Saturday, January 13, 2007
Get Ready
January 12th. 20.23
I am having problems with the remote keyboard which for reasons I cannot understand, decides to omit some or all the letters of a word so I have to look at each word as I type. (I cannot touch type so I have to look at the keyboard) Why does this happen? Is it a virus or a worm? So I'm using an old keyboard and I suppose that means there's something wrong with the remote.
Numerocinco cannot be serious. Whether you like the Guardian or not, you are in need of treatment if you are satisfied with OK! Actually there is a lot in today's Guardian to amuse and irritate the reader.The entire front page of the Review section is given over to a silly picture yet again and the article inside( also illustrated with a silly picture) by Zadie Smith is concerned with what makes a good writer and even what is required of the reader. Reference is made to this article in two of the blogs mentioned on the penultimate page of the review, "fictionbitch.blogspot.com" and "fessingauthor.blogspot.com". I am deeply suspicious of the incestuous world of literary reviews, which, I am often reminded by stanandtel, is not the same thing as literary criticism. It often seems to be an opportunity for the reviewer to blow their own trumpet and advertise their own latest work, or to show off just how jolly clever they are. Furthermore, I often wonder what actual experience of life these full time writers actually have, other than their past lives or extensive reading or meeting other authors. Writing is necessarily a solitary occupation and its hard to think of any other professions that demand such an isolated life. With what authority can they therefore write about the human condition except from their limited perspective? Is it any wonder that Edward St Aubyn creates a character based on himself having been raped by his sadistic father in childhood and subsequenly becoming a heroin addict? I supposeI shall have to read Mother's Milk unless someone has a good reason to put me off.
The reviews often give a synopsis of the content of a novel but acually what I want is a reliable opinion on whether I will enjoy reading it, so if at the end of the review it isn't clear, I will probably leave that book well alone. I think I would enjoy "Beware of God" and probably "Let Me Eat Cake" but it isn't certain that I would like "Madeleines in Manhattan: A Memoir with Recipes". I therefore propose to get hold of all three and will report back in due course. I don't want to read "Cancer Vixen; ATrue Story" which is reviewed on the same page though its interesting to see the cost of treatment for similar stages of breast cancer in the US compared with the UK: $192,720/£o !
The Guardian is again very slow off the mark. "The Scent of the Night" by Andrea Camilleri has been available for months through Amazon (Penguin US $12) properly translated as "The Smell of the Night"- cheaper than the Picador price quoted by the Guardian, £12.99. A final whinge at the Guardian; why bother to quote the smart-arse Chapman in the article on Hogarth?
Books with a food content are obviously a major interest still. One of my favourites of all time for food/recipes is "The Debt to Pleasure" by John Lanchester which is also very funny. With only three weeks to go I am trying to get ready for the longest journey I have ever taken which mainly means trying to sort out my tax self assessment and pay those bills with the red bits threatening me with disconnection or court if I leave them until my return, but it also means choosing the right books for the flight and for while I am away. I can't spend the whole time in the relentless rush around geothermal phenomena and idyllic views. By chance I came across the "Get-Ready Man" in Thurber's "The Car We Had To Push". Odd how he has become rather neglected in recent years but I think he would be a good read for the journey. The cricket season will probably still be going on when I arrive but the fiasco of English cricket in Australia should be over. During my lifetime I have seen lots of cricket on television and unfortunately seen a lot of English teams humbled by much classier opposition. It isn't possible to always enjoy watching one's team being beaten but one can admire the quality and I therefore offer the following who have tormented England in recent years:-
181. Lillee
182. Thompson
183. Waqar Younis
184. Roberts
185. Holding
186. Marshall
187. Garner
188. Ambrose
189. McGrath
190. Donald
Of all these, the best to watch, most fluid and graceful was Michael Holding. What a shame that the only view they give on TV is from behind the bowler's arm. From the side he was a joy to watch.
I am having problems with the remote keyboard which for reasons I cannot understand, decides to omit some or all the letters of a word so I have to look at each word as I type. (I cannot touch type so I have to look at the keyboard) Why does this happen? Is it a virus or a worm? So I'm using an old keyboard and I suppose that means there's something wrong with the remote.
