Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts

Saturday, 28 November 2020

Positively Negative


 For the first time in a long time the temperature was negative this morning, according to my Google Pixel -4˚ Centigrade , there was ice on the car windscreens, and it was inviting me to go out for a walk. I did go out tonight and it was 3˚ Centigrade but actually felt quite warm , and it was 7˚ higher than this morning, but we are not in December yet and I'm not sure if Autumn has become Winter yet , although this tells me that the seasons start o, the appropriate Solstice and Equinox days so Winter starts in about three weeks time on the 21st of December.

Normally by this time I am in bed but need to use the alarm on my phone to get me up tomorrow and it was down to 20% so thought thought I would pen a few lines while it charges.I have also watched the second "Borat" movie which is enjoyably subversive and working my way through American Horror Story:Freaks which is excellent but essentially a tragedy about exploitation, when I finish it that will be up to date on all released series of the show.

Some of the music has been rather good although seventies and eighties classics sit oddly with the fifties timeframe of the series, but go well nevertheless.

So musicwise I have been listening to Thin Lizzy , Stats Quo amd Curved Air on vinyl so will go with "The Rocker" by Thin Lizzy which has one of the best blockriffs (that's a riff played with chords rather than notes) you will ever here. Listen and enjoy Thin Lizzy from their Decca years.

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

A Big Freeze


I don't know if it's me getting older or what, but the frosted white cars and rooves and the biting burning cold this morning just made me want to get into the warm again. As a kid I'd be wanting snow and would go out in a T-Shirt and make snow angels. That would definitely not happen today. Is colder or is it just because I am older and more susceptible to the cold. I really don't know.

Another unrelated thing is that we have a new security entry system where I work amd it makes a two beep or three note noise when you go through whatever door or barrier, and those three notes trigger a musical sequence from Jethro Tull's "Passion Play" every time I come in or leave. While I think "Passion Play" is rather good I could do without it playing in my head every time I walk through a security door or barrier. It's an almost Pavlovian reaction to the three notes and it just happens every time.

Last night Newcastle United beat Manchester City 2-1 and my local branch of William Hills were offering 50/1 for that result, but I thought it would just be money down the drain. It turned out that my actual bets were the ones that actually lost . C'est la vie.

The lack of cloud is what's driving the temperature down, though we have had no snow .... yet. So I think maybe I need to share a bit of "Passion Play" with you although "Frozen"by Madonna was a possibility as well as "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" by Bruce Springsteen, but we shall have a bit of "Passion Play" that is not "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" which I featured in this post here.

Friday, 18 January 2019

905


The title is because I saw the time and it's the title of a dystopian Who song from "The Who By Numbers", so obviously that will lead this post. 905 was written and sung by John Entwistle who in my opinion was one of the greatest rock bassists, almost up there with the Motown bassists.

Since Christmas the number of hits per post have gone up slightly although I don't know if I have just been dropped by robots. I find it quite amusing that one of the main refering sites is an esoteric "webcam" site if you know what I mean. I haven't a clue why that should be apart from the same of this blog can be read as Seven Day Sin rather than the Seven Days In which is the initial "mission statement" of the blog which was to record travel, but is now just a diary with an emphasis on music, travel , tech and media.

This year I don't expect to post as much but I do intend to hit 2K posts so that means I need to still do 2 posts every three days.

There is still snow and ice on the ground and it is cold but the sun is shining brightly, and that is always uplifting.

So this is just an inconsequential and short Friday morning post as we speed into the weekend.


Thursday, 17 January 2019

Winter is Coming ... Everywhere


Well it is in my life. The final series of Game of Thrones comes with the Night King bringing Winter and turning the world to Ice. I'm currently revisiting Michael Moorcock's  "The Prince With The Silver Hand" in which a "resurrected" Corum battles the Ice and Winter brought by the Fhoi Myore in a freezing Celtic world, and today started off extremely cold before a minor snow storm brought snow to Newcastle. It's still white and there is Ice on the paths.

I don't think I'll be walking to work tomorrow unless there is a major thaw.

This morning in the cold I was listening to Primal Scream's "Dirty Hits" and they are a truly awesome band taking on any style and making it theirs , from Rock and Roll to Gospel to Krautrock to Metal. While "Autobahn 66" has an obvious nod to Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" it's closer in type to Neu!'s Motorik beat, and that is the one I'll share with you tho their catalogue is a veritable cornucopia of brilliance. I particularly love "Kowalski" with it's reference to the film "Vanishing Point", one of my favourites, and I know how they stop him.

So we shall se what the weekend brings.

Thursday, 25 October 2018

I Smell Winter


There was a red sky last night , and one this morning, so I don't know what that means. It's cold and snow is forecast. I have a feeling that we may be in for some inclement weather. This week it has been dark and windy and not conducive to sitting out on the porch with a drink.

This month my walking has been excellent and I expect to hit the target by Saturday, so almost a week to spare.

I also  have been listening to more Bowie, this time "The Lodger" and again, I am finding it an incredible list, possibly "Yassassin (Turkish for Long Live" is one of my favourites but all the songs are excellent. I just can't believe that one person can be responsible for so much consistenly excellent music, but I am not complaining.

I took th etitle of the post from and excellent Housemartins song which seemed perfect for the time of year, and the video highlights the plight of the homeless and rough sleepers, and it has majorly worsened since this song was released and this video put together.

If you can please support organisations such as Shelter to help get people into accomodation.

Friday, 16 March 2018

Weather Warning


It's cold and wet this morning and there is a YELLOW  SNOW warning!! That was so well named, but it's the weekend so if you are really lucky you don't have to get up at all, you can stay in bed all day, if you want.

I am off to Edinburgh so I'm not even doing a full day today, though that means I need to fit a days work into half a day before I finish today, but this afternoon I will be on a train watching TED talks for an hour or so before hitting Edinburgh Waverley.

There can only be one song can't there? Frank Zappa's "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow". Have a great weekend people.

Saturday, 3 March 2018

Almost Like Christmas


Although the snow is slightly melting it almost feels like Christmas. Then you realise that you have work on Monday, all the shops are open, and there are no presents to open and no Christmas Trees in peoples' windows.

The sky is still grey and featureless. Footpaths are still walkable and today I manage 8.5K steps so I'm only 17K steps down for March which , in theory, I could make up in a day.

The snow is meant to be gone my Monday but it's not showing any signs of retreating at the moment, well maybe it's getting a little warmer and there is a little melting , but this is not the "Killer Winter Weather" forecast by the Daily Express a couple of days back, though I just look at their front page for a laugh these days as ist's either Armageddon weather or some Jeremy Corbyn fake news.

Of course this gives me another excuse to share The Raveonettes "Christmas Song" with you which as you know by now is my favourite Christmas Song ever. Dobbies even used it for a Christmas advert of theirs which is where I first heard it.

Anyway enjoy your SAturday night and we will see what tomorrow brings.

Thursday, 28 December 2017

Getting Colder


This morning I got out of a warm bed , and theough the heating was on I could feel the cold. According to various temperature gauger it's 15º which may be warm to some. It's the shower I managed to get warmed up and once dressed it seems fine now, I know the central heating will do it's job. Fiona is suffering from 'flu' symptoms while still recovering from her op and I think I may now be coming down with a cold, but I will and keep going.

December was when I was expecting to miss my walking target, but with four days to go until the new year I need to do 15K steps to hit my 340K, it theory I could do that today, although it looks very cold outside. I think this will be a day using my headphones as ear warmers. I never liked the in ear headphones, I find them too intrusive and they drop out, which makes me wonder about the Apple wireless ones which have the added benefit of making you look decidely uncooll , like cigarettes, I can really only think of Humphrey Bogart who could look cool while smoking.

Anyway today I am going to try walking into work again, although I may decide to go for the bus if the footpaths are too frosty.

I found an excellent live take of "Slipping & Sliding" by John Lennon which he covered on his "Rock'n'Roll" album, and that may be appropriate for today. Be careful out there everybody.

Tuesday, 26 December 2017

Ice,Ice Baby


I was out for a walk about 6pm tonight and noticed my neighbours and others cars seemeingly iced up. I checked the windscreen of one to make sure it wasn't just condensation, and it was definitiely ice. It has been cold today and is obviously getting much colder. I'm not sure what walking into work is going to be like tomorrow, but I am not looking forward to have to walk on iced footpaths while dealing with cold wind.

At least it's not raining or snowing yet, but who knows what might happen. It has been grey and this sort of weather does bring out the SAD in me, sapping positivity and good feeling. I don't know why but it just does, although I won't let it get me down, and writing about it is one of the ways I actually deal with it.

Anyway the main aim of the break has been to relax, and that is what I have done. Actually I wish I was off for another week, but I know I need to do something that gets me out of the house, and work is a good way of achieving this. I am sure that the werther will improve, and I know the days are getting longer, so there is that to look forward to and that will help kindle the positivity in me.

I've included a short fascinating National Geographic documentary about ice instruments, including some familiar songs , but not "Ice,Ice Baby". Enjoy it , it's very interesting.

Friday, 1 December 2017

Winter Is Here ... The Magic's Back


Today is the first day of winter and I will theme December on #SuddenlyItsChristmas (taken from the title of a Loudon Wainwright III song. Yesterday we had snow as Autumn drew to a close, and today that snow is frozen making it difficult to walk , so I am wearing boots with soles like tractor tyres in the hope that I won't slip and end up on my bum.

Today there is a disco at Kommunity that started twenty minutes ago at 6:30 am so I will visit that before work. I did , and I'm completing this at 9 pm because I didn't want to be late , and enjoyed a vegan breakfast burrito and a coffee before work. The dancefloor was full and I hope there will be more of these events.

