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
Sue -
ReplyDeleteDid you know that Tom Lehrer was the inventor of the Jello Shot?
Lehrer was in the US Army, and was one of the people who were to attend a party given at a local naval base. One hitch: No Alcoholic Beverages were allowed. So, Lehrer and a friend tested making Jello in several flavors with vodka, and was very successful. He later went through the checkpoint with his Jello Shots (remember, these were not beverages, but desserts) with no problems.
Due to Lehrer, we now have a great alcoholic dessert!
How I wish I could have taken courses with him at U.C. Santa Cruz!!!
Hi Marian.
DeleteYes, I knew about the jello shots. Misplaced ingenuity indeed!
Harvard and the NSA, with music and political commentary thrown into the mix. You can't help but respect him.
Sue x
Well done on the weight loss. I hope you’re bloodbath has resolved itself and your leg is healing well.
ReplyDeleteI was once in a nightclub in Xante, when the ground started shaking and a container with a large plant in it, started to move out onto the dance floor. I thought I'd had one too many. Turns out it was an earthquake.
I'm very glad that Roz is recovering well.
Thank you, Dee. My leg is recovering and I will walk again! It really is the stupidest little scratch but obviously it's just in the wrong place so it keeps bleeding and I keep having to change dressings.
DeleteLove your dancing plant story! I wondered if I was losing my ability to walk in heels!
Sue x
It's scary how much blood there seems to be when you cut yourself in water and how long it seems to take to stop bleeding, even though the same wound would stop in a minute in the dry. I cut myself on a sharp knife washing up and was convinced I must have opened a major vein (even though I was nowhere near one) as the bowl turned red. Shame about the unsightly plaster now spoiling the look of your painstakingly denuded pins.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Tom Lehrer clip. That's one I didn't know.
Thanks, Susie. Yes, you're right. And you do't want to towel the wound dry as it will make a real mess of the towels so you just wait and make a mess everywhere else instead! Sue x
DeleteI do wonder if vampires have got the wrong idea about biting necks. It seems blood comes pouring out of any wee nick on the knee, ankle, or chin. Maybe they don't like razors or there's some 'alpha vamp' nonsense of "you're not a true undead terror of the night, unless you use your own teeth". 😉
ReplyDeleteI hope said cut had now healed and the floor has come up nicely after a good clean.
Congratulations on the healthy eating and related weight loss. That is good news.
Lehrer is not someone if heard of, but he sounds very accomplished.