Sad.

My nan passed away last night.

The comedy duo of her and my grandad has lost a key component. She was the perfect foil for his ridiculous views.

If there is a Heaven I hope for her sake it doens't have blue cheese.

Don't have many words outside of cliches, but at least she is at peace and she'll be remembered.

Top 10 of 2010

Given that blogs have been scarce in these parts recently, I've decided to continue a theme, albeit a little different from the last time.

So, music of 2010.
Here are my top 10 songs from this year:

10. "Sing" by My Chemical Romance

Love or hate My Chemical Romance (and aside from not knowing who they are, love or hate do appear to be your only options) you can't deny they write catchy songs. I don't even really like "Sing" that much, My Chemical Romance seem to be another example of melodramatic posturing and bright colours triumphing over real musical talent. But it's still a decent song in what has been a year of music hardly filled with good stuff.

9. "Best Friend" by The Drums

On the surface The Drums appear to be everything I am against. Hipster-fueled indie pop, exactly the kind of people who would wear loafers with no socks. Dickheads. But I think this song is really good. I've listened to the rest of the album, and although I haven't given it a chance to grow on me, I doubt it ever will.

8. "Retiring Spies" by The Sleeping

Now, I've tried to include only "singles" in my list of songs but I don't think The Sleeping released a single from their excellent new album The Big Deep, so I've put down my favourite song from the album. Despite having a guitar lick that's hugely similar to 'A Place For My Head' by Linkin Park, I still think this song has an awful lot of merit on its own.

7. "Closer To The Edge" by 30 Seconds To Mars

I saw 30STM live a few backs. Good band, similar to the My Chemical Romance issue of melodramaticism. To me they suffer a little bit from the Foo-Fighters-problem, and by that I mean they write two or three fantastic songs per album, and then fill out the rest with fairly average tracks. Thankfully, Closer To The Edge is in the former category.

6. "Hallucinations" by Angels and Airwaves

Angels and Airwaves get a lot of stick, probably because they aren't as good as Blink 182, and also Tom DeLonge believes (and vocalises that) they are saviors of music. 'LOVE' is a good album no matter what people say about them, and Hallucinations is the probably the best track.

5. "Swim Until You Can't See Land" by Frightened Rabbit

I was introduced to Frightened Rabbit a little late, by Tom, who appears to know my musical taste better than I do. It's difficult to dislike this track, it's friendly and pleasantly musical like a Scottish Mumford & Sons with more talent. Infectiously catchy.

4. "It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now" by Four Year Strong

Four Year Strong had a few years of mediocrity releasing pop-punk with a rockier edge. New album 'Enemy of the World' is by far their best work and the extravagantly-titled lead single. With the alternative music scene filling up with by-the-numbers pop(-punk) like All Time Low, We The Kings and Boys Like Girls, Four Year Strong are a nice break to the mold.

3. "My Best Theory" by Jimmy Eat World

An example that you don't need to move with trends to be succesful, Jimmy Eat World have effectively played the same music forever. It still seems fresh and new, though, JEW have never stagnated. This is a great song with a raucous main riff and a classic chorus. I wish all bands had Jimmy Eat World's longevity.

2. "You Wouldn't Have To Ask" by Bad Books

Up until the second that I came to write this little text, I had numbers 1 and 2 the other way round. This is a great song, really really great and definitely has the best lyrics of any "single" this year. Bad Books are the supergroup composed of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra, and this is an example of how utterly amazing they could be. Unfortunately their self-titled debut album feels like a split of either Kevin Devine songs or Manchester Orchestra songs + this masterpiece.




1. "Drugwolf" by Crime In Stereo

I don't think anyone I know agrees with me, but this defacto single from Crime In Stereo early year release 'I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone' is the best song of this year. Well, if you like alternative rock music and have a limited capacity for tolerating other people's opinions anyway. Crime In Stereo's album was impressively recorded using only guitars, bass, drums and vocals and yet with the example of Drugwolf, it has a much more musical and epic feel than anything they've done before. The chorus, which I have to admit I disliked upon first listen, soars if you give it a chance and the crescendo at the end is awesome.

