Grooveshark and The Best of British

In a recent article in this blog, I talked about my use of BlueBeat.com, a free streaming music service that I had been using. Unfortunately, BlueBeat.com changed its service recently. They had started offering MP3 downloads at a much cheaper price than iTunes and other services. When they started advertising Beatles tracks at 25 cents each, they drew the attention of EMI and their attorneys. They forced the service to close down for a brief period, and when it returned, it had changed. No longer could one stream songs or entire albums on-demand, which was a feature I used a lot. BlueBeat.com is still a good service, however, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you should.

I recently heard about another free streaming music site called Grooveshark. Having checked it out, I decided I really liked it, and have been using it a lot. You can listen to tracks on-demand, and they have an extensive library. What's more, if they do not have a track in their library, you can upload it. According to their Help information, they pay the record company whenever you play a song. They are supported financially via advertisements you see when you use their browser-based player. You can also pay a small monthly fee to remove the advertisements.

In addition to playing individual tracks, you can build playlists of songs. Also, they have a "Radio" feature, where they will automatically play songs based on what you're already listening to. This is a great way to discover new music. Grooveshark seems to understand the importance of "social" features, and you can share songs and playlists via Twitter, Facebook, and even post them to your blog or website. Seeing these features inspired me to put together a Best of British playlist to share with readers of this blog. I hope to make an entire series of these playlists, containing what I consider to be among the best music, in many genres, to come out of the British Isles.

So, in Best of British 1, I've included artists I've been listening to a lot recently (see my recent blog post, Couch Potatoes: England 2010 Part 3), such as Lily Allen, Goldfrapp, Paloma Faith, Florence and The Machine and La Roux. Vince Clark, who I consider to be one of the most talented musicians to come out of England, is represented by Yazoo (Yaz in the US) and Erasure tracks. The playlist kicks off with a great Kinks track, and while we're talking about quintessentially English artists, you don't have to choose between Oasis and Blur, because they're both represented here. For the folkies, there is a classic from Fairport Convention. I'm particularly proud of the juxtaposition of Amy Winehouse's Rehab with Ian Dury's Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

Please do let me know what you think of it, by posting a comment. If you have suggestions of tracks or artists I could include in a future Best of British, do speak out.

An Afternoon Constitutional

As I related in a recent blog post, I have been spending too much time in front of the computer recently, and not getting nearly enough exercise. To do something about that, I've been arriving early to pick up my daughter from school in the afternoon, parking my van, and walking for fifteen to twenty minutes, while listening to audiobooks on my MP3 player. It has been working well for me.

Recently, friends I've made while using Google Buzz told me about Audioboo, an audio-blogging service. Coincidentally, Stephen Fry, my inspiration for walking while listening to audiobooks, has used the service a lot. This UK-based site is optimized for iPhone, and has a corresponding application. However, they have recently added the ability to upload any audio files, or to record from your web-browser. I don't have an iPhone, but I have a voice recorder built into my mp3 player, so I wondered if I could do a little audio-blogging while doing my afternoon walk. This has led to a new mini-project, which I have called An Afternoon Constitutional, after that Victorian idea of the walk for the constitution, or health.

It has been an interesting experience. I was not aware, at first, that there is a five-minute limit to "Audioboos," and my first attempt was sixteen minutes long! When I realized my mistake, I used an audio-editing program, Audacity, to edit some material out of it and split it into two five-minute "episodes." I'm sure I could have found another service that would have allowed me to record for longer, but I decided that five minutes was quite long enough for anyone to listen to. I've already had some mild complaints about all the puffing and panting during the recordings. This is the only time I really have available to do this; it is keeping me interested in my walking, and hopefully, as I get fitter, there will be less breathing noise!

My "boos" are a little different from my posts here. For a start, I talk about anything that's on my mind, and not necessarily on subjects that would fit well here. There will of course be some crossover. I don't plan out what I'm going to say (although I usually have an idea of the theme), so they tend to be very "stream-of-consciousness." Please give them a listen, and let me know what you think.

http://audioboo.fm/Foucault

Some Snippets to Share

There have been a few things happening just recently that I'd like to share with you, so I thought I'd collect them together in one post.

If you are currently living in a different country from where you grew up, I'd encourage you to take part in a survey that is being conducted by Expats Moving and Relocation Guide. The idea is to collect information about different cities around the world, with an emphasis on their suitability for expats. I completed an entry for my city of residence, Edison, NJ. With enough entries, this could be a valuable resource.

