Nearly Christmas Bag

What's in the bag this evening, I wonder...

Bad Idea Bears

What an inspired creation the Bad Idea Bears are - I want one! Yes, we went to see the gloriously vulgar 'Avenue Q' tonight, with fuzzy puppets having graphic sex, talking about masturbation and racism, and the ever-helpful Bad Idea Bears pointing out that it's more economical to buy a case of beer than buy a six-pack, finding a nice noose to hang yourself with just when you're feeling down and serving absinthe dakaries to young lovers. I *need* a Bad Idea Bear ... oops! I've got one!

That's the third time we've seen it and I wouldn't mind another trip next year - it's good laugh-out-loud fun and the actors are merrily ad libbing now that they've been in the roles for a while. It has good merchandise as well, with 'I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today' tee shirts and badges, 'It Sucks To Be Me' badges (different to the one I got on Broadway) and goodness knows what else. I swear that Lucy The Slut winked at me...


Lord Buddha Is Empowered

An early Christmas present is a Buddha image lamp. A green one. Lord Buddha is now glowing at me. It is about 12" tall and is an image of Lord Buddha in a classic meditation pose. I have quite a few Buddha images scattered around the flat in a number of poses - mainly meditation or 'subduing Mara' poses - but none of them glow at me. Until now.

Equal Opportunities Santa

And just to show I'm an equal opps kinda guy, even with images, here's a pic of my formerly popcorn-filled Santa from Radio City Music Hall with a box of Mars bars on his head. Ho ho ho!

Work

Today was my last day at work and I'm a crap colleague and boss - no Christmas cards handed out, no sweets bought, no glass of Christmas cheer in the afternoon. I am bad. My last day was spent in meetings between about 11am and 6.00pm (with the only opportunity for a quick sandwich from the canteen being ending one meeting early and starting the next slightly late). That's no way to work, especially in the week before Christmas so I need to get that under control next year and, once we've got the second week of January out the way, we ought to go out for an extended lunch or something.

December and early January are always ridiculously busy since we have two big events in the second week of January. Starting on the Sunday with our international seminar for overseas education ministers, Moving Young Minds, that runs from Sunday to Wednesday, and then the BETT exhibition from Wednesday to Saturday (British Educational Training and Technology show). What a painful way to start the year. One of my meetings this afternoon was to view some video clips we've commissioned to show at BETT - thankfully they're very good so can go forward with a little bit of re-editing but I've cancelled the booklet that would have accompanied the videos since the designs weren't very good and it would take too much work by my people and me to get the product right. We have enough rods without creating more for our weary backs.

Of course, even though today was my last day at work I still need to do a submission to ministers tomorrow about an idea I've got for an announcement at BETT and lots of work next year. The joys of my job are unbounded!

Downside Up

I finally got around to getting the Siouxsie and The Banshees 'B' side box-set, 'Downside Up' and what an interesting listen it is. Some of the early 'B' sides I'm familiar with (even if I haven't heard them in an age) but most of the set is new to me. They didn't just put album tracks on 'B' sides, they did new songs or, occasionally, covers (such as '20th Century Boy' and 'All Tomorrow's Parties'). I think I'll need to listen to it a few times more to fully appreciate it but I'm pleased I've got it.

Step 3: Give A Tree A Home For Christmas 2006

The day arrives when the Tree, all new-born and branches nicely spread, manages to stand upright on its own and is ready for it's first outfit of the season.

Drape some lights around it's naked form. And then some more. Never underestimate the importance of lights and colour. My lights are always multicoloured but this year I've added some white twinkling ones as well. Turn them all on and make suitable adjustments to ensure the Tree is adequately covered.

Then add strings of pearls and jewels to provide the foundation for the glittering ornaments to follow. Do not stint on this important base - it will show if you try to do it on the cheap.

Then strategically place ornaments, toys and treasured objects on each branch creating a vision of splendour. Finish off my throwing some 'icicles' over the Tree to add that final bit of glimmer and shimmer. Et voila! The Perfect Christmas Tree.

