| skirting the borderlands |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|05:54 pm] |
read to dad today from "the temple of flora" -- some of the time he seems responsive, answering me when i asked where auriculas come from, and recognising the print of the bust of linnaeus honoured by aesculepius, flora and ceres; other timesw he was wandering -- he honked his little bicycle horn to get the carer to come, because he wanted me to find a related book, instead of just asking me there
b3cky thinks he's still just exhausted, and drifting in and out of full wakefulness -- and it's true most of his weirder remarks happen when he's in this liminal state
it's such a terrific present* for him when he's fully at himself -- he's commented on the loveliness of a couple of the prints, the snowdrops and the cyclamen -- that i'm finding it frustrating he can't always find his way there at the moment, which is selfish really i suppose: as mum did, i find his parkinsonian unresponsiveness tough to negotiate when i'm tired myself; it shuts off my intuition and panics me, and i've always had a slightly son-dad relationship with him, never easily close the way b3cky is... his dad didn't approve of his area of scholarship (he was a classicist who disdained science), and i don't quite think mine is approved, though he reads things i;ve written about stuff he knows, like if.... and tolkien
i had a long chat with R about my mum and hers, and how they seemed to know they were comfy letting go, and how hard that is for those they're leaving, even if it's also a compliment -- handing on the baton because they trust those they're handing it on to; but dad's grip on life is his pleasures not his duties, and it's easier to feel you're letting him down when they seem arrive wonky...**
*![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) piratemoggy's very awesome suggestion btw
**i should add that this is reading more emo than i am feeling -- this has been a lovely christmas on the whole, and i'm looking for a redemption that isn't quite realistic |
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| Conscious, deliberate effort |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|08:20 am] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Bobbie Gentry "Ode To Billie Joe" | ] |
Convo between J0hn D. and Weingarten over on the ILM US #1s thread after J0hn calls himself "out of the loop" for not recognizing any of the songs to hit #1 this year. Convo doesn't go anywhere, but it did get me thinking about my own in-loopsiness/out-of-loopsiness etc.
I've been a music fanatic since I turned nine in early '63, and there's been no time from then until now when I knew what was on the pop charts except when I made a conscious, deliberate effort to do so. And there's been no genre or subgenre that I approached where I successfully felt that I knew it, that I'd caught up with it or would ever catch up with it, be it folk in '64 or FM rock in '69 or no wave in '78 or postpunk proto indie in '81 or freestyle in '88 or whatever was going on in the '90s, or crunk or teenpop etc. in the '00s. But the key word in the previous sentence is "felt," since I may have known some of that music better than some people who thought they were fluent in it.
( Primal estrangement ) |
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| well brought up child |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|10:14 am] |
t!lly's vocab is still largely single word but she has good comedy timing, viz -- when stood right in front of you -- "parky?" "parky!" "PARKY!" yes? "hullo!"
anyway if she is drinking and you are and you say "cheers" she will click her mug on yours and say "chish" which will SERVE HER WELL
ps i dremt i dremt that a. i had gone back to college and was moving out of my 1st-year room into my 2nd, except i hadn't worked out where this was -- meanwhile b. the lex and his twin brother had moved into the room next door and c. i was planning to do a course on the LANGUAGE OF THE EWOKS |
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| Another Year In America December 25, 2009 |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|07:51 am] |
Ke$ha's sober and subtle "TiK ToK" has risen to number one (sober and subtle compared to everything else I've heard by her, that is; I'm impressed by Ke$ha's total commitment to cheesiness and stupidity, though nothing other than "TiK ToK" gets the cheese 'n' honey burbling together for an entire song).
( Alicia Keys )
( Eminem )
( Train ) |
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| the captains and the kings depart |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|12:02 pm] |
i: victorian video FAIL -- we could not remember how to get it hooked up to record = whobegone :(
ii: dad tires much sooner than this time last year; as ever he gathered himself and put in a tremendous effort to be wakeful and ready but could not adjust to t!llytime, which put us an hour late -- he was not really awake to take in his big present but i will re-present it today when he is; plus he decided to eat in his room with the carer helping... the first time in 50 years i have not had xmas dinner with him i just realised -- i was too tired and t!lly too diverting to grasp that last night
iii: still he ate dinner and enjoyed the day, and so did t!lly even if that meant 10 x pigs in blankets and no veg
iv: dad's "projects"are elaborating, a combination of wanting to be involved and doing stuff, but no longer really quite recalling what there is to do -- he asked for a box of leftover baubles and arranged them on a tray, for "investigation" -- by the time this got tidied away, he seemed to have moved on from it -- i suppose for now i find this charming more than sad, as with his strange circumlocutions for words he has forgotten, which are not a million miles from the way he used to speak anyway -- certainly it is not awful the way a couple of mum's later xmases were, when she was hyper-drunk and angry or in pain -- one was when b3cky was away and it was just me; the other was her last, when she was agony from her back
v: physically he is frailer too, and gaunt now because he gets bored with eating sooner -- he has not much sense of taste or smell left, which makes it a chore: some of the carers work magic here, others get frustrated and cross
vi: we did not get round to giving all the presents out, what with little miss CHAOS ruling our worlds now! i cannot quite frame how we will do this today
vii: i am pragmatic about ritual-fail -- amused by it really -- but i notice also that i notice it; how useful and directing it is...