I have added a "News and Views" section to the right-hand column of this blog. This collects together news stories, articles, etc., that have caught my eye recently, and which I think might be of interest to my readers. Click on a heading to go to the story. Only the five most recent headlines appear, but clicking on More News will expand this. For those who are interested, the list comes from my shared items in Google Reader. When I see a story I want to share, I use a "Note in Reader" application, and it automatically becomes available in the "News and Views" section. Let me know if you find it useful and/or entertaining.

I have been using Google Buzz a lot recently. It works a lot like web-forums, bulletin-boards or discussion areas of old, and combines it with social media. It's a little like a Facebook "wall," although it promises to be a lot more organized - searchable too. Its big plus is that it is instantly available to anyone using Gmail. If you want to try it out, or if you've been using Buzz yourself, you can find me here.

Soon after I returned from my New Year's trip to England, I was contacted by Jon Gibbs who runs a blog for writers. Its name: An Englishman in New Jersey! It was set up at about the same time as this one was, which explains why neither of us found one another before. So, are we firing off "Cease and Desist!" letters to each other, with promises of lawsuits? Of course not! Like good Englishmen we settled things over a cup of tea...well actually, after a series of e-mails. We figured that nobody would really be confused by the identical names, as our audiences were probably quite different. We talked about adding mutual links to "The 'other' Englishman in New Jersey." Jon's site is really rather good - take a wander over there if you have any interest in writing.

Finally, British site Londonist has a great series of articles running right now. They're looking, chapter-by-chapter, at a city guide written in the 1960s by popular spy author Len Deighton. Called The London Dossier, the book offers a wonderful snapshot of swinging London.

If you have found a website or other resource that you think might be useful to readers of this blog, please do share in a comment.

I Might Still Be in Luton If Not For the Web

Some of my American friends, knowing that I do so much on the Internet, think that I must use it to keep in touch with friends and family in England. The truth is, with the exception of my Brother, who got his first computer just a month or two back, very few of them have access to the Internet. Or if they do, they rarely use it. So, having been online since before the widespread use of the World Wide Web (I was around in the days of online Bulletin Board Systems), I've been a bit of a pioneer.


As I've written elsewhere, I met my American Wife (while I was living in my home town of Luton, England) through a mutual love of American folk music. We were both on a discussion group for singer-songwriter Dar Williams, when she e-mailed me about something I said on the group. A friendship grew over the Internet, which turned into love.


When we married, I moved here, and while I was waiting for a work permit, I took an online course to keep my computer skills up to date. A chance e-mail to my instructor led to him employing me. I've worked for the company for around ten years.


These days, I have made many friends through the Internet, on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Using e-mail, the Web and Social Media sites has helped me with my work for local nonprofit and community groups. Of course, it has enabled me to write my blog, which is a welcomed creative outlet. I'm grateful too, that I have a small group of faithful readers, scattered around the globe


As someone who has always been a little shy, I do believe that if it wasn't for the Internet, I might still be living in my home town of Luton.

Marmite - Love It or Hate It?

There are only a few British products I must have in the US. Branston Pickle is one of them (and I am sure that will be the subject of a forthcoming post here). Marmite is another. When I first moved here, I had some difficulty finding it, and so I instructed English friends coming over here to bring a jar over. I have since found it from time to time in the so-called "International aisle" at some grocery stores, and I usually make a point of picking some up if I see it in a place like that, because it can be expensive in specialist British food stores or online.

If you have never heard of Marmite or you are not certain what it is, I am not sure a description will suffice. Of course, even if you know what it is, you may be one of those in the "Hate It" camp. Marmite is a great divider. People either love it or hate it. The manufacturers of Marmite have actually exploited this characteristic of their product, and "Love It or Hate It" has become an advertising slogan. The official Marmite website even has Love It and Hate It sections. I love it. The rest of my family hates it.

So what exactly is in the characteristic glass jar that causes such a love/hate reaction? Originally a by-product of the brewing industry, the thick, salty, sticky dark-brown goo is yeast extract. It is also rich in Vitamin B complex, which helped sales of the product when vitamins were discovered in the early 20th Century. It was also given to troops suffering from beriberi (a vitamin deficiency) during World War I. The name Marmite comes from the French word for an earthenware pot, and it did originally come in an earthenware jar. You can find out more about the history of Marmite on the Marmite Wikipedia page.

