w.atching the w.orld unw.ind

Today's lyric:
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"Summertime withers as the sun descends
He wants to kiss you. Will you condescend?
Before you wake and find a chill within your bones
Under a fine canopy of lover's dust and humorous bones."

Elvis Costello: "The birds will still be singing"

From the album: "The Juliet Letters"

Watched an interesting programme on C5 last night, which posited the impact on the UK's eastern coast of a nightmare North Sea storm, coinciding on its arrival with the peak of a Spring high tide.

Goodbye (again) Canvey Island.

But also goodbye Thames Barrier (been on that), the Underground and Canary Wharf, so the capitol's main transport system, financial centre - and global confidence in London as a trading centre - washed away in hours.

Selfishly, I hope never to live through such an event occurring, but professionally, I was staggered at the easy destruction of millions of lives and homes and businesses.

In some ways it brought home the devastation of the Indonesian tsunami even more graphically, because you could actually relate to such an event, rather than reacting to the two-dimensional images of catastrophe depicted on tv which, though obviously shocking and distressing in their own right, were sometimes too 'remote' to have the full impact which such a disaster merited.

Labels: Climatology, Observation

Today's lyric:
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"Holidays are dirt-cheap in the Costa del Malvinas
In the Hotel Argentina they can hardly tell between us
For Teresa is a waitress - though she's now known as Juanita
In a tango bar in Stanley or in Puerto Margarita
She's the sweetest and the sauciest, the loveliest - the naughtiest.
She's Miss Buenos Aires in a world of lacy lingerie."

Elvis ostello: "Tokyo Storm warning"
From the album: "Blood and Chocolate"

Twenty five years ago, we were sat with our friends D and L, with NOD barely two months old and gurgling in her crib, while we watched events in the Falklands unwind on the tv and I realised that there was a distinct possibility that if things escalated, I was in a position to be conscripted.

Twenty five years ago. A quarter of a century.

Beggars belief.

* As it's a short week, thought I might make it an Elvis Costello one, lyric-wise?

Labels: Observation

Today's lyric:
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"We can watch our troubles rise like smoke into the air
And drift up to the ceiling
Down in the Blue Chair
You can feel just like a boy or a man and next minute you can find yourself kneeling
Down in the Blue Chair
They're boasting of loving the daylights right out of her in the small hours
Down in the Blue Chair."

Elvis Costello: "Blue Chair"
From the album: "Blood and chocolate"

I know, I know, I watched "The 100 best (-looking people) and was inevitably disappointed with the winner (never have been a star-struck fan of La Jolie).

Given the choice, I'd rather have the gorgeous, hand-crafted Hammer (only 55 big ones - a snip).



Want one, Mum!

Labels: Observation

Today's lyric:
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"But I lost myself, I cannot speak.
To live by myself I am far too weak.
I have lost myself and I cannot sleep,
To live by myself I am far too weak."

Longpigs: "Lost myself"
From the album: "The sun is often out"

NOD'll be pleased I'm 'enjoying' my current read.

The telling line at the end of the preface goes:
"I wish I could have done it more quickly. I wish could have presented it to Stuart before he stepped in front of the 11.15 London to King's Lynn train."

Passing through London Bridge Walk this morning, I had one of those visions of someone (Ok, usually The Wife) vacuuming the lounge and someone (yes, again, usually The Husband) automatically raising his feet as the hoover nears the proximity of his trouser zone.

A streetcleaner was diligently - but very carefully, so as not to disturb him/her - brooming around the clothtarped body of a roughsleeper. (Bearing in mind the City's army of commuters was marching relentlessly past the scene anyway.)

I then had a vision of the body rising and asking "Where's my stash of newspapers to keep warm with, and my collection of polystyrene cups for begging with? And the half-eaten roll I'd been saving for breakfast?"

It was a Phil Collins' "Another day in paradise" moment (and as I loathe Mr.C., as a person and muso, I'm not providing a link), but in the light of what I'm learning via the biography of Mr Shorter, even more apposite than would normally be the case.

You should read the book.

Labels: Observation