Memory

As people get older they get more worldy wise and forget their dreams from the relentant onslaught of reality. It would be good to dump out a persons personality to a DVD. They could then remember what is was like to be them, say 10 years ago. This would have political implications. Would the new labor crowd be a bunch of soulless robots, if they remember that they got into politics to help society. This was the basis of an unwritten story called "the hippie stick". When I was younger I speculated that I was the only person in the world. Everything else was manufactured by robots controlled by aliens. Extra parts of the world were created when I moved around. I can no longer really believe this. Perhaps, I am older and wiser, or I have I lost part of my speculative nature. I expect that moving out from the confines of Knutsford has probably helped.

Cigar

I am going to Cuba next week. The main thing I starting to worry about is whether I will have to smoke a Cuban cigar. I am sure it is not compulsory. But they are so cheap. I would look so cool standing in a bar with a glass of rum smoking a huge cigar. People would think I am a success (at last). The only problem is that the 10 cigarettes I smoked when I was 16 nearly made me throw up. I assume having going to toilet to puke up every hour will not look so impressive. Still if this is the price for success and coolness, then I may just have to pay it.

Today

I just got another rejection email from the Today program. This is part of my campaign to be allowed to do a "prayer for today slot". Here is the email. One day I will be on. --------------------------------------- Dear Craig, Thank you for sending us yet another tape of you doing a prayer for today slot. I think you misunderstand at a fairly basic level, one of the key ideas behind 'prayer for today'. This slot is meant to have some kind of religious content. You on other hand seem to oscillate between a deep hatred of God (and no doubt of yourself) and a fairly deep conviction in his nonexistence. After listening to your piece I became firmly convinced that a morality can not be torn from theology. I am sure that finding meaning from being on the toilet is quite amusing to the "Tate Modern crowd", but most normal people find it just crude. As for the sound effects, I personally would not wish them on Tony Blair. This is not the kind of thing a person wants to listen to at 7:50 in the morning. Please don't bother to send us any more tapes. In fact we are not even so happy knowing that you are listening to us. Try Radio 1. Regards, The editor (Today Program, Radio 4)

Sunday

I spent most of the day at work. I wondered down for a while around 4. The shops were all closing, but the karoke bars were doing a great business. People do like a sing-song on Sunday afternoon. I ate a fairly dodgey portion of chips. I am not going there again. I should have gone to my regular place for a chicken salad. I saved two pounds. I am slowly reading the book "Reengineering the corporation". I am not sure why I am reading so many business books. There is a great excitement about them saving money on insurance claims. Would my heart be in it? Perhaps, if I was involved in some big new technology such as developing the Ipod. On reflection I would be bored.

Datsuns

I went out to see the Datsuns play last night at the Carling academy in Liverpool. It was a good set. It was very hot in the venue and I had to keep cold by drinking lots of beer. The venue was very full as well. I stayed on the balcony near the bar, because the area near the stage was very active. When I get stronger, perhaps I will be at the front of the swaying masses. I prefer to be closer to the stage, but this was not a good night for this. The Datsuns sounded more metal than I remembered (not that is a bad thing). I have not played their CD for a while, so the only song I noticed was Hong Kong Fooey.

DVDs and imagination

I am beginning to worry that my imagination is poorly. As I wonder the streets the Liverpool in a dream like state, my so called dreams look familiar. Unfortunately, I am not connected to ancient but lost civilizations (around the bronze age), but am just getting flashbacks from the recent DVDs I have watched. How dreary! I need some exercise for my imagination. I know there are books I could read. I met somebody in the pub who was recording his dreams for a creative writing class. I did say I felt that having something to write about was an important prerequisite for attending a creative writing class. Perhaps, I am not the problem. Perhaps, all reality is encoded in DVD films. There are hidden messages about the meaning of it all and hints on the quest to immortality hidden in those little disks. I am convinced I need to watch more DVDs. Sounds like the plot from Pi though.

