Watercooler 0: Nothing Is A Problem For Me

Im not giving up on it. I'm posting there too.

Though I kinda miss my avatar... Sigh.

http://static.flickr.com/96/215120003_fe34e0090f.jpg

Phew, that's better.

Never offer unsolicited advice. You'll only end up pissing both advisee and advisor off.

But whatever. Some people have to discover things for themselves - and if they never discover it, they're just going to carry on being frustrated and miserable.

I suppose it's just because the subject being discussed was something so close to mine own heart. It's impossible for me to be objective.

I find that often when I do this, the other person will reply: "No, but it's like this (minor circumstantial difference) for me, not like that," not willing to take any wisdom from my offering.

She thinks "K is like this, I'm not like this, I'm like that." When what I'm trying to say is "I used to be like that, and it did me great damage and caused me great angst until I learned how to be this"

Maybe it just comes down to reasons why people make music, and create in the first place... which I guess is something pretty personal and not really open for debate anyway.

*Why* do you make music? For personal fulfillment, for acclaim from others, to attract a specific audience?

When you write, do you have an audience (potential or actual) in mind, or do you just write what comes to you?

If you could look into the future, and find out for certain, that you will never actually "make it" in the music biz, that you will never actually get any further than whatever (small or otherwise) standing/success/lack thereof you have now, would you continue to do it? Would you do it differently? Would you just quit?

I mean, maybe that sounds harsh, but you know, thinking about what kind of *audience* you want, and then backtracking to what kind of music you want to make... to me, that just seems ass backwards, and wrongheaded.

(xpost = hullo watercooler people. I'm looking at last.fm and thinking about it)

And every now and then, I have a bit of a wobbly, but I have to kind of remind myself why I do make music. Because I go stark raving mad(der) if I don't. It's nice when more people listen to it, yes, I'll admit that (and it's probably really frustrating when you see you audience slipping away, or failing to form) - but the funny thing is, I think that people (music fans, whatever) are more attracted to your music when it *is* coming from your own Happy Buttons, that it's somehow just fresher, more energetic, more open, more honest, more... interesting.

And the funny thing is, the guys who invented the Crazy Frog were just f*cking about, trying to make the most annoying sound ever, for the sheer joy of it. Hence why its original name was "the annoying thing". Maybe that's not necessarily *musical* creativity, but it certainly fulfils the "push your own happy buttons first" criteria.

Most exciting thing today = we bought a new fridge. Our old fridge has been kind of failing doing what it's meant to, so quick trip to Comet and, hurrah, cold food and drinks again.

I'm going to Edinburgh tomorrow to drink booze.

Onimo joined!

He told me. I've told him about here. I'm sure he'll be along at some point to share your enthusiasm :-)

No, it's another last.fm group - it's called "UK Watercooler".

Oh heavens no. I just ripped the stuff I didn't listen to anymore. (Which was about, oh, a thousand CDs to start with.)

Pfunk -- the latter.

x-posts

I am listening to Can today, because I finally got my staff copy of Plan B and FMM had a big article about them.

Tomorrow I am going to play with my new camera.

I've just got in trouble because my colleagues made me sing the American national anthem, out loud, because none of them could remember how it went (one of them thought it was Land Of Hope And Glory, ha ha). Oh, what hilarity.

And the garage have just phoned to say I need to pick up my new car tomorrow.

I've got a new... errr... skirt.

Old car literally falling to bits, ex-wife sells house and gives me the money I've been waiting on for SEVEN FUCKING YEARS, script writes itself.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/aldo_cowpat/petra.jpg

Mini Petra

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/aldo_cowpat/palace.jpg

Mini Water Palace at the Red Fort in Jaipur

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/aldo_cowpat/jaipur.jpg

Mini Indians in a mini Jaipur street

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/aldo_cowpat/dambullah.jpg

A mini giant Buddha in Sri Lanka

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/aldo_cowpat/cricketmatch.jpg

Mini West Indies vs Mini South Africa

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/mel_face/earring.jpg

I've had no sleep last night. Up at 5am with stress dreams and even hot milk couldn't get me back to sleep. I'm exhausted from lugging heavy bags of equipment across London at inappropriate hours, fighting commuter traffic.

THIS THREAD IS FOR CHATTER. AND BENJAMIN. IF YOU WANT TO POST WEIRD PICTURES THAT LOOK LIKE MODELS START YOUR OWN THREAD.

Ooh, it'd better be good! :)

Like, "wow, we made that!"

So if you don't like it... get a better stereo! hah! :-P

I have so much I have to buy now and no money.

