Albums and singles as school prizes?

How many more times is Mike Oldfield planning to re-release and rework T-Bells

Do schools still do that anymore - give albums or singles as awards or rewards? I'd be decked if they did. Perhaps a voucher at a stretch. It's a much safer bet.

Intermittently at our school assemblies, some senior teacher would call to the podium, a star pupil who'd excelled at sport, come first in a competition or reached an outstanding level of somethingorother (it's telling that I've forgotten the categories, yet have total recall of the prizes). The student would bound to the stage like a spring lamb ready to be rewarded, but slump away like a crushed gump after receiving in recognition of their glowing over- achievements and reflected credit to the school - and these were actual prizes - Tubular Bells (for someone aged 12 in 1977?!?) and a few months later Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs (and not even the picture sleeve)..

Whoever came up with this stunt shot themselves in both feet with a double no-incentive whammy - lacking any appeal for either the heavy-hitting swots and sportsmen, or the fair-to-middling 'must try harders' like myself..

Start Making Sense Pt. 2 – Space Invader Close Ups.

What is going on with this crazy phase of extremely ‘Extreme Close Ups’ for talking head shots at certain moments in comtemporary Documentaries?

There seems to be a new fad for this caps, bold and underlined, forehead to chin camera angle. I don’t get it at all, are they saying …

A – This is a close, revealing and sensitive moment. DO YOU SEE????

Yes I do see but I have to go reeling out of the room to focus on the speakers face.

B – We are giving you a sense of reality, intimacy, contact and a shared ‘in the room’ experience with this person.

But I don’t know anyone with a 28” widescreen face and certainly wouldn't share any sort of experience with someone that did , save from shooing them to the door.

It’s like all those shaky shenningans back in the 90’s (‘This Life’ being the world’s worst offender) when only camera operators with St Vitus Dance seemed to be used. I wasn't impressed, just ended up with motion sickness and switching off.

C’mon get a grip, and pull it back a bit.

Start Making Sense Pt 1 - Chinstrap Beards

What in the name of Dr Mop are chinstrap beards all about?

Fair enough if you're a Quaker, Amish or just enjoy dressing like Windy Miller, but anyone else - why?? Even morris dancers don't go gadding around in their ribbons, bows and pig's bladder balloons away from the village green/pub car park. I can understand the solid earthiness of a full beard, even the neatly clipped precision of a 'tache. But chinstraps - why??And the haircut of choice that the chin strapped chap seems favour with his beardy based version of a comb over is usually

A - geometric pudding bowl fringe
B - bald/shaven

Check out the hyperkinetic ball of sexual tension that is Jospeh here,this is all genuine with no tweakage (apart from the italics)


"I grew my beard because I got bored with being the clean cut look and figured it would be interesting -- plus when some of the women at work complained too much,

what did he do?

"I knew I was onto something- they may deny it, but we all know they love it. ;)"

Not sure I like the no means yes tone there J

"Can't have a mustache though, because I am a tuba player, The downside is that it is freaking hot in summer - "

Aaaaaahh - so that'll be why you're naked in a photo booth then?

"the upside is that I spend winters in Finland, where it works great at keeping the wind off my cheeks. :) "

Upside for who - your Floridian neighbours, the girls at work - surely not the good people of Finland who get Oddbod flying in for a full winters worth of tooting on his tuba.?

So there you go forget Facebook, Bebo and other social networking sites Beards.org is where the hot action is frying tonight.