day 3- a picture of you and your friends

Today's book of note: Engleby by Sebastian Faulks. Now, Mr Faulks is generally acclaimed, we all know that. but to be honest, it's got to the point where you know his new one is going to be alreet, you know you're going to read it and will probably talk about it to your mum (just me?), and ... it's not that exciting. Not a harbdback purchase by any means. However, Engleby was a 'charity shop-50p-don't have a book in my bag and it's lunchtime and I'm bored' purchase ... and it was my favourite of his since Charlotte Gray. Complete deviation from the norm - it's set non-specifically in a period which feels like the 80s and could be counted as a thriller - it's definitely gripping in a way that most of his others aren't, and I pretty much couldn't put it down. 


Song for the day; from the album 'There Goes Rhymin Simon' and from the classic 'Coneheads'; in line with the '30 days of me' stuff below: Kodachrome by Paul Simon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZpaNJqF4po ... it always makes me properly bouncy happy - I sometimes get a little lump in my throat with how stupidly happy it makes me. 'Cause I'm a silly like that.


Yay ... I heart looking through old pictures of me and my friends. And new pictures. Even though I always look at myself and go 'urgh, you look rubbisshhhh'; but in most of them I look like I'm having a wicked time - there have been lots of laughs over the last few years. 


There are so many pictures that I want to upload, but this is the best one I can currently think of. This is me and my boys - they've been my boys for coming on 10 years, and this picture was only taken a few weeks ago - it's one of those that reminds you no matter how many things change for better or for worse, some things will always stay the same. The chap in the grey jumper is also responsible for me having made the move to this neck of the woods, which is the best thing I've ever done - he text me the lyrics to 'Me and You VS The World' by Spaced at 4 in the morning and the choice was made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joNeiTmW-jo

Day 2... The meaning behind my blog name

I already did this! See first ever post. 


So stuff instead. I have been thinking since yesterday eve about a marvellous band called the Murder City Devils ... I was introduced to them by a boy who made a me a spangly mixtape, with each of the 2 sides named after a tv detective. Good times ... he was a bit silly (well, to the best of my knowledge he's just as silly now) and that went to pot somewhat; but every now and then he links to MCD on his Facebook status, which made me think about them. The song he included was 'Alcohol' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Seve78ciCwU but my favourite (as I was a lot more inclined to dramatics and poignant lyrics at the time) swiftly became 'I Drank The Wine' - no video, but lyrics are here: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/murder+city+devils/i+drink+the+wine_20188860.html


The boy in question did read a fair amount and I'm sure we discussed books a lot but I'm damned if I can think of much that he recommended. I think I may have read the His Dark Materials books as a result of a conversation he was a part of, which I enjoyed ever so. Was there a favourite, I think it would be The Amber Spyglass - I loved the image of having your death walking around with you as a close friend you could always turn to. 


Mostly I think of him as being very heavily into William S Burroughs and JG Ballard, neither of whom I've ever quite been able to 'get' - which I freely admit is likely to be a character flaw on my part. I have a similar block with Hunter S Thompson ... I tend to think it's down to a lack of interest in drugs and/or hedonism and pushing social boundaries as a life choice; I'm not at all impressed by them and it all strikes me as a little self-congratulatory - 'I'm cool and interesting because I do all this f***ed up stuff, look at me look at me!' - which I really can't be doing with.


Autumn is definitely here now ... I love it! All the shops have hats and scarves and wonders and kneesocks, and The Inbetweeners is back on tv tonight ... eep! Lots to be cheery about. And I don't have work tomorrow!

1. Day 1 - recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

That's meeeeeeeeeeeee. And my lovely friend Gab in the background.


