Thursday 5 July 2007

A Round Up And An Apology

I was going through some boxes of old stuff earlier this week and came across an item that has unintentionally made me a liar. And in print!

Yes, in my hugely successful and humourous post, where I informed all my grateful reader about some facts in my life, including one lie. There were in fact two lies. I clearly stated I had never owned a mobile phone, which at the time I believed to be true.

In a box of junk I found the below (right).

(For the sake of scale, I've included a few other 'blogged about' items.)

Can you believe I used to carry that behemoth around in a suit pocket in the late eighties? It weighs more than a laptop. What a moron eh? (hypothetical again, isbw)

Anyway, apologies for lying, and for any distress it may have caused.

~ o ~

The rain 'round these parts has been pretty much constant for the last three weeks and to be honest is getting on my man-boobs. I've stopped listening to Jeremy Vine on Radio Two, but I imagine he's had a phone-in or two on how we are going to cope with constant rain for the rest of lives. Just like he did last June , when we had a couple of weeks of sun. Apocalypse Now. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for reduced carbon footprints and energy efficiency, but I'm not going to start knocking on people door selling Watchtower and asking politely about 'living in end-times'. Not just yet. Anyway I'd get wet.

The hounds of hell are getting a little pissed off with my apathy. Coming regularly to my door and cocking there heads in a 'come-on tosspot' gesture. I usually concur and we're off to the fields.

Usually before we get to the end of the path, the rain will have drenched me or some motorist has spotted my trajectory, and synchronised his speed. We become level at the biggest puddle in the road and.....
Oh well, at least my wetsuit's getting some use.

~ o ~

Watched some films this week. Pan's Labyrinth which has had a lot of flowery things said about it which I won't add to. I really liked, and highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed the Korean Oldboy which was recommended to me. A really satisfying film, with lots of twists and turns, some of which I'm still trying to unravel. It has a few 'hands over the eyes' moments if you're squeamish and quite possibly the worst (probably deliberately) fight sequence ever filmed.

I settled in to watch Bridge To Terabithia for a nice bit of lighthearted and childish fantasy. I was quite enjoying being 'Narnianised'. Unfortunately, the movie takes a sharp left turn about two thirds of the way in, and becomes a completely different film. Quite moving, but a real cut and shut.

Finally, some albums I've been enjoying recently:

Boxer by The National
Travelogue by The Human League
Boys and Girls in America by The Hold Steady
Autobahn (Remastered) by Kraftwerk
The Trials of Van Occupanther by Midlake
Quiet Life by Japan


23 comments:

Clair said...

If you like Fleetwood Mac, you'll love Midlake, and I mean that in a good way. It's a fab album, isn't it? Here in the office, we're liking Mr Hudson and the Library, Passenger and The Rumble Strips a lot.

Gwen said...

Hello

I'm up and running again. Fighting the war on terror at the same time as the war on errant PC's is a tiring game.

These 80's mobiles weren't called "bricks" for nothing and how cool we thought we were as we lugged them about.

Kolley Kibber said...

I bet that phone absolutely set off your double-breasted, padded-shouldered suit and red 'power braces', VS. Last summer we had a 'Come As You Were' party to celebrate 20 years of L putting up with me and my in-car entertainment, and a surprising number of friends had hung on to their vintage mobiles. So, hang on to yours...

You've got two of my perennial favourite albums on the go at the moment - 'Travelogue' and 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids'live on forever in this house.

I saw the splendidly-named 'Mr Hudson and the Library' last year at Leicester Summer Sundae and liked them (though might scale down their use of the kettle-drum if i ever got the chance).

Kolley Kibber said...

Sorry, I meant 'Quiet Life'. Though 'Gentlemen Take Polaroids' gets heard quite a bit here too...

Valentine Suicide said...

Well 'Gentlemen' does contain 'Swing' of course, but I prefer that last remaining rock element that pretty much disappeared after 'Quiet Life'. They pretty much lost me at 'Tin Drum'.

