Oh bum. I’ve been tagged.

I now have to post “eight random facts/habits” about myself.

1. I find having a conversation a stressful chore but I quite like talking to a large group of people
2. Despite the fact that I love Formula 1, I have next to no interest in cars or driving
3. I have a fear of answering the phone
4. I have difficulty waking up. I also have difficulty falling asleep. This means that, if I have nothing to do, I end up waking up later and later every day. I have been known to go all the way around the clock.
5. I do not have any ambitions
6. I much prefer spending an evening in by myself rather than going out with a large group of friends
7. I recently discovered that I am probably intolerant to cow’s milk
8. I currently have a problem with my jaw which means that I can’t open my mouth wide. This makes eating difficult

I won’t tag anyone — unless someone wants to take it for themselves.

Proper blogging will return soon.

I am a C-List Blogger. (This is a C-List Blog.)

Via Canspice.

As Chris Applegate says, this was absolutely screaming out to be a meme. Jawbox has done it aswell. But I refrained from calling it a meme in my post because I didn’t want to be responsible for starting one. Looks like I’m getting the blame for it anyway. Uhh, it was his fault! No, his!

Anyway, at least this is actually an interesting one. I found both Chris’ and Ben’s posts fascinating — partly I think because they are at a similar-ish age to me (whereas my year was 1994, Chris lists Italia ’90 in his memories, and Ben recalls France ’98).

Even though I was only 4 or 5, there are a few things that I remember from Chris’ list. The biggest memory is the World Cup — although I only really strongly recall the Italia ’90 mascot (it looked a bit like Lego), and even that is a bit hazy. I do vaguely remember the fall of the Berlin Wall (maybe not from the time it actually happened), but I was not aware that West Germany and East Germany were actually separate countries until several years later!

I also remember a specific part of the Gulf War — the word ‘Baghdad’, which was always in the news. I distinctly remember one day thinking, “Whatever happened to that important place called ‘Baghdad’?”

I think I remember the completion of the Channel Tunnel, although maybe I only remember the opening. I definitely remember the opening. That guy with the moustache from Allo Allo was on the television, presumably because that was the only way to illustrate an Anglo–French connection.

I don’t remember Margaret Thatcher’s resignation, although I do remember Thatcher being Prime Minister. I don’t remember this, but apparently when I was young and Thatcher appeared on the television I used to say “of coouurse”, mimicking her condescending mannerisms. See? I was a hilarious satirist when I was 3! Where did it all go wrong?

What is kind of worrying about Ben’s list, as I said in the comments at his, is the fact that for him France ’98 is one of those dim and distant memories. That makes me feel very old. Even scarier is the fact that I don’t even remember all of the events that he lists! Canadian air crash? No recollection, although I never found aeroplane crashes that surprising when I was young. Big heavy lump of metal in the sky falls from the sky — what a big surprise! So goes the logic of a pre-teen Duncan at least.

Anyway, remembering news events from when you were nine is for pussies! Chris ups the stakes, and asks what is the earliest memory you have of the news, “not just in recalling it, but being able to have some understanding of the situation”?

I’m guessing the Gulf War doesn’t count because I only knew the word ‘Baghdad’ from it and nothing else. And I don’t think knowing what the mascot of Italia ’90 looked like quite counts as a news event, so I have to keep on looking.

Although I remember lots of things from 1990 and 1991, I obviously wasn’t watching the news. So we turn to 1992. And bingo!

George H. W. Bush is televised falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and fainting.

I remember this well! Vomiting is something that young children do quite a lot, so I could kind of relate. But let’s not kid ourselves here. The reason I remember this story is because it is hilarious! The President of the world’s most powerful country does a sick on the Prime Minister of another powerful country! Bahahahahahah!

Okay, so I recall the event — but does it pass Chris Applegate’s all-important test — “being able to have some understanding of the situation”? It’s not too difficult to even have full understanding of the situation: Bush sicks up, it’s very embarassing, everybody points and laughs.

So there you have it. My earliest news memory, at the age of 5, is of George H. W. Bush vomiting. I was as keen on the most important stories back then as I am now.

Via Mark. The “baton” wasn’t “passed” to me, but I’m doing it nevertheless.

Total volume of music files on my computer:
20.81 GB (not including all of the CDs I bought yesterday).

The last CD I bought was:
Yesterday I went on a bit of a music-purchase binge, because I took a trip to Dundee which actually has music shops, an extinct species in Kirkcaldy. I found loads of bargains in Fopp!

• Björk — Medúlla
• British Sea Power — Open Season
• Eels — Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
• Herbert — Bodily Functions
• Kid Koala — Some of my Best Friends are DJs
• Laraaji — Ambient 3: Day of Radiance
• Massive Attack — Blue Lines
• Maximo Park — A Certain Trigger
• Portishead — Portishead
• The Futureheads — The Futureheads

Song playing right now:
Maximo Park — Graffiti

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
Just looking at the ‘most played’ thingy in iTunes.

1. Autechre — LCC
2. Autechre — Ipacial Section
3. Jonny Greenwood — Smear (live at FuseLeeds04)
4. Autechre — Pro Radii
5. Squarepusher — Breezeblock (16/03/2004)

These aren’t my top five songs though. In fact, none of them are even songs.

Five people to whom I’m passing the baton:
Vicky and Garry for giving me that book baton. Also Andrew, Nick and the fifth one can be … Ryan.

Two different versions of that blasted book meme have been “passed on” to me. By Vicky of thehighrise and Garry of A Big Stick and a Small Carrot. So I’d better explain myself.

I don’t read story books.

Update: Mind you, I’ve got a bit of spare time at the moment, what with it being the summer holidays and all, so I’m willing to give it a go. I’ve never found that book that’s attracted my interest caught my imagination. Something weird you know, not simply one that takes three paragraphs to describe how a character takes a sip of water, all the time trying to use the longest, most pretentious words in the lexicon.