There’s this french expression that is used in a sarcastic way when you want to say that you have more important things to do.- It goes: ” J’ai d’autres chats a fouetter” which literally means- “I have other cats to whip”! Examples- “Tu viens boire un verre?” – ” Non merci, j’ai d’autres chats a fouetter” > “Are you coming for a pint?” – “No thanks, I have other cats to whip” / – Bizarre, I have no idea where that saying comes from- maybe there was some cruel practice in France’s history that I don’t know about- & thankfully Brigitte Bardot’s animal rights activism put a stop to it!? Anyway, having said that- the weekend is approaching & with it- st. Patricks day & for me,-a trip back to England for a pub lunch in honour of my father-with lots of people I don’t know. I know how I am in such situations-what with nerves & that- I will probably end up honouring the beer a little more than necessary> & I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself.> SO, I may need to invest in a few feline friends that I could have on hand if things start looking dangerous!

I am always a little overwhelmed by the amount of choice you can find in shops & supermarkets these days. As far as food & cooking is concerned,-I’m like most single males who set themselves ambitious goals for the dinner table but rarely stick to them. Whilst I enjoy the fulfilment of following a recipe & making your own food from scratch,- most of the time I feel I could quite happily live off tea, toast & marmalade for months on end. -Just thought I’d tell you that.

There’s some serious unrest in Paris atm amongst the student population- a pale echo of the famous student riots of 1968.
The basic driving force is the same- they are young, they are pissed off & they want the government to know about it. Except today,-some of the very same people who were throwing bricks at the police in 68- are now for the most part established figures in french society thankyou very much & I can’t help but sensing that-while they are idealogically behind the students,-they also look upon them as spoilt brats ie:”if it was’nt for us in 68..etc”. Also, the media & politicians are doing their shit-stirring job as usual by comparing & be-littling these of course ‘privilaged’ young students,- to the less fortunate & well-off youths in the suburbs who are more on the ‘front-line’ socially.(*& whos riots recently made international news with it’s racist undertones) It’s all a bit of a mess,-but personally I try & understand & put words on such action up to a certain point.-The fact is,-these are just labels & everyone who gives a shit uses his official personna as he can. It’s too easy to look down on the young & patronize them from the pedestal of ‘experience’.- We could all die tommorow,-so as far as I’m concerned, age does’nt enter into it.
Your average intelligent young person who is not yet a couch potatoe & on the path to self destruction, who has feelings-& therefore a social concience-is someone we should listen to. I mean for christ’s sake-look at the tosspots that are in power atm. They are making this world ever more cynical & darker.-To such an extent, that every time I see someone open their mouths & protest-the word ‘kamikaze’ springs to mind. Well so be it,-if you still have enough energy to react against such faceless bloodsucking-do it in your own way. I myself- am too far gone idealogically,-I just love everyone-& I feel so stupid.-I think it’s in my interest as well as the people around me- that I go back to the ‘drawing board’ & find the right balance between base human emotion & what exactly is going on in the world.

“It’s better to have loved & lost than not to have loved at all” A phrase I’m guilty of using a little too readily along with “shit happens” that never really hits the spot- such ready made words you can find yourself spewing out when confronted with a loved one who is in a predicament, emotional or otherwise. In this particular case I would like to talk about technology, our gradual reliance upon it, & how it can let you down BIG TIME. An over dramatic introduction you might say, but the computer has become an important tool for many people today & a means of communicating, making money & consequently- evolving in the world(shout-out to the people at ‘WORDPRESS’-great service!). But the whole virtual nature of it is never brought home as much as when the damn thing breaks down-pure & simple. All very dramatic you say- as I comfortably type this out & you read it,- but had a long phone call with someone very dear to me-nay!-the most important person in my life- who is no stranger to set-backs or shit sandwhiches & who’s business relies on ‘e-commerce’ & who has just experienced one of these apparently trivial glitches. Basically, working his bollocks off & at an important turning point in his career- was concienciously about to back up his work on them thar CD’s- & the inanimate object in the corner of the room we are all familiar with, just gave him the big FUCK YOU.
We’re talking months of work with people on the other end of the phone lines tapping their fingers & looking at their watches, money at the ready. This person is no novice-he knows his shit- so he is all the more unoptimistic when faced with ‘the blank screen of death’-I wish I could help him but I can’t. As it’s Sunday he could’nt get hold of an engineer-so tonight he is waiting for tommorow twiddling his thumbs like someone waiting for the results of a blood test & questioning his whole professional existence.-& to top it all off his cat chose this moment to vomit on the carpet!- A happy life is that of the cat.-fingers crossed…

