Bark At the Moon!

Ooh, Halloween... creepy, no scary! Err, not really, try the prospect of teaching a class of 15-16 year olds, for the first time ever next Monday. Now, that's a scary prospect! This is what I have lined up; a 4 week block of teaching, starting off with just the odd class, and finishing with 13.5 hours teaching time in the final week. Unfortunately, that actual teaching is only a small part of what I have to do. I have to develop full lesson plans for each lesson, I have an assessment on learning theories which I have to tie into the teaching, I must tie it altogether with the Standards For Initial Teacher Education (SITE), I have school based study tasks to perform, and every lesson will be observed by a teacher, with one lesson in particular being observed by 2 University lecturers who will critique my peformance.

I tell you, this teaching lark isn't easy. Besides all the paperwork, the teacher's role is no longer simply to teach. There are pastoral duties, social and moral implications, inclusive practice, not to mention the fact that the whole education system seems to be on the brink of being significantly restructured. There seems to be a ground-swell of movement at higher levels away from the idea of assessment as a formal basis for education, towards an emphasis on process. I make no judgments on the rationality of this viewpoint. I'm only bringing you the news so to speak. I suspect however, that we will see an end to the Standard Grade format in Scotland, in the not too distant future.

Anyhow, if you're going out tonight, do not concern yourself with thoughts of evil spirits and the living dead. Just remember that there's nothing more dangerous than the people that you put in power, making political decisions based on their bizarre misguided beliefs, which may well bring us to the brink of Armageddon. See, the real monsters are grey-suited men, who believe they have a direct hotline to God, and that the message is, "Kill anyone who's not like us, but has stuff that should really be ours!" Ghosts and ghouls can only give you a fright, these monsters could plunge us all into a living hell. Sleep tight now, won't you?

The Death Of Sci-Fi?

Has Sci-fi died? I ask why, because it feels like there has been a distinct lack of Sci-fi in recent years, especially in the film industry, Star Wars aside. There was a time when we took Sci-fi films for granted and there were TV series aplenty. Just think back to the first Star Trek series, Lost In Space, Doctor Who (when he went to other worlds, now he just can't leave Cardiff). Personally, I yearn for some of that thinkig man's Sci-fi, not unlike A Space Odyssey: 2001, or the early Star Trek epsiodes, where, like Lost In Space, there was always a moral lesson to be learned.

In gerneral, the same applies to all films and British TV in particular, which is losing ground to US telly at a dramtic rate. Everyone knows that the basis for a good film or TV series lies in the script writing. If you get that right, then you've already laid the ground work. With a decent budget/actors, there isn't too much room for error once that script is secured. So, what can the problem be? Well, I could be wrong, but I think the source of the problem is ageism! Shock horror, what am I saying? Well, I'm saying, that they're allowing young guys to write scripts, who possess no real knowledge of Sci-fi history. Not only that, the script approvers haven't a scooby either, so the output is absolute trash.

The solution lies in going back to those books written in the 50's and 60's when Sci-fi writing was at it's zenith. Bring some of those works up to date, reflecting the changes that have happened since then, and you'll have yourself some tremendous film material. I know because I used to read some of those very books. There's a wealth of potential Sci-fi blockbusters gathering dust on old book shelves. I cite Ursula Le Guin's "Left-hand Path Of Darkness" and several of the works of Poul Andersen, (which are numerous) as examples. Come on, let's get the Sci-fi film industry back into full swing!

Odds and Sods!

Just some odds and ends today because it's been a long day, I'm tired and I've got a bit of a sore head. Some good telly last night with Top Gear and the first part of Ewen McGregor's "Long Way Down". If you haven't heard of Ewen McGregor, or happen to be uncertain about why he might be travelling down the way for some distance, then try Wikipedia or Google. It's not up to me to clarify every little point you want to nitpick.

Random irritations today. No wait, major irritations actually. The railway-men (whomever they may be) were installing new signals between Dyce and Aberdeen over the weekend and they were meant to be finished by 4am this morning. But nay, they weren't finished and delayed my train by 45 minutes, causing me to be late for perhaps the most crucial lecture ever, by over 20 minutes. Sods Law, I think they call that.

Anyway, my problems are not so bad. My son had to get 2 teeth extracted today, and there's another 2 to get pulled next Monday, in preparation for his first brace fitting next Wednesday. I've assured him that it's all for a good cause, as with his teeth straightened, he'll be able to get a better looking girlfriend, and therefore potentially, my future grand-children will probably be better looking than otherwise. Safe to say, at the age of 13, this is not the kind of stuff he wants to hear me saying, but hey, valid points don't you think?

The Red Tide!

Yes, I realised many moons ago, indeed when I was still a teenager, or even earlier, that red-haired people are at best argumentative and at worst psychotic. Believe me when I say this is a well proven theory, which since my deciding this was the case, every red-haired person that has crossed my path since that time, has done nothing to disprove.

I can't name names can I? Let's just say that in my experience there are certain traits which firmly attach themselves to carrot-tops. Firstly they are completely unpredictable. Secondly, they are often a danger to themselves and others. I asociate this still further with the star-sign Scorpio, although I've no obvious reasoning behind such an assumption, clearly a link was forged somewhere in the distant past. Perhaps it was mere coincidence that I had the misfortune to encounter more than one ginger snap, with a penchant for craziness, and an inclination to constantly reiterate their star-sign as being Scorpio. Coincidence or not, the facts have stuck with me all this time.

Where is my evidence you ask? Well, a copperhead nearly drowned my brother, by pushing him into the harbour, well aware that he couldn't swim. I also had a ginger "friend of a friend" who was quite happy to provoke large groups of drunken males and once jumped off a bridge, only he wasn't near enough the middle to do any permanent damage. He enjoyed violence and would laugh as he was fighting. Unstable? Psychotic? Insane? Yes, all of those! I had to completely cut myself off from him, he became so unbearable to be around. The gingerness took him over, it couldn't be stopped! That's not to say that there isn't a place for ginger nuts in society, I'm sure they could be put to some good use. For instance, I can see how those traits might come in useful manning a check-point near Basra or something!

Class of 47!

Now don't say I'm not good to you. I'm sharing a video with you today, which was recommended to us students as part of our Teacher Training. It shows a US Maths class from 1947. Demonstrated are the wrong way, followed by the right way to get the best from a class. Basically, how not to deal with misbehaviour! The whole thing's totally staged and fairly cheesy, which makes it so worth the watching. What's really strange though, is how the problems teachers face today, haven't really changed that much in all this time.

