The exit strategy has finally come to its fullest fruition. Tineh will be starting on the actual doctoral path come September. Four, five years down the line, Dr. TinyLF will presumably stagger out with permanent head damage.
This, needless to say, called for a celebration. A celebration involving pints of Guinness and karaoke. I would imagine that this may be the only time one would catch me singing Wonderwall in a faux Manc accent and a Mexican hat on my head. In a pub full of people. On an aside, Guinness is not bad at all. I never used to like the stuff but it went down very well. And there was a lot to get down. The refrain “It’s going to be a long, long time” as I sang backing vocals on Rocket Man also seemed very apt for some reason.
So I’ll be here for a while then. That’s good to know.
WATCHMEN. Ohhhhh yeah. Been waiting months for this. So, Saturday afternoon – figured there would be less people at an afternoon showing. Went with the house-mate, let’s call him R. R has never read the graphic novel and hence, would be the key sort of audience that the movie may well be judged on. While fans of the graphic novel may criticise oversight, they were unlikely to grasp whether or not the complexities of the plot – especially the ‘under the Hood’ and the byplay between old and new – would translate to the uninitated. In that respect, R would be a key litmus test to the overall effect of the film as he would ordinarily love the plot but not if it was so convoluted as to be incoherent.
Anyway, I was quite obviously not thinking of this as the opening scene rolled on. Cut a long story short. The film was terrific. I loved it. The opening scene is great and sets the stage well and an exceptionally good – and smart – touch was the opening credits. Not only was the soundtrack to it perfect – and the soundtrack is well chosen throughout with very few mis-steps – but it was a very good tool to immerse the film in the stuff that made the novel tick. And heck, I do miss the Cold War. Terrorists are so mundane in comparison. *shakes fist* Anyway, the film stays very true to the original material in terms of plot development, barring the omission of some important plot lines which I’ll get to below. Anyone who has seen 300 will know that Zack Snyder was likely to gore it up a bit and true to form, the fight scenes are more violent than in the novel and he also makes it very graphic in parts. I heard more than a few shocked gasps at some of the more violent scenes. At the same time, he brings a tongue-in-cheek element to it that was more pronounced than in the novel. Some of the dialogue had me and R laughing out loud, though that’s partly because we are both well steeped in our political, and especially our Cold War, history. The only time I was not sure whether the tongue-in-cheek got overdone was in the rather graphic sex scene, again a seeming directorial touch. But it probably worked. In the end, though, I don’t think Snyder’s directorial style damages the spirit of the original, and I disagree with those that say that it is emotionally cold and that the soul of the graphic novel got lost in translation. Yes, it is very dark but so was the novel. I had no difficulty in locating the emotional heart of the film either. I thought Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Rorschach and The Comedian respectively were excellent and I don’t think any of the actors did a bad job. Manhattan was well done and I must say I had a good snigger at his rather prominent dangly willy.
It’s not flawless but in terms of a 2 1/2 hour slice of awesomeness, I have at most quibbles and not grievances. The fanboys will whine at the omission of some plot lines, particularly the newspaperman and the sub-story of the black freighter, but at least that will be covered in the full-length DVD version. I get the impression there was more than enough going on. Any longer and the film would have struggled. As it is, the climax is a little rushed, and has changed quite a bit but in terms of staying true to the plot development of the film, I feel it works as well as can be hoped. Back to R, he thought it was awesome and though he said he may have missed some of the finer details (and I definitely think it’s a film you have to watch more than once to fully get, especially if you haven’t read the graphic novel), he thought he had fully grasped the message.
Ultimately, I loved seeing it on screen and the sheer scale of it was exhilarating. I have no doubt I’ll be going back for moar.
I leave you with this -
Utterly Amazing. Thank ye seni for finding it. It’s from here.
Itty Bitty Amin, that curmudgeonly old soul otherwise known as Drac, wrote a recent post on the things he liked about the Old Country. In many ways, when I am abroad, I do go looking for things that remind me of England. So even here in Canada, a lot of the Canadian aspects of life to me seem by-and-by and I am constantly on the look-out for the aspects of life back in England that I enjoy.
As any good political scientist and a comparativist to boot should do, I am going to undertake a comparative analysis – based on an exhaustive empirical study, albeit limited by my limited time in Canuckistan – of the relative merits of life in England and in Canada. Let’s start with the most important thing in life. Beer. As no less an authority than Winston Churchill said in response to his wife’s claim that she hated beer “So do many people – to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many have been able to overcome.” (Tye 1997: 7)
On this count, I can find little to choose between the two countries. Rather surprisingly, the Canadians brew a range of very good beers though they are pricey and I am quite happy to buy European for the most part. Nonetheless, I am not in want, and can enjoy a good pint without prejudice.
