It Was Two Years Ago Today

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Yes, two years ago today I finally said goodbye to Dagenham, Essex, after spending most of the previous 10 years there. And what did I learn in those ten years? Not much, other than the further proof that suburban life really never appealed to me. Especially if you’re in show business, or intend to stay […]



Another One Gone, Another Namedrop Story

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It was sad to hear the news of the comedienne/actress Anne Meara’s passing yesterday at age 85. She and her husband Jerry Stiller were the quintessential husband-wife comedy team in the 70’s, plus their marriage lasted over 60 years. Not to mention the success in film of their son Ben Stiller, who would have been […]



Yep, met him!

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With the passing of B.B. King yesterday at age 89, it now leaves Chuck Berry as the oldest living R&B legend (I think), as he’ll reach that same age in October this year. And because I actually got to shake BB’s hand and share more than one or two sentences with him when I was […]



No Need To Panic Just Yet

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Yesterday’s election didn’t turn out the way I and 99% of my UK friends would have liked it to go, but I’m not sure we need to despair for the time being. Sure, the idea of a totally Conservative government in charge of my adopted country has me a bit worried about what they’re going […]



Dude Made it to 78, Not to Mention the Three Oscars

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Okay, so it’s Name Drop Time again. But reading about Jack Nicholson’s 78th birthday, then also seeing the disparaging press lining up to take a shot at how his life of excess has taken its toll, I think yeah, he doesn’t look the sex god he might have looked not so long ago, but so […]



Honesty and The C-Word

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I tweeted a few days ago that in the near 15 years since I first came to UK, I’ve been directly called the c-word by only three people. I should clarify for American readers that don’t know, the word can apply to either gender over here. Since it has such a negative connotation anyway, I […]



Easter Remembrances, Good and Bad

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This particular Easter I’m doing little more than jotting this down, perhaps listening to the Chart Show, then going to a nearby pub later tonight to watch a friend DJ. I’ve done little more than that for the past 30 or so Easters. I can’t even imagine how long it’s been since I’ve even been […]



What a week!

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I should have figured there was something up when I got a call last Monday from BT Internet, where the caller, so obviously reading from a script, said more than once, “Brian Seff, this is your lucky day!” He might as well have been a robot. Except he clearly faltered when I interrupted him, then, […]



Threatened by a Celebrity

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I would have opted to save this story another year and a half for the 20th anniversary of the incident, but when I found out yesterday that it was the 18th anniversary of the murder of rapper Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G., né Christopher Wallace (and had he lived longer, no doubt he’d have stockpiled […]



Uh Oh! I Like Madonna!

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Actually, I have for quite some time, but only maybe a handful of her songs. More specifically, there’s “Like A Prayer,” that still brings tears to my eyes 26 years after it was released, then there’s about five other kinda good ones, and there’s a truckload of rubbish. What I like about Madonna was what […]