic for an outdoor event, temperature could be below freezing!

“The Ontario Festival Industry Taskforce (OFIT) in collaboration with DNA Live—and with support from the Canadian Live Music Association, Ottawa Festivals Network, and the National Arts Centre—today announced THE LONG ROAD BACK, a live in-person concert using rapid COVID-19 antigen screening.

The event will take place at Lansdowne Park, March 27, 2021 and feature the super Soul sounds and Motown rhythms of THE COMMOTIONS. Fans of live music can expect an evening that will bring the joy of music to Ottawa, along with a sense of escape.

The innovative nature of the March 27 event will allow attendees to participate in a safer environment, with the added layer of rapid COVID-19 antigen screening, and will be the first of its kind in Canada.

THE LONG ROAD BACK concert will take place at Lansdowne Park, in an area known as the Casino Lac-Leamy Plaza. The proposed rapid COVID-19 antigen screening will be limited to 100 attendees and organized in conjunction with Shoppers Drug Mart. » Continue Reading.

Neil Young And Crazy Horse – Way Down in the Rust Bucket

by 25 Comments

What does it sound like?:

Available as a 4LP set, double CD or “Super Deluxe Edition” containing both plus a DVD of the show. The DVD is also available separately from Neil’s online store, annoyingly it includes an extra track (Cowgirl in the Sand) that Neil left off the audio only versions because of a malfunction during the recording. I am mainly a vinyl guy these days but opted for the CD version so that I don’t need to switch records and sides 7 times. It was also about a quarter of the price. Wonderfully recorded, it sounds magnificent.

This was a warm up show in a small venue in Santa Cruz near Neil’s home before they headed out on a North American arena tour the following year, that tour was captured on the Weld live album that came out soon after it’s completion. After his rather erratic 80s Neil was bang back on form having released Freedom and Ragged Glory (also featuring Crazy Horse) in the previous year or so. Ragged Glory features heavily on the album with 7 of it’s 10 tracks included.

This is an astonishingly good album. To my mind superior to Weld and » Continue Reading.

Welsh Fans Unite!

by 23 Comments

Record score against England, their championship hopes in tatters, Welsh Triple Crown. Boris Johnson, Martin Johnson, David Cameron, Maggie Thatcher (sic), Eddie Jones “Your boys took a HELLLLL of a beating”

R number between 0.6 and 0.9, Many Vaccinated, Cases at 20% or What They Were a Month Ago

by 200 Comments

This is all good news, right? The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger I think. I know there are those pesky variants, but so far it seems that even if they may be easier to transmit the vaccines can handle them until this point.

Above was based on UK figures, we are seeing similar in Canada despite the vaccination roll out being much slower (will ramp up considerably in Q2). Also it seems one dose of the Pfizer vaccine is 90% effective after 3 weeks, this could mean that the vaccination process can be accelerated and we will get control much quicker.

Wonder if there could be some hope for travel, concerts, crowds at sporting events late summer timeframe.

https://consumer.healthday.com/b-2-3-pfizer-vaccine-90-effective-after-three-weeks-early-study-shows-2650280984.html

Loudest Concerts You Ever Saw

by 84 Comments

THIS IS NOT A POLL. List your top 3 or so.

1) 1981 The Who Deeside Leisure Centre

I was 18, my first big concert. I got there about 3 hours before the doors opened and there were about 5 people in front of me. When the doors opened I scampered to the rail Pete’s side and did not move throughout Nine Below Zero’s set until The Who came on. In those days I drank nothing at concerts so a bathroom break wasn’t necessary.

So I was right in front of Pete, who seemed to be in a foul mood, he was probably pretty drunk and was slashing his horribly distorted guitar with great venom. Of course it was great, but after a few songs I decided to move back a little as it was a bit too crazy for me right at the front. Was still very very loud though. Enjoyed the show, but my ears were ringing on leaving. Outside there had been some Mod/Rocker thing going on and there were cars with smashed windows.

I made it home, but literally I could hardly hear for a week afterwards. I truly believe my hearing was » Continue Reading.

Potential Break Up of the UK

by 102 Comments

As @Colin-H showed us a few weeks ago Northern Ireland seems to be moving into a halfway house between being part of the UK and part of a united Ireland in the post Brexit era.

Nicola Sturgeon is promising another independence vote for Scotland in the near future with polls currently in her favour.

Wales has never had much stomach for independence, but recent polls put those in favour up to an all time high of 33% (up from 22%) a year ago. Should it be left at some point in a rump with England then there could be more clamour for it.

Most here are English, what do they think about this. Don’t care or unhappy to see the end of a centuries long union? For the Celts, who prefers status quo or has an appetite for the promised land of independence?

Poll – Best Archive or Box Set Release of 2020

by 130 Comments

I will do this to remove Lodestone’s Load, if, mods, it could be a sticky under his poll then that would be nice.

Vote for your favourite archive/box set release of 2020.

Name 3 only. 3 pts for no, 1, 2 for no. 2 and 1 pt for no. 3

Voting deadline Dec 24th 11.59pm UK time

Results will be available by 31st if I can do so.

The Crown

by 66 Comments

I am not a fan of the royal family, but I have enjoyed this expensive, very well made series in the past.

Watched the first episode of the new season and found it pretty poor. I thought previous seasons were better, particularly the re-creation of huge historical events in recent British history like the abdication. However it seems to be turning into a soap opera with vacuous and shallow caricatures, and for me much less riveting. “Diana” in the first episode was inhabited with pretty much every cliche imaginable (Thatcher too).

Maybe it was always like this, but I am now more familiar with the historical events portrayed and it is clearly a work of fantasy and at least 90% of it is made up. That’s fine, but I think the first 2 seasons were much better (with a different cast).

Any other thoughts, positive or negative?