　Finely Tuned In Babylon

Furtive Fort

2011-11-22T19:50:00.006+09:00

Furtive Fort (spontaneous)

Furtively, I return to a previous time
To survey the scene; to see who remains
And view the stalwart penship regulars,
And hear the authentic voices opine:

But I already heard them; they said:

Turncoat: that hodge-podge; that hotch-potch of a man!
Demote: return the dime of kindness we gave out!
Deselect: these who quit with0ut warning...
And Vote: against those who leave with no mourning...

Such thoughts in my mind, at least.
After necessary business is now complete,

But I want to swim back into the scene,
And quietly
And imagine that there is a refusal

Even when one is self-evidently invisible..

Desperate but not serious.

2009-01-04T14:17:00.004+09:00

When he saw her, he was desperate.

Desperate for normality; desperate for love.

Now looking back, for expectations that were not fleshed out,

he sees her world needs alien to his;

That the selfishness she claims is all her own.

"I walked into it;

I walked into your castle,

a filled exchequer and a tough history

With the distinct smell of carrion. "

What a carry on!

He was desperate, not understanding her social needs.

Calmly, it wells up again,

and the self admits an adamant truth,

heard in infancy:

"If I were kind and adoring

How would that be?

Very boring."

Have They The Right?

2009-01-02T10:07:00.012+09:00

From Heinz with his tribute to Eddie Cochran, we move to another Joe Meek produced 1964 smash hit, 'Have I The Right?' A song often referred to in pub quizzes owing to the bands female drummer, Honey Lantree, and her then unique role. It's typical of its time; songs of longing and love were popular with the British public, as indeed they continue to be. With its Mo Tucker-esque primitive drum beat and a piercing guitar line, it's one pop tune that unites pop fans with a more alternative breed.

But the song title takes me off in another direction and stimulated the quesion: Does a state have the right to put cameras in classrooms? It's happening in England, a place where liberty is prized but there are more security cameras per head than anywhere in the world. People need to look even closer at what is happening. One writer who consistently does, Henry Porter, has just written a great piece on Comment Is Free entitled What Vaclav Havel Can Tell Us", which unfortunately has received far less comments that articles on stamping out prejudice in sport and the heavily funded advertisements for atheism adorning buses in the UK and US.

Havel, in a 1989 speech to the Czech people said, "Let us not be mistaken: the best government in the world, the best parliament and the best president, cannot achieve much on their own … Freedom and democracy include participation and therefore responsibility from us all."

But Porter notes that: "The British of today and the Czechs of two decades ago are hardly in comparable situations. The Czechs had moved rapidly from the long night into daylight, whereas we have slid from a society of enduring liberal values and respect for rights into a kind of half light that has been brought about by a determined state as well as the apathy and complacency of quite large numbers of people."

I don't know what it's like in the States, but in England people had better wake up quick. Here in Japan, as far as I have experienced, there are no schools which have put closed circuit TV cameras in the classrooms of four year olds. But in Britain, reports Jason Lewis, this is the case. A company called Classwatch is saying devices can be "set up to record everything that goes on in a classroom 24 hours a day and used to compile ‘evidence’ of wrongdoing."

Now, this automatically assumes that wrongdoing is everywhere. It isn't, but, as far as I have gleaned, seeing and experiencing wrongdoing is a valuable learning experience in itself. If a class is full of wrongdoers, then the teacher needs to change his or her approach. The cameras are an insult to all, and another tool brought about by that determined state that Porter has stated is weakening British society.

If we look deeper at the company 'Classwatch', a name which echoes Crimewatch - a BBC programme that reconstructs unsolved crimes, we find that the Shadow Children’s Minister Tim Loughton is the firm’s chairman. Does a Member of Parliament have the right to hold such a position? This interest appears to conflict with his parliamentary position, to represent constituents who may or may not have been consulted on the use of these intrusive tools. The Classwatch position, if reported accurately, is not mentioned on his blog.

I wonder if his children go to schools with CCTV fitted classrooms? It would be interesting to discover if they do, because I am trusting a Daily Mail article, after all. Classwatch have listed an article published in The Guardian on their website, that includes the claim that pupils like being filmed and that there are educational advantages to this. Have a look.

"Have I the right to hold you*

You know I've always told you

That we must never ever part

No no no no no."

* = (in the screen).

(Saw in the New Year) .... Just Like Eddie!

2008-12-31T23:52:00.011+09:00

Lots of good advice in the messages to the last post. Somehow Barbara imagined that I'd be whooshing down the slopes, and though I'd love to have been, it wasn't quite that way. As a Brit, perhaps that's unsurprising. Though full of admiration for those who effortlessly weave their way through slalom courses, and as a former avid viewer of Ski Sunday on BBC2, the twists and turns that I hoped would be evident in some form were somewhat beyond me. But I realised, when trying to recover from my umpteenth tumble, that I actually resembled an Olympic participant from the past. My poor balance, lack of flair and self-deprecating spirit made me appear just like Eddie.

Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards was the first British participant in an Olympic ski jump contest. Despite him breaking down barriers, he was a figure of fun due to his lack of skill but a respected one in light of his will to challenge his self. Later declared bankrupt, he earned more than a pretty penny for his amateurish dares. He came up in conversation with the owners of Schiheil, the ski lodge we stayed in at Ishiuchi, within Niigata prefecture. Their service was nothing but first class, their lodge seconds from ski lifts that take you to the top of Niigatan mountains.

Their hospitality extended beyond the convenience for the slopes. The food served (delicious catfish with paprika sauce, home made bread dipped with blueberry yoghurt, beef stroganoff ....) was top notch over the two days spent there. Home comforts were also provided via an absurdly cute dog (Riku-chan), a ninja son the same age as my own and wireless Internet access. So, when my shortcomings at skiing were made clear, I could join in with making an igloo with the lad and the residents of the lodge.

Couldn't have been just like Eddie in a more suitable place!

Towards a refreeze....

2008-12-29T22:52:00.006+09:00

"Heigh Ho (from Snow White) in Japanese!"

After evaporating in the last post (which is worth a read if you want a typical, but up-to-date slice of Tagalogism) I maintained enough heat to manage a quick follow up. Phew! Two posts is more than I mustered in the past half of the year! Although I'm heading for colder climes, I'm not going to be put in cold storage. I'll even be taking notes (between family time and some proofreading that I'll take with me whilst staying in a Japanese German-owned ski lodge (ロッヂ名の'schiheil'シーハイル) in Echigo-yuzawa.

I've got lots of proofreading to do, including a research paper on differences in style between American and Chinese newspaper editorials, and my better half developed a furrowed brow when I told her of this. She's worried that I won't let my hair down. She needn't worry - the great lady arranged the short trip and I'm chuffed she chose a place covered with snow. She knows how much I love wintry weather. Junior Tagalog shares my feelings too.

So, I might just put my workaholic ways to bed and enjoy the rest!

Here's to a productive 2009 to all Friendly Visitors, past and present!

Evaporating States.

2008-12-21T13:49:00.017+09:00

"TOMMY SHOOTER."

It seems amazing that this year, now soon to pass, was one in which I neither explored new artists nor attended even one paltry gig. True, a ticket to see Peter Hammll was waved in front of me, but the high price warned me away.

Actually, that concert might well have been in late 2007. 2008 could well have been 1998 for all I knew. A combination of work, study and family hemmed me in. But even so, there was no escape from noticing the many changes affecting the world. Changes ushered within cultural and financial worlds that even influenced the dress code of stalwart Festive figures. Why, this very month, Santa Claus was spotted in green, rather than his natural red. He's obviously fitting in with the 'global warming' crew, blissfully ignorant of the claims that Gore's baby has flaws.

In fact, that theory may be thawing.

Normalities are being tinkered with and some old states are being left to evaporate. One case is the plight of the pound sterling, left to the whims of unstable markets. A few weeks ago a savage penman, commented on this, declared that the pound would 'be left to its fate', supporting the claims of those who believe a concerted move to centralise power is afoot. Part of a move towards global governance, something that has been openly desired by many who purport to serve national electorates:

"The alliance between Britain and the U.S. -- and more broadly between Europe and the U.S. -- can and must provide leadership, not in order to make the rules ourselves, but to lead the global effort to build a stronger and more just international order,": 'Gordon Brown' 10/11/08.

This quote came in the aftermath of great losses suffered by millions. But you could imagine the same words from colonialists from the past. Like Lord Alfred Milner, members of his kindergarten or even Cecil Rhodes a century or so before. They came from the same location too, and like Mandelson and the ever-frowning Brown they wouldn't have flinched to take advantage of such a disaster in the financial world.

Not everything is evaporating, thankfully. While treading the same musical furrow I predictably fell for 'Imperial Wax Solvent' , Mark E. Smith's latest. As expected, a canvas splattered with striking lyrics has been assembled. Though appearing inconsequential, they are abuzz with Smith's warped wisdom. And the music is more varied and fresher than recent offerings. So much so that we can conclude that age is not evaporating Smith's artistic power. Nor, if the lyrics of 50 Year Old Man are anything to go by, would it seem physically.

"50 YEAR OLD MAN."

Cultural changes, that have led to Santa wearing green, are hinted at in this very song which appears to be three songs in one, sellotaped together, and which includes a claim that Virgin Trains and Steve Albini have plotted the singers downfall! After which Smith then claims that he has a 3 foot hard-on (but is too busy to use it)!

But it's the below lyric that recall the demand to be green(er) in daily life:

"I go round a hotel and see "throw the towel on the floor" for the Green Man.

I throw it on the floor, and I piss in it."

