It's just a ride...

Evidence

2006-12-04T14:46:00.000+01:00

Hey, check out my shiny new NaNo Winners icon!

Bask in its glory, people.

I've done it!

2006-11-30T15:00:00.000+01:00

Well, at about 10:30pm last night, with 25 and a half hours to spare, I finally reached 50,000 words, after a long 29 days! It's been a great experience, and when I get round to it I will putting my official NaNo winners icon on this blog somewhere (just to show off, y'know...).

So, who wants to read my story? It does need to be quite heavily edited before anyone can read it, primarily because I wrote it in quite a random order so if I was to post up was is in my word file now it would not make much sense to read! I also need to go back through it and edit the sections where my grammar decided to be shit.

So, what now? Well... as far as writing goes, I need to write the fantasy story (very) loosely based on my sister's life that I promised her on her 18th Birthday... which was back in May. Initially it was going to be a short story but it looks as though it's going to turn into a fully-fledged novel, at least 50k in length.

And, of course, I need to blog more. For I have neglected you all for far too long.

40k!

2006-11-23T17:14:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I broke the 40,ooo mark, which means in the final week I only have to write 10,000 words to make the magical 50k! I'm feeling really pleased about still being ahead, still by around 2 days, but as I write this I still haven't wrote anything on my novel today - so I must do that this evening.

As for a title - I still haven't got one. Not that I really need one right now, but it would be nice. I think anything would work for a title really, seen as it is kinda hard to pin down what the book is about anyway!

Still not sure if I like the story... which is quite a strange feeling. I'm *really* pleased with some parts, some passages I just love to bits, but as the complete story goes... I think it might be a bit boring. However, we shall see when I have finished it completely, and can give it a read through. I still have to remind myself that none of it has been edited at all, so it is pretty hard to judge how good it actually is.

Can't wait until the 30th. I'm sure I will have the made the 50k by then, and will be able to start on my next writing project (I'll come back to this one next year probably, to edit it and change anything that's crap). I already know what my next project will be, but
I will leave that til another post - when December rolls around.

Day 17 and 30,000 words

2006-11-17T15:11:00.000+01:00

Well, I've flown past the midpoint of NaNoWriMo, and I'm still going strong. I am hoping to write some more today but at this point I'm just peeking over the 30k mark by a few words, which leaves me about 1 day ahead of schedule. I would have liked to have been further ahead by this point, as I can feel it getting harder and harder by the day, but hey - at least I'm not behind schedule.

Also, there is something that should ease the pressure on me as I enter the last two weeks of NaNoWriMo, which I should probably mention. On Tuesday I left my job at Elite Purchasing. I've really rather enjoyed my time there (with the actual calling of people being probably the most unenjoyable part!) and it's a shame to leave. However, it was a 'Jump before I am pushed' kind of scenario, as despite my lack of telesales experience one of the directors was unhappy with my progress, and was wanting 10 appointments from me a week, instead of the 3 (at best) that I had so far managed.

Oh well, it was an experience, at least. You have to try these things, other wise you wouldn't know if you were any good at them or not.

So, being unemployed I am now at home all day, which of course gives me the chance to write a lot more! I am going to try and blitz my novel as much as I can this weekend; I want to be as far ahead of schedule as I possibly can before I enter the final week!

As for the novel itself, my characters have decided to pull me along with them, and every other day a new twist or idea pops up from nowhere to help the plot along. I am just about to write a particularly significant event, which will occur around 2/3 of the way through my story, and will shape the later chapters.

Although, I am still not sure whether I actually like my story or not. The thing is, with writing so much I don't really get chance to read it!

Will post again as I enter my 4th and final week! Until then, check out my on-going progress on my NaNoWriMo profile.

1 Week Down; 3 To Go!

2006-11-08T23:56:00.000+01:00

Today was the 8th November, as I'm sure you're all aware, which to me (crazy fool that I am) it was the 8th day of NaNoWriMo. Into week 2 and it is beginning to get noticeably harder to concentrate, and more difficult to coax my ideas out of my brain and onto the page.

I started off well last week, so I'm now ahead of my average word target. 50,000 words in 30 days averages out at 1,667 words a day. I've finished writing for today, and I'm approaching 17,000 words, which basically means I'm about 2 days ahead of schedule, which is fantastic.

As far as what the story is about, I didn't do much planning on it before NaNo started, so it is very much evolving as I write it, which is actually really exciting. My characters keep changing in ways that I really hadn't anticipated. The story is essentially about a 30ish year old man who has no ambition and is very apathetic towards the world. He really has no interest in social change. He doesn't engage in life much, and chooses instead to live his life as he wants, focusing on small pleasures and observing the lives of others. Don't really know where it's all going to end up, but it'll be fun finding out!

I'll update again in a week, when I'll have reached the midway point of NaNoWriMo! Fingers crossed the second week won't destroy me, and I'll be beyond 25,000 and still ahead of target!

We shall see...

Note to self: must post more.

2006-11-01T10:41:00.000+01:00

So, SORRY! that I haven't been updating at all. I've been a very, very bad blogger. Seen as I'm updating this at work, and need to mention a few things, I'll keep it brief...

Worked in Brewers Fayre over the summer, but am now coming to the end of my second month with a company called Elite Purchasing. I'm basically telesales, ringing up companies to see if we can help them recycle and cut outgoing costs. It doesn't suck as much as it sounds.

I plan to go travelling in a year or so. Hence putting up with a job to save up. No concrete plans as of yet, but I have a bloody fantastic Rough Guides book that I've read once, and which will help me immesurably in the planning and actual doing of my travels.

Me and Melanie went to see Ross Noble at the Newcastle City Hall on Monday. I can't even begin to describe how funny he was!

Today I start on a quest. As part of NaNoWriMo I shall be endevouring, along with thousands of others around the world, to write a 50,ooo word novel in 30 days! Fucking crazy, I know, but its going to be awesome. I wrote 600 words on the bus into work this morning. I promise to post regular updates on how the novel is going, and hopefully get back into the swing of regular blogging.

I could mention more things that have happened but, y'know, I should really be working. Hope everyone is doing good, and hope (despite my absence) you'll still read this.

Laters all.

I'm Back

2006-09-08T20:51:00.000+01:00

It's been ages since I last posted anything on here, so I really should make a detailed post of how my life is going at the moment.

But, I'll just post this instead. Enjoy!

