The little known

Gatorade conspiracy is examined in detail here.

Sunburnt

(slightly) from Saturday. I now resemble this:

That’s what I get for frowning whilst being in the sun – alternating red and white stripes on my forehead. The same happened to me in Budapest during a trip on the Danube (although the sun was shining directly into my eyes, and I am far too much of a Luddite to invest in a pair of sunglasses). And last year I got burnt and my skin peeled like a snake on the first sunny day we had in Kew. Will I ever learn? Hopefully the red will turn to brown, although I’m pretty sure that my Celtic genes preclude me from tanning.

Some links passed on to me

via GoogleEarth and too much time spent on the interweb. Explore:

elenafilatova.com – despite looking like a Russian bride site, this is an incredible site about Chernobyl and its aftermath.

postsecret.blogspot.com – do you have a secret?

From spam to porn and art

mr_hopkinson’s computer sings

My love of cover versions has led me to mr_hopkinson’s computer sings.

The end of the beautiful game

RIP Tele Santana. My first real memories of football are from the World Cup in 1986, and especially of the Brazilian team:

Their match against the French team of Platini, Giresse and Tigana is still etched in my mind as the greatest game I have ever watched. A true triumph of skill and technique by the two best teams on the planet at the time (we will ignore the fact that Diego singlehandedly (haha!) dragged the less impressive Argentinian team through to victory). Tele Santana, as touched upon in the BBC report was a strong believer in the fair and beautiful game, and for that, and compelling his immensely talented team to play in that manner, I will be eternally grateful.

Aesthetic appreciation

of individuals on the Internet can be indulged in at hotornot.com. An old link, I know, but well worth a visit. So get over there and start rating…

I think

I need to get out more. Is it healthy to have an obsession with Russian culture?

Another vague thing

to think about.

The (over-)romanticisation of the absent father in Soviet and post-Soviet Russian cinema, especially those set in the Stalinist period, in comparison to the socialist-realist depiction of ‘elders’, and especially Stalin in film and literature.

MIA

taken to a new extreme.

Jack Nicklaus

has been an inspiration recently. I don’t mean we have been trying to sell Spanish timeshares to unsuspecting tourists, but rather that we have been playing pitch and putt frequently (too frequently, some might say), and I have improved my round from the upper sixties down to below fifty in a couple of weeks. Today I went round the nine holes in 55, which was a slight aberration. More practice is required. Fortunately, there are two Bank Holidays in May.