Go - 50 Years Since Apollo 11 Lift Off

Sunny days can lift your spirits, and we have a sunny day this morning and hopefully it will be like that all day. Yesterday, without making any particular effort I did over 20K steps (6 Miles). I walked into work for the first time in a while and had to walk round town a bit so that's where it came from, but it was really no great effort on my part. That is really the best way to do things, so they are either part of the norm , ideally pleasurable and afterwards you can feel satisfied with what you have done.

One thing I keep noticing is spelling or grammatical mistakes in my posts and tweets but they seem to have been done by autocorrect but there is also the possibility that I have made the mistake, but I know what I wanted and intended to write and that is not what is in front of me.

Today is fifty years since Apollo 11 was launched and sent the first men to the moon.Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, but you got to feel for Mike Collins who just had to stay in Orbit while the other two went down , but you can read more here.

So really it's gotta be something from "The Race For Space" by Public Service Broadcasting and we'll go with the highly positive "Go", which is based on the Apollo 11 mission.

The Oblique Grapefruit

Thanks to reading 2023 I am probably going to end up buying the book "Grapefruit" by Yoko Ono , metamorphosed in 2023 to "Grapefruit Are Not The Only Bombs", essentially a series of instructions to direct people to do things to create radical art or change the world in radical ways. The book consis of "event scores" such as:

"Imagine the clouds dripping. 

  Dig a hole in your garden to 

  put them in.  

   — 1963 Spring"

There is more information here. and a few more event scores here

This reminded me of the "Oblique Strategies" card set by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt (who also collaborated on the cover of "Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy". You can use and online implementation of it here.  , and the first card says "Is It Finished?" the answer , for me, on this post , being "No"

The second card says "Don't Be Afraid To Display Your Talents" so you can see how this could randomly help you in the creation of an artistic piece. I often say to people that for something to be art you just have to say that it is art, and that should cause an effect in the viewer. The effect may be positive or negative but if you have an effect  then the art piece is valid.

Follow the Oblique Strategies link and see where it takes you.

If you want to produce something these two methods may help unblock any mental brick walls, and these are probably just two high profile art aids or directors and they may help with everyday life, not only art.

"Emphasize Repetitions"

So will take the opening song from from "Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy" with an image of the album cover.

EYE LIVE:EVIL EYE

I do like wordplay and it's amazing how much you can rearrange the letters in the name "ELVIS" , so "Elvis Lives" has an anagrammatical pair. I chose the title because I saw a book on one of Fiona's piles called "Evil Eye" and then it set my mind off, as things do, I am easily distracted.

Today has been very much a do nothing day, and I spent a lot of time just listening to vinyl while I did a crossword , Sudoku and read a bit more of 2023. I still feel tired and this week apart from work have an eye test and my annual diabetic review.

As the sun goes down, I do feel really tired for some reason , when I should be rested an energetic. My walking has been fine with 13K done today, but that is hardly very far, not even three miles. So that is definitely not the reason.

So as I titled it EVIL EYE and the started on about Elvis maybe we should have my favourite Elvis song , and I could go on about the Turkish Nazar charm for warding off the Evil Eye.

Then another thought pops into my head , this is post 1985 so what about "1985" by  Wings from the "Band on the Run" album and we'll leave my favourite Elvis song for another time.

Now it is time for bed.

Twitteringmore

Facebook is definitely finished on my phone but I feel I am getting too much political stuff on Twitter, well that has replaced the stuff I used to see and share on Facebook. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it's nice not to let Facebook really track me as such, so no check ins or film sharing as such. I use twitter to share my blog posts as not many people read them on Facebook and Twitter gets me more (robot) attention. Twitter does however open my eyes to a lot of political stuff that I then try and check from other sources, and I do enjoy Mike Harding's posts which are often funny but always with a serious point, and Matt Haig's posts which are always helpful.

I do share the odd positive or funny picture but I am just waiting for my three month ban, as Facebook doesn't play by it's own rules.

