Suburban evil

 

Designed by Dante

I have long held the view that suburbia is mostly a hell-scape.  Most of us live there, but I do ask myself often: how could it have been done better?  I read somewhere the big construction and auto companies in the U.S. pressured city halls in the post-war period into approving more and more suburbs with larger blocks with the intention of driving up demand for construction and motor vehicles.  The work of the devil right there I tell you.

Evidence of  Beelzebub's work is also clear in the rise of the leaf blower as an instrument of suburban torture.  It's bad enough living next door to Fred and Rosemary West as I do, but I am also surrounded by 'men' who feel compelled to rev their leaf blowers at all hours of the weekend.  Combined with assorted angle grinders, lawn mowers, lawn edgers and brush cutters, at times it sounds like a small engine testing facility has opened up next door to my house.  

I reserve a higher level of contempt for the leaf blower though, conceived in the 7th circle of Hell by Dante and now in plague numbers in the suburbs.  Their operators, almost exclusively men, are addicted to 'blipping' their wretched throttles.  There is a special place set aside for these people in my version of Hell.  That place will be silent.  Absolutely silent.

Here are my preferred tools for dealing with leaves and other detritus in the garden:

These are simple, pure and noble tools which have been used for centuries by humankind.  They have served us very well.  We do not need Dante's damned leaf blower and the agents of Satan who operate them.  Rise up and reclaim the suburbs from these beastly machines!!

Until next time, peace and love.

In the Peppermint Workshop

Today we're in the Peppermint Workshop and working on bikes. In the foreground to the left is my 1972 Moto Guzzi Eldorado 850 which sports a 955cc big bore kit. To its right is a 1955 Puch 250 SG split single two stroke. 

Back left is a 2011 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer ridden by my lovely wife and back right is my 2012 Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 SE which is a fire breathing monster.

We're servicing the two newer bikes today and procrastinating on fixing the other two.

Until next time, peace and love.

More music books!

 

I know, I know.  The music books are getting out of hand.  I am part way through this bio of eccentric and avant garde(ish) musician Robert Wyatt.  Wyatt started out in English psychedelic experimentalists Soft Machine who toured the USA twice in 1968 with Jimi Hendrix and with whom Wyatt was good friends.  He had a rather interesting bohemian upbringing spending summers in Mallorca with poet Robert Graves who was a family friend.  I am up to about 1970 where Soft Machine has just released their third album and Robert is looking like he's about to exit the band.

Next on the list is a book by indie rock goddess Kristin Hersh about her late friend Vic Chesnutt.  I enjoy both Kristin's and Vic's music and by all accounts this is a loving tribute to this troubled man.

There is a connection between these books in that both Robert Wyatt and Vic Chesnutt pursued their musical careers despite enduring physical disabilities which left them both wheelchair bound.  All the more remarkable considering how difficult the world is to navigate for people with disabilities.

Until next time, peace and love.

The Truth About Her - Jacqueline Maley

Jacqueline Maley is an award winning journalist most recently known for her stories exposing a High Court judge with a decades long history of sexual harassment in the workplace.  The Truth About Her is her first novel and it is one of my favourite books, if not favourite, of recent times.

Suzy Hamilton is 40, a single mother and successful journalist who writes a story exposing a wellness blogger who spins a yarn about having cured herself of cancer using natural foods and remedies (clearly a nod to the Belle Gibson story).  Things get a bit crazy after the story is published and Suzy's personal life starts to go awry and her journalistic career implodes.  All this while raising her three year old daughter Maddy.

Part one of the book is straight out hilarious as Suzy bounces around trying to keep her life straight with some of the funniest parts being her interactions with Maddy.  There's lots of laugh out loud moments between mother and daughter and the dreaded 'mothers in the park' with their pre-cut celery sticks and sugar free drinks for their children.

Jacqueline Maley writes in a spirited style which got me hooked from the first paragraph.  There are big themes explored though, such as who gets to the tell the story of a life and why is it the 'disgraced' woman loses her career and the male boss lands another job elsewhere and keeps his wife.  Questions to ponder.

This book comes highly recommended for anyone who can read.  Until next time, peace and love.

Jeff Tweedy - How to Write One Song

 The book in question

A fair conclusion to draw would be that I only read music books.  I've never thought of myself as an avid reader of the genre and I have been heard to say that I find many of them rather dull.  So it is hard to reconcile that declaration with the evidence of late where I have probably read about a dozen music bios in the past year.  

This one is a little bit different though.  It is a diminutive book which provides step by step instruction on how to write precisely one song - presumably with success you might go on to write another, and another, and so on.

First, a little about the author.  Jeff Tweedy is the founder and leader of American band Wilco - beloved of all ageing Gen Xers with cool pretensions.  Wilco sprung from the ashes of Tweedy's and Jay Farrar's more country punk oriented Uncle Tupelo from the late 80s.  They started out as very much in the country / folk / rock style and then began to veer into more experimental pop and rock.  Although Tweedy maintains at heart all of his songs are folk songs.  

He has a few solo albums under his belt, the latest of which came out a few months ago and is one of my current favourites.  Here's a short clip of Jeff and sons performing a song from the new album live at home.

Back to the book.  Part memoir, part life manual and big part how-to write a song, this little book will gladden your heart and give you a smile.  I have no intention of writing a song, but Jeff Tweedy provides all sorts of tips and exercises to get the creative side of your brain firing.  I especially enjoyed his word exercises to get the beginnings of a verse or poem down on paper.  We also get some insight into his marriage (not too much) and his time in hospital recovering from a drug addiction.  Everything is served in just the right measure and with love.  I enjoyed this little book a great deal and it is one I can see myself returning to from time to time.

Recommended for anyone really.  Until next time, peace and love.