w.atching the w.orld unw.ind

Today's lyric:

"Felonius my old friend, step on in and let me shake your hand
So glad that you're here again - for one more time let your madness run with mine
Streets still unseen we'll find somehow, no time is better than now."

Steely Dan: "Midnite Cruiser"
From the album: "Can't buy a thrill"

The increasing consumption of organic foods has spawned yet another article on the subject.

I found this line the most telling:

"But households with a gross weekly income of more than 750 pounds were the most likely (46%) to buy organic".

As am omnivore, I do eat vegetables but because they (generally) all taste very bland to me (I must have a palate that only responds to strongly-tasting food?) it wouldn't make much difference to my enjoyment of that part of the meal whether the non-meat was organic or not.

If it was only down to me, I'd buy "economy" but Mrs.D. loves 'er salads...

Today's lyric:

"Enchilada desparado days
Senorita come back and meet me again
Buona vista, senorita, yeah
I love you so - come back, be with me again."

Gomez: "Tijuana Lady"
From the album: "Bring it on"

What with Number One Son, Number One Daughter and now -albeit temporarily) The Ginger Whinger no longer under our roof, the evenings are a tad quiet at Mr.D. Towers.

But Next Door Neighbour is enjoying dismantling (can you ever mantle something?) the shared fence (which is rotten as a pear) and sundry bushes and unwanted tree saplings. We've acquired a corner of the garden we never knew we had, although Ratty - the occupant of NDN's woodpile - has found himself homeless as the stack had to be moved for the new fence to be erected in its path.

I can't believe I'm writing this rubbish about fences? Where's all the sparkling wit, repartee and literary outpourings gone? Lucky it's free, eh?

Today's lyric:

"People come and go and forget to close the door,
And leave their stains and cigarette butts trampled on the floor,
And when they do, remember me, remember me."

Brian Eno: "Some of them are old"
From the album: "Here come the warm jets"

Reading Peel's semi-autobiography (over there, on the right) I came across his account of the village de-camping from the pub on Xmas Eve and adjourning to his house to continue the revelry ("nor were any cigarettes trampled on the floor") when Eno's track (up there, above this) by sheer coincidence did not turn up on the iPod... Strange , that?

In other news, The Ginger Whinger is back to stud for impregnation (hopefully) by the son of her original deflowerererer. Interested parties have already calculated the date for parturition and nailed their (choice of) colours to the mast. So it's back to Nipple Watch again.

Today's lyric:

"If I feel God watching me, I control the actions of his destiny
All my sentiments ring true
You feel him in the mirror laughing back at you
If I could tell you how it seems, I would."

Mansun: "Mansun's only Love Song"
From the album: "Attack of the grey lantern"

happening over t'BH, apart from a visit/trip down to Old Pompey to visit the outlaws.

May buy some new fishes for the aquarium, which is looking a tad spartan, these days.

We certainly live the rock 'n roll life, don't we?

Oh. In other news, I've solicited the advice of one Blue Witch as regards what to do with a burgeoning glut of home-grown tomatoes?

Never having grown anything since Primary School, the triffid-sized beasts are knocking out bunches? of the damn things like there's no tomorrow.

So what do I do to extend the (kitchen) shelf life?

Enjoy your weekends, y'all.

Today's lyric:

"Now I find from week to week the sentence sticking fast
Turn the corner, rub my eyes and hope the world will last
Stranger from another planet 'Welcome to our hole!'
Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock and roll."

The Stranglers: "(Get a) Grip (on yourself)"
From the album: "Rattus Norvegicus"

for England's Second City

Today's lyric:

"Drug stabbin' time, in a bedroom crime
There's a tape-recording on a telephone line
An' it's ringin' from the floor.
So don't answer it no more."

The Clash: "Drug stabbin' time"
From the album: "Give 'em enough rope"

Courage of convictions

Today's lyric:

"I was in the kitchen
Seamus, that's the dog, was outside
Well I was in the kitchen
Seamus, my own hound, was outside
Well you know the sun was slowly sinking
And my own hound-dog sat right down and cried."

Pink Floyd: "Seamus"
From the album: "Meddle"

Almost since its conception/inception, I've maintained a passing reference over there on the right to what I'm currently listening to, music-wise.

But now that I've mastered the operational complexities of my new iPod (Record. Press Play) my entire musical history is, with the machine set to "Shuffle", randomly assaulting me with non-sequitur tracks.

