to print
Friday, December 09, 2005
nowt in particular
It's been a long time since I've written anything here. I just don't have the time, what with work, children, odds and sods to do in the house. Oh and the simple lack of inspiration - I'd forgotten the word itself there for a moment!
Been trying to write to Freeformfreakout biography of Sol Nte (No I did spell that correctly!), Stoke on Trent's greatest living anagram of a river, been averaging about 5 to 10 minutes a day - hardly good for the creative flow and all that, still it's coming along.
hopefully things'll pick up over the christmas break.
jingle hell, jingle hell.....
Been trying to write to Freeformfreakout biography of Sol Nte (No I did spell that correctly!), Stoke on Trent's greatest living anagram of a river, been averaging about 5 to 10 minutes a day - hardly good for the creative flow and all that, still it's coming along.
hopefully things'll pick up over the christmas break.
jingle hell, jingle hell.....
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
blogger plug in for firefox
i found a plugin for firefox that, with a simple click of the old right mouse button, lets you add stuff to you blog, directly from the webpage.
just how nerdy am i?!?!?
just how nerdy am i?!?!?
dull news
things have all gone a bit flat here. i've been fairly productive in my absence from work, apart from looking after sick babies i've been working on some
series of digital prints. some sets are colour photos altered to resemble b&w photocopies, others are photo-collages and others tracings of texts.
disinterred and old project '100 surface music events' and am working on 'surface music event #s 101-107', which are tracings.
but i still don't feel as if my brain's working properly - it feels like it's been removed and replaced with a wet towel covered in mashed potato.
series of digital prints. some sets are colour photos altered to resemble b&w photocopies, others are photo-collages and others tracings of texts.
disinterred and old project '100 surface music events' and am working on 'surface music event #s 101-107', which are tracings.
but i still don't feel as if my brain's working properly - it feels like it's been removed and replaced with a wet towel covered in mashed potato.
squashing sleepiness
had some friends here from the UK at the weekend. i felt like it was the first time i'd had a proper conversation with someone apart from nic for a loooong time. at times i felt as if i must have been talking like a machine gun, trying to get out everything i wanted to say. yet when i sit down here to write, be it this blog or a biography i want to write for a fluxlist project, my concentration goes, i get confused, someone swaps the keys around on the computer
i'm sure, and i'm hit with crushing tiredness.
so that's it.
i'm sure, and i'm hit with crushing tiredness.
so that's it.
apart from this bit
lo scorpione marino shouts gerry scotti from the living room, a bell rings and someone gets a point.
the light flickers and i fear it may not have been the bulb after all, the championess has 11 letters.
and my eyelids feel as if they have been tranquilised and lead coated with a layer of fine sand applied to the inside just to make the onion produced
sulphuric acid works more effectively.
the light flickers and i fear it may not have been the bulb after all, the championess has 11 letters.
and my eyelids feel as if they have been tranquilised and lead coated with a layer of fine sand applied to the inside just to make the onion produced
sulphuric acid works more effectively.
Friday, November 11, 2005
bah! bah! perfumy pumpkins!!!!!!!!!!
just don't seem to be able to write anything here at the moment, nothing of any interest anyway. by the time i've got time i'm usually too tired anyway.
we've got one of the boys at home from nursery this week with a chest infection. he's fine but very demanding, at that age where you simply can't let them out of your sight. today he's very tired and feeling very sorry for himself due to his cold i assume, and i think that he's teething too. i've just got him to bed for an afternoon nap, but i don't reckon it'll last that long.
i suppose it's a luxury being able to spend this much time with the children, but i am so down and confused that it become very stressful. just getting my thoughts organised enough to make his lunch took me best part of the morning. i did make a rather splendid fish pie though! tonight they've got sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot soup, which was rather nice too (modest li'l devil ain't i?), but the parsley gave it a bit of a perfumy taste.
been at home again this week, still on the sick, and with the exception of a funeral all i've done is look after a sick baby, do the shopping and pop in to bar vittoria for the odd coffee on the way back from picking the other one up from nursery. i'm trying to work on a series of large scale photo-montages, computer manipulated digital collages if you like, but every time i try to start someone cries.
perhaps there's a message there?
or i'm simply too knackered.
and i'm still convinced that the tablets have a negative effect. i can't even play my guitar properly now! i'm off again next week, the boyo should be back at nursery, perhaps the free time will help...
we've got one of the boys at home from nursery this week with a chest infection. he's fine but very demanding, at that age where you simply can't let them out of your sight. today he's very tired and feeling very sorry for himself due to his cold i assume, and i think that he's teething too. i've just got him to bed for an afternoon nap, but i don't reckon it'll last that long.
i suppose it's a luxury being able to spend this much time with the children, but i am so down and confused that it become very stressful. just getting my thoughts organised enough to make his lunch took me best part of the morning. i did make a rather splendid fish pie though! tonight they've got sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot soup, which was rather nice too (modest li'l devil ain't i?), but the parsley gave it a bit of a perfumy taste.
been at home again this week, still on the sick, and with the exception of a funeral all i've done is look after a sick baby, do the shopping and pop in to bar vittoria for the odd coffee on the way back from picking the other one up from nursery. i'm trying to work on a series of large scale photo-montages, computer manipulated digital collages if you like, but every time i try to start someone cries.
perhaps there's a message there?
or i'm simply too knackered.
and i'm still convinced that the tablets have a negative effect. i can't even play my guitar properly now! i'm off again next week, the boyo should be back at nursery, perhaps the free time will help...
Sunday, November 06, 2005
alan bowman / the freeformfreakout organsation
alan bowman / the freeformfreakout organsation
woo! cool! i can blog directly from my web browser....
now, if only i could think of something to write about dot dot dot
woo! cool! i can blog directly from my web browser....
now, if only i could think of something to write about dot dot dot
blog this you bugger
just found the 'blog this' extension for firefox.
let's see if it works...
ooh strange! i can still smell the 'elch blut' spirit and the blackcurrant grappa from last night!
hmm
let's see if it works...
ooh strange! i can still smell the 'elch blut' spirit and the blackcurrant grappa from last night!
hmm
three thoughts
there's always an oddfellow!
be it a sock or michael leigh...
it's always my sock!
but i hear maichael is anyones for a pint of tofu pilsner...
for lunch you can do mince or whatever and for tea scrambled egg for the boys.
the last thought wasn't mine
be it a sock or michael leigh...
it's always my sock!
but i hear maichael is anyones for a pint of tofu pilsner...
for lunch you can do mince or whatever and for tea scrambled egg for the boys.
the last thought wasn't mine
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
testing
below should be a couple of images. i'm trying uploading direct to blogger instead of using 'hello'.
you should see a couple of doctored photos of the venetian lagoon.
you should see a couple of doctored photos of the venetian lagoon.
Masks Tickets Performer Ballerina Star's Door
Been working on a project for reed altemus. have to send 6 to 8 prints. so far have made 3 sets. one set of games, which looks crap but the idea's there, one illustrated set of 'telephone events', originally written for emily harvey's memorial service. and one set of 'visual poems' based on a tracing of a ascii poem of a hexadecimal code poem from years ago.
the games were all produced on the computer from scratch. there's join the dots (3), freeformfreakout organisation snap (2 versions), fffo hangman (which looks awful) and noughts and crosses.
the telephone events are illustrated with photographs. colour photos that i took around my home and at san giuliano, the park area at the end of the 'ponte della libertà' on the venetian lagoon, which faces out to venice herself. crap park, amazing view! the photos were turned b&w, had the contrast fiddled with and then turned into bitmaps to emulate photocopies. don't ask!
the poem was inspired by my flicking through 'an anthology of concrete poetry' which emmett williams gave me a few years ago and which i haven't picked up, well, for a few years. if i remember rightly i wrote to reed asking if the pieces should be images, texts or whatever and he replied that so far much of the stuff he'd got was image based so perhaps something different...
my mind immediately went blank. and began producing pictures! i came very close to simply writing 8 pages on depression, anxiety and crises of confidence. i also came close to writing a piece on why i couldn't produce the piece. but i couldn't do it, my mind was blank.
so as an exercise in (torturous) concentration i traced a page of ascii text which was produced when trying to print an incompatible file in windows. the result is quite pleasing, considering. i like the one, lone, almost coherent line:
"Masks Tickets Performer Ballerina Star's Door".
the rest of it has a scandinavian feel, lots of ys with dots and and stuff.
I read it aloud in my head in the bathroom in memory of jackson mac low, who i met a few times and don't think ever shared more than a few words with, and they were probably 'would you like some more rice?'
i think i'll have to do some more 'graphical work'. the medication i'm on seems to be interfering with the normal chaos which is my average state of mind.
beginning to feel stressed, low and dulled! bah! should go in the garage and draw big pictures, then photograph them and send them to people...
perhaps i could do some venetian 'surface music events', it's been a very long time.
then again i might just go and watch zorro.
the games were all produced on the computer from scratch. there's join the dots (3), freeformfreakout organisation snap (2 versions), fffo hangman (which looks awful) and noughts and crosses.
the telephone events are illustrated with photographs. colour photos that i took around my home and at san giuliano, the park area at the end of the 'ponte della libertà' on the venetian lagoon, which faces out to venice herself. crap park, amazing view! the photos were turned b&w, had the contrast fiddled with and then turned into bitmaps to emulate photocopies. don't ask!
the poem was inspired by my flicking through 'an anthology of concrete poetry' which emmett williams gave me a few years ago and which i haven't picked up, well, for a few years. if i remember rightly i wrote to reed asking if the pieces should be images, texts or whatever and he replied that so far much of the stuff he'd got was image based so perhaps something different...
my mind immediately went blank. and began producing pictures! i came very close to simply writing 8 pages on depression, anxiety and crises of confidence. i also came close to writing a piece on why i couldn't produce the piece. but i couldn't do it, my mind was blank.
so as an exercise in (torturous) concentration i traced a page of ascii text which was produced when trying to print an incompatible file in windows. the result is quite pleasing, considering. i like the one, lone, almost coherent line:
"Masks Tickets Performer Ballerina Star's Door".
the rest of it has a scandinavian feel, lots of ys with dots and and stuff.
