1050 - Stranded

Oh ye of little faith, fear not I’ve gone
I’m merely cut off from the internet
BT won’t take over my landline phone
Till Friday evening; till then I can’t get
My new broadband provider changed from shit
Pipex to O2, who should be better
And, next week, when I do, I shall post yet
More sonnets on my site, and update a
Networking site or two, to have greater
Coverage and include the things I’ve done
In the last month or two, such as a set
Of new songs. It’s quite good that I’ll get a
New email address: less junk mail will come
Yes! I’ll be back soon, so, my friends, don’t fret!
Mon 20 July 2009

1044 - I woke at noon

I woke at noon - that’s a recent record
I’m still offline, though - have been since late June
That makes you feel cut off, as though the cord
That binds you to the world has not been thrown
To you, drifting in the ocean, alone…
Put up my photos on the computer
Watched video that I’d shot of Irish town
And country; a new musical idea
Came to me, but the track hasn’t appeared
Yet, except in my head; hard to record,
Tricky arrangements, more than just a tune
A blend of classical and rock, a near
Nightmare, but hopefully they won’t be bored…
Gave Andy late lift from airport to home
Tue 14 July 2009

1036 - Painful birth of a sound engineer

Been busy re-recording, last two nights
At least now you can hear the words properly
Whereas Sunday it all seemed a delight
Tonight saw problems with Audacity
(Sound recording software): it won’t let me
Use delay when I want, and I had to
Keep re-doing things, until finally
I had to give up. Disappointing, too
Was the new mic, when amplified: much too
Rough and distorted to use, though my flight
‘High Over Liverpool’ used it briefly.
The CD’s improved, however, thanks to
My curiosity on Sunday night
Finding sound effects on Audacity
Mon 6 July 2009

1034 - 23rd anniversary

Just realised: today’s the twenty-third
Anniversary of my first wedding
And to make this realisation weird
Today I went round hers; we sat talking
About our two kids, then spent time looking
At our diets, and how healthy they are
On the Tesco website, and exploring
What could be done on her i-Phone; wonder
Of modern gadgetry. To Kylyra
I re-sent backing tracks, minus the words
Which I’ll deliver when I’m there, gigging.
Briefly saw Josie, then home, where I saw
More Monty Python sketches; the absurd
Aspects of Britishness got a kicking
Sat 4 July 2009

1032 - Gremins and fools' convention

I’m in a long ‘everything’s going wrong’ spell
Technology, ambitions and all that
I know things can’t always go right, but hell!
Here I am, all alone in a hot flat
My internet connection, the one that
Has served me for three years, seems to be dead
I don’t think it’s my equipment. Been sat
All evening on the phone. One of them said
Something for which I wasn’t quite prepared:
“Buy a new micro filter.” I did. Well,
Still the same: no dial tone. They’ll call back Sat
Evening, or so they said. Yes, I’ve been led
A less than merry dance. Still, I can smell
The Irish fields and their green welcome mat
Thur 2 July 2009

881 - Music to my ears

Been quite a good day at home by myself
Though, as ever, something’s gone wrong again
Slowly, surely, I’m getting back to health
Just ate sausages and mash with no pain
First, on the TV, highlights of the game
Yesterday, when Derby beat Coventry
Then, getting fed up of hearing the same
Music walking to work, changed MP3
Selection, ate soup, then wrote comedy,
Nine pages in all, but with all this wealth
Of time still left, my speakers packed in then
So now I can’t record music properly
Because I can’t play it back. But by stealth
I’m getting there; through this pain there’ll be gain
Sun 1 Feb 2009

848 - The bony-arsed rocker's lament

My arse hurts after a while in this chair
Was in it for hours yesterday making
Sweet music, but not quite so sweet to the
Neighbours from hell (they’ve got no taste), riffing
Along to rock, soul, reggae, anything
And even learning Acid Pro usage
Now I can record rough demos; cooking
On gas, my friend. Hey! Danger, high voltage!
Got calloused fingers; used each appendage
More than ever before lately, I swear
May play more later, do more composing
I sit now doing daily sonnetage
Went to Jodrell Bank, the telescope there
Endlessly pointing, probing and seeking
Tue 30 Dec 2008

