The topics of kids and parenthood have come up around me a lot recently. Maybe getting older and close to thirty gets people to wrongly think for some odd reason that this might be an interesting conversation subject for me.

For a start, a close friend from work is now on her 37th week of pregnancy, so obviously parenthood is something which happens to be a lot on her mind. It has also become a major issue for lunchtime chat. In addition, being almost thirty means that I now have a lot of friends who are already, or will soon become parents and children are a major part of their lives. People who once used to be interested in many other subjects as well and make interesting and thoughtful discussions, now consider nappy changing and feeding habits interesting.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of children. I am not one of the people who see a little baby in the street and go “Oh! Cute!”. I am more likely to make such sounds when I see little kittens or big dogs. Furthermore, conversations with parents don’t make me want kids any more. Talking about being kept up at night, nappies and feeding, or reading this about the excitement of a mothers night out doesn’t make me thing that life with children will be any better than my life now. Of course, once they realise my face is screwing with an odd expression, they make sure to add that children are so wonderful; they are worth every minute of hardship. I am not convinced. As My Love put it so accurately, these people lack a life so much, they are envious of anyone who does have one, and therefore trying to trick us to fall into the same pit they went down in.

I know, maybe one day many years from now I will be tempted to follow the parenthood path, if only to be able to hold a conversation. Until then my biological alarm clock is not set.

Keep On Telling Me Something

Coming back home after a holiday is a tiring process. It’s almost a week since I returned and I still haven’t caught up with reality and all the work I had to do.

When I came back Sebastian was in shock, he missed me a lot and was now afraid to leave me for a moment. He even started meowing in hysteria every time I went into the bathroom. Now he has relaxed a bit, though he still tries to walk on the keyboard whenever he thinks I’m giving it more attention than it deserves. Maybe being a celebrity cat has gone to his head.

At least now I finally uploaded some of my pictures from the UK to the photolog, so check it out. Somehow I managed to sieve the best 30 out of about 150.

P.S. The title of this post and the picture above are a graffiti I saw in Glasgow which caught my eye. As a result, I will do my best to keep on telling you something. Feel free to tell me something back.

Art: Shock or Pleasure

It was a coincidence that on the same day I visited the Saatchi Gallery I also read the chapter about Suicide’s Frankie Teardrop and Teenage Fanclubs Ain’t That Enough in Nick Hornby’s 31 Songs.

In his essay, Hornby discusses the shocking value of art and music. Is there a purpose to ten and a half minutes of “genuinely terrifying industry noise”? According to Hornby such shocking art may be loved by people who are so bored, that this is what brings some interest to their lives, people who are not touched by life’s true hardship. However, people who, like Hornby, have a life which is scary enough already (friends dying of incurable diseases being mentioned as on such real-life terror), do not need art to shock them into reality.

The Saatchi Gallery, on the other hand, is a lot about shocking. The collection of contemporary art includes the works of young and established artists including Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Ron Mueck and others.

Contemporary art, unlike the old masters, is not about creating an image of current life, and more about expressing and triggering feelings. However, is it about producing such emotions that will cause the viewer to feel sick?

The current highlight at the Saatchi Gallery is a retrospective of the work of Jake and Dinos Chapman. Mutilated bodies, children with faces made of genitals and horrific war crimes scenes are presented throughout the gallery. The views of Hell at the start of the exhibition created a feeling of disgust that defined the rest of my visit to the gallery. Watching the exhibits, I was expecting shock where it was not intended. When entering a room that was flooded with oil (Richard Wilson’s 20:50) I was thinking the advance warnings are of electric shock rather than dirt.

The question that I was thinking about at the time was whether such shocking art really has a meaning on its own, or was the art representing feelings only? I believe that feelings are the main issue. An artist will create to express them and extract them from his viewer. But is it necessary to go to such extreme? I am not sure. I don’t think I would go to a gallery if all it could offer was nice atmospheric views. For that I would rather go for a walk in the park. I would go to a gallery to have some sort of an emotional experience. Nevertheless, I would avoid a gallery that aimed to cause such intense shock.

I do agree with Nick Hornby that while life has enough sadness of its own and there is no need to add to it. Yet, this shouldn’t reduce from the purpose of art and creation as forms of expressing an opinion, a view or a feeling. If music did not make us feel something, would it have the same value in our lives?

Welcome Ynet Readers

Deviant Brainwave gets a mention on Ynet (link in Hebrew) today, including a picture of Sebastian!

A national hero is born!

Live Review: Blur, Glasgow Barrowlands, 21st November 2003

When Blur come on stage, everything looks very tame and organised. Almost jackets and ties, very mature. Nothing indicates the amazing energy which is about to explode.

The illusion of peacefulness remains through the opening Ambulance, but with the first few notes of Beetlebum everything changes. The audience bursts into loud cheers, and Alex James puts on a wide-brimmed black and white hat that gives him more of a ranger’s look than the previous “serious guy in a suit”. The music starts soaking into minds and bodies as the audience jumps up and down, continuing into Girls & Boys.

