News: The awful truth about the piano man
The piano man mystery has been resolved. This was the man who appeared at a beach in a state of distress and purportedly could play the piano rather well. Well the truth is that he is just a gay German acting a bit odd . Nothing really out of the ordinary there. Even more ordinary was the fact that he actually couldn't play the piano. In fact his performance of chopsticks wasn't that great by all accounts... How he got to be the piano man from chopsticks is anyone's guess, but when you have Bavarians trying to drown themselves you shouldn't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
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Shopping and whatever... I went shopping with A over the weekend at Zara to buy some trousers. Zara is one of the cheap chic high street stores and Spanish in origin that have smart clothes that you can wear for a season and then throw out. The men's collection is popular with a certain type of male as well (usually a gay one)... Anyway while I was buying trousers A was trying on a sporty sort of jacket with a furry lining thing that he thought was great but I told him it made him look like Attila the Fashionable Hun. And that ended the shopping experience. Afterall nobody wants to look like a Hun. Even a slightly fashionable one... Of course the look all summer has been vintage clothing. There are places like Pop and Rockit in London where you can get a pinkish polo shirt (the only colour this summer) with that "worn in" look. You could say the clothes are second hand but vintage sounds so much smarter... But if you don't do second hand many of the leading labels n...
Art: Frida Kahlo
Finally caught Frida Kahlo's exhibition at the Tate Modern. The large collection of her artworks spanning 11 rooms were quite a sight. There were all her famous works and many self-portraits to take in during the course of a Sunday afternoon. Such an amazing woman who while she painted survived a nasty bus accident, several miscarriages, an affair with Trotsky, a turbulent marriage and the odd bit of lesbianism. Loads of imagery referred to the female form of course. I will never quite look at an open cut cantaloupe in the same way again I think.
Movie: Crash Saw Crash with A on Friday. It is set in Los Angeles and is about a series of characters whose lives intertwine over a 36 hour period. Race relations (or the lack of them) and the post 9/11 world are at the forefront of this movie. The movie should really have the subtitle "City of Assholes" given all the angst and lack of humanity expressed by most of the characters. Still it was a gripping series of stories that was well acted and raised a few interesting questions, including why the hell would anyone want to live in LA?? It is also not the standard Hollywood blockbuster so be prepared for Matt Dillon looking a bit chubby, Sandra Bullock not airbrushed as much as normal and Brendan Fraser a little bit paler... And the title Crash comes from the series of car accidents that feature in the film. Some are small crashes, others are a little more severe. It dawned on me since being in London I have not driven a car but I dare say that people here don't tailgate ...
Miscellany Latest findings suggests that property websites are helping widen the gap between the haves and have nots. Personally I am fascinated to know that in my postcode there are 14 people claiming benefits and only 1.04% of the UK population live in a dwelling type such as the type that I'm in... Summer means everyone goes to their second property in France (if you have one). If you don't you can head to the seaside, head overseas or just stay in London and work. I am doing the last of these things. In my spare time I have taken to upgrading my gym wardrobe by stocking up on Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts. At my gym it is de-rigeur. But its worth knowing that at my gym there are muscle marys who kiss over the fly machine, bears who pull each others chest hair over the free weights and personal trainers who counsel men who break down in tears over the shoulder press. Even by London standards it isn't a normal gym...
