#125 on Cerrie Burnell and Handrew

You may be aware of the story about Cerrie Burnell, the disabled Cbeebies presenter who became the subject of complaints from parents who believed their children would be disturbed at the sight of her disability.

I wonder if the same parents have complained about Handrew the presenter with just 1 arm and no body?

#124 on feeling like george w bush

I don't recall the details precisely but in a nutshell big george stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier soon after the invasion of Iraq and proudly announced the war was over.

I heard he regretted it in a leaving the presidency interview. the comment not the war but that's another story.

Anyway assuming for a moment that it was his idea to say it and that he really meant it I kinda know how he feels.

Anyone who knows me well will know something of my own personal war I've been fighting over the past few months - not in the middle east, no closer to home in my own head. And I'm feeling that I might just have won...

...but a nagging doubt keeps me wondering if I, like George, am being a little premature.

Probably, but then again, by telling all you lovely hob blogglings I might have fought and won one more battle in my own personal war.

those of you who have held me up these past few months - family, old job, new job, church, the greenbelt set et al - I could not have done it without you. But most of all my heart goes out A. nuff sed.

#123 on post greenbelt blues

i don't have the post-greenbelt blues.

not yet.

but i don't think i'm going to get them either.

greenbelt was very good for me this year.  i didn't hear life changing speakers.  i didn't hear life changing bands.  i didn't see life changing art.

but i did see some dear friends.  i did hear some new music.  and i did start to think about life in a new way.

that's what greenbelt has done to me or for me depending on your perspective.

so i haven't placed myself on to a self imposed pedastool to be knocked off at a later date to be arranged with fate and destiny.  instead i've got a clearer sense of who i am (and who i'm not) and where i fit (and where i don't) than i have in an awful long time.

(i'm crying now.)

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#122 on new verbs

I am not an old reactionary when it comes to language.  I know it is an organic thing with new words and meanings and connotations coming on all the time but, just like misplaced or missing apostrophes, I do get bugged when new verbs turn up without warning.

For example, who decided that tourists would 'do' places when they travelled abroad?  Personally I cannot bear it when people tell me the 'did' the Sistene Chapel after a summer holiday in Rome. 

And now the BBC have got in on the act.  Since when did 'medal' become a verb?  Rebecca Adlington has medalled twice and so have 4 coxless men (sorry a pun not to be missed) amongst others.

It just worries me that we are simply being lazy with language.  Yes I know the point of language is to communicate meaning as quickly and efficiently as possible but are heading towards the newspeak of 1984?

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#121 on lost and found

You may have noticed a small level of activity on the web 2.0 front as I slowly attempt to rebuild my social life after a year of, well there's no easy way to describe it really, so let us say, shit.

Anyway, I don't want to talk about that now.  What I wanted to say is that part of my getting life back in order is that I've been sorting through our CD collection and come across this excellent disk - The Essential Fripp & Eno.  It's a great listen and I really like it but I must confess that I don't believe it actually belongs to me.  So if you lent it to me and have been cursing me behind my back for ages because I haven't returned it please let me know.

Until then i shall continue to listen to it and enjoy.

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#120 on Leoš Janáček

I first came across Janacek when I saw The Royal Opera House production of Cunning Little Vixen years ago and so I have been quietly looking forward to my birthday treat for some time.  For tonight I went with Andrea to the Janacek Prom down at Albert.

Time too short and words too few to describe the experience suffice it to say that it was an evening of immense pleasure and intrigue.  His music has so many facets that I don't think I shall ever tire of it.

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#119 on men's mags

current mood - tired (what else)
current music - from your favourite sky by i am kloot

the other day when travelling by tube i picked up one of the millions of free papers discarded across the carriage. but instead of london lite or metro or whatever i found myself clutching shortlist - a free magazine for men.

i've never been taken by the likes of nuts and loaded. i'd be embarrassed to read them in public so i'd never bothered. having said that i do enjoy gadgets and am trying to staying in touch culture so i suppose i shouldn't have been surprised to find shortlist strangely engaging in a disengaged-pass-the-time-on-the-tube sort of way.

the main thing to report is the lack of t and a. if it had been packed with more tits than a spearmint rhino club i would have ditched it straight away - firstly because it would have been embarrassing (surely porn, however soft, should be viewed as a solo sport) and secondly linking to this is that i know what a lady's upper portions look like and have access to the real thing if you see what i mean. i thought these mags were packed with bikinis or not. but in fact there was probably more eye candy for gay men than straight.

there were lots of lists - hence the name. top 10 this and that. occasionally funny, occasionally thought provoking, occasionally badly researched but often interesting.

there was some journalism - articles worth reading, reviews of gadgets worth considering and news of current stuff in the arts. all pretty lightweight but all perfectly balanced for reading on the tube.

so all in all a good read on the tube. i will plan future tube excursions for thursdays or visit the website for top 10 things to read on the tube etc.

#118 on caleb's flickr set

current music - star mile by joshua radin
current mood - (on the way to being) drunk

you can find all the caleb pics here my dear hob blogglings