May Flies

Well five days into May and I've run out of similar words to numbers and the blog editor has changed significantly, it looks fairly awful as it doesn't reflect what you are going to post , but there is a preview option. We shall see how this progresses, but it is very similar to the Medium editor which I used for a post on there yesterday. The new editor is very slow to load although seems to use the full screen, which means you seem to write more slowly. At this point in the editor I am just coming to the end on the second line of this post.

While this is in some ways simple in other ways it's disconcerting, part of the reason is that there was no warning that this was happening. Adding labels brings it to a halt , which is not good. It does amaze me that companies introduce things like this without testing, but then again it's free so I can't really complain. I have a hell of a lot of labels and they've changed it so you have search and select via a checkbox. I'm not impressed. 

I wanted to tag #maywriteabit which I have done, but I wanted to tag Bright Eyes as I am sharing the excellent "Persona Non Grata" but that maybe too slow, it's like going back twenty five years in the ability to write on the computer, makes you almost want to go back to pen and paper. I'll take that back you still have to check the box but the tags seem to be working Ok now.

So what else has been happening, I've hit series four of "Vikings" 1-3 had ten episodes apiece , 4-6 have twenty episodes apiece and there's a new one scheduled for Netflix. I keep getting "Update Failed" signs but not sure what that means either , maybe it hasn't saved. The preview looks OK though.

I'm just into May but don't think I'm going to hit my step target, though this coming weekend may change my opinion on that.

So here it goes , first post with new editor .

May The Force ...

.. be with you , those memes will be all over social media today and that's a good thing as it will bring smiles to some people and good natured groans to others. This is my fourth (I always wonder whether it's forth or fourth but it is fourth) day of joining in with #maywriteabit and I didn't think I would even get this far with it, but I have,

I'm thinking that my blog looks very untidy so may change the layout  this week, but my inherent laziness means I probably won't . I had tried Wordpress but that seemed very inflexible for me , but lots of people use it so I am in a tiny minority with that which my usual position.

On Friday morning I forgot to change my Contact Lenses (they are monthly ones) , on Saturday I forgot to put out my daily tablets (but did take my Insulin) , and the latter was because I got distracted by something else though just ended up sorting them an hour later.

On Saturday , thanks to this computer I didn't get to bed until two o'clock Sunday morning thanks to doing my first Sunday blog post and sending birthday greetings to four people on Facebook.

I listened to some records on Sunday Morning, Bob Marley and The Strawbs (who's name is apparently a contraction of The Strawberry Hill Boys) "Grave New World" (you can see my Instagram post here and the vinyl original has one of the most impressive covers you will ever see) and will choose one of my favourite Marley cuts (and there are a lot of those) "Small Axe" which is not one that's often played (or I don't hear it on the radio) so I will share it with you.

May Tree (May Free Too)

This is my second #maywriteabit post today although I think that's not quite in the spirit of the thing , but here it is. It has a convoluted title and if you read the previous posts yo may understand what I mean , though probably not. Today is a Sunday and for some reason I've been on a bit of a downer , though I haven't a clue why, but it's just been one of those days and I suppose the weather is a major contributor plus the general isolationism of the lockdown, leading to the situations where a lot of little things we used to look forward to we now don't have, however.....

.. when the sun comes out you get an immediately get a lift , or I do.

I'm reading the Christopher Brookmyre book "Not The End of the World" and that is becoming more enjoyable by the page, I like the quip when one of the protagonists Steff heard about the CFC (Christian Family Channel - your average Televangelist thing) he says  "Oh we've got a religious CFC and an RFC  as well (he's referring to Celtic Football Club and Rangers Football Club as he's from Motherwell ... somewhere south of Scandinavia.

..then, maintaining the "Scandinavian" connection, there was Ragnar Lothbrok's Christian Funeral in Notre Dame, Paris in Vikings , I was well impressed with his coffin too. So thanks to the internet and digital connections I do have things to look forward to , it's just sometimes you actually lose sight of things.

It also improves the mood when you hit some kinf of goal like my daily step total which has had a reasonable start.

I've also started watching "20,000 Days On earth" the Nick Cave film which, even though I've had the DVD for years, it took a showing on Film4 for me to record it and watch the damned thing, and very good it is too.

My technological incompetence still can't understand how data is transferred over airwaves, it's a bit like teleportation, is what appears at the receiving end a clone of what was sent? I suppose it is , so if I teleported would it really be me on the arrival pad or just an exact clone and how would anybody know.

Another thing is I use BubbleUPnp on my Kindle Fire to play music, it seems update itself at ceratin points and does not always reflect what it on the network, and as I listen to this the first Neu! album is playing, I think they are the band that initiated "motorik" which is an unchanging almost mechanical beat

And then I started writing this, so all in all , it's actually not a bad day at all.

So I will share with you "Negativland" by Neu! which my dad asked me about in the seventies , he said istarted with drills and then had a great beat. See what you think.

May Free

Many rears ago I saw a Two Ronnies sketch where a restaurant menu consisted of groups on fingle letters and characters , no words, to represent the food. The only one I can remember is MNX (Ham and Eggs) . I'm sort of joining in with the #maywriteabit project and was wondering if I can continue through having blog titles related to the sound of the date but  not actually stating the date. I think I will run out fairly quickly and also , this year , I was going to reign back my blog posting, but this is maintaining a one a day post for May 2020.

