Wednesday 30 July 2008

Wordy Wednesday

Back on the Road

I've not been able to get into my garage since I returned to England weeks ago, but today the locksmith came and broke in. He did it very neatly, but unfortunately had to break not just the lock but the entire mechanism, so it's going to be expensive to put right.

But it does mean that I was able to drive my car for the first time in a month, and do a proper shop at the big supermarket. I've been shopping in the one across the road, but it has a lot less choice, so I was restricted to the same two or three ready meals. I'd had high hopes for the "Bee-Plan Diet", but apparently it consists mainly of vegetables, which doesn't sound very exciting, although the bit about cooking them "until smoke detector sounds, extinguish flames and serve" does.



Music

This week I have been mostly thinking about, no, not Rolf Harris, thankfully, but Beethoven's 6th symphony played on the piano and Scott Joplin. I say "thinking about", because I don't listen to music very much other than in my head. I did listen for about the millionth time to the wonderful recording by Glenn Gould of the Beethoven. I'm one of the many people who have been totally captivated by his recordings, and I keep meaning to write a post about my obsession, but I need to find a spare few weeks to do the subject justice. In the case of this particular recording, made for a Canadian radio broadcast, he plays it so that you don't really notice the lack of an orchestra.

Glenn Gould

Helena and I watched "The Sting" last week, and although she didn't understand the plot fully (you need to watch it several times), she loved the music. I haven't got any recordings of it to listen to, but I do have a book, so again most of the music is playing in my head, since my skills on the piano are so limited.


Lost For Words

I'm reading a police thriller called "Night-time bulletin", or something like that. It's by Petros Markaris, and is apparently also available in an English translation. Our hero is Costas Haritos, and he's a very down-to-earth detective, who's only hobby is reading dictionaries.

Petros Markaris

I'm ony about 1/5th of the way through it, but it has me laughing out loud because of the wonderfully entertaining and sarcastic way that it's written. It's also very, er, colloquial, and I'm having to look up a lot more words than usual, quite a few of which are rather obscene. If Tracy ever takes her kids to Greece, I should be well-versed in some choice phrases for her to teach Emma. However, I am finding quite a few words that aren't in the dictionary. I wonder if they're in any of Captain Haritos's?

15 comments:

Bee said...

FIRST!

Bee said...

You know, hearing music in your head is the first sign of oldtimers.

Did you click on the video I had on my blog “Love Me Dead?? I’d think you’d like that song because it’s very funny and it reminded me, just a little, of Tom Lehrererer.

Don’t mock my grilled veggies. I prepared a mushroom, one of those big one but I can’t remember the name, with a butter/parmesan cheese/garlic salt mixture and then grilled it and it was TO DIE FOR! Mmmmmm.

Brian o vretanos said...

No, I hadn't clicked on the video, so I'm glad you mentioned it, because it's great! You're right, it is reminiscent of "The Masochism Tango"...

I'm not a fan of mushrooms, I'm afraid. Helena would love that, though.

for a different kind of girl said...

Bee needs to come to my house and cook or me. The smoke detectors have been taken down because they need rewiring, so while she's safe to cook, I don't know how safe I actually am in my own house! But first, I, too, must do a proper shop!

Brian o vretanos said...

FADKOG:

The smoke detectors had been taken away due to building work in that Australian couple's house (you know, the one that burnt down...)

Have you got a rabbit? If not, you might want to buy one whilst you're out shopping.

Jean Knee said...

hmmmmmmmm

Brian o vretanos said...

Hello, Jean Knee!

Dan said...

Bee
Is that real, I have a song in my head all the time!

Brian
I just now got that you're mocking Jean Knee with your "Wordy Wednesday"

Anonymous said...

I love sarcasm. It's an art form that I seem to be perfecting quite nicely.

I hate to hear about the lock. Good luck fixing it economically!

Jean Knee said...

Oh Dan, Brian would never mock me, would you Brian?

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

Eleventh!!!!!!

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

I'm glad you were finally able to free your car! I don't know what I would do without mine for that long. Of course we live kind of far from a local grocery so we would all probably starve to death.

The way you described Bee's cooking sounds so much like how I do it. Honestly, one night I was making dinner and the smoke detector went off and one of my kids yelled "Yay! Dinner's done!" and they all came running into the kitchen.
Yes, it really is that bad.

Bee said...

Brian, I think you're gonna need another math course. You keep saying you're eleventh on my blogus but... well, go count please.
;op

Brian o vretanos said...

Catscratch:

Thanks. Maybe if I sell my car I'll be able to affort it ;-)

Dan:

It's not a mockery, more of an homage.

Tracy:

Perhaps you'd need to become self-sufficient, and grow all your own food...

Bee:

That was a *bad* thing you did, deleting those comments...

Anndi said...

Glenn Gould... genious!