Given that this video, the only one on YouTube of the recorded version, has had 3,147 views, it seems likely that my view isn't shared by very many people. So you must listen to it, and agree with me.

Christmas 2010.

Christmas was very nice.
What will follow probably won't be.
Will try to make the best of things while they're good.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Jobs.

OK, so here's the situation:

I currently work full-time as a researcher for World of Books on a temporary basis.
I also do a bit of freelance work as a writer, but that comes and goes as it pleases.

So, I continue my job search.

What I am looking for is something like a press office assistant or PR assistant or marketing assistant.
Ideally, I would be working for a university or a charity, on the logic that its an environment I am more used to than a full-on business

These types of jobs, in a junior capacity, are fairly rare.


But it is what I'd like to be doing, and possibly the most sensible way to put my life skills to any commercial use. Not much of an income to be made in writing satirical blog posts or stalling at chapter two of every novel you try to write.

I digress.

So, anyway, this week, I found one such job.

It is as a "communications officer" at the University of Brighton. The problem is, it is also a temporary position, covering for maternity leave, I believe it said.

Still, it would be a fantastic opportunity if I could get it.

BUT:

...on the day I discover this job, World of Books offers me my current temporary job on a permanent basis.

Now, I really like my job at the moment. It's not remotely well paid, but it is easy, relaxed and, to a certain extent, quite fun.

If my life were in a place in which I wanted to settle down, or at least establish some degree of permanance, this job would be really good (...possibly with a little addition to the paycheck).

However, I now have to ask myself, if I could get a temporary job as a communications officer, do I take it? Do I abandon a permanent, full-time job that I enjoy for the experience and short-term financial benefit of being in a better paid job with better prospects?

I always said to myself I would always rather get experience and give myself the chance to get a good job. But at the same time I do genuinely like this job I have at the moment, and I don't want to leave it, for a few months of a job that I could potentially hate, or not find a future in.

I don't know. Do I go against everything that I used to mock? Am I brave enough to move on from something good for the potential for something better? I don't know.

Dreamthorp

I have long been a fan of the song "I could be with anyone" by Kevin Devine.

Kev Dev is a tremendous lyricist who is excellent at capturing the essence of what it is to grow up in the alternative culture these days, and indeed more general terms. "I could be with anyone" is a very good example of this.
The clue is in the title, and this song is primarily about the idea of how we form relationships and the part that luck and circumstance play in those who we come to love.

I use this introduction as a framing device to a quote that I'd like to show you from an obscure essay by the Scottish poet Alexander Smith from his book of essays Dreamthorp, originally published in 1864. Through my job, in which I have to value some strange old books, some very interesting, some otherwise, I often find myself reading things that I otherwise would never think of doing so. Alexander Smith is a good example of this.

I began reading his essay "On Vagabonds", the final essay of the book, and was impressed by how relevant and interesting the points he makes are.

Permit me to show you two quotes. They are constructed in that beautiful old style of writing that is so much more intrinsically appealing that the stuff you get today.

The first is on the same point that Kevin Devine is making. Obviously Alexander Smith's ideas come across in a fairly dated fashion, but I think that the point underneath is still completely valid.

"Our young men are terribly alike. For these many years back the young gentlemen I have had the fortune to encounter are clever, knowing, selfish, disagreeable; the young ladies are of one pattern like minted sovereigns of the same reign - excellent gold, I have no doubt, but each bearing the same awfully proper image and superscription... Courtship is an absurdity, and a sheer waste of time. If a man could but close his eyes in a ball-room, dash into a bevy of muslin beauties, carry off the fair one that accident gives to his arms, his raid would be as reasonable and as likely to produce happiness as the more ordinary methods of procuring a spouse"

The second quote is a little more vague, and I just think it makes a wonderful point that feels truer today.

