sheridan's Journal

Subject:	the wit and wisdom of Boris Johnson
Time:	10:54 pm.

And the mayoral race begins (I don't want him to be mayor, but I'm looking forward to more nuggets like the following in the campaign):

On Larry Vaughan, the fictional mayor of Amityville:
wonderful politician
The real hero of Jaws is the mayor... A gigantic fish is eating your constituents and he decides to keep the beach open. OK, in that instance he was wrong, but in principle we need more politicians like the mayor.
refusal to give way to hysteria... rationality

( more quotes )

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007

(9 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	debut novel, by a six-year-old
Time:	7:47 pm.

The Sixteen Baby Rabbits

By Trinity Adams

One day a mother rabbit, Clara, had sixteen baby rabbits. One of them, Rhianna, got lost and thought she would stay there forever. Then Rhianna saw a tree, and much to her surprise her mother jumped out from behind the tree and rescued her. Then they hopped their way home.

The End

Saturday, April 14th, 2007

(5 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	picnic, no piracy
Time:	9:08 pm.
Music:	HP and the Prisoner of Azkhaban (DVD).

Partly because I've not been there for ages, and partly because I want to row a boat, I'll be picnicing at Hollow Pond near Leytonstone tomorrow.

Hopefully the boats will actually be out on the lake, I've not researched at all, otherwise it'll just be a picnic, with

missykittykat, Trinity and anyone else who feels like venturing in to Zone Three.

p.s. and this shall come to pass at about 14:30 (I shall be taking said six year old to the cinema beforehand).

Thursday, April 12th, 2007

(10 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	giggery
Time:	10:20 pm.

Your attention is drawn to next month's Blood and Velvet, where Carl is bringing Zombina and the Skeletones to London - I'm going and you should too!

Good, now that's established - who wants a picnic this weekend?

Saturday, March 3rd, 2007

Subject:	OY!
Time:	10:24 pm.
Music:	DarkMateria - The Picard Song.

Lunar eclipse! Now!

p.s. thanks to

ms_jinxme for giving me the head's up - no pun intended, at least not when I first wrote that :-).

Sunday, February 18th, 2007

Subject:	Halloween Queen Tour 2007
Time:	12:58 am.
Music:	Radio Four listen again - The News Quiz.

Eep! Knew I meant to do something - I forgot to buy the single!

Devilish Presley embark on a nationwide tour, starting in February, promoting their new single Halloween Queen. The new single written by J Navarro and J Vixen is released via November 10th Records and as a download via iTunes.

( the dates )

For further information/photographs please contact the Press Office

Darren Smith
Press Officer

NOVEMBER TENTH RECORDS
1 Sandy’s Row
London E1 7HW

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

Subject:	weather
Time:	7:33 am.

It snowed!

Sunday, December 17th, 2006

Subject:	books
Time:	11:35 pm.
Music:	isihac - 2001-05-28.

Do forgive me, just got to edit this post a little... ( books I've just finished )

I'm currently reading (theoretically):

Author	Title	Started	Finished	Status
Susanna Clarke	Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell	[B]	2007-01-10T21:21Z
	Brilliant so far, if long-winded.
Peter Ackroyd	Hawksmoor
	Not about Hawksmoor for some inexplicable reason.
Patricia Pierce	Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe
	A factual book on the history of the first stone bridge to cross the Thames.
Author	Title	Started	Finished	Status

Friday, December 15th, 2006

(13 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	more games
Time:	8:10 pm.
Music:	stuff.

Noughts and Crosses

...
...
..X

Hangman (not sure how to do an ASCII hangman, but I'm sure I'll figure something out).
--- ----- -- --- ---- -------
It's a film, and a bit of a trick question, as it's still in production, but I'm really looking forward to it, so it counts.

[edit] Eep! It's later than I thought - having internet access at work sure makes the time fly past, I've got to do the walk around soon... may or may not be able to do one or both of these games before that happens.

Subject:	advent flash games
Time:	7:21 pm.
Music:	The Prodigy - Firestarter.

