Whimsy Wednesdays #1

      This is basically going to be a collection of random shit which I find to be of interest. If you don't find it enjoyable, feel free to deal with it, 'cause it's not going anywhere.
      This week we're enjoying the words of old. Basically, I found a Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1941. Upon flitting through its surprisingly well-kept pages, I came across a plethora of quite charming definitions, far less scientific than today.

Ga'laxy, n. irregular luminous band of stars encircling heavens; brilliant company.

Grotesque' (-sk), n. a style of decorative art

Pink n. point of perfection or excellence

Tear n. drop let fall from the eye

Turtle ~Soup, made from the green turtle

Wheeze v.i. breathe with audible friction

      And if you were ever wondering the scientific word for a 'pun' - it's 'Paronomasia'. Also, just beore I leave you, here's one of my favorite quotes from Oscar Wilde;

"His style is chaos illumined by flashes of lightning. As a writer he has mastered everything except language."

Anyway I hope you enjoyed today's whimsy, I know it's short but if it was long it might not be as whimsical.

X AJ

Sidenote- I'm still on holiday when you're reading this so - if no post comes up tomorrow or the day after or the week after, it means I never wrote enough posts, which makes me a terrible human being, feel free to chastise me in the comments below.

Friday Jams #3

      And we're back for another Friday Jam, get those speakers on and make sure you're sitting cross-legged, I find it helps. So since the last post was pretty much dedicated to Janelle Monáe (no regrets about that) I'm gonna make this one as varied and weird as possible.

      Today's featured track is a song I've had and loved for a very young time, pretty much since its release. I got the album 'Days to Come' as a late birthday present and on this very awesome album (released 2006) was one track called 'Recurring'. It's quite simply, beautiful. Someone once said (can't remember who) "if sound could resemble how things looked, acted, how things ran, how you heard things, i wish the world was like this song" You may have heard it before, I think it's been played in some adverts or something. Anyway, it's a really wonderfully chilled yet varied and enthralling song and does a very good job at representing its creator (Bonobo) who's genre is almost... his own. I couldn't think where it would fit so I did wikipedia search. It said that it's "Downtempo / TripHop / Chillout" which only confused me further. Anyway, i fully encourage you to get the album 'Days to Come' or his most recent release which is just as beautiful and masterful as the rest 'Black Sands'. But enough of me, here is the song.
Bonobo - Recurring

This second song is one from a classic artist that I've only just got into lately. This song came up whilst on shuffle and I have to say it's one of my favorites if not the one favorite.
Paul Simon - Kodachrome

This third one just has an ingenious intro and it's horrendously funky and awesome in so many ways.
Logo - Hello.jpg

This third one is just, well, to be honest, it's awful. Yet there are so many things about this song that I love. I love that it sound like she's saying "My name is toenail" at the beginning. I love how bad she is at lip syncing, but most of all I love how she brings to the table the worry that everyone has, even me, of being a crappy housewife.
Tonje Langeteig - I Don't Wanna Be A Crappy Housewife

One of One, Not of Many... Part II/The Human Condition... Part II

      Alas, we meet again. I left you last week with an issue of being stereotyped or stereotyping. I also left you two days ago with one of our species' many 'conditions'; faults which continuously set us back in our disjointed struggle to become better beings. I realized that this issue of stereotyping is yet another of our infinite problems, hence, here we are, with a double 'Part II' if that makes sense. Anyway, much of this post will seem stupid and random if you don't read the last post again or even for the first time. That last post 'One of ONe, Not of Mant... Part I' can be found here.
      So, assuming you've read the last post, here is the other situation in which stereotypes and categorizing become treacherous territory.
      A couple of weeks ago or so, I heard a story of a guy, a gay guy as it would happen, who's mother had been talking with some of his friends, it went a little like this;

Friend(s): "My son is so difficult at the moment, he hardly talks to me and he rarely remembers my birthday or mothers' day, and sometimes even Christmas"
Mum: "My son's usually very good with that sort of stuff"
Friend(s): "Yes, but that's because he's gay"

      Now, this (as far as I know) hasn't happened to my mother or brother or anything like that. But on countless occasions this sort fo thing has happened directly to me. People responding with perfectly well-meant lines such as "Yeah, but that's because you're gay". Now I usually go quite a long way in terms of tolerating people who say these sorts of things. Mainly because some of these people are actually close friends, (That's also perhaps why I'm abroad whilst this is being published). Now, It's fine, I can deal with it, I'm not gonna go into full on 'pissed' mode (and by that I mean angry not drunk, well maybe both), but I feel it's important that people understand that nothing I say, do or like that I say do or like because I'm gay - outside of being attracted to men that is. I am everything I am because I'm Angus* not because I'm gay. I like Battlestar Galactica and Ugly Betty because I'm Angus. I like Madonna and the Scissor Sisters because I'm Angus. I like dancing and Chicago: The Musical because I'm Angus. Believe it or not homosexuals do not receive a manual on 'The Gay Code' at birth. We choose what we like because that's what we like, not because we're gay. Anyway, I won't scream down your ear any longer.