823 - Office computer glitch

Computers won’t work. We’re all helpless, like
Dystopian post-nuclear bad movie shit
I’m not complaining, mind. I’ll take a hike
Up to the shops, find some cheap clothes that fit
My thin body, even thinner budget
Today, Oxfam, Manchester, tomorrow
Oxfam, Macclesfield, wonderful shop that
I recommend to all. Meanwhile, clouds flow
Like dark grey flying blankets, keeping low
All spirits and desires. Just try to strike
A match. The wind puffs it out. Cigarette
Remains unlit, while extremities glow
With cold. I could be running round the park
But I’m too scared to run, so here I sit
Fri 5 Dec 2008

803 - Chillin' in ma crib

Not feeling too good, Saturday morning
Headache, but not after a long session
Just some sort of bug, sickening, dizzying
Tense nervous headache? Here’s your medicine
And meanwhile I have got the ironing done
While watching videos on TMF
They’ve played the charts, now the oldies are on
Oh no, not Boyzone again - what a laugh!
Take That, Girls Aloud, my old friends Westlife
And now the Sugababes are back singing
Last night we stayed up till round half past one
Children in Need was on, and photographs
From York were uploaded for your viewing
Forgot to put them on Facebook. Hang on…
Sat 15 Nov 2008

798 - The many moods of the digital Romeo

Sibelius plays in the CD drive while
I chat with my love, instant messaging
The brass crescendoes in typical style
The big bass drum is booming and rolling
As quips and loving thoughts keep on crossing
Immediately from my place up to hers
Like a drug to which we keep returning
The last movement of Karelia infers
Not wrongly that things aren’t so bad, the firs
And snow of Finland for mile after mile
Replaced now by the ghetto that’s singing
With Donny Hathaway’s voice ’bout the curse
Of economic shortage. But they’d smile
If they had a taste of our sweet loving
Mon 10 Nov 2008

789 - Saturday mail

I love Saturday mornings just like this
I’m catching up on emails, blogs and net-
Based tasks that years ago did not exist
Remember reading papers, writing let-
Ters with a PEN? Back then, with fingers wet
With ink, we’d think: Oh no, I’ve no stamps left
And the Post Office is so hard to get
To before it closes at lunchtime. Sift
Through old photos, not in a box, but aft-
Er you have accessed the website, a list
Of virtual albums on display. Forget
To save them when there’s a house fire? Bereft
No more, they’re safe somewhere out there. A kiss
To my online sweetheart. We’ve still not met
Sat 1 Nov 2008

686 - A flatful of dust

My sunlit screen’s all obscured by bright dust
Like blinding snowflakes frozen in mid-fall
The sun moves westwards as it always must
And now I’m finding that I can see all
As shadows mount the white screen and white wall
Goodbye sun, you’re no friend to thought process
You bring too much reality; you crawl
Into each dirty corner, dark recess
Training a spotlight on each filthy mess
Spilt food that’s hardened into yellow crust
In kitchen. Look at the floor in the hall
Such biodiversity. I’m impressed
Victorian-style cleaning maids, please just
Line up outside until you hear me call
Mon 21 July 2008

670 - Doctor, my eyes

My eyes, my eyes are aching, oh Doctor
I’ve spent too long staring at this small screen
Not the TV, I mean the computer
And Dr Who’s on later (where’ve you been,
Didn’t you know?) Although I haven’t seen
The series so far, he could be about
To regenerate, whatever that means.
Meanwhile, Serena lost to Venus. Out!
Cried the umpire; Serena gave a pout
But quickly smiled for the sake of sister
And mama sitting watching. Now I’m keen
To eat some food, or else I might pass out
I neglected that need and drank beer
Now I must stear clear of this little screen
Sat 5 July 2008

