Saturday, 5 March 2011
Bad Hair Life?
Last night I had the weirdest dream/ nightmare.
In it, I went to a barber's and the guy cutting my hair disappeared in the middle of the job. Rather than the smooth and sophisticated short and spiky look I wanted, he gave me the flattest, most God-awful comb-over you can imagine.
I had a side parting that started half way down the left hand side of my head. To make matters worse, he'd also dyed my hair without my permission. It was a kind of Zack Morris from Saved By The Bell colour. Yuk!
But help was at hand - or so I thought. The girl who I asked to sort it out merely trimmed the edges. In the end, I kicked up a stink John McEnroe would have been proud of and had it all shaved off.
But what did it all mean?
For a bit of fun, I looked for interpretations on the internet. One plausible interpretation was that having your hair cut badly in a dream suggests feelings of a decreased sense of power. You may have been criticised unfairly and feel off-balance, off-centre or even worthless.
I may have come in for a bit of stick in the past year or so, but Deputy Dawg, where did the rest of it come from!
A funnier interpretation I found - this time of the 'so bad it's good' variety! - was on a forum. According to one internet surfer, if you dream this and are planning to get your hair cut, you should 'just' wait until the correct lunar phase to do it.
Apparently, the full moon phase is the time to look at your achievements so far and keep things on track, to make adjustments and to clear the deadwood (and why not the Jedward with it!) out of your life. If you want your hair to grow back thicker, this is the phase to take the scissors to it in!
Our astronomer friend goes on to say that the full moon to third quarter phase is the time to take stock of your life, study and make plans. Healthwise, it's a good time for depilatory treatment, dying your hair or begining a health and fitness programme. Wanting your hair to grow back quicker? Quit fooling around and get to your hairdresser!
Conclusion
Study lunar cycles, ladies and gents. Then , as you do, find a gym, hairdresser or beauty parlour open between midnight and 6:00 am, the third quarter hours! I'm sure they'd be overjoyed to go without sleep just so they can wax your hairy back at 3:00 am!
Okay, so I'm just having a bit of fun. But going back to my own dream now - what do you think it meant? I'd love to hear your interpretation. Mentally, I feel pretty tough these days. So reduced power isn't the culprit for my sub-conscious comb-over!
Maybe you'd like to tell me what you dream about? Who knows? We may even share the same ones.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Xbox - Making Peace a Two-Player Game?
Evening all!!
Moments of clarity - they're great, aren't they!
They can come at any time... You can be walking along, minding your own business, or you can be in the middle of something, when all of a sudden things become as clear as day. You can be searching like mad for inspiration that just doesn't appear, then suddenly, bang! - there it is!
The other day I had the most wonderful moment of clarity. I was just in my kitchen, making a cup of tea (the tea bag went in first, then the milk!) while my stepdad was on his Xbox -- the game was Fallout -- when it dawned on me how to bring peace to the world.
Yes, I know. It came to me just like that!
It didn't take men in suits talking around big tables to come up with it. There were no guns, tanks, soldiers, barracks, bombs or warplanes involved in the solution itself either. Just a guy playing quietly in his sitting room on a computer game.
He was playing against an online opponent. It made me think to myself: Wouldn't it be nice if instead of going to war we could just go online and sort it out all that way?
Bombs could be thrown, gunshots could be fired and buildings could be demolished, yet the only thing that might be spilled is a can of lager or cup of tea accidentally kicked over. Families wouldn't lose their homes; wives and husbands wouldn't lose their other half; and children wouldn't lose parents (or vice versa).
There seems to be no end to the things we can do on the Net these days: shop, play games, chat to friends, share photos, download music, watch TV, etc. Can we not solve all conflict on there, too?
I really hope we can.
Moments of clarity - they're great, aren't they!
They can come at any time... You can be walking along, minding your own business, or you can be in the middle of something, when all of a sudden things become as clear as day. You can be searching like mad for inspiration that just doesn't appear, then suddenly, bang! - there it is!
The other day I had the most wonderful moment of clarity. I was just in my kitchen, making a cup of tea (the tea bag went in first, then the milk!) while my stepdad was on his Xbox -- the game was Fallout -- when it dawned on me how to bring peace to the world.
Yes, I know. It came to me just like that!
It didn't take men in suits talking around big tables to come up with it. There were no guns, tanks, soldiers, barracks, bombs or warplanes involved in the solution itself either. Just a guy playing quietly in his sitting room on a computer game.
He was playing against an online opponent. It made me think to myself: Wouldn't it be nice if instead of going to war we could just go online and sort it out all that way?
Bombs could be thrown, gunshots could be fired and buildings could be demolished, yet the only thing that might be spilled is a can of lager or cup of tea accidentally kicked over. Families wouldn't lose their homes; wives and husbands wouldn't lose their other half; and children wouldn't lose parents (or vice versa).