I am a little concerned by the lack of belting that occurs in this video. When I was in secondary in the 80's I got belted, and my father has told me some terrible stories about kids getting belted around the head and stuff back in the late 50's. Obviously the belt was banned here in the UK in the late 80's, but I have no idea how it featured in education Stateside. Perhaps someone would like to supply that information?

Ther message of the video is, that pupil misbehaviour stems from teacher inadequacy, or teacher failings. If you tell the pupils how bad they are, and how they're all going to fail, the likelihood is that they will be bad, and they will fail. The teacher told them so, therefore that's how they see it panning out. The teacher has that power, I know. My kids have had teachers in Primary School who in my opinion often demonstrated poor grammar, spelling and lack of basic knowledge, and yet ask my kids about the teacher at the time, and they think their teacher knows everything there is to know, the font of all knowledge. That's the perception they have, the teacher is omnipotent, power for good or evil, success or failure, in the palm of their hands!

Classic Ghost Photos!

Never let it be said that I don't spoil you occasionally. Just for your pleasure, here are a selection of classic ghost photos. These are the ones that leave the experts stumped, owing to either the circumstances in which the photos were taken, or simply because of the integrity of the photographers. In most cases, the photographers were not aware of any presence and were merely taking photos of something tangible. Under scrutiny, both their stories and the photographs themselves were verified and proved legitimate.

Lord Combermere
This photograph of the Combermere Abbey library was taken in 1891 by Sybell Corbet. The figure of a man can faintly be seen sitting in the chair to the left. His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly discernable. It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.

The Brown Lady
This portrait of "The Brown Lady" ghost is arguably the most famous and well-regarded ghost photograph ever taken. The ghost is thought to be that of Lady Dorothy Townshend, wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount of Raynham, residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England in the early 1700s.

Tulip Staircase Ghost
Rev. Ralph Hardy, a retired clergyman from White Rock, British Columbia, took this now-famous photograph in 1966. He intended merely to photograph the elegant spiral staircase (known as the "Tulip Staircase") in the Queen's House section of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Upon development, however, the photo revealed a shrouded figure climbing the stairs, seeming to hold the railing with both hands.

Hampton Court Henry
On December 19, 2003 closed-circuit security cameras at the Hampton Court Palace in London captured what appears to be a ghostly monk. Security guards had seen the figure in closed-circuit television footage after checking it to see who kept leaving open one of the palace’s fire doors. The area around the man is somewhat blurred, and his face appears unnaturally white compared with his outstretched hand. The spokesperson for Hampton Court Palace stated, “We genuinely don’t know who it is or what it is.”

The Ghost in the Burning Building
On November 19, 1995, Wem Town Hall in Shropshire, England burned to the ground. Many spectators gathered to watch the old building, built in 1905, as it was being consumed by the flames. Tony O'Rahilly, a local resident, was one of those onlookers and took photos of the spectacle with a 200mm telephoto lens from across the street. One of those photos shows what looks like a small, partially transparent girl standing in the doorway. Neither O'Rahilly nor any of the other onlookers or firefighters recalled seeing the girl there. According to the story, the apparition may be the spirit of Jane Churm who died in another fire in the town hall in 1677.

Freddy Jackson
This intriguing photo, taken in 1919, was first published in 1975 by Sir Victor Goddard, a retired R.A.F. officer. The photo is a group portrait of Goddard's squadron, which had served in World War I aboard the HMS Daedalus. (Click the photo at left to see the entire photograph.) An extra ghostly face appears in the photo. Behind the airman positioned on the top row, fourth from the left, can clearly be seen the face of another man. It is said to be the face of Freddy Jackson, an air mechanic who had been accidentally killed by an airplane propeller two days earlier. His funeral had taken place on the day this photograph was snapped. Members of the squadron easily recognized the face as Jackson's. It has been suggested that Jackson, unaware of his death, decided to show up for the group photo.

Your Kids Dream Holiday?

I'm going to have a rant again today. What about this time... ? Well take a look at the horrendous castle in the picture and have a guess. Yes, it's Disney, but I haven't got anything particularly bad to say about Disney. What gets to me, are these people who make out that unless you've taken your kids to Disneyland Florida, then you must be a failure as a parent. As if it's a lifetime achievement to spend 2 weeks queuing in intense heat to get on to rides, with the occasional Mickey Mouse strolling past, while you throw cash around like there's no tomorrow.

"Oh, but it's worth it...", they say "to see the joy on their little faces!" Really, well my kids have no interest in Disney any more, and haven't had for a really long time, and the US in general cetainly doesn't rank as my top holiday destination. The kids agree. They'd far rather holiday here in Europe than go to the US. Yet, these parents have the idea in their heads, that their kids really want to go to Disneyland, and the kids agree, because they know that the parents really want them to want to go. It's laughable really, but I've seen it so many times. It shows a real lack of imagination really. They're very similar to those people who holiday in Majorca, Ibiza, Benidorm or such like, every year. It's a big wide world out there, try something different.

I tell you what, if I had the money, I'd be off to Mexico, Australia, Japan, Iceland, Peru.... places where you can have a rich cultural experience. That's the idea of a holiday, not re-visiting your childhood vicariously through your children who are already more mature than you are anyway. I read the other day that Brits spend £6k a year on average keeping up with the Joneses, and I fully believe that. I know people very well who have to have the best of everything, their children have to be the best at everything, and it's important to them that you know when they bought something first. They are completely moronic! Truly self-obssessed, to the point of making me wanting to shake them violently and tell them to get a life. Do you know people like these? I'll bet you do!

The Eye Of the Beholder!

You saw something didn't you? You told people what you think you saw, and they ridiculed you? They made you wonder if you really saw it at all, if you imagined it, or it was a trick of the light, your mind playing games with you. No, what you saw was real, it doesn't matter if anyone believes you, you know the truth. There are just some things which most people would have difficulty accepting, because they're clinging on to grim reality for all it's worth, and the vaguest notion that there are things out there, beyond the safety net, that's too much for them to take.

Then there's the notion that if you for just a second appear to hold water with any "outlandish" ideas, then you'll be branded a freak of some sort, an outsider. Well, that's just too much for most people. We'll do anything to keep up the pretence of seeming normality. So, have you seen something extraordinary? Something unbelieveable, for which you were ridiculed? I'd like to think that most people have. I've recounted some of my experiences in this blog. Find them youreslves, I'm not going to make it easy for you. And, yes I have been ridiculed, but my convictions are strong. I know what I've seen, and believe me when I say that "seeing is believeing!" Certain experiences can change the way you think about, if not life, then certainly the great beyond.

