Things being various

 I end July with various little things.

 

Beauty regime

I'm pleased to say I've overshot my weight loss target of 4 kg (9 lb) this month, which I'm really happy with. I've set a target of 3.5 kg for August.

Not so great this morning was, when smoothing my legs with a razor, I nicked my ankle. It was a tiny scratch and I barely noticed it at first but before long the bathroom was covered in blood like someone had been murdered. I can't believe such a small cut could create ... well, literally a bloodbath! 

I'm sure I'll recover! But this big plaster is spoiling the look of my legs which I wanted to be gorgeous! So instead of me, here's a picture of local morning glories instead.

 

 

News from London 

I hear that last weekend's Trans Pride in my old home city of London attracted around 100,000 people. This is an amazing turnout and yet it doesn't surprise me given the anti-trans policies of the government there that is continuing the abuses of the previous one. This is one of the main reasons I left there.

By total contrast, I notice that the Tate Modern gallery in London has an exhibition on of Leigh Bowery, the bizarre performance artist who was a bi-gendered, non-gendered or even super-gendered being in the non-binary culture of the '80s, influencing music stars like Boy George then and even people like Lady Gaga now. This art and style gives me the creeps a bit, I have to say, but I do support alternative lives.

 

Facial feminisation update

I'm pleased to hear that Roz feels her facial feminisation surgery has gone well, although the bandages are still on. She thanks everyone for their kind wishes.

 

Earthquake

Another small earthquake shook my home two days ago. It's epicentre was at Tende, a few miles away over the French border. Unlike the last one, there was no damage this time. 

I was going to grumble a bit about living in a seismic area and then a few hours later the massive earthquake and tsunami off Kamchatka occurred and I have no right to complain! Thankfully, there don't seem to have been any deaths from that but a big one is still a frightening and damaging experience. I hope the locals there will be all right.

 

Tom Lehrer

It's been a bad summer for music with the deaths of leading musicians as diverse as Alfred Brendel (classical) and Ozzy Osbourne (heavy metal). It's sad to add Tom Lehrer to the roll. His acerbic, sardonic and witty songs from the 1950s-70s became classics. 

As well as innumerable sports contests, my school had an annual music contest when each sports club into which we were compulsorily divided pitted its musical skills against the others. I say "music"; it was more like regimented cacophony. Tom Lehrer songs were sung very often in this aural chaos ... and I can't help thinking he'd have been amused to know that. 

As a taster, here's how he wrote a song for the US army, "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier", based on his experiences. Strangely, it wasn't chosen as the US Army anthem.

Sue x