Category: Uncategorized

• Impressive Failure: "Consider RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Indiana Jones is perhaps the greatest
  action hero in the history of the movies. And in his debut film, he
  flat-out fails from beginning to end."
• Mr. Spratt has posted footage of his appearance on The Word.  I can remember watching this from my study at school. 
• Fake bus stop keeps Alzheimer's patients from escaping
• Momus on Muji
• In memory: Marine 2nd Lt. James J. Cathey:  "The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag."
• JK Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address

After last weekend's running around this weekend was more sedate.  Friday night I had a quiet night watching Infernal Affairs and woke early on Saturday to visit Melbourne.

In the month since I last saw my niece she's changed a lot.  She's happily tottering about now, and seeing her walk is one of the coolest things I've seen in weeks.  There are also some amusing 'tricks' she's picked up.  She's becoming just like she's a real person…

While in Melbourne I did some running.  I'd hoped to improve on last week's 6.5 miles with a run along the old railway line.  I took my sister's dog with me and she lagged behind from the second mile.  When we passed the turning for home, intending to run another few miles, Stella sneaked back home.  I turned round and found her safe with a few locals.

The running is going well.  I hate the second mile of any run but, after that, I slip into a rhythm.  In two weeks time is the Breedon Run.  The race starts with a fearsome hill and I'm wondering how well I will cope with that.

One of my colleagues is a huge fan of South Korean movies and had recommended the director Kim Ki-duk.  While babysitting I watched his movie 3 Iron.  The film was a revelation.  There are very few lines of dialogue but the film is gripping.  It tells the story of a man who breaks into houses to stay the night but any synopsis I gave would do it little justice.  The film is only 80 minutes and worth taking a chance on it.  I can't wait to see it again.

The Potlatch blog discusses Waterstone's advertising books as 'Books you really should read':

"…the last thing Waterstones wants is for people to actually read the 'books you really should read', but to buy them, put them on a shelf, then feel ashamed for not reading them… Meanwhile, those who really do read such books are probably perfectly happy with a combination of second hand bookshops, friends' bookshelves, public libraries and Amazon, having no need for the moral lecture.

200,000 titles are released every year in the United Kingdom, with the number of books sold rising faster than the number of books read. The publishing industry would collapse if it depended on reading.

The photographs below are of tributes attached to memorial benches, in Hove and St. Annes.

I recently found myself thinking of Joan Vollmer and how, if I had the money, I'd love to commission a bench in Hove looking out at the channel, in memory of 'Bill and Joan'.  I'd give them both long lives on the little memorial plaque, mentioning their happy marriage and long hours spent looking out to sea together.

It's not what happened, but it's a happier ending to the story.

There are some interesting blogs coming out of Brighton looking at alternative ways of living.  One is the fantastic A long way from Eden, whose author, Jo, visited me in Coventry this weekend.  A new blog, by a former housemate of mine, is Beth Eats Local:

"From June 1^st
2008 to May 31st 2009 every item of food that I eat and every
ingredient that goes into that food is going to come from a one hundred
mile radius of my home in Brighton. If I’m travelling, food has to come
from either a one hundred mile radius of where I am, or from one
hundred miles of Brighton. I’m vegetarian, and I’m going to try to eat
organic wherever possible. Am I crazy? Undoubtedly. Am I going to
cheat? Not if I can help it. Am I going to starve? You’ve gotta hope
not."

Something Jo pointed out to me is that the difficult bit in  making lifestyle changes is often the research:  what do vegans eat for breakfast?  But once you've found a alternative (cereal with soya milk, toast with vegan spread, fruit, porridge) you don't need to find it again.  Providing Beth doesn't starve to death, I'm hoping to see lots of interesting ideas for local food.

Another attraction of local eating (speaking as a spectator, rather than a participant) is the idea that you are more likely to have some sort of interaction with the people producing your food.  I imagine Beth is likely to meet some interesting people.

Good luck!

Today was my first proper day of half-marathon training.  I started with an early morning run, 6.5 miles, from King Alfred's to the Marina and back.  The longest distance I'd run before was 4 miles so I was quite pleased to manage come back in just over 55 minutes.

At last night's event I was talking with someone about running and they said they found it boring.  They'd heard people say it felt good, but couldn't imagine that.  I always felt the same way but I've found that, once I've managed the first mile, I'm carried away by the rhythm of running.  It's a different feeling to anything else I know. 

After a quick shower I visited the Run shop on Blatchington Road to buy a new pair of running shoes.  These should be more suitable for my own feet and will hopefully prevent any damage as I work on longer distances.  The fitting process at Run is quite involved, including video analysis and test driving, but I came out feeling very happy about the shoes I'd bought.  Hopefully I can try them out properly on Sunday when I'm back in Coventry.

I'm continuing to enjoy the fitness sessions but I've been looking around for something to train for.  At the weekend my cousin mentioned the Cross-Bay Run, a half marathon across Morecombe bay.  I have about eleven weeks to build myself up to the distance but I have no fear.  I ran the Santa Dash, a three mile run along Brighton seafront in the rain.  Thirteen miles through the sands of Morecombe bay?  Piece of piss.

But I'm going to train hard, just in case.

So much of what I read is forgettable.  There are whole novels from which I retain nothing but an impression of like or dislike.  I recently found an online copy of a short story I remembered from when I was twelve, Light of Other Days.  It's even better than I recalled. 

• Brilliant article on the last 10 years in literature.  I don't agree with the predictions in the final section, but it's an interesting summary of the changes in recent years.
• Bookselling for Dummies – I wonder how much longer bookshops will exist on the high street?
• Brighton's Market Diner is being sold.  I have some great memories of that place.  I think I shall make a visit on Thursday night, after the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
• The ease of placing a 'fake' news story (via As Above)
• The Guardian on Britain's thriving poetry scene, an article which discusses none of the thriving areas of British poetry I know and enjoy.   That so much is happening can only be a good thing for British poetry.