York

2006-08-13T09:13:00.000+01:00

So we took advantage of the few days off I had from work last week, and we (me, my mam and Melanie) went camping! Haven't been camping in ages and I'd forgotten how much I love it; everything about it is just so great. The tent, the sounds, the camp sites, the weather (hopefully)... just everything. Even when our tent (which is a grand 19 years old) nearly fell down after one end of the top pole snapped, we managed to fix it; even if we did have to resort to melting the plastic end in order to remove it from the pole!

We camped in a small town not far from Ripon called Bishop Monkton, and it's quite possibly the most idyllic little village I have ever seen. It was just so beautiful, with some amazing houses that I can't even begin to guess how expensive they must be. It was only a short trip; we went on Wednesday and came back Friday, with the focus of the time away to go to the beautiful city of York, which we did.

Isn't it just fucking awesome?

We got to York just after lunch after a lazy morning in, around (and repairing!) the tent. With no real goal in mind we started by wandering up to the Minster, gazing at its gothic fantasticness, and grabbing and ice cream before walking part way round the city walls. For the rest of the afternoon we pretty much just explored what York has to offer; not really going anywhere in particular but, then again, York is just pretty awesome wherever you go. Especially here, in the Shambles...

Later on we went to sit by the river, and rather beautfiul it was too; what with the sun going down and everything...

For tea we found a wonderfully cozy little pub called The Hole in the Wall. I had the Lamb and Dumplings; and it was delicious. A little more chilling was done but come 8 o'clock, it was time for the Ghost Tour.

We've been on one of these before (there are many different tours on offer) the last time we were in York, and it was really dramatic; very much street theatre. This tour was very different, just a guy (Tony) leading us round and telling us stories. It was really intimate and personal, not to mention entertaining. As the tour went round, I decided that a black and white picture of the Minster was appropriate.

It's just mint, really.

White Rabbit

2006-08-08T22:28:00.000+01:00

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When men on the chessboard
get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen softly dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the doorknob said.
Feed your Head, feed your Head!

Now do one (or all) of the following things connected to these awesome lyrics...

a) go and listen to Jefferson Airplane.

b) go and watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

c) go and read, of course, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Butterflies

2006-08-06T15:16:00.000+01:00

Here are some pictures of butterflies feeding on our Buddleia (or 'Butterfly Bush') in our back garden; most of which I took this morning. There was loads of them!

A Large White Butterfly.

A Monarch Butterfly.

A Peacock Butterfly.

Another Monarch.

My favourite picture that I took; taken early afternoon. All four eyes of a beautiful Peacock Butterfly.

Wedding and Wings

2006-08-01T09:53:00.000+01:00

Grrr. I'm frustrated that I've been so poor at posting the past few weeks (or months...) Sorry to anyone logging in and continually seeing no updates. Since I'm a working man now (at the Brewers Fayre pub/restaurant at Moor Farm), it's hard to find the time when I can properly write about some of the cool stuff that's happened lately; since I want to do it properly instead of just writing "This week I did this, this and this...". Alas, I don't have much time now either, so I'm just going to write a bit about two really cool things, and hopefully I can get into a routine of fitting regular (and hopefully nice and short) updates around my work hours. That's the plan, anyway.

First really big thing that happened recently was my uncle Darrell and his fiancee Sarah (who happens to be a former teacher of mine!) got married at the fabulous Wallington Hall last Saturday. It was a really beautiful ceremony, with some fantastic readings including the poem The Owl and The Pussycat! After the ceremony there was a gathering at Darrell's house in Bellingham, which is in awesome countryside, and in the evening we all went to the village hall for a dance and general revelry. The night was topped off with some awesome fireworks outside Darrell's house, and then over the local hotel for some much needed rest after a looong and exhausting day. The weather had been beautiful to match the occassion, but standing around in the burning sun and drinking alcohol can take it out of you!

On the Sunday it was back to the house for a BBQ, and lots of fun and games on the hired bouncy castle! This involved me and some of the lads from the village attempting numerous front and back flips (some of us more successfully than others!) and culminated in two of the lads grabbing my little brother James (who is light as a feather) by the legs and arms and hurling him spectacularly onto the bouncy castle. Brilliant fun; there should be more bouncy castles just dotted around the place.

Then, a week ago, I flew a plane! Courtesy of Darrell and Sarah buying my a Air Experience Flight voucher for my birthday last year, and the lovely people at St George's Flight Training at Teeside Airport. It was again a really sunny day, although the heat haze made it difficult to see the horizon once I was up. We flew in a 4-seater Piper Cherokee, and it was bloody unbelievable. It was such a great experience; I enjoyed it immensely. Big thanks to my instructor David who was just the coolest guy on the planet. He really put me at ease without me even realising; I'm there flying along at 2,500ft, and he's singing and drumming on the control panel! Possibly the best thing about the flight was that we flew back up the coast to Cramlington, and we saw my house! Many other landmarks were spotted, some of which we caught on camera by Melanie who bravely came with me as my passenger. She really enjoyed it too, which was great.

Me and Dave in the cockpit.

Marsden Rock.

Crammy!

A fantastic shot looking back over Newcastle.

The Graduate!

2006-07-20T08:35:00.000+01:00

Christopher Jackson; Bachelor of Laws

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it!

I graduated on Tuesday, with Class 2 Division 2 Honours, and a really good day it was too. The ceremony (despite the large number of students recieving their degrees) was kept short, with just ONE speech from the Vice-Chancellor. He even managed to throw in a couple of decent jokes.

Graduating filled me with a lot of different emotions, but one of the main ones was pride. I know I haven't worked as hard as I could have done for my degree, but at the end of it all I am proud of what I've achieved; very proud, even though I wasn't sure I would feel that. I was also filled with sadness; I haven't always had the best time at Uni, and certainly over the past year I have often been counting down the days until I left, yet it was a hell of an experience that is now officially over. And that upsets me. But I am so glad I have had this experience, and although it didn't turn out at all like I expected it too (in more ways than one) I can look back on it now and smile. Upset about a few things, but with no regrets.

Back at last!

2006-07-09T14:42:00.000+01:00

A thousand apologies, oh patient ones. Sorry for going so long with an update; I would try and come up with some sort of lame excuse, but I just don’t have one.

So, let’s get back up to speed. I’ll try and keep it brief, and in some kind of order.