570 - Living room superstar

Last night was a good night, all on my own.
No worrying about weird women’s ways;
Just playing music, with a microphone
Recording to computer. More such plays
With music software and I might amaze
Myself by making home recordings soon.
It takes years, though, to pass the learning phase
And reach professional standard. The moon
Seemed beyond reach, though! I can write a tune
And recite lyrics, and I’m not alone -
Andy’s on hand to help me nowadays
To get the hang of this, spend afternoons
Composing, emailing those tunes. It’s grown
Beyond a dream. Could be something that pays.
Thur 27 Mar 2008

455 - Boo to Yahoo

There's Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace
When am I going to eat? Late for work, late
For bed. No space in my head, cos your face
Is on my screen again, and at this rate
I'll not be peeing in the loo till eight
The pace has got me fucked. Look, face it, look
Mate, it's checkmate, I'm hooked. You were the bait
And I'm caught by the pubes. Can't read a book
No time, cos it moves on apace. I'm stuck
Me and you too, loaded down, in this maze
This amazing new cube, hedged in, my fate
Never to escape. Yoo hoo, Mr Truck
Driver, drive hard out of here! This new place
A new base encasing me. Lift the gate!

Mon 3 Dec 2007

432 - Things we don't need

Been driving without a rear-view mirror
It came unstuck and stayed that way, hidden
In the glove compartment. (Who keeps gloves there?)
It's fixed now but I know what I wouldn't
Have thought possible before. No sudden
Collisions, all was clear, using the wing
Mirrors like a van driver. I couldn't
Have imagined wearing no watch. Knowing
The time's essential. But it's been showing
Itself elsewhere. Bedside clock. Computer
Office clock. See? Surprising how often
You can easily do without something
So drive on till you get there, and don't care
What time it takes. The brakes are forgotten...

Sat 10 Nov 2007

422 - Does not compute

I had a corrupted modem, so them
So-called experts told me, sold me the tale
That I could fix it before six and then
Join Josephine's Halloween scene - can't fail!
But certainly Sod (and Murphy) prevail
On both sides of th' Atlantic. What antics
Especially in silly Silicon Vale
Of death by misconnection. Heck, how sick's
This, that I'm cut off, put off, shut off. (Pricks)
Please fix it. Well, after tricks and treats, when
I reinstalled it, it stonewalled. Exhale
I might, but tonight there's no cyberkicks
Wed 31 Oct 07

421 - Serves me wrong

My email's not working! Come on, server
Do what it says on the tin, and serve me
So now, cos I'm such a lazy bugger
The deadline date's tomorrow for entry
Into a big contest of poetry
And guess what? I've not yet got round to e-
Mailing it off. Lazybones, luckily
Has not yet written the poem that he
Would have entered. Laziness pays, tee hee!
Oh well, no point in worrying when there
Are sayings just for this, like 'C'est la vie!'
So, be stoical of philosophy
Let the chips fall where they may, I don't care
Fish and chips! Mmm, now that's got me hungry...
Tue 30 Oct 07

370 - What good do nation states really achieve

What good do nation states really achieve
On this all too small ball floating in space
That I now travel, though hard to believe,
At the speed of light when I see your face
On my computer screen? Between my place
And yours is half a world. What’s the difference
Between us and our lands? Let’s not replace
Ethnic, linguistic, cultural variance
With global homogeneity. Once
That’s done then life is poorer. Would we leave
Only one type of bird or fish, no trace
Of lost diversity? But what earth wants,
And peace, is that, together, we unweave
Our borders and our economic race.
Sun 9 Sep 2007

344 - What's on my desk today? Some DVDs

What’s on my desk today? Some DVDs
I rented from Blockbuster: first, ‘The Queen’
(Love Tony Blair in that!); then, memories
Of the eighties in ‘Wall Street,’ Charlie Sheen
Learning that greed is good. One that I’ve been
Waiting to see is here: ‘The History Boys;’
‘The Last King of Scotland’ (Idi Amin);
‘Thank You For Smoking,’ which no doubt annoys
Some, and ‘Tideland’ - again, a drug destroys.
Also, there’s a pile of new-bought CDs:
Richard & Linda Thompson, Bruce Springsteen,
McCormack and Tauber both in fine voice.
A coffee mug, on which the name Tony’s
Displayed in gold letters … and this machine.
Tue 14 Aug 2007