Numerocinco cannot be serious. Whether you like the Guardian or not, you are in need of treatment if you are satisfied with OK! Actually there is a lot in today's Guardian to amuse and irritate the reader.The entire front page of the Review section is given over to a silly picture yet again and the article inside( also illustrated with a silly picture) by Zadie Smith is concerned with what makes a good writer and even what is required of the reader. Reference is made to this article in two of the blogs mentioned on the penultimate page of the review, "fictionbitch.blogspot.com" and "fessingauthor.blogspot.com". I am deeply suspicious of the incestuous world of literary reviews, which, I am often reminded by stanandtel, is not the same thing as literary criticism. It often seems to be an opportunity for the reviewer to blow their own trumpet and advertise their own latest work, or to show off just how jolly clever they are. Furthermore, I often wonder what actual experience of life these full time writers actually have, other than their past lives or extensive reading or meeting other authors. Writing is necessarily a solitary occupation and its hard to think of any other professions that demand such an isolated life. With what authority can they therefore write about the human condition except from their limited perspective? Is it any wonder that Edward St Aubyn creates a character based on himself having been raped by his sadistic father in childhood and subsequenly becoming a heroin addict? I supposeI shall have to read Mother's Milk unless someone has a good reason to put me off.
The reviews often give a synopsis of the content of a novel but acually what I want is a reliable opinion on whether I will enjoy reading it, so if at the end of the review it isn't clear, I will probably leave that book well alone. I think I would enjoy "Beware of God" and probably "Let Me Eat Cake" but it isn't certain that I would like "Madeleines in Manhattan: A Memoir with Recipes". I therefore propose to get hold of all three and will report back in due course. I don't want to read "Cancer Vixen; ATrue Story" which is reviewed on the same page though its interesting to see the cost of treatment for similar stages of breast cancer in the US compared with the UK: $192,720/£o !
The Guardian is again very slow off the mark. "The Scent of the Night" by Andrea Camilleri has been available for months through Amazon (Penguin US $12) properly translated as "The Smell of the Night"- cheaper than the Picador price quoted by the Guardian, £12.99. A final whinge at the Guardian; why bother to quote the smart-arse Chapman in the article on Hogarth?
Books with a food content are obviously a major interest still. One of my favourites of all time for food/recipes is "The Debt to Pleasure" by John Lanchester which is also very funny. With only three weeks to go I am trying to get ready for the longest journey I have ever taken which mainly means trying to sort out my tax self assessment and pay those bills with the red bits threatening me with disconnection or court if I leave them until my return, but it also means choosing the right books for the flight and for while I am away. I can't spend the whole time in the relentless rush around geothermal phenomena and idyllic views. By chance I came across the "Get-Ready Man" in Thurber's "The Car We Had To Push". Odd how he has become rather neglected in recent years but I think he would be a good read for the journey. The cricket season will probably still be going on when I arrive but the fiasco of English cricket in Australia should be over. During my lifetime I have seen lots of cricket on television and unfortunately seen a lot of English teams humbled by much classier opposition. It isn't possible to always enjoy watching one's team being beaten but one can admire the quality and I therefore offer the following who have tormented England in recent years:-
181. Lillee
182. Thompson
183. Waqar Younis
184. Roberts
185. Holding
186. Marshall
187. Garner
188. Ambrose
189. McGrath
190. Donald
Of all these, the best to watch, most fluid and graceful was Michael Holding. What a shame that the only view they give on TV is from behind the bowler's arm. From the side he was a joy to watch.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Come on,you reds
January10th. 20.51
Of course anyone can post a comment though askintoo is not welcome. Attempts to influence the list by bribery and corruption are also discouraged. I agree entirely with abristolperson and would go further and remove ALL cartoons and drawings from all parts of the Guardian. I would also remove the weekend colour supplement and all references to life style and celebrities. There are still many good reasons to buy the Guardian (see the blog of December 5th.) but Steve Bell isn't one of them. Is he funny? Herge doesn't qualify for the list of cartoonists,nor does Uderzo.