The Iceman Cometh:
http://www.mission-in-snowdriftland.com/

Sprout bashing:
http://www.eyegas.com/xmas05/

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

Subject:	definition
Time:	3:18 pm.
Mood:	silly.
Music:	Billie Holiday - All of Me.

shoo cat : noun feline cobbler, a cat who makes and repairs shoes

Friday, November 24th, 2006

Subject:	tonight, for the first time...
Time:	3:55 pm.
Music:	don't even go there.

...I and many others shall see Devilish Presley as they have never been seen in public before - with a drummer!

After a series of acoustic gigs around the country, Jacqui and Johnny are now joined by Ragborn Rosy (previously of Lord Vagrant) has now joined the band, ousting the drum machine.

Official ad here:
http://novembertenth.livejournal.com/42060.html

'Tis a part of The Klub, which is some sort of alternative / rock night thing that takes place between 20:00 and 03:30 at the following venue:
Bar Monsta,
18 Kentish Town Road,
Camden,
London
NW1 9NX
The venue is halfway between Camden Town station and the Dev, on the Sainsburys side of the road.

Oh, and there's two other bands playing - Dragster and the Kramers. Plus Evil Stu and Chris Setzer DJing.

p.s. tomorrow I shall be at the Oakdale Arms for a beer festival. No idea what time yet, but probably aiming at late-afternoon / early evening. Food available until 20:00, according to the website. Real ales, ciders, perries and the like available all the time :-)

Saturday, November 11th, 2006

Subject:	Kryptorium tonight
Time:	9:34 am.

109 Cannon Street (opposite Cannon Street station, which is closed because it's the weekend), London EC4N 5AD

An evening of darkly delicious trad goth
delights in the hammer-horror like environs of the London Stone
With DJs Thunder & guests playing
gothic rock, darkwave, post-punk, ethereal, and the
occasional aberations.
Drinks promos
Tempt yourself with a jug to share from the cocktail menu
of seven deadly sins - wickedly priced at 666p all night long
Gothic/Alt dress code
Admission: £3.00

[edit] p.s. am likely to go to Subterranean Hellnoize at the Marlborough Head beforehand, as there will be people visiting from out of town (waayy out of town).

Monday, September 18th, 2006

Subject:	mastermind now
Time:	8:04 pm.

The second specialist subject (in approximately four minutes time) is the Sandman Graphic Novels by Neil Gaiman!

Friday, September 8th, 2006

(4 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	wake up on the internet
Time:	4:02 am.

You're all a bunch of inveterate 'net addicts, right? I'm not the only person who drags themselves home, fit only to collapse on the floor, or possible a bed, if it's not too far from the floor until the 'net beckons, with it's livejournal and google and internet messengers and (dread forbid) mice base and suddenly you can drag a few more hours of consciousness from your protesting body and mind.

At some point that was supposed to be a question, but it got lost somewhere.

More Goth shennanigans here and, I daresay here. Don't ask how I came by that information.

p.s. one of those links contains a very small amount of information about Colour Me Kubrick, but it'll be really disappointing, especially if you're one of the people in it. Unless you live in a certain geographical location. Maybe.

Sunday, September 3rd, 2006

(6 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	what corporate databases know
Time:	9:07 pm.

I like Amazon - today it's recommended for me: The Philosophy of Punk: More than Noise!! by Craig O'Hara; Devils Bris by Voltaire; Wet Warm Cling Film Red Velvet Crush by Specimen (enhanced, apparently) and The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: and Other Stories by Tim Burton (anyone know what the Holiday Edition is all about?).

p.s. you probably missed a few posts I made about Goth comics and recent appearances of everyone's favourite eighties genre that outstayed it's welcome in the media.

Friday, September 1st, 2006

(17 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	films
Time:	7:45 pm.
Mood:	frivolous.
Music:	BBC Radio 4 drama.

With The Wicker Man, Adrift and The Sentinel, I've now seen 102 films at the cinema since Christmas.

Which came first? The question mark or the exclamation mark!

For that matter, the same can be applied to commas and full stops.

Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

Subject:	punk rock on the radio
Time:	2:12 pm.
Music:	Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning.

