I was pretty chuffed today at work to see a copy of the James Valentine CD “Debut” and see my name in the “thank you” credits.
Really very touched actually.
But it doesn’t mean, James, if you’re reading this you’re going to get a favourable review. Although often compromised, I can’t be “bought” all that easily.
That said, I’ve spent the night at home listening to the CD all the way through, not just listening to bits of tracks as I some times do.
The CD is a combination of interesting jazz instrumental interpretations of well kown songs such as “Ashes To Ashes” (David Bowie), “Help From My Friends” (Beatles) and “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (Ewan MacColl/Roberta Flack” – my three favourites on the CD – as well as well-known singer songwriter tracks including my favourite on this, “Clap Hands”.
I remember him saying at a show a couple of years ago he never had much time for singer-songwriters. And then when he discovered the likes of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, his eyes were opened.
It was VERY listenable. I suspect I may even play it a second time :) And perhaps a third time. Seriously though, it’s very good.
The official launch is next Friday night, which should be a lot of fun. It’s out through ABC Music.
As for me? I’ve been a bit crook today.
I woke up this morning hardly able to speak. I blame it on yesterday’s big dust-storm. So for about half the day all I could manage was a croak here and there as I went about my work.
Odd, since the only other time I’ve ever lost my voice was back in in October 2006. It came close today though.
At the end of the day I’m feeling a lot better, and my voice is sounding better, but I’m still feeling a bit crook. All that bloody dust!
“Now there’s a song I haven’t heard for quite some time”, I thought to myself when I heard it on the radio.
It’s odd because when “Flotation” by “The Grid” was released back in about 1990 (as I recall), I was quite a fan.
It was one of those songs that I played for months and months, and was even known to dance to on occasion, but haven’t thought about it much since.
Until I turned on my radio just a short while ago.
A few months ago I bought a digital radio, you might recall. Unfortunately, I connected it with the wrong power cord just before leaving for Sweden and blew it up.
I’ve been surviving since with traditional radio, online streaming, and the audio channels on Foxtel.
I haven’t quite gotten around to buying a replacement yet.
But this weekend I brought my digital radio home from work so I can listen to ABC ANZAC Day, a project I’ve been working on, a 24-hour digital/online channel featuring new programs, live crosses and archival material, which goes out on Sunday.
As I tuned around the dial I was pleasantly surprised by a few new channels which have sprung up, in addition to all of the other new music channels which were launched last year.
SBS has two new music channels, PopAsia and Chill, which is where I heard Flotation.
There’s a station called “The Crack” which, when I tuned in, was playing the recent version of “We Are The World”.
There’s “Zoo Smooth Rock” which plays “Sydney’s biggest variety of smooth rock”.
There’s a channel called “Choose The Hits” which was playing some of the young person’s music, the hippity hop.
Oh yeah, and there’s “Radio GaGa” which only plays songs by Lady GaGa.
Few of them are my preferred listening, but it’s great there are a lot more stations to choose from.
I’m on the hunt for a “proper” digital radio to replace my cheapie I bought a while back. I’ve seen a few with wifi attached, which is where I want to go I think.
Because as wonderful as it is having all these channels, I’ve also been listening to this week most nights to some P4 Stockholm. It’d be great to have it all integrated into one device, I think.
Central Station Sydney - leaving the platform, headed towards Devonshire Street
I broke the law tonight. Inadvertently. I caught the train from Lewisham to Central without a ticket. As I approached the exit I was more than a little worried. With my eyes firmly planted on the floor, I was stunned when two black American blokes said to me, “Hey boss” (in a post-modern kind of way, I’m sure). Had I been caught out? No. Thankfully, all they wanted to know was how to get to Kings Cross. So I advised them and made my way towards Devonshire Street, hoping the exit would be unattended. Thankfully it was.
I’d walked from the Lewisham Hotel to the station and had taken a place on the platform without really thinking. It wasn’t until I was on the train that I realised I’d forgotten to buy a ticket. “Please”, I thought to myself, “Please, don’t let there be any guards on the train”. And if there were, I thought to myself, what do i say? Do I say the machines weren’t working, or do I just tell the truth, that I was a dumb-arse who’d simply forgotten to buy a ticket, distracted by the cleaners on the station?
