Valentine's day was yesterday

Nothing to see here move along.

Love Is Like Cocaine by Helen Fisher - From ecstasy to withdrawal, the lover resembles an addict

There’s No Such Thing as Everlasting Love by Emily Esfahani Smith - Are emotions no more than “micro-moments of positivity resonance? 

Masters of Love by Emily Esfahani Smith - Science says lasting relationships come down to — you guessed it —kindness and generosity

How to Pick Your Life Partner by Tim Urban - To a frustrated single person, life can often feel like this… (part 2 is here) 

Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex? by Kate Julian - Despite the easing of taboos and the rise of hookup apps, Americans are in the midst of a sex recession… 

No Labels, No Drama, Right? by Jordana Narin - Every time his name popped up on my phone, my heart raced. Still, we were never more than semiaffiliated…

Why Developing Serious Relationships in Your 20s Matters by Elizabeth Spiers - Are you in your twenties? Have you been told that now is your time to build your own life and not worry about things like settling down and having children?

In Relationships, Be Deliberate by Emily Esfahani Smith and Galena Rhoades - For milestones like moving in together, intent (rather than chronology) determines success

This is Emo by Chuck Klosterman - No woman will ever satisfy me. I know that now, and I would never try to deny it. But this is actually okay, because I will never satisfy a woman, either 

Love by Lauren Slater - Scientists say that the brain chemistry of infatuation is akin to mental illness—which gives new meaning to ‘madly in love’ 

Go West young man

Google AI:

One of the consistent challenges when navigating with Google Maps is figuring out the right direction to go: sure, the app tells you to go north - but many times you're left wondering, "Where exactly am I, and which way is north?" Over the years, we've attempted to improve the accuracy of the blue dot with tools like GPS and compass, but found that both have physical limitations that make solving this challenge difficult, especially in urban environments.

I agree, but with this caveat, I am always left wondering "Where exactly am I, and which way is north?

Visual Positioning Service (VPS) may transform me from Morlock to Eloi.

There is nothing more real than magic

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Albert Finney, but it gives me a chance to pass on a solid gold story of his salt-of-the-earthiness.

Apparently, when he was down-sizing he asked my friend Frankie (how on earth he knew her I know not) to help by getting rid of his bric-à-brac via car boot sales. He warned her though, not to sell on anything that could be traced back to him which meant that she was "stuck" with items like a copy of Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu inscribed to him by his then wife Anouk Aimée, a Tiffany photo-frame engraved to Daddy Warbucks which featured in the movie Annie, and the Marley company sign from the movie Scrooge.

What shall I watch to celebrate the great man?

Geoffrey Firmin: How, unless you drink as I do, can you hope to understand the beauty of an old indian woman playing dominoes with a chicken?

Under the Volcano ought to do it. He got an Oscar nod for Geoffrey Firmin in that. A part likely to speak to me I think.

You with your head in the clouds

Spektrix raises £5 million from Foresight VCTs to fuel growth and innovation

Spektrix and Foresight are pleased to announce a £5 million growth capital investment into Spektrix Limited, the UK’s leading provider of cloud-based ticketing, marketing and fundraising software for the arts.

The investment on behalf of Foresight VCT plc and Foresight 4 VCT plc will be used to accelerate product development and support Spektrix’s international expansion, particularly in North America where it is already working with nearly 100 arts organisations. As part of the investment, Foresight has taken a minority equity position in the company.

Founded in 2007, Spektrix was an early pioneer in bringing cloud technology to the arts. It is now the UK industry’s leading SaaS solution, encompassing ticketing, marketing, fundraising, analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM). It has been recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies by the Sunday Times TechTrack 100 and FT Future 100, and in 2018 helped almost 400 organisations to sell more than £500m of tickets.

The software delivers key digital business capabilities to arts and entertainment organisations, enabling organisations like London’s Barbican Centre, New York Theatre Workshop and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music to deepen customer relationships, understand sales trends in real time, and power audience development.

Michael Nabarro, co-founder and CEO of Spektrix, commented: “The goal of Spektrix is to empower arts and entertainment organisations with the tools they need to excel in the evolving arts economy. This injection of growth capital gives us additional resources to expand strategically, increase the pace of innovation, and fully realise our ambitions for the sector on both sides of the Atlantic.

“This is the first external investment we have taken as a company and that is partly testament to Foresight’s reputation and approach to managing relationships with its portfolio companies. Foresight fully supports our aims and will work with us to do more of what we already do – but faster and better.”

This is interesting to me as we work with Spektrix quite a lot. I understand if you aren't quite so fascinated.

London Irish 20 - 22 Old Rutlishians

The scalp of London Irish is added to those of Wasps and Horsham as the Old Ruts' National Under 18 Cup campaign continues.

Mike Stallard says that no Ruts side has ever beaten the Irish away before.

Yesterday when I was young

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

I went to see Dad in Belle Vue yesterday. He was in his room in the chair. At first he was asleep, then he was talking in his sleep, but when he woke up he launched straight into a conversation with me. Actually he launched straight into the middle of a conversation as if it was an ongoing debate with which we were both familiar. After a while he fell asleep again and I left to go and see Mum.

Waking or asleep,

Thou of death must deem

Things more true and deep

Than we mortals dream,

Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream?

If yesterday was tomorrow, today would be Saturday. What day is today?

