In the UK this week, but here’s a little link round-up:

TuneGlue music map – try it with the name of your band-of-the-moment and see what it spits out

Hitmen old and new – Edward Lucas in the Economist argues that modern technology makes killing easier—but harder to get away with

Can a Russian Oligarch Save the British Press? – Der Spiegel on Lebedev

The iState of the Union – Sorry, a bit late with this one but it’s still worth reading

ToneMatrix – cool toy from Andre Michelle

Couple marries at 5th Avenue Apple Store – from TUAW

vParticle – cool Russia iPhone app. Via Andy at Siberian Light

Enjoy.

Moscow, January 13, 2010: My pal Luke Harding reports that James Cameron stands accused of ‘borrowing’ from Russian Sci Fi author brothers Boris and Arkady Shrugatsky in creating the world of ‘Avatar’.

Luke further tells us that the sole surviving Shrugatsky, Boris, ’shrugged off’ the suggestion, denied accusing Cameron of plagiarism. No harm done. And in a delicious potentially plagiaristic sub-plot, numerous other outlets play the same obvious ’shrug’ gag the following day.

Sydney, February 5, 2010: The Australian Federal Court rules that an incidental flute riff in Men at Work’s ‘Down Under’ bears too much of a resemblance to the old girl scout refrain, Kookaburra, penned by one Marion Sinclair in 1934. That, when our heroes weren’t busy buying bread from men in Brussels, their dastardly deeds included stealing tunes off of Aussie schoolgirls.

The contrast? Boris Shrugatsky, 76-year-old niche sci-fi writer appears, as we’ve said, unfazed by Avatar’s resemblance to his work – and perhaps, justifiably, even a little flattered by the comparison. No accusations made, no damages sought.

Kookaburra’s owner, however, is Larrikin music, who bought the rights from Marion Sinclair’s estate 56 years after she wrote it, and shortly after her death. Larrikin is seeking substantial damages from the boys in the fried-out Kombi. Says Larrikin’s MD, Norman Lurie, of Kookaburra:

“It’s earned a hell of a lot of money for us since we’ve bought it.”

Moral high ground’s all yours, Boris. Vegemite sandwich?

… but everything works.

It’s minus 25 out there today. Rumour has it that this is the coldest Winter Russia’s seen since 1942. Well Leningrad’s no longer under blockade, but it’s definitely pretty chilly.

Your face starts to go numb after a few minutes outside. The skating rink on Red Square is practically deserted, because it’s too cold. The new ice-breaking party boats on the river haven’t been seen for a while. We’re freezing Lt Blender’s Margaritas on the balcony. But everything works.

The streets are clear of snow, barring the light dusting of powder which has been gently falling all day. The commuter trains and the metro all work. Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports are as busy as ever. The trams and trolleybuses are all still doing their thing.

Just saying.

Let’s all give a big blogosphere welcome for … Andrew Fairburn!

On their new blog at reputationspotlight.wordpress.com, Regester Larkin are looking at some interesting reputation management issues. My friend and former H&K colleague Andrew Fairburn (who’s always reminded me of Tiff Needell, although I’m not sure he knows that) is doing much of the writing. This is great to see; many of my better postings on my old H&K blog started off as office banter with Andrew.

I shall watch with interest. Particularly like yesterday’s Nuclear post.

Marvellous news from Amazon that the Kindle will shortly be available in ‘over 100 countries’, including here in Russia, in time for Christmas. No blogs or browsing, though, and there’s no 3G here yet.

Just make sure you sign the Kindle License Agreement And Terms of Use. Or Gort’ll get ya.

(you shouldn’t need to scroll down, but just in case …)

Moscow never ceases to surprise. This was the scene at McDonald’s on Old Arbat late yesterday evening.

… for being so silent for so long.

I’ll be back soon, I promise.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of a good brunch. It sets you up for the rest of the day, particularly after a heavy night the night before. It’s what’s on the collective minds of our friends at Gecko 3 when they entreat us to join them for a Jazz Breakfast.

Wherever you live, you need ‘places. And so we’ve always had our habitual brunch venues. Edinburgh spoils you for choice; Ryan’s, Indigo Yard or the City Cafe will all sort you out. In Cape Town it was either the Barnyard Farm Stall or the River Cafe at Uitsig. Twickenham? Arthurs on the Green, converted from an old Victorian toilet. Wimbledon? Tootsies, of course. But here in Moscow, we’ve struggled a bit.

Hemingways was the obvious choice for a while, until its sad demise. Same goes for Volkonskiy Kaiser on the old Arbat. The Starlite is pretty good, and LPQ’s great for pastries and pretending you’re in Europe. But nowhere’s quite hit the spot yet.

Until, perhaps, today.

Enter Kitch Kock – ??? ??? – on Petrovka. Achingly trendy bar / club by evening (David Lee Roth/British anarchist punk/80’s late night MTV goes velvet rope exclusive, says BlackBook), unlikely brunch venue by day? Perhaps. But the new ‘New York-style Brunch’ came highly recommended, so nothing ventured …

And it works. Comfy sofas, good staff, superb decor, and Cuban jazz playing as we arrived. You couldn’t be anywhere else but Moscow. In a good way. Oh, and the food? If the rest of the menu’s as good as the breakfast burritos, you’ll know where to find me on a Sunday afternoon.

One of my blogging colleagues from my H&K days, Phil Turner, is back in the saddle.

Phil’s previous blog was a combination of rock ‘n’ roll, storytelling and internal comms in neat, bite-sized chunks, which I enjoyed from beginning to end.

Phil’s new blog is here. And now that I’ve suitably bigged him up, we shall expect great things.

DOMODEDOVO AIRPORT – I remember when my hometown in Surrey got its first MacDonalds. I must have been about twelve or thirteen. No-one really knew how it worked, so they had staff on hand to explain the simple three-stage concept of fast food:

1 – Go to counter, get your food.
2 – Sit at a table.
3 – Eat your food.

Not all that difficult once you’ve got the hang of it.

Unfortunately, here at Domodedovo Airport – and in the burgeoning Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Mickey D’s all over Russia, the order appears to be 2, 1, 3. Which just doesn’t work.

Right now, for example, half the tables here at CoffeMania are occupied by people with no food (or coffee). Including several where children have been left, bereft of both company and sustinence, to mind the bags while their parents go to the Duty Free.

Half the customers with coffee, on the other hand, are standing around or squishing, like us, four people onto two chairs, because there aren’t enough free tables.

Do the math, people. It takes roughly as long to queue for your food as it does to eat your food. There’s enough tables for everyone, if only you’d stop occupying them for twice as long as you have to.

Ah well. I’m off to Barcelona for a week.