Close Up: The Real Story of Punk Rock is to be broadcast on the BBC World Service this upcoming Friday (no idea if that link will work, might just be a session-only link that breaks after a few minutes).
'ccording to the newspaper it'll feature interviews with Björk, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Siousxie Sioux and Paul Morley. Pity it also has Malcolm McLaren presenting it really...

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006

Subject:	wednesday and friday
Time:	12:38 am.

Am going to Godlike on Wednesday, at the Monsta Bar in Camden (not that I ever went, but I'm lead to believe it used to be called the G Lounge?)

'tis at Godlike, a monthly alternative club night playing industrial, EBM, dark electro with live bands. Organised by Armalyte Industrial and Monsta Ents, with DJs Jared Louche (Chemlab; Pigface). The one I'll be at has Global Noise Attack and Pro-Jekt and costs £5.

Other than that - I'll be in Nottingham on Friday for Trashstock at Junktion 7, £6 for the Friday for which you get to see Devilish Presley, Patchwork Grace, Drugleader Cheerleader and Snakeskin. There are other ticket options available (for which you can look at the poster in the link provided), covering the following night's events, which I won't be at.

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006

Subject:	plan for tonight
Time:	10:04 am.
Music:	hummmmmm of the computer.

The plan for the evening is to go to the Devonshire Arms at around five or six before heading off to the Haymarket CineWorld (rilly close to Piccadilly Circus) for The Notorious Bettie Page, which starts at 20:45. Anyone else want to come along?

Oh, and next week on Wednesday, I'll be attending a Global Noise Attack gig at the Monsta Bar (formerly the G Lounge, neither of which I've ever been to). £5 for GNA and Pro-Jekt, from 20:00 'til 02:00.</a>. From the looks of it a club that plays the good industrial stuff, without all the bleepy rubbish ;-)

Sunday, July 30th, 2006

Subject:	upcoming eating the elephants at the white room
Time:	5:01 pm.
Music:	Suspiria - Assassin Soul.

The White Room is a rock / alternative pub on Cleveland Street in Kingston upon Hull, past Spiders (when travelling from the town centre).
Eating the Elephant is a regular Goth / alternative night with live bands that takes place on the first Thursday of every month at The White Room, with all proceeds going to charity (Marie Curie Cancer Care).
It runs from 20:00 'til late and costs £3.50 on the door or £3 in advance (or with a NUS card). Residents DJs at Eating the Elephant are Von Suhl and Urban Cannibal.
Eating the Elephant,
The White Room,
Cleveland Street,
Kingston upon Hull
HU8 8AZ

Two-night special!
August, 3rd (Thursday)
Systemyk
Usual entry prices apply, but keep your ticket for the following night...
August, 4th (Friday)
Devilish Presley, playing with Whalter and MaryJane
Special! Free with Thursday's ticket or £1.50 on the door.
netgoth entry

August, 3rd (Thursday)
Clone Romeo
netgoth entry

Saturday, June 3rd, 2006

Subject:	szomorú vasárnap
Time:	5:59 pm.
Mood:	gloomy.
Music:	Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows - Feast of Blood.

( szomorú vasárnap )

Friday, June 2nd, 2006

Subject:	i wanna be your dog
Time:	10:36 pm.
Music:	not The Stooges, strangely.

The much-covered song by The Stooges (James Osterberg (aka Iggy Pop); Dave Alexander; Ron Asheton; Scott Asheton).
There were two mixes from 1969, from the debut album, eponymously entitled The Stooges (the one by John J Cale only recently released in a re-mastered version of the album).
Among those who have covered this proto-punk song (from the decade before punk broke) are David Bowie (including versions with Iggy Pop); Tori Amos; Sonic Youth (also including versions with Iggy Pop).
I'm guessing this is another cover.

I Wanna be your Dog

So messed up - I want you here.
And in my room - I want you here.
And now we’re gonna be face to face,
And I’ll lay right down in my favourite place,

Now I wanna be your dog
Now I wanna be your dog
Now I wanna be your dog
Well, c'mon!

