Is It Just Me?

Is it just me being a bit over-sensitive or do other people feel a bit left out when they have been a regular reader and commenter of someone elses blog for a considerable length of time and for some reason you just don't seem to make their blogroll. Ever. You watch other readers come and go and yet - they make the blogroll but you don't. Does it actually matter? Is it just an oversight? Or is it personal? Does blogging just bring out the insecure in all of us at some point?

I've been pondering this quite a bit of late as each time I comment on a certain blog I get a pang of feeling unwelcome - but I don't know why. And then I thought - am I just being paranoid? Am I actually ridiculously pathetic and should stop bothering myself with this forthwith! Is there some form of blogrollers etiquette that I should be aware of? Ie: am I not on their blogroll because even though I comment on their blog I don't qualify for the blogroll as they don't read mine. The thing that irks me a little is that they are on my blogroll so you think they would reciprocate?

That reminds me - I must update my blogroll! You see - maybe it's not personal at all - just slack on their part and awfully over-dramatic on mine? Apologies to all my commenters and readers that aren't currently on my blogroll...and for my current state of woedom.

Happy Times Before CCTV

SPG and Sus Laws Make A Potential Comeback

Breaking News on the BBC: The government is considering giving all police officers across the UK "stop and question" powers, the Home Office has confirmed. The proposal, allowing police to ask people about their identity and movement is among measures being considered for a new anti-terror bill. This sounds like a blinged-up version of Thatcher's disgusting SUS laws to me. It's all going to go horribly wrong and IS terribly wrong. We are the most 'watched' nation in the world, now we will be the most 'monitored'. It reminds me of the late 70's/early 80's and the horror of the SPG. I predict a riot! We don't live in a democracy anymore and we shouldn't take it. Our government has managed to 'criminalise' youth and kill most social resources for those that need it. What have we been left with? A load of CCTV camera's and a health and education service on it's knees. Bad. Bad. Bad.

(Photo: My Punk and Disorderly III The Final Solution Vinyl LP Cover)

UPDATE:
I posted a comment about my views on the recommended new stop and question laws on the bbc news blog tonight - apparently I have to wait for it to be 'moderated'. My point entirely!

Laughing Is Good For You

It's amazing he got away with it.

Zappa on Crossfire 1986

Big thank you to Geoff for this brilliant piece on well, censorship in the USA really. Why is Bush still alive and Zappa gone? Zappa wanted to go into politics and I so wish he had lived long enough to realise his plans. Somehow I can't help thinking that the world would be a different place. This rather long piece is well worth watching to the end. Big up to the main mother of invention himself.

For Those Not Watching The FA Cup Final

Pure Zappa Wonderfullness. I was so sad when he died. In between sprints to the lavatoire I am yawning my way through the cup final and multi-tasking in a blog-style way. Hope you all enjoy it.

Malfunction Malfunction

Aow Arfa' where's me comments gone?

Happy 6th Birthday

to my little gorgeous flame-haired squidget! We are having a party later - jammie dodgers, sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, hula hoops, lashings of chocolate mini rolls, handfuls of iced gems and Scooby Doo cake.


Off to make some party bags


and have forgotten balloons - damn!

Alert Alert

Matron! There's a brand new Munter of the Week over at Munterspace Britain's premium celebrity alternative hotspot!

LISTEN WITH ROCKMOTHER HERE - and don't forget to vote please - I'm still in Top 50 - just.

Air Hair Lair

Cafe Del Nightmare very kindly gave me a book called Hair Metal the other day - it's most amusing and I shall be posting up the utter worst of what lurks within it's pages over the next few weeks - but for now - here are Manowar in all their glory. Nice boots. Baby oil anyone?

Bad Speeling

There's a forthcoming certain Son of Romo's 6th birthday coming up this Friday. Whilst out hastily purchasing vast amounts of party bag goodness this weekend I came across some rather bad spelling - incredible! Wow - an invertation - is that like an invite that closes in on itself? Almost as bad as my attempt at spelling feasible in my O Level English GCE (yes, that's pre-GCSE - I am getting on a bit). In a fit of panic I spelt it pheasable. Nice - derived from the verb to pheasant of course?

