People This from the 'Edwina Currie / John Major wierd romance department'. Jerry 'I was in Sliders' O'Connell and Geri 'I was Ginger once' Halliwell seen on a date. Jerry and Geri. Something similar about those names.
Life I visited my old-new-old flat the other night. My room now resembles one of the little rooms that sometimes holds installations at The Tate. It has a mock-wooden floor and white wall and white blinds. Because the floor is actually a sort of covered laminate it's quite springy and warm, like the sprung floor in use during the Netball at the Commonwealth Games. It's nice to have a room which actually has good memories at the core.
TV Although this has whiff of an item which used to appear on Steve Wright in the Afternoon on Radio One in the eighties (and isn't that an obscure reference) most of the writing in Lost Remote's Things Viewers Never, Ever Say rings utterly true:
"I'm glad they referred to him as 'the Pontiff' on the second reference and 'John Paul the Second' on the third reference. I would have been bored if they just said 'The Pope.'"Can I add ... "I'm really glad that the local North West news broadcast from Manchester always highlights stories about Manchester -- I mean who wants to hear about anywhere else?"
"I'm glad they clarified that it was "ACTOR" Arnold Schwarzenegger. I had no idea who they were talking about."
"It really helped my understanding of that story that they asked a couple of random idiots on the street what THEY thought of it."
TV Channel 4 launching a new channel for the over 30s, called More4. Personally I would have liked something akin to the channel in the late eighties early nineties when film four was at it's peak and it still produced serious drama and documentaries. Anyone remember Cutting Edge?
Politics Again in the Big Country an example of micro-politics. A recent referendum at Brock University is brought into question. Were students misled in last year's bus pas referendum? Although the subject is utterly irrelevant to anyone who isn't a student of that university, this is a very passionate argument, and you can see the stirings of a strong politician. Good luck with the presidency Laura Fekete.
Currency It appears that food portions aren't the only things which are bigger in the United States. The Memory Hole baits forgers and publishes scans of a $10,000 bill and other large denominations. In the UK, things are a bit smaller.
Life In a week’s time we will have moved flats again, and for some reason I feel a lot calmer. Whether it’s because everything is already packed from last year so I haven’t got that to do again, or that it’ll be the same time as a holiday. Perhaps it a pronounced instance of something getting easier each time you do it. Which means when I finally move out of the crib it’ll be a breeze (ouch … I think by tongue has bonded with the inside of my cheek).
Music If you're in the UK and buying one single this week, it really should be Siobhan Donaghy's Twist of Fate, a really natty bit of pop, if only for the video which seem to be taking the piss out of the kind of videos single white girl singers appear in (In the first section she stands in the centre of four hired in dancers giving there all. But she just looks at them and walks away. Reminds me of early Debbie Harry actually). This Observer article goes some way to explaining what happened with The Sugababes:
"What happened in Japan to precipitate walking out of the band and flying back to London alone? She shrugs, folds her arms. 'We did have a falling out in Japan, me and Keisha. But. I dunno. It was just never good. Right from the start. We just didn't get on. We ignored each other and went about our business. It was very much a working relationship and we couldn't even work at that. You know all those photos of us refusing to smile? I was just really unhappy and I couldn't be arsed.' "Her official site is also very interesting, a magazine in flash format which flicks through to the page you're looking for. [The Guardian reviews a concert here]
Words Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elings uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. Ceehiro ! [via Chris and everybody else]
Books I've had another Bookcrossing catch:
"I picked it up in the Starbucks, and leafed through it whilst drinking my coffee. I agree that the comedy only really comes out through his voice - and his faces. I've never been his biggest fan though. It was interesting reading comedy that was written when Thatcher was in power."I think I'll probably just leave them all on the top floor of Starbucks. Seems to be the perfect pick up place.
Shakespeare The Bard on Music:
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O! it came o?er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour.
["Twelfth Night" (1.1.1-7)]
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O! it came o?er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour.