I should also point out to anyone reading this blog for the first time that it was originally started to show how easy it is to lose weight and the main theme is therefore food. This week I have been mainly eating beef and quite a lot of Italian salami. Unfortunately I have been far too busy to weigh myself on the usual scales so we will just have to wait a bit longer to know whether I have lost any weight this year.
It was a pleasure to note that Arsenal stuffed Liverpool for the second time within a week. In spite of the home colours of red and white, you never hear people shouting for the reds when it comes to Arsenal. I quite like the away colour yellow but one can't really shout "come on you yellows". Many of the rivals play in red, so instead of shouting for them I offer the following reds:-
171. The Red-Headed League
172. Red biddy
173. Red Book of Hergest
174. Red card
175. Red Queen
176. Red Kite
177. Red Cross
178. Red Admiral
179. Redwood (Sequoia)
180. Redlips
With regard to the Redheaded League, I actually met a man called Jabez recently and only now have I remembered where I came across the name before. kegworthpersons saw a red kite when we were in the Brecon Beacons recently. They were quite numerous near Ponterwyd which is not far from Aberystwyth. Redlips gets a mention at last; that should keep her quiet!
Of course anyone can post a comment though askintoo is not welcome. Attempts to influence the list by bribery and corruption are also discouraged. I agree entirely with abristolperson and would go further and remove ALL cartoons and drawings from all parts of the Guardian. I would also remove the weekend colour supplement and all references to life style and celebrities. There are still many good reasons to buy the Guardian (see the blog of December 5th.) but Steve Bell isn't one of them. Is he funny? Herge doesn't qualify for the list of cartoonists,nor does Uderzo.
I should also point out to anyone reading this blog for the first time that it was originally started to show how easy it is to lose weight and the main theme is therefore food. This week I have been mainly eating beef and quite a lot of Italian salami. Unfortunately I have been far too busy to weigh myself on the usual scales so we will just have to wait a bit longer to know whether I have lost any weight this year.
It was a pleasure to note that Arsenal stuffed Liverpool for the second time within a week. In spite of the home colours of red and white, you never hear people shouting for the reds when it comes to Arsenal. I quite like the away colour yellow but one can't really shout "come on you yellows". Many of the rivals play in red, so instead of shouting for them I offer the following reds:-
171. The Red-Headed League
172. Red biddy
173. Red Book of Hergest
174. Red card
175. Red Queen
176. Red Kite
177. Red Cross
178. Red Admiral
179. Redwood (Sequoia)
180. Redlips
With regard to the Redheaded League, I actually met a man called Jabez recently and only now have I remembered where I came across the name before. kegworthpersons saw a red kite when we were in the Brecon Beacons recently. They were quite numerous near Ponterwyd which is not far from Aberystwyth. Redlips gets a mention at last; that should keep her quiet!
Come on,you reds
January10th. 20.51
Of course anyone can post a comment though askintoo is not welcome. Attempts to influence the list by bribery and corruption are also discouraged. I agree entirely with abristolperson and would go further and remove ALL cartoons and drawings from all parts of the Guardian. I would also remove the weekend colour supplement and all references to life style and celebrities. There are still many good reasons to buy the Guardian (see the blog of December 5th.) but Steve Bell isn't one of them. Is he funny? Herge doesn't qualify for the list of cartoonists,nor does Uderzo.
I should also point out to anyone reading this blog for the first time that it was originally started to show how easy it is to lose weight and the main theme is therefore food. This week I have been mainly eating beef and quite a lot of Italian salami. Unfortunately I have been far too busy to weigh myself on the usual scales so we will just have to wait a bit longer to know whether I have lost any weight this year.