anyway, "well done us" is the real takeaway -- rain took away the snow last night, and i notice also poured throygh the ceiling outside the larder, unless that was melted ice from inside
merry boxing day from Tiny Gormenghast! |
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| dirty pretty white wobs, snowy but sunny |
[Dec. 25th, 2009|10:31 am] |
1: conversion 1 kilo = 2.2 lbs, so turkey = 3.3-ish hrs plus "resting" time = start cooking at 2
2: presents at 3, so that works well
3: tilly has an upset tummy :/ but i can hear her saying "puckEEE" across the house so she is either happier or blames me
4: tasks = wobsdinner prep and make up the fire -- actually gathered frozen kindling yesterday and put by a storage heater so will be dry!
5: all the acrobats up onto the pyramid at six!
6: five does not exist so i need this
( updates here from when i flee the madness ) |
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| My Pazz & Jop Ballot, 2009 |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|10:50 pm] |
Here's my Pazz & Jop ballot. My opinion is that the year doesn't actually end until December 31st, so that's when I'll start posting expanded lists, possibly with the order changed at the top. The two near misses on my albums list, by the way, were Demi Lovato and Keri Hilson; having four ace songs and lots of personality wasn't quite enough to get Demi in, and having eight ace songs and no personality wasn't enough to get Keri in (though if I'd decided to count "I Like" as part of the album - Wiki claims that it's getting added to In A Perfect World... - that might have pushed it over).
Unless Demi Lovato undergoes an artistic collapse she's going to end up mattering to me far more than Brad Paisley and Martina McBride put together. What got Brad in just ahead of her this year was that he's got a better band. Demi's rock is louder than Brad's and signifies "rock" more, but her rhythm section bashes the beats while Brad's actually rocks 'em, with more of a roll, more bounce, more dance.
Singles 2009
1. Shystie ft. DJ Deekline "New Style" (Rat)
2. The Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow" (Interscope)
3. Love And Theft "Runaway" (Lyric Street)
4. MC Lars ft. Brett Anderson & Gabe Saporta "Hey There Ophelia" (Horris Records/Oglio)
5. Timberlee ft. Tosh "Heels"
6. The Lonely Island "I'm On A Boat" (Republic/Universal)
7. Das Racist "Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)" (no label)
8. Rich Boy "Drop" (Interscope)
9. Girls Aloud "Untouchable" (Fascination)
10. Röyksopp ft. Robyn "The Girl And The Robot" (Wall Of Sound)
Albums 2009
1. Taylor Swift Fearless (Platinum Edition) (Big Machine) 18 points
2. The-Dream Love Vs. Money (Radio Killa/Def Jam) 17 points
3. Ashley Monroe Satisfied (Columbia Nashville) 15 points
4. Rihanna Rated R (Def Jam) 10 points
5. Scooter Under the Radar Over the Top (The Dark Side Edition) (Sheffield Tunes) - 10 points
6. Lily Allen It's Not Me, It's You (Capitol) 7 points
7. Martina McBride Shine (RCA) 6 points
8. Electrik Red How To Be A Lady: Volume 1 (Radio Killa/Def Jam) 6 points
9. K'naan Troubadour (A&M/Octone) 6 points
10. Brad Paisley American Saturday Night (Arista Nashville) 5 points
( my comments ) |
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| yaynay |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|09:52 am] |
yay! famille sukrat is SNOWED IN and the snow then FROZE -- absent an actual heatwave today, this is 1st actual w.xmas for us since i was a tiny!?!
nay! piratemoggy's sour worknews has enraged me beyond bearing -- too far off to help much beyond warlike advice for now, but ALL POWER to timely and awe-ful revenge on B4ST4RDRY
yay! all shopping complete and everyone due arrived home and happyish; dad tired yesterday but himself n the evening
nay! too branetired to complete alice b4 wobs as planned and promised -- still, it doesn't have to go to press like 2moro...
yay! t!lly's 1st wobs with us starts here <-- and her now much-used name for me is more like "puckEEEE"
all shall love us and des lynam -- happy wobs alls
UPDATE: can't believe i forgot this -- received a v.warm and flatterish email from quitefamouspersonnmyfield g.m4rcvs re my FQ column on chris m4rk3r, which veered into topix in his purlieu viz b.dyl4n and g.d3bord -- i must compose a proper response later today
UPDATE UPDATE: mysteriously, t!lly's word for "cereal" -- which she likes -- appears to be "faeces". RAGE AGAINST THE MARKETING MACHINE, TINY WARRIOR! |
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| Last-minute whistle stops |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|09:14 am] |
Well, I'm a bit late on these, but here's a guy whom I almost overlooked, though I've had his album for about eight months. The single, "ABC's," is on my extended year-end list; the album is on the borderline for my P&J, sounding a little too "nice," though that's obviously not a thought-through evaluation.
