I do realize that I will not have any affect on their sales as to say that my readership is small is more than an understatement. But I am peeved.
One of the things I was missing most while out and about was my music. So I finally bought an iPod October 2007. Ok, maybe I should have done some research, but I didn't have much time and I was influenced by the advertising and sales.
I bought an 80gb Classic iPod, loaded it up with all the music I could find and went on a contract to Kenya. I enjoyed my music during November and December, but by early January, it was not charging anymore. Only one click on Google turned up all kinds of complaints about the batteries. I was in Kenya.
We had an expat returning to Amsterdam in Feb, so he did me a favour and dropped it off at the Mac repair centre there. Yup, the battery was screwed. Mid-March, they emailed me in Kenya to let me know they had a replacement for me in Amsterdam to pick up. We had an expat coming down the last week of March. He agreed to pick it up and bring it down for me.
I don't have my own computer, yet. This means it is always a hassle for me to load my songs. So I wasn't able to properly load my tunes to my iPod until June, when I got to the UK. I then enjoyed my music during July and August. However, I didn't want to be affected by music on the camino and I didn't want the extra weight, so I left it behind. On November 10th, I pulled it out and connected it to a computer to charge, but.... oh, oh. A message on the iPod advised me that it must be restored. F@#*!! I unplugged it to do the next day. Next day, NOTHING, it wasn't even being registered by the computer.
Today I am in Amsterdam. I went to the tech support centre and yup, the iPod is screwed. BUT my warranty is up. They can't do anything for me. Despite the fact that my iPod was replaced in Feb, and this current iPod has been in my hands for less than a full year, my one year warranty is up. I let off some controlled steam, and they agreed that much was lacking in customer support, and in the products, but they could only advise me to contact customer service by email.
I will do this, but I am leaving for Ethiopia, with no music.
11.11.08
lucky me!
Daily Telegraph Review - Barbican, London on 10th November 2008
John Martyn, Grace and Danger Live: he's the guv'nor
Mark Skipworth reviews John Martyn, Grace and Danger Live at the Barbican in London on 10th November 2008
All the greats have got one: that painful, intense, atmospheric studio album that was so emotionally demanding to make that it could rarely, if ever, be recreated in live performance.
Gorgeous guitar runs: John Martyn, who performed his Grace and Danger album in its entirety at the Barbican
Only after decades of distance are the artists finally able to grapple with those monsters. First was David Bowie with the icy Low, Lou Reed followed with his "unperformable" Berlin and just last week, Van Morrison revisited Astral Weeks in two live shows in America. And now there's John Martyn, enfant terrible of the 1970s.
Grace and Danger he promised; grace and danger we got. At the Barbican in London last night, before an audience of devotees, Martyn set off on his "long journey into misery... divorce... lawsuit..." His post-punk album of 1980 stands as a cult classic, with its rich vocal textures, processed electric guitar sounds and fusion of just about every genre - pop, rock, jazz, blues and reggae.
It draws on the agony of his collapsed marriage at that time and documents his desperation in an apparent attempt to win back his estranged wife. Heavy stuff. But it is also a technical marvel and a watershed for Martyn who had become almost typecast as a brilliant but unfashionable exponent of acoustic blues, Martyn produced a breathtakingly ethereal facsimile of this great album.
The seeming ease of his rich, cello-like singing voice and gorgeous guitar runs - full of echo and delay - was in shocking contrast to his "late Brando" appearance, arriving on stage in a wheelchair with a considerable part of his right leg missing. Some People Are Crazy, Johnny Too Bad, Sweet Little Mystery and Baby Please Come Home were even better than the album versions. Lookin' On was truly outstanding as it faultlessly blended electric piano, fretless bass and saxophone, all orchestrated by Martyn with the coolest click of his fingers.
Only after he had delivered the entire album - "... and that was Grace and Danger" - did he exchange his Gibson for acoustic guitar to parade such classic songs as Solid Air, May You Never and Don't Want To Know.
The audience were ecstatic. "You're the guv'nor, John," shouted one fan.
And he was.
Rating ***** [5 stars]
John Martyn, Grace and Danger Live: he's the guv'nor
Mark Skipworth reviews John Martyn, Grace and Danger Live at the Barbican in London on 10th November 2008
All the greats have got one: that painful, intense, atmospheric studio album that was so emotionally demanding to make that it could rarely, if ever, be recreated in live performance.
Gorgeous guitar runs: John Martyn, who performed his Grace and Danger album in its entirety at the Barbican
Only after decades of distance are the artists finally able to grapple with those monsters. First was David Bowie with the icy Low, Lou Reed followed with his "unperformable" Berlin and just last week, Van Morrison revisited Astral Weeks in two live shows in America. And now there's John Martyn, enfant terrible of the 1970s.