GOT INSOMNIA? THIS WILL PUT YOU TO SLEEP! AND IT'S ALL FREE - don't forget to vote.

A Hazy 3rd Birthday to me

Yes - believe it or not - I actually made these biscuits. We had to throw them away in the end as they were truely disgusting. They were purchased as 'Dinosaur Cookies' Kit no artificial flavouring or colours! Yipee I thought - perfect except we (I) put too much water in the so they became random blobs as the dinosaur cutter wouldn't work and it all got a bit messy. On the plate you will see I managed to make a robin (bottom left) and an E - (sort of two o' clockish), and a sort of pretend stegosauros (pure fluke I tell you) at the very bottom of the plate. They tasted of water, grass and polyfilla all mixed up and then baked for too long. The main ingredient I noticed was chlorophyll - hence the weird grass taste. We both just bit into them, spat them out onto the floor (as 5 and 40 yr olds are wont to do when they don't like something) and just laughed and laughed. And then I put them in the bin. Hope you like looking at them.

Anyway - it's A Hazy Day Today's official 3rd birthday. Thank you to all my loyal and beautifully lovely and clever and charming and supportive and downright gorgeously special readers. Feel free to peruse the archives - I was going to link to the best, the worst, the bad and the ugly but I just can't be bothered - sorry. And if you can't be bothered to do that then you can listen to the entire backlog of Listen With Rockmother here.

Here's a free rock t-shirt picture for the forthcoming calendar (as sponsored by Toilet Duck and Benylin4Flu mixture - for those dull days when nothing else matters...)

I'm three to do what I want any old time
I said I'm three to do what I want any old tiiiiime
I said
Love me
Hold me
Love me
Hold me
Because I'm THREE! blah blah blah (name that tune and you get a free Romo calendar!).

Back off to do some more cleaning and play loud music - it is Sunday after all.

Big kisses and hugs my little beauties xxxx

Wax Cylinder Heaven

Quick. Stop watching crap telly, listening to second-rate overpaid DJ's on the radio, put your knitting down and go here instead. It's brilliant and while you are there say Happy Birthday to Istvanski. He is one today.

Reviews:

'Better than horse' R Swipe Esq
'Did a Woopsy I laughed so much' Mr Howeser
'Dropped me specs, couldn't hear. What?' Olive from On the Buses
'Split my favourite t-shirt moshing to Chas n Dave' The Rockmother
'Spilled the port on me strides it was so good' Jif
'Dropped the sugarbowl from too much dancing' Miss Shugah Savannah
'Got lost in my own personal Bermuda Triangle' The Right Hon Dick Headley

Happy Birthday Ister x

Dancing With The Big Boys

If you like Gilbert and George you can dance with them here to one of your favourite tracks:

'Bend It' Dozy Beaky Micky Thingy and Titch'The Israelites' Desmond Dekker
'Green Onions' Booker T and The MG's
'The Robots' Kraftwerk
'Just The two of Us' Bill Withers (I think)

I chose The Israelites - and enjoyed it immensely. It's really worth checking out. You can also download exclusive artwork but only until tonight! So be quick my little bloggarooniecutiepies! xx

The Stuff We Keep or My Weekend In Pictures

This weekend started Friday night with a burn up to Homebase (as that was the only place to turn round) and back again in a Caterham 7 racing car (not mine I hasten to add). The pipsqueak was allowed to go for a pre-bedtime treat - in his pyjamas and parka (and teddy of course as he wouldn't want to miss it). Check the excitement on his face.

Due to impending sanding of floors tomorrow - Saturday was spent clearing out a disgraceful amount of 'stuff' that had accumulated over the last couple of years behind the sofa in Reception 1. Here is a selection (I promise you the handcuffs are from my son's ELC Policeman outfit - he's been looking for them apparently).

