it's 6.45am I've already printed out the lyrics to "Baby it's cold outside" and I have a long say of Twister Mixed Cocktails, deep fried mars bars and general oddness in front of me. It ought to be good - but if it isn't there's nowhere to hide and as all of this is new to me I'm a little concerned that I'm the virgin in a virgin process. It's a little like organizing a gang babg at Jesus Camp - you know that they really should go for it but you're always just a little worried that the kid with Jesus in his heart is going to ruin it for everyone else.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
My Civet coffee arrived
Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee is coffee made from coffee cherries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The animals gorge on the ripe berries, and excrete partially-digested beans in their feces, which are then harvested for sale. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid), in the country of Vietnam, and the coffee estates of south India.
Cool beans, huh?
Cool beans, huh?
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Cool day today
after a night of drunken debate with displaced Cubans we started the day gently, with a brunch. Our friends Michael and Joanne and their increasingly lovely son Ollie joined Xtiana, Alex, Jude and I in a quite Tribeca brunch spot before we all spilled out onto the streets in search of saucy underwear (Jude), coffee (the Xs) and fuel for their giganta wagon (Michael, Joanna, Ollie and all)
Then this evening it was Ice Hockey. Our neighbors gave us really great seats, one row behind the opposition bench and we dragged J.Lum (a friend from Oz) with us for an evening of bafflling stopages, loud musical interludes, very polite fans and the occasional stand up fist fight (on the ice)
Big week for me at work this week so time for The L Word (am I the only person still watching?) and then bed. 8am gym tomorrow and then a LONG day ahead.
Then this evening it was Ice Hockey. Our neighbors gave us really great seats, one row behind the opposition bench and we dragged J.Lum (a friend from Oz) with us for an evening of bafflling stopages, loud musical interludes, very polite fans and the occasional stand up fist fight (on the ice)
Big week for me at work this week so time for The L Word (am I the only person still watching?) and then bed. 8am gym tomorrow and then a LONG day ahead.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
A day of photos
it's been a day of phoos today. Our friends from London blew their reasonable carbon footprint allowance on a weekend in New York and I've been flashing the cam' at them and them at us ever since.
Too much food to date (and we have Japanese tonight) but a very chilled day that seemed to go breakfast, brunch, drinks in a bar where drunken homosexuals were drawing an overweight and near naked burlesque 'star', a quick Troy fix and then dinner.
Not exciting I grant you - but good to hang with the people that we miss most
Too much food to date (and we have Japanese tonight) but a very chilled day that seemed to go breakfast, brunch, drinks in a bar where drunken homosexuals were drawing an overweight and near naked burlesque 'star', a quick Troy fix and then dinner.
Not exciting I grant you - but good to hang with the people that we miss most
Friday, March 30, 2007
Friday
It's Friday, the sun is shining, the traffic lights are all on red, Alexa is eating toast (noisily) as I write (I'm at work)... we've already had an e-mail about overflowing toilets and a request for directions to a Bongo store. All rather suspect and oddly all rather typical.
I do love New York springs. They're short but the skies are blue, the air is crisp and for a month or so you can forget that you're breathing in the combined pollution of 12 million people who care less about smog than they do about CostCo's "Buy 144 get 144 free" offers.
We have Alex and Xtiana (Alextiana?) here for the weekend - a good excuse to stay out late, eat early and generally let down what hair we have left.
Good times
I do love New York springs. They're short but the skies are blue, the air is crisp and for a month or so you can forget that you're breathing in the combined pollution of 12 million people who care less about smog than they do about CostCo's "Buy 144 get 144 free" offers.
We have Alex and Xtiana (Alextiana?) here for the weekend - a good excuse to stay out late, eat early and generally let down what hair we have left.
Good times
Thursday, March 29, 2007
A window on the world
Took this pic on the subway yesterday, I quite liked it. I'm not sure why, because it seems like a pretty miserable scene. Not a great deal going on with Jude away and me busy - thinking about taking a couple of months out for a project in Seoul, South Korea. We'll see; it's a timing thing really. If it wasn't for dogs, cats and the like I'd jump on a plane tomorrow - but responsibility, even minor responsibility hangs heavy on my shoulders. At work now so this needs to be short.
America threw chubby back - Chris Sligh booted on Idol
America threw chubby back - Chris Sligh booted on Idol
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
More IDOL on FOX
So Gwen Stefani night on Idol. La Belle Gwen of course has a back catalogue shallower than pre-retreat Richard Gere and so the show was split into 'Songs by Gwen' and "Songs by people that Gwen quite likes" So likes The Police it seems.
Chris Sligh wrapped his lard lubed larynx around "Every little thing she does is magic" - racing through it at a pace that I imagine his (surprisingly lovely) wife insists he apply to any sexual liason between then. Like those liasons this was fast and messy. The lardy one is now there on his increasingly stretched sense or humor alone.
Gina Glockson dragged herself away from the mall for long enough to soldier through "I'll stand by you" like a suburban Bette Midler post lobotomy. She's 90% hips that woman and her boyfriend needs the red dye slapping outta his hair.
Sanjaya now knows that he's immune from ejection - and has decided to go with the Worst Idol Ever thing. This is a shame because he could be pretty good on the show if he wasn't courting Howard Stern, VotefortheWorst and every late, late night comedian. He has the show saboteurs, the ironic watchers, the pre-teeners and every gay man's vote, he's safe - but he should reallytake some time out during the week to learn the words of whatever song he's going to sleepwalk through.
Scarnato hid the legs and the personality on an insipid True Colors that had me looking for a bucket of cold water into which to plunge my head until it was over. I even started to daydream about hunting down Cyndi Lauper with a "WHat have you wrought?" question that I'd wield like an axe.
Every Breath you take proved, to me anyway, that Phil Stacey is probably great in the shower. He carries a tune well over minimum accompaniament, but when the band chimes in he sees it as competition rather than accompaniament. This was an 'in the shower' performance.
Mindy Doo sang something or other in the style of Gladys Knight - sang it well but still managed to hide her neck under a bushell.
Blake Lewis dropped the Police Academy theatrics and sang something relatively straight. Simon thought that he was the best of the boys, which is a little like being the most likely to succeed in a Southern Trailer Park.
Jordan Sparks channelled Hit Me Baby One More Time Britney (the short schoolgirl skirt) and that singing hippo from YouTube (everythig else) as she huffed, puffed and harumphed herself through "Hey Baby" in the way that a crowd more easily pleased than a frotter in Tokyo rush-hour lapped up
The last one is just too easy. Everything through the nose specialist Chris Richardson murdered "Don't Speak"... the correct riposte? "I'd rather you didn't sing"
Another fun night in
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
A time for breakfast
Velcro went to daycare today. Or rather I should say - she RAN to daycare. This is a good sign.
Yesterday had been her first day and she came home knackered, refused to move all night and was generally a joy.
Of course she'd earned her knackered status.
"Erm, she's very playful" quoth the harried dog watcher in what I think was a triumph of understatement.
But today she was up, ready and heading in a daycarewardly direction before I could say "Aye oop you, what's going on here?"
The good thing for me is that post drop off I headed for Egg - a local, sustainable, shared breakfast space that owns its own chickens and buys only local product.
Had the most amazing omlette. Ate tomatoes (I know) and generally chillled out. Breakfast in the sunshine (it's 22C here today) is a good thing. It's put me in quite the laid back mood. Which is cool.
The people above btw aren't naked (sorry it was a public place and they weren't for the convincing) but they are lovely people that I once worked with once upon a lifetime ago.
Yesterday had been her first day and she came home knackered, refused to move all night and was generally a joy.
