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If you’ve always been a lurker, and you have a Desire to post, Nighthawks gives you an opportunity to delurk, posting on pb is the Sweetest Thing, you’ll find today will become a Beautiful Day if you delurk tonight, hopefully at least One lurker will delurk tonight.

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isam

FPT

Jo Brand's Women's Institute version of Reservoir Dogs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRb5BjWaKZ4

AlastairMeeks

You can take Pride in that thread header, TSE.

Plato

Right - that's it, Inception has been zapped with 45 mins to go, I started skipping through the scenes that looked like From Russia With Love and the ones with his kids and it struck me that I didn't give a toss about any of the characters or the plot or how it ended.

Hmm. An old favourite is required - True Lies sounds like the perfect antidote. That's a cracking movie and has the magic dust.

Mick_Pork

Michael Wolff ‏@MichaelWolffNYC 8h

Tony Blair has denied an affair with Wendi Murdoch, so open discussion officially begins.

Retweeted 63 times

Financier

FPT

Realisation Finally Strikes after 14 Years in Power

"Wales must be much more focused in future about how it spends European money than it has been in the past, Economy Minister Edwina Hart says.

She wants the private sector involved and says Wales must not have "pet projects with hundreds of partners".

Wales has been given £3.5bn since 2000 in so-called structural funding from the European Union.

The money is given to nations whose productivity is less than 75% of the average across the European Union.

Wales is expected to be eligible for the money again and Ms Hart says it must be spent on projects that will deliver results for the welsh economy.

In an interview with BBC Wales, she said Wales needs to sell itself as a "small, clever nation" to boost its economy.

And she said the Welsh government cannot be averse to taking risk if it wants to attract more inward investment and innovation.

Ms Hart says a review is under way to devise models to fund new businesses and also raises the issue of whether community groups could run green energy companies to give the nation energy security and generate profit
locally."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-22904210

This is a pious hope that will not be realised by Welsh Labour. I have watched them fritter away this money on useless bureaucracy and administration instead of spending it on infrastructure that Wales so badly needs.

There have been administrators monitoring the advisers who have been enabling the enablers who have been promoting awareness of projects controlled by project managers to help communities to self help which has resulted in diversity advisers and equality managers promoting and achieving - just nothing, except all enjoying good salaries, benefits and expenses - to achieve just nothing except a lost opportunity to improve the infrastructure be it transport or IT which is greatly required to enable Wales to compete globally.

The amateurs at Cardiff Bay will waste these new tranches of EU money in the same manner and Wales will slip further behind the world in jobs, education and health.

Richard_Tyndall

Mick_Pork said:

Michael Wolff ‏@MichaelWolffNYC 8h

Tony Blair has denied an affair with Wendi Murdoch, so open discussion officially begins.

Retweeted 63 times

Is this, I wonder, the remarkable sex scandal that RCS100 (or was it TSE?) said they had heard the other day?

Mick_Pork

Richard_Tyndall said:

Mick_Pork said:

Michael Wolff ‏@MichaelWolffNYC 8h

Tony Blair has denied an affair with Wendi Murdoch, so open discussion officially begins.

Retweeted 63 times

Is this, I wonder, the remarkable sex scandal that RCS100 (or was it TSE?) said they had heard the other day?

You think there's only one? Oh but there is more, much more to come.

Carola

Most of the Mail fp embargoed until half ten (???)

EDit: not the Blair denial - that's on there.

Edit edit: honours?

Richard_Tyndall

Mick_Pork said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

Mick_Pork said:

Michael Wolff ‏@MichaelWolffNYC 8h

Tony Blair has denied an affair with Wendi Murdoch, so open discussion officially begins.

Retweeted 63 times

Is this, I wonder, the remarkable sex scandal that RCS100 (or was it TSE?) said they had heard the other day?

You think there's only one? Oh but there is more, much more to come.



Damn and I am all out of popcorn :-)

RobD

Richard_Tyndall said:

Mick_Pork said:

Michael Wolff ‏@MichaelWolffNYC 8h

Tony Blair has denied an affair with Wendi Murdoch, so open discussion officially begins.

Retweeted 63 times

Is this, I wonder, the remarkable sex scandal that RCS100 (or was it TSE?) said they had heard the other day?

I'm still awaiting further press info on the one which left Cameron shocked (unless this is it?!)

AveryLP

@Carola

"honours"

A Garter Knight exchanged for a garter night?