Now I’m ready to close my eyes.
Yes now I’m ready to close my mind.
Now I’m ready to feel your hands.
Lose my heart on the burning sand.

'cause now I wanna be your dog
Now I wanna be your dog
Now I wanna be your dog
Well, c'mon!
Woo!
$gutteral grunt
Woo!

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Thursday, June 1st, 2006

Subject:	cuts you up
Time:	5:07 pm.
Music:	what do you think?.

By Pete Murphy (I'm not the only one who thinks Peter Murphy just doesn't sound right, am I?)
Available all over the place, including: Deep; A Live Just for Love (live); Wild Birds: Peter Murphy 1985-1995.
It was even released as a single

Cuts you Up

I find you in the morning,
After dreams of distant signs.
You pour yourself over me,
Like the sun through the blinds.
You lift me up,
And get me out,
Keep me walking, but never shout,
Hold the secret close, I hear you say.

You know the way, it throws about,
It takes you in and spits you out.
It spits you out, when you desire,
To conquer it, to feel you're higher,
To follow it, you must be clean,
With mistakes that you do mean.
Move the heart, switch the pace,
Look for what seems out of place.

On and on it goes,
Calling like a distant wind,
Through the zero hour we'll walk,
We'll cut the thick and break the thin.
No sound to break, no moment clear,
When all the doubts are crystal clear.
Crashing hard into the secret wind.

You know the way, it twists and turns,
Changing colour, spinning yarns,
You know the way, it leaves you dry.
It cuts you up and takes you high,
You know the way, it's painted gold.
Is it honey?
Is it gold?
You know the way, it throws about,
it takes you in and spits you out.

Cuts you up.
Cuts you up.
Cuts you up.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la-la-la.

You know the way it throws about,
It takes you in and spits you out.
It spits you out when you desire,
To conquer it, to feel you're higher.
To follow it, you must be clean,
With mistakes that you do mean,
Move the heart, switch the pace,
Look for what seems out of place.

Cuts you up.
Cuts you up.
It's okay, it goes this way,
The line is thin, it twists away,
Cuts you up and spits you out,
Keep me walking but never shout.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la-la-la.

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006

Subject:	my doggie don't wear glasses
Time:	7:04 pm.

The last of the three poems I've ever had the ability to recite, though for completely different reasons. Not quite as weighty a tome as the previous two. It appeared in the book Can I Come Down Now Dad? (and now in the omnibus The Family Pack: Brother-in-law and Other Animals, Can I Come Down Now Dad?, These Were Your Father's).
By John Hegley (who wears glasses).

My doggie don't wear glasses

my doggie don't wear glasses
so they're lying when they say
a dog looks like its owner
aren't they?

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Subject:	the soldier
Time:	7:02 pm.

Another of the three poems I could recite without referring to a text.
Written by Rupert Brooke, not long before his death. His corner is an olive grove on the Greek island of Skyros.
Available in The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke, though you may want to compare and contrast against another war poet, in Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen.

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me;
That there's some corner of a foreign field,
That is for ever England. There shall be,
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less,
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Subject:	the tyger
Time:	6:57 pm.

A line towards the end of The Second Coming reminded me of another poem, written a century and a half earlier and one of only three poems I've ever learn'd off by heart.

By William Blake, originally created as part of Songs of Experience in 1794 to contrast against The Lamb from 1789 in Songs of Innocence.
Available in The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake .

The Lamb

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and he is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb.
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006

Subject:	the second coming
Time:	11:52 pm.
Mood:	moody.
Music:	Loreena McKennit - Gloomy Sunday.

By William Butler Yeats, originally published in Michael Robartes and the Dancer in either 1920 or 1921, depending on where you get your information, and to this day available in various editions. For those who want a heftier tome, there's The Major Works: Including Poems, Plays and Critical Prose and a few books imaginatively entitled The Collected Poems of W.B.Yeats.

About a week ago I posted the lyrics to Fall Apart by Death in June.
Whenever I hear that song I always thing of this poem, specifically the third line. Like Death in Tarot it can be taken in various ways - is representative of an impending apocalypse or merely the end of the current way of things and the birth of a new era?