K'naan ft. Chubb Rock "ABC's"
And since we were just talking about Kid Creole And The Coconuts over on Lex's lj, here is Coati Mundi's "Bundas Bom," a b-side that will also make my extended list. |
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| lyrics quiz meme |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|01:56 pm] |
I am also bored at work. I am an old-fashioned man, so here are the first 20 tracks on the mp3 CD playing on my diskman, excluding a couple of instrumentals:
1. We're talking into corners / Finding ways to fill the vacuum. Adverts - Bored Teenagers (petercampbell )
2. I love the colorful clothes she wears / And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair. Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (catsgomiaow )
3. If it's love that you're running from / There's no hiding place. (60s soul)
4. Nobody feels any pain / Tonight as I stand inside the rain. Bob Dylan - Just Like A Woman (freakytigger )
5. Now I have a story that I'd like to tell / About this guy you all know he had me scared as hell. (pop hip hop)
6. Who's the man with the master plan? (classic hip hop)
7. "Scalpel" "Here" "Sponge" "Here" "Wait.. he's convulsing, he's convulsing!" (hip hop)
8. Last week after Dynasty / I had crows feet under my eyes. (the Fall, but what song?)
9. Come on, come on; come on, come on; come on, come on, come on! Gary Glitter - I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am) (freakytigger )
10. Tonight down here in the valley / I'm lonesome and O how I feel. (classic C&W)
11. You must have seen parties of [title] / With blotched and lagered skin. Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Blockheads (carsmilesteve )
12. When I was the age of three / My dear mother had a little talk with me. (60s soul)
13. You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain. Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire (dubdobdee )
14. It is plain to see we're in a terrible situation / [title] / Nearly half of the world on the verge of starvation. Jimmy Cliff - Sufferin' In The Land (petercampbell )
15. I think I'm sophisticated cos I'm living my life like a good homosapien. Kinks - Apeman (erkinpeaviss )
16. [title x 4] In your arms I'm longin' to be / Oh baby tell me you love me. (an old standard)
17. The [part of title] keeps on turning / On a simple line day by day. Massive Attack - Hymn of the Big Wheel (freakytigger )
18. I changed my name in search of fame / To find the midas touch. Mott the Hoople - Ballad of Mott (dubdobdee )
19. [title] / She's treating me cold / Where can my baby be / Lord no one knows. (classic 60s soul)
20. Try for the mountains / Try for the mountains / Cos you're already gone too long. (70s proggish) |
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| adored sisters who imagine themselves amusing |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|01:12 pm] |
sukrat: "i have to go into town anyway, i totally left all my pants and socks in london"
doctrah b: "i can't help with socks but t!lly has lots of spare nappies"
dad's carer: LARFS NON-STOP
five mins later
doctrah b: "are those new trousers [comedy pause] or are they just CLEAN?"
dad's carer: HAS TO LEAVE ROOM SHE IS LARFNG SO NON-STOP
ritual wobs mentalism hits a peak round seven, when she and her lovely boyf do their massive "last minute" sainsbury's run together and then lovingly scream at one another until 2moro's remedial "actual real last mnute" sainsbury's run
GOD REST YOU MERRY GENTLEMENKS |
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| Demob |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|11:56 am] |
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If anyone fancies a beer and will be in the vicinity of the Shipwright's Arms (Tooley St, London Bridge) this evening, it would be splendid to see you. |
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| Meme of the decade - photos |
[Dec. 21st, 2009|08:48 pm] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Shining Light - Annie Lennox | ] |
I wanted to do a stream of photos showing my hair gradually getting longer, but hey surprise, it turns out that actually I mostly took photos of other people. Here nevertheless are a photo from each year of the decade (I really couldn't find any of me from 2001). (Two from 2000, because they make a great combination!)
2000
 
( why yes, it is an image-heavy post, why do you ask? ) |
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| When you reach age 21 you are no longer an adult |
[Dec. 21st, 2009|09:05 am] |
From June 6 to July 11 the number 1 song on Billboard's adult contemporary chart was Taylor Swift's "Love Story." From July 18 through October 24 it was Miley Cyrus's "The Climb." From October 31 through December 26 (which hasn't happened yet, but Billboard can read palms), it was/is Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me." To put this in perspective, number 1 right now on Radio Disney's Dot Com request line is Iyaz, who's 22 years old, making him a couple of years older than Taylor and five years older than Miley. Taylor, by the way, turned 20 last week; does this mean her reign as an adult contemporary queen may be in jeopardy? |
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