 "Ah me! what a world this was to live in two or centuries ago when it was getting itself discovered - when the sunset gave up America, when a steel hand had the spoiling of Mexico and Peru! Then were the "Arabian Nights" common place enchantments a matter of course and romance the most ordinary thing in the world. Then man was courting nature, now he has married her. Every mystery is dissapated."

Decembreativity

So we've had Movember which was a charity event featuring sponsored moustache growing to raise awareness for prostate cancer. (Take note, Facebook, and your weekend of having a different profile picture.)

And now, the Guardian tells me that Decembrow is upon us, in which women stop plucking their eyebrows and sport a unibrow to raise aware for... well, feminism, I guess.

Both are good ideas.

But not being a woman I am unable to raise awareness for feminism. So, feeling left out, I have decided to begin Decembreativity in which I raise awareness for creativity by creatively coming up with some more possible month-name-change-to-raise-worthy-cause-awareness ideas.

Let's see:

So, instead of January we'll have Brandnewary - a month in which everyone must listen only to Brand New songs: to raise awareness that Brand New are the best band  in the world

Instead of February, Debruary - in which everyone named Deborah must spell their name Debra: to raise awareness that my mum's name is spelt Debra and not Deborah.

OK, admitedly, these first two have been a little centred around me. Let's try to see the bigger picture.

Instead of March, Starch to raise awareness for starch. Because, you know, we'll all like a bit of starch?

Instead of April, Gaypril, a month of enforced homosexuality, to raise awareness for John Barrowman.

Instead of May, Gay, ... another month of enforced homosexuality... to raise awareness for... err...

OK.
These are all awful.

I declare Decembreativity a failure.

Talk amongst yourselves whilst I think of something else...

Biffy Clyro, and a kareoke singer covering 'Many of Horror'

So some random guy won X-Factor.
His name could be anything, I've only seen it a few times. Mark? Matt? Steve?

I don't have a clue, and I don't care.

I can only assume that the  "x-factor" that the show claims to be looking for can be defined as 'a good looking man who probably wouldn't win a kareoke contest in his local pub'.

Here is a video of his performance, and he is genuinely off-key on a lot of notes here.
He has chosen to cover a Biffy Clyro song.

Now, I'm a big fan of Biffy Clyro. And I this pub singers cover an insulting poor and emotionless piece of shit.
And I am confident you will see a backlash from Biffy Clyro fans, and fans of decent music, that might well produce a repeat of the 'Simon Cowell vs. real music' standoff that we saw last year.

However.

I want a further opinion to be placed into the mix; an opinion that you might not hear very often.

And that opinion is that "Many of Horror" by Biffy Clyro is not a very good Biffy Clyro song. Biffy are a pop-drowned shadow of their former glory.
And the proof can be found in that fact that a talentless shit from the X Factor is able to cover their song and the 12/13 year olds (those both in phsyical and mental years) who enjoy X Factor don't abandon him.

Can you imagine "Glitter and Trauma" being covered on the X Factor? Take a listen and imagine it.



No.

I'm afraid Biffy are nothing more than rocky pop music these days. I am pleased for their success and I still enjoy their songs for what they are.
But I've got to admit that it annoys me when I hear people talk about how fantastic the album 'Only Revolutions' is, when it is by far their weakest release.

The Liberal Democrats, and how they have blown their chance.

For all my posturing and complaining how no-one votes at elections. I ashamed to admit I didn't vote last time round.

I was going to, but then University of Wolverhampton stole all my money, and I couldn't get home to fill out a ballot paper. I know I could have planned it better. I know I could have postal voted. But I was rubbish. I didn't think and I'm a failure.

But anyway, it didn't matter.

I hadn't decided, but I was going to vote Liberal Democrat or Labour.
Tim Loughton, the Tory who has been our MP since our constituency was created in 1997, recieved 23,458 votes (interestingly, this is proof that there are at least 23,458 old/stupid people in my area).

The next closest was James Doyle, the Liberal Democrat, who recieved 12,353 votes.
Now, had I voted, that would have given him a sum of 12,354 votes.
Unfortunately, that is still less than 23,458.

