Write-Place

Fine Arts lecturer Mark McGowan has produced a show "The Re-enactment of the Assassination of Raoul Moat " and has been funded by four public bodies including the Arts Council which distributes Lotto Cash He has refused to say how much he got, as has the Arts Council, who say that every application for funds is judged on it's own merit. Merit ? What merit is there in writing and performing a "play"about a maniac killer portraying him as the victim, 11 weeks after the awful event ? To suggest that Moat is a victim is an appalling insult to the bereaved and wounded.   The only other victims in this are the people who provide the Arts Councils with their money - the tax payers.

  The debate over how prolonged internet use is affecting our brain is on again. The ‘mind change’ brought about by using the internet needs urgent research to work out its long-term effects - so says Professor Susan Greenfield. She fears that technologies are “ infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment “ I know what she means. My mind seems to be completely infantilised and my attention span is mostly lower than the average 2 year olds (as I often comment on) Whether this is due to the internet or not of course, needs researching too. Search engines are “driving us to distraction” and technology is moving faster than neuroscience can monitor its effect on our brains. In simple speak I think that means we don’t know what it is doing to our thought processes. I know that advert about search engines that's on the telly lately drives me to distrac...

Where is the boundary line between what is classed as pyjamas and what are day clothes ? And, how do I decide at what time of day/night I should wear them? This is my latest “dilemma” which brought about the statement from my friend which is the title here. It’s not that I am so clothes conscious that I am bothered whether my jeans look like pyjamas or my pj’s look like jeans though. It’s more the time of day of wearing either. What time is it reasonable to put on your pyjamas ? In the winter time that’s easy – as soon as it starts to get dark, in my book it’s perfectly acceptable to get a nice warm bath and wear pyjamas till bedtime. Of course, I then have to contend with anyone who operates “normal” hours - deliveries, newspapers, leaflets etc (this is mainly because my gate is broken so when anyone tries to get in the garden I have to go out and make sure they are not flattened by it in the process of posting something) Likewise in the morning. It’s ok to still be in pyjamas ...

An online friend has blogged about changing the coffee that she usually drinks and the place that she drinks it. She feels like she has cheated http://auntagnes.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/ive-cheated/  Good luck to her, I say. Change the place you drink your coffee every day and tell me when you find somewhere that serves coffee - just that ... plain and simple coffee. I know I'm speaking in the vein of the "grumpy old women" here but it is a fact of life that you can not go into a cafe these days, ask for a cup of coffee and get it without a barrage of questions about the type you want. I can handle Cappucino and Espresso and Latte. I think I even know what an Americano is. But when they start on Doppio and Macchiato and Frappe then my mind wanders. They even seem to have little biscuits that go with the coffee that you are having. They ought to have a list of what goes with what because I like those stick ones with the chocolate inside but am not so keen on the wafery on...