It’s not the first time, though, that I’ve caught a train without a ticket. The first time was when I was 18 and traveling in Germany. I’d just been to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp, and, short of money, I decided to take the risk of traveling without a ticket. I wasn’t caught. More recently, I traveled to the Blue Mountains in the midst of winter. On the Monday morning and heading back to Sydney, we arrived at Medlow Bath to discover the machines weren’t working. So we actually took a photograph of the machine to prove it, should we need to on our arrival back in Sydney. Yeah, when it comes to fare evasion, I’m a bit of a pussy.
I guess part of the reason why I may have forgotten is because I went to the pub tonight and had a couple of beers, as is my want on a Wednesday night. I might not have gone tonight, were it not for the presence of visiting Swede, Gustav.
But I guess that’s just an excuse, since the whole of the last week has been one big booze-fest, having been out just about every night. A play, a couple of movies, a cabaret show, catching up with friends, and then last night, taking part in a Trivia Night at the Strawberry Hills Hotel.
And it ain’t over yet, as I have work-related functions to attend for the next two nights – the launch of an exhibition at the Museum of Sydney and this year’s Archibald Prize – ahead of this weekend’s activities with Mardi Gras. I need a holiday.
Swedish class was reasonably entertaining again tonight.
As we’ve moved into “intermediate mode”, Marianne has begun to do most of the class in Swedish.
Well, almost all of the class actually. Slowly and deliberately she delivers the instructions about what we’re going to do in Swedish, and sometimes with an English follow up.
For me, one of the most powerful moments was when we did some dictation. “Oh my goodness”, I thought to myself, “I’m understanding most of what she had to say, and I can re-produce it on paper”.
That said, we still have a long way to go.
On reflection after the class with Grant, we both agreed the course was great fun.
We also expressed some trepidation that Marianne was going to be away for a week as she had an operation on her foot. She has a great sense of humour, and a good understanding of human nature. You never feel “punished” for not doing your homework, but you know you should. Grant and I both did are homework by the way, while others failed to deliver. In short, she makes learning Swedish a lot of fun.
“Oh no”, we wondered, “who are we going to have while she’s away?” we both worried.
I’ve never quite understood the time and money many women invest in visits to the hairdresser. Throughout my adult life, a ten-dollar haircut with a straightforward instruction of “Just a number one, thanks” has sufficed. However, this weekend, I found myself in the barber’s chair, succumbing to the “up-sell” and emerging seventy dollars lighter.
While the difference from my regular haircut may not be immediately apparent, Saturday’s treatment offered a more profound and satisfying experience than I anticipated. In addition to the clipper cut on my head, blades, lotions, and extra attention to my beard contributed to the indulgence.
Around halfway through the hour at the barber, It became clear to me aboout the “pampering” aspect, which many of my female friends likely enjoy, was also happening to me. Though it may be a while before I splurge on such a haircut again, I truly relished being present in the moment.
“Can you please take a photograph?”, I asked the hairdresser.
Despite not placing too much emphasis on my appearance throughot my life, I’ve always aimed to present myself decently. Occasionally, I’ll venture out with friends only to discover a food stain on my shirt, which I’ll typically laugh off. While I used to dress up for formal occasions and work, my post-operation return to work has seen me favoring shorts and polo shirts, for comfort and convenience.
Since my recent operation at the age of 57, coupled with a newfound physical disability, I’ve been contemplating my physical attractiveness more deeply. Questions about whether a potential partner will look at me, notice my missing leg, and decide “we can be friends, but nothing more” have occupied my thoughts. Although physical attractiveness becomes less important in attracting a partner as one ages, it undeniably still matters.
These thoughts are currently at the forefront of my mind, and so, spending an hour at the hairdresser yesterday, and paying the most I’ve ever paid for a haircut and beard trim, could be considered a part of my rehabilitation, perhaps?
