Yay! The number of hosts visiting Tangents daily broke the 3000 mark for the first time today. I am quite excited by this, although I don’t really know why. It’s just a number, after all.

No kids told me to fuck off today. Instead lots of them told me how smart I looked… I don’t know if this means that they think that normally I look like a scruff-bag, but whatever. The reason for these comments was because I was wearing my (fairly old now but still quite nice) suit jacket and ‘proper’ shoes instead of my ubiquitous green Diesel anorak and Simple sneakers. And the reason for that was that those were the clothes I’ve decided to leave in school, in the darkroom turned changing room/bike store, for the days when I decide to cycle to school. Like today.

It was all fairly pleasant too, apart from having to ride up Stoke Hill immediately after leaving the house with four slices of toast and raspberry jam, and a small banana still lolling about in my stomach. Coming down the hill was a bit wild too because it was dark and there’s only so much even my super-dooper bright lights will illuminate. Aside from that it was fine. I had this notion that I would enjoy seeing the sky gradually lighten as I rode up the valley, but it didn’t happen that way. It all came very suddenly: I just realised it was a lot lighter than I remembered it being a few minutes ago. It was a strange feeling. Coming home was a bit crap because there was a horrid strong head wind all the way, but it’s somehow okay when you’re coming home because you know there’s not a full day of work waiting for you and you can just leap into the shower and put your feet up.

Or alternatively sit in front of the computer and fume about how the bloody broadband connection is off again.

posted by duke harringay at 8:02 PM

Googlism – last thoughts (honest)

It also occurred to me today that what googlism is doing is taking words written by individuals and corporations, all of whom own the copyright on their words, and using those words in a new context without the consent of the original authors. Which has to be legally dubious, surely?

I’ll shut up now.

posted by duke harringay at 8:00 PM

Felt slightly annoyed at myself for getting so irate in yesterday’s blog entry, then realised I still felt annoyed by the whole scenario. So I fired off a snotty email to Google and moaned about context. As if anyone will read it. My colleague at work voiced a funny opinion today about Google: he reckons Google is one bloke who wanders into work in the morning, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, and switches all the machines on. Well I thought it was pretty funny. And I needed cheering up having just had an eleven year old tell me to ‘fuck off you prick’. Ah, the joys of the English school system.

And for some not inexplicable reason I already had that bloody Boomtown Rats song in my head for most of the day. So I don’t like Mondays… or Tuesdays or Wednesdays or Thursdays or Fridays come to that… well who really does? Whatever.

I’m already thinking about what tunes I am going to play at the Careless Talk event on Saturday, even though the club didn’t realise I was going to do anything and haven’t reckoned for that, and ah… maybe I should just not bother after all. I mean, it’s hardly going to get the punters in, is it: DJing by some bloke you’ve never heard of and anyway who is ‘depressed or something’ so he’ll only be playing miserable fuck songs so we’ll stick him on early so no-one has to be upset. Whatever.

The Honeys, Shangri-Las, Twinkle, Waitresses, Bush Tetras, Ludus, Miaow, Doris Allen, Bessie Banks and Lispector are all on my list anyway. So at least I’ll be happy. Relatively speaking…

posted by duke harringay at 7:49 PM

I’m pissed off now because I just looked at that ‘googlism’ thing that Google runs. Seth brought it to my attention because she’d run my name through it, and it’s clear that the software just lifts some phrases from website entries where your name is mentioned – except in this case it only seems to pick up the negative comments, specifically in this case those fucking idiotic ones made by those fucking Morrissey idolators a year and half ago when they all took umbrage at an article I wrote about their beloved Smiths. So you know, using ‘googlism’ makes it look like I’m some fucking idiot Smiths fan… and I’m seriously pissed about that. I know it’s stupid, but still. You know, living through life and having negative things hurled your way all the time IS kind of depressing, and maybe I am ‘depressed or something’, but what the fuck, I don’t want a fucking website making a fucking ‘joke’ about it. Maybe I should sue.

Or, before some other fuck says it, maybe I should just lighten up.

Right.

posted by duke harringay at 3:59 PM