I've gone all quiet

Sorry for the prolonged silence. I had a severe apathy attack, triggered at least in part by the ongoing world political situation being too depressing for words. Of which, more soon. Maybe. Assuming I don't get depressed about it again.

In more personal news, I've been rather ill for several days. I'm better now.

Mars

For those who don't watch NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day like hawks, this is a rather pretty picture of Mars (warning for non-broadband-enabled: 250kb image, likely to take 50+ seconds to download on a 56k modem)

The honking great gouge in the middle is Valles Marineris, (which makes the Grand Canyon look like a teeny little scratch) and three of the Tharsis volcanos are visible at the left.

[Link: APOD]

Spinal Tap, eat your heart out...

...these guys made their Stone'enge out of Marshalls!

One of the hazards of being off work ill for three days is that you have nothing better to do than watch TV during the day. Yes, I was feeling so crappy, I couldn't even haul my carcass upstairs to play Civ III. And I'd run out of Futurama DVDs.

Fortunately, we have about 80 channels' worth of cable, so there's often something on that won't completely curdle my brain. Mark (Petersen/Fast Show/Weasley) Williams ranting on about Industrial Revolution-era steel-making techniques, for instance.

[ed's brain: get to the point.]

So, while channel-hopping, I encountered a video for a tune called "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness.

Now, I'd heard of this bunch (not least because they managed to get rock music onto the fashion pages of The Daily Telegraph, a zone normally occupied by rarified levels of bollocks that make me run a mile (or point and heckle, depending on my mood)) but I'd not heard their music.

[ed's brain: the point?]

This video is hysterical. A spaceship. An obviously SFX-ed huuuuge wall of Marshalls. Lead singer wearing ridiculous open-chested flared spandex jumpsuit, running down corridors hamming it up beyond belief. Giant Squid attacking the ship. (Margaret Atwood would love it.) Band members fighting big rubber tentacles with guitars.

Brilliant, despite (no, because of) apparent budget and technology levels equivalent to Doctor Who or Blake's Seven.

Oh yeah, I quite like the music, too.