X AJ

*yes that's my name, if you didn't know already, Angus James, which is the AJ thing that I've got going on. Also, Angus in scottish gaelic (an gus) means one choice.

The Human Condition Part I...

      So over the past few years there's been a story sort of just buzzing in the peripheral of the newspapers and on late-night documentaries etc. This story is the (hopefully not) inevitable exploitation of the Arctic regions to attain oil and other valuable substances such as materials that could be used in computers and phones and so forth. The reason it makes the news is not only due to the environmental impacts of drilling in such a fragile environment but also the increasing debate over who actually owns the Arctic, which parts belong to who and so forth. Those who are currently slicing up the oil rich pie as of now are Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA. These eight countries make up the 'Arctic Council', deciding what land goes to who and all that sort of business. What saddens me about this story is the near desperation to gain these regions purely with a view to extract oil. People worry that this 'cold rush' as it's being called will prompt a new "arms" race, as the eight countries fight it out behind each-others' backs in order to get a slice of the pie. On one hand many officials are insisting the Arctic is and area of 'low tension' rather than dispute, whereas on the other hand Russian citizens make claims such as "We must prove that the north pole is an extension of the Russian land mass" and with Norway alarmingly increasing their purchases or military hardware.
      What I found most alarming about this story is that it entirely confirms that we humans genuinely have know idea whatsoever what is good for us, and if we do, well, then we choose to ignore it. All of the countries involved in the dispute consistently advertise themselves as 'green countries' or in other cases 'making the move towards a "greener future"' - but It's difficult to believe when they spend so much money and time on securing as many oil fields as possible, no matter the cost. What's more disturbing is their reason to begin exploiting the Arctic is that "global warming makes extraction more easy". 
      I'll give you a second to digest that...         Absolute idiots. 
      This is why I've named this post 'The Human Condition' - It's almost like we're willing to sever articles of our body as long as we continue to bleed gold. Then finally when we get to a point when we're left with no arms or legs, we realize it was probably best to keep all our limbs and do without the gold, since we can't actually wear rings when we have no fingers. That analogy was... shaky at best - but just roll with it (pun intended).

      Anyway, please leave your thoughts below, and if you have a yearning to spit in my general direction, leave those thoughts as well - I print them all out and put them next to my staler pictures of you :)

X AJ


Sidenote- So I renamed the post from 'The Human Condition...' to 'The Human Condition Part I...' because I realized there's probably a fair few more 'human conditions' that may or may not be up for discussion later on - leave your thoughts on what you think's wrong with us in the comments below.  

Friday Jams #2

Ok, we're back for another Friday Jam.

Today's featured track is one by someone i found a few months ago who recently was brought back to my attention after seeing a live performance on TV. Her name is Janelle Monáe and her album "The Archandroid" is quite frankly, genius. The first song I will show you is one of her well known songs.

Janelle Monáe - Faster

 I would highly recommend buying it and listening to it all the way through in one go if you can find the time, with no distractions. The lady herself said "I do believe that when the listener listens to suites II & III combined, they will be transformed, but you have to listen to it from the beginning to the end or it will not work for you and you will have cheated yourself". It's very difficult to pick out one song from the alum to showcase her because it's so wonderfully composed. Therefore, I'm devoting three of four slots to her today - and if you're wondering where Suite I is, it's on a sort of EP thing called 'Metropolis - The Chase Suite' which is also divine.

This second one is a more chilled song on the ArchAndroid album showing just how versatile she is and how incredibly diverse yet 'together' this album is.
Janelle Monáe - 57821

This last Janelle Monáe is my favorite song on the album and I can't quite describe it so just have a listen
Janelle Monáe - BaBopByeYa

The last song on this Friday Jams is a bit of cheeky pop, I literally adored her as a child and I can't stop loving this music video and the album is just divine pop music.
Britney Spears - I Wanna Go

Fuck you - Fuck You - Fuck you - You're cool! Fuck you - I'm out.

So Damn Restless...

      I'm not ashamed of my past - just very willing to change, maybe eager. But that's just who I am. Basically this is just a post to say I'm once again changing the design - 'cause I'm a difficult bastard. However, once again, I'm determined to preserve a little of the past. The blog post all about that is here. And this blog's very own 'photostream' on Flickr is here.

