Having mentioned one online shop, I think I should go through a few others for British modellers.

I’ve used Hannants a few times and never had any problems with them. Good for military, detailing resin and Eastern European stuff. Not much for the car modeller though.

I haven’t used any of the following sites, but they’re bookmarked because I expect to one day.

DJ Parkins Home to four different lines, Flightpath, Firing Line, Great Little Ships and Modern Motive power providing kits and detailing sets for aeroplanes, military, large scale (specifically the 1/72nd Flower class corvette) boats and railways.

Scale Link An incredible range of military and railway related kits. One of the more comprehensive sites for World War 1 subjects.

Frontier Models Another source for figures. Not as comprehensive as Historex, but covering more of the areas (Film, TV, fantasy related) that I’m likely to be interested in.

Modelsforsale.com Mostly mainstream stuff but one of the better shopfronts I’ve seen.

Net Merchants Again, quite mainstream. There does seem to be a good selection of cars on this site.

Langley Models A large range of products for the railway modeller.

Technorati tag: Scale Models, Online Shopping

If you are still an undecided voter, then maybe you should try this.

Technorati tag: Politics

The eponymous hero appeared in a series of popular Japanese films (this appears to be a boxed set of them, but the buyers’ reviews are for the 2004 version) before Takeshi Kitano ressurected and updated him. The blind masseur-cum-swordsman, as played by the director, sports blonde hair and a red cane sword to complement his deep blue clothes. Wandering into a town in finest enigmatic stranger style, he quickly becomes embroiled in matters of revenge and gang war.

Despite the regular bursts of high energy sword play, the pace of the film is gentle. Not slow, every scene is rich in details and the narrative never drags, there’s momentum here rather than the lightweight speed of a regular blockbuster. The comedy feels odd at first, being more whimsical than action movie in-your-face.

Digital effects are well used, bringing life to spurting blood, severed limbs and the occasional sword blade. The Wachowskis could learn a thing or two about subtle use of FX from Beat Takeshi.

Ultimately there are few surprises. The ronin is doomed, the hero tested but not bested and everyone gets what they deserve. What’s most important, as they say about all great journeys, is how we reach the end.

Technorati tag: Movies, Japan

Call me a cynic, but Tony Blair’s hinted renewal of support for the Metrolink smacks of electioneering to me. I’d like to see trams running in the south of Manchester but for the next few weeks I’m going to be even less inclined than normal to believe a word the PM says.

Technorati tag: Transport, Manchester, Election

Super foods

Every nut, even macadamias � the fattiest � has been found to improve cholesterol. Walnuts are among the superstars. They’re an excellent source of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is another great source of these heart-healthy fatty acids.
Studies show that you can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by 15 percent to 50 percent if you eat a handful of nuts five times a week. If you found a pill that did the same thing, you’d make a fortune.

I swear I’m not going out of my way to find so many food related stories (beyond doubling the number of RSS feeds I check, but those are across a load of subjects). you start thinking about doing a food related blog and the posts start pouring in.

Technorati tag: Food, Health

Sales of organic food are up, but some of the larger supermarkets are undoing the good by importing loads of produce. Local food good, food miles bad, Mmmkay?

Technorati tag: Food, Food Miles, Organic Food

Which diets are the cheapest? Obviously biased towards American prices and fads, this would be an interesting exercise to try in the UK. When the diet/ health blog launches, I’m going to compare the costs of eating local and organic to supermarket shopping.

via Health Hack

Technorati tag: Food, Diet, Health

National Geographic’s Strange Days on Planet Earth promises to offer simple ways for individuals to change the world and tackle issues ranging from climate change to invasive species.

(And it’s hosted by Edward Norton, Fight Club fans.)

Technorati tag: Activism

A joint American and Japanese study has concluded that meat and milk from cloned cattle is safe for human consumption.

“The production of each milk protein constituent involves the elaborate regulatory function of many proteins and enzymes, and any abnormal gene expression would likely be reflected by imbalances in the constituents of milk,” they wrote.

Technorati tag: Food, Cloning

The Green Party launch their election manifesto today, expanding beyond their obvious base into areas of social justice.

Technorati tag: Election

Gearing up for the launch of Spinneyhead’s diet and health blog- the Motherwell Babies, whose mothers ate an Atkins style diet whilst carrying them, have been tracked down and are being studied to see if the maternal diet has affected their health.

Technorati tag: Health, Diet

It’s a guilty pleasure, but I do enjoy Top Gear. I disagree with Clarkson on just about everything, but he is eternally watchable, and the Little Man is a Casa Spinneyhead favourite. I wouldn’t go as far as Transport 2000 and say the programme should be scrapped completely, but there definitely should be a Two Wheels Good or How To Save The World For Free (two programmes I’d like to pitch) as balance.

Technorati tag: Transport

The Zuma restaurant in Knightsbridge is selling a �55 burger made with a pure meat patty of the pampered beef. It sounds all great and decadently alluring until a Wagyu farmer describes an important element of his cattles’ diet- “It’s primarily lager, but when the pub in the village runs short they have to stoop to bitter,”. Heathen.

Technorati tag: Food

The USB controlled dancefloor, the perfect accompaniment to one of those dance mat games.

via Slashdot

Technorati tag: Disco

622 music videos available online. For later reference and a great way to pound my download limit. A crash course in how they should/ have been done.

via Screenhead

Technorati tag: Video, Music

The Flat Earth Awards, open for voting and to be awarded to the person judged the dumbest environmental naysayer. The website was set up by a bunch of college students as part of a class on climate change and activism

Technorati tag: Environmentalism, Climate Change