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Thursday 20 November 2008
Black Armband Day
I see that Peter Ustinov has died. Sad, sad day.
I met him once, about fourteen years ago, and even though only brief, it left a lasting impression - he had a bearing and a manner (and of course a wit) that simply imposed themselves on one's senses in such a way that he filled all the available space.
I'd happily count him a personal hero, and the author of one of my favourite lines ever. On being asked to describe Toronto: "It's like New York, run by the Swiss."
Tales From The Hood (III)
As you may have noticed from the times on the two previous postings, I was up quite early this morning. This is partly because the clock change had The Fattest Cat In Christendom clawing at me for food even earlier than usual, but also because I was prowling the flat at all hours anyway for some reason. So while making myself hot chocolate at 5am, I glanced out of the kitchen window and was surprised by the number of lit windows I could see - I'm frequently up and about at all hours, but usually get the feeling that I'm the only one who is. Not so last night/this morning. I could see at least two parties still in full swing, and a couple sitting on the pavement across the way having the kind of snog that looked perilously like it was going to turn into full-on sex at any minute.
Thank god for hot chocolate, I say.
Don't Stop To Ask
Now you've found a break to make at last
You've got to find a way
Say what you want to say
Breakout
And this is where I was going with the title of the previous posting. Am I the only one who's noticed that Swing Out Sister appear to be back?????
In fact, according to swingoutsister.com, "Swing Out Sister Returns Big For 2004". New album out next month it seems, though not in the UK yet, is Amazon is anything to go by.
I used to be very fond of SOS - I'm listening to their debut album it's better to travel (see - it all comes together) as I'm writing this. Cool stuff, though I haven't heard anything of their more recent work at all.
It's Better To Travel
(I'm going somewhere with that subject line - bear with me 'til the next posting)
I had a kind of Passport To Pimlico moment yesterday, when it felt like some kind of cordon was in place to prevent anyone travelling in or out of my part of town. The Rotherhithe Tunnel is closed for 48 hours, there are big roadwork-caused road closures all over the area, most of Canary Wharf's roads were closed or diverted due to some of the construction going on over there, the Limehouse Link had something going on that closed several of the roads that access it, *and*, the Jubilee Line was suspended for its entire length for most of the day.
Getting anywhere beyond the end of my road was hell.
Tales From The Hood (II)
Jogging Man - Jogging Man emerges most evenings for his run. He looks terribly serious about it, properly kitted out and doing stretches and a bit of running on the spot before setting off down the road. I've occasionally noticed him coming back around an hour later.
However, one night last week when I was getting home off my usual schedule, I saw Jogging Man having already set off, heading down the road. But Jogging Man then veered towards the front door of one of the other blocks on the road, rang the bell, and was admitted with alacrity.
Clandestine assignation, do we think?
Best. Answer. Ever.
I've spent part of the day with an extended family, which includes two ten year old sisters. Their uncle has just brought them back a boomerang from his trip to Australia, and we went to the park to try it out.
One of the ten-year-olds has been told that boomerangs are used to kill animals when hunting, so becomes worried when her dad gets set to have the first throw of the thing.
"What if it comes back and kills him?" she asks her mother, fearfully hiding her face.
"Well I suppose he'll die", answers her mother, deadpan.
Who *Wouldn't* Visit....
....a site called 'Logical Packets'?
I wish I'd thought of that one.
Doing My Bit
Never got round to mentioning that I was very diligent at the weekend, and while on a tube platform noted a bag which had been left behind by someone.
I duly alterted the nearest Tube employee, who thanked me for my diligence, put out a cal for the owner to come back, and for all I know evacuated the station after my train had pulled out.
I know we're in a dangerous world because of the consequences of bad decisions we mostly didn't take part in and don't agree with, and we've been here before for the same basic reasons.
But it doesn't take much to do your bit and report suspicious bags or parcels. To coin someone else's phrase, the life you save might be your own.
Tales From The Hood (I)
I don't know if I've mentioned before that without even consciously trying to be, I'm acutely aware of my neighbours. I live in a pretty residential part of town, with various flats facing mine from two directions (I'm on a corner), and by definition, mine facing them.
And many of my neighbours seem to be (or at least act as if they are) blissfully unaware of the fact. So I'm going to start telling you about them. Starting with:
The Woman I Thought Might Be Gert
I first became aware of TWITMBG at some point after I'd started reading Gert's blog, and after I'd got a sense of what she looks like, but before I knew where she lived (beyond a general 'South of the river' sense). So the woman whose kitchen I look down on became became something of a mythical fugure to me. I became convinced that the woman whose dining habits I was virtually familiar with was the same woman whose dining habits I was actually familiar with.