Close behind beer in the stakes of grave importance is something I cannot live without, food. Amin makes two astute observations in his excellent and concise analysis (Drac 2009); to take his second observation first, a good roast dinner – ‘preferably with nice and crisp Yorkshire puddings that sop up the gravy.’ Now that, my friend, is what I am talking about. Frankly, I am yet to find a good, decently priced Sunday roast. Perhaps that’s because I do not know where to look but I’m pretty sure I am yet to spot a Yorkshire pudding on any of the pub menus in town. On the subject of good British food – damn all those who claim that the British fare is soulless – I had my first decent pub bangers and mash the other day and the only reason it was good was because it was quasi-French. Yes, French. Like you know dill sausage with fennel or somefink and with dijon mustard. It was bloody good but it is rather galling that the simple but beautiful gifts that British cuisine has given the world – bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, meat pies and indeed the Sunday roast – seem to be of middle-of-the-road quality. Here is Radiohead’s take on the Bangers ‘n Mash phenomenon (from here):
The chips, too, are universally substandard. I don’t know what it is but there is a general inability to get it just right. The malt vinegar, however, is an absolute must. That said, this poutine stuff that the Quebecois have come up with is pretty amazing: for the uninitiated, chips with gravy and cheese curds.
Sounds suspicious, sure enough, but it is luscious. I mean, look at it (from here)
At the end of the day, however, I can get most of any food I want here, which is more than can be said for Sri Lanka. And considering the diasporic Lankans over here, I can also come by the local delicacies, at least when I am in Toronto. In any case, I can cook. To paraphrase King Julien, I’m pretty amazing at it now but I want to become like even better, though perhaps stop short at making a living out of it. That’s what this pretty prose is going to get me. I can’t write food after all, though writing is forever made inadequate by the fact it cannot be eaten. The day that somebody invents words that can be eaten – and not just eaten, but wolfed down with the vigour and joy that would accompany a high quality kukulmus curry, dhal and sundry veggies – will be the day that I will know I have nothing left to live for.
Amin also made the perspicacious observation that England is damned good for going down the pub for a (relatively) quiet pint and a morning/afternoon of football or rugby union. This, alas, is available but on a fairly limited basis in Canada. For one, the time zones are such that only the Champions League games are on at respectable hours. That said, a favourite Irish pub in town will open doors at 9.30am for the Carling Cup final tomorrow. So all is not lost. And I will be there, enjoying the ridiculously cheap all-day breakfast and a pint (though I suspect this may be available only after 11 – that said, I probably don’t want one any sooner than that).
Nonetheless, there is one aspect to life in Canada that trumps anything Britain can offer and that is the fact that once you’ve gotten through the horrendous winter, there is actually a summer here. And heck, do I look forward to that – to patios, to beer gardens and to prancing around in sunshine.
References
Drac (2009), “We like,” The Lair: http://lair.fierydragon.org/2009/02/we-like [accessed February 28, 2009]
Tye, Michael (1997). Ten Problems of Consciousness: A Representational Theory of the Phenomenal Mind (Boston: MIT Press)
Tinehlog: February 13, 2009, The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto
Most people know the Von Bondies for one of two reasons. One, their breakout album Pawn Shoppe Heartand its radio-friendly hit single “C’mon, C’mon,” released in 2004. A quick glance at Wikipedia tells me it reached #25 on the Billboard charts which is not bad for an indie rock band. Two, their lead singer once worked together with Jack White before Jack slugged him one at a Detroit nightclub (both Jack and the Von Bondies are from Detroit). It has been chilly ever since. And while Jack, via The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, has gone from strength to strength, Pawn Shoppe Heart was the Von Bondies’ last album till this year’s Love, Hate, and Then There’s You. If it’s any consolation, and I seriously doubt it, Jack was done for aggravated assault and had to take anger management classes.