So I think I'll remove the transient "listening to" section from the html?

One of the (currently) 1229 tracks recorded thus far will continue to provide the inspiration for the "Today's Lyric" section which I know you crave and visit for, so I won't be completely stopping the traffic, hopefully.

But it's time to move on, methinks...

Today's lyric:

"The sun struggles up, another beautiful day
And I felt glad in my own suspicious way
Despite the contradiction and confusion
Felt tragic without reason
There's malice and there's magic in every season."

Elvis Costello: "The other side of Summer"
From the album: "Brutal Youth"

Got up at my usual workday time this morning.

The sky was grey, gloomy. It was cool-to-cold.

Aren't schoolkids on what used to be called "summer" holidays?

Is this it for another nine months?

During the last of last Friday's meetings there was a certain amount of blood-letting. Some playthings were forcibly ejected from a perambulator. We're off today to perform some aromatherapy on troubled waters.

I may be gone some time...

Today's lyric:

"She was tall, thin and tarty and she drove a Maserati, faster than sound
I was heaven bound
Although I must have looked a creep in my army surplus jeep was I being too bold
Before the night could get old ?"

Rod Stewart: "Italian girls"
From the album: "Never a dull moment"

Today I shall be mostly Meetinged Out.

So, sorry if I don't visit.

Enjoy your weekends, y'all.

Today's lyric:

"When I walk into this room, I turn to stone
In this place that gave me sleep that once upon a time I called home.
That's the way it goes, I suppose?
That's the way it goes.
But then again, who really knows?"

Bluetones: "Unpainted Arizona"
From the album: "Return to The Last Chance Saloon"

David Bowie: Diamond guide dogs

Today's lyric:

"Sally, take my hand, travel south, cross land
Put out the fire and don't look past my shoulder
The exodus is here, the happy ones are near
Let's get together, before we get much older."

The Who: "Baba O'Riley"
From the album: "Who's next?"

I'm having to learn soooo many new things lately, I do wonder if I'll be able to assimilate it all?

Is there a point at which the human brain can literally accept no more knowledge?

Does old data get flushed out by the process of further education, like the 'Unused desktop icons' icon that lets you discard stuff that's not been called upon for several months?

Or does the fact that you sometimes have to think very hard to remember what you had for lunch yesterday just show signs of early dementia?

Now. What was I rambling on about....?

Today's lyric:

"Every place that I go, well, it seems so strange.
Without your love, baby, baby, things have changed.
Now that you're gone, y'know the sun don't shine,
From the City Hall to the County line."

Paul Weller: "(Ain't no love) In the heart of the city"
From the album: "Brushed"

It seems that since we got back from our holiday, the days have been relentlessly grey and last night, by nine o' clock it seemed more like a late autumn evening than a summer's night.

I'm rapidly re-whitening... Maybe I've got Jackson genes?

Today's lyric:

"Just by the wave of my hand, I'd let you understand
I am not a lonely soldier
Just by the wave of my hand, I'd let you understand
I am not here for the love."

Spirit: "Soldier"
From the album: "12 dreams of Dr Sardonicus"

Made it to Ol Sparky by 8 pm Friday, to meet up with Number One Daughter who hasn't visited them in many a year, for a lovely meal and ouzo.

Saturday dawned not exactly bright and fair and on our way out to the divesite, marker buoys were at 45 degrees because of the current pushing through. Not a good omen.

The first of what was supposed to be two dives was on our old favourite, the Far Mulberry, but the visibility was so bad (the worst we've ever known) we decided that the 54 minutes spent down under was enough to celebrate Buddy 1's birthday and we abandoned the second scheduled dive.

So back to his to sterilise the gear for another winter's lay-up, ready for next season.

When we were in Corfu, strolling the main street and nipping in and out of the odd shop, I spotted a Mini keyring and valve dustcaps for 5 Euros (about three quid) and on a whim bought them.

Leaving to walk to the restaurant on Saturday night, we noticed that some thieving b@st@rd had nicked all four, the sad fcuk. I hope he dies of something slow and immensely painful, like galloping knob rot. I really do. It's not the cost of the theft, it's just that he must have walked past (so presumably not a car - or even Mini - owner?), noticed them and had the gall to walk all round the car unscrewing them?

Anyway. Managed to release Ol Sparky's access to Blogger, so hopefully there'll be some new stuff to read over there soon...