I read it aloud in my head in the bathroom in memory of jackson mac low, who i met a few times and don't think ever shared more than a few words with, and they were probably 'would you like some more rice?'
i think i'll have to do some more 'graphical work'. the medication i'm on seems to be interfering with the normal chaos which is my average state of mind.
beginning to feel stressed, low and dulled! bah! should go in the garage and draw big pictures, then photograph them and send them to people...
perhaps i could do some venetian 'surface music events', it's been a very long time.
then again i might just go and watch zorro.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
blah
28_10_05
mmm, just finished making a new soup - not so 'improvised' as the two on www.freeformfreakoutorganisation.net, as i sort of bought one of the ingredients deliberately to go with the ones i knew i had in the house. so it was a kind of premeditated soup. fennel, sweet potato and carrot with a touch of black pepper and garlic. it's very lightly seasoned so that the boys can eat it as well. no added salt - i used some stock cubes and i fear they may have had enough salt to mummify at leaste one of us.
i have to be careful what i eat now. trying to eliminate possible causes of certain ailments, more blood tests - this time for pernicious anaemia amongst other things! seems like a lots of stuff is not going as i'd like it to, i often think that its purely down to stress.
i'm on the sick, doctor's orders, he gave me longer than i'd have liked. but then again that's not really true, i'd like to not have to go to work at all!
but as a teacher you sort of always feel a bit guilty if you're not there (with younger children i suppose that is). the place can however make you feel really guilty, the boss and the parents get really shirty if a teacher is ill - very unfair.
mmm, just finished making a new soup - not so 'improvised' as the two on www.freeformfreakoutorganisation.net, as i sort of bought one of the ingredients deliberately to go with the ones i knew i had in the house. so it was a kind of premeditated soup. fennel, sweet potato and carrot with a touch of black pepper and garlic. it's very lightly seasoned so that the boys can eat it as well. no added salt - i used some stock cubes and i fear they may have had enough salt to mummify at leaste one of us.
i have to be careful what i eat now. trying to eliminate possible causes of certain ailments, more blood tests - this time for pernicious anaemia amongst other things! seems like a lots of stuff is not going as i'd like it to, i often think that its purely down to stress.
i'm on the sick, doctor's orders, he gave me longer than i'd have liked. but then again that's not really true, i'd like to not have to go to work at all!
but as a teacher you sort of always feel a bit guilty if you're not there (with younger children i suppose that is). the place can however make you feel really guilty, the boss and the parents get really shirty if a teacher is ill - very unfair.
yesteday's soup
29_10_05
and very nice too was the soup. today i made lentil, wheat and chicken but we haven't eaten any yet, well the boys have. nic's gone to venice and i'm being
the good dad.
been out, down to the park at san giuliano which looks out to venice from the mainland. it was a beautiful, mist, venetian day. foggy, but with an amazing
light that came out as a red/violet tint on the photos. wonderful when you can distinguish the horizon from the lagoon and the islands simply lurk somewhere
in the distance. venice herself was almost invisible, save a hazy lump and the ever present 'campanile', amazing, you couldn't see the city but you could
see the belltower.
and very nice too was the soup. today i made lentil, wheat and chicken but we haven't eaten any yet, well the boys have. nic's gone to venice and i'm being
the good dad.
been out, down to the park at san giuliano which looks out to venice from the mainland. it was a beautiful, mist, venetian day. foggy, but with an amazing
light that came out as a red/violet tint on the photos. wonderful when you can distinguish the horizon from the lagoon and the islands simply lurk somewhere
in the distance. venice herself was almost invisible, save a hazy lump and the ever present 'campanile', amazing, you couldn't see the city but you could
see the belltower.
hard to wipe your nose on scar tissue
29_10_05 ii
it's funny to see how and what i've just written. i am in a terrible state, a very black mood. ever inch of me feels as if it's got its own particular pain. i just want to explode, to scream until i cough my lungs out, to smash something, to kick the living daylights out of someone, to DESTROY something, physically, violently. i direct it all inwards and punch myself.
it doesn't work.
it's absurd the difference betwwen how i feel inwardly at present, and my 'nature'.
am i a potential killer?
am i a danger to others?
am i a danger to myself?
am i a closet thug
am i a loser
am i?
am i?
probably not. but that doesn't take the pain away. i can't cry anymore. instead i bite the inside of my lip, i have hard skin inside my mouth, scar tissue.
then i go blank.
and i can't think.
like now.
but then it's funny to go back and read stuff that i've just written about making soup. what the hell is going on? i am falling apart but making great
food and writing drivel about doing so.
i should be making great food and writing great stuff about it.....
it's funny to see how and what i've just written. i am in a terrible state, a very black mood. ever inch of me feels as if it's got its own particular pain. i just want to explode, to scream until i cough my lungs out, to smash something, to kick the living daylights out of someone, to DESTROY something, physically, violently. i direct it all inwards and punch myself.
it doesn't work.
it's absurd the difference betwwen how i feel inwardly at present, and my 'nature'.
am i a potential killer?
am i a danger to others?
am i a danger to myself?
am i a closet thug
am i a loser
am i?
am i?
probably not. but that doesn't take the pain away. i can't cry anymore. instead i bite the inside of my lip, i have hard skin inside my mouth, scar tissue.
then i go blank.
and i can't think.
like now.
but then it's funny to go back and read stuff that i've just written about making soup. what the hell is going on? i am falling apart but making great
food and writing drivel about doing so.
i should be making great food and writing great stuff about it.....
Monday, October 24, 2005
ò#°*!+!!
how come refilling a printer cartridge provokes a paper jam disaster?
i just don't get it, one minute to refill the cartridge thus saving twenty odd euros and one normal one. one hour to get the bloody thing to print. at leats two days knocked of my life expectancy due to excess stress and about five euro worth of tree chucked away in the course of things.
that's what i like about computers, how they speed things up and make life easier.
ò#°*!+!!
i just don't get it, one minute to refill the cartridge thus saving twenty odd euros and one normal one. one hour to get the bloody thing to print. at leats two days knocked of my life expectancy due to excess stress and about five euro worth of tree chucked away in the course of things.
that's what i like about computers, how they speed things up and make life easier.
ò#°*!+!!
Sunday, October 23, 2005
3 - 2
apparently in this new apartment you shouldn't make shepherds pie whilst someone is trying to find out the score of the newcastle-sunderland derby.
the electrics can't deal with the internet, mince and potatoes all at the same time.
newcastle 3 - sunderland 2, it appears that derby didn't show up...
quite a score that for a tyne/wear derby, no doubt there will be phone calls from my brother and nic's dad who were both there at st. james'
TOON ARMY!
thanks to telecom italia and their out of date cables, i was unable to listen to the match live.
the electrics can't deal with the internet, mince and potatoes all at the same time.
newcastle 3 - sunderland 2, it appears that derby didn't show up...
quite a score that for a tyne/wear derby, no doubt there will be phone calls from my brother and nic's dad who were both there at st. james'
TOON ARMY!
thanks to telecom italia and their out of date cables, i was unable to listen to the match live.
Friday, October 21, 2005
seven wonder(if)s of the world at 23:43 GMT+1 20_10_05
I wonder if this black spot I keep seeing is something or nothing
I wonder if I'll find the courage to even apply for a residency in New Mexico
I wonder if the babies cry simply because I'm trying to concentrate/sleep/go to the toilet
I wonder if those pains in my left arm mere anything to worry abot today
I wonder if we will ever find the balls to stop people dying of starvation
I wonder if I'll ever find the balls to actually do something instead of crying at a documentary
I wonder if the world really would stop if I simply walked out of work one day and went to Venice for the afternoon
I wonder if I'll find the courage to even apply for a residency in New Mexico
I wonder if the babies cry simply because I'm trying to concentrate/sleep/go to the toilet
I wonder if those pains in my left arm mere anything to worry abot today
I wonder if we will ever find the balls to stop people dying of starvation
I wonder if I'll ever find the balls to actually do something instead of crying at a documentary
I wonder if the world really would stop if I simply walked out of work one day and went to Venice for the afternoon
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
MUMMY!!!
what do we have to look forward to this week in class 4?
how about this: for p.e. instead of going to the gym we are continuing our rowing course on the venetian lagoon!! last week i was out in a dragon boat,
other kids were out in a canoe and others learned the basics of 'voga alla veneta', a type of rowing specific to the venetian lagoon. you've all seen the classic gondolier right? we're learning to do that!
in class wqe're doing 'death!' but not in venice though. death and burial rituals in ancient egypt. after the dual crown of the united kingdoms of upper and lower egypt, we are going to see what would happen to the pharoah after his death...
...if he was an apple that is.
mummification of fruit, better than arithmetic i suppose.
how about this: for p.e. instead of going to the gym we are continuing our rowing course on the venetian lagoon!! last week i was out in a dragon boat,
other kids were out in a canoe and others learned the basics of 'voga alla veneta', a type of rowing specific to the venetian lagoon. you've all seen the classic gondolier right? we're learning to do that!
in class wqe're doing 'death!' but not in venice though. death and burial rituals in ancient egypt. after the dual crown of the united kingdoms of upper and lower egypt, we are going to see what would happen to the pharoah after his death...
...if he was an apple that is.
mummification of fruit, better than arithmetic i suppose.
hooligans!
the boys had their first haircut today. they look like little lads!
hooligans at home, angels at nursery. 14month old con artists!
the boys got their first pair of 'proper' shoes today. very sensible shoes,
considering dad's taste in brothel creepers and bovva boots.
hooligans at home, angels at nursery. 14month old con artists!
the boys got their first pair of 'proper' shoes today. very sensible shoes,
considering dad's taste in brothel creepers and bovva boots.
mass of unpleasantness
it's a strange thing, depressive illness,stress, this collection of fears, crises of confidence, confusion, this black mass of unpleasantness that engulfs me on a more and more frequent basis. i use 'unpleasantness' as i simple can't think of the correct word without sounding somewhat melodramatic.
it's strange thing because, often when i am at my worst - i am at my best.
it's a strange thing, when i find it hardest to function in the 'real world' my other stuff kicks in. spontaneous ideas, and lots of them come along sometimes all at the same time so that i can't 'get them out.
recently i started writing, for no real reason, a kind of surreal story for this blog. it came from a child's sponge floor tile which had the shape of a frog
stamped out of it. i'm not saying that the story is good, but it sort of just 'fell out' of my head! as i progressed with the next part i began to reread the first and realise that it was, in its own way, an interesting thing. the more i realised that i could be onto something here, something to do to express what's going on in my head, the less i was able to continue with it. the more stable i become, the more unable i become.
it's a strange thing.
it's strange thing because, often when i am at my worst - i am at my best.
it's a strange thing, when i find it hardest to function in the 'real world' my other stuff kicks in. spontaneous ideas, and lots of them come along sometimes all at the same time so that i can't 'get them out.
recently i started writing, for no real reason, a kind of surreal story for this blog. it came from a child's sponge floor tile which had the shape of a frog
stamped out of it. i'm not saying that the story is good, but it sort of just 'fell out' of my head! as i progressed with the next part i began to reread the first and realise that it was, in its own way, an interesting thing. the more i realised that i could be onto something here, something to do to express what's going on in my head, the less i was able to continue with it. the more stable i become, the more unable i become.
it's a strange thing.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Blond triplets in full drag.
"Get me up!" I croaked, so that the Frog would understand just what it was I wanted.
"I'm afraid" he croaked back.
"Don't be afraid darling, i's only a graze. My tennis may be a little off for a week or two but we can still go out." I interjected from between two jects.