JosiasJessop

FPT @SeantT

Long term, TV will also die, or at least as we know it. It will just be one of many streams of infotainment streamed into the home by various mechanisms. News will still be broadcast, but others shows - especially drama - will become much more interactive. The idea that 'TV' is special will disappear; it will merge in with all the other channels, including newspapers.

I'm talking the far future here; say fifty years time. But the latest games consoles give you a good idea of the way things will head. Back in 1994 I went to a virtual reality conference in Hammersmith where there was some - for then - amazing VR tech on display, based on massively expensive computers.

I bet there's more power in my mobile now, especially in terms of graphics processing, and Google Glass makes the VR headsets back then seem like medieval armour. But it is not just processing: immersivity takes things to a higher level, and it is all being worked on now. The Wii was just a start; Microsoft has improved it with Kinect and now Kinect Two.

Interactivity may involve the viewer altering the plot of a series as it goes on; does the hero have the affair, or does he go home with his wife? Behind the scenes there will be a factory of caged writers coping with the latest threads demanded by the viewers.

Telepresence will also take over in a big way. Imagine watching the Wire and being behind McNulty on a stakeout. Imagine feeling the breeze, or hearing the echo of a shot going off around you.

This may seem like a dream, and it is. But if you had told me back in 1994 that we would be where we are now, I'd have thought that a dream.

Exciting times.

Sunil_Prasannan

Plato said:

Right - that's it, Inception has been zapped with 45 mins to go, I started skipping through the scenes that looked like From Russia With Love and the ones with his kids and it struck me that I didn't give a toss about any of the characters or the plot or how it ended.

Looks like in a minority among PBers in that I love Inception! Oh well, I have to conclude I'm in "limbo" and this world is not real after all

Mick_Pork

JosiasJessop said:

. The Wii was just a start; Microsoft has improved it with Kinect and now Kinect Two.

No it hasn't.;) To be fair it's good enough for what Microsoft really want for it which is to be a alternative interface to a controller so that absolutely anyone can use their hardware to access the multiplicity of media features in the same way they are pushing glass and touch as hard as they can for windows and mobile devices.

Gameswise it's still pretty much a dead end though it will be an improvement on their first iteration and the publishers have at least signed up to try again for Kinect 2.

You want immersion then the Oculus Rift looks poised to take off in a far bigger way than even it's developers had hoped.

I suspect if the two are linked through the hardware then that could be quite something.

Sunil_Prasannan

Financier said:

FPT

Realisation Finally Strikes after 14 Years in Power

"Wales must be much more focused in future about how it spends European money than it has been in the past, Economy Minister Edwina Hart says.

She wants the private sector involved and says Wales must not have "pet projects with hundreds of partners".

Wales has been given £3.5bn since 2000 in so-called structural funding from the European Union.

The money is given to nations whose productivity is less than 75% of the average across the European Union.

Wales is expected to be eligible for the money again and Ms Hart says it must be spent on projects that will deliver results for the welsh economy.

In an interview with BBC Wales, she said Wales needs to sell itself as a "small, clever nation" to boost its economy.

And she said the Welsh government cannot be averse to taking risk if it wants to attract more inward investment and innovation.

Ms Hart says a review is under way to devise models to fund new businesses and also raises the issue of whether community groups could run green energy companies to give the nation energy security and generate profit
locally."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-22904210

This is a pious hope that will not be realised by Welsh Labour. I have watched them fritter away this money on useless bureaucracy and administration instead of spending it on infrastructure that Wales so badly needs.

There have been administrators monitoring the advisers who have been enabling the enablers who have been promoting awareness of projects controlled by project managers to help communities to self help which has resulted in diversity advisers and equality managers promoting and achieving - just nothing, except all enjoying good salaries, benefits and expenses - to achieve just nothing except a lost opportunity to improve the infrastructure be it transport or IT which is greatly required to enable Wales to compete globally.

The amateurs at Cardiff Bay will waste these new tranches of EU money in the same manner and Wales will slip further behind the world in jobs, education and health.

What is the point in the UK govt. giving money to the EU (remember a total of 18 billion per annum gross!) to give to Wales, when Wales is part of the UK??