I must say though, that modern life makes it difficult to experience the sort of event I'm talking about. You need to get out into the wilderness, or the countryside, preferably at night or in the dark. City living makes it diffcult to give little regard to anything beyond what's around the next corner and you're never going to have a deeop and meaningful experience in a busy street, that's for sure. We have lost touch with nature. We've embraced technology and it's a cold embrace. Our intuition has failed us, our bond with the earth has been severed. Will we ever be able to restore that which was lost?

The Tomb of Osiris!

Call me barking, if you like, but I have a deep-rooted suspicion that someday soon, a discovery is going to be made which will cause the whole of humanity to stop and re-think not only the course of human history, but our very place in the Universe. What could such a discovery consist of you ponder? Well, there are indeed many fabled wonders, which believe in their existence or not, you can be rest assured that there are those out there seriously seeking them.

The sort of thing which might fall into this category would be, for intance, the tomb of Osiris, or perhaps the Hall of Records, the Cavern of the Ancients, call it what you will, or alien visitation in prehistoric times. Anyone with an open-mind can accept the possibility of any sort of dicovery taking place. The real question is, would the public ever know if it such a discovery was made? That's debatable, but let's consider the possibility for a moment, that someone, somehow discovered the tomb of Osiris, complete with 12 foot tall skeleton, after all "There were giants in those days!" The Egyptian King Lists tell us that Osiris existed, so why not? If Schliemann or Evans hadn't taken supposed mythology at face value, then perhaps Troy and Knossos would never have been discovered.

We live in a sceptical age, when sagas and legends from the past are dismissed as fantasy out of hand. However, the evidence has always tended to suggest that the opposite is true. Supposed myths when regarded in all seriousness, can probably be proven if the requisite evidence has survived the course of time. You can't disprove a myth, neither through lack of evidence or by reasoning alone. Reason tells us that giant men or aliens, with long lost powers and abilities, couldnt possibly have held sway over the Earth in ancient times, but that doesn't mean that they didn't. Anything's plausible and logic would suggest that at least one myth which is currently regarded as impossible, must be based on real events! Which one will it be?

My Sinister Left-Brain!

Today at Uni, we were looking at different ways of thinking, and of course by different ways of thinking, also, different ways in which people think! The image above might indicate where I'm going with this. Nio disrespect to women, au contraire, I think they're lovely, but the way in which their brains' operate is virtually alien to man! They're totally right-brainers, OK some men are also right-brainers (they claim), but I'm not convinced that there's an even spread.

What separates left-brainers from right-brainers? Well left-brainers are logical and rational. Right-brainers are random and irrational. See what I mean? This is the reason why (if you're a man) that you will find it impossible to win an argument with your other half. You are applying logic, they are applying insanely irrational randomness. They don't win the argument, they just render your logically constructed points completely irrelevant, through tangential absurdness. In effect, you feel like you've lost the argument, but don't know how, while they feel like they've won the argument, and don't care how.

Obviously, thinking is not as clear cut as left or right brain and indeed many people are partly both. Right-brainers are creative, that is there forte, and they therefore supply a product (art, music, writing) which is useful to left-brainers. And, it's sometimes also useful to be reminded of how not to behave!

The Solution Is Obvious!

What's wrong with this answer? Is it the student's fault if the person who wrote the question wasn't half as clever as the person answering it. As they say; "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer!" My intuition however, suggests to me that the person who gave such a witty answer, was probably slapped down for it, as there's often no place for humour in education. I personally would have allocated full marks for this answer, and used the experience as a lesson to myself for correctly wording questions in future!

I think it's a shameful indictment of modern society, but more particularly in the UK I suspect, that while saying we'd like to see more open thinking and discussion, on the one hand, when it comes to putting those ideas into practice, we get all disapproving and snooty about it!

Fortunately, in this short period I've had so far, of teacher training, has demonstrated to me that there is a significant sea-shift away from the traditional emphasis on assessment and formal teaching, towards promoting greater understanding and a concentration on more narrow topic areas. Government initiatives such as AiFL (Assessment Is For Learning) and cFE (Curriculum For Excellence) are probably going to result in the end of the Standard Grade format which is currently the norm. Many schools have already gone over to teaching subjects at Intermediate 1 and 2 instead. The winds of change, they're gonna blow!

Read Before You Look!

So, the kids are sitting watching "The Lord Of the Rings - The Two Towers" again and they still really enjoy it! I'm glad they do, because it's a fantastic story, which I'm afraid to say is far more enjoyable in the reading rather than on film. The problem is, having read the book at the age of 12, it was clear to me that any film version would never be able to do justice to Tolkien's writing. The second component is the imagination, and as a 12 year old, my imagination was indeed vivid. I lived this book, in my head.

Now, I know that my children, even if they were to read the book, would never draw the same enjoyment form it that I did, because not only do they now know the main themes of the story, but they already have mental images of the events described, and so won't be able to imagine them for themselves. It's a shame really, but at least they show me that they have the same good taste as myself, in embracing "The Lord Of the Rings" just as fully as they have now rejected that Harry Potter nonsense. The comparisons are ridiculous really, but they do happen, and it's clear to me that the popularity of Harry Potter says a lot about the present generation of children. What's astounding though is how many older people I've met who have expressed a liking for it (mainly women in retrospect). I wonder why that is? Perhaps because, it's written by a woman!

Anyhow, I think it should be compulsory that in order to be permitted to see a film based on a book, you should have to have read the book before-hand. Such a move would increase literacy skills and allow people to be imaginative again, instead of sitting in front of the telly vegetating. Get your brain mechanisms working again, reading does stimulate the mind, just get a book and read it, even if it's awful at least you'll have the mental capacity to realise that!

Who Does He Think He Is?

He's Sir Matthew Pinset (four times olympic gold medallist), that's who! I've decided to do a second post of the day, because this is what I was going to write about in the first place, but got side-tracked by political news. Well, last night was the final episode in this series of "Who Do You Think You Are?" Unfortunate, as besides "Top Gear", it's one of the few things that the BBC can be congratulated for. I've got to admit, where British TV used to be pretty good, we're rapidly losing out to US telly. For instance I've recently caught a few US shows in passing such as "Entourage" with Matt Dillon in it, and "Californication" starring David Duchovny. Both seem excellent!

