The Cartoonist

Saturday, November 8, 2003

Spiritualized. Taken from Jutta's website. 10:32:26 PM     |

Away. Ok. You won't hear from the Cartoonist for another 2 weeks, because I'm in Brussels, and next weekend I'm there. But nevertheless you will hear from the Cartoonist, because I'm guestblogging over at my mates in Chicago - all during November! So click on the link and stay in touch. And check out their fab new Jewel Cases. I want to have one of those. Hundreds. And I still want an iBook. 8:49:19 PM     |

Posh Belgian Food. Le Mess Restaurant, 1 Boulevard Louis Schmidtlaan, 1040 Brussel. 8:37:35 PM     |

From A to E and back again. An interview with Moe Tucker. Via The Velvet Underground Webpage. In 1993 the Velvet Underground got together for a few dates in Europe. These proved, for the most part, to be depressing affairs. Interviewed before the event, Stirling made the offhand remark that if he got bored he could always entertain himself playing Chuck Berry riffs. Sure enough, in Edinburgh, in the middle of 'White Light / White Heat', with Cale playing what they used to call in Melody Maker "great swathes of synthesizer washes", and Reed strutting around in an attempt to emulate his new pal, Bono, Morrison bursts into 'Sweet Little Sixteen'. The saving grace of the show comes when the spotlight falls on Moe and she sings 'Afterhours' and 'I'm Sticking With You' with guileless dignity. Ah, the above is not quite right - the band did some great concerts here in Europe. Ok, in Berlin they were crap, but Hamburg was fab. And Prague must have been even better. All this including the fact that Lou Reed couldn't sing/speak properly anymore, and his guitar play was not exactly what you might call 'innovative'. But apart from that they were good. 2:39:05 PM     |

Housecleaning. I know, this weblog is getting a bit messy. I have to update the archives. I have to add certain blogs to my Nav links. And possibly kick some out. I have to post more entries. But being in Brussels during the week and having access to Radio only over the weekends is a bit tricky...so be patient. At least I managed to add the fantastic Mr BaliHai to my Links Section. Of course, if anybody wants to get me an iBook for free, so that I can take Radio with me... I really wouldn't mind! :-) 1:58:11 PM     |

Let's laugh spam off the net. Blaugustine has an interesting idea... 12:22:52 PM     |

Great Colours. The Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection. Gigantic. Via KerLeone. Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater. The photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries. 9:45:59 AM     |

Artificial Intelligence. Watch and learn. Play and learn. Construct and learn. At Sodaplay. 9:24:07 AM     |

Born. A magazine for art and literature. Nice. 9:01:39 AM     |

Friday, November 7, 2003

Banned Cartoons. A political incorrect article about political incorrect cartoons. Bugs Bunny in Africa; the Flintstones smoking Winston cigarettes; Donald Duck reading 'Mein Kampf'; and more. Especially disturbing is the Disney production 'Education for Death', which can be found at ifilm in full length. Thanks to Rocky for the link. 9:59:20 PM     |

I'm back. Knackered as usual. Do you want to hear the story of how I got to Brussels last Sunday? No? Doesn't matter. I'll tell it anyway: I left home early, at 13:00hrs, because I knew there was no Central Line service between Woodford and Bethnal Green, 'due to engineering works', whatever that is. I mean, the line was completely shut down for 3 months by the beginning of the year! What the heck did they do in these 3 months? Certainly no 'engineering works'. Ok, I had to wait for a 'Replacement Bus Service' for about half an hour. The bus took me to Ilford, where I caught a train going towards Liverpool Street and got off at Stratford to board the Jubilee Line for Waterloo Station. And that's when everything went haywire. The train stopped for 15minutes at Canary Wharf; then another for 20minutes inside the tunnel; then again 15 minutes inside the tunnel. It took me an hour to get from Stratford to Waterloo Station! I arrived just in time to catch the Eurostar. And guess what: Deja Vu! 20 minutes stop in Ashford, 20 minutes right before the tunnel, 20 minutes inside the tunnel. In Lille, France, we all had to leave the train just to board another train on the opposite platform! I arrived at the Brussels apartment at about 22:45. That can't be right, can it? More than 9 hours just to cross the freaking channel???? 9:16:14 PM     |

Sunday, November 2, 2003

Weekend Bloggin'. I'm off to Brussels. Again. And with the Central Line not running - again - I'll have to leave an hour earlier. Check out the Brussels Paper Trams. They are more reliable than London Underground. 10:24:44 AM     |

The Cartoonist Recommends. The Lunar Men by Jenny Uglow. A truly fascinating book about Erasmus Darwin and the Lunar Society of Birmingham, whose members included people like James Watt and Matthew Boulton. And here is some online info about them. 10:15:53 AM     |