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Monday, January 30, 2006

Bent Bangers

New_year_1

Happy Chinese New Year, readers!

I thought I'd liven things up with a slightly racist AND homophobic post.  Either that or I'll be forlornly fishing around for something to dress up as a culturally astute observation. 

(Actually, here's one:  America smells of sandwiches...mayonnaise in particular.  Whereas Africa smells of meat; the UK smells of mud and S.E.Asia smells of lemongrass.  Finland smells of puncture repair glue.)

Sooooo.....I was in China Town last night for the New Year.  And let's just say that 'those people' do not abide by The Firework Code  when having explosive fun.  Let's just say they choose NOT to 'light the fuse and stand well back'.

Instead they choose to throw weapons-grade firecrackers at each other, at bystanders, at cars, at bars and, rather wonderfully, at The Gayers whenever possible.  And, as we know, The Gayers can be more dramatic than The Non-Gayers...

So, whereas in London, the soundtrack to a fireworks display in a muddy field goes something like this:

Tssssss.......WHOOOSH......BANG!  'Ooooooooo...Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa'

for Chinese New Year in SF, it's more like this:

Tsss..WHOOSH..BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG! 'OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!! MY BOTTOM'S ON FIRE!! I'M FLAMING, I'M FLAMING!!"

Which I think is rather wonderful.

So 2006 is the Year of the Dog.  And absolutely not the year of the Chutney Ferret.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Dolby Stereo

Dolby

On a whim, I went to see 80s-Electronics-Wizard Thomas Dolby last night.

He comes on stage wired up like a Dalek and performs cell-phone ring tones for an hour.

Quote of the night: 'I will now do a medley of my hit'.

I'm inspired though - I've bought a keyboard and become a GarageBand junkie, staring bleary eyed at beats and blips in the early hours.  I almost made myself dance last night.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Sounding Weird, Looking Weird, Writing Weird

Architect_2

So, as you can see, I'm only the STAR of some Hewlett Packard printer commercials.  Ignoring the fact that they've called me Brian and scrawled the word 'small' between my legs on the 'group shot', I'm sure you'll feel an instant and irrepressable urge to upgrade your printer.

I've also been trying to do a few voice-overs here in 'Frisco because us Brits are in hot demand - and it seems that every San Franciscan who's seen Woody Allen's (risible) Match Point has come over all hoity-toity.  So, reaching for the stars once again, I tried out as the new voice of Kellogg's All-Bran. 

Stuck in a sound booth and struggling to find my character's motivation, I was told to read the script "like a Big Friendly Bear".  Helpful advice as, obviously, my real quandry at that moment was deciding where in the Animal Kingdom to find vocal inspiration.   

That said, my guess is that if you (UK readers) all did a 'Big Friendly Bear' voice right now, they'd be remarkably consistent.  Why?  Well not all brain flotsam is pointless song lyrics...no, there's also several billion little grey cells faithfully storing the voices of Johnny Morris' 'Animal Magic'.  I lived in Kenya for a while and, thanks to Johnny, never met a giraffe who wasn't posh.  Sadly, there was no space left between my ears to remember Swahili though...

Anyway, I didn't get the job.  I was rubbish.  I instinctively fell into Victor Kyam 'voiceover mode' (yet another wasteful bit of cultural memory) and it was embarassing to listen back to.

It's amazing how many ads do still sound so contrived though.  And how so much ad copy is still so ad-copy-esque.  All short sentences.  Power words.  And meaningless constructs. Be Yourself. Right?

The marketing industry bleats on and on about 'authenticity' but still forgets to sound human most of the time.

Do you see what I did there?  I wrote a load of old bollocks and then tried to segue into a meaningful thought about my working life.  I'm going to try that more often - just in case people at work are reading this...

Here's an in-joke for you agency dorks, courtesy of Goodby.  Download 01_RC_LADY_FIN_1_2.mp3

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Am I Bothered?

Dumbomg

I've been in the USA for four months now and haven't bought a single newspaper.  And, even though I've got the World's Biggest Telly, it's not actually connected to any broadcast media.

It's surprising to me that, without the lure of familiar media brands - or the come-hither sports/celebrity news headlines - newspapers hold no real appeal for me here.  Not because they're bad, or dumb or US-centric....but because....well...I just don't really care...

I occasionally read the news on the BBC website and listen to Radio 4 but I'm much less well informed about 'current affairs' than I ever was in the UK.  Or perhaps not.  Perhaps just less full of other people's opinions - ever changing according to my media choices.

