Somewhat Unusual

Nothing major but I had completed my steps by about two of the clock today without really trying to do any walking, I really wish I could do this every day as part of my routine, so that I didn't really notice I was doing it.

I amd still reading the Jordan Ellenberg book but it is more about poll s and statistics and the only relationship with maths is that numbers are used in both areas .

As I write this I am listening to my favourite Jean Michelle Jarre album "Equinoxe" with an 'e' on the end but he is French in the best possible way. The son of Maurice Jarre the film composer (who is responsible for a hell of a lot of major film scores from "Lawrence of Arabia" to "Ghost") so music runs in the family. I remember seeing the Millenium Concert in Egypt with Giant Penguins and lots of other idiosyncracies (is that the way you spell it, the spell checker seems to be on leave at the moment). I don't know if it's available to buy but I have included the Youtube video , two and a half hours if you have an evening or train journey to spare.

Anyway Todays album of the day was "Ooh La La" by The Faces, while some of the songs are dated by the time "Silicone Grown", "Just A Honky" lyrically dodgy but musically excellent , others stand the test of time very well such as the title track , "Cindy Incidentally" and "Flags and Banners".

So anyway it's time for tea and to finish "Escape From LA" before starting the lastest "American Horror Story". That's my Saturday evening sorted, hope yours is great too.

Habits

We all do things automatically , as a matter of course, like lock the door when we go out , switch off the cooker when we finish cooking , switch off the TV when we've finished watching. I can count on th efingers of one hand (and I am not a mutant) the number of times I have gone back to check I've locked the door, set the alarm or switched the cooker off. I will always go back if I have forgotten keys  / bus pass / money but anything else I trust that I have done it. If you are OCD you don't have that option and I feel every sympathy for everyone with the condition.

Last night I woke up needing to go for a wee (one of the effects of diabetes) , and reached for my glasses , which I couldn't find anywhere. I always put them on my bedside table when I go to bed, but last night they had disappeared . Had some Imp absocnded with them? I went for a wee and looked round everywhere I had been last night before bed, no sign. I got into bed wondering if I had left them on when I when to sleep and they were now somewhere in the bed waiting to be mangled as I rolled over them. I was mystified. I couldn't sleep/ This is OCD except 100% of the time about everything. For me it was "Where the heck are my glasses?". I got up again went to my computer and they were next to my keyboard, I was sure I had looked there before, but at 2am with imperfect eyesight I can understand how I missed them. They went on the bedside table and I got another four hours sleep.

Over the last couple of days while walking my listening has been:

• Primal Scream - Screamadelica (20th Anniversay Edition): Primal just amaze me in the breadth of musical styles they effortlessly cover, they can be The Rolling Stones, they can do country , they can be gospel , they can be baggy. There are not that many bands who can cover so many styles so easily, and it is all on this album.
• Magazine - Maybe It's Right To Be Nervous CD1 : When Howard Devoto left the Buzzcocks he moved away from their pure pop and into a a vicious and suphisticaticated universe as demonstrated by songs such as "Shot By Both Sides" and "Permafrost" on this compilation.
• Al Di Meola - Land of the Midnight Sun: Di Meola is a jazz / rock guitarist , and while I amd not normally a big fan of jass or jazz rock, when I heard this I bought it immediately because it's an amazing mix of melody and skill you seldom hear.

Anyway it is Friday and after the rain yesterday the weekend is upon us. Today looks fairly bright, but today I still have to go to work so I will leave you with Primal Scream's "Loaded" , have a great Friday everybody.

Not Walking

Today was the first time for a long time that theweather has affected my walking. It didn't help that I was feeling really tired this morning despite being in bed by ten last night. It was my friend Lynn's birthday so I walked to hers and dropped off a birthday card before walking across the park to catch the bus. As I'm sitting typing this I have done 6.5K steps so thats;'s above average anyway, although I am still 500 steps short of what my targert will be so I have to do some more walking. This morning in was pouring, now it's like a summer's day so perfect for actually walking , so I should be able to get a few steps in.

The good thing about getting the bus is that I can watch some TED talks (and managed three today) including the one below.

Anyway although I am being relatively lazy , I am sure that I will recoup the steps and listen to lots more albums. I sold another two albums on my Discogs site (it's here if you fancy anything).

I decided to let you have a listed to "Sol Caliente" by Quiet Sun from the album "Mainstream", Phil Manzanera's pre Roxy Music band. I was thinking it was sunny and I always loved the "Sol Caliente" concept, it is not a word you tend to associate with the sun.

Anyway enjoy this gorgeous evening

The Art of Not Getting Up

Strange how when you stop trying to do things you suddenly have the ability to do it.
 I wanted to do fifty posts in August for #August50 but got nowhere near (I think I did about thirty), although to be honest the further behind I got , the more difficult it became to catch up. It's like riding a bike or remembering songs when you are playing live , as soon as you start thinking about it you fall off or forget what you are supposed to be doing. In September we're up to the 4th and this is my eight post already. I know that it will tail off but at this rate I could easily hit fifty for September.

