Clumsy Attempt
… to figure out the technique of Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg.
31/7/2011
29/7/2011
GOT ON
Ian Heames brings first copies
Signing A to Z
Twenty-six
+click27/7/2011
Reprise
(from this piece by Julia Davis.
The al-Yamamah “slush fund” was first reported by a whistleblower in 2001, but British Ministry of Defense covered up those allegations. In 2004, another whistleblower disclosed further details of the bribery scandal to the Guardian, prompting an investigation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office.
In 2005, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a secret visit to Riyadh to expedite one of BAE’s deals with the Saudi princes. Blair agreed to sell to the Saudis 24 jets ahead of schedule, by letting them get their hands on the jets that were already allotted for the British armed forces.
In 2006, when investigators were about to gain access to the Swiss bank accounts linked to Saudi royal family, Tony Blair blocked a corruption investigation against them. Blair said that the probe would have led nowhere except to the “complete wreckage” of a vital strategic relationship. Translation: “We don’t want to upset our rich Saudi benefactors.” The Saudis were apparently threatening to back out of a lucrative deal and to halt their participation in anti-terrorism efforts. Bandar had arrogantly warned a U.K. official that “British lives on British streets were at risk” if the investigation was allowed to continue.
The British High Court ruled that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government may have interfered with the rule of law in December 2006, when it ordered the British government’s Serious Fraud Office to shut down its bribery investigation. Blair claimed that his decision to scrap the probe was made purely in the interest of national security. The court blasted him in a scathing rebuke that stated in part, “No one, whether within this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice. It is the failure of Government to bear that essential principle in mind that justifies the intervention of this court.” Blair also ensured that the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) on BAE’s dealings in Saudi Arabia was not published. It remains the only NAO report never to have been made public. British Ministry of Defense stated, “The report remains sensitive. Disclosure would harm both international relations and the UK’s commercial interests.”
25/7/2011
Then & Then
Comin’ In On A Wing And A Prayer The Golden Gate Quartet Pop Music: The Early Years 1890-1950 [Disc 2]
What Is It About Men? Amy Winehouse Frank
Vengi Pépé Kallé L’Argent ne fait pas le Bonheur
The Wayward: II. San Francisco-A Setting Of The Cries Of Two Newsboys On A Foggy Night In The Twenties Harry Partch The Harry Partch Collection Volume 2
Island Get-A-Away F Big Man Junie Bezel That’s How Mess Get Started
Slow Moon’s Rose Slapp Happy Acnalbasac Noom
Sissy Clap Katey Redd
Jailhouse Blues Ottilie Patterson With Chris Barbers Jazzband 1955-1958
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Bing Crosby Pop Music: The Early Years 1890-1950 [Disc 1]
Direct download: then.mp3
23/7/2011
I Blame Murdoch
Amy Jade Winehouse
14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011
22/7/2011
+click20/7/2011
Survival of the Fittest
Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death
Alexander M. Petersen, Joel Tenenbaum, Shlomo Havlin, H. Eugene Stanley
Cornell University Library
ABSTRACT
How often a given word is used, relative to other words, can convey information about the word’s linguistic utility. Using Google word data for 3 languages over the 209-year period 1800-2008, we found by analyzing word use an anomalous recent change in the birth and death rates of words, which indicates a shift towards increased levels of competition between words as a result of new standardization technology. We demonstrate unexpected analogies between the growth dynamics of word use and the growth dynamics of economic institutions. Our results support the intriguing concept that a language’s lexicon is a generic arena for competition which evolves according to selection laws that are related to social, technological, and political trends. Specifically, the aggregate properties of language show pronounced differences during periods of world conflict, e.g. World War II.
click to download pdf fileHappy Birthday!
Eddie
19/7/2011
18/7/2011
17/7/2011
La Vie Parisienne
The world having been set to rights, and the Frenchies advised of such (though not in their own language), the assembled company of legatees took the air.
(By slow pigeon, from Paris)
16/7/2011
Five Years Ago
Juno Gemes just sent me this photo from the time she, Bob Adamson, Anselm Hollo, Jane Dalrymple-Hollo and I wandered around Buffalo Bill’s grave in Golden, Colorado. I like the picture because Anselm can be spotted right behind me; and that he’s surviving everything life has thrown at him since then is quite remarkable.
15/7/2011
+click14/7/2011
13/7/2011
George Kimball
George Edward Kimball
A fine writer, newspaperman and friend.