It was a pleasure to note that Arsenal stuffed Liverpool for the second time within a week. In spite of the home colours of red and white, you never hear people shouting for the reds when it comes to Arsenal. I quite like the away colour yellow but one can't really shout "come on you yellows". Many of the rivals play in red, so instead of shouting for them I offer the following reds:-
171. The Red-Headed League
172. Red biddy
173. Red Book of Hergest
174. Red card
175. Red Queen
176. Red Kite
177. Red Cross
178. Red Admiral
179. Redwood (Sequoia)
180. Redlips
With regard to the Redheaded League, I actually met a man called Jabez recently and only now have I remembered where I came across the name before. kegworthpersons saw a red kite when we were in the Brecon Beacons recently. They were quite numerous near Ponterwyd which is not far from Aberystwyth. Redlips gets a mention at last; that should keep her quiet!
Of course anyone can post a comment though askintoo is not welcome. Attempts to influence the list by bribery and corruption are also discouraged. I agree entirely with abristolperson and would go further and remove ALL cartoons and drawings from all parts of the Guardian. I would also remove the weekend colour supplement and all references to life style and celebrities. There are still many good reasons to buy the Guardian (see the blog of December 5th.) but Steve Bell isn't one of them. Is he funny? Herge doesn't qualify for the list of cartoonists,nor does Uderzo.
I should also point out to anyone reading this blog for the first time that it was originally started to show how easy it is to lose weight and the main theme is therefore food. This week I have been mainly eating beef and quite a lot of Italian salami. Unfortunately I have been far too busy to weigh myself on the usual scales so we will just have to wait a bit longer to know whether I have lost any weight this year.
It was a pleasure to note that Arsenal stuffed Liverpool for the second time within a week. In spite of the home colours of red and white, you never hear people shouting for the reds when it comes to Arsenal. I quite like the away colour yellow but one can't really shout "come on you yellows". Many of the rivals play in red, so instead of shouting for them I offer the following reds:-
171. The Red-Headed League
172. Red biddy
173. Red Book of Hergest
174. Red card
175. Red Queen
176. Red Kite
177. Red Cross
178. Red Admiral
179. Redwood (Sequoia)
180. Redlips
With regard to the Redheaded League, I actually met a man called Jabez recently and only now have I remembered where I came across the name before. kegworthpersons saw a red kite when we were in the Brecon Beacons recently. They were quite numerous near Ponterwyd which is not far from Aberystwyth. Redlips gets a mention at last; that should keep her quiet!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Loafing about
January 6th. 20.56
It was not going to be a good day for gardening as I was woken by the rain beating against the window pane but since football was cancelled, the fatboy was available for a long game of squash. Although I ate an entire loaf with Italian salami yesterday, I felt it was "healthy" eating as the label said it was "stone ground". Actually, when I think about this, I have no idea what it means.
I feel thinner already. It has been a good day because the Swans won at Sheffield and Arsenal won at Anfield.I'm looking forward to Match of the Day.
By a peculiar coincidence one of the actors on yesterday's list seemed to be in several films on television this weekend - Cary Grant in Charade with Audrey Hepburn this afternoon. She would have been in the list of actresses I might have produced along with Lauren Bacall and Catherine Deneuve, had I produced one yesterday. I note there was also a letter in the Guardian more or less agreeing with me though he tactfully failed to mention Germaine Greer's lack of sex appeal. I don't suppose she cares but you never know. I suppose that at least Greer's articles are thought provoking and controversial, whereas the endless "illustrations" and second rate cartoons in the Guardian are a waste of space. Am I alone in thinking that they are never interesting or funny?
I am trying to think if any cartoons in daily newspapers or periodicals were ever funny. Giles used to be quite good but were often rather similar. I used to quite like Andy Capp. Punch used to have good cartoons and so did the New Yorker, but do they still exist? Private Eye has good cartoons. Best of all of course was Mad Magazine but it only had cartoons. So, to celebrate the creators of some of the best cartoons that have brought me great amusement, I offer:-
161. James Thurber
162. Peter Arno
163. Charles Adams
164. Ronald Searle
165. Gary Larson
166. Ronald Giles
167. Bill Tidy
168. Don Martin
169. Reginald Smythe
170. Antonio Prohias
There were lots of others I would have willingly included but the rule is only ten at a time so they will have to wait for another day. Needless to say, no contributor from the Guardian in this category gets a look in!
