I've now spent a week in my new flat, shared with Duncan, and I have to say that it's a great little flat. I haven't even had to turn on the heating yet, it's that cozy! Think of the savings, mwhahahhahaha.
Some bandit has been parking in our private parking space, which we intend to sublet, but I have started to take note of number plates so that persistent parking thieves can be identified (I feel like such a Neighbourhood Watch geek having written that).
Over the course of the weekend, we've been out for a curry down Brick Lane, and yesterday went to look at Spitalfields market, which is also within walking distance. I'm quite looking forward to spending more time around Whitechapel, Shoreditch, and so on.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
John Simpson is my new hero
For the past few weeks I've been reading the BBC correspondent John Simpson's 2nd autobiographical book, 'A Mad World, My Masters', and I've been _thoroughly_ impressed by the man's outlook. To me, Simpson represents a nobility and integrity that are missing from so much of the news media (print or broadcast) and from the wider world, for that matter. Unfortunately I'm not the world's quickest reader, but I've slowly digested a number of the thoughts from the book over the period of reading it on my recent journeys on public transport, and will be reproducing some short excerpts here on my blog.
I thought that a short section on the First World/Third World narcotics relationship manifest in Peruvian cocaine farmers was particularly succinct:
"They were coca's slaves, condemned to a life of fear and criminality by the habit of Western counties - in this case the United States, but it could equally well have been the European Union - of dumping their surplus produce on the undefended markets of the Third World. This in turn stimulates the drug industry, and Western countries are obliged to tax their citizens more in order to pay the high social costs of addiction and crime. Could anything be more absurd?"
More excerpts from Simpson soon.
I thought that a short section on the First World/Third World narcotics relationship manifest in Peruvian cocaine farmers was particularly succinct:
"They were coca's slaves, condemned to a life of fear and criminality by the habit of Western counties - in this case the United States, but it could equally well have been the European Union - of dumping their surplus produce on the undefended markets of the Third World. This in turn stimulates the drug industry, and Western countries are obliged to tax their citizens more in order to pay the high social costs of addiction and crime. Could anything be more absurd?"
More excerpts from Simpson soon.
Alas Cricklewood, farewell
At the end of this week I'll be leaving my flat in Cricklewood behind to move to my new place in Whitechapel. There are several things I'll miss, and have to find replacements for. For a start, I'll need to find a new corner shop where I can walk in at 4 in the morning and say to them "oh look, you've stopped serving alcohol. Or have you?" with a sly wink. Then I'll need to find a local greasy spoon to compete with the Broadway Cafe where my favourite Turkish family have faithfully served me qual fry-ups and dependable, but wierdly-made, cups of tea for the last year or so. Ah, nostalgia, how I love thee!
[the image above comes from a blog connected to a totally different Cricklewood in America, but worth checking out nonetheless - just click the title to this post and it'll take you there]
[the image above comes from a blog connected to a totally different Cricklewood in America, but worth checking out nonetheless - just click the title to this post and it'll take you there]
!!!
Aaaargh, so many different things to do, so much work!
To quote the sadly-missed band, Cable, "I need to vomit on my feet so I can taste again"
To quote the sadly-missed band, Cable, "I need to vomit on my feet so I can taste again"
Friday, October 08, 2004
Tools of the Taffia
Let the rant commence. My morning/moronic holiday viewing of Trisha followed by This Morning was rudely interrupted today by a very disturbing commercial advert for www.WorkPlayLive.org, a new Welsh Language promotion website. It contains such gems as
"More and more businesses are realizing the benefits of using Welsh in the workplace - on signs, packaging, leaflets, websites and many employ bilingual staff. You'll soon be able to spot Welsh speaking staff easily - look out for the orange badge!".
Uh-huh. Okay. So what are these benefits and why aren't they listed?
There are 2 things that deeply trouble me about this sort of promotion.
• Why do you need to promote the Welsh language if it's so great? Wouldn't people just choose to speak it? Incidentally, only 21% of the population can speak any Welsh at all, according to the last census, and 98% of all households in Wales are English-speaking households.
• Why should taxpayers fork out for promoting the Welsh language? It's recognised that there is significant cost incurred in producing bilingual literature, signs, and so on, but in this case the Welsh Assembly is spending taxes on English-language television advertising on English-language TV. Expensive, misplaced and pushing a questionable agenda, in my opinion.