The rest of my house is really tidy - honest! Then I found this

Despite having the album both on vinyl and cd and forgetting that 'home-taping is killing music!' I dusted it down and put it on top of some paperbacks on the bookshelf. I should just throw it away but I can't. Then I found this:

I took these from home when I first moved out at 18. I thought they would come in useful. They are older than me (apparently my mum bought them when she was pregnant - with me) and I can't quite believe that I have managed to carry them around for so long. I used a couple recently and it's true - they are rust-free! Then I found this:

A painting I did at school in preparation for O Level Art. I seem to remember that it was based on an existing painting by a Dutch artist but the task was to re-interpreted it with different colours to form shape and texture. I can't quite believe I did this age 15 and it made me realise that I'm not as creative as I would like to be anymore. Then I found some money and put it here:

I must bag it up and take it to the bank. And use a perfectly good bowl for something other than loose change! Then I found this:

This is a photo-montage I made and cut up and pasted down as part of a first year Degree project. I was 19 at the time and the project was to document a 'traumatic event' in your life. Incredible that the tutors got away with it to be honest although everything always seemed to have a Freudian interpretation I seem to recall - it was the politicised Red Wedged mid-80's after all!. The only thing I could think of documenting was the time I feigned illness and bunked off school aged about 14/15. On my way home I was waiting on the platform at Sloane Square and witnessed a woman jump in front of the train as it came in on the opposite platform. It was awful and I remember putting my hand out and shouting 'no!'. The next thing I remember is having to lean against the clammy municipal station tiles and watch the frantic driver shouting 'suicide' 'suicide'. In my shock I thought he was shouting 'silverside' and got really confused. It was good to do this montage as I had to return to the station and the exact spot from where I saw everything happen and take the photo's from my perspective at the time. In some way it was quite cathartic. I have never forgotten what the woman looked like or was wearing - a black and purple two-piece with a light brown suede bag. Sad. Even to this day I find myself looking away or down at my toes when trains are coming into a station. Then I found this:

A poster for a 3 min film I made as part of my degree as above. I can't remember what the film was about at all. The actor was Kevin. He worked at the Kings Head Theatre in Islington. I used him for photo shoots too - he became a kind of muse. He was really gregarious and funny and nothing like his hard image. We fell out of touch (as you do when you are only 19/20). I always wondered what became of Kevin. And then I found this:

An original Class War 'Bash The Rich' poster which isn't in great condition as it had previously been set fire to! I bought it off an ex-punk band member on ebay for a fiver. The same person I bought an original Banksy Neighbourhood Watch sticker which incidentally I can't find at the moment....no doubt it will turn up.

And that's it. A tour around the nonsense that I keep. Happy Bank Holiday everyone.

Don't Fancy Yours Much

I was so miserable this afternoon due to rather depressingly ongoing domestic strife but a little trip over to Urban Woo cheered me up no end. She did a very good piece on tattoo's and linked to a 'show us your tattoo section' on the BBC website. No I'm not going to link to them as I am going to feature the best here and I pay far too much for a licence fee so I refuse to give them any more exposure than they already have.

So first up: why would you want something as ugly as this on your shoulder?

It beggars belief doesn't it? But wait - there's a matching one on the other side!

That's attractive. You wouldn't want to snuggle into that, fall asleep and wake up suddenly looking at that would you?
But this one had me rolling on the floor with laughter:

That's quite a fine mess they got themselves into there if you ask me?! I mean - why? But the one that never fails to make me cry with laughter mainly because I know the person that designed and had the tattoo done is this excellent one courtesy of my friend Dan - who as well as insisting on having this self-designed tattoo done also got married in a rusty knight's suit from a feature film that he bought cheap off ebay. Everytime I think of this I do actually cry with laughter. Ladies and Gentlemen - I give you - Sir Isaac Newton:


Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Float. Float on.

I love this picture of Professor Hawking looking so happy at zero g. You can see the genuine thrill on his face and zero g seems to relax rather than constrict his usually contorted body and features. It's a great photo. It was his greatest desire to experience space and I am so glad that he managed it and obviously enjoyed it so much.