Though The Green Man is a name of hotel chain, the name recalls the increase in 'eco' awareness that has infiltrated the commercial world (as in the green santas), hotel room rules and public notices. It is noticeable that exhortations to be green have been imposed 'top-down' on the public. But, at least here in Japan, it is mostly unnecessary. Common man is well aware of the wisdom of recycling; it doesn't need constant reinforcement. Perhaps such implorations will prevent Average Joe from reflecting on who has benefited from a system that allowed untrammelled capitalism.

We have been led to believe that "the common enemy of humanity is man." And there is much truth to this, but surely - it is the rule makers, the cultural builders who assembled the system who are mostly to blame? Yet in the aftermath of the Cold War, The Club of Rome wrote that "in searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. (Because) all these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself."

They didn't qualify which members of humanity are more to blame that others. 'Humanity' lived sustainably until the working classes were pushed away from agricultural work, and before 'sustainable cultures' (like the Indians, South-East Asian tribes, etc) were snuffed out.

Check 1993's 'The First Global Revolution' out yourself. It's heavily referenced on the Green Agenda website. Like all city dwellers、I want urban areas to be more green, but I fail to see how the supposed warming can be solely blamed on the 'common man'. Rather, it is policies that benefited a few and created grey lands populated by money seekers.

Suppose that Smith really did piss on a hotel towel after seeing a needless instruction not to waste water? I readily understand the anger, at least.

As well as pissing in a hotel towel, '50 Year Old Man' mentioned how ageing is something he actually likes. Instead of 'It's Only Rock and Roll (and I like it)', it's "I'm a 50 Year Old Man, (and I like it)". A refreshing statement to subvert the expected distaste of a man from the rock world who is growing old. The statement is followed by "and what ya gonna do about it?" recalling superstar rockers The Faces and The Stones in an uncompromising display of Will.

But the album title alone is a piece of brilliance. You can picture imperialists spraying solutions over cultures; spreading western governance around the globe. 'Wax solvent' brings financial images to mind, and the collocation of 'wax' with 'solvent' may make us recall burning. 'Wax' alone makes us think of bees, which themselves have been disappearing from our skies.

But the title was actually adapted from a phrase found in a 1966 Batman episode: 'The Ring of Wax'. Universal wax solvent was a substance that ate through everything.

Much like overt and, the more recent, covert imperialism.

Interlude

2008-12-14T03:51:00.007+09:00

I'm tidying up this blog over the next month or so, and during this period a more frequent service can be resumed. Though I may not be able to be as productive as the likes of Charles or Erik, I want to get back into this groove again. It may be possible because a bout of studying has ended, and the job situation has improved. It has improved in spite of the global economic downturn, and the multiple bosses which I have. Before, I was working in three places where I was under-qualified. Now, I am more than qualified but the pressure to publish pieces remains high.

Still, a lot of pressure has disappeared in the short term. So I'm looking back over the blog, trimming it, and seeing how I can make past posts more coherent. While most were rushed, there are some errors which I can see clearly now. And the process of editing them will hopefully be beneficial for future postings.

But now is a time of Interlude. Interlude - the very title of an obscure (to me) Siouxsie Sioux and Morrissey song. After listening to this love song, one got the impression that both recorded their vocals separately. The instrumentation, and the song itself, are perhaps a little too safe, and though the two could have produced a real gem, the song is more than appropriate for here.

Loosener 3 (unfinished): Bay Shitty Lollers.

2008-10-17T23:31:00.008+09:00

Above:

Kimutaku lemmings (v.2008) strike a retro-Scottish pop pose somewhere on Tokyo Bay.

The Japanese males of today; they're all trying to be Kimutaku.

They hang out, in joints like Lotteria;

Around pink clad girls eating their burgers.

Knowing that a lens captures tonights hysteria,

Strike poses thought-up by Kimutaku's handlers.

The 'men': they look n' act like Kimutaku-faux tough.

And though they don't know the Bay City Rollers,

they manifest as the Bay Shitty Lollers,

Filled to their brim from the Media Junk Trough.

(Johnny's King and Kitagawa do not mind).

It doesn't matter that they look like girls who only eat meat.

(King and Kitagawa would gladly eat their rind).

It doesn't matter that they talk whilst flicking their hair.

(the abovementioned are watching their behind).

It doesn't matter they talk with an imaginary mirror; inches from perfumed face.

(For that, they should be fined).

Oh no. It doesn't matter.

They have been shepherded,

Hooked by media armed crooks;

Kimutaku's media controllers -

who spin forth behind the screen of the tragic lantern,

and its hypnotising gaze.

Oh no. It doesn't matter!

They have been shepherded,

into making reality an extension of fantasy.

Submitting the self to a mirage to a parrot.

Echoing a bunny-man's ways.

All together now!

"Hai, cheezu"; 'Peace'; 'Playboy, play'.

There is sickness in the Japanised mass mind

And my boy will not bond with this kind.

Loosener 2 - R.I.P. