Gap Year

Dan Strong is bungee jumping,
Dutch boys, lies and more lies, Oxford lads, the north, small Thai ladies, happy elephants, 'bamboo rafts don't fucking float', jungle treks, more Irish girls, Thai boxing, watching failure, and how far does the rabbit hole go...

Dan Strong is maekong man,
he came, he saw, he mankini'd vang vieng in two! tubing, happy shakes, happy bread, and the rest, lying in rivers ''soooo.....this is nice'', being gracefully shot down, 25m rope swings, how to save a life, and a lot of unexplained injuries! TIL baby.…

Dan Strong is crashing motorbikes,
hefty fines, ''the biggest island is a shithole'', german girls, being unable to get rid of our dutch companion, chilling in rice paddies, getting groped by a french teacher, best bus trip ever and sleeping aids....

Dan Strong is capsizing tuk tuks,
killing fields, tuol sleng, sleeping on rooftops, 'im so excited about these temples, cock blocking, wasting time in hammocks....ha! cambodian clubs, dirty western perverts and the master of sublety, TIC baby.

Dan Strong is the child tree,
waiting far too long for overpriced bar shirts, drinking games for boys, best gay ever! gecko vs snake, street dancing, clean clothes, temples, lara croft, pissing off the tiger, best meal ever and maybe there is light at the end of this very deep rabbit hole.…

Dan Strong is best coffee ever,
last night with mum and dad, back in t land, 6 hour waits, israel girl, tittus, and khao San mornings.... Same same but brilliantly different! P

A series of status updates on Facebook from a young guy who is travelling. Apart from giving each first statement its own line, the punctuation and format is unchanged. Submitted by Lucie Shuker.

Dojo

Be fulfilled ... satisfy the hunger within
—Noodfucius 12:45 After Dinner

Dojo Yaki-Udon or Dojo
Yaki-Soba (Japanese): chicken,
char siu pork, assorted seafood, tofu,
egg, bonito flakes, onion, mange tout,

red pepper, Oriental greens, with
yaki-udon or yaki-soba.
Ho Yo Peppered Beef Mi Fan (Taiwanese):
seared peppered beef fillet, green pepper,

onion and mange tout with a rich black
bean and soya sauce topped over steamed
rice. Spicy Seafood Tom Yum Mee (Thai):
scallop, squid, king prawn, mussel, fishcake,

crabstick, pineapple, spring onion,
coriander, lemongrass and fresh
chillies with rice vermicelli in
a spicy Tom Yum broth. Saigonese

Chicken Fillet Pho (Vietnamese
fusion): chargrilled chicken marinated
in Teriyaki sauce with thick rice
noodles, beansprouts, coriander, chillies,

Oriental greens, wakame, menma
and a wedge of lime in a meat broth.



A proverb and four items from the takeaway menu of Dojo Noodle Bar in Cambridge UK, 28 July 2009. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

The Mundane Mr Eggleston

"Old tyres, Dr Pepper machines, discarded air-
conditioners, vending machines, empty and
dirty Coca-Cola bottles, torn posters, power
poles and power wires, street barricades, one-way
signs, detour signs, No Parking signs, parking meters
and palm trees crowding the same curb."

Eggleston has
a unique ability to find beauty, and
striking displays of color, in ordinary
scenes. A dog trotting toward the camera; a
Moose lodge; a woman standing by a rural road;
a row of country mailboxes; a convenience
store; the lobby of a Krystal fast-food restaurant –
all of these ordinary scenes take on new
significance in the rich colors of Eggleston's
photographs. Eudora Welty suggests that
Eggleston sees the complexity and beauty
of the mundane world:

"The extraordinary,
compelling, honest, beautiful and unsparing
photographs all have to do with the quality
of our lives in the ongoing world: they succeed
in showing us the grain of the present, like the
cross-section of a tree."



Taken from the Wikipedia entry for photographer William Eggleston. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Ladies Three

Fell on a lady on tube
who smiled.
Helped another with a bag
who effused.
Sat opposite a third
who politely
ignored me.



Andrew has wittingly contributed three poems to this blog so far. Now, unwittingly, a fourth: this his twitter post, July 9th from TinyTwitter (PS. hope you're enjoying your honeymoon, Andrew). Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

One For You

This seems to be one for you:

fromthisisjusttestmessageatall@agronomimantova.it
tomashobra@gmail.com

date1 July 2009 06:11
subjectThere he sat and cried

hide details 06:11 (6 hours ago) Reply

Hello. Is there perchance!

switchings

This genuinely confused me when I received it as a message on Facebook from a writer friend. I thought she was sending me a poem for this blog for a moment before realising it was spam. Here it is anyway, untouched, except for removing the offending link. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Harry Has Uses

Harry is developing good control
of his pencil movements. He is working
on counting up and back in steps of twos
and tens. Harry enjoys spending time on
investigative sites on the computer
and is competent on the internet.