Sometimes when you find yourself at a crossroads, its quite liberating talking to a stranger-knowing full well that you most likely won’t see him/her ever again. I know for a fact that the world is full of potential timebombs trapped between the constraints of everyday life & the roles & labels that people may impose on them. Everyone needs a voice, an outlet to express themselves- otherwise all this bric-a-brac just wells up inside.-That can’t be good for you. I feel like a starry-eyed teenager saying that sort of thing, but it is true. Just as fire burns & water is wet- sometimes stating the obvious makes you feel that much more alive!- Like those japanese poem things (what are they called?-’hai-ku’ or something?).>They are simple phrases like- “..the leaf floats down the river” or “the grass is green”. Just like in the film ‘Midnight cowboy’ when ratso strikes up a conversation with Joe by pointing out that Joe has birds on his shirt- to me that is a ‘hai-ku’ , as is- “the keyboard is smooth” or “the screen is square”. Just taking stock of the surroundings & stating the obvious…”Midnight cowboy is an excellent film”.

There’s nothing like a an evening snowfall to bring an uneventful boring day to a graceful close. There’s something reassuring about the clumsy flakes silently appearing from the darkness & dancing past your window. It’s as if all the unfinished business of the day has been erased.- A nice new white icing laces the rooftops,-cushioning your drop into slumberland- where like crystal music behind the eyes-the flakes will keep on falling.>That is, until nature calls & you need to get up for a piss.

Weeee! Just discovering this thing called ‘Google Earth’. I’d previously not been able to work it,-but now it works for some reason. Anyway, I must say- I am absolutely amazed! Spent the evening flying around the world. On my travels I zoomed in on the family house in England- could even make out the actual tree I used to climb! Then flew back over the channel to where I am now in Paris- zoomed right down through the skylight window & could see myself infront of the screen typing this!- that last part was bollocks of course- but anyway got a birdseye view of where I live -very impressive. Now, I’m off to check out the tiling on YOUR roofs folks! Up, Up, & away…

Today (Friday) I visited another art exhibition. It was a large exhibition of the works of Pierre Bonnard at the museum of modern art in Paris. Bonnard was one of the more prominent members of the movement of painters known as the ‘nabis’. I don’t know much about him & consequently have never gone out of my way to look at his stuff -so today I enjoyed the colours for what they were- no strings attached. My great aunt Marie-Françoise(from my mother’s side of the family)- known as ‘Mimi’ lives outside Paris in a little house on her own. She is very active for someone of her age & makes a habit of coming into the city regularly to visit exhibitions, go to the theatre or spend an afternoon in one of her favourite tea-rooms. Recently, on such occasions she has taken to calling me-asking me to join her. So we visited this exhibition & then went for the customery cup of tea. She told me of how she had had a brief fling with a painter in the early fifties. Mimi posed for him at the time, she remembered that she was wearing a red dress & scarf for the painting. This painting was sold almost instantly & luckily she had kept a b+w photograph of it. Anyway, many years later- Mimi was on holiday in the south of france with her then husband & they stumbled accross an exhibition of said painter. He did’nt recognise her until she came back to show him the b+w photograph. Apparently he turned white as a sheet. Even if it was years later,-I think it’s wierd that he did’nt recognise her.-After all Mimi has quite distinctive features which I imagine were what inspired him to do her portrait in the first place. Anyway, I had chinese smoked tea with a slice of apple pie caramel type thing.

There’s this girl I keep bumping into. She lives near me so that would explain it somewhat- but there are alot of people around here so why her in particular? It’s wierd. I do know her from the bar I go to sometimes & when we are there we consider each other as ‘friends’- but let’s be honest that word is always used a little too readily in such an environment- no she’s a sort of aquaintance/friend/person I once danced with & stuck my tongue down her throat! yuurch.. I used to fancy her but certain traits of her character remind me of my previous bad experience-so in the interest of self preservation- I decided not to persue it, she’s probably thinking the same anyway. So we keep bumping into each other & smiling sheepishly(never seen a sheep smile, they’re miserable bastards for the most part but anyway..) I have an uncle who is an author, he writes detective stories. His name is Max Obione & he chairs a small publishing company called ‘Krakoen’. When I was a kid I never saw much of him but in the past few years, family ties set aside,-he has become a valuable part of my life. Uncle Max is a very talented & creative person who, when he’s not busy working on his own projects,-is very encouraging & generous towards people persuing their own endeavours. He also writes songs under the name ‘Badspoon’ & I have had great fun trying to put them to music. Max’s next book should be out soon-I don’t know how many this will be, he’s so prolific- I’ve lost count! Some of the song lyrics are not for the faint hearted- if he made a record it would definately come under ‘explicit!’ Anyway below is a pic of the man himself…