ingenious paradox

Carols

2009-10-21T21:10:54Z

We (the boys and I) went to a carol practice at church last week. C was in his element but after a little while O got quite upset. Managed to calm him down and get through the occasion, promising to take the books home to have a look at. Which on Monday we did, for the ten minutes he could be persuaded to concentrate.

Tuesday he brought the books to where I was and said we didn't need to bring these home any more because he'd worked out what the problem was. Turned out that he'd got confused by the multiple lines of words under the music.

So tomorrow we shall see. I did wonder whether he was old enough (the first time I did it, I was 9, and had been singing in small groups from part-music for two or three years) but felt I couldn't tell him that, especially as he already has to put up with C going ringing which he isn't quite old enough for. I don't know whether any of the other children intend to join in, but last week it was otherwise all adults.

Must see if I can borrow some green books from Kirby next week (at least until Gerald can get into the other cupboard). I thought we had Joyce's copies, but they must have gone back.

Oh dear....

2009-10-04T22:07:39Z

About ten minutes after going to bed, Christopher came downstairs.

He'd been thinking about death and couldn't get to sleep.

We had a cuddle, and talked about how everyone dies eventually and generally no-one likes the idea - I asked if he were worried about himself dying soon to which the answer was not really.

I said obviously I couldn't tell him that he definitely wouldn't die for a long time yet, but that it wasn't very likely.

I said that large parts of life are devoted to either learning to accept the fact of death or trying to ignore it.

I said that the actual Being Dead bit wasn't a problem, though quite a lot of deaths are pretty nasty.

I dragged religion into it, saying that we believe after we're dead we eventually go and live with God in heaven.

We had a bit more of a cuddle, then he went back upstairs. I said if he wanted to talk to God about it, he should remember that because of Jesus, God knows what it's like, he's been through it. So sue me.

Not sure what prompted that one. A relatively minor sympathetic character died in Merlin yesterday, but he was by no means the first.

well, that was weird.

2009-10-04T21:58:57Z

I just tried to add another entry, and when I clicked on the link it gave me a picture. Just a picture.

Perhaps it thought I needed cheering up - though it wasn't particularly well-chosen if so. I think it may have been Zac Efron, but if not it was of that ilk.

It happened twice, from different clicky places. And yes, the URL in the address bar was exactly the same as it is now (http://www.livejournal.com/update.bml ).

I closed the tab, reopened and tried again, this time successfully.

I shall see whether it happens again.

I try not to be smug...

2009-10-04T21:51:32Z

... but sometimes my children make it very hard for me.

The other day Bishop Mark of Jarrow (a suffragan) came to visit the school. As we were having a governors' meeting that morning we all stayed for the assembly.

After he'd told the parable of the good shepherd, he got out his dressing-up stuff and asked the children if they knew what the pole was. Oliver correctly answered that one (at least, I think he may have said "a shepherd's hook" but it wasn't entirely clear).

Then he showed us the back of his cope which had flames on and asked what they might be for. One child obviously thought quite carefully and suggested that Jesus may have once lit a fire because he was cold ;-) Andrew and Elam thought it might have something to do with God speaking to Moses from the burning bush. Christopher was then the only one with his hand still up. With a palpable relief that no-one else had got it, he said "is it because of when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples like flames after Jesus had died and they didn't know what to do?" I was so proud ;-)

Then the choir (which is still mostly made up of members of Christopher's class) sang quite a long and complex song, during which he appeared to be the only person who knew which bit was coming next on several occasions. And could be heard clearly and correctly - and, I think, quite beautifully - throughout.

Jayne the very long-term governor asked me later if we'd thought about trying to get him into the chorister school, because he's obviously so much better than the rest of the choir!

The answer to that, incidentally, is that yes I had thought of it; but Rob isn't very keen on the idea, I still have discomfort over private schools, having him at school in the city centre would be hideously inconvenient and I'm not at all sure he'd be happy with spending the first year not being allowed to sing during the services (they take the term Probationer very seriously).

book recs from slactivites - for my reference

2009-08-26T21:51:13Z

I have nothing against the Eragon books, personally, but FWIW, I love the Land of Elyon series by Patrick Carman and the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. Oh! And Percy Jackson and the Olympians (soon to be the first arc in an overarching series called Camp Half-Blood), by Rick Riordan and the Ember books by Jeanne DuPrau.

