Retro Baby
Following on from a musical posting last week, I wanted to mention that it's not only other people's (well, David's) preferred listening which is affecting what I hear.
A few months ago I had a sudden nostalgic flashback to a band I used to like in my youth, and went to Amazon to check for any of their output. A 'Best of' CD was available, so I stuck it into my shopping basket against the day that I had enough else in there to justify an order. Finally last week I found a couple of books I wanted, so I put the order in, and spent a very entertaining commute in this morning listening to Time For Action - The Very Best of Secret Affair.
Never heard of them? I'm not surprised - I am *very* old after all. But I had Time For Action, My World and Sound Of Confusion among others belting out most satisfyingly.
Ah - nostalgia.
He’s Dead Then
See - now I'm conflicted.
I'm not religious, and it'll come as a shock to no one that I don't believe in any of that guff.
But the death of Pope John Paul II almost makes me want there to be some truth to the whole 'afterlife' thing.
Because I want there to be a special place in hell reserved for evil old bigots who use their authority to make the world worse for the people they've decided to hate, and who turn a blind eye to minor matters like their representatives encouraging people to risk their lives rather than take sensible population control measures.
The only downside to him going is that there's a fair chance they'll pick someone even worse as the next one.
Edit: The other downside is that I suppose we'll be subjected to days more of the non-stop media beatification of him.
The End Of The World
That's this week's episode of Doctor Who, and as I summed it up with all my critical faculties ablaze: "Oh. My. God".
I mean, there's simply no question but that it was the best-looking episode the series has ever had - huge virtual sets that didn't look virtual, great alien designs, excellent effects, all added to cracking characters, brilliant dialogue, and some hints that something terrible happened between old Who and new to leave the Doctor the last of the Time Lords.
This new series is shaping up to be absolutely superb.
A Minor Drama
Oh but I have my moments.
In the departure lounge of the airport for my flight back to London this afternoon I was sitting near two women who were travelling together. A rather irritating youth (probably 17 or 18 years old) decided to start hassling them, giving them a hard time because he'd decided they were lesbians.
He was doing the whole "You people make me sick - you fucking perverts - why don't you get away from where normal people are?" routine, and they were getting visibly agitated. They were also, it's worth noting, very short - neither one of them would have topped five feet, and this guy was scrawny but taller, maybe 5'9".
I was all set to step in, when he gave me the perfect opening: "All you need is sorting out by a real man - that'll show you what you're missing."
So I stood up and said "I could say the same to you."
He turned to me and started spluttering, asking what I meant. So I told him that if he was so keen for people to experience what a real man was like, he should try taking it himself. And while he wasn't my type, I was sure that if he went to the right bars, he'd be able to find someone who'd be willing to bend him over.
Just for a moment I thought he was going to take a swing at me (I was kind of hoping he would), but I did have both height and bulk on my side, so he stopped and said "What are you then, a queer?"
I said "queer, faggot, poof, call me whatever you like, it's not going to bother me, and it's not going to stop you fucking off and leaving us all in peace."
By which point several people were pointing and giggling, so he did indeed turn tail.
I felt all butch and manly. Which is a good trick when you've just announced you're queer to a departure lounge full of people 
Oh Please
Earlier on I heard some random nutter that Radio 4 had cornered in St Peter's Square describe the Pope as "the person the whole world turns to for moral guidance".
If I hadn't been driving at speed, I may have given in to my instinctive inclination to throw up.
The day I need to go to someone like that for moral guidance is never going to dawn.
Assuming he's alive in the morning, I'd like to see at least one of the papers run a headline: "The Pope: Not Dead Yet."
A Bit Of A Domestic
A domestic flight that is.
It's been years since I took a flight within the UK, and I'd forgotten how short they are, and how consequently frenzied is the work that the cabin crew have to do.
I took a 45 minute flight today that was scheduled to be an hour and ten minutes, so when the pilot announced the actual flying time, the crew looked a bit freaked and started working out a game plan. In the event, we sat on the ground after we'd pushed back from the gate for longer than we were actually going to be in the air, but once we were underway, they really went for it. They kept the service standard right up, did everything with a smile on their faces, and much to my entertainment (I was in the row right behind the galley), when they wheeled the last trolley back in and latched it in place, they all gave each other high fives.
It's a hard life up there you know.