Sunday 24 August 08 Chat

Some good news this week - the Banana Splits are set to return!

Yes, Fleegle the dog, Bingo the gorilla, Drooper the lion and Snorky the elephant are to return to our screens via the US Cartoon Network following a 'modern makeover'.
Even if you don't remember the Splits themselves you're sure to recall the Tra La La Song which became a classic back in 1968 when Hanna-Barbera created the original Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
In the same zany mode but perhaps for slightly older and more ironically inclined audiences, the great comedian Peter Kay (think Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere) has produced a new TV comedy that takes the mickey out of TV talent shows.
Written by Kay and starring the man himself in the role of contestants, the show is called Britain's Got the Pop Factor & Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice.
If the title's anything to go by it should be a hoot! Look out for it on Channel 4 in October.

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We've got mice. Living in an old house surrounded by fields this is an occupational hazard. But it's a pain as I've only recently managed to clear their brethren out of the car.
Putting moth balls under the bonnet seems to have kept them at bay but when the engine's warm and the windows are closed the smell of moth balls is overwhelming.
So I took a few of the stinkers out of the car (which has made driving a good deal easier) and dropped them down the hole around the water stop tap where the mice are appearing.
The entire house now smells of moth balls and the mice are still in evidence.
So I broke out the traps and loaded them up with chocolate, because everyone in the country knows that mice have a sweet tooth. Except the little devils have grabbed the chocolate and made off with it; chocolate bars 2: mice 0 - the vermin are winning on points.
The food's been that good the mice have invited their friends and now there's mess and droppings all through the kitchen cupboards.
This is the point I realise there could be a nest and babies and the rodents cease being amusing and become disease-carrying pests.
So I've had to take drastic action and purchase anticoagulant grain. They're taking it so that should sort the problem.
Then I'm going to have to think of some way to deaden the smell of the moth balls.
Oh, the joys of county living.

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Usain Bolt, the lighting-fast Jamaican runner and winner of the men's 100m sprint in Beijing managed to go on and win not only the 200m but also a third gold medal and third new world record for his part on the winning men's 4 x 100m relay.
What a man! What an athlete! What a showman! What an amazing achievement for a 22-year-old with little previous world-stage experience.
See the BBC's excellent video summary of his achievement here.
And yes, I cried. Phenomenal. Just phenomenal.

Sunday 17 August 08 Chat

Being built for comfort not speed the Olympics aren't generally my choice of viewing. However the performances in Beijing over the past few days have been so inspiring that they have captured even my imagination.
First came the water hero that is Michael Phelps and that astonishing physique. Eight gold medals in these games and almost every conceivable record broken including that of Mark Spitz.
Phelps has now won more medals than many of the smaller countries competing and pretty soon his earnings too are likely to outstrip those of small nations.
But consistent and outstanding though Phelps' achievements are, they have surely been beaten in the popular imagination by Usain Bolt ('Lighting Bolt' for those not yet in the know) in his destruction, his complete and joyful demolition of the world record in the blue riband athletics event, the men's 100m sprint.

Contrasting with the palpable anxiety of his co-finalist countrymen, the lanky Jamaican clearly loves the competition, the environment and the pressure - a performer who responds so well to the big occasion that he does only enough to beat the opposition and then slows down.
Before he crosses the line.
In an Olympic final.
And coincidentally still breaks the world record.
What is this man capable of when he really tries? When he matures, has greater race experience and the wind is in his favour? What will he be capable of then? And just as excitingly, who will raise their game to equal his in coming years?
Ironically many US TV channels didn't show the race, blue riband or not. Perhaps written off the schedules because the American finalists looked unlikely to win, it's the BBC's race recording that has circled the world and BBC commentator and former Olympic champion Michael Johnson's stunned reaction to Bolt's win that has summarised the incredulous response to the achievement.
With a further demonstration of his remarkable abilities to come it's certain the whole world will be watching the 200m sprint final later in the week. And that Lighting Bolt, with his easy arrogance and undoubted charisma, soon out-earns even Michael Phelps.

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The great Isaac Hayes died this week of a stroke aged only 65.
An orphan from rural Tennessee, he was raised by his grandparents, taught himself piano, organ and saxophone and in 1964 moved to Memphis to become a session musician for the Stax label.
He took over from Booker T Jones to play keyboards on his first paid session recordings, for Otis Redding.
With songwriter David Porter he composed a range of classic hits for Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and others, including Soul Man, Hold on I'm Coming, B-A-B-Y and When Something's Wrong with my Baby.
His 1969 album, Hot Buttered Soul, took soul music in a new direction, the musical impact matched by the visual impact of the album showing Hayes' signature bald head, bare chest and quantities of gold jewellery.

Two years later and not considered for the lead acting role, his Theme from Shaft won a Grammy and two Oscars, became an icon for the 70s and made Isaac Hayes a household name and the first African American to have a certified Platinum record.
After the Grammy-winning Black Moses album of 1972, he became a published author, appeared in some three dozen films, toured extensively and for several years provided the voice of Chef in the subversive animated series, South Park.
He was a great talent and musical change-maker who will be remembered fondly for his outrageous appearance and his educational legacy in rural Ghana where he was a crowned King.
His family has issued the following statement;
"We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and love from Isaac’s dear friends, colleagues and fans from every corner of the world, and we thank each and every one of them for their kind thoughts and prayers. While he was an iconic figure to many, to us he was husband, father and friend. We will ever miss his love, wisdom, humor and the familiar comfort of his voice."