Why Keanu Reeves must die

Rather depressingly I feel that the highlight of 2008 for me is getting into graphic novels and comics. There is a big section for graphic novels in Hillhead library, so at least I am not losing any money by reading these books. Although I need to get a guide to graphic novels, as well as a seminal batman graphics novel, so Amazon will get some more of my money. One of the graphics novels I realy like is about a magician called Constantine. Constantine was born in Liverpool, so a lot of the stories are based around the UK. So when they made the Constantine film they set it in the US and got Keanu Reeves to do his robot acting thing. I sort of liked the Constantine film when it came out, but after reading the comic, I feel reverse betrayed.

books on bankers and their evil schemes

About the good thing about the financial crisis, is that I no longer need to worry that I don't understand what "fiscal derivatives" are for, now that these dumb f*ck bankers have destroyed the economy. However I have done a small amount of reading about the current credit crunch. About a month ago I read "The great crash 1929" by Galbraith. I have to admit I didn't really get to much from the book, as to why the crash in the 20s happened. It did make me laugh that at the time people kept saying "the fundamentals of the economy were firm", as the economy imploded. My cousin gave me "does anything eat bankers" by Andy Zaltman. This is book of amusing explanations of the current mess. So I am now educated, but still poor. I still have to read the book called "the tulip" by Anna Pavord. This book was about the speculation on tulips in the C18th.

woken furies

I feel that I am really not reading much these days. However, I have managed to finish "woken furies" by Richard Morgan. The book is an action/science fiction book. I didn't fancy the book when I saw it in the library, but I really enjoyed reading the first book, so I have ended up reading the whole series. I was going to say that this book is a real page turner with no ideas. It is certainly true that the book is easy to read, but there are some interesting points abouts revolutionary movements.

new years resolution

So we are coming up to another new year again. It is time to start to make some new years resolutions. Obviously I mean new new years resolutions, rather than old new years resolutions, such as cutting down on the drinking. My new new year's resolution is to walk faster. I am frankly getting tired of being overtaken by people waking faster than me. It is particularly humilating when I am overtaken by some old person with white hair. The only time I walk faster than anyone, is when a couple is slowmy making the way down the road filled with love and enjoyment of the world. I of course snear at them, muttering "credit crunch", as I march past them.

hip flask

I am obviously well known for my temperance work in the bars and clubs of Glasgow. I have often felt that I would quite like a hip flask to store some fruit juice, so I could pass around in my crusade, or to moisten my lips at the end of a hard days work, when I am staying in some hotel. In a store in Burnley I saw a hip flask for 5 pounds. I looked at it and it looked at me and I decided I was not ready to carry a hip flask and lose afternoon to the haze. Also, it would be a nightmare to take a hip flask on an airplane. I am sure that the security people would be thrilled to see a metal flask with liquid in it.

F**k it

My brother gave me the book "F**k it" by John Parkin for Christmas. This is a self help book, based on the idea of "letting go", using the swear word as a metaphor. I read it on the train back from Burnley to Glasgow. On the section on relationships, there was a section on testing partner problems. One of the toxic questions was "will you wtill love me when I am old or cripled?" This made me think that we really need is a computer modelling program, that would allow a more definite test. Rather than your partner asking annoying questions, it would be much better to put both people in a virtual environment and really test the relationship to breaking point. Want to know whether your partner will still love you if you get sent to prison, or lose your left leg, then all you need to do is to sit in my virtual simulator, and in an about you will know the truth. Why waste a decade of your life? One possible disadvantage would be that marriage would really fall off. Of course I would be very rich, so it would not all be bad news. Since I usually say totally the wrong thing, I would build in a hidden AI into the simulator, so the AI would say the right things, while I cleaned the sheets on my bed and made sure that I had enough condoms. Now that I am feeling a bit more refreshed, I can finally start writing my own self help book called "Can't be arsed!"

No snow storm

Well, I was actually looking forward to being snowed in. I could take some time to detox, perhaps read a few books. I kept peeking out my window through out the night, but there was no snow. In the morning, it was just cold rain. I was happy that all the nasty ice had been washed away. I am not very stable on my feet at the best of times, so I feel trapped by ice.

Snow storm

The storm is coming! The last 2 months of stress filled work has stopped me blogging. Perhaps, more importantly, I didn't hassle my landlord enough to fix my boiler. I moved into a new place a couple of months ago. The boiler never worked. There was one attempt to fix the pilot light. I should have hassled them more, but I assumed things were happening when they were not. Now the snow is coming and there is no heating in flat (apart from a small electric fire keeping my butt warm). It all seems like the penultimate scene from the film "The Day After Tomorrow", where the young kids huddle in a library as some new super cold weather comes in and tries to freeze them. I got a couple of extra cans of beans at the store, just in case I get frozen in. If the ice storm lasts longer, I will just go around to another flat in the building and eat a resident.

