Is that all you got, TFL?

Transport for London has a vendetta against me. Wait, wait, hear me out. This email arrived in my inbox this morning, like an evil little snicker from the folks at the TFL office.

Dear Miss Mc Glennon,

I am writing to let you know that from Saturday 3 July until 4 December 2010 westbound Circle and Hammersmith & City line trains will not stop at Latimer Road. This is due to the platform being extended as part of the line upgrade work.

Ha ha ha. Nice work. Less than a month after I move in, they close my tube station. But you know what, TFL, you got nothing! When I moved to Borough, the tube station was closed for a year. At Caledonian Road, they shut the overground (my main route to work) for three months. If you want a war, you got one.

Somewhere over the rainbow – Aselin Debson

This version of Somewhere over the rainbow is my guilty pleasure. How old is this child?

The video is pants, obviously.

People that should be banned from restaurants

Earlier this evening, I ate dinner at Bi Won, a little Korean restaurant near the British Museum. Whenever I go to to a Korean BBQ place, I notice how disconcertingly quiet the staff and the atmosphere is. Bi Won is no different and eating there was like at a library till a table of the loudly obnoxious people came in. Wow. Asshats. A screamingly loud Austrian was insulting all his friends and booming about this small restaurant. Noticing me at the next table, tap, tapping away, he loudly asks ‘does anyone have an iPhone charger, mine is dead’.  Yes, I carry mine around with me, waiting to power up total strangers’ mobiles.

He was rivalled only by his utterly pretentious friend who kept asking the only Korean girl in the group about what to order. Then asking louder and slower, going ‘spicy, no, hello?’ like she was deaf. Christ, they were awful. A group of friends presumably, but none of them seemed to particularly like each other or appear to be having a good time. Fortunately I got to leave, unlike them.

Have you ever used Korean chopsticks? Two super thin and slippery metal sticks. Nightmare. Why on earth were they invented? Seems like a joke on Westeners who struggled to learn to use the fat regular ones.

iPhone, it ain’t iPhoto anyway

Since I posted previously about my N79 epic photo taking capabilities, I thought I’d post a sample shot from the iPhone in comparison.

Stop laughing.

I’d heard that the camera on the iPhone was bad, but sweet God of focus, EVERYTHING comes out blurry. Why Jobs, why?

IFail, I mean iPhone. And this is one of the clearer photos taken at Highgate Cemetery.

N79

Song of the Day – The Push Stars ‘Any Little Town’

Today’s Song of the Day comes from this week’s Yelp playlist

The Push Stars ‘Any little town’ http://open.spotify.com/track/5YlbSyUFLuaPFPyywci4NA

I listen to a  lot of random music all day, on the tube, at work to drown out colleagues and at home, so songs are usually fighting against all my other distractions. The Song of the Day choice is generally something that stops me in my tracks long enough for me to think ‘what the hell is this’. Tonight it was ‘Any little town’, which initially sounds to me like The Divine Comedy. A nice piece of pop fluff to take the edge off the evening.

I also really enjoy any song that starts with ‘a little drunk is better than death, when it’s strapping you down inside your own head’.

‘Drunk is better than dead’

http://open.spotify.com/track/0zWSyE8CidnvFnYtDYUymL

Go on the Scots!

There’s just something about Scottish bands.. it’s not just the accent, although I could listen to this guy sing in my ear all day. A nation of pies and fighters, football nationalism and passion, the Scots are tough, they’ll have you and yer ma too.

Like the nation itself, they seem a no-nonsense, down to earth sort. You can more easily imagine them getting into a scrap after the gig than shoving coke up their nose and running about with no knickers on.

Wake the President are a very different kettle of fish from Glasvegas, who you feel have been dragged up from childhood by the scruff of their necks and are still fairly damaged by it.

Wake the President’s music is more subtle, indie elegant tones than the ear bleeding, heart ripping out of your chest alt. rock of Glasvegas.

With songs like ‘Remember Fun’ and ‘You can’t change that boy’, Wake the President are upbeat and indulgent, their focus on sex, masturbation and the after effects of a good time.

For a little background on Wake the President, this is very good. http://www.magicmarkerrecords.com/wakethepresident.html

Glasvegas ‘Daddy’s Gone’ http://open.spotify.com/track/5Xkht48NOI9eirHjY7d87I

Wake the President ‘Just give me two secs’ http://open.spotify.com/track/2kDG8xXyMI7Qs9sC65dDUt