Tuesday, January 24, 2006

How Could I Be Wrong *

Aargh, ouch. My gym exercising over the last couple of months has concentrated on running, cycling and rowing, but, this week, I thought I would reintroduce some weight training. The result is that my body is in agony. Why I shared that with you I don't know, but there we go.

Anyway, the point of this post is just to let Darren, in particular, know that I'm off to see Luke Haines play an acoustic show tomorrow night. It was Darren who reminded me about the genius of Haines and I took the baton not long after he posted his New Year's Resolutions - which, inexcusably, is the second last post on his blog. I think he is a lazy boy! So, it will be a bit of a Burns Night do at work, eating some of this lot, drinking some of this lot and then off to enjoy some quality music - I'll keep you posted how it turned out!

Oh, and before I go, I'd like to say that I'm still ecstatic about my fantastic new friend!

* The Auteurs, former band of the aforementioned Luke Haines.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Fantastic Day *

So up I get with a good old spring in my step. "Should we all go for a nice Sunday morning walk somewhere?" Reidski asks the boy and his mum. "No," the boy says immediately, with a rapid repeat of the same word coming from his mum. Well, Reidski knows that the afternoon is going to be taken up being slumped in front of the box watching game after game of football and thinks that any exercising should be done pronto. So, undeterred by the reaction of the others in the house, I decide to venture forth and get some exercise and some fresh air.

While I love my area, it's not the best for having a walk around, so exercise usually has to take a pause before first of all taking a bus or train ride somewhere. This I done and, not being particularly imaginative so early on a Sunday morning, I chose a well-worn path for me.

A few weeks back, day after Boxing Day to be precise, I went from here to here, but, today, I went the other way, from here to here. On the way I passed this, this and this. The spring is still in the step throughout this walk, with this lot and this lot providing a great soundtrack on the earphones. But I have to be frank, the spring in the step comes from not the music nor the brisk walk in the very fresh air nor the fine fine views I'm seeing along the way. Nah, the spring in the step comes from a lovely lovely evening out last night with an absolutely brilliant fabby person. We went along to this place (introduced to me by messalina a couple of weeks ago - thank you, messalina) and had some excellent pasta and some nice wine. Okay, the food and wine were nice, but, who cares, it was the company I was enjoying. This person is brightening up my life at the moment, making me very happy indeed! I shouldn't say too much cos she may decide to start reading this crappy blog and tell me off for talking about her! Meantime, I'll keep thinking that I'm a really really lucky bastard for meeting her.

* Haircut 100

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Ultraviolence *

If these bombs dropped on London or Glasgow or Sydney we would be outraged - we should be equally outraged that they were targetted at this Pakistani village. Oh, and the intelligence was wrong - again!!!!

* New Order

Friday, January 13, 2006

Talkin About A Revolution *

"Some commentators fear a revolution as more and more Russians turn to violence on discovering ..." Click on the link to find out what is brewing (or not, ha ha) in Russia.

Well, this looks interesting - and also interesting is that the possibility of a revolution gets put in the "quirkies" section of the Press Association's web site, weird or what?

*Tracy Chapman

Ode To Joy *


I'm sure that everyone will join me in wishing Ardeelee all the best for her wedding tomorrow. She's marrying a very sweet looking - and very lucky - guy Chris.Posted by Picasa

And how is Ardee spending the day before her wedding? Writing comments on my stupid blog - I think she's a little laid back about this wedding business.

Anyway, have a fabulous day Ardee, I'll drink a toast to you and Chris tomorrow night!

Oh, and is the first dance going to be to a TCS number?

* Lyrics by Friedrick Schiller and music by Beethoven.

Favourite Things*

Martyn put me down for this one, so I thought it would be rude not to. And be well impressed with the links!!

7 things to do before I die
Visit Iceland
Stop drinking alcohol
Like Martyn, learn to play guitar
Blow up the call centre, presumably in India, which gets its staff to ring my number every other night in an attempt to sell me a T-Mobile phone
Continue saying ‘No’ to people like this
Make a social/political contribution to my local community
Make a contribution to the creation of a workers’ republic in England

7 things I cannot do
Step into a plane
Stop drinking alcohol
Enjoy Ulysses – it’s the biggest waste of space and paper in the history of the written word - and at least one person agrees with me

Understand people like this
Be bothered to be politically active again
Motivate myself to do jobs around the house
Be without music

7 things that attract me to blogging
Like Jane said, other bloggers
Saying any old crap and not giving a fuck about it
Winding people up
Erm, that's it

7 things I say/shout most
No - usually when asked by the boy if his friends can stay over
Yes - usually when asked a second time by the boy if his friends can stay over
Pint of lager, please
Same again mate
Shit
This is the best song/film/book ever
I don't do this one as much as I should, but here goes: "No-one likes us, no-one likes, no-one likes us, we don't care. We are Millwall, super Millwall, we are Millwall from the Den."


7 films/TV programmes I would watch over and over
The Simpsons
The Office

The Warriors
West Side Story

South Park

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The Day Today

7 books I love
Catch 22

Independent People

Blindness

The Big Blowdown

Trainspotting

Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs

American Tabloid

7 people I would like to do this as well
Anyone who wants to

* Julie Andrews, I think!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

A Picture From Life's Other Side *

This is what I'm doing tonight and it is a return visit to the area I was in yesterday and, I may have mentioned this, had a particularly wonderful time:

The Sohemian Society

Presents a talk by Brycchan Carey on

Olaudah Equiano and the St Giles Blackbirds: Black London in the 18th Century.

Olaudah Equiano was the first leader of Britain's Black Community. His autobiograpy Interesting Narrative was referred to in the House of Commons by William Wilberforce during his campaign to abolish slavery.

