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09/12/2004: "Stop!"
I've stopped blogging. Not consciously, not deliberately, but it's a fact. The only times I access my blog is to fight the constant flow of comments being spammed by junk advertisers. Blog spamming seems to be the new thing.
Which is not fair to my visitors, because I actually do have some. Some even have names, like the delightful people at Abscond.org and even a few of my friends (who tend to use pen names when signing comments). And they don't spam my blog. So here I am again. And now watch this, it's me doing what I enjoy so much: driving with my Ray Ban. (I rule, you said it!)
A few cool things have been happening recently, which include meeting with Dr Shirin Akiner, the leading British scholar on Central Asia, at Chatham House, on the future of democracy in Kazakhstan (don't say, 'What future?', because then there won't be one).
Then I must admit that mentoring my 14-year-old mentee at the London Nautical School has been entertaining, especially hearing his peers' views of other pupils from "minorities" (those who happen to produce the music they listen to and whose ancestors made the art that is being studied and reproduced in class). I'm supposed to act as a role model, but if they cannot learn from the very artists whose origins they despise, why should the kids listen to me? Immigration, a problem in this country? Is it da problem, nigga?
And I must say, I've had a pretty bad run with pictures recently, so none of the St. Martin Pig Feast, which was a fantastic chance of meeting with old friend from Uni, eating more pig than I've ever done in my life and discovering that all the myths and jokes about Jura, they're all true! No pictures either from Alter Bridge's concert last week (Creed is born again!) at the Mean Fiddler, but for the guy who adjusts the drums before the band starts playing. I wish I could know more about them, they so often seem like they could play better than most of the bands that need their skills.
And finally, I've discovered a fantastic store near my work, with Russian produces (kleb, crab, fish), plenty of Russian DVDs, and they even sell driving licenses I was told. For an instant, I can believe I am in Moscow, until the moment I step outside and am reminded that unfortunately, I'm still in London.
Christmas is coming up soon, and even if I've mentally managed to abolish it, it's still there. So no plans for me, except pretending I've abolished it. It's gone. Is it? I should convert to some Christmasless religion. Or change jobs. Or get caught in a strike. More soon from me...