· Way back on the 8th June I had my last exam (Corporate Insolvency). Ben came down to Sheffield and we hung out for a few days; chilling in the glorious sun. We went to Corporation and saw an awesome band (Khoma), a distinctly average band (36 Crazyfists) and a FUCKING AWFUL band (From First To Last).

· Returned home briefly to see my dad and step-mum renew their wedding vows for their 10th wedding anniversary, and to celebrate my mum’s 50th birthday. Returned to Sheffield to help Kier clean the house, and then left Sheffield for home for the last time. Goodbye Sheffield! I shall see you again when I go down to visit Kier and Alice next year.

· Started a home-study writing course with the Writers Bureau. I shall be sending my first Assignment off tomorrow. Shall keep you updated with any writing (and hopefully, some publications!)

· Have, of course, been watching the World Cup. Overall it’s been great, despite FIFA and their referees trying their hardest to ruin it by throwing cards around whenever a player goes down. My hatred for a certain Mr. Ronaldo knows no bounds; it never has ever since he joined Man U and I realised then what a whining, cheating, petulant child he is. (I like to think of myself as an old-school Ronaldo-hater) With any luck the tournament will end well tonight, and I really don’t mind who wins.

· A few weeks ago I stayed at Ben’s for a few days and we wrote a song that we’re both really proud of. It’s not quite finished yet; needs a finishing touch, but once it’s complete it will be posted on MySpace for you all to (hopefully) enjoy.

· Went to see X-Men: The Last Stand. Was really rather good.

· Still trying to get a job. Filling in application form after application form isn’t exactly fun, but the rewards are obvious.

· After England got knocked out me, my mum and my sister Melanie went to see the fabulous Illyria perform Macbeth on a tiny little stage outside Wallington Hall. It was a perfect evening for the 5 brilliant performers to do justice to what is, let’s face it, a brilliant play. It was a wonderful night.

· The next day Melanie and me went to the International Kite Festival in Sunderland with our dad and family. Was a good day for it; the wind was sufficient and constant, and the sun was bright. I’ve actually written a short descriptive piece about the event for my first Assignment.

· Saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on Thursday, and fucking great it was too. (Don't click that link if you haven't seen it. Some people don't put spoiler warnings on forum titles...) It’s darker in tone than the first film and unfortunately takes a little while to really get going, but it gets better and better and… what an ending! I won’t elaborate for those of you who have yet to see it, but those who have will know what I’m talking about!

I think that’s about enough; brings my life up to date. Sorry again for my online absence, I shall strive (as part of my resolution to practice writing every day) to update at least a few times a week. We shall see if that happens.

Hope everyones' summer is starting well. Long may it continue.

Collateral Damage/Murdering People

2006-06-02T23:07:00.000+01:00

Iraq is looking more and more like Vietnam every day. I’ve been putting off posting about this for ages, cos it’s pretty obvious to everyone what a fucking mess Iraq is; thanks to the West. But in light of recent reports emerging of the alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha last November, I felt I needed to say something.

To think of this fills me with many emotions, but the overwhelming one is despair. Things like this should not happen. Ever. It’s as simple as that. But unfortunately, this is what happens when we try and solve problems through war. And will continue to happen. It’s happened before, and no doubt it will happen again. I studied the My Lai massacre as part of a module on the Vietnam War in my A-Level History course. This isn’t just a conspiracy or anything; it actually happened. Perhaps as many as 500 people, including women and children, murdered. In cold blood. For no reason.

Why have the US not learned from Vietnam? Apparently, the US troops are going to be given “ethics training”. Well, why the fuck have they not been trained in this before? The simple answer; such training would make it harder for them to kill people. Bush has described the training "a reminder for troops in Iraq, or throughout our military, that there are high standards expected of them and that there are strong rules of engagement". “Rules of engagement”; like, not killing innocent civilians. In order to actually clean up our mess, we going to need to win the hearts and minds of the Iraq civilians, just like the US had to do (and failed to do) in Vietnam. And killing them isn’t a very good way of doing this.

The comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam, certainly for the US troops, have been uttered increasingly as the war drags on. The British and American troops are now, as the Americans were in Vietnam, trapped. I say ‘trapped’; this is arguably what the US wanted all along. They have been building several permanent installations there; fueling Iraqi (and those of us with any sense in the West) that this War is all about oil, control of the middle-east, and perhaps maintaining a puppet government in Iraq.

(I could rant further about the reasons behind this War, but I won’t. Instead, everyone should watch the fantastic Robert Newman, who is both hilarious, and a speaker of Truths. Thanks to The Girl for pointing me in his direction.)

Regardless of why we are there, the real horror is not that alleged massacre(s) (there are now reports of one in Ishaqi) are happening. It’s the fact that they don’t cause that much of a stir, either in the Western media or even in Iraq. Why is this? Surely the murder of innocent people should cause massive reactions. But, the sickening thing is that innocent people are dying every day; be it by “accident”, “massacre” or just sheer military incompetence. Civilians dying is merely part of what happens when the West go on our missions to enforce our ideas of democracy onto people that are viewed, even if it is not said out loud, as inferior. They need us to bring culture and peace to their lives. And in doing so we in the West make the killing of civilians into an unfortunate but unavoidable side-effect of bringing democracy to them, and not the tragedy that it should be.

So, in the end; so what if a few Iraqi’s die? They should be grateful, surely? After all, we saved them from the evil clutches of Saddam Hussain and we are in the process of bringing democracy to their lives. In essence, they owe us. “Collateral damage” is just an inevitable part of war. But how much collateral damage is worth “democracy” in the Middle-East? 40,000 lives? By the time we get out of there, whatever the outcome, it’s going to be a lot more.

FNM

2006-05-31T21:10:00.000+01:00

Faith No More kicking MTV's ass. Hard. This is what it's all about; not giving a fuck and having a damn good time doing it.

Man; I fucking love Patton. See my 'heroes' links. I'm on a total Patton binge at the moment, listening to everything I've got of his; Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Fantomas, and all his miriad collaborations and projects. Expect a review here of his new Peeping Tom project in the next few weeks. It just came out and I'm dying to get it, but I'm saving myself until after my exams are done. It's going to be an awesome album, and it'll need my full attention.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow...

2006-05-30T23:13:00.000+01:00

First off; apologies for lax posting. I know it hasn't been that long since I last posted, but I kind of hope that you've all been logging on every day, or even twice daily, only to sigh in disappointed and curse silently under your breath that I've not posted anything new. I know this probably isn't the case, but hey. If you have been; then I'm very, very sorry. And thanks for reading.

