Fruity

So, I indulged and bought it. The keyboard looks like this:



The performance is mind-bending. It's true, once you've tried Mac, you never go back.

Dop

Is this real? I'm not sure...

Copts and robbers

In a startling piece of serendipity, The Art of Eternity began last week on that most wonderful of channels, BBC4 - this meant that I have seen on full colour many of the treasures of Eastern Christianity mentioned in Dalrymple's book (you must all read this immediately if you have not yet done so). This is not one of the pieces of art that has been shown, but it is part of the Egyptian-Netherlands Cooperation for Coptic Art Preservation (ENCCAP)- dedicated to saving the masses of old Christian artefacts in some of the oldest monasteries in the world - under threat from declining numbers of monks, the environment, Islamic fundamentalism and simple theft - as with all works of art, these change hands for a great deal of money, and most of the older monasteries in Dalrymple's journey have suffered repeated thefts, both in the distant past, and in the last couple of decades - the monks he visits on Mount Athos, for example, have had to deal with armed raiders attacking them by boat to seize manuscripts, icons and relics.

Wow, all of that work just to use a dreadful pun as a title.

Mortality

So my bank think it is necessary for me to take out life insurance before my 30th birthday. They have never contacted me about this before. Do they know something I don't? Especially as is there is no lump sum at the end of the policy, and they frequently refer to the fact that my dependents will receive a payout if I should die within the first 15 years of the policy.

Is another 15 years really the best I can hope for? If so, that is two thirds of my life over with already. And it means that I was middle-aged at 22 - something that probably won't come as a surprise to most of you. And I certainly feel it. My back has been bad this week - it went whilst cleaning the kitchen floor. It is almost back to normal now - after 2 days and repeated hot baths it seems to have clicked back.

It caused enormous hilarity for the other residents of Ealing as I hobbled down to the Tube station on Wednesday morning - even the mentally ill Irish woman I pass at precisely 9.52 looked at me with pity, rather than screaming obscenities at me as usual - this was, of course, compounded by the 'snowstorm' that hit Britain and brought London to a halt once again. I no longer have either the energy or the inclination to rant once again about lack of preparation/Tubes/trains, etc. And it makes no difference - an inch (2.5cm for the European readers) of snow. I will point you back to my Grossman/TFL post, as this explains it all.

Ebay feedback from andy46477

Here.

Remember the rules: no hesitation, repetition or deviation.

A new CD in the offing to celebrate my impending transformation to an Apple user. No two tracks of the same genre. Post or e-mail to get a copy.

The 50 Greatest Cartoons

or at least as many of them as could be found online. Cityrag tracked down most of the 50 greatest (Western) cartoons, as voted for by the industry in 1994, in December of last year. Some are well known. Some are very much of their time. Some are very questionable. Some are just well, odd...

Now, if I could just work out how to get them down on to my Ipod, tomorrows early journey to work wouldn't seem half as bad.

Vasilii Grossman versus TFL

"...After Unecha, we travelled in a freight car. The weather was wonderful, but my travel companions said this was bad, and I realised this myself. There were black holes and craters from bombs everywhere along the railway. One could see trees broken by explosions. In the fields there were thousands of peasants, men and women, digging anti-tank ditches.

We watch the sky nervously and decided to jump off the train if the worst came to the worst. It was moving quite slowly. The moment we arrived in Novozybkov there was an air raid. A bomb fell in the station forecourt. This train wasn't going any further..."

Vasilii Grossman, A Writer At War

"Throughout the day, fallen trees and other debris have caused disruption to most open sections of the Tube network.

Speed restrictions have also been introduced on some open sections of the Tube network for safety reasons.

LU is working with infrastructure companies Tube Lines and Metronet to remove debris from tracks as quickly as possible but inevitably this will result in disruption to services."

TFL

Paranoia

OK, so my X-box 360 has just given me a heart attack. DVD tray would not open. Repeatedly. For 45 minutes. Finally managed to open it manually. Then it wouldn't close properly. For an hour. Cue visions of my entire day off tomorrow being spent on the phone to a call centre. Turn to trusted British tradition of shaking faulty electrical items. Magically starts working.

I am sure the corporation that produce it have been spying on me and are punishing me for using Mozilla and being in the process of buying an infinitely more fruity laptop. Or maybe not.

Jammy

No, not



But the Jamaican producer - 4 double CDs of his 1980's tracks have come my way... Mmmm Ipod on the Central Line tomorrow...

