View from the Window at Le Gras
Jan 1, 2026
It is 200 years since the first ever photograph was taken. Although it isn’t known precisely which day or month in 1826 that this happened.
Here is the original plate.
Here is a copy taken from the original plate.
The inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a polished plate of pewter coated with a thin layer of bitumen to create the image. During an exposure that may have taken anywhere from eight hours to three days, as the light-sensitive petroleum derivative hardened. The sun moving across the sky wouldn’t help the sharpness of the resulting image on the pewter plate which was later washed with a mixture of oil of lavender and white petroleum to dissolve the unexposed portions of bitumen. The image shows the view from an upstairs window of Niépce’s family home in the French town of St-Loup-de-Varennes in France. The view, much like the photograph that captured it, remains to this day and can be seen live over the Internet through the lens of a camera recently set up.
Happy Christmas to Me
Jan 1, 2026
I bought this as a Christmas present to myself. As it was originally available in 1975 it is amazingly now 50 years old yet still fab. Along with assorted Christmas stories that had previously appeared in comics years or decades earlier, by just looking at the cover you would never realise that this book contained a brand new fifteen page story that has never been seen since. The strip in question is this Angel and the Ape tale. It’s drawn by the talented Bob Oksner and inked by the equally talented Wally Wood so it has to be good.
Dazzler
Jan 1, 2026
This must be one of the most common Marvel comics ever published. There were over 400,000 of the things. (Some people quote 428.000). As it was the first Direct Distribution comic Marvel produced there were no newsstand copies of the premiere issue so consequently there were no returns meaning that the majority of those 400,00plus comics will still be out there. Some people thought it would be a “collector’s item” and purchased multiple copies hoping to get rich. Even I purchased two copies when it first appeared in May 1981.
Dazzler was a collaborative effort between Marvel, Casablanca records and Filmworks. The idea was that Marvel would develop the comic book character, Casablanca Records would find a singer and Filmworks would make a movie. Grace Jones was an early contender but it was Bo Derek who Filmworks hoped to cast in the movie. Knowing that, the resemblance in the finished comics is obvious. Casablanca would pull out however and the deal collapsed. Marvel had already introduced the character in the X-Men and fan reception was positive so Marvel continued with the solo series. Issues No 2 onwards would be available Direct and on newsstands. As Jim Shooter had written a movie -script this was used later for the “Dazzler the Movie” Graphic novel.
Many issues had a printing error. Pages 24 and 25 (adverts) were uncoloured. This was corrected for later issues but I wonder if the copies with the printing error may well be far more numerous than the corrected ones??
One of These Days
Jan 1, 2026
I hope this video doesn’t get taken down from YouTube. It’s a fab lightshow synchronised to the classic Meddle track.
.
.
.
Endangered Species
Jan 1, 2026
I purchased a Chrysler Neon brand new in 1997. I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. The suspension was surprisingly stiff for an American car. In fact, the first day I owned it I crawled underneath to check they had removed those “shipping blocks” they place in the springs when new cars are being delivered. They had removed them but the car still rode as if they hadn’t|! The one novelty was the 6 CD changer mounted in the boot. It worked OK but I think I left the same 6 CDs in there the whole time I owned the car. It was too much trouble to change them. As soon as I could I changed the CDs and the whole car for a Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2000. It had the same 2 litre engine and 3 speed auto as the Neon but actually had functioning suspension. That car was replaced by another Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2003. Again with the same 2 litre engine but now with a far superior 4 speed auto transmission. I still own that car to this day.
Here’s some more interesting (to me) facts and figures. There may be only 103 Neons driving round the UK but there are a further 395 parked up and SORNed. Also a quick check on the Interweb tells me that 21860 right hand drive PT Cruisers were sold in the UK and 1785 of them are still roadworthy. That’s a mere 8% and no doubt half of those are diesel powered. However there are an additional 2365 PT Cruisers (11%) SORNed and cluttering up various drives and garages around the UK. Mne is one of them.
Nuff Said 117
Jan 1, 2026
Radio Caroline Top Fifteen
Jan 1, 2026
One of the more interesting programmes on Radio Caroline is the Top Fifteen Show. Every day at 9am (repeated in the evening) there is an hour-long slot where the music is chosen by a listener. People are able to choose tracks from Caroline’s Top 500 Albums and also from the list of tracks previously played for the Top 15 hours. Also you are able to suggest a few tunes you’d like to choose that currently feature in neither list. This is rather hit-and-miss and sometimes your favourites are rejected. This can be for a number of reasons. Whoever makes the decisions can decide that a tune you like doesn’t fit into the format, is too long, isn’t available or they just dislike it. My Top 15 (actually a Top 16) was sent in six months ago and was played a couple of weeks ago.
PS: I previously sent lists in 2020, 2021 and 2024. This is actually my fourth Top Fifteen to have been broadcast. Here is my most recent playlist:-
It’s Not Hoarding
Jan 1, 2026
But it is if it’s comics.
I miss Thud!, Gurgle! and Whimper!
Jan 1, 2026
Dawn
Jan 1, 2026
1979
Jan 1, 2026
In September 1979 I considered buying a new Fiat 127. A test drive made me decide it was far too tinny, fragile and cheaply made and would be a rusty wreck in five years. Instead I purchased a new Talbot Sunbeam. That was a great car but was very rusty (even on the roof) by the time it was seven years old.
Comic Adaptation of the Batman Movie
Jan 1, 2026
Whatever oddness is happening here? In 1989 there was a comic book adaptation of the Batman Movie. There was a US comic published by DC and a UK comic published by London Editions. The actual internals are identical. Only the covers (inside and out) are different along with a “printed in the U.S.A.” on the last page of the DC comic.” What puzzles me is that the US comic was clearly meant to be available in the UK as it bears a UK price along with US and Canadian prices. But was it ever actually distributed here in the UK? If you look on eBay UK the UK versions are by far the most plentiful. You need to look long and hard to find the US comic here. More oddness are the prices. The US comic cost £1 and the UK comic with the same number of pages cost £1.50.
The Magic Robot 