No geek
is an island

Stewart Lee’s show at the Smirnoff Underbelly was a riot. Well, not an actual riot thankfully, but pretty funny. He even recycled a terrible old gag successfully. Battery still low and quite tired but consider that another recommendation.

Despite a shaky start, a less than polished performance and the denigration of Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor, British Television Explained was pretty funny. My battery’s running low so I won’t go into detail but, along with some of my own gags from the past I was amused to see in a show, there were some good bits about regional TV, swearing and the IRA. Off now to see Stewart Lee.

Ben Moor’s spooky one man show is an enthralling adaptation of the book by Jonathan Carroll. The lighting, audio and video clips evoke an increasingly chilling atmosphere as Moor delivers you into the strange world of Ingram York. The characters are believable and the story unnerving. And the whole was so intriguing I’ve just been to Waterstone’s on Princes Street and picked up Carroll’s two most recent novels. Definitely worth seeing, all the more so if you have a sci-fi/horror inclination.

Blogging by phone again, this time from Edinburgh. Went to see a play in a bar called Drinking and Writing (Volume II - the first part plays on alternative nights). It’s a literary history of prohibition, entertainingly relayed - complete with audience interaction - by three Americans. Definitely worth a look, even - or perhaps especially - if you know little about early 20th century American literature.

The show I’ve just come out of was Richard Herring’s The Twelve Tasks of Hercules Terrace. Nerdy but hilarious, I’ve failed to take Rich’s advice to forget CNPS (now on 31). Laughed loads, in particular at the late Norris McWhirter. Also ran into The Actor Ben Moor at the first show. Hopefully didn’t frighten him by knowing who he was. I’ve promised to try to see his show, Black Cocktail. More shows to see tomorrow…

I’m just out canvassing in Hartlepool and blogging via my mobile phone. The reception has been great - everyone here is really friendly and most of the residents I spoke to are backing Jody. Grey clouds overhead but smiles on the doorstep! No wonder Labour are so worried.

The Tories aren’t keen on wind farms.

It’s not surprising. Wind farms are more likely than not to be built in the countryside, which gets the Conservatives’ backs up because they are the self-proclaimed defenders of rural England. (Which it’s not hard to be when you are irrelevant in the inner citiies.)

The Tories are promising to stand up for local people who don’t want wind farms nearby. And who would? (Actually, I think they look quite elegant…) This is nimbyism, but the Tories are happy to pander to it in the name of populism. People might not want wind farms built nearby, but they’d probably object rather more to a new power station, be it nuclear or fossil fuel burning. Wind farms have to go somewhere. Some can go off shore, some can go in cities, but some will have to go in the countryside.

But perhaps this isn’t just populism. Michael Howard is getting on a bit. His average party member is pretty ancient. What do the Tories have to fear from global warming? I’m reminded of William Hague’s infamous “you’ll all be dead” speech from the 1970s.

In the unlikely event of the Tories getting re-elected, some of us will have to live in their polluted future world, stripped bare of its natural resources. Michael Howard will have died of old age (he’ll probably have died of old age before the Tories get re-elected), but it would be nice if the rest of us could look forward to clean air and a sensible climate.

We need to invest in all manner of renewable energy sources, but we also need to start building them yesterday.