I don't know if this will be a short or long post, but I got a couple of classical vinyl albums today (Bizet's "Carmen highlights" and Elgar's "Enigma Variations") from a charity shop and hopefully that will satisfy my vinylisation for a while. IT is good to just put and album on with no remote option and let it play, and that applies to classical and contemporary albums.

I also need to mention this is post 1984 and 1984 was the year my youngest daughter Kirsty was born and she has turned out to be talented, well adjusted , sensible with a reasonable taste in music, books and media , taking after her elder sister Juliet in many respects while being chalk and cheese in some areas. However as sisters and daughters they are as perfect as you could expect.

While I love "Carmen" I also love "Carmen (L'Oiseau Rebelle)" Malcolm McLaren's "Fans" , his take on the theme from Bizet's opera, which is a much harder edged piece but extremely listenable and that's what we shall go with.

Control

I've mentioned how not having control of a situation can make you stressed. Manty times part of that is caused by not knowing what is causing the situation. So I have a bad leak in the spare bedroom , right above where the bed is. So I know the roof is leaking and I can't get in touch with my roofer. Last night I took the plunge and went into the attic and saw exactly what was happening. I can't do anything about it but I can now tell the roofer exactly where he needs to target. The attic is not a great place to navigate and one slip will see you dropping through the ceiling. Need to think about getting flooring in there, but that's for another day.

So I am (for me) whizzing through 2023 , it is very stream of consciousness and random ideas and will definitely not be to most people's tastes , but I am enjoying it. It's not something that is destined for the Charity Shop immediately, but how many books do you keep and never reread. I have quite a lot , and think , really I should let them go , I will never read them again and someone else could benefit. I have multiple copies of "Lord of The Rings" and "The Hobbit" , now there should be really no need for more than one copy of a book.

Similarly with albums although since music became digital multiple copies of exactly the same song (not counting remixes) is the norm. I remember the shock of discovering I had some Bay City Rollers songs. While "Keep On Dancing" (one of their early singles) and their covers of "Rock'n'Roll Love Letter" and "It's A Game" were good I had no desire to add the Bay City Rollers to my collection... but there they were on the soundtrack of "The Filth and The Fury" the julian Temple feature about The Sex Pistols.

So I found a "live" performance by The Bay City Rollers featuring two of their best cover.

Phlox Redondo

Two unrelated words that came into my head today, I haven't a clue why but it's always good to put together unrelated items to see what happens , assuming there's no danger and you know what your are doing. So it's not a good idea to drop phosphorus into water but Phlox (Greek for "Flame") is a genus of plant and Redondo because of the reggae based Patti Smith song "Redondo Beach" from her debut "Horses".

I found a live take from Stockholm in 1976 and there's a tour of the actual place here.

The weather is still hot and muggy and the house heating is decidedly off. I have it at 19° though I hear of people who's norm is 25° to 30° so I must be a naturally cold person.

So just wanted to share those two words with you on this Friday night, have a good one.

Not The Worst (Good Things ARE Happening)

This morning I was feeling to apathetic, lethargic to even have a shower, but it has to be done, like taking medication. Over the last week I have noticed myself forgetting things, just very briefly like taking my tablets and just as I'm about to go out I remember. The thing is we all forget things and the fact that I always DO remember actually confirms the confidence I have in myself.

Yesterday I was trying to do something , following all the correct steps and the software was just ignoring the parameter I was supplying. After narrowing the fault down to the software (it was to produce an email with a subject line but was ignoring the subject parameter) I wondered if it was just ignoring the first parameter and would it take a second subject. It did. So working that out showed I do know what I'm doing (there was nothing in the documentation).

It is a grey day but we can expect sun and (maybe the odd shower). Fiona is doing her first mighty hike this year for MacMillan Cancer Support and if you want to drop a few quid in go here. , so the fact that people are doing things for others is a great thing, and it is Friday.

Given that Chris Hawkins played the record on 6Music and Fiona is raising money to help Cancer sufferers and it is Friday , we go with " It's Yer Money I'm After Baby" by The Wonder Stuff.

Pure synchronicity ... and that is good and spirit raising.

Also this is post number 1981 and the year 1981 is the year in which my daughter Juliet was born so if I can remember things like that (admittedly very important but that's another good thing, and I love catching up with Juliet and Kirsty whenever I can)

Now time to go out, all tablets taken 😀👍 oh that's that's the first time I've used an emoji in a post !!
 

Not The Best

Today I thought I was getting a lie in as they burglar alarm service team were coming. They did ... late ... and will be charging me for a new battery as they only last five years. Prior to that a serious roof leak reappears soaking a mattress and sheets and I am trying to get the person who should have fixed it to fix it..

This is what causes stress, when something affecting you is out of your control. Because of that I didn't go to the Queercastle finale party even though it was only six to nine with people I like to see, although I wasn't missed.

The day has been muggily hot so not comfortable at work. There's been rain and sun but I managed to get some stuff done at work then left phone messages about the roof.

I then watched some catch up TV finishing off with Janelle Monáe and The Cure's Glastonbury sets.

It's still hot and muggy so I hope to be able to sleep.

A work colleague recommended the Youtube Subliminals for weight loss and other things but the rten hours of rain sound is very relaxing although at odds with what is happening to my roof ate the moment. I listened to a few ten minute ones and an hour of the rain this morning , may download some as MP3s to listen to when walking into work.

So what music should we have,  Last night I listened to "Go" by Stomu Yamash'ta and it's one of my many favourite albums, so we'll have a live take of "Crossing The Line" featuring Stevie Winwood from the album.

Sleep  well.

Truly Original

Can anything be truly original.?

This question is usually asked about art forms and will have been debated and answered by people far more qualified and intelligent than I. If you ask the question on Google you get this list but I am just going to put down a few of my thoughts on this.

The question came into my head last night and I started wondering about it.

Science (I know that's a huge umbrella) is probably the main area where someone can be truly original in methods for discovering existing things and creating new ones, but it still works within an existing framework.

Religion is usually based on some kind of moral code with an off world figurehead and an on world leader group. AGain based on a defined framework.

Then we come to art. Thom Yorke once said Radiohead were going to dispense with melody, but I still hear tunes in their work. Surrealism takes us away from the norm but it still anchors itself in familiarity. If it didn't you could not connect with a desired audience.

That is usually the point of everything, is to share and connect in some way, whether to benefit, control or make money.

Sometimes simple board games require true originality (I'm thinking Edward De Bono's "L" game), but again they start with the defined framework of a board.

All art is a rearrangement of existing letters of the alphabet and grouping them into words, and in music you have a set number of notes augmented by sounds from nature and electronic devices , and as soon as it becomes liked it becomes familiar and becomes part of the framework.

This is just a few thoughts with no real conclusion and is not very original but I just wanted to put this down.

For some reason Roxy Music's second album "For Your Pleasure" has come to mind and while I was thinking firstly "Editions of You" with Brian Eno's synthesiser sol , I then ping ponged between the sinister title song and "The Bogus Man" and I will go for the latter with the 2011 tour visuals.

Things

This week I decided to see my friend Krista so messaged her as I hadn't seen her for a while. She messaged me back and asked if we could meet at six. My first thought was that I was going to to be leaving work at 4:30 and wanted to go home, but thought so be stupid and decided to stay at work another hour so I could catch up with Krista. It was a half hour drink together in the Tyneside and she told me of a film she had been to see and invited me to Queercastle - Nocturnal Novocastrians closing party on Thursday , but it is on all week. so that will be a great thing to visit this lunchtime.

Then I woke up to my biggest ever Discogs order, it may not come off because of postage but we shall see.

I think the point of this is whenever you see an opportunity take it. A half hour chat with a friend can really make your day, whenever you do it, so if you get the opportunity take it.

I came home made my tea (Curried Chickpeas , Fish Fingers and Alphabites due to a Co Op offer though the Chickpeas came from Medina whire I mistakenly picked up a bunch of Mint instead of Coriander - how useless am I at times?).

I then watched the last two episodes of Waco  which to me had just been a suicide cult, however if the series is to be believed this was a group led by David Koresh who was a nutjob , but incredibly intelligent and potentially very dangerous but this was effectively a vicious attack by the FBI and ATF which resulted in the deaths of 75 people because of gung ho incompetence and cover up. Firing incendiary devices into building after you have filled with tear gas ( remembering there were 25 children in there) shows blatant stupidity and disregard for life. A truly great TV series.

So "Zombie" by Jamie T was on 6 Music , I love that record , a great chorus , so that's what we shall have.

So have an excellent Tuesday everyone.

Before Bed

This is post 1977. There can only be one song, can't there. Is this going to be the shortest post I've ever done?

Well not quite because this was my first ever blog post, and it was fairly short maybe about fifty words (I can't be bothered to count but you can do it yourself.

1977 was the year that punk really got underway. but it started way before that. The Bok sent demos to John Peel , Stiff Records and Rabid Records in Manchester. John Peel said we were primitive , Stiff sent a rejection letter , but Rabid wanted us. It was only when Rabid asked which studio we had recorded it that it dawned on us the reason for Peel's reaction. We'd never seen a studio and recorded direct to 2 track cassette. The single was decided, people stopped talking to be because the bassist said we were going to be on Top of The Pops , then Rabid went bust and the band split.

We formed on a Tuesday and played our first gig on the following Saturday, and it that time we managed to write and learn songs for something like a one hour set, including "Waiting For The Man" , "Gloria", "The Passenger" , "Egyptian Reggae" , "Shot By Both Sides" and the demos on the link above.

One of my favourite guitarists was Ollie Halsall who recommended learning with heavy gauge strings and playing with light gauge strings. What this didn't take into account was the fact that in the heat of the gig they went out of tune almost immediately. After a gig one guy said he was impressed with my in song tuning.

Anyway 1977 was the year of The Roxy , any number of punk bands , many still around now, and off course "1977" by The Clash , the "B" side of "White Riot".

"No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones

 In 1977"

Absolutely brilliant and The rolling Stones are still going but The Clash aren't , two trully great bands

Restart

I've decided to start sharing things on Facebook again (ie Instagram photos) but trying to generally keep it to positive items. If Facebook decide to ban me again there is nothing I can do, there is no option to contest a ban, but it's their club.

This weekend has been varied and busy, yesterday was at Sarah's birthday gathering in North Shields and then I got a friend request from a niece who I have not seen since I was hospitalised with my first bout of ITP in the mid eighties, and though my timeline is gonna look very sparse isn't it. One of the problems is that complaints , bad news and rumour spreads like wildfire while good news is seldom shared but it makes people it touched feel better and if I can do that to one person then it's worth doing.

Today I was thinking I needed to do something, but was feeling a little lethargic , but mowed the lawn, then caught an angry bee in the bedroom (well it was angry in the tube) , but I let it out the window and it went off at some speed.

This week I intend to see a lot of friends including Krista at Kota who I've not seen and Claire at Glamorous Owl who I manage to keep missing, and whoever happens to be about at RPM and Snackwallah and if the queues are low I may try Acropolis another addition to the Grainger Market.

Although I have been feeling apathetic and lethargic I'm obviously not as I've done a lot and have plans to do more. Sometimes you just have to do things and then that makes you feel better.

I was originally going to include Monty Python's "Eric The Half A Bee" (which you can listen to on Amazon or here) but the decided that " Flight of The Bumble Bee" from Tsar Sultan by  Rimsky Korsakov would be more appropriate with this animation. Remember Bees are important to the survival of the human race so always ensure you look out for them, they will only sting you if they have no other option , as it kills them and could very well kill you.

Look after the bees, without their pollination work , plants would not grow and we would very soon be starving.

With that thought have a great Sunday

What Happened To Cyberpunk?

