Category Archives: Mindfulness

But Serially, Folks

December 22, 2014Death, Mindfulness, Podcasts, ScienceIn Our Time, Philosophy, Serial, writingricky

Longsufferinggirlfriendoftheblogbeth has this great trick for helping a person suffering a bout of hiccups.

No, that was a Diet Irn Bru. — Surprise!

‘What did you have for lunch yesterday?’ she’ll ask.
Then, ‘What about the day before that?’
‘And the day before that?’

It really works. Although, I’m told, it loses efficacy with multiple treatments.

Go on. Try it. You don’t have to be suffering from hiccups.

[Another brilliant anti-hiccup strategy? Signing up for the apoplectic Tiny Letter here.]

Continue reading But Serially, Folks →

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The Beguiled Mind

December 15, 2014Art, Edinburgh, Mindfulness, ReviewsChristopher Orr, Talbot Rice Gallery, The Beguiled Eyericky

On Saturday, I was walking past George Heriot’s School on Lauriston Place again. This time, with Longsufferinggirlfriendoftheblogbeth. We carried on behind the back of the National Museum of Scotland, and the dome of the Old College seemed to both hang directly and vastly above us, and stubbornly remain blocks away.

It was neither, of course. The dome was at the far end of the quad as usual, as we approached the Old College from the south-west.

"Let's put down some grass. I don't think we need to worry about the class of '96 playing fitba any more." — So, not this angle, then.

[Click here to get an extra dose of apoplexy every week.] Continue reading The Beguiled Mind →

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The Bonfire

October 13, 2014Art, Classical Music, Mindfulness, Nerd Bait, Pop MusicArt Of Noise, Immanuel KantKant, Nerd Bait, Paul Morley, The Bonfirericky

So. I’ve got an admission to make….

This stroke survivor is in a band.

RRRAAAAWWWWKKKKKK!!! — Oi! You’ve spelled “ROMANTIC PASTORAL STROKE” wrong!!

I think Nerd Bait was first described on here as a “Six-Legged Collaborative Creative Collective”, and that is about the size of it. But that appellation was also a reflexively defensive way not to say “band”.

Yes, we’re an odd kind of modern, transatlantic, virtual iteration of a band, but that’s no excuse. The Dave Matthews Band is a pile of shit, and they’ve got “Band” IN THEIR NAME.

[Scroll down for the new Nerd Bait track, The Bonfire — apoplectic.me gives it FIVE STARS!!!] Continue reading The Bonfire →

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McEwan Hall

September 15, 2014Books, Mindfulness, Politics, ReferendumCritical Legal Studies, Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth, The Children Actricky

I was recently asked to complete one of those ice-breaker questionnaires.

Where's Wally? — Stroke Bloke takes his delict exam in McEwan Hall, 1992 — dissertation to follow

What was the title of your dissertation?
What are you reading at the moment?

[We live in interesting times, so leaven that with some boring old tat —
sign up for more personal apoplectic.me Tiny Letter distributions here.] Continue reading McEwan Hall →

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Aceeid!

September 1, 2014Art, Books, Fiction, Mindfulnessacid house, relativity, sci-firicky

Just before sitting down to write this post, I ingested a cocktail of diphenhydramine, guaifenesin and levomenthol.

But you do have to take a lot of speed to counteract the drowsiness — It’s not as exciting as it sounds

[If it’s excitement you want, sign up for the apoplectic.me tiny letter distribution here.]

Yeah, the inside of my skull feels dry, but it’s not that exciting. I don’t think the cough syrup will trigger any incredible insights for the blog.

As it happens, I’ve never taken any psychedelic drugs, notwithstanding the convincing argument for their controlled use in the essay opening Ian MacDonald’s Beatles book, Revolution In The Head. Continue reading Aceeid! →

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Solitude

August 11, 2014Edinburgh, Mindfulness, Reviews, StrokeFringe Festival, Philosophy, Strokericky

Last year’s Edinburgh Festival marked the beginning of our settling in to Auld Reekie. The passing of twelve months means that I’m beginning to sound more like a native at Festival time.

Day 1 of my #fringefest2014. Everyone’s 12yo and/or walking dead slow, but I’m retaining the returning native joy. Joy, I tells ya!

— Ricky Brown (@ricky_ballboy) August 4, 2014

I wrote the above returning from an afternoon at Deborah Frances-White‘s Half A Can Of Worms.

Although, it does contain a great line about a "shelfie". — A thing you can’t open…

[Sign up for more apoplexy here. It’s a chance to read some more personal thoughts and join the conversation. I’d love to hear from you.]

Continue reading Solitude →

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The Case Of The Peculiar Details

July 7, 2014Art, Books, Brooklyn, Edinburgh, Mindfulness, Poetry, Relationships, Travelricky

My recent trip to Brooklyn wasn’t all the insides of courtrooms and the outsides of container terminals, oh no.

Wait till he grows a beard — Sean Connery’s let himself go…

One day, Mrs Friendoftheblogpaul — who knows a good walk when she sees one — suggested we take a wander through Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Continue reading The Case Of The Peculiar Details →

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When In Rome, Kill Me

June 23, 2014Art, Mindfulness, Pop Music, StrokeCud, Epicureanism, Stoicismricky

In 1991, (the) Pixies didn’t need much in the way of a light show to back up their short, shouty songs of biblical retribution and science fiction. A klieg light would flood a giant white sheet, which would dramatically drop to reveal a knitter, a magician, an occasional computer programmer, and a sweaty bloke in a plaid shirt unleashing fire and brimstone in the form of the opening bars of Rock Song.

OK, I lied. That's clearly Debaser — Pixies at the SECC, 1991

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Kinky Kricket

April 28, 2014Great British Strokes, Mindfulness, Pop Music, Referendum, Strokericky

A quick plug before we move onto Britishness, strokes, and pile-driving Aussie rock:
Nerd Bait will be premiering their latest short-form musical, Wrong Word Write Time (the fictional life story of a pilot suffering from aphasia) as part of Illicit Ink’s Underground night at Edinburgh’s Bongo Club on Sunday, 4 May.
Please come, tell your friends, and please share and tweet these links: 1, 2. Thanks!

It's gonna be face-meltingly good. — No! A car crash! It’s going to be a *car* crash!

Continue reading Kinky Kricket →

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Korea Opportunities

April 21, 2014Books, Edinburgh, Mindfulness, Podcasts, Pop Music, Strokericky

I’ve mentioned more than once on the blog that I’ve come to believe that one of the big mistakes made by my younger self was to think that everyone else was basically the same as me.

While that might have been a trifle solipsistic, it’s also kind of true. The genetic difference between individual humans today is miniscule — about 0.1%, on average. To a bonobo or chimpanzee, 1.2%. 1.6% to gorillas.

But we did have the same sideburns for a year. — Though oddly, 23.1% with Will Self.

[Don’t miss out on apoplectic.me’s more personal and whimsical (!) little brother —
sign up for the tiny letter here.]

Continue reading Korea Opportunities →

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Apoplectic Me

the scribblings of a bloke who had a stroke…

Category Archives: Mindfulness

But Serially, Folks

The Beguiled Mind

The Bonfire

McEwan Hall

Aceeid!

Solitude

The Case Of The Peculiar Details

When In Rome, Kill Me

Kinky Kricket

Korea Opportunities