(no subject)

Well, after last night's heat induced sleep deprivation debacle, I have planned tonight with comparative care.

It's still hot, but not as hot as last night. Nowhere as near. I have had a nice refreshing shower and I am typing this with a cup of chocolaty Ovaltine next to the keyboard (Pass me my pipe and slippers, Rover). I have eschewed anything even vaguely caffeinated since about 8pm (normally I'd be guzzling coffee right up to and past midnight), so I am hopeful that I shall be able to doze off in comparatively short order. A breeze would be nice, for the second night on the trot, the air is completely still and tranquil. It does nothing to dispel the trapped heat, which is inconvenient, to say the least. Nonetheless...

And now a word of advice.

It is a poor idea to phone a friend and leave a message asking them to phone back when you are just about to take a shower. You know it, I know it. I did anyway. And yes, the phone rang while I was in the shower. Some things will always be dependable. Oh happy day.

In the meantime, I am now bone-achingly tired. One last ciggy, I think, and then bed. Before 1 am is dead early for me.

(no subject)

Well, after last night's heat induced sleep deprivation debacle, I have planned tonight with comparative care.

It's still hot, but not as hot as last night. Nowhere as near. I have had a nice refreshing shower and I am typing this with a cup of chocolaty Ovaltine next to the keyboard (Pass me my pipe and slippers, Rover). I have eschewed anything even vaguely caffeinated since about 8pm (normally I'd be guzzling coffee right up to and past midnight), so I am hopeful that I shall be able to doze off in comparatively short order. A breeze would be nice, for the second night on the trot, the air is completely still and tranquil. It does nothing to dispel the trapped heat, which is inconvenient, to say the least. Nonetheless...

And now a word of advice.

It is a poor idea to phone a friend and leave a message asking them to phone back when you are just about to take a shower. You know it, I know it. I did anyway. And yes, the phone rang while I was in the shower. Some things will always be dependable. Oh happy day.

In the meantime, I am now bone-achingly tired. One last ciggy, I think, and then bed. Before 1 am is dead early for me.

Applied hypocrisy

I decided some time back, that I really don't like memes¹; but I find myself doing the occasional one anyway. I suppose it depends upon the meme in question – those that demand a little thought are clearly preferable to those with happy, hazy graphics that tell you what your granny's maiden name was in Swahili, and which almost always bugger up the formatting of your friends' page. All in all they are just a lazy way of suggesting that we are still alive, but haven't got anything to enter into our LJ.

So, in the pursuit of satire, and not a little hypocrisy, I am creating a new meme; the meme to end all memes – and a testament to navel gazing:

The "My five favourite memes" meme.

Simply list the five most enjoyable pieces of time wasting self-indulgence you have encountered on live journal and post them into your own journal. Then sit back and revel in the delicious irony of it all.

It's that simple².

My list, in no particular order:

My ten favourite books;
My ten favourite films;
The last ten tracks randomly played by my MP3 player (a particular and perennial favourite of mine);
My ten favourite songs/albums;
A hundred things you never knew about (somebody).

See, it's easy. And it fills otherwise empty bandwidth with something completely inconsequential, which is the only thing you really need from the meme of memes.


¹-and I'm still not convinced that memes and these odd little things we fill out and spread around are the same thing. Still, popular usage and all that.

²It would have to be; it was me who thought of it.

Applied hypocrisy

I decided some time back, that I really don't like memes¹; but I find myself doing the occasional one anyway. I suppose it depends upon the meme in question – those that demand a little thought are clearly preferable to those with happy, hazy graphics that tell you what your granny's maiden name was in Swahili, and which almost always bugger up the formatting of your friends' page. All in all they are just a lazy way of suggesting that we are still alive, but haven't got anything to enter into our LJ.

So, in the pursuit of satire, and not a little hypocrisy, I am creating a new meme; the meme to end all memes – and a testament to navel gazing:

The "My five favourite memes" meme.

Simply list the five most enjoyable pieces of time wasting self-indulgence you have encountered on live journal and post them into your own journal. Then sit back and revel in the delicious irony of it all.

It's that simple².

My list, in no particular order:

My ten favourite books;
My ten favourite films;
The last ten tracks randomly played by my MP3 player (a particular and perennial favourite of mine);
My ten favourite songs/albums;
A hundred things you never knew about (somebody).

See, it's easy. And it fills otherwise empty bandwidth with something completely inconsequential, which is the only thing you really need from the meme of memes.


¹-and I'm still not convinced that memes and these odd little things we fill out and spread around are the same thing. Still, popular usage and all that.

²It would have to be; it was me who thought of it.

Musing on a tube journey

There was a strange little woman on the tube home today. I've seen her before; she's rather striking, which I guess is a shame, since her demeanour suggests that she'd rather just shrink into the background. This is somewhat at odds with the fact that her entrance was guaranteed to have people spying on her over their papers and books. Having scuttled onto the train, she stood in front of her seat for a moment before trying it with her foot as if to check that it wasn't going to bite or run away. Then she sat down. Clearly nervous, each time I see her she sits on the very edge of the tube car seat clutching her bag and looking at the floor in the middle distance. Physically quite slight, she has moved past fragile to frail, and despite not being obviously poor or destitute, looks as though a good shower and new -or cleaner- clothes wouldn't hurt. That said, she's never been dressed the same way twice when I've seen her, so...

She looks to be at least part south east asian, maybe Malay, or somewhere like that, and has one of those faces that could be anywhere between 25 and 45. I guess maybe toward the older end of that spectrum as her hair is streaked grey. I fear that she has mental problems, which is why she stands out, despite shrinking back.

Never interacting with other passengers, she appears less distracted, more an oblivion unlike most people who simply try to avoid eye contact. It's definitely that, more as if she is oblivious than distracted. Again, given that she is clearly trying not to be there on some level, her behaviour marks her out, and it was clear that those sitting around her were maintaining that rather edgy level of observation that people do when they aren't quite sure how, or if to react.

And that's it. Just an observation of someone in the city. A sad little soul with an unknown story.

Musing on a tube journey

There was a strange little woman on the tube home today. I've seen her before; she's rather striking, which I guess is a shame, since her demeanour suggests that she'd rather just shrink into the background. This is somewhat at odds with the fact that her entrance was guaranteed to have people spying on her over their papers and books. Having scuttled onto the train, she stood in front of her seat for a moment before trying it with her foot as if to check that it wasn't going to bite or run away. Then she sat down. Clearly nervous, each time I see her she sits on the very edge of the tube car seat clutching her bag and looking at the floor in the middle distance. Physically quite slight, she has moved past fragile to frail, and despite not being obviously poor or destitute, looks as though a good shower and new -or cleaner- clothes wouldn't hurt. That said, she's never been dressed the same way twice when I've seen her, so...

She looks to be at least part south east asian, maybe Malay, or somewhere like that, and has one of those faces that could be anywhere between 25 and 45. I guess maybe toward the older end of that spectrum as her hair is streaked grey. I fear that she has mental problems, which is why she stands out, despite shrinking back.

Never interacting with other passengers, she appears less distracted, more an oblivion unlike most people who simply try to avoid eye contact. It's definitely that, more as if she is oblivious than distracted. Again, given that she is clearly trying not to be there on some level, her behaviour marks her out, and it was clear that those sitting around her were maintaining that rather edgy level of observation that people do when they aren't quite sure how, or if to react.

And that's it. Just an observation of someone in the city. A sad little soul with an unknown story.