A few songs down the line, Damon Albarn reveals that it is Alex’s birthday tonight and leads the singing of Happy Birthday from the audience. Throughout the gig audience participation is audible and encouraged. It takes a great performance to promote it, and Damon Albarn is the right man for the job. This is also demonstrated by an exhilarating performance of Song 2, and a dramatic To The End and of course, The Universal, which closed the set.

Not for the audience, though, who continued singing The Universal while waiting for the encores, along with “We want more!” shouts at a level I have never heard before, but then again, I’ve never been to a gig in Scotland before either.

The audience was not disappointed. The encores were played with a tame start again, with Alex’s steaming cup of tea waiting on the amplifier. Nothing was tame about the show’s closure, though, with We’ve Got A File On You followed by This Is A Low, so thrilling that Damon had to be held by the guards while crowd-surfing, leaving a taste for much more.

The setlist ran:

Ambulance

Beetlebum

Girls & Boys

Badhead

Good Song

Gene By Gene

Tender

Caravan

Out Of Time

Brothers And Sisters

Song 2

Strange News From Another Star

To The End

End Of A Century

Advert

Trimm Trabb

Battery In Your Leg

The Universal

Encores

Sing

For Tomorrow

On The Way To The Club

We’ve Got A File On You

This Is A Low

Journey

It’s been long and eventful couple of days, full of excitement and experiences.

The initial plan was to fly to Glasgow. I arranged the gig tickets and accommodation, and my friend was supposed to arrange the flights. However, when he arrived to pick me up on Friday morning, he revealed that he cancelled the the flight the night before, thinking he won’t be able to make it because of his daughter’s illness. So now we had a choice of either driving to the airport and hope there will be an available flight, or drive up over 300 miles all the way to Glasgow. After a quick calculation of times and probabilities, we decided to drive. It was a long journey, and by the time we got to the area that’s supposed to be gorgeous it was already too dark to see anything.

We arrived to the Glasgow Barrowlands just on time for the support act, still able to fuel on a bit of alcohol before Blur come on. The anticipation was high. Blur were amazing (of course, there is a review coming up). My friend was worried about his daughter, and I was a bit worried about him, but still nothing could have spoiled it!

After the gig the only thing to do was to find our hotel and get some sleep. We agreed to part in the morning. I wanted to see a bit of Glasgow, and my friend wanted to go home as soon as he could to be with his daughter.

I woke up quite early following a mostly sleepless night. The cold room kept me up quite late, and the noise from the train station below woke me up early in the morning.

After sorting out my train journey back to London I went for a walk around the city centre. I didn’t have much time, so I made sure to plan my route in advance, going along the River Clyde and some of the monuments. It was a good walk. Glasgow is lovely, and I think it is a city I would like to come back to one day.

I was very happy to find out that my train is due to pass through Edinburgh. I love the scenery of the Edinburgh to London train, and seeing the views from Glasgow to Edinburgh will be an added bonus. The journey so far has been beautiful. Until the train reached Newcastle, I spent most of it looking out the window and taking some pictures. Gorgeous green views, a bit of Edinburgh, the sea and a lovely sunset. At the time all I could think about was how much I would like to share this beauty with my very special man. Through the rest of the journey there was nothing but darkness out of the window and with about three and a half hours to go until I get off at London Kings Cross, it was time to relax and think about the adventures of my visit.

Today I am packing my things, saying my goodbyes and heading home. I do miss home, my love and my cats, but I also don’t want my time away to end. There is always so much more to do and experience. Every good thing must end, I guess.

Perfection

I have found love.

I have seen Blur live.

Everything is perfect.

Wet

Today London is just wet.

Not much more to tell.

My accommodation and flights to Glasgow this weekend are sorted. Fun is coming up!

Overwhelmed

It’s amazing how coming back to a place I used to live in a long time ago can stir up a flood of emotions.

Last night I met a friend at the entrance to the Tate Modern. I was early and took my time walking down from Southwark tube station. It brought back all those walks I had from home to work and just hanging around in the area. I was amazed at every new structure, and everything that stayed the same. I took many pictures, some of which will end up on the photolog as soon as I can get them on.

Later I went into the Tate Modern to see The Weather Project. It was breathtaking! The big sunset and the people lying on the floor and making body formations to reflect in the big ceiling on the mirror brought out an overwhelming sensation.

Needless to say, meeting my friend afterwards was a wonderful continuation to an already nice evening. Staying in today and doing not much means just a short rest before such emotions are experienced again.

Low Point

Far from being the best day of my visit, but I guess I need to be a bit shocked from time to time to have my brain switched into place.

I just spent about £50 on a shirt I will never wear. It looked really cool at the shop. Quite tame in a shop full of eccentric outfits. When I tried it on it fitted just right, not a bit of fabric out of place. After I paid for it and went out of the shop, I realised there will never be a right occasion for it. It will not even be suitable for a fancy dress party! I should have had a bad feeling about it when I saw the “No changes or refunds” sign in the fitting room.

Oh well, it’s only money…

I will now have some lunch, eat a bar of chocolate and the world will be a much better place.