Beware the strange animal
[Most Recent Entries]
[Calendar View]
[Friends]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
life_of_tom's LiveJournal:
[ << Previous 20 ]
| Friday, October 23rd, 2009 | | 9:38 pm |
| | 8:53 am |
A paid writing job!
Kinda. I have fourteen days to write a bunch of short articles on the subject of 'self hypnosis.' For this I will be paid $200.00. Money is a good thing, more would be nicer. . As far as I can tell, these are destined to go onto some website or series of websites built by a marketing company in the states. My only guide in this journey is Dave, an observer from my own time who- oh, sorry, that's from Quantum leap. If you get spam from a self-hypnosis company in three years time, you'll know who to thank! | | Monday, October 12th, 2009 | | 9:58 am |
The day after a larp event, and not everything hurts.
Monstering the Jackals' event was fun. It was in Oxfordshire, so it was good to go through there and feel all nostalgic. As I don't really have a base there anymore with my father having relocated up north to Wendsleydale, I haven't been back there all that much, so that was good- something about the shape of the land and the trees that grow on it felt very nice and familiar. It also turned out that a load of people who hadn't been to a larp event in ages were there, and that too was fantastic. One of those (who I knew about in advance) was Ben, who I've conspired to not see for about two years (ridiculous oversight on my part) so that was good. It was also pretty cool to see everyone else who was there, although as some friends were playing I didn't get to see everyone as much as we would have liked. There were also a few people kicking around in the monster crew who I kind of knew a bit, but had more of a chance to talk to and get to know, which was very nice. I'm at Ben's now, which has been cool. After the event I had a chance to watched him do some horsemanship stuff for a friend, which I don't know much about. I do really enjoy watching someone who is really immersed in something and really good at it too. Then it was back to his new house for sitting down, and pigeon stew with him and Lou. A very nice larp comedown indeed. There'll be more visiting today then back on up to Edinburgh on the train. I'm looking forward to more of this kind of thing in the not too distant future too, I think. No more Larp events for me for a while, but as long as money sorts itself out (it's looking like things will even out soon, and Allie will be able to get herself a better job once some visa things change) then more visits should happen, I think. Might be the other side of Christmas, but we'll see how it goes. Anyone is, of course, welcome to pop on up to Edinburgh any time- it's beautiful in Autumn. | | Thursday, October 8th, 2009 | | 12:15 pm |
| | Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 | | 3:20 pm |
| | Sunday, October 4th, 2009 | | 9:32 pm |
| | Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 | | 12:02 pm |
We are Gathered here today...
or, well, last weekend. I was back to the Gathering, having missed last year. It felt strange, having not been to a LT event in two years, and consequently having not seen a bunch of people I always see there, in the intervening time. It was good- a long, long journey towards the site, getting in at about half eleven on the friday night to discover that all the cool kids with cars had arrived at pretty much exactly the same time. A bit of getting shit together, and a drunken Shanks appeared. Just like old times, really. Highlights of the weekend involved revelations about Derren Brown, award-winning pie, What's the Time Mr Wolf, now with added Werewolf, drumming mania, corpse puppetry, and finally our surreal final musical procession to the ritual circle, singing 'Goodbye Erdreja' as Shanks, the crew, and the Lizards finally walked away into the sunset at time-out on Sunday night. more importantly, it was wonderful to meet some nice new people, and see others I haven't seen in ages. It made me rediscover my keen for the wonderful world of Larp, and made me realise that it's just getting on a bus, train, or plane, god dammit. going to see people isn't that hard. next weekend- family wedding in London. 11th-20th, Philadelphia. 9th-11th October, there's the Jackals event in Oxfordshire. I've got some holiday left for the year. I think I'll take a couple of days off round then, visit people in that part of the world if that would work? | | Friday, July 17th, 2009 | | 8:50 am |
Rich stole this song from the Beatles, I'm stealing it back...
