Ransen's Blog

 I was brought up with the glottal stop, or I learned it from my friends.  Wikipedia says: The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʔ⟩ In English it often replaces a "t" sound and was considered an error. So I used to have the glo ʔ al stop. And when I hear it it takes me back in time and it does not irritate me. But when I hear people say "anythink" I want to scream at them. " There's a g at the end of anything, not a k ! " And even friends in their 60s who used to say "anything" have learned to say "anythink". Even Radio 3 and Radio 4 guests have been heard to use it. Hence the twisted snobbery of mine. I don't mind my own "mistake" in pronunciation, but I'm extremely irritated by this new &

 I listened to Bryan Ferry's Frantic... ...I'd forgotten how good it was.  Then, right after, I listened to Beethoven's Eroica... ...and apart from two or three really "inspiring" parts it seems to me clunky in the extreme. I put Frantic back on... ... that's better!

 Sometimes things feel simple and impossible at the same time. Simplicity and Impossibility

 This BBC radio adaptation is very strange and intriguing... ...it is a long time since I've listened to such an odd audio play.

 Here's some of comedy programmes which I've found funny recently... Tim Key's Poetry Programme ...and... Icklewick FM This is good too, half comedy half auto biography, but done much better than some... Stuart Mitchell's Cost of Living  This too is well done...   ...written and presented by Alfie Moore (Currently the 12 year olds who govern the BBC seem to think that two or three (unfunny) friends laughing at each other's jokes and "observations" constitutes comedy. And if you are a self-diagnosed autist then you must be a creative genius . The comedy jewels above are the exceptions)

 Some wise men say "If you run after happiness you will not find it." So to be happy you must not seek it. But "not seeking" is already a method for getting to happiness. So you are seeking it. Oh fuck it all.

 If I can't get to sleep I have two methods I try Reciting poetry (in my mind) Going on a drive into the night (in my mind)  The rainbows which appear in front of me as I take my imaginary drive have now started to get up off the road and turn into flickering multi colored creatures who stay in front of the car as I drive forward. They are not menacing but are disturbing. I now have a third cure, it involves getting out of bed at some awful time like 2:30 am, but sometimes works: This is an "own brand" herbal tea which is supposed to help you sleep. I don't believe it, but I also know that a placebo can work even when the patient knows it is a placebo. And I wonder if this warning not to exceed the daily does of 2 cups a day...  ...is really just there to make the tea seem more effective than it actually is?