Reading 2023 it definitely falls into the Cyberpunk genre. The Amazon series "Mr Robot" (with Rami Malek and Christian Slater)  was a classic TV example of the genre. I first became aware of it with William Gibson's "Neuromancer" although the film of "Blade Runner" is a possible starting point, although this then harks back to Philip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"..

The reason I ask is that Steampunk seems to be ubiquitous and also seemingly easily defines, although putting cogs on something DOES NOT make it Steampunk. Steampunk is an analogue , non digital world often accompanied by Victoriana and has it's origins in many of the Disney takes on HG Wells stories, but I digress.

How often is Cyberpunk mentioned, or seen as a genre, it's certainly passing me by. It's not that I miss it as such but it seems to be lost under the general science fiction banner. I would love to be pointed in the direction of recent Cyberpunk, and no doubt people will ask me why I haven't noticed "XXXX" or whatever.

So music wise we go with "Love Missile F1-11" by Sigue Sigue Sputnik which fits snugly with the genre.

2023

I've just finished reading "The Silent Companions" by Laura Purcell and while it's not my normal fare  it was fairly creepy and well written , and at the last sentence you don't know whether it was madness or supernatural evil, it is well worth a read it that is your particular taste.

My follow on from this is 2023:A Trilogy by The Justified Ancients of Mu Ma AKA The JAMS (Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) . This seems to have a similar dynamic to "How To Burn A Million Quid" the BBC Radio 4 Podcast about Cauty and Drummond burning a million quid. I wasn't too sure but bought it (along with "The Illuminatus Trilogy" by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson on the back of listening to the podcast. They were wondering about possibly annoying certain artists and corporations but Twitter doesn't have it's name amended.

The book is over 350 pages but I don't think it's going to be a problem as the introduction and initial page set up (among other things) a Mister Robot scenario.

So we got to share some KLF don't we? I found the slower remix of "justified and Ancient" with Tammy Wynette for your enjoyment.

The books are great fun though I thing I will be reading some Matt Haig ("How To Stop Time") after this

Life Is Louder

Was wandering through town today and noticed a lot of people in the street talking ...... to their phones. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, I do it, although some people make sure everyone in the quadrant can hear, it's as though they are shouting to ensure the other persona (and everyone) can hear.

The thing is this is everyone now. Pre mobile phone you used a call box, often at work people had individual offices so calls were private and not broadcast. We hear lots about making sure calls are secure, but lets face it, recording devices have a hell of a range these days.

I never thought it would happen but call boxes are disappearing, sometimes replaced by open boxes with huge advertising screens but really there is not much need for them these days, except when you are out of power or minutes on your mobile.

The thing is this is the way things are going and everyday life will get louder so for the first time I'm going to share some Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark with you with "Talking Loud and Clear".  This is a video I've never seen and also did you know that prior to their final name they were called The Id (namechecking "Forbidden Planet" I think.

Another short post but my third today.

Keep Talking

Went out at lunchtime chatted with a few people I only vaguely knew or didn't know , bought some vinyl, had a vegan curry and talked dub reggae and just feel so much better than I did this morning.

It was great to chat about the frightening state of politics, th egreat food available in the Grainger Market and the King Tubby / Richard Burton mash up with Dylan Thomas' tone poem "under Milk Wood" which you can buy on vinyl here. I have my own copy at home.

I know this is just a tiny, tiny post, but it is always good to get out and talk with people or friends, it can usually lift your mood and it certainly lifted mine today. I know I often just need to rest and sleep and night so mi gigging is going to be more sporadic, but there are plenty of afternoon gigs to fill the days, and I do love these. It's great to come out and have the rest of the evening to watch TV or relax.

So we gotta have the Dubwood All Stars don't we.

No Photographs

One of the annoying thing about the Facebook Ban is that I am now very reticent to share any pictures on Facebook. I've disconnected as, as far as I can, my Instagram Account which means I have now stopped sharing my walks and music on Facebook. I will share my blog posts and really that's it.

