Guest Blog #6 - James in Argentina

This is by my latest guest blogger (it's been a while!). My friend James is currently living out an adventure working in Argentina for a year (don't mention the war!). I'll explain all about James another day, but here are some initial thoughts on his life 7,000 miles away:
 
My first impression of Argentina when I arrived was that it was cold, crisp and with lots of really nasty concrete high rises on the way from the airport into town. Queen were playing on the radio in the cab and not a day goes by without my hearing an 80's anthem....

In the city center there are huge expansive roads and large blocks of buildings clustered together. On foot, the city sprawls and is full of surprises, grand architecture of all different types and influences, mostly really scruffy, way past its prime. Lots of litter, smashed pavements, graffiti and murals break up the spaces between different buildings. Tourist maps are very deceiving. Places look clustered together, but the amount of pavement to cover is considerably more than meets the eye. I must have walked for 3 hours at least to make way from the serviced apartment into the financial district and back again. I passed many independent shops and cafes on the way. One of the charms if you like, is that there are very few chain stores - Tesco has yet to make its ugly way here and dominate an otherwise healthy mix of family run businesses.

The strangest thing I have seen is the people who pick through bins outside the office at the end of the day. Small armies of guys efficiently pick through bins wherever they happen to be, for plastics, paper, electrical, cardboard etc and take the good stuff away with them. Weekly there are marches through the financial district and around the political centre, really big drums, fireworks that sound like bombs - this took some getting used to.

I recently saw a podgy little kid who walked through a pretty packed train carriage with a satchel and a well rehearsed speech, that I could not make out. He then produced 4 juggling balls and then effortlessly went onto skillfully throw these things into the roof of the train and catch them on his head as they fell, whilst juggling others and catching those on the back of his neck in a 2/3 minute rendition that left me speechless, all the while the train was moving and lurching around - it did not distract him one bit. I wish I had filmed it and put it on YouTube - his skills were incredible!

San-Telmo, whilst not strange per se, it is in a time warp - it has the largest collection of brick-a-brak imaginable. Huge indoor markets full of stuff. Old stuff. The type of stuff usually only found in the odd shop found in Greenwich, Brighton or Crystal Palace. There is a whole indoor market that sells old stuff, clothes, watches, records, furniture etc but also has  butchers and green grocers set up in the same market also - an unusual combo! 

I'm missing the British staples of Indian and Chinese takeaway. The Argentines know absolutely nothing about spice nor flavour! Most food is unseasoned but of good quality and generous portions, but  almost always bland! Apart from the ice-cream which out here is second to none. I never knew about Dulche du Leche - it's on every menu and is hard to avoid if you find it too sickly sweet - which it is really. It's true also what they say about the steak and red wine, great steaks! Different cuts of meat that you cannot get in the UK. The flesh of the cow is the same (obviously) but butchered differently to give cuts that I think just simply do not exist back home. It's true also though that they over cook, a rare here is really a medium and if you are not careful they go for well-done 9/10. I also would not order a 'Don Pedro' as a dessert again - look it up!

Guest Blog #5 - Stuart talks about disposable music

It's been a while since the last guest blog, but Stuart has kindly contributed, highlighting something that has been on my mind - the way we consume music. Stuart was the topic of a blog entry on coming out a while back by the way.


Being a friend of Dorothy's, It's no big secret that I myself enjoy some commercial chart music.

Just a quick glace into my listening habits as published on my last.fm profile shows that my current favourite music artists include the likes of The Saturdays, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga; all of which have quite a popular presence in the UK charts at the moment. But for just how long?

In today's world anyone can be a pop star. Technologies like 'auto-tune' can make people like Paris Hilton and Katy Price sound like they have a voice. YouTube can be used to broadcast your own homemade music videos across the world instantly, and TV shows like The X-Factor and American Idol can pick up a member of the public who the music industry wouldn't even take a second look at and turn them into a overnight chart topper.

