For Carolin

For the moment, this blog is about Carolin Combs (see video link a few entries down.) She is a great great girl and this blog is for her.

Bill Costley

To carolin

Every memory rips my heart to ribbons
of pulsating flesh, even the smallest:
like when you showed me a novel that
you thought might matter to me, because
I'd left my wife & children for you, but
somehow I missed that point entirely:
Martin Flavin's MR. LITTLEJOHN says
"Why do something if it isn't fun?" I
wasn't able to see any fun in what I did;
the fun was only beginning, due to you.
You only recently finally told me that:
"You were carefully chosen." Now it's
obvious you carefully chose me, then.
I didn't understand it, then. Now I do.

(21 JAN 07 7:13pm PDT, Santa Clara CA)

Bill Costley

To carolin

Everytime I see you
my heart explodes
like a tiny balloon
stuck in my chest,
inflated by love.
I love you now;
I loved you then;
I loved you when
I didn't know why I did.
I loved you for all the reasons
I'd understood then
& for all the others now;
& you knew why:
You're distractible,
you always said,
ruefully, ruefully.

(21 JAN 07, 1:26pm PDT, Santa Clara)

Bill Costley

Where 'stuff' comes from & goes
or, Thrift-store Kids

Carolin & I grew up in states far apart, in factory-cities,
children of industrial-union members, thrift-store kids,
she, because her mom Amah scoured them for top-brands,I
, because I wanted books I didn't have to return to the
Lynn MA public library. After we met, my wardrobe
improved substantially, thanx to her mom in Ypsilanti MI
& its Value-Village, now -World, where she still shops.
Carolin eventually became a Talbots & Kate Spade pony,
I, Mephisto shod, both dressed way above our class, &
mentally way beyond the gear we wore. All her clothes
go to Julia Ball, sister & daughter of Episcopal priests,
who's just her size. Mine'll go who knows where? Where
-ever my son Alex decides. He looks a lot like me, but is
not quite my size; all my media go to Marshall Brooks
my friend & sometime publisher, who already knows this.


(20 JAN 07, 5:28pm PDT, Santa Clara CA)

Bill Costley

What'll I do w/out You

What'll I do w/out You,
my dearest, my dearest?
Live alone, quietly writing
these poems to You, daily,
in mind, mouth, on paper,
continuing what we'd said,
but now in implicit dialog.

(20 JAN 07, Santa Clara)

Carolin's cake video

This is so cool - Carolin is a natural presenter!
It was filmed for a cable channel in the US.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkDKecx2ZKI

Cinnamon Bear

http://www.cinnamonbear.co.uk/

Bill Costley.

@ your ‘presentation’ Best

To my chef carolin

Every time I cook, I think of you, my chef carolin,
of how you’d do everything quickly, differently,
with panache, deft intelligence, style, as a chef would.
You were a chef & everyone knew it, cf. Chef Winston.

I’m just the sous sous prep-chef, peeling the potatoes
& cutting them to your specified sizes, making raw
ingredients ready for you to turn into what people
recognize as real food, actual cuisine. You added
light to cooking, I just boil & eat stuff; granted,
I like it anyway; hardly anybody else ever does.

“I’m not a presentation chef!” I told Dick Bartlett
on your video of Crème Marie Louise. Too true!
But you rose to the occasion & triumphed on tape,
soon on DVD, then on the World Wide Web.

Cruelly, your teeth fused & you were fed by PEG
via a stomach tube, a vicious irony for such a chef
as you were. What crueller punishment for a talent
that gave everyone such joy. I promise you, you’ll
triumph on VHS, DVD, the Web, for ever & ever,

building a spectacular Crème Marie Louise while
moving images exist, as moving as anyone can be.
Ray Kurzweil imagines DigitalRay in a box will
contain all that he ever was & is. Your cake video
displays you working at your ‘presentation’ Best.


(15 JAN 07, Kaiser-Permanente Hospital rm 669, 900 Kieley Blvd, Santa Clara CA 95051)

Christmas Lights Set to Music

Christmas lights set to musical score

Happy 2007 !!!!!!!!!

This is without a doubt the best clipart site I have ever come across.
It has no banner advertising that has to be waited for before you can access the clipart, the people who run it are kind and helpful and the clip art is very very high quality.
Above is a taster...

HOBO

http://coventrymusichistory.vox.com/

Some major updating has been done by Trev on this site - excellent and interesting.

New Year Poem from Bill Costley

Half a Y@y!

Half a Y@y 4 the passing year!

Composer Ronald Stevenson
once ended a lecture in Embro
w/a pointedly-ironic mock-toast:

“Here’s 2 cheers for democracy!
“Hip, Hip!” omitting any “Hurray!”

quickly explaining that there were
‘great men’ long before democracy.

Apply to the Present; ask yourself:
Did I vote for this war in any way?
It was democratically voted for;
will it be Democratically ended?

