A story in three (very short) parts.

1. What's this?

2. Hmm...fascinating!

3. Yes, I have decided it will be mine. You may not use it.

Wimbledon Pictures

The Williams sisters played doubles at the end, so we sneaked down to the front for a better view...

Murray vs. Santoro

Thought I should get this picture while Cavaday was ahead, as I had a feeling it wouldn't last :)

Forgot to take a picture during the Nadal match... but if you don't know what he looks like by now, just turn on the coverage and wait for the commentators to start fawning over his body. If he gets to the final, I'd like to propose a drinking game in which you have to do a shot (of Pimms, natch) every time a commentator says the word 'biceps'. Unconscious by the end of the first set is my guess.

weddings, tennis and work

Had a fun weekend in Devon for Fan and Pete's wedding. It was quite the occasion. They hired out this place for the whole weekend. As oldest brother of the bride, James (and therefore me too) got to stay in one of the very cool rooms: Puccini. We arrived on the Friday night and had champagne and lasagne and more wine before crashing out. On Saturday morning, we thought about playing tennis, but the courts were very old and in poor repair, and it was raining, so we decided against it. The rain continued, which was really sad (and annoying, given that the days either side of the weekend were beautiful and sunny) because the afternoon activity was a fifties garden party. Pimms, sandwiches, cupcakes, boules and croquet - all of which would have been much more fun had it not been freezing and drizzling. Still, I suppose it was particularly English. James wore a linen suit and I wore this dress (but with a sparkly silver belt, rather than pink, no flower, and hot pink heels. oh and 50's curled hair of course). I was very pleased to have got the theme just right (some were rather less impressive), and it was fun for everyone to get dressed up. High point: someone who thought I looked like Christina Aguilera. Low point: someone who thought the ten year old I was with was my daughter. (I was outraged that someone thought I looked old enough to have a ten year old daughter... until I realised I am totally old enough to have a ten year old daughter. Sigh). At 4.30 everyone was called inside for the ceremony, for which the bride had changed into her really rather fabulous (but eye-wateringly expensive) Vera Wang wedding dress. The ceremony was lovely and was followed by a champagne reception and confetti (rose petal) throwing. Brief respite to go and warm up and get changed for the evening, which was black tie. I love getting dressed up, but having to get into my second pair of high heels for the day, when I normally live in my Converse All Stars was something of a shock to the system. Still, I managed to totter downstairs in time for champagne cocktails (kir royale...mmm), and then dinner (Brixham crab and salad followed by beef wellington with mash and asparagus followed by handmade chocolate profiteroles). By the time dinner was over, it was about 10.30pm. I stayed up to watch the bride and groom have their first dance (the wedding band's rather bizarre cover of The Smiths' 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' - a cool choice, even if strangely executed), but conked out around midnight. Got up reasonably early the next morning and drove back to London, where the cat was so happy to see us that she was running around faster than her legs could keep up with and kept falling over. Pretty damn adorable.

And now back to the real world. Well, back to work anyway. My new thing is to write 1000 words a day, and then that's it. No guilt if I can just finish that, and Mon-Fri only. Haven't done much today yet, but will get there, and I'm taking tomorrow off because we're going to Wimbledon (yay!!), but in general, this is working. I'm really going to try to get a lot done in the mornings so that I can have guilt-free tennis watching in the afternoons. I love Wimbledon fortnight! 

being quoted

Well, here we are again. After being interviewed in lots of different forms (papers, magazines, radio, TV) for my last job, I realised that I don't mind being interviewed at all. I'm not camera shy, I think I'm articulate - I come across well, and I get my point over, sometimes even in a soundbitey kind of ways. But what always stresses me out is that the end result is never what I thought it was going to be (with one exception, which was bizarrely enough, the longest TV interview I did, for a documentary, and even then it was still very stressful). Either I get misquoted, or worse still, quoted accurately but completely out of context, so I can't even say 'I didn't say that'. So anyway, I'm quoted in this week's NME. Page 39. And to be fair, my name is spelled correctly, my research title is spot on, and the first sentence of my quote is, word for word, what I said. However, I was asked for a few lines, so that's what I gave. The first one, which they printed was an introductory/context sentence. The second (and third, very short) sentence, which was NOT included, was my actual quote on the topic. I'm sure no one but me cares, and no one thinks that I sound like I haven't addressed the issue or I don't know what I'm talking about, apart from me. But I do! And it DOES bother me!. So here it is, for all five people who will maybe read this, the quote as it was supposed to be, not just the first sentence:

***

At a time where domestic violence is as prevalent as ever, and UK rape convictions are the lowest they have ever been, the mainstreaming of the 'torture porn' genre, whether in films, video games or t-shirts, is something to be very concerned about. Brown's initial violent act gives Madonna the black eye, the Crystal Castles make it sexy by putting it on their shirt, and then young people wear this image as a hipster badge, seemingly without any concern that they may be condoning and popularising violence against women. The responsibility for this phenomenon lies with all three.

***

Just using the first sentence makes me sound like a generic ass, in my opinion. I worry that 13 year old me is reading it, and thinking 'huh, 'Deborah Finding, researcher on sexual violence narratives in music at LSE's Gender Institute' (who, by the way "is strongly anti" - hurrah! can I get THAT on a t-shirt?) sounds like an old fart trying to spoil it for the rest of us'. Sigh.

Comment and tell me it's not so bad.

you sit in a basket and *I* will write a PhD, ok?

Trust/Tender Project

Please go here and vote for Trust (Tender) in the Best Educational category for the National Lottery funding. It's a domestic violence awareness project that's been doing some really good stuff. Click 'Trust', then, 'read more' and then you should be able to vote. Cheers :)

WTF

Can anyone believe this badge was being sold at the Republican convention? Lost for words...

this could be my favourite photo so far...

Woe is me

Waa waa waa... all the way home

I was supposed to be eating fine food and drinking fine wine last night at high table at St John's College, Oxford with some friends of mine. James and I set off in plenty of time on the bike (evening wear stashed in top box) so that we could do a little Blackwells-browsing before getting changed for dinner at 7. Not to be. About 20 minutes into our drive, the bike broke down and could not be persuaded otherwise. The AA said they'd be there within the hour and would take us to our destination, so I was still quite hopeful of getting there in time for dinner. However, two and a half hours later - the time we were supposed to be sitting down for dinner - we were still at the roadside. Finally, we were picked up in a truck by a man who I'm sorry to say fit every bigoted asshat stereotype you might associate with the job. Sigh. I was so miserable by then, I didn't even bother to respond. Got home and had takeaway Chinese... quite the comedown. By then I was also having trouble breathing, which I thought was to do with having sat at the side of the road amidst a whole heap of grasses and polleny beasts for three hours - but sadly, a day later this still hasn't worn off. Feeling really quite ill. We were supposed to see Laura Marling tonight in St James' church, Piccadilly, but I just couldn't face it. And I really like her! Two disappointments in two nights! Really, really hoping to feel better soon. I can't afford to get sick again - I've got SO much work to do. And I refuse to miss the fun on Friday, when Alice and I are going to Queens for quarter final day. Fingers crossed, one and all...

Charlotte Sometimes and The Cure

Don't know if anyone remembers either the book, or the Cure song of the same name, but this is the rather wonderful story of plagiarism, fandom, and what happened when the author met Robert Smith.

Part 1

Part 2

Does anyone think she might also make a case against 'Life On Mars'????

Favour

Please vote here for Shannon's video, 'Lily's Purple Plastic Purse' (you don't have to register or anything, just click) - oh and watch it while you're there, as it's super-cute :)

what was I thinking?

Normal service resumed herewith. Please comment with a caption for this one:

Regina Spektor

Ok, so this track should be working now. Enjoy!

kitten in the wild

well ok, maybe not *wild", but certainly she loves the garden... 

Music Time

Gentle readers, I try to keep my promises. Someone who reads this blog correctly identified me in a photograph, and won a prize. Hard as it is to try and make a mix CD for someone who has almost everything, I'm hoping there's at least one new song among this lot. And for the rest of you... everyone's a winner - happy listening!

If this band had existed when I was 15, this song would have been on every mix tape I made for someone. I've played it to death since discovering these guys:

Ben's Brother - Stuttering

A fine, happy song for summer (when it comes). Please take note of excellent and not at all gratuitous use of the 'mouth trumpet':

Victoria Vox - Buttercup

Love this song. I'm a sucker for slightly self-deprecating lyrics sung in a slightly quirky accent:

Antje Duvekot - Dandelion

Forget Martha, love her though I do, this is the female equivalent of Rufus Wainwright:

Nicole Atkins - Maybe Tonight

This is the most un-Regina Spektor like song Regina Spektor's ever done, and wouldn't be out of place over the final montage in an OC or Dawson's Creek soppy finale, but sometimes we all need a little cheese:

Regina Spektor - The Call

finally!

I can't really post without a cute kitten picture, so let's get it out of the way first:

Now, back to business. I *finally* finished the revisions for the Little Britain paper, so fingers crossed, the paper should be up on the electronic journal really soon. I'll link to it, and anyone with half an hour to spare (or however long it takes you to read 18 pages) can tell me what they think...

Celebrated by bunking off this afternoon. Watched Safina come back from match point down in the second set to finally beat the surly (yet admittedly brilliant) Sharapova. Match of the tournament so far, in my opinion. 

The kitten went for its first walk in the garden - we attached it to a little harness with a lead. She seemed to enjoy the garden once she'd stopped trying to bite the harness off and started exploring. We got slightly annoyed though as we noticed that bastard snails have eaten - and were still mid-munch in about 8 cases - half of our herbs :( Need to get some of that copper tape to put round the pots that they don't like. Or train the cat to kill them...

varsity blues

Alice and I drove down to Oxford yesterday to give the Varsity squad some practice before their match in  few weeks. We played sets against four of their pairs, and considered ourselves in our own private Varsity match, as we both went to Cambridge. We lost two sets 6-2, 6-1 but won two 6-1, 6-0, so at the end, the result was that Cambridge won by one game! Hee. It was fun though. Good to get some practice in against strong players too.

Wimbledon draw at the Hartswood this afternoon so will see if I can snaffle any more tickets. Fingers crossed. Am watching the French Open at the minute - would love to see Federer win it, it's the only Grand Slam left that still eludes him.

Went out with Stan on Friday night to see Jenny Eclair at the Bloomsbury. I have to say that she was absolutely awful. The biggest load of anti-feminist negativity about women and aging I have ever heard, I think. Just cliche after cliche about how men are always up for sex but women don't want it, or how she was so fat now (she's a size 12) - and I think describing yourself in ways that might fit a 90 year old when you're actually 48 is just ridiculous. I was expecting her to be all edgy and feminist and funky, but NO. 

Might see the Sex and the City movie today... at least that will be exactly what I expect... terrible as that may be :)