He likes to use clay and box modelling
to interpret his ideas. Harry
has developed a good understanding
of the past, present and future,
exploring texts that relate to his topic
work. He has been keen to spend time on
developing the role-play area
into a bakery, resulting in
him producing some very good price lists.

Harry is one of a very few children
who have mastered the ropes in gymnastics.
He is now developing his target
skills. He has uses his imagination
well in his investigations.

Excerpts from my eldest child's first ever proper school report. He's five. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Because

That's why I hit you today,
for the first time in my life.

Because you opened the letter,
because I wanted you to...
because of mother,
because she told you something she didn't tell me,
because I love you and you are not my daughter,
because everything could have been different,
because the past will never return...

Because of the times you caressed my back
when I cried
candy king

gingerbread page
marzipan princess.



Just watched Krzysztof Kieslowski's Dekalog, episode four. These are the English subtitles from a key scene towards the end (it's in Polish). Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Thought and Jocularity

When I was twelve, I was interviewed by
a doctoral candidate in
education and asked what I wanted
to be when I grew up.

I said that I wanted either to be
a philosopher or a clown,
and I understood then, I think that much
depended on whether or not

I found the world worth philosophising
about, and what the price of
seriousness might be. I was not sure I
wanted to be a philosopher,

and I confess that I have never quite
overcome that doubt.



Read on 1 June 2009 in 'Undoing Gender' by Judith Butler (London: Routledge 2004), p234. Submitted by Marika Rose.

Strangulation By Any Other Name

Tenir ce sac et sa poignée
hors de portée des bébés et enfants
pour éviter tout risque d’étouffement.

Plastiktüte und Gryff von Babys und Kindern
fernhalten, um Erstickungs – und
Erdrosselungsgefahr zu vermeiden.

Per evitare rischi di soffocamento
o strangolamento, tenere questa busta di plastica
fuori della portata del bambini.

För att undvika risk för kvävning
och strypning, förvara plast
och handtag utom räckhåll för barn.

Tukehtumis – taikka kuristumisriskin
välttämiseksi on muovipakkaus ja kahva
säilytettävä lasten ulottumattomissa.

For å unngå kvelningsvare,
oppbevar posen on håndtaket
utilgjengelig for barn.

For at undgå fare for kvælning
og strangulering, opbevar plastikposen
og håndtage utilgængelig for børn.

Houd deze plastic zak en het handvat
uit de buurt van baby’s en kinderen,
om gevaar voor wurging
of verstikking te vermijden.

To avoid danger of suffocation
and strangulation keep this plastic bag
and handle away from babies and children.



Warning on the side of a packet of Pampers nappies (diapers) bought this week. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Lines Written Upon a Brassiere

One hundred way convertible bra,
the bra you can wear one hundred ways.
Wow! Infinite possibilities,
the only bra you’ll ever need.

Wear it as a plunge, two-strap, one-shoulder,
racerback, boatneck, crisscross front, halter –
and so many more! Comes with three
sets of straps: regular, clear
and a low back converter strap.

Provides added coverage for contour shaping.
Smooth, moulded, lightly lined under-wired cups,
with removable pads. One bra one hundred ways.
Customise your look with our life changing
one hundred way convertible bra.

The most versatile bra ever!
Simply insert straps into any of the
hidden eyelets for any look you want.
There’s now no excuse for showing straps!



Spotted on the 4 June 2009 on a BHS bra tag. The word 'cross-back' is omitted after 'racerback' to aid scansion. Submitted by Marika Rose.

roads? where we're going we

roads? where we're going, we
don't need roads – game
over man, game over –
these go to eleven – i am serious,
and don't call me shirley –
i feel the need, the need for
speed – say hello to my little
friend – i'll have what she's
having – would you like me to
seduce you? is that what
you're trying to tell me? – get
busy livin' or get busy dyin' –
i'm not bad. i'm just drawn
that way – if the pirates of the
caribbean breaks down, the
pirates don't eat the tourists
– i'll be back – may the force
be with you – here's johnny!



Taken from an advert for Fopp in the Cambridge Arts Picture House programme 3 April – 28 May 2009. The line arrangement is unaltered; the dashes replace the little Fopp splat icon. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

The D Word

Truth and lies
Life and death
Love and hate
Night and day
Male and female
Hot and cold
Rich and poor
Young and old

Saved/unsaved
Word/spirit
Evangelising/socialising
Responsibility/freedom
Faith/sin
Spirit/flesh
Charismatic/conservative
Biblical/unbiblical
Secular/sacred
Numeric success/emergent community
Discipleship/mission

From notes made in November 2006 at the Being Here conference – a spirituality and psychology event. Submitted by Marika Rose.