09/02/2003

I'm getting very bored now... since this happened to me! That's one new year's resolution very quickly out of the window. I've appealed but I don't fancy my chances much, to be honest. Needless to say, I don't cheat. :o(

05/02/2003

It is wise to look ahead, but foolish to look further than you can see. --- WINSTON CHURCHILL

This is the first page I've modified using Dreamweaver, and I'm still getting to grips with the simple stuff...

It's been a while...things continue apace...start of a new year and a chance to look forward to what lies ahead, and what I hope to achieve. My New Years Resolution: This year I must strive to defeat Procrastination (or "Putting off till tomorrow what could be done today") It's dogged me for years, it's the one reason I never stick to my resolutions, it's the reason I've been in the same job for 6 years, it's the reason I'm not rich (or even vaguely well-off), it's the reason I've only just made my New Years Resolution and it's already February.

And I need to practice my artwork a lot.... and become a Neopian millionaire (if I ever stop giving it all away)...

Bestest Song In The World...Ever! (This week): Syntax - Pray

Oh, the Commander Kitty forum has finally returned! :o)

--- THE STAGE newspaper

09/11/2002 Sparky Is...

Some things I am....according to Google: Sparky Is!

29/10/2002
Bestest Song In The World...Ever! (This week): Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather For Ducks - I listened to this four times in a row. It's grrreat!

19/10/2002
I managed to find enough time today to install the scanner I bought about a month ago. 1 - plug USB cable into hub & scanner. 2 - install software & drivers. 3 - try to use it and watch it crash the USB bus again...and again...and again. I could probably sort it out very easily as I think I know what the problem is. But I just can't be bothered.

I'm finding it very difficult to work up the enthusiasm to do anything at the moment, for various reasons. Numb apathy, depression, deep joy :o(

Bestest Song In The World...Ever! (This week): Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Under The Bridge - I listened to this four times in a row. I need to get out more.

07/10/2002 RANT: I don't get it. I just don't get it....

Well, firstly I hope I'm not going to make a habit of ranting like this - it's a good stress relief but makes me seem opinionated & dogmatic. Which I'm not. Really.

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Anyhow, today's subject is: "The Office", Ricky Gervais' critically-acclaimed, multi-award-winning 'satire' of office life.

I did see a bit of one of these last series around and found it rather bland. Maybe I chuckled a couple of times. Still, I felt compelled to give it another go after several of my friends raved about it. So there we are...a week or so ago, sitting round a 14" telly in a villa in Portugal watching BBC1. It came on, we watched. I appreciate this may be more amusing to those who work in offices and can relate to these characters...but...well...."what did you think of that, then?" :pause: " 's a load of old b*llocks!" was the cry.

Yes, these are characters I would not be surprised to see in any office, Gervais' character is the self-centred manager from hell, his workers are no better, and the camera follows their daily lives in docu-soap style. Except you know it's not real, it could be real (it's bland enough), but it's not. Someone has actually written this! None of the characters are engaging or even slightly likeable, it's riding on the 'reality TV' tide which is surely running out of steam (not before time), and it does come across that Gervais likes the sound of his own voice a little too much (and yes, I realise I'm the pot calling the kettle black here ;o)

So, no - I'm not a fan. But then I didn't like League Of Gentlemen and Phoenix Nights only kept me mildly amused. Just not my cup of tea. Or maybe when it comes to British TV comedy shows I should lower my hopes a little, after all we're not likely to see another series of the Fast Show again.

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Speaking of Portugal, one thing that I noticed was the peculiar selection of background muzak in the local supermarket, which included Gomez, the KLF, and an un-censored Eminem track. It was quite amusing watching all these grannies pushing their carts around the place blissfully unaware Marshal Mathers was swearing like a trooper in the background....tee hee hee!

06/10/2002
I just heard myself on someone's answerphone and I didn't even recognise my own voice. I sound so old. Eep.

Bestest Song In The World...Ever! (This week): Puddle of Mudd - She F***ing Hates Me - I have no idea why I like this, but there y'go!

22/09/2002 RANT: If this is as far as your culture's got....

Later today the Countryside Alliance march for 'Liberty and Livelihood' will descend on central London.

Having seen some of the hundreds of signs that seem to be plastered all over every verge and field in the county, I thought I'd have a look at their website to try and avert my fear that this was not just a thinly-veiled pro-foxhunting demo. As you may be aware a ban on foxhunting is currently being debated in the UK house of commons. Frankly this is something I feel should have been done a long time ago when we made other barbaric practices such as badger-baiting and cockfighting illegal.