"I'm afraid that the telephone is out of action, you portly, potential paraplegic! It was crushed under the antlers during the apple falling incident." He offered.
I declined only having recently managed to quit. "Use your cell phone!" I ribbeted on old French.
"Eh?" queried my trusty sidekick in fluent modern English.
"I was talking to the toad, man." I explained to my trusty sidekick.
He kicked me in the side and left the scene the same way he had entered, pointlessly.
"Use your cell phone!" I reribbeted in a recent romanesque dialect.
And the telephone rang, it was the police station.
"Hello, hello, hello!" chorused three unclear voices. "Thees ees the local nick," offered the least muffled of the three, "Excuse the lack of clarity but it is hot here and the glue on our special pleece issue moustaches isn't adapted for outdoor use. We believe we have a French mess in one of our cells, a fat orange chap, rabbiting on about a phone. We picked him up after he aroused our suspicions."
At this point here was a pause I was convinced that there was a distinct triple moan from the other end of the phone. Walking to the other end of the phone I stumbled over three piles of oozing fat.
"Oi! Watch it you great multi-bellied mug!" belched the smaller of the piles, lurching up from the floor. It was the frog.
"I thought you were in the nick!" I blurted
"I was." he blunted.
"But how come you're here and not there?" I bleated.
"It's not there any more." he bloated
"How come?" I blurted again for sheere lack of verbs.
"I nicked it!" replied the even less imaginative, tangerine toned, Gallic henchman.
Somewhere in the distance a door slammed, a dog barked, a tumble weed, a wolf whistled and a tortoise headed of into the bushes.
"I'm afraid" he croaked back.
"Don't be afraid darling, i's only a graze. My tennis may be a little off for a week or two but we can still go out." I interjected from between two jects.
"I'm afraid that the telephone is out of action, you portly, potential paraplegic! It was crushed under the antlers during the apple falling incident." He offered.
I declined only having recently managed to quit. "Use your cell phone!" I ribbeted on old French.
"Eh?" queried my trusty sidekick in fluent modern English.
"I was talking to the toad, man." I explained to my trusty sidekick.
He kicked me in the side and left the scene the same way he had entered, pointlessly.
"Use your cell phone!" I reribbeted in a recent romanesque dialect.
And the telephone rang, it was the police station.
"Hello, hello, hello!" chorused three unclear voices. "Thees ees the local nick," offered the least muffled of the three, "Excuse the lack of clarity but it is hot here and the glue on our special pleece issue moustaches isn't adapted for outdoor use. We believe we have a French mess in one of our cells, a fat orange chap, rabbiting on about a phone. We picked him up after he aroused our suspicions."
At this point here was a pause I was convinced that there was a distinct triple moan from the other end of the phone. Walking to the other end of the phone I stumbled over three piles of oozing fat.
"Oi! Watch it you great multi-bellied mug!" belched the smaller of the piles, lurching up from the floor. It was the frog.
"I thought you were in the nick!" I blurted
"I was." he blunted.
"But how come you're here and not there?" I bleated.
"It's not there any more." he bloated
"How come?" I blurted again for sheere lack of verbs.
"I nicked it!" replied the even less imaginative, tangerine toned, Gallic henchman.
Somewhere in the distance a door slammed, a dog barked, a tumble weed, a wolf whistled and a tortoise headed of into the bushes.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The Faceless Lion Inspired Lesser Knuckle Injury
The waiter, being hard of hearing, accepted the ten euro note with Good Grace. After a while however he realised that Good Grace no longer worked there and saw no reason to share the bank note with her. The waiter, Walter informed Good Grace in no uncertain terms, using certain terms that on hearing Good Manners simply got up and walked away, that he was not prepared to share the red note. Good Grace took the pip but Walter did not care, for he had finished with it.
Realising that both she and the pip were finished in the story, Good Grace left with Good Will. Will was surprised.
Watching all of this from the bosom of some long defunct, dead Egytpian bird I began to realise that I would have to eventually admit the fact that I was stuck. My fowl legged Gallic friend had long since flown the coop, but notwithstanding (in fact with a lot of without vomiting) had long since come back.
The waiter tripping, the lack lustre butterfly link had been entirely his idea.
I on the other hand, before this evening, had been on my other knees trying to make sense of my dear friend Noah. As twisted as things may get I thought, at least I'll have Noah dear! Which is often better than not.
Meanwhile musing meanly my attention was drawn and my curiosity photocopied, and both posted to an anonymous address. Realising the gravity of the situation I hit the floor with a tremendous thump, a clattering crunch and the palm of my hand.
Realising that both she and the pip were finished in the story, Good Grace left with Good Will. Will was surprised.
Watching all of this from the bosom of some long defunct, dead Egytpian bird I began to realise that I would have to eventually admit the fact that I was stuck. My fowl legged Gallic friend had long since flown the coop, but notwithstanding (in fact with a lot of without vomiting) had long since come back.
The waiter tripping, the lack lustre butterfly link had been entirely his idea.
I on the other hand, before this evening, had been on my other knees trying to make sense of my dear friend Noah. As twisted as things may get I thought, at least I'll have Noah dear! Which is often better than not.
Meanwhile musing meanly my attention was drawn and my curiosity photocopied, and both posted to an anonymous address. Realising the gravity of the situation I hit the floor with a tremendous thump, a clattering crunch and the palm of my hand.
Monday, October 10, 2005
no entry
(Beacuse of weirdly problemings with Blogger tonight, this post should be before the next one, but isn't...and therefore makes even less sense being here.
i really can't think of anything to write tonight, la scatola dell'idiota fa interference.
not to be confused with inter - firenze which would be a football match.
aiya!!!!!
cramp!!!
aah, that's better.
i really can't think of anything to write tonight, la scatola dell'idiota fa interference.
not to be confused with inter - firenze which would be a football match.
aiya!!!!!
cramp!!!
aah, that's better.
FLOORED
As the pea-green bunny sidled up to the dimpled butterfly i told that god damned tangerine frog to close his ugly mouth and keep an eye out for the blue strawberry.
"Hey cool it little crippled buddha man!" he replied hollow-eyed from his hiding place right out in the open.
"Watch that bunny you citrus tinged French Lieutenant's lunch!" I hissed from my perch on Cleopatra's breast. "He's already had it away with the reindeer, he left only the antlers underneath that apple there!"
"Did you know that the reindeer in Spain are usually difficult to explain?" ventured my wide-mouthed watchman. Out in the open he was exposed to the sun, accepting his cheque from the gutter pressman in the gutter he put his trousers back on. The heat had, I feared, given our position away as there was a strong smell of chicken coming from the direction of the obvious french gentleman who was covering on a plum leaf, staring at entirely thewrong rabbit.
"Shut up and watch that bunny man!" I whispered in a shout.
"Hey! Spare us the Cuttering remarks, for under this Killing Moon I am ready, even Crocodiles couldn't move me from my task. I'll watch the rabbit you just watch the butterfly!"
And with that he tripped the waiter.
"Hey cool it little crippled buddha man!" he replied hollow-eyed from his hiding place right out in the open.
"Watch that bunny you citrus tinged French Lieutenant's lunch!" I hissed from my perch on Cleopatra's breast. "He's already had it away with the reindeer, he left only the antlers underneath that apple there!"
"Did you know that the reindeer in Spain are usually difficult to explain?" ventured my wide-mouthed watchman. Out in the open he was exposed to the sun, accepting his cheque from the gutter pressman in the gutter he put his trousers back on. The heat had, I feared, given our position away as there was a strong smell of chicken coming from the direction of the obvious french gentleman who was covering on a plum leaf, staring at entirely thewrong rabbit.
"Shut up and watch that bunny man!" I whispered in a shout.
"Hey! Spare us the Cuttering remarks, for under this Killing Moon I am ready, even Crocodiles couldn't move me from my task. I'll watch the rabbit you just watch the butterfly!"
And with that he tripped the waiter.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
christmas present
just looking up at the electric idiot lantern and i notice that the sunday evening film is "natale sul nilo" (christmas on the nile).
for reasons known only to someone else.
for reasons known only to someone else.
steaky fingers
steak and baked potato with roasted peppers and courgettes - note, despite being in italy i am still using the good old 'english' name, which is indeed french. dinner was given a french touch by the after dinner munching of 4 sugared pistache, courtesy of dragees reynaud, marseilles and deux bits of 'lindt excellence vanille naturelle blanc extra fin' - eat the chocolate then repeat the name twice and the action of your jaw muscles actually burns off the calories consumed.
yes i know lindt is swiss, but they speak french there.
yes i know lindt is swiss, but they speak french there.
(it's a) wonderiful world - 7 wonders of the moment
i wonder if my piece will make it into Visible language
i wonder if my pieces will make it into the fluxus performance workbook
i wonder if they have a job that will straighten me out
i wonder if i'll wake up one day and not hurt somewhere
i wonder if i'll ever find the courage to show people who i am
i wonder if people will ever stop assuming who i am
i wonder if it ever gets easier
i wonder if my pieces will make it into the fluxus performance workbook
i wonder if they have a job that will straighten me out
i wonder if i'll wake up one day and not hurt somewhere
i wonder if i'll ever find the courage to show people who i am
i wonder if people will ever stop assuming who i am
i wonder if it ever gets easier
friends and kitchen acoustics and grappa
funny how having children children seems to erase your number from peoples phone books.
and i'm not the type to go on about babystuff. i am absolutely in love with my boys but i'm also aware that on the whole my friends do'nt really want to hear about about them all the time.
oh well....
luckily at the moment i'm quite happy staying in, working on some music projects and a couple of websites (well i'm at the thinking stage there anyway).
walter cianciusi's 'fluxus anthology' cd project and rod stasick's 'job_app' (based on the works of john m. bennett) have got me going.
been recording a load of experimental stuff, but more interestingly i've been working on a lot of new guitar based stuff, both new songs and covers. so far ive put down some acoustic/samples mixes of 'working class hero' and ' love will tear us apart' (acoustic guitar and 'kitchen' being the instruments used).
the mixes are pretty rough as i'm working solely on a laptop with no professional mic, but the approach i've found for the covers and the new original tunes which as yet have no texts) is actually quite exciting for me - the first time i've been actually excited and inspired to play for a long time for reasons of music and not only for booze and the chance to let rip and pretend to be someone else.
friends again:
i have to be honest, because i can't get out for the old 'sprizz hour' (aperatif) and most people go out to eat, which i tend to do at home to at least spend some baby-free time with nic, and nobody seems to just nip out for a pint - i haven't really been making any efort to go out.
did go out the other evening with nic and a couple of friends (we had a babysitter! yep grandma was here). an agriturismo - set menu, set price, no hassle, unlimited wine...and then my downfall (he types slurping a larg jack daniels single barrel), grappa. it's been a long time, and i did give it a good go, there's something about a full bottle that just brings out the competative side in me!
