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Showing posts from July, 2010

Poem

Roadside apple tree sheds its fruit in front of cars vegetarian roadkill It would be a proper haiku if I used the word "vegetable" in the last line, but I think "vegetarian" is better.

Terry Pratchett

When I told someone I liked Terry Pratchett they said that they didn't like funny stories. That made me think. Although his books are sprinkled with humour, they aren't silly. He writes about a very well thought through and consistent universe, which happens to be a bit like ours and also a bit different. He writes about deep things, and has great plots. Yes, they are funny, but to call them funny is missing the point a bit. Here's my review of his book Wintersmith . This is supposed to be a children's book. I suppose his non children's books are supposed to be for adults. However I see no reason why discerning readers of all ages wouldn't love any of this books. This one is about a teenager, which is probably why it's classified as a children's book. As always, I am amazed by his inventiveness and treatment of deep things. In this case it is about witches and how the seasons work and what happens when the two get tangled up. It has its funny moments, bu...

Mercury Awards

So the nominations are out. I am pleased to see I Am Kloot in there. I first heard them on the Radio 2 evening show a few weeks ago. Northern Lights sounded like an old song from the 60s, but also quite fresh. I didn't remember the name of the band, but a mention of the fact that they were something to do with Elbow, maybe produced by Guy Garvey helped me track them down later. I never bother trying to track stuff down, so it must have been good. Another comment to make is on the resurgence of folk. It puzzled me a few years ago when Joss Stone became famous singing blues I wondered if it was the music, or the artist that made her successful, as blues doesn't often feature in the charts. I wonder the same thing with Mumford and Sons.