I doubt if tomorrow's weather will be any different from today's, so there wont be any digging after work. I wonder if I/we will finish it before the spring.
It was not going to be a good day for gardening as I was woken by the rain beating against the window pane but since football was cancelled, the fatboy was available for a long game of squash. Although I ate an entire loaf with Italian salami yesterday, I felt it was "healthy" eating as the label said it was "stone ground". Actually, when I think about this, I have no idea what it means.
I feel thinner already. It has been a good day because the Swans won at Sheffield and Arsenal won at Anfield.I'm looking forward to Match of the Day.
By a peculiar coincidence one of the actors on yesterday's list seemed to be in several films on television this weekend - Cary Grant in Charade with Audrey Hepburn this afternoon. She would have been in the list of actresses I might have produced along with Lauren Bacall and Catherine Deneuve, had I produced one yesterday. I note there was also a letter in the Guardian more or less agreeing with me though he tactfully failed to mention Germaine Greer's lack of sex appeal. I don't suppose she cares but you never know. I suppose that at least Greer's articles are thought provoking and controversial, whereas the endless "illustrations" and second rate cartoons in the Guardian are a waste of space. Am I alone in thinking that they are never interesting or funny?
I am trying to think if any cartoons in daily newspapers or periodicals were ever funny. Giles used to be quite good but were often rather similar. I used to quite like Andy Capp. Punch used to have good cartoons and so did the New Yorker, but do they still exist? Private Eye has good cartoons. Best of all of course was Mad Magazine but it only had cartoons. So, to celebrate the creators of some of the best cartoons that have brought me great amusement, I offer:-
161. James Thurber
162. Peter Arno
163. Charles Adams
164. Ronald Searle
165. Gary Larson
166. Ronald Giles
167. Bill Tidy
168. Don Martin
169. Reginald Smythe
170. Antonio Prohias
There were lots of others I would have willingly included but the rule is only ten at a time so they will have to wait for another day. Needless to say, no contributor from the Guardian in this category gets a look in!
I doubt if tomorrow's weather will be any different from today's, so there wont be any digging after work. I wonder if I/we will finish it before the spring.
Friday, January 05, 2007
New Year News
January 5th. 14.05
I am not certain why anniethegrannie has produced a list of female writers. The theme of the list was meant to be war stories. It just happened that owing to their different roles in wartime the stories were related by the active participants who were inevitably men. Anyway, thank you for the list; I doubt if I shall be reading any of them in the foreseeable future.
Germaine Greer has managed to annoy me again by making daft comparisons between Lauren Bacall and Catherine Deneuve. She claims that the former was not "a regular beauty" but was a "spunky working girl" who managed to be tough funny and sexy all at once. The latter was a "timeless beauty" whose "impassivety" is objectionable to Ms. Greer. Of course Greer sees all this from a woman's perspective but I do not think that she understands sex appeal. There is nothing impassive about Deneuve's mouth! (I see that the unsynthesised manifold had another appearance in the Guardian today.)
The two women are totally different but both have sex appeal in abundance. Why does the Guardian keep giving so much space to Ms. Greer, who, incidentally, has no sex appeal whatsoever. I would give you a list of ten without difficulty, and maybe I will one day, but two such creatures as Bacall and Deneuve should be enough for one morning. Instead, I offer ten actors , not necessarily the geatest, who have given great entertainment (and maybe have sex appeal to women):-
151. Humphrey Bogart
152. James Stewart
153. Cary Grant
154. Spencer Tracy
155. Burt Lancaster
156. Walter Matthau
157. Gary Cooper
158. Lee Marvin
159. Steve McQueen
160. Slim Pickens
I had quite a lot of contenders for a place on this list and there may be a second list at some time in the future, but in case anyone is going to try and influence selection I should remind you that there were good reasons why some were excluded and the choice is a personal one of actors who have provided great pleasure to me. John Wayne was excluded because he always played the same part- tough,
fearless and a bit of a bully. Fred Astaire always played the same part too but I look on him as a dancer,not an actor.