...you know, i don't think i really like jack daniels all that much. i prefer a good scotch and a good irish too.
anyway after the grappa we went to bar vittoria for another coffee, so i had a couple of mojitos (couldn't pronounce caffè, not enough syllables!)
last sunday was a washout...
and i'm not the type to go on about babystuff. i am absolutely in love with my boys but i'm also aware that on the whole my friends do'nt really want to hear about about them all the time.
oh well....
luckily at the moment i'm quite happy staying in, working on some music projects and a couple of websites (well i'm at the thinking stage there anyway).
walter cianciusi's 'fluxus anthology' cd project and rod stasick's 'job_app' (based on the works of john m. bennett) have got me going.
been recording a load of experimental stuff, but more interestingly i've been working on a lot of new guitar based stuff, both new songs and covers. so far ive put down some acoustic/samples mixes of 'working class hero' and ' love will tear us apart' (acoustic guitar and 'kitchen' being the instruments used).
the mixes are pretty rough as i'm working solely on a laptop with no professional mic, but the approach i've found for the covers and the new original tunes which as yet have no texts) is actually quite exciting for me - the first time i've been actually excited and inspired to play for a long time for reasons of music and not only for booze and the chance to let rip and pretend to be someone else.
friends again:
i have to be honest, because i can't get out for the old 'sprizz hour' (aperatif) and most people go out to eat, which i tend to do at home to at least spend some baby-free time with nic, and nobody seems to just nip out for a pint - i haven't really been making any efort to go out.
did go out the other evening with nic and a couple of friends (we had a babysitter! yep grandma was here). an agriturismo - set menu, set price, no hassle, unlimited wine...and then my downfall (he types slurping a larg jack daniels single barrel), grappa. it's been a long time, and i did give it a good go, there's something about a full bottle that just brings out the competative side in me!
...you know, i don't think i really like jack daniels all that much. i prefer a good scotch and a good irish too.
anyway after the grappa we went to bar vittoria for another coffee, so i had a couple of mojitos (couldn't pronounce caffè, not enough syllables!)
last sunday was a washout...
job satisfaction and other mysteries
after working in a place for nigh on 6 odd years, well 4 odd years, one rather peculiar and one downright frighteningly bizarre year, a man may be surprised, and not pleasingly so, when offered a pay cut. one fight and one much more civilised meeting on and it appears that i was right, the new contract is for less money.
hopefully by april should be sorted out! hope so as it means i'll be back working for the gallery in some shape or form. got to do something to get out of this hole, i'm in permanent pain now, like one long heart attack without the pain in the arm and the risk of death...bit annoying really.
hopefully by april should be sorted out! hope so as it means i'll be back working for the gallery in some shape or form. got to do something to get out of this hole, i'm in permanent pain now, like one long heart attack without the pain in the arm and the risk of death...bit annoying really.
firebomb telecom and petrol pumps full o' wine
well then, it's been a fair old while since i've been able to get anything posted here. we can thank telecom italia for that. ten phone calls and ten different reasons why the ADSL line is not up and running after the transfer of the line from the old house to the new. turns out that all those reasons were a load of cobblers as the eleventh and twelve phonecalls came up with the same answer - the phone line in the new house is not yet capable of supporting ADSL.
but thanks to supereva.it we now have dial up, so at least michael leigh will have something to read!
it's strange, i've being looking forward to getting back on here and now i am i can't think of anything to say!
just been out across the road for some wine. 5 litres of pinot grigiot - 7euro! took the old flask across to massimo in the cantina and got a refill. man tha place is too close! drinking that juice can be dangerous to a soul, via san donà is a busy road to cross witha a 5l flagon, thank the great gods of valhalla that there was no rain to oil the skidpan outside bruno's butcher shop. the curve before the co-op instills madness in the minds of the demon fiat punto drivers who can hit mach2 before whipping the skirts of mara while she organises the onions outside the family fruit and veg shop, before vapourising their tyres whilst slamming on the anchors to avoid the instable inebriates fresh from their tocai fuelled card games in the bar noone knows the name of, crossing the road to the betting shop after pizzeria alice.
it's a wise man who keeps his eyes open and his flask away from the oncoming around these parts at teatime.
but thanks to supereva.it we now have dial up, so at least michael leigh will have something to read!
it's strange, i've being looking forward to getting back on here and now i am i can't think of anything to say!
just been out across the road for some wine. 5 litres of pinot grigiot - 7euro! took the old flask across to massimo in the cantina and got a refill. man tha place is too close! drinking that juice can be dangerous to a soul, via san donà is a busy road to cross witha a 5l flagon, thank the great gods of valhalla that there was no rain to oil the skidpan outside bruno's butcher shop. the curve before the co-op instills madness in the minds of the demon fiat punto drivers who can hit mach2 before whipping the skirts of mara while she organises the onions outside the family fruit and veg shop, before vapourising their tyres whilst slamming on the anchors to avoid the instable inebriates fresh from their tocai fuelled card games in the bar noone knows the name of, crossing the road to the betting shop after pizzeria alice.
it's a wise man who keeps his eyes open and his flask away from the oncoming around these parts at teatime.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
quick, quack update from our gateshead offices...
this is a multiple entry and it goes from longest ago to nearest to today....
today it's the 19th july, today being the day that i'm writing this not the day in which you are reading this that is. although it may be the 19th of july, if it is the 19th of july then you're reading this exactly X year(s) after i wrote it.
to work out X:
X=(year - 2005)
i'm writing this from my mother's house in england rather than the usual places of;
the living room floor, apartamento #4, via lorenzago 15, or my (ex)office in the international school of venice, both mestre, italy. so that's a first then.
if you are reading this than it means that i've managed to sort out some sort of internet connection and am in the middle of clearing a hundred thousand junk mails from the fluxlist (www.fluxlist.com), or i didn't and i'm back in italy somethime after the 28th august and am clearing a squillion junk mails from fluxlist (www.fluxlist.com)
i shall never write here from via lorenzago again...
...we moved.
yep me moved to a nice new place, all we have to do now is convince telecom italia, the gas and the electric company that we have done so. hey appear to apply some random selection process, at the discretion of the individual employee, as to what documents you need to provide to actually use their services and pay them heavily for the privelage(sp?) of doing so! and that's not even mentioning the problems created by changing your place of residence. the residence permit...
'we've moved house and would like to change our residency details.'
'yes, driving license please.'
'pardon?'
'i don't have an italian driving license'
'eh!?'
'i don't have an italian driving license, i have a UK license which i have not changed as i do not drive here in italy.'
'eh!?'
'i don't have a driving license.'
'i need your driving license.'
'i don't have a driving license!'
'oh...but i need your driving license!'
'what the £@#§ does my license matter? i'm moving house not hiring a caravan...(another story).'
'i need a document with your address on.'
'what about my current residence permit which you issued when i moved into my current place, my permesso di soggiorno (documents which allow me to live in italy), my identity card which you also issued, my insurance details, utilities bills, water and waste tax bills, also issued you, the existing contract for the apartment, these documents relating to the new apartment and my meddical records?'
'hmm, i need the national insurance numbers for your children.'
'my 10 month old babies?'
'yes'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
20/07/05
just spoke to sol nte this evening.
i have been communicating with sol via fluxlist and on a personal level, on and of since 1997 (or even '96...nope, probably 1997).
it was so lovely to actually speak to him at last. all these years of emails..
i thought "i'll give him a quick ring sort out arrangements for sunday", (for we are going to meet up at Baltic to see the Franklin Furnace and Keinholz shows there.
an intended 5 minutes turned into a very enjoyable hour long chat. just what i needed i guess, don't think i was terribly eloquent in my grunts but i am very tired and have just realised that i have forgotten my medication again. anyway, we chatted for a goodly while. another good thing comes out of coming from venice to gateshead for me holidays!!
it was strange talking to sol as i had no idea what he would sound like.
he sonds uncannily like tony blair in his pre-staccato-super-sincere-and-concerned-but-not-really-going-to-do-all-that-much-about-it phase, when tony was a good lad an aal that like.
strangely unlike how i'd imagined.
looking forward to sunday ....
sunday 24 july
met sol today. i've known sol nte via email since about 1997-8 but we'd never met.
i had a very pleasant day out indeed, it felt like i'd known sol for years, i'm not going to go on in case he reads this and gets a big head! ;-)
we went to gateshead to the baltic and saw the keinholz show which was pretty groovy and the franklin furnace one which wasn't, then we walked across the millenium bridge and along the newcastle quayside to one of it's most historic landmarks; the cooperage, a mediaeval barrel maker's building in an excellent state of repair and famous for its punk and metal discos in the 1980s and early 90s! all the real ale was off so we had to settle for lager and a nice chat. sol was then treated to a whistle stop tour of newcastle upon tyne, which was closed and then dinner at me mam's!
friday 29 july
this is difficult, being away from home but at home at the same time. all very familiar but i have no stuff here, just clothes and a laptop, and a distinct lack of free time in which i can do anything. strange how you can go through the day without ever having time to sit down and still actually do nothing. (except washing up and tidying and stopping babies from puling the telly over)
but pissed off, seem to be in one of those 'dull' periods where my brain just doesn't seem to work and my sense of humour is in a coma.
trying to redesign the school website (www.isvenice.com), which appears to have been done on the cheap by italy's most unimaginative web designers. but i can't get into it - which is annoying as it's something i like doing...i might be crap at it, but i enjoy it.
29VII05
deese sehentahnce ees reetahn ooeeve hahn heetaliahn hacksent
16th august 2005
the boys were 1 on saturday 13th. the grown ups had a party!
too many distractions to 'blog', converstations, tv etc + going down a little which is a bit scary. i started a poem last night, VERY unusual for me as i don't really do poetry. so far the main characters are Arachnide Spongefinger and her oddball brother Keith, others such as Lumpfish Wartsnorker, Drip Balalclava and Trouteye Scissorjump should join in soonish - if the medication really does run out, probably really soonish. I forgot to renew my prescription before we came to the UK and i'm now on 1/2 every 2 days or so...just enough to keep me from falling over.
hopefully any decent chiropractor will know that when you go click it's a bit scary in chester-le-street. i think i'm going to have to do something he really scared me today he was briliant.
hopefully i'll get to writing up about me day oot with sol when i get home.
toooo maaannnnyyy dddiiissttraacttttiiioonnnsss..............
:-|
today it's the 19th july, today being the day that i'm writing this not the day in which you are reading this that is. although it may be the 19th of july, if it is the 19th of july then you're reading this exactly X year(s) after i wrote it.
to work out X:
X=(year - 2005)
i'm writing this from my mother's house in england rather than the usual places of;
the living room floor, apartamento #4, via lorenzago 15, or my (ex)office in the international school of venice, both mestre, italy. so that's a first then.
if you are reading this than it means that i've managed to sort out some sort of internet connection and am in the middle of clearing a hundred thousand junk mails from the fluxlist (www.fluxlist.com), or i didn't and i'm back in italy somethime after the 28th august and am clearing a squillion junk mails from fluxlist (www.fluxlist.com)
i shall never write here from via lorenzago again...