Back to Sir Matthew Pinsent and his family tree. I was quite jealous, because he found (a researcher found actually) what genealogists allegedly call a "Gateway Ancestor". The individual in question was General Sir George Anson, who we were told acquitted himself rather well in the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. Turns out that Sir George was descended from the Howards, one of the leading noble families in England during the Middle Ages. They also provided a wife for Henry VIII to have beheaded.

A visit to some peerage place later, and it becomes clear that the Howard line was descended from Edward I, who was descended from William the Conqueror. He was then shown a tree going back to Jesus, Adam & Eve and finally God. You see now that's the kind of thing I want for my own family tree, I just need one of those Gateway Ancestors, and I'll be sorted. I know I'm descended from nobility, I just can't join the dots, so to speak. For instance, on my mother's side of the family I have Beaton's (or Bethune's) from Skye. It's commonly known that they were descended from an Earl of Fife, but no written genealogy. My wife's family claim a link to the Dukes of Gordon, and circumstantial evidence indicates a likelihood of this, but conclusive proof is elusive. Nevermind, someday I'll make a breakthrough too!

No Change From This Lot!

I've quite a few things to get off my chest today, mainly political I'm afraid, but all hugely significant I can assure you. Firstly, let's talk about the man above. Yesterday he claimed that a nuclear Iran would pose the potential for World War 3. Hmm, really! Well, we all know that a nuclear Iran is some years away, but a nuclear US is here and now, and hasn't Bush been threatening to nuke Iran? Don't all but one of the present Predential candidates for 2008, advocate such an attack? I'll answer for you, yes they do!

What's more, Putin says he'll be very upset by any attack on Iran, as he knows the US only has eyes on the Caspian Sea oil there. Of course he's right! When asked by a reporter about Putin's step-down from President to Prime Minister in order to keep hold of power, being a constitutional violation, Bush's reply was "I was planning something similar myself!" Nothing new there, I said so many moons ago. The legal framework is in place. All that's needed is an major Iranian-backed terrorist attack, elections will be cancelled and that's a toe-hold on the Presidency for life that Dick Cheney and his lackies have had their eyes on all along. Take heed, I'll be happy if I'm wrong!

Back to this country, and yes as predicted, Gordon Brown has provisionally signed the new EU treaty (to be formally ratified in December), which is proven to be 96% the same as the old EU constitution, which he promised us a referendum on, but then lied in saying wasn't the same and that he had our "red lines" covered anyway. All lies, he's a liar, it is the EU constitution, we never got our referendum and the "red lines" will be gone in 5 years. I know they'll be gone, becuase the Germans say so! The real question is; "What's in it for us?" Nothing whatsoever! So, what's in it for Gordon? we might wonder. Maybe he has his eyes on that EU Presidency that was once Blair's pipe-dream. He has no chance though, that's guaranteed to go to a Frank or a German.

Last but not least, seeing we've mentioned Blair, new evidence released concerning MOD scientist, UN weapons inspector and government whistle-blower Dr.Kelly, pretty much proves that he was indeed murdered as we had all concluded anyway. The knife with which he apparently slit his wrists had no fingerprints on it. Independent doctors also claim that the wounds would not have been fatal anyway. Take into account the lack of blood found with his body, and it becomes pretty plain that Dr.Kelly was murdered (by lethal injection?) elsewhere and deposited afterwards at Harrowdown Hill! You thought that poilitics was sordid and murky in the past. Well, it's worse than ever now. We really can't trust the people who hold the reigns of power!

Hanging In the Balance!

Where's the paper and scissors? I totally stumbled across this, this morning... and I want to know more about it. Apparently, someone somewhere has instigated this new art-form, known as rock-balancing! Just look at that picture above, isn't it amazing? Reminds me totally of "Myst Exile", I wonder if either the rock balancer or the photographer had that in mind? Anyhow, I will find out more about this and report back to you on the subject at a later date. It definitely merits further investigation.

OK, change of plan, and I've left the above to demonstrate just how fickle I can be. Wikipedia tells me that rock-balancing has been around far longer than I had presumed, and that there are three types of rock-balancing:

• Pure Balance - each rock in near-point balance (See Above)
  
• Balanced Stacking - rocks lain flat upon each other to great height
  

• Free Style - mixture of the two above; may include arches, etc.

It is suggested that there might be spiritual connotations involved, presumably traits from Buddhism, particularly as a great deal of patience is required in order to achieve perfection. Harmony with nature is another Buddhist element that one might associate with rock-balancing. I note however that some people get paid for doing it, and while artists need to make money, as soon as money becomes the principle motivation for doing so, the art is sure to suffer. I therefore cannot condone payment of any sort for rock-balancing. Long live the unpaid free-style rock-balancers!

Some Books, Some Clothes!

Yes, today we took a trip into Aberdeen, under the guise of stocking up on some early Christmas presents. My son and I headed off to the Bon Accord shopping centre for a nose around, so that on our return to Union Street, my wife and daughter would have done most of what was required. You know my clothes shopping hate, so I did this in order to survive!

I came back with two books; The War Of Wars by Robert Harvey (described as: the definitive one volume account of the Napoleonic Wars) and The Lords Of the Isles by Ronald Williams (describes the kingdoms and conquests of the Scottish Western Isles). My son was looking for PS2 games, but there seems to be a famine as far as those go. I wonder why, could it be that they're pushing the PS3 real hard at the moment?

Anyhow, surprise surprise, when we returned to Union Street after about an hour, my wife and daughter had acquired a blouse and a pair of boots. I'm convinced that they'd much prefer to spend the whole day just looking, they're good at looking and acquiring nothing. So I'm in a clothes shop 15 minutes and I have a pair of jeans, a pair of trousers, 3 shirts and 2 ties. That's how to shop! So, there were no early Christmas presents after all, only the ones I bought for myself.

The Tree Of Life!

I may have mentioned this before, but I do have a bit of the amateur genalogist in me! I started researching my family tree around 1990, and not long after probably started researching my wife's side of the family as well. Back then though, it was straight-forward. A visit to New Register House in Edinburgh, then back up to the North-East, trawling through Census records and Parish records (combined with the IGI) on microfilm. Some scanning through old newspapers, the odd local reference book, and of course scouring cemeteries for headstones.