For the Economist's better-reasoned discussion of the serious implications of this, have a look at:
http://www.welshdragon.net/resources/Articles/patriot.shtml
"More and more businesses are realizing the benefits of using Welsh in the workplace - on signs, packaging, leaflets, websites and many employ bilingual staff. You'll soon be able to spot Welsh speaking staff easily - look out for the orange badge!".
Uh-huh. Okay. So what are these benefits and why aren't they listed?
There are 2 things that deeply trouble me about this sort of promotion.
• Why do you need to promote the Welsh language if it's so great? Wouldn't people just choose to speak it? Incidentally, only 21% of the population can speak any Welsh at all, according to the last census, and 98% of all households in Wales are English-speaking households.
• Why should taxpayers fork out for promoting the Welsh language? It's recognised that there is significant cost incurred in producing bilingual literature, signs, and so on, but in this case the Welsh Assembly is spending taxes on English-language television advertising on English-language TV. Expensive, misplaced and pushing a questionable agenda, in my opinion.
For the Economist's better-reasoned discussion of the serious implications of this, have a look at:
http://www.welshdragon.net/resources/Articles/patriot.shtml
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Land Rover
I went to a Land Rover sales room in Cardiff a couple of days ago. It was quite an amusing experience. Land Rover dealerships seem to have an actual socio-political outlook; they advertise a 'lifestyle', an experience if you like, rather than the just the cars they sell. Now, some of this is obvious: the Countryside Alliance types are most often farmers, and the average farmer is presumably one of the main buyers of these vehicles, because they're well-suited to the purpose. But it goes deeper than that. The sofa area with the plasma TVs and the free coffee had a carefully-selected variety of literature. The Daily Telegraph was the only paper available, and the magazines were mainly Country Living and that sort of thing. Then there was the sales girl who asked if we needed any help - she was wearing one of those zip-up bodywarmer things and funny trousers that horse-riding people wear. And then to top it off there was a big surreal diorama featuring a meticulously-clean Land Rover in a woodland setting. I do wonder if any urbanite Labour or Lib-Dem voters drive these vehicles, and if they do, how they deal with the obvious Tory-centric nature of the showrooms. On the way home, we discussed the idea of a special edition model with Margaret Thatcher decals. Available in any colour, as long as it's blue.
Friday, October 01, 2004
How are you supposed to title this?
It's hard to imagine anyone getting enthusiastic about urinals, but lo and behold, there is a huge fansite. And yes, it is worth your time to check out the top-ten urinals. They have some serious designs on this site!
Whitechapel
Today I put down a holding deposit on a 2-bedroom flat which I'll be moving into with my mate Duncan, 2 weeks tomorrow! I'm quite excited to be moving into Whitechapel, the equal-cheapest street on the Monopoly board, though I think it may cost us a little more than £60. I'm waiting for the estate agents to get back to me on that one.
Also, our new local pub (about 30 feet away from where we'll be living) is the Blind Beggar, where the Kray Twins murdered people. Great days!
Also, our new local pub (about 30 feet away from where we'll be living) is the Blind Beggar, where the Kray Twins murdered people. Great days!
Monday, September 27, 2004
"I Can't Believe They Invented It"
I love my iPod as much as the next man, but if you click the link above, you will see something totally ridiculous.
As my friend Oz once said, "this is a sign of an over-developed society"
As my friend Oz once said, "this is a sign of an over-developed society"
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
The power of a smile
Anyone who knows me knows that a great deal of my happiness is invested in my relationships with the opposite sex. The following description of what happened to me a couple of days ago will therefore probably seem hopelessly naive, so please don't read on if you're going to misunderstand or mischaracterise an over-idealistic romantic outlook:
Okay, so it's Monday night and i've just played a gig with my band. I'm taking the relatively-difficult journey back from Aldgate East to Kilburn, and i have reached Moorgate where i hope to change for a better underground train to get me as far as Baker St. As I step off the tube, I can't help but notice an attractive girl getting off at the same time as me (I should add that the way she's dressed is really cute, in a jade green top, a little black pleated skirt and black tights; a slightly quirky look that definitely works for me). She meanders off in a way that suggests she doesn't quite know where she's going, and by the time she has it figured out, i've been on the escalator for a good few seconds. She rushes up the escalator steps, passing me on my left, then about 10 steps ahead of me she staggers and falls over a bit. I feel a bit guilty that i can't help her up, but she's too far up, ahead of me for me to play the Good Samaritan, or even the self-interested young guy trying to score some points with a pretty girl. At the top of the escalator our paths diverge, and I don't really think any more of it. You see good-looking people like this round and about London every day.