-hard drive
-recording mic
-vaccuum cleaner
-Moogerfooger low pass filter
-Lovetone Meatball
-Prunes and Custard Harmonic Generator (or maybe I will get an Electroharmonix HOG or POG)

I'd been hoping to visit York on Monday night anyway, so after we'd done the bedroom-clearing I went off there, and ended up spending a couple of nights in York too. Eventually, I got home, having had a great weekend, and still with a grin on my face. Hopefully going back to York again tomorrow though, to help A Certain Someone with moving house.

I should buy a stereo, though. This is absurd that I'm still listening to CDs on my 'puter and studio monitors.

Sorry , I couldn't resist. I know you don't like it when we don't stereotype you ..

A lot of people seem to have a metal period in their earlier teens, I on the other hand seem to have started to like it more again as I got older (apart from a few years when I 1st got into music at 18/19)
So what did you all listen to in your teenage years? Did you have a metal period?

When i was 15 or 16 I got a cd player (I had a few lps but wasnt really INTO music, just listened to charts radio like most people but preferred the rock or synthpop end i suppose) So I got into U2 and then after a few years I got into Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who, Sex Pistols and then Nirvana came along. Talk about perfect timing. When I got into Nirvana my new mates(i only moved to hamilton about 6 months before Nevermind came out) were in two camps. Ones i knew from Accies games and they tended to like indie like Stone Roses, Primal Scream,The Smiths, Pixies etc and the non footy ones liked Metallica, Guns n roses etc. I never liked glam metal at all(had a mate at school who did) so Grunge was a great way to bridge the gap between the two. Was great finding out there was good bands existed but weren't in the charts.
Nirvana really was life changing for me since I didn't have any older brothers or sisters to get me into music like so many do. So I had to find it all by myself(with help from Nirvana of course). melody maker, Raw, Kerrang and even NME were good back then helping me discover stuff.
And of course Napster and co helped me find new bands when I just wasn't liking what the magazines were covering 5-6 years ago, as I was buying mainly old music like Krautrock,funk, jazz and erm the classics obviously.
The internet helped my tastes get even broader.

I do wonder what age I will be when I finally give up on new bands, or even music.

x-posts as I took so long typing that out.

Hanoi Rocks are a great band! One of the classic bands i got into in the late 90s. My mate saw them with Johnny Thunders opening for them in 1985 I think it was. Since he's 40 he's seen loads of great bands. His elder brother saw Sabbath with ozzy. My mate saw them with Dio. Those 2 and their friends have seen some amazing gigs.

I am feeling rub because of nerves mainly, for tonight. Which I guess is a good thing, as I haven't had nerves about a gig in... well, about as long as I haven't been enjoying them. So maybe nerves are an integral part of the process.

Oh, and other crap, but I'm not going to get into that here.

x-post

Norman> Any news on whats up with ILX?

Slaves to authenticity: Someone noted to the guideperson that the ticket inspector on the GWR train coudn't be from the 1940's as they always had a buttonhole (flower). So they dug up the regulations, and apparently all customer-facing staff had to provide of themselves a buttonhole flower. So they shut it down overnight, opened the top of the train, and put a little white dot on the lapel.

Never did. Only in passing, i.e. bought the first Nirvana album.

OTOH, I really am sick of working. I got loads of music done in my week off, now I'm back to sneaking up into the attic at 10pm and getting a couple of hours done b/c I have to go to bed at 12

Lookit what I just saw advertised:

http://myspace-115.vo.llnwd.net/01062/51/12/1062212115_l.jpg

ED!!! Someone nicked our prog and psych night idea!

xpost didn't J.Lydon say much the same thing recently?

I know you don't like it when we don't stereotype you ..

Hey, for all you know, they might *not* have been pervs!

Ok, they were.

There wasn't anything interesting and salvagable in the crap they were throwing out and/or sending to charity, though - they offered me a pair of cheap wrist cuffs whose D-rings had snapped off, but I've given up on rescuing other people's broken crap for the moment. I always take things in thinking "ooh, I can do something with that", and it just sits around gathering dust. I did rescue a length of lightweight chain they didn't want - it's not great, because its links are a bit weird in style, but I need more. In fact, I really should go out some time, talk to a locksmith, and get a set of maybe 10 small same-keyed padlocks. I can't imagine ever needing to use that many at once, but the largest same-keyed sets I've seen in DIY stores have 3 in, which isn't enough for non-immobilising positions.

FP how much do people spend on kitting out a serviceable dungeon with all modern conveniences?

It does look very good. Though I'm never quite sure with 60s psych clubs. I can't stand purism. The thing that's great about Sonic Cathedrals is, even though it's a "Shoegazer Club" is that it will play music of all ages, if it's kinda psychedelic and textural - they'll happily play Chapterhouse and then play The Pink Floyd then Jonathan Richman then Neu! then dub reggae.