It's refreshing to escape from the tyranny of newspapers and telly for a while - freeing up whole days for discovering new music, watching movies and reading books I've been meaning to for years..

I'm not sure what I'm saying here.  Just that I'm pretty relaxed about being 'less well informed' about immediate news headlines....because the trade off is more time to think about things that actually interest me.

Is this the American malaise?  Is this why the 'Dumb American' cliche is so sticky?  Well here's a thought - proper international news is, of course, easily available here but you have to actively seek it out.  The evening news shows don't cover international events in the way that anyone living in the UK is accustomed to.  So it really is very easy indeed not to engage.  And to spend that time doing stuff that you enjoy instead.  And yet I meet loads and loads of very well informed people in San Francisco.  I just wonder - if I'd grown up here rather than on a small, rainy island, would I be so determined to find out what's going on? 

I suspect I might have been a right dumb-ass.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

The Half Monty

A photographic record of my routine disappointment on Sunday mornings. 

London first up, 'Frisco following. 

Bacon or fat, sir?

Britbacon  Usbacon

Banger or a nice low-fat chicken weener...?

Britbanger  Ussuasage

Barn egg or bleached egg...?
Ukegg  Usegg_1

and DUDE, WHERE'S MY BEANS?!

Ukbrek_2    Usbrek

Oh bollocks, I've become that bloke.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

A Moving Experience

Bummer

So the plan was to write a long, gently amusing blog about 'The Weekend I Moved Apartment'.  To catalogue the pain, anguish and frustration of a 2.7 mile journey which the Google uber-lords tell me should take six minutes.

But you know what?!  I can already look back and smile.  Yes, brethren, maybe Xmas in Blighty has alkalinized my bile, but it all feels like a dream.  Not a very nice dream, but not one where I'll wake up screaming 'WHERE'S MUMMY? WHERE'S MUMMY?' either.

That said, it was a frickin' nightmare at the time and I need to capture the bare bones for posterity:

  1. I needed a strong man with a van to help collect a sofa bed, a leather chair, bookcases and a television from various parts of the city.
  2. I found Adam on Craigslist.  He was cheaper than the rest.
  3. His van wasn't as big as I'd hoped.
  4. He wasn't as big as I'd hoped.
  5. He was a midget.
  6. The telly weighs an eye-watering 250lbs.
  7. The World Record for Midget Weightlifting is a bladder-busting 200lbs.
  8. Steep concrete steps. Lots.  Up and down.
  9. Lost keys.
  10. Biblical, torrential, relentless, ridiculous rain.

That was Saturday.  Sunday = Ikea.  Solo.  On the busiest day of the year.

On the plus side, I salvaged a table and chairs from a skip and it only took the best part of two weeks to assemble my Ikea goodies.  I just wish I knew how structurally important these leftovers bit are....hmmmm....

Ikeabits_1

If I was Ikea, I'd build the whole 'mission impossible' element of shopping there into the brand experience.   I mean, it IS hell from start to finish....but perversely enjoyable....like camping in the cold or something.

Anyway, the dark days of moving are over and the flat is all brightness and light.  I shall enjoy living here, even if I have to steer clear of the neighbour, Mr.K. Bummer.

So, three months in and open for sofa-bed business, if anyone's heading this way.

And please spare a thought for my friend Annie, who's house burnt down on New Year's Eve.  After all, she'll have to go to Ikea sometime soon.  In the left hand column, you'll find the 'Anniethon' tip jar - if we can get a pound together, she can buy a nice new cardboard box.

Cimg0040  Cimg0050_1

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Things Are Different Here

Onion

There is no photo trickery here.  And I haven't shrunk during 
trans-continental flight. No, that is the size of a regular
onion in an American supermarket. 

Oh, and here's a little lunchtime sandwich for you.

Safeway here sells the nuclear farm version of the food you
love - everything is jumbo sized and in hyperreal colours. I
did some shopping yesterday and needed a fork-lift truck and
sunglasses to get home with a jurassic chicken, two bell-peppers
and a carrot.  They also sell 'seedless watermelons' the size
of Mr.Fussy .  Well I'm not fussed to buy one - I say the fun
of the watermelon lies squarely in the pip.