I had heard of the Von Bondies for the second reason, though I must say that it was a subconscious knowledge. I knew I knew them but I wasn’t sure why. I also should have known them for C’mon, C’mon but somehow had forgotten who had song the sung, or sung the song even. So apparently they were playing at the Horseshoe Tavern on February 13th. Micro Mini Marcos insisted that the Horseshoe was an excellent venue for musics. I don’t really need much convincing to go see live music so I jotted it in to the diary. Exciting as it would be my first Toronto concert (I refuse to use the word ‘gig’ because it’s daft) after a couple of false starts, namely Broken Social Scene and Okkervil River. Happily, this would also be the first day of a week long hiatus from university as it was reading week. There was, however, one mild problem, though I did not know it was a problem till I arrived at the bus station and was informed by Miss Marcos that tickets were sold out but there should be some available at the gate. Gah. This despite the ‘oh, there’ll be plenty of tickets’ line of the previous few days. Filth.
The Horseshoe is pretty much a regular bar (image from wikipedia) but it does have a sizeable section for live music.
Anywho, on arrival, we were informed that tickets would be sold at the door starting from 8pm. Oh good. We strategized to return for 7.30 to both find a table in the bar area and also be well positioned for the door. This was, alas, to no real avail, as the time for opening kept getting pushed back until by 9, I was so beguiled by my couple of pints of Amsterdam that I ended up having to queue. Nonetheless, entry was gotten. Most importantly, a table was procured in the concert area and I got my paws on moar beer. The opening act was pretty mediocre. They had a good name though – Tropical Pets (they need to get in the real world – they don’t even have their own myspace). The second act was a band called Nico Vega, who are American as well. The lead singer actually had a good voice when she decided to sing but the band was far too shrieky for my liking. Sin.
The Von Bondies eventually came on just past midnight and were pretty much done fifty minutes later. This was Disappointing. A very short set. The lead singer claimed he had been ‘doing interviews all day’ which I seriously doubt. The crowd was also a little tame and despite the fact the Horseshoe makes for a great venue, I suppose big city peeps will be cuppers like that. The girls on the table adjoining us looked rather bored. Frankly, they weren’t all that bad. I had done my homework and had listened quite a bit to the new album and had come to like three or four songs particularly, 21st Birthday, Chancer, Accidents Will Happen and Earthquake. Chancer is actually very evocative of Pulp in parts, mainly in the chorus – ‘you look so cool, you look so alive, so aliveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’. Very Jarvis Cocker for me. In the end, they played Chancer and Accidents Will Happen, both of which were pretty bouncy. I like them when they seem to play around a little bit. They also did not play much off Pawn Shoppe Heart for some reason until they signed off, at least pre-encore, with C’mon C’mon:
That’s all I can seem to find of the Toronto concert (from here). It ended on a high with a cupper leaping on the stage and trying to steal a scarf that had been lain over the microphone awaiting the band’s return. He then leapt off the stage… but no one caught him. Sin. Anywho, here is Chancer at a subsequent concert in Montreal (I would attempt to watch this in high quality if I were thou, from here):
Ultimately, I enjoyed the Horseshoe and was totally up for returning to see Blitzen Trapper on the 21st but sadly, that show was truly sold out. The Von Bondies themselves were a little disappointing despite being a very good live act. What to do.
So, the best of musics in 2008. The most important thing is that I am in a country with fast internets, meaning I can listen to new musics at will. This has meant I have caught up with a lot of old favourites and sampled a whole host of missed ‘classics’ and the newer fare. Even more so I made it to three concerts in the last few months of 2008, and to be fair, they got progressively better. You Say Party, We Say Die!and Beast were good but both Plants and Animals and Stars were simply superior. To be fair, it’s tough to pick either of them as the better concert. They were very different.
I saw Plants and Animals at the same venue as YSPWSD! and as such it was small, intimate and there was lots of beer. For those who don’t know, the band are from Montreal and they released their first album Parc Avenue earlier this year. I think they’re fantastic, and they are superb live. I am pretty sure they will become bigger and bigger. Pitchfork seems to concur, but despite giving the album an 8.0 managed to leave it out of their typically farcical top 50 records of the year. If the Montrealers are up and coming, Stars are well and truly established in Canada. As such, their concert was held at a church – larger venue, definitely no beer and lots of singing teens (as an all-ages concert, the runts were in numbers whereas P & A was an over-19 event). Nonetheless, they were extremely tight as a live unit and I had a great time. It was the first snowy night of the year too, and given Stars’ stage show was entirely geared towards winter, it seemed very fitting to see fat snowdrops drop down through the church’s bronzed windows. As such…
Anyway, I am going to go watch Land of Talk later this month. Another Montreal band, and another concert I’m looking forward to.