["Twelfth Night" (1.1.1-7)]
Music This is only beginning of this story Ewan McGregor has recorded a rap song which pokes fun at dead rock stars. I love that the linked article fills time by reminding us who he is: "McGregor, who comes from Crieff, Perthshire..." (really !?!) "McGregor, who played a heroin addict in Trainspotting ....." (which is a bit like saying "Paul McCartney formerly of a band called 'The Beatles' ")
Music Pop Cult Magazine discusses why Mojo Magazine would never work in the US. Many wounds made in Rolling Stone magazine, not least because they'll have anyone female and attractive nowadays. I mean I do like reading The Stone now and then, but the number of times a teen idol (usually Britney) has appeared in the cover is certainly hair raising.
Life I mentioned this other other day but now it's becoming quite disturbing. I can't review music. I just sat down to write about the really good, Lisa Ekdahl sings Salvadore Poe and I ended up talking about Breakfast at Tiffanys and summer days. I can write a potted history of the album and the singer (seventh album of the Gold record selling Swedish singing the words and music of her New York husband Poe) but when it comes to talking about what's there I don't know where to begin.
Perhaps its my frame of reference; I'd end up comparing it to Norah Jones or easy listening music like Andy Williams, or the soundtrack to some film by Douglas Sirk. But that's not really reviewing. I don't really have a frame of reference because I haven't heard anything else by her. I look through the writing in Word magazine or Q and it all seems to effortless, and although I can follow what is being done, replicating it is another matter.
So this is why, although I have a large music collection I hardly every writie about any of it. Saying how much something reminds you of something else doesn't really feel like a review. Perhaps needless pretentiously I could say that I speak the language of film instead -- I can talk about films forever. When I finish the odd book I can somehow manage to write something about that. But music is different. I have, I suppose, the same reaction as some have to art. I know what I like and I think I know what is good and what isn't.
All of which feels like a massive apology. So in the future I might just stick in a recommendation without any great depth if that's alright. I think this works...
Music Lisa Ekdahl sings Salvadore Poe or The Carpenters do jazz as a husband gets his million cd selling wife to sing some songs. The perfect track for couples having a candlelit dinner or for a summer afternoon in the park, or for singles looking to be awoken by something fresh and breezy in the morning. Just the right side of the 'spirit of the Punto'. Favourite lyric: We can talk in circles / Going round in a million ways / And never understand."
Perhaps its my frame of reference; I'd end up comparing it to Norah Jones or easy listening music like Andy Williams, or the soundtrack to some film by Douglas Sirk. But that's not really reviewing. I don't really have a frame of reference because I haven't heard anything else by her. I look through the writing in Word magazine or Q and it all seems to effortless, and although I can follow what is being done, replicating it is another matter.
So this is why, although I have a large music collection I hardly every writie about any of it. Saying how much something reminds you of something else doesn't really feel like a review. Perhaps needless pretentiously I could say that I speak the language of film instead -- I can talk about films forever. When I finish the odd book I can somehow manage to write something about that. But music is different. I have, I suppose, the same reaction as some have to art. I know what I like and I think I know what is good and what isn't.
All of which feels like a massive apology. So in the future I might just stick in a recommendation without any great depth if that's alright. I think this works...
Music Lisa Ekdahl sings Salvadore Poe or The Carpenters do jazz as a husband gets his million cd selling wife to sing some songs. The perfect track for couples having a candlelit dinner or for a summer afternoon in the park, or for singles looking to be awoken by something fresh and breezy in the morning. Just the right side of the 'spirit of the Punto'. Favourite lyric: We can talk in circles / Going round in a million ways / And never understand."
Quick Blog Final New York Flashmob goes horribly wrong, but strangely still interesting. The Exorcist, remade in Turkey. Rosetta Stone to stay in London. Bill Murray interviewed. This never happens by the way.
Life I spent the past couple of days in bed, full of cold, which is how I managed to read the Danny Wallace book in record time in comparison to Elizabeth Wurtzel (excuse me while I sneeze ... waits ... oh alright ... bless me). Yesterday my ears chewed through The Rough Guides to Russia (still wierd), Scandinavia and Paris Cafes. Today I tried to be a bit New York so it was the soundtrack to Manhattan and this Norah Jones collaboration (which I have tried to review, but since I can't review music at all, just ends up sounding a bit bluesy, a bit country).
So it's two years now and for some reason it still hasn't gone away. Being home alone tucked up in bed I tried not to think about it. Almost ritualistically I put the tv on at about 3 o'clock to check that nothing had happened other than the memorial service. I found the brief moments of that difficult to watch so I went back to bed. The same question keeps being asked. Has the world really changed? Well, yes it has. All of the political news about reports and enquiries all lead backwards, however vaguely, to what happened in New York that day, and the ripple effects large and small are going to continue for years to come. I just wish they could all be like this ....