In 2000 Westminster Council unveiled a plaque to Olaudah's residence at 73 Riding House Street.

The St Giles Blackbirds were freed slaves who had fought for the British during the American War Of Independence. On arriving in London they became part of the dispossessed and poor around the St Giles-in-the-Fields area of London.

Venue: Upstairs at the King and Queen, 1 Foley Street, W1 - just behind Middlesex Hospital. Nearest tubes Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road
Date 12th January. Time 7.30 pm
Admission £5 (half price students and Oaps)


* Woody Guthrie - his guitar killed fascists, you know!

Lovely Day*

You stupid fuckers. I write all these brlliant literate and thought-provoking posts and get no comments whatsover and then I write some stupdid meaningless one paragraph shit which happens to mention the fact that I hate Trotskyists and I then get a record 15 comments??? You people are so fucking sad!!

I'm so glad that my day today was spent doing something vastly more worthwhile than blogging - thank you, you know who!

* eh, who else but The Pixies?

Sunday, January 08, 2006

All I Need *

Shameless invite for sympathy here I know, but, hi ho hi ho, it's off to work I go for a marathon 11-hour shift. I believe it's a pointless exercise for reasons which I cannot blog about, but let's just say: I HATE TROTSKYISTS! The only, yes only, problem with the Soviet Union in the 1930s was that only internal counter-revolutionary criminals were taken care of by the peoples' courts. Why didn't they set their sights a bit wider and come over here and also sort out the likes of Tony Cliff and all those other wankers who have been a barrier to working-class progress in Britain over the last 50 years or so?

Erm, I'll get my coat!!

* Jay Z - the boy thinks I'm nuts, but I think The Blueprint in particular is a work of genius. Hah, and you lot thought I was a simple white-boys-and-guitars person!

Friday, January 06, 2006

Gold Soundz *

Got out of work at lunchtime today and headed for the gym to do this, this, this and this (I'm just out of camera range, by the way). Yes, I know only tossers go to gyms, but if I didn't do it my beer gut would be huge and my heart would pack in as there's no way I'm doing all that shit in the great outdoors!

Followed that by heading through town.

As it's pay day, I found that my feet were involuntarily heading towards Oxford Street and music shops. Got as far as Branson's place and had a browse through all the sale stuff. Nothing was really grabbing me by the eardrums and was about to walk back out when, wow, inspiration from Darren's new year resolutions hit me smack on the earlobes. When one has never had Luke Haines material on CD - in fact, not on vinyl either, but only on tape - let's go buy The Auteurs back catalogue and, for that matter, his subsequent reincarnation as Baader Meinhoff, his solo stuff and of Black Box Recorder too (I do own Passionaia). So I now own New Wave, Now I'm A Cowboy and After Murder Park. As I say, I've had all on tape over the years, but now I feel good about contributing to the bank account of one of England's best songwriters of the last 15 years or so. Unfortunately, there was no Baader Meinhoff or solo material available, so, maybe next time.

Talking of Black Box Recorder, I do like this amazingly accurate description of them by the Amazon reviewer: "Vocalist Sarah Nixey sounds like a head girl captured and brainwashed by the malevolent male duo, made to intone their deadpan, amoral lyrics." Read more here.

And this is proof that my comments at Darren's regarding the Haines/Television gig wasn't made up - not that anyone would ever accuse me of talking rubbish, of course!

So, lunch was had and walk on to station for journey home, with the soundtrack to this being the Love CD Forever Changes which I mentioned last week. Now, I've known the odd Love track over the years - one being Alone Again Or, which jim put on an excellent guitar/trumpets compiliation for me many years ago - but little did I know just what quality runs right through Arthur Lee and his companions' material. I was listening in particular to You Set The Scene and was walking along nearly in tears. Putting the words down alone does this beautiful song no justice, but one has to admit that the following, from the middle part of the song, is life-affirming and lovely poetry:

This is the time and life that I am living
And I’ll face each day with a smile
For the time that I’ve been given’s such a little while
And the things that I must do consist of more than style
There are places that I am going

This is the only thing that I am sure of
And that’s all that lives is gonna die
And there’ll always be some people here to wonder why
And for every happy hello, there will be good-bye
There’ll be time for you to put yourself on

Everything I’ve seen needs rearranging
And for anyone who thinks it’s strange
Then you should be the first to want to make this change
And for everyone who thinks that life is just a game
Do you like the part you’re playing

Well, I think it's gorgeous, even if no-one else does.

Listening to the likes of this, and other things going on in my life at the moment, is really putting a spring in my step. I don't think I've felt this positive about my life in a very long time. Even the prospect of putting in a 10-hour shift at work on Sunday (don't ask - special circumstances) isn't getting me down. I even saw the funny side on New Year's Eve when I declared that the past year hadn't been that bad, and that things at work were particularly brilliant. "But, Reidski," a friend almost whispered, "didn't you cost your employers £100,000?" Well, yes I did, but ....

I'm happy!!!!!!!

* Pavement - they were sooo good, even that time when I watched them on the Other Stage at Glastonbury when the mud was heading for my knees! What year was that again? But even better first time I seen them when supporting Sonic Youth at Brixton Academy circa '93 - but not so good were the other support band, Huggy Bear, worst band ever in the history of music ever!

Monday, January 02, 2006

Hail, hail *


What a stupendous match - this is all you have to know about it. Concise and straight to the point. Posted by Picasa

Needless to say, the Scottish diaspora converged on the Amersham Arms in SE14 - much singing, many hugs and a lot of drinking was done. It was one of those days and brought tears to my eyes.

* Celtic fans