6th September 2012 - Lydunsday
September 7, 2012
I fixed up my Dad’s tape player to his amp and speakers. I had to wire a plug so I felt plug pride. I also had a go at some record scratching on Metallica. It didn’t really work because I didn’t have a slipmat. We tried to use one of those little things that are used to stop symbols rattling but that didn’t help. I’ll stick to my computer music. I can be bad at that without having to stand up.
I heard about Isaac Asimov today. What I didn’t know was that he was gay and his Pakistani boyfriend was called Asim.
I was tempted to try cannabis today, but I didn’t because cannabis is a can of piss and drinking piss is bad for you.
I was doing some cryptic clues to my Dad in the style of Rockbusters except they weren’t as bad. He kept talking to me while I was trying to think of clues and the Simpsons was on at the same time. I couldn’t focus on any of it. Luckily it was just a conversation where I could nod and say yes. It was essentially just a monologue. We watched a bit of Sex Pistols live. John Lydon is such a wanker. I wish I was called James after Aphex Twin or Eno. Eno Hlallu From Morrowind is called Eno and he’s done alright for himself. I wish Morrowind was real life.
My Dad asked me the awkward question today that I’m sure every father asks their son: who do I think about when I’m masturbating. I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I thought about him. I managed to avoid the question by saying I didn’t watch much TV or film. He said I don’t look at girls much. Yesterday, there were some girls younger than me in shorts standing about and he kept saying that they were prostitutes and judging them by their legs. I don’t get all that. Just looking is pointless. I would only ever leer at a girl in the street if I was assessing whether or not to rape her. I would of course always decide not to because rape is in most cases wrong.
I was looking at my cabinet beside my bed at some of the books here. I found an interesting little book called entitled Tips & Wrinkles (Pan Books LTD, first published 1972, ISBN:4), filled with some terrible tips. I was going to choose three at random, but thee three I chose seemed quite reasonable. Here are some of the weaker ideas:
Turn oddments of bread including crusts into crumbs and freeze plain or with the addition of grated cheese for instant savoury toppings.
Bread, as crumbs or otherwise, will never be a topping. I’ve never had a sandwich and thought “You know that this needs – more bread.” Bread is just means to an end. If bread was special, people wouldn’t feed it to birds.
House plants appear to thrive more readily when grouped together.
So they have no room to grow and they are struggling for light. Bullshit.There’s no reason that could be true. House plants appear to enjoy rooms painted green because it makes them feel at home. House plants appear not to like the smell of cooked chicken. House plants appear to be really grumpy on Mondays. House plants appear to grow better in a jazz household. Rubbish.
Cooking foil makes an attractive cover to protect your dining table for a children’s party.
No it doesn’t. Use it all the time if it’s so attractive. Don’t spend money on rings, just wrap some cooking foil round your fingers; it’s attractive. Paperclips make attractive earrings. Cooking foil is attractive only if you’re a magpie.
If windscreen wipers have “packed up”, wipe the glass outside with a slice of raw potato. This will keep the windscren clear of rain for a while.
And covered in potato stains. To avoid having birds shit on your car, don’t wipe your car with food. If your indicators are broken, throw a potato out the window in the direction you are turning. If your brakes aren’t working, just toss a potato under your wheels when you want to stop. If your car won’t start, drive to work in a massive potato.
The real highlight of the book is the last chapter called By hook or by Crook…, with advice for disabled people. I feel a better title would have been Tips for Crips.
A child’s push-chair with basket fixed in the seat makes a good combined shopping trolley and walking aid.[…]
And makes you look like a fucking mentalist when people look at you taking some shopping out for a walk in the pram. If you are physically disabled, you’re already suspected of having a mental disability; don’t confirm that by walking about with a push-chair with no child in it. It either looks like you’ve lost your child, or that you intend to come back with one which isn’t yours.
For anyone who has lost the ability to speak and finds writing difficult, place the letters of a Scrabble game on a tray and the patient can make his wants known. […]
This may seem like a good idea, but they’ll be trying to use Q in every sentence to get 10 points.
Those unable to get to the kitchen get much pleasure in being able to make their own tea or coffee when they want it; a thermos of very hot water together with jars of instant coffee, teabags, sugar, small jug of milk (or instant powdered milk), tin of biscuits, cup, saucer and spoon grouped together on a small table beside the chair give a great feeling of independence.
And a great feeling like you’re sitting in the kitchen. How are you going to fit all that shit onto a small table? What I would do is have two thermes, one filled with tea, the other with coffee. Thus, I would have valuable space left on my small table for a telephone, a few books, a radio, photos of my loved ones, a set of water colours, a calculator, encyclopaedias, a mortar and pestle, a giant inflatable microphone, my entire collection of vinyl records, a record player to play them on, some magnets, a set of four porcelain figures, a trombone, my pet budgie, all my clothes, a washing machine, China and all its people, and my tin of biscuits.
Blouses and jackets can be made into capes for those with very stiff arms or no movement [Then the instructions for unsewing and resewing it as a cape]
Don’t bother disassembling and reassembling your favourite blouse to make a cape, definitely not with your stiff arms, just buy a cape from shop. You may have trouble buying a cape because this isn’t the Victorian Era… I suppose the modern day equivalent would be: Several sponges stuck together create a convincing afro for those suffering from hair loss.
I wonder if Mary Sansbury and Ann Fowler knew that 40 years on from when this book was first published it would get such a lambasting via a medium of which they weren’t even aware at the time. I really doubt it. They’re probably both dead now anyway. I’m glad they’re dead because the tips are shit and the illustrations are like something a child would do. RIP.