So it's two years now and for some reason it still hasn't gone away. Being home alone tucked up in bed I tried not to think about it. Almost ritualistically I put the tv on at about 3 o'clock to check that nothing had happened other than the memorial service. I found the brief moments of that difficult to watch so I went back to bed. The same question keeps being asked. Has the world really changed? Well, yes it has. All of the political news about reports and enquiries all lead backwards, however vaguely, to what happened in New York that day, and the ripple effects large and small are going to continue for years to come. I just wish they could all be like this ....
Books Danny Wallace, freelance journalist is bored. Having just moved into his own place after a flat share with his friend Dave all he finds himself doing is watching TV, playing games and scratching and it doesn't seem to be getting him anywhere. Then he hear's about an uncle he didn't know who's died. At the funeral he finds out that said Uncle had a plan in his youth to buy some land and talk a hundred people from his village (total population 1000) into living there with him in a collective, working the land and getting back to nature. He managed only three, became the family joke and entered into isolation.
Danny thinks he can do better and wants to commemorate his late uncle in some way. So he puts an classified advert in Loot magazine which simply says 'Join Me' and a note asking for a passport photo to be sent to his home address. It was a stupid idea. A flight of fancy. Then someone answered.
Join Me is a semi-sequel to the fabulous 'Are You Dave Gorman?' which he co-wrote with Dave Gorman. In that book it was Gorman who was the eccentric, the person wanting to find 54 people namesakes; Wallace was the straight man; the one telling Dave to calm down, to stop the madness before it went too far.
Here the story continues. It isn't clear how far after the previous book all this happened for it seems pretty close. It's as though Wallace secretly missed the chase he was sidekick to and needed something to fill the hole. He might have been the frowner last time, but he was secretly enjoying every minute. In this book it turns out he's possibly even madder; at least Gorman has a perceptible limit to his work. Wallace shoots the ball going and doesn't even goal. But one of the joys of the book is the constant revelations as it proceeds and since I'm going to recommend you buy this at the end of the review I don't want to give too much away.
This is another in an ever increasing genre of books in which reasonably normal people do quite extraordinary things for no apparent reason and write about them. Part of the charm here is that Wallace admits that he doesn't have the writing ability of other people in the genre and name checks travel writer he thinks would be doing a better job. Ironically he's actually as good as they are. For various reasons he takes a trip to Paris and perfectly captures what it's like around the Eiffel Tower and in the cafes.
As in the Gorman book he also captures the silent majority of people in the UK who are extraordinary for no apparent reason other than they feel like they should be doing something out of the ordinary. It's not anarchy, or non-conformity in the traditional sense. It's that idea that if you want to change the way life is and expected behavior, your only course of action is to have a go. I'd say the recent craze of FlashMobbing and BookCrossing (leaving old books about for other people to pick up and enjoy) are other examples of this.
For me the most interesting aspect of this endeavor is that at no point does the reader feel that all of this happened because of a potential book deal. Wallace didn't go to the book publisher with the publisher with the idea before proceeding. There is even a hint that this story was only turned into words after the success of the first book, which means that for some time it existed only in the news reports and website. It was a personal project, something the journalist wanted to do so that he was at least doing something.
But I'm not going to pretend it's a book for everyone. As with the Gorman book there is a built in pointlessness about the story which will not appeal to all. There are a couple of occasions when some readers might wonder about the motives. For the rest of us, those who love the idea that moments of magic like this can happen in the world we're stuck with at present, it's a joy and reinvigorates your belief in people. Here is the bit were I recommend you buy the book. Buy the book.
Danny thinks he can do better and wants to commemorate his late uncle in some way. So he puts an classified advert in Loot magazine which simply says 'Join Me' and a note asking for a passport photo to be sent to his home address. It was a stupid idea. A flight of fancy. Then someone answered.
Join Me is a semi-sequel to the fabulous 'Are You Dave Gorman?' which he co-wrote with Dave Gorman. In that book it was Gorman who was the eccentric, the person wanting to find 54 people namesakes; Wallace was the straight man; the one telling Dave to calm down, to stop the madness before it went too far.
Here the story continues. It isn't clear how far after the previous book all this happened for it seems pretty close. It's as though Wallace secretly missed the chase he was sidekick to and needed something to fill the hole. He might have been the frowner last time, but he was secretly enjoying every minute. In this book it turns out he's possibly even madder; at least Gorman has a perceptible limit to his work. Wallace shoots the ball going and doesn't even goal. But one of the joys of the book is the constant revelations as it proceeds and since I'm going to recommend you buy this at the end of the review I don't want to give too much away.
This is another in an ever increasing genre of books in which reasonably normal people do quite extraordinary things for no apparent reason and write about them. Part of the charm here is that Wallace admits that he doesn't have the writing ability of other people in the genre and name checks travel writer he thinks would be doing a better job. Ironically he's actually as good as they are. For various reasons he takes a trip to Paris and perfectly captures what it's like around the Eiffel Tower and in the cafes.
As in the Gorman book he also captures the silent majority of people in the UK who are extraordinary for no apparent reason other than they feel like they should be doing something out of the ordinary. It's not anarchy, or non-conformity in the traditional sense. It's that idea that if you want to change the way life is and expected behavior, your only course of action is to have a go. I'd say the recent craze of FlashMobbing and BookCrossing (leaving old books about for other people to pick up and enjoy) are other examples of this.
For me the most interesting aspect of this endeavor is that at no point does the reader feel that all of this happened because of a potential book deal. Wallace didn't go to the book publisher with the publisher with the idea before proceeding. There is even a hint that this story was only turned into words after the success of the first book, which means that for some time it existed only in the news reports and website. It was a personal project, something the journalist wanted to do so that he was at least doing something.
But I'm not going to pretend it's a book for everyone. As with the Gorman book there is a built in pointlessness about the story which will not appeal to all. There are a couple of occasions when some readers might wonder about the motives. For the rest of us, those who love the idea that moments of magic like this can happen in the world we're stuck with at present, it's a joy and reinvigorates your belief in people. Here is the bit were I recommend you buy the book. Buy the book.
Life In a fortnight we're moving back to the flat we vacated a year ago for building work. For some reason the packing doesn't seem to be as monumental this time. I didn't really unpack anything so most of my life is still in cardboard. But I filled three boxes tonight and half of everything and that seems to be half of everything I need doing.
I'm also being very ruthless when it comes to clearing out. Watching Life Laundary has taught me that I don't really need to keep half the stuff I have. The CD Roms were easy. Most were cover discs with massively old and inferior software on them and some simply weren't compatible anymore. The paperwork was difficult and filled with value judgements - how long do you need to keep payslips for a job you left four years ago?
I've always had a rather excessive video collection. I've hoarded tv recordings and I've got thousands of tapes. But looking through some of the boxes I've already packed I can't think for the life of me why I'm keeping half of them. Perhaps I've been spoilt by DVD but what's the point in keeping a second generation copy of Steel Magnolias in full screen which I taped and retaped from ITV ten years ago. I've also rammed up against the sticky problem of long play incompatibility between recorders. So all of the Quantum Leap episodes I faithfully collected from the BBC are all unwatchable because I've changed recorders twice since then.
Black bagging it all is a liberating experience. There are lots of programmes I would never let go of. Like the Adam and Joe Fourmative Years programme from when Channel 4 celebrated fifteen years of programming; or the Mark Kermode documentaries about making his favourite films; or the John Cusack movie Better Off Dead. But in the past I've thought it was important to have an archive of all these programmes, in case I had to teach a class, or anyone wanted to borrow them. But I realized that HMV has a better archive and Blockbuster loan out things as well. If it's the difference between having a room which doesn't look like the stacks at the British Library Audio Visual section and having a clear head, I'll choose the latter. I have tapes which I bought or taped five years ago I still haven't watched. Sometimes you have let go.
I'm even loosing many books. If I've read it and it doesn't have some special significance, it's gone. Douglas Adams and Monty Python are staying, Tom Clancy and John Grisham are going. I'll be keeping all of the literature I studied at school and losing all the literature I collected but never read. I've got all of Charles Dickens' novels just to look impressive on the shelf. I've never read them so why keep them? If I get the burning desire the library is always there and it won't be wasting shelf space when its finished. Already some will be pouring scorn on me, but it's amazing actually how much the human brain can keep in store. I don't need to have the volume on a shelf to talk about it.
