Well - I don't think that the measure of a discussion forum's eminence is the degree to which its participants approve of the subject matter. Also, I don't think there are are any others in Europe now, not counting Facebook groups! Which is the basis of my assessment.

I wonder if the old Rush newsgroup is still going?

In the credible analysis that exists separately from the fringe / crank opinions you're fond of, they did a very valuable job and saved countless lives.

I was sad to hear that Michael Parkinson had passed on. Many memories of watching his show in the '70s. Appearances by Bette Midler and Sammy Davis Jr stand out particularly, and Billy Connolly of course. Oh yes and Peter Sellers.

I remember an odd moment when he was sitting in for Barry Norman on Film 86. An overtly homo-erotic clip from Derek Jarman's film Caravaggio was shown. After it concluded, Parky gave a very disapproving look to the camera and did a little "I'm a teapot" thing with his right hand; a gesture that I think would be construed as homophobic today.

He did some rubbish daytime telly in the '80s and afterwards, so I was glad his old show had a comeback in the '90s. The very first one was shown on the first night of my seven years in London. I'd just moved out of my girlfriend's house (ie we'd split up) and I was staying at a little hotel in Golders Green. Tiny little room at the top of the house. I only stayed there two nights. There was a little telly, I turned it on the first night and lo and behold - a new series of Parkinson.

My stepdaughter met him, sort of, when she was at Nottingham Trent Uni. She was in the gym lying on the floor, and looked up to see Seb Coe and Parky looking down at her. Must have been an odd moment.

Yesterday looked like one of the last perfect cycling days of the summer - warm, very low winds, dry, sunny. But someone arranged for me to attend a meeting with Australian colleagues at 0800, so I took the day off today instead.

Conditions weren't quite as good with a stiff breeze coming from the east. I thought I'd do the eastbound route, maybe as far as Bourne. I thought I'd probably set off at about 0800 but in the event I woke up early and I was away by 0630.

I was going to wear a long-sleeved top over the first couple of hours and risk bare legs, but I changed my time at the last minute and put tights on. Glad I did because it was pretty cool until about 0845. I stashed the long-sleeved top and the tights near Waltham after 30-odd miles.

Stopped for food at the Deli at Waltham on the way out east.

I got as far as about half a mile from Bourne, then I took a right turn for Stamford to go exploring for a bit. This took me to a place called Essendine, in Rutland. Spent a while eating on a bench there, then turned back and came home exactly the same way. Bourne is where the flat bit of Lincolnshire starts so it would have been better, or at least flatter, just to keep going through Bourne rather than looping south into Rutland. But it made a change.



Stopped for food at the village shop at Buckminster on the way back. Remarkably, I was served by a young man of (at a guess) nine years of age. His mum was on the phone. Very professional though .. the lad scanned all the stuff I bought, presented the card machine, announced the cost, took the payment.

I got the food strategy about right for a change. Often I end up carrying around stuff I don't actually eat but today I consumed all the items I brought with me and bought.

Listened to R5 mostly - mostly anecdotes and clips from Michael Parkinson's old shows. Then I started another Reacher novel, Nothing to Lose. Seems a lot like Killing Floor so far, with a local capitalist who owns an entire town and has the local police in his pocket doing something nefarious.

That was a fun day out. I was back not long after 1800 so perhaps I could have stayed out longer, but I need to plan a new route for that really. Happy enough with 121.67 miles for today. The time flew past, felt more like a fondo.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9667888625

The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A mind-scaldingly brilliant album that's lost none of its capacity to astonish, all these years later. Actually - calling it a "brilliant album" feels wrong; it exists in a category of its own. I often imagine what it must have been like to listen to this transcendent record in the summer of 1967. I imagine that by the dying chord of Day In The Life, people must have been sitting slack-jawed with thousand yard stares; their brains dripping out of their ears.

Rush - A Farewell To Kings. The years have been unkind to it; even unkinder than the present day was in 1977. It's still a duffer, but now it's even more embarrassing. Some of the synth parts sound comical now.

Quote from: David L on August 17, 2023, 12:51:09 PMWere the 'other' SAGE not independent?
Or did they exist solely to justify government policy?

They exist (present tense) to inform government policy.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies

Wordle 789 4/6

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Scratched my head over the last word, even with three letters in place. About 10 mins.

Quote from: The Picnic Wasp on August 16, 2023, 12:41:17 PMI suppose there must be medical benefits from such a huge body of work. I can only hope so, otherwise why?

"Our findings show the feasibility of applying predictive modeling on short datasets acquired in single patients, paving the way for adding musical elements to brain–computer interface (BCI) applications."

Absolutely fascinating.

Yes I agree with that but at least it was a coherent song, and so much of what preceded this album is just dross that in itself, that's quite something.

I think the title piece on this album is right up there with some of their best work (not the very very best like the Hemi title piece and 2112, but up there with The Camera Eye, Analog Kid etc).

I've shunted the last few posts of this thread into a new CA album discussion topic.

Quote from: Fishy on August 16, 2023, 09:35:49 AMSorry but The Garden is fucking atrocious imho.. for me again it's an overly long album. Cut it down a few tracks and you have something quite acceptable..

I wouldn't say atrocious but it's AOR. Chick rock, even.

Starting to wonder if Saudi might turn out to be the downfall of European football. With the ridiculous money they're offering, we'll see more players going there. Certainly they've signed players who are a bit past their peak but they seem to be getting players who still have a lot to offer, more so than the past-it performers who typically go to end their careers in the US.

Apparently they want Mo Salah now.

Quote from: Matt2112 on August 16, 2023, 01:55:38 AMA discussion specifically about Clockwork Angels is for another thread of course, but I thought it was a pretty remarkable swan song, with an at times quite startling combination of prog technicality and melodic songcraft.

There is not a duffer on it to my mind.

I think it was the best album they'd released since Hold Your Fire, and possibly even Signals. After the rubbish they'd served up over the previous few albums, I was astonished.

Headlong Flight is a real clunker though, awful. I'm not particularly fond of Wish Them Well or The Wreckers. Otherwise - a fantastic album.

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Three minutes, unfolded quite nicely.

Another warm afternoon, another run out after work. I had every intention of doing a Twycrosser, but as soon as I began to absorb the warm sunshine I had an urge to go up Top Brand. So I did. I pretty much made it up as I went along but I went through Castle Donington after that, then west to Shardlow.

I looped back through Aston on Trent then came back the same way. Except that I used the cycle path that bypasses the roundabout over the A50. I saw another cyclist turn off to use it on the outbound trip so I thought I'd give it a go on the way back. It was fine actually. No bits of broken glass or excess of stones, or pedestrians.

Listened to the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You which is another poor record overall, but mainly put together from patched up outtake tracks. Does have a couple of decent moments, though. Hard not to like Start Me Up.

Back on 32.69 miles which is less than I intended, but I've done 184 this month now. Not bad considering I was away from a bike for the first 10 days.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9654049506