...we moved.
yep me moved to a nice new place, all we have to do now is convince telecom italia, the gas and the electric company that we have done so. hey appear to apply some random selection process, at the discretion of the individual employee, as to what documents you need to provide to actually use their services and pay them heavily for the privelage(sp?) of doing so! and that's not even mentioning the problems created by changing your place of residence. the residence permit...
'we've moved house and would like to change our residency details.'
'yes, driving license please.'
'pardon?'
'i don't have an italian driving license'
'eh!?'
'i don't have an italian driving license, i have a UK license which i have not changed as i do not drive here in italy.'
'eh!?'
'i don't have a driving license.'
'i need your driving license.'
'i don't have a driving license!'
'oh...but i need your driving license!'
'what the £@#§ does my license matter? i'm moving house not hiring a caravan...(another story).'
'i need a document with your address on.'
'what about my current residence permit which you issued when i moved into my current place, my permesso di soggiorno (documents which allow me to live in italy), my identity card which you also issued, my insurance details, utilities bills, water and waste tax bills, also issued you, the existing contract for the apartment, these documents relating to the new apartment and my meddical records?'
'hmm, i need the national insurance numbers for your children.'
'my 10 month old babies?'
'yes'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
'£@#§!'
20/07/05
just spoke to sol nte this evening.
i have been communicating with sol via fluxlist and on a personal level, on and of since 1997 (or even '96...nope, probably 1997).
it was so lovely to actually speak to him at last. all these years of emails..
i thought "i'll give him a quick ring sort out arrangements for sunday", (for we are going to meet up at Baltic to see the Franklin Furnace and Keinholz shows there.
an intended 5 minutes turned into a very enjoyable hour long chat. just what i needed i guess, don't think i was terribly eloquent in my grunts but i am very tired and have just realised that i have forgotten my medication again. anyway, we chatted for a goodly while. another good thing comes out of coming from venice to gateshead for me holidays!!
it was strange talking to sol as i had no idea what he would sound like.
he sonds uncannily like tony blair in his pre-staccato-super-sincere-and-concerned-but-not-really-going-to-do-all-that-much-about-it phase, when tony was a good lad an aal that like.
strangely unlike how i'd imagined.
looking forward to sunday ....
sunday 24 july
met sol today. i've known sol nte via email since about 1997-8 but we'd never met.
i had a very pleasant day out indeed, it felt like i'd known sol for years, i'm not going to go on in case he reads this and gets a big head! ;-)
we went to gateshead to the baltic and saw the keinholz show which was pretty groovy and the franklin furnace one which wasn't, then we walked across the millenium bridge and along the newcastle quayside to one of it's most historic landmarks; the cooperage, a mediaeval barrel maker's building in an excellent state of repair and famous for its punk and metal discos in the 1980s and early 90s! all the real ale was off so we had to settle for lager and a nice chat. sol was then treated to a whistle stop tour of newcastle upon tyne, which was closed and then dinner at me mam's!
friday 29 july
this is difficult, being away from home but at home at the same time. all very familiar but i have no stuff here, just clothes and a laptop, and a distinct lack of free time in which i can do anything. strange how you can go through the day without ever having time to sit down and still actually do nothing. (except washing up and tidying and stopping babies from puling the telly over)
but pissed off, seem to be in one of those 'dull' periods where my brain just doesn't seem to work and my sense of humour is in a coma.
trying to redesign the school website (www.isvenice.com), which appears to have been done on the cheap by italy's most unimaginative web designers. but i can't get into it - which is annoying as it's something i like doing...i might be crap at it, but i enjoy it.
29VII05
deese sehentahnce ees reetahn ooeeve hahn heetaliahn hacksent
16th august 2005
the boys were 1 on saturday 13th. the grown ups had a party!
too many distractions to 'blog', converstations, tv etc + going down a little which is a bit scary. i started a poem last night, VERY unusual for me as i don't really do poetry. so far the main characters are Arachnide Spongefinger and her oddball brother Keith, others such as Lumpfish Wartsnorker, Drip Balalclava and Trouteye Scissorjump should join in soonish - if the medication really does run out, probably really soonish. I forgot to renew my prescription before we came to the UK and i'm now on 1/2 every 2 days or so...just enough to keep me from falling over.
hopefully any decent chiropractor will know that when you go click it's a bit scary in chester-le-street. i think i'm going to have to do something he really scared me today he was briliant.
hopefully i'll get to writing up about me day oot with sol when i get home.
toooo maaannnnyyy dddiiissttraacttttiiioonnnsss..............
:-|
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
boxes, boxes, everywhere
middle of moving house...
internet connection due to be lost on saturday..
who knows when the next update will be....
not that i suppose anyone is really bothered..
in the meantime check out these two groovy blogs:
roger stevens' story-so-far
roger radio (go on, you're curious eh?
and
michael leigh's flobberlob (weed?)
A1 Mail Art
a bit obscure in terms of reactions this one...
my oh my, what curios (sic) things. (go on jim take a look, go oooon jiiiiiimmmm!)
internet connection due to be lost on saturday..
who knows when the next update will be....
not that i suppose anyone is really bothered..
in the meantime check out these two groovy blogs:
roger stevens' story-so-far
roger radio (go on, you're curious eh?
and
michael leigh's flobberlob (weed?)
A1 Mail Art
a bit obscure in terms of reactions this one...
my oh my, what curios (sic) things. (go on jim take a look, go oooon jiiiiiimmmm!)
Sunday, July 03, 2005
eh?
aargh! the raging pizza thirsts!
like a fool i went for my favourite, which i now realise is not really my favourite nay more - the cavallino with garlic (see earlier post).
washed it down with one, small slovenian beer (i'm trying to be good and get me levels down).
last week i was eating really nice salads for lunch, shrimp, tuna etc and drinking water at work and i lost about 4 kg in 3 days and began to feel human - which was very weird, waking up not feeling like shite. i quite liked it. cutting out the booze is very hard though, although a wedding in austria and an impromptu night out last night at the local fish place, where the wine is no great help to the enamel of the teeth, but my god does the mouth feel clean!
is impromptu spelled correctly? shall i look it up?...
Forse cercavi: impromptu
yes it is spelled correctly, unlike the word i tapped into google which received the above reply.
anyway the best part of a litre of cheap white and 3 hefty sambuccas made the trip to supermarket a little difficult today.
i have completely lost my thread now, not that i had much of one to start with, but now i have no idae what to write about. oh dear i've gone all blank.
like a fool i went for my favourite, which i now realise is not really my favourite nay more - the cavallino with garlic (see earlier post).
washed it down with one, small slovenian beer (i'm trying to be good and get me levels down).
last week i was eating really nice salads for lunch, shrimp, tuna etc and drinking water at work and i lost about 4 kg in 3 days and began to feel human - which was very weird, waking up not feeling like shite. i quite liked it. cutting out the booze is very hard though, although a wedding in austria and an impromptu night out last night at the local fish place, where the wine is no great help to the enamel of the teeth, but my god does the mouth feel clean!
is impromptu spelled correctly? shall i look it up?...
Forse cercavi: impromptu
yes it is spelled correctly, unlike the word i tapped into google which received the above reply.
anyway the best part of a litre of cheap white and 3 hefty sambuccas made the trip to supermarket a little difficult today.
i have completely lost my thread now, not that i had much of one to start with, but now i have no idae what to write about. oh dear i've gone all blank.
phew!
not as hot as it has been recently but i still feel like an edam that has been left too near the oven.
new house
we got the keys to our new flat the day before yesterday.
it's just along the road, it's an old apartment but it has been fully renovated, so finally we're going to have new stuff. a proper kitchen, a secure front door, air conditioning, a dishwasher...
cool!
in the 15 or so years that we've been together we've just moved every so often to a slightly better quality, old and crumbling flat. now we're going to a non crumbling, very nice old flat!
within 30 seconds of our front door we have: a butcher, a fruit and veg shop, a fishmonger and fish deli, a wine store, a pizzeria and a supermarket. within 1 minute a pub, 3 bars, 2 cake shops, 3 hairdressers and a shop that sells just about everything that you'll probably never need but will probably by anyway just because, well, you never know.
it's just along the road, it's an old apartment but it has been fully renovated, so finally we're going to have new stuff. a proper kitchen, a secure front door, air conditioning, a dishwasher...
cool!
in the 15 or so years that we've been together we've just moved every so often to a slightly better quality, old and crumbling flat. now we're going to a non crumbling, very nice old flat!
within 30 seconds of our front door we have: a butcher, a fruit and veg shop, a fishmonger and fish deli, a wine store, a pizzeria and a supermarket. within 1 minute a pub, 3 bars, 2 cake shops, 3 hairdressers and a shop that sells just about everything that you'll probably never need but will probably by anyway just because, well, you never know.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
somewhere near san dona' di piave
last night was wolf's stag night - he had it after the wedding!
we went to somewhere near san dona' di piave to a restaurant which is part of a vinyard there. all stuff to eat and drink which is strictly forbidden by my new diet - doctor's orders.
still....
we went to somewhere near san dona' di piave to a restaurant which is part of a vinyard there. all stuff to eat and drink which is strictly forbidden by my new diet - doctor's orders.
still....
somewhere near san dona' di piave 2
the merlot that led to the cabernet which accompanied the dinner that led to the coffee.....
what a waste
the coffee that led to the grappa that led to the grappa that led to the grappa that led to the grappa that led to the grappa that led to the grappa that led to the sambucca that led to a waste of a day today.
i was a silly boy!
to tired to write anything of late, hopefully when i finally finish work i shall be a little more productive!
goodnight dear surfer...