Anywho, it's deep into that time of year. Exam time! The centre of academic life around which our paltry existences are measured; every day of our studies focused on and culminating in several hours of frantic writing to prove how much we know about a subject that we may, or may not, care about. The point of scholastic ejaculation where all that knowledge we've built up through months of... actually, y'know what? I'm going to abandon that metaphor before someone gets hurt...

All this stress is exacerbated and exaggerated even more by the fact that I am fast approaching my last week at University. For those of you not in this position;
this is a fucking scary thought, believe me. So much so that I just try not to think it, and just get on day by day.

A day by day routine which is, right now, feeling somewhat of a drag. Day by day; the same old day. My days seem split in only two ways: 'revising' and 'not revising'. Whatever I do when I'm not revising, be it going for a walk, playing my guitar, reading, watching TV, hanging out with friends; it all just seems to fall into the umbrella of 'not revising'. Maybe it's guilt and comes from me feeling like I should be working harder. Maybe it comes from me wanting this chapter of my life (as good as it has been in parts) to be over. Or maybe it's the stress of facing my final exams to get my Law degree which I only really want because I believe in finishing what I've started.

Whatever it is; I can't wait for Uni to be over.

Do You Realise?

2006-05-25T02:45:00.000+01:00

Do you realise that you have the most beautiful face?
Do you realise we're floating in space?
Do you realise that happiness makes you cry?
Do you realise that everyone you know someday will die?

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes
Let them know you realise that life goes fast,
It's hard to make the good things last.
You realise the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round.

Do you realise?
Do you realise that everyone you know someday will die?

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes
Let them know you realise that life goes fast,
It's hard to make the good things last.
You realise the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round.

Do you realise that you have the most beautiful face?
Do you realise?

'Do You Realise?', by The Flaming Lips.

*Edit* I've just actually looked properly at the Amazon page linked above, and seen that the album is going for an astounding £4.97! That's more than worth spending just to hear this utterly awesome album, even if you only listen to it once. Buy it NOW!

Fancy Dress Fun

2006-05-21T18:47:00.000+01:00

I returned home again on Friday for Melanie's 18th birthday party, and immense fun it was too. She had a joint party with her two friends Grace and Gin who were also 18 last week; Happy Birthday to them too! Words don't really do parties justice; so here are a few photos...

Lara Croft, Jane, and Tinkerbell a.k.a Gin, Melanie and Grace a.k.a. The Birthday Girls!

Guess the costumes!

Tarzan and Jane a.k.a. Sam and Melanie.

The best costume at the party by a country fucking mile. Dr Frank N Furter a.k.a. Boydy.

Melanie's birthday cake, eaten after our family meal yesterday. Nothing to do with the party as such, but I thought it deserved to go up here cos as you can see it's fucking cool. Melanie had the same cake years and years ago. Possibly for her 7th birthday; none of us can really remember!

The one bad thing about this weekend, amidst all the awesomeness of fancy dress, being home, seeing lots of friends and relatives etc is that now I'm back in Sheffield and have absolutely nothing to look forward to over the next few weeks. Exams can go fuck off. First one this Saturday. That's right: Saturday!

Another birthday!

2006-05-18T10:31:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post (which should have been done yesterday: I suck) to say Happy Birthday to Mr Kier Mustoe! Wooooohoooooo! And such...

I have nothing else really to say other than to comment on how fucking BORING revision is. It's not that I don't like doing it, it's just so very very boring. I do understand that if I found ways to make it fun then it would probably be more effective, but hey. I'd rather read it, write it, and talk to myself about it then fannying about with cards, post-its, fancy colours etc. Although, having said all that I am just about to listen to a podcast on Corporate Insolvency posted on the Uni system by my lecturer.

That, my friends, is the very definition of fun.

Happy 18th Birthday Melanie!

2006-05-15T20:36:00.000+01:00

Yes, my little sister is 18! Fucking hell... where does time go? Anywho, lots of birthday love to her, and a "sorry" for not being able to finish her present in time for today. I had the idea of writing a story about her (kinda) for her birthday, but the idea came too late and evil exams stood in my way. But after I finish Uni I'll finish it off, and who knows, maybe post it up here; with Melanie's permission of course.

So, I had a great weekend, and big congratulations go to my aunty and uncle who celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary on Saturday. Despite the shitty weather the party was really good and I drank too much red wine. Which is always fun.

Now I have to really, really start some revision; especially as I'm going to be away from Sheffield again this coming weekend. Melanie is having a fancy dress party (shared with two of her friends who have birthdays this week) on Friday. If anyone has any ideas on who I can go as (the theme is films) please... answers on a postcard! Or better still; in the Comments link below.

To be honest, I want to go as the Predator. I like simple.

"Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

2006-05-07T23:22:00.000+01:00

And so chanted Alice, myself, and a theatre full of people of all ages and from all walks of life, having just spent the past few hours pissing ourselves laughing and all having a bloody fantastic time. Laughing our heads off, and then laughing all the more cos we are comfortable in the knowledge that we will be going straight to hell. Or so some people believe. And to those people, we laugh, and say that it is they, not us, that can all go, in the words of Satan, get “fucked up the ass with barbed wire.”

Putting it simply; the show was amazing. Brilliantly put together, fantastically performed, and hilarious. Warring infidel lovers, a chick with a dick (with a heart), grown people in nappies, Satan, Jesus, God, Steve the Head of Security, and tap-dancing members of the KKK. That’s right; TAP-DANCING MEMBERS OF THE KKK! That really is as fucking funny as it sounds.

So, supposedly, Jerry Springer: The Opera is a hate show, targeted towards Christianity. But to any reasonable person who actually goes to see it (unlike, I’m sure, a lot of the Christians who have been protesting) this is plainly not the case. If anything, it’s ultimately a story of good vs evil; like all the best stories are.

The protesters complain that Jesus and their religion is ridiculed; that this show is blasphemous. These two observations are pretty much true; but that does not mean that such shows cannot be created. Why cannot a show that mocks Christianity be made? Never does the show say that Christians are wrong, or idiots, or horrible people. The story of Christ is simply used to create humour. And thanks to that wonderful little thing called freedom of speech, that’s allowed!

