Dads can be cool too

Thanks to BluTakGirl for this - fantastic.

We were watching an Alain Delon film and her mind wandered

There's a lovely observation in On Beauty along the lines of "Every couple becomes their own vaudeville act". You know each others every verbal tic and anecdote, to the extent that you can supplement it with added commentary that becomes more florid with each re-telling. It's because you know everything about your partner that there is to know.

M and I are approaching our 10 year anniversary as a couple, so I was delighted last night when she casually asked "Did I ever tell you about the time I met Alain Prost?"

It was quite a dull story, but it was a new one and that's what counts.

Arts update

It's been a while since the last post, largely due to the sheer uninterestingness of life right now (M&B's loveliness aside). Lots of music and movies happening though.

Clap Your Hands were good, especially in an inspired middle section. DVDs have picked up - Mutiny on the Bounty, some dull hardcore Italian gore, and the splendid Pierrot le Fou, which was shaping up as the best film EVER but fell away slightly at the end. Still, Anna Karina, eh lads? Phew.

New albums from Bjork and Rufus, plus a rediscovery of Ziggy Stardust too - much niceness.

So, things I have learned:

Declare your independence/Don't let them do that to you/Make your own flag

Life may be sad, but it's always beautiful

That weren't no DJ, that was hazy cosmic jive

I give up, let her wear as much pink as she likes

It was my mother-in-law's 60th birthday on the weekend, an occasion which clearly demanded a big do and duly received one at Tanglewood. Music and wine were the big themes, and I participated in both rather more than was good for me. As you can see, I wasn't the only one to have a good time.

I was pleased it was a fun affair, because I spent the remainder of the weekend erecting flat-pack furniture and watching maudlin if brilliant Swedish films.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Enmore tomorrow - wahey!

BSG and the KKK

Many of you will know our lovely friends Mark and Tanya and their young lad Ollie. Now, Mark is white and Tanya has Chinese heritage so Ollie is a mixture of the two. The strange thing now is that every time Beth sees a Chinese/east Asian looking kid in a book or on telly she cries out "Ollie!". Is she a racist?

Post to make me look clever and/or smug

It all started with the Top 100 Novels thing, but recently I've become a little overburdened with artistic to-see/to-read lists and its getting a little out of hand. I like a list because it keeps me exploring and discovering things I wouldn't usually go for, but on the other hand I get an obscure guilty feeling whenever I enjoy anything that doesn't give me a tick somewhere.

My current lists, together with my current score for each, are as follows:

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (617/1001)
Sight and Sound Top 100 Movies (86/100)
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (250/1001)
Booker Prize Winners (16/40)
That Weird Penguin Book List That Kate Started Doing (68/100)
Time Magazine Top 100 Novels Since 1923 (51/100)

So there you have it: I have just listed all my lists. I need a long lie down.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who know who Captain Feathersword is, and those without children.

200th post!

Actually it should have been the 200th post a while back, but I have been busy socially and deep in the doldrums of apathy at work. I can't really post about work stuff here, but we're being pushed into doing things I don't want to whilst my pet projects are being destroyed from above. Time to start browsing the job sections again, maybe.

The weekend of the 5th was Jem's bucks do, which took place in a Bavarian style beer cafe. Given my diet I was the only bloke there eating the spinach salad for dinner. Unfortunately, this was slightly undercut by the fact that I was also the only one drinking beer from a 1 litre glass. There are diets and diets.

It won't come as a shock to the more perceptive amongst you that the weekend of the 12th was - can you guess? - Ness and Jem's wedding. Everything was perfect for an outdoor wedding in beautiful gardens in the Blue Mountains. We left Beth at home for the weekend, so much debauchery resulted, at least as debauched as one gets at this time in life. I particularly enjoyed getting to catch up with our Godzone (ha!) based friends Kat and Eddie. M was a bridesmaid so I had Saturday morning off for a stunning walk around the Three Sisters while the cloud was below us, filling the valley with opaque mystery.

In other news, Beth has started demanding The Wiggles DVD every 2 minutes. It was always going to happen.

This week I have been mostly listening to Fruit Salad, mainly in my sleep. Aargh!

Babies as toys - a Good Thing

Another major development for Beth: her first movie quote! She now whiles away long car journeys by saying "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller..."

Actually, it's more like "Booler...Booler..", and she can't have any idea why I find it funny, but she certainly likes the fact that it makes me giggle.