Curse of the Pogo Stick

by Colin Cotterill

If anyone needed another proof that it’s perfectly acceptable to judge a book on the basis of its name, here’s the one. I saw this book in the library and thought it may be good. (With chapter titles like “Non-practicing atheists” and “Coitus interruptus”, it must be.) It turned out to be exceptionally good. I don’t read much crime fiction but this one is something else. Guaranteed to make you smile all the way till the reasonably happy end.

Some people just die. Siri had come to that conclusion after many years of careful observation. They don’t necessarily die of anything, they just get old, everything gives up, and they pass away. It’s as simple as that. There are those who describe it as dying of old age but that puts old age in the same category as bubonic plague and the Black Death. There really is nothing dangerous about old age and there's no reason to be afraid of it. It certainly hadn’t done Dr. Siri any harm. He’d been passing through its hallowed halls for some years and it hadn’t killed him. Comrade Singsai had passed away in his sleep during an excruciatingly long speech discussing the allocation of cattle. It was rather sad that his last memory on earth might have been how to encourage bulls to increase their semen count. But he was old and he’d endured a full life. He hadn’t been able to summon the energy to pull himself out of a pleasant dream and back into that never-ending conference. Who could blame him? Siri was sorely tempted to write ‘He just died’ on the death certificate but he knew that wouldn’t satisfy anyone.

Van der Graaf Generator @ The Junction

Did I mention already that there are no venues in Cambridge suitable for rock concerts? If not, then this is the moment to reiterate: there are none. Unless the audience is less than a hundred people, that is. I went to see Van der Graaf Generator yesterday at The Junction 1. Man it was crowded. Well, maybe it only was couple of hundred people, but that’s exactly my point: even that is more than enough to block your vision. There are no seats except for a few bar stools to perch upon. And beer is expensive too.

There was no support band and VdGG started just as advertised, precisely at 20:30, and were playing non-stop till 22:15. In its current incarnation, VdGG consists of Peter Hammill (piano, guitar, vocal), Hugh Banton (organ) and Guy Evans (drums). I always fancied the idea of rock trio with an awesome drummer and two keyboard wizards sitting there outwizarding each other, and that was how the show started. (Evans’s drumming was consistently magnificent throughout the whole evening.) Wonderfully dark, mysterious, full of odd time signatures... I would love it if not for singing. No, I did not like Hammill’s vocal (whether meant or not, singing out of tune irritates me) and, on rare occasions when I was able to discern the lyrics, I did not enjoy the lyrics either.

If I was in a position to hand out any stars, this is how I would do it: musicianship, four and a half stars (out of five); singing: two stars; venue, two stars.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

a film by Steven Spielberg

What a film! Han Solo with his sidekick Gimli and a heavy-drinking old flame against Professor Moriarty and quite a lot of Nazis. It became an instant classic when first released; 30 years later, it is still a classic. It could have been perfect if Spielberg & Co. had spared us the rather embarrassing part where the supernatural powers of the Ark are unleashed. Still, great entertainment for all the family. The iconic gun vs sword scene is imaginatively re-created in the LEGO version of this epic (5:30 to 5:45).

Ball of Whacks

by Roger von Oech

Arriving to Boston Airport two hours early was a mistake. Apart from shopping, there is precious little to do, and shopping at the Terminal E is dismal. Finally, I wandered into Brookstone’s where I was able to get rid of some of my traveller’s cheques (another mistake, acquired some nine years ago and still not quite spent) to get Ball of Whacks® for Timur, another magnetic toy for Yuri and a universal power adaptor for Tamara’s new camera.

This little spot of retail therapy cheered me up. Timur enjoys playing with his rhombic triacontahedron and from time to time insists on us taking pictures of the models.

Red Dwarf Anniversary Edition

by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor

All right, dudes. Believe it or not, but I have managed to spend 16 (sixteen) years in this country without ever watching a single episode of Red Dwarf. How is that? And then, having run out of funny stuff to watch, I’ve ordered this DVD box. It didn’t disappoint.

The presentation: all eight series on ten discs in a A4-sized “photoalbum” complete with Polaroid-style photos. There are no extras, just the original shows. If you are looking for a perfect gift for a British comedy lover, look no further.

The show itself: man, it is fantastic. There’ll be time for explanations later, but now, if you did not see it yet, start watching.

Black & White

by Нино Катамадзе & Insight

Now I know: Suliko is a bossa nova. Why didn’t I think about that myself?

My brother sent me these CDs last month as a gift. Until that, I never heard (about) the Georgian jazz-rock singer Nino Katamadze. On White, she is accompanied by Gocha Kacheishvili (guitar) and Ucha Gugunava (bass). On Black, they are joined by David Abuladze (drums and percussion). Both albums were recorded in 2006; the difference between the two records is striking. White is soft, chill-outey electronica. Black is hard, aggressive rock. (Compare the “black” and “white” versions of I Came, I Will Come As a Snow and Olei and you’ll see what I mean.) That’s why they complement each other perfectly.

Blue Dragon

by Timur Kulikov

Paper, felt-tip pens.