Afghan -

Whigs!  No Politics Or Current Affairs Here
Though with Afghanistan being in the news, it did remind your scribe of a band called the "Afghan Whigs" from yesteryear.  I had long thought they were an English indie band from the South, probably London, and would be all louche attitude and scarves.
     Not so!  They are/were American, from Cincinnati, and were more an R & B-flavoured sound, as I've just played a couple of their songs over on Grooveshark.  They broke up in 2001 and reformed a couple of years ago but needn't have bothered as I don't like their sound.  The name is intriguing, however, as Conrad didn't think our South Canadian brethren would be familiar with the Whig party.

Afghan Wig.  Close enough

     No!  Not a drink and - not that kind of party, a political party.  Ascendent in the eighteenth century, they transformed along the way into the Liberal Party.
    Enough of politics!  Historical politics, so it gets under the radar, but still!
     You may notice a rather more musical BOOJUM! today, which is because some of today's intellectual impetus comes from "Q" magazine, which was Sally's christmas present but which evil dad is quite happy to read in her absence.
     Right, I've shillied enough shally, let's get on our funky boots and dance!*

Queue.  Close enough

Peter Weller.  Groovy Feller
I posted earlier this week about Peter, and his Master's degree, which he achieved whilst also acting and directing.  He claims to get more satisfaction out of directing now than acting, and he did the last episode of "The Strain" - I noticed his name in the credits and it crinkled my brow a bit:  "Peter Weller?  The Peter Weller?  Directing?"
     Yes, yes and yes.
     He also appeared in a series called "Odyssey 5", which is a cracking single series sci-fi show.  It ended with no resolution over a decade ago, so Conrad resigns himself to never seeing all the ends tied up and the MAJOR SPOILER POINT COMING HERE, LOOK AWAY LOOK AWAY - well you chose to carry on REALLY THIS IS A SPOILER TO END THEM ALL - Earth being destroyed again.  Or not.

- or not

     Peter also plays trumpet, and occasionally jams with friend Jeff Goldblum, another chap from the cast of TAOBBATED**, and who is a talented piano player.
     I felt I had to end with that bit of info, due to the music content today.

Kitchener Of Khartoum
Or "K of K" as he was known.  You have seen his face ten thousand times, courtesy of that iconic poster:

Fantastic 'tashe, K.  Now, about Movember ...

It is still copied and parodied today, a century later, because what did Conrad find in the back of Q today?

 

Dave, living spirit of rock 'n' Grohl

     I don't think K would be very impressed.  For one thing, Dave has long hair.  The only long hairs K possesses are under his nose.  Also, this is the back page of a music magazine, and K was not fond of journalists.  Typical K of K greeting to a pack of newshounds? "GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU DRUNKEN REPTILES!"

Hit By Coincidence, Yet Again
Whilst perusing the review pages of Q, and noticing how few bands I knew, I did come across one familiar name.  In fact two familiar names.  The band is Tindersticks, whom I have heard of if nothing by, and the second was "Ypres", the title of the band's instrumental album that was commissioned for the Great War's centenary - the town is now called "Ypern", a move to Fleming from the Walloon***.  It crops up in any book about the Great War, such as the one I am reading now.  And where is my sluggishly-developing hex-and-counter wargame set?  Yes, Ypres.

Tindersticks, matches - easily confused

Struck^ By Coincidence, Yet Again, Again
What's this?  An inset article about Gong?  What were Sophie and I discussing only the other day?  Yes, Gong.  No!  Not the band Yes, merely the affirmative Yes, or should I say "yes", no capital.  Gong.  The album of theirs I recalled was "Flying Teapot" but this item has "Camembert Electrique", an unusual variety of cheese that probably tastes shocking^^.

I Googled and there it was.  So it must be real.

Public Service Broadcasting
No!  This is not about those cartoons with Charlie the Incredible Mewling Cat and the child who - let me capitalise that - The Child That Is Able To Understand Mewling Cats.  
     You think I'm making this up, don't you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSSIn55f6ow
     That'll show you.
     No, I refer to the band PBS, whom I was entirely ignorant of until Pub Quiz Partners informed me of them a few weeks ago.  Here is their "Spitfire" track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u4Md_aXVJE
     What did I discover, idly leafing through the adverts informing which band is playing where and when?  Yes, PBS are on tour - happy face - but not till April 2015 - sad face.  Well, once payday arrives I shall attempt to book tickets.  

Eeyore And His Take On Life
Oh woe is us, the world is going to hell in a handbasket, the cities are on fire with rock and roll^^^, cats and dogs are living together - tell us, Eeyore, what we can do about it?

Write down your worries.

And then depress your companions by reading them out loud

     Oh, Eeyore!  How would we cope without your sage advice!

The Nerve Centre Of BOOJUM!
I do like to post an image every now and then of the workstation, if I may call it that, from which BOOJUM! has been produced for these 520 posts.

Well-ordered.  Well - kind of ordered.  Disordered.

     Chaotic it may be, but Conrad knows where everything is, which is a bit of a metaphor for his mental mindscape, too.

Conrad - Kitchen Commando
It sounds so much more impressive than "Conrad - baker".  Today I decided to use up last week's bananas, as they were showing liver spots and, frankly, spreading their banana-y essence a little too widely for comfort.  
     Besides, if left, Wonder Wifey would probably bin them.

Seventeen of the little rascals

Sadly for Dom, they are full of chopped walnuts, and brandy-soaked sultanas, but they are gluten and lactose-free.  Next, Conrad decided to try making a few gluten-free rolls. And here they are:

They look okay, don't they?

     They are a bit dense, almost cakey, though the one I had with butter and beef and tomato chutney - excuse me, home-made tomato chutney - was rather okay.  They're much easier to make than conventional rolls, since you don't knead the dough, and you only prove them once.


* This is strictly a metaphor as Conrad has no rhythm, cannot balance and treads on toes
** "The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension" - do keep up!
*** That is, from a French dialect to a Dutch one
^ Get it? Struck?  As in getting struck  - o you do get it.
^^ Sorry!
^^^ A  line I stole from Blue Oyster Cult