There are special cases. My Yahoo Internet Life's aren't going anywhere. Neither my Empire movie magazines or SFX. But as a trade off Premiere has gone south as have Total Film (except for the earlier issues when it was new and fresh and Danny Wallace wrote for them). Although I know I need to filter my CD collection for the same reasons as above, for some reason music feels different. I know I'll never listen to that Speedball Baby album again, but I really like the cover. And I really couldn't live without the six minute version of Underwater Love by Smoke City.
Will there be anything I'll regret chucking out? Probably. Now and then my Dad talks about the mint condition copies of Amazing Stories and Eagle comic my late Gran threw out when she cleared out his boyhood things for him (have you seen how much the former are going for)? But almost everything is replacable I think and there are too few hours in the day to enjoy anything anymore. And besides I'm always more interested in the things I haven't seen / heard / read before than those things that I have. Which is probably why I can't wait to see what Lucas does with the old Star Wars trilogy in the next few years.
But that's a different discussion for another time. For now I'll just put it in that box over there …
I'm also being very ruthless when it comes to clearing out. Watching Life Laundary has taught me that I don't really need to keep half the stuff I have. The CD Roms were easy. Most were cover discs with massively old and inferior software on them and some simply weren't compatible anymore. The paperwork was difficult and filled with value judgements - how long do you need to keep payslips for a job you left four years ago?
I've always had a rather excessive video collection. I've hoarded tv recordings and I've got thousands of tapes. But looking through some of the boxes I've already packed I can't think for the life of me why I'm keeping half of them. Perhaps I've been spoilt by DVD but what's the point in keeping a second generation copy of Steel Magnolias in full screen which I taped and retaped from ITV ten years ago. I've also rammed up against the sticky problem of long play incompatibility between recorders. So all of the Quantum Leap episodes I faithfully collected from the BBC are all unwatchable because I've changed recorders twice since then.
Black bagging it all is a liberating experience. There are lots of programmes I would never let go of. Like the Adam and Joe Fourmative Years programme from when Channel 4 celebrated fifteen years of programming; or the Mark Kermode documentaries about making his favourite films; or the John Cusack movie Better Off Dead. But in the past I've thought it was important to have an archive of all these programmes, in case I had to teach a class, or anyone wanted to borrow them. But I realized that HMV has a better archive and Blockbuster loan out things as well. If it's the difference between having a room which doesn't look like the stacks at the British Library Audio Visual section and having a clear head, I'll choose the latter. I have tapes which I bought or taped five years ago I still haven't watched. Sometimes you have let go.
I'm even loosing many books. If I've read it and it doesn't have some special significance, it's gone. Douglas Adams and Monty Python are staying, Tom Clancy and John Grisham are going. I'll be keeping all of the literature I studied at school and losing all the literature I collected but never read. I've got all of Charles Dickens' novels just to look impressive on the shelf. I've never read them so why keep them? If I get the burning desire the library is always there and it won't be wasting shelf space when its finished. Already some will be pouring scorn on me, but it's amazing actually how much the human brain can keep in store. I don't need to have the volume on a shelf to talk about it.
There are special cases. My Yahoo Internet Life's aren't going anywhere. Neither my Empire movie magazines or SFX. But as a trade off Premiere has gone south as have Total Film (except for the earlier issues when it was new and fresh and Danny Wallace wrote for them). Although I know I need to filter my CD collection for the same reasons as above, for some reason music feels different. I know I'll never listen to that Speedball Baby album again, but I really like the cover. And I really couldn't live without the six minute version of Underwater Love by Smoke City.
Will there be anything I'll regret chucking out? Probably. Now and then my Dad talks about the mint condition copies of Amazing Stories and Eagle comic my late Gran threw out when she cleared out his boyhood things for him (have you seen how much the former are going for)? But almost everything is replacable I think and there are too few hours in the day to enjoy anything anymore. And besides I'm always more interested in the things I haven't seen / heard / read before than those things that I have. Which is probably why I can't wait to see what Lucas does with the old Star Wars trilogy in the next few years.
But that's a different discussion for another time. For now I'll just put it in that box over there …
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