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Subject:	upcoming events in Kingston upon Hull
Time:	2:51 am.
Music:	The 69 Eyes and Ville Vallo - Wasting the Dawn.

The White Room is a rock / alternative pub on Cleveland Street in Kingston upon Hull, past Spiders (when travelling from the town centre).
Eating the Elephant is a regular Goth / alternative night with live bands that takes place on the first Thursday of every month at The White Room, with all proceeds going to charity (Marie Curie Cancer Care).
It runs from 20:00 'til late and costs £3.50 on the door or £3 in advance (or with a NUS card). Residents DJs at Eating the Elephant are Von Suhl and Urban Cannibal.
Eating the Elephant,
The White Room,
Cleveland Street,
Kingston upon Hull
HU8 8AZ

2006-06-01 - Deviant UK and Karn8
netgoth events listing

2006-07-06 - Rhombus
netgoth events listing

2006-08-03 - Devilish Presley
netgoth events listing
Devilish Presley

2006-09-07 - Zeigeist Zero
netgoth events listing
Guest DJ Garybaldi

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Monday, May 29th, 2006

Subject:	two word meme
Time:	4:01 pm.
Music:	Bernard Cribbins - Right Said Fred.

Answer using two words:

1. Yourself: obsessive compulsive
2. Your car: non existant
3. Your Hair: unmanageable mess
4. Your mother: absent mostly
5. Your father: usually there
6. Your Favorite Item: bloody computer
7. Your Dream Last Night: never remember
8. Your Favorite Drink: alcoholic beverage
9. Your Dream Home: beyond reach
10. The Room You Are In: bedroom corner
11. Your Pet: not applicable
12. Your fear: dying alone
13. Where You Want to be in Ten Years: not here
14. Who you hung out with last night: various drunkards
15. What You're Not: worth while
16. Your Best Friend: define best
17. One of Your Wish list Items: no list
18. Your Gender: gender bias
19. The Last Thing You Did: woke up
20. What You Are Wearing: black clothes
21. Your Favorite Weather?: autumnal evening
22. Your Favorite Book: gormenghast trilogy
23. The Last Thing You Ate: not remember
24. Your Life: going nowhere
25. Your Mood: the usual
26. The last person you talked to on the phone: who knows?

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

Subject:	fall apart
Time:	3:12 pm.
Music:	Death in June - Fall Apart.

By Death in June, appearing on five albums:
1888;
Disc-riminate;
Heilige!;
Something is Coming;
The Wall of Sacrifice

Famously covered by Ikon and also appearing on five albums, including their debut:
In the Shadow of the Angel;
The Final Experience;
The Shallow Sea;
Thankyou Very Much Goodnight;
The Trial of Destiny

Fall Apart

And if I wake from dreams
Shall I fall in pastures?
Will I wake the darkness,
Shall we torch the Earth?

And if I wake from dreams
Shall we find the emptiness,
And break the silence
That will stop our hearts?

And if I wake from dreams
Shall we cry together,
For their howling echoes
And restart the night?

And why did you say that things shall fall,
And fall and fall and fall and fall apart?
And why did you say that things shall fall,
And fall and fall and fall and fall apart?

And shall I wake from dreams
For the glory of nothing,
For the cracking of the sun
For the crawling down of lies?

And if we fall from dreams
Shall we push them into darkness,
And stare into the howling
And clamber into night?

And if I fall from dreams
All my prayers are silenced?
To love is to lose,
And to lose is to die.

And why did you say that things shall fall,
And fall and fall and fall and fall apart?
And why did you say that we shall fall,
And fall and fall and fall and fall apart?
And why did you say that things shall fall,
And fall and fall and fall and fall apart?
And why did you say that we shall fall,
And fall and fall and fall and fall apart?
And why did you say that things shall fall?

Unrelated, but there's a new DeathBoy track, featuring Mog (Xykogen) available for download: Anuism

-- 

   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

Subject:	Goths take over the world (except for California)
Time:	1:14 pm.
Music:	Blackadder - Ink and Incapability / The Cavalier Years.

