2011 — 25 February: Friday
There are some days1 when sleep decides to go walkabout somewhat sooner than usual. At that point, the only sensible option is to make a cuppa, check your email, listen to some music or read, and potter around. It's 05:34 or so and the calm harp music on BBC Radio 3 is just perfect.
I note (from the 07:00 radio news) that it can take the UK establishment an awfully long time to acknowledge the genius of someone like, say, Alan Turing. Disgraceful. I've been improving the shining hour or two of consciousness so far this morning by removing2 my satellite and Freeview TV boxes and reworking my video system notes accordingly.
The last time I watched anything "live" was some time before Xmas and I find I simply don't miss it. Besides, I have no shortage of pre-recorded material :-)
I obviously need...
... to stay in more. I'd never even heard of "content farms" but the NYT sorted me out and pointed me to a satirical take on them here.
Turns out an early breakfast croissant isn't quite enough to keep a chap going. Time (10:08) for round two, therefore.
This time last week...
... I was about to set off up to the Midlands. Now (12:30) I'm just back from an hour in Soton sauntering around to no great purpose. But I note the traffic on the motorway is getting heavy. Lunch is my next excitement, methinks.
Right. Having lunched, grabbed the next batch of crockpottery, and confirmed that Mark Kermode's away from his Radio 5 film programme this week, I shall toddle over to Roger & Eileen to blag an afternoon cuppa. The rain is still holding off (as of 14:45).
Une fois, par un minuit lugubre,...
Roger showed me an early 1920s edition of James Elroy Flecker's "Hassan" (aka 'The Story of Hassan of Baghdad and How he Came to Make the Golden Journey to Samarkand'). The style is somewhat akin to Ernest Bramah. So, when I got home, it was time for a minor dalliance with Mrs Google to pick up an HTML variant from Project Gutenberg. But — inevitably — I browsed a little further afield, finding a French translation of a favorite poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
I love the idea of
... many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore ...
becoming
... maint curieux et bizarre volume de savoir oublié ...
It's 19:39, the evening meal is a thing of the re(cent)past and I fancy a film. Wonder if I can find one?