So Much For Ragnarok

I've just finished Neil Gaiman's "Norse Mythology" and it is an excellent read, not as long or bawdy as Stephen Fry's "Mythos" but no less entertaining.

There's lots of things in it that are mirrored in Game of Thrones (never ending winter and frost giants) and lots of other genres, but the stories are told in the style of a fireside teller whereas Stephen Fry aligned them with contemporary equivalents, both excellent story telling methods, and I was looking forward to the end game of Ragnarok, the end of all things.

One thing this book brought home to me is that Loki is a particularly nasty piece of work, sort of Joffrey with added intelligent malice. Maybe it's that I think Tom Hiddleston's Marvel take can be endearing at times, although I suppose that engenders the nastiness of Loki, he can be nice as pie as he is engineering someone's murder or betrayal while covering his own tracks and framing someone else to take the blame.

So Ragnarok came and it , to me, was just another story, Fenris Wolf and The Midgard Serpent are Godzilla like figures and too big o seriously defeat, although they are defeated which means that the gods but have suddenly increased in size or the creatures decreased in size. Also it was a case of listing who killed who, more like a shopping list than a battle narrative. Still I suppose that's what you would get if you were sitting round fire.

As I am writing this 6Music are playing a lot of Drum and Bass as though it is some kind of revelatory genre. I've always wondered why Drum and Bass never features any Bass, it's just a fast repeated drum sequence and then songs / pieces are built up over that. I have no problem with it, but it does amaze me how so many people say they don't want to be pigeonholed and then decided they are part of some grouping.

So for post 1943, I'm going back to 1943 for "2 O'Clock Jump" by Harry James which is a decent piece of jazz, although I saw something called "Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition" by Kay Kyser and the comments on the Youtube post are frightening (right wing snowflakes taking offence at anything not like them) especially with the song being like a cheery church quire, and almost a justification for Ragnarok. I had originally heard the line on the amazing "Texas Jerusalem Crossroads" by Lift To Experience. I thought the line was blackly funny, and it is until you read those comments.

To Buy or Not To Buy

... that is the question, I was thinking about getting a Google Pixel 3A and then I thought "What will it give me that I don't already have?". The onboard memory is double that of my Pixel , but that is really a minor thing. It may have better battery life, a faster processor and better cameras, but the reality is that it will not tangibly improve my life. I still miss the Samsung Note Stylus, but I am not paying a grand to be able to use a dedicated stylus every now and then.

Whether it's age or just being sensible I think for the foreseeable future I will just keep my current phone on my SIM Only plan.

It's like the roll out of 5G, seriously what do I need that for. I can see it's uses in a large scale or industrial environment, but for personal users the benefits, again, don't really affect you or me.

I've just finished Stephen Fry's "Mythos" and absolutely loved it and am following that up with Neil Gaiman's "Norse Mythology" which I am sure I will enjoy , being a fan of almost all mythologies, and I got into them at School not through Stan Lee's comics (that is not a dig at Stan Lee, just me showing my age).

The blog is set to hit 200K page views tonight, which is an unexpected surprise due to Feedburner helping me to hit 20K views this month. I really didn't see that one coming. Also I was only intending to do about 15 posts this month to hit 2K posts since the blog started, but I have manged to post 32 times this month.

A Sudden Surge on Seven Days In

Given that the post numbers are now corresponding with the years of our current timestream, I thought for the next ninety posts I could use a piece of music from the corresponding year. This is post 1932 so we'll go with the Cole Porter song "Night and Day" from "The Gay Divorcee" performed by Fred Astaire. I bet you weren't expection that. Although the first time I heard this song it was John Peel playing Tuxedomoon's take on it.

A Muse Ment

This is my thirteenth post on the thirteenth day of this month and is post number 1913 since I started this blog. That is quite a lot of 13s coming together and it was not contrived at all, I promise.

Still enjoying Stephen Fry's "Mythos" and one of the things that I love about it is that it reminds me of things I'd forgotten and expands my knowledge of something I know. Stephen Fry does make a very good teacher.

Again, going through the origins of Greek Mythology he points out the origins of the words and  you think "oh is that where THAT came from" or I didn't know that" or "I'd forgotten that".

He's  listing The Muses, and the first one on the list is Calliope. I know Calliope from the line in Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light":

".. the Calliope crashed to the ground"

I'd always imagined a Calliope being a circular ride and the image was of one coming off its axis and crashing down, but no, it's the steam driven fairground organ that we've all heard, so the image still works, and I now know that Calliope is the Muse of Epic Poetry.

Then there is Terpsichore and both Stephen Fry and I were introduced to this Muse via the Monty Python Cheese Shop sketch:

O: Oh, I thought you were complaining about the bouzouki player!

C: Oh, heaven forbid: I am one who delights in all manifestations of the Terpsichorean muse!

O: Sorry?

C: 'Ooo, Ah lahk a nice tune, 'yer forced to!

O: So he can go on playing, can he?

