Have you seen In Bruges yet? You've got to see that. If you've seen that, you're caught up.

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But, but, what about my lifelong embargo of anything even remotely to do with Belgium? There are some principles a man CAN'T compromise.

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What a bloody good policy. Belgium is a very wrong country.

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People do have license plates. We're just not advanced enough (yet) to read them in realtime. It'll be in our lifetimes though, possibly in the next couple of decades. Woo!

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How can I bling/vanity-plate mine out then?

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Having children is the usual method.

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Why don't people have licence plates?

Because, as with so many such initiatives, it might deter casual offenders but do nothing to prevent crime that possessed even a semblance of organisation.

So in your example, if the mugging was basically opportunistic you'd indeed catch the guy (and then what anyway? we have nothing resembling a criminal justice system any longer that might make capture a fearful prospect to him) but if he'd thought it through he'd have left the house in counterfeit plates.

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But on the plus side it would make identity theft much funnier. Imagine if you passed out drunk and I stole your licence plate and wandered the streets raucously insulting menfolk and goosing ladies! No one would ever believe it hadn't been you all along.

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Hang on a minute, did you think I was trying to make some kind of trenchant analogy to compulsory ID cards? No no no, I just think people wearing licence plates would be cool.

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you might also like Neko Case's solo stuff, she of the foghorn-like vocal chords.

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I like "If You Knew" by Neko Case, for partly sentimental reasons.

I keep getting her confused with Cat Power.

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They are the same person. As is Feist, even though the cat part of her name is invisible.

Edited at 2008-05-22 07:46 am (UTC)

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If that's true, then I'm seeing The New Pornographers at the Zodiac tonight.

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Is that a modern circumlocution for "eat my hat"?

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There are so many people in Broken Social Scene that at least one of them must be a monkey's uncle.

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So even you haven't found a random channel somewhere in this country that carries up-to-date "Dr. Who?" Now I feel even less like I'm cheating when I download it weekly.

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I can't even bothered to have TV channels any more - everything I watch is either downloaded or on DVD. This *is* the future after all.

Anyway, watching Who on the same day as the UK broadcast is essential!

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oh i do adore okkervil river! i need new (to me) music constantly, though. right now i'm adoring kylie minogue's album X and the spinto band. check out their song "oh mandy" - NOT a cover of the barry manilow song (i'll admit i was a tad disappointed when i found this out).

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oh! i didn't realise the constantines were canadians. they were pretty ace at atp last weekend.

anyway, is the canadian artists thing through choice or because no one else plays over there, hmm?

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Given that when I asked various British people what music I'd been missing out on over the past year, the only two suggestions that came back were Stars and Destroyer, I have a feeling that I can't be missing out on much by only having access to Canadian bands in Edmonton. (Which isn't much of a stop on the international touring circuit, though I did catch Art Brut in a little local club last year.)

I do have tickets for Radiohead in a couple of months, but that's in Vancouver, a day's travel away!

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If you can take down someone's number plate can't you, I dunno, remember what they look like? Surely the fun of leafing through the mugshots, so that from then on you recognise the face of every known criminal in your home town, massively outweighs the fun of sporting a PSTRNCBRN custom plate?

Cars need license plates because they all look like Ford Mondeos. Except the ones that look like Fiestas.

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Well, I personally am not very visually oriented, so it's easier for me to commit a string of numbers and letters to memory than to remember the details of a face. I concede that mileage may vary, and so I propose that, in addition to wearing a licence plate, everyone should wear a colourful and memorable image on their back, and announce their approach with a personalised siren in the manner of ice cream vans. Sorted!

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announce their approach with a personalised siren in the manner of ice cream vans

Most people already do that with ringtones.

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Woo! I heard Charlotte Gainsbourg's "5.55" yesterday for the first time and truly loved it! :)

The cufflinks sound cool. I always love that booth (where you bought them) whenever I see it actually. And the woman who runs it is always up for new ideas to make things (actually she got one from me so we'll have to see if she does use it). Of course I'm partial to a dear friend of mine's cufflinks -- handmade from handcuff keys. Beautiful really... and he's considering making more if I understand it correctly.

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Maybe we should make cufflinks out of boardgame paraphernalia? Bandu blocks anyone? ;)

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Could be rather deadly... or disturbing. (a barrel on the wrist? a nipple on the other? Or how about the chalice or the egg?... worse would be the sharp ones)

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I quite like the idea of an extreme game of Bandu where you have to balance your entire sculpture on one wrist, actually...

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now THAT would be interesting!

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People do have sort-of licence plates. They're generally called "faces" and "fingerprints".

Criminals have worked out a good way to not get caught is to cover their faces with balaclavas or stockings and wear gloves. I fear if they had licence plates they may quickly twig that all they need to do is obscure the licence plate as well.

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