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[533] Time September 29th, 2007 – 6:12pm Posted in Bad Things, Thoughts 2 comments

One minute you’re 12 kicking a football around; the next you’re 19 watching a band; then you’re 26 listening to True wondering where time has gone. A few things have happened recently to make me wonder if I shouldn’t, perhaps, be so casual about how I look at life. I’ve always wanted kids and it’s struck me that although I have no problem in the lady department, when you look at it I’m actually in exactly the same boat as I was when I was 18 – ie, as it stands I’m nowhere near having children of my own. Soon both Lark and Eiren will be grown up and I’ll lose that part of my life, and that worries me a little. I’m not sure what the answer is, though. I know that I’d rather not have children at all than be with someone wrong for me just for the …read more.

[532] Idealised example #492 September 22nd, 2007 – 11:08am Posted in People 6 comments

[530] Saxondale September 21st, 2007 – 2:31pm Posted in Thoughts 2 comments

Last night I went to see the modern rock band Incubus with Lark. Average age of the audience: 15.6 years. Average hair colour: purple, with a wisp of green. Average feeling I had: old. Now people always say stuff like, “when did this happen?!”, or, “it only seems like yesterday I was 15.6 and had purple hair with a wisp of green”, but I haven’t found it’s been like that at all. There’ve been a series of moments since I was about 24 after which, every time, I’ve noticed that I don’t quite fit in somewhere in the way I used to. And that’s all it is really – just a brief moment where you can’t quite associate with the people around you instead of not thinking for a second about them, or realising that a whole new fashion and genre has come along to replace the one you grew …read more.

[529] A cup of tea September 18th, 2007 – 5:24pm Posted in Good Things, Thoughts No comments

Northern culture is difficult to pin down in a few small words; probably because, I think, beyond the superficial images and expectations we all have of Northern life lies the real picture of many sub-cultures living their own lives with only the loosest of ties.

The North differs by location: Manchester has a spirit quite removed from Liverpool. Newcastle and Leeds are similar but distinct. It differs by wealth: a few of the poorest boroughs in the country are a fifteen minute ride from country land held by the same family for centuries. It differs by politics: staunch camps, white and red like the skin and blood that followed. And the North varies in looks: gentle, wave-like mounds of glacial rubble strafe the Lakes while thunderous waves crash against the opposite coast. It’s a pretty varied place, really.

Now, I don’t claim to be a cultural anthropologist or historian of any kind, …read more.

[528] Geek-o-meme September 15th, 2007 – 3:37pm Posted in Comics, Daft 1 comment

Good Lord, I’ve been “tagged” by John (in this post). Internet status – level up! It’s a bit like the empowerment of a mate stealing your joke and not giving you credit for it, when you know everyone else in the room already knows it was yours in the first place. Or catching a glance of a girl’s eye in a darkened room as a distant light casts a shadow across her cheeks. It’s a good thing.

By sheer coincidence I awoke this morning having just come out of a vivid dream about Spider-Man which gave me the inspiration for a top 30: all-time favourite characters. As I said to Leigh ages ago, I’ve been trying to do a top 30 TNG moments, but it’s just impossible to pick them out and find the clips. John’s meme kind of supercedes the top 30 characters thing, so I’ll come up with …read more.

[527] Cracked ribs September 13th, 2007 – 4:59pm Posted in Events No comments

I cracked a couple of ribs the other night during a spot of tomfoolery. The pain isn’t inconvenient, especially on painkillers, apart from when I’m sleeping and I waken every time I turn in my sleep. Oxford Dictionary, define, “annoying”. It’s supposed to take two or three weeks to heal, which I think is pretty remarkable when you imagine bone reforming and healing over.

Tomorrow I’ll finally meet my Facebook buddy/Irish’s sister Lydia and her boyfriend Jonathan, and if I’m up to it (because these painkillers are making me very drowsy and socially inept) I’ll pop along to a 40th with them for a bit. Saturday’s Ellie’s 18th, quite a controversial one for reasons not of her own making so I’ll endeavour to liven the place up as best I can. And then on Sunday morning I’m on Godfather duties for Myles, my latest cousin. I’ll be 52 when he’s my …read more.

[526] Her September 9th, 2007 – 7:38pm Posted in Thoughts No comments

There’s a photo I see, her eyes look into mine, every round of her face drifts into my smile like a small-screen script. I know every time I see her that there’ll be no other, that it’s second best all the way from now. Grin and bear it Richard. You’re not the one for her, but you’re swimming in a sea of fish. You’re a good looking lad, Richard! Don’t worry. Thanks for that, mother. Shame it’ll never be enough for my English rose. A poetic soul and heartfelt eyes can never be enough, hold your

head high and keep your sighs to a sigh.

[525] If I’m honest, then… September 9th, 2007 – 7:20pm Posted in Bad Things, Thoughts No comments

What I really need to get round to doing is setting up an anonymous blog where I can actually put down the kind of stuff I used to back when I didn’t care who read it (whereas now, I’m slightly more conscious of it). A private diary, I hear you say? No, validation is the essence of all writing. Confirmation of the power of prose and the truth of your thoughts is probably what most men strive for. Eternally condemned am I to a battle between the attention of those who know me personally and who see the side of me I convey on here, with an urge to let my heart out and describe in all its vagaries the ups and downs of this sorry existence we all endure with a plastered grin.

I ask myself quite often if there’s a reason why I lapse into these phases where being …read more.

[523] Amazing Spider-Man 27 September 5th, 2007 – 11:41pm Posted in Comics No comments

Now this is a damn funny issue in a few places, but this bit takes the biscuit.

Amazing Spider-Man 27: “Although I kinda hate to take sloppy seconds!”

Simple times. Happy days.

[521] Amazing Spider-Man 26 September 4th, 2007 – 11:10pm Posted in Comics No comments

I’ve been reading comics on and off for years but it’s only recently I’ve got into them in any concerted way. At the moment, courtesy of John, I’ve been reading through Spidey from the start and have really enjoyed them so far. It struck me that this was an opportunity to record something from the beginning – my association with Spidey. Like any character I expect to recognise things in him and the stories that others wouldn’t see, and vice versa. So, purely out of interest to myself and any passing nerds, I’ll go back over what I’ve read so far and here’s the first of a few frames I’ll pop up whenever I see something that makes me think. These entries will bear little resemblance to John’s, I suspect, as I’ve no nerdy knowledge whatsoever to call upon – anything I say will purely be taking a comic book …read more.

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