Monday, June 20, 2005
On the Committee
this morning i was unwittingly co-opted on to the 'prima media' end of year exams, examining 'commissione'! i should have been with my class, a year 4 primary class, helping them cheat their exams but i was sucked into the wormhole that is caused by a spanish art teacher who has more than one job, local council italian private education regulations meeting with italian state examination beaurocracy, emerging somewhat dishevelled in a secondary school in zelarino (get a map). to make things better i had to pretend to be the art teacher! then had to sit through thr real crap the poor kids had done in class. i know this class very well, they are all pretty enthusiastic in all areas, to get them to produce crap artwork must have been quite a challenge!
i have proposed a radical change in teaching methods and the abandonment of the italian state programme for art. at present they study mainly art history, (from prehistoric man to modern gothic in an academic year!!!), and there was supposed to be time for practice, in 2 hours a week.
i despair!
i have proposed a radical change in teaching methods and the abandonment of the italian state programme for art. at present they study mainly art history, (from prehistoric man to modern gothic in an academic year!!!), and there was supposed to be time for practice, in 2 hours a week.
i despair!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
wolfie's wedding
wolf is the only person i know who has organised his stag-night for after the wedding.
wedding last week, stag night next week. in an 'agriturismo' - good home grown food and wine - i may break the odd rule....
we were in an agriturismo, which is basically self-sufficient, family run restaurant in the sticks, yesterday. the speciality of this one in mogliano veneto is musetto, donkey sorpressa(!) and polenta with marjoram. heavy stuff and a very hot venetian day.
we went to celebrate the end of term so it was a rather jolly affair. all those slightly older ladies who insist on saying 'oh no, not wine for me, i hardly drink' etc etc...i counted at least 14 empty wine bottles on the table at the end of lunch.
there were only 24 of us and two of those were 10 months old and another 9 years of age! i myself polished of a bottle of the rather tasty red in no time. i did mix a little with nice cool, sparkling water to make a rather tasty 'sprizz'.
last night was accompanied by a feisty traminer (jermann) and the splendid 'belvedere' polish vodka. oh there was a little, chewy steak and a touch of salad in there too. a quick strum on the old guitar and then it was off to mestre's newest club, 'cielo', up by the airport.
a pretentious place indeed , all 'hollywoodiana' on the outside, there's even a pool inside and several 'themed' areas. all very nice i suppose, but you just can't make up for a slightly desperate clientele and awful music. also slightly over-bright lighting in areas revealed a sad shabbyness which kind of summed it all up.
does that make any sense?
week after next, off to austria for wolf's next wedding!
wedding last week, stag night next week. in an 'agriturismo' - good home grown food and wine - i may break the odd rule....
we were in an agriturismo, which is basically self-sufficient, family run restaurant in the sticks, yesterday. the speciality of this one in mogliano veneto is musetto, donkey sorpressa(!) and polenta with marjoram. heavy stuff and a very hot venetian day.
we went to celebrate the end of term so it was a rather jolly affair. all those slightly older ladies who insist on saying 'oh no, not wine for me, i hardly drink' etc etc...i counted at least 14 empty wine bottles on the table at the end of lunch.
there were only 24 of us and two of those were 10 months old and another 9 years of age! i myself polished of a bottle of the rather tasty red in no time. i did mix a little with nice cool, sparkling water to make a rather tasty 'sprizz'.
last night was accompanied by a feisty traminer (jermann) and the splendid 'belvedere' polish vodka. oh there was a little, chewy steak and a touch of salad in there too. a quick strum on the old guitar and then it was off to mestre's newest club, 'cielo', up by the airport.
a pretentious place indeed , all 'hollywoodiana' on the outside, there's even a pool inside and several 'themed' areas. all very nice i suppose, but you just can't make up for a slightly desperate clientele and awful music. also slightly over-bright lighting in areas revealed a sad shabbyness which kind of summed it all up.
does that make any sense?
week after next, off to austria for wolf's next wedding!
whiskey and whine
well that's it, have to cut the booze out then.
doctor's recommendation.
could be interesting.
doctor's recommendation.
could be interesting.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
oh dear!
got my blood test results back -high cholesterol and high triglycerides (which is worse). my fear dear reader is that, seeing that i eat a very well balanced and healthy diet, it may be the alcohol!
gulp!
oh the very thought of it! no wine, no whisky....a reduced risk of a heart attack...hmmm...
looks like its finally caught up with me then! perhaps i am not indestructable after all.
gulp!
oh the very thought of it! no wine, no whisky....a reduced risk of a heart attack...hmmm...
looks like its finally caught up with me then! perhaps i am not indestructable after all.
Monday, June 13, 2005
oh joy! ii
i must recommend the ronco del gnemiz bianco bianco delle venezie
but not with those funny, beaded jelly ones from the liquorice allsort collection
that was a grave error
but easily overcome by the thought of...
...whiskyyyyyyyyyy!
goodnight dear reader, ruder and radar, rhonda valley pigeon fancier, rider and rhododendron grower.
remember to listen out tomorrow for the old 'plink, plink, fizz!'
but not with those funny, beaded jelly ones from the liquorice allsort collection
that was a grave error
but easily overcome by the thought of...
...whiskyyyyyyyyyy!
goodnight dear reader, ruder and radar, rhonda valley pigeon fancier, rider and rhododendron grower.
remember to listen out tomorrow for the old 'plink, plink, fizz!'
Sunday, June 12, 2005
still up
ahem,
still haven't gone to bed!
been trying to find the italian translations on michael leigh's blog!
!!!
still haven't gone to bed!
been trying to find the italian translations on michael leigh's blog!
!!!
yawn
brain dead
going to bed
struggling for a rhyme for indigestion
is there one for bisodol
that's the queston
still on the floor
and what's more
waiting for nic to come home
i've started this awful poem
should be going to bed
but instead...
no really am brain dead
and going to bed
goodnight dear surfer x
going to bed
struggling for a rhyme for indigestion
is there one for bisodol
that's the queston
still on the floor
and what's more
waiting for nic to come home
i've started this awful poem
should be going to bed
but instead...
no really am brain dead
and going to bed
goodnight dear surfer x
Saturday, June 11, 2005
ooh juy! Bork Bork Bork!
and now in a very bad swedish accent!
ooh juy! ooh juy!
i hefe-a joost receeefed es a geefft:
oone-a cese-a ooff 'beeuncu beeuncu delle-a fenezeee' (runcu del gnemeez, a neece-a leettle-a feenyerd in freeooli, roon by zee sleeghtly freeghtenning serena.
oone-a cese-a oon 'estruse' (peecu meccereeu, mumberoozzu peeemunte-a), fresh und a leettle-a lemuny!
a neru d'efula - peeun deee cembelee
a merlut - peeun deee seleeci, seecilia.
und a cese-a ooff meeni bottles ooff delmure-a vheesky - pucket seeze-a!
tuneeght i em sempleeng zee rezeer frooeety juys ooff a bottle-a ooff istrusa. deenner thees ifeneeng ves reecutta un speenech cunnelunee.
frum zee soopermerket! neec is eta veddeeng du et sume-a funcy feella i em bebyseetting und still tryeeng tu sheke-a ooffff a rezeer feeciuoos vheesky hungufer.
cun't theenk ooff unytheeng ilse-a fur zee mu.
ve-a hefe-a fuoond a noo epertment, boot thet's a deefffferent eetry
pusted by Elun Bovmun et 11:29 PM 0 cumments
ooh juy! ooh juy!
i hefe-a joost receeefed es a geefft:
oone-a cese-a ooff 'beeuncu beeuncu delle-a fenezeee' (runcu del gnemeez, a neece-a leettle-a feenyerd in freeooli, roon by zee sleeghtly freeghtenning serena.
oone-a cese-a oon 'estruse' (peecu meccereeu, mumberoozzu peeemunte-a), fresh und a leettle-a lemuny!
a neru d'efula - peeun deee cembelee
a merlut - peeun deee seleeci, seecilia.
und a cese-a ooff meeni bottles ooff delmure-a vheesky - pucket seeze-a!
tuneeght i em sempleeng zee rezeer frooeety juys ooff a bottle-a ooff istrusa. deenner thees ifeneeng ves reecutta un speenech cunnelunee.
frum zee soopermerket! neec is eta veddeeng du et sume-a funcy feella i em bebyseetting und still tryeeng tu sheke-a ooffff a rezeer feeciuoos vheesky hungufer.
cun't theenk ooff unytheeng ilse-a fur zee mu.
ve-a hefe-a fuoond a noo epertment, boot thet's a deefffferent eetry
pusted by Elun Bovmun et 11:29 PM 0 cumments
oh joy!
oh joy! oh joy!
i have just received as a gift:
one case of 'bianco bianco delle venezie' (ronco del gnemiz, a nice little vinyard in friuli, run by the slightly frightenning serena.
one case on 'estrosa' (pico maccario, mombaruzzo piemonte), fresh and a little lemony!
a nero d'avola - pian dei cembali
a merlot - pian dei salici, sicilia.
and a case of mini bottles of dalmore whisky - pocket size!
tonight i am sampling the rather fruity joys of a bottle of estrosa. dinner this evening was ricotta an spinach canneloni.
from the supermarket! nic is ata wedding do at some fancy villa i am babysitting and still trying to shake off a rather vicious whisky hangover.
can't think of anything else for the mo.
we have found a new apartment, but that's a different entry
i have just received as a gift:
one case of 'bianco bianco delle venezie' (ronco del gnemiz, a nice little vinyard in friuli, run by the slightly frightenning serena.
one case on 'estrosa' (pico maccario, mombaruzzo piemonte), fresh and a little lemony!
a nero d'avola - pian dei cembali
a merlot - pian dei salici, sicilia.
and a case of mini bottles of dalmore whisky - pocket size!
tonight i am sampling the rather fruity joys of a bottle of estrosa. dinner this evening was ricotta an spinach canneloni.
from the supermarket! nic is ata wedding do at some fancy villa i am babysitting and still trying to shake off a rather vicious whisky hangover.
can't think of anything else for the mo.
we have found a new apartment, but that's a different entry
Thursday, June 09, 2005
a for effort, b for the storm, c for miles, d for rent....
egad! i am knackered!
it's nearing the end of the academic year and i'm trying to clear up all of the odds and sods that i really should have done by now, then there are the reports to write, proofread those of colleagues, correct the english teacher's grammatical errors, copy and give out, prepare for the disgruntled parents who refuse to accept that little mario* does have psycho/sociopathic tendencies, refuses to eat school dinners, still wets his pants and is fundamentally as thick as pork shop mustard.
well just finished the last report (and spent the past 2 hours battling to configure a new anti-virus/internet protection thingy - the internet protection was very secure, it wouldn't let me connect to the internet! safer than that.......?)
time for a large slug of cabernet sauvignon of local provenance (sp?)
cin cin dear reader!
yours Frank Cabernet XXX
*edoardo's name has been changed to mario for reasons of general privacy and the protection of minors act.
it's nearing the end of the academic year and i'm trying to clear up all of the odds and sods that i really should have done by now, then there are the reports to write, proofread those of colleagues, correct the english teacher's grammatical errors, copy and give out, prepare for the disgruntled parents who refuse to accept that little mario* does have psycho/sociopathic tendencies, refuses to eat school dinners, still wets his pants and is fundamentally as thick as pork shop mustard.
well just finished the last report (and spent the past 2 hours battling to configure a new anti-virus/internet protection thingy - the internet protection was very secure, it wouldn't let me connect to the internet! safer than that.......?)
time for a large slug of cabernet sauvignon of local provenance (sp?)
cin cin dear reader!
yours Frank Cabernet XXX
*edoardo's name has been changed to mario for reasons of general privacy and the protection of minors act.
Monday, June 06, 2005
tiddlio pommio vecchio fagiolo!
busy preparing a rather non-italian focaccia. tomato, onion, aubergine, garlic, a little sage, oil, speck and the last of the cheddar cheese we got brought from england.
now the dilemna is..
red or white,
merlot or chardonnay?
hmmm..oh the chardonnay's warm, yak! it'll have to be the merlot. a casa defra from (collio)
sniff, sniff, oh i think it's nearly ready.
