Author: rfhurley

You Are Surrealism

Dreamy and idealistic, you’ve created a world that is all your own. It’s very likely that you’ve either dabbled in drugs or are naturally trippy. You are always trying to push beyond the boundaries of your culture and society. You believe that art, love, and freedom can change the world.

 

…

Magritte’s “Treachery of the Publishing World”

This is NOT a Book

I left a comment on someone’s blog, intending to be humorous, but it received some very serious replies. One was of the variety of “I would rather … this, than … that…”

Be careful what you ask for.

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – Kate Bush

It doesn’t hurt me
Do you want to feel how it feels
Do you want to know, know that it doesn’t hurt me
Do you want to hear ’bout the deal that I’m making
You, you and me,

CHORUS

And if I only could
I’d make a deal with God
And I’d get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
If I only could oh…

You don’t want to hurt me
But see how deep the bullet lies
Unaware I’m tearing you asunder
Ooh there is thunder in our hearts
Is there so much hate for the ones we love
‘Tell me we both matter don’t we
You
You and me
You and me won’t be unhappy

And if I only could
I’d make a deal with god
And I’d get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
If I only could oh…

You
You and me
You and me won’t be unhappy
C’mon baby c’mon darlin’
Let me steal this moment from you now
Cone on angel, c’mon, c’mon darling
Let’s exchange the experience oh,

And if I only could
I’d make a deal with God
And I’d get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
With no ploblems.

And if I only could
I’d make a deal with God
And I’d get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
With no ploblems.

And if I only could
Be running up that hill
With no problems.

Waltzing’s For Dreamers by Richard Thompson

…

Oh play me a blue song and fade down the light
I’m sad as a proud man can be sad tonight
Just let me dream on, oh just let me sway
While the sweet violins and the saxophones play
And Miss, you don’t know me, but can’t we pretend
That we care for each other, till the band reach the end

One step for aching, and two steps for breaking
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love
One step for sighing and two steps for crying
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love

Now they say love’s for gamblers, oh the pendulum swings
I bet hard on love and I lost everything
So don’t send me home now, put a shot in my arm
And we’ll drink out old memories and we’ll drink in the dawn
And Mr Bandleader won’t you play one more time
For I’ve good folding money in this pocket of mine

Oh, one step for aching, two steps for breaking
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love
One step for sighing, and two steps for crying
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love

Oh Miss, you don’t know me, but can’t we pretend
That we care for each other, till the band reach the end

Oh, one step for aching, two steps for breaking
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love
One step for sighing, two steps for crying
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love
Waltzing’s for dreamers and losers in love

I mentioned I had been going through a stretch of dark depression, and found myself listening to boozers, Celts and boozy Celts singing sad sad songs… Well, I posted a video by one of the boozers (Tom Waits), and some boozy Celts (the Pogues), but here’s a video by the one non-boozy Celt I’ve been listening to, also singing sad songs.

(probably a good thing he isn’t a boozer. this is one of his cheerier songs)

…

A Heart Needs a Home
Richard and Linda Thompson

I know the way that I feel about you
I’m never gonna run away
I’m never gonna run away
I never knew the way when I lived without you
I’m never gonna run away
I’m never gonna run away

I came to you when no one could hear me
I’m sick and weary of being alone
Empty streets and hungry faces
The world’s no place when you’re on your own
A heart needs a home

Some people say that I should forget you
I’m never gonna be a fool
I’m never gonna be a fool
A better life, they say, if I’d never met you
I’m never gonna be a fool
I’m never gonna be a fool

Tongues talk fire and eyes cry rivers
Indian givers, hearts of stone
Paper ships and painted faces
The world’s no place when you’re on your own
A heart needs a home

When I look at the blog posts, well… anywhere… people are traveling, doing interesting things, and I wish I could write about groovy adventures myself– but I can’t… so I don’t post. So far, 2007 has been really trying, and I’ve been horribly depressed.

So, so as not to leave a big crater in my log, I’ll post some videos I’ve been listening to lately, mostly boozers & Celts (and, of course, boozy Celts) singing sad sad songs. Here’s one by The Pogues.

Dirty Old Town

addendum: turns out that “Dirty Old Town” was written by Ewan MacColl, father of Kirsty MacColl, who sang backup on the Pogue’s “Fairytale of New York” . And the line, “Smelled the spring on the smoky wind,” was originally “smelled a Spring on the Salford wind” (referring to Salford, Ewan’s Home Town in Scotland).

…

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
Kissed a girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Clouds a drifting across the moon
Cats a prowling on their beat
Spring’s a girl in the street at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
Smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I’m going to make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
Will chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Tom Traubert’s Blues – Tom Waits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZmqbcBsTAw

Wasted and wounded, it ain’t what the moon did, I’ve got what I paid for now
See you tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow a couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me

I’m an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I’m tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything’s broken, and my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me

Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cab’s parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open,
And I’m down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmill’s I staggered, you’d bury the dagger
In your silhouette window light go
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me

Now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I’ve kissed her
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinamen, and the cold-blooded signs,
And the girls down by the strip-tease shows, go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me

No, I don’t want your sympathy, the fugitives say
That the streets aren’t for dreaming now
And manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories,
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me

And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailor,
And the old men in wheelchairs know
And Mathilda’s the defendant, she killed about a hundred,
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me

And it’s a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace,
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on an
Old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers
And goodnight to Mathilda, too

Continue reading “I’m not dead yet”

I’ve been working on learning scripting languages, such as PHP, javaScript and CGI/Perl… …

Loaded Apache on my machine, and PHP 5-point, uh… something or other… Apache fired right up. On the other hand, I couldn’t get the PHP module to communicate to the server. Went online to Google Groups– apparently I was on the right track, because I had already tried everything that was suggested– before I posted in the first place. No go…

Then one person suggested that I go to a site called “Apache Friends”. They have a customized distribution of Apache called XAMPP which is easy to install and administer, and it has all the fixin’s: PHP, MySQL, etc. Loaded it, and it worked right out of the gate. Had to load mod_perl on top of that to run my CGI scripts, but for the most part it was effortless. I finished a basic PHP tutorial and I’m starting on a PHP/MySQL tutorial next.

In the meantime (like trying to learn three scripting languages at one time– without a natural talent for learning languages– leaves one with much in the way of free time), I’ve been job-hunting (i’m sick to death of being poor) and my sole amusement has been warpng the tutorial exercises into something amusing enough to keep me from pulling my hair out or falling asleep.

A couple of these mildly amusing exercises are here:

madlibs and a motivational poster titled Vision.