1 Rocktober 2009

Yesterday I had my first experience of listening to Mexican flamenco guitar! I am not going to pretend I know enough about the subject to review the record other than to say it made me incredibly happy. It was definitely a better choice of soundtrack to watching the United-Wolfsburg game than Jim Beglin or Clive Tyldesley or whoever ITV has disrespecting the intelligences of football fans across the nation these days. It certainly seems like a genre I will try to dig into at some later date, especially if Rodrigo y Gabriela is anything to go by.

Wednesday also garnered a pledge from Alice that she will join me for nanowrimo. I cannot talk for how seriously she will take it but now I have someone to work alongside, it certainly adds some legitimacy to my attempts. My novel will be called TREES.

Today was not a case of what I heard for the first time but what I achieved: 21 minutes of meditation. I walked along the canal until I found a spot that seemed serene and prepared myself. (Firstly, I filled in my first job application in months! Small steps...) An hour was attempted but many things got in the way. Firstly, it was not actually a good place to hibernate, something kept driving and beeping loudly behind the trees, and enough people to distract walked or ran or cycled past. I tried it though! Obviously no enlightenment happened; I couldn't even stop my brain thinking about a girl I like or my potential novel or my diet or how to get a job or my sister or the leaves falling from the trees and at 21 minutes I stopped. Then I read a little bit more of Nabakov's Lolita, a novel I am eternally struggling to finish, even if I love how it is written. I will attempt meditation again tomorrow. It may no longer be new, but it is something I want to do.

My second new experience of the day is something I am listening to though! It is Stanley Turrentine's Blue Hour and I dived in knowing that any record that comes with a cool Blue Note cover must be great. It is a system that has never let me down before and Stanley's sax (with Gene Harris's piano, Andrew Simpkind's bass and the drums of William Dowdy) is sounding great upon my little ol' damaged ears.