X AJ

Sidenote- I would have made a larger post today but there's a Friday Jams coming tomorrow and I'm busy righting an olio of awesome posts for you that will be published by my robot-butler whilst I'm on holiday.

I guess on this one you don't have to leave comments because there's not much to comment on. However, don't hesitate to leave hatred below, that's always welcome! Anyway until next time, keep well and that...

One of One, Not of Many... Part I

      So I really don't know how to begin this post. Usually I would start with a story of a past event then analyze what was right or wrong about that event - or I'd look at aspects of my life, and the lives of others around me and try to figure out what the hell any of it means and leads to. However, today, although with a topic in mind, I cannot start with a story really. This is because it's something that reoccurs. I am literally unable to recall the specific dialogue and interactions of the last example of this 'thing' that I want to talk about due to the overwhelming amount of times it's happened and no doubt will happen in the future. What I want to talk about is stereotyping and categorizing.
      For the most part, categorizing is an incredible ability that we humans possess - it allows us to make life just a little bit more easy to manage, and it works great with items and places and events. But when it comes to people, the art of categorizing becomes infinitely less accurate, and corrodes an individuals ability to see people as individuals, rather than part of a category or stereotype. When you meet someone for the first time, they will probably be trying to 'figure you out' - what you're like, what you like, how popular you are, how successful you are and so on. That's fine, it's something our minds cannot avoid doing and it allows us to build an idea of how compatible you are as a friend or more with the person you're conversing with. This analysis becomes weak and inaccurate when we begin to try and fit them into stereotypes. This is because before you've even found out a lot about this person, you've predicted and sometimes confirmed in your head 'who' this person is. You can be almost certain that the person you are talking with does not fit the stereotype. Please don't do this, the amount of times people have said to me "oh, I just assumed because you're *insert category*" or "Oh so that's why you *insert stereotypical characteristic".

X AJ

Another situation in which stereotypes and categories become dangerous will be explained in Part II, I felt it was all too much for just one post.

Sidenote- this is the bit where I talk about stuff, but there's no stuff to be talked about. So enjoy this video of a dove ruining a cat-nap  instead.

Please comment and stuff, I like to hear your thoughts, and make sure you put them below so everyone else can hear them too! And if you don't have a google account - get one, they're rather useful.

Promises Made, Not Fulfilled...

      Well, here we are. Coming back and writing these posts is beginning to feel a lot like talking to a friend you haven't seen in a while; awkward and guilty. However, I'm not the only one who's been missing deadlines, and breaking promises. Although not by missing deadlines for writing on their blog, or forgetting to pay back your friend. We're talking bigger things here. Emotions. Breaking promises here and there is never a good habit to get into but nevertheless most of the time that unfulfilled promise does not cause much grief. For example, me failing to update my blog over the past few days is not admirable, but has only caused a few sighs from disappointed readers. When it comes to emotions, you don't break promises. Perhaps one of the best ways to cover your ass on this one is to never make promises when it comes to matters of the heart, therefore never breaking them. However one must remember that there are some fiendish creatures who walk amongst us who, it would seem, make 'promises', with full intent to break them, using them only as a temporary measure to get what they want. As luck would have it, I have had the pleasure of encountering one of these beasts in the past few months. One could say that he 'talked the talk but never walked the walk'. We'll call him... B1. So, B1 here has made various promises, promises for the future and the present, few of which have been fulfilled. Plans, dreams, dates and everything in between, he's promised. It gets him what he wants when he makes them (my attention... I'd assume) but increasingly fails to deliver. What is more frustrating is that he has actually delivered some of what he's promised. Annoyingly, it's just the right amount to keep me hanging on. To keep me interested and have faith, and it's worked.
      Now see, am I over-thinking this? Am I being a paranoid bitch? I'd like to think not but one can never know. When someone isn't meeting promises but is simply to nice and apologetic of his mistakes and shortcomings to leave, is it that he is genuinely sorry, or is it just me, sitting with my eyes to clouded with admiration to be able to believe anything other than what he tells me. Then when I start to think 'hey, maybe he doesn't intend to do any of this' - is that me being sensible or insane? It's a complete fucking mess. The biggest problem with this whole situation is my inability to let go. I know, that no matter how much I get fucked over, I'll continue to hang on with whatever it takes until I get hurt. It's like I'm standing on top of a building and there's someone at the bottom ready to catch me, and I know I'm gonna jump, all I can do is hope. Hope that that person at the bottom does catch me. Either that or I'm pavement jam. The stakes are high. Fingers crossed.

X AJ

Sidenote-  I'm going abroad next week so I'll try and schedule some posts if I don't have internet, and posts will be more regular... I promise.