Anyway after yesterday writing about how to get up easily, this morning I feel really tired. It is Monday, I do have to go to the Post Office to pick up a Nirvana box set, I have to go to work , and it's grey outside though not dark, and I was dreaming of being in bed at mid day listening to something on vinyl through a system with a decent thump for the bass subwoofer, then the alarm went off and I didn't want to get up.

I managed (mostly on autopilot) to shower and wash , read some of Jordan Ellenberg's "How Not to Be Wrong: The Hidden Maths of Everyday Life" which is more about statistics and probabilities, and while interesting it's as far from what I consider maths as pilotting and airplane is from riding a bike, and that analogy probably shows how unintelligent I really am. I found a disted read on the Guardian site here if you would like a taste.

Anyway it's ten to seven so time to get myself into gear and maybe a little Nirvana to start the day, withem covering a song from one of my many favourite Bowie albums, "The Man Who Sold The World". Have a great  Monday, I managed to get up , now it's your turn.

So Much For Targets

Well I actually did get a lot done today. I have maintained the step level visiting Newcastle Central STation among other things and am getting the hang of Wordpress , though not as quickly as I'd like. I managed abouth fifteen minutes of "I Frankestein" but it was like everyone was reading from an autocue and while the CGI was excellent the story was so threadbare that I hit the delete button. There is too much good stuff to watch to waste time with things like that.

The new Song of The Salesman site is here but there's another weeks work to do. I want video embedded on the pages just to make things easier for people,

FLK OR KLF?

Anyway I am home now and listening to The FLK (yes that's right) , it is an interesting folk / techno / sample mix, an album so rare it's not even on Amazon so god knows how much it's worth, though it's going from £23 on Discogs whis seems to have replaces GEMM as the global record marketplace.

It's not often that you can't find stuff on Amazon.











Anyway the two albums that I have been listening to today are:

• Airhead - Boing: Second division Britpop (in sales not quality) akin to another of my favourites , The Milltown Brothers, I think they went under the name Jefferson Airhead in the USA, but I this was their only album. "Funny How" was a brilliant single and it sounds as good today as it did then. They were on the excellent Korova label, just look it up and see how good company they were keeping.
• Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City:Almost a modern equivalent of AIrhead although Jit (African) influenced power pop, some amazing songs and a great follow up to their second album.

 Anyway I am now listening to my favourite Kraftwerk song "Ruckzuck" but willshare a Vampire Weekend song for your delectation.

Time for tea now , enjoy your Sunday evening.

#LikeNoOther #9 Frontier Psychiatrist - The Avalanches

I can't remember when I first heard this, but I do remeber wondering what the hell was going on. "Frontier Psychiatrist" from the album "Since I Left You" by The Avalanches takes the listener into a vaguely comedic "Twin Peaks" univers mixing dialogue with samples to produc an amazing piece. I have recognised snippets from it in source songs and it is a real (and pleasant) listening experience.

When the album came out I think there were court cases about the sampling but eventually they gave up and just let The Avalanches have it. All their videos and songs are worth visiting and this is probably the most famous and recognisable.

In 2016 they followed up with "Wildflower" , more similar brilliant cut and paste dance pieces with excellent videos and the lead single was "Frankie Sinatra" which I will also include here, because The Avalanches are truly #LikeNoOther and absolute great fun, and the title of their second album is the same as the name of Wildflower my favourite Art/ Eating space in Tyneside.

Enjoy all of this.

The Art of Getting Up

This morning I really wanted to get up . During the week, I really don't want to get up, maybe because I have to to get up and go to work to effectively fund my life.

It's something that I have to do , but I don't feel it's a decision that I have made, although in reality I have made that decision.

I could choose not to work, but that would mean I probably wouldn't have the finances to actually write this post when I want to , and how I want to and wear I want to .

 It's a trade off, and I choose to do this because I see it as the best option for what I want from life. But I still don't want to get up during the week. I still I have to get up wash, shower, take loads of drugs and injections and then, generally , walk into work.

Today I had a good night's sleep, walk up , had ideas for a couple of blog posts and I actually want to get up. Why? Well there are things I really want to do and am looking forward to doing. The thing is, if you have things to look forward to you will want to get up, even if you have to do things you don't want to do. Here's a list of what I have to look forward to today followed by a W (want to do) , or N (Don't want to do). I know W and N seem odd letters to choose , but I have chosen them for obvious reasons and you now know what I mean. Here's the liset:

• Mow The Lawn (N)
• Two Blog Posts (Including this one) (W)
• Walk 11.5K steps (W)
• Go to the shops for various provision (N) but it will help me walk my steps
• Watch some catch up TV (W)
• Watch some TED Talks (W)
• Listen to another album (W)
• Change the bedding (N)
• Top up The Bird Feeders (W)
• Meet With Friends at The Wildflower Farewell Party (W)
• Phone My Dad (W)
• Take Some Photographs and maybe Instagram them (W)
• Get Song of The Salesman onto Wordpress (W)

So I have a few reasons to want to get up, and really that's what  you have to have to make you want to get up. You need to have reasons. Yes it's nice to lie in bed, but it's a very long time since I was in bed at mid day ... but that could be a reason to get up even though you actually staying in bed.

So the obvious piece for this is "Can't Get Out Of Bed" by The Charlatans, so either stay in bed, get out, do things or relax.