However, the Christians who speak out against the Opera claim very much to be in favour of free speech. Yet, they want to try and stop the show from being shown on stage for people who want to see it to go and have a great time. They’ve tried, and fucking succeeded, in stopping DVDs of the show from being sold in certain supermarkets. In other words, they believe in freedom of speech so long as that speech doesn’t offend them or disagree with them in any way.

What is so wonderful about the world in which we live is that everyone is different. We all have different opinions, and we all have different beliefs. And I, as do most atheists, respect the Christian beliefs. We don’t agree with them, but we respect them. There’s a difference. But, it seems that many Christians (far be it from me to judge an entire group of people. I’ll leave that job to the protesters) do not respect the beliefs of others. The belief that they may be wrong. Cos, as the end of the day, beliefs are just that; ‘beliefs’. They are how you were brought up. They are what you have been taught. That doesn’t make them REAL.

So fine; be offended. I understand how this show will offend SOME Christians. But also, I’m offended by their reaction and their judging of me and everyone else who goes to see the Opera as heathens and immoral people. I’m offended by them trying to physically stop productions of the show. And I’m offended by their lack of a sense of humour, and lack of common sense and reason. If they don’t like the show, THEY DON’T HAVE TO WATCH IT!

Anywho, I should probably wrap this up before I start to rant.

I just want to finish by saying how much I would have loved to have hung out with the cast of the show afterwards. They clearly enjoyed every minute of the show as much as the audience did. I bet that they are the most interesting, fun, reasoned and open-minded people you could ever have the rare pleasure of meeting. And they put on a fucking kick-ass show.

“Jesus, grow up for Christ’s sake, and put some fucking clothes on!”

Sun!

2006-05-05T17:04:00.000+01:00

Wow, today is gorgeous. Really, really gorgeous. It's days like today that you really don't want to do any work. But as I have an assessed Family Law seminar on Monday morning, and am going home for the weekend, I had to do some today. So, I went to the library, photocopied the articles that I needed to read, and went to the park.

This is the tree I sat under and read 4 (count 'em, 4!) articles. Granted, a couple of them were pretty short, but hey. When I was finished I kicked back and listened to Pink Floyd and felt the sun on my face. It was great.

When I got back I hung out with Kier, Villis and Mike the Cat for a bit.

Mike (as Kier affectionately named him) is our neighbourhood cat who has taken to hanging out at our house. I thought it was about time I posted a picture of him.

Right, it's off to the #1 Oriental Buffet with Alice for our dinner (all you can eat, and I haven't eaten all day!) and then off home back up to the 'Toon.

Some thoughts

2006-05-03T23:58:00.000+01:00

Well, I decided I really should post something seen as I haven't put down my thoughts for getting on for a week now, so... here's some thoughts.

1) Why the hell is Charles Clarke still in our government? RESIGN ALREADY, you incompetant bear, you.

2) War sucks. The most powerful man in the world (and I shudder as I type those words) seems to disagree with me on this point, and as I've already mentioned on this blog and as I'm sure everyone is very much aware, he just can't wait to charge right in there, causing lots of "unfortunate" civilian deaths (again) simply because the Iranians might want what the US already have. Regardless of have much I am for nuclear non-proliferation, I don't understand how America can tell any other country that they don't have the right to manufacture any nuclear weapons, when America are are the only country in history to ever use one. Oh, I'm sorry, two.

So, it looks like it is down to us, the little people, to try to work towards a future where wars are no more. An impossible task some may say. You may ask; what can we do? Well, I'll tell you how we can start. Y'see, as I discovered when I found this website, before you love others you have to be able to love yourself first...

Finally, 3) I consider myself a fair man. So, in light of the fact that I have reason to believe there will be protesting Christians at the Theatre Royal on Saturday, denouncing Jerry Springer: The Opera and praying for mine and Alice's accursed souls, and I will no doubt be voicing my opinion on this following the show, here is their side of the story...

I can't wait for Saturday.

“Is this bass really strong enough?”

2006-04-28T23:04:00.000+01:00

"Somewhere out there in the vast nothingness of space,
Somewhere far away in space and time,
Staring upward at the gleaming stars in the obsidian sky,
We're marooned on a small island, in an endless sea.
Confined to a tiny spit of sand, unable to escape,
But tonight,
on this small planet,
on Earth,
We're going to rock civilization..."

Lyrics taken from ‘Prelude’ by Pendulum

Seriously, this has to be the greatest opening to any album ever.
Don’t even try and argue. You know I’m right.

So, the sun decided to bless us all with its divine presence today, so I decided I would forego any vague ideas of working I had and go and have a walk around town, which I haven’t done for ages. At least, not in Sheffield I haven’t.

It was a glorious day, and I had fun checking out all the hustle and bustle of the market. Although to be honest, it was a lot more bustle than hustle, but hey. I also bought these…

I bought the book (from the awesome Fopp) simply because it caught my eye and I find it hard to resist buying books, even though I have loads on my shelf that I am yet to read cos I keep on buying new ones. I’m already reading two books at the moment; besides any actual work I have to do.

The strings I bought because there is nothing better than a full set of new strings on your guitar. I've restrung it (for the first time in fucking aaaaages) and it's just wonderful. Kier nailed it when he said it's like a new instrument. It actually is. Plus, the super-cool guy in the shop let me have the strings for 10 whole pence less than the £5.99 asking price, simply cos he wanted the coins I had rather than taking a twenty from me. Brilliant stuff.

Laters, I'm off to play my guitar all night.

Oh Lordi!

2006-04-25T22:27:00.000+01:00

So, one of the things that I find incredibly funny and incredibly annoying in equal measures is people over-reacting to the "negative effects" of music, and so on and so forth. You know the kinda thing. Fortunately, this falls more on the funny side. Hopefully you think so too, Ally. (There you go...)

Don't know if anyone knows this, but the Finnish entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest is a band called Lordi, and they look like this.

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Run for the hills! Cover your ears! These people are obviously sick in the head, they play loud nasty "death metal" (they don't) and are spreading Satan's evil machinations directly into your children's heads! If they are allowed to play on Eurovision, apparently, the world will end, or something. You may laugh, but people are actually calling upon the Finnish Government to STEP IN AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

As for this band being Satanic... for fuck's sake, the song they are entering is called 'Hard Rock Hallelujah!', and another one of their songs contains the line "The Devil is a loser and he's my bitch".

It's not Satanism, it's Theatre!

