tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68370302008-05-11T17:51:12.834+02:00Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comBlogger406125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-27165169199405767332008-05-10T23:53:00.003+02:002008-05-11T11:19:19.604+02:00

Reggae fans around the world mark the death of Bob Marley this weekend; he died on May 11, 1981. It is therefore fitting that this week's Mużika Mod Ieħor opens with a tribute to the Jamaican legend by Mind's Eye Dub. I Wanna Love You is an innovative dub on a classic song and it bears the hallmark of David Magro, Malta's own most prolific reggae musician. The rest of the 113th MMI podcast

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-47557163300940072132008-05-03T20:05:00.006+02:002008-05-04T10:47:20.306+02:00

It's been another strange week. I'm beginning to feel an urgent need for a proper break, but that's not going to happen for a while. At least I managed to get out and do some decent work in the garden this weekend. I was going to post something about the death of Sir Anthony Mamo a couple of days ago but chose not to, mostly for a personal reason I'm about to share with you now. Throughout my

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-39434653600020806232008-04-30T17:49:00.002+02:002008-04-30T17:52:13.860+02:00

In memory of Dr Albert Hofmann (1906 - 2008)...

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-50801105649369672612008-04-26T23:56:00.002+02:002008-04-27T17:50:59.176+02:00

The rain can be both real and metaphorical at the same time. I thought about this quite frequently this weekend. I had planned to spend as much of my "free" time in the organic garden at home. It started out as the first truly mild weekend this season, but my plans were rained on; first metaphorically and then from the sort of clouds that always bring moisture in the air. I've now resigned

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-91349258721489096312008-04-19T21:46:00.004+02:002008-04-21T17:32:01.596+02:00

It's been an odd week. I can't really put my finger on it but I know that it has much more to do with the latest language debacle or the new collaborative effort at MaltaMedia. When the going gets tough there's nothing like heavy metal to realign the gray matter adequately for the next challenge. In case you're wondering how I go about dealing with this sort of thing, just have a listen to the

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-23061848932235631442008-04-16T16:47:00.006+02:002008-04-18T18:25:01.118+02:00

It's been about a week since Il-Manoċċa was launched. So far so good. It looks like the sort of blog that's actually needed for the Maltese online media circus. I'm not a big fan of local politics but I can understand the interest it can generate, especially for anyone who feels that things can be better. Then again, things can always be better. In an attempt to make things ever so slightly

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-31543699546217057272008-04-12T21:47:00.004+02:002008-04-13T12:58:34.849+02:00

My weekly music podcast is on the 109th edition this week. The four tracks I've selected to play are all new. This is a clear indication of how vibrant the local scene has become. At least that's how I see it, even if two of the recordings I've included don't really originate from Malta. The opening song is the new one from Fraser Gregory. It's called Let It Rain and comes with a video on

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-79746740321199584142008-04-11T22:11:00.004+02:002008-04-11T23:23:35.013+02:00

A new collective blog called Il-Manoċċa was launched yesterday by a group of Maltese men seeking an alternative outlet for their progressive ideas. I equate most white wines with cat piss but anyone who cares to reproduce anything by Marcel Duchamp wins me over even without any inebriating libations. I seriously doubt that the men of Il-Manoċċa were invited to air their views on this evening's

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-87819582143543622872008-04-05T16:58:00.008+02:002008-04-07T10:41:57.386+02:00

Things are more or less back to "normal" now after the ups and downs of the last couple of weeks. The weather still doesn't want to play nice just yet, but that's to be expected in Britain. Luckily I managed to find a few hours to work in my organic garden this weekend but there's plenty more to do now that it's (supposedly) springtime. The 108th podcast in my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor series is

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-47168297251061584422008-04-01T16:07:00.004+02:002008-04-01T20:42:29.973+02:00

The 107th podcast in the Mużika Mod Ieħor series is now online. Better late than never. It's only late because of the mental meltdown that accompanied the failure of my hard drive over the weekend. I won't bother you with the details of the two days I spent in technical hell. I'll just say that I've finally learned my lesson about having a proper back-up system. I'll be working on that later

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-44394246057991252762008-03-30T21:49:00.001+02:002008-03-31T12:58:19.067+02:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm having hard drive problems this weekend. I will not be able to produce my podcast until I sort them out. As horrible as such situations can be rest assured that I'll be releasing my podcast over the next couple of days. I'm sure that anyone who has ever suffered a similar fate with their precious data will empathize with my present state of mind.