Times Online - Siouxsie to release debut (solo) album.

The Independent - Dresden Dolls Brighton interview.

LA Times - Witch hunts, seven years after Columbine.

Motley Fool - Skull chic to save stock market rankings?

eBay - djsprockets (also known as Robert Tritthardt), selling original Writhe and Shine strips.

-- 


   sheridan

http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Sunday, May 21st, 2006

(16 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	ah-chew
Time:	11:44 pm.
Music:	Cult - Sweet Soul Sister / Vikki Carr - I Will Wait for You.

You're a widely read, widely travelled and greatly learnéd 0 bunch - what can you tell me about the theory that exposure to allergens can help you overcome your allergies?

When I was young I had a succesion of cats (though never more than one at a time). One day the last of these cats died, never to be replaced.
Well, maybe to be replaced - except for one thing. About five years later I noticed that when in the presence of cats I'd start sneezing, or my nose would start running.

Something else I've noticed is that if I'm at all scratched by a cat then the skin swells and raises, turning red and blotchy. So I think it's safe to say I'm pretty allergic there.

This is a pity, 'cause I still like cats, I'm just not so keen on sneezing all the time (I'm also not keen on young and energetic kittens that scratch everything, including me).

I've since heard of therapies where someone is introduced to something that causes violent allergic reactions in them, but slowly and in small doses - similar in the ways to which phobias are treated, but dealing with the body rather than mind. I'd like to know if any of you lot know anything more about this kind of thing, and if using anti-histamines (for example) would stop the allergy reduction treatment from being so effective (if, indeed, it is effective in the first place). Failing all that - any ideas on ways to treat or aleviate my symptoms?

footnote:
0 Did you know that both acute and grave accents can be used for the same purpose in English?

np: Big Electric Cat - Parise Skyes

This weekend just gone I went to the eighth birthday party for Wendy House - I bumped into or was introduced to the following: Lindsay; DaveH; Tori; Amanda; Orange; Angie; Paul(a); Hope; Martin; Gemma; Fury; Pandora; Marquee; Pru and Jo.

Also, on the Saturday, I saw a dalek in the Leeds Fab Cafe (as opposed to the Manchester version, which has a cyberman instead), and heard the original Tracy / Tracey from Coronation Street (so I'm told) DJing Alice Cooper's Poison, amongst other choons.

On the Sunday I realised - to my horror and dismay - that the Dry Dock (a pub in the guise of a converted barge located on a traffic island cum roundabout that teeters on the borderland of Leeds city centre and Leeds Metropolitan University while bounded by multi-storey car parks and the A-something-or-other(M) ringroad) is part of the Scream chain. Which explains the raucousness of its immediate environs towards late evening.

np: Big Country - In a Big Country

( It's a tape measure! )
np: Bill Bailey - Disappointment

-- 
   sheridan
http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Friday, May 19th, 2006

Subject:	unisex chip shop
Time:	9:21 pm.
Music:	Bill Bailey - Unisex Chip Shop.

The BBC has announced they are making a new series of Robin Hood.

Now I know there's plenty of archery, history and re-enactment geeks reading this - so is that type of bow contemporary to Mr. Locksley, or would he have had something else? He probably isn't a mister, he's the son of a lord or something, isn't he? Except he's had his title taken away from him, which is part of the whole point of him turning outlaw. So maybe he is a mister, after all.

Other than all that - certain parts of that article are worrying.

Fun, modern and intelligent...

...updates the popular legend for a sophisticated contemporary audience.

I think we've come up with something cool that's both modern and medieval, with a bit of street, I've even got a hoodie!

We were looking to create an exciting opportunity for fresh, young talent and our Robin Hood delivers on all counts. The casting signals our intention to make Robin Hood for a new generation.

So what's it going to be like - 'street'? Let's hope it's good, and not just a vehicle for all the young stars-of-the-future they can't figure out what else to do with...

Now for a song...

Bill Bailey

Unisex Chip Shop

From Bewilderness, and in the style of Stephen William Bragg (apparently they've performed it on stage together, at Glastonbury).