It's not her, of course - wrong location and now that I've met her, not really very like Gert at all, but for a while I thought that my well-developed small-world-syndrome had made the conceptual leap from real to virtual world. That would have been freaky.
I'm minded to write about her because she's in the kitchen at the moment.
She doesn't live alone, by the way. I'll mention her housemates once I've shared a few more of my neighbours with you.
The Answers
Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to get to this - The Prodigal has returned and I've been busy hearing about his travels.
Anyway:
Item One
"I found you now I know that it's true;
I was down on my luck from a lack of trying."
Dodgy - Found You
Item Two
"You need some common sense to plan ahead and
Stay in bed on a Monday morning."
The Candyskins - Monday Morning
Item Three
"I was making myself the usual cup of tea
When the doorbell strangely rang."
Dubstar - Not So Manic Now
Item Four
"Let's not do the wrong thing and I'll swear it might be fun
It's a long way down when all the knots we've tied have come undone"
Gin Blossoms - Follow You Down
Item Five
"Sometimes the sun shines on unkind people,
And some nights the spotlight's on shy people.
People like you."
Kenickie - I Would Fix You
Item Six
"Something's coming over me, I'm so dizzy I can't see.
Can't make out the forest for the trees."
(Two possible answers to this one - I have the original and the cover.)
Jane Wiedlin (Originally) or Joyrider (Cover) - Rush Hour
Item Seven
"Health insurance rip off lying FDA big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining"
New Radicals - You Get What You Give
Item Eight
"How can I help it if I think you're funny when you're mad
Tryin' hard not to smile though I feel bad"
Barenaked Ladies - One Week
New Planet?
Apparently. we may be on the verge of re-defining the solar system.
Or not, if they decide that Sedna isn't really a 'proper' planet. I sense a heated debate coming on.
Well, maybe not that heated....
I Sense A Challenge Coming On
So I'm not tired and I'm still listening to random tracks from my CD singles, so I thought I'd see if anyone wanted to waste some time identifying the artists who commited the following to posterity. If you feel like it, identify them in the comments. Don't worry if you're not interested, this is me killing time more than anything else. But if you play, play fair and don't do searches. You're only cheating yourself....
Item One
"I found you now I know that it's true;
I was down on my luck from a lack of trying."
Item Two
"You need some common sense to plan ahead and
Stay in bed on a Monday morning."
Item Three
"I was making myself the usual cup of tea
When the doorbell strangely rang."
Item Four
"Let's not do the wrong thing and I'll swear it might be fun
It's a long way down when all the knots we've tied have come undone"
Item Five
"Sometimes the sun shines on unkind people,
And some nights the spotlight's on shy people.
People like you."
Item Six
"Something's coming over me, I'm so dizzy I can't see.
Can't make out the forest for the trees."
(Two possible answers to this one - I have the original and the cover.)
Item Seven
"Health insurance rip off lying FDA big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining"
Item Eight
"How can I help it if I think you're funny when you're mad
Tryin' hard not to smile though I feel bad"
Alternatively
"Blue canary in the outlet by the lightswitch
Who watches over you?
Build a little birdhouse in your soul."
Was another possiblity.
Pearly
"A tenement, a dirty street
Walked and worn by shoeless feet
Inside it's long and so complete
Watched by a shivering sun
Old eyes in a small child's face
Watching as the shadows race
Through walls and cracks and leave no trace
And daylight's brightness shuns"
I could have quoted from lots of different tracks at this point, given that conversation with Dave and Octavia this evening covered such a wide range, but I decided that Marc Almond's The Days of Pearly Spencer would take the honours, given that it was the uniformly recognised and approved-of item in the discussion.
Which was partly triggered by me mentioning that I'd started playing random items from my CD collection today while I've been doing some more clearing out. I've realised that I have items I not only don't remember obtaining, but items by artists of whom I'm quite certain I've never heard.
Freaky Coincidence
Oddest thing - having been thinking about Gordon and feeling a little low as a result, I've just had the best pick-me-up: One of the TV Producers I used to work with who I haven't heard from in yonks just sent me a 'how are you doing?' email that put a smile on my face:
"I've just finished a science programme. I packed in science ASAP at school because I fancied the Latin teacher. So I'm crap at science but if you want a gravestone reading I'm your woman."
Goodbye Gordon
You don't know him, but I heard this morning that a friend of mine died yesterday. Not a close friend really. Someone I worked with a few times back in my radio days, and saw socially from time to time once I got out of old media, but a presence, certainly, and one whose loss will certainly be felt.
Gordon was a radio producer of the old school. Committed to making the very best programmes that he could, with attention to detail and integrity, a wicked sense of humour and a quality of leadership I couldn't emulate on my best day. He was the kind of person who it could quite genuinely be said no one ever had a bad word for. At the risk of lapsing into anachronism, a Gentlman.
