Not Mickey Mouse

There aren't many people who'll have much sympathy with rats however that could change.

The Tale of the Rat That Wrote is a fantastic short film about a rat catchers encounter with the aforementioned precocious mammal. It's a bit lazy to describe it as Tim Burtonesque however it might give you some idea of what to expect.

You Will Read This Article!

I was reading this article about one of Stanley Milgram's experiments looking into obedience. It's quite an eye opener and you can't help but wonder what your own responses might be under similar conditions.

Missing Music

Judee Sill is an artist that not many people have heard, but those who have love her music. An artist in the sensitive singer-songwriter mould, she was plagued by bad luck and worse choices. She only produced two albums in the early seventies, got dropped by her label and then died a few years later.

You can read more about her here, where you'll see there is very little information about her. You can hear some of her music on this excellent page, where I'd advise you start with the first batch of live recordings.

I'm the Urban Spaceman, baby...

I'm far too much of a coward to start trespassing on rickety old properties, risking life and limb for a few photos and some mouldy old documents.

Thankfully for all of us, some people don't have such fears and are documenting some amazing buildings. I've now spent hours reading through urbex:uk where there is some fascinating stuff. The tours of Cane Hill Asylum are funny, sad, scary and an all round emotional roller coaster. Looking at the pictures you can almost see the patients shuffling around the corridors, smoking cigarettes in their chairs or just looking out of the large ornate windows into the gardens.

This is the hidden history of British architecture, see it while you can.

For urban exploration sites elsewhere, the Urban Exploration Web Ring seems to be a good place to start.

Rhubarb, Rhubarb

If you grew up when Roobarb was on the telly you'll probably never forget it. That fantastic theme tune, the wobbly drawings and Richard Briers unique voice all combined to make a tv cartoon of remarkable charm. And unlike many other kids programmes from the past it's good looks and personality haven't faded.

Anyway, the bad news is that they'll be making new episodes which are bound to dissapoint. Boo! However the good news is that they're making all the old episodes available for free on the web. Yay! All of this and more is available at the BBC Roobarb website. While you're there be sure to check out the story of how it all began and the charming manner in which Roobarb was christened.

As a bonus, check out some of the original artwork here.

Oscar the Exhibitionist

Oscar Wilde - great wit, famous playwright, occasional scribbler of stories and bloody boring poet. Here's an online exhibition that tries to put him in his historical context. Being a complete philistine (see above) I mostly just looked at the pictures, but they are great pictures. Beautiful book covers, and all types of illustration show just what a creative and strange time it was.

The Best Bar in the World?

There isn't much that would make me want to visit America but this article could almost convince me. Almost.

And here's a link to the bar's website.

Photography

Britain truly is great. Rubbish cars, holidays no one enjoys, bad food, worse decor. God I love this place.

If you want to see this fine island portrayed in all it's glory then Martin Parr is the photographer for the job. You can check out his website here, although much better to go to a gallery or buy one of his books as the reproduction on the site is a bit poor.

Like every red blooded male, Parr is also a collector. In his case, Boring Postcards. And if that's all a bit too exciting for you, you can play his game called Love Cubes which is mostly notable for the fashions on display.