Unless you don't like what I write, which is fair enough, except why are you here?
Hmm. Things are too quiet for my liking, allow me to put a bit of music on.
That's better.
Okay, me being on a diatribe is nothing new, I conduct same here at BOOJUM! on a daily basis. It comes from the Greek "Dia" meaning "through" and "Tribein" meaning "rub" and means to take time over an action, in this case speaking. Or, moving from 450 BC to today, typing.
"Business As Usual?" I hear you confirm. Yes indeed. Despite feeling wretched*, thanks to this cold that I cannot shake off, here I am to educate and entertain you in equal amounts. And NO! we will not be using any ghastly South Canadianisms like "Edutain" or <shudder> "Entercate".
What's In A Name
"Four letters!" I hear you chortle. Really, you are too easily amused.
No, I am referring to the work "Angel Meadow" so kindly loaned to me by Christina. This was an area of north-west Manchester that, over a period of over fifty years, became and remained one of the worst slums in Britain. Full of the poverty-stricken, the indigent and immigrants, you took your life in your hands merely walking down the street.
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| A reeking, insanitary midden. |
The locals would riot at the drop of a hat, or merely the promise of same. Things were so bad that the Catholic and Protestant churches made common cause in attempting to mitigate the ghastly, grinding daily existence. Not only was Angel Meadow a horrid squalid hole, it was tailor-made for harbouring endemic disease; the first cholera outbreak has just taken place, killing nearly a thousand victims in Manchester, and cholera will be back.
If you have any doubts about proper public sanitation, read this book, and offer praise that you have an inside flushing toilet that you don't share with 100 other people.
Owl City - "Ocean Eyes"
I have been replaying this annoyingly catchy album frequently of late. It's the offspring of Adam Young, who likes synths and punning lyrics. Take "Dental Care" as an example:
And that's why I don't drink and drive
Because, good grief I'd knock out my teeth,
And have to kiss my smile goodbye
There can't be many pop songs that praise orthodontists, which is one reason to like it. And, as I said, annoyingly catchy.
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| Owl sitty |
Proof! Proof, I Tell You!
Conrad has occasionally posited the thought that there is nothing quite as odd or unusual as people. Hom. Sap. certainly has some interesting, if not downright worrying, thoughts going round in their heads. The website "Jim'll Paint It" remains a touchstone for this assertion. Let me present you with a modicum of evidence. Art?
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| See below for how it all makes sense |
No, it doesn't make sense to me either. Next!
An Evocation
I think that's the right word for it: to recall a particular sense or feeling.
In this case, that of Small Town America. British photographer Daniel Freeman travelled across South Canada, from Boston to Oakland,taking photographs of the towns he discovered, and taking them at night when there were no people around. They really do evoke STA, visually, in a similar manner to Stephen King, whom I found to be good at depicting STA in print.
Enough type, let us have a photograph:
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| Well, I guess "small" is relative |
"It's for an art project, officer," you can imagine Daniel informing a suspicious officer of the law. "Small Town America. No light pollution at night, you see. No people to clutter up or obscure the background."
"You might wanna stick with Stephen King for an evocation of Small Town America, sir," replies the officer, tipping the brim of his hat, twirling his baton and walking back to his squad car.
"O. Right," replies Daniel. "Not what I expected." Let's have another photograph.
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| That store's name is "American Flags and Poles" |
* Mister hand notes <there is nothing more pathetic than a man with a minor illness>.
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