The Magician

I have now arranged that all my unread books sit on two bookshelves. I now own so many unread books that there is no reason for me to buy more, and yet .... One dusty old paperback book is "Cakes and Ale" by W.Somerset Maugham . This looked like a worth book that I should read. However I was tempted at the Hillhead library to read "The Magician" by Maugham instead. This book was one of his earlier ones, but was loosly based on Aleister Crowley, although Crowley was never possessed any real magical powers (sorry guys). As many of the reviewers note the book starts very slowly, but gradually it speeds up, with black magic, possession and human sacrifice. What I need to read now is "Of Human Bondage", that is described by amazon as "Of Human Bondage" is the first and most autobiographical of Maugham's masterpieces. It is the story of Philip Carey, an orphan eager for life, love and adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg, and a brief spell in Paris as would-be artist, Philip settles in London to train as a doctor. And that is where he meets Mildred, the loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a formative, tortured and masochistic affair which very nearly ruins him.

numb3rs

Umm, somehow all the deadlines I have had recently have joined together into a couple of months of stress. I have hardly managed to write anything at all. Although I have been able to regularly watch "numb3rs" on TV. I would like to point out that I view watching numb3rs is actually work, because it is about mathematics and Universities.

I am back....

I seem to have developed a terrible case of bloggers block. I had a number of deadlines, one after another. All my energy has been sapped. Anyway I am back....

Broken Angels

I have just finished reading "Broken Angels" by Richard Morgan. This was a science fiction novel centered around Takeshi Kovacs: the main character in Altered Carbon. I really enjoyed the book. If you are interested in the plot, there is stuff you can look at. Yeah it was brutal. I was beginning to get an annoyed about the number of times he told everyone that he was an "envoy". Envoys were some kind of super soldier, because they had been mentally trained. After while, he did begin to sound like an Oxbridge graduate, as he he let slip that he was an ex-Envoy to another bunch of new people. At least with Oxbridge graduates they all wear ties and scarves, so you can think about strangling them while they describe their ancient teduim of college life. Not because I am jealous, but as city dweller I pity those simple town folk. For reasons still not clear to me Hillhead library tempted me to check out a book by Primo Levi. That is perhaps more worthy, but less fun. There used to be an attampt to get people to put down "Jedi Knight" as religon on the census form. Now, thanks to the crap recent films, this is no longer cool. Anyway I am now a quellist!

Jandek

I was listening to the freakzone on radio6 last week. Stuart played a song by Jandek, and talked a bit about his history. Jandek had put out a huge number of albums since the late 70s. He never gave interviews and you you could only get his work from a PO box in Austin Texas. No one really knew who he was. I obviously find this kind of mystique way cool. but I also really like his crazed playing. You can only get second hand Jandek CDs on Amazon. I just ordered a recording of a set he did in Glasgow, but the review on wikipedia, claimed that this CD was not his normal style. Boo hoo, this is going to get complicated. I want Jandek crazy playing CDs and I want them now!

The Mill

I have just been out to see a band play at "The Mill". This is what the Oran Mor (on great Western Road) venue is called on Wednesday. You have to text them to get free tickets. The event is sponsered by Miller beer of course, but I was perhaps naively hoping that there might be some other kind beer available. When I hit the bar all the pumps were covered up with Miller signs and the fridge was full of miller beer glaring at me. The future perahos. Anyway the tickets were free, so what did I expect. Tonight Tokyoblu played. I enjoyed them, but I wasn't really in the mood. They opened the season at the Mill with Thomas Tanturm playing. I really wanted to see them play, but the tickets were not made generally available. Oh well perhaps I will get another chance.

twitter

In the past I know I have infuriated people because I don't like to tell people where I am. Particularly when I am on holiday. So it surprises me by how much I am enjoying using twitter. Twitter allows me to make small posts of 140 characters. This sounds pretty dull, until you find yourself writing a post on what you have for breakfast (pop tarts). The full tedium of life will be available for all to see and wallow in. I have signed up my mobile phone so that I can post from anywhere. This is a stalkers dream. Of course some people are posting their progress as they leave New Orleans before the storm hits, while I tell people when I am going shopping in Tesco. My cunning plan is to provide "information overload". I say I am doing X, while in fact I am enjoying a little bit of Y.

Turing

There is a famous Artificial Intelligence (AI) test by Alan Turing that involves a computer trying to convince you that it is human via a teletype. Given that AI has a reputation for non achievement and bullshit, the Turing test seemed very impractical. Of course who could have predicted that people's need to sell penis enlargement pills could have driven such dramatic progress in computer science over that made by dullards working in Universities. Amazon tempted me to buy "The annotated Turing -- a guide through Alan Turing's historic paper on computability and the Turing machine". I am not an AI loser, this book is about computing.

Istanbul beaches

This article in the Guardian has humiliated me. There were beaches in Istanbul? Although I live a child free life, even I know that children are bored doing tourist things.

I finally get library music

Although I regularly listen to the freakzone on radio6, I never really got the section on library music. Luckily the guardian has an explanation. I tried to get buy some of the books from Amazon, but I note how expensive the radiophonic CDs are. Bah collectors.

What does China think

While on my travels I read "What does China think" by Mark Leonard. The book was a set of interviews with Chinese intellectuals about the future of China. Perhaps rather depressingly, many of them seemed to have a vision of what they wanted for the future China.

Sin City

God damm Hillhead library. I didn't go to the pub after work tonight. I thought I could read a few more chapters from "Mind Performance Hacks", but instead I read the graphics novel "Sin City 6" by Frank Miller. Guilty pleasures indeed. I was so sad when Marv was killed in the Sin City film. When I was looking for graphic novel in the library, I thuink to read some guide on graphic novels, in case I ended up reading some crap.