Of course she'd earned her knackered status.
"Erm, she's very playful" quoth the harried dog watcher in what I think was a triumph of understatement.
But today she was up, ready and heading in a daycarewardly direction before I could say "Aye oop you, what's going on here?"
The good thing for me is that post drop off I headed for Egg - a local, sustainable, shared breakfast space that owns its own chickens and buys only local product.
Had the most amazing omlette. Ate tomatoes (I know) and generally chillled out. Breakfast in the sunshine (it's 22C here today) is a good thing. It's put me in quite the laid back mood. Which is cool.
The people above btw aren't naked (sorry it was a public place and they weren't for the convincing) but they are lovely people that I once worked with once upon a lifetime ago.
Monday, March 26, 2007
end of privacy?
I've been thinking a lot about
the end of privacy and the generational debate that it's sparking.
On one side you have young people spilling their every thought and detail
for the the world to see on community sites, in blogs and (increasingly) in
the on-campus porn magazines that seem to be popping up everywhere. Of
course Madonna was way ahead of this trend as far back as 1991 when she
released her sexual fantasies to the world with the book Sex, her life to
everyone with Truth or Dare and forced an exasperated Warren Beatty to frame
a debate still 15 years hence with this little outburst
"She doesn't want to live off-camera, much less talk. There's nothing to say
off-camera. Why would you say something if it's off-camera? What point is
there existing?"
So on one side we have 'the kids' asking What's the point if it can't get me
hits in You Tube
And on the other hside of the coin you have parental hysteria - either
wrapped in concerns over pedophile access to kids (imagine a day when every
kid has a camera in their bedroom and every pervert has access to the
machine that it's on... Ooops did we really buy Timmy a mac with built in
i-sight camera?)
Then there's the Orwellian objections being stirred by concerns such as this
(from today's newspaper)
"It is not entirely absurd to imagine that supermarkets' loyalty card data
might one day be used by the Government to identify people who ignored
advice to eat healthily, or who drank too much, so that they could be given
a lower priority for treatment by the NHS"
"With sensitive personal details readable over a distance, it could even
become possible with appropriate antennas and amplification, to construct a
bomb that would only detonate in the presence of a particular nationality or
even a particular individual."
As I said I'm not entirely sure where this is useful but it's splitting the
Western world across generational lines in a way that we haven't seen since
Punk and that's got to frame how we judge the ideas that we're having?
Personally I gave up on privacy years ago. Google me long enough and you'll
find pictures not just of me, my family, my various weights, beliefs,
disease history and hairstyles but pics of my innards (I have CT scans
posted), and of course my thoughts on the 2006 UK
panto season.
the end of privacy and the generational debate that it's sparking.
On one side you have young people spilling their every thought and detail
for the the world to see on community sites, in blogs and (increasingly) in
the on-campus porn magazines that seem to be popping up everywhere. Of
course Madonna was way ahead of this trend as far back as 1991 when she
released her sexual fantasies to the world with the book Sex, her life to
everyone with Truth or Dare and forced an exasperated Warren Beatty to frame
a debate still 15 years hence with this little outburst
"She doesn't want to live off-camera, much less talk. There's nothing to say
off-camera. Why would you say something if it's off-camera? What point is
there existing?"
So on one side we have 'the kids' asking What's the point if it can't get me
hits in You Tube
And on the other hside of the coin you have parental hysteria - either
wrapped in concerns over pedophile access to kids (imagine a day when every
kid has a camera in their bedroom and every pervert has access to the
machine that it's on... Ooops did we really buy Timmy a mac with built in
i-sight camera?)
Then there's the Orwellian objections being stirred by concerns such as this
(from today's newspaper)
"It is not entirely absurd to imagine that supermarkets' loyalty card data
might one day be used by the Government to identify people who ignored
advice to eat healthily, or who drank too much, so that they could be given
a lower priority for treatment by the NHS"
"With sensitive personal details readable over a distance, it could even
become possible with appropriate antennas and amplification, to construct a
bomb that would only detonate in the presence of a particular nationality or
even a particular individual."
As I said I'm not entirely sure where this is useful but it's splitting the
Western world across generational lines in a way that we haven't seen since
Punk and that's got to frame how we judge the ideas that we're having?
Personally I gave up on privacy years ago. Google me long enough and you'll
find pictures not just of me, my family, my various weights, beliefs,
disease history and hairstyles but pics of my innards (I have CT scans
posted), and of course my thoughts on the 2006 UK
panto season.
Amazing what a smell can do...
So this morning I opened the cupboard just to the left of the sink, the one where we keep the dog's cookies and I was immediately in a dull green recliner waiting for chemo. The smell of the cupboard just rushed over me, enveloping me in a churning wave of nostalgia, nausea and sensory recollection. This was the cupboard where we'd stored my chemo drugs. Weirdly the sensation hasn't hit me before but I really did get dragged under by the smell this morning; very odd. And somewhat disconcerting - now wondering whether this was memory or premonition.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
christina aguilera
To MSG last night. Home of boxing, countless Elton John sell-out shows and for one night only home to Durrrrty gurl Xtina.
First up of course is running the gamut of high fructose corn syrup fed mid-westerners, over stimulated, under educated and distracted by the famrmyard utensil sized buckets used to feed them. Squeeze past and you're inside just in time to watch the support's support act The Jizzety Hoes (or some such) do their shouty, short skirted 'thang' with more gusto than elan. After their 'performance' they're presented with a disc commenorating 1m sales - they must have had a very busy fleet week is all that I can say.
Next is the Pussy Cat Dolls. Basically a bunch of don't take it off strippers with a record deal they gyrate, bounce and do their stuff through the hits, whilst Nicki their lead singer, manages to look stunning and sound amazing. Mid-way through the set she drifts off into a semi-Latin stripper bendiction. Good stuff - she just needs to tame the Ki-op verbal tick now.
And then finally Xtina takes the stage. Costume changes galore. All of the hits (and my how many of them sound alike) and a sickly sweet 'you're great' fan video combine to make for a good set. Alas Xtina has terrible diction. She sounds as though she's chewing a baby tiger, all yelps and low growls and the result is best described as 'gutteral'
Not a bad night out (for the money though $10 per ticket 'service charge' is extortionate) but not one that I'd pay to live through again.
Ok, late for the gym and a new machine....
First up of course is running the gamut of high fructose corn syrup fed mid-westerners, over stimulated, under educated and distracted by the famrmyard utensil sized buckets used to feed them. Squeeze past and you're inside just in time to watch the support's support act The Jizzety Hoes (or some such) do their shouty, short skirted 'thang' with more gusto than elan. After their 'performance' they're presented with a disc commenorating 1m sales - they must have had a very busy fleet week is all that I can say.
Next is the Pussy Cat Dolls. Basically a bunch of don't take it off strippers with a record deal they gyrate, bounce and do their stuff through the hits, whilst Nicki their lead singer, manages to look stunning and sound amazing. Mid-way through the set she drifts off into a semi-Latin stripper bendiction. Good stuff - she just needs to tame the Ki-op verbal tick now.
And then finally Xtina takes the stage. Costume changes galore. All of the hits (and my how many of them sound alike) and a sickly sweet 'you're great' fan video combine to make for a good set. Alas Xtina has terrible diction. She sounds as though she's chewing a baby tiger, all yelps and low growls and the result is best described as 'gutteral'
Not a bad night out (for the money though $10 per ticket 'service charge' is extortionate) but not one that I'd pay to live through again.
Ok, late for the gym and a new machine....
Friday, March 23, 2007
Tonight's the night
tonight Jude and I are off to see Xtina Aguillerra and The Pussy Cat Dolls....