The sprog and I just finished Diamond of Darkhold on audio in the car. We're starting HP next.

iana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series is quite fun. I haven't read any of her other books, but a fun project might be to read her version of "Howl's Moving Castle", then watch the movie and compare the differences.

But any of these can beat the pants off Eragon:
- anything by Diana Wynne Jones, at age-appropriate level;
- Nancy Farmer, especially The Ear, the Eye and the Arm, and House of the Scorpion;
- John Flanagan, the "Ranger's Apprentice" series;
- Jonathan Stroud, the Bartimeus trilogy;
- Angie Sage, the Septimus Heap books;
- Suzanne Collins, Gregor the Overlander and its sequels;
- Scott Westerfeld, the "Midnighters" series;
- Chitra Divakaruni, the "Conch Bearer" books;
- Zazou Corder, the "Lionboy" books;
- Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief (sequels skew a little older);
- Garth Nix, Shade's Children;
- Kate Thompson, The New Policeman.

Book recs for those who don't mind female protagonists: Tamora Pierce's "Protector of the Small" series. Also "Trickster's Choice" and "Trickster's Queen", and the current "Beka Cooper" series. She has several others, but these are the ones I like best.

I heartily second the L'Engle and Diane Duane recs. Diana Wynne Jones seems oddly uneven to me; I love the Chrestomanci books, I like "The Spellcoats", but I've tried to start several of her other books and quit after a few pages.

Petition

2009-08-20T19:57:56Z

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/turing/

Request for a formal apology.

well, that was... unexpected

2009-08-20T11:17:27Z

While waiting for my lunch to cook just now, I tried singing some arpeggios (having emailed the admin person to say please arrange me an audition I thought I'd better start actually singing again).

I still hadn't got particularly high when I started to have to think quite hard about the top note, and then began to squeak. Oh dear, I thought, I wonder what note that is? Let's hope it's an A rather than a G...

Turned out it was actually a C sharp. Which I tended to squeak on even at my peak.

So that's one less thing to worry about.

pinched from - oh, from hapax again

2009-07-22T21:34:57Z

your problem is that you is to ARO0DITE!!!

more cute

2009-07-16T10:54:59Z

Found a piece of paper in the study. Handwriting and spelling suggests Oliver rather than Christopher.

~~Pass~~
muiscl stachus
muiscl bumps
pass the parsl [interestingly, the s looks as if it was originally a c]
tea

oh, and before I forget

2009-07-13T09:48:25Z

Rufus Wainwright. Heard of a couple of times recently, read a bit in the paper about his new opera. Quite looking forward to hearing him on Jonathan Ross.

Well, it's entirely possible that it was indeed a fabulous song (couldn't think of anything wrong with the music). However, I can't have an opinion because I couldn't hear a word of it. Someone should tell him that even in opera it's generally considered better to pronounce things clearly.

Spotted in Oliver's workbook

2009-07-13T09:45:01Z

"my mum has blue eyes. They sparckl when she smials."

Also: "my mum likes me. She likes me becaus I am a good boy at home."

(More on reports and parents evenings still to come.)

Torchwood

2009-07-13T09:40:11Z

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ianto.

Other than that - wow, fabulous.

my god is a - what?

2009-06-23T21:01:10Z

In today's concert, Year 3 sang a song called "my dog is a good dog".

"my dog is a good dog, yes he is
my dog is a good dog, yes he is
for he sits and begs, and he wags his tail
something something turn around
my dog is a good good good dog, yes he is.

I am never going to be able to hear that praise song with a straight face, ever again...

pop songs

2009-06-13T20:01:53Z

... not a subject I know that much about, I admit.

Listening to Take That singing Shine on Jonathan Ross last night, I realised that the song reminded me of another, one which at one point I had known quite well. I was convinced it was an early Billy Joel but couldn't find it in my limited selection and eventually agreed with Rob that I was probably just remembering hearing Shine without realising it!