OH! nic's found a bottle of very chilled soave (cielo, from the veneto, around vicenza i think - v. cheap!) in the fridge, ahem cellar i mean.
tiddley pom (tiddlio pommio)
now the dilemna is..
red or white,
merlot or chardonnay?
hmmm..oh the chardonnay's warm, yak! it'll have to be the merlot. a casa defra from (collio)
sniff, sniff, oh i think it's nearly ready.
OH! nic's found a bottle of very chilled soave (cielo, from the veneto, around vicenza i think - v. cheap!) in the fridge, ahem cellar i mean.
tiddley pom (tiddlio pommio)
aaaarrrgghhh! and grrrrraaaaaaeeeaaarrgghhh!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarr
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's been a bloody awful day today
i am too pissed off to write at the moment
stupid people, stupid people, stupid people!
i sometimes wonder why i bother. i work hard i put up with an awful lot of crap and i run around like a blue-arsed fly trying to make sure everything's ok.
and for what?
grief!
oh and a small amout of cash.
I am seriuosly disillusioned today, i have invested a lot of time and energy in the school, put up with no resources, no staff, incompetence, selfishness and a third class salary. oh and as a bonus i get treat like shite.
well this worm is going to turn matey, believe me!!
bah!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarr
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggg
ggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's been a bloody awful day today
i am too pissed off to write at the moment
stupid people, stupid people, stupid people!
i sometimes wonder why i bother. i work hard i put up with an awful lot of crap and i run around like a blue-arsed fly trying to make sure everything's ok.
and for what?
grief!
oh and a small amout of cash.
I am seriuosly disillusioned today, i have invested a lot of time and energy in the school, put up with no resources, no staff, incompetence, selfishness and a third class salary. oh and as a bonus i get treat like shite.
well this worm is going to turn matey, believe me!!
bah!
Friday, June 03, 2005
more teeth vicar 2
i should have counted on the published page, not the 'create' page!
i hate it when that happens.
i hate it when that happens.
bzzzz! aiya! scritch!
sitting in my office
hiding from the sun
i scan the room for mosquitoes
who might bite me on the bum
even with your trousers on
they seem to get right through
and an itchy bot in front of the boss
can be troublesome you know!
and here dear reader the phone rang, i have some translating to do, and thus you are saved further verses...
for now!
hiding from the sun
i scan the room for mosquitoes
who might bite me on the bum
even with your trousers on
they seem to get right through
and an itchy bot in front of the boss
can be troublesome you know!
and here dear reader the phone rang, i have some translating to do, and thus you are saved further verses...
for now!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
more teeth vicar?
not 30 seconds ago i was fighting that battle - the one where you finaly decide to get off your backside and go and put the kettle on, then come back to finally start the thing you've been putting off all night, but just as you tery to start you begin to hear the kettle...
... and the sound makes you wonder (*) whether there was actually any water in the kettle but you decide to leave it for a while. Then the sound gets a little more worrying so you drag you sweaty carcass back into the kitchen where you find that the kettle is in fact half full.
(*)when yo do finally settle down again the kettle boils around here and the rusted up, decommissioned and left in the locomotive sheds, train of thought you had left and it takes you about ten minutes to write a further 6 1/2 lines.
... and the sound makes you wonder (*) whether there was actually any water in the kettle but you decide to leave it for a while. Then the sound gets a little more worrying so you drag you sweaty carcass back into the kitchen where you find that the kettle is in fact half full.
(*)when yo do finally settle down again the kettle boils around here and the rusted up, decommissioned and left in the locomotive sheds, train of thought you had left and it takes you about ten minutes to write a further 6 1/2 lines.
Monday, May 30, 2005
sitting in the fridge and other desires
gripple me nadgers, it's hot today. actually it was hot today, now it's night. it's still hot though. the curse of the sunkissed house. actually it's more like sun-snogged against its will and reluctantly accepting a bit of a feel.
it's too hot to work, and nobody can deny me that excuse. i had the brilliant idea of getting a bit of a skive this morning by taking class four up to the computers, for a bit of internet based research on light and sound.
so up we go, switch on the 11 terminals and find it difficult to see the screens after half an hour for the rivulets of sweat trickling down our brows and into our eyes.
11monitors, 12 kids, roof space room, 30 odd degrees outside, 90% humidity.
..if bains were dynamite i fear i may not have enough to blow me hat off!
a nicely chilled pinot grigio accompanies the home made foccaccia (cheese, garlic and pepper) and salad. don't know whether to drink the win, or tip it over my head.
perhaps i'll just drink it and hold the bottle near my temple for a brief moment.
it's too hot to work, and nobody can deny me that excuse. i had the brilliant idea of getting a bit of a skive this morning by taking class four up to the computers, for a bit of internet based research on light and sound.
so up we go, switch on the 11 terminals and find it difficult to see the screens after half an hour for the rivulets of sweat trickling down our brows and into our eyes.
11monitors, 12 kids, roof space room, 30 odd degrees outside, 90% humidity.
..if bains were dynamite i fear i may not have enough to blow me hat off!
a nicely chilled pinot grigio accompanies the home made foccaccia (cheese, garlic and pepper) and salad. don't know whether to drink the win, or tip it over my head.
perhaps i'll just drink it and hold the bottle near my temple for a brief moment.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
tea beer or not tea beer
cheese on toast (imported extra mature cheddar, oh what a luxury!)
pecorino with chillis
and a bit of asiago fresco
and a couple of splugens! fear not dear reader for it is not an austrian soft drink but a beer of dubious quality.
well perhaps more than a couple...
but bland maaan, blaaaand!
pecorino with chillis
and a bit of asiago fresco
and a couple of splugens! fear not dear reader for it is not an austrian soft drink but a beer of dubious quality.
well perhaps more than a couple...
but bland maaan, blaaaand!
arsenic
last night my surrogate 'niece' gave me a present.
a 6 canvass work, in cruciform showing the sign of the cross, bt in reverse.
luckily i was baptised c of e, am a non believer and most definitely not catholic. there one thinks, dear reader that my chances of excommunication are slim.
perhaps an exorcism may be of some use.
or electro-shock therapy.
or a simple lobotomy...
but not for me though but! oh no dear reader, read dearer, mandrake, goose and/or liver paté.
did he get the right accent there one wonders, won oneders? what accent should it have been typed in six fiveders?
my surrogate niece, who i love dearly is the very talented jelena arsenic. who should be famous just for the name!
a 6 canvass work, in cruciform showing the sign of the cross, bt in reverse.
luckily i was baptised c of e, am a non believer and most definitely not catholic. there one thinks, dear reader that my chances of excommunication are slim.
perhaps an exorcism may be of some use.
or electro-shock therapy.
or a simple lobotomy...
but not for me though but! oh no dear reader, read dearer, mandrake, goose and/or liver paté.
did he get the right accent there one wonders, won oneders? what accent should it have been typed in six fiveders?
my surrogate niece, who i love dearly is the very talented jelena arsenic. who should be famous just for the name!
Friday, May 27, 2005
high moose cheque my spell in
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
etc.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
I really must learn to remember to check my spelling.
etc.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
sad professor's dinner
toasted multigrain bread (sliced from a packet mind you)
scamorza affumicata
and a rather impertinent vipra rossa, a merlot and sangiovese mix from umbria. dry yet full, makes straight for the temples in the way usually only its southern and sicilian cousins do.
not bad for a cheese sandwich, eh?
hard to do this tonight, very busy day - i have more staff off (family reasons - i hope all turns out well for my colleague whose father is ill, i really do. couldn't give a sh-t about work under these circumstances), umbrian plonk impersonating meridionale falling down water, and a massive mosquito who just refuses to leave.
i should be a fucking catholic me, i feel so guilty if i kill a mozzie i actually apologise....
... or should that be a fake buddhist...
or just an english person?
i'm terribly sorry old chap, i fear that i may well just have to jolly well kill you.
more tea major?
scamorza affumicata
and a rather impertinent vipra rossa, a merlot and sangiovese mix from umbria. dry yet full, makes straight for the temples in the way usually only its southern and sicilian cousins do.
not bad for a cheese sandwich, eh?
hard to do this tonight, very busy day - i have more staff off (family reasons - i hope all turns out well for my colleague whose father is ill, i really do. couldn't give a sh-t about work under these circumstances), umbrian plonk impersonating meridionale falling down water, and a massive mosquito who just refuses to leave.
i should be a fucking catholic me, i feel so guilty if i kill a mozzie i actually apologise....
... or should that be a fake buddhist...
or just an english person?
i'm terribly sorry old chap, i fear that i may well just have to jolly well kill you.
more tea major?
song2
ai milanisti!
you're not singing,
you're not singing,
you're not singing anymore!
you're not singing
any...
moooooooore
well done liverpool!
vaffancu berlusca!
you're not singing,
you're not singing,
you're not singing anymore!
you're not singing
any...
moooooooore
well done liverpool!
vaffancu berlusca!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
the windowed secretary..(a song)
window secretary
telephone ordeal
a letter about change
to all
a candlewick's moaning
about teeth cleaning
a battalion of ingrates
picking at your nerves
can we put a window in?
to let the prisoner see the gate
can we put a window in?
as the feedback would be great
a good day in the forest
a bad head on the bus
a rose coloured pheasant
a million stupid questions
plus a hundredweight of fuss
makes for diry tables
and no line.
ab 24/V/05
the tune's better than the words though!
ahem...
telephone ordeal
a letter about change
to all
a candlewick's moaning
about teeth cleaning
a battalion of ingrates
picking at your nerves
can we put a window in?
to let the prisoner see the gate
can we put a window in?
as the feedback would be great
a good day in the forest
a bad head on the bus
a rose coloured pheasant
a million stupid questions
plus a hundredweight of fuss
makes for diry tables
and no line.
ab 24/V/05
the tune's better than the words though!
ahem...
honeyed pork chops in the fluxlist server
honeyed pork chops with lightly curried stir-fried vegtables! delicious and even better as i didn't have to cook! downside was the beer, peroni.
WHAT? i hear you gasp, you have something against italy's premium beer??
no,dear reader, no indeed. i have nothing against that birra bionda, especially when one finds it at 50c a can at the local supermarket. nothing at all, save for the fact that there was but one solitary tin in the old electric refrigerating machine!
:-°
anyway, what fettle? bugger all of late one is afraid to say. work is the usual, home is the unusual (they're crawling! may the gods help us all!) and all is chaos at the FLUXLISTAdmin Centre. 'twould appear that fluxlist has been temporarily banned from the server providing the admin services so i can't subscribe anyone or rectify problems....
...rectify...
always makes me smirk that word...
anywayhowroad dear reader, i did try to tell you that nothing had happened and still you chose to read on...
my apologies
WHAT? i hear you gasp, you have something against italy's premium beer??
no,dear reader, no indeed. i have nothing against that birra bionda, especially when one finds it at 50c a can at the local supermarket. nothing at all, save for the fact that there was but one solitary tin in the old electric refrigerating machine!