... who said I didn't know how to show a lady a good time?
Review tomorrow...
... who said I didn't know how to show a lady a good time?
Review tomorrow...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Lots going on today
Lots going on today. My granddad is in hospital following a very minor stroke, Jude may well have a job lined up (fingers crossed and I said nothing) though her body is falling apart post PhD. - nothing major just incident after incident that seem to leave her thinner and more ill. She's doing all of the right things though. My niece was one yesterday, I wish I was closer at times - it would be great to cook for her. I've been working with lots of people whose theories on brain fat composition and child development make sense to me.Additionally I came across this picture this morning (though not literally you'll be glad to hear, I'll leave that to the Saudi visitors who pop up whenever I mention sex, butts or Lindsay Lohan's drunken escapades with an epilator on the blog) and it reminded me that Booties - the ass lover's version of Hooters - is a very, very good idea.
Oh and Stephanie Edwards went home yesterday - expect a thin voiced Beyonce wannabe walking the lonely roads by the docks of Rhyll any day now
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Runnning Late
For some reason the well oiled machine that is my morning routine came off the ralls this morning and I arrived at the office to find it full though humming with silent intent. Everyone is home from the road and catching up with putting what they saw into a format that's useful and so whilst seats are scarse so are decibels. It's a weird feeling actually. No balloon races, no shoe bowls, no women interviewing by teaching Tae Kwan Do or men bringing in hyper obedient dogs who lose control at the first whiff of crotch. It feels like an office. An office with beanbags, purple sofas and rubber chickens to be sure, but an offive non-the-less.
Idol news. The boys sucked again last night. One audience member lost control and sobbed like she was witnessing the Beatles at Shay Stadium. Lekeisha was fat and rubbish and Doolittle remained a talented dwarf.
Actually let's break it down.
Guests Lulu and that tombstone toothed bloke from Herman's Hermits. She tries to outsing every contestant (and does) he's happy to prove that he's still alive and available for the Chicken in a Basket circuit.
We open with Haley Scarnato who does "Tell Him" in wobbly heels and in wobbly voice. She doesn't have the legs for shorts. Especially for hotpants.
Chris Richardson attempts a ballad "Don't let the sun catch you crying" and comes across as a scratchy voiced adanoid patient. It's more horrible than Scarnato's legs. Or Nigel Lithgowe's teeth
Stephanie Edwards should be a young Shirley Bassey. That is a prostitute in Rhyl. Her version of "You don't have to say you love me" sounded like Mary J Blige having her larynx sanded. Worse than the thought of Scarnato in a g-string.
Blake Lewis likes to beatbox. Like hightower in the Polce academy movies. Only 25 years later. And less tunefully. "Time of the Season" comes across like a YouTube back bedroom performance. The audience lap it up like cats at a leaky udder.
Lakisha Jones did "Diamonds are Forever" against Lulu's advice. She claimed to be wearing a million dollar's worth of diamonds. They were barely noticable stretched around her vastness. It was okay. Lulu had been right.
Phil Stacey sounded pretty good when he sang "Tobacco Road' to the Hermit guy and appalling when he screamed it over the band. He's going home tonight.
Jordin Sparks sang " I (who have nothing)" - quite beautifully. She's good. Real good.
Sanjaya Malakar made one little girl sob when he hammed his way through " You really got me going"... between the tears and snot was a spirited performance. Bless him.
Gina Glocksen is like your mouthy cousin. She's the coolest girl at the mall but has all the authenticity of a Ryan Seacrest smile. Her version of "Paint it Black" was supposed to be satanic - shame it was just bad.
Chris Sligh started "She's not there" by walking through the audience without once looking at any of them. He's a fat fool who's getting by on being self knowing... I liked "Fro Patrol", increasingly I dislike him and his variations on the mediocre.
Melinda Doolittle - does america need or want a hunchback Gladys Knight? We shall see. She's great but looks (literally) like a car crash and that may be unforgivable.
Idol news. The boys sucked again last night. One audience member lost control and sobbed like she was witnessing the Beatles at Shay Stadium. Lekeisha was fat and rubbish and Doolittle remained a talented dwarf.
Actually let's break it down.
Guests Lulu and that tombstone toothed bloke from Herman's Hermits. She tries to outsing every contestant (and does) he's happy to prove that he's still alive and available for the Chicken in a Basket circuit.
We open with Haley Scarnato who does "Tell Him" in wobbly heels and in wobbly voice. She doesn't have the legs for shorts. Especially for hotpants.
Chris Richardson attempts a ballad "Don't let the sun catch you crying" and comes across as a scratchy voiced adanoid patient. It's more horrible than Scarnato's legs. Or Nigel Lithgowe's teeth
Stephanie Edwards should be a young Shirley Bassey. That is a prostitute in Rhyl. Her version of "You don't have to say you love me" sounded like Mary J Blige having her larynx sanded. Worse than the thought of Scarnato in a g-string.
Blake Lewis likes to beatbox. Like hightower in the Polce academy movies. Only 25 years later. And less tunefully. "Time of the Season" comes across like a YouTube back bedroom performance. The audience lap it up like cats at a leaky udder.
Lakisha Jones did "Diamonds are Forever" against Lulu's advice. She claimed to be wearing a million dollar's worth of diamonds. They were barely noticable stretched around her vastness. It was okay. Lulu had been right.
Phil Stacey sounded pretty good when he sang "Tobacco Road' to the Hermit guy and appalling when he screamed it over the band. He's going home tonight.
Jordin Sparks sang " I (who have nothing)" - quite beautifully. She's good. Real good.
Sanjaya Malakar made one little girl sob when he hammed his way through " You really got me going"... between the tears and snot was a spirited performance. Bless him.
Gina Glocksen is like your mouthy cousin. She's the coolest girl at the mall but has all the authenticity of a Ryan Seacrest smile. Her version of "Paint it Black" was supposed to be satanic - shame it was just bad.
Chris Sligh started "She's not there" by walking through the audience without once looking at any of them. He's a fat fool who's getting by on being self knowing... I liked "Fro Patrol", increasingly I dislike him and his variations on the mediocre.
Melinda Doolittle - does america need or want a hunchback Gladys Knight? We shall see. She's great but looks (literally) like a car crash and that may be unforgivable.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Statue of Priapus
Always seems to make student groups giggle for some reason... I've not posted today - too busy checking out chocolate stores, drinkling suggestive lattes and taking slices off the boss's chocolate breasts (nobody touched the oh too realistic nipple)
Have a presentation to finish up in the morning and then a day or two of clear space during which I intend to enjoy the clear skies and warm weather.
What are y'all up to?
Have a presentation to finish up in the morning and then a day or two of clear space during which I intend to enjoy the clear skies and warm weather.
What are y'all up to?
Monday, March 19, 2007
a Jude not a Nude
yesterday the light started to strea in burnt, orange, harsh and just smelling of portrait and so JUde gamely leapt into America's Next Top Supermodel pose mode and 'gave it fierce face'... got a few pics out of it before the sun disappeared behind a building and left us in darkness. I think that this is my favorite, though I'd be hard pushed to say why. Perhaps because it looks very heavily treated when in fact I pushed very little or perhaps because it achieves both gingerness and hotness (something about 4 people in the world have managed this decade - I think I know them all)
Anyway today will be spent framing positioning areas in a way that allows anyone to have ideas off of them. It's something I enjoy - framing the essence of an idea. Party philosophy, part common sense, part stand up comedy, part exercise in linguistic semantics. I once spent 3 months on a project and ended up changing the article from definate to indefinate... it worked as well.
