New sounds from sad times

Tonight is the first time in my life that I've ever sat down and listened to Johnny Cash off my own bat. Previously, I had only really heard him at my uncle's place when I visited. He was a huge fan.

I got a phone call from my father today to say that my uncle (my mother's older brother) had passed away. My mother - understandably - is gutted. From my perspective, apart from worrying about my mother, the news has hit me much, much harder than I could have imagined. My uncle lived in London so we didn't see him often. But he was always a presence in our lives - he would come up in conversation or he would phone and, when occassion called, he visited. Those were fun times. They were funny times. He was a great character: he had one of the biggest hearts you could ever imagine and worshipped his family, yet he took absolutely no shit whatsoever. He had a heart of gold and balls of steel. He was a legend and I really can't believe he's not around any more. Thanks to the birth of my son I was really lucky to get to talk to him the other day. As I was driving into the hospital he rang to say congratulations and ask how everything was. Sad times that bring back some wonderful memories. I'm really going to miss him.

Rest In Peace Bobes. It took a while but you've finally turned me into a Johnny Cash listener. I'm really loving this music. And as I have a drink in your honour, I'm having fond memories of hanging out with you at your place, having a few drinks and blasting Johnny Cash.

Thanks for everything.
J x

Night time

This is a 'what I am doing right now' post. It's pretty pointless, I suppose, but I'm sure there'll be a few of these on here from time to time.

It's just after half one in the morning. Some film called Zatoichi has just started on tv. I'm only half watching it, though, since I'm typing this and also arranging some music that I recently recorded so that I can get them near what I can turn into demoable songs. It's a productive night for me, as getting through all of the music is taking a long time. I'll be wrapped with this batch in about a half an hour, thankfully.

This Zatoichi thing looks like it could be pretty gory. It has a cool atmosphere about it, though. The fact that it's subtitled is handy because it means I can half follow the film while listening to the music on the headphones. Forget that, actually. The Fog is on the other channel so I've decided to give that a go for the millionth time. That's the 1980 John Carpenter classic, not that goliath shitheap of a remake.

And that's what I'm doing now, while my two gems are asleep in the bedroom. He'll be ready for his bottle at half four or so. I'll most probably do that one and let my girlfriend lie on and get a good sleep until his next one. We have a good wee system set up working the feeds and changes into our everyday routine.

Jeez, I just realised that between everything I've been doing it has taken me over three quarters of an hour to write this post. One thing must be said before I go, however. Despite all the typing and music and tv right now - despite everything - the baby monitor continues to rule the roost. Who'd a thunk it??*

jfn

(*Disclaimer: I tried who'd a thunk it?? a few ways and decided that the closest configuration was what you see here. If you disagree, feel free to let me know. Seriously. Stuff like that, where you can't really find a definitive answer because it's not proper english, really annoys me.)

So, what's this all about?

My son is just over one week old. This blog is for him.

23:48 is not about bringing up a newborn baby; it's just the random musings (as they like to say in the land of blog) of a guy who happens to be bringing up a newborn baby. There is a difference. I think. When I say that this blog is for my son I don't mean that it's a tribute of any sort. It's something that I want to make him aware of in years to come (possibly when he has a child of his own) after which he can enjoy scrolling through its pages to see what his dad was all about - what he was thinking about - at that same point in his life. Maybe he'll think I've changed. Maybe he'll think I haven't. Who knows? I've noticed a change in myself already, though. Definitely. My Google searches have gone from youtube mountain bike downhill to can newborn sleep with dummy? and I've even found that I've been visiting quite a lot of parenting forums.

If you're wondering why this admittedly poor quality picture is up here, it's because the Tomy Digital Plus baby monitor has now become the most important gadget in the house. Even the 3D Viewmaster has taken a back seat for now. Right now I'm sitting in the living room and  listening to the wee man getting cranky on the monitor - his mother is in the bedroom with him. On his first night home I was running in and out at every little sound. In the space of only a couple of days, though, I'd gotten to know what all the sounds mean. It's getting a little more comfortable now.

How often I'll post on here is anybody's guess; that will depend on how much free time I have on any given week. Enjoy.

jfn