While 60s clubs tend to be very IF IT WAS RECORDED AFTER 1969 WE'RE NOT HAVING IT!!! even though a lot of what I would think of as total 60s psych wasn't recorded until 1972 or whenever.

I'd love to go to that Heads gig, but I just swing it.

If you start buying furniture and everything, you can spend thousands. The average perv who's been around for a few years will have a few hundred quid's worth of toys and clothes, more if they're into a particular clothing fetish.

::kicks something::

And I can't even rant about it here because I'll get shouted at. Grrrrrrrrr.

So just never mind.

::kicks something::

I've got to try and finish this bloody report before the end of the week.

Listening to the tracks on your own myspace page @ the moment.

Cos the timezone thing on faux-ilx isn't live, seemingly

I usually decline random requests on my personal account unless I actually know them (or if they have people I know listed in their top eight), or unless their space looks particularly cool. i.e. hott dirty dronerock boys I will always accept friendships from.

Not that I get many of those, mind you. :-(

I don't think being shallow is necessarily a bad thing anyway.

I ain't got no last fm friends - should ask around really.

I've been working on this payaway report all day, trying to get the rolling cumulative totals to add up right. And this conslutant keeps PESTERING me to make this minor change on his case. Less than half an hour before he sent the second request.

Like... DUDE!!! I am the head of MI for a large company of several hundred people. I clearly have NOTHING better to do with my time than change your errors.

Bah.

.....Nah i can't do that to FP twice in one day.

I'll be your last fm friend!

::sticks fingers in ears and thinks of Benjamin::

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/mel_face/earring.jpg

LA LA LA LA LA LA LAAAAA LA LA LA LA LAAAAA LA LA!

Awww, it's just so cute to see floppy teenaged Ben. Because he still had that huge lopsided grin, but the rest of him hadn't quite grown into it yet. :-)

Then one day he finds ILX Watercooler on google...

There's a whole thread dedicated to nothing but me and Brandon's number one nutter going "pedals! ASS!!! pedals!!! ASS!!! ORGAN!!! ass!!! PEDALS!!!!!"

Once upon a time, when I was hott and skinny and attractive and my band used to tour, I used to get approached by groupie boys. And if the groupie boy was all "uuuhhh... breasts...." I'd get turned off. But if a groupie boy was all "Omigod, I love your pedals..." and then went "Aw, you're so cute!" as well, I'd be much more likely to respond. Or, like, sign his chest or whatever. (This is actually a true story, a boy did ask me to sign his chest after talking to me gooily about pedals for half an hour.)

(This has actually happened with a different former groupie. Heh.)

Sorry, I'm lost in a reverie here.

Maybe this is why being in a band is no fun any more. I don't get groupies any more. I can't remember the last time a cute red-headed boy asked me to sign his chest.

17 Year Old Groupie (let's call him Benjamin): What kind of distortion pedal are you using? It sounds so cool...
Kate: Oh, would you like to come backstage and play with my Big Muff?
Benjamin: Ooh, sure. Would you care to adjust the knob of my Meatball?
Kate: Just be careful of the Electric Mistress...
Benjamin: Ooh, err, missus, etc.

Shit, I should set up some new users before I leave.

I spent last night with a camera in my AREA. I've always wondered why they film the guitarist's picking hand, which does almost nothing and not the fretting hand.

"Grr, go away! Don't wanna listen to yr crummy band!"

(That's via myspace links, so present company excepted naturally. I only got it to stop all those other MarkGrout's from nabbing it!)

http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0039xb5.jpg

I have no clue. I think might be a TARDIS control. I'm utterly and completely in love. I wanna marry that pedal.

Kerr, what the heck is this Joanna Newsom thing you've sent me? A bit twee, but odd enough to intrigue.

So kate, tell us more about the tv thing!

My Warmer Milks lp came today. Woohoo!

Weird, she looks a bit like my friend Frances.

I don't know. That's maybe a horribly sexist thing to say. (I mean no one ever calls the Animal Collective twee for the same kind of routine.) But that's what I mean by "twee" I guess.

(I don't think even Benjamin really knows what it does, exactly.)

http://www.killerrockandroll.com/deathbyaudio/soundwavebreakdown.html

I must admit, I've got my fill of fuzz/distortion boxes (turbo rat/rising sun/zakk wylde pedal) Phasers, now, on the other hand...

I've got two distortion pedals and that's pretty much all I need. I need to get into the envelope filters and the harmonic generators now.

http://www.blacet.com/IOfp.html

For my modular synth, though most likely I'll run other stuff through it. I have a real love for a nice clean guitar sound, Usually I just like to add leslie simulator or phaser, sometimes a little bit of chorus. All the more radical effects I have usually wind up getting drum machines or monosynths put through them.

http://lalweb.com/rc/rc-e.html

Discontinued, unfortunately. Well, maybe not that unfortunately.

