Category: Uncategorized

Date for your diaries

Posted on by Alasdair

April 2nd, Jason Webley is playing South London Pacific. If you get there before 9, it will only cost you a fiver to get in, for an evening of cocktails and cabaret.

Jason, as you’ve all heard me say before, is really very very good. Sufficiently good in fact, that if you turn up before nine, and really seriously don’t enjoy your night out, I will refund your money personally, I am that sure you’ll enjoy it. No-one, no-one I know that has seen him has thought him anything less that bloody good fun, and over half the people I’ve dragged to see him have bought his albums.

London has historically not been good for Jason, gig wise – bad venues, tiny crowds, last minute cancellations, etc. I (and I’m sure, he) would really like to change that. He’s playing a reasonably central venue, and I would really like to try and fill the place.

Jason’s act is a klezma-punk cabaret. If you like Kurt Weil, The Dresden Dolls, Tom Waits, Gogol Bordello, or just bloody good, different, live acts then I’m sure he’ll blow you away.

And since I’m offering to refund your money if you don’t enjoy your night out, the very least you’ll get is a chance to drink cocktails in a tiki lounge. When was the last time you did that, eh?

So, if you’re in London, help me help a mate out and turn up on the 2nd of April. You’ll have fun. I promise.

Fisting Chickens in the House of the Lord.

Posted on by Alasdair

Or, “they do things different in the country”. I would write my weekend up in depth, but feel that the preceeding two sentences sum it up quite well.

I am back from rural parts. It was ace. Thanks and etc. to all. Photos to come when I’m not mostly asleep, including documentary evidence of this post’s title.

Edit: Evidence.

If you’re ever in need of a weekend away, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Shaven Nun Badger Crown. Bloody good food, cracking beer, roaring fires, and lovely staff.

Politics: Pay Attention

Posted on by Alasdair

I’m sure a good number of you know about this already, but give the discussions of “V for Vendetta” recently, this is perhaps an appropriate time to flag this one up, just in case anyone has missed it:

The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.

This is a bill that will, broadly, allow ministers to change the law without requiring the changes to be ratified by parliament. Students of history may remember that similar laws were passed in Germany in the 1930s. Now, it’s only fair to point out that this bill has a number of curbs in place, like for example, ensuring that any term of imprisonment resulting from crimes arising such change not exceed 2 years.

Shall we just look at that again?

Under this bill, it would be possible for a minister of the crown to criminalise almost anything they felt like, provided the sentence wasn’t greater than two years.

Is there anyone here not boggling at that?

And it can get worse, but I won’t ask you to take my word for it.

Just go and read one MP’s view of the subject.

I cannot urge you strongly enough to stop by WriteToThem.com and ask your MP to vote against this bill.

More design nonsense

Posted on by Alasdair

If anyone should happy to be feeling bored and creative, I could really do with tiny (20×20 pixels) icons to represent http://www.alasdair.biz and http://www.black-ink.org. And something in the same dimensions that says “Calendar”.

Usual beer and undying gratitude offered.

Interview with Alan Moore

Posted on by Alasdair

Further to that discussion on mr_tom‘s LJ the other day, here’s Moore himself talking about the films that have been made of his comics, and the ownership of various rights to his creations. Honestly, reading this interview pretty much convinces me not to go and see V, just because it’s all so basically fucking shabby.

An Old Mentalist Fragment

Posted on by Alasdair

I was reminded today that some time back, I took part in the 1000 journals project, and after a quick check, I discover that the long forgotten piece (written in about 15 minutes) is available on line. This is what I wrote, just so I’ve got a record of it:

It’s tipping it down, so naturally, the randomiser on the iPod threw up The Pogues “Rain Street” the minute I stepped out the door.

Do you believe in magic?

Loaded question. You can’t answer it properly until you’ve defined what magic is.

So, move towards definition. You can make yourself believe anything, according to Robert Anton Wilson, whose model of the human brain composed of “Thinker” and “Prover” doesn’t entirely convince, but offers a start point, and would suggest that there’s magic wherever you think there is, that consensus reality doesn’t matter.

He’d suggest that if you think something to be true you’ll encounter mountains of evidence in support. Your brain’ll prove what you feel. In evidence, he offers “23 skidoo”, the idea that if you convince yourself that the number 23 is important, you’ll soon find that your life is inextricably tied up with that number. It’ll show up everywhere. Important phone numbers, house addresses, restaurant bills, all on its own.

“Whatever the thinker thinks, the prover proves” is Wilson’s phrase. It’s both the heart of magic, and it’s biggest weakness. The suggested answer would be that magic only exists if you believe in it, and if you do, you’ll see magic everywhere. Against that, of course, one might easily point out that this engenders credulousness.

Perhaps the Art of magic is as much in sifting out pattern from random chance, in diving meaning from chaos, and still maintaining some semblance of healthy sketicism. Looking at it square on, that seems like the heart of magic – another filter on the world through might we may imbue any event with meaning, render it more significant. And if we give it more power, more impact, who’s to say it doesn’t have it? And if we’re lending something power, creating something from nothing, isn’t that magic?

Alasdair Watson
22/1/2003, in Journal 203

Points to anyone who find the slightly obvious hidden message.

Logo-tastic

Posted on by Alasdair

If anyone out there is a designer/generally handy with photoshop, and wants to do me a favour (and earn themselves a pint), then if you wanted to pick one of these logos (the ones with white backgrounds, for preference) and adapt it so that it looks more or less the same, but with the name of the company replaced with my name, I’d be hugely grateful.

(I’m looking for something in the 350 wide by 90 pixels high area, if possible.)

Life’s Little Joys

Posted on by Alasdair

I think it’s very important to pay close attention to the things that make you smile, each and every day. The little things. You life will be infinitely better if you do.

For example: I no longer work in East Acton. This is one of those things that’s continually brought home to me, and always makes me smile. Today, it was brought home to me because I have just eaten a sausage roll for lunch.

Were I in East Acton, this would have been a Greggs special, made from lips and eyes and genital parts. Grey, and rubbery and flavourless, encased in pastry made from salt and lard.

But I am in Battersea and the local sandwich shop sells sausage rolls that are sourced from a particular farm, and made with real meat taken from lovely, lovely Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs. I half-suspect that if I had pressed him, the owner might have been able to tell me the name of the specific pig whose fleshy parts I have just had for lunch. It was spicy and meaty, and the pastry was perfect. Hurrah.

So, now I have a new thing to be happy about.

What has life brought you today to make you smile?