Dreaming of Freedom

Mike and I walked along the waterlogged path to the FitzWilliam - I just can’t get enough of the place. I can get enough of this rain though. It’s been raining for about a week now and today the river was high and muddy. Parts of the river bank near the boat houses were flooded which added a touch of excitement to the walk. We got to the Fitz in time to hear Edward Furse and Craig White playing the cello and piano. They played some wonderful music by Dvorak and Chopin which made for divine listening. There is nothing as nice as to stand in Gallery 3 on a Sunday afternoon listening to the music and imagining the people in the portraits hearing it and what thoughts and feelings it would stir in them. Afterwards Mike and I sat on a bench discussing the problems of mass manipulation if in the hands of the mass media and the giant corporations - we felt like teenagers again - knowing all the answers!

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I cycled along the tow path into Cambridge just for fun today and it’s so much nicer when you’re not on your way to work. I went to the FitzWilliam to go to the lunchtime concert. Today Samuel Queen was singing and Stephen Rose was playing the piano. Queen has a wonderful voice that stirs you up inside and lifts that part inside your chest that only music can get to - the audience sat transfixed by the sheer beauty of the singing. Afterwards I just wandered around the medieval/early modern art part of the museum until the religious aspect got too much for me and then I ventured out into the rain which is always a bit of a dampener to come out into. This afternoon I’ve been enjoying the luxury of doing nothing - in preparation for the next week’s work.

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For all you music lovers in London you should check out Joe Button playing guitar with Anna Mudeka on Sunday at the Southbank Centre in London.

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The last few days have been full of art and music. I finally got Emi’s cd and have been listening to it all evening. Emi rocks. Check out her latest tracks on Fairtilizer. I spent some time looking at Paul Neale’s pictures - you’d never know from his troubled paintings he was an amazing wit.
Then to add a bit of joy to my own life I went out and brought a guitar. A week of practicing on Tim’s left handed one probably did me no end of good but I felt it was time to splash out. The tips of my fingers are numb and this makes typing a real problem so I’m hoping the sacrifice of my nerve endings is worth it in the end.

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I went to hear Chris Sarjeant and Benedict Taylor at the FitzWilliam on Sunday. The Sunday music concerts are really nice - nothing quite like sitting in an art gallery listening to gentle music. Sargeant and Taylor are folk musicians and some of their stuff was very sad and thoughtful but none the less great to listen to.

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I’m off to Helsinki this weekend to go to Pixelache where K is going to be in the spotlight for a couple of minutes talking about his Five Filters project. Apparently there is snow on the ground there - so it will be like travelling back in time to the winter. I’ve got four books out of the library on Helsinki and fully intend to read all of them so that I will well prepared to see all the sights the city has to offer. That is if I get a moment off from writing articles for Now or Never and working.

Sadly all this travel to the far corners of Scandinavia means I can’t go to Storan to see Sahara Hotnights playing.

Meanwhile the Pirate Bay trial has come to an end. A verdict isn’t expected before April 17th and the defendants are facing face up to two years in prison each and $180,000 in fines plus millions in damages. If all this seems too gloomy then check out xkcd great cartoon to lighten the mood.

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I spent 60 splendiferous minutes with Emi today, talking next to the frozen river about fear and Fawkes. Check out her blog or her myspace. Her music totally rocks.

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I see things have not really improved in Gaza. I’ve just been reading something Mark Steel wrote that is worth a look. Meanwhile Obama shows that he’s just the same as his predecessors - not a big surprise there then.

There are protests outside the Israeli Embassy every night while this continues and there are plans to have them outside the Egyptian Embassy while Egypt refuses to open it’s borders.

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Last night Keyvan and I braved the cold (and boy was it cold our hands were actually freezing) and headed into the centre to Klubb Populär at Storan. The club was cozy with red curtains and a disco ball hanging between chandeliers. Joyti’s friend Mattias was DJing and I have to say his music was pretty fun to listen to - Indie music Swedish style. There were two bands playing - one of which was Elenette and the other Palpitation. Elenette were really good fun and the crazy dancers in the front rows obviously though so too, unfortunately my lack of Swedish stopped me digging the lyrics - but this is definitely one band you want to jump to. They have some interesting things to say about gender and they say it in a analytical philosophical logical way that’s hard to follow if you haven’t studied enough. Despite this it’s refreshing to know that bands have actually got something to say. For pictures of the night visit my gallery.

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I had a fantastic weekend. Went up to see my Granny and was fed wholesome stew and porridge. We then popped into Cambridge on the way to Norwich and had a look around Churchill, Trinity and Clare Colleges with Tim. We wizzinipped to Norwich so I could meet up with Will, Ella and Rich. We were disappointed to find that Wetherspoons no longer serve vegan burgers - their one saving grace has disappeared and I will no longer feel any need to frequent the establishment. It was however lovely to meet up and Weatherspoons failed to ruin it.
I spent the rest of the evening hanging out at the Arts Centre and being Joe’s groupie which was great. It was probably his last time with the band so it was good to see them. The band was superb and we all danced happily along half in love with Anna and her dancing partner.
Mum and I spent Sunday travelling around the countryside and visiting the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge. There is a pretty good art collection there.

It’s back at work this week and all sorts of exciting things are happening - Christmas parties and secret santas - so it really feels holidayish there!

I nipped into the Photographers Gallery earlier and there is an interesting exhibition there called Seeing is Believing - lots of pictures collected by Harry Price an enthusiastic investigator of the paranormal and mediums. The photographs are fasinating because they show fake ghosts, tables leaning suspiciously close to curtains, arms clearly raised close to levitating objects and other such gems. You might be interested Rob if you get a chance to come to London.

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