Fairly worryingly Emily Benn from Labour recieved 8,087 votes. So even if we added up all the votes for Labour and Lib Dem, Tim still won. That's a bit sad really.

But the point I'm going to make is actually a different one.
Because I championed Lib Dems during the lead up the election, and I was rooting for them. I probably would have voted Liberal Democrat if I had been here.

And now, I don't think I can ever vote Lib Dem.
Call it youthful naivety if you like, but I think Liberal Democrats had an opportunity at the 2010 election.
Not an opportunity to get into power (although funnily enough they sort of did), I think they had a chance to win a generation of voters to their cause, and they had the chance to proove themselves as different types of politicians. Not liars and cheats and media-spinners. Real people standing up for what their constituants wanted.

See, if you talk to young people about politics the key word tends to be apathy.

Politicians are all the same. They make promises to get your vote, and then make a u-turn when it comes to the decisions. They abuse their expenses. They never give you a straight answer.

The problem is people don't trust politicians. They are too used to people who just want to be in a position of power. 

So along come the Lib Dems, making their promises, and saying they are going to be a "real alternative" and "fair". Amongst young people the Lib Dems were by far the most popular party, becuase they were offering something different to the politics that we knew and hated.

So here was their chance.
They didn't have to get into power. All they had to do was win the respect of a young generation of voters who believed in them. They just had to keep their promises, and stay true to their manifesto, and reward those people who put their faith in them.

The Liberal Democrats could have emerged from these difficult political times as a party who were willing to stand by their word. And it would have been a slow process, but I think a massive proportion of this generation would have believed in the Lib Dems in a way that the Tory vs. Labour current generation just aren't capable of doing.
So then a couple of elections down the road, the Lib Dems would have proved themselves as a real party with real values, and I suspect that is exactly what people are looking for. I think the Liberal Democrats could have been a genuine contender, in two or three elections time.

But what did they do?

They teamed up with the Tories. The party that, on paper, they disagreed with the most.
They broke their election pledge to stop university fees from dramatically rising.
They proved to all the young voters who put their faith in them that you really cannot trust a single word a politician said, and I can promise you that they have thrown away so many potential voters for the future.

This was their chance, and they have seriously blown it.

Now they are hated even more than the Tories. Because at heart we knew what we were getting from the Tories.

It's like you're being bullied at school, and then you see your best friend, who promised to come to your rescue, join in with the bullies. Sure, you hate the bullies but you're gonna hate your friend even more for abandoning you.

So now everyone who likes the current government will vote Conservative, because it's basically their policies. And everyone who doesn't has no choice but to vote Labour.

Lib Dems had a chance to be recognised as a different kind of political party, and had a generation of voters just waiting to get behind them.
Instead I fear they have now lost their support, and cannot be trusted.

I love you/I hate you.

This is going to be another post about basketball.
But don't worry, it leads to personal discovery and transcendent self-deprecation. And that's what we're all looking for really.

See, basketball is a strange one for me.
I love it. Love, genuine love.
But the trouble is I'm much better at thinking/talking about it than I am playing it.

I mean it's not entirely my fault.

When you design a perfect basketball player you don't give them an athletically-limited 5'10'' body with bad eyesight, stubby legs and a generally meek attitude to competition. And if you do, you definitely don't give them the ability to realise this.

Nevertheless, physical limitations can only shoulder so much of the blame. I'm still able-bodied, and I hold the distinction of being neither the shortest, the weakest or the fattest.

If you come and watch me you will notice I don't dribble much (and not because I can't), I make stupid decisions and I pass up easy shots. And I'm afraid that all this comes down to a lack of confidence. Alex, my self-appointed motivational trainer, often tells me that I play better when I play with confidence.

Part of that, I know, is simply a ploy to make me believe a little more into my limited abilities, but it is actually true. I know I play better when things are going my way. But I can't harness that. I can't tell make myself think like things are going good.

I am stuck in reality. And this applies not just to basketball. Most things I do could be improved if I just had a little faith in what I do and what I think and what I say.

I confine myself to mediocrity.

