My own cat is almost never this animated.
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No Apologies
Posted on December 8, 2012 by Simon Phipps
“Sorry” is not enough in the days of the tabloids. There’s no way out; they will hound and pursue and compound and imply and demand and decry, treating confession as a spur to further vitriol, apology as a request for lynching and remorse as a spectacle for the baying crowd. Only the wanton and hard-hearted can survive; there’s no path out for those truly human. The threat to the compassionate is immense.
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(Skip to +48s if it dosn’t happen automatically. This amazing track is from Karine Polwart’s album “This Earthly Spell” [UK|US] – Lyrics)
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A Bad Loser
Posted on December 6, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Donald Trump seems to want us to think he’s an asset to Scotland. All the same, his behaviour there leaves many British people cold. His most recent outburst involved an uncontrolled verbal attack on a brand of scotch whisky because an award they sponsored honoured Michael Forbes, the man who refuses to sell his land to Trump to allow expansion of his golf resort. The Top Scot award was decided by public vote, not by the distiller or even the event promoter, so exactly why Trump thinks this is appropriate escapes me.
The golf resort in question is already a source of unhappiness for Scots. Trump bought a wild, beautiful Site of Special Scientific Interest and ruined it to create the original resort, as Karine Polwart beautifully illustrates in her song “Cover Your Eyes”:
[youtube http://youtu.be/ELeZmPDdFPE]If you can’t bring yourself to buy a few bottles of Glenfiddich to express your contempt for this attempted bullying, consider buying Karine’s fantastic album Traces instead (UK|US) – Karine and the album are both shortlisted for the BBC Folk Awards.
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Air New Zealand Goes Hobbit
Posted on October 31, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Living No Longer Easy
Posted on October 28, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Summer Time has ended in Europe. That means no more fish jumpin’, daddy is definitely not rich and it would not be politic to comment on mamma. In addition, meeting times with the USA will be disrupted for the next week until the end of easy livin’ over there as we over here will no longer be rising up singing.
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Follow The Frog
Posted on October 25, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Love this video. Pass it on.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iIkOi3srLo]Filed under: Issues, Zeitgeist | Tagged: Conservation, Video | 1 Comment »
Be Still With Me
Posted on October 20, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Imogen Heap’s new song is probably the best so far on her gradually-emerging new album.
[youtube http://youtu.be/5hdMYt1Np78]Personally I’m ready for some “still” time.
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Eric Whitacre Interview
Posted on October 15, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Apparently the weather is getting cooler…
Posted on September 26, 2012 by Simon Phipps
Welcome to Autumn. I’d sensed a chill in the air, but my cat confirmed it for me…
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Iona Tour – Last Gig
Posted on September 18, 2012 by Simon Phipps
We went to hear the last concert of the Iona tour Sunday night. It was a tremendous evening of music with gorgeous soundscapes enfolding intelligent, thoughtful yet emotionally dynamic lyrics performed perfectly. Iona are still delivering on the rich promise of their music after more than 20 years
Iona remind me of a Turner painting, capturing the experience of awe and grandeur with their sound without wasting energy on simplistic caricature of the ideas involved. Band founder Dave Bainbridge admitted to being a prog-rock fan when challenged by an audience member mid-set, and indeed Iona’s musical style has always verged on prog-rock without quite reaching that extreme, cutting things short enough to reach the bliss without hitting the boredom.
I chatted with Dave last night and asked him about his decision to make the band’s best-of album available as a free download. He told me that the goal is to build the mailing list and fan-base. I’m always delighted to find a band that takes responsibility for its own affairs rather than trying to blame “pirates” (AKA fans you’re not serving properly, in the main) so this seems a worthy goal; go sign up for the list and get their (magnificent) album “Treasures” completely free of charge.
That “taking responsibility” also extends to their new music. The best way to get their new album “Another Realm” is to visit their web site, where there’s a full-function international shop that as well as selling CDs also offers audiophile-quality digital downloads. It’s on Amazon
Filed under: Music | Tagged: Iona | 2 Comments »
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