Carola

As it's Nighthawks and some posters have a liking for cheesy tracks - 'Get Lucky' through the decades:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r3BOZ6QQtU

Mick_Pork

LOL

Luke Lewis ‏@lukelewis 1m

That embargoed Daily Mail front page revealed pic.twitter.com/uuI8dS773H

Sunil_Prasannan

antifrank said:

You can take Pride in that thread header, TSE.

So Cruel, antifrank!
No seriously, Depeche Mode covered "So Cruel" in 2011 on a charity U2 covers album.

OldKingCole

Mick_Pork said:

LOL

Luke Lewis ‏@lukelewis 1m

That embargoed Daily Mail front page revealed pic.twitter.com/uuI8dS773H

But twitter says :"Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!
Thanks for noticing—we're going to fix it up and have things back to normal soon."

Mick_Pork

OldKingCole said:

Mick_Pork said:

LOL

Luke Lewis ‏@lukelewis 1m

That embargoed Daily Mail front page revealed pic.twitter.com/uuI8dS773H

But twitter says :"Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!
Thanks for noticing—we're going to fix it up and have things back to normal soon."


Yeah, it didn't last long sadly. It was basically a gag front page using what had already been revealed and putting in some text of their own.

JosiasJessop

Mick_Pork said:

JosiasJessop said:

. The Wii was just a start; Microsoft has improved it with Kinect and now Kinect Two.

No it hasn't.;) To be fair it's good enough for what Microsoft really want for it which is to be a alternative interface to a controller so that absolutely anyone can use their hardware to access the multiplicity of media features in the same way they are pushing glass and touch as hard as they can for windows and mobile devices.

Gameswise it's still pretty much a dead end though it will be an improvement on their first iteration and the publishers have at least signed up to try again for Kinect 2.

You want immersion then the Oculus Rift looks poised to take off in a far bigger way than even it's developers had hoped.

I suspect if the two are linked through the hardware then that could be quite something.

I said improved; it's an evolution. The Wii idea's a dead end, but it showed us the way forward for interactivity. Kinect took that interactivity up a step, but will also probably be a dead end.

I utterly agree about Oculus Rift (*). But that in itself will be a stepping stone. Who knows where it'll go, but there are people working on it right now, not a million miles away from where I;m typing. ;-)

MS mucked up the XBox 360 with its rather erratic hardware; it looks as though it's mucking up the latest iteration with brain-dead restrictions.

I'm not a console type, but I'd buy Sony over MS every time. I once had to work on the hideous pile of crud that was Windows CE source code - it made you WinCE. Worse, we had to work on MSTV on top of WinCE.

(reaches for a bottle of whisky to obliterate the horror)

(*): for those who do not know: http://www.oculusvr.com/

eek

JosiasJessop said:

FPT @SeantT

Long term, TV will also die, or at least as we know it.

Not quite long term most TV channels will die. What will be left is Sport and Event Television (which sadly means X factor, BGT) anything which is live and attracts large audiences.

Whether its watched on TV is a different question. Personally in the same way that Cinema survives so will TV because while many people will individually watch something on a laptop screen or tablet people will continue to watch things in a group on a single large screen.

The fact they will be using a second screen (laptop, tablet, phone) to discuss the program rather than out loud with the people watching it in the same room is neither here nor there as that is rapidly becoming the case in the US.

Mick_Pork

JosiasJessop said:

I'm not a console type, but I'd buy Sony over MS every time.

I suspect that will be case for most when they go on sale. The 360 had 'variable' quality control to say the least but Sony had a bit of that with the PS2 to be fair. I would have thought both consoles would be pretty much rock solid this time round and they are both based on PC architecture so that does help.

I would question the idea that TV is dead though as we are basically talking about a screen which can easily incorporate many of the media features the new consoles are touting. Smart TV's do much of that already and Sony are covering their bases by manufacturing both.

Though it will certainly change as you said.

Sunil_Prasannan

@Plato and all PB cat-lovers:

I've joined the Cat Video club!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxdJP92LiCo&

RobD

Hereis the front page - https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/345654411533615104/photo/1

JosiasJessop

eek said:

JosiasJessop said:

FPT @SeantT

Long term, TV will also die, or at least as we know it.

Not quite long term most TV channels will die. What will be left is Sport and Event Television (which sadly means X factor, BGT) anything which is live and attracts large audiences.

Whether its watched on TV is a different question. Personally in the same way that Cinema survives so will TV because while many people will individually watch something on a laptop screen or tablet people will continue to watch things in a group on a single large screen.