Off to work with me I think
Anyway today will be spent framing positioning areas in a way that allows anyone to have ideas off of them. It's something I enjoy - framing the essence of an idea. Party philosophy, part common sense, part stand up comedy, part exercise in linguistic semantics. I once spent 3 months on a project and ended up changing the article from definate to indefinate... it worked as well.
Off to work with me I think
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Avoiding work
I promised to help out some old friends this weekend - by looking at something that they'd written and making a few changes here and there. Turns out I'm rewriting everything - or I would be if I could just settle down in front of the computer and actually do it.
Why is starting work on something so hard for me these days? Time was that a looming deadline was all that I needed to scare me into frantic typing mode. These days I sit back and enjoy the whoosing sound that those deadlines make as they whizz past.
In a bid to avoid the whole thing I'm carrying Jude off into the city to look at murderously expensive jewelry (she's after an "I've graduated" Right Hand Ring) and wondering whether I could extend the shopping trip to some local galleries that I love. What could be more civilized?
Okay 1 hr of work and then into town. Here we go
Why is starting work on something so hard for me these days? Time was that a looming deadline was all that I needed to scare me into frantic typing mode. These days I sit back and enjoy the whoosing sound that those deadlines make as they whizz past.
In a bid to avoid the whole thing I'm carrying Jude off into the city to look at murderously expensive jewelry (she's after an "I've graduated" Right Hand Ring) and wondering whether I could extend the shopping trip to some local galleries that I love. What could be more civilized?
Okay 1 hr of work and then into town. Here we go
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Jude gets in on naked March
in a Dove kinda way of course... not a fantastic pic but one that I really like. I do like this photography malarky...
The path to Nirvana
Lots of new restaurants opening in the 'Burg this weekend. There's a new Japanese that looks plush, a Turkish looking thing that looks delightfully low rent and a Vietnamese that looks very high concept (seats craftyed from crates etc.) All tempting - all off limits as I continue on the path to magnificent emaciation.
I've always thought that Mariah Carey should have come back with a paen to her recovery from bulimia with an album called "The Emaciation and Emancipation of me, ME!"
But then that's just me.
About 4 inches of ice out there from Yesterday's Ice Storm. Will make for some interesting falls during the most drunken parade of the year - St. Patrick's Day. I'm on ER admissions up 200%
I've always thought that Mariah Carey should have come back with a paen to her recovery from bulimia with an album called "The Emaciation and Emancipation of me, ME!"
But then that's just me.
About 4 inches of ice out there from Yesterday's Ice Storm. Will make for some interesting falls during the most drunken parade of the year - St. Patrick's Day. I'm on ER admissions up 200%
Friday, March 16, 2007
Poof!
I got home last night to find that our computer had blown its hard-drive. Nothing but blue screen and a mac booting up symbol. It's not the first time that the computer had played up (cat hair and spilled tea helping foul things up the first time) so although the repair would have been around $200 we decided to swallow hard and buy a new one.
And so I'm writing this from a new 20" G4. Hurrah. Heavy as hell to get up the stairs but decent screen size, decent speed and of course a lovely new keyboard unsullied by jam, toast, cats, hair or 'unspecified smears'
Looks like being an expensive week as it seems that the water tank in London is leaking through the kitchen ceiling again. We'll get a plumber in to take a look asap - just need to make sure that he's DirectLine approved for insurance purposes.
OKay enough of this - work to be done, dogs to be walked, rain to be braved (20C yesterday - 0C today btw, wtf?)
And so I'm writing this from a new 20" G4. Hurrah. Heavy as hell to get up the stairs but decent screen size, decent speed and of course a lovely new keyboard unsullied by jam, toast, cats, hair or 'unspecified smears'
Looks like being an expensive week as it seems that the water tank in London is leaking through the kitchen ceiling again. We'll get a plumber in to take a look asap - just need to make sure that he's DirectLine approved for insurance purposes.
OKay enough of this - work to be done, dogs to be walked, rain to be braved (20C yesterday - 0C today btw, wtf?)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
hairless and fearless
for those of you that demanded a nude cat (said he avoiding the single entendre)
A few days in Switzerland
So Switzerland took me away from the computer for a day or two but managed to fill me up with some fresh stories, some new enthusiasm and a bunch of pictures of 'peasant folk direct from central casting.'
The trip went well - we were ferried around by an international bright young thing in too tight trousers. Taken for dinner in the up and coming warehouse district. Managed to stay in a hotel that seemed to be held together solely by the yellow residue of a million cigarettes smoked there. And of coiurse we did sme work - which led to some ideas that I can genuinely be excited about.
Swiss Air are exactly what you'd imagine them to be. Well organized, ever so slightly stiff and frugal in the places that they think you won't notice. On the way back a round faced steward attempted conviviality - with a walk around the cabin saying 'hello' and telling unamusing stories about Geneva. His conspicuous glances at the passenger seating chart before talking gave away the fact that this enthusiastic greeting was a chore - as did is totally ignoring me due to the fact that I moved seats, throwing his plan into disarray and making me invisible to him - at least socially.
It's late though, I'm tired and it's getting harder and harder to actually type with any degree of accuracy or fluency so instead I'll sign off for now pausing only to say that this picture is untouched... unlike the nude that I will post tomorrow (!)
The trip went well - we were ferried around by an international bright young thing in too tight trousers. Taken for dinner in the up and coming warehouse district. Managed to stay in a hotel that seemed to be held together solely by the yellow residue of a million cigarettes smoked there. And of coiurse we did sme work - which led to some ideas that I can genuinely be excited about.
Swiss Air are exactly what you'd imagine them to be. Well organized, ever so slightly stiff and frugal in the places that they think you won't notice. On the way back a round faced steward attempted conviviality - with a walk around the cabin saying 'hello' and telling unamusing stories about Geneva. His conspicuous glances at the passenger seating chart before talking gave away the fact that this enthusiastic greeting was a chore - as did is totally ignoring me due to the fact that I moved seats, throwing his plan into disarray and making me invisible to him - at least socially.
It's late though, I'm tired and it's getting harder and harder to actually type with any degree of accuracy or fluency so instead I'll sign off for now pausing only to say that this picture is untouched... unlike the nude that I will post tomorrow (!)
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Sweet Weekend
With Jude crippled by both workload (one day to 'hand in' of the thesis- I've read about 80 pages and it looks good to me) and by her arm injury it's been a quiet weekend. I managed to catch up on sleep despite the clocks going forward way too early in the year. We had a good meal at Bozu (their Tuna takatki is my fave), we watched Battlestar Gallactica (season 2.0), I went to the gym twice. We drew giant flip-charts for my meeting on Tuesday (my favorite is Jude's enormous dominatrix for a game called "dominatrix matrix" that I want to play with some Swiss people. We bought cool clothes in a sample sale sell off. We talked with friends and family - and of course we walked the dog in temperatures 25C warmer than last weekend. Quiet but fun. I'm so chilled. And I think that it's just the sleep. lack of sleep is a creeping thing - you think that you feel fine but of course you don't. You're screwed.
Anyway time to throw liquids of 3 fl oz. or less into a ziplock bag and head out to the airport. Swiss Air here we come.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
A long, slow day
It's been a long, slow, tired day today. Neither Jude nor I are sleeping, she has the PhD to hand in in 48hrs and is hampered by having only one working arm. I'm concerned about her and so the cycle continues. I was crap at the gym this morning and have spent the day on tiny errands. Picking up packages, buying Guatemalan Worry Dolls, trying to find an unscented 'feminine wash' (it's all I use on my face these days!) and all the while I've been knackered.Very tempted by the idea of burning man and sitting around in a comfortable circle feeding of the energy of the sun and the 'your karma ate my dogma' vibe of the whole thing. We'll see
Friday, March 09, 2007
The guy on the left
has 'hockey player teeth' doesn't he?
