• I think I may have broken the bank at Monte Carlo. Where Monto Carlo = work, and the bank = a website. #
• @minifig There’s something comforting about being obese rather than overweight. It sounds like a medical condition. Rather than “being fat”. #
• Off to reward a day of delivering computer-based magic with a nice big curry. #
• Two more Tube compensation vouchers arrive. I now have £12 waiting to be cashed in for tickets. #

A while ago I was tagged by Millennium Elephant to take part in the seven songs meme, the rules of which are:

“List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.”

Spring had already passed by the time Millennium named me amongst his seven, so these are rather more summery than springy. And much as men like making lists, mine are usually very transitory, so I would probably have picked a different seven yesterday. But here are today’s seven, complete with videos from YouTube.

Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt – We Are Scientists

I Love You ‘Cause I Have To – Dogs Die in Hot Cars

I Will Survive – Cake

Ain’t Going to Goa – Alabama 3

I’ve recently been familiarising myself with Alabama 3’s first album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane, which is great fun. The track I’ve picked is a single I’ve owned since 1997ish.

Repeated Offender – The Rifles

Very pleased to find The Rifles, via my brother. This song, from 2006, is one of many good tracks on their No Love Lost album.

Tickle Me Pink – Johnny Flynn

Each week the iTunes store offers a Single of the Week free download. I discovered this when it was Single of the Week a month or two back.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song – The Flaming Lips

A highlight of the London Lovebox festival a couple of weekends ago was the Flaming Lips headline set on the Sunday night. That was the first time I heard this and it was amongst several Flaming Lips tracks I bought when I got home. The video, it turns out, is as weird as their stage show.

I’m intrigued by the Bechdel test, as highlighted by Mat and Jennie. It’s a measure of the realistic portrayal of female characters in fiction, defined thusly:

1. It has to have at least two women in it,
2. Who talk to each other,
3. About something besides a man.

It’s a bit shocking now I try to apply that (admittedly based on recollection rather than a scientific approach) how much TV seems to fail, or at least fail for much of its screen time. (Mat directs us here for an episode-by-episode Bechdel assesment of Doctor Who.)

I’ve just finished watching the first season of The Wire. It’s a fantastic, clever, sometimes Shakespearian (sorry, that sounds hackneyed) show. But, dominated as it is by male characters, it would struggle to pass the test. I can think of one notable scene – one out of 13 episodes – that does, but it’s helped to meet (3) by being a lesbian night out.

Even The West Wing, my favourite drama series Of All Time, could probably have done better. It’s by no means a Bechdel failure, but a large proportion of the meaty scenes I can think of that feature two female characters end up being about men.

Perhaps the shows most likely to pass the test are slightly dumb action series where characters tend to get on with the plot of the week are not talk about Feelings. The so far rather poor Bonekickers and it’s superior spiritual predecessor Bugs spring to mind.

*Apologies for the cheesy pun.

Inspired by the @towerbridge Twitter account, I have knocked up @jubileeline

It’s so far handled suspensions and minor delays. What it lacks is a notification that problems have cleared, and the occasional “by the way, everything’s fine” message.

I’m sure TfL will be able to come up with a turn of phrase that confuses it, so, like all good web apps, consider it in public beta testing.