Then when I climb the stairs to the Westbound platform, it turns out that she's standing facing me on the Eastbound platform opposite, about 20 metres away. Uncharacteristically, I overcome my shyness, and smile at her. She smiles back really sweetly. For a second it feels electric. Then her tube arrives. I'm still looking at her through the glass windows of the tube as she boards the tube, and I can see that she's still looking right at me, and she breaks into a smile for a second time. Wow. I'm thinking to myself that this is really great, but then she sits down on a seat with her back to me, and actually turns her head right over her left shoulder to look straight at me, continuing to smile broadly until her face disappears under the arch of the tube tunnel. Needless to say, it pretty much made my night.
I'm quite interested in the paradoxical nature of this situation. It's both primal and quite innocent at the same time, and makes me wonder about whether I believe that all such situations of attraction are driven by chance, or whether there is such a thing as fate that makes some come to fruition. Subjectivity has always clouded my ability to rationalise and fully explore fate, free will, and all of the shades of grey in between, to date. I think I need to do some reading on this subject.
Okay, so it's Monday night and i've just played a gig with my band. I'm taking the relatively-difficult journey back from Aldgate East to Kilburn, and i have reached Moorgate where i hope to change for a better underground train to get me as far as Baker St. As I step off the tube, I can't help but notice an attractive girl getting off at the same time as me (I should add that the way she's dressed is really cute, in a jade green top, a little black pleated skirt and black tights; a slightly quirky look that definitely works for me). She meanders off in a way that suggests she doesn't quite know where she's going, and by the time she has it figured out, i've been on the escalator for a good few seconds. She rushes up the escalator steps, passing me on my left, then about 10 steps ahead of me she staggers and falls over a bit. I feel a bit guilty that i can't help her up, but she's too far up, ahead of me for me to play the Good Samaritan, or even the self-interested young guy trying to score some points with a pretty girl. At the top of the escalator our paths diverge, and I don't really think any more of it. You see good-looking people like this round and about London every day.
Then when I climb the stairs to the Westbound platform, it turns out that she's standing facing me on the Eastbound platform opposite, about 20 metres away. Uncharacteristically, I overcome my shyness, and smile at her. She smiles back really sweetly. For a second it feels electric. Then her tube arrives. I'm still looking at her through the glass windows of the tube as she boards the tube, and I can see that she's still looking right at me, and she breaks into a smile for a second time. Wow. I'm thinking to myself that this is really great, but then she sits down on a seat with her back to me, and actually turns her head right over her left shoulder to look straight at me, continuing to smile broadly until her face disappears under the arch of the tube tunnel. Needless to say, it pretty much made my night.
I'm quite interested in the paradoxical nature of this situation. It's both primal and quite innocent at the same time, and makes me wonder about whether I believe that all such situations of attraction are driven by chance, or whether there is such a thing as fate that makes some come to fruition. Subjectivity has always clouded my ability to rationalise and fully explore fate, free will, and all of the shades of grey in between, to date. I think I need to do some reading on this subject.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Salad Fingers
Salad Fingers is a disturbing little cartoon doing the rounds on the interweb at the moment, based around a character who is both naive and charming and potentially evil, all at the same time. Watch his wierd adventures to an Aphex Twin musical backdrop. Salad Fingers has a charming northern (Lancaster?) accent that adds a strange regional flavour to the whole thing.
If you like Episode 1 (click the title above to view it), then go to www.fat-pie.com for another three episodes of Salad Fingers.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Freedom!
Hooray! My arm is now free of its plastic tomb (pictured). I went to the hospital in Paddington this morning, and the same sarcastic South African bloke as dealt with me last time was there on hand to help remove the caste.
Interestingly, they used a small, lethal-looking circular saw to cut the plastic. I mentioned that I thought it looked quite dangerous, then he told me that it couldn't harm me. 2 minutes later he was boasting that it could cut into the bone very easily to a nurse he was helping to train. So much for patient reassurance!
Anyway, the main thing is that I can now shower without having to wrap my arm up in a towel, which will be great. I don't have that much movement in it yet, and I've been told I shouldn't lift any weights at the gym for about a month, but I'm still pretty happy. Well, apart from having hardly enough money to get through to pay-day on Monday and having quite important work-pressure until the end of Thursday....