I haven't done that type of research for several years now though, because the Internet changed all of that. At least, my discovery of the Internet. Four of five years ago, I took the liberty of uploading my family tree to several genealogy sites such as Ancestry.com, Genes Reunited (when they got going) etc. Since then, I haven't had to do any research, the information has come to me. Let me explain further:

• People anywhere in the World, can log-on to any of those sites and enter a name, possibly just a surname.
• They find a match.
• They look for the E-Mail address of the person who uploaded that name.
• They E-Mail me saying that they are descended from the individual in question.
• I respond with a sort of, I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
• Information is exchanged, and I add that new information to my tree.

At this point, I should re-upload my tree to show the new names on there, but this is something I haven't done for a year or two, but still I add and add new names to my tree. At this point in time, I'm just shy of 11,000 individuals dead or alive. Mostly dead I'm afraid. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep adding people. You'd think there'd be a ceiling of some sort, where the names just dry up, but not neccessarily. You'd be surprised how many descendants one person can have, for instance, take the wife's Gt Grandfather, Alexander Maver b.1855. My family tree software enables me to see that he has (or had) 254 direct descendants, and those are only the ones I know about. There might be more. I really should re-upload my tree, I think I'll do it now!

Top Gear Rules the Waves!

If you are a resident of the UK then you will be familiar with "Top Gear"! If you're not then it's a bloody shame, because Top Gear is absolutely immense. It is a motor show, but, anyone will tell you that I have no interest in cars whatsoever. And yet, my kids and I (and I suspect the wife even) enjoy Top Gear no end, because it's so funny. They're prepared to be outrageous, they take enormous risks and clearly enjoy driving and cars in general, particularly fast ones.

On Top Gear last night, the team: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, each built an amphibious vehicle (part car, part boat), which they then had to drive from London to Dover. Once at Dover, they recieved the next part of their challenge, to sail their ridiculous amphibious vehicles 28 miles across the English Channel to Calais. The idea was just plain stupid. There was no way any of their vehicles could possibly make it. At least that's what we thought.

Thei first attempt was a trial run within the harbour, which went quite well, but the second attempt was fairly disastrous. As they left the calmer waters of the harbour, James May's boat sank, Richard Hammond's rudder jammed and he started going around in circles in the harbour entrance as the gigantic Sea-cat came steaming towards him. The timely intervention of the coastguard saved the day. Attempt 3 saw James May join Richard Hammond as cabin-boy. This time the sea was much calmer, so they made a good start. Several miles out to sea however, Hammond's boat began taking on water and then capsized. The three hosts then all ended up together on Jeremy Clarkson's boat, which was a converted pickup truck.

They were going great, but then came the shipping lanes. The English Channel is quite probably the busiest shipping lane in the World, and these nutcases were weaving in and out between tankers, ferries and cargo ships in a floating pick-up truck with an outboard. It was completely insane. They are crazy. Then they started to take on water, but as they drew closer to France the water calmed and unbelievably they made it. They landed somewhere near Sangatte, off target, but considering they had no maps or guidance systems of any sort, pretty good I would say. Rivetting viewing that's for sure. Here's a preview to give you some idea if you missed it or couldn't watch it. Check out some of the videos on the Top Gear website though, and you'll see what I mean!

Sovereignty Surrender Imminent!

Don't say I didn't warn you! Many moons ago, in this very blog, I highlighted the inherent dangers of the revived EU Constitution, in the form of the new EU Treaty, due to be signed this week. At that time Tony Blair was still Prime Minister and refused to give the public a referendum, despite being elected on the back of just such a promise. Now, we have Gordon Brown, similarly refusing a referendum, claiming that the treaty is hugely different to the old constitution and that he has opt-outs on key areas anyway. Well, only this week a team of Labour MP's, returned the verdict of their investigation into the treaty documentation. Result, "Dear Gordon, this document is exactly the same as the old treaty!"

Well, of course, Gordon knew that anyhow. He was only stalling for time, and now it's too late. Only last week I read that Brown had only 10 days left in which he could allow a referendum, which is obviously too short a time anyway. As for Gordon's opt-outs, this morning I read that a German Eurocrat warns Brown that he has 5 days to surrender those opt-outs and sign the treaty. Oh dear, Gordon what have you done! Apparently (in a thinly veiled threat) he also said that other EU countries (principally Germany and France here I suspect) copuld not allow one country to destroy the hard work that had gone into this treaty when 25 other countries were in agreement.

Makes you wonder who won the war doesn't it? "What war?", you might ask if you're a German Euro-MP, because yes, they want to forget all about that don't they? They want school textbooks to totally play down the Second World War, portraying it as a European Civil War, as though we were a united Europe before that. Basically they want to brainwash kids into a sense of European as opposed to national identity. Why don't they just burn the old history books in the street like they did the last time? You may think I'm Euro-sceptic, not so, I like parts of Europe, other parts I have no desire to ever visit. My main beef is centralisation. It's going to benefit certain countries more than others and inevitably the result will be a desire for de-centralisation and consequently another European Civil War.

Templar Trial Minutes Published!

Big news today for anyone holding an interest in the history of the Knights Templar. It seems that trial documents pertaining to the trials of the Knights Templar are to be published by the Vatican Secret Archives, having been allegedly discovered in 2001. Discovered, as it is purported that the documents had been misplaced somewhere among the vast archives of potentially explosive documents that the Vatican would rather were not made available for public consumption.

Quite why they've made this material available is a bit of a mystery, although apparently, it in some respects exhonerates the then Pope Clement V of his part in the sordid affair, demonstrating his opposition to King Phillip the Fair of France. King Phillip is largely regarded as the main instigator of the dissolution and elimination of the order. He owed them vast sums and was intensely jealous of their power and influence. What the documents probably won't address, and what will likely never be known, is what hold Phillip had over Pope Clement that enabled him to pressurise the Vatican into doing his bidding.

Don't think however, that you'll get your hands on a copy of these documents anytime soon. With a price tag of 5,900 Euros and as part of a limited edition set of 599 copies, the chances are that the lay historian (ie. the guys who get real results) will never get a hold of it. Anyway, the Vatican does as it pleases, so who's to know if this is all they have, partial, or far from complete. Working to their own agenda, odds are that they only released those documents which they see as being in some way likely to cast the Catholic faith in a good light. But we all know what atrocities they have committed or permitted to be committed in their name, in the distant and not so distant past. Their are some stains which will never wash away no matter how much time passes!

Dustin Hoffman Impersonator!