I used to buy my chips
from an oppressive chip shop régime.
The girl who worked there, she seemed happy
But I knew it was not what it seemed.

Do you want salt and vinegar?
Was what they made 'er say,
But in the language of the ghetto
That means: Help, I'm a woman in chains.

I wanted to free her,
In my dreams I would see her
Running naked through the woods round Rainham.
If I had some tigers I'd train 'em,
To protect her,
From the sexual fascism that was lurking
'round the gherkins.

Yeah

I'd lean across the counter
And we would talk.
I carved the name Debbie
On a little wooden fork.
But into the shop
came a skinhead gang,
They snatched the fork from my hand.
Debbie, she looked at me
To assert my masculinity.
I said: Oi!
They said: Wot?
I said:
Nuffin'.

...and finally...

The mp3 of this week's Now Show is up.

-- 
   sheridan
http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

(9 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	vote rigging
Time:	5:18 pm.
Music:	Joy Division - Ice Age.

As I've mentioned quite a few times over the years, I don't have a TV, so would not know there was a new series of Big Brother except for the mentions that have been made of it on my friends list.

However, for those of you who do, and who follow the afore-mentioned show - hear ye this: Pete is a mate of Liz Swarf, so you should all root for him, and support him. Apparently he has Tourette's, which could prove interesting on a more-or-less uncensored broadcast (though I think they have a few seconds delay to air, but still).
Oh, and Pete has a band, called Daddy Fantastic! (I have a feeling the exclamation mark is part of the title). They're not allowed to do advertising for the band on the show (why, I don't know - all the would-be models and presenters get to advertise themselves just by dint of being there). Consider them pimped.

p.s. There are plans afoot for a picnic in Leeds later this year. Not sure who's organising it, but here's the details.

-- 
   sheridan
http://www.wildewood.co.uk/

Thursday, May 18th, 2006

(42 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	weekend
Time:	1:48 pm.
Music:	(The) Sisters of Mercy - When you Don't See Me.

So... who's going to the Wendy House 8th birthday party on Saturday?

Wednesday, May 17th, 2006

Subject:	heresy
Time:	6:30 pm.
Music:	Radio 4 - Heresy.

Today's topics on Heresy were:

Views of religious people must be respected
Remember this will also include religiuos types who think Sodomite sex perverts would be a suitable topic for future topics.

Black people are better at boxing
And Jews and Asians are bookish, etcetera.

The new Doctor Who is much better than the old one
Apparently the old Doctor Who series were boy's programmes while the new series' are girl's programmes.

Future topics are apparently:
TV is dumbing down
New Labour is all spin
We are on the brink of environmental catastrophe
Christmas has nothing to do with Christ anymore
Most food is bad for you (unless its organic)
Pop culture promotes violence
We should never negotiate with terrorists

Sunday, May 7th, 2006

Subject:	Gothic education
Time:	1:53 pm.
Music:	The Sugarcubes - Hit!.

(not really, but you know what the media's like)

Goth lesson worries mom

They took this project and personalized it by having the kids paint pictures of themselves with goth makeup...

...they even had to pick their own goth name.

As a tie-in to reading a book in class (Runner by Peter McPhee) children did some admittedly quite strange-sounding activities. They're twelve or thirteen, but those activities seem like they should be aimed at primary school children to me, though that isn't the focus of the article (perhaps it should have been?)

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006

Subject:	May the Fourth be with you
Time:	7:53 pm.
Music:	D.U.S.T. - From the Sublime to the Obscene.

Don't forget to vote!

Monday, May 1st, 2006

Subject:	m'aider 2006-05-01
Time:	10:15 am.
Music:	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Hollow Eyes.

White Rabbits, a pinch, a punch, first of the month.

Beltane / Beáltaine / Bealltainn / Bealtuinn / Beltan / Beltene / bright fire (particularly in rural parts of the UK or all over the world if you're a neo-pagan type).

Walpurgisnacht / Valborgsmässoafton / Vappu / Volbriöö / Valpurģu nakts / Valpurģi / Valpuržina noc / čarodějnice / chódotypalenje / chodojtypalenje (in Germany and Northern Europe, since time immemorial).

