Just two this month but that’s largely thanks to the two monsters I mentioned last month. I’m still working through those. Together they clock in at well over 1,000,000 words. Anyway, here’s what I read while I was taking breaks from those:
Book 24: The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
Book 25: The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
I saw Radiohead play in Victoria Park, in east London, last Wednesday. It was my fourth Radiohead gig and actually the worst of the lot but that was no fault of the band.
They remain an astonishing live act, capable of replicating the sound of their records or of taking songs into fascinating new places as the whim takes them. But Victoria Park is a lousy venue for such a large gig. We were squashed into a too-narrow stretch of park which seemed custom-designed to be whatever the opposite of a natural ampitheatre is. An unnatural ampitheatre, I suppose.
Nevertheless, the In Rainbows material sounded good, Everything In Its Right Place and Idioteque were astonishing and the close of the set - My Iron Lung, Karma Police, Go Slowly, 2+2=5 and Paranoid Android - was sublime.
I would have liked to hear I Might Be Wrong and Let Down but neither track has been played at all on this tour so that was never likely. And Talk Show Host would have been good too but that’s appeared at just 14 per cent of the shows on this tour.
At which point, I should come reveal my source and direct you to the marvel of geekery that is Ronald van den Berg’s Radiohead 2008 Tour Statistics site. As well as detailing the tracks played on this tour and the ones that haven’t been, you can also find out which word Thom Yorke has sung most often and even which animal has had the most mentions. It’s unnecessary and obsessive but unexpectedly compelling.
A distinctive visual style and an imaginative approach to gameplay help to set Ivory’s two spot the difference games above the standard Flash fare found online.
Five Differences came first and now Ivory has developed the concept with Six Differences. In addition to having an extra difference on each level, Six Differences has a more varied look and a more mischievous spirit. On many levels finding the fifth difference triggers an onscreen event which leads to the sixth difference becoming apparent. It also adds a soundtrack and a hint button.
Both games are thoroughly absorbing and you’ll wish they lasted longer.
“We were talking about respect for referees at grass-roots level, and that’s something I think is absolutely correct. The haranguing of referees is absolutely ridiculous - we know that. It’s not right. We see it as an issue. Since the situation with Andy D’Urso [in January 2000], we’ve not done anything like that.”
Alex Ferguson, March 22, 2008
“The Football Association have banned Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson from the touchline for two games and fined him £5,000. Ferguson admitted using abusive and/or insulting words towards referee Mark Clattenburg during the game against Bolton on Nov 24.”
Telegraph.co.uk, December 14, 2007
“I think Chelsea are prepared to try anything, so let them get on with it. I’ve got a team that can answer all questions. I don’t know why he is suggesting there is going to be anything untoward. Chelsea should know better than anyone about these situations.”
Alex Ferguson, May 3, 2008, after Chelsea’s manager suggested West Ham would not put up a fight against United. West Ham, whose manager had earlier said he would like to see United beat Chelsea to the league title, lost 4-1 despite United having a man sent off.
“Fine. I have no problem with that but then you hear about Bolton players being out all week celebrating. Both teams are safe but one is all keyed up to play Manchester United while the other is out celebrating.”
Alex Ferguson, May 10, 2008, questions the integrity of Bolton players ahead of their match with Chelsea. Bolton drew 1-1.
“It is totally out of the question. There is no way we would sell him [David Beckham] - or any of our best players.”
Alex Ferguson, April 5, 2003. Manchester United agreed to sell David Beckham to Real Madrid on June 18, 2003.
“Their attitude is: ‘To hell with them (Madrid)’. They would sit the player in the stands just to prove a point that they will not give in to these people. They have got balls, I can tell you. I have been delighted with them in that respect.”
Alex Ferguson, last week, applauding the Glaser family for their threat to destroy Ronaldo’s career “just to prove a point” rather than sell him to Real Madrid.
So when’s he going, Sir Alex?
[Crossposted to Ole Ole]
This may be a hoax but even if it is, it’s amusing. A man near Cambridge removed a pond from the garden of his new house and found underneath a bizarre, laminated letter of admonishment from whoever put the pond in originally.
[via Metafilter]
Update: In the comments below, Vero writes to confirm that the letter is genuine.
Five more books in May brings me to 23 for the year so far. I didn’t reach that mark until the end of July last year so I’m two months ahead of the 2007 total. However, I’m now juggling two thousand-page-plus monsters so I’ll be lucky if I finish even one book in June. We’ll see.
Book 19: Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas
Book 20: How Fiction Works by James Wood
Book 21: Almost Blue by Carlo Lucarelli
Book 22: The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Book 23: Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
This is an odd little test. You hear a musical phrase and you have to decide which of the three shapes displayed matches what you’ve heard. It’s a strange concept, one apparently developed through research at the Music and Neuroimaging laboratory at Beth Israel/ Harvard Medical School.
The description of the test claims that even excellent musicians rarely score above 80 per cent but I’m not sure what to make of that claim given that I scored 85 per cent overall. I dropped below 80 per cent in only one category - Musical/visual abstraction.
Regardless of its scientific value, it’s worth trying as a short logic puzzle.
I’ve read 44 of the 1001 books on this list of books you “must read before you die”. That leaves 956 to read. At a rate of 26 per year it would take me 37 years to read them all. I’m 34 next month so it would take me until I’m 71 - assuming of course that I don’t want to read any books that are published in the meantime.
There are some books on that list that I wouldn’t read if you had me at gunpoint (hello Paulo Coelho!) but it’s still weird to put a number, even an approximate number, to how many books I have left.
Three more books added to the list in April:
Book 16: The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Book 17: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
Book 18: Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
The opening line of Green Door is: “Midnight, one more night without sleeping.”
Who gives up trying to sleep at midnight?