I am a graduate! I have graduated! It's over, or is it? I was asked only yesterday if I would graduate again this year from the PGDE, and I said no quite firmly, but even before today's ceremony, I had started to wonder if I was committed to that decision. Only time will tell. I'm afraid to say that I was shamefully present at several photo opportunities and that consequently there may well be several pictures of me in the Northern Scot next week, which is not necessarily a good thing, as I caught a glimpse of one photo and it was fairly horrendous I must admit.

I should also mention that the inventors of the kilt clearly never took driving into consideration. Obviously there weren't any cars around then (whenever then was?), but not only does half the kilt remain outside the vehicle once you've got in it and closed the door, but the sporran won't go under the steering wheel, and I kept catching my hands on it while cornering. Kilt-makers of the future should consider these factors when devising their futuristic kilts.

The actual graduation ceremony went very smoothly, although it was obviously oinly one in a series, as it would have been impossible to accommodate all graduates in one sitting, especially nowadays when it's permissible to graduate at any level of qualification. Personally, I'd rather not have had to sit and watch people receive an SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification) in second-rate cooking skills. Not that any achievement is not worthwhile, but surely they'd have been better organising the graduation ceremony by achievement rather than by subject areas, which is what they did.

On other news, I'm reading in the "Sun" newspaper that the average downloader of Radiohead's new album "In Rainbows" paid £4 for it, and there were over 1 million downloads in the first 24 hours of availability. That didn't even include me, as I had to wait slightly longer (See yesterday's post). If I'm right in thinking here then, they've probably already made more money off this album than they will have from any of their previous label releases, because all profits go directly to the band and the thieving record labels get nothing, yay!

I Still Love Radiohead!

The wait finally ended today, when I received my activation code to download the hotly anticipated new Radiohead album "In Rainbows". I should have had it yesterday, and I can only think that having an IP address from AOL is the reason why I had to wait. I did not enjoy being told by a fellow student with a passing interest in the band that he was listening to it on his Ipod on the way into Uni this morning. I had to leave home early, no time to check my E-mail.

What can I say about this album? From one listen alone so far, I am hugely impressed. Lots of string arrangements going on, courtesy no doubt of Jonny Greenwood's foray into orchestral composition for the BBC over the last couple of years. But, this album goes far beyond strings, it's overflowing with textures and rich layers of musicality, which some reviewers seem to be missing altogether, calling it minimalist. Are they really listening without comparing to Radiohead's previous work? Because while there are nods to songs of old, this is something altogether new. After all, it has been nearly 5 years since Hail to the Thief.

Whether or not this album release revolutionises the music industry, this album should be judged on the music contained therein. I think it's impeccably recorded, produced and sequenced. I much prefer this I think (yes, already) to Hail to the Thief. I think HttT was probably recorded too quickly (the polar opposite to this one, and Kid A and Amnesiac before). As a result, some of the songs on HttT were disappointing compared to the versions which they had played live before recording. I don't think that's the case here, but it should be interesting to see how the enhanced cd which will be released with the boxset, will come out sounding. If it's as good as this first disc, then it'll be a complete success for me!

I Hate Clothes Shopping!

Is that too strong, "I Hate Clothes Shopping!"? Is it hell! I hate it with a vengeance. Look at the clothes rack in the picture. If you're a woman, you'll probably be going "Hmm, look at the lovely colours" etc, but if you're a man of my disposition then you'll surely be thinking, "Look at that tat, looks like a jumble sale!" and feeling slightly queasy!

It's not a new found hatred. It's been around for a long time, but my wife does nothing to combat it, in fact she seems determined to make me suffer, by ensuring that I spend as much time as possible in clothes shops, while I feel my will to live draining away. For instance, today we went to Elgin to collect my son and my own, kilts for the graduation ceremony on Friday. My daughter got a dress last week, but my wife still had "nothing suitable" for the occasion.

So we wnet to Dorothy Perkins, New Look, Internacionale, TK Maxx, Happit, Marks & Spencers and finally Tesco, where she bought an outfit. So she got an outfit, but now I'm dead inside. This outfit will no doubt be worn once and never see the light of day again. You see me now, I only buy clothes on the basis of necessity. If I need an item of clothing or footwear, I will go to a specific shop, locate something passable and purchase it. That is how it's done. How do women shop then? This is how, they imagine an item of clothing in their head, then they drag you around every clothes shop they can find, quite surprised that none of them have the clothes item they require.

As I type this, I'm sitting here waiting for an E-mail confirming my activation code to download the new Radiohead album "In Rainbows", which is to be made available today. I see that they might have just intiated the death of the recording industry. Yesterday they were saying in the news that Trent Reznor has followed suit and parted company with his record label, and today the word is that Oasis and Jamiroquai are mooting similar ideas. As always Radiohead show the path for others to follow!

It Was A Heart Of Glass!

Nothing like a spot of role-playing on a Tuesday afternoon is there? I don't mean Dungeons & Dragons, I was giving my brother a hand putting some glass into an upstairs window, so I donned the role of glazier for a while. My presence was required for 2 o'clock having been assured that all would be ready and I would simply have to help him lift the glass into place and hold it while he got the beading nailed on. Of course, it wasn't ready at all, it quickly became apparent that there was old putty needing chiselled out first, which took a good half hour anyway.

My parents house (where my brother STILL lives) is close to the High Street you see, and so my brother was fitting sound-proof toughend glass into his bedroom windows. Sound-proofed because there are several pubs in the vicinty, and toughened because of the dregs of society which spew out of those pubs at closing time, throwing bottles and cans all over. He's seen and heard it all from his bedroom. People stripping right outside the house, pissing in the middle of the street, guys getting their heads kicked in by gangs, people smashing the windows and trying to kick the front door down. Yes, it's just another friendly North east fishing town.

I was going to mention something good I saw on telly recently, but I can't remember what it was, so perhaps it wasn't so good after all. I guess that's the benchmark for telly goodness, being able to remember what you watched the night before. OK, I've just remembered what it was, so it was quite good, even for Channel 5. It was "Banged Up Abroad". It featured 2 poor English saps who got pushed into being drugs mules. Before they knew it, they were on a flight to Venezuela and spending money that wasn't theirs. Of course it all ended in disaster and they spent 4 years of a 10 year sentence in prison. The prisons in Venezuela are run by the prisoners who have guns, grenades and such like, and people are killed daily. They were allowed out eventually to look for work and promptly fled the country. A harsh lesson though. I'm sure they won't try that again!

I Got A Kick Out Of That!