Grace and Danger he promised; grace and danger we got. At the Barbican in London last night, before an audience of devotees, Martyn set off on his "long journey into misery... divorce... lawsuit..." His post-punk album of 1980 stands as a cult classic, with its rich vocal textures, processed electric guitar sounds and fusion of just about every genre - pop, rock, jazz, blues and reggae.
It draws on the agony of his collapsed marriage at that time and documents his desperation in an apparent attempt to win back his estranged wife. Heavy stuff. But it is also a technical marvel and a watershed for Martyn who had become almost typecast as a brilliant but unfashionable exponent of acoustic blues, Martyn produced a breathtakingly ethereal facsimile of this great album.
The seeming ease of his rich, cello-like singing voice and gorgeous guitar runs - full of echo and delay - was in shocking contrast to his "late Brando" appearance, arriving on stage in a wheelchair with a considerable part of his right leg missing. Some People Are Crazy, Johnny Too Bad, Sweet Little Mystery and Baby Please Come Home were even better than the album versions. Lookin' On was truly outstanding as it faultlessly blended electric piano, fretless bass and saxophone, all orchestrated by Martyn with the coolest click of his fingers.
Only after he had delivered the entire album - "... and that was Grace and Danger" - did he exchange his Gibson for acoustic guitar to parade such classic songs as Solid Air, May You Never and Don't Want To Know.
The audience were ecstatic. "You're the guv'nor, John," shouted one fan.
And he was.
Rating ***** [5 stars]
2.11.08
Buen Camino!
El Camino de Santiago/The Way of St. James is a long distance footpath recognized by UNESCO for its historical and spiritual significance. Would I realize a deeper meaning in my life while walking the camino? All I initially wanted to achieve was completion of something started. It hasn´t been a great year and I just wanted to finish something with intention.
And I did.
After 35 days walking the Camino Frances (the most popular path of the many caminos) and a mid-camino detour walking 4 days to the end of the earth with a good friend, the Camino Finisterre, I arrived in the very beautiful city of Santiago.
It was indeed great to arive, but when I was within 150km of Santiago I became quite anxious. And I wasn´t the only one. We all were feeling this way. We weren´t ready to finish. Whereas I had been pushing myself each day, I was now slowing to almost a crawl. I did 8km one day! But I was able to prolong the camino by a few days. Then after an anxious night and much vino tinto at an albergue at the 40km mark, I decided enough was enough, and it was time to finish. I felt good walking the final few kilometers. It was the best way to arrive in Santiago, after a long walk of almost 900km, but I was also sad that it was over.
I stepped onto the path in St. Jean Pied de Port in France, 20km east of the Spanish border, and I now see that I couldn´t have timed this better. On the path we would occasionally hear bits about a global financial disaster, but only now am I learning how spectacular this has really been. With a copy of The Guardian and the Economist, it is time to do some reading. I am grateful now for having had only my own demons to deal with during this time.
Other things that I have been grateful for while walking the camino:
* gel-lined tubular bandage, cut to desired length, discovered in a pharmacy in Pamplona on day 3; worked like magic and saved my toes further grief
* good weather - only 3 days of heavy rain and a few very cold days, but otherwise great walking weather
* good health and no injuries - a cold, a swollen gland, one missing toenail and other bruised toenails, but nothing serious
* umbrella/walking stick passed on to me, provided much support on hills, on long days, against the rain and sun; made me a recognizable character on the route, sometimes called Mary Poppins
* altho I have never wanted to use earplugs, I now appreciate the benefits of using them
* yellow arrows that guided me along the way, altho now I am back to making my own decisions
* all those who shared the camino with me, walking with me, sharing their stories and listening to mine
Some of the many camino characters:
* Canadians and Germans seemed to be the most numerous on the path, followed by all the others, including Koreans, Japanese, Bolivians
* a very funny French guy walking from Marseilles with his beloved donkey
* a Dutch woman who rode her bicycle from Holland to St. Jean, and then started walking to Santiago from there
* a Canadian couple I stopped who were walking in the reverse direction. They were on their way back to St. Jean after just walking from St. Jean to Santiago. There were many others doing the same thing
* a German guy who started walking from home in Bonn on his 32nd birthday on June 16th
* and then a guy who has walked from Basel, Switzerland and another from Frankfurt, Germany
* many many pilgrims had walked the camino at least once before, including an 84 year old man from California on his 4th camino
* 6 Finnish pilgrims who had been selected from 2000 candidates in a contest. They were being filmed along the route, in the dorms, at breakfast, etc for a reality show to be aired in Finland next year.
* a Finnish woman with scoliosis, finishing this year, after doing a section for each of the last 5 years
* a blind man and his sighted partner
* a woman in a wheelchair doing wheelchair accessible sections with the help of a crew of friends
And me, how did I fare? When I started I was frustrated, wondering if the camino was a sporting event (people setting alarms and rushing out before the sun had even risen), tourist activity (people doing a couple sections in groups by bus and souveniers galore), or a commercial exploit (profits to be made all along the route). But after awhile, none of this mattered, and the camino became personal. I learned more about my capacity - I felt very pleased after a couple of 38km days. There were more than a few tough emotional days. And I saw that the camino was an intense version of the life I am already leading. I think a few hundred kilometers more would do me some good. I need more time and I am really missing the walking.
However, it is time to get on to other things. A visit to San Sebastian, then to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, and for mid-November I have accepted another contract with MSF, a nice short 3month commitment in Ethiopia. I will also get around to sorting out the more than 1000 photos I took (!!!).
It has been awhile since I have felt this, but I am again feeling very fortunate.
And I did.
After 35 days walking the Camino Frances (the most popular path of the many caminos) and a mid-camino detour walking 4 days to the end of the earth with a good friend, the Camino Finisterre, I arrived in the very beautiful city of Santiago.
It was indeed great to arive, but when I was within 150km of Santiago I became quite anxious. And I wasn´t the only one. We all were feeling this way. We weren´t ready to finish. Whereas I had been pushing myself each day, I was now slowing to almost a crawl. I did 8km one day! But I was able to prolong the camino by a few days. Then after an anxious night and much vino tinto at an albergue at the 40km mark, I decided enough was enough, and it was time to finish. I felt good walking the final few kilometers. It was the best way to arrive in Santiago, after a long walk of almost 900km, but I was also sad that it was over.
I stepped onto the path in St. Jean Pied de Port in France, 20km east of the Spanish border, and I now see that I couldn´t have timed this better. On the path we would occasionally hear bits about a global financial disaster, but only now am I learning how spectacular this has really been. With a copy of The Guardian and the Economist, it is time to do some reading. I am grateful now for having had only my own demons to deal with during this time.
Other things that I have been grateful for while walking the camino:
* gel-lined tubular bandage, cut to desired length, discovered in a pharmacy in Pamplona on day 3; worked like magic and saved my toes further grief
* good weather - only 3 days of heavy rain and a few very cold days, but otherwise great walking weather
* good health and no injuries - a cold, a swollen gland, one missing toenail and other bruised toenails, but nothing serious
* umbrella/walking stick passed on to me, provided much support on hills, on long days, against the rain and sun; made me a recognizable character on the route, sometimes called Mary Poppins
* altho I have never wanted to use earplugs, I now appreciate the benefits of using them
* yellow arrows that guided me along the way, altho now I am back to making my own decisions
* all those who shared the camino with me, walking with me, sharing their stories and listening to mine
Some of the many camino characters:
* Canadians and Germans seemed to be the most numerous on the path, followed by all the others, including Koreans, Japanese, Bolivians
* a very funny French guy walking from Marseilles with his beloved donkey
* a Dutch woman who rode her bicycle from Holland to St. Jean, and then started walking to Santiago from there
* a Canadian couple I stopped who were walking in the reverse direction. They were on their way back to St. Jean after just walking from St. Jean to Santiago. There were many others doing the same thing
* a German guy who started walking from home in Bonn on his 32nd birthday on June 16th
* and then a guy who has walked from Basel, Switzerland and another from Frankfurt, Germany
* many many pilgrims had walked the camino at least once before, including an 84 year old man from California on his 4th camino
* 6 Finnish pilgrims who had been selected from 2000 candidates in a contest. They were being filmed along the route, in the dorms, at breakfast, etc for a reality show to be aired in Finland next year.
* a Finnish woman with scoliosis, finishing this year, after doing a section for each of the last 5 years
* a blind man and his sighted partner
* a woman in a wheelchair doing wheelchair accessible sections with the help of a crew of friends
And me, how did I fare? When I started I was frustrated, wondering if the camino was a sporting event (people setting alarms and rushing out before the sun had even risen), tourist activity (people doing a couple sections in groups by bus and souveniers galore), or a commercial exploit (profits to be made all along the route). But after awhile, none of this mattered, and the camino became personal. I learned more about my capacity - I felt very pleased after a couple of 38km days. There were more than a few tough emotional days. And I saw that the camino was an intense version of the life I am already leading. I think a few hundred kilometers more would do me some good. I need more time and I am really missing the walking.
However, it is time to get on to other things. A visit to San Sebastian, then to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, and for mid-November I have accepted another contract with MSF, a nice short 3month commitment in Ethiopia. I will also get around to sorting out the more than 1000 photos I took (!!!).
It has been awhile since I have felt this, but I am again feeling very fortunate.
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