Royal Wedding = Tat Explosion

Today one of Charles' lads (think it's William)  gets married to Kate Middleton . The gutter press have been going on about the fact that she is a "commoner" and the rules should be changed so that her daughtes can be queen , gawd bless 'em, completely missing the point that monarchty is totally about privilege and putting a barrier between the godlike royals and us mere proles. I mean if you start changing the rules , it'll become a total media freak show like X-Factor or I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. Then you look and the whole sorry state and realise that William and Kate probably have almost little or no say in the wedding, just like the contestants on X-Fact. Simon Cowell come on down .........

The other thing is the amazing amount of tat that these events generate , destined to fill remainder bins for the next ten years. Just hope Kate and William have a long and happy marraige just like a fairy tale , really do wish the well , although the alternative is another rewrite of "Candle In The Wind" and that we could definitley do without !!

However you could celebrate the day with this cruise available from Groupon , that does show some taste

Contactless Cup Cakes

Today has been quite interesting. Was wondering whether to buy a new "thing" , came out of the shop and heard an unmistakeable sound down Northumberland Street. The magnificent Baghdaddies had graced us with their presence outside the defunct Mi-Shake shop next to Burger King. Watched them for ages , trying to spot a break , but their songs have more fals finishes than "The Return of The King". Anyway eventally heard a break and found they had a new CD out and they let me have a copy (for a tenner) , the snappily named "Dancylvania"



After that I went round the corner to the appropriately named "Cake" . And purchased several cup cakes , then noticed they had a "contactless" card thing . I have three cards that are supposedlt kitted out for this technology , however the lovely young lady behind the counter didnt even know they had it , and we coudnt get it to work . So we did the chip and pin , but I intend to go in next week and get "contactless on their ass"!!

A Phone With A 3D Camera

The new LG Optimus has two cameras that allow you to take 3D images. This is a gimmick obviously , but they keep yammering on about the 5 megapixel Cameras and nothing about the lenses . It's the lense that makes the camera , had a 1.3 megapixel Kodak Camera that outperformed a 5 megapixel camera. It's all in the lens.

Nokia produce the best cameras in phones , followed by Sony, so if you have to have one go for a Nokia . Problem is the rest of the phones arent up to much!!!

National Record Shop Day - 2011

This Saturday is National Record Shop Day , where wall the independent record shops put on events , record signings , sell limited special edition records , usually on vinyl , and have a good time. In Newcastle we still have the following that are worth visiting on the day:

• RPM (back of the Old George off the bigg Market)
• Reflex (Nunn Street part of the Grainger Market Building)

From Reflex's Page:

"REFLEX is once again proud to be involved with Record Store Day. On Saturday 16th April, we will be throwing our doors open at 8am (brought forward an hour early by the organisers) and offering up hundreds of exclusive records, CDs and memorablia, only available over the counter in Indie Record Shops across the UK.  All releases are only available in the shop on the day, no mail-orders will be taken and no pre-orders/reservations can be made.
There will be entertainment on offer including Mod new boys The Master Colony and others TBA, with guest DJs and refreshments available. Come and join us for what will prove to be a great day and get your hands on as much exclusive product as you can carry!"

Also try out

• Beatdown (Ridley Place)
• JG Windows (The wonderful Central Arcade)

And while your at it check out the excelelnt Groupon and you might get a cheap meal out or some other bargain!!

How Big Can A Tribute Be?

Just seen a couple of tributes listed coming to thw O2 Academy in Newcastle , Cash (Johnny Cash) and The Rising (Bruce Springsteen). It's only a few years back I was seeing Benwell Floyd at the Archer in Sandyford , but now The Australian Pink Floyd Show (no relation) are teh biggest tribute band in the world , lugging along with them Pink Floyd's official light show adapted for the Antipodeans.

With bands like Limehouse Lizzy , Black Rose  , Maiden England and Powerage (AC/DC)  , I wonder how long before one of these outdo the band that they are paying tribute to!!!

Oddbins My Favourite Wine Emporium

Went into Odbins today and they didnt have my wine of choice , given the "current situation" . Was shocked to hear they were in administration. Oddbins have long been my shop of choice for alcohol as they know their stuff and you can usually get what you want. They are percieved as maybe being a bit snooty but they are anything but , being friendly , knowledgeable and the only place I know where you can get a decent bottle of wine for less than a fiver (admittedly this range is small but what do you expect).

The problem is that supermarkets and big brands do cut price deals that eventually force smaller traders out of business/ Due you really want  your only choice for everything to be between Tesco and Asda?

First Day Out

Today was the first time I've taken the Advent Vega out since I bought it. The tablet is great but I seem unable to connect to my mobile internet , and can't download from Android Marketplace. I'm sure these problems will be ironed out in the near future. Still think it is a wonderful piece of kit. It's fast , easy to use and does the job , which is quite good for something these days. Will  keep you posted on it's progrss.