Rob's backing Barak Obama for President profile picture

Rob's backing Barak Obama for President

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me


I grew up in Burton on Trent in the midlands of the UK. We lived in a small terrace house in a relatively poor area of town; no telephone, no car, no TV, no central heating and for the first ten yers of my life a toilet located at the bottom of the garden. As a boy I wanted to follow the foot steps of my Grandfather who died in WWII and enlist in the Royal Air Force and so I studied engineering and joined the cadet corps.
In my mid-teens I became more politically motivated, joining CND, young socialists and antiwar movements, clearly this didn't sit well with my intention to join the RAF and so I jacked in the career interviews and instead spent weekends cutting through airbase perimeter fences and dubing CND symbols of the parked tanks.
Through the rise and fall of Thatcher, The Faulkland war, 3 million unemployed, The Miners Strike and Poll Tax. I marched, protested and made my views known. Following National Front marches in my hometown I become a supporter of the Anti-Nazi League. I listened to the Clash, the Redskins and Billy Bragg. As Dylan put it 'I was so much older then I'm younger than that now'.
Then I fell in love, got married, brought a house, had two childern and moved to a lovely cottage (Lydeard Cottage) in a friendly village in the South West.
I guess for the last 20 years I've been head down building a home and raising a familiy. Whether you call it a mid-life crises or just that my boys are now at an age when they enjoy the same music as I do and want to go to rock concerts, music festivals and question politics in the same way I did at their age, I now feel as though I'm in a second childhood and I'm loving it! I hope I've managed to retain a 'Socialism of the heart'.

My Interests


Current Book
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Last Film
Zwartboek
On my MP3
The Libertines - Up the Bracket
Last Good Meal
Thai green curry

I'd like to meet:



David Bowie : I love his music and hos whole persona, the way he kept re-inventing himself was just genious

John Lennon : Who wouldn't ? A true UK working class hero

Bob Dylan : Whether he'd have time for me I don't know, I'd just love to find out what really makes him tick and how he maanaged to write deep, thought provocing lyrics

C S Lewis : Yes I know he's a Christian, but he seemed to struggle with religion just like me. I'd love to share a pint in a smokey Oxford pub.

Andy Warhol : His Art, His Persona just grabs me, I guess I'm facinated by way I'm facinated by him! Perhaps its that we are so bombarded by adverts and graphic art but I alway find his work absorbing

Audrey Tautou : A modern day Audrey Hepburn, absolutley stunning, I wonder how like Amelie she is?

rob's musicbox

Music:


Jill Sobule: A combination of a beautiful voice, great guitar playing and lyrics that can make a grown man cry or laugh out loud - Brilliant

Billy Bragg: The torch bearer of protest music following in the footsteps of Leadbelly, Guthrie and Dylan. The passion, the anger and that Estuary humor, I grew up with his music and as the gliche goes; its been a sound track of my life

Others I'm listening to: I'm using Last FM as my radio station at the moments, which is really cool!

Movies:


Amelie: Amelie is my all time favourite movie, I have to watch it at least once every couple of months as it reminds me to get on and enjoy life. I never tire of this movie. After watching a few times you realise it is deeper than it seems and is full of symbolisim. I maintain a fan site here amelie.xwiki.com which includes the script painfully copied from the sub-titles and pictures of my Pilgramage to Monmartre in Paris where the film is set

Breakfast at Tiffany's: Audrey Hepburn can you help but love her? Miss Golightly wow! In an baggy mans shirt or after a rapid dress and make-up change, she always looks like a million dollars. So strong yet so fragile a beautiful film

Life of Brian: "What did the Romans ever do for us?" Many say this film is blasfamous, not that I care, but its not. We follow a 'parrallel' journey to Jesus as the reluctant Messiah Brian tries to persude his follower to go away!

Television:


My Name Is Earl: Karma is a funny thing! and this series is hilarious it just makes you want to sit down and write your own list.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks: Hearing the music of my youth and finding out whats happened to those musical heros. Bill Bailey rocks!

Dr Who: Classic SciFi and a great family show, another generation watching the darleks from behind the sofa

Books:


Catcher in the Rye: J.D. Salingers classic that I couldn't stop thinking about when I was reading it or for many months afterwards. Perhaps there is a bit of Holden Caulfield in all of us? I know there's alot of him in me

His Dark Materials: The trilogy that follows Lyra and her Deamon through the parrallel universes around Oxford, a fantastic fantasy would wouldn't want to cut through to another world. His taken on religion and the loss of innocence is disturbing yet poiniant

Winnie the Pooh: Pooh is a real hero, a friend, a fool, a philosopher: €œIf the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.€?

Heroes:


Aneurin Bevan: Founder of the National Health Service

Woody Guthrie: This man and his guitar killed millions of facists

Martin Luther King: Thank god he had his dream and could publically speak in a way that inspired a generation

Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin: I thought we where all supposed to be living on the moon by now? This generation cannot imagine what the future seemed to hold back then

Tony Benn: A Politician with principles, not affriad to speak his mind no matter what others might think of him

My Blog

Glastonbury 2007

Glastonbury 2007For 2007 the whole familiy did the whole weekend, here are a few photographs and the list of acts we saw over the weekend. ThursdayThe BeatHoly FuckNizlopi FridaySeth LakemanAmy Wineh...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 11:49:00 PST

MUSE Wembley 17th June 2007

MUSE Wembley 17th June 2007As a birthday treat (well a good excuse) I took my oldest to see MUSE at Wembley Stadium, this has to be one of the best live performances I have ever seen, amazing video sc...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 12:33:00 PST

Shocked and Awed

Last week I was messing with my sons guitar FX pedal when we found this really weird FX sound that when played with my Vagabond travel guitar sounded just like a therimin. So we added a beat...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Sat, 28 Oct 2006 10:52:00 PST

Gliding on the Mendips

Its been a while since my last post, and the photos are mounting up. At the Beginning of September the Grands came over to stay for a few days and to celebrate there 70th Birthdays we took them Glidin...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Sat, 07 Oct 2006 02:17:00 PST

Beautiful Days 2006

  .. Beautiful Days Festival 2006Escot Park, Devon18th - 20th of AugustLast year we went to the  Beautiful Days Festival just for the Sunday, we had such a great time that this yea...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Sat, 09 Sep 2006 12:22:00 PST

Cerne Abbas Giant

          It's an interesting land mark to say the least; Eldest Son quote - "Why has he got an erection?"... Youngest son looks puzzled then asks Quote - "Why have they ...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 04:09:00 PST

Trowbridge Festival

The 33rd Trowbridge Village Pump Festival July 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd and the Elliotts along with the rest of what is effectionately named the "Greek Three" (the Treasure-Smiths and the Kemplays)...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Thu, 27 Jul 2006 03:35:00 PST

Stop the BNP

  British Facism is on the riseSadly dispite a strong Anti-BNP campaign in Barking and Dagenham (Billy Braggs hows town) The council now have 12 Bristish National Party (BNP) councellors.Even...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Thu, 20 Jul 2006 01:39:00 PST

FreshlyGround at Tolpuddle

  FreshlyGround at TolpuddleWe saw Freshlyground play last Sunday afternoon at Tolpuddle, it was very hot and I had intended to find a bit of shade and have a sleep whilst waiting for Bi...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:21:00 PST

Jean Charles de Menzes Update

  Some of you might have read or even listened to the protest song I wrote about the last hours Jean Charles life ( Death of the Innocent Jean Charles de Menzes ) who was shot by armed P...
Posted by Rob's backing Barak Obama for President on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 03:24:00 PST