Half a Y@y 4 the passing year!
but which half? Ya! or aY?
(OK, then, which 2/3?)

(31 DEC 06, Santa Clara)

A taste of Christmas..!

Ruth's Christmas painting for my mother

Bill Costley

"The Cinnamon Bear" (ca. 1948)

When I was a 6yr old boy,
"The Cinnamon Bear" delighted
me, listening to its adventures
on the local MW-radio station.
Many years later, I found out
they'd been distributed on
oversized 78rpm-records
to the stations. Now I have it
all on 2-track audiocassetes,
but still haven't played them
all thru again. I must want to
seal my delight up within 78s.

(21 DEC 06, Santa Clara CA)

Pamela Pamela Pamela!

Pam was wearing what can only be decribed as a biscuit around her neck. She also
appeared to have Jennifer Aniston's hair...





Last weekend I met Pam in Hitchin in an Italian restaurant called Prezzos. Very good! Service very sloooooooooooooow though.

The last Advent picture this year

As I will be away at Christmas this is the last Advent picture this year - Santa going down the chimney on a lovely cake from M & S!

Outer-space sex carries complications

Having sex in the weightlessness of outer space is the stuff of urban legends and romantic fantasy — but experts say that there would be definite downsides as well.
Spacesickness, for instance. And the difficulty of choreographing intimacy. And the potential for sweat and other bodily fluids to, um, get in the way.
"The fantasy might be vastly superior to the reality," NASA physician Jim Logan said here Sunday at the Space Frontier Foundation's NewSpace 2006 conference. Nevertheless, Logan and others say the study of sex and other biological basics in outer space will be crucial to humanity's long-term push into the final frontier.

Sex in space would likely be "hotter and wetter" than on Earth, Bonta said, because in zero-G there is no natural convection to carry away body heat. Also, scientists have found that people tend to perspire more in microgravity. The moisture associated with sexual congress could pool as floating droplets.
The physics of zero-G make the mechanics of sex more complicated. Bonta said it was challenging even to kiss her husband during a zero-G simulation flight they took recently. "You actually have to struggle to connect and stay connected," she recalled. Partners would have to be anchored to the wall and/or to each other. To address that need, Bonta has come up with her own design for garments equipped with strategically placed Velcro strips and zippers.
Although zero-G could be a boon for saggy body parts, Bonta said males might notice a "slight decrease" in penis size due to the lower blood pressure that humans experience in microgravity. Romantics will also need to guard against the type of motion sickness that space travelers often encounter, especially if they get too adventurous right off. "Save the acrobatics for post-play vs. foreplay," Bonta advised.

Virtual Pub Crawl

If you have ever been to Hull, are interested in Hull (why??) or just like pubs - here is an internet Pub Crawl around Hull and surrounding areas.

http://www.eyorks.com/hullpub/

Thanks Chris

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Scrap the planned vehicle tracking and road pricing policy" - if you agree with this, go online and sign the petition.

The Winter Solstice

The axis around which the Earth rotates is tilted at an angle to its orbit and at the winter solstice, the sun is at its southernmost point in the sky.
This is the shortest day of the year in northern latitudes, with London seeing only 7 hours and 50 minutes of daylight on 21st December 2005.
However, for anyone observing the times of sunrise and sunset, it seems odd that the time of sunrise continues to get later after the winter solstice, while the time of sunset has already started to get later before the winter solstice.
In 2005, the time of sunset started getting later after December 13th and the time of sunrise doesn’t start to get earlier until the 6th January.
This asymmetry in the times of sunrise and sunset is due to the fact that the Sun does not cross the meridian (when it is highest in the sky) at precisely noon every day. This is because not only is the Earth's axis inclined to the plane of its orbit around the Sun, but the orbit of the Earth is not circular, but an ellipse.
Near the winter solstice, the length of the day changes very slowly, as does the Sun’s height in the sky – one of the reasons why the long winter nights seem to go on forever!
The effects of the elliptical orbit and tilt of the axis are particularly dominant at this time of the year and cause the time at which the sun crosses the meridian to change by ten minutes between the 16th December (the sun is highest in the sky at 11:59am) and 5th January (the sun is highest at 12:06pm).
It is this factor which is the more dominant at this time of year and this causes the perceived anomaly in the observed sunrise times.

Thursday December 21st - Advent pic of the Day

ISBNs. Interesting fact.

From 1 January 2007 all ISBNs will change from 10 to 13 digits.

I like this, it's funny!

