R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron ( April 1st 1949 - May 27th, 2011 )

As a mark of respect for the actor Jeff Conaway who also passed away yesterday:



I was alerted to both of the above sad events by the front page of the BBC website this morning. Meanwhile, the main entertainment headlines over at www.msn.co.uk are that Take That's tour has started, and the 'Hottest Woman Over 50' has been named in a survey. (It's not Margaret Thatcher).

Yet more pro-BBC propaganda from me now, as I must mention the 2 best pieces of television I've watched this year on i-Player. First is Stewart Lee deconstructing stand-up comedy (whilst sat down), in which he calls for the return of the 'good old' IRA in such a way that would still make them want to kill him.

And second, was the first episode of Adam Curtis' new series of documentaries 'All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace'. Like all of his work, it is a totally engrossing story, tracing hidden connections through history. Last week's episode was an American tale that began with the construction of a skyscraper, and ended 50 years later with the destruction of two, and featured Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, Monica Lewinsky, several financial crashes and a game of Pong.

Visit Adam's blog here.