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Popularity Contest

Got my ‘official’ letter giving the starting day of my ‘Work Experience Provision’ course today. Next Monday it is.

It says: ‘We would be grateful if you could arrive ten minutes early, due to the popularity of this training opportunity, we cannot guarantee your place if you arrive late.’ Notwithstanding the lousy punctuation (there should be a period after ‘early’), the idea of a course which is mandatory—if you’ve been unemployed for 18 months, you get shoved on this or lose your benefit—being ‘popular’ is absolutely hysterical.
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Just a Job, Honest

I’ve just finished reading Doug Warren’s official James Cagney biography. After the Orson one, I was in a biog mood (actually, a mood to read more on Orson, but that’ll have to wait), and mom recommended this, which she’d read and enjoyed some time ago.

I’m not a big Cagney fan, really. I think he was a great personality and a fine actor, but many of the films he appeared in were not to my taste. (Reading this book, ironically, I find they often weren’t to Cagney’s taste either.) With Cagney being a rather private person, and this book being authorised, it’s a pretty slim volume, and eschews a lot of in-depth probing… but there’s still some interesting insight.
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I Don’t Need No Steenkin’ Hot Weather

Yesterday was Shopping Day™, and I went into Birmingham. The weather continues to displease me. First thing in the morning, it’s chilly; by noon, it’s blisteringly hot; by late afternoon, a cold wind has been added to the mix. I don’t know, maybe this inconsistency is what Global Warming is about. All I know for sure is, it’s incredibly annoying. Particularly the blisteringly hot bit… but then, I’m no Summer Fan.

Anyhow, I bought a video: Touch of Evil. Oh no! Another Orson Welles film! (I bought The Third Man last month.) Yeah, well, I’m a fan, and since I’m not buying books at the moment—I’m still slogging through The Stand at present, with about 260 pages to go—I’m spending what little spare cash I have elsewhere. As with The Third Man, it’s been at least a decade since I saw this one. We’ll probably watch it tonight, so maybe I’ll comment further tonight or tomorrow.
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Pleasant Atmosphere

Today is a nice day. I’m not a big weather fan, but today it’s sunny without being dazzling and fairly warm without being unpleasantly hot. (If blinding sun and blistering heat is your thing, you may not agree with me.)

I had a brief errand to do this morning, and instead of my usual approach—to rush to my destination as fast as possible and hurry back—I took a longer route through our nearby park, pulled off my jacket and wandered around dreamily for a while. It was really nice. I didn’t even fret about skin cancer! (I’m very pale and get little sunlight…) There were a few people about, but the place seemed so peaceful and relaxing. I’ve forgotten what relaxing is in recent times, i.e. probably the last 20 years! Must do this again sometime; since our dog got ill (and later died), going through places like parks just hasn’t crossed my mind.
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