Because of this, the face of the music industry; the artists, are constantly changing, renewed for younger/fresher/more moldable artists. This is a great way for the music industry to make money, but is it really doing any good to the future of music as a whole? I say no.

Music has become almost disposable these days. A new song comes out, the Radio/TV overplay it to death, we set it as the ringtone on our phones, download it to our mp3 players then after a few weeks we get bored of it and replace it with the latest must have tune.

Whatever happened to mega stars? You know the people that stick around for years making music that is still listened in years to come. Sure we have people like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Eminem and bands like Kings of Leon and Muse, all of which are the mega stars of music to the current generation, but in 10, 20 or 30 years time will people still be listening to their music, will they even still be known?

Even someone like Madonna, who has been in the business for decades and remains a popular artist has lost some of her magic. Try to name her last 3 releases... yep, all pretty forgettable right? Think back to the 80's and all the classics she had back then. I was still in nappies and being spoon fed when songs such as "like a virgin", "Into the Groove" and "Holiday" were released, yet those are the songs I associate with Madonna, not her current disposable tripe.

Amongst all the artists in my music collection who have come and gone over the years I also have music from some of the great artists from yesteryear such as Queen, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Michael Jackson - music before my time, yet who would you consider to be the modern day equivalent of these great artists?

There just doesn't seem to be anyone in the charts anymore who has the staying power to be remembered and loves in years to come. Sure there is some fantastic talent in the music industry these days that you might consider exempt from this generalisation (most of which I might add is of British origin) such as Alex Turner (him off of Arctic Monkeys), Chris Martin (from Coldplay), Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz fame) and Noel Gallagher (formerly of oasis fame) some of whom have created some classic songs, but are they the real mega stars of our generation? I guess only time will tell.

Guest Blog #4 - Andrew writes about what to write about

This is by my latest guest blogger. This entry is by Andrew, a Scot living and working in England. He has taken the unusual approach of blogging about what he decided not to blog about. Confused?! Read on!


Welcome to my guest blog entry. This is the first time I’ve done this and it is now almost 3 months since Stephen suggested it. I think I’ve finally got over my writer’s block now, so here goes...

It’s ironic that I should have had such a problem given that I write for a living. As a Paraplanner I produce reports and analysis for a Financial Adviser. Of course, what I write is rarely read by the intended recipients (indeed, I’m not sure how often my boss reads it either). Perhaps on a subconscious level the idea that this would actually have an audience is what caused me to struggle so much.

That’s not to say I haven’t had ideas. Topics have presented themselves and dismissed. Some great sentences have been drafted and forgotten. Deadlines have come and gone. In part, I’ve wondered how appropriate my thoughts have been for this forum and the carte blanche given to me stubbornly remained blank.

My initial idea, was inspired by a visit to the National Gallery of Scotland: a piece on sponsorship of the arts by the troubled banking groups. Both RBS and HBOS (as was) are huge investors in the arts, particularly in Scotland, and I thought to argue the merits of continued involvement even given the large public stakes taken by the Government. Inevitably there will be cutbacks but we need to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Bound up with this was the recent campaign to raise £50 million to ensure that the Titian painting Diana and Actaeon remained in Britain. After some 200 years hanging in London and Edinburgh, the, the Duke of Sutherland – had decided to sell it and offered the National Galleries of Scotland first dibs... for £50 million... with 3 months notice... at the start of a recession.

Much has been made of the scramble to raise the funds with huge donations by the Scottish Government, the National Galleries of Scotland, the National Gallery and various arts funding bodies at a time when many people are experiencing the pinch. The truth is that this Italian painting of a Roman myth is part of our cultural heritage. Saving it has secured a guarantee that the rest of the Bridgwater collection will remain on loan for at least 21 years. There is now also the option to purchase a sister painting: Diana and Callisto, for a similar sum in four years time. The timing may have been lousy but in the long run this nation will be richer for it.

