saturday october 30, 2004
listening to something for the girl with everything by sparks

black october or what? i'm so fucking sad today. not only did we lose john peel, but earlier in the month we also lost soul city / tamla co-founder dave godin (who was also a major animal and human rights activist) and bomp's greg shaw. it's true, i am really beginning to understand the cynicism and bitterness of old people. who's left? alot of shiny new media whore wannabes... people like peel, shaw and godin came up through the ranks just doing what they loved, proving it everyday... they weren't in it for fame or money. i'm tempted to say "where are our heroes going? where do we turn for inspiration?", but if i may quote billy syndrome (hi bill) the questions ARE the answers. we turn inward; we look inside ourselves. if the want and desire for knowledge, truth, pleasure, and beauty are already there then all we have to do is open our eyes. take a walk, take a look around. go into that dusty old record store, charity shop, library... stare at trees and clouds for fuck's sake! in other words, yes it sucks that as the 'good ones' die off we are left with a bunch of watered-down nobodies but we still have options. it's all out there, it just takes a little bloody effort. anything that is worthy takes effort. we may have lost peel, shaw and godin but we haven't lost what drove us (and them) to seek out ALTERNATIVES in the first place. that, to me, is the cornerstone of existence. freedom. choice. truth. alternatives.

a godin quote:
"Class is such a pernicious, undermining factor in British culture because we are constantly being told, (by Prince Edward no less, as well as countless other middle-class people of moderate intelligence!), that it no longer exists. Well, it is still thriving just as virulently as any other form of discrimination, despite the token 'working-class celebrity', like the token black, or whatever, so let's hear it for the lowest of the low, and the poorest of the poor for a change; the used, the abused and the cheated. There are millions of us. We are all different and unique, and we are somebody! And the working class everywhere has always lived under an Occupation. Welcome to the world of Openly Classist!"
a bit about shaw:
"Greg's lifelong devotion to discovering, raving about and releasing authentic -albeit obscure- rock & roll, and promoting rock fandom over four decades was extraordinary. Among his many accomplishments were fanzine publisher, magazine editor, band manager, author, indie label owner, and rock historian. Though his roles often varied, two things were absolutely consistent: his impeccable taste in music and the ability to be there first."
and lastly, john peel:
"Yes, I always feel that the music I like, and I genuinely like, the stuff I play on the radio is my own way of going out on the street and righting these wrongs that I think should be righted."
keep the faith. right on now.

friday october 29, 2004
listening to the below...

brilliant! TEN CUIDADO DEL NOMBRE BUSH! everybody sing! fan-fucking tastic. viva la revolucion.

tuesday october 26, 2004
looking at the sad eyes of the moon



you've done more for us than you'll ever know. RIP brother.
fuck.

monday october 25, 2004
listening to popscene by blur, played at 33, which sounds like the melvins with a horn section
check this out, from daily kos - it rules! OUTSOURCE THIS.
i'm sure lots of my clever friends have seen it already but here it is anyway. you gotta gotta gotta watch the filmlet (filmlet?) starring jason alexander. yee!

speaking of my clever friends, thanks to bandykoot for the jon stewart tip... be careful, this link has some funky pop-ups & stuff but the filmlet (yes i said it again) is worth the pain. Jon Stewart's Brutal Exchange with CNN Host - 13 minutes of gut-twisting fun. in effect, bowtie weenie boy says that jon has a responsibility (kettle? black? hello?), that he shouldn't raise hackles with his politics and then when the heat is on throw up his hands and say, 'what do i know, i'm just a comedian'... well of course he should! it's brilliant, perfect living satire. he makes people think, makes them laugh, then gets them upset and confused - and when they can't handle the introspection it brings on they just get defensive. i say anything to drag people out of their apathetic malaise is good. good. good. good. even p diddy is doing his part. you go.

i really feel dubya is gonna get his ticket to ride in a few days, the silent and disgusted are rising up by the millions to grab him by the scruff and throw his greedy evil ass into the weeds. i can hardly wait...

tuesday october 19, 2004
listening to hallelujah hari krishna (sic) by the pizzicato five
last night i had even more cat dreams... and today in portslade i saw three cats whilst making my rounds. huh? this is getting fucking weird. there was a little friendly black one, and when i petted him he belted forth a scratchy yet most clarion "MEEEEYAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" at me.

i'm thinking of designing a World Events Awareness page, which would take the place of the 'news' page that is never updated anyway. each area of the planet where something bogus is going on gets a link and a page of its own with a themed graphic style. who knows if i'm actually gonna do it, i don't do 75% of the junk i talk about anyway. finish The Novel? let's just say i'm in yet another 'development phase', haha. after we move and i ain't commuting things should change. it's no fun being knackered all the time. interesting factoid: the term 'knackered' originated as follows:

"Knackered" means 'to be very tired' derived from the "Knackerman" who would take your worn out old or lame horse/cattle that were to be knackered, i.e. slaughtered and rendered, usually into glue.
somewhere else i read it meant your old worn-out horse had its knackers (bollocks) removed, meaning it was time to be put out to pasture. so there it is. maybe.

finished johnny lydon's great No Blacks No Irish No Dogs and i was sad cos i didn't want it to end! he is one of my all-time favorite people and he is just brilliant brilliant brilliant. i don't care what anyone says, he has always been a poster child (for lack of a better word cos i am knackered) for the things i value most in life: individuality, frankness and truth. too many people i've met just DON'T GET IT. the people who are today my friends DO; and i am thankful that i can finally tell the difference. my bullshit detector is on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

question: why do some women put on so much perfume that there is literally a stink cloud around them? you people make me wanna puke. i've been sneering at a lot of stinky women on the commuter rail lately. someday my lack of a poker face gonna get me in trouble... ;)

sunday october 17, 2004
listening to the fire by franz ferdinand
(these guys owe more than just a little to television and the gang of four, but i think i like 'em.)

told ya so, told ya so, told ya told ya told ya so... bush you cock-knocker, everyone and their grandma can see through your assinine political agenda, so just knock it off already. sheesh. it's just not on.

for the past three nights i've dreamt we have cats in the house. so i guess that means we'll soon have, erm, cats in the house! i'm very excited and my dreams are usually pretty accurate in this respect.

yesterday suey, emma, barb & i met up w/marianna to go to the tate modern to wander thru the 'raw materials' soundscape thang by bruce nauman. it was appropriately demented and led to discussions about our favorite nightmares. then we walked down the thames to the tate regular. on the way we had waffles from a cart. we saw that house that's sawn in half, and the emin room (ho hum honey) and the awesome francis bacon room *yay*. there was this guy gormlessly staring into a bacon tryptich forever (one of my faves actually), which i've done in past i must admit, whom we annoyed i'm sure by sitting behing him saying stupid shit like "mmmm, bacon" and other cured pig-related savoury references. when we are together we are just silly and can't help ourselves. now back when i would go to the SF MOMA by myself and someone was even whispering while i was gormlessly-staring i would want to kill them. hypocrite much? j'accuse! and then we talked about our nightmares some more. later, one of mine came true on the way home - the one where i'm in a town i supposedly know but can't read any of the street signs and none of the surroundings look familiar. i got on this weird bus to go to london bridge station, not knowing i had to get off at london tower BRIDGE and walk across the bleaming river. so i wound up well on my way to wapping in creepy kebab-shop and chav world. ecccch. i literally haven't felt that scared and vulnerable since i tried getting around LA at night by bus. despite this minor setback, all in all a good day.

everytime i turn on the tv it seems interpol is playing. i'm happy for sam (the drummer) whom i played with a few times in brooklyn before he met these guys. i'm very happy for him cos he's a super sweet bloke. but what's up with the S & M bassist of the third reich? not a good look fella. funny how franz ferdinand and interpol both have this rather clean-cut controlled appearance to them. welcome to the new conformity, it's alternative, hip and fashionable. music to march to. 'marshall music, the beat goes on...' what a world.

pardon the run-on sentences and lack of cohesion but i just woke up. i think my inexplicable crush on gordon brown is thankfully on the wane. perhaps emma's stunned reaction to my admission has something to do with this...?

saturday october 16, 2004

ring ring... ring ring... Hallo?

Tony, it's Georgie. Look, I need a favor from ya buddy.

Oh, good day Georgie, anything for you. What do you need? Yap yap.

I need you to send British troops to Baghdad. Just get mah back for a while buddy. K?

Ummm, errr... I'll have to think about that Georgie, I just announced I want to serve another term you know. Yip.

Tony... Tone... buddy... are you saying you're gonna turn your back on Amurca? I got an election going on over here too you know! Are you just another cheese-eating freedom weasel?

Grrrr, yip... what on earth is that supposed to mean?

I think you get mah drift. What's it gonna be Tony? We're in this together, remember? Axis of evil, all that oil ours for the taking, Wimpy's in Baghdad...? Hello?

(Tony's greed-addled mind mulls it over: Do I want America to hate me, or the rest of the planet to hate me even more? At least I'd get to keep Israel and Russia... maybe South Korea... decisions, decisions... and what about all my EU deriders? This won't play very well with them... oy vey! maybe I should just have another heart attack and punt this whole mess to Gordon... )

I just don't know Georgie, can I get back to you on this? Michael Howard just came in and his head looks a bit like a pickled beetroot...

