Worst album covers of all time

There's a Tastebuds blog post doing the rounds this morning which flags up the worst album covers of all-time. Here are ArchBlog's selection of the truly wackest from the horror show:






I must say not every inclusion on the Tastebuds run-down is entirely justified imho. I'd even say the pearler below from Foster Edwards' Orch. could potential trouble the lower reaches of a best ever list. Whaddya fink?

The loneliness of the Kilburn Staffordshire Bull Terrier

On a recent (and rare) trip to west London arm-pit Kilburn (to watch the Cheltenham Gold Cup in a suitably grotty Oirish boozer) I spotted the overwhelmingly bleak sight of a staffo whiling away its day chained up to a mobility scooter. Not the good life if your idea of fun is chasing after hares.

Sadly, it clearly wasn't the first time this poor staff had been forced to sit for hours as her owner filled the coffers of the bookies' fruities. How do I know this? Because as I, and other gawkers, busily snapped away on our smartphones, plenty of hard-bitten Kilburnites gave the poor pooch a weary nod, thumbs up or hat-tip of the type one only gives people (or animals) you don't actually know but see most days in your manor.

Yuketen for Inventory Maine Guide shoe

Yuketen shoes are prohibitively expensive for me but that doesn't mean I can't admire them from afar. I particularly like the the peanut suede leather and crepe wedge soled special make-ups they've done for Vancouver's Inventory. You'll need to move fast if you want 'em as there are only 28 in existence per Hypebeast:



In fact, my second fave pair of Yuketens is also a shoe they did for Inventory:

ArchBlog springtime radio

In no particular order ...

Mountain Men

These Mountain Men action figures knock the socks off the bags of little green soldiers I was given as a boy (most of which I either chewed the legs off or stepped on - oh, the agony). They are made by hip Japanese clothing label Mountain Research by Naka Meguro. Seen here are the four mountaineers, Marx, Zedong, Lenin and Thoreau setting up at base camp for the night.




Via Hypebeast

Daddy Freddy sets rap world record

I'm 99 percent positive I've posted this pearler before but, what the heck, it's fyah*.



*Here are the top three reasons it's unmissable:
1) Cheryl's 'dancing'
2) The fact Daddy Freddy is so stoned he has to sit down and has to be elbowed by the balding guy to keep him from nodding out.
3) EVERYTHING about Vas's outfit.

Downhill mountain biking

Here's a little video of me out on a little bike ride (hobby of mine) just after I'd heard Jamie Mackie had scored the 3-2 winner v Liverpool last night.



Via BuzzFeed

Charisma

Muhammad Ali talks a suicidal man off the ledge of a Los Angeles high-rise in 1981:

Investec: What we do ad

If, like me, you've spent many dreamy hours wondering what the gnarly dudes at international specialist banking and asset management group Investec really get up to you'll be amped to learn they've put out a little teaser. They seem to have the work-life balance down to a tee - when they aren't crunching the numbers in a sweet office made almost entirely of (recently cleaned) glass and testosterone, they are either at the rugby or wandering around white spaces with zebras. I'm well jel.



Via Charlie Brooker's Twitter feed (which means you've almost certainly already seen this)

Ready for the game

Sports teams don't get much better than Bill Walsh's vintage San Francisco 49ers team I grew up watching on Channel 4. Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig and Jerry Rice were all childhood heroes. Away from San Fran, I was a big fan of John Elway, Thurman Thomas, Warren Moon, and above all others, the incomparable Barry Sanders.

Sorry but Idris Elba is officially over

I, like everyone else on planet Earth, am a massive fan of The Wire. However, even though Stringer Bell is a mahoosive ledge, if I was a girl I would defo not "let this brother enter" my "private garden" if he sung me this horrible smoochy song ...

Just go out and do your best son (times a million)

Lithuanian vitamin water (saves you from getting raped by a gang of pandas)

The Lithuanian mineral water market is clearly a highly-competitive arena where marketeers have to shout LOUD to get their brand's foot wedged in the consumer's door ...



Via BuzzFeed

Banana klan

Dr Dre misses Nicole, discovers Burning Man

Via Prog Porn

YRACS TIHS

Here's some irrefutable evidence that not all aliens appear as little green men with big heads. Some come packaged as young female humans:

Is there a problem officer?

I'm pretty much certain I've seen this tall fellow on the Uxbridge Road

Viral video: Extreme tubing

While I'm not sure if this is fake (or a guerrilla ad for Snickers) it's still a pretty exhilarating watch ...



Via Jez-Muffin

Fresh Guacamole - PES

I dunno what's more impressive here - the sheer imagination or the sharp-as-a-tack execution?