The real annoying thing is that I keep getting ads for voucher schemes often featuring girls wearing next to nothing, knowing full well that if I shared this thing that Facebook is shoving in my face it would be a three month ban.

I've reinstalled Facebook Messenger on my phone but Facebook is now reflecting my real life socialising, vitually non existent. This is my choice to reactivate but part of it may be old age and part may be just apathy.

I had a few friends who I would meet up with for lunch or after work, but whenever I suggested anything it was never convenient so I know when I am beaten.

This may sound like I'm on a downer, I'm not, just learning that as people get older they become more set in their ways, socialise in their own groups, and if I do want to meet up with people I need to actually do something that interestes them.

While I always stay positive, and know damned well that I could pick up the phone and speak to a few close friends there is a devil inside that says I can't be bothered. No doubt I will change and get my self out in the near future and in fact I am going to visit two friends this lunchtime. I have decided to just do this and visit The Glamorous Owl , RPM and maybe lunch at Snackwallah.

So what song goes with this, for some reason Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" comes to mind and what's not to like about that.

Contact

I was touched by the comments on Facebook on my first post ban post, although I think a few might just like but not bother reading the blog post. The biggest lesson out of this is not not rely of a Facebook as a single means of contact. Facebook does allow to share an email or phone number. My phone contact list is very big , and my blog gets updated regularly. So if you're worried about me you can email or text me or even phone me (I might not answer but leave a message and I'll get back to you).

This is just talking about me, but also think about how people would contact you if they were worried about you, do you have at least an alternate email of Facebook. My ban included messenger so when people contacted me by Messenger I could see their message but could not answer, luckily one of those friends had an alternate email contact which they also used so I could answer that way.

Last night I watched the film "Buried" 90 minutes of Ryan Reynolds in a coffin with a couple of mobile phones with which he tries to contact various people to try and facilitate his escape. An amazing and intense film. It reminds a little of Tom Hardy in Locke, except this ramps up the claustrophobia whereas Tom Hardy is in a car and not about to run out of power or air. This is the tagline:

"Imagine waking up in the dark and realising that you've been buried alive for reasons unknown to you, with nothing but a lighter, a mobile phone and only 90 minutes of oxygen left. Ryan Reynolds delivers an utterly compelling performance as everyman, Paul Conroy that is filled with fear, frustration, emotion and even a couple of dark laughs along the way."

So this morning we have bright sunshine and the Women's World Cup semi-final between England and the World Champions , the USA to look forward to, so that is tonight sorted for me.

So going with the title of this post we have to go with Edwin Starr's "Contact" don't we?

Where Was I?

I really don't know how to handle weather, if it's too hot I want to get inside and go to sleep, also today is grey and overcast and I would have loved to just stay in bed but it's start of the month and quarter end at work so I really need to go to work.

It looks like I'm unbanned from Facebook though I have a feeling that may only last until I share something. I won't share anything from Instagram, Facebook itself, photo uploads maybe just the posts I do on my blogs, and maybe youtube shares for birthdays but that's going to be a limited set of videos.

I will install Messenger back on my phone so that people can get in touch with me, but if you look at these posts you can see the pathetic bans have served with. One of the best things was that they give the opportunity to dispute the ban but you cannot submit a dispute because you are banned, very Kafkaesque. YOu can see the posts relating to the bans here if you are interested. Have spoken with a couple of people who say they know people who continually get banned for posting explicit content but usually just get a weeks ban.

But I have enjoyed the BBC coverage of Glastonbury, allowing me to enjoy the music without the discomfort, I also watched the finale of Deadwood which was just like an extra TV episode to wrap it up with the same amazing dialogue and acting, also the finale of The Looming Tower which effectively posits that when people don't work together then bad things can happen, a definite must watch. I followed that with Wild Bill with Rob Lowe which contained at least one OMG moment so that could mean another TV series to follow.

So I found a great live take of the The Mekons "Where Were You?", one of my favourite singles ever, for the the people who noticed I was "inactive" on Facebook during this ban.