Mataglap

Mataglap -- an Indonesian word meaning "dark eye" or, probably, "dilated eye." It is an indication that someone is about to go berserk and start killing people at random. Used in Walter Jon Williams' novel Aristoi as the name of a berserk form of nanotechnology that devoured the planet, but also used by my favourite writer (Nicolas Freeling) to describe people going doolally. Language is such fun….

And I’ve just started on a project: the re-reading of all of my Nicolas Freelings. The language is so rich, though: I overdose on words.

And here are the films i've been watching

Sickness & Diseases

No, this isn't about the H1N1 virus -- or swine flu as it was called until recently.

I am just getting over a miserable cold -- and i think i've given it to Watson, he's been coughing all day. I may also have passed it on to Jill, although i assure you we have never had really close contact in any way. I'm sure she caught her cold elsewhere.

So, you do know, don't you, why swine flu is now H1N1?

It's because people are stupid. They hear "swine flu"and think they can get it from eating pork products, which results in huge losses for the pig farmers.

Someone give me a hot dog!

Hawkwind

I've heard so much good about the group Hawkwind that i -- entirely unfamiliar as i am -- downloaded a couple of albums.

The vocals are terribly weak, the melodies are non-existent.

They are (apparently) "space-rock" -- give me Pink Floyd or VdGG any day. I wanted to love them but, alas, they bore me stiff.....

Perfect Part II

Jillian, if you read this, my last post wasn't aimed at you: i don't think you've ever used the word "perfect," at least not in the sense i was bitching about. Tra la.

Perfect

I am lamenting the decline of the English language.... So what else is new?

The most sophisticated tool for communication ever devised, and all they can say, nowadays, is, "awesome, eh?"

Actually i have noticed a new word coming into play as a catch-all, to replace, presumably, "awesome," and it is "perfect."

I go to the pub and ask for a pint and she says, "perfect." I ask for my bill when i'm finished, seven or eight hours later (LOL) and she says, "perfect." I hand over my money, a twenty dollar bill for a $13.70 tab, and, even though it isn't even close, it is, to her, "perfect."

Give me Beowulf or give me death, he says

Othello's, Stratford

I wonder what is going on at my second favourite pub in town?

As anyone who knows me will tell you, i don't have a drinking problem, i have a pub problem -- probably because i partly grew up in one.

Sometimes -- or, in my case, quite often -- you want to go where everybody knows your name (and they're always glad you came).

But, lately, whenever i have gone into Othello's, which is once or twice a week, all of the staff have changed! Krista has gone; Erin (who i knew from elsewhere) has disappeared....

I'm adrift, in a way.... It means that my favourite pub in town is now Kelsey's -- which gosh darn it all anyway, also happens to be the most expensive for a pint.

Drat, etc.

There Are DVDs All Over My Carpet

Just bought this one. He's my second favourite guitarist. Can anyone guess who my favourite is?

The winner gets a trip to Antigua at their own expense