This is the lazy person's way to write a blog post, because I don't have to make things flow or come up with any transitions. But it's a good way to catch up on minor issues! Here goes:
-- I realized after publishing yesterday's post that I missed an opportunity on the title. I should have called it "A Whole Lotta ABBA." Oh well.
-- We had Storm Jocelyn last night, yet another named storm, continuing into the early hours this morning. Again, it was more severe in Ireland and up north. Here in London I don't think it's amounted to much. (Although it's dark out there so I can't see the condition of the patio yet!)
-- When I recently published a photo of Olga scratching in the grass near the train tracks, some readers asked about the barrier atop the fence. Here's a close-up that I took yesterday morning when we were back in that area. They're metal strips that have been peeled back in a sort of pinwheel fashion, meant to keep people from climbing over them. Some similar barriers apparently rotate in the wind, but I've never noticed that with this one. Maybe it's just too old and rusty and crusty to be mobile anymore.
-- While we were coming back from ABBA on Monday night, my friend Colin pointed out these weird shadowy images over the benches in the tube stations along the new Elizabeth Line. He'd seen news stories about these so-called "ghost marks," which are the result of people sitting on the benches and leaning against the wall. Transport for London, the organization that runs the tube, is trying to figure out how to prevent them. They're kind of cool until you realize what they are, and then they're kind of disgusting.
-- I came across this article in The New York Times about so-called "observation journaling," or writing down the mundane things you notice during moments of down-time during the day. I was amused because this isn't exactly a new idea. It's basically what I do every single day, making a mental note of things I can put on my blog. You're reading my "observation journaling" right now!
-- Finally, Dave and I watched an interesting (and enraging) documentary last night on Netflix called "Victim/Suspect," about victims of sexual assault (almost all women, of course) who report the crimes to the police, only to be accused and even charged themselves for making a false report. It examines how police come to their conclusions, often almost immediately and sometimes based on erroneous evidence. Other factors, such as the social prominence of the alleged attacker, come into play as well. I can see why women are reluctant to report assaults, sometimes with tragic consequences.
(Top photo: Off Kilburn High Road, last week.)
24 comments:
A better name for "observation journaling" would be "stevereeding".
Observational journaling. It sounds so deep.
Those ghost marks are, yes, cool. And totally disgusting!
I read about the station shadows elsewhere and the posters that were placed to cover over them. Elizabeth Line designers didn't get everything right.
I think we have close to best practice here for reporting of sexual assault, but still it goes wrong. I would guess the English police response to reporting of sex crimes is quite good. You didn't say which country the doco referred to.
I was thinking about your blog today, which is pretty well a daily diary. I wondered if I could do the same and make it interesting as yours is, and I doubted it.
It looks a very sad and uncomfortable bench. Someone would have to be exhausted to slump back against the wall..perhaps the anti graffiti paint would work..a quick hose down and jobs done.
Is not the razor wire a reflection on society?
I will never ever lean against a wall again!
London is a dirty city, beautiful , filthy and jam- packed with humans. Humans are filth collectors. I love the grime ghosts and the stark bench!That is the city, man!
Everyday ,cleaning in spideys hole barely kept up with city grime in one of the cleanest neighborhoods! Not as bad this time for my lungs but still after four and a half months breathing in London, a persistent annoying little cough developed.
Women have always gotten the poo end of the stick- ALWAYS. In every human culture on the planet.
Police officers are perps of domestic violence themselves, sometimes, too. Also sexual assaulters. It's not wise to expect a respectful hearing, women find. And sa at work, if reported, often results in retaliation. Sad but too true.
If the benches are that close to a wall, people are going to lean back against them. That's all there is to it.
If anyone is deluded enough to think that we do not live in a patriarchy, they should watch that documentary. I haven't seen it but as you describe it, it sounds pretty accurate. I often wonder what the true statistics would be on sexual assault against women if all of the assaults were actually reported and accurately counted. I think that too many women feel that somehow they were in the wrong and suffer horrible shame. Same with childhood sexual abuse and that involves boys as well as girls.
You have a lot on your mind, Steve. I like your daily journaling!
As far as women's troubles go - did I already mention the book, "The Woman They Could Not Silence" by Kate Moore? Really, many men have been assholes to women for a very long time.
the barrier atop the fence: fancy concertina wire though it looks like you could just slip underneath it. the ghost shadows makes for an interesting picture. not really human residue but I imagine pollution rubbing off people's clothes. and yeah, sexual assault. even when men are caught in the act they still get away with it. who are we supposed to report it too when it is men in charge of charging other men.
