Arts
The Conques Tympanum Decoded
Introduction Back in the 1990s while returning from a jaunt into Cathar Country in our VW camper, quite by chance we made an overnight stop in the ancient village of Conques in the Aveyron region [more…]
Culture
Arts
The Swaling, Part Fifteen
After breakfast, myself and Tammy addressed the world beyond the comfort of the Royal Maroc Hotel. We were rewarded by being mobbed, pulled at and tugged. They wanted to take us to shops, the Casbah, [more…]
Arts
Film Review: Twelve Monkeys
Twelve Monkeys (1995) is Terry Gilliam’s love child. Perhaps one of the industry’s most awkward talents, Gilliam has directed some of the most unique and compelling films of the last twenty years. He may be [more…]
Arts
Hopefully, the Last of Identity Politics in Gaming
Spoiler alert! I’ll be adding plenty so make sure you read each and every one so you never have to play this turd of a game! First off, my apologies for the lateness of this [more…]
America
Where the Surf Meets the Turf
In their 1963 hit single, the Beach Boys sang that if everybody had an ocean (across the USA) then they’d all be surfing, like in Cal-if-orn-i-a. In the first line of the chorus, they went [more…]
Arts
Family Holiday Torture
Following on from Novak and Goode’s excellent postcard from Vilnius, I thought I’d share some photos of our trip there in October last year. I’ve been before as my mate married a Lithuanian girl and [more…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part Fourteen
Rather than being in a nun’s hostel, or a train compartment (with the Spanish army sleeping in the luggage racks), we’re on a balcony at the Royal Maroc hotel in Tangiers, thanks to Tammy and [more…]
America
Why is Portland Like Portland?
If Chicago is “The Windy City”, New York, “The Big Apple”, New Orleans, “The Big Easy” and Reno, Nevada, “The Biggest Little City in the World”, then Portland, Oregon, is “A Big Retirement Home for [more…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part Thirteen
Sitting on the dockside at Algeciras, myself and Tammy dangle our dirty feet over the Eastern Mediterranean, next to a giant but idle Transmediterranea roll-on roll-off ferry. The ship’s company are enjoying their late afternoon [more…]