But in the meantime, a video of the man himself at work:

Richard Fairbrass

It will be mine, oh yes...

1st January, 12am-2am

Maybole Pipe Band & Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra: Auld Lang Syne
Kool & The Gang: Celebration
Earth Wind & Fire: Boogie Wonderland
Sister Sledge: Lost In Music (Special 1984 Nile Rodgers Remix)
Madonna: Holiday
The Bangles: Walk Like An Egyptian
The B-52's: Love Shack
Los Lobos: La Bamba
Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl
The Monkees: I'm a Believer
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta: You're The One That I Want
Four Seasons: December '63 (Oh What A Night)
The Jackson 5: I Want You Back
Chic: Le Freak
Bee Gees: Stayin' Alive
Michael Jackson: Billie Jean
Wham!: Freedom
Deee-Lite: Groove Is In The Heart
House Of Pain: Jump Around (Master Mix)
James Brown: Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
Elvis Presley: Suspicious Minds
ABBA: Dancing Queen
The Village People: Y.M.C.A.
Frank Sinatra: New York, New York
Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better
Bob Marley & The Wailers: No Woman No Cry
The Beatles: Hey Jude
Louis Armstrong: What A Wonderful World
Nina Simone: My Sweet Lord/Today Is A Killer

Enjoying

William Dalrymple - From the Holy Mountain
Brendan Behan - Confessions of an Irish Rebel
Sinead O'Connor - Throw Down Your Arms
Apple - Ipod
Fawlty Towers DVDs

31st December, 8pm-11.57pm

Lee Perry & The Upsetters : Dub Revolution (Part 1)
Willie Williams : Armagideon Time
Sugar Minott : Oh Mr. D.C.
Dub Specialist : Bionic Dub
Sound Dimension : Granny Scratch Scratch
Jackie Mittoo : Deeper And Deeper
Barry White : Playing Your Game Baby
Herbie Mann : Hi-Jack
Labi Siffre : I Got The
Gary Bartz Ntu Troop : Celestial Blues
Herbie Hancock : Wiggle-Waggle
Googie Rene Combo : Firebird
Willis Jackson : Nuther'n Like Thuther'n
A Tribe Called Quest : Luck Of Lucien
De La Soul : Buddy (Native Tongue Version)
Maceo Parker : Soul Power '74
Parliament : I've Been Watching You (Move Your Sexy Body)
Funkadelic : One Nation Under A Groove
Maceo & The Macks : Cross The Track (We Better Go Back) (Extended Version)
The Pointer Sisters : Yes We Can Can
Archie Bell & The Drells : Tighten Up (Part One)
Joe Tex : Show Me
Ike & Tina Turner : River Deep - Mountain High
Linda Lyndell : What A Man
Gloria Jones : Tainted Love
Lyn Collins : Think (About It)
James Brown : Papa's Got A Brand New Bag Pt.1
James Brown : I Got You (I Feel Good)
Aretha Franklin : Respect
The Temptations : Get Ready
Diana Ross & The Supremes : You Can't Hurry Love
Stevie Wonder : "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (DJ Smash Essential Funk Mix)"
Gnarls Barkley : Crazy
Run-D.M.C. : It's Like That
Salt n Pepa : Push It
Cameo : Word Up
The Pointer Sisters : Jump (For My Love)
Cheryl Lynn : To Be Real
Oliver Cheatham : Get Down Saturday Night
Hot Chocolate : You Sexy Thing
Rose Royce : Car Wash
Sister Sledge : He's the Greatest Dancer
Odyssey : Going Back To My Roots
McFadden & Whitehead : Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
Michael Jackson : Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Madonna : Into The Groove
Wham! : I'm Your Man
Dexy's Midnight Runners : Come On Eileen
ABBA : Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight )
Madonna : Hung Up
Nelly Furtado Feat. Timbaland : Promiscuous
Justin Timberlake : SexyBack
Christina Aguilera : Ain't No Other Man
Scissor Sisters : I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

Should I end it?

This blog, I mean. I am feeling dramatically uninspired at the moment. Exhaustion, translation, work, and an X-Box 360 have all contributed to this sorry excuse for apathy.

I would have to delete it all, of course, as I worry when I stumble upon un-updated blogs (two links there!), in the same way one wonders about people in the black and white photos for sale at Camden market - who are they, what happened to them, and why were these very personal tokens cast aside?