Midge's Lair

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 21:03:34 GMT

I'm a bit disturbed by the sign outside the pub I've just passed:

THE HOPBINE

SUNDAY LUNCH

YOU WON'T GET BETTER!

I am

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:36:30 GMT

At the risk of looking like I never write anything myself, here's another of my favourite poems from another of my favourite melancholy poets, John Clare:

I am - yet what I am, none cares or knows;
My friends forsake me like a memory lost:
I am the self-consumer of my woes -
They rise and vanish in oblivion's host,
Like shadows in love-frenzied stifled throes
And yet I am, and live - like vapours tost

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life or joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;
Even the dearest that I love the best
Are strange - nay, rather, stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes where man hath never trod
A place where woman never smiled or wept
There to abide with my Creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept,
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie
The grass below - above, the vaulted sky.

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 13:33:44 GMT

One of the exciting things about my job is that I get to use a sellotape dispenser shaped like a big fish.

Sadly these are no longer available, and even a decent picture is hard to come by.

Cowper, Wiliam Cowper

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 13:07:51 GMT

Yesterday I was reading about the life of Cowper - one of my favourite poets. Here's one of his poems that I feel attached to.

Seeking the Beloved

To those who love the Lord I speak;
Is my Beloved near?
The Bridegroom of my soul I seek,
Oh! when will He appear?

Though once a man of grief and shame,
Yet now He fills a throne,
And bears the greatest, sweetest name,
That earth or heaven have known.

Grace flies before, and love attends
His steps wheree'er he goes;
Though none can see Him but His friends,
And they were once his foes.

He speaks; -- obedient to His call
Our warm affections move:
Did He but shine alike on all,
Then all alike would love.

Then love in every heart would reign,
And war would cease to roar;
And cruel and bloodthirsty men
Would thirst for blood no more.

Such Jesus is, and such His grace;
Oh, may He shine on you!
And tell him, when you see His face,
I long to see Him, too.

Moshi moshi - an apology for a blog

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 21:43:56 GMT

Sooner or later, most blogs say something about what their writers hope to get out of them, and what exciting things the readers can look forward to. I'm asking myself that question. I'm not going to reveal lots of secrets and expose the innards of my life - I'm not extrovert enough for that and I write pages and pages in my diary anyway. I don't want to do lots of quizzes for giggly pre-teenagers. I don't have lots of exciting stories to tell about my life of sleep and staple-removing. I'd much rather read other people's blogs and pearls of wisdom than try to offer any of my own. I suppose it's just a place for me to express my random thoughts to anyone who might come along. Maybe that'll build up a picture of me, and maybe you'll have something to say in return.

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 12:56:57 GMT

According to a British Heart Foundation survey, "36% of eight to 14-year-olds did not know the main ingredient of chips was potato. Nearly one in 10 thought chips were made of oil, while others suggested eggs, apples and flour."

I hope these surveys make allowances for teenagers taking the piss.

Countries I've visited...

Fri, 30 Sep 2005 08:42:48 GMT

Idea borrowed from </a></b></a>primitivepeople...

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

When I say 'visited', I don't count things like a visit to the Kronenbourg brewery or Kuala Lumpur airport.
Must get out more.

Cargo cult

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 19:58:19 GMT

When people in the Pacific first came into contact with western culture and products, one way they reacted to the culture-shock was to believe that these goods were being sent to them by God or ancestral spirits and unfairly intercepted by white people. Some even suggested that there was a secret code in the Bible kept from them by the whiteskins to prevent them gaining access to this 'cargo'. They reacted by making ritual copies of western life, such as airports for the cargo planes to land. They also set up offices, where people sat all day ritualistically shoving pieces of paper around. This last practice is uncannily true to life. All they would need to do is knock together a staple extractor out of animal's teeth, and it would be just like what I do for a living.

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:29:47 GMT

Today is a day I deserve chocolate - and it isn't even Monday or Friday.

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:28:23 GMT

I've got the roses, I've got the wine,
With a little luck she will be here on time,
This is the place we used to go,
With romantic music and the lights down low,
And as you stand there amazed at the door,
And you're wondering what all this is for,
It's just a simple thing, from me to you,
The lady that I adore, 'cos there's something
That you should know, it's that

I've been missing you, more than words can say,
And that I've been thinking about it every day,
And the time we had just dancing nice and slow,
And I said now I've found you,
I'm never letting go;

There is no reason to the things that we do,
You can break a heart with just a word or two,
And take a lifetime to apologise,
When the one you love's in front of your eyes,
And I will fall to my knees like a fool,
If it's the only way of getting through,
You see if I think you are beautiful,
Someone else is going to feel it too,
So there's only one thing to do, tell you that

I've been missing you, more than words can say,
And that I've been thinking about it every day,
Well tonight's our night for dancing nice and slow,
Because now I've found you, I'm never letting go,
No, now I've found you, I'm never letting go;

I've been missing you...
I've been missing you...
I've been missing you...
I've been missing you, darling...

Thought for the day

Fri, 23 Sep 2005 10:13:39 GMT

September 23, Juche 94 (the 94th year after the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was born)

The Embrace of My Motherland
Kim Jong Il

Moran Hill is afire with a red glow,
The Taedong is arched with a rainbow.
How beautiful this motherland
In whose embrace I've grown up!

Azaleas smile sweetly in spring,
Larks warble high up on the wing,
As warm and tender as the vernal sun
Is the land that has brought me up.

The sun rises on the sea buoyant,
The land glows under the sun radiant,
Stars twinkle with nocturnal grace,
In my father the General's embrace.

Korea, I Will Glorify Thee
Kim Jong Il

As I stand on Ryongnam Hill at sunrise,
The land of 3,000 ri greets my eyes.
Learning the leader's great idea,
I'll be the master of the revolution in Korea.
O Korea, I will add glory to you.

On the road of Juche I will be firm and steady
Under the guidance of the great leader.
Braving the raging waves and storms,
I will lead Korea into the future.
O Korea, I will bring glory to you.

I will carry forward the cause of the sun
That shines over the whole world.
I will unfold the era of communism
When the red glow of Juche covers the earth.
O Korea, my Korea!

from http://www.korea-dpr.com/library/103.pdf
song texts cut and pasted from http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?t=34260

Monday morning

Mon, 19 Sep 2005 10:04:58 GMT

Currently playing in my head:

Humphrey, Humphrey,
Stick it up your jumphrey,
Three humps are better than two.
Humphrey, Humphrey,
Stick it up your jumphrey,
We all love you.

sung by Floella Benjamin caressing a three-humped camel on Playaway.

Churn, churn, churn

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 17:56:57 GMT

Just sitting here while the third copy of my thesis churns out of the printer. Boy am I thirsty. I'll hoof it over to Staples first for some binding and then celebrate my new-found freedom.

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 15:46:42 GMT

Just thought I should post something to see if it works.