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 A tentative blog to test the temperature. |
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Ten years ago I was writing several blogs on various subjects - F1 motor racing, Music, Classic Cars, Great Romances and, most crushingly, a personal journal that included my thoughts on America, memories of England and Africa, opinion, humour, writing and anything else that occurred. It all became too much (I was attempting to update the journal every day) and I collapsed, exhausted and thoroughly disillusioned in the end. So this blog is indeed a Toe in the Water, a place to document my thoughts in and on WdC but with a determination not to get sucked into the blog whirlpool ever again. Here's hoping.     |
| The Roman version of YouTube Et Tube Brute. |
| Twilight Time What's the point of a vampire that refuses to suck human blood? You'd end up with just an ordinary boyfriend with the added disadvantage of unconverted vampires and werewolves causing constant problems. Get yourself a poet boyfriend instead - at least they have the same romantically pallid and unhealthy complexion. Word count: 49 |
| Naming Characters Naming characters is important. For instance, thanks to the Matrix, one can no longer name a character Mr Anderson without the reader promouncing it in the lifeless tones of Agent Smith. Of course, if that's the effect one wants... |
| The Only Living Boy in New York Just stumbled upon a recent video of Paul Simon being interviewed and found it most interesting. It seems he’s losing his hearing and the thought resonated with me and my fear of losing my sight. It was a point of contact, perhaps. But then he started talking about how the songs for his latest album came to him. And they came in a dream. Bingo, I thought, that’s exactly what happens to me sometimes. Once again, I was reminded that “your old men will dream dreams” Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17. That has become almost a motto of mine over the last few years. It seems it’s true. Anyway, Paul went on from there to thoughts of life, death and old age, all so familiar to me - although mine might be a bit more focused. Writers are so logical, you know. It was nice to hear that I’m not the only one experiencing old age in such a manner. The video is below if you’re interested. Most of the stuff I’ve been talking about is in the first few minutes but you’ll probably be caught and listen to the whole thing. Be warned. Word count: 194 |
| Lockdown Lately I’ve seen a lot of people reflecting on the changes the covid lockdown made in their lives and how they’re still working through it. That’s understandable but, for some, it’s effect was minimal. The old, for instance, with many of them being housebound already. For them, little changed apart from longer waits to get an order from dial-up deliveries. And then there were those few who had changed already and saw it coming. Word count: 74 |
| A Must Read Avocado I don’t normally approve of books written by celebrities but I’ve found the exception that proves the rule - a book by a celebrity who is worth listening to (or reading) every day. Here’s the video that taught me that Bob Mortimer writes books as well as being the funniest and most likable man in the world: Word count: 56 |
| I Say Tomato I see a lot of silly Anglo-American competition on the internet - people saying how words should be pronounced or spelt in English, quibbling over customs and intentions, and so on. Both sides convinced that somehow they are right, better and clearly superior. Yet how truly silly this is. The fact is that we talk about our differences so much because we’re basically the same and this makes our differences endlessly fascinating. Any need to use these comparisons to demonstrate superiority is born of insecurity. There is no right or wrong way to say “tomato” and nobody really knows how to pronounce “Marylebone.” We learn so much from each other. Comparisons between how we speak and what we’ve done with the institutions inherited by both of us from the events of the 18th Century actually enable us to understand ourselves the better. It’s in these discussions that fresh light is shone (or even “shined”) upon things about ourselves that we’ve previously taken for granted. Thanks to our transatlantic contacts and friends, we gain a much deeper understanding of ourselves. And that has nothing to do with superiority. One man’s English is another man’s dialect. Word count: 193 |
| An Old Thought Unburdened by what has been before... Isn't that Alzheimers? |
| This is Why I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few weeks. Which explains why there have been so few blog updates lately. Although you might think that all that thinking would result in all sorts of blogworthy things to say, the truth is that most of them aren’t worth saying until a conclusion is reached. So I hold fire on that until I can see the whites of your eyes. In the meantime, here’s a little thought I had several years ago. You might remember the ad. Sometimes people say things I don't think they mean. Just watched an advert for a well known brand of beer by the most interesting man in the world. At the end of the ad he lifts a beer bottle so we can see the label and advises us to "stay thirsty, my friends." I'm sorry, but to me this means I should bear the thirst because this beer is really horrible. Word count: 157 |
| Facebook Follies Lately, I’ve been ambushed by Facebook. It’s part of my boot up procedure every morning, although I never bother with it during the rest of the day. I open it just so that, on opening or closing it each day, I can see whether any friends or relatives have commented. Normally, I would spend a couple of minutes there on my way to WdC. But a few weeks ago, it laid a trap for me. It started putting Calvin and Hobbes cartoons every few posts. I have never told Facebook that I love Calvin and Hobbes, so why it should suddenly decide to throw them at me, I have no idea. Just part of the irrational mess that is Facebook, I guess. The problem is that it works. I find myself scrolling further and further down in the hope of another C & H cartoon. And there’s always another one. There are days when I get lost in Facebook for half an hour or more and that’s a fair chunk out of my day - more than FB warrants, that’s for sure. But I can see light at the end of the tunnel. They’re beginning to run out of C & H strips. I can tell because there are more and more repeats. Plus, they’ve started to try out other cartoons on me as well. No luck there, I’m afraid. Never did think much of Beetle Bailey. So it looks as though I’ll soon be able to reclaim those lost hours in Facebook. Though I’ll miss Calvin and Hobbes, it’s true. Word count: 258 |
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