Some pics from Kev

http://loxieandzoot.comicgenesis.com/d/20040126.html

Ebenezer Elliott

http://www.judandk.force9.co.uk/ellyPoe.htm

More really good MySpace reviews by Trev

More My Space around Bert Jansch and the influential Folk Guitarists of the late 60's -

Dave Bennett is Coventry folky and old friend - a Phd in Zoology and a fantastic Ragtime guitarist - now in his 60's and still going strong. I knew him in the 70's - he was at every folk club I visited or played at and we all envied his fast finger picking. My song - Just Before Dawn was partly inspired by watching his playing although pales in terms of skill! He placed an add in my Cov music Mag - Hobo - as 'Blind Drunk Dave Bennett' - the man has a sense of humour!
http://www.myspace.com/davenbrenda

The following are folkies based in London in the late 60's - folk clubs around Greek St. etc. They all influenced the playing of the young Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. Jackson C. Frank was a briliant player and Paul Simon covered his song Blues Run the Game -
The sad life of an influential folk singer began traumatically and ended in obscurity. Throughout his life Frank was haunted with misfortune and ignored tremendously. Greenwich Village's coffeehouse folk scene in the early sixties drew Frank to New York. He met such names as John Kay, later of Steppenwolf. Later - He took up a flat with a then struggling folk singer Paul Simon in London, who later was impressed enough to produce ten of Frank's songs in a self-titled album.
http://www.myspace.com/jacksoncfrank

http://www.myspace.com/bertjansch
Bert Jansch is a well known legend - with his work with Pentangle and his solo work - covers of Davy Graham's Angi - Needle of Death - and many more classics. One of the biggest influences on so many guitarists, including Paul Simon and Dylan.

http://www.myspace.com/davygraham
Davey Graham is best known for his instrumental Anji but is credited with sparking the Folk-rock revolution in the late 60's. He influenced Bert Jansch, John Rebbourn and many many more. A total legend.

http://www.myspace.com/dandoshaft
Is Coventry's legendary folk rock group of the late 60's with a new My Space. The musicians all moved on. Martin Jenkins went on to play with Bert Jansch. The best stuff is not on their My Space but there's a link to Dave Cooper's Dando site with samples of the other classic tracks.

http://www.myspace.com/trevteasdel
Trev - Songs from the Basement - is y second my space - more solo stuff - son to have more on it. The song Just before Dawn is very influenced by the work of the above although I wuldn't claim it to be as good!

Another review of Ys

A review of YS by Mark Alexander:

Ys will divide its audience from the album cover inwards. First and foremost, this is poetry, none of your moon in June bullshit. It’s academic and idiosyncratic. Newsom has studied her passions and this is evident through her chord sequences and complex wordplay. When I first heard this album I thought it was pretentious and precious but nevertheless I still played it as background music as I found it relaxing and soothing. It was on about the 9th time I played it….well, I wasn’t even playing it….but when I least expected it I gave in to her melodies and they entered my head, a bit like an agnostic giving in to faith. This is an album for believers for Newsom is a story weaver of top notch basket weaving. It’s a world onto itself and you can escape into her world of medieval passion. It ebbs and flows like waves. But the most important thing about this album is that it is mine. I don’t care if I can’t share it with somebody. This is my little world and it is situated miles away from the meretriciousness of the Arctic Monkeys or Lily Allen and their dubious qualitites. These baubles have depth as well as dazzle.

2 views of the Arctic Monkeys album 'Whatever people say I am that's what I'm not'

I bought the Arctic Monkeys album the other day and it's only my opinion but I really cannot see what all the fuss is about. The lyrics are as far away from poetry than the feet are from the head. Alex Turner sounds like Mrs. Merton on Prozac!

by Mark A

The worst title but the best album of the year by a country mile!
I'm always a bit sceptical when a band is touted as the next big thing as the Arctics were. But there was no hype here. The band are brilliant.
The first time I played it I thought 'yeah, ok' but then I played it some more (minimum 5 times before you judge it) .
The melodies are strong and the lyrics are amazing. Listen to them. Don't tell me you've never been out on a night and seen these scenarios. And the musicianship is superb!
I just hope they can continue it over to the next album...and the next.
Is Sheffield the next Liverpool?

By Steve M

Me & John & Brian (from Brian)

Greatest Living Icon.

Following an earlier post on this blog, the winner of Greatest Living Icon, as voted for by viewers of the BBC2 programme The Culture Show, was Sir David Attenborough. Morrissey and Sir Paul McCartney were voted second and third respectively.

'Time' magazine Person of the Year is...

All of us!!

"For seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, Time's Person of the Year for 2006 is you," the magazine's Lev Grossman wrote.
The magazine has put a mirror on the cover of its 80 year-old "Person of the Year" issue, released on Monday, allowing 'You' to easily beat out Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, China's President Hu Jintao, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and James Baker, the former U.S. Secretary of State who led Washington's bipartisan Iraq Study Group.
"It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes," wrote Grossman, Time's technology writer and book critic.
"The tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web," he wrote. "It's a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter."

Flea pod

http://www.nytimes.com/video/html/2005/06/29/technology/
highbandwidth/windowsmedia/20050629_GUEST_VIDEO.html

Chicken of the Sea

I just love the name of this product - which, needless to say, is fish not foul.