Then lying in bed the phrase "you have no scars on your face" came to me, followed finally this evening by "and you cannot handle pressure". Pressure! That was it! Not-quite-early Billy Joel, from one of the albums I only had on tape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu10CgX0USw

and

http://www.last.fm/music/Take+That/_/Shine

I'm now not convinced, and suspect that it was mainly the phrase "your face" that reminded me. yes, I realise that a phrase like that is hardly going to be a rarity in a genre full of relationship stuff. But hey.

enough already!

2009-06-09T19:53:01Z

I wish people would stop talking about how certain banks are part-owned "by the taxpayer".

Leaving aside the question of how much ownership was actually transferred anyway;

can anyone explain to me exactly how my status with regard to such businesses differs from Rob's? - given that Rob pays tax and I don't.

Or even how my sister Carolyn's differs from Rob's, given that Rob pays Higher Rate and Caro doesn't.

Strictly speaking, they are part-owned by the nation, but I suspect that reminds people too much of nationalisation which is Teh Eeeevil (four Es, yes it's that bad). Saying that they are part-owned by the government is probably worse.

Once you have handed over your tax, that's it. Ordinary Member of Public has no more say in how it's spent than anyone else with a vote. And since we have universal adult suffrage in this country (no, please don't tell me about the exceptions, my point is that it's not dependent on material possessions) "the taxpayer" doesn't own it any more than "the non-taxpayer".

That concludes this week's rant. We now return you to your scheduled fluff.

and while I'm in rant mode

2009-06-03T22:08:03Z

I keep meaning to post this one, every time I go into town and see the hoardings on the Gates, our revamped shopping centre (which pisses me off in itself, because I still don't see what was wrong with Millburngate Centre, and the floor tiles definitely look worse than the old ones):

One of them is a calf-height shot of a woman (well, presumably intended to be a woman, she adds hastily, aware of her readership and not wanting to sound Southern Baptist again) surrounded by shopping bags with the caption "now, how to hide all this before he comes home?"

things that really shouldn't - no, scratch that

2009-06-03T22:03:42Z

Things that actually bloody well should get to me, number 389746:

those awful Bueno ads around Desperate Housewives. If a man were to gaze lustfully at a woman going into the changing rooms, pop his head round the door and emerge looking as if he'd had an eyeful, then scutter off sheepishly as a large stern woman turns up, what would be the response?

If a group of lads at lunch were admiring the waitress's curves and laughing together, and one of them deliberately dropped something so that she had to bend down to pick it up, what would be the response?

This was several days ago but today some light relief is needed

2009-05-20T23:09:46Z

In the report on the cash-accepting peers:

"Two other peers, Lord Moony and Lord Snape, were cleared of misconduct."

Must... resist.... must... not... snigger... at... BBC...

(seriously, how did he manage to keep the smirk out of his voice?)

good news?

2009-05-16T21:47:10Z

From the charity shop haul, among the chick-lit of varying quality, I picked up Norman Mailer's "the gospel according to the son".

Now, I have heard great things of Norman Mailer.

The blurb and quotes puffed mightily about how this book should put NM back where he belongs as America's Great Novelist.

I expected I might have to work at it (Helen Fielding being the otherwise most intellectual work I have devoured in the last 3 months) but I decided I was up to the task.

I was... well, I was disappointed. There, I said it.

Leaving aside the quibbles about time frame and his apparently arbitrary decisions about which bits of the Gospels were gospel and which were hyperbole;

Apart from his relationship with, and the character of, his mother (which I suspect owes a lot to the stereotypical Middle-Class American Mother) there seemed to be nothing there that hasn't been said before.

Ooo, Jesus was all about loving each other and helping the poor, and is disappointed at the great rich edifices of his church! Wow, that might be stunning to someone of about... erm... five.

(Incidentally, it was even easier to read than Helen Fielding. And v v short.)

Anthony Burgess's "Man of Nazareth" was much better. And longer ;-)

Oliver's Christmas wishlist (yes I know it's May)

2009-05-06T11:00:31Z

Dear Santa
Trasfmus [little picture]
Christmas money [lots of circles, presumably coins]
DS [picture] Choclut money [circles]
love from oliver

He got chocolate money ;-)

Sometimes I want to hang a sign round my neck

2009-04-28T20:26:04Z

It would say "yes; because after 23 years I was bored. Can we please talk about something else?"