Unlike in other years, I’ve listened to more albums than I can list and that is exactly the way it should be. Instead of giving a top 5 of my favourites, I’m going to categorize the achievements. Pretentious? Moi? Surely not.
Here goes…
Best Comeback Album: More than one contender in this category. The hard rockers may go for Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy but I’m yet to be convinced by Axl Rose’s second coming. The Verve also had their first new album in over a decade with Forth. However, I think the winner in this category has to be a band I was never that fond of – Portishead. Third was an excellent album and a complete departure from their trip-hop past. The first single Machine Gun was good but I’m kinda fond of The Rip (taken from here):
Best Pretentious Shite That Pitchfork Will Love Album: This is a positive award (I think). The award goes to Fleet Foxes, of course. I am completely unconvinced that they deserve all the accolades they’re getting. Nonetheless, they do have their moments. Like this (taken from here):
Best Album Where I Can Listen To Music I’m Not Meant To Listen To (and one of the best albums of the year anyway): Seni’s winner, Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals. It’s easy to dismiss Girl Talk as something of a novelty or bastardizer, seeing as he mixes other people’s musics, but who gives a shit, it’s damned good. Where else can you get Styx, Dr. Dre, Carole King, Birdman, Timbaland, Britney Spears, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Daft Punk, Ice Cube and Tom Petty in the same song (from here):
Best Debut Album: Quite a few again, including aforementioned Beast and Fleet Foxes, but I have to give to another aforementioned band, Plants and Animals. Their Parc Avenue was excellent from start (paradoxically Bye, Bye, Bye) to finish. Quite a few favourites, but Faerie Dance must go down as one of the best (from here):
Kudos are to micro mini marcos for indicating that I will like this band after my rather typical “how can a band called Plants and Animals possibly be any good?”. Nice one, slag.
Best “Ok. It’s Not Our Best But We’re Back” Album: I could give this to The Breeders‘ Mountain Battles but to be honest, I was not overly taken by their album. It had its moments but it’s not as consistently good as either of their first two albums. The Cure had a new album but they don’t really belong in this category because there is apparently always a four year gap between albums these days. Metallicadropped a new one too but I must confess I haven’t yet had a listen. The winner is R.E.M. because while Accelerate comes only four years after their last album, it’s their first ‘real’ R.E.M. album since 1996’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi. And while I liked elements of Up and Reveal, their new musical direction was really going nowhere, epitomised by the pile of poo that was Around the Sun. Accelerate is not a masterpiece but it’s a very welcome step in the right direction. My favourite song is Man-Sized Wreath (taken from here):
Best Continued Resurgence: Black Francis, last year’s winner with Bluefinger, released Svn Fngrs, a mini-album that continues his resurgence. Again, not to say his later Frank Black stuff was not good – it was – but I just love it when he growls like he did in the good old days. I particularly like When They Come to Murder Me and he played it out on the street in Glasgow (from here):
“All you boys got nothing on me. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” Haha. Genius. He also plays Where is My Mind?. Superb!
Favourite Song of the Year: Ooh, I’m sounding like that wanker Grammy nao. Anywho, quite a few possibilities here and I’m not going to mention them all – some are already displayed in video form already. I think I have to go with Dig Lazarus Dig by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (from here):
So yeah, no ‘best album’ award. After all, that’s what all these other ‘awards’ are for. I simply don’t have a ‘best album’ of the year.
It’s 2009 already, and I haven’t done my best of the year post.
Me, Myself and I
I suppose 2008 will go down as the year that I made good on my exit strategy. For a while, I thought my own characteristically laidback nature had got me into a wee bit of a hole, but ultimately, the visa came through and I fled to this here parts. Being back in university has been interesting but I think this semester I’m genuinely excited about at least two of the three courses I’m taking. I’ve done the tricky bit – nailed down the essays and we await the results of that effort. My getting a PhD place will largely rest on the results from last semester, not on anything I do from this point on. In the long run, obviously, I still have to hit the high grades but that’ll count for another day. Those damnable essays from late November and early December will be the ones that decide my fate. I’d like to think I did enough, but these things are never that straightforward. In any case, I’m glad to be here, and I’m still not really missing much about Sri Lanka, bar my peeps and the famileh, and maybe an occassional OR and Coke. I may yet change my mind after three months of hard winter.
The second half of 2008 makes me almost forget how bad the first half of 2008 was. Almost. Without a shadow of doubt, the first few months of the year were the least enjoyable in my life. Mountain Battles they were! With that in mind, my present circumstances are totally idyllic in comparison. Therefore, whatever happens, and the best laid plans have a tendency to fall through, I’m still happy that I came here.
