Monday, June 30, 2008

"...you would cry too, if it happened to you"

17.18 On Time
At the end of the first party I ever had a hand in organising there was a pool of sick on the landing.

It stayed there for three days. It was R who eventually cleared it up

I think it was acknowledged to have been a good party (although I think we each ended up snogging people we hadn't originally intended to end up snogging. My memory is a little hazy there. Those Southport parties tended towards blurry at the time; let alone at this distance). I still have Party Tape #1. The track listing confirms why, this Saturday night, at the end of The Beat's "Too Nice To Talk Too", there was an involuntary echo of UB40's "Food For Thought" in my head.

Anyway, from then till now, I've never been able to arrange any kind of party without suffering what seem to me to be perfectly rational agonies of anticipated disaster. So, it was a little weird to have what amounted to a living Venn diagram of my life under one roof at the same time. Usually the worlds don't collide, and I've always thought there were sound reasons for that but, as it turned out, a good time was had by all. Even, despite the trepidation, me.

That J came along, after an afternoon of indecision, was the icing on the cake. That C showed up at the last minute, after an absence of seven years, was the icing on the icing. The chocolate strawberries, however, were just the chocolate strawberries.

Thanks everyone!

Maybe next time I'll get R along too.

It's My Party - Lesley Gore
Too Nice To Talk Too - The Beat
Time To Pretend - MGMT
Alcohol - Gogol Bordello

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Sunday, June 29, 2008

Girl On A Train Is Four Years Old!

Turns out, ours is not a bad little party house.

Sit Down - James
...One More Time - Britney Spears
99 Red Balloons - Nena
Lucky Stars - Dean Friedman

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

16.43 On Time
Can'tBeArsed Colleague asks me what I'm doing at the weekend.

Tumbleweed blows through the office.

Outside the window the sun sets and rises, sets and rises, sets and rises again. Seasons change. The polar ice cap melts. Civilizations crumble to dust, rise and fall.

A phone rings out, unanswered.

It is now far too late to lie and yet impossible to say: "I'm having a housewarming party but, in everyone's best interests, I must make it clear that you're not invited".

You, on the other hand, would be most welcome.

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

"What's wrong with you sideman? Grow a beard!"

16.19 Thirteen Minutes Late
There's a scene in The West Wing where Josh tracks down Sam and drags him out of his office and into a campaign job on the promise of having witnessed 'the real thing' in Jed Bartlet.

I feel a bit like that about last night.

Not the next POTUS or anything, just Fleet Foxes at the Roadhouse.

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

16.43 On Time
Me:“So, let me just clarify what happened and then we’ll see what we can do. You put your credit card details into the website because...?”

Him:"blah blah blah blah blah. blah blah blaah”

Me:“And you were, what? getting a proof of age card or something?”

Him:"blaaaah”

Me:“No?”

Him:"blaah blah blah, blaah blah”

Me:“Ah, right. So, before you could access the web cam, you had to prove you were over eighteen?”

Him:"blah”

Me:“And then they took some money from your credit card and now you can’t stop them.”

Him:"blah!”

Me:“And you don’t know anything about the company, but you think they might be based in Israel?”

Him:"bl-a-h”

Me:“O - K. So what was that web address again? Let’s have a look ........Oh….. I can’t access it for some reason. I’m getting a message that says:‘Your organisation’s web use policy does not permit you to view this site. Category ‘SEX’

Him:SILENCE

Me:“You have to be so careful on the internet don’t you?”


"Things The Grandchildren Should Know" - Mark Oliver Everett

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Friday, June 06, 2008

16.19 On Time
On arrival, the first thing I did was to check the clocking clock and plan to leave at four.
The second thing I did was consider tipping one of those sample bottles of Bacardi given to me a few weeks ago by StrangeOldMan into my coffee.


See, I had that Friday feeling. Wrong time, wrong place.

Gig - Simon Armitage

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7.59 On Time
I was going through a poetry phase at the time.

A man I'd had ill-advised although not unsatisfactory sex with bought me Wendy Cope for my birthday.

I bought him Simon Armitage as a leaving present.

Hit - The Sugarcubes
How Was It For You - James
High - The Cure
Leave Them All Behind - Ride

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

"Vandals Throwing A Brick Through The Window In The Warrington Area"
16.43 Fifty Minutes Late.
17.18 Twenty Seven Minutes Late
17.29 Seven Minutes Late

I think I've been a bit in love with Simon Armitage since 1992.

"...looking down at the poem on the page, I suddenly notice it contains an expletive.
'There's a word in this poem I've never said in front of my mother before,' I say. From within a cloud of pipe smoke, out of the side of his mouth but loud enough to be heard, my dad says,'Is it thank you?'"

Maybe it's his dad I should be a bit in love with?

Gig - Simon Armitage

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7.59 On Time
Normally, I don't read on the train.

I experimented with it in the early days, but it wasn't satisfactory.

If the book was not enthralling enough I'd be distracted by the chat and the train noise and end up staring, hypnotised, at the same houses from the same grimy windows, rather than absorbing the words on the page. Much worse, if the book really took hold of me I wouldn't want to leave it and, when prised out of its world, would be petulant and peevish, resentful as the walk to the office imposed the natural balance of 'reality'.

This morning, making the mistake of having ten minutes to spare before leaving the house, I picked up last night's newly started book to fill the time. On the train I opened it up again.

I laughed out loud. On the train.

Gig - Simon Armitage

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Left Of Center

17.18 "..... Remain On Platform Three And Await An Announcement"
17.29 Three Minutes Late
This afternoon I was appealed to as "the only sensible person in the room".

Yesterday "small minded and conventional".
Today "sensible".

Although, when was I ever anything other than "sensible"?
What will it be tomorrow? I suppose it's unlikely that I'll ever be damned with the faint praise of "nice".

Left Of Center - Suzanne Vega
Rally - Phoenix
A Real Time Here - Lloyd & Michael
The Wrong Child - REM

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7.59 On Time
When it comes to Open Mic night The Sixties Survivors have the best stories: AlcoholFreeDave with his tales of Jimi Hendrix and almost breaking America, LonnieDonniganDave whose Opportunity Knocks career was ended by Millican & Nesbit. Last night it was HippieDave, with “Roy Harper Stood On My Foot (The Bastard)”.

I suspect there is plenty more where that came from.

Teenage Kicks – The Undertones
Home – Josh Rouse
An Open Book – Stephen Duffy

Plus Ones – Okkervil River

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Monday, June 02, 2008

17.18 On Time
You wouldn't want to meet me, would you?

Big Five Test Results
Extroversion (34%) moderately low which suggests you are reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and private.
Accommodation (28%) low which suggests you are overly selfish, uncooperative, and difficult at the expense too often of the well being of others.
Orderliness (76%) high which suggests you are overly organized, neat, structured and restrained at the expense too often of flexibility, variety, spontaneity, and fun.
Emotional Stability (48%) medium which suggests you average somewhere in between being calm and resilient and being anxious and reactive.
Inquisitiveness (40%) moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly small minded, traditional, and conventional at the expense of intellectual curiousity, possibility, and progress.
Take Free Big Five Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Apres Ski - Cinerama
Heartbeats - Jose Gonzales
Take On Me - A-Ha
Bitches Aint Shit - Ben Folds

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