He'd been ill for some little while, so his death isn't a shocking one, but it's still odd to think that I won't see him again.
Sad day.
Bonkers Weather
It's snowing out. Well, sleeting I suppose is more accurate. It's not settling, whichever it is.
Anyway, as I've been so woefully uncommunicative this week, I'll offer a couple of news items that caught my eye:
The George Michael thing, and
The latest on Gay Marriage in San Francisco.
The Saga Of Greg
For about a week now I've been meaning to post an enquiry about whether the result of Greg Rusedski's drugs charge appeal had *ever* been announced and I'd somehow missed it - It seems like weeks ago that he said he expected it to be nine days.
Obviously I hadn't missed it, as it's now reported that he's been cleared.
Though apparently this outcome leaves the ATP on the rack.
Socialising Shock!
Well, in one of those work-night rarities, I actually went out last night for my first proper catch-up in ages with Barbara, though in typical fashion I've started to feel really grotty and had to curtail the evening. I was in bed by about ten past ten....
Sad Day
Well, even though I know it's been on the cards of a long time, it's still sad to note that WebMonkey has munched its last banana.
Classically Dumb
Just had this in an email from someone who shall remain nameless:
"Just went down to Reebok to join Weightwatchers, as you know they are
now listed on the WW website as having meeting on Monday lunchtime. So I get
there about 10 to 12 (keen) and ask for the meeting and the receptionist
tells me I'm the first one there so i take a seat and wait and wait and
wait - 1/4 past 12 I go back to the receptionist and ask if there is
actually a meeting and she says "oh no they don't start here until next
Monday!!"
"so why didn't you tell me that 20 mins ago?" I ask "did you think I was
going to sit here for a week??"
Her reply? "Oh dunno really""
Bad Man
So I ended up upsetting someone yesterday, which is not something i wanted to do but something I found unavoidable.
I don't like being the bad guy - it doesn't sit well with me, because I try very hard to be Mr Sensitive, even though I'm too cynical to pull that off very well.
But I really don't like the kind of situation where being honest with someone hurts them. See - this is why opening up and talking about your feelings is A Bad Thing, and one that I try to avoid at every opportunity.
Flashback
You know, I begin to remember why I don't have big late nights out so much these days. I've been good for absolutely nothing today. Admittedly it was gone 4am when I went to bed, so I wasn't exactly anticipating being all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but nor was I quite expecting to be so completely wiped out all day.
This clearly can't be a regular occurence - though I did have a good time last night. And in a lot of ways, a wasted day will have done me no harm at all on the recovering some energy front.
Off to Alison's this evening for the latest in a series of evenings featuring me helping her to understand some new piece of technology she's invested in and her feeding me. It's a hard life.
Single Figures
So - somewhat against my better judgement, having joined Dave for a bottle or so, I decided that stupidly busy and knackering though this week's been, I deserved a night out.
So I went to a certain South London Gentlemen's Club which caters for, among others, the rather fuller figured fellow. Don't get me wrong, it's not just for big blokes, but it's a body-fascism-free zone, where people who don't look like GQ models can go and have a good time and not worry about being judged.
And while I was there I had a bit of a realisation about some of the problems I have with my body image.
See, there are people who are big and keep in shape.
And there are people who are just big - the chunky guys who acknowledge that they're chunky and don't give a damn. They're the kind of big blokes who'll happily cast off their shirts and hit the dancefloor for hours, not minding that they're chunky. And they dance, and they flirt, and they cruise and they pick up. All quite happily.
And then there are people like me. Big (tall that is), and with a generally well-proportioned basic body shape that's simply out of shape. Just a bit too flabby for complete comfort. And as a consequence of that just a bit, I'm disproportionately self-conscious about my body. I'd never take off my shirt and dance in front of people; or not for the last ten years at least.
I'm very envious of the people who don't give a damn.
Memory Like An Elephant
First off, sorry for the quietude. Every evening this week I've been up to my eyes in paperwork, specifically a proposal I have to get in tomorrow. I've just about wrapped it up now, pending minor edits first thing in the morning. It's taken it out of me somewhat.
But I had to smile when I took out the calculator which has lain unused since we folded the old company last November. Valiantly it struggled to charge its little solar cell by the light of my desk lamp, and when it finally sputtered back to life, I noticed that it thought it still had something in its memory. "Surely not" I mused, but when I hit 'recall', the number that displayed was indeed a multiple of our old day rate that must have been the last thing I calculated.
The fortitude of the little fellow should be an inspiration to us all.
Trade Fair
Today is the start of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight, and as I intend to each year, I'll be linking to some suitable sites - is the plan anyway.
To start with, The Fairtrade Foundation itself, which is this year marking ten years of the Fairtrade Mark.
More to follow, hopefully.