(bonus points for anyone who knows the cringeworthy origin of that quote above). So Rich is making mixtapes for people, based on the following criteria; list five bands/songs/artists that you love, and three that you hate. The first ten people who respond get a tailor-made mix tape, in CD or downloadable form. I think I'll do that too. Rich, you can have one for definite. seems only fair. | | Sunday, June 28th, 2009 | | 8:33 pm |
| | Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | | 11:23 pm |
Strange, the things which catch you off guard
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=steven_wells_rage_in_peace&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1That's an obituary of Steven Wells, who was amongst the most amusing and inspiring of the music journalists I remember reading when I was younger and more intense, and when I really, really cared about music to what seems like an almost pathological degree. Honestly, I look back on the way I felt about bands I loved, and bands I hated, with a weird mixture of embarrassment and pride, mingled with the thought that I might have lost something, an edge which probably made a lot of things harder, but was, in its own spiky way, admirable. Steven Wells was awesome. He raged, he loved, he hated, and he always made me laugh when eviscerating some terrible band in the NME. I hadn't really thought about him or his writing in a long time, and now he's dead and it seems like I can say 'I read his stuff, when I was young.' My god, when did that happen? I always thought somehow I'd be writing by now, and thought that writing with that kind of passion would be a thing that was somehow within my reach. I haven't done it. I'm not sure why but I suspect it boils down to laziness and a lack of focus. Have to do something about that. I didn't realise he directed a Manics video. I've just listened to half the Holy Bible at eleven o'clock at night now. Steven Wells RIP. | | Sunday, April 19th, 2009 | | 6:22 pm |
All of a sudden I miss everyone
I've just had the most hectic week- A friend of Allie's has been visiting from America since Sunday, and so I've been out almost every night this week, showing two very lovely Connecticut-ites (-ians? -oids?) round Edinburgh, showing them where you can buy Haggis, finding interesting bands to go see, drinking in the town, finding haggis, going to pub quizzes, showing them where Arthur's Seat was, and being on hand to tell them that no, Loch Ness is just a little bit further away than a short bus ride. As is always the case, when someone comes to visit you do things you wouldn't have if you're just busy with the business of getting on with living, and I feel like I've seen more of Edinburgh in the last week than I have in the past three months. Slightly complicating the issue was the fact that Allie was away for the first three days, having been given a surprise trip home for a week by her family. I guess that could have been awkward, but Heidi and Natalie (the two visitors) turned out to be lovely people, the best kind of guests that one could ask for. It also worked out quite well to keep me busy for the week that Allie was away- her and I don't seem to spend much time apart, we realised the other day. That's the way we seem to like it, too. All in all, it was lovely. Slightly marred by the horrendous cold that I developed on friday, but it was discovered that without Lemsip I coughed like a dying coal miner, felt like my head was about to explode, couldn't hear anything, and could only communicate my pain to the outside world with a dry, hopeless croak. With Lemsip, however, I was a normal functioning human being again. It's also been established that if you have a cold, the best thing to do is drink it off. You're not ill if you're drunk. Fact. Now, a wonderful week is over, my new friends are on their plane and the sun shines in through Allie's window, warm and golden as the evening rolls on in. The week is done, and I'm basking in the pleasant thought of fun times had, new friends gained, and that lovely moment when guests have gone, and you miss them, but the thought of lying down and doing nothing at all as good music plays, is the most appealing prospect of all. Current Music: Belle and Sebastian- If you're feeling sinister | | Thursday, March 26th, 2009 | | 9:13 am |
| | Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 | | 5:40 pm |
Musical Memes
Dave had a good idea, and I'm bored. Guess the song, artist too. 1) I'm shining like a new dime. 2) And I know you'd hit out, if you only knew where to hit. 3) Mister, can we take your car? We're taking a girl to the resovoir. 4) Don't worry, be happy, things'll get better naturally. 5) I just want to be your lover, no matter how it ends. 6) I became a man when I first saw my mother fall. 7) I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're gonna die. 8) Vandalism's fun when there's nothing to do, break a few things, say it wasn't you. 9) There could be an idiot on the road, what if there's someone overtaking? 10) If they follow you, don't look back. | | Monday, February 23rd, 2009 | | 6:20 pm |
Wedding bells are a beautiful sound...