I appreciate there are many issues affecting the rural community - the erosion of local services such as public transport & post offices, closure of local facilities, lack of jobs in rural areas, foot & mouth, etc. However, from the website and press coverage it seems this protest is doomed to be hijacked by the pro-foxhunting fraternity to the detriment of the other issues.

At a fundamental animal rights level I cannot understand why foxhunting has been allowed to continue this far. That a wild animal can be chased to exhaustion then ripped apart by a pack of dogs in the name of human enjoyment is staggering to me. I appreciate 'vermin' (and I use that term very loosely) may need to be controlled, but surely there are far more effective and humane methods? And 'vermin'? Surely if you leave an easily-accessible and unguarded source of food around (e.g. chickens) a carnivorous wild animal will feed from it? And that's the fox's fault?!

"Ahhh, but foxhunting is a traditional rural sport which bonds communities and keeps people employed", I hear the pro-foxhunting fraternity cry. Apparently many people who were planning to attend the march to support rural life in general were dissuaded when they learnt foxhunting was going to take centre stage. Traditions change, this is the 21st century for God's sake, and Britain is supposedly a country of animal lovers! There are alternatives: drag hunting is one solution. Workhouses kept many people employed a hundred years ago, but would we want to go back to that? I wonder how many of those marching today protested when the mining & steelwork industries collapsed?

"The government is using the foxhunting debate as a smokescreen to divert attention from the real issues! The only other country to ban foxhunting was Hitler's Nazi Germany!" A totally redundant argument, in my opinion. I'm sure the government, media, and population of this country are intelligent enough to be able to concentrate on more than one national issue at a time. And haven't the Scottish government already banned hunting with dogs?

"'Townies' ought to mind their own business! They don't understand rural issues!" OK, I live in a semi-rural area and I've never seen a foxhunt in progress. I'm not a farmer, I've never had livestock killed by foxes and I don't have to work 14+ hours a day to scrape a living wage from the land. The meat I eat comes clean & ready-packed from Tescos. But I know from where it came, I remember the foot & mouth crisis and what that meant to the farming community. I've seen small communities lose their local shops and post offices. Surely these are the real, worthy, issues about the countryside, rather than the same old arguments about this out-dated 'game'. And that 'you don't live in the country so your opinion doesn't count' B.S. drives me up the wall. Why try to make this into a phoney class war? I thought this was an animal rights issue and in that respect I hold foxhunters in the same regard as kids who get their kicks shooting at cats with air rifles.

So, in conclusion, I'll admit I'm rather biased. I like foxes - I admire them, their looks, tenacity and adaptability. I admire any wild animal that can adapt to survive in an environment which is slowly being turned against it. I'm not a 'bleeding-heart liberal' as the buzzword seems to be, but I don't see there being a valid purpose for hunting with dogs at all, above human enjoyment. Recent polls indicate over 70% of the population support an overall ban on hunting with dogs so barring any sudden sea-change of opinion after today (unlikely) it appears the foxhunters are flogging a dead horse. Times change, get over it, move on. It looks like we are lucky enough to live in a democracy after all.

LINKS:

Countryside Alliance march information - aims of the march.
BBC News story on today's event Plenty of analysis here.
The League Against Cruel Sports site Some interesting stories in the news section.
The Countryside Alliance site Count the number of times the word 'townie' is used....
Reuters news story

15/09/2002
The German(?) dance outfit Scooter are at no.5 in the UK chart this week. Their previous single, which was a cover of Supertramp's Logical Song, was in the charts for ages earlier this year. They sound pretty similar to be honest: Pinky-and-Perky - esque singing, a bloke going 'Good Morning!' at random intervals, and a general early-1990's rave backing to the whole affair. Also, several bizarre references to the KLF.
In fact, I'm reckoning they are the KLF. Well, they must be a bit strapped for cash nowadays, especially since they burnt that million quid.
Still, the KLF did make one of my favouritest songs in the world ever....ahh, to be back in the early 90's again :o)

Bestest Album In The World...Ever! (This week): Melody AM - Royksopp

Coming soon....an in-depth analysis into the total lack of decent dragon-based paraphenalia on the Isle of Wight.

Guh, I haven't even picked up my Wacom pen in over a month :o(

11/08/2002
I've discovered I'm not having my teenage angst, I'm having a quarter-life crisis apparently. Well, I feel a lot better alrerady.

05/08/2002 Scorchio!