Basketball.
I love it, but it is a microcosm for everything that is wrong with my life.

It is the projection of my lack of confidence ruining something that should be good.

And it is the proof that no matter how much I care about something, that I don't have the strength of character or the bravery to overcome the problems.

Some odd BBC journalism.

I'd like to just quickly draw your attention to this BBC article on Newcastle United's new manager Alan Pardew, and a bizarre editorial choice.

If you've seen a BBC article before, you'll know that they have the article with a picture at the top and then somewhere down in the second half of the page they have a little insert with a comment on the story either from the message board or from a blog by one of their experts.

In this case there is a quote from Phil McNulty who is the BBC's head football writer.
He says : "Pardew's early statements do not speak of a man daunted by the task facing him..."

Yet the very first quote from Alan Pardew in the article reads:

"But it's one of the top five clubs in England. It's a daunting prospect but something I couldn't turn down"

Now.
When a man calls the prospect of a task "daunting", I think it's fair to say he is a man "daunted" by the task.

Phil McNulty is clearly a man baffled by the changing of tense.

The reason I don't have a cartoon as my profile picture.

There is a trend on Facebook at the moment.

What you do, apparently, is replace your current display picture with a picture of a cartoon character from your childhood.

I won't be participating. Not because I'm too pretencious, or because I wish violence against children. No.
Because it's a kind of typical campaign that we are beginning to see.

Facebook User 1: "I am going to combat child abuse!"

Facebook User 2: "How? By donating money to a reputable children's charity? By volunteering as a care worker? By going out into the street and handing out flyers to raise awareness to the plight of children?"

Facebook User 1: "No. By changing my profile picture to that of a cartoon"

It's funny how willing people are do things for campaigns when it is free and they only have to click a few buttons.
Call me cynical but I bet if you said "change your profile picture to a cartoon and donate £5 to NSPCC" suddenly no one would notice the campaign.

No, instead what you get to do is appease your conscience by putting a different picture up for a few days, so that you can imagine in your head that you have somehow done something decent for abused children.

Enjoy that warm feeling of making a difference that I am sure you all get.

Question Time

Watched Question Time, and have two points to make.

So, England lost their bid to win the 2018 World Cup.
They didn't lose by a narrow margin. They got eliminated in the first round of voting after they received just 2 votes, one of whom was English.

And suddenly it's the BBC's fault for running the Panorama show a couple of nights before.

Panorama said that FIFA's selection process is corrupt and some of the people have accepted bribes to vote for a certain country to win.

Then the winning country turns out to be Russia, undoutbedly the most politically corrupt of the countries who were bidding.

So what do we do?
Blame FIFA for being corrupt? No. Let's blame the BBC for pointing out they are corrupt.

The BBC couldn't win.
They were right, and yet they have been blamed for being right. We weren't going to win anyway. We got two votes!

It wouldn't have made a difference if Panorama had aired a 3 hour special showing their journalists going around molesting the selection board's children.
We had already lost before Panorama had anything to do about it. 

Of course you could argue that Panorama didn't know that we had already lost, so had the vote been very close they could have swung it against England's favour.
But imagine if that was the case...

Russia beat England by one vote to win the World Cup 2018. And two days later the BBC brings out "new evidence" to show that FIFA is corrupt.

No one would take it seriously. It would just look like England were bad losers trying to save face. If anything it would probably have exhonerated FIFA from corruption.

The BBC couldn't win, no matter what they did it would have been wrong.

Congratulations to Russia, by the way, I wasn't actually displeased to see Russia win. They've never hosted a World Cup before.

The second point I wanted to make comes from a statement made by Nadine Dorries, the Conservative MP on the programme.

It was just a very good indicator of general Tory attitude towards life, and exactly why they are completely the wrong people to be running the country.

She said on the issue of increased tuition fee:
"maybe students will think a little bit more about the tyoe of course they go on, one that will pay them well at the end... and get them a better education"

That's right Nadine. Let's have everyone make every decision based on what financial benefit they will get from it. Just like the Tories do.