Siniša

the knife

Also very excited about The Knife's new album, Silent Shout. The Knife are Swedish brother-and-sister duo Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson.

Although three absolute major electronica pearls were extracted from Deep Cuts as singles - heartbeats, you take my breath away, and pass this on - the album as a whole was not as exciting - too quirky and electropop even for an electropop quirkiness fan as I am.

Silent Shout, the single out this week in the UK, sounds more grown-up, somewhat a bit dark with deep voices instead of the over-excited, high-pitched vocals we were used to in any of the single from Deep Cuts.

i've heard it all before

Sorry is Madonna's second single out of Confessions on a dancefloor. It is selling enough to get to #1 on next week's singles chart which will give Madonna a 12th UK #1.

Of course I bought it. Both CDs.

The single has an utterly camp Pet Shop Boys remix with Neil Tennant vocals on it and other not too interesting remixes by Paul Oakenfold, Green Velvet and Man With A Guitar.

In the past few days, Madonna also won a Brit Award for Best International Female, and has won Sexiest Female at the NME Awards.

this sunday

Today I am one week past 30.
Last week I met Siniša [more about him later on]. This morning he took me for a dip on one of the Hampstead Heath ponds.

Yes, I went for a dip. Yes, the water temperature was 4 degrees. Yes, that is very cold.

What a great experience.
Got there by bike so had to cool down for about 15 minutes before taking my clothes off in the cold of the morning (well 11am), put my swimming trunks on and go for a cold shower to get my body used to the temperature. My body was releasing steam when I left the shower.

Then, it was time for the dip. Since it was the first time, Siniša suggested I'd get in the water but only to my waist level. And so I did and it was painful on my feet and legs but thoroughly energetic.

A few people in London go there every day at 6am throughout Winter before going to work.

This is a text I found on the Hampstead Heath community website about the ponds.

Hampstead pond swimmers triumph
Hard-core Hampstead Heath swimmers have won the right to keep a century old tradition alive and swim unsupervised during the winter.

In a battle that reached the high court, the Corporation of London ruled swimmers were not permitted to use the pools when lifeguards were not on duty. However, lifeguard hours had been cut back, meaning many swimmers could not go for swims before work - a tradition that goes back to the 1860s.

Swimmers report it's deeply therapeutic to get up at 6am, make your way to the ponds, plunge into the icy water in total darkness, and then get to your city desk by 9am. They extol the virtues of this revitalising, healthy regime.

Hampstead Heath's three ponds have their own unique cultures, with hard-core regulars swimming even when the pond edges are iced over, rain or shine. In summer, the single-sex ponds attract gays in search of talent.

Originally Hampstead's ponds were dug out as reservoirs for London's water supply in the 17th and 18th centuries. Three of them are used for bathing, one mixed, one for the ladies, and one for the men. Boaters and fishers also regularly use the ponds.

["the gays in search of talent"... Who wrote this? Queen Victoria?]

last sunday

Last Sunday it was the b'day party.
Lots of friends came round for drinks at The Retro Bar.
I had a brilliant time.

the 30s - part one

Half way through the first day of my 30s.

Phone calls from Mum & Dad, Uncle Antonio that lives in Fernao Ferro, and Aunt Maria Antonia that lives in Bern. (International family we are)
Text messages from Ricardo and Luis.
Susana was the first to shout Happy Borthday to me though. The first minute of the day, right after midnight. And she got me the Banksy book - Wall And Peace.

So far I'm feeling bored like I would on a normal Sunday morning. Waiting for Christine and Luis to get here so that we go for a curry somewhere in Brick Lane.

I've burned the CDs for the party later on - big mix: Antony And The Johnsons, The Vengaboys, Kelis, The Kings of Convenience, Mariza, etc.

the 20s

Today is my last day as a 20-something. I should go wild, do something outrageous like getting high on crack-cocaine, hire a 3rd-world-ugly rent boy, or smash a car's window. Maybe I'll just go for a curry, an outrageous one.



When I was 20 it was 1996. 3rd year of Uni. The 20s are a depressing era for everybody. I had to take buses from my suburb on the South bank of the Tagus to get to Uni everyday. Just the thought of it makes me cringe.
How do we all survive our 20s without commiting suicide is beyond me. Well, we make it through.

At least in '96 the Spice Girls started to make our lives more meaningful.
Yo! I tell you what I want, what I really really want!

My mid-20s were not remarkable. A few good episodes like meeting Ricardo and everyone that came with him, Penha de Franca, Bairro Alto, Lux, Hua-Li-Tou, life in Barcelona, Cangrejo, etc, amongst other numbing and unworthwhile experiences. Life got better on my late 20s when I moved to London and started to feel more comfortable with myself and life itself. This was 2003.

Tomorrow I will enter the 30ers group. Tomorrow I shall celebrate.

Feb 12