December 20th 1943 Grass Valley, California – July 6th 2011 New York City
First of all condolences to Marge, to Darcy, to Teddy, to all his family. You can read about George here, and in the obituaries in the NY Daily News, The Boston Herald, The Boston Phoenix; and elsewhere. Then you can read his books.. from Only Skin Deep (Olympia Press, Paris, 1968) to Manly Art: They Can Run But They Can’t Hide (McBooks, April 2011).
I saw George in New York last winter, at home with Marge, then at Benn Schulberg’s to watch the Pacquaio/Margarito fight. We walked the several blocks home and the next morning he carried my case downstairs and walked with me to the corner. Final glimpse. He’d been supposed to die of esophageal cancer within six months five years back.
I first met George in Iowa City during a bitter 1970 winter. We rode the Greyhound from there to NYC, on acid. I remember persuading him somewhere in Pennsylvania it was not a good idea to get off and steal everyone’s luggage. George was a solid friend for forty years. Last summer, flying back to the US from Gatwick he had some time to spare so took the train down to Brighton to sit with us by the sea and talk for an hour. Not as easy as it sounds as the cancer and its treatment had affected the strength of his neck and he had to prop his fist under his chin to speak. I’m glad he had a great party on his birthday last December: and sorry I couldn’t be there.
This is one of George’s last messages, earlier this year:
George: Hi Tom, going to KC and Lawrence tomorrow. Hope I’m up to it, as I tire pretty easily now. Voice is pretty shot too so plan to use recorded readings and save it for q&a. Wish i were there. Busy couple of weeks upcoming with book events. G
Professional to the end.
Keep an eye on things, George. I miss you.
Groanup
Electrobuild Don Harper Electrosonic
Under Milk Wood Dylan Thomas BBC recording
Rider In The Sky Dan Bau Vietnam Roady Music From Vietnam
Russian Lullaby Oscar Aleman VA – Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Clinton Comes to Long Beach Jello Biafra If Evolution Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve [Disc 1]
Lush Life Stan Getz (Feat. Chick Corea) Captain Marvel
Miss Tina Roaring Lion Sacred 78’s
A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square Vera Lynn Hits Of The Blitz
The Pleasant Peasant Ronnie Ronalde The Yodelling Whistler
What Can You Mach?-S’is America Aaron Lebedeff & Alexander Olshanetzky’s Orchestra VA – Oz Almog & Shantel • Kosher Nostra
You Got to Give an Account Dorothy Lee, Norma Jean & Shirley Marie Johnson VA – Sorrow Come Pass Me Around
Under Milk Wood Dylan Thomas BBC recording
Electrostings Don Harper Electrosonic
Direct download: groanup.mp3
12/7/2011
+click11/7/2011
+click8/7/2011
7/7/2011
Today in Cambridge
POETRY READING
To mark the publication of a selection of Jeremy Prynne’s poems translated into Chinese there will be a reading of poems, both in English and in Chinese, on Thursday 7th July at 2.15 PM in Sidgwick Hall, Newnham College, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge.
Jeremy will himself be present, as will the Editor of the Chinese edition, Prof Li Zhi- min.
There will be no charge for admission, and all are welcome, though it would be helpful to the organisers if you could signal your intention to attend, by email, to:
rdg21@cam.ac.uk, or jhp13@cam.ac.uk The Editors of The Cambridge Quarterly.
To celebrate this event I managed yesterday night to retrieve this small piece I made five or six years ago when DP made one of those “now you can’t understand in two languages” arsehole remarks. Just click on the first image.
6/7/2011
Post
Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Volume Two, Episode Eleven Ivor Cutler Jammy Smears
Father Murphy Cornelius Cardew Four Principles On Ireland And Other Pieces
Memories of Vasily Shukshin Vladimir Vysotsky I Do Not Love
Blues to Elvin (Alternate Take 1) John Coltrane Coltrane Plays the Blues
Shwele Shwele Amaswazi Emvelo & Mahlatini Utshwala Begazati
Sakura Sakura Mal Waldron My Dear Family
Direct download: post.mp3
+click to enlarge5/7/2011
Books I Read This Afternoon
+click
Martin Stannard’s Respondings
John James’ In Romsey Town
equipage
NEW PUBLICATION
John James, In Romsey Town (Equipage, 2011) 48pp, perfect bound, with a cover by Peter Cartwright ISBN 1-900968-81-9 price £6.00 inc. p & p
Equipage c/o Rod Mengham, Jesus College, Cambridge, CB5 8BL. Cheques should be made payable to Equipage.
3/7/2011
Sussex Poetry Pestival 2011
+click for snaps
Nightingale Theatre, Brighton, July 1st and 2nd 2011
This is not meant to be a comprehensive documentary of the event., nor of the participants. I hate using flash and the amount of light in the theatre was often unusable