The fact they will be using a second screen (laptop, tablet, phone) to discuss the program rather than out loud with the people watching it in the same room is neither here nor there as that is rapidly becoming the case in the US.

Have more imagination. Through my glistening crystal ball, I can see something several step levels beyond what you are saying. You can be watching the program; turn your head and you'll see all your friends there and interact with them. Then you'll decide to alter the show, and it will bend according to your will. Or if you can't be bothered, you can just watch the pre-planned or, brilliantly, watch the decisions others make.

Oh, and actors won't act. It'll all be computer generated based on the digitised representations of actors.

And to really blow your mind, just imagine what this will do for teledildonics ...

asjohnstone

Is TV going to die? Probably in it's current form. The advertisement driven "channel" seems an anachronistic format. If you were starting with a clean slate today and looking for the best method to deliver content, you wouldn't pick it.

With fibre you can have on demand micro purchased / subscription based deals to purchase directly from producer.

It's already starting to disintermediate already with companies like Netflix. Tv channels are the local newspaper shop in the age of web based news.

Mick_Pork

RobD said:

Hereis the front page - https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/345654411533615104/photo/1

Naughty, naughty, Mr Dacre.

Splash headline with that photo?

I fear Rupert will not take kindly to that. This could get remarkably ugly. How very sad.

fitalass

"I've joined the Cat Video club!"

@Sunil_Prasannan Welcome aboard Sunil, those kittens were just so cute!!

How do you get the youtube footage to appear in your blog post here?

fitalass

Blair looks like he has been tangoed he is so orange in that Daily Mail Front Page.

Mick_Pork

BBC News trying so very hard not to talk about the Blair story.

I should have watched to see how Sky were covering the Mail, that might have been even more amusing.

Carola

fitalass said:

Blair looks like he has been tangoed he is so orange in that Daily Mail Front Page.

He's doing that shoulder-slung jacket Partridge in Paris strolling pastel pose.

Carola

Honours list/info:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-queens-birthday-honours-2013

JohnLilburne

Mick_Pork said:

Naughty, naughty, Mr Dacre.

It would have been even more amusing had they decided to give Blair a knighthood.

Sunil_Prasannan

fitalass said:

"I've joined the Cat Video club!"

@Sunil_Prasannan Welcome aboard Sunil, those kittens were just so cute!!

How do you get the youtube footage to appear in your blog post here?

Glad you liked it! Just cut and paste the link to youtube and the blog does the rest!

hunchman

I thought I'd share the following article:

http://www.acting-man.com/?p=24146

Note well "a decline of house prices by 60 percent from the peak to date" and the bottom 2 pictures in the article, which say more than a 1,000 words could say about the capital misallocation that has gone in Spain - a truly staggering mess. "Edward Hugh calls the current situation in Spain a 'geyser waiting to blow'" - I wholeheartedly agree with that! All that's left is for the geyser to commence.

Andy_JS

Arise Sir Baldrick:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807

Gilbert_Pinfold

JJ: Have more imagination. Through my glistening crystal ball, I can see something several step levels beyond what you are saying. You can be watching the program; turn your head and you'll see all your friends there and interact with them. Then you'll decide to alter the show, and it will bend according to your will. Or if you can't be bothered, you can just watch the pre-planned or, brilliantly, watch the decisions others make.":

Or read a good book.

Mick_Pork

JohnLilburne said:

Mick_Pork said:

Naughty, naughty, Mr Dacre.

It would have been even more amusing had they decided to give Blair a knighthood.

A mere knighthood for the exalted one? Pshaw. Dan Hodges will be leading the charge for an entirely new and more heady title to be brought in that could possibly be fit for Blair. Sir or Lord just aren't good enough.

Tim_B

or those watching the golf, the Colsaerts / Johnson /Watson group has been put on the clock, as a result of which all 3 are visibly flustered.

They were the first group off the first tee of the afternoon flight.

The official making the ruling? Our old friend John Paramor of the European Tour. He's the one who docked the young Chinese golfer a stroke at The Masters.

He allegedly has something of a reputation for making odd clock rulings.

Andy_JS

Proof that handouts don't work:

http://money.uk.msn.com/trending-blog/michael-carroll-gets-a-job-in-a-biscuit-factory

Mick_Pork

Great news for the tea party tories. Their intellectual idol is back.