Anyway, I was a bit concerned about returning to London for Crimbo,
having been copied on this email from a bloke who's moved from
here to there (and who clearly writes in copy. all. the. time):

here in europe, things are different.

the job of a waiter is to make you wait.
phone numbers are like math equations.
casting agents think mullets are cool.
gum is waxy.

i miss you already. all of you.

if you are thinking about leaving, here's my advice:
don't. stay where you are. it is good there.

i'll be back in san francisco in a few years.

until then, keep in touch.

hugs

al

I won't get into haircuts on this side of the pond again, suffice to say
I'll be flying home whenever the barnet needs seeing to.  It's a
question of sanity, not vanity.

Anyway, my return to London was splendid.  It was good to feel the
cold, the energy of a big city, the firm meatiness of a Pork Pie.  So
I disagree with Al.

The only thing that I did change my mind about was the quality of
American v British telly.  American telly is abysmal - I mean, there's
good shows - but the whole package is crude, annoying, poorly
constructed and jam packed with ads made by wankers like me. 
British telly, on the other hand, is meant to be intelligent and
professional - with the BBC leading the charge.

Except it isn't.  Over Christmas and the New Year there was NOTHING
to watch and the BBC was the worst culprit.  While BBC ONE and BBC
TWO dished up festive treats like The Two Ronnies and Birds Of A
Feather
, BBC THREE decided to show Little BritainJust Little Britain
For three days solid.

Now, I admit that I loathe Little Britain - not because it's misogynistic
and sneering - but because it's super-simple comedy with catchphrases
for fuck-tards to shout on buses (in San Francisco now, too).  Also,
David Walliams brings me out in hives, whether he's wearing a dress or not. 
But even if I loved it, do I really want EIGHTEEN EPISODES on the bounce? -
that's worse than owning the DVD. 

I (don't) want that one.

(Incidentally, my telly here is SO HUGE that I watch it all the time.  It's not
actually connected to any channels or anything - and the DVD player doesn't
work - but it's so BIG and SHINY that it draws my eye.  Look, I can see myself
typing in the reflection right now....)

Lackaday, Lackadaisy

Cartoon_1

I know that I've gone very quiet.  I've been moving apartment (that story will follow), celebrating Father Christmas' birthday, seeing in another New Year and doing too much real work.  I'm not just one of those virtual nerds, alright?

So it's over a fortnight since I blogged, during which time I've been to both London and Ikea.  Having spent a similar length time in each, I conclude that London is more fun, if a little more expensive.   I guess it depends what you're looking for in a holiday really....Ikea does excellent meatballs and you'll certainly feel that you've done something challenging and adventurous when you get home....but London is easier to find your way around and offers friendly locals and an honest pint .....

Anyway, I promise to be back soon with more small, but tall, stories.

Just as soon as I've got over the Ebola I contracted on the plane home...

What The Locals Said

  • "What if the hokey-cokey really is what its all about?"
  • "Are you a Christian? No? Do you want to be? No? Well it's just such a shame that a lovely man like you will have to burn in Hell after you die."
  • "I tell you, man - this is the only city in the world that will desensitize you to lesbians....look there's girls KISSING over there and you're looking at your beer"
  • "So I'm just another overweight girl in a mini-skirt trying to get laid..."
  • "When I was big, breakfast was twenty two sausages and a gallon of coffee"
  • "You from England? I've had me some girls from England in my cab. DAMN! They suuurrreeeee isssssss UGLY!"
  • "Jeeez - I mean, what was he thinking? Would YOU attend your father's funeral in a cranberry leisure suit?"
  • "Man, I love London...it's slung like real low, real cool"
  • "Mom keeps asking what I'm gonna do and it's like, mom - for the last time, I'M GONNA BE A ROCKSTAR!"
  • "Well, when it's all said and done, er, there'll be nothing left to say or do..."

Words From Planet Marketing

  • "We are in the final countdown for having the job candidate zeroed down and finalized"
  • "For Mr.Turkey, we need to ramp up usage occasions. We need to optimize the bird for consideration in a snacking repetoire"
  • "The spirit of the concept is the 'ritual cusine moment'"
  • "We are aggressively trying to introduce consumers to the rest of our froken bakery snacks portfolio"
  • "Jimmy Dean needs to be moved neatly along from owning sausage to owning breakfast"
  • "Consumers want innovative bread serving suggestions"
  • "Consumers enter a retail deli environment with a protein consideration set"
  • "We want to pursue the Fresh Sweet Muffin opportunity"

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