August 2003 Archives
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is probably the better known Ian Fleming website. Here's another one, Bondian.com, a field guide to the phenomenon created by British author Ian Fleming.
"Bondian.com is a “reference work in progress,” providing information on more than 450 different books (spanning 2000+ editions and printings) and numerous articles related to James Bond 007 and his creator, British author Ian Fleming."
gunzip -c *.gz | grep "a.certain.host" >> output.txt This works fine. But now I want to grep "a.certain.host" but not ALL of them, but just the ones using a Windows machine. How do I do that?
The Character, the Tomboy, the Prom Queen and the Nondescript sat down in my end of the train.
I can't guess what age people are. Everybody looks so young, unless they're young and look really old.
They looked really old and dressed as their names prescribed.
" My daddy’s taking me shopping, said the Prom Queen. "
Happy kids, they all seemed. Chattering away -- first year, second year high school, I estimated after a while. 14 year olds.
The Character sat down last having almost missed the train. Huffing and puffing she grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket. "You have to read this, it's really funny."
The Tomboy read the piece and smiled a little. "See, it's funny!" said the Character. The piece of paper was passed on, everybody smiled a little. The Nondescript was last and held on to the story. The Character said: "Throw it away!" And she did, but you could tell she didn't feel good about wasting a perfectly good paper cutting.
"Look what my dad got me," said the Character, pulling on a gaudy fake gold collar necklace, "My sister got one too. I'm wearing hers."
"Why would you want to wear your sister's name?" said the Nondescript.
"It's stupid," said the Tomboy.
"I know, it's stupid" said The Character and she explained why she was wearing it anyway.
Everybody nodded.
"I want one too," said the Nondescript and you could tell she didn't have wants of her own.
"My daddy's taking me shopping," said the Prom Queen, the youngest looking of them all underneath her blemish stick.
"I want to get that beige outfit from Manga, and a pink jacket from The Sting... but I'm not sure because it was really big eventhough it's a small."
The Character was making odd little comments throughout her friend's want list, subtly mocking her. Already on a different level from the rest of them. Smart cookie. Bound to do stand-up later. Or be a journalist. Or join the Peace Corps.
Little Prom Queen continued: "... and a couple of tops. And runners..."
"You don't wear runners," said the Tomboy - all girl underneath the baggy black combat clothing.
"... yeah but they're comfortable. And a new scent. I must have a new scent."
"Ralph?" Asked the Character.
"... no, Chanel. Miss Coco. It's a really old scent, but it's lovely. And I need a couple of pairs of trousers. Tartan ones, I think."
"Not the Burberry's!" said the Character.
"... yeah, and perhaps a necklace. So... I hope I'm getting all that."
"She will," said the Character.
"... I had a fight with my mum."
For the next five minutes, she told the story of her fighting with her mom over misplacing some of her CDs. The fight, or the story, escalated rapidly.
"... and when I get tired I just cry. I just do. So I cried and cried! You can tell, my eyes are swollen."
She did look a little tired, like young women do.
"... that's why I'm not wearing my mascara today."
I had a vision of her sniffing cocaine off some toilet sink, stuck in a life not too far away.
"I fought with my mum too," said the Tomboy and told her story while the other two girls said they had fought with their mums too.
"And we were shouting and I threw my dinner, plate and all, in the bin and ran upstairs. And so I barricaded my room and she was kicking the door and shouting. All because the shop didn't have any lettuce. How can I help that? She said I should have bought something else instead. How do I know what to buy? And I told her I'd rather talk to the wall. At least it would listen to me."
"Never say that to mums," the Character said, sounding wise.
"... and then I broke this big framed picture on my chair. And it fell into 30 pieces. And my mum picked it up and it broke again."
They all laughed.
"I hope my daddy takes me out shopping," said the Prom Queen, "You see, my daddy and I never fight. He loves me a lot because I am really sweet."
The Nondescript said: "This is our stop."
From 1744 songs, WinAmp chose:
- David Sylvian - Zero Landmine
(live, Utrecht, October 11, 2001) - Di Gojim - Di Sapozhkelech
(album, Fun Sjtetl Un Sjtets) - João Gilberto - Trêvo De 4 Folhas
(album, The Legendary) - Eagles - Desperado
(album, The Very Best of) - R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts
(live, own recording, Amsterdam 2003) - Suburbia - Life takes away my drive
(Former band of 2002 Fame Academy competitor Ainslie Henderson. Indie pop) - Jorge Ben - Mas que nada
- Cat Power - Speak For Me (album, You Are Free)
- Kate Bush - Where are the lionhearts
(Phoenix Demos, 1976) - U2 - Hawkmoon 269
(album, Rattle and Hum)
The Rules.
- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
- I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
- You'll update your website with my five questions, and your five answers.
- You'll include this explanation.
- You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
My Questions were handed to me by the lovely Mr Mike "Troubled" Diva:
Q1. Although we clearly share many of the same tastes, I have to confess that I've never got the whole U2 thing. They always seemed so dour and self-important in the 80s, meaning that I never totally bought into their "ironic" re-invention in the 90s. And yet, they're clearly a Major Act, who must be getting something right which I am missing. Which three U2 tracks would you select, in a last-ditch attempt to convert me?
I don't think I want to convert people to U2. The fewer the better. I wish they were still my dirty little secret. I wish hearing their music on the radio would still cause a shock. I wish I didn't have to stand in line for 8 hours to get a front row view.
This was a hard one. I chose three songs two of which I hope you have never heard, one you probably have. I've never liked U2 for their hits or their best selling albums. No stadium anthems here:
song 1. Walk to the Water
If The Edge had had his way, the Joshua Tree would have been more of a continuation of what they did on The Unforgettable Fire. But Bono pushed for a new sound and so The Joshua Tree became their biggest selling album. Edge's more atmospheric choices ended up as B-sides: Luminous Times, Spanish Eyes, Deep in the heart, The Sweetest Thing and Walk to the Water. I would pick most of these over what ended up on the album.
song 2. Night and Day
A Cole Porter cover done for the Red, Hot and Blue album. This song's been covered a lot. U2's version is the only one I think improves on Sinatra's as it draws out the addiction aspect and desperation of the song. Oooh, blasphemy! I can listen to this one again and again and again. And I do.
song 3. Wire
I fell for U2 during The Unforgettable Fire. 'Wire' wasn't like anything I'd ever heard before. They rarely record this kind of urgency these days.
Runners up: Two shots of happy, The First Time, Never let me go, Salome, God Part II, Stay, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Hawkmoon 269, Velvet Dress, Silver and Gold.
Q2. In what ways are you typically Dutch, and in what ways are you typically Indonesian?
I think I am not much of anything. I'm not typically Dutch and I'm not typically Indonesian. Square peg, round hole. Very much not fitting in in either community. There's a few things.
Dutch (in an old fashioned way) as in wanting clear 'yes' and 'no's instead of that wishy washy 'mmmpraps' or 'yes-meaning-no' the Brits and the Irish are so good at. Dutch as in keeping promises and being punctual. Dutch as in reliable. Indonesian as in being a bit servient. Indonesian as in believing get togethers revolve around good food. Indonesian as in being crap with money.
(Dutch and Indonesian people please excuse these generalisations.)
3. Dublin, London or Amsterdam?
To live: Amsterdam
To be: London
To curse: Dublin
4. How do you like your eggs?
In order of preference: scrambled, boiled (soft), poached, fried with lots of gouda cheese and hot crispy bacon melting the butter on dark bread. Instant heart attack.
5. What do you want?
Oh. God. What do I want? I want my remaining friends not to die before their time and I want them to live healthy, prosperous, trouble-free lives. I want to keep my current job. I want to learn to say no. I want to get rid of the clutter in my life. I want my family to be my friends. I want my friends to be family.
I want love.
Reminder: If you want me to interview you, please leave a comment in the box below.
Answered questionaires:
Finished Anthony Blunt: His Lives. It's a spectacular read -- though its cast of millions can be confusing. The author is sympathetic towards her subject and although I abhor betrayal and betrayers (but also think 'spies are cool'), I'm left with a great sense of admiration for Blunt and think I understand the Cambridge Spies' choices. It struck me how close to the 'truth' Banville's novel 'The Untouchable' (based on Blunt) is, especially since it was published before Carther's bio. In comparison, Kim Philby's autobio is very dry and hard to digest. Its brief moments of wit seem forced.
{ promotional picture for 'Don Juan', @ Amsterdamse Bos, open air theater. Seen August 15. Review / photos to follow }
A java applet simulating the operation of an Enigma machine, the tool the Germans used to encrypt messages in WWII. The page includes various links to Enigma related resources, such as the Bletchley Park site.
(While I am writing this post I'm starting to think a Wiki would be a better way to present the information in this weblog.)
Spies Magazine , a site belonging to a TV series.
We've all heard of Philby, Blunt, Burgess, Maclean - but John Cairncross (real video) was the fifth man in the Cambridge Spy ring.
