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Good Morning
Jan. 2nd, 2020 08:01 am
Jan. 2nd, 2020
Back To Work
Jan. 2nd, 2020 08:48 amWell, it is back to normal today. Back to work for some people and thus I will heading off to Canterbury soon. Well, Canterbury bus station to pick up my mobile phone from the lost property office. It fell out of my pocket when I went into Faversham for a meal on New Year's Eve. I had not realised this until I got to Spoons. Anyway, I had my meal, rump steak with jacket potato, mushroom and peas, and then when I arrived back home, around five, contacted Stagecoach, using the landline phone and had to leave a message to say what had happened, and then before six, I got a reply from them to say that the bus driver found it and is in the office there at Canterbury bus station.
After that, I will be heading off to Sheppey for a supermarket cafe visit.
After that, I will be heading off to Sheppey for a supermarket cafe visit.
Richard Brautigan "Revenge Of The Lawn" (Canongate)
"The lion as usual took it quite stoically. Having been buried at least fifty times during the last two years, the lion had gotten used to being buried in the back yard.
I remember the first time they buried him. He didn't know what was happening. He was a younger lion, then, and was frightened and confused, but now he knew what was happening because he was an older lion and had been buried so many times.
He looked vaguely bored as they folded his front paws across his chest and started throwing dirt in his face."
The only other book I have read by this Beat-era author is "A Confederate General from Big Sur", but I put a few of his others on my wish list, and eventually bought this one because of the title.
This collection of 62 short stories written between 1962 and 1970, is only 146 pages long. Some of the stories are autobiographical, about playing at shooting down enemy planes as a child during the war, hunting and fishing in the Pacific Northwest as a teenager, and life in San Francisco where he lived as an adult. Others are more fantastical, like the wonderful "A Need for Gardens", an unlikely story about some men burying a lion in their back yard. The very short stories mean that there's a surprise on every page.
A patchy collection, but the high notes are exquisite, so much so that this sits amongst my favourite reads of all time. The short story suits Brautigan's style, and when he waxes surreal it's a delirious delight.
"The lion as usual took it quite stoically. Having been buried at least fifty times during the last two years, the lion had gotten used to being buried in the back yard.
I remember the first time they buried him. He didn't know what was happening. He was a younger lion, then, and was frightened and confused, but now he knew what was happening because he was an older lion and had been buried so many times.
He looked vaguely bored as they folded his front paws across his chest and started throwing dirt in his face."
The only other book I have read by this Beat-era author is "A Confederate General from Big Sur", but I put a few of his others on my wish list, and eventually bought this one because of the title.
This collection of 62 short stories written between 1962 and 1970, is only 146 pages long. Some of the stories are autobiographical, about playing at shooting down enemy planes as a child during the war, hunting and fishing in the Pacific Northwest as a teenager, and life in San Francisco where he lived as an adult. Others are more fantastical, like the wonderful "A Need for Gardens", an unlikely story about some men burying a lion in their back yard. The very short stories mean that there's a surprise on every page.
A patchy collection, but the high notes are exquisite, so much so that this sits amongst my favourite reads of all time. The short story suits Brautigan's style, and when he waxes surreal it's a delirious delight.
Thursday Thoughts
Jan. 2nd, 2020 04:27 pmI have my phone back, unlocked it and is back to normal. Just two missed calls on it anyway. I will endeavour to check before I alight any bus or train on the future, although now that I am back at the mystery shopping stint it normally resides securely in my laptop bag,
Picked up some sandwich shop visits, pub drink only visits and other covert scenarios for the weekend and next week, despite it still bring somewhat quiet. I guess it will not be full steam ahead till next week anyway.
I do have a feeling that January will be a quiet month overall. We shall see.
Picked up some sandwich shop visits, pub drink only visits and other covert scenarios for the weekend and next week, despite it still bring somewhat quiet. I guess it will not be full steam ahead till next week anyway.
I do have a feeling that January will be a quiet month overall. We shall see.
Churning Galaxy
Jan. 2nd, 2020 10:12 pmI love space pics and here is one of a churning galaxy from the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by both NASA and the European Space Agency, is one of the most trustworthy tools for observing distant objects in space. It’s been sending back stunning images for over 29 years now, getting repairs and upgrades along the way, and NASA has chosen a particularly lovely image from Hubble to close out 2019. The image shows the galaxy known as ESO 021-G004, which sits around 130 million light-years from Earth. From our perspective, we see the galaxy at a rather extreme angle, but the heart of the galaxy is still visible enough that astronomers can offer some insights and at its centre is a supermassive black hole. Hubble, which will turn 30 this year, could potentially continue to operate well into the next decade, or perhaps even last until 2040.
(msn news).
The Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by both NASA and the European Space Agency, is one of the most trustworthy tools for observing distant objects in space. It’s been sending back stunning images for over 29 years now, getting repairs and upgrades along the way, and NASA has chosen a particularly lovely image from Hubble to close out 2019. The image shows the galaxy known as ESO 021-G004, which sits around 130 million light-years from Earth. From our perspective, we see the galaxy at a rather extreme angle, but the heart of the galaxy is still visible enough that astronomers can offer some insights and at its centre is a supermassive black hole. Hubble, which will turn 30 this year, could potentially continue to operate well into the next decade, or perhaps even last until 2040.
(msn news).
Joe Harvard "The Velvet Underground and Nico" (33 1/3 Books)
This is an adequate look at the creation of a great album, and I applaud the author for his meticulous citing of sources and avoidance of rumour and innuendo. However, it suffered from too much unnecessary information, particularly Jonathan Richman anecdotes. I realize that Jonathan Richman loves the Velvet Underground and apparently had a connection to John Cale at some point. I’m also guessing that the author knows Jonathan Richman, and seems quite proud of that fact, but really, who cares? Yes, lots of bands and artists are and were influenced by the Velvet Underground. I would have preferred a more thorough examination of the album.
This is an adequate look at the creation of a great album, and I applaud the author for his meticulous citing of sources and avoidance of rumour and innuendo. However, it suffered from too much unnecessary information, particularly Jonathan Richman anecdotes. I realize that Jonathan Richman loves the Velvet Underground and apparently had a connection to John Cale at some point. I’m also guessing that the author knows Jonathan Richman, and seems quite proud of that fact, but really, who cares? Yes, lots of bands and artists are and were influenced by the Velvet Underground. I would have preferred a more thorough examination of the album.
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