Category: Random

I think, all things considered that we must consider the first foray in the war to have been a complete success. I, certainly, had a lovely time. Although I did spend money, which is, you know, bad.

Quote: I ain’t happy, I’m feeling glad, I’ve got sunshine, In a bag, I’m useless, But not for long, The future is coming on. [link]

Apparently I write things that are quote-worthy. Not recently perhaps, but once. On photodude.com/weblog (a remarkably well designed site), there appear to be at least three seperate weblogs in operation. One of them – the quote log – is a great idea, and includes some real gems. Concealed amongst these gems lurks: “We’re all stuck here. We have no choice. We are logging automata – forced by the web to prostitute our writing skills day in and day out until we die. We shall write until we drop. Then we shall be boiled down into a black unctious liquid and people will use us for ink.” I said that, although I don’t remember where… Do you remember where?

I can’t thank Davo enough for the new book from Disinformation: “You are being lied to“. I’ve already decided to use it as a basis for discussion over on Barbelith, with each individual article being a basis of discussion. The first one went up today: On Howard Bloom, “Reality is a Shared Illusion”, a discussion based around the article posted on the web here. More tomorrow.

Quote / Theory: “Life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” I talked about this with Matt last night after the Black Belt Jones party. I’ve come to a strange accommodation with this quote. One of its many origins is the Lennon song Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy). I used to think that it meant that people were too caught up in their ‘other plans’ and missed the life that was passing by around them. Now I think that’s a seriously naive reading. I now think that rather than reading an ‘instead’ at the end of the sentence, the profundity of the sentence comes from the potential double meanings around ‘when’. i think an interpretation that makes more sense to me suggests that life does in fact not happen when you are not making plans – that the ‘when’ is a ‘while’ is an ‘at only those times when’. Living is in the distraction of things, not in their absence. I said all this to Matt. He thought it was depressing.

Quote: I see the sun rise over this wall | I watch it break and slide, See my name | See my name on the wall | I tried to walk on this wall | It fell right under my feet, Now I only lean | Only lean on the wall | I throw an egg at this wall | I watch it break and slide, See my name | See my name on the wall. [lyric]

Quote: And if anyone objects that they are not worth the effort, I will cite Cioran (not a classic, at least not yet, but a contemporary thinker who is only now being translated into Italian): ‘While the hemlock was being prepared, Socrates was learning a melody on the flute. “What use will that be to you?”, he was asked. “At least I will learn this melody before I die.” ‘ [Calvino]

I’m meeting up with a friend from University who I haven’t seen in over five years. Nick Carey was this bearded wonder who used to roam around my old halls of residence, getting drunk and misbehaving. He used to have a scruffy mess of curly hair as well. Once, he and Fenner ran naked in the rain at night across Goldney’s lower paddock while I stood, eyebrow raised with an umbrella and their clothes. He’s been in Prague on and off for years now, and I keep losing track of him. I’m fascinated to know what he’s like now. I’m also horrified by him saying something like, “Jesus Christ – what the fuck happened to you?!

The BBC finally decides to cover the whole ICANN controversy: Domain Dispute Drags On. The whole issue frustrates me – particularly the potential loss of .org domain names as held by individual creative sites (such as plasticbag.org).

Why said Microsoft didn’t have a sense of humour? I’ll tell you who – pretty much every single rational and intelligent man, woman or child in the Western hemisphere.