I've just blogged about the BBC filming thing and don't really feel like typing it all out again. Read about it here:

http://masonicboom.blogspot.com/

Just out of curiosity, how were people supposed to know about this nu-ilx we are building here?

now I'm going to waste the rest of the afternoon on this minipops quiz. I thought I was doing terribly with 62 out of 95, but apparently no one in my office has got over 20!

I thought it was Talk Talk or Howard Jones but I was walking around the office singing it, and one of my colleagues is all "why are you singing Nik Kershaw?" God, it's almost exact.

http://www.redwitchanalogpedals.com/deluxemoonphaser.html

This is the pedal I fancy most at the moment.

give me a shout closer to the actual date (ie in a week) and i'll set the video...

I am slightly hungover this morning. I cannot BELIEVE we really drank all that brandy on the walk yesterday. But I feel good. Yeah.

Apart from that, spent the weekend getting ready and doing preparation, writing sequencer tracks and the like for my SOLO SHOW!!! I am quite scared excited.

Also, I want a pig. Piglets are the cutest thing on earth ever. Next time someone calls me a pig, I am going to be hugely complimented.

I can not wake up this morning. I would ordinarily be excited to teach Twelfth Night, but as it is, I'll be happy if I can string a couple of sentences together.

Bah, proper rehearsal as well tonight. In a studio. Which I don't feel particularly ready for. :-(

You sound a bit happier today, Kate. :)

I didn't go to sunno))) in the end on Friday night, I sold my ticket (took me forever, which was not fun with a bad back) and went home and did some stretching from the yoga book and just chilled out and relaxed, which was really what I needed.

I awoke at exactly the time i was supposed to get up, which means i had no lazy-lie-in-clock-gazing time. drat.

I've just realised that my legs are sore. I didn't feel the walk yesterday, but today I'm a bit, err, strained.

Good weekend for you then I gather, FP?? :))) Repost it! I need a smile today.

It's weird how, you can chat to someone for a couple of weeks; you can meet them; and within a few hours of meeting them, you both feel that you're so right together, it feels as if you've always been with each other.

We're both a bit scared how quickly it just feels "right"

Yes we did drink 3 half bottles of brandy and 4 pints of Ale (OK 3 pints of Ale and 1 half litre of lager in my case) a piece and walk about 10 miles up a hill.

I only had two pints of ale and a little bottle of wine, tho. But way too much brandy. Way too much.

Heh heh, oh dear...

http://images.quizfarm.com/1148547929artist_930[1].jpg You scored as Ethereal Goth. You are an ethereal goth... you favor Projekt and Dead Can Dance and have very refined tastes. You like the fine arts and probably prefer red wine to snake bite. Click on my name to take my other tests if you liked this one.

Ethereal Goth

Romantic Goth

Old-school Goth

Understanding Outsider

Fantasy Goth

Anything-Goes Goth

Death Rocker

Perky Goff

Industrial/Rivet-Head

Confused Outsider

Cyber-goth

http://www.risa-music.de/English/Products/Solids/solids.html

Why am I *doing* this anyway? I'm only getting my hopes up for nothing. I guess I'm just so *bored* without ILX.

I am now throwing soup at my hangover.

I am also wondering if it was such a good idea putting on such a saucy picture. But I wanted to use a photo where I was actually smiling, and the really eye-catching cleavage one is the only one I have where I'm smiling.

Here, have a Curtis brother. He looks as pissed off as I feel.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/mel_face/avalon.jpg

http://photo.rukes.com/avalon70/slides/avalon70%20047.jpg

We wish you a happy new month.

(and I hope it gets better quickly. I'm fed up with crap at the moment)

God, those Curtis Brothers are hottt. I had forgotten those photos. I think I shall listen to Now Here Is Nowhere first thing today, while I start the month end malarchy.

I am starting to feel much brighter. Though I lost the beautiful Edwardian chest of drawers at CB Antiques through acting too slow - someone bought it yesterday. :-(

I finished my Big Book Of Nothing today, which was very very good. And it ended with the most beautiful quote...

"We are the music makers
We are the dreamers of dreams
Wandering by lone sea-breakers
And sitting by desolate streams
World-losers and world-forsakers
On whom the pale moon gleams
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world, forever, it seems"

That nearly made me cry on the train this morning, it is so beautiful.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample an empire down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

If you do not understand a contraction, then ASK. Do not guess.

"Mog-speed" meaning "a cross between Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor" has been changed to "Mogadon-speed" which means nothing at all. WTF?

*If you are not a Plan B reader, you are not expected to know this.

Anyway, the point being, if it's unclear, fucking ask me, don't just make something up. Who the fuck are Mogadon anyway?

