It's comforting to know that in this indie, post-punk, myspace era that some things don't change. And along with Heinz beans, classic rock is still, well, classic. Even some of those childhood fizzy 'pop' drinks are making a resurgence - Tizer, Dandelion & Burdock and Cream Soda. Those were the days.
And it was way back in those heady days of the late 60's/early 70's that many of us latched on to the enduring brilliance of Jethro Tull. Some 30+ years later we've been privileged to witness a prodigious career, including the 25th Anniversary tour, the 2006 Aqualung 35th Anniversary tour, and now a celebration of the acoustic side of the band affectionately known as simply, Tull.
And while perhaps not genuinely 'acoustic', the tour does focus on some of the more gentle refrains from the Tull catalogue. Based loosely around the recently released Best Of Acoustic Jethro Tull CD, the set spans everything from 1968's Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You from 'This Was' (a wonderful set opener featuring Anderson on blues harmonica and Martin Barre on acoustic) to some of Ian Anderson's latter day solo work, the 2004 Tull Christmas album and even the odd new track.
Alongside acoustically conceived gems such as Living In The Past, Jack In The Green, Dun Ringill and many more, the set also featured semi - acoustic versions of some of the best loved Tull numbers such as Fat Man, an abridged Thick As A Brick, My God, an alternative version of Aqualung, Beside Myself, Rocks On The Road and Locomotive Breath, alongside homages to J S Bach (Bouree), Henry VIII (Pastime With Good Company) and Bernstein/Keith Emerson (America), as well as several numbers by Anna Phoebe and a wonderful virtuoso - Spanish Tears - by Martin Barre.
As with any Ian Anderson/Tull gig, you're guaranteed an evening of good company, good cheer, and classic - in this case acoustic - rock. Life is, indeed, a long song.

Labels: music

http://www.yourdailymedia.com/media/1174976201/300_Fun

Jack Bauer wasn't born, he was unleashed.

Jack Bauer does not let women on top during sex. Why?
Because Jack Bauer never fucks up.

Simon Says should be renamed to Jack Bauer Says because if Jack Bauer says something then you better fucking do it.

Jack Bauer once opened a can of whoop ass. All he found inside was a mirror.

Jack Bauer doesn't take fingerprints, he takes fingers.

Jack Bauer once visited the Virgin Islands. They are now The Islands.

Jack Bauer went as himself one year for Halloween.

Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.

Jack Bauer went out to the desert, and was bitten by a rattlesnake. The snake died.

There are no such thing as lesbians, just women who never met Jack Bauer.

When Jack Bauer is running, you'd better fucking run as well, if he's chasing you, you should just shoot yourself.

The truth may hurt, but it doesn't hurt as much as Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer does not need to use a silencer... he just tells his gun to be quiet.

When 24 airs on the Spanish channel everyones lines are translated except for Jack's. The reason for this, nobody speaks for Jack Bauer.

If Jack Bauer misspells a word, your dictionary is wrong.

Jack Bauer doesn't eat honey. He chews bees.

Jack Bauer is the 'i' in team.

AN AMAZING plan is being hatched to re-name Reading in the eyes of the nation - to Reading-on-Thames. Reading East MP Rob Wilson wants to promote the town's links to Britain's greatest river.
He wants to know if we should start calling the town Reading-on-Thames.
Mr Wilson said: "It's merely flying a kite but I think there's an argument to try and make Reading more appealing."
Mr Wilson said many people do not associate the Thames with Reading, and that greater focus on the river should be part of the town's development strategy.
He added: "It could be a good way to help promote the riverside location and show a different side of Reading."
The Reading Civic Society this week gave the idea cautious support.
Chairman Richard Bennett said: "Rob's thought that renaming could assist people who know nothing about Reading to identify where we are is interesting, and worthy of exploration. The 'onThames' would certainly anchor the location.
"It conveys the waterside heritage which has been so important throughout Reading's history, be it the Thames or the Kennet."
The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce also liked the idea and policy executive Claire Prosser said: "I think it adds to the appeal of the place and it would let incomers know that the river is there as an asset because people don't always know that Reading is on the Thames.It would give the town a softer name and perhaps make it more appealing for people who were thinking of coming here."
Changing the name would be no easy feat. Historically it is connected to important events including the 1688 Battle of Reading and the issuing of the town's Royal Charter. According to the English Place Names Society, it is the borough council which has the ultimate responsibility for the name of the town and can vote to change it.
Reading Marketing Group, formed from council representatives and businesses,is already looking at new ways of marketing the town nationally and internationally.
Its chairman, Tim Smith, said: "We conducted more than 90 hours of interviews as part of the process of defining Reading and creating a brand model. The influence of the Thames was not seen as an important element of Reading's identity."
Meanwhile, Reading Borough Council leader Davis Sutton said he wasn't aware of any demand to re-name the town and added: "Changing a town's name is a huge and costly business and I would prefer us to continue to market Reading as a town which sits astride two increasingly attractive rivers."
READING is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon place names. Dr Paul Cavill, the principal research fellow for the English Place Names Society, said the town was named after a local warchief called Raeda. Along with Hastings in East Sussex it is one of two original Anglo-Saxon names still in common use. Dr Cavill said Raeda would have been a powerful warchief who controlled the lands in this area and the term "ingas" would have been affixed to his name to denote his holding.
Therefore "Raedingas" became the name for this part of the Thames Valley.
Dr Cavill, who is based at Nottingham University, said he hoped Reading did not change its name. "Reading is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon names we know of," he said.
"It's a tribal name or a clan name so to change it from that would be put something new and glossy over the top of something that is quite important in its original form."
But Mr Wilson said he has never proposed a name change, adding: “It was an off-the-cuff remark. It’s not a proposal. Why is the council spending time costing a proposal that hasn’t been made? To waste council money doing this is absolutely ridiculous and just shows what a waste of space Martin Salter is as an MP.”

