apropos of nothing

A marvellous song from Utopia, written and sung by Todd Rundgren, one of my favourite ballads ever and, gosh, I love ballads (if they're good).

I bought Todd's latest album Arena a few months ago sort of out of sentimentality but I have really come to enjoy it greatly. This was not a foregone conclusion but it's getting a lot of play on my ipod. This is probably my favourite song from the album (this live version doesn't quite capture the sharp and dense sound of the record - how could it - but it has its own appeal):


And, well, why not...


I suppose you could say, 'why not? because of the eyebrows, that's why not, and now I'm going to have nightmares'. I see your point.

millie update/ me update

Millie still has her bandage on, which is bothering her, but worse, Millie and Charlie spent a substantial amount of time home alone this afternoon and when I got home Millie had busted the scab on her nose, which meant she had blood splashes all up her snout. It didn't look that attractive and really was quite disturbing. I guess this is all part of the good thing that she is actually feeing a bit better, more lively, and therefore reckless. I certainly can't imagine how she sustained that damage however, especially as she had the buster collar on. I dabbed at the cut ineffectually with some antiseptic.

As for me, I have been suffering in the last couple of days from something that is giving me headaches and making me lose my appetite, though I feel much better this evening and actually will probably cancel tomorrow's doctor's appointment on the basis that I have a lot of living to do.

ipod

I got an ipod for my birthday, an ipod nano. I am still getting my head around how ipods work. Do they really exercise that much control over things you can and can't play? Like, I have a few bits and pieces sitting in i-tunes that are from vinyl, and although the ipod is happy to appear to load them up ('upload' them, I think is the term) it won't play them. Perhaps this has nothing to do with ipoddery or itunism, and just something to do with the format of the song in question. I have also discovered that my Empire of the Sun CD actively refuses to go inside the computer, it just jumps out again. Is this the new breed of copy protect? I ask because the first Sleepy Jackson CD was copy protect, though the second wasn't, and this one doesn't say one way or the other whether it is or not, but I have discovered I can download a few EOTS songs from the internet, but there is no way my first i-tunes purchase (if I ever do purchase anything from i-tunes) will be songs I already own on a CD, I don't care how much that is technically the legal avenue. Anyway, ipods are pretty amazing. And so is the EOTS album, in a funny throwaway way.

* Later: Mia says it has nothing to do with where the music came from, but it has to be coverted to MP3. I have literally no idea how to do this.

April's party

April turned three yesterday and had a party today. I turned 44 last week and didn't have a party at all, in case you were wondering why you weren't invited. April's party was pretty good. Laurie asked me how Millie was after being in a car crash, and I told him she was doing surprisingly well. Florence held my finger in five of hers. Nicola lent me the Mark E Smith biography (via Laurie, who's just finished it). I talked to Jon Michell about the Virgins (again), I talked to Guy about Arthur Russell and also the Necessaries, I talked to Ellen about where she works which is like, some upmarket bar and what chances there were of persuading her to play the Huon reunion/launch show.
Earlier in the day I watched a bit of Secret Service with Rupert. This is an incredible Gerry Anderson series from 1969 which was the last of the supermarionation shows. It really blends live action with puppetr... er, supermarionation very closely. I had never heard of it or seen it before, it was very cool. If I'd had a dream that I was going to watch a show from 1969 starring Stanley Unwin as a clergymen called Father Unwin that blended a puppet of Stanley Unwin with the real Stanley Unwin, I would think that was appropriate subject matter for one of my dreams, which often do feature odd permutations of popular culture like that. This was not a sodding dream.

essendon airport again

We had to take Millie back to the Essendon Animal Accident Emergency place again because our ordinary vets' was closed for Anzac Day (what would Simpson's Donkey have done?) and she needs her bandage changed every day (her progress is very good). So I had a few minutes so I went into the terminal. Much to my surprise, astonishment and awe it is very similar to Launceston Airport. You know what Launceston Airport's like? I felt like I was at Launceston Airport, true!

Weirdly, Essendon Airport is quite elevated, so that across the landing field you just see mountains. It is quite disorienting. There are over a million people in houses and other buildings between you and those mountains, but you can't see them.

millie: weekiversary of The Accident

Well, Millie is no longer constipated, that's for sure (if I said 'I'll never look at black pudding the same way again' you'd know what I meant, but truth is, I never looked at black pudding with anything but revulsion anyway: and I was pleased to see what Millie produced, given her system's reluctance in previous days). She is still sleeping a lot which I think is a good thing, particularly because when she decides to do something, it's a hassle. She will sometimes let the bad leg touch the ground, which is probably a good sign too, though she gives no indication that she can use the thing at all (except to steady herself). I haven't actually seen what the damage looks like, that's a pleasure reserved for a few days' time when the bandage formally comes off (the dressing is being changed daily however). She is very sooky and if I was into anthropormorphism I'd say she's trying to say 'I'se sowwy faw de twubble I cawsed.' (Her stomach looks more mottled than it usually would at the moment, ie in the picture above, because it has been shaved, I think there was some kind of morphine implant in there until recently.)

It cost us a fortune to hospitalise her and it's continuing to cost - daily vet visits which we can ill-afford, frankly. However it is silly to reduce a dog like Millie down to $$$, quite apart from her intrinsic value she's a good guard dog and has brought joy to the lives of many.