Monday Sun

Despite the fact it's Monday it looks an absolutely gorgeous day. This is a definite walk to work day. The benefits of walking are evident in my general improvement in health, although it means I have less time for TED talks and other stuff. I tend to spend maybe two hours a day walking which should result in around 12K steps but vary between 8K and 15K, so sometimes I must walk more slowly and some days more quickly. I'm writing this as I'm getting dressed (which you really wouldn't want to see).

I am toying with disposing of my CD collection. A big chunk is in boxes , and while I love playing albums on CD and vinyl, if something is boxed up , it's not available to play. I have it all digitally stored (I think), so it would be a good idea to get some more space by getting rid of some boxes. But in those boxes there are CDs I wouldn't want to lose so it's not a simple task, but I am formulating a plan.

I'm in a similar mode with books and DVDs , I seldom watch DVDs though recently got around to watching the excellent "Looking for Eric" by the brilliant Ken Loach and featuring Eric Cantona, and yesterday I listened to a "Best of R Dean Taylor" , if I remember rightly the first white artist on Tamla Motown, though I may be wrong there, but was surprised at how many songs I knew on there outside of the big hits such as "Two of Us" and "Ain't It A Sad Thing" (which are possibly covers).

So I've chosen "There's A Ghost In My House" for you to enjoy, and I will soon be on my way to work. Enjoy your day my friends.

Please Smile

Today walking into town I saw a guy with a very fierce expression on his face . I smiled and said "Nice Day" but got no reaction. He then started cleaning his car. I then got on a bus and there was a guy looking miserable holding a scratch card. It may have been a winner but probably not, but he didn't look happy. I hope it was a winner and I hope he ended the day smiling.

Smiling releases endorphins and makes you feel better, and makes you better able to do whatever you want to do.

I've passed 900K on my Million Step Challenge but today has been an absolute trial. Firstly my phone seems to be losing and not recording steps. One example is first thing this morning that I took Fiona's phone upstairs for her and that registered 92 steps, mine registered 5 steps , and that's what it was on before I picked Fiona's phone up. Yesterday it registered 25 steps from bus stop to home , when it should have been 200 steps. I went for fish and chips on Friday , that's well over 2K steps , my phone decided I'd done 1K. So this is a little demoralising.

Then I've started feeling drained like all the strength is leaking from my arms and legs. If I can keep going for 20 minutes then I can overcome it, but it's like walking through treacle for 20 minutes. I won't let this combination of negativity stop me from completing the Million Steps by the end of July but it does feel like I'm pushing against something, but it won't stop me.

So an appropriate song would be Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" , I know it's Sunday and tomorrow  is Monday, but it's another week, another challenge. Push on my friends , push on.

How Glastonbury Happened

Just continuing through "Electric Eden" and I came across a couple of snippets about how the Glastonbury Festival actually got started. Michael Eavis apparently snuck into the Bath Blues festival and caught Led Zeppelin's set. A couple of months later he put together The Pilton Festival on his farm with The Kinks headlining. Stackridge and Amazing Blondel were on the set and The Kinks dropped out and were replaced by Tyrannosaurus Rex. The festival was virtually free and lasted the weekend and for a pound you got entry and a weekend's ration of milk.

The following year it was rebranded as "Glastonbury Fayre" and was again virtually free, there was no alcohol allowed and only vegan food. Michael Eavis is a Methodist and local pastors were in the crowd dancing and socialising. The acts this time were big hitters such as The Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Bowie and Bolan. The Pyramid Stage was constructed according to various mystical calculations and the festival was financed by a film made about it and the triple LP "Revelation"  (more here) that I bought at the time with a brilliant fold out cover. I just have a digital copy now but if you follow the links you can get your own.

The closeness of mystical sites like Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor added magic to the festival , but after that it did nit reappear until 1978, when it began the transition to the advertising corp fest with cash machines and phone masts that it is today.

Michael Eavis makes lots of money but donates lots to many worthy causes. He doesn't drink or do drugs and still maintains his Methodist faith, and long may he continue and prosper.

So basically I will finish this with my favourite song which includes the Festival's name it it's title, "Glastonbury Revisited" by The Cosmic Rough Riders

I know it's a bit wet but have a great Saturday.

Popularity

We hear a lot of certain things "going viral" , but I was wondering what makes something popular these days. Most of the posts on this blog get around 50 hits. The highest ones are between 1-2K and some have none. I don't know how many are robots and know that two or three friends read regularly. Though I seldom get any comments on here which makes me think maybe 90 % are robots. I think I've had maybe for or five comments since the blog started.

Recently I heard of some work experience person going viral on Southern Rail. I read his tweets and to be quite honest they were nothing special, but the public seemed to love it. Remember this is someone on work experience at a company that treats it's customers like cattle and yet those customers like X-Factor viewers just take whatever they are fed my their media choice.

So I haven't a clue what makes something popular. A huge media presence helps, talent and ability and fitness for purpose less so. Remember VHS smashed Betamax despite the latter being the better format.