I watched the trailer for "Victim/Suspect", welcome to the world of being a woman. It makes me angry as hell.
The shadows behind the bench remind me of the shadows burned into buildings and sidewalks by the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima.
Thanks for the closeup of the fence. It doesn't look near as challenging at razor or even barbed wire that graces the tops of many fences around here, but it does look more daunting than nothing which may be the point.
I guess I have a love/hate relationship with our judicial system. While it definitely has it's faults as the documentary you watched points out along with the countless innocent people released sometimes decades after being incarcerated, I'm still pretty certain that if I am going to be charged with a crime, erroneously or not, I would rather take my chances with our system than 95% of the systems in other countries out there.
Mental notes of common things always give you a writing topic for your blog. You keep your blog in mind constantly so you have a post with more than one topic. Makes things interesting.
I read the article with interest, also the books by Georg Pereck mentioned there, which I like because of his ability to see the small details.
Thank you for all your observational journaling. I enjoy it!
Those ghostly shadow-like marks are very interesting. They also would make me not want to sit there.
I once lived in a rented house that had no headboards on the beds. There were greasy ghostmarks on the wallpaper. Revolting.
I don't think I could watch that documentary. It would totally inflame me. Now I just hope I remember never to lean back when I sit on a bench!
Grime and the underside of any city/town/village is simple reality. It is all there, if one chooses to look for it. Crimes against women, even in the most wealthy areas live on. All considered, we are lucky to live in the free world. Sadly, things are much worse elsewhere.
You are the ultimate observational journalist! Interesting about the ghost marks -- and you're right-- if you think about them too much, kind of icky.
Observation journaling=most of our blogging! Those ghost figures are indeed yucky when you think about it.
The fact that you can blog everyday is amazing to me. I appear to be slowing down at present. Of course the crappy recent weather is not helping.
Put up little signs saying JUST PAINTED to keep people from leaning against the wall?
Love,
Janie
That photo of the dirt shadows in the train station made me squirm. Sort of made me think of ABBA again. Arrrrghhhh!
YP: So I'm a verb now?!
Mitchell: Yes, kind of ridiculously so. It's also called "taking notes."
Andrew: The documentary only mentioned cases in the USA, but there have been problems here as well.
GZ: I wonder if anti-graffiti paint would work? I think they're trying decals. Yes, the barrier is a statement about modern society.
Bob: I know! UGH!
Linda Sue: I don't think of London as grimy (at least no worse than any other big city) and don't see much evidence of it in our house, but man, it sure shows up on those walls!
Boud: Yeah, if police are actually involved in the assault the skepticism is even worse, as we saw with the horrifying murder of Sarah Everard. Her attacker had been reported to police in an earlier incident but they did nothing (though admittedly they may not have known he was a police officer at that point).
Ms Moon: I have absolutely no doubt that sexual abuse is much more widespread than we know. And YES, you're right -- why don't they just move the benches out about six inches? Seems like that might solve the problem.
Ellen D: I haven't heard of that book but you're right about many men -- who have also been assholes to each other, in many cases!
Ellen: The picture is a bit deceptive -- you couldn't slip under that barrier. There's only a few inches of space there. I think there are plenty of men who DO take sexual assault reports seriously, but as we've seen, many others do not.
Pixie: It's worth watching in its entirety if you can stand it! And yes, that's an interesting observation -- that those ghosts look like nuclear shadows.
Ed: I think you're right, our system is better than many, but there's room for improvement and I think we should always be working toward making it better and fairer.
Red: When something happens to me or I notice something interesting I do often think, "This is perfect for the blog!" Ha!
Yael: I hadn't heard of Georg Pereck. I should look for his stuff.
Sharon: Yeah, they're beautiful and repulsive at the same time! LOL
Tasker: Ugh! That would be the worst, especially when they're not YOUR greasy spots.
Kelly: It's best not to think too much about the cleanliness of our everyday public environments. :)
Susan: Yes, absolutely. As in countries where we see mass rape used as a tool of war.
Jeanie: I prefer to think of them as "shadows." LOL
Margaret: Yeah, if blogging isn't observational journaling, I'm not sure what is!
Allison: I'm reminded of a line from Neil Simon's "California Suite": "Your mind clicks off brick-a-brack so goddamned fast there's no room for an honest thought or emotion to get through." Sometimes I fear that's me! LOL
Janie: I bet they'd lean anyway. Drunk people don't read signs!
Catalyst: Ha! I'm not sure ABBA would appreciate the association -- but then again they're laughing all the way to the bank.
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