kimbofo

Accidentally discovering an internet radio station and a new Tim Finn album

Don't know how this happened, but I stumbled upon a great music website this afternoon called last.fm

You type in the name of an artist you like and it creates a radio playlist for you comprising tracks from that band plus similar-sounding artists. It's pretty reliable. I plugged in "U2" and it came up with tracks from REM, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and Simple Minds.

You can choose to block certain tracks or highlight your favourites.

I enjoyed listening to Crowded House Radio and actually came across a song by Tim Finn I'd never heard before: the very lush, The Byrds-inspired Straw To Gold. It's from his latest album, The Conversation, which I've somehow overlooked, because it was released in Australia last November! Thank goodness, then, for last.fm because I've been able to listen to the whole thing without actually having to buy it first...

Black garlic

I recently treated myself to a subscription to Olive magazine. The plan was that it would not only save me a load of dosh as compared to buying it off the news stand every month, but it might also provide me with a bit of inspiration to try some new things in my new kitchen.

This morning the August issue came thudding through the post, but I didn't pick it up for a proper read until this afternoon.

I find the advertisements at the back just as intriguing as the editorial, because who wouldn't want to go on a foodie holiday to the Aegean or try a cookery course in Italy? One particular ad caught my eye today, and that was for black garlic, which is apparently "smoother, sweeter and sexier" than normal garlic and "you won't smell after eating it".

Sounds fantastic. I checked out the official website and discovered that black garlic has got lots of health benefits -- nearly twice the anti oxidants of regular garlic, for instance -- and that it's simply white garlic that has been aged under "strict patented conditions".

This is what the website says:

Nothing is added to the Garlic apart from heat and time. The Garlic naturally turns black, soft and sweet. The flavours and texture are reminiscent of molasses, fig and raisin with a very subtle undertone of sweet Garlic.

Sounds like a description of wine, doesn't it?

Unfortunately it's not particularly cheap: 500g of the stuff costs £38, but I guess you'd need to be a garlic freak to really want to buy that much of it. I'm dying to try it though. Apparently you can nibble on it like dried fruit...

'Ascension of Polkadots on the Trees'

All pictures taken: Queen's Walk, South Bank, London.
Date: June 26, 2009.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve 8900.

I took a stroll along the South Bank after work tonight and was amazed when I came across these striking polkadot-covered trees outside Festival Hall.

The "installation" is part of a new exhibition called Walking in My Mind at the nearby Hayward Gallery. This one is by 80-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.

Yayoi, who lives in a mental hospital in Tokyo, claims to have experienced hallucinations as a child and it is during these hallucinations that she saw the polkadots which have become a trademark of her career. (Her portrait on her official website clearly shows she has a bit of a polkadot obsession; the woman looks like one of the trees at South Bank!)

Ascension of Polkadots on the Trees runs until July 25.

In the hairdresser

In a salon owned by an Englishman, an Italian hairdresser cuts the hair of a French client, and a Lebanese hairdresser cuts the hair of an Australian client, while we flick through magazines filled with British and American celebrities and drink coffee purchased from the Polish cafe next door.

Where else but London?

Drombeg stone circle

All pictures taken: Drombeg stone circle, County Cork, Ireland.
Date: April 19, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

The Drombeg stone circle is a short drive from Glandore in County Cork. It's hidden away, on a back road, and is surrounded by farmland. It might be Ireland's most famous megalithic site, but thankfully it hasn't been commercialised -- there are no entry fees to pay, no souvenir shops to visit -- and when we dropped by there were only two other people wandering around the site and they didn't stay very long.

The 9m diametre circle comprises 13 lichen-covered standing stones, though there were originally 17. It has been dated to between 153BC and 127AD.

Nearby lie two stone walled prehistoric huts and a fulacht fiadh, which is an outdoor cooking area. This photograph (below) shows the communal cooking pit with a hearth.

I find these sites completely fascinating, on the basis of their age alone, but also slightly creepy. It seems difficult to imagine that real people lived and breathed here, cooked their meals and sheltered from the dismal Irish weather, all those thousands of years ago.

You can find out more via wikipedia. There's a great map of the site and some very good photographs on megalithomania.com and more good photographs on megalithicireland.com too.

Weird things you discover on the internet

Did you know that yesterday was National Doughnut Day in the USA?

It occurs on the first Friday of June each year and has been running since 1938. Many American stores celebrate the day by handing out free doughnuts!

Why hasn't that featured in an episode of The Simpsons?