It's kind of worse than not having any ILX at all. :-(

You said it's OK not to get what you meant by Mog-Speed if you aren't a Plan B reader as you wouldn't be expected to know who Mogwai and GYBE are and that people who read Plan B who know who they are would get what you were talking about; I suggested that I know who they both are but still would have no clue what you're on about, therefore I now believe myself to be stupider than yr average Plan B reader.

There's a real sub on here now. We can ask him!

Or moog-speed.

:-)

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I am happy today, though. It is Friday. It is payday and I HAVE BOUGHT NEW BOOTS!!! They are not quite as exciting as the Boots of Sex - these are more like every day office boots. Brown chelsea boots with buckles on. Oh yes.

However, I have to have my employment contract meeting today. And I'm going to cross all sorts of things out and make sure I get my flexitime put in.

And Gardening Leave. I want to know what I have to do to get that, it's awesome.

Finally! I got to a good part in The Mill On The Floss. Only took 2/3 of the novel.

They may not be able to back date my pension, though. Bah.

Ah, I have finally figured out a way to properly eliminate bad B's and P's in Cubase, hurrah. (I should really make a pop screen.) T's though, are a problem, especially if you're dealing with sibillant Home Counties girls.

http://www.sutropark.com/pix/reni-sebastian.jpg

I am wanting to paint again. But when on earth would I find the time?

Doesn't have to be naked, either. I like the challenging folds of soft clothing.

God, I'm turning into the female equivalent of one of those old pervs who take photos of young girls they can never hope to pull. Sigh.

Clark's boot sale, CJ! OK, not Ugg, but I was happily surprised.

I suppose I tend to mean it a wider sense, of just sort of.. well, Victorian and full-on, lucious darkness. Reclining on a velvet divan with hand to one's head going "oh woe is me, alas..." while smoking clove cigarettes and reading French poetry. I'm an ex goth, so of course I think lugubrious is a total compliment.

Hrmm, my email's been being funny, Kerr, I'll check if it went into the bulk box or something.

I doubt the other watercoolers would be interested though.

AND I HAVE CARROT CAKE. I should probably get offline before the hypoglycaemic fit commences. Wah-hey.

That lugubrious word again!

-Gothic and neo-gothic architecture
-Victorian interiors
-Beethoven Symphonies
-Pre-Raphaelite paintings
-Consumptive young maidens
-The novels of Sir Walter Scott (and possibly Dickens)
-Bauhaus albums

Maybe that's where your name is derived from, Gooblar!

I think I've realised - it's not actually the carrot cake that makes me go all ADHD, it's the *icing*. I felt fine until I ate the icing and now I feel like I'm drunk.

http://myspace-765.vo.llnwd.net/00954/56/75/954675765_l.jpg

Then I'm going to make faces at my colleagues who are still stuck in their debtors meeting. I just heard that 91% of our debtors are new! Hurrah!

No, you cannot just take one of my songs, rewrite it and then have my band perform it your way. In fact, I'm mildly insulted by that proposition.

http://www.last.fm/user/john_brainlove/

is that the same ...?

Just found another place where he's been slagging me off. Just fuck off and die, OK, f*ckwit? And take your comment box and stick it up your woo-woo.

http://static.flickr.com/112/304942907_c0aac6c16b.jpg

(n.b. he and my sister in law are actually at a Halloween party, he does not actually have Boris Johnson style emperor aspirations. I don't think. Well, if he does, he doesn't actually dress like that all the time.)

that brainl0ve guy has been slagging you off?

And do not slag off my brother. >:-(

Back in the '90's we used to rofl at the prospect of someone inventing a genre called "moggie-house", slowed down, drowsy/sicky sounding beats. I guess moggie house sort of came to be when some FIEND invented trip hop.

[filthy paragraph about B&Q & improv bondage excised in the name of taste, har]

Pointy nosed dude in that photo looks exactly like my brother looked at about 14. But I cannot for the life of me find an old photo, even though I know I've scanned many.

I'm sure this says something terribly sick and horrible about me.

http://www.tnelson.demon.co.uk/cult/images/martin_clunes.jpg

(Frater's ears don't stick out that much, though.)

Lenny was OK. As he's a local person thesedays, it was weird him ironically referring to Woodley's black ghetto, almost with accuracy.

Why Turkey Makes You Sleepy

Oh, never mind. I'll go google.

I heard that we were in the new issue of MusicMart. But I went to the shop and they only had the old issue. Bah!

Bah! Go on, you know you want to etc etc.

ha ha, I haven't had a chance to read it yet because my colleagues are handing it around. But it's got the naughty picture.