After all the ducking and diving involved in connecting Bronwydd Avenue to the interwebs I arrived without a device that could take advantage.

This post is a back fill.

Sobbin' fit to be tied

I thinks it is entirely possible that we won't see a Broadway or West End revival of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers any time soon.

All together now!

Tell ya 'bout them sobbin' women

Who lived in the Roman days.

It seems that they all went swimmin'

While their men was off to graze.

Well, a Roman troop was ridin' by

And saw them in their "me oh my",

So they took 'em all back home to dry.

Least that's what Plutarch says.

Oh yes!

Them a woman was sobbin', sobbin', sobbin'

Fit to be tied.

Ev'ry muscle was throbbin', throbbin'

From that riotous ride.

Oh they cried and kissed and kissed and cried

All over that Roman countryside

So don't forget that when you're takin' a bride.

From that riotous ride!

They never did return their plunder

The victor gets all the loot.

They carried them home, by thunder,

To rotundas small but cute.

And you've never seens so,

They tell me, such downright domesticity.

With a Roman baby on each knee

Named "Claudius" and "Brute"

Oh yes!

Them a women was sobbin', sobbin', passin' them nights.

While the Romans was goin' out hobbin', nobbin'

Startin' up fights.

They kept occupied by sewin' lots of little old togas

For them tots and sayin' "someday women folk'll have rights."

Passin' all o' them nights.

Just sewin'!

While the Romans had fights.

"Hey listen to this"

Now when their men folk went to fetch 'em

Them women would not be fetched.

It seems them Romans ketch 'em

That their lady friends stay ketched.

Now let this be because it's true,

A lesson to the likes of you,

Treat 'em rough like them there Romans do

Or else they'll think you're tetched.

Oh yes!

Them a women was sobbin', sobbin',

Sobbin' buckets of tears

On account o' old dobbin',

Dobbin' really rattled their ears.

Oh they acted angry and annoyed

But secretly they was overjoyed

You must recall that when corralin' your streets

Oh, oh, oh, oh them poe little dears.

Oh yes

Them a women was sobbin', sobbin', sobbin' Oh yeah

Weepin' a ton Then sobbin' women

Just remember what Robin, Robin, Robin Oh yeah

Hood woulda done. Them sobbin women.

We'll be just like them three merry men

And make 'em all merry once again.

And though they'll be a sobbin' for a while

Oh yes!

We're gonna make them sobbin' women smile!

Doncaster

Scicluna Delicatessen and Coffee Bar, High Fisher Gate, Doncaster.

This Aladdin's Cave of a deli is in the same building as my hotel. Maybe I am getting old but this far outweighs yesterday's report Doncaster one of worst places in UK for a night out, new BBC survey says in my book.

I am also enjoying:

According to a 900-year-old historical quirk, the small Yorkshire town of Doncaster, 175 miles south of the border, is technically part of Scotland.

Doncaster was signed over to Scotland in 1136 by King Stephen of England as part of the Treaty of Durham, after King David successfully stormed large areas of northern England.

It remained in Scottish hands for 21 years until Henry II appeared to reclaim the town under English rule in 1157. But, it was never formally given back.

Harry Smythe is laughing about that somewhere as well.

Coming around again

On June 3, 2016 I wrote:

The dashboard instrument cluster on my Ford Focus seems to have given up the ghost this morning. The speedometer and the rev counter are stuck at zero, while the temperature and fuel gauges are both steady in the middle of their ranges, and the LCD mileometer is completely blank.
I need to drive down to Cardiff after work; tiresome doesn't begin to cover it.

The same thing has happened today but this time I am going to Doncaster.

Everybody passing by will sigh for Harry

I am leaving for Harry's funeral shortly. He was taken quickly by liver cancer shortly after retiring. I went to his 60th birthday party in November 2012. I remember that maybe more than 20 years ago he (and his wife Maureen) invite Kim and I around for dinner when we were fist involved and she didn't really know any of my friends in Whitton. Typically generous and thoughtful

We will be retiring to the Admiral Nelson after the service. Too much perspective.

Dead Trees

After years, I think, of reading almost exclusively on kindle someone has recommended and lent me an actual physical book so today I will be embarking on The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies.

Also I was a little late getting up and at 'em this morning, so I was still at home when a gardener who was working at another house offered to get rid of the dead fir tree in my front garden for £50.

My carbon footprint is bigger than average this morning.

Nasty, brutish and short

The first trailer for Hobbs and Shaw is out; Second Unit Director, Jonnie's Uncle Simon (see Icons passim). He still seems to be burnishing his action credentials, that's for sure.

He has wrapped The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle with Robert Downey Jr and Maleficent 2 with Angelina Jolie since then. It is astounding how long big movies spend in post-production. Actors promoting them must sometimes struggle to conjure anecdotes about work they did a couple of years ago when it is eventually released.

The film he worked on before Hobbs and Shaw, Robin Hood with Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx, might have been the biggest box office flop of last year. Tricky old business.

Hippopotamus

When Camille Lopez's drop goal put Wales 16-0 behind against France on the cusp of half time yesterday, I gave up on watching the game in public at the Charles Holden and slunk back home to stew in my juices only to see an amazing comeback seal a 24-19 win for les  Gallois.

That was strange and unexpected but not as strange and unexpected as Hppopotamus by Sparks to which I was alerted by the increasingly essential Sodajerker podcast.