BBC: Spies who betrayed Britain. A special report from 1999. Haven't perused it yet.
She's got the weekend shift. She keeps an eye on things. She's in control.
"Fuck work," he says, "Unplug the phone."
She paces three steps up and three steps back in a tiny room. Imagines big boots conquering SuperQuinn D7. She thinks her work ethic is beyond him.
Talk of the future. Talk of the Fringe. Talk of the town. Heads on the wall. Give the man a jolt. She's not so sure.
Talk of the letter. Talk of the weather. Like a vampire, he doesn't tan while she is going with the heatwave. 32, 33, 30-bloody-seven. Not complaining, just taking it slow.
He's as ever unimpressed. "So, now I'm gonna buy orange juice... and a bottle of vodka."
Her sweetheart the drunk.
Found at 'CI Centre', a 'non-governmental center committed to excellence in counterintelligence, counterterrorism and security education, analysis and leadership to serve you and your organization's needs': Spy songs.
"I wrote my first three books while I was a spook; I wrote the next thirteen after I was at large." (Random House, le Carre Breaks his Silence)
The bleakness of John le Carré's work attracted me at a young age. I glorified it as much as I loved the fantasy world of James Bond.
I finished The Spy Who Came In From The Cold today (again). I'd forgotten about the ending, so I kept rooting for Leamas and Liz to come through. Seems I'm favouring the Hollywood ending in my sentimental old age. Will start re-reading The Looking-Glass War tomorrow.
Jorn Barger has a Le Carré page. It leads to this fan page.
- Official site
- Biography
- John le Carré, Salman Rushdie and Christopher Hitchens Exchange Biting Letters (Gentlemen, gentlemen!)
- Salon Interview
- The Paris Review (streaming interview, Salon)
- New York Times book reviews
FBI Special Agent Robert P. Hanssen single-handedly created the greatest breach of security in the history of the United States. He says he wanted 'to get a litttle money', but a friend a fellow FBI agent claims what he really wanted was 'to play the spy game better than anybody's ever played it before.'
Spooks, the BBC series also known as "MI5" in North America, is currently shown on BBC 1, BBC 3, Ned 1, A&E America and Canada.
Apparently, the series is pulling in new recruits for the real MI5: "Despite the horrifying scenes in last Monday's episode, which showed a young member of the team being killed by having her head plunged into a deep fat fryer, the series has given MI5 a much-need publicity boost, with applications almost doubling after the episodes."
While the boys drooled over Ms Peel, us girls dreamed of stripping the sophisticated John Steed of his bowler hat. The Avengers were hot and I did not discriminate against the later follow up The New Avengers, possibly because Joanna Lumley had her very own kind of cool.
Shlomo Rosenblum (born in Odessa in 1874) was recruited by MI6 before World War I and at one time considered Britain's most important secret agent.
He changed his name to Sidney Reilly because "In Europe, only the British hate the Irish, but everyone hates the Jews."
Sidney Reilly was a talented actor who spoke seven languages, and an extremely confident man. This meant he was able to pass as a Russian docker or a German army officer. His exploits included saving diplomats in the jungles of South America to infiltrating the German High Command during World War I.
Mata Hari ("the eye of the day" in Bahasa Indonesia) was born Margaretha Zelle in the province of Friesland, The Netherlands. There was nothing *really* exotic about her - except that she was blackhaired and dark eyed, unique among a nation of blonde giants. She was to become one of the most famous figures of espionage.
From officer's wife to exotic dancer to spy, read her full story at the Crime Library.
- Radio Netherlands: Double agent? One Truth.
- Propaganda-cards.com: Postcards of the Great War, Mata Hari.
- Amazon.com: Mata Hari (1931). Starring: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro.
A dead-letter box or dead drop is "a physical location where communications, documents, or equipment is covertly placed for another person to collect with out direct contact between the parties." (from Spy Abbreviations, Acronyms and Terminology)
How to use a dead-letter box. (from Google cache)
Saturday afternoon, watch the gay Pride Canal Parade go by. The sun beats down, the drink flows. Everybody's a little queer today. And everybody's very white.
Rainbow flags adorn the houses, women carry babies or bottles of rosé wine. City cowboys line dance to Stand By Your Man.
Hot hard bodies in glittery skirts, sagging bums in leather chaps. Armies of crew cut girrrls from Belfast. Friendly cops behind the 'pink in blue' stand.
One lonely, scruffy drunk on a bicycle, screaming: "DIRTY BABY RAPING FUCKING HOMOS!"
Everybody laughs. You're outnumbered, pal.
- More pictures at Radio Netherlands