:-°
anyway, what fettle? bugger all of late one is afraid to say. work is the usual, home is the unusual (they're crawling! may the gods help us all!) and all is chaos at the FLUXLISTAdmin Centre. 'twould appear that fluxlist has been temporarily banned from the server providing the admin services so i can't subscribe anyone or rectify problems....
...rectify...
always makes me smirk that word...
anywayhowroad dear reader, i did try to tell you that nothing had happened and still you chose to read on...
my apologies
hi ate us her knee aarggh!
well then!
here we are again, finally i have found time to log in and realise that i have in fact nowt to say, nowt of any interest anyway.
busy week, had 'grandad' and 'great nana' here - good stuff, nice to have the company and the help. got the chance to go to venice for a trip around all the 'baccari' and osterie, me, 'grandad' and a couple of the lads. much wine was drunk, drank and drinked, polpettas, baby octopus, sardines of all sizes and recipes, artichoke hearts, baccala' and prawns eaten, eated and ate. 'sbeen a long time since i've had the time to get to venice for a night out. lad, did we make up for it.
pity i can't remember what we ate that well and the range of wines was broad and cheap!
dinner tonight was left over
the beauty of the alhambra is extraordinary, the exquisite tilework, its playful use of water and light...)
chicken chasseur, washed down with an obstinate little merlot, which i fear i am having to attempt to wash down with the old stravecchio branca.
it's mind boggling to contemplate what the loss of spain meant to islam.
i went to school with islam, i didn't even know he owned spain! he didn't even collect 'soccer stars'! newcastle was dead solid to complete.
got, got, got, got, got, got, need, got, got, got, got, need,got, got, neeeeed.
ah gan on man swapsies! two asa hartfords for tommy craig!
apparently god is light.what like miller?
did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, imsomniac?
.
.
.
.
.
he lay awakew all night wondering if there really was a dog!
boom boom.
here we are again, finally i have found time to log in and realise that i have in fact nowt to say, nowt of any interest anyway.
busy week, had 'grandad' and 'great nana' here - good stuff, nice to have the company and the help. got the chance to go to venice for a trip around all the 'baccari' and osterie, me, 'grandad' and a couple of the lads. much wine was drunk, drank and drinked, polpettas, baby octopus, sardines of all sizes and recipes, artichoke hearts, baccala' and prawns eaten, eated and ate. 'sbeen a long time since i've had the time to get to venice for a night out. lad, did we make up for it.
pity i can't remember what we ate that well and the range of wines was broad and cheap!
dinner tonight was left over
the beauty of the alhambra is extraordinary, the exquisite tilework, its playful use of water and light...)
chicken chasseur, washed down with an obstinate little merlot, which i fear i am having to attempt to wash down with the old stravecchio branca.
it's mind boggling to contemplate what the loss of spain meant to islam.
i went to school with islam, i didn't even know he owned spain! he didn't even collect 'soccer stars'! newcastle was dead solid to complete.
got, got, got, got, got, got, need, got, got, got, got, need,got, got, neeeeed.
ah gan on man swapsies! two asa hartfords for tommy craig!
apparently god is light.what like miller?
did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, imsomniac?
.
.
.
.
.
he lay awakew all night wondering if there really was a dog!
boom boom.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
blog off
bah! rats! phooey!
i have been too busy to write anything here for a goodly while, work babies and other family members etc.
maybe toworrow....
i have been too busy to write anything here for a goodly while, work babies and other family members etc.
maybe toworrow....
Sunday, May 15, 2005
long live the packet mix
tonight we had moroccan style chicken thanks to a packet mix imported from the uk and garlic and stracchino focaccia. which is a particularly unusual menu - 'dinner alla fridge'!
tony "are there any rules?"
vicar "yes, anywhere as long as it's not on consecrated ground."
with a rather pleasant merlot.
two large gold watches have inhibited further keyboard/digit interraction
and if you only knew just how long it took to write that!
tony "are there any rules?"
vicar "yes, anywhere as long as it's not on consecrated ground."
with a rather pleasant merlot.
two large gold watches have inhibited further keyboard/digit interraction
and if you only knew just how long it took to write that!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
aw shucks!
i have been touched and, i must admit, somewhat surprised by the fact that people have actually been reading this blog.
the mind bloggles.
and\ they even leave comments!
thanks ML/AR/DB
the mind bloggles.
and\ they even leave comments!
thanks ML/AR/DB
high spirits and other things...
well then, i went to the doctor this morning and it turns out that amongst other things i've got high blood pressure. but surely not! i am waaayyyy too young for that sort of thing.
hmmm, 'twould appear not. anyway it explains a lot and means that at least i don't have asthma.
°°°75% of young italians who are involved in serious road accidents have parents who have caused or been involved in serious road accidents.°°°
anyway, i no longer smoke, don't use salt and rarely use it to season, my beer intake is minimum (wine and whisky is another matter though but), i'm careful around fatty foods (they can ruin your shirt), don't own a butter dish and use only extra virgin olive oil (which is lovely but very hard to get the top off!)
what the hell do i give up? STRESS!? oh yes please, get me away from that school and those bloody stupid parents. mass hysteria (appropriate one supposes for a catholic country) abounds! children are falling over in the playground and parents are threatening lawsuits! unbe-effing-lievable!!!! they are getting out of control here, but that's perhaps another blog. what people tend to forget is that; state school is obligatory, our private school is not. parents choose to send their children to us (thank goodness!) however, just as they have the right and opportunity to request enrolment with us, we have the right to say no and to send kids packing if they don't tow the line.
me, i'd keep the kids and expel the parents! especialy those who send their kids to our english primary and middle school (in italy), with its british educational philosopy and methodology and then demand we change our programmes, curriculum and teaching methods because it's different to what they did 30 years ago in the italian state system and anyway they don't speak/understand english so can't follow what their child is doing in class.
°°°here take my car signora.°°°
tiddley-pom.
hmmm, 'twould appear not. anyway it explains a lot and means that at least i don't have asthma.
°°°75% of young italians who are involved in serious road accidents have parents who have caused or been involved in serious road accidents.°°°
anyway, i no longer smoke, don't use salt and rarely use it to season, my beer intake is minimum (wine and whisky is another matter though but), i'm careful around fatty foods (they can ruin your shirt), don't own a butter dish and use only extra virgin olive oil (which is lovely but very hard to get the top off!)
what the hell do i give up? STRESS!? oh yes please, get me away from that school and those bloody stupid parents. mass hysteria (appropriate one supposes for a catholic country) abounds! children are falling over in the playground and parents are threatening lawsuits! unbe-effing-lievable!!!! they are getting out of control here, but that's perhaps another blog. what people tend to forget is that; state school is obligatory, our private school is not. parents choose to send their children to us (thank goodness!) however, just as they have the right and opportunity to request enrolment with us, we have the right to say no and to send kids packing if they don't tow the line.
me, i'd keep the kids and expel the parents! especialy those who send their kids to our english primary and middle school (in italy), with its british educational philosopy and methodology and then demand we change our programmes, curriculum and teaching methods because it's different to what they did 30 years ago in the italian state system and anyway they don't speak/understand english so can't follow what their child is doing in class.
°°°here take my car signora.°°°
tiddley-pom.
Friday, May 13, 2005
...................................................................................................................
i wonder if this blog will improve or worsen when i go back on medication.
urghh! i don't like that word. smacks of people with real problems and/or people who think it sounds groovy!
i sometimes think that it would be better if i were manic or just plain crackers, at least there's someting more than a slight chemical imbalance that f...s up your day. but then again i don't really.
i would like to feel better, permanently.
after a couple of years reading up on it it's obvious that i have tourette's syndrome and ADD, the strange thing is that the concentration problems developed in my late teens not as a child, i have too many of the symptoms of TS for it to be anything else. i even had about half of an extensive tic list, which is a real pisser.
the hard thing is getting diagnosed which i have to do to put my mind at rest. i sort of hope i've got it! it'll put a name and a reason to 30 years of suffering and embarassment. more importantly though i NEED to know, there is a 50% chance that TS sufferers will pass on the syndrome to their children. i pray to the great gods of valhalla that this doesn't happen, but if it does i don't want the boys to go through what i did as a child, when no one could explain what was wrong with me. not that there's anything to be done, but understanding and support is important.
bloody hell! what a miserable posting... scroll down and look at tha pink jeans. i think the benetton design team are a band of very digruntled employees or there is some major betting going on.
urghh! i don't like that word. smacks of people with real problems and/or people who think it sounds groovy!
i sometimes think that it would be better if i were manic or just plain crackers, at least there's someting more than a slight chemical imbalance that f...s up your day. but then again i don't really.
i would like to feel better, permanently.
after a couple of years reading up on it it's obvious that i have tourette's syndrome and ADD, the strange thing is that the concentration problems developed in my late teens not as a child, i have too many of the symptoms of TS for it to be anything else. i even had about half of an extensive tic list, which is a real pisser.
the hard thing is getting diagnosed which i have to do to put my mind at rest. i sort of hope i've got it! it'll put a name and a reason to 30 years of suffering and embarassment. more importantly though i NEED to know, there is a 50% chance that TS sufferers will pass on the syndrome to their children. i pray to the great gods of valhalla that this doesn't happen, but if it does i don't want the boys to go through what i did as a child, when no one could explain what was wrong with me. not that there's anything to be done, but understanding and support is important.
bloody hell! what a miserable posting... scroll down and look at tha pink jeans. i think the benetton design team are a band of very digruntled employees or there is some major betting going on.
the family crest of my mam's, mam's family. colquhoun. my mam is quite chuffed about the whole clan thing and i can understand that, you can trace your name back to a definite place (including in time). she has discovered little about our colquhoun ancestors, BUT dear reader she has discovered that we are descended from isaac tucker of isaac tocker and sons, brewers!! the brewery was down gateshead and at one time was quite a big affair eventually bought out by courage or whitbread, iìm not sure which. see it's in my blood! i found an old tucker's brewery bottle on a stall in durham market once, it felt strange finding a piece of my family's distant past......
Thursday, May 12, 2005
random pics
sitting trying to take my mind of the fact that i have to be at the doctors at 8a.m. tomorrow, and that i've got so much to sort out that i'm going to have to write a list, i decided to go through the memory card on my mobile phone. there were many photos dear reader. these are some of them. there are some good ones but they've got j & d on them and i don't really want to post them.
anyway.....
anyway.....
he got those, "sitting on an uncomfortable plastic chair dressed as spiderman playing an unamplified acoustic guitar whilst his classmates from the music school shout along to a badly set up midi keyboard on a freezing sunday morning in the piazza outside the church whilst every one else he knows is way across the other side of the street, and that includes his grandparents, drinking mulled wine" blues
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