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-4679602537775699222008-03-23T14:04:00.005+01:002008-03-27T10:49:29.585+01:00

If you're looking for this week's Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast, please note that the series is on a one week break as I take some time off to rest over the Easter period. The next Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast comes to you next weekend. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the most recent offering or one of the other 100+ podcasts in the series. This is my first weekend back home in Scarborough after a brief visit

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-40418637752771283802008-03-21T15:08:00.006+01:002008-03-25T10:49:45.970+01:00

On Good Friday morning I've taken to playing the double CD of Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber: the original London concept version from 1969 featuring Ian Gillan before he became famous as Deep Purple's singer. It's a ritual that strangely connects me to my childhood in Malta during Easter time, particularly Good Friday, for a number of reasons, some of which I've

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-90648819694033503032008-03-15T18:49:00.001+01:002008-04-06T12:26:53.037+02:00

I'm still in Malta for another couple of days. Scarborough beckons and not a minute too soon. I miss my monkey and my dog but for the first time in years Malta doesn't feel the same way it has to me since I left the country in the early 1990s. I wonder whether this feeling will linger on in the coming months. Perhaps it's because this visit has turned out to be quite different than ones in recent

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-81361644071875455242008-03-08T17:28:00.009+01:002008-03-09T15:05:14.267+01:00

I'm in Malta. It's election day. The logical fallacy is that I'm here to vote. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I'm here because I had planned to be here at this time even before the national polling day was announced. It may seem downright odd for anyone interested in the outcome of the Maltese General Elections that this blog post is actually about podcast number 105 in my weekly Mużika

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-603344824234513932008-03-01T21:04:00.006+01:002008-03-02T19:45:42.551+01:00

My hope to find some time to blog about my Second Life activities in recent days needs to wait another day or two. It's been one roller coaster of a week. I've seen the depths of hell and soared majestic to the heavens. I probably prefer to live in a Prozac-like state, but extreme ups and downs are interesting too. Anyway, it's time for the 104th podcast in my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor series.

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-45714252712165859772008-02-23T18:41:00.005+01:002008-02-23T19:26:14.682+01:00

I'm trying to resist blogging about how busy I am and how much I wish I had the time to write about some of the things I'm doing. I think it's actually counterproductive, so that's all I'll say about it today. In the coming days I'm going on a work-related mini-tour starting in Hull on Wednesday, then on to Leicester on Thursday, and Leeds on Friday. Most of it is related to my adventures in

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-31198954310265027452008-02-16T15:49:00.005+01:002008-02-19T20:59:48.189+01:00

Apparently Malta is gripped by the political campaigns ahead of next month's general elections. Whatever the eventual outcome I'm not entirely sure there will be a better or a worse off Malta than we've seen in recent years. I'm most amused by the great fuss over relatively so little. Living abroad over the past 3 Maltese general elections has given me a very different perspective on things than

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-69369532481196000702008-02-09T21:17:00.001+01:002008-02-09T21:52:29.527+01:00

Anyone following my Facebook page in recent weeks knows that I've just undergone a colonoscopy at Whitby Hospital. This my third such intervention since 1994 and things have never been as bad as the first time. I'd even go as far as saying that I'm now better than I've ever been. I'm very touched by all the kind words and wishes of good health I've received over the last few weeks. I'm also very

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-62902617475641070902008-02-02T21:23:00.001+01:002008-02-03T14:39:39.047+01:00

Looks like we made it. It gives me great pleasure to announce the 100th edition of my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast. It's really just another one in the series but because 100 has special significance in metric counting a celebration of one sort or other is in order. Aside from using the occasion to bring my podcast to the attention of a larger audience I'd also like to thank all the loyal

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-35774162902231934812008-01-26T22:10:00.000+01:002008-01-28T13:49:43.827+01:00

Don't think me unkind. Words are hard to find. I'm really disenchanted by the final eight songs in the 2008 Malta Song for Europe. It could have come to this earlier but here we are now, and there's very little I can (or care to) do about it. In spite of this and because I've committed myself to taking the raw with the cooked, I've produced the third annual podcast tied to the Malta Song for

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-35300731516867680712008-01-23T12:30:00.000+01:002008-01-26T14:00:27.382+01:00

I've keep relatively quiet about the 2008 Malta Song for Europe so far. I've given a couple of comments through the MaltaMedia News Service, but not much else on my blog. So before the fans start rolling I thought I'd empty my pockets of all the loose change that's gathered there since last May's Helsinki debacle. I must confess that if it weren't for my academic interest in the performance of

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-42366240979904795622008-01-19T23:42:00.000+01:002008-01-20T12:43:53.125+01:00

The balancing act of working on regular tasks and spending time on Facebook (which was the subject of a troubling article in The Guardian a few days ago) is something that I'm sure I share with many of my blog readers. I'd like to think that Facebook is not a distraction from everyday life but an integral part of whatever it is that I do from day to day. Taking my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-27778062707129803432008-01-12T20:10:00.000+01:002008-01-12T21:05:35.225+01:00

My weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor series returns to its regular format this week with the 97th edition of the podcast. I'm quite amazed at the amount of new material that's already around this year. Still, there's some stuff I didn't manage to include in last year's podcasts that also need to be included on my playlist. Comparing these early January offerings to previous years I'd say that this should

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6837030.post-27944967481075163212008-01-11T17:03:00.001+01:002008-01-12T18:03:25.486+01:00

Earlier today I received an email from my father informing me that my dear old friend Roland Friggieri passed away last night after battling a long illness. Roland was a childhood hero for me; you could even say he was a role model of sorts. He was a cool cat before it was hip to be a cool cat in Malta. I last saw him on Tower Road in Sliema in the summer of 2006. He was just about to retire

Toni Santhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359397796141663443noreply@blogger.com