Of course, that is the plan and it rarely happens by clockwork. One must make it work. This year, for example, the major panic was over Roxy the Rockette, my pride-and-joy bauble picked up from the Radio City Music Hall shop in New York in November 2005 after seeing the Christmas Spectacular - I thought I'd lost her, where could she be? And then (phew) I found the elusive Roxy sitting on her bauble in a secure box in which she shouldn't have been... but she's safe and sitting proudly on the Tree.

I haven't put the crowning glory on the Tree this year, a glass Christmas 'star' my mother bought a few decades ago, the like of which isn't available any more. I treat it as a family heirloom and it's carefully packed in an old single malt scotch tube for safety. I don't know why I didn't put it on the top of the Tree but I'm pleased I didn't - the thing fell down yesterday and it would've been smashed! That was a close call. The ornament is staying packed away this year - it's irreplaceable and I'm not risking it.

I like adding new ornaments each year, not a lot and not a complete change, incremental is best. Last Christmas saw a few additions from New York and one from Toronto, so the main addition this year is the twinkling white lights. Christmas Trees need a sense of history, things from hither and thither over the years, and mine is maturing quite nicely. The Tree might only be with me for a short time but he brightens the gloom of late December and early January. Unfortunately, the bauble in the centre of this photo (from Macy*s) was one of the casualties of The Great Fall Of 2006 so won't be seen again...

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Gods and Godesses

My latest acquisition courtesy of a nice man on eBay. It's made of that old fashioned stuff called "vinyl" (that's old technology).

Step 2

Support the tree through the painful but joyous birthing process, removing the afterbirth and see it standing in all it's glory for the first time. Move it into position and help it stand upright with strategically placed cardboard under the base. Laden it with lights to help the branches open.

The Beatles: Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows

Step 1

Choose a tree and arrange for it to be delivered.

The Onion Cellar

Amanda doesn't seem happy in 'The Onion Cellar'.

If I lived in Boston I'd buy a season ticket.

Porgie, Bess and Happy Dust

Had an emotional rollercoaster evening at The Savoy Theatre with Chris watching 'Porgy and Bess'. I've never seen it before, either on stage or screen, and didn't know the story other than it's set in the deep South and has some classic songs. I was transfixed and cringeing by turns, transfixed by the emotional intensity of some of the scenes and cringeing at some of the racist overtones.

A tale of drug addiction and the Lord, the power of love to heal and inspire, the realities of death and the cheapness of life when medical students need bodies, cruelty at a personal and an institutional level, it's all in there and so much more. Lots of singing and some dancing, some powerful characters and some characters demonstrating the frailties of the soul.

Bess is a good-time girl who falls for Porgy, a disabled beggar, so she moves from the high life and 'happy dust' to move into a one-room shack when Porgy takes her in after her man kills someone. She finds love and acceptance and even wins over her religious neighbours. And then she meets her man again who's been hiding from the law and he brutally rapes her (off stage). He returns during a hurricane when they're all sheltering in a church but seems to die a hero. But he doesn't die, he comes back for Bess and Porgy kills him. Porgy is then arrested for disobeying a police officer. While he's away, Bess is tempted by the 'happy dust' and runs off to New York thinking Porgy will be in jail for years. Porgy is released a few days later and determines to go after her because he loves her, throws away his crutches and hobbles off into the sunset as the curtain comes down.

The precis misses many twists and turns and interesting characters but if you want to know more you should go and see it. You can see some video clips on the production website, including the great version of 'It Ain't Necessarily So' when Sporting Life tries to subvert the church trip to an island for a picnic to his own ends of booze, drugs and gambling.

I was a bit worried at the start - the first 15-20 minutes seemed so dark and unpleasant but it helps the contrast with later scenes as well as the dictates of plot. I'm pleased I've seen it and can recognise a great piece of work - the musical itself, the production and the performances. It was moving and it moved me.

Number 22

At Number 22 in the singles chart this week is a new entry from SLADE with 'Merry Xmas Everybody', a mere 33 years after it was first released.

Cor! The Lords of Noize are still a power to be reckoned with.

Sufjan Stevens - Put the Lights on the Tree

A delightful Christmas greeting from Sufjan.