In other news, I'm sure everyone is as happy as I am that Tesco have just announced profits of £2.25 billion (!) over the past year. My life is certainly going to get much better as the rich just keep on getting richer. But hey, thank fuck for all the new shops they'll build!

Everything has a bright side...

...like a schnook.

2006-04-25T08:12:00.000+01:00

"As far back as I can remember,
I always wanted to be a gangster.
To me... being a gangster was better than
being president of the United States."

The only thing wrong with watching documentaries about the real story behind films, is that no matter how good it is, it just makes you want to watch the film. Especially when the programme was 'The Real Goodfella', on Channel 4 last night, and the film just happens to be one of the the greatest movies ever made.

Unfortunately, I don't have the DVD with me in Sheffield, and even if I did, I really don't have time to watch it. Far too much work to do, and that sucks. Speaking of work I finished and handed in my Corporate Insolvency essay yesterday, which pleased me greatly. However, I still have my Family Law project to finish. Come 5pm tomorrow I'll let you know how it went.

Time for a cup of 'wake the fuck up', and off to the library.

Back to Uni

2006-04-21T09:40:00.000+01:00

So, I'm back in Sheffield. Really would rather not be. I know the grammar in that sentence is shit, but being back doesn't deserve better grammar. Urgh. The weather is awful too, again. And I still have lots of work to finish off. I'm finishing my Corporate Insolvency essay today (hopefully) ready to hand it in on Monday, and I have my Family Law project to finish by Wednesday. So it's going to be a fun next couple of days. All I have to remember is that I have around 7 weeks of Uni left. Wonderful.

I must add that come back isn't all bad. I do get to see my good friend Kier, so that's nice. I do miss him when I'm away, and, well... y'know, the sex is good. I jest, of course, but we all have our dreams...

Wednesday was awesome. I caught up with my best mate back at home, Ben, whom I hadn't seen in ages. It was a great day. Besides all the catching up we did we went to see the latest Spike Lee Joint, 'Inside Man'. Was really very enjoyable, great story of a bank robbery with a twist. Denzel Washington was superb as usual, and Jodie Foster was also brilliant, and has great legs! Wow.

Line of the film? "You're a magnificent cunt."

Chocolate

2006-04-16T23:00:00.000+01:00

So, the second series of Doctor Who started yesterday, and bloody excellent it was too. Never takes itself too seriously, and just really, really good fun to watch. Plus, yesterday's episode had plague-ridden zombies in it. And there isn't many things better than Zombies. Besides maybe werewolves, hence me greatly looking forward to next weeks episode.

Oh, happy Easter everyone. Just thought I should say that; might as well really. Thank god the sun managed to stay out today; meant that we could get out the house, and I could take a break from my work, which I'm actually doing now. Me, my mum, my sister Melanie and my mum's friend Tanya went out for lunch and a walk at a National Trust place called Allen Banks. It was really rather beautiful.

Well then, that's all I have to say really. I'm off now to celebrate the resurrection of Christ by stuffing my fat face with a chocolate egg that a large rabbit left for me in the middle of the night.

I will never ever understand that...

Happy Birthday Alice!

2006-04-12T20:36:00.000+01:00

The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory really. My very good friend Alice is 19 today! Hurray, congrats, woohoo, and many other exclamations of joy and well-wishing aimed in her direction.

Unfortunately she'll have to wait until May 6th for my birthday present - we're going to see Jerry Springer: The Opera at the Theatre Royal! Expect a large-ass review/rant about protesting Christians on here when the 6th rolls around.

Bomb America

2006-04-10T22:07:00.000+01:00

This is my new plan. Did you know that the USA has nuclear weapons? Yeah, that's right! Fuck, is no-one else as scared as me? We should go in and bomb the fuckers; can't have a big, powerful nation like America having nuclear weapons.

Sounds ridiculous? Well, why are we now hearing that Bush may want to bomb Iran? I must say "may want to", cos of course Bush denies it. He wants "diplomatic solutions" apparently. Like he knows the meaning of the words. Plus, I seem to remember him lying to everyone about Iraq. That whole WMD thing, remember? I, along with a hell of a lot of other people, didn't believe him then, and I don't believe him now. He wants to bomb the fuck out of Iran, just cos they want what America has; nukes. I bet it makes him feel big. You know how normal insecure men buy big cars to compensate for something else they may be lacking? Bush needs to start wars to compsenate. Man oh man.

Elite League Playoff Champions!

2006-04-10T00:31:00.000+01:00

Get in you Vipers!

Well, a great weekend at my Dad's house rounded off with the Newcastle Vipers ice hockey team winning the Elite League playoffs this afternoon, beating Sheffield Stealers 2-1 to win the trophy. We've been watching the action all weekend (two semis yesterday and the final today) via the magic of Broadband - all three games streamed LIVE for 10 quid! Fan-fucking-tastic it was too. Wish we could have been there though. I know a lot of people who don't like ice hockey ("I can't see the fucking puck!") but they've never been to an actual game. If you are one of these people, I urge you to check out your local team; buy yourself a ticket, get down there and soak up the atmosphere. It's a gazillion times better live than on television. Just go; it's far more exciting than football...

Anyway, apologies for the lack of updates recently. I would like to say I've been too busy to post, what with all the work I've got to do - but I really haven't been doing as much as I should. Some, but not enough.

Also, I'd like to recommend a recent song that's really caught my attention. My "Single of the Week" if you will. It is The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, which marks the very welcome return of the fabulously wonderful Flaming Lips. I urge EVERYONE to check it out. I know that's the second thing I've urged upon you all tonight, but hey. At least do one of the two. I've given you a choice, what more do you want? Plus I may treat you all to a little review of their new album At War With The Mystics when I get my hands on it over the next week or so.

Guild Wars 1 - Corporate Insolvency 0

2006-04-05T08:55:00.000+01:00

So... I was right. Guild Wars has totally sucked me in, and I am now no longer of this Earth that we call home, but am of the land of Tyria.

*Sigh* I love really geeky computer games.

Today, I am going to do some work. Notice the use of both italics and bold. I really fucking mean it this time; work is going to happen. And will continue to happen; I'm going to get my mam to take me into town tomorrow morning so I can go to the University library, and force myself to work. I'll let you know how it all goes down.

Ahh well, it looks like my Lvl 6 Mesmer Necromancer is just going to have to wait...

Home on the range

2006-04-03T10:11:00.000+01:00

Man, it feels good to be home.

