last week on DRAMATIC EXIT … In the sneak out we explored what to do when enough is enough and even a “goodbye” seems superfluous. In the scatter we covered how a public exit, executed with panache, can rattle up sad and sedentary members of society, and shine an interrogatory light on the more ridiculous… Read more »
Category: Society
DRAMATIC EXIT pt.2: the scatter
In the second of three imperative posts, I introduce a means of getting the hell out of there with the maximum fuss possible. This – very public – withdrawal comes into play when one wishes to fritter up one’s dispassionate, glum and/or anti-social companions on a bus or a subway journey: the type of folk with… Read more »
DRAMATIC EXIT pt.1: the sneak out
There is nothing like a dramatic exit to strike a line through the evening. It’s undignified, childish, and you may be excruciatingly embarrassed afterwards, but for once you’ll have something to write home about. Good cause is important, but so too is to know your own limits. Though the culprit may merely have ‘tipped the… Read more »
THIS TIME it’s personal
Last night, at around 9pm, I received a terrible phone call from a Mr Rodrigo Rojas. “I’m calling from Telefonica. We’ve knocked at your door many, many times, but for some reason, you are never in.” “I work,” I confessed, “Is there a problem?” “Are you Ms … of C/ … ?” “I am. ” “And… Read more »
VIOLENT ENCOUNTERS of the isolating kind
A Boxing Day stroll along Diagonal was intercepted by a violent incident with a madman. “Puta!” yelled the hefty, pee-soaked man, who had already attracted my attention by spitting at me. “Why do you say that?” I replied. I realised my mistake immediately. “Puta!” he raged “Zorra!” He tossed aside his black bag and lunged at me. On your own, love. I… Read more »
TÚRRON DE YEMA: Gift or insult?
A moist, sickly-sweet lump of sugar (1kilo), smashed almonds (1kilo) and 12 semi-solidified egg yolks, the lightly browned Túrron de Yema must be the quintessentially backhanded Christmas gift; the booby prize of the seasonal raffle. One might go so far as to suspect that the same single bar has been circulating the peninsula since Wilfred… Read more »
ACTORS: Pros or Props?
As Jocular Theatre Company stages another comedy this weekend, I question the artistic prestige of a profession that, in reality, draws a comparison with marketing. “No scripts on the night.” Don’t get me wrong. I think theatre is vitally important, or I wouldn’t have spent a month chasing Calixto Bieito telephonically around Belgium. Where newspapers… Read more »
WHAT NOT TO DO? Heckler for hire
I tried to shout some boring guy off the stage at 7Sins bar last night at an event called VENT, becoming the ‘8th Sin’ for most, but which livened my evening up considerably. It was a surprising experience that gave me some interesting thoughts about the three parties involved: him, me and everyone else. 1…. Read more »
READ ABOUT IT: Urban graffiti
Click here for an excellent reminder of the all-pervasive evil of advertising from George Monbiot. Someone, please, clean this ugly, banal and virulent form of urban graffiti off our city streets, buses, cinemas, schools, homes …