A Monkey in Manhattan
This ape's thinking has evolved sufficiently to know that this is all there is.
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The Ballad of John and Romy
Two alley cats discussing the pursuit of happiness.
One says, “No matter how much I chase my tail, I never can catch it.”
“Oh,” says the other one, “I used to do that and now I don’t feel I need to because I’ve found it follows me wherever I go!”
The Ballad of John and Romy
Pride and Joy – The First 25 Years.
“Looking through some photographs I found inside a drawer
I was taken by a photograph of you
There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more
But they didn’t show your spirit quite as true”
Jackson Browne – Fountain of Sorrow
Pride and Joy – The First 25 Years.
September 12, 2015
I’m a Coward Sir!
My dad was a navigator in the RAF in the second world war. He flew one mission and for reasons only known to himself, he requested/refused not to fly again and was consequently branded with the letters LMF after his name. The term LMF “Lack of Moral Fibre” was used by the RAF to describe airmen who refused to fly or cracked under the strain of duty. They were stripped of their rank and humiliated in front of their command. Quite a far cry from the pride and excitement of the recruitment centre!
So, ..if a man approaches you with the promise of a shiny shilling, even if it is from the king, send him on his way, as the scots might say, “To think again”.
453 – Finite and documented.
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2996 – An exact number
“approximately!!!?”
I’m a Coward Sir!
February 20, 2015
Meet Here at the Same Time Next Year
Eight films showing secondary pupils in one year group growing up over 5 years. When they came up from their different feeder primary schools for an induction day, they were filmed doing random actions in random locations. At the end of each year, these groups or individuals reassembled and repeated their routines. The interesting result is to see the change in the pupils when everything else remains constant.
Meet Here at the Same Time Next Year
January 28, 2015
Wish You Were Here (Dad)
Even if you’re not concerned with the significant genetic component that determines human longevity, the emotional and spiritual inheritance we are bequeathed makes it imperative that we choose our parents wisely. Roger Waters, the principal creative songwriter, lyricist and co-lead vocalist of Pink Floyd lost his dad in the Second World War when he was only 5 months old. The fact that he has no personal shared memories with his father hasn’t stopped his absence having a profound effect on Roger’s life and his music and even at 70 himself, the thought of his dad approving of his achievements is enough to reduce him to tears.
It’s not the fear of mortality but the awareness of life not being a dress rehearsal that is behind this sentiment of proving oneself or making things happen in life. Even if it’s clear that life is so finite, it still seems difficult to muster the courage to hang everything and go out and ‘singe the beard of the King of Spain and have his aulde lady to boot’. Usually our conformity and introversion prevent us from knocking a policeman’s helmet off or pushing over a kebab van. There does seem some truth however in the maxim: ‘Be good, be bad but don’t be grey.’
In 1966 Syd Barrett was Pink Floyd’s front-man, guitarist, and songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote all but one track of their debut LP. By late 1967, Barrett’s deteriorating mental health and increasingly erratic behaviour, rendered him “unable or unwilling” to continue being in the band and in early March 1968 the other members of Pink Floyd met with managers to discuss the band’s future. Barrett subsequently agreed to leave Pink Floyd.
‘Genius is flawed’.
It’s not only of Mozart that one can say: ‘Musical perfection. Take one note away and the result is diminished.’
A Monkey in Manhattan 