Together Again: Sarah Palin and Fox News

Sarah Palin is again joining forces with Fox News.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate will return to the network as a contributor five months after she left. She will appear on Fox News's daytime and primetime programming, a network spokesman said, and will contribute to the Fox Business Network. She is scheduled to begin her new job with an appearance on "Fox and Friends" Monday.

[READ: No, Sarah Palin Is Not Running for Senate - at Least Not Now]

"The power of Fox News is unparalleled," Palin said in a news release. "The role of Fox News in the important debates in our world is indispensable."

Added Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes: "I have great confidence in her and am pleased that she will once again add her commentary to our programming. I hope she continues to speak her mind."

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/Ken-Walshs-Washington/2013/06/14/together-again-sarah-palin-and-fox-news

;^ )

Sunil_Prasannan

Andy_JS said:

Arise Sir Baldrick:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807

Baldrick, who gave you permission to get a Knighthood?
Oh God, it's a dream, isn't it? It's a bloody dream! [sound of harps is heard] Dr. Johnson
doesn't want us to burn his Dictionary at all!

fitalass

Carola said:

fitalass said:

Blair looks like he has been tangoed he is so orange in that Daily Mail Front Page.

He's doing that shoulder-slung jacket Partridge in Paris strolling pastel pose.

@Carola, That Daily Mail photo has Blair smiling like Larry Hagman as JR Ewing.

hunchman

Max on good form as always Sunil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrOtZcnO9B8

Mick_Pork

Carola said:

fitalass said:

Blair looks like he has been tangoed he is so orange in that Daily Mail Front Page.

He's doing that shoulder-slung jacket Partridge in Paris strolling pastel pose.

He just needs the Terry Thomas tache.

What fun they must have had choosing the picture for that story.

Sunil_Prasannan

hunchman said:

Max on good form as always Sunil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrOtZcnO9B8

Thanks hunchman, Keiser's always funny in his own way!

Andy_JS

Two interesting films on TV at the moment: The Breakfast Club and Inland Empire.

hunchman

Sunil - just listening to the 2nd half, Max Keiser's guest is a hoot!

Mick_Pork

Good grief. It's even better than I thought.

Worthy of a private eye lookalike.

https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/345654411533615104/photo/1

http://images.zap2it.com/celebs/v3/AllPhotos/67798/67798_v3_ba/terry-thomas.jpg

It just needs a photoshop mockup with both side by side and "Bounder" "Pretty straight sort of a guy" under each photo.

fitalass

Carola said:

As it's Nighthawks and some posters have a liking for cheesy tracks - 'Get Lucky' through the decades:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r3BOZ6QQtU

Daft Punk really are cheesy Disco revisited, but they seem to be all the rage. When it comes to catchy tunes, I love the current No1, Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell Oddly enough, the video is an even bigger hit with my lads for some reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU

JamesKelly

I think we all need a seagull video to cheer us up -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxzFSmlrCKg

Any thoughts on the political betting implications?

TwistedFireStopper

Mick_Pork said:

Good grief. It's even better than I thought.

Worthy of a private eye lookalike.

https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/345654411533615104/photo/1

http://images.zap2it.com/celebs/v3/AllPhotos/67798/67798_v3_ba/terry-thomas.jpg

It just needs a photoshop mockup with both side by side and "Bounder" "Pretty straight sort of a guy" under each photo.

Was it Terry Thomas who had the catch phrase "Ding Dong"?

I guess Tony Thomas would say "Ding Deng"!

Edited to add, I think that I've got Thomas mixed up with Leslie Phillips, maybe.

Andy_JS

80s fashionista Robert Elms was in Venice last December:

http://robertelms.co.uk/blog/2012/12/venice/

david_herdson

I see the Queen's Birthday honours are out. Sir Baldrick? Well, I wouldn't have seen that coming.

Sunil_Prasannan

Andy_JS said:

Two interesting films on TV at the moment: The Breakfast Club and Inland Empire.

Breakfast Club? *puts BBC2 on*

Tim_B

Andy_JS said:

Arise Sir Baldrick:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807

Shouldn't that be Arise Sir Sodoff, as he determined that must be his first name, as everyone called out "Sod off Baldrick"?

AndreaParma_82

Birthday Honours List...some politicians spotted so far...

Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour

Ming Campbell

Knighthoods

Ed Leigh
Andrew Stunell
Stephen Houghton (Barnsley Council Leader)
Geoffry Driver (Lancashire County Council former Leader)
Gary Porter (Leader South Holland Council)

CBE

David McLetchie MSP
Kirstyn Williams AM

OBE

Ann Black (of Labour NEC)
Diane Clarke (Field Director of North East Conservatives)
Anne Dames (Parish Cllr somewhere in Leicestershire)
Thomas Hargreaves (St Helens Cllr)
Alan Mabbutt (Head of Local Government, Conservative Campaign Headquarters)
Gloria Marsh (Purbeck Cllr)
Alison McInness MSP
Linda Kirk (regional chairman of Conservatives somewhere)
Carol Linforth (Director of Events at the Labour Party)
David Loxton (LibDem party worker for many years in various roles)
Carolyn Rampton (LD Lords Chief Whip's Head of Office)
Felicity Rea (Camden Cllr)
Ian Reilly (West Midlands Labour Regional Director)
Evelyne Robinson (Ballymoney Cllr)
Margharet Stanhope (Leichfield Cllr)
Lesley Taylor (Conservatives Abroad)
Winfried Howell (Torfaen Cllr)
Stephen Farmer (St Edmundsbury Cllr)
Dermot Poston (Greenwich Cllr)
Dorothy Farrington (Rossendale Cllr)
David Browne (Belfast Cllr)
Steve Reed MP

david_herdson

JohnLilburne said:

Mick_Pork said:

Naughty, naughty, Mr Dacre.

It would have been even more amusing had they decided to give Blair a knighthood.

Blair will of course receive the customary ex-PM's KG in due course, if Cherie will let him take it. Or then again, he could have the earldom that's also traditionally been on offer.

JamesKelly

Kirsty Williams? Isn't it a bit unusual to give an honour to a serving party leader?

fitalass

Twitter
Jack McConnell ‏@LordMcConnell 21m
Also delighted for David McLetchie MSP. Most political honours go to yes men, but he was always his own man, an honourable & tough opponent

fitalass

Daily Mail - 'My first selfie with mom!' Beaming Chelsea Clinton is the spitting image of Hillary in spontaneous photograph

"The former secretary of state, who joined Twitter for the first time on Tuesday, formally announced the Clinton Global Initiative, which will be renamed to include both herself and daughter Chelsea, making it the official family business

While she will focus on early childhood development, expanding opportunities for women and girls, and improving economic development around the world, Chelsea's main priority is helping young women find role models in male-dominated fields.

And Chelsea has made it clear that the potential 2016 White House hopeful will have her full support"

Hilary preparing for the Democratic nomination, or is this the first stepping stone for Chelsea Clinton's launch into politics, or both? Politics looks like its become the Clinton family business.

Andy_JS

"I am gradually, but remorselessly, being pushed out of the marital bedroom. The presence of six cats, four of them so small as to be easily squashed by a clumsy male foot, is only the start of it. My wife seems to have had her laptop computer grafted on to the end of her fingertips, so it is always with her and always switched on, which makes it hard for me to sleep, or gain her uninterrupted attention, or any sort of attention at all. It is her real partner in life now, and that is a fact I have to face."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/08/separate-beds-key-good-sleep

fitalass

@AndreaPalmer_82 What has happened to Alan Duncan these days, he is absolutely invisible in the media which is a shame as he was one of their most savvy and smooth media operators. The Conservatives really need to start pooling a good rebuttal team strong minded and more independent MP's with him leading the charge, and with a junior ranks team that includes the likes of Anna Soubry. The Conservatives, following on from Labour's lead when they were in government are now putting up a strong range of female MP's on BBC Question Time. But we need to start seeing some of the 2010 lads starting to make an appearance too, that is, if they are up for it.

Andy_JS

@fitalass

Yes it is a bit strange about Alan Duncan.

The last time I remember him in the news was when he famously opined that David Davis's speech before the 2005 leadership election was useless and Cameron's was fantastic.

Andy_JS

TV has been dying ever since 15 to 1 was replaced by Deal or No Deal...

Sunil_Prasannan

Breakfast Club "theme" by Simple Minds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A

Andy_JS

Promised You A Miracle is probably my favourite Simple Minds track. It has that mysterious early 80s atmosphere which their later work lacked.

fitalass

@Sunil_Prasannan Got that movie in my growing 80's collection of DVD's. Saw Simple Minds live many years ago, they were superb. Only regret never catching a bit of diverse group including UB40, Stone Roses, Cure, Simply Red and Fine Young Cannibals live from the 80's/90's. Dire Straits were the most sterile of concerts, almost too perfect. And biggest disappointment was seeing David Bowie in his Tin Machine period, I am a huge fan of Bowie and his amazing back catalogue. But on that occasion, my friends and I left our hubby's to slug out that concert while we went off for a hot dog and a beer.

fitalass

Andy_JS said:

@fitalass

Yes it is a bit strange about Alan Duncan.

The last time I remember him in the news was when he famously opined that David Davis's speech before the 2005 leadership election was useless and Cameron's was fantastic.

Andy, he used to be a regular feature on programmes such as BBC QuestionTime, and he was a very able performer. He got a Glasgow audience to clap and laugh with him rather than at him a few years back. No mean feat for a Westminster Tory politician.

fitalass

Andy_JS said:

Promised You A Miracle is probably my favourite Simple Minds track. It has that mysterious early 80s atmosphere which their later work lacked.

Glittering Prize is probable my favourite track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucw0twciNGk

foxinsoxuk

fitalass said:

@AndreaPalmer_82 What has happened to Alan Duncan these days, he is absolutely invisible in the media which is a shame as he was one of their most savvy and smooth media operators. The Conservatives really need to start pooling a good rebuttal team strong minded and more independent MP's with him leading the charge, and with a junior ranks team that includes the likes of Anna Soubry. The Conservatives, following on from Labour's lead when they were in government are now putting up a strong range of female MP's on BBC Question Time. But we need to start seeing some of the 2010 lads starting to make an appearance too, that is, if they are up for it.

Alan Duncan is as invisible locally in Leics as he is nationally. A has been would be a polite name for him.

fitalass

foxinsoxuk said:

fitalass said:

@AndreaPalmer_82 What has happened to Alan Duncan these days, he is absolutely invisible in the media which is a shame as he was one of their most savvy and smooth media operators. The Conservatives really need to start pooling a good rebuttal team strong minded and more independent MP's with him leading the charge, and with a junior ranks team that includes the likes of Anna Soubry. The Conservatives, following on from Labour's lead when they were in government are now putting up a strong range of female MP's on BBC Question Time. But we need to start seeing some of the 2010 lads starting to make an appearance too, that is, if they are up for it.

Alan Duncan is as invisible locally in Leics as he is nationally. A has been would be a polite name for him.

Fox, I have just about one of the most invisible MP's at Westminster, he is the Libdem MP Sir Robert Smith. Just imagine my shock when he turned up in dispatches a few days ago on Guido Fawkes blog.....
GuidoFawkes - Interim Energy Ctte Chair Sir Robert Smith is Shell Shareholder

"Guido had not heard of Sir Bob until five minutes ago, but the case for banning committee chairman from having outside interests grows stronger…"

Yep, totally invisible.

MrJones

RobD said:

Hereis the front page - https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/345654411533615104/photo/1

I hope this is an attempt to get Murduck mad enough at Blair to spill all sorts of beans.

MrJones

hunchman said:

I thought I'd share the following article:

http://www.acting-man.com/?p=24146

Note well "a decline of house prices by 60 percent from the peak to date" and the bottom 2 pictures in the article, which say more than a 1,000 words could say about the capital misallocation that has gone in Spain - a truly staggering mess. "Edward Hugh calls the current situation in Spain a 'geyser waiting to blow'" - I wholeheartedly agree with that! All that's left is for the geyser to commence.

The current banking system is no good.

They get to conjure money out of thin air as loans and make a profit from the interest so they have a structural financial incentive to make as many loans as possible. If there's real innovation or resource based investment opportunities then this model speeds up the process of bringing them to fruition but when there aren't those real opportunities the structural incentive to increase loans pours into asset bubbles instead.

It's a total waste of time and money.

JosiasJessop

Gilbert_Pinfold said:

JJ: Have more imagination. Through my glistening crystal ball, I can see something several step levels beyond what you are saying. You can be watching the program; turn your head and you'll see all your friends there and interact with them. Then you'll decide to alter the show, and it will bend according to your will. Or if you can't be bothered, you can just watch the pre-planned or, brilliantly, watch the decisions others make.":

Or read a good book.

In which case, can I recommend "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce, which is a rather pleasant read an surprisingly deep. Avoid "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn: it's a pile of overhyped nonsense without an ending.