2013 — 13 April: Saturday
Somehow both grey and bright this morning.1 Plums are stewed, tea is brewed, what's next, Dude? Well, the remainder of Brian Matthew and his "Sounds of the 60s" for starters.
Then there's always...
... the continuing zaniness of our North American cousins, some of whom appear to regard intellectual freedom as, well, erm, I'm not quite sure what to be honest. Consider, for example, the list of Top 10 Banned Books of 2011:
How (for example) the "Hunger Games" trilogy can possibly be cited for any of the "reasons" listed suggests a dangerously low level of adult neural functionality. The violence is entirely 'justified' by the context. The other charges are, simply, ludicrous.
Somehow, I expected the drizzle to deter the neighbour out with her watering can. Not so.
Having stopped...
... my long-time subscription to "New Statesman" magazine (IBM pension, remember) I didn't immediately spot this nice piece on James Lovelock. Strikes me as an admirable chap. (Link.)
And here's a delightful Grantham fairy tale illustrated by the inimitable Posy Simmonds:
Published, it says, by "Ye Olde Guardian".
This is but one...
... of many CD sleeves I've scanned as I continue to chip slowly away at the ever-rising entropy level here in Technology Towers:
I picked it out to admit that, on my first casual glance, I thought the circular item was part of an elaborate piece of head gear. The artist (Yuko Shimizu) has talent. I miss the monthly CDs that came with the now-defunct "Word" magazine.
Despite the horrid weather (it's been pouring for a couple of hours) it's now time I wasn't here if I'm to be there in time to help Len mount his new electrical sockets (all 32 of them) on the wall behind his kit. Should I wear rubber, do you think? [Pause] Make that 30, not 32. Or "Sock it to me" for those old enough to recall the lovely Judy Carne.
And did you spot the fact that the vinyl is rotating the 'wrong' way? No, nor did I... It's obviously time (20:00) for my next cuppa. I've been grappling with a "Samurai Su Doku" sent to me by my f(r)iend Christopher while Gill rubs salt in the wound by alerting me to an SBS featuring Tim Minchin. I have no intention of signing up to the foul Sky system just for that.
Besides, I'm having far too much fun listening to some of these old "Word" CDs. I note I went some seven months without buying the magazine (neatly bracketing the period of Christa's final illness). I guess — looking back — that's understandable, though I hadn't even realised consciously that I was doing this at the time. The mind does odd things under (dis)stress.
Once upon a time...
... there was an amusing magazine here in the UK called "Punch". It was often to be found in dentists' waiting rooms. (I've already reproduced one of its early-ish cartoons — from January 1860 — fairly recently, here.) Here's the slightly more recent image chosen for its front cover 23 years ago:
'Nuff said, I think.