Ha, I thought of you, I must admit.

they had one of those devices for wrapping christmas trees - a large metal funnel-shaped object where you push the christmas tree though it, pointy bit first, and it tightly wraps it in this meshy fabric stuff? Kind of like a sausage=making machine, but bigger, now I think about it. I looked at it and it occured to me that it looked just about big enough to put a person through, & they'd come out of the other side all wrapped up and, er, you know.

http://static.flickr.com/73/175386773_1671f59cc8.jpg

Related news: I just volunteered to model for a photoshoot and got a reply back straight away: "ooh, you'd be ideal". My ego is feeling all puffed-up right now.

Pointy-nosed anime slash graphix?

My.

God.

I've just realised that PBW *did* friend me. I thought he denied me. And I've posted stupid surveys with questions about "who are you crushing on?" and crap like that. ARGH! ARGH! red face of shame, argh, embarrassment, I am teh stupid.

::cringes::

I'm going to go and die now.

Oh god, my face is burning with shame.

Best insight: One student, writing about Shakespeare's Sonnet 20 (the one in which the speaker bemoans the fact that his beloved--a man--is, in fact a man. The speaker suggests that nature fell in love with this creature, and so wanting the beloved for herself, makes him a man by adding "one thing".), noticed that, unlike the majority of the sonnets, this one has 11 syllables a line (instead of the usual 10). She theorized that the extra syllable at the end of each line represented that "one thing added". Brilliant!

I remember looking around the hall at my fellow uni students on graduation day, and wondering who amongst us would go on to greatness of any sort in the future (answer = none, really!)

Just a thought: if this thread breasts 1000 posts before ILX3 goes live, will it be replaced with Watercooler Thread -1?

Ah, that sounds great, Gooblar - though reminds me of something Ian linked to on my blog, ha ha.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39205

you couldn't have said "reaches", could you?

OTM

I retry.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/MarkGrout/Rainbow.jpg

I want a boat.

And who on earth left a message on the band MySpace saying I was "dreamy"? Come on, fess up. No one in their right mind would say that unless they were taking the piss.

From Jersey, apparently, but no idea.

My school physics techer said this was rubbish and it was better to just shout ROY-G-BIV! He would come into class in the morning and shout "YOUNG ROY-G-BIV RULES!" - it sounded stupid at the time but it obviously worked as I remember it some 20-odd years later.

Why do we bother with this "indigo-violet" nonsense anyway? Look at the rainbow - it's quite clearly red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple-more purple. "indigo-violet" is just poncey pretentious rubbish, the kind of colours you only get in clothing catalogues where they think "blue" sounds too common so they sell you "azure" jeans.

Weird.

The "indigo" was added by Newton I think because it was the thing at the time that all natural things should come in 7 - like the known planets at the time. It was just one of those "magic numbers".

Azure.

Some day I will meet someone with Azure Eyes, that would be the coolest thing ever.

(It's almost my favourite colour, as well. Except that is actually Cobalt, which is close, but darker.)

How does sugar arrive at the Docklands? Like, in what form? It obviously needs to be refined, but is it solid, liquid, super saturated sludge? Or big hunks of sugar cane and/or beets?

http://www.tateandlyle.com/TateAndLyle/our_business/about_our_processes/about_refining/default.htm

Once harvested, the cut canes must be processed as quickly as possible to conserve the sugar and to prevent microbial degradation.This first stage of processing is carried out in factories close to the growing area. The canes are cleaned, crushed and shredded, then sprayed with hot water to extract the juice. The juice is filtered, concentrated by evaporation under vacuum, and crystallised, before being removed from the remaining mother liquor by centrifuge.

Once the economic limit of extraction of sugar from sugar syrups is reached, we are left with the remaining mother liquid, known as 'molasses'. This is a useful by-product which may be used for fermentation processes or animal feed. Bagasse, the residual fibre from the cane, is mainly used as boiler fuel at the factory.

At this point, the sugar is partly purified and in a concentrated, crystallised, microbiologically stable form suitable for bulk handling, storage and transport to refineries around the world.

The raw cane sugar is despatched by bulk carriers to refining plants usually located close to deep water terminals such as at Tate & Lyle Europe's refinery in London. The storage shed at our Thames refinery can hold up to 70,000 tonnes – sufficient to supply the refinery for about 20 days of normal production.

Mmmm, molasses.

"Western Brass" (what I did last night)

I think it's coffeetime.

Either that or I'm going to run away and join the Gypsies like Maggie in the Mill on the Floss.

Let me tell you what isn't fun - manouvering a flight case on a crowded rush hour train. Bah.

It makes me mad, what with cnutish idiots rambling on complete gobshite about how there aren't actually any shoegazer guitars in Shimura Curves and I only say there are because I'm "rockist". Like, WTF do you think is in this case? An Uzi? I wish it were coz I'd gun your sorry ass down like a tarrantino.