it starts again ....

That morning latte or espresso may not be the pick-me-up people think it is, a study has revealed. University of Bristol researchers say the caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms which build up overnight, but does not make people more alert than normal.
The work, presented to the British Nutrition Foundation conference, showed only people who have avoided coffee for a while will get a buzz from caffeine.
But the British Coffee Association said regular drinkers did feel more alert.
Those who swear by their morning caffeine fix say it wakes them up, and if they missed out they would feel sluggish and unable to get on with their day.
But the Bristol researchers, who carried out a review of previous studies into the effects of caffeine, say all the drink does is counteract the mild caffeine withdrawal symptoms people are experiencing because they have gone without the stimulant overnight. And those who drink a caffeinated drink first thing are no more alert than those who never consume one.
Professor Peter Rogers, a biological psychologist who led the research, told the BBC: "We do feel a boost from caffeine in the morning, but that's probably due to a reversal of the withdrawal symptoms.
"That alertness you feel is you getting back to normal, rather than to an above normal level. "That morning boost is what people think is useful about caffeine, but if that doesn't happen, maybe it's not that useful after all."
Professor Rogers said caffeine did have some benefits, such as preventing cognitive decline in the elderly.
But he said it was usually be best to opt for decaffeinated drinks - although the odd coffee could help.
"If you're not a regular consumer, you might get something out of one or two drinks. But once you're a regular consumer, you're in a cycle of withdrawal reversal."
Zoe Wheeldon, of the British Coffee Association, said the research was interesting.
But she added: "There are two sides to the debate and a wealth of scientific evidence suggests that moderate coffee consumption of four to five cups per day is perfectly safe for the general population and does have a beneficial effect on alertness and performance even in regular coffee drinkers."

Saturday sees the start of the new MotoGP season with the first race of the 2007 championship in Qatar, and I for one can't wait.
Last year's championship finale, with Valentino Rossi coming from nowhere to almost snatch the title from Nicky Hayden, only to be denied by the most unlikely twist in the tail, made the 2006 championship one of the most thrilling sporting events of the year.
So what are your expectations of the coming season? Has Hayden got what it takes to hold on to his title, or was he just lucky to win the title with so few race wins? Will Rossi be back with a vengeance? How will Dani Pedrosa follow up his impressive debut? Or maybe you think John Hopkins could hit the big time this season?
I think it's hard to look beyond the usual suspects - Rossi's testing times in Jerez were ominously good, and Hayden's surgery lay-off may have cost him valuable preparation time.
But Hopkins was in fine early testing form before a tumble in Qatar, and Stoner now has the full resources of Ducati behind him, so my prediction is 1) Rossi 2) Capirossi 3) Stoner or Hopkins.
But the change to 800cc engines means everyone is starting afresh anyway, so this should be the most open championship in years.
Extremely fast bikes, thrilling, close competition and drama right down to the very last drop of the season - what's not to like? MotoGP 2007 - bring it on!

Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine .

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead give away.)

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia : the LAN down under.

Every calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis..

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

It's at it again (link)

NOW MAD ABOUT READING
OLIVER HOLT SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR AGAIN (his quote not mine, obviously alegend in his own lunchbox)
Oliver Holt 28/02/2007
DUE in equal measure to the death threats, the abuse and the snivelling of a cheerleader masquerading as a journalist from BBC Radio Berkshire, I've seen the error of my ways about Reading.
I'm considering a radical U-turn and 10 years of penitence at the feet of that gentle angel Stephen Hunt and the great intellectual Steve Coppell, who illustrated his capacity for articulate debate last week by saying he would wipe his a**e on this column.
I've had a rethink about the legacy of chairman John Madejski, too. Why stop at naming the stadium after the guy? I think we should go further: Reading itself should be renamed Madejskiville. As for Berkshire, that's a bit old-fashioned for me. From now on, let it be known as Madejskia. I'm sure the great man wouldn't object.

My ast comment on this as can't be bothered with him really don't see how he can fault the club at all.

Labels: Reading