It has a very strong taste. Often used as a spread on bread or toast, I recommend people to spread it very thinly, so as not to be overpowering. Many people enjoy it with cheese in a sandwich. Because spreading the thick substance often destroys soft bread, the company introduced a slightly thinner product in a "squeezy" plastic jar ideal for this purpose. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the removal of the cute 57g size jar from the product range.

Marmite is also produced in New Zealand, although it has a different flavor, being slightly sweeter than the British version. That product is available in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Readers may also be familiar with the Australian product Vegemite. I have always described Vegemite as "Marmite for Wimps."

What else can you do with Marmite? An English friend, Emma Bruce, recommends it spread on toast with scrambled egg on top, or in a sandwich with cucumber. Chef Gary Rhodes came up with some recipes featuring Marmite, to help celebrate the launch of the "squeezable" product. A British photographer, food blogger and host of an underground restaurant who goes by the nickname of MsMarmiteLover even came up with a special menu, which featured Marmite in each dish, for an evening at her dining establishment. It apparently went down rather well!

So where do you stand on the "Love it or Hate it" question? Do you have any favorite recipes or Marmite stories? Let me know!

A Tarot Reading

As some of you know, I am a part-time tarot card reader. You may recall I was interviewed for a piece in the blog Cindy's Country Corner a while back, and one of the questions I was asked was about my readings. After this, Cindy asked me to do a reading for her, and asked if I would mind if she did another article, this time about the reading.

I agreed, and I am glad I did! The article has been published and it is very fair. Actually, I would expect nothing else, since Cindy was once a newspaper editor. I'd go even further and say I was thrilled with the article, since it provides a real-life demonstration of what I do, and an excellent critique of the reading itself.

If you have considered having a tarot reading, but are a little hesitant, please check the piece out. Even if you are just a little curious, I recommend it as an entertaining read.

A Tarot Reading (Cindy's Country Corner)

Tarot Readings by Foucault (My Tarot Website)

Chips and Other Confusing Words

During the discussion that followed my recent interview on Cindy's Country Corner, Cindy asked me, "Graham, I have heard that most Brits love their fish and chips! And, you obviously do! So, here’s my question. Are the chips more like french fries, home fries, potato chips or none of the above?"

I thought most American people knew what British "chips" were, but it is not the first time I have been asked this question, so I thought I would clarify this. British chips are American french fries (I hope we have got past the embarrassing term "freedom fries" now), but unlike most fries, which are usually quite thin, British chips are generally fatter.

What Americans call potato chips, Brits call crisps.

For the benefit of my non-American friends, home fries are par-cooked potatoes, diced or otherwise cut into chunks, then shallow-fried.

There are so many of these little differences, I think an entire series is warranted. Let us go on for a while:

What we Brits call pants, Americans call underwear. In Britain, the word underwear is often used to describe any undergarments, such as underpants, bras, undershirts (US undershirts are UK vests, while a US vest is what a Brit would call a waistcoat). An American calls them pants, while a Brit calls them trousers. My four-year-old daughter always bursts into fits of giggling when I tell her about pants and trousers and so on.

While we are on the subject of anatomy and accessories, if you have not already checked it out, you might enjoy an earlier post here, Don't say 'fannypack' around me.

Finally (for now anyway), you might enjoy The Very Best of British - The American's Guide to Speaking British, a website which is full of these little differences and makes a very entertaining read.

Confused? Do you have some more differences or questions about language differences? Please post a comment and let me know.

Interview With an Englishman

In a recent post, I mentioned that I'd been interviewed for Cindy's Country Corner, a blog I often enjoy reading. Cindy has now posted the interview on her blog. She's a former newspaper editor, and her experience shows, since she managed to ask me a great set of questions that prompted me to share quite a bit.

Read the interview here.

Graham Makes Some Excuses - and a Guest Post

You may have noticed that I haven't posted to my blog for at least a week. I've been busy on some side projects. First, Cindy from Cindy's Country Corner interviewed me for a forthcoming entry on her blog. I've also been working on the design of a new blog/website. Lastly, Vicki, who writes one of my favorite blogs, The Divamom Life Love Shopping and Food Blog, invited me to write a guest post, based on a little comedy of errors I experienced this Easter weekend. You can read all about it in her blog post: Eggy Errors (by Graham Gudgin). It's my very first guest post, so I was really excited about that. Go check it out, and while you're there, take a look at some of her earlier posts.

Normal service will be resumed this week!