C: Most certainly! Now then, some cheese please, my good man.

So it is a beautiful sunny morning, even though it's Monday, and I am looking forward to this week. The song has to be "Blinded By The Light" which features the line at the end of the first verse.

The End of The Weekend

I was apprehensive about reading Stephen Fry's "Mythos" mainly due to the number of pages and the small type after James O'Briens' excellent "How To Be Right" (both shorter and with larger type so easier to read for my ancient eyes).

That's one of the benefits of eReaders, you get to choose the size of the font, although the bigger the font the more pages / page turns you effectively get, but it really does put you in control.

Anyway I am a fan of all mythologies and in "Mythos" Fry takes on the Greeks and it is incredibly readable, dashing all my apprehensions. It's like having a lesson from a really good teacher or watching an episode of QI, and he illustrates the very beginnings of Greek mythology often using contemporary illustrations and more than a little humour. He also brings his ego to bear, but non of this is to the detriment of the book, which I am now looking forward to having a very enjoyable ride through.It really is that good.

Today also saw the culmination of the English Premier League with Manchester City pipping Liverpool who were 25 points ahead of Chelsea. Liverpool finished second with 97 points after losing only one match this season, a stunning achievement, but even more stunning was Manchester City taking the title. LIverpool now have a Champions League Final to play.

So a great end to the weekend, and tomorrow sees another visit to the Freeman Hospital for me, though this time it is relatively minor and nowhere near the extreme discomfort of last week's endoscopy.

So I hope your weekend has been good, and just to vaguely find a related song and thought I would go for "Pandora's Box" by Procol Harum, which I always found vaguely sinister with it's off kilter signature motif, though apparently their name is Latin for "Far From Things" so not Greek, although Greek and Roman Mythologies were always interchangeable.

One Book To Another

Well last night's visibility experiment was inconclusive, but I am doing another evening post. This time it's about  the books I'm reading. I've just finished the excellent "How To Be Right" by James O'Brien and I am following that up with "Mythos" by Stephen Fry.

"How To Be Right" was easy to read with decent sized type over 220 pages, but "Mythos" sort of gives me the horrors because it's over 400 pages of small type.

"How To Be Right" helps to prepare you for dealing with with, shall we say, the difficult people and situations of the modern world and has been great to read, if more than a tad worrying , but a lot of people I know fall into that category, who refuse to examine what causes their beliefs that certain situations are true and cannot be challenged. Their paper of choice is The Metro (published by The Daily Mail) because it's free. I really shouldn't say any more.

"Mythos" is a completely different ball game tapping into my love of all  mythology , though this one is hitting the Greek strand. As a kid I loved reading Norse, Celtic, Roman , Greek and further mythology, so despite the small print I am looking forward to it.

So I will not go with another Pete Wylie song, but this time I will go for "Jason and the Argonauts" by XTC from their album "English Settlement" as it does fit in with the Greek Mythology connection.

Librarinth

Librarinth, a word that appeared in "The Liar", the debut novel by  by Stephen Fry (which I bought second hand years ago, but have never read) in a scene where a a course leader is semi admonishishing a student for plagiarism and effectively titling him with "The Liar" of the title. I don't knwo if Mt Fry made the word up or stole it from someone else, probably the latter, but it does completely describe how a lot of people's homes I know could end up , when the shelves are filled with books and then the books end up in piles spreading throughout the room, leaving the only way to traverse it and the corridors between the book built walls of the librarinth.

This week is looking incredibly packed and the wonderful song "Not So Manic Now" by Dubstar is just being played by John Hillcock on 6Music and that would be a good mantra for my week. Need to remember you can only do what can be done and then everything will get done. Though my first dilemma is do I walk into work or do I get the bus.? We shall see.

Anyway I will run off now and start my work week.

Fry Television

"The Catcher In The Rye" is on the pile to go to the Charity shop, but since then have discussed it and Fiona pointed out that it was probably the genesis of the anti-hero. At one point the nover was the most censored and most read novel in the USA and probably the UK. See, despite me not liking the experience of reading it I am still writing about it and thinking about it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to stretch their mind a little.

At the time the novel was published (1951) there were children and there were adults, there was nothing in between and "Catcher In The Rye" addressed that. Today we still deem sixteen year olds not mature enough to vote but mature enough to get married, raise a family and shoot a gun. Then there was the Mark Chapman connection elucidated far better than I could here. Hopefully that puts a lid on it on this blog for me.

I wanted more fiction for my next book and noticed Stephen Fry's debut novel "The Liar" in my reading pile. I thought I had read it but ten pages in I don't recognise it at all so that will be my reading for the next week or so.

On my walks I have been listening to the first two Television albums "Marquee Moon" and "Adventure" and while they sound a little underproduced and rougher than I remember there is no doubt that music, particuarly the guitar play between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd is well worth listening to. The songs mainly consist of basic rhyms driven by complex guitar motifs rather than chords.