Interestingly, they used a small, lethal-looking circular saw to cut the plastic. I mentioned that I thought it looked quite dangerous, then he told me that it couldn't harm me. 2 minutes later he was boasting that it could cut into the bone very easily to a nurse he was helping to train. So much for patient reassurance!
Anyway, the main thing is that I can now shower without having to wrap my arm up in a towel, which will be great. I don't have that much movement in it yet, and I've been told I shouldn't lift any weights at the gym for about a month, but I'm still pretty happy. Well, apart from having hardly enough money to get through to pay-day on Monday and having quite important work-pressure until the end of Thursday....
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
One of my favourite interweb sites of all time
I have been enjoying the humourous work of a man who calls himself Drew for some years now. He has an interweb site called http://www.toothpastefordinner.com and used to have a site at http://drew.corrupt.net, until 2002. I think both sites are pretty damn funny. He is now also writing for a site called .net - you can see his worryingly-sane discussion of the UNEMPLOYMENT BEARD by clicking the title of this post. Go check it out.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Devolution x Nationalism = great councillors
Click the link above.
"The independent member for Fife Council said he did not like the English because of the Battle of Culloden more than 250 years ago."
Give me a break. Scots, Welsh, English & Cornish (!) nationalism is laughable. Believe it or not, most people in this country are pretty much over hating the Germans for World War II, so why is there such a noticable recent growth in this kind of resentment against people who share the same landmass as you? When I go home, you also hear people in the pub saying they hate the English, but where the hell did this narrow-minded xenophobia come from?
"The independent member for Fife Council said he did not like the English because of the Battle of Culloden more than 250 years ago."
Give me a break. Scots, Welsh, English & Cornish (!) nationalism is laughable. Believe it or not, most people in this country are pretty much over hating the Germans for World War II, so why is there such a noticable recent growth in this kind of resentment against people who share the same landmass as you? When I go home, you also hear people in the pub saying they hate the English, but where the hell did this narrow-minded xenophobia come from?
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Foiling the Oyster Card
For some time now I've been a bit concerned about the potential for the Transport For London Oyster card to be used to track (or, as with any electronic device, falsify) people's whereabouts at certain times or locations.
It turns out that our equally-paranoid friends at www.spy.org.uk have done their own investigation of this, and there are some interesting ramifications (such as getting over-charged by the ticket barrier machine if you are fat and using a different paper ticket for a particular journey - I kid you not), but while the card only stores your last 10 journeys, there must be some massive multi-terrabyte hard disk array somewhere, storing a full record of usage of each and every Oyster card, and probably indexing them to relevant CCTV footage. For Londoners, at least, identity cards are here already. Click on the title of this post to go to Spy Blog and find out more.
It turns out that our equally-paranoid friends at www.spy.org.uk have done their own investigation of this, and there are some interesting ramifications (such as getting over-charged by the ticket barrier machine if you are fat and using a different paper ticket for a particular journey - I kid you not), but while the card only stores your last 10 journeys, there must be some massive multi-terrabyte hard disk array somewhere, storing a full record of usage of each and every Oyster card, and probably indexing them to relevant CCTV footage. For Londoners, at least, identity cards are here already. Click on the title of this post to go to Spy Blog and find out more.
Monday, September 06, 2004
maastricht
Me and my bro Dominic in Maastricht, as taken by my younger brother James. I like this photo because the sky came out really nicely.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
On Holidaz
Hi everzone and anzone who maz be reading mz blog. Iäm currentlz in Bonn, in Germanz, and have decided to stick to a normal quertz lazout, ignoring this retarded German kezboard and the fact that several characters are in the wrong place. Itäs not that Iäve suddentlz started using some teen-text-speak or anzthing, God forbid.
Itäs been prettz good so far - we went to Maastricht the daz before zesterdaz, which is a surprisinglz lovelz citz. The people were reallz welcoming, and the food was excellent. I recommend it as a holidaz destination. Mz zoungest brother also delighted the bar-goers at the hotel we were stazing at bz plazing them some cheexz lounge piano. Alwazs goes down well, that.
Will post some pictures when I return to the UK.
Am
Itäs been prettz good so far - we went to Maastricht the daz before zesterdaz, which is a surprisinglz lovelz citz. The people were reallz welcoming, and the food was excellent. I recommend it as a holidaz destination. Mz zoungest brother also delighted the bar-goers at the hotel we were stazing at bz plazing them some cheexz lounge piano. Alwazs goes down well, that.
Will post some pictures when I return to the UK.
Am
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