I was on my way home this evening, when I decided to take a slightly different route to my usual. I thought I'd got through the Trinity Centre and down to the railway station from there, seeing as I had a little time to spare. Well, I'm no sooner in through the doors than I found my way barred by a woman yabbling on about Dead Sea salts and before I knew it my hands were in a silver bowl covered in salt. What was happening? She reeled of a list of virtues possessed by this wonder salt, and how much my wife would appreciate it, wouldn't she? "No!" I replied. It's great for this, great for that, blah blah blah, and something about massaging it on to her feet!

Little did she know that I wasn't listening any more, because the bit about rubbing my wife's feet transported me back to a time when we were just going out. We were sitting watching telly, probably had a few drinks as well I'd imagine, when I took it upon myself to tickle her bare feet. I took hold of her left ankle with one hand and proceeded tickilng her foot with my right hand. That was my first mistake, I'd left one foot free. Second mistake, I wasn't looking at the free foot, my concentration was fixed upon the foot I was tickling. Her right foot proceeded to smack me across the face rather sharply. Apparently she wasn't so keen on the feet tickling, and she didn't hold back in making that clear. No time for words, just action!. I learned my lesson, I've never tried that again since.

Anyhow, I promised to return with the wife next time to see if she'd be interested. Yeah right! No prices were mentioned, but I'd imagine that salt that special comes with a fairly hefty price tag. I don't even put salt on my food to be honest! Anyway, the moral of the story is, "Never take your eye off the free foot, it might kick you in the face!"

James Of the Hill!

I never told you this before, but several years ago, while I was deeply involved in family tree research, I was flicking through some obscure reference book, let's call it "The History of Speyside" for instance, becuase I can't remember the name. The fact was that both myself and my wife had ancestors with the Grant surname, from the Inveravon area of Speyside, practically on the doorstep of Castle Grant. However, like many Scottish clans, their origins probably lay more in Normandy than the Highlands.

Anyway, I happened upon several historical reports from the area covering probably from about 1610 through to 1650, concerning an individual called James Grant of Carron aka "James of the Hill". The hill in question being Ben Rinnes, for James Grant was an outlaw and Ben Rinnes was his home turf. I collected up a few of these stories and decided to find out a bit more about the individual, simply out of curiosity. I was glad I did, because the man's life tells a fantastic tale. It started of with a family feud going back generations between the Grants of Ballindalloch and the Grants of Carron , some sort of dispute over border marches. Both families were minor nobility being off-shoots of the main Grant pedigree and therefore held close ties with the Chief of Clan Grant. (I suspect without checking that the photo above is of their mutual ancestor.)

James Grant subsequently murdered a relative of Ballindalloch, who had allegedly attacked his brother, and he was outlawed thereafter. He took to the hills and fell in with other unsavoury characters, until he had a veritable gang of villains at his disposal. They did whatever it took to survive, robbing, plundering, reiving and providing hired service to anyone who needed a bunch of rogues. James was finally caught by members of Clan Chattan after a hot pursuit in which he received about 15 arrow wounds. He was clearly a sturdy fellow, having already seen off a posse of MacGregor rogues sent by Ballindalloch. The rest of his gang were hung at Edinburgh, but he was imprisoned in the castle as a witness in the case of the murder of a son of The Gordon Earl of Huntly (one of those men to whom Grant had leant his services occasionally). As the trial progressed slowly, somehow Grant had rope smuggled into him in barrels of butter, eventually procuring enough to escape down the wall of the castle and cliff below. A never before or after repeated feat of daring.

He then returned to his home country, renewing his ties with the Gordons and bumping off the odd person who got in his way, before joining the Gordon cause to help defend Aberdeen against Montrose and his covenanting army at the Brig O'Dee. After this service to the crown and becoming a bit of a bounty hunter, he was finally pardoned of all crimes commited by himself, but of his fate there is no record. Presumably he died a peaceful death, which seemed so unlikely for most of his life.

I've only really given you a brief overview of the accounts of James Grant in this post, because I'd have to pull out all of my old notes which I haven't seen for years, in order to recant some more of his derring-do tales. Suffice to say that there's enough to make a book, and I'd like to think that I might be able to so that some day, if there's ever any rest for the wicked!

There Is No Conspiracy!

It has been suggested to me in the past that I'm something of a conspracy theorist, but I've always defended myself by claiming that there's no such thing as a conspiracy! The fact that a goverment, a religion, a business or any assortment of inviduals or agencies, set out with an agenda to deceive or to fool the public at large, is not in question. It happens all the time, and probably has done since time immemorial. Almost certainly Emperors and Pharaohs et al, indulged themeselves in some whole-scale deceit. After all, isn't conspiracy just spin-doctoring cranked up several notches?

The worst of it is, that I have several firm beliefs, based entirely on the volume of data I've viewed supporting those beliefs, that I can't publicly air, certainly not in such an open forum as this. I'm no crack-pot either, I know my stuff. The trouble with the public at large is, that they tend to believe what they're told, because like Jack Nicholson said, "You can't handle the truth!" Never was a truer word said. The really surprising thing I find though, is the willingness of even hugely intelligent people to buy into stories which are frankly laughable. Their outright submission to the word of authority is pathetic really, although perhaps not necessarily surprising given the scale of some deceits. It's unconceivable to many that their own government would subject them to atrocity, but take a look at Zimbabwe or Burma, that's the model for conformity.

I'm not a cynic if that's what you're thinking. Let's just say I'm a good bullshit-ometer. I'm a paradox really, because I also believe in things that others might deem ridiculous, for the same reasons as I don't concur with several widely held opinions. Look at the evidence, weight it up and make a rational decision one way or the other. You can then judge further evidence in light of that conclusion, readjusting your thinking if necessary. That's what rationalisation is about, and I'm a very rational person. Based on that rationality, I can hereby inform you that the World is going to hell in a handcart!

How To Spot A Fake Scotsman!

Question - How do you spot a fake Scotsman, when he has a Scottish forename, a Scottish surname, and he feels such a great affinity with Scotland, to such an extent, that he's prepared to sing The Flower Of Scotland at the Scotland V's Estonia football match? Easy, it's impersonator and comic Alistair McGowan on "Who Do You Think You Are?", last night! I love this programme, not simply bacuase I'm an amateur genealogist myself, but because it's simply amazing how little poeple know about their own ancestry. Family secrets, lies and myths abound, I should know, I've covered a few of my own family's in this very blog.

