Tom Lennon • Freelance Writer: comedy and pop culture

Freelance writer specializing in comedy and the geekier end of the pop culture spectrum.

Latest Stuff

Brummie of the Year 2007 is….

(Sustained drumroll. Collective gasp of anticipation. Vigorous wrestling with a glitzy-looking envelope.)...John Tighe, the Landlord of the mighty Spotted Dog pub in Digbeth.Congratulations to a well-deserving winner. This man has taken a stand against the gentrified hordes, and for that I salute him. You can read about John's valiant efforts at his campaign website. May his commitment to the authentic live music experience continue to upset the delicate sensibilities of irredeemable gobshites and their polite, James Blunt-soundtracked dinner parties.So say we all.Commiserations to the runners-up, particularly my good friend and erstwhile gigpimp Pete Ashton. Here's the full results, courtesy of [...]

Voix pour Pete.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my good friend and erstwhile gig pimp Pete Ashton is in the shortlist for Brummie of the Year. The deadline to vote is midnight tonight, and last time I checked, Pete was in second place.As I mentioned previously, Pete has tirelessly encouraged, urged and sometimes forcibly coerced the city's artistic community to use the Internet to their best advantage. Pete is a true renaissance man - a world-renowned neurosurgeon, a leading particle physicist, a record-breaking racing car driver and a chart-topping rock star - and many of us feel that his groundbreaking work [...]

Evel Knieval is Dead

As a 70's kid, Evel Knieval will always have a special place in my heart. I spent many a Saturday morning tearing up and down the living room carpet with my mean and menacing Ideal Toys wind-up Evel Knieval Hawk Cycle set. Not the Stunt Cycle that everyone else had, but the goddamn Hawk Cycle. I also had a rather groovy and massive Evel Knieval Stunt Van, a sort of plastic moulded, bachelor pad Wendy House on wheels. And, no, it wasn't girly. It was positively Gonzo.Like any self-respecting Age of Beige pre-pubescent with a wind-up Evel Knieval Hawk Cycle [...]