When I left to go to Uni for the first time, I was so excited. As much as I love my family I was glad to be out of there, off into the big wide world. But that was getting on for three years ago, and now I can't wait to leave.

So I'm going to savour the next few weeks Easter break as much as I can. Take advantage of my mam's cooking, and the delights of Sky television. Now I have hundreds and hundreds of channels of shite to watch, instead of just 5! Wonderful...

Speaking of television, last night's episode of Planet Earth was again glorious and breathtaking. And... it was the last episode until the Autumn. *sob* If you read my last post on this programme you'll probably be able to tell how much this upset me. I could watch it every week; I just love it.

Apart from that, the other upsetting thing is that I have a lot of work to do; which I need to hand in when I go back to Uni. And my sister has bought Guild Wars, which looks rather fucking fantastic, and may very well consume much of my Easter. The universal battle between work and computer games rages on...

Cruel or awesome?

2006-03-31T20:57:00.000+01:00

I think there's a fine line.

But having given it careful consideration, I've decided that this site above is in fact truly awesome, thus negating any small amounts of cruelty involved.

In other news, I'm heading back 'Home' home in the morning for the Easter break, away from Sheffield and University to all the pleasures of my mam's cooking and my family... and I couldn't be fucking happier about it.

Orwellian seeds

2006-03-30T23:10:00.000+01:00

I worry a lot.

Especially when I wake up to find the back-door has been discretely forced open, and a shiny ID card with my name on it is sitting on the counter.

I am, of course, talking figuratively... but today, hidden away on page 15 of the Guardian, is a little article which, very matter-of-factly, tells us that ID cards will now be compulsory with all passports issued from 2010.

Hold on a second!

It's been no secret over recent years, and months, that the debate over ID cards was a hotly-contested one. "Protection from illegal immigrants and terrorists", they tell us. "Orwell was right!", we (or at least I) shout back. A lot of people have very strong opinions on this; one way or another. So, you'd think that such news as this would be front-page stuff. At least, I hoped it would be. But no.

And here's why. What's basically happened is that the Lords, who've been blocking the proposed legislation to make ID cards compulsory for ages now, in the end proposed a compromise today to allow the law to be passed; requiring all passport applicants from 2008 onwards to get an ID card, but with an opt-out period until 2010 for those of us who don't want one.

Y'see, I have a serious problem with that word 'compromise'. My problem being... this was not a fucking compromise. This is ID cards through the back door, with no substantive changes to what the government want; allowing Labour to much more easily pass the necessary laws to make ID cards compulsory for all (regardless of passport application) if they get re-elected. And even if the Tories get elected, and try (as they have stated) to repeal the law, it may well be far too late. Charles Clarke has even admitted this, saying that he thinks it would be too difficult by then to stop it. The civil liberties train will have well and truly left the station. Clarke is gloating about it, and no-one even realises.

And why did the House of Lords 'compromise'? Because they were offered this 'opt-out' clause. Which is a fucking joke, to be blunt. It's the spoonful of sugar, making the evil medicine go down easier. "Oh, that’s fine, people can opt out can they? Alright... have your ID cards, as long as you’re not forcing them on people..."

But they are forcing them upon us. At least, they will be very, very soon.

So, if you need a new passport, be prepared for a "background check". Don't worry, if you haven’t done anything wrong, they won’t find anything, so it'll be okay right? Wrong. This isn't how it should be. Background checks for everyone, regardless of character or lack of suspicion? This isn’t the path I wanted to see us turn down. Perhaps I’m being naive; to be honest I think we turned down this path a long, long time ago.

Don't Shoot The Puppy

2006-03-29T23:06:00.000+01:00

The Internet is good for many things:

School work.

Research.

Blogging!

Downloading music (legally or otherwise...)

Keeping in touch.

Business.

Online gaming.

...and yes, of course, porn.

But one of the best things that the Internet is good for often gets forgotten. It is perhaps the biggest guilty pleasure on the Internet; possibly even more unspeakable; even more taboo, then the dreaded pr0nogaphy that is, so we are told, eroding the very fabric of our society as we speak...

I do you. You do it. I bet even your mother does it.

Timewasting.

The Internet is fucking fantastic for timewasting. Oh, the guilt that courses through you when you look down at the little clock at the bottom of your screen and you see that for the past 3, 4, dare I say 5 hours you've been browsing random articles on Wikipedia; rating the varying aesthetic qualities of the Hot Or Not members; pushing for that high score on BMX Backflips; or sending round those daft joke emails to all your mates.

But it's okay. We mustn't worry aout this. Sure; you're not spending as much time with the family as you should. Yes; you're not filling in those forms for your boss. And indeed; I am not working hard enough for my Law degree. But, at least we're having fun... and we don't even have to shoot any puppies.

Stuffed

2006-03-28T21:57:00.000+01:00

When you're a student, you don't really eat well. I'd say the vast majority of students don't really have a very good diet. I, certainly, have a terrible diet. Consists of a lot of pasta, and plenty a fish finger sandwich.

Really the only times that I get a good meal is a) when I go home, or b) when I fork out some money to eat out somewhere. a) is rare (like the upcoming Easter holidays) and b) is even rarer. If there is one thing more consistent in students than poor diets, it's empty bank accounts.

So, I shouted my best-mate Kier to dinner at a place called Aunt Sally's; a pub-style place that has a permanent two-for-one offer on food. When you can get two HUGE Steak and Ale pies, with chips, for little over seven quid, you know you're onto a winner. Plus a couple of pints of Stella, and the day is complete.

There's not many things (excluding sex) that are as satisfying as a good meal. Especially when you don't have your mam to cook for you every day.

Here's that joke I promised you yesterday. Please don't read on if you're easily offended.

What uses a gallon of petrol in 15 seconds and doesn't move?

A Buddhist monk.

I'm very... very sorry.

2,000 words of fun

2006-03-27T23:27:00.000+01:00

So, I started my Corporate Insolvency essay today.

Yeah, you heard me. Corporate. Insolvency. It's like the two most fun-sounding words in the English language put together. Believe me, the results are just too fun for some people.

For those of you that may be interested, here is the question that I have to answer, in approx. 2,000 words.

“One of the objectives of insolvency law is to protect and maximise value in the financially troubled company for the benefit of all interested parties and the economy in general.” Explain and illustrate how this objective is to be achieved in the context of the rescue procedures available in English law.

Does that not just fill you with joy?

