Swarm of personal details

Actually (and this is a typical Langley diversion), there's a lot of heartsearching going on at the moment among PR practitioners and bloggers generally (not just the irritating, insightful and irreplaceable Jo Ind - all 'I' you note ... I'm a professional).

Eyecube and OpenMicPR are good places to start following the debate. Many people wonder if personal diary-type musings are legitimate material for blogs. It's the main reason I surf them, and, I'm here to tell you, your Post site has got a fair number of interesting bloggers to choose from.

Anyway, end of diversion. It came up because I'm about to tell you about the lads and where it's led me.

At least one afternoon a week sees a Trafalgar blue Mondeo estate trundling along the Highway to Hell (aka the M6) bound for Printing House Square, until August the corporate HQ of the finest regional morning newspaper based in Birmingham B4.

I earn a (fairly) honest crust by helping/hindering (depending on your viewpoint) with the production of said journal on its outdated (until this upcoming Sunday) computer publishing system. I hate the journey (although the late night return is acceptable); I like to keep my editing skills in shape (in a place where hi-tech is high-tech, stuff like that); but most of all I enjoy the company - as in the blokes I work with, not the corporate stuff.

(Rare Langley use of the endangered semi-colon there in a morass of sub-clauses.)

Great bunch of chaps (and one splendid chapess who keeps us in some semblance of order) with an extraordinary range of knowledge and interests, which has always been the case in any sub-editorial department I've worked in. Newspapers will be poorer when the species finally becomes extinct (fairly soon, I imagine). Then who'll organise Birmingham's best Eurovision party? You know, you drink a beer from the country whose song is on screen. Quite how anyone will survive, I'm not sure. We'll find out on Sunday.

Anyway, how we got on to it I can't quite remember, but among the chat about ancient pop songs (My Sharona was one, I recall), the correct spelling of Bushmills, the Irish whiskey, the preferred modern way of describing a 'hare lip' and the talent of photographer Loretta Brennan ('Lottie' to her friends - see page 3 of today's [May 22's] Post), the name of Chuck Norris came up.

That led on to Plan 9 from Outer Space and stuff like that and one of the most famous of the breed, The Swarm.

Well, it's an official Slobbing Out day today - that means no gym, a giant homemade mocha in a Starbucks venti mug with my dear old mum's Robertson's Golly spoon (don't tell the PC police), Tiptree grapefruit marmalade (the founder's great grandson still runs the firm, it tells me inside the lid) on Hovis thick sliced Best of Both (but only because the bakery where I get my handmade uncut wholemeal, just round the corner from my flat wasn't open when I needed it but the Tesco Metro 20 steps further on was).

A Slobbing Out day (did I mention the white towelling post-shower dressing gown and brown marl bedsocks/slippers?) gives me time to Google, Wiki and IMDB stuff like The Swarm. Do it yourself and you'll be surprised. I remember Michael Caine being in it, but there's a whole raft of famous names involved that I'd forgotten about (well 1978 is a while ago). There can't be many movies in which Slim Pickens has appeared alongside Olivia de Haviland as well as Fred McMurray (his last film), the legendary Bradford Dillman and Henry Fonda. Fascinating.

And then there's the work of Roger Corman (and the later-famous people who got started in the business through working with him is extraordinary), John Waters, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme and so many others.

Great way to start the day - and that's before I move on to ponder the Dr Who developments (who will replace Tennant etc) and where Mad Men (superb) and Heroes (still a bit iffy) are going.

Pictures: What many think should have happened to Michael Caine after he made The Swarm (top) and David Lynch's amazing Eraserhead. All this and grapefruit marmalade!