Unfortunately in our office all we're grooving to is the sound of Complaining, Fire Alarms and Conference Calls. Rock n'Roll!

Valentine Suicide said...

I'm also suprised no-one noted the iPod in the picture and denounced me with cries of "Hypocrisy".

Gwen said...

I was more concerned about the fact that there were 2 mobiles in the photo - the 80's one and a more modern one, which means that you have owned not one but two mobile phones in your time.

Gwen said...

Do I get the Miss Marple prize for observation?

Kolley Kibber said...

Everyone will submit to the charms of the iPod eventually. It was only ever a matter of time.

In my office I am currently grooving to the sound of Woman's Hour in the background, and I have decided I detest it and am just getting up to turn it off.

Valentine Suicide said...

Gwen - sorry best I can do is a citation from Big-Chief Eye-Spy and a girl-scout badge. You are correct, but I don't own the other phone. My employer does.

Careful with 'getting up' luv. At your age yo might strain something.

(oooh I'm feeling a bit mischievous today)

Kolley Kibber said...

As a matter of fact, Smarty, I have torn a muscle in my right quadricep and hence I AM actually hobbling somewhat. I tore my muscle because I was out running, being young, swift, deft and nifty. For my age.

Valentine Suicide said...

Did you say young, daft, in-debt and sweaty? My hearing's not what it was. As for your right quadricep, physician, heal thyself!

Kolley Kibber said...

I've got an 'O' Level in Biology (grade B) but we did the kidney that year and not the quadricep, so not much use unless I get renal failure.

Gwen said...

I failed my Higher Biology and have been informed that I got a second complimentary O' Grade Biology. Having 2 O'Grade Biology hasn't helped me any I can tell you. Still don't know my quadraceps from my quadrapeds.

Valentine Suicide said...

I got a CSE grade 3 Gwen, and clip 'round the ear from me Dad. Not too bright, me.

I missed the TdF coverage today, Ol' Bean, but I understand Gert did rather well following a rather messy pickle (technical term). Bradley Wiggins, I notice, has quite an interesting name.

Kolley Kibber said...

Nasty 'pickle', yes - and so close to the line! Zabel, who is strongly suspected of having been the culprit, caused a similar incident a couple of years ago with his technique in the 'bunch'. Plucky little Robbie got through, though - but was no match for the Big Boys on the line. Gert stepped out of line a little by pipping his own Team Leader at the post; not really considered good team etiquette.
Bradley Wiggins continues to shine as a steady, mature young rider. If it's a really weird story you want, the tale of Tyler Hamilton, his ingested unborn 'twin', and his dog 'Tugboat' has much to offer.

Valentine Suicide said...

I'm now curious as to who ingested poor Tyler's unborn twin.

To try and get further up to speed on this ridiculous race, I have just read Tyler's moving tribute to Tugboat

Kolley Kibber said...

The mystery ingester of Tyler's unborn twin was...TYLER!!!
At least that was his excuse when blood which was not strictly his own was found in a sample.

According to Tyler, being devastated by the loss of Tugboat (talk about 'give a dog a bad name'), he'd done something totally uncharactersitic and had a blood transfusion prior to a race. The fact that his blood was a little awry after this was not because it was a 'specially infused transfusion', oh no. It was because Tyler had shared his mother's womb with a twin who mutated and whom he ingested antenatally, and who lives on, in a sense, in Tyler's amazing and unusual blood.

I am not making this up, though I wish I had the imagination to do so.I'd be Edgar Allen Poe's successor.

Valentine Suicide said...

Blimey !
Similar thing happened to my mate Pete. He got bitten by a radioactive spider and.... well, maybe one for another day...

Rob said...

That phone is probably responsible for the vast majority of the carbon nastiness currently choking our poor planet :(

Valentine Suicide said...

Not to worry mate. Live Earth's just been along and put everything back in order..

Kolley Kibber said...

You have to ask yourself: "What Would Tugboat Do?"

Valentine Suicide said...

You had to bring 'Tugs' up again? (rather like an badly ingested twin).

The wound left by his demise has yet to scab...

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