The song "Marquee Moon" is ten minutes of mostl;y two simple chords allowing the guitars to weave the song on top of this construct plus the brilliant couplet:

"I remember how the darkness doubled

I remember lightning struck itself "

Conjusring up som amazing images. "Ain't That Nothin'" from "Adventure" at the time was one of my favourite guitar solos and when I heard it on John Peel that made me rush out and buy. The digital copies contain alternate takes and rough demos and are worth listening to. These albums are still must haves for any collection.

So enjoy your Easter Monday my friends.

Inspiration Comes From The Oddest Sources

My Bedside Book Pile

Although today's source of inspiration is actually probably quite a normal source of inspiration. On of the reasons I write this blog is the hope that one day it will provide me with the idea to actually write a book. Well in six years the inspiration hasn't come , although it has kept my hand in putting pen to paper , or rather fingers to keys.

Anyway beside my bed is a pile of books which one day I should get round to reading. One of the books was "The Ode Less Travelled" Stephen Fry's book on poetry. Within a couple of pages I saw the obvious subject for what could be my book . No it isn't poetry , and while I've written a few songs , a book of my poetry would be a complete no go, though I have a few Felix Dennis volumes in my collection - but is one of the few super rich people I have time for , along with Richard Branson and Chris Blackwell.

Anyway my book has a title and the first chapter is underway , I know how it will end , and know big chunks of what will happen between start and finish.  Once I'm finished I have at least two literary friends who can advise about proof reading , editing , and will tell me if it's rubbish or not.

So it's a case of watch this space. I've downloaded the Amazon Self Publishing kit , but the main thing is the inspiration has finally hit.

Twitter No More , Instagram No More ...

Not quite "Letter From America" by The Proclaimers , but it sounds sort of snappy. Today I deleted my Twitter and Instagram accounts. The real reason was that really I didnt get anything from them , and you do that many tweets or Instagram Pictures that they just get lost in the billions of posts on both planforms . Twitter is supposed to be 140 character limit yet allows pictures , and now 6 second video clips!! Instagram , while it has some interesting filters , results in a lot of dross between the good pictures , though I suppose you could say that of all digital photographs.

The other thing I think both these platforms stop you from posting anything interesting anywhere , you post almost without thinking. I know there's a lot of famous people on there , but if Stephen Fry says something really worth hearing it will find it's way out of Twitter.

I'll probably keep my Facebook account , as it has got me in touch with people who I'd lost touch with , and can enable me to do what I did on Twitter and Instagram.. So you won't see anymore hashtags from me , I don't know if my old tweets stay or will be removed , I'm not bothered either way. And if I hadn't deleted the accounts I wouldn't be writing this post.

Lot's of people like Twitter and find it useful , though some people just seem intent on following as many people as they can. Just decided they are not for me any more

Thoughts On Writing

The reason I started writing this blog was because I hoped I would get an idea for writing a book or screenplay. My basic problem is that I am not motivated and too lazy to take the next step , well that's my opinion.

A blog is a diary and some contain some brilliant writing. It's a great way or remembering things you don't want to forget. There have been many incidents where I go back into the blog to have a chuckle about certain events , the B & Q application form being one that springs to mind.

I am currently reading "The Thurber Carnival" , a collection of  James Thurber short stories and realise that in order to write you have to be disciplined enough to research , or just know lots of things like , say , Stephen Fry.

As well as this you have to have a spark of originality or a muse to create a work that others want to immerse themselves in.

The internet and Amazon's self publishing package mean now that anyone can publish a book if they believe they have the capacity to produce a worthwhile work. The problem being it starts becoming literary karaoke where people believe that they are the next Dan Brown and have the key to untold riches.

I was shocked to hear that the average earnings for a writer was around four thousand pounds per annum. When you think how much the big earners make some writers must be on pennies.

I have incredible respect for my friend Paul Campbell who packed in his job and became a script writer. Similar to another friend Bob Armstrong who did a similar thing to become an artist.

This is another post I'm writing using the iPad's Note application. I reckon that the iPad with the addition of a keyboard is a very useful piece of kit, although when you have no internet connection you can feel a little lost.

Twitter - It's Just For Lazy Verbal Exhibitionists!

This week Ryan Babel of Liverpool football club has been censured for twittering about Howard Webb's handling of their cup tie with Manchester United. To be honest I agree with Mr Babel , though the FA takes a different view.

Also we have Stephen Fry , Dara O' Briain and lots of other high profile tweeters or twitterers , posting their 140 character thoughts via their mobile devices. Babel's sin was compounded by the addition of an image of Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt. What's that about? Twitter with pictures?? It's meant to be a limited text service.

It's like when there was talk of DAB services transmittting enhanced content such as images and video!! Isn't that television?

Anyway still think that Twitter is just for people who cant be bothered to properly socialise , as I say lazy verbal exhibitionists!! If you must tweet or twitter , here's a few devices that may feed your addiction !!!