Pot, kettle, etc?

God, he's *SUCH* an idiot.

Even my mum thinks that he looks like my brother. She said "PLEASE don't go out with him, Kate - think what the children would be like!"

As if. Hah ha hah.

Rockism is an ideology of popular music criticism, originating in the British music press in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The fundamental tenet of rockism is that some forms of popular music, and some musical artists, are more authentic than others. More specifically, authentic popular music fits the rock and roll paradigm; it is made using the basic rock instrumentation of guitars, bass guitars and drums, and fits the structures of a rock and roll song.

...a fine insult from someone dismissing Britney Spears for being inauthentic.

The term is sort of malleable though, isn't it? As in, it can be used to run down any music you don't like by criticising the process behind its creation (or something).

I think the important paragraph is:

This is as opposed to the notion of manufactured "pop" music, created in assembly line fashion by teams of hired record producers and technicians and performed by pop stars who have little input into the creative process, designed to appeal to a mass market and make profits rather than express authentic sentiments

Because this is, word for word, the kind of crap that Bumlove routinely comes out with about the music that I love.

OK, yeah, I'm making snide comments on messageboards in response but you know what? I *wrote* and recorded Stronger, I know what instruments are used on it. The only thing he's ever written are snide comments on message boards.

Anyway, I'm sick of this twat. I want pointy nosed boys.

Look at the point on that nose:

http://myspace-606.vo.llnwd.net/00954/60/62/954672606_l.jpg

Don't pay any attention to record company twit. I guess it's tiresome having to put up with that shit, but the music speaks for itself, I think.

Is your guitar bag a special Jazzmaster size? I'm gonna get a hard case for mine I think. (Only 4 weeks till I actually **get my hands on** my Jazzy!).

No, actually I was using an old bass guitarbag for my Jazzmaster - they're longer than most guitars so don't fit in the flight case I already had. Bah. I might go out at lunch and get a new bag if I can. Depends on how much they are. Also I need to get a new strap.

The peg that holds the strap on the Danny has gone, and I replaced it with a giant-headed screw, so I need to get a longer strap - and am probably going to have to tape it to the body so it doesn't pop out mid-performance. Which would be embarrassing.

I honestly believe music *should* speak for itself. And it does. But you're always going to get some twat who doesn't "get it" sticking his oar in and telling people What To Think like he's Alaistair Cooke (when really he's just the poor man's Tony Wilson). I don't think music fans need that - or if they do, go and read the sodding NME.

Whatever. Anything he does is going to irritate me, it's just worse when he gets things totally factually WRONG and then sticks my name in it.

What kind of a strap should I get?

::looks at pointy nose::

::calms down::

this is up for sale less than 2 miles from our house. I wish I was better off! It's perfect.

yeah, DiS, which is like... I don't actually care, I don't expect anyone there to "get it". It's just like... freaking Leave Off, already, you know? He left a snarky comment on the band's MySpace a few weeks ago, which I deleted. Now he feels he has to step it up again?

And my bandmates are all "oh, well, you bitched about him on your blog, you don't have a leg to stand on" - but it's like. I *STOPPED* because everyone was giving me such shit about it. And now he's starting back up again.

If it's wrong for me to do it, it's wrong for *him* to do it, but he just seems to get a free pass to do and say what he likes, and no one calls *him* on it. I've dealt with his sort before. I know that the thing to do is just to ignore him, because even slagging him off is giving him the attention that he craves.

It just winds me up and I wish it wouldn't.

God, how can a boy have such *amazingly* thick eyelashes? It just isn't fair. He's got those slighly cat-like Rimbaud eyes, all heavy-lidded and smutty.

(And maybe if I ask enough, all the boys of ILX will post pictures of their eyelashes.)

The NME cool list this year!!!

OK, I have never cared about the cool list in my life, and I haven't even bought the NME in abou 5 years, but...

Did anyone notice something REALLY UNUSUAL about the Top 10 this year?

Don't read NME.

1 Beth Ditto (The Gossip)
2 Faris Rotter (The Horrors)
3 Lily Allen
4 Jarvis Cocker
5 Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
6 Kieren Webster (The View)
7 Kate Jackson (The Long Blondes)
8 Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)
9 Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
10 Lovefoxxx (CSS)

Yes, Gooblar, hole in one! NME is noticing that the world is actually half female shockah!

Get them to make up their own fake societies of imaginary lands, based on satire of the predominating cultural trends of today. I think that would make them realise the snide wit in Swift.

Aye, then the editor made an arse of it by spouting some crap about "you can still rock a crowd wearing stilletos" and dropped the cover that was supposed to feature the 5 women in the top ten in favour of Muse.