I'm a romantic. I love weddings. Other people's weddings have been among the happiest days of my life, so far, and I had another one on saturday. Chris, who some may remember from Swansea as the Bulldozer Puppy, got married in a church in Oxford, not far from my first home in England, and the Chapel where my Father was married two years ago. Chris was amongst my closest friends at school, and one of the guitarists in the first band I was ever in. After several years of wandering around our school and Oxfordshire environs talking earnestly about history, politics, philosophy, art, Therapy? B-sides and how no-one at our school understood how hard it was being us, I left for Swansea University. A year later I was overjoyed when he came to Swansea too. He then complained about the city for three full years. Possibly, getting a house just next to the Prison wasn't the wisest of choices. We were in a band there too, and I spent many late nights up at his house in Hendrefoilan playing guitar and arguing with him till 2am. Once our arguments reached an advanced stage, I did a dissertation based on them. It was the best discussion group I could have had during my degree, because my coursemates wouldn't have stopped the argument to go see late night showings of the Exorcist, or to watch lightning out at sea from the beachfront. He was a huge part of my time at Swansea, and though I've seen less of him recently, he's always been amongst my favourite people in the world. From what I've seen of his wife, Phillippa, she's equally lovely. Apparently, he proposed to her in Paris. Through the medium of Travel Scrabble. He's a legend. I like it when good things happen to good people. | | Friday, January 16th, 2009 | | 12:41 pm |
ooh, such a good time...
Last night saw my second ever trip to Glasgow, this time to see the Mighty Boosh at the SECC. It was, well, remarkable. The show lasted about three hours and really hit home to me that there just isn't anyone quite like them around, and perhaps, well, perhaps there hasn't been anything like them before, either. Maybe Python? The thing that make the Boosh so special is their versatility. They can do whatever the hell they want, and frequently do. They do things which shouldn't be funny, but because it's them, they are. The closest thing I can compare to them is maybe Bill Bailey, who's done the comedy/music thing really well indeed. He's a solo act, though, and he doesn't have the sketches, characters, and ridiculously good band that they do at his disposal. There's something amazing about watching an hour an a half of character sketches, all really good, then an interval, a half-hour 'play' which morphed into a gig that was more entertaining than most 'proper' bands manage. It didn't hurt that for that hell-raising, punked-up 'gig,' everyone was dressed in bright floral dresses, either. | | Thursday, December 11th, 2008 | | 9:23 am |
somewhere, out in the vast empty chasms of his brain, Keanu drew his plans against us
Yesterday, someone at work made my whole damn week. In the metro yesterday morning, there was a front-page, mock-headline advert for 'The Day The Earth Stood Still,' treating the events of the film as a news story. There was also a huge disclaimer in the photo of a giant ball hovering over a station, stating 'This is an Advertisment.' One of my workmates missed this, however, and got a little worried. Apparently she checked page two, going 'well, if it's a wind-up, it'll say there,' and it didn't. She then thought 'I wonder if we'll get the day off work, if aliens are attacking,' but figured 'I guess the buses are still going, and there isn't a ship over Edinburgh,' but something was bothering her. 'If it was real, wouldn't it have been on GMTV?' | | Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 | | 12:57 pm |
| | Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | | 7:42 am |
Thank you, America
I had this feeling last night, a bit like that moment right before you lean in to kiss someone for the first time and are pretty sure you know how it's going to go and you think it's going to be fantastic. Still, there's that moment of doubt. Something could still go horribly wrong. You could have got it wrong. But it didn't. I jut loaded up the BBC website this morning, and found that Americans made the right choice. Terrible Grinning Lizard Man isn't the most powerful man on the face of the earth. Friendly Grinning Big-Eared Unity Man is. Thank fuck. | | Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 | | 8:53 am |
| | Monday, October 13th, 2008 | | 12:11 pm |
|
[ << Previous 20 ]
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
life_of_tom's journal