And that concludes this Week End's Round Up* So now you know

Today's lyric:

"Rhododendron is a nice flower
Evergreen it lasts forever
But it can't beat Strand power*."

Roxy Music: "Do the Strand"
From the album: "Viva"

Kind neighbour, who offered to 'chop back a bit' - with his hired machine - the hedge which separates us from the allotments at the back of our garden, seems to have got a bit 'over-zealous' and reduced the various bushes and shrubs to stumps.

Such that we think we may well pull the lot and fence it, as we've threatened to do during the past fifteen years of occupation.

Sorry, birdies.

Still, we'll be able to spot the approach of the hot-air balloons, which regularly overfly us, a lot sooner (like the one up there on my bannerhead - strangely, only ever seen the once {;-)

So - work schedule and meetings permitting, an early departure and down to Pompey to celebrate Ol' Sparky's birfday and get some bubble time in?

Enjoy your weekends, y'all.

* or a petrol-driven hedge cutter/wmd

Today's lyric:

"The letter that you wrote me made me stop and wonder why
But I guess you felt like you had to set things right
Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky
You can see the stars, and still not see the light."

The Eagles: "Already gone"
From the album: "On the border"

Two dives booked for Saturday, probably the last chance for some bottom time* with Ol' Sparky on his birfday, so peering at the sky to see whether there's a windshift in the offing?

Rain's Ok - just don't want a Force 6+ blowing up the channel...

Otherwise it'll be "Vent another red, matey and get the cribbage board out." Hey, we could do that too?

* what scuba divers refer to when logging their divetimes. Nothing Brokeback Mountainy or anyfink...

Today's lyric:

"Lying here in the darkness, I hear the sirens wail
Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail
If you find somebody to love in this world, you better hang on tooth and nail
The wolf is always at the door."

Don Henley: "New York minute"
From the album: "Actual miles"

Despite the simple "A, B, C" instructions, my new iPod seems to have failed to import the 350 songs the software found when I loaded it.

* note to self: really read the instructions first.

Today's lyric:

"I just want you baby, to be on my side
Show me your sweet nature, act a little nice and kind."

Savoy Brown: "Made up my mind"
From the album: "A step further"

got an iPod for his birthday?

I may be gone some time...

Today's lyric:

"Asked a girl what she wanted to be?
She said 'Baby can't you see?
I wanna be famous, a star of the screen
But you do something in between."

The Beatles: "Drive my car"

So Jenson Buttocks has finally won a Grand Prix? And according to the copy of the Daily Mail left on the seat by a previous commuter "now we can all fall in love with him."

Why?

He's clearly a very privileged young man who's been groomed by his dad for just this purpose. He earns shed-loads of money for doing what is his life-long ambition (admittedly it's a dangerous job but hey, it's not compulsory) and has the lifestyle that goes with that amount of money.

Whereas today, on my 53rd birthday, I will mainly be working my buttocks off for queen and country in Witchy's favourite service industry and going home to a celebratory takeaway.

But I'd bet I'm just as content as Good Ol' JB...

Today's lyric:

"Come clean, there's no sun yet
The only lights here are made
I can't speak, I can't hear, but I know I'm real
There's no warm here anyway.
The darkest light's before the dawn
You remember the sun, but it sank in the water that eats the light.
Wrapped in cold, late at night."

Moby: "If things were perfect"
From the album: "18"

Being just back from an extremely relaxing holiday, I still feel zoned out, but have to concentrate really hard on work commitments, which today involves a string of meetings and presentations.

Hey Ho.

Enjoy your weekends, y'all.

Today's lyric:

"Her dignity is what makes her an angel
You know she needs it more than she needs you
It doesn't pay to take these things for granted
Something which you always seem to do
You always seem to do."

The Bluetones: "Carn't be trusted"
From the album: "Expecting to fly"

Seems like I've swapped the Ionian Sea for a sea of work, with fruition of some pre-holiday investigations having occurred while I was off. Megatasks ahead, methinks.

Still waiting to see what our underwater cameras captured - hopefully the 35lb grouper we spotted, before it sloped off into a niche in the rocks. Or the octopus that wrapped itself around my arm while firing off ink in all directions.

(Hopefully) we'll see...

We're back.

Firstly, a big thanks to Magpie for keeping the ship afloat in my absence (despite my unwitting attempts to sink it by moblogging).

The washing machine's going at full tilt and I'll sort out some pix when time permits (hopefully some reasonable scuba shots in amongst 'em).