2008 also saw my blog activities diminish drastically, not just in the case of updating this critter, but also in keeping abreast of what else was going on. I don’t think I’ve been on Ach in ages. Much like Spectral then. There are probably a number of reasons for this. I doubt any of them are particularly interesting so I will move swiftly on. I have a feeling I will be a little more prolific in 2009.
Politics: The Times They Are a-Changin’?
I’m going to cut down on the political shiz this time around. The most outstanding feature was of course Obama’s triumph in the Presidential elections. I don’t think I will ever forget the room full of colleagues at a sports bar in town. People were in tears, and heck this is Canada, hardly a country that cares that much about what goes down across the border. Let’s hope that Obama can manage to stem the expectations that he’s been saddled with (saddled himself with). I like the look of his cabinet so perhaps good things will happen.
On the other hand, everything else has been much of the depressing same. The homeland has been embroiled in war. I’d say Kilinochchi was taken, but I think that happened after the New Year so technically that’s inaccurate. And even if the Tigers are beaten to a pulp, there’s nothing remotely positive about the way the country operates. The attack on MTV this morning pretty much encapsulates that. Renewed conflict in Gaza; the rather horrific attack on Mumbai; war in Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq: things haven’t changed all that much. Something that has changed is the outlook for international trade. The economic crisis is more than a little worrying. Perhaps being in academia is the safest place to be. If – If – I get my PhD place, that’ll keep me occupied for four years, and hopefully the job market will have sorted itself out by then. At the moment, however, it is not exactly rife with job opportunities.
But anyway, enough of all that shiz. The best of 2008 is relatively simple:
Best film – I haven’t watched a great deal this year. My most recent film was Slumdog Millionaire but I’m a bit behind on the Oscar contenders. Slumdog was excellent and I enjoyed it very much, but I suspect it’ll be this year’s Little Miss Sunshine and Juno. But anyway, my favourite film was undoubtedly The Dark Knight though I enjoyed Iron Man a great deal, and Tropic Thunder was the outstanding comedy. It also wins my favourite scene of the year. I can’t find the exact scene but it’s in the middle of this video somewhere (there are a number of spoilers if you haven’t watched the film so be warned):
The most outstanding sporting achievement of the year was of course – Bolt. Special award has to go to Ajantha Mendis’ spell in the Asia Cup final though.
Most amusing sporting moment: There’s only one winner.
It brings such a smile to my face every time. Mr. Chelsea. What a knob.
Favourite meal: Salmon. In Oslo. Yum. Special mention to that sirloin beef sandwich with jus and chips at Casey’s in Toronto. Yum.
Okay. This post is too long so I will round up the best on the music scene in another post. I need to go to sleep in any case. I have a class at 8.30 am. What twit.
I’m afraid anyone expecting a triumphant return is going to have their hopes dashed. Again. Sin. I’m sorry.
You see. I have two papers to write. And exactly a week to do them in. Hmm, no dashing off slipshod shizz either. Needs to be top quality produce, or I’ll be looking for some other job next year.
I’ll be back when I’m done. Athe. After all, I need to do my best of 2008 post.
Well, it’s the morning after… I have a mild hangover.
Obama stuffed Uncle Johnny’s goose, but give the old dude credit, that was a very gracious concession speech. I hope Sarah Palin makes my day in 2012 and makes a dash for the Republican ticket. It will be hilarious to see her crash and burn again. It was quite a surreal moment when Obama was made the projected winner, after the West Coast states checked in at about 11. There were maybe forty of us, and I doubt there was more than a couple of Uncle Johnny fans. Now Obama has four years of living up to the most impossible expectations. Good luck, yo.
My predictions – for a pool with some of the peeps – were as follows, Obama 375 McCain 163. And yeah, stupid WordPress is making life difficult for me, so right click ‘View image’ on this if you want to see the map properly:
It was almost the case, and may still be, because they’re reluctant to call Missouri. But I think I will end up a wee bit too high, and out of the cash. What to do.
And as someone said, Obama, you’s the Hurricane, man.
I suppose Mr. Hurricane would have worked as well, but buggerfuck, you can’t beat Bob Dylan for evoking a chill down your spine.
