2009 — 5 December: Saturday

Brian Matthew is once again unearthing some excellent music from the 1960s as I clamber back towards some form of consciousness. And the sun is currently (09:19) shining, too. Nor is it frosty out there. Good!

I've been recommended the film "Popcorn" by one who knows. Never even heard of it. I'm assuming the 2007 version, rather than any of the nine variants listed on IMDB. Not that I lack unwatched material still to watch! I think my subconscious must think that I cannot die1 until the backlog is cleared :-)

A kabazillion dollars? How much is that exactly? (Source.)

An experiment

While waiting for a bunch of files to travel from one PC to another I leafed through "Radio Times" downstairs, thus learning that there's an Alan Bennett feast on BBC later tonight (though the only piece I haven't seen is, of course, the new documentary). But I also spotted a showing, this afternoon, of PJ Hogan's Peter Pan in HD on ITV1. So, let's see what the Humax satellite PVR makes of that, shall we? I confess I almost never watch ITV1, and I wearily accept that the recording2 will be stuffed with tiresome adverts, but that is what the 'fast forward' button is for, is it not?

The sun is more or less hidden behind increasing clouds (at noon) but I wasn't planning any trips out today.

While Peter and Wendy are (I hope) now getting Hook-ed up in HD, and lunch is now a fading memory, I'm listening again to my first CD of soundtrack music from the wonderful TV show "Northern Exposure" and, specifically, to the Baïlèro from Joseph Canteloube's "Chants d'Auvergne". I was previously unaware of the existence of the language Occitan. (But then there are many facets to my ignorance. So many, I would have no idea where to start enumerating them.) It's now 14:23 and looking horribly dull and grey out there. What dreary weather. My music (neither dull nor grey) has moved on to Nils Petter Molvær's album "np3" — a chance discovery of mine in Winchester back in 2002.

A world away... dept.

Last time I looked, Tandberg was a Norwegian maker of excellent three-head cassette decks. I used their TCD330 model for a while over 30 years ago until moving along to the glory that was Aiwa's ADF770 with Dolby C and Dolby HXPro.3 Next time I look, Tandberg is a Norwegian videoconferencing company that has just been acquired by Cisco. As for this cute little fella:

Snowman

What can one say? And more upcoming goodies next Tuesday. I can barely wait. Must be time for a soothing cuppa. It's 16:57 and dark (as far as I can't see) out there.

The world of academe is slipping slightly in my (already very low) estimation. "Research Officer — The rise and regulation of lap dancing and the place of sexual labour and consumption in the night time economy"? It's been a while since I heard Christa say "Good God!" but I'm sure she would have...

Having staved off...

... the incipient migraine symptoms with an evening meal, and made a mental note to get an early night, I see that it's now 20:12 and I've probably been at my PC screen for long enough!

  

Footnotes

1  Be fair. That's no more irrational than an archbishop announcing that his powerful (all-powerful?) imaginary friend won't (cannot?) intervene to "fix" climate change. What was that Russian proverb's advice to the newly-shipwrecked? Pray for help but row for the shore!
2  Not much of an experiment, but I've never previously attempted an unattended timer recording of any HD material from ITV as I've never previously bothered to look for any. And their red button / blue button method of switching between SD and HD (which, I grant, may have been improved by now) didn't do anything to encourage me either.
3  B&O's clever headroom expansion circuitry — of course, all these fancy analogue audio noise reduction systems have now more or less joined the dodo, having been thoroughly trampled in the headlong rush into digital audio.