Tokyo and Liverpool merge

After drinks at the pub after work on Friday, I walked to Tescos to get Chinese food and sake. I was a bit woozy, but I am sure I was a huge TV screen outside the supermarket with some kind of 24 news coverage. Liverpool is turning into Tokyo. Big interactive screens will show non-stop adverts and news from such bastions of 'objectivity': Fox news. Perhaps, Liverpool and Tokyo will become spatially merged with wormholes. One minute you are looking at the Liver building and the next a doorway to a friendly sake bar offers itself to you. On the other hand the screen could have just been a dream caused by too many viewings of the film 'blade runner'.

Swamp

This is turning out to be a very strange summer. I spent all day sweating and then walked home in the rain. Perhaps, we will all migrate back into the ocean and swim around the marble pillars of Atlantis. More likely we will continue to complain about the weather. I read today that there is prozac in the water. Perhaps, aliens see that we are unhappy and depressed and are dumping prozac into the lakes. If I had read more than the headline I would know more details. This is what the unholy marriage of heat and rain do to a person.

Sake

I drank some nice sake last night. Tesco now sells sake for 6 pounds a bottle. This is more reasonable than paying 8 at oddbins. I need to get a sake drinking set. It looks like e-bay is the place for that. I only have one sake drinking cup. Experience has shown my enthusiasm for sake is greater than those around me. (Although my mum seems to always want a refill when we eat out at Japanese restaurants). I do like sake. I think it might give me magical powers. Perhaps, it will make me immortal, or make me impervious to bullets. There are clearly mountain spirits swirling in the sake, that are released from bondage by my act of raising the sake cup to my lips. I watched the end of: Duel at Ichijoji temple. This was part 2 of a samurai trilogy. The film confirmed what I had always thought: women like men with swords. The film does have the line like "through my training I have discovered I like my sword more than you".

Robots

I went to see the new film 'I robot' last night. I sort of enjoyed it, but Will Smith wasn't his usual self (and he wasn't pushing any acting boundaries either). Why do people hate machines and technology so much? I have never liked the "we human beings are not as smart as you logic machines, but we are still better because we are non-logical and a little bit crazy" argument. It sort of misses the fact that the majority of humans are quite happy going for a beer and watching TV. If Intelligent machines are ever built, they will almost certainly not be wholly based on logic.

Fitness

I am slowly starting to train in martial arts again. I stopped training almost over a year ago and I can feel the lack of fitness. I am not sure if I can manage the discipline of regular training. The kungfu school I am training in is close to the center of Liverpool, so I don't have the long commute to St. Helens (where I used to train). Some of the ballistic stretches look a bit scary to me, but I need to do something, as I can feel my body falling apart.

Sandals

Even though summer seems to have been cancelled in England, I have found that my feet have been getting hotter and hotter in my boots. I have finally decided to get some sandals and let my feet experience some fresh air. I now look like some kind of hippy. This is a small price to pay for cooler feet. My main worry is that my (fairly poor) kicking ability is weakened with out a good firm shoe on my feet. Perhaps, there is some special technique to use the strap to cause more pain. Look, I am no hippy. OK?

graphic novel

I am reading the first part of "lone wolf and cub" a famous Japanese graphic novel. I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy it. This is a tale of a samurai and his son. After I have finished this, I will move onto "the league of extraordinary gentleman". (I have seen the film and it sucked, but the novel is meant to be good).

street people

I spent all day at work today. I was going to note that there are less prostitutes and druggies hanging around the University of Liverpool campus. Sunday usually puts more street people on the street looking for money. I worry that police have moved the people off somewhere else so that I can go to the spar shop and buy microwave burgers in peace. That would be bad. The next stage would be moving to a walled in community. On reflection somebody asked for 40p from me yesterday. I didn't give them anything, but I had the opportunity to part with some spare change. I am still compassionate! My life is pretty sad, if the highlight of the weekend was going to the spar, I can change this lifestyle. I am going to buy the nose hair trimmer from Amazon and an electric toothbrush. That will impress the ladies! Although I will miss the ability to open beer bottles with my nose hair. I have always found that to be a good party trick that breaks the ice.