Beck Sees the Signs, Why Doesn’t Anyone Else?

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                  And here I was all set to write about another polemic from the Daily Mail on the raunchiness of Rihanna’s latest hit, “S&M (Come On),” and the message it sends to the yo…



Girl Power My Ass (or arse, if you will)

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                When The Spice Girls hit in the mid-90’s, a Girl Power label was attached to their fame, as their prefabricated dross was to be considered the beginning of some movement. “I’ll tell you…



Twats on a Train (Movie Sequel?)

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                  It was just a simple two hour, 30 minute journey from Cardiff Central to London Paddington, but it wouldn’t be a train ride if there weren’t obnoxious assholes on it that made it…



The Senior Rail Card and other signs of age

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                 When I turned 60 in November, I knew there were certain things I could avail myself of in UK that I’m not so sure I could have gotten in the US. I do hope that my reasons for staying h…



Will I Be Coming to a Bankrupt Country?

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                   I

fly out to San Francisco on August 2, the same day as the deadline for the US to have its debt ceiling raised so the government can pay its bills without defaulting. How e…



Another Tale of Two Cities (With a Dickens Connection)

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                 I’m going to keep the names of the venues and towns anonymous, but only because I may work the one I didn’t like again someday. They were consecutive Fridays in Northern Engla…



A most arduous homecoming

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              Whenever I’ve taken that Transatlantic journey, something has always gone awry, but rarely has it been “many things” and never has it been “I’m not sure this ordeal is over yet,” as t…



Shit My Dad Says (that I wish was funny)

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             It’s sort of a downer to go from the excitement of doing fun comedy gigs in the US and getting paid a decent wage, to the other reality of being baby-sitter for a debilitated dad who can …



Bottom 10 of 2010

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          What kept grating at me this whole year was the number of singing voices that I couldn’t imagine anyone enjoying listening to an entire album of. I notice

d this when I was on a train, and someone’s headse…



My Top 10 of 2010

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          And so, with a new year upon us, every music critic has summoned up their list of the best albums and tracks of the past 12 months, and invariably, those lists become “I know more than you, because I get free …