Mixed Up Confusion

I see that I've only written two posts on my blog for the whole of June so I guess you've all been wondering what's become of me. Or maybe not. Anyway I'm still here in Edinburgh and looking forward to my trip to London next week to take in some talks at the Marxism Festival, meet up with my nephew Iain hopefully and see some old friends.

I'm usually reading two or three books at any one time, not together I hasten to add,  maybe we could call them my daytime book and my evening/bedtime book and my other book. Sometimes my books can swap places, so my daytime book is picked up when I'm thinking it's my evening book or vice versa. This can cause serious confusion.

This must have been what happened yesterday when I'm trying to work out who this new character was who suddenly appeared in The Hours by Michael Cunningham was.  I couldn't remember any mention of the character before, until I realised that I wasn't reading The Hours at all but had picked up my evening book instead. Problem solved.

I'm thoroughly enjoying The Hours, don't know why I've not read it before. Maybe something to do with Virginia Woolf, as the book was inspired by her book Mrs Dalloway. I think I will have to go back and read Mrs Dalloway now, though I suspect it was the effort of trying to read To The Lighthouse that left me with an aversion to Woolf. But must try again now that I'm older and hopefully wiser.

Will have to watch the movie of The Hours too; I think Streep won an Oscar for her performance in it or if nor was at least nominated. Missed it somehow. And speaking of awards, Cunningham won the Pulitzer Prize for the book, at a time when he was regarded by some as a gay writer. On winning the Pulitzer he said :  I couldn't help noticing that I finally write a book in which no one sucks cock, and I win the Pulitzer Prize. I think maybe with tongue heavily in his cheek as it were.

I'm writing this on an iPad in the Virgin cafe. I'm thinking about buying myself an iPad, so am checking it out to see how it feels typing more than usual on the touch pad and so far so good. I reckon it should do me for my travels. So a trip to the Apple shop in Glasgow is on the cards, there not being one in Edinburgh town. Will have to decide whether to buy a Kindle as well. and yes I know the iPad has a Kindle app but I have my reasons.

Tonight I had dinner with my friend Emer and I'm home now so will finish off this post. We ate in the Abbotsford Bar, which is one of Edinburgh's finest. Worth a visit for the superb island bar, though we ate in the restaurant upstairs as the bar was so busy. Always a good sign, methinks.

On my way home I pass by the Oxfam charity shop and would you believe it they have a window display of Virginia Woolf books. Including Mrs Dalloway, so shall be paying them a visit tomorrow morning.

For those of you who don't know his reportoire "Mixed Up Confusion" is a Dylan song, from early years and on Biograph album/cd.

President Humala visits my kids

Today I've been thinking about the working kids of Villa Maria, in Lima, not that they are often far from my mind. I keep in touch with their lives through Flor, whom I phone regularly. Good practice for my Spanish as she speaks not a word of English.

I would love to be with them today, in Lima, as they are being visited by President Humala, the recently elected president of Peru, who apparently  wants to see for himself the work being done with these kids in Villa Maria. Flor is very excited needless to say, so who knows what might come of it. More funds one can but hope or more support of one sort or another.

I'm hoping Flor will be able to take some photos which I can post on here. So good luck Flor and all those brilliant kids.

Last night I went to see Jaws in the Filmhouse. The film has been digitally remastered and is better than ever. If you have only ever seen it on TV you should take this chance to see it on the big screen. It's superb, Spielberg at his best. Scary, funny and moving. Made me jump out of my seat and scream at one scene. Go see, it's a treat.

Today it's been raining heavily in Edinburgh, so been listening to James Joyce's Ulysses on BBC radio. They are broadcasting a dramatised version of it spread over today, which is Bloomsday. So happy Bloomsday to one and all, and don't worry if you missed it today, there is a podcast available for downloading at your leisure.

I hope you all saw young Welbeck's goal last night. Goal of the tournament methinks, and Walcott did pretty well too, which is nice, as he seems like a good kid.

Gatsby

People keep reading my blog so I guess it's time I wrote another post for you all, in case you desert me. Reason for paucity of posts recently: my absence on a short five day break in Stornoway, more of which another time.

I've been re-reading The Great Gatsby this past week. I thought it was only right that I should re-read an American, having done a Russian last year. Some books just have to be read more than once, and Gatsby is definitely one of those. It's a masterpiece of the twentieth century. Every paragraph, is a gem. One of those books that has to be read slowly to savour every genius sentence.

It's a long long time since I first read it, so I'm finding things that I probably wouldn't have noticed first time round, such as the fact that Gatsby first met Daisy in Louisville, where in real life Fitzgerald met Zelda, which thirty years ago or however long it was, would have meant nothing to me, but now seems like a place I know, as my nephew Keith is now living and working there. And who incidentally got married to the lovely Trish yesterday, in Kentucky. Congratulations to you both. First wedding mentioned on my blog.

Gatsby was taken to Duluth by Cody to buy him some clothes suitable for life on his yacht. Dylan fans will know Duluth as the great man's birthplace, so quite  an important place in his story. Maybe some day I will visit, or again maybe not. Time running out, in so many ways.

There's a new movie being produced just now with DiCaprio playing Gatsby. I can't imagine that he will quite match up to the Robert Redford version, but should be interesting nevertheless. He just does not have Redford stunning good looks and neither is he such a great actor, but time is on his side. If you haven't read the book you should do so before seeing the movie. No movie can ever do justice to Fitzgerald's prose.

I will finish with a quote from the old man. Have you ever tried to describe a first kiss with a loved one? Here's Gatsby (Fitzgerald) describing the first time he kissed Daisy:

He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.

Just heart stopping, although Nick, who is telling us this story, describes it as appalling sentimentality, which seems a bit harsh. But don't you just love that bit about waiting and listening to the tuning-fork struck upon a star, before he kisses her? Read the book nice and slow and enjoy.