1. Since I was 15 or thereabouts I've had a bit of a thing about bisons. They seem really noble and stoic, both of which are words unlikely ever to apply to me, and thus I admire them. 
2. I have a prodigious memory for pointless things. 
3. As such, the first cassette single I ever bought was 'Jessie' by Joshua Kadison. I was in Folkestone with my nan, shopping while my mum had electrolysis. I was wearing a purple anorak.
4. One of my first memories ever is of the hurricane of 1987 - I was 4, I woke up convinced I was blind as it was my first experience of a power cut. 
5. I always remember my dreams too - this morning's dreams indicate I'm a lot more stressed about work than I thought, as I repeatedly dreamed a conversation I have to have on Monday morning - I have a new job as a team manager, and I'm going to have to get my team to do a lot of extra work. They're going to hate me a little bit. 
6. Although I have a lot of favourite films, many of which are beautiful and poignant and clever, the one I can turn on at any time of the day or night is Con Air. It's amazing. Steve Buscemi is a god. 
7. I know that none of these things are in any way interesting. I just don't care. 
8. I feel a little sickened at having written the above sentence, as one of my biggest pet hates is those really contrived descriptions of themselves people put on facebook and blogs and that - either the inevitably pikey 'Ya love me or ya hate me and I don't give a f***, I just love goin out with ma mates an drinkin ALL THE VODKA YYYEEEEAAAHHH!', or the 'I spend a lot of time on my own, I like to read in small independent cafes where I feel I can be myself and nobody will pay me any attention ... I wear a lot of black and I empathise strongly with Morrissey'. 
9. I do really like The Smiths though. 
10. My other main dislike is poor spelling and grammar from those who should know better. The fact that a lot of people make a mistake does not make it acceptable. This includes The Capitalisation Of Every Word In Facebook Messages And Wall Posts. It just makes you look stupid, and I really don't understand why it's cool.
11. In the main, I basically have a heart of stone ... but I do love a good romantic comedy, and very much want to see Going The Distance with Drew Barrymore. 
12. The last time I saw Jimmy Eat World live, I wept like a small child from beginning to end. I stood at the front by myself, and got some very odd looks (especially when I punched the air and leapt for joy when they started 'Your New Aesthetic': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTUgpol17lc) I'm still going to see them again this November. 
13. My two ideal jobs as a kid were a) television makeup artist (I really wanted to make the bruises and fake blood on Casualty) and b) Jackanory storyteller. 
14. If I do ever get to read a Jackanory story, it'll be 'How Tom Beat Captain Najork and his Hired Sportsmen' by Russell Hoban.
15. I heart science fiction but hate CGI. I want more people dressed up as monsters. 

Laura's first venture into blogging land. Comfy shoes and backpack - check. Torch and Kendall Mint Cake, we're away ...

First off - origins of the name - can't take credit for it and am not going to try. There's an excellent song called "Emergency!Emergency!" on an equally excellent album called Very Emergency by an (unsurprisingly) excellent band called The Promise Ring. All of the songs on it are lovelylovelylovely. The first one that I ever heard is called 'The Deep South' - if the lyrics 'I know that bridges and houses are learning to fly, secretly so - I don't know why - but good for them' don't make you want to hear it, what's wrong with you?! Listen to it anyway. I will happily be held responsible. 

A lot of the things that I really really love make up who I am and those are the things I like to talk about. These things are, in the main: books, music, and Inspectors Morse and Frost.

Books first ... I have just finished reading 'The Book Of Joe' by Jonathan Tropper which was excellent. I started reading it on my way back to my hometown without much idea of what it was about - only to discover it's about a chap who's written a fairly scathing chronicle of his own hometown (something I have on many occasions been tempted to do) and is now forced to go back to it ... he spends longer than he'd intended to, for a variety of reasons, and has a bit of a breakdown but comes out of it 'a better man' - I don't intend to do synopsiseseseses, but it turns out some fairly harrowing stuff happened while he was a kid/teenager and it was made a lot worse by the small-town mentality he was submerged in ... he meets up with the people he went through those things with, neither of whom he's spoken to in years, and some stuff happens. 

It's my first recommendation for anyone looking for one - very very good. 

This week I have listened to: The Courteeners, Wild Beasts, and The Joy Formidable. Favourite track out of the three has been 'Austere' by The Joy Formidable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbYghzgt9IU - it makes me feel like spinning around with my arms over my head until I fall over (about 3 seconds) and really makes me smile, it's wicked to listen to on the way to work. 

Insult of the week: furry traffic warden.

I'm gonna do this '30 days of me' thing that seems to be doing the rounds - as if y'all didn't have enough mindless information floating about in your heads relating to people you actually know ... but I always read them and don't imagine I'm the only one. Next post down though.