Rabbity thoughts
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Monday, March 24, 2003
This war is so stupid, why couldn't diplomacy have been given at least another six months, what difference would it have made? There was no immediate threat. Now just look at the mess that's being caused in our names.
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
The weekend was a fun one, the girlie and I met in Nottingham for her sisters birthday. We had an eventful lunch in which I was bought the wrong food but as it had taken so long to come to the table I was halfway through by the time I realised, I was asked if I'd like to swap it but said that it was okay. What wasn't okay was getting charged more because the wrong food I'd accepted was more expensive, I don't think so cheeky whatsits. Went out in the evening got back to where we were staying to discover we had the key but not the alarm code, needless to say we triggered the alarm, and I ran around like a headless chicken while Sarah calmly got on with sorting it all out by phone round a few people. Sunday we went for a 7 mile walk, which certainly cleared the head of all the alchol.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
A little quote on language by Neil Gaimen -
Language is a river, it's not fixed. The meanings of words change, and any rear-guard action to try and keep them meaning what you think they ought to mean is doomed. So momentarily does now mean "in a moment" as well as "for a moment" because that's how people use it, just as hopefully no longer means "in a way that's filled with hope" (as in "We walked hopefully toward the city on the hill") but it also means, and is mostly used to mean "I hope that", and enormity which once meant "monstrous badness" also means "enormousness" because that's how people use it.
On the one hand, grumbling is pointless. Language is a river. Go back a few hundred years and many words would have shades of meaning they no longer have. Go back a little further and you'll find yourself tripped up by the most common and simple words which would mean something quite different (Silly originally meant "innocent", for example.)
On the other hand, I'm still going to grumble, because as a writer, whenever a word with a precise meaning loses it, I lose a tool.
Language is a river, it's not fixed. The meanings of words change, and any rear-guard action to try and keep them meaning what you think they ought to mean is doomed. So momentarily does now mean "in a moment" as well as "for a moment" because that's how people use it, just as hopefully no longer means "in a way that's filled with hope" (as in "We walked hopefully toward the city on the hill") but it also means, and is mostly used to mean "I hope that", and enormity which once meant "monstrous badness" also means "enormousness" because that's how people use it.
On the one hand, grumbling is pointless. Language is a river. Go back a few hundred years and many words would have shades of meaning they no longer have. Go back a little further and you'll find yourself tripped up by the most common and simple words which would mean something quite different (Silly originally meant "innocent", for example.)
On the other hand, I'm still going to grumble, because as a writer, whenever a word with a precise meaning loses it, I lose a tool.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Went to the first Douglas Adams memorial lecture at the Royal Institution a place I most remember for the the annual Christmas lectures on TV (It's much smaller in real life). The evening was hosted by Stephen Fry who was as alway very funny and quick witted, he introduced "the very reverend Richard Dawkins" but Richard got his own back by correcting one of Stephen's quotes. Most of Douglas' family were in the audience along with a good many famous faces including Terry Jones and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd. A fun evening and a good way to remember Douglas with all the money raised going to Save the Rhino and the Diane Fossey Gorilla fund.
Thursday, March 06, 2003
Monday, March 03, 2003
I'm on pills at the moment for dizzyness, unfortunately one of the side effects seems to be get wound up a little too easily. Hopefully I wont have to take them too long, as I think I've already managed to annoy one of my workmates this morning.
Sunday, March 02, 2003
It's March, time to start changing the way I write in this little journal of mine and say what's actually been going on in my life.
Spoke to my wonderful girlfriend a lot more than usual yesterday, she seems to be going to about 48 million different friends parties at the moment, guess that's collage life for you, she does drag me a long to a few of them which is good, but I can't go to as many as I'd like as I'm 200 miles away. We talk a lot which is weird as I'm not really a talky person but that must be why so well suited to each other.
Helped Steve move house again, he's now a twentyfive minute walk up the road, which may sound like a lot, but believe me as it's London that's close. He's renting this little one bedroomed flat that's been newly redecorated and it's lovely. The unlovely part is it's at the top of a three storey house and I had to help lug all his stuff up those stairs. Still after all that hard work he did buy me dinner so I can't complain. Got to help build his sofa on Tuesday.
Today I'm going to try and make some music, somehow I think I'll probably end up watching a DVD but you never know.
Spoke to my wonderful girlfriend a lot more than usual yesterday, she seems to be going to about 48 million different friends parties at the moment, guess that's collage life for you, she does drag me a long to a few of them which is good, but I can't go to as many as I'd like as I'm 200 miles away. We talk a lot which is weird as I'm not really a talky person but that must be why so well suited to each other.
Helped Steve move house again, he's now a twentyfive minute walk up the road, which may sound like a lot, but believe me as it's London that's close. He's renting this little one bedroomed flat that's been newly redecorated and it's lovely. The unlovely part is it's at the top of a three storey house and I had to help lug all his stuff up those stairs. Still after all that hard work he did buy me dinner so I can't complain. Got to help build his sofa on Tuesday.
Today I'm going to try and make some music, somehow I think I'll probably end up watching a DVD but you never know.