I haven’t even got my bloody gloves and snow hat in readiness for the winter, and it’s snowing already. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the snow, but that is a distinctly English love of snow, for in England, the alternative to a bit of snow is days of endless grey, dreary rain. And when it snows, it’s pretty light stuff, and over pretty soon. Wasn’t always the case, but you know, that global warming shizz that they go on about… it ain’t bollocks. Anyway, digressing. In Canada, I fear that the snow may be less of a welcome distraction and when it snows, it’s probably going to SNOW.
Life is going pretty well here. Some observations:
1. In the area I live, people are remarkably friendly and I get a smile and a ‘hello’ often. Note, however, that these are the older ones – the younger the peeps, the more indifferent they are. It’s a very pleasant walk to the supermarket through a residential area with lots of greenery. I walk a lot. Except when it’s snowing.
2. There is a fish & chip shop, a delicatessen, and a Japanese restaurant near my house. Bizarre, but true. And oh, there’s a local convenience store which typically is run by a family of Sri Lankans.
3. I can cook broccoli now.
4. I teach two hours a week, and have just handed the runts back their first piece of work with no great alarms. My own courses go well though it took some time to get used to the idea of attending classes, making comments, reading and writing papers.
5. I am going to do one of my research papers on the Political Economy of Estonia. Yes, the Political Economy of Estonia.
6. Fast internets is a bit of a revelation. I have downloaded much music and the only competition for music is from TV shows. At the moment, I have the following on the go or queued: 24, seasons 5 and 6; Prison Break, season 3; Dexter, season 2; Veronica Mars, season 3; The Wire, season 1; Battlestar Galactica, season 3, and Firefly. And I am also keeping track of Heroes and Fringe. Such a hard life.
7. I have imbibed twelve different types of Canadian beers. I won’t bore you with the names.
8. I procured a land line!
9. Oh, did I mention it’s snowing today?
10. You can watch concerts here:
From JJ72 to Stars, via YSP! WSD! and Beast
Despite the snow, after my classes today, I manage to brave the weather (sans gloves, sans snow hat) to make it to the campus graduate bar, buy my ticket for the Stars concert in November, guzzle a beer, and have time to take out my laptop and do some research on varieties of capitalism in Estonia. I am multi-talented.
I’m looking forward to Stars, as they are so good that I took one of their albums to a desert island with me. This won’t be my first concert in Canada. I caught You Say Party! We Say Die! the other week. It was pretty good. It was a small venue and quite intimate. I had plenty of beers too. I enjoyed the opening act – Beast – greatly too. A band from Montreal, they are releasing their debut album in November. The lead singer, Betty Bonifassi, has a unique voice. This is one of their songs, Mr. Hurricane:
Incidentally, the first concert I ever attended was by an Irish band named JJ72. They are now long gone, but ironically their third single was appropriately named Snow:
But Stars are likely the biggest band that I will have seen in concert and not at a festival. Their new album – the third – was pretty damned good too. Tough to pick a favourite but how about Bitches in Tokyo:
I was trying to think. The last time I was at university, what did I do for a telephone? I pondered this long and hard, and finally came to a rather astounding conclusion. This conclusion is astounding because in subsequent years, my mobile has become rather a part of me. It told me the time, it woke me up in the morning, there was text messaging… So yeah, apparently in the four years I was at university in England, I owned a mobile phone for the first two years only. After I went home for the summer in 2001, I did not renew the package. In other words, I was incommunicado as far as phones went for the best part of two years.
Indeed, I recall in my last year as I did my last MA (which I thought was my first and only MA), I called the parents from a pay phone in the university square. And I remember calling my brother to find out if my neice was born from a pay phone around the corner from my house… the previous year. And no, none of the places I stayed in had a house phone. I remember this because I tried to install one and it was rejected because the previous occupants of the house had managed to blacklist the address and I couldn’t be bothered changing that.
I find this frankly unbelievable. How the hell did I keep in touch with people? Email, I presume, or blind faith. Gah!
Anywho, apologies for the silence. As you can see, I am back, and apparently without a phone. This is because I finally put into action my exit strategy and landed up in Canada, not without difficulty though. It’s good to know that some exit strategies work. For a while though, I thought I was destined to end up wallowing in my little corner(s) of Sri Lanka forever. We’re here though. In Canada. Have been for a couple weeks, and practically everyone who reads this wee blog already knows that anyway. IToday nonetheless seems as appropriate a day as any to pop out the champagne (or Moosehead Beer) and re-launch TLF.
And nothing more appropriate to relaunch things than a little bit of Saint Etienne:
