Saturday, July 01, 2006

lily, nigel, m.c.

my poem a man's guide to winning a woman's heart is now up at lily - i am thrilled to be part of it! wonderful issue, as usual.

as for writing, nothing much over the last week or so. perhaps something will come this weekend.

i was very pleased to discover that even before me and a few of my friends, someone had a thing about the name nigel: julian barnes. here's an excerpt from his novel talking it over (which i enjoyed reading, made me chuckle and smirk quite a few times):

Stuart's been bleating on about how I changed my name, hasn't he? He's obsessed by things like that, you know. He's got this really boring name – Stuart Hughes, I ask you, there's a career in soft furnishings for you, no qualifications needed except the perfect name, sir, and you've got it – and he's quite complacent about answering to it for the rest of his days. But Oliver used to be called Nigel. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Or rather, not. Or rather, Thanks, Mum. Anyway, you can't go through the whole of your life being called Nigel, can you? You can't even go through a whole book being called Nigel. Some names simply aren't appropriate after a while. Say you were called Robin, for instance. Well that's a perfectly good monicker up to the age of about nine, but pretty soon you'd have to do something about it, wouldn't you? Change your name by deed-poll to Samson, or Goliath, or something. And with some appellations, the contrary applies. Like Walter, for instance. You can't be Walter in a pram. You can't be Walter until you're about seventy-five in my view. So if they're going to christen you Walter they'd better put a couple of names in front of it, one for your psell in the pram plus another for the long haul up to becoming Walter. So they might call you Robin Bartholomew Walter, for example. Pretty duff, in my opinion, but doubtless it somewhere pleases.

So I swapped Nigel for Oliver, which was always my second name. Nigel Oliver Russell – there, i pronounce it without an encrimsoned cheek. I went up for my first term at York called Nigel and I came back as Oliver. What's so surprising? It's no stranger than joining the army and coming home on your first leave with a moustache. A mere rite of passage. But for some reason old Stuart can't get over it.


(Julian Barnes, Talking It Over)

i found out that the painter who should paint me is m c escher, because
Open and raw, you would let your true self show for your portrait. And even if your painting turned out a bit dark, it would be honest.
and who should paint your portrait?


the poem title generator is still operating. liz and sharon have written (more) PTG-triggered poems, carl and lauren are contemplating swapping their titles, which is not really acceptable - they must have missed the small print:
no swapping allowed unless you also swap your personalities, your income, your favourite t-shirt and the cereal you usually eat for breakfast.

oh and - i am addicted to google earth. looking up lots of places i have travelled. uluru looks amazing.

song of the day: stockholm syndrome by muse

12 comments:

lorguru said...

"Your an expressive soul who shows many emotions, with many subtleties
Only a master painter could represent your glorious contradictions " ...which means Pablo Piccaso should paint my portriat, which is exactly who I would have expected.
Congrats on the poem up at Lily!

SarahJane said...

***Who Should Paint You: Gustav Klimt***
"Sensual and gorgeous, you would inspire an enchanting portrait..
With just enough classic appeal to be hung in any museum!"

ooooh, i'm extra impressed with myself. or they have mixed me up with my pretty chocolate lab.

Do you know the old band XTC? They had a poem called "Making Plans for Nigel." Was a cool band.

congrats on lily. will certainly be over to read.

michi said...

aha, ladies, i see, i am in good company! though i hope, sarah, that they mean the PORTRAIT should be hung in a museum, not YOU! be careful, those artists, you know ...

i remember xtc though i don't remember the nigel thing.

m

Arlene said...

whoooopeeee, congrats on the lily publication! did you let sepp read it? especially the part: do not watch a game on consecutive evenings? hee.

hahaha! love the julian barnes quote. he's got a point about some names not being appropriate for certain ages. walter is rather popular in italy. never understood the charm.

i got roy lichtenstein (who the heck is that?):
larger than life, your personality overshadows everyone in the room. a painter would tend to portray you with a bit of added flair!


a.

michi said...

*L* yes, made me chuckle too, very appropriate at the moment, the games line, isn't it?

i agree about thte name - there are some in austria that are nice for kids but you cannot imagine an 80 year old man of that name, and vice versa.

you never heard of lichtenstein?? seriously? pop art. great stuff!
check him out!

m x

Liz said...

Fantastic! Lily is another great e-zine find...love your poem and how everything is down to a 't' :0)

The portrait thingy seems like fun and revealing...still got to do it.

Liz

Collin Kelley said...

I've been meaning to do this for awhile, so here's my answers for the poem title generator :)

I Wednesday

II Paris

III Hounds of Love by Kate Bush
Diva by Annie Lennox
So by Peter Gabriel

IV c) They fill out all that space in my shoes really nicely.

V a) Ethel = Lucy
b) Austria = Dancing bears
c) mellifluous = singing

VI c) Burnt Bottom

VII c) If He Were Alive Today, Mayhap, Mr. Morgan Would Sit on the Midget's Lap

Shelley said...

Michi, my PTG-inspired something is here.

Thanks for turning the crank!

(Going to treat myself to Lily after we sit down and get our pesky bills paid.)

michi said...

thanks liz!

collin - ah! gabriel, always a sure sign of quality. *LOL* and you clearly have read your john irving, haven't you? an unusual association, that one. i hope you are not disappointed when i tell you that you won't bump into dancing bears everywhere in our neck of the woods ...

shelly - thanks for the note, and i left a note on your blog re the poem!

m

Unknown said...

Congrats on the poem m!

I've always liked the name Nigel. I like exotic names like that -- of course I'm sure there are places where it is common and not exotic, but for me it is.

michi said...

really? oops you should not read my comments on the name then ... tee-hee. the name that triggered the infamous nigel series ...

of course nobody in austria is called nigel. but we have our own horrible names here. trust me. :)

m

Collin Kelley said...

Wasn't sure you'd get The Hotel New Hampshire reference. Glad you did. :) That book really touched me, so whenever I think of Austria now, I always think of dancing bears. Sigh...

Wait...so what's my title? lol