Conrad Can - Multi-tasking Man

I Should Cocoa, Napoleon Solo
As I type these words I am also watching Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and uploading yesterday's CD purchases onto i-tunes, which I forgot to do yesterday*.
     "Tell us, Conrad!" I hear you calling.  "What CDs are these that you neglected to bore inform us about yesterday?"
     O I thought you'd never ask.

Lord Huron, Steely Dan, Bonobo, Mew and Smoke Fairies

     First up is "Strange Trails" by Lord Huron, and I can't tell you anything about them as I didn't know they existed before yesterday; this is one of the things about mooching around in Fopp, they play interesting stuff over the shop PA, and my rule is that if I hear two good songs, or one outstanding one, then I'll buy the album, and this is what happened with Lord Huron.
     Next is "Blood Speaks" by the Smoke Fairies, those talented** young ladies I first encountered as a support act for Public Service Broadcasting.  Their raucous live act seems likely to be very different from their studio stuff.  I'll let you know.
     Then "Countdown to Ecstacy" by Steely Dan.  I was never very struck on them when they were getting major airplay back in the Seventies, and their track "Haitian Divorce" for some reason triggers a feeling of near-nausea.  Anyway, I quite like them now, which I'm sure will reassure them tremendously.

"The ' Dan heaved a mighty sigh of collective relief: Conrad approved of them."

     How do you write this one?  "+ -" by Mew.  You can't find better Danish Indie rock than Mew, I assure you.  They're the cats whiskers!***
     Aaaand finally  "Black Sands" by Bonobo.  The advantage of working with a bunch of people who are either musicians or who play music is that you get heads-up information about bands you've never encountered before.  Thus Bonobo, as recommended by Sophie.

Okay, apologies for a rather long Intro article, that might either bore you to tears or inspire you to go turn off Galaxy radio and go look for a different music.

"Do You Watch Much Television, Rob^?" Asked Young Dan
"NO!" I snarled in response, before qualifying my initial reaction.  I do watch it whilst dog-sitting, as this means Edna Wunderhund can lie either on me or next to me - she can't do this if I'm working at the kitchen table or at my computer, and she whinges.  I also tend to watch a whole series at a time via computer, rather than single episodes.
     Falling under the first criteria, I did catch the end of "Dagger of the Mind", a Star Trek episode.  And no, I'm not going to call it "Classic" Trek.  For one thing, they've remastered the external shots of the Enterprise and the planets it visits, which is like mucking about with "Thunderbirds" by digitally removing the strings.  NO!
     If you are not familiar with the episode, it features the "Neural Neutraliser", which is effectively a mind-control device of sinister power and sophistication.

Wouldn't like to meet him in a dark alley!

     That's  Doctor Simon Van Gelder, by the way.  Played by Morgan Woodward, American character actor, meaning he's no oil painting, but convincing as a raving madman.
     Anyway, I noticed a character in the credits called "Lethe" - and here she is -

Lethe.  Possibly also lithe.

     This, surely is a little joke by the scriptwriter - as Conrad recalls from classical mythology, the waters of the river Lethe caused forgetfulness^^.
     I started watching the beginning of the next episode, "The Corbomite Manouvre", and was struck that the Enterprise was able to reach Warp 3 - in reverse!  I suppose this is a consequence of the folding of space-time in five dimensional Riemannian topology.  Or the scriptwriter thought it sounded cool.
     I was also struck by the background noise in the aftermath of a foiled attack - lots of overlapping radio chatter and sounds.  Well done the sound-effects chap!

I did notice an unpleasant proliferation of adverts about lawyers in the commercial breaks.

Ice Cream Breakfast Man!
My impeccable rock and roll rebel credentials^^^are further enhanced by my daring to eat ice cream for breakfast, viz

     I have to keep an eye on Jenny, the greedy cow, as she will most definitely have a slurp of my Strawberry Ice cream were I to turn my back, or even not turn my back.
     Also, get a load of this:

Flavoured with lime, and no it's NOT green slime!

     This is Avocado and Coconut, which I made badly last week.  It's currently freezing in the freezer and this time round will hopefully avoid the mass of ice crystals that so disappointed in the last batch.

Right.  The time limit is upon us, gentle readers, so I shall post this scrivel and be on my merry way.


* I'm a busy man.  Got a lot to do and even more to say.
** And attractive.  That never hurts in entertainment.
*** Do you see what I  - O you do.
^ My Sunday best name.
^^ Sometimes I'm so clever I impress even me.
^^^ I found them on a bus