Thursday 27 November 2008

I'm On My Way...

As this post goes live, you find me moblogging. That’s mobile blogging to you, though I might equally be said to be 'mob logging'. I’m currently on a train travelling into the distant north, Manchester bound, imagination stifled by this suit, and scowling at anybody who dares look my way. Have another doodle, blog friends, have another doodle. This tired old TV great is getting old. My comedy pimple is beginning to fade. How many more journeys will it continue to disguise my real identity from these commuters? They’re a miserable lot. Nobody speaks. Occasionally one of them will silently vent gas.

I never understand people who choose to vent in the confines of a crowded train with poor ventilation. It must be cowardly way to get back at the world without actually going on any kind of spree. I suppose it's possible they might go on a farting spree but it's probably not going to last very long. Or, alternatively, it will last a very long time but with many periods of inactivity.

Other than the mysterious devotee to flatus, the rest sit here playing with their toys. The iPhone users are a breed apart. As Elberry might say: everyone a potential killer. They certainly look down on the Blackberry users, though it’s clear that this second group have the better jobs. I have a Samsung. I don’t fit into either camp. My old phone is a Sony. It doesn’t even have a touch screen. People are right to treat me like the pariah I am. I'm listening to Nick Cave. It's loud. He’s singing about ’15 Feet of Pure White Snow’. It's the song I always associate with these trips into the north.



I think I’ll follow it with some Stagger Lee.

Soon I’ll be at Manchester Piccadilly, scooting off down the side of the GMPTE building. There are guards there that stop people photographing the building, which makes no sense to me. One of these days, I’ll try to snap a picture of the place just to see if I can get arrested. I didn’t think it possible to be stopped from taking pictures in a public place.

My mind is drifting. There’s a woman in the seat next to me writing questions for some seminar she’s attending. The questions are for Edward de Bono, he of lateral thinking fame. Question 1: ‘Do you think your ideas are as current today as they were in the past’. She’s clearly thinking laterally. I’m sure he’s going to hold up his hands and tell his acolytes that his ideas are outmoded and that it’s about time he retired.

Oh, now I’m just being sullen. Manchester makes me sullen but this mobile blogging isn’t a good thing. I'll try to post more later on. Of if I can't post, I'll Twitter. Does anybody read my Twitter? If a bear twits in the woods, does anybody care? Why does an eight hour working day really mean eleven hours? I miss Judy. And I also maintain that the mighty red is the king of all onions. I dare you to disagree.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another great doodle! You can at least take solace in the knowledge that your drawing skills, if not your life in general, are improving at a healthy gallop. I wonder if you've ever heard of the cartoonist Kevin Woodcock? He's dead now unfortunately, but was one of the greats back in the 70's and 80's. Try to find some of his work- it'll put that smile back on your face.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

Brian. Always good to hear that these hit their mark. I haven't heard of him but I will no go off and research him. Not being educated in cartoons, I'm getting a quick grounding in the greats. Kliban is my favourite, though I've a great admiration for the excesses of Scarf. If only I could get my caricatures working...

Anonymous said...

Caricatures, for me, are a bit hit and miss. Sometimes I can really capture a likeness while others fail miserably. Try someone like Fry to begin with -his features are ripe for exaggeration. One of my other favourite cartoonists is Ronald Searle. I'm sure you're familiar with him.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

I know Searle's work and like it. I'm drawn to those cartoonists that can do everything with a simple line or two.

As to Fry, I have tried and somewhat successfully, I think. I agree. Some people are easier than others. That's why I admire Scarf. I was reading his new collection over the weekend and it's astonishing to see how his figures are always recognisable, even after he's dragged them into the most convoluted shapes. Some of his versions of Nixon are astonishing.

Anonymous said...

Trains especially bring out the killer in us, especially trains taking us to or from work...