The Internet and modern communications mean that any idea can become viral and therefore popular. I believe the Daily Mail has the most visited media website going, showing the amount of small minded people who are spoonfed the hate and drivel.

I'm sorry this has rambled in no particular direction, but one thing technology has given us is a chance to deal with the media dominated order. Any can become a star , they just need to be in the right place at the right time and have things drop for them. This may sound cynical but it really is just the way things are.

Anyway I hope I have made you think a bit.

I should include a song but what else should I choose but David Bowie's "Fame" . There was a man who worked hard through many failures to achieve his niche in the modern psyche. He went through name changes , images changes , a perpetual cultural and visual chameleon.

Not Getting Art and Music

I can't believe it's a week since my last post, it's amazing how time can just fly away. I had my annual diabetic review on Monday thinking I had done OK having lost 6Kg , reduced my insulin intake by 30% and improved my three month blood sugar reading (H1C ? ) , the consultant was unusual in that they seemed to want to find something to berate me so told me I was still overweight and if I hadn't reduced my nsulin the my H1C might have been better. How motiovational is that?

Part of the reason for the improvement is my Million Step Challenge , and general walking . I'm at 850K so am going to hit my target, and when I've completed it I will set a target of 350K a month for the future.

I've also got problems with drains so that may be an insurance claims as it may be a rogue tree root that's the cause of the problem. Again that takes time out of your day to sort out.

Yesterday morning on my walk to work the music that came on was Van Der Graaf Generator "Mr Sands" and "Splinter" , plus Peter Hamill's "Gaia" and Genesis' "Harlequin" not exactly inspirational listening but better that Radio One and it wasn't exactly lifting my mood, then walking down Barrack Road Half Man Half Biscuit's "Eno Collaboration" from "Voyage To The Bottom of the Road"came on. That did lift my mood and really set me up for the day.

Fur lunch I sampled some Thai Potato at Wildflower and I am really tempted to to have it again today. The day went well.

After work I visited "You’re Reading Into It: Queering Contemporary Minimalism"at Art Event at VANE which I didn't even know existed, curated by Oliver Doe , a really nice guy wearing a totally amazing suit. I was speaking to a girl who came in because she'd finished work and was also a fan of Wildflower, but said she didn't get  Art. I said my opinion was that if it had an effect the Art worked, that was the point of it. I took a couple of instagram videos which you can see here, but I suggest you get along and visit. It's a brilliant Art space and this is an excellent exhibitions.

So the song that set up my day is the one you get.

Have a good Thursday everyone.

Losing It

It's weird, you lose something, you go through all the scenarios of where and how you could have lost it, eventually give up and know that it's just lost, think about replacing it, but it isn't a life or death thing, so it slowly slips from your mind and thoughts. Then your friend Lynn texts you to ask if you are going to see The Coyotemen tomorrow night at The Doll at The Black Bull (They're supporting CBGBs royalty The FleshTones , you pull on your "Lawyers, Guns and Money" T-Shirt , grab the black denim jacket for a change, there's something heavy in the pocket, well heavier that normal , you fumble in your pocket and there is your lost camera complete with Pirate Ship video from Whitby.

The night got better, I met my mate Tom and we talked proper computing with testing, and nailing down specifications while dissing "Agile" "RAD" and "OO" before spilling my coke by placing it on a cunningly sloped table and finding out I'd missed a Garage Band festival in Leith by about fifty yards.

Anyway I hadn't written for a bit but thought it's never a good idea to give up hope, even when you've forgotten about what you had given up hope on. On Monday I hit my annual diabetic review having reduced my daily insulin intake by more than 50% basically thanks to walking, hopefully they will send me away with a gold star. I am 80% complete on the Million Step Challenge and when that is complete I intend to keep up at least 10K steps a day.

I was wondering if I could write 100 words tonight. I think I have, though not been too active in July, but we are only seven days in.

Tees With Stripes

I'm feeling like I'm about to drop and, it's funny how a post from your neighbour can remind you of something. Basically just a post about striped T-Shirts that reminded me of my favourite striped t-shirt wearer, Alex Harvey , Glaswegian Master Showman and rocker, who I saw maybe five times before he died (he was a lot younger than I am now, and the band still tour with a stand in for Alex and Zal Cleminson gets scarier as he ages disgracefully , as one should). So you get their excellent "Boston Tea Party".

I'm just back from Edinburgh and despite it being a joint capital, it is a remarkably pleasant place for just walking round, although it is veritably infested with suitcase pullers, at all times of day and night.

I wanted to visit some of the many record shops, and while I found at least five, And did nip into FOPP , the only one I got into was "Unknown Pleasures" on Canongate (which goes into the Royal Mile). It's chock full of vinyl and T-Shirts and I got myself a bit of vinyl. The guys who work there are great, really helpful and knowledgeable and here's my Instagram visit.

I don't know if I am suffering from the distances I walked in Edinburgh , or I am just decrepit and completely unfit for any kind of physical exertion, but we shall see.

OK Time for bed methinks.