So, the outcome of the programme, for those who might not have been able to see it, or have no idea who Alistair McGowan is, goes as follows:

Alistair McGowan is a well known impersonator on UK television, famous for impersonating David Beckham and such likes. "Who Do You Think You Are?" helps celebrities trace their family roots often with many surprises and shocks, not unlike this episode. McGowan was always under the impression that he was of Scots descent, although his mother was English and his father was born in India (to English parents, he claimed). McGowan, on his father's death in 2003 discovered upon his father's birth certificate, the words "Caste: Anglo-English". This sowed seeds of doubt in McGowan concerning a possible Indian heritage.

McGowan embarks on a journey of discovery to find out the truth. It turns out that he has Indian blood and what's more, when he reaches Allahabad, the place is literally crawling with McGowans. The family had been in India since at least 1760 and his ancestors had inter-married regularly with local women. The final upshot of his research came with the crushing blow that the earliest McGowan in India, John McGowan, had in fact came from Ireland. There was a sense of inevitability about it really. The BBC claimed that that was the end of the journey, no Scots ancestry at all.

I however remain unconvinced, because unlike the BBC, I know a little bit of history. While it's possible that the McGowan's were indeed distinctly Irish, there's as much possibility that they were originally from Scotland. The Plantation of Ulster, saw hordes of Scottish Protestant families transplanted from Scotland to Northern Ireland in the early 1600's. It's quite possible that the McGowans were among these settlers. Certainly, areas of Dumfries, Ayrshire and Lanark, where many of the Scots were brought to Ulster from, were home to McGowans. Perhaps the BBC could at least have given Alistair McGowan a small straw to grasp in his quest for Scots ancestry. It's not over yet! There are no dead ends in family history research, just obstacles which need to be overcome!

The Bytes Of Time!

I've decided that I really fancy one of these Binary watches, if for no other reason than to be able to show it to someone asking me the time. I'm sure their bewilderment would be priceless. Even so, I think I'd prefer one without the place values, unlike the one above has. That's sort of giving the game away a bit, isn't it?

Maybe, I'm just being a bit computer geekish wanting one of these, but since I'm intending becoming an IT teacher, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to possess one. It could even be used as an additional resource when explaining the concepts of binary to the pupils. I had considered the concept of a Hex watch, (I've checked they don't exist), but to be honest, by the time I worked out what the time was from a Hex watch, it would already be too late to do whatever it was I was going to do.

Oh, by the way, if you're reading this and you don't know what binary is, then check out this page and become even more confused! Honestly though, it's not rocket science, it's computer science, and even though rockets use computers and therefore binary (thus proving I lied), binary is still an easy concept to grasp. You think binary is bad, check out hexidecimal! Oh, and I'll state categorically here and now, while we're on the subject, that I don't believe for a second that the Americans ever landed on the Moon. Ah... conspiracy theory you say. Maybe so! Well this is 2007 and they can barely make it into space, so it doesn't take a genius to work out that Armstrong and Aldrin probably only made it as far as Hollywood. I really believe that the whole thing was just a massive propaganda coup for the Americans at the height of the Cold War!

You may diagree with that. If you do, feel free to say so, but you better be able to prove it. There isn't anything you can say that I won't be able to refute though, so be warned! Logic does not come into it.

I Drank the Dirty Water!

Major drama this morning. I have some medication (none of your concern what it's for, let's just say it's not infectious anyhow), and it says on the label, "Drink plenty water with this!". So, that's what I was doing, but I noticed that the water tasted slightly odd. When I looked into the glass, I could see that it was somewhat murky. I tried refilling it, but it was still the same. I flushed the capsule down with apple juice instead, but my stomach was already churning at the thought of the foul water which I had already ingested.

Anyhow, I phoned up Scottish Water, and surprisingly got an answer instantly, which threw me a bit for a start. I told the operator the problem and where I lived, and she said it was probably just air in the system from some maintenance nearby, creating tiny bubbles. So she checked the database and sure enough there had been mains water pipe repair in the area today. So, that was that, apparently I wouldn't suffer any ill effects.

Well, the water became clear shortly later and I'm still alive, but I do have a sensitive stomach, so I'm not entirely convinced that my insides are happy right now. Fingers crossed I'll be OK, I've read too much about crypto-sporidium and the like to be relaxed about what happened, but I think you can see the bacteria in the water if that's present, and my water was just dull. Like this post I guess!

Crossing the Great Divide!

Nice, not sure what you call it, on Channel 4 last night. Historical re-enactment mixed with documentary and a touch of detective work going on, about the building of the Great Wall of China. Probably up there with the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge in terms of grand designs. It was quite fascinating actually, the Ming dynasty commissioned the wall because they were so paranoid about the possibility of invasion from the North. It didn't stop internal strife though!

The wall was actually a victim of its own success. Because it succeeded in keeping the barbaric hordes at bay, the aristocracy in court began to wonder if it was ever needed anyway. It was hugely expensive to build, and what was built was only just over one-third of the intended structure. Unfortunately, the General responsible for the building work and the senior courtesan who secured the funding for it, became largely despised as a result and were removed from office (and probably executed).

The Ming dynasty ended a few years later, with the last Emperor hanging himself, as almost simultaneously, a Manchu/Mongol alliance invaded from the North. Owing to rebellion and internal strife, these invaders were permitted if not welcomed through several gates in the wall. The wall had failed! No it hadn't... only now has the wall fulfilled its true potential, as a tourist goldmine. Whatsmore, huge sections of the wall are being re-built, although I'm not certain if that's to attract even more tourists, or if the Mongols still pose a credible threat at this juncture! I like the word "juncture"!

Ordering In Rainbows!

After years of waiting nothing came, until now... it's finally here, almost. The new Radiohead album, for which we have had to wait what has seemed like an interminable time, and they've only gone and made it available on some website-type thingy! I've gone all soft in the head and ordered their £40 discbox special boxed-set thing as seen above, but then again I have been known to be slightly obssessive about them.

Hail to the Thief was out when? I think it was 1st June 2003. That was ages ago! We already have a rough idea what some of the songs ought to sound like, after they toured with them last year, and there's only one reason why they might have changed since then, and that of course is Mr.Yorke. He is known to be a bit of a perfectionist, for instance, I think it was "Knives Out" they recorded n^3 times, only for him to decide the first recording they did was his favourite.

You have no idea how absolutely delighted I am. The download version will be available to me in 10 days time, then I'm going to get a wonderful package of goodies from them at the start of December. I'll just say it's my Christmas present to myself. Oh no, the wife enquired about the cost just now... she doesn't seem to see £40 as the bargain I do!