Lazy journalism: Fox TV reporter caught snoozing on the job

Sure, Super Tuesday can be kind of dull but still you'd expect Fox's Washington-based reporter to at least pretend to be awake while covering the developing story ...



Via Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish (see blog-roll)

Engineered Garments Randsdown seersucker jacket

Spring is in the air. That means it's time to ditch the Shetland wool jumpers and goose down jacket and start thinking about some less sweaty clothing options. This seersucker jacket from Engineered Garments is a real beaut. Besides corduroy and the brushed cotton my Bonsoir pyjamas are made of, seersucker has to be my favourite fabric.

Tristo: Bad trip

Tristo is a new drug which is all the rage in Peru. It's a mix of seaweed (yes, seaweed), cocaine paste, nicotine and cannabis. Hardened drug users - like the slightly grumpy chap in this teaser trailer - insist it's the best thing since sliced bread. I'm not entirely convinced. After all, it does seem to cause its fans to kill their dogs and sit in rubbish holes on the beach.

Tristo Teaser from lalicienfuegos on Vimeo.

Via Prog Porn

Reverse Seam Inside Pocket Shirt by Steven Alan

I'm a big fan of the quirky detail on this Steven Alan shirt. It's available at W11's The Garbstore.

Shiavi says ... Cut out the sweetness

Anyone who has ever played football with or against me will appreciate why I appreciate this ad. What one does not necessarily possess in skill one can make up for with grit, determination and commitment.

Afghan beatbox champion

Beatboxing, as demonstrated by spotty teens in hoodies outside Westfield, is hugely repetitive and largely unimpressive. But not all beatboxing is bland. Check out this Afghan beatboxer accurately replicate a NATO versus Taliban gun battle. Fyah!

Daily Mail letter: Sick of it all

Just so sick:

ArchBlog approves: Bunny Wailer's Blackheart Man

David Rodigan MBE has said Bunny Wailer's Blackheart Man is the greatest reggae album of all-time. As ever, he's 100 percent right. Rue Beaux got it for me for Chrimbo and I've barely taken it out of the CD player since. It's all gold but here are my three favourite tracks. ps Only a real blackheart man would deny that 'Bunny' is the best name for a male human being EVER.

Armagideon:


Bide Up:


This Train:

Penrith railway station

Loose women on the line

Razzie for Hammersmith & Fulham Council

It's always nice to be thanked by one's council for one's diligence in sacking up one's trash but ... whoever dreamt up this impossibly lame effort at a viral needs binning quicksmart imho

The New York Times explains Londoners

The New York Times has published an article "Explaining Londoners." Some of it's pretty good. The NYT advises that it's possible to make a snap judgement about a Londoner from what newspaper he of she reads. I especially like the description of Express readers.

The Daily Telegraph
Older conservatives who mourn the loss of the empire by placing cricket before family. Last truly happy on D-Day.

The Guardian (or The Observer on Sundays)
Bikram-practicing middle-class liberals preoccupied with ending all wars and rolling their own cigarettes.

The Times of London
Definitely a member of the political and corporate elite; fancies him-or herself as tolerant; has zero middle-class friends.

The Independent
Slightly depressed and overeducated underachievers who are really worried about the environment.

The Daily Mail
Middle-class housewives who live in fear of rising house prices, Elton John and Gypsies. Loves: Lady Thatcher, talented-pet stories and George Clooney.

The Daily Express
Intolerant, easily outraged and yet to recover from Lady Diana’s death. Constant fear of terrorist attack is blunted by gin and reality TV.

The Daily Mirror
A really great night out starts with binge drinking at the greyhound track.

The Sun
Beloved by working-class conservatives eager to read a tabloid that goes for the jugular whether the topic is politics, soccer or topless women.

Nigel Cabourn pays homage to Captain Robert Falcon Scott

Nigel Cabourn's forthcoming Autumn/Winter 2012 collection is based on the final expedition on Captain Robert Falcon Scott. On January 18th 1912 Captain Scott, along with four fellow explorers became the first British explorers to reach the South Pole. Along the way they endured -40°c temperatures and chilling winds.

The limited edition Scott collection consists of 13 pieces, with each individual style named after an explorer involved in Scott’s expedition. The Cabourn team worked closely with the actual garments thanks to the help of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. Here are a few of the choice items via the Lineage of Influence blog.

Three Little Pigs ad: Wake up and smell the bacon

Here's the Three Little Pigs ad for The Guardian's open journalism. It gives a pretty good representation of how the modern nooze cycle works and displays the increasing relevance of social meedjah in the coverage of a story. But I'm mostly posting it because I love how cute the pigs look in the dock.