I know you're all intriqued by this now, and you are dying to find out just how, if one was so inclined, to go about rescuing a failing company. Well, if you're lucky, I may post my essay when I've finished.

Or, maybe I won't.

As is clear to you by now, I have nothing of actual interest to say tonight. I'm sorry to have let you all down. I promise that I will post something interesting tomorrow. Either that or an offensive joke.

Caves

2006-03-26T22:22:00.000+01:00

If you didn't see tonights episode of Planet Earth, here's what you missed.

Caves so big that a jumbo jet could fly through them.

What looked like a galaxy of stars, but was in fact hundreds of Glow worms using beautifully deadly silken threads to catch their prey.

Crazy people sky-diving into the 400m deep entrance to the Cave of Swallows, Mexico.

A 100 metre high pile (!) of bat droppings.

Hundreds of thousands of cockroaches, who live on said pile of bat droppings.

6 metre long crystal formations hanging from the ceiling in the Chandelier Ballroom; part of the Lechuguilla Cave, USA.

Gigantic underwater caves, that stretch hundreds of hundreds of miles.

Some of the most bizarre creatures I have ever seen.

Snotites!

Yes, snotites. Basically stalactites formed by bacteria and sulphuric acid that, you guessed it, look just like huge hanging globs of snot. Faaaaantastic.

Before I go on I just want to make a claim. Planet Earth is the best series I've ever seen on TV. Not just the best nature programme, of which I'm sure no-one can disagree, but the best - period.

"Not hard!", I hear you cry, and yes, you only need to turn on the television to any channel at any time of day or night to see how much shite there really is on there, beamed into our cosy homes straight through Lucifer's Dream Box. But once in a while, there really is something on that's worth it.

For the past four weeks now I have sat for an hour watching Planet Earth in absolute awe. The images are breathtaking, the footage stunning, and the coverage enlightening. Each episode has shown things that I, and I imagine nigh on everyone else watching, have never seen before. My jaw has hung wide open on numerous occasions.

If anything, this programme has highlighted just how much stuff there is out there on this planet of ours, that we take so much for granted, that we know nothing about. And that is on our own planet! What about "up there"; in space? And let's not even get started on how little we know about "in there"; in our minds. That we know absolutely fuck-all about.

I really want to talk more about this, and about the previous three episodes - but I won't cos I'll be here all night. And you're probably bored of me already...

Next week: deserts!

*sigh* Bedtime, I think.

Easy come, easy go...

2006-03-25T18:44:00.000+01:00

Well, the most noteworthy thing about today is that a glorious morning (which totally lifted my mood from yesterday) soon turned into another utterly foul day. My mood followed...

As I have nothing interesting to say, I thought I would post a passage from the book I'm reading at the moment, The Archaic Revival, by Terence McKenna; psychedelic thinker and explorer, who investigated the true natures of our universe and reality by taking many a "heroic dose" of various psychedelic drugs deep in the Amazon jungle. In contrast to me, Terence has A LOT of incredibly interesting things to say.

"Information is loose on planet three. Something unusual is going on here. The world is not made of quarks, electromagnetic wave packets, or the thoughts of God. The world is made of language. Language is replicating itself in DNA, which, at the evolutionary apex, is creating societies of civilised beings that possess languages and machines that use language. Earth is a place where language has literally become alive. Language has infested matter; it is replicating and defining and building itself. At it is in us. My voice speaking is a monkey’s mouth making little mouth noises that are carrying agreed-upon meaning, and it is meaning that maters. Without the meaning one has only little mouth noises. Meaning is a crude form of telepathy – listen to my voice, my thoughts becomes your thoughts and we compare them. This is communication, understanding. Reality is a domain of codes, and that is why the UFO problem is like a grammatical problem – like a dangling participle in the fourth-dimensional language that makes reality. It eludes simple approaches because its nature is somehow embedded in the machinery of epistemic knowing itself."

Pathetic Fallacy

2006-03-24T13:46:00.000+01:00

Well, what a fucking miserable day...

Horrible, horrible rain. It really gets me down when the weather is like this. So, I've decided to listen to the most summery music I have. Time for a bit of Bob Marley, methinks.

Just thought I'd also show my support for the REAL protesters in Paris, protesting against the new employment law that makes it easier for employers to fire workers under 26. Watching the news you'd think that there are mass protest groups smashing up everything in site; indulging in the pyromaniacal tendencies that lie within all of us (don't deny it). But in reality these are legitimate protests, marred by a small minority who (quite understandably) feel so desperate and powerless that they feel violence is the only way to express themselves.

Anyway, hopefully de Villepin will meet with the unions, and repeal this law. Studying Employment Law this term is really confirming to me what I already expected; that employees everywhere have very little power and protection from the law indeed.

Oh well.

"Don't worry about a thing,
cos every little thing is gonna be alright."

Small pleasures

2006-03-23T18:09:00.000+01:00

It's not often I come across anything interesting in my Employment Law lectures (go figure) but I DID TODAY!

Thanks be to the anonymous Asian girl who was wearing possibly the best hat I've ever seen! It was knitted, floppy, with a peak, and was pink-and-white striped... Man I wish I could have got a picture of it.

Anyway, it was awesome... and it made me smile.

The best in avant-garde and experimental music.

2006-03-22T16:16:00.000+01:00

Tzadik Records

Tzadik is, besides Ipecac, quite possibly the best record label out there. Owned by Saxophonist/free-jazz wizz/experimental maestro John Zorn, the diversity and originality of the artists involved is truly staggering.

Take a leap of faith, and order a random CD from here. You may hate it. Or it may just open your ears to a world of music you never knew existed.

My favourite blog...

2006-03-22T14:30:00.000+01:00

Just thought, before I give you any reason to stay and read what I have to say, I'd tell you all about the best blog out there, One Red Paperclip, which is quite possibly the greatest idea in the history of great ideas for ever and ever. And it has amazing funtential...

It starts...

2006-03-22T10:08:00.000+01:00

Well, this is my first post. Here I am, big wide world!

I've started this blog really as an online diary, but I don't want to restrict it in any way. On here you'll find everything and anything that I decide to put here; poems, rants, comments on current events, pseudo-philosophical thoughts (I seem to have a lot of them buzzing around in my head). Hopefully by putting them here it'll free up some space up there for something important.

Spring has sprung, apparently, and it's time for a head-space spring clean.

Hope you all enjoy it.