Distant objects and nearby music

Normally, I would be writing about the discovery of the most distant quasar by Imperial Astronomers using the UKIDSS survey (using excellent Bayesian methods), but Andy and Peter have beaten me to it. To make up for it, I’ll try to get one of the authors of the paper to discuss it here themselves, soon. (In the meantime, some other links, from STFC, ESO, Gemini, …)

But I’ve got a good excuse: I was out (with one of those authors, as it happens) seeing Paul Simon play at the Hammersmith Apollo:

Like my parents, Paul Simon grew up in the outer boroughs of New York City, a young teenager at the birth of rock’n’roll, and his music, no matter how many worldwide influences he brings in, always reminds me of home.

He played “The Sound Of Silence” (solo), most of his 70s hits from “Kodachrome” and “Mother and Child Reunion” to the soft rock of “Slip Slidin’ Away”, and covers of “Mystery Train” and “Here Comes the Sun“. But much of the evening was devoted to what is still his masterpiece, Graceland. (We were a little disappointed that the space-oriented backing video for “The Boy in the Bubble” included images neither of the Cosmic Microwave Background nor the new most distant quasar….)