The next idea, and by this point it was almost 2009, was to discuss New Year resolutions. Now doesn’t seem the time to raise these… or perhaps it is. Did you make any? How many have you kept? Is Lent really an exercise at giving people a second bite of the cherry? (Perhaps, unless cherry biting is what’s being given up…)

And so we reached February – after being giving a reprieve January – and still inspiration wasn’t striking. Stephen suggested I complete a “gay questionnaire” circular he had been sent, but that’s not really me. I mean, I am gay, but I don’t feel it’s central to who I am. Yes I have Dusty Springfield and Erasure CDs but that’s because I like the music – Streisand and Garland are absent from my collection. I’ve read Alan Hollinghurst's “The Line of Beauty” but that is because I like contemporary novels. My Facebook says I’m “Interested in Men” but I’ve not added any of the “I’m gay” applications. I’ve even given up on publications targeted at the “Pink Pound”. (As an aside, one in particular often leads with interviews with the tag line “their only gay interview” – what is that about? How can an interview be described as gay? Unless you mangle the language like Chris Moyles.)

So here we have it - many words on what I decided not to write about. A process of writing that never really got beyond a few aborted ideas. Perhaps I needed to be given a subject. Perhaps I should have written about the use of trusts for Inheritance Tax planning. Perhaps you’re wondering why I bothered at all. Whatever you feel – whether you would have liked longer pieces on any of the above topics or you will just be really glad that Stephen will be back writing the next entry – thank you for reading. I believe it’s customary to leave comments below. Be nice though, it was, after all, my first time.

Guest Blog #3 - Marco talks IT type stuff

This is by my latest guest blogger. This entry is by Marco, a crazy (and very tall) guy who finds humour in everything and was a pleasure to work with. His blog is a surprising mix of IT and cuisine! Thanks Mr S!


So here I am, guest blogging! I used to have my own blog, but gave up after half a year or so - what's the point? I mean who's seriously interested in my online ramblings... and I should spend a lot less time in front of a screen anyways (unless I'm playing Wii that is :-P).

Now, what can I guest blog about? Maybe that I told Stephen that he would give up blogging after half a year as well? Nah, he enjoys ranting, so his blog shall live forever :-)

I think I've become rather cynical about the whole online "thing" over the years. Believe it or not but in the old WWW days (that's Wild Wild West!) of illegal music downloads I met my love via the almighty Napster music exchange (that was long before they got shot down and were reborn as a paid service), about 9 years ago.

Turn the time reel back further and I remember the first time using e-mail on a Uni mainframe (that's a very, very big computer - in terms of dimensions, not really in computing power compared to what we have available these days at least!) in 1992. The darn computer was so big that it had it's own 9m3 (300ft3) pool to keep cool in the basement of our computing centre! Those were the days of green (or amber) screens and keyboards that were clicking very loudly. Looking back I'm not 100% sure if I would go for another 6 years of studying Computer Science, it was a bit long but at the same time I met some interesting people there (for technical minded people, I had a chance to chat with the folks that completely overhauled the first version of the JAVA compiler for example!).

Looking at stuff like Facebook makes me shake my head. What is it good for other than wasting time?!? I really don't get it. Even worse, I had to re-activate my account because of two friends asking me "Are you okay? I couldn't find you on Facebook...?!?" - if you're not on Facebook, then you must be dead it seems... SIGH!

I think it's quite sad that it's cheaper these days to buy my light bulbs on eBay (I am not kidding, including shipping they were 50% cheaper than in any shop that I've got around my house in N1!), but maybe this is all just leading to the final materialisation of my online-fridge idea. It's extremely simple, but will revolutionise life in the kitchen! All you need is a barcode scanner so that the fridge knows what it contains at the moment and a nice database of yummy recipes and then you can "ask" your fridge things like "What can I cook tonight that contains meat and tomato sauce?" or "What's missing in order to make lasagne for two?". If you want to go all out, then you connect the fridge to an online order system and you'll be never out of milk again and the ingredients for your lasagne will magically be delivered by TESCO about an hour after you told your fridge that you want to eat lasagne tonight... yes, I love technology and don't get too bored most days doing my IT job :-)
___________________________________________________

There will be another guest blog soon. If you are new to my blog due to Marco's blog entry - please add a comment, subscribe (on the right of the page) and bookmark (see icons below)!