Roodmas (Old English, but more recently popularised by Lovecraft).

Calendimaggio (Northern and Central Italy).

Lei Day (for those in Hawaii, which I'm fairly sure will total none who will read this).

International Worker's Day (since 1886 or so).

Labour Day / Labor Day / Dag van de arbeid (except for the UK, USA, Canada (possibly), (some parts of?) Australia, New Zealand, etc - which either don't call it that or have other days set aside).

National Labour Day (in Germany, from 1933 to 1944, but we don't talk about that one).

Saint Joseph's Day (since 1955, Saint Joseph the Worker, apparently).

EuroMayDay (not entirely sure about this one - what's precarization?).

To those in Oxford and St Andrews - don't drown.

I was too tired to get any shopping yesterday, so looks like I'm on sauvignon, amaretto and coffee and cream liqueur for today...

Half-way to Hallowe'en / All Saints Day / Samhain...

Saturday, April 29th, 2006

(10 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	shot
Time:	3:46 pm.
Music:	Magazine - Shot by Both Sides.

Magazine - Shot by Both Sides

The debut single from the album Real Life (1978) - though now appears on Maybe it's Right to be Nervous Now

This and that, they must be the same,
What is legal is just what's real,
What I'm given to understand is exactly what I steal.
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd,
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd,
I was shocked to find what was allowed,
I didn't lose myself... in the crowd.

Shot, shot... by both sides,
On the run, to the outside of everything.
Shot, shot... by both sides,
They must have come, to a secret understanding.

New offences always in my nerves,
They're taking my time by force,
They have to rewrite all the books again,
As a matter of course.
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd,
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd,
I was shocked to find what was allowed,
I didn't lose myself... in the crowd.

Shot, shot, by both sides
On the run, to the outside of everything.
Shot, shot... by both sides,
They must have come, to a secret understanding.

{middle eight}

Why are you so edgy, kid?
Asks the man with the voice,
One thing follows another,
You live and learn and you have no choice.
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd,
I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd,
I was shocked to find what was allowed,
I didn't lose myself... in the crowd.

I didn't lose myself in the crowd.
I didn't lose myself in the crowd.
I was shocked to find what was allowed,
I didn't lose myself... in the crowd.
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
I'm gonna worm my way,
Shot, shot, by both sides,
I don't ask who's doing the shooting.
Shot, shot, by both sides,
We must have come to a secret understanding.

{break}

We must have come to a secret understanding.

Wednesday, April 12th, 2006

(8 contributions |add a contribution)

Subject:	Death by Caffeine
Time:	7:18 pm.

death by caffeine
Weight conversions (though personally I consulted wikipedia).
Before you ask, a 'cup' appears to be 8 ounces of the specified substance.

It would take 193.38 cups of Brewed Imported Tea to put you down
773.50 cups of Green Tea + You = Death
After 828.75 cups of Hot Cocoa, you'd be pushing up daisies
After 100.89 cups of Instant Coffee, you'd be pushing up daisies
386.75 cups of Instant Tea + You = Death

Looks like Fry couldn't have attained that zen-like state in Three Hundred Big Boys without coming very close to death.

From skoool

Random Facts:
5,000 mg of caffeine will kill the average person (whatever an average person is);
can be used as an insecticide (presumably in a raw, processed form).
Half-Life:
about five hours (three for smokers, along with other (dis?)advantages);
after twelve hours 90% of caffeine will have been removed from the system.
(Alleged) Benefits if ingested:
drinking something containing caffeine about an hour before studying will help ability to study for 20% longer;
makes males more fertile (sperms swim with more vigour);
pick-me-up;
painkiller;
treatment of asthma;
diet aid.
Popular Myths. It does not:
cause sleepless nights;
create indigestion;
cause bad breath;
raise cholesterol;
increase risk of heart disease.
Withdrawal Symptoms:
headaches;
depression;
fatigue;
irritatability.

p.s. have updated tags post with currently available tags.

Monday, April 3rd, 2006