Boris vs the left

Much of this last week in the news has been taken up with events that kicked off on Saturday when it was reported Boris Johnson, the main contender for Conservative Party leader and his partner Carrie Symonds were heard to be shouting with the sound of objects being thrown in their flat in London.
A neighbour reported what they heard to the Metropolitan Police who having spoken to Mr Johnson and partner and others concluded that they were 'all right', nothing that had broken the law had taken place, neither were pressing charges so they need take no action.
You might of thought whatever had gone on - and I have no time for abuse within relationships - that would of been it perhaps with the odd word to mindful of publicity next time and work on any difficulties within their relationship as it isn't uncommon for people to row like cat and dog but in twenty-first century Britain it's not like that.
Neighbour Tom Penn and Partner had recorded  this which of itself isn't necessarily wrong as such recordings can be of use to the police in investigations and prosecutions where there are concerns about well-being or abuse but after the police had decided not to take any further action, they sent it to the Left-Liberal  Guardian newspaper to be published.
Tom Penn and several other residents are Labour Party Members and activists against Brexit who have campaigned against Mr Johnson both of which are supported by said newspaper.
Their explanation runs they felt it was in the public interest to release the (unauthorized) recording even though in deciding what they did the Police were saying actually it was NOT in the public interest to act as no offence had been  committed. They also added this was now a Liberal area and they didn't belong there anymore.
Not surprisingly a good number people feel the action by left wing activists were less about public interest and very much politically motivated as there was no public interest defence in publication.
Moreover this lead to more activists setting up camp outside the flat effectively forcing Mr Johnson and partner to flee so what was a domestic row that the police had decided warranted no attention had now become an attempt to hound out a politician out of their home because they disagreed with his views.
To me it just sums up where we are at with social justice warriors who cannot respect differences of points of view and feel it is acceptable to publish the  private matters of others who hold differing ones.

Blasts from the 70's in four speakers

Sometimes on here we don't do things by halves and this week we're going back in time to some 70's albums that recently remerged.

 MFSB stood for "Mothers, Fathers, Sisters and Brothers" and were the backing band on many of the soul label Philadelphia International Records distributed through Columbia/CBS rather like the Funk Bros were to Motown and this is a pairing of their 1975 album Philadelphia Freedom that features their recording of the  Elton John hit and 1976's Summertime* which is just summer inspired compositions in a more jazz influenced Funk style which I like.
This for me is a great replacement for my so-so 2010 edition issued by Edsel on regular cd.

 The Guess Who were formed in 1969 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and were a very popular hard rocking band in North America.
This features their very polished 50's influenced  Rockin' album of 1972 and Best of Vol: 2 album of 1973 in Quadraphonic and stereo.
Volume 1 of The Best of was issued in 2014 by now deceased Audio Fidelity in stereo and quad too and I was able to pick up a copy recently which contains earlier hits like American Woman and Laughing.

I do like some Jazz and got this recent issue of Herbie Hancock's Sextant album in stereo and quadraphonic sound from 1973 that features the ARP synthesizer.

1973's Head Hunters which is acclaimed by many was re-issued by Analogue Productions in stereo and quad too in 2016.
You'll note all of these releases are on Super Audio cd also playable on regular cd playing equipment and all apart from *  which is just in stereo also have the original Quadraphonic surround sound versions issued on record and Q8 tape on the Super Audio cd layer.

Summer memories

As this is being typed up, the weather is in a dryish spot compared to much of week that's been anything but reminding me more of one family holiday when it rained for nearly all the time we were way to the point we HAD to leave as where we were staying was flooded out.

One memory of that era in the summer was playing out which didn't just include the park which was prone to flooding too but of woodland and not untypically for this district the local canals where we'd watch the narrow boats coming in, chat with people and offer to help for a bit of extra pocket money operating the lock gates.
At that point there were two locks as thanks to salt mining subsidence which is a major problem around these parts a Steel Lock was made and installed in 1958 to get around the effects of subsidence on the conventional lock which was quite notable in England but sadly it proved to be both hard to work and unreliable.
Eventually it was taken out of commission by the then British Waterways Board, the government department responsible for canals and associated infrastructure  but that didn't stop it being a magnet to local children which after a number of incidents lead to it being be demolished.
Looking to the far right, you can just make out the ridge where a prominent folly in North Staffordshire can be found.

Eden Of The East

Recently I bought Eden Of The East directed by Kenji Kamiyama that originally came out in 2010 on dvd but was able to get the Blu Ray double disc edition cheaply on Amazon

The story goes something like this:

On November 22nd, 2010, ten missiles strike Japan. Known as "Careless Monday," this attack does not result in any apparent victims, and is soon forgotten by almost everyone. Then, three months later... Saki Morimi, a young woman currently Washington D.C. on her graduation trip, is saved by a mysterious man, who has lost his memory, and has nothing except for a gun and a phone with 8.2 BILLION yen in digital cash. At the heart of the story is the fate of young disenfranchised Japanese people and their struggle against the conservative and traditional ruling establishment that holds them back from realising their true potential in a modern globalized world, represented here not only by Saki and her friends who are developing a revolutionary computer program, but by the existence and the role of NEETs or Shut-ins, young men who have dropped out of conventional society in favour of a locked-room, computer-oriented existence.

It's this that lifts this 11 part anime from being a run of the mill apocalypse story which is not uncommon as a subject.