There seems to be no end to the things we can do on the Net these days: shop, play games, chat to friends, share photos, download music, watch TV, etc. Can we not solve all conflict on there, too?
I really hope we can.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
The Truman Letters II
18/09/2008
Well, Truman, it's been over a year now since I asked you those questions back in July 2007, and I'm afraid I still haven't found many answers. Some, yes, but not many. My apologies for not having sat down with In Cold Blood yet, but don't you worry, Mr Capote, I won't fail you. I have, however, had time to read about you, and some internet users have even had the good grace to put clips of you on YouTube. You were, are, and always will be a fascinating man to say the least.
After reading up, I found you wanted to take literature in a new direction with In Cold Blood, that of the non-fiction novel. That much I can understand. But some of the people in the novel - and we're talking about real people here, Mr Capote, with thoughts and feelings - say there are factual inaccuracies in the book. What was the deal with that? Was that part of your nastier side coming out, an effort to cause a stir, or just the writer in you? Or is someone trying to save face here?
The book I read also stated that you did have feelings for one of the convicted killers, that you somehow identified with him because he'd had an equally difficult childhood as yourself. And that the title itself wasn't a reference to the crimes for which the pair were sentenced to death, but to their punishment by the State. Were these also motivation for the book? My guess now is that you wanted to leave a legacy, or at least a record, of the life of someone who the whole world was against except you, to let them know that somebody understood what they'd been through, that they did matter to somebody. Am I right? How can I ever know?
I know now that you really did want to be famous. You loved it, didn't you? All the parties, all the wild nights and the glamour. That meant a lot to you. But it all went wrong. You went too far by selling your friends' lives in your books, peddling gossip and intimacies in your fiction. That's when the problems started. You lived as a writer and died as a writer. It's a shame, a real shame, because you really did have the world at your feet, Mr Capote. Why did you throw it all away?
The sad part is that you were a victim, too. Someone who could be sure to entertain party guests, someone who could make a party a success. People tolerated your gossipy nature if they thought there was something in it for them. Only a few people really stuck by your side through thick and thin. How the world moves in mysterious ways.
Mr Capote, it's been a pleasure sharing some thoughts with you. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and questions in the future. If there really is some place up in the sky where we can all meet together, I look forward to seeing you some day and securing the answers I've been seeking.
Better still, maybe you can give me some tips on where I'm going wrong with my own writing. But if you don't feel like it, then. just like all those people at the parties, the balls and the crazy, crazy nights, I'll be happy simply to sit and listen to what you have to say.
Yours with curiosity,
Pete
Well, Truman, it's been over a year now since I asked you those questions back in July 2007, and I'm afraid I still haven't found many answers. Some, yes, but not many. My apologies for not having sat down with In Cold Blood yet, but don't you worry, Mr Capote, I won't fail you. I have, however, had time to read about you, and some internet users have even had the good grace to put clips of you on YouTube. You were, are, and always will be a fascinating man to say the least.
After reading up, I found you wanted to take literature in a new direction with In Cold Blood, that of the non-fiction novel. That much I can understand. But some of the people in the novel - and we're talking about real people here, Mr Capote, with thoughts and feelings - say there are factual inaccuracies in the book. What was the deal with that? Was that part of your nastier side coming out, an effort to cause a stir, or just the writer in you? Or is someone trying to save face here?
The book I read also stated that you did have feelings for one of the convicted killers, that you somehow identified with him because he'd had an equally difficult childhood as yourself. And that the title itself wasn't a reference to the crimes for which the pair were sentenced to death, but to their punishment by the State. Were these also motivation for the book? My guess now is that you wanted to leave a legacy, or at least a record, of the life of someone who the whole world was against except you, to let them know that somebody understood what they'd been through, that they did matter to somebody. Am I right? How can I ever know?
I know now that you really did want to be famous. You loved it, didn't you? All the parties, all the wild nights and the glamour. That meant a lot to you. But it all went wrong. You went too far by selling your friends' lives in your books, peddling gossip and intimacies in your fiction. That's when the problems started. You lived as a writer and died as a writer. It's a shame, a real shame, because you really did have the world at your feet, Mr Capote. Why did you throw it all away?
The sad part is that you were a victim, too. Someone who could be sure to entertain party guests, someone who could make a party a success. People tolerated your gossipy nature if they thought there was something in it for them. Only a few people really stuck by your side through thick and thin. How the world moves in mysterious ways.
Mr Capote, it's been a pleasure sharing some thoughts with you. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and questions in the future. If there really is some place up in the sky where we can all meet together, I look forward to seeing you some day and securing the answers I've been seeking.
Better still, maybe you can give me some tips on where I'm going wrong with my own writing. But if you don't feel like it, then. just like all those people at the parties, the balls and the crazy, crazy nights, I'll be happy simply to sit and listen to what you have to say.
Yours with curiosity,
Pete
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