Tales From The Crypt - Saturday 17th July 2021

The first few hours of today were exactly as almost every other Saturday for the past 18 months, so I really can't bring myself to detail it here.

Some of the usual mundane household crap behind me, I can try and reach out from the fog of my mind to summon up the energy/interest/enthusiasm to work out what I'm going to do with my week of leave.  I had good intentions about getting away somewhere to find some head space, peace or relief from all that besets me day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, but in fact I just thrashed about in the sea of challenges, conflicts of emotion, banal dating conversations and did fuck-all about it. The soul-sucking tiredness hasn't helped. Not waving... Now the break is upon me and I have to find something I can enjoy even if it only serves as a distraction, when what I need is to get away from it all and more besides...

I am going to a Thai house-blessing (Tambun Baan) and housewarming (two separate events at the same house, natch!) next Saturday which means I do have to find a suitable housewarming gift. The big question is, what to buy, what is an appropriate gift? Given the blessing is by Buddhist Monks I've been checking what I should wear so as not to offend - I'm pretty certain some of my T-Shirts would not be appropriate.  The Thai carer whose housewarming it is did get me a white meditation / monastery outfit, so I'll probably wear the top half of that at least (with clothes on the lower half too, just to be clear!) 

Thought for the day: Why do women insist on putting a photo of themselves twenty or thirty years ago on their dating profiles, usually as the first one? Perhaps men do the same? I can't understand why anyone would do it? What is the message they are trying to send? I cannot fathom it for the life of me. (Perhaps I should get a picture of me as a baby, surely my best picture, and make that my main profile shot)

E has been coughing a lot today, I guess maybe the hot weather is getting to her - I know that MS fatigue increases in hot weather, something that used to have an obvious effect but something that is sadly no longer discernible amongst all the other symptoms. Sometimes, with the best will in the world it chips away at me. It's another reason why I need a break.

The house is quieter as son #3 is away for a few days and sons 1 and 2 have not been up that long, so I take this as an opportunity to listen to some music in the living room, accompanied by wine.  I started listening to a couple of tracks from albums that took my fancy (CHAI, Wolf Alice), then switched to the Greentea Peng album before finally settling on the last compilation CD I made, a best of 2021, so far.

Time to make dinner: son #2 takes over after I've started it, in part because he's planning to spend the evening online with his gf.  Son #1 and I decide to watch a film and I've chosen 'Out Of Blue' released in 2018 and based on the Martin Amis novel 'Night Train'.

'Out of Blue' is not a bad film though it has it's moments where it goes off the rails a little.  I've not read the novel, so I can't say if it's true to the plot of the story, but the final revelation is a bit far-fetched even though it is strongly hinted at several times during the film.  The film also 'stars' James Caan who I've not seen in a film for a hell of a long time and also Toby Jones as a decidedly dodgy English astrophysicist. There are a few intersections with 'real life' most notably via the multiverse quantum theory propounded by Hugh Everett III, who was the father of Mark Everett aka E of the band Eels.  Eels and E are name-checked and there are overlaps between his family life and the plot of the story. (Listen to the album 'Electro-Shock Blues' for more resonances)

And now the end is near...until tomorrow

Wet Leg / 'Chaise Longue' / 'Chaise Longue' (Single)

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