TO BE CONTINUED

wednesday october 13, 2004
listening to the eternal hum of my withering spirit

i lost the duckbrella today and it made me very, very sad. been calling national rail's lost and found like a pathetic child but all i can hope is that someone who needed the duckbrella more than me now has it and will put it to good use. duckbrella has served me well.

now on to important business:

UK friends: boycott tesco. they (like all supermarkets) pollute the world by flying and trucking food globally while they could support local producers and help local economies, and they use WAY TOO MUCH PACKAGING on everything. even their produce is entombed in cardboard, styrofoam and plastic - why? not to mention how they dupe customers into spending 2 - 3x as much as necessary for basics like potatoes cos they stupidly import stuff from all over. it's a total sham. i ain't even gonna get into what they put IN all their cheap processed crap... how people can eat that cancerous shit is beyond me. while we're on the subject... here's the case against supermarkets in general. oh, and by the way here are even more reasons to boycott tesco! (yeah i know the article is from '97, but the only thing that's changed are some numbers, ie; they control even more of the local food monopoly, etc.). yes, i kinda have it in for them personally - they made my life a living hell when i had precious little choice of where to shop since they were the 'only game in town' by my last job. i'll never set foot in a sTupormarket again if i can help it (thx derry!)

until we move, this page is gonna be a lotta links cos the commuting thing and the fact that i actually WORK during the day now limit my 'puter geekdom time considerably.

yank friends: sign the petition to stop sinclair! in case you didn't know, conservative-leaning (understatement) sinclair broadcast group is forcing its affiliates to air an hour long anti-kerry film the night before the election in the flimsy guise of 'news' so they won't be accused of defying FCC regulations to air equal time to both candidates.... whew... so in case i'm off the mark just read this, or even better read this for the scoop. will these right wing scum stop at nothing?

ooh i'm spreading the venom global stylee... fight the power, fight it! i had a dream, and in that dream we had kittens! lots of them! i think that's a good sign. hopefully tomorrow i shall wake to radio 4's reports of dubya's head exploding on stage tonight. yee.

monday october 11, 2004
from The Guardian

Our debt to Derrida

Jacques Derrida, the French scholar who died on Friday, had a dramatic impact on the study of literature in the postwar period. His theory of deconstruction has influenced - consciously or unconsciously - a great deal of modern scholarship and seeped inexorably into other arenas and media, from George Bush's election advertising to architectural criticism. Yet his theories remain controversial. For many, Derrida personified the worst type of "French fraud", in the manner of Jean-François Lyotard and Michel Foucault, impenetrable theorists who spouted nonsense. Yet much criticism of Derrida's work was cheap anti-intellectualism or a wilful distortion of his ideas. He should be remembered as a profound thinker who made a lasting contribution to intellectual discourse.

Deconstruction, in terms of literary theory, springs from a simple idea that originated with Friedrich Nietzsche: that any text is open to an infinite number of interpretations. That makes it possible to ignore the author's intentions, stated or otherwise, and examine a text for meanings that would otherwise be uncomfortable or hidden. This thought is little different to some of Ludwig Wittgenstein's ideas, but by concentrating on epistemology he avoided the obloquy heaped on Derrida.

Part of the problem for Derrida's critics is that they sought to hang upon him all their fears of postmodernism and relativism. Much of this was unfair, since he could not be held accountable for the journeys to the wilder shores of theory by some of his supporters and fellow travellers. What was important was that deconstruction held that no text was above analysis or closed to alternative interpretation. It is no coincidence that it came into vogue in the 1960s and 1970s, when many cultural and social institutions were being challenged. As a result, Derrida became popular among those willing to question the sterile idea of a "western canon" who wanted to expand literary discourse so that writers such as Mary Elizabeth Braddon could sit alongside the Brontes. Thanks to Derrida, many new voices were heard.

RIP jackie: 'world's greatest philosopher' dies.

i for one owe a lot to the man... his ideas deeply affected me and validated my thought processes from a very early age.

october 3, 2004
listening to hands around my throat by death in vegas

some of my us-election hysteria seems to be dying down, if for no other reason than shrub is really starting to look like the idiot that he is - you can't hide behind your spin doctors forever you mental moron. it was great seeing his podium jacked up in those split-screen shots during the 1st debate... "this is your foreign policy on phone books" basically. i feel encouraged that he may very well go down like the flaming bag of poo that he is. yay.

the new job starts tomorrow and i have the 'here-we-go-agains'... more new names, new faces, stuff to learn, blah blah blah. i'm so jaded cos i change jobs so often. get this - the old company that just made me redundant offered me a NEW job beginning in january where i'd work from home. the irony is, well, par for the course. it would be a shitload of money for a relatively small amount of work. the catch? let's see if it actually materializes - this company is finding new and exciting ways to cut the fat on a daily basis, and although i've been assured that the budget for this has been approved i'm sure they'll find a way to make the position unnecessary after all. so i may have 3 months to get the hove office up & running, and if come december i can get a minimum 2-year contract from the old place i may very well jump. or not. high tech is so come and go, and another bullshit redundancy may be more than i can take.

so, it is raining, i am boring, and it's time to fold some linens and drink more coffee. ta ra.

graham, right to pop! and feel right shouldn't be b-sides. they are just fantastic tunes! balls balls balls!