Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.
As said by Slim, the “prince of the ranch”, in John Steinbeck’s novella masterpiece Of Mice and Men (1937). Set during the Great Depression, it tells of two migrant ranch workers, George and Lennie, who dream of earning enough money to buy their own land. However problems continually arise due to lack of understanding of Lennie’s mental disability and his fiercesome strength.
Nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world.
Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) in the Netflix smash Stranger Things (2016 – ). Set in 1983 and fuelled with 80s nostaliga, it tells of a geeky set of boys in a small town who encounter mysterious forces when looking for their friend, who suddenly goes missing.
I’ve a huge passion for music, as shown by the fact I’ve listed 119 different artists (and counting) on my Music page, as well as numerous others in posts such as Impressive Foreign Language Songs, Mostly Instrumental Songs and Awesome Songs of Seven Minutes Plus. But while those later links have covered artists as varied as Metallica, The Stone Roses, LCD Soundsystem, Aphex Twin, Grandmaster Flash and Moenia, there are still some fantastic singers and groups I’ve not yet managed to include. So here’s a post celebrating those I haven’t yet included, fittingly with an extra song shoved in. How many of them do you recognise? Which was the one you heard most recently?
There are many good reasons for drinking,
One has just entered my head.
If a man doesn’t drink when he’s living,
How in the hell can he drink when he’s dead?
Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone. Ireland is a wonderful country and I hope those who haven’t been get a chance to visit. Celebrating the Emerald Isle, you can find an Ireland film quiz here, a review of the Guiness Storehouse here, a review of Dublin Park and Pheonix Park here and a Gr8at of Kilmainham Gaol here. Not to mention some of the best quotes from Ireland’s finest comedy Father Ted.
Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.
The theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking (1942 – 2018) who sadly passed today. As well as his scentific genius, the legendary Englishman was considered a true inspiration for not allowing his motor neurone disease hold him back. The 76 year old’s wonderful sense of humour was also reflected in his cameos in shows like The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory and Futurama.
I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.
The definitive and oft-quoted line from the anarchistic speech by Howard Beale (Peter Finch) in Network (1976). Set in the fictional UBS network, the film tells how a unstable newsreader’s explosive ramblings are exploited for profits and ratings. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Finch. I was also lucky enough to see a fantastic recent adaptation in the National Theatre with Bryan Cranston in the lead role.
They were such a unique pair to be writing this show. Their view was from the inside out, not from the outside in. They knew the stories and the characters first-hand. I think The Wire really tore the cover off an American city and showed that, for so many people, the American dream was dead.
As said by actor John Doman, who played deputy commissioner William Rawls in the seminal drama The Wire (2002 – 2008). Set in Baltimore, each of the five series focused on a different part of the city, with the gritty show unafraid to show the complex struggles faced by the wide array of characters. You can find two examples of the show’s razor sharp dialogue here and here. You can buy the image shown above here, and read the full The Guardian article where I took the quote from, here.
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I’m getting old, and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you’re gonna let me in
I’m getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin
Taken from the song Somewhere Only We know by East Sussex band Keane, from their debut studio album Hopes and Fears (2004). Originally a UK top 3 hit, it was later covered by Lily Allen, who topped the charts in 2014. I also really recommend Everybody’s Changing, from the band’s same album.
With Storm Emma, aka The Beast from the East, being in full throttle, I just had to show you how much impact it has had in London. These are from Canary Wharf.
Alex Raphael 