Guest Blog #2 - Oldies can be goodies

This is the 2nd in my series of guest bloggers. This blog entry is by Sonny, one of my oldest friends (in that I've known him many years, not that he is 79 years old). I have been looking forward to this contribution and I wasn't disappointed...

“Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey

I ache in the places where I used to play

And I’m crazy for love but I’m not coming on

I’m just paying my rent every day

Oh in the tower of song”

Last week I saw Leonard Cohen perform live at London’s Royal Albert hall; fulfilling, if not a lifelong ambition, then a very long held desire. I can almost hear the readers of this groaning with the thought of having to ‘endure’ this 74 year old curmudgeon, but please hold those thoughts. This man is maligned, he’s been know by various dark monikers – the suicide song-smith, the merchant of death and many more bleak titles. All of which are completely unfounded. Granted, he has a knack to the more melancholy but within his great emotional insights there is a delightful smattering of humour, and jotted amongst the more famous of his ‘dark songs’ are some very uplifting tracks (such as Independence has Come to the USA, Closing Time, and Ain’t no cure for love).

But I’m not writing here to wax lyrical about the man’s music, you can be the judge of that yourself – you’ll either like him or not, but either way, he’s most certainly worth an open-minded listen. What I want to comment about was the concert and specifically the man. The man is in his early to mid 70s, not that you’d know it from the way he ran onto and off the stage and performing for just over 3 hours. But what had me in my elements was not the music or seeing this legend in the flesh (though that was a huge plus), it was the unexpected presence he had on stage – he was at once charming, modest, and above all, he exuded humility. After every song, he removed his fedora hat, bowed down to ‘his friends (the audience), turned and bowed to each of his band members and then returned his, near tear-filled gaze back to the audience before continuing his performance.

It may seem like a minor thing to notice over and above the music and vocal performance, but in this day and age of self-pontificating, glory-seeking egoists that fill our screens and airwaves, the pleasure of seeing a performer to is so totally engrossed with his art and the delivery of that art to an audience was more than most of the audience could handle. He had us, all of us, in the palm of his hand – staring, puppy dog like at the stage hanging on his every word and movement. It was enrapturing. If some of the artists we admire today could put a tiny percentage of that honest into a performance, into delivering a heartfelt performance for their audience, well life would be so much more rewarding.

He’s still touring Europe and then going to the States around Easter… if he comes your way do, please do, that the time to experience Mr. Cohen… He may be at an age where he should have hung up his boots, but at the moment, he’s giving the greatest live performance of his life and probably of anyone performing today.

___________________________________________________

There will be another guest blog soon. If you are new to my blog due to Sonny's blog entry - please add a comment, subscribe (on the right of the page) and bookmark (see icons below)!

Guest Blog #1 - Peter says Grace

This is the first in a regular series of guest bloggers. The inaugural entry is by Peter - my partner of 9 (count 'em) years. Pete has decided on a rather abstract blog entry...

Amazing Grace

Grace Jones is back and the world is a better place for it
Grace is infectious
Grace loves what she does
Grace has an amazing voice
Grace appears a little scary but fun
Grace and I have been on the same stage
Grace is a better singer than me
Grace has eyeballed me
Grace should be prescribed on the NHS to cheer up the world
Grace and Daniel Craig have shared a sofa
Grace Jones forever

___________________________________________________

There will be another guest blog soon. If you are new to my blog due to Pete's blog entry - please subscribe.