The Kleptones are making videos to go with their latest album, Uptime/Downtime (download it here), and here are their first few efforts …

Voodoo Sabotage (The Kleptones Mash-Up) from DJ Tripp on Vimeo.

But, in my opinion, this one is much better …

Welcome Back by The Kleptones (Instamatic video mash) from The Videotones on Vimeo.

Beer from Coal (1959):

Taken from ‘Mining Review 12th Year No.10′, this lovely story shows how coal, rather spuriously, contributes to the brewing of beer, featuring some gorgeous shots inside the Charrington Brewery in the Mile End Road. Posted by the BFI.

Original Illustration by Sidney Paget

At Christmas, my father gave me a volume of Sherlock Holmes stories and they are ideal for bedtime reading!  Not only are they great little stories, but they were all written to be read in short segments.  So, I would recommend that if you are looking for some nighttime literature that you turn to Watson’s recollections of his adventures with Mr. Holmes.

This is the first time that Burns Night has passed since 2004 that I have not had at least one haggis!  Burns Night is one of my favorite holidays from my time in the UK and I will miss it this year.  But, I will definitely have to have a dram or two of whisky later to celebrate!

(The image above is a Wordle of Burns’ Ode to a Haggis, complete with original spellings.)

The BBC has a great new program that I have been watching on iPlayer called Around the World in 80 Days.  It is part of their charity appeal for Children in Need and is a very interesting program.  Based on Phineas Fogs fictional adventure, this program has six pairs of celebrities racing around the world for charity (there is only one rule: No Flying).  While you may say, “what another travel program” or “another reality TV show”, it is not that simple.  This is real travel!  They miss trains, get turned away at borders, have car trouble, and everything else that happens when you travel.  But, that is not why I am writing this post … it is because in the last episode (which I have not actually watched but needed to post about this before the auction ends), John Barrowman (of Captain Jack fame) gets a pair of custom cowboy boots from Rocketbuster boots.

Read more »

What could be more traditional than a handmade baseball or football?

These balls, while being artisanal products, are made for play, according the maker.  I would love to have a couple of these balls in my bag for when I want to play catch or have a special game of toss.  Of the balls that are currently on for sale, I like the blue & white baseball but for some reason, this football makes me sick!  But, except for that one football of the wrong color^, the rest are amazing creations!

The baseballs are particularly interesting because they are based on one of the earliest types of balls used to play baseball, the “lemon peel ball” – many of which were originally a dark color … sometimes even red, like a cricket ball.  Read more »

Jelly Roll Morton claimed to have invented jazz in 1902 … highly unlikely, but it does not diminish his musical skill or achievements! Born and raised in New Orleans, he started work as a piano player in a brothel in his teens. Because of his early position in the history of jazz, his piano style cannot be easily categorized, as is evident by this track – a pure boogie woogie.

The track, called Boogie Woogie Blues, can be downloaded from the Internet Archive.

Enjoy!

One of the guys from Kleptones was up on the plinth in Trafalgar square and the mix produced during is online (it totals a little over 48 minutes) … you can find it here.

It is not the most polished piece of work, but it is still a very solid piece of music from the ever-reliable Kleptones!

Additionally, they have a new album coming out soon called “Uptime/Downtime” and I imagine that once it comes out, I will add it to my collection since all of their previous work has been of such a high quality.

Behind the scenes with Leno:

I have to say that it was great to see Leno on Top Gear because he is one of the world’s greatest motorheads and, as I have written before, his garage is simply amazing.  To the amazement of the British audience, Jeremy Clarkson read out a portion of Leno’s collection … Read more »

Depp as The Mad Hatter

A new film version of Alice in Wonderland is coming out on 5 March 2010 directed by Tim Burton and featuring a load of well-known names including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, and Timothy Spall.

Combining the talents of Tim Burton with that level of acting talent and the movie should be another new classic (in the vein of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).  The visuals look incredibly interesting … check out the official site for them.  It is going to be a 3D film and is part live-action/part animation … and from some of the images, such as the one of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), it will be well-used to create ‘impossible’ visuals.

This is definitely going on my to see list for next year!