This year I've already posted more than I did in any year before 2011, which may be a good or bad thing.

I am posting at half past midnight so I am into Sunday and really should be asleep in bed. I've told people I'm going to bed but am still on here now.

Today I walked into town via Cow Hill and Exhibition Park and coming out of Exhibition Park there was a man walking his dog as I passed him on the other side of the path he shouted at me "Keep Away from me, the Police are rounding up people like you", I think he was implying I wasn't observing Social Distancing unaware irony that his fist waving was bringing him closer to me , but I was walking a lot faster than he was.

The other day I was walking and heard someone whistling and assumed the were calling their dog , a few seconds later I was nearly hit by a cyclist , why he didn't have a bell , or shout for me to get off the footpath (after footpaths are apparently for cyclists these days)  I haven't a clue. Whistling doesn't say to me "Get Out Of My Way , There's A Bike Coming" , it says "Get The Sheep In The Pen".

So what tune do we go with? Another that's been in my brain on repeat thanks to 6Music is "I'm Not Your Dog" by Baxter Dury, like his father but with some extra Je Ne Sais Quois  (hope that's spelt right.

May Too

My friend Rachel is taking part in the #maywriteabit project and is going to write for half an hour each day (unedited) for the month of May so I am looking forward to catching her post and see what she has to say and think in this lockdown situation. Her first post is here.  and his hosted on Medium and I'll add her to my favourite blog list on the right had side of this blog.

Writing can be therapeutic and blogging is good because you don't get shouted down, you may get ignored, but you do end up with a diary, which as long as the internet and your blog host is still going you will have access to it (I take regular backups of mine and often feel I am the only person who reads it ad after fourteen years I have six followers and fourteen comments, making me Mister popular although I get reactions posted on Facebook and Twitter as well but would prefer to have them on here.

It the past I have posted every day in May and was consideing #APostADayInMay bit the #maywriteabit is obviously going to be more widespread and not as committed to being a post a day. It's been suggested by Rob Bryher according to a Google search but I may be wrong on that , but I will tag all my posts in May with this.

So another song that has been giving me aural pleasure is "Overlord" by Dirty Projectors , a band who' s name I know but that's about it. but this song has been prevalent on 6Music and it's a great record. They remind me a lot of the band First Aid Kit , so I'll have to check them out further.

I'd not intended to blog a lot this month but that's four posts in the last three days so I'll need to keep an eye on my keyboard.

Enjoy your Saturday my friends.

May I?

It's May the first and I was looking to a Bank Holiday on Monday but the Government have moved it so supposedly celebrate VE Day , if they wanted that they should have given an extra day, but it's really to take it away from the political Left as May Day in the nineteenth Century it was chosen as International Workers Day although prior to that is was a Festival of Spring Bank Holiday, and like many pagan festivals has been apprehended by modernity.

Essential I wanted to share one of my favourite artists songs "May I?" also known as "Puis Je?"  by Kevin Ayers  and obviously "May I?" and May 1st look similar to each other.

The weather looks nice and I may take a short walk possibly to the Roman Temple just off the West Road behind the job centre as I haven't been there for an age and need a change of walking direction, although I may find it's a little too far but I will definitely visit over the weekend.

One of the problems with this lockdown is that lots of current things we take for granted are now not happening and we don't know if they ever will , no new TV , no sport, although thanks to digital media we have so much that we can watch if we look for it.

I've recommenced "Vikings" and didn't know that Paris was originally built on an island in the Seine (where Notre Dame stands) and didn't know that the the Vikings did attack Paris. My lack of historical knowledge means I don't know the outcome but my historical knowledge implies it wasn't successful.

That Other Song

As I get older I seem to enjoy sleeping more , and I want to be in bed now. I thought as you aged you needed less sleep, maybe that's for people who aren't working any more. I'm always impressed by people who play advanced games (I have a few on my Wii and Quake II is about my limit for FPS) and binge watch TV series (although tonight I did two episodes of "Vikings"), I don't see me staying up all night to complete series three and then zap through the rest. I have managed, at a leisurely pace four series of "Black Sails" , three of "Lucifer" all of "Parks and Recreation" and "30 Rock" and working through "Devs" as well, but Morpheus beckons.

I've been searching for the Lockdown episode of "Parks and Recreation" which is being broadcast tonight but I'm not sure where to get it (It's on NBC which in the UK I don't have access to and I can supposedly get it through HULU and Amazon Prime , but that's a task for tomorrow.

I got another subscriber on my Youtube channel (88 now) but I think why subscribe to me, I'm hardly prolific ofn there.

So because I want to share another song tomorrow, the song that was ousted by "Ooh La La" by Run The Jewels was "House Music All Night Long" a suitable anthem for these days. I know this is an extremely short post but it is time for bed , but enjoy this. The song is "House Music All Night Long" by JARV IS (Jarvis Cocker) and it is remarkably uncatchily catchy . Made me think of a school friends (Jon Ashurst - "Trash") opinion on Steely Dan "The word's greatest most boring band".