I was awoken this morning by a text message. The truth be told, I’d heard a few messages come in throughout the night, but since I’m on holiday, and since I’m in Berlin, I hadn’t bothered to look at them. They were, of course, a series of messages concerning the latest challenge (or non-challenge) to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. I’m still on a “breaking news” alert system operated by the ABC, and had re-installed my Australian SIM card (replacing the Swedish SIM), so received them pretty much instantaneously. By the time I’d woken up at about 7.00am, it was all over and done with it. The Prime Minister had survived, and ABC News 24 was carrying a media conference by the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott. A few minutes later we switched on the television to see the story reported quite extensively on BBC World.
Watching the PM on BBC World
It’s amazing to think that in the two weeks since I’ve been away, there have been two “successful leadership changes” in Australia (Victoria and the Northern Territory), one “unsuccessful leadership change” (the non-challenge by Kevin Rudd), as well as the election of Pope Francis. As one of my key roles back home for ABC Radio is to ensure good coverage and communication of major breaking news, I was feeling very sorry for Sarah who is replacing me. Sarah, I swear I had no idea it was going to be this busy.
For Sue and I, though, the day hasn’t been that busy. There were only three major things we needed to achieve today: clean up the apartment we’ve been staying in; catch the trains from Berlin to Copenhagen; and then find the AirBnb accommodation we’re staying in for the next four days.
This time the accommodation is a little different, as we’re staying about thirty minutes to the north of central accommodation, and this time we’re actually staying in someone’s apartment. Over a glass of wine tonight we heard quite a bit about her pretty amazing life story, having lived in the Phillipines, Australia, and having returned to the workforce, aged forty-nine (twelve years ago) as a flight attendant.
Aside from that, it was essentially a day of travel. While Sue read a book; I listened to a number of podcasts and looked out the window. I listened to a few of my favourite tech podcasts (TWIG and Tech News Today), a couple of episodes of Richard Fidler’s Conversations (one about a woman whose grandfather who became notorious in the British postal system; another about a woman who is the Obituaries Editor for The Economist), along with something I’ve just discovered called “Stuff You Should Know”. Today’s edition was about the history of the US postal system, which faces an economic crisis. All good fodder to pass the time on the train.
As I’ve mentioned the other day, there’s been a large amount of snow fall over much of Europe over the last few days. On top of what had already been there from the longish winter, the view from Berlin to Copenhagen was essentially black and white all the way. Even though the colour variation wasn’t that great, there was certainly a lot to see as the landscape changed, as we went from town to town, and finally, as the train came to a halt.
View from the train between Berlin and Copenhagen
“I wasn’t expecting this”, I said to Sue, as our train went on board a ferry. We were told, due to safety reasons, we couldn’t stay on board as the ferry crossed the water between the German mainland and Denmark. The journey took about forty-five minutes and, as we found, was best passed with a Diet Coke and a Carlsberg beer. Up on the main deck, the winds were brisk (to say the least), but we couldn’t let the opportunity pass without going outside.
Catching the ferry from Germany to Denmark
After the last few days in Berlin (one of the most amazing cities in the world), we’re now planning to spend the next few days in Copenhagen (a really beautiful city). On the train from Copenhagen to Hørsholm (where we’re staying), we got chatting with an older woman who told us she had just spent a few days in London. She had two large bags from her visit. The one on the bottom contained her clothes. The one on the top contained books she had bought about her favourite Italian painter. She told us she likes to draw, lives in a beautiful location with the woodlands on one side and the sea on the other, and that her husband had died five years ago.
I went to the launch tonight of NAIDOC Week at the ABC.
As well as the fantastic pop up radio station (now in its fifth year), there was the launch of “Untold Stories“, a series which runs on radio and television, which profiles important Indigenous figures whose names might not be so well known.
Professor Mick Dodson did the launch, and spoke about why it’s important for these people’s stories to be recognised. He also noted, in the 100th anniversary of WW1, the large number of Indigenous Australians who fought for Australia. I recorded the speech and put in on Soundcloud. It’s worth a listen.
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I have not seen the blog for a while James, but had a nice surprise when I did. The “new” format looks great!
I have not seen the blog for a while James, but had a nice surprise when I did. The “new” format looks great!