Then I feel all guilty, because actually I quite appreciate having had all these positive comments (especially as Rob was - and indeed still is - noncommittal to the point of negativity); but, you know, I've done that now and I'm thinking about other things.

For instance, agreeing to be secretary to the PCC...

pinched from hapax, one of my favourite commenters on slactivist

2009-04-18T22:22:23Z

Well, a lot of what makes WTWTA a great piece of literature is what *isn't* said. And much of this is my own interpretation, mind you.

But, as Kit noted, children tend to be very black-and-white, authoritarian, and didactic and their thinking, and bring those expectations to the stories they encounter. Look at the way WTWTA plays with those assumptions.

Max starts out as a conventional bad boy, and is punished accordingly. He is sent out on a Hero's Journey, presumably to confront and master his own lawless impulses. He does encounter them, in the form of creatures of pure id. He dominates them. But he does so not by subduing and taming them, but by becoming MORE wild than they.

And he has a perfectly MARVELOUS time.

Moreover, when he wishes to re-experience the joys of social integration, he does not need to reject the Wild Things -- they part in mutual love and respect, and with an implicit promise that they will always be there. Yet there is not only no difficulty in Max rejoining society, there are no consequences whatsoever. His supper is "still hot." (Possibly the most perfect concluding sentence ever crafted.)

Yet despite confounding all expectations and the demands of narrative and character growth, the story is supremely satisfying and complete. After umpty umm decades, I am still struggling to encompass the implications of this as a fable, and unfolding new possibilities and layers.

(I wrote a while back a meditation on how WTWA could be used as a metaphor for the Christian journey, journeying in illo tempore through the waters of baptism into the dark night of the soul, back into the nourishment of unconditional love -- but I freely concede it's a bit of a stretch, and would undoubtedly make Sendak vomit.)

I've never seen the play, however, and I am very nervous about the movie, despite the promising trailer. It's the kind of story that the more you try to "flesh it out", the less it actually says.

The big ship sailed

2009-03-17T21:47:14Z

Am I the only person* who learnt this as "sailed on the Illy-Ally-O"?

Am I also the only person* who sings
"Illy ally o, illy ally o
the big ship sailed away"
before the last iteration of the first statement?

Also, why on earth does everyone say it's about the Manchester Ship Canal?

I did wonder whether Ally O was a corruption of Atlantic Ocean.

*apart from my siblings, obviously

the dragon who is dressed in pink

2009-03-17T21:15:39Z

Edit: really must Google *before* typing this stuff. No help on the originator, but it was regularly sung by "Auntie Vi" on Children's Hour.

Apparently this was one of the songs my mother sang at Sunday School.

Once there was a dragon dressed in red
dressed in red, all in red
never has a worse one yet been bred
than the dragon who is dressed in red

Passionate and Peevish is his name (I was sure this was something and anger, but apparently not)
dreadful name, dragon's name
should you ever meet him you should slay (this is not part of my on-line source, but definitely what my mother sang)
the dragon who is dressed in red

Once there was a dragon dressed in green
dressed in green, all in green
never has a worse one yet been seen
than the dragon who is dressed in green

Jealousy and Envy is his name (my source gives Envious and Spiteful)
dreadful name, dragon's name
should you ever meet him you should slay
the dragon who is dressed in green

Once there was a dragon dressed in black (I'd forgotten this verse and can't remember what we called him)
Dressed in black, all in black
Never has a worse one crossed your track
Than the dragon who was dressed in black.

Gloomy and Revengeful is his name
dreadful name, dragon's name
should you ever meet him you should slay
the dragon who is dressed in black

The one in the title was a later addition: he was there solely to rhyme with "he'll smack your bottom if you sit on the sink" which was a popular misdemeanour in our house at that time. Hey, we were under ten.

merryhouse @ 2009-03-16T22:13:00

2009-03-16T22:13:34Z

I've had a haircut.

Twenty-three years...