[Via Limited Warren T]

Arab-style Russian dolls

Place: Our living room.
Date: May 31, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

When my sister visited from Abu Dhabi last week she brought me a little gift: a set of Arab-style Russian dolls complete with magic carpet. I think they're gorgeous.

My niece was particularly excited by the littlest doll and gave a huge squeal of delight when I unearthed him from his bigger counterpart. Maybe you had to be there, but it was funny.

Minimalist

If this blog looks a bit different than usual, please don't panic. I tweaked the template (again) and thought I'd go for something very basic and easy to read. I could do with less clutter in my life.

Cake

All pictures taken: my new kitchen!
Date: May 31, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

The thing about having a new kitchen is that you get new appliances which take some time to get to grips with. The first time I tried to use my new oven I just didn't know where to start. There were so many dials and little illuminated icons I thought I'd need a degree in rocket science to turn the thing on.

Up until this afternoon I'd only used it three times -- to roast some chicken breasts and potato wedges, cook a couple of salmon fillets and grill some bread -- and it's been a fairly tentative experience all round. I'm not sure how far to push the thing and am scared that whatever I cook will either come out burnt or raw. It was only when I cooked the potato wedges that I realised the oven was fan-forced -- well d'oh, so that's what the hot air being pushed out the front vent was all about -- so things cook much quicker and at a lower temperature.

Mash-up of Sir Alan Sugar's wisdom

We're a little bit addicted to The Apprentice around here, which is why the above video clip by Cassetteboy is so hilarious. But be warned -- it is a little bit rude in places!

Grey heron

Place: Water's edge, Richmond.
Date: May 23, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

Saturday was a gloriously sunny day here in London. Originally I had planned to take my sister and niece to Windsor for a bit of a look-see, but it didn't quite work out like that: there was supposedly a train derailment on the line somewhere between Richmond and Windsor & Eton Riverside, so we got off at Richmond and spent the day exploring this part of West London instead.

We spent an hour sitting on a parkbench overlooking the Thames, soaking up the sun and watching the Canada geese strutting by the water's edge. This fellow, a grey heron, flew down from a twiggy-looking nest in a tall tree on the other side of the river and stood there very patiently. I'm not sure what he was waiting for, because he seemed completely disinterested in the chunks of white loaf being thrown his way by a steady stream of passersby.

My niece was fascinated by him, and kept insisting he was a flamingo, which is kind of understandable because they both have long legs and long necks.

Tall trees

Place: Hampstead Heath.
Date: May 24, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

I'm a sucker for a good tree photograph -- and where better to find photogenic trees than Hampstead Heath, London's largest park?

It's easy to get lost on the heath, especially the wooded bits, and that's kind of what happened when we took a little excursion there on Sunday. It was a glorious summer's afternoon, and I had envisaged a pleasant wander across the heath, perhaps climbing Parliament Hill and showing my companions -- my sister, brother-in-law and niece -- some amazing views across London. But it had been so long since my last visit that I wasn't sure where I was going, and we ended up at Golders Hill Park, which is the western extension of the heath.

Shortly before we got there, I took this snap. How wonderful do these leafy green trees look?

The plant boat

Place: River Thames, near Richmond.
Date: May 23, 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

On Saturday I got to trundle down the Thames on a 45-minute round-trip from Richmond to Teddington with my sister and four-and-a-half-year-old niece visiting from Abu Dhabi. I'd mistakenly thought my niece would find the boat ride exciting but no sooner had she taken her seat than she wanted to know when we were getting off, because she was hungry!

Anyway, in between assuring her that "the boat will turn around soon", I snapped quite a few photographs and shot this one not far from Richmond Bridge. In fact, I'd seen this boat before -- from the riverbank on a bike ride a couple of years back -- but glimpsing it from the water was an entirely different experience. The "house" seems to be made from recycled materials and it's covered in leafy plants. To my eye it doesn't look particularly waterproof -- or storm-proof -- but I guess it hardly matters when you have a much sought-after mooring in such a highly desirable location.

My new favourite song

This is my new favourite song: Damien Rice's utterly gorgeous and a little bit emotional 9 Crimes.

Glandore

Place: Glandore, Co. Cork.
Date: April 2009.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.

At last! I've finally gone through my photographs of Glandore and posted the best ones online. You can view my Glandore gallery here.

I've still got loads more to sort through, including the Ring of Beara and the Drombeg Stone Circle, but I'll try to get them up very soon. If I leave it much longer I'll just never do it. Long gone are the days when I used to get my galleries published a few hours after I got off the plane!