Anyway my first set of seasonal songs were on "The Ghosts of Oxford Street" by Malcolm Mclaren , which features a beautiful version of "Silent Night" by Sinead O'Connor as well as many other appropriate songs, but the one I will choose is "Magic's Back" by Alison Limerick, to usher us into this Winter Season.

If you can find the video of the show , it is worth watching, educational and interesting. McLaren's talent is for getting other people to do things (sometimes joining in) with never less than interesting results.

Thursday, 30 November 2017

Weatherworn


Winter starts tomorrow (see here), I have a cold , it's dark and wet and cold outside and snow is forecast. As I've said this is the weather that actually stops me walking. Because of the rain , you need an umbrella , but the wind sometimes makes that difficult, but I know that walking is good for me because it's exercise and helps me control my diabetes, and has significantly caused a huge reduction in my need for insulin , so I have to keep doing it.

I am considering do a #SuddenlyItsChristmas sequence of posts for December but did a similar one in 2013 here , but maybe it's a time for revisiting and it gives me something to aim for , or maybe I will just be lazy and not bother. That sequence was seasonal non standard songs to celebrate Winter and Christmas, so my mind is considering how to theme this and weave it into my daily routine.

Yesterday I was listening to XTC's "The Big Express" , XTC giving us their own unique take on the world , this is a particular muscular take and sondgs like "I Bought Myself A Liarbird" and "Train Running Low On Soul Coal" sounding a fresh as when I first heard them. The opening two songs "Wake Up" and "All You Pretty Girls" announce the album in emphatic form and it keeps up the quality to the end.

So as I brave this last day of Autumn I'll leave you with "All You Pretty Girls" , but check out the whole album , it is excellent.

Thursday, 1 December 2016

The First Day Of Winter



I heard today that today was the first day of Winter. It doesn't seem two minutes since Autumn came upon us. I still haven't cleared the leaves from my back garden, maybe I will get the chance to do that on my return to home. The weather here is cold and foggy, which means I can take photographs and go for walks.

No doubt we will hear predictions of snowdrifts and arctic colds, but I still take my weather predictions by looking out of the window. The weather is a complex beast capable of changing at a moments notice, so I take predictions with a hefty pinch of salt.

Today will be spent in Litton, relaxing and watching some catch up TV, and listening to music. So what else to play but The Housemartins playing "I Smell Winter".

Have a brilliant day my friends.

Thursday, 10 December 2015

Smiles Are Good


Smile
It's dark when you leave for work , it's dark when you get home , but really your day can be improved by smiling at people. A lot of people have been smiling at me over the past couple of days. It could be that Christmas is coming , it could be they are just happy , it could be that something good has happened to them , it could be that I smiled at them . Smiles are infectious, and while bad things are happening in the world , smiling can make you feel much better about yourself and it can have the same affect as a nice bar of chocolate. If you smile you are better to deal with mundanity.





I found the TED talk above but have to include an uplifting song for today below , the incredible Turbolenza soundtracked by The Sound of Guns.

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

You Never Know



Well the threatened Arctic blizzards have not materialised again,  and yesterday was actually quite warm. Today looks just like a normal day, apart from the fact it's still dark (and there's nothing much we can do about that), but at least we get to see the sun rise.

I've chosen "Blanche Com La Neige" by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Kate was mother to Rufus and Martha Wainwright but sadly died of sarcoma in 2010, a great loss to the music world. But enjoy this and track down the McGarrigle's other recordings , as well as the Wainwright's as well.


Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Who's That In A Winter Wonderland?


For December I'm including a seasonal related song every day, but not one that appears on any "Now That's What I Call Christmas" album, although I don't think it's too much of a challenge. Also I want it to be stuff that you can listen to as well. So toady it's the turn of the rather excellent Grandaddy.

While the season was hijacked by the catholic church, it's obviously rooted in pagan worship and really on god is much the same as another, but doesn't stop us practicing goodwill to all men and women, and really it shouldn't be just now but every day of the year.

We should be there for our friends, family and those in need , we should always extend a helping hand , because if we show kindness to others then they will pass that kindness on. Yes there are a few who will try and take advantage, but don't let them spoil the good stuff. Practice lots of hugs with the person nearest you and you will feel great. Have a wonderful night everyone.


Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Snow


Well it's December and we've had the worst snow since I moved here. However could be worse , Scotland have it really bad. Though God knows what will happen when the thaw sets in!!. Worcester's Victorian Christmas Fair didnt seem to suffer too much , though it was very cold.

Still we shall see what the rest of the week brings!!

Monday, 14 December 2009

I Smell Winter





It's dark and rainy , all we need is snow and then winter will truly be here. I was hoping there'd be a video of teh Housemartins' "I Smell Winter" but it wasn't to be so I've put in "Build" instead. A truly wonderful band.