Lily Allen has a wee go at NME

And garg, is that true, Onimo? Oh god, that is just so depressing. I bought the thing because of the tiny picture of the three women made me open up and see if the list was any good. And then they go and blow it all, with that kind of crap?

I wish I hadn't bought the thing now.

I sentence Conor to spend the next five years trying to even walk wearing stilettoes. And getting about a dozen of them jacked up his sexist arse.

First one I went in, the gang of about three lads hanging around the door (some of whom worked there) didn't even move to let me in the shop. OK, you're not getting my money.

Second shop, the bloke on the desk is helping someone else, so I kinda hang around looking at guitar straps and stuff until he's nearly done. I go and stand by the desk, very obviously waiting to be served - oh, except for the fact I'm female. Another customer comes up, pushes by me (not even an excuse me) - I let him go as I'm assuming he's heading out the door, but no. He pushes ahead of me and starts asking the bloke on the desk about harmonicas. Like I'm not even there. I felt like cracking him in the head with a guitar going EXCUSE ME BUT I WAS HERE FIRST!!!

He goes to look at the harmonicas, but dude on the desk is just staring off into space - despite the fact I'm standing there waiting to be served. I had to go and ask someone else to help me. I should really have walked out of the shop and kept going to different shops and only paid my money at a shop that acknowledged females, but you know, it was lunchtime and I did need to get back to my office before the hour was up.

This shit is just so depressing. :-(

It was discussed on the ILM "Worst NME cover" thread just before ILM died (here's a cached copy of the thread)

Ugh, I feel just... unclean any time I read an ILM thread like that.

In 1993 Riot Grrrrls did a glass ceiling chart emphasising this point and one of us (me) was ticked off by the person who was the NME features editor (male) of the time because "what about RACISM?" Oh FFS. I think I told him if he was so bothered about racism he should find a way to give more work to a certain writer in their office about music other than hip-hop.

There is an irony in there somewhere, considering who the features ed was...

See also the running Plan B letters column of people going "blah blah, what's with all the women on the cover, are you just trying to prove a point?" or something like that to Frances or ET, and Frances put them down quite succinctly, saying "no, we put these bands on the cover because WE LIKE THEM"

I've often thought that we'll only know we've got over sexism when people stop making any sort of fuss about overcompensating. The Plan B editorial management presumably have reached that phase - clearly the letter-writers haven't. And the same goes for other -isms too, of course.

Anyway, my sore throat is still sore, and (for other reasons) I'm feeling a bit emo. I need to pull my finger out of my arse,* talk to the woman who wants me as just a body to play with (whilst dating other men as potential boyfriend material) and say: "look, you know, this just isn't what I'm looking for". If I can, I should do it *before* my forthcoming date (with someone who knows all about the situation and how I feel about it, but, even so, you know)

* not literally. Both my hands are on the keyboard right now.

xxp to me

http://static.flickr.com/113/302178693_5389751043.jpg

I've slid back into depression over the past few days, which is teh suck. Sometimes it's like slipping back into a lukewarm bath, long after it's stopped being comfortable, just because it's familiar.

And even more suck because I feel like I'm not even allowed to talk about the things that are the triggers, I'll just be shouted at and told I'm not allowed to feel the things I feel.

Sigh.

Ah well. There was a boy on the bus this morning with a nose as pointed as the prow of a ship, pale strawberry blond hair and eyelashes that were almost white, though half an inch long. Beauty. Beauty is really the only thing that ever makes me feel any better.

Streatham (no barrier) to City Thameslink (no barrier) then a bendy bus from there to Holborn.

OK, I'm going to go to Farringdon on my way home, and will have to buy a ticket home there, but honestly. I could retrace my steps and get a whole day's free travel.

And New Order on the headphones, trying to get psyched up. Bleurgh.

I'm just in one of those "nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms" moods.

Hi there. First class of the last day was strangely shitty. Students (as I might have expected) didn't want to talk about A Modest Proposal, or their favorite texts from the term, or how much they love me. They just wanted to get it over with and back to their LIVES. Can't blame 'em, I suppose.

I'm hoping (and guessing) that the other class (which, is, it must be said, usually the 'good' class) will be a lot better.

No one in the class said a fcking thing.

(though man, what a stiff bunch they are if they can't even be wound up by such a wind-up.)

No, I knew which thread I was posting on. Isn't this for random work-related venting (yes yes and DDBs and pointy-nosed boys).

Sigh.

I have just got back from raiding Borders for my grandmother's Christmas present, a rather oversize book of maps of the world from the Middle Ages. And it's now a month until I fly away to America for the New Year...these happy thoughts are fighting away the ickyness of being covered from head to foot in water from a passing lorry earlier this morning. At least I'm dry now!

Is that why it's traditional at baby showers in China to give bottles and soy sauce or mustard?

(ewww)