Awesome Photographer 1 - Irving Penn

I went to the Irving Penn exhibition at the Nation Portrait Gallery (a while ago now). You should have gone. You cant now because it has ended. You missed out. He is flippin awesome!

Your friend and mine, Pablo PIcasso.

Footnote: Click here for a link to Photography Now's slideshow of some of Mr Penn's work. X.

Open My Eyes

Another reminder of the existence of Todd Rundgren

Poem for Today

Said Hamlet to Ophelia

"I'll draw a sketch of thee.

What kind of pencil shall I use;

2B or not 2B?"

Oh No!

England fans, complimented for their good behaviour in South Africa, return to Old Blighty swathed in disappointment, dejection, abject misery, disillusionment, and debt. But most alarmingly some divots, like this bozo, are returning with vuvu-flipping-zelas. This wazzock has seven of the infernal devices! Let's hope this is merely a passing fancy and these wretched hooters do not make an appearance at English football grounds. Otherwise, the National Health Service Accident & Emergency clinics are going to have to employ a lot more proctologists.

Still Day Six in the Big Sister House!

Look what landed in our back garden.

Day Six in the Big Sister House!

As you can see there is now a frame.

Aviculture Update

We don't have any migrating swifts in this part of Old Blighty but we do have blackbirds. In fact there are a few domiciled in the hedge at the back of our garden and I am enjoying listening to them singing. There's one chappie who seems to choose a time when all the other birds have gone quiet and he sits up there and warbles away, extemporising and generally noodling like a proper noodler practising for his noodling exam.

Also present at Xorg-Intergalactic HQ Park and Gardens: the inevitable pigeons; chirpy sparrows; a curious robin; shy blue tits; and the accursed magpie. There's rumours of a red kite in the neighbourhood but I have yet to observe said beasty.
Addendum: Blackbirds are not, of course, tuneful all the time especially when they are feeding the fledglings. A fair bit of screeching has been going on. Moreover, there seems to have been some kind of territorial dispute which involved much flapping and hedge-bothering.

Negativity

Well, there's a lot of disappointed Greeks around the world. It was unlikely that they would have beaten Argentina but they could at least have given it a go; the Argentinian's defence isn't all that great - their strength is in attack. Yer man Samaras isn't a bad player and if he'd had some support from midfield he might have got somewhere. OK, so we can appreciate a solid defensive performance and effective man-to-man professional performance but what's the point when you know at the outset that to progress further in the tournament, you have to win?

Day Five in the Big Sister House!

Note the addition of the breeze blocks. Not quite sure why the builders only work for a couple of hours then leave. I think their approach is one step at a time ... literally.

Day Four in the Big Sister House!

Here we can see the beginnings of the brickwork. Meanwhile my spinach is looking quite dead as they stored their tools on my veg patch!

Day Three in the Big Sister House!

We have concrete!

Day Two in the Big Sister House

As you can see bricks have made an appearance!

England Schmengland

That was truly dreadful. Woeful. Pathetic. Not only did the players fail to get themselves going but Mr Capello got his team selection and tactics all wrong. Wayne Rooney was rubbish; Emile Heskey was not good enough; Gerrard and Lampard fizzled out into nothingness; and they all looked like they just didn't have a clue. But it is Mr Capello who should own up - he should have substituted Rooney and Heskey after twenty minutes and brought on Crouch and Defoe then rather than with only ten minutes to go. Blithering idiot. Of course, as a result he's now faced with the even more difficult choice of whether he should stick with his line-up or be bold and change it from the outset, for a game which they must win. Well, duh! Talk about adding pressure!

Having said all that, it is not unusual for England to under-perform against 'inferior opposition' so although disappointed and depressed one is not actually all that surprised. What is more alarming is that Germany fluffed a penalty in their match. Whatever next?

Vuvuflippinzelas

That's all I needed. One of the neighbour's children has somehow acquired a vuvuzela doodad and has begun honking it this evening. Here's hoping the little honker makes himself go deaf, or blind, or away somewhere.

I had a brainwave about these vuvuzela thingies. What FIFA should do is arrange for some different ones to be made, which play different notes, and which people can exchange for their existing ones for free. If they were to make them so that they played the notes of, say, C, E and G, then at least we'd get a nice triad type chord instead of the monotonous B flat drone currently being produced. And you never know, you might even get some random tunes generated.

Original Album Classics

If you are thinking of replacing some of your old LPs with CDs, or catching up with some that you missed, check out the reissue sets from Sony/BMG Original Album Classics. Some are 3 CD sets but most are 5 CD sets, and are generally £11.99, which at £2 8s 0d per album is excellent value. Jeff Beck, Santana, The Allman Brothers, The Byrds, Carole King and many more. Hotcha.

Still Day One in the Big Sister House

The housemates must decide on which tile they prefer. The public are invited to vote for their favourite.

Day One in the Big Sister House

Foundations dug. Garden a mess.

National Portrait Gallery/ Ed's Diner

The latest Xorg-Intergalactic works outing took place last Friday with a trip to the National Portrait Gallery to attend one of their workshops.  Accompanying FabMary and myself was Susannah of the Chamberlain clan. This was a drop-in drawing session where for a couple of hours an accomplished artist provided handy tips on how to draw portraits. The session was led by a very lively lady who was filled with enthusiasm for her subject and  helped a group of cack-handed scribblers to achieve some measure of success in copying a portrait of Charles the Second. He had a big nose, and no mistake. I enjoyed the experience immensely and had my first ever go at doing a chalk drawing - not bad for starters but I need to make my outlines bolder, apparently. If you're in London of a Friday evening, get along there (it's free) but be early coz the sessions are limited to thirty people.

Beforehand, we had a bite to eat at Ed's Diner in Rupert Street. This was jolly spiffing - genuine American Fifties high-fat junk food, with an old-fashioned Rock n' Roll jukebox. I consumed what they call a 'Chilli Dog Combo'. A frankfurter hot dog with a dollop of chilli con carne, plus chips, onion rings, coleslaw and half a gherkin; all for the princely sum of £8.25. And an endlessly refillable mug of filter coffee for £1.75. Highly recommended, but not too often unless you want to end up like a tub of lard and die prematurely of a heart attack!

What's That Buzzing Noise?: Adolf Gets Depressed.

Balls

Mumblings continue about the new Adidas ball being used in the World Cup. Apparently it lifts itself when wellied too hard. Some have even been saying it is unpredictable and consequently makes life difficult for goalkeepers (thank you Robert Green's mum.) But you can't fail to have noticed that Germany have scored four goals with it so perhaps the ball isn't so much of a problem. Or maybe that's because the Germans have been practising with the the ball since January. (Note: Adidas is a German-based company.)

Whatever, let's hope James Milner and his chums have also been practising with it.