This week I have been mostly eating bacon because there were serious amounts in the fridge getting rather time expired. There also seem to be large amounts of sprouts left over from the Christmas period. A slight loss of taste due to a cold has made them much more palatable and they are quite filling, so I expect to soon knock off the extra couple of pounds I gained recently. If the weather would improve a bit I would spend more time on the allotment which is waterlogged at present. I was driven from it the other day by driving horizontal sleet but was pleased to see that the Japanese onions are progressing well. The arrival of Woody and the garlic is keenly awaited but I don't think he's tough enough to face the wintry weather. A weekend on call will interrupt serious digging though I'm hoping for a game of squash.
As expected, Sarah Paretsky's private detective eats rarely and consumes too much whisky in the latest one I've just finished (Hard Time). If only she would just get on with a good story of crime/detection without all the feminist stuff, she'd be reasonable even withuot food. I must plan some decent stuff for the NZ trip. It's a long flight without a decent read. No food so far either in Murakami's "A Wild Sheep Chase" though there was quite a lot in "Norwegian Wood", but I think he'd be good for a long journey.
I am not certain why anniethegrannie has produced a list of female writers. The theme of the list was meant to be war stories. It just happened that owing to their different roles in wartime the stories were related by the active participants who were inevitably men. Anyway, thank you for the list; I doubt if I shall be reading any of them in the foreseeable future.
Germaine Greer has managed to annoy me again by making daft comparisons between Lauren Bacall and Catherine Deneuve. She claims that the former was not "a regular beauty" but was a "spunky working girl" who managed to be tough funny and sexy all at once. The latter was a "timeless beauty" whose "impassivety" is objectionable to Ms. Greer. Of course Greer sees all this from a woman's perspective but I do not think that she understands sex appeal. There is nothing impassive about Deneuve's mouth! (I see that the unsynthesised manifold had another appearance in the Guardian today.)
The two women are totally different but both have sex appeal in abundance. Why does the Guardian keep giving so much space to Ms. Greer, who, incidentally, has no sex appeal whatsoever. I would give you a list of ten without difficulty, and maybe I will one day, but two such creatures as Bacall and Deneuve should be enough for one morning. Instead, I offer ten actors , not necessarily the geatest, who have given great entertainment (and maybe have sex appeal to women):-
151. Humphrey Bogart
152. James Stewart
153. Cary Grant
154. Spencer Tracy
155. Burt Lancaster
156. Walter Matthau
157. Gary Cooper
158. Lee Marvin
159. Steve McQueen
160. Slim Pickens
I had quite a lot of contenders for a place on this list and there may be a second list at some time in the future, but in case anyone is going to try and influence selection I should remind you that there were good reasons why some were excluded and the choice is a personal one of actors who have provided great pleasure to me. John Wayne was excluded because he always played the same part- tough,
fearless and a bit of a bully. Fred Astaire always played the same part too but I look on him as a dancer,not an actor.
This week I have been mostly eating bacon because there were serious amounts in the fridge getting rather time expired. There also seem to be large amounts of sprouts left over from the Christmas period. A slight loss of taste due to a cold has made them much more palatable and they are quite filling, so I expect to soon knock off the extra couple of pounds I gained recently. If the weather would improve a bit I would spend more time on the allotment which is waterlogged at present. I was driven from it the other day by driving horizontal sleet but was pleased to see that the Japanese onions are progressing well. The arrival of Woody and the garlic is keenly awaited but I don't think he's tough enough to face the wintry weather. A weekend on call will interrupt serious digging though I'm hoping for a game of squash.
As expected, Sarah Paretsky's private detective eats rarely and consumes too much whisky in the latest one I've just finished (Hard Time). If only she would just get on with a good story of crime/detection without all the feminist stuff, she'd be reasonable even withuot food. I must plan some decent stuff for the NZ trip. It's a long flight without a decent read. No food so far either in Murakami's "A Wild Sheep Chase" though there was quite a lot in "Norwegian Wood", but I think he'd be good for a long journey.
