"If Only You Could See Me..."

( The Joy of iTunes )

"If Only You Could See Me..."

( The Joy of iTunes )

Poppies

I am generally ambivalent about buying poppies for Rememberance Sunday. Whilst I know that it is rememberance of people who died to protect the country and others, and thus it expresses solidarity with those who suffered; but I can't help but believe that somehow it glorifies war. Usually I give some money and don't wear a poppy.

But this morning on 5Live, they were debating the current hoo-hah of "poppy fascism" - the need to be seen wearing a poppy.

Some caller came on the line saying that he didn't wear a poppy because he didn't believe in the wars. We shouldn't have fought in WW2, because it wasn't our war - we should have kept out of it. And when the presenter said "What about the holocaust?", this *rsehole said that was absolutely nothing to do with Britain at all.

So I am now the proud possessor of a poppy; and I gave them more money than I would otherwise have done. In rememberance of that c*nt's ignorance.

Poppies

I am generally ambivalent about buying poppies for Rememberance Sunday. Whilst I know that it is rememberance of people who died to protect the country and others, and thus it expresses solidarity with those who suffered; but I can't help but believe that somehow it glorifies war. Usually I give some money and don't wear a poppy.

But this morning on 5Live, they were debating the current hoo-hah of "poppy fascism" - the need to be seen wearing a poppy.

Some caller came on the line saying that he didn't wear a poppy because he didn't believe in the wars. We shouldn't have fought in WW2, because it wasn't our war - we should have kept out of it. And when the presenter said "What about the holocaust?", this *rsehole said that was absolutely nothing to do with Britain at all.

So I am now the proud possessor of a poppy; and I gave them more money than I would otherwise have done. In rememberance of that c*nt's ignorance.

Desperately Seeking Humour

I was in a quandry this evening. I was very close to finishing the book I have been reading for the past day or so - the very brilliant Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I think it is a work of genius - truly - a very powerful, affecting book, that has had me laughing and crying.

But it is also - well, kind of traumatic. I shall write more about it later, but take it from me, brilliant though it might be, it is isn't light.

And here I was close to finishing it, knowing that I would have a whole lot more reading time this evening in between concerts and on the tube and stuff, and I was wondering how to fill it.

So I went into Foyles on the South Bank, since that was where I happened to be. I wanted somethnig fun, light - frothy even. A quick kind of throwaway book, something to make me smile, not too deep.

I looked for the humour section. There wasn't one. I looked for the table of three-for-two offers - usually full of that kind of stuff. Not a sign.

I trawled the fiction section - and could see nothing that grabbed. Many non-funny, serious, even suicidal volumes; these were jumping out at me, but no! Not for me, not tonight.

f4f3 and white_hart have both been raving about the Princess Bride, in both celluloid and print versions; I asked at the desk, but they didn't have it. (And the woman behind the desk raved about it, too.)

Someone was going on about Terry Pratchett - but they didn't Small Gods, which seems to be the usual recommendation. I even looked at the Neil Gaiman, but again, none of the books they had were ones people had tried to get me to read.

I settled on a book about Italy by Tim Parks - and so far it is just what I wanted.

All this took me a lot longer than I had expected; such that the time I was looking to fill had been filled, and I had to go to my concert. So I needn't have bought a book anyway...

Desperately Seeking Humour

I was in a quandry this evening. I was very close to finishing the book I have been reading for the past day or so - the very brilliant Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I think it is a work of genius - truly - a very powerful, affecting book, that has had me laughing and crying.

But it is also - well, kind of traumatic. I shall write more about it later, but take it from me, brilliant though it might be, it is isn't light.

And here I was close to finishing it, knowing that I would have a whole lot more reading time this evening in between concerts and on the tube and stuff, and I was wondering how to fill it.

So I went into Foyles on the South Bank, since that was where I happened to be. I wanted somethnig fun, light - frothy even. A quick kind of throwaway book, something to make me smile, not too deep.

I looked for the humour section. There wasn't one. I looked for the table of three-for-two offers - usually full of that kind of stuff. Not a sign.

I trawled the fiction section - and could see nothing that grabbed. Many non-funny, serious, even suicidal volumes; these were jumping out at me, but no! Not for me, not tonight.

f4f3 and white_hart have both been raving about the Princess Bride, in both celluloid and print versions; I asked at the desk, but they didn't have it. (And the woman behind the desk raved about it, too.)

Someone was going on about Terry Pratchett - but they didn't Small Gods, which seems to be the usual recommendation. I even looked at the Neil Gaiman, but again, none of the books they had were ones people had tried to get me to read.

I settled on a book about Italy by Tim Parks - and so far it is just what I wanted.

All this took me a lot longer than I had expected; such that the time I was looking to fill had been filled, and I had to go to my concert. So I needn't have bought a book anyway...