Busy day today, which was nice. Sent out a proposal for a piece of business that was both well thought out and well written. No jargon, no padding - just spare yet human.
The clocks spring forward this weekend (I have to remember, I'm on a flight on Sunday) and it feels as though everything is finally happening for us.
Jude is hot on the trail of something to do post-graduation. I'm finally getting into my IP stride, the weather is promising a more positive swing into the plus side double digits.
AND my power adaptor turned up today - in time for my Swiss trip.
Hurrah!
A boring entry I know - let me conclude therefore with the way I reviewed Wombat's Aussie Burger just yesterday
"Juicier than a well lubed nymphomaniac"
Busy day today, which was nice. Sent out a proposal for a piece of business that was both well thought out and well written. No jargon, no padding - just spare yet human.
The clocks spring forward this weekend (I have to remember, I'm on a flight on Sunday) and it feels as though everything is finally happening for us.
Jude is hot on the trail of something to do post-graduation. I'm finally getting into my IP stride, the weather is promising a more positive swing into the plus side double digits.
AND my power adaptor turned up today - in time for my Swiss trip.
Hurrah!
A boring entry I know - let me conclude therefore with the way I reviewed Wombat's Aussie Burger just yesterday
"Juicier than a well lubed nymphomaniac"
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Roadkill
It;s been a weird week. I've not done a lot, physically at least and yet I feel as though Ive been run over by the tired bus. There's something exhausting about being in a room full of young, smart, bright people -all of whom are full of good ideas and short on the skills that allow them to express their thought process. Quite often they're unaware of how they came to an idea - they just know that it feels good. All of which of course makes me an absolute fogey. I know how I think. I can draw it. I can diagram it. I can explain it. And yet I haven't sold it. Well not yet anyway.
Deviant Thinking anyone?
Deviant Thinking anyone?
Off to Switzerland
IO'm off to Switzerland for a couple of days starting this weekend. It's work but they've built in a nice cushion - arrive Monday, work Tuesday, leave Wednesday... all very civilized. As of course is Switzerland (I'm told)I'm hoping to get out to where Jude went to school (Leysin) as well as get a couple of pics in (it ought to be photogenic, this is after all God's own land). I also secretly hope to meet David Bowie, Iman, that teenagert shacked up with Phil Collins and the Ghost of Freddie Mercury. But maybe that's a bit of an ask.
Chocolate coins, nazi gold and cuckoo clocks for all
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Yup we have snow
which means tahat the dog is going bonkers, New Yorkers are risking heart attacks as they shovel aerobically and the city looks cleaner than the mind of a freshly lobotomized virgin.
I've spent the last two days in a company meeting that has actually proved quite fruitful. I woke up this morning thinking that we should ban the word idea. If I was writing a process now it would go from TRUTH to PROMISE to ACTION.
So a TRUTH
'Young guys think about women a lot, yet they're hopeless when it comes to actually getting them"
Leads to a PROMISE
"We need to help young guys in the dating and mating games"
Leads to an ACTION
"Lynx grooming stores" / "AXE chat up books"
There are a million examples... the process dowsn't change but the vocabulary gets less loaded. People panic and overthink when asked for an 'insight'... they fudge and flounder when asked for an 'idea' and they pass the buck when asked for an 'execution'... so let's change the language and see what happens.
Okay - I'm off to work... wearing sweatpants (they're warm ok?)
Steve
I've spent the last two days in a company meeting that has actually proved quite fruitful. I woke up this morning thinking that we should ban the word idea. If I was writing a process now it would go from TRUTH to PROMISE to ACTION.
So a TRUTH
'Young guys think about women a lot, yet they're hopeless when it comes to actually getting them"
Leads to a PROMISE
"We need to help young guys in the dating and mating games"
Leads to an ACTION
"Lynx grooming stores" / "AXE chat up books"
There are a million examples... the process dowsn't change but the vocabulary gets less loaded. People panic and overthink when asked for an 'insight'... they fudge and flounder when asked for an 'idea' and they pass the buck when asked for an 'execution'... so let's change the language and see what happens.
Okay - I'm off to work... wearing sweatpants (they're warm ok?)
Steve
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Nekkid Farmer
Man it was cold today. Stupidly, ridiculously, mind numbingly cold.
Which explains why this entry is so late and so short.
A better entry tomorrow, I promise
;-)
Which explains why this entry is so late and so short.
A better entry tomorrow, I promise
;-)
Sunday, March 04, 2007
If Nora Jones channelled her dad
... the result would look something like this.
Have a busy couple of days ahead with a three day off-site at work coming right before Switzerland next week. And of course I may have to take time out to help Jude with the typing of her thesis now that the muscles in her right arm are torn (a fracas and crushing incident on the subway). She's not looking good, so with deadlines loming it may be time for me to take a day off and take some dictation.
Today was too much TV day. LOVE Rob and Amber on the Amazing Race, HATE Jenny on The L Word. In between Denise Van Outen on You're The One That I Want, lots of animals on Discovery HD and of course pratfalls galore on AFV.
Close to midnight here and as ccreatures crawl out from every tomb and Vincent Price adds depth to Micheal's yelps it's time for me to turn in for the night. Night all.
Have a busy couple of days ahead with a three day off-site at work coming right before Switzerland next week. And of course I may have to take time out to help Jude with the typing of her thesis now that the muscles in her right arm are torn (a fracas and crushing incident on the subway). She's not looking good, so with deadlines loming it may be time for me to take a day off and take some dictation.
Today was too much TV day. LOVE Rob and Amber on the Amazing Race, HATE Jenny on The L Word. In between Denise Van Outen on You're The One That I Want, lots of animals on Discovery HD and of course pratfalls galore on AFV.
Close to midnight here and as ccreatures crawl out from every tomb and Vincent Price adds depth to Micheal's yelps it's time for me to turn in for the night. Night all.
HDMI rocks
So having been seduced into buying too big a TV I decided to invest in HDMI connectors. Now HDMI has been the subject of much 'rip off police' debate of late as the big stored try to sell on $80 connectors with people's new purchases. Of course they're not $80 connectors and can be had online for $15.
I paid $20 for mine today and used it to connect Hi-Def Cable Box to Hi-Def TV entirely via digital signal. And the picture ROCKS. I knew that the HDMI from DVD to TV was good (I'm using a DVD with an upconvertor) but the cable connection is amazing. Add in digital surround sound via last year's gift to self Home Theatre system (connected by Digital Audio Cable) and you get something amazing.
I don't wanna leave the house.
All of which is techie snooze speak for 'Wow'.
Which is what this pic made me say when I saw it. The photog was looking for an appropriate title (having tried 'float' and 'star') and I thought that I'd throw it open to you guys. I'll pass on your best suggestions (and your worst) and let's see whether we can't extend our sphere of influence.
I paid $20 for mine today and used it to connect Hi-Def Cable Box to Hi-Def TV entirely via digital signal. And the picture ROCKS. I knew that the HDMI from DVD to TV was good (I'm using a DVD with an upconvertor) but the cable connection is amazing. Add in digital surround sound via last year's gift to self Home Theatre system (connected by Digital Audio Cable) and you get something amazing.
I don't wanna leave the house.
All of which is techie snooze speak for 'Wow'.
Which is what this pic made me say when I saw it. The photog was looking for an appropriate title (having tried 'float' and 'star') and I thought that I'd throw it open to you guys. I'll pass on your best suggestions (and your worst) and let's see whether we can't extend our sphere of influence.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
We bought a new TV
... in the American style - meaning that it's a massive 40" (that's 1 metre Euro fans)
Having said that the full HD mode is amazing and it fits rather well.
Another bonus blown... lol
Having said that the full HD mode is amazing and it fits rather well.
Another bonus blown... lol
Nude March Continues
here at FabulouslyThin and woefully predictably the number of viewers seems to be on the increase again. Yesterday was the best Friday I've had since the spectre of death floated most visibly above me - way back when.
The strange thing is that the viewers aren't coming in via search engines tagged with searches such as "Lindsay Lohan does coke off Britney's shine pate" but rather are old friends, coming back in search of emotional rawness and settling for physical vulnerability instead (or something)
It's also entire probable that the numbers bump is nothing mroe than a bump and that the yards of naked flesh no on display here have nothing to do with any increase in traffic. Let's face it statistically I'm more likely to pull in people with fetishes for typos than to pull in errant teabaggers in search of new helicoptering techniques.
All of that said I'm meeting my favorite people for brunch today, have an appointment with the gym and have the final touches to put to a presentation. Time to get this ass into gear.
The strange thing is that the viewers aren't coming in via search engines tagged with searches such as "Lindsay Lohan does coke off Britney's shine pate" but rather are old friends, coming back in search of emotional rawness and settling for physical vulnerability instead (or something)
It's also entire probable that the numbers bump is nothing mroe than a bump and that the yards of naked flesh no on display here have nothing to do with any increase in traffic. Let's face it statistically I'm more likely to pull in people with fetishes for typos than to pull in errant teabaggers in search of new helicoptering techniques.
All of that said I'm meeting my favorite people for brunch today, have an appointment with the gym and have the final touches to put to a presentation. Time to get this ass into gear.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Raining on my parade
Trying an upload directly from blogger today - mainly because the image wouldn't allow me to blog it and I lived the veins in the hands enough to steal it. My own hands are cut and bruised to tiny swollen pieces at the moment, primarily due to a fit of doggy excitement upon my picking up Velcro from the groomers. I look like a suicidal bar brawler. Which isn't a bad thing to look like in some of the Dive Bars near the office.It's pouring with rain outside but I'm keen to get to work as I have a proposal to get out of the door today and it's going to take some time. More archery tonight, Jude now has her own bow (very exciting) and I have, well I have a METRO card that will mean it's a free ride there.
Off with me then... more nudity tomorrow (site stats up 45% yesterday despite M's protestations) - who knows if I get wildly popular I may even post my acne scarred arse, that ought to dampen demand
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Naked Truth (Provocation)
I chose this picture not because it's great but because of the note that it had attached to it
"This photo has the most views of all my photos. It jumped on the first place in one day! Why?!? Beacause I'm naked... What's the conclusion? Well, I'm starting to belive mr. Willheim Reich. He claims that the existence of capitalist society depends on suppression of the sexual instincts which is systematicaly puted upon from the institutions of capitalism, like religions, schools, corporations"
I think that the reason that it grabbed my attention was that we were talking about hyper sexualization yesterday - that thing that they did tpo Britney with the pigtails, rubber suits and boob jobs - leaving her nowhere to go, The worry was that sexuality is so aggressively commercial these days that it's actually become divorced from sexiness.
The porn stars that sell us their robotic couplings are scupltures of collagen and silicon, each knowing their niche and bleaching their assholes. They're relentless rather than sexy. Stripped of dialogue by gonzo and tease by the relentless skip to the money shot trigger finger of DVD users everywhere.
And where pornstars lead America follows. So our models, actresses, young women and our commercial materials all start to mirror this aggressively one dimensional model.
Meanwhille the resistance starts to spring up. Burlesque rears its head promising glamor, curves and a sense of tease, a sense of fun. Brands jump on the 'not us' bandwagon, championiung a different beauty ideal - still selling that firming gel but stopping short of the bum bleach (for now)
So perhaps this blog should go naked. A nude image every day. A pneumatic nude - pumped up and soulless. I'm sure the view count would rise. Or at least I think it would. Let's see.
"This photo has the most views of all my photos. It jumped on the first place in one day! Why?!? Beacause I'm naked... What's the conclusion? Well, I'm starting to belive mr. Willheim Reich. He claims that the existence of capitalist society depends on suppression of the sexual instincts which is systematicaly puted upon from the institutions of capitalism, like religions, schools, corporations"
I think that the reason that it grabbed my attention was that we were talking about hyper sexualization yesterday - that thing that they did tpo Britney with the pigtails, rubber suits and boob jobs - leaving her nowhere to go, The worry was that sexuality is so aggressively commercial these days that it's actually become divorced from sexiness.
The porn stars that sell us their robotic couplings are scupltures of collagen and silicon, each knowing their niche and bleaching their assholes. They're relentless rather than sexy. Stripped of dialogue by gonzo and tease by the relentless skip to the money shot trigger finger of DVD users everywhere.
And where pornstars lead America follows. So our models, actresses, young women and our commercial materials all start to mirror this aggressively one dimensional model.
Meanwhille the resistance starts to spring up. Burlesque rears its head promising glamor, curves and a sense of tease, a sense of fun. Brands jump on the 'not us' bandwagon, championiung a different beauty ideal - still selling that firming gel but stopping short of the bum bleach (for now)
So perhaps this blog should go naked. A nude image every day. A pneumatic nude - pumped up and soulless. I'm sure the view count would rise. Or at least I think it would. Let's see.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Busy, busy
Got to bed late last night having decided that white walls, mini tripod and auto focus were too good to resist and found myself justt experimenting with what my camera can do (more than I'm technically capable of carrying off I think)
Today I have interviews on Indulgence, a call with an Israeli company on bring some of their products to the US, the start of a two day workshop on what our offer as a company is and of course I have to write a presentation for next week's 'away days'
"All go" as my dad would say. So gonna duck out here at three paragraphs.
Today I have interviews on Indulgence, a call with an Israeli company on bring some of their products to the US, the start of a two day workshop on what our offer as a company is and of course I have to write a presentation for next week's 'away days'
"All go" as my dad would say. So gonna duck out here at three paragraphs.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wheeeeee
and so the merry go around continues.
Today sees more celebrities checking into and out of rehab with alarming frquency (Britney three times in a week, Lindsay for Oscar parties, Gay anti-gay preachers 'cured')
It will doubtless witness Hillary racing Barrack to be the first to raise enough money to buy the next election (or failing that enough to just buy America and have doen with it) whilst growing in girth and stature Al Gore waits in the wings - Oscar polished, Nobel prize in the bag and plan to have Bono as running mate carefully considered
It will see another couple of centuries of time poured into watching bad mime on You-Tube (where on earth are the drag queens? they could rule a world of shoddy mime, camp theatrics and unconvining busoms)
It will see me heading in to work and sitting down with a bunch of very smart people only one of whom is dedicated to making the world better in any solid way (our Independant diplomat) but all of whom are trying to improve things one product, one package and one category at a time.
It will see me check the site statistics on this page at least twice and me suck in my (soon to be eviscerated) stomach at least twenty.
It will see the Girls of American Idol trying a little less hard after making it through last week. The fattest one full of hope having seen the success of Jennifer Hudson, the smallest wondering whether a deformed midget, female, Richard III look-a-like really could hog the spotlight in anything other than the circus.
And doubtless it will see somebody else drawn to my suddenly saleable mix of 'quirk', 'distain for business as usual', 'years on the job' and 'bizarro accent'... or at least I hope it will. There is after all nothing more flattering than flattery - and being chased (rather than chasing escape) is something that lifts the soul, just a little
Today sees more celebrities checking into and out of rehab with alarming frquency (Britney three times in a week, Lindsay for Oscar parties, Gay anti-gay preachers 'cured')
It will doubtless witness Hillary racing Barrack to be the first to raise enough money to buy the next election (or failing that enough to just buy America and have doen with it) whilst growing in girth and stature Al Gore waits in the wings - Oscar polished, Nobel prize in the bag and plan to have Bono as running mate carefully considered
It will see another couple of centuries of time poured into watching bad mime on You-Tube (where on earth are the drag queens? they could rule a world of shoddy mime, camp theatrics and unconvining busoms)
It will see me heading in to work and sitting down with a bunch of very smart people only one of whom is dedicated to making the world better in any solid way (our Independant diplomat) but all of whom are trying to improve things one product, one package and one category at a time.
It will see me check the site statistics on this page at least twice and me suck in my (soon to be eviscerated) stomach at least twenty.
It will see the Girls of American Idol trying a little less hard after making it through last week. The fattest one full of hope having seen the success of Jennifer Hudson, the smallest wondering whether a deformed midget, female, Richard III look-a-like really could hog the spotlight in anything other than the circus.
And doubtless it will see somebody else drawn to my suddenly saleable mix of 'quirk', 'distain for business as usual', 'years on the job' and 'bizarro accent'... or at least I hope it will. There is after all nothing more flattering than flattery - and being chased (rather than chasing escape) is something that lifts the soul, just a little
Monday, February 26, 2007
It's snowing!
Or it least it snowed... last night. Only an inch of two but after the dirty frozen chunks of ice that littered the sidewalks a sheet of something that at least looks a little more clean and fresh is very welcome.
All manner of US only related things to be getting on with today. Mis-billed insurance claims, State income tax refunds, covering for some people out on "Charisma enhancement training" that kind of thing.
A short entry this morning as I'm dashing around like Nigel Havers on speed... more (interesting) tomorrow
All manner of US only related things to be getting on with today. Mis-billed insurance claims, State income tax refunds, covering for some people out on "Charisma enhancement training" that kind of thing.
A short entry this morning as I'm dashing around like Nigel Havers on speed... more (interesting) tomorrow
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Blur of a weekend
Well the weekend passed in a blur of inactivity... we rushed from place to place doing almost nothing. The pic sums it up really.
Tomorrow I have to call the hospital (they billed the wrong insurance company for my scans); call the dentist (it's been almost 3 weeks waiting for insurance approval) and call my client (she's been in Africa)... not a lot I know but busy enough for a Monday
Tomorrow I have to call the hospital (they billed the wrong insurance company for my scans); call the dentist (it's been almost 3 weeks waiting for insurance approval) and call my client (she's been in Africa)... not a lot I know but busy enough for a Monday
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Art, art everywhere
You can take the cow out of Wisconsin, but you can't take Wisconsin out of the cow
Originally uploaded by Hello Doodle!.
The city has gone art crazy - especially as city bonuses are at an all time high and it's Tax Refund time. So once you have the houses and the cars the only thing that's left to do is invest in some canvas... and people are going crazy.
Of course all of this leads to endless debate about the Disney-fication of art and the show stopping tactics of young artists trying to make a name for themselves (giant beams of light being a biggy this year). PS1 - one of my favorite modern art places has responded to the feeding frenzy with a show called 'Not For Sale' where, you guessed it, nothing on display can be purchased.
Me? Well I'll see how big the bonus is and check out the original Everharts.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Friday
It's Friday and there are all kinds of things going on in the city. The weekend will see us going to some of the armory shows (lots of art this weekend) to some bodice ripper of a movie that Jude fancies, to an Oscar party (I'm going to squeeze myself into a cheap frock and go as Jennifer Hudson) and to '75 inches' a show about a straight man who worked as a drag queen - and all that people assumed as a result.
Throw in a gym session, some dog walking and a few episodes of Battlestar Gallactica on DVD and you have the recipe for content.
Hurrah
Throw in a gym session, some dog walking and a few episodes of Battlestar Gallactica on DVD and you have the recipe for content.
Hurrah
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sauce!
A slow week at work this week has meant that work on the book is now in full flow. What started as random rants gained some structure when I decided (somehow, subconsciously?) that the whole thing should be structured around that time when agencies are their most 'agency like' - the new business pitch. The words are tumbling out and the jokes aren't bad either.
What's left to decide is whether I use langauge as clumsy as this sentence or not. No that's a given I won't, what I do need to decide is whether to make this a straight peek behind the curtains of the agency world or whether it should be a work of 'fiction' populated by a few well chosen characters. It's starting to feel that way to me.
Oh well writing is rewriting (as this un-re-written diary so often proves)
What's left to decide is whether I use langauge as clumsy as this sentence or not. No that's a given I won't, what I do need to decide is whether to make this a straight peek behind the curtains of the agency world or whether it should be a work of 'fiction' populated by a few well chosen characters. It's starting to feel that way to me.
Oh well writing is rewriting (as this un-re-written diary so often proves)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
I'm Lovin' It?
Yesterday I had to turn down a job that, in truth, I'd have loved to say yes to. The timing was wrong, the city was wrong, the money was wrong etc. but just as it was starting to hurt I got this e-mail from a guy at work - and was reminded that the people I work with are pretty cool.
I'll admit it. I was in Wisconsoson. And I was crazing a Big Mac. I was cravin’ some Mickey D’s in Wisconsin. Having not eaten at The Clown’s House in a year or so, I wanted it. I craved it. And today I went for it.
The food was fine, just what I expected, exactly what I craved. But here’s the disturbing part: They put the nutritional info on the packs now.
What are they thinking? Is this meant to be a positive PR campaign?
Oh, 4569 grams of fat. Kewl. Make it a double.
McDonalds is being above the board now! Great! I feel better about my weakness and gluttony.
They might as well put a label that says “NOTE: Hey loser. Not that you care, but your ass WILL get bigger after eating this, and I can smell your pancreas smoking” (Ha-ha, bitches. MINE’s already dead! Who’s the smart clown mascot now!)
It’s like a prostitute wearing a t-shirt that says “over 678 served. This month.” Just not what you’re looking for in advertising...
I was one of the 3 people in the US who thought that Supersize Me was - while very entertaining and thought provoking - alarmist bullshit.
And I also studied food science, so I know how much fat is in fried things.
But, for friggin’ out loud, even I don’t want to think about what’s in my McNuggets...
I'll admit it. I was in Wisconsoson. And I was crazing a Big Mac. I was cravin’ some Mickey D’s in Wisconsin. Having not eaten at The Clown’s House in a year or so, I wanted it. I craved it. And today I went for it.
The food was fine, just what I expected, exactly what I craved. But here’s the disturbing part: They put the nutritional info on the packs now.
What are they thinking? Is this meant to be a positive PR campaign?
Oh, 4569 grams of fat. Kewl. Make it a double.
McDonalds is being above the board now! Great! I feel better about my weakness and gluttony.
They might as well put a label that says “NOTE: Hey loser. Not that you care, but your ass WILL get bigger after eating this, and I can smell your pancreas smoking” (Ha-ha, bitches. MINE’s already dead! Who’s the smart clown mascot now!)
It’s like a prostitute wearing a t-shirt that says “over 678 served. This month.” Just not what you’re looking for in advertising...
I was one of the 3 people in the US who thought that Supersize Me was - while very entertaining and thought provoking - alarmist bullshit.
And I also studied food science, so I know how much fat is in fried things.
But, for friggin’ out loud, even I don’t want to think about what’s in my McNuggets...
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Jude and Dave
It's quite rare to get Jude and Dave together these days. He lives in London, she lives in New York and ne'er it seems shall the twain meet. Unless of course somebody else is paying for the plane ticket.
There's a very odd thing that happens once your company starts to fly you around the world at great expense - you begin to believe that Business Class is the standard way to fly and that anything else is both 'slumming it' and somehow 'what I used to do before I earned the lounges, fawning and flat beds'.
You justify this in your head by thinking of business as a 'middle class' - not the ridiculous opulence and fake looking wood inlays of First and not the clot inducing tightness of economy.
Of course as soon as you have to put your hand into your own pocket and actually PAY for your own ticket things change. You take out your Gold cards, you start phoning people, you look for the upgrade and you chat too amicably to anyone in a uniform at the airport.
The card means that you can still use the lounge, so the idea of your being extraordinary is maintained and a fantasy of 'temporary slumming' and tales of 'no room in business' fill your head.
But what really happens is that you fly less. Fly less or not at all.
Which is why, I think, that the siblings see so little of each other. Whilst one really can't afford the time or the cash to fly in any class the other can't afford to 'fly right' and so neither do. It's a case of time and cash poverty meeting business induced snobbery. Though everyone involved will deny it.
Anyway I have jobs to turn down and scan payments to sort out (the hospital billed the wrong insurance company) so it's ciao from me
There's a very odd thing that happens once your company starts to fly you around the world at great expense - you begin to believe that Business Class is the standard way to fly and that anything else is both 'slumming it' and somehow 'what I used to do before I earned the lounges, fawning and flat beds'.
You justify this in your head by thinking of business as a 'middle class' - not the ridiculous opulence and fake looking wood inlays of First and not the clot inducing tightness of economy.
Of course as soon as you have to put your hand into your own pocket and actually PAY for your own ticket things change. You take out your Gold cards, you start phoning people, you look for the upgrade and you chat too amicably to anyone in a uniform at the airport.
The card means that you can still use the lounge, so the idea of your being extraordinary is maintained and a fantasy of 'temporary slumming' and tales of 'no room in business' fill your head.
But what really happens is that you fly less. Fly less or not at all.
Which is why, I think, that the siblings see so little of each other. Whilst one really can't afford the time or the cash to fly in any class the other can't afford to 'fly right' and so neither do. It's a case of time and cash poverty meeting business induced snobbery. Though everyone involved will deny it.
Anyway I have jobs to turn down and scan payments to sort out (the hospital billed the wrong insurance company) so it's ciao from me
Monday, February 19, 2007
For my consideration
Since I changed jobs I've had nothing but interest from other companies who would like for me to work with them.
I have a call sitting on my answering machine that needs returning, a polite refusal in my draft box that needs to hit my outbox and a man wanting to meet me for breakfast later in the week to talk work.
It's all a little beyond fathoming but it's nice to know that the reputatio hasn't been entirely squandered while I've been in the US...
The weird thing is that this is the first time I haven't really wanted to move in as long as I can remember. Perhaps the stench of desperation was too strong to allow people to track the quieter smell of ability in the past. Or maybe I'm just sluttier these days. Who knows. But it is nice to be wanted.
I have a call sitting on my answering machine that needs returning, a polite refusal in my draft box that needs to hit my outbox and a man wanting to meet me for breakfast later in the week to talk work.
It's all a little beyond fathoming but it's nice to know that the reputatio hasn't been entirely squandered while I've been in the US...
The weird thing is that this is the first time I haven't really wanted to move in as long as I can remember. Perhaps the stench of desperation was too strong to allow people to track the quieter smell of ability in the past. Or maybe I'm just sluttier these days. Who knows. But it is nice to be wanted.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Help!
So it seems that Britney had quite a weekend. First checking herself out of Eric Clapton's Antiga rehab center and then flying back to LA for a night of self mutilation (head shaving, tattooing), mad muttering ('I'm sick of people touching my head, no-one can touch my head') and desperration to make the front pages.
It's sad to see our little pop strumpet so obviously and painfully exposed - but it's also tremendous fun. Britney it seems is falling into the 'tragic' narractive arc that has to lead to either an Elton John style redemption or an Anna Nicole Smith type ending.
Anna Nicole has dominated the headlines here all week - in a way that she always sought but never managed when alive. A dodgy will, a paternity battle for her newly rich (or potentially rich) baby, a fight over her body, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, drink, drugs, death and somewhere in all of that something snarky and mistimed from Rosie O'Donnell.
Britney of course should be able to avoid the Nicole Smith trap. Anna needed the headlines in order to pay the bills. Her pathology for attention was of course what paid the rent as the fight over who got her elderly husband's money dragged on and on. She was a peculiar star in that she had absolutely no talent other than being able to generate headlines and sell pictures of her exploits as a result. She didn't sing, dance or act. She didn't model. She didn't write. Instead she showed up, she created a storm and she cashed the cheque as a result.
Brit' isn't in that situation - but her situation is equally out of control. She was manufactured. A perfect pop tart, singing perfect pop songs, wearing perfect pop clothes and making perfect pop videos. But the songs, the clothes and the videos weren't hers. She didn't have the voice to break free of the studio straight-jacket or the talent to break free of her image. The mouseketeer's only job was to stay beautiful, give good photo and keep her nose clean. So when the babies, the booze and the boys wrecked her looks and image there was nothing left. She's failed to uphold her end of the bargain and of course there was no-one there to stage manage her anymore.
People keep asking whether Britney can pull it back together. The answer is no. She's a product and if she's going to make it back then she's going to need to be put together piece by piece, note by note, gym session by gym session. Right now that's still possible - everyone loves a triumphant return from the brink; but if the next album flops expect to see the downward spiral of Britney take on fresh dimension.
It's sad to see our little pop strumpet so obviously and painfully exposed - but it's also tremendous fun. Britney it seems is falling into the 'tragic' narractive arc that has to lead to either an Elton John style redemption or an Anna Nicole Smith type ending.
Anna Nicole has dominated the headlines here all week - in a way that she always sought but never managed when alive. A dodgy will, a paternity battle for her newly rich (or potentially rich) baby, a fight over her body, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, drink, drugs, death and somewhere in all of that something snarky and mistimed from Rosie O'Donnell.
Britney of course should be able to avoid the Nicole Smith trap. Anna needed the headlines in order to pay the bills. Her pathology for attention was of course what paid the rent as the fight over who got her elderly husband's money dragged on and on. She was a peculiar star in that she had absolutely no talent other than being able to generate headlines and sell pictures of her exploits as a result. She didn't sing, dance or act. She didn't model. She didn't write. Instead she showed up, she created a storm and she cashed the cheque as a result.
Brit' isn't in that situation - but her situation is equally out of control. She was manufactured. A perfect pop tart, singing perfect pop songs, wearing perfect pop clothes and making perfect pop videos. But the songs, the clothes and the videos weren't hers. She didn't have the voice to break free of the studio straight-jacket or the talent to break free of her image. The mouseketeer's only job was to stay beautiful, give good photo and keep her nose clean. So when the babies, the booze and the boys wrecked her looks and image there was nothing left. She's failed to uphold her end of the bargain and of course there was no-one there to stage manage her anymore.
People keep asking whether Britney can pull it back together. The answer is no. She's a product and if she's going to make it back then she's going to need to be put together piece by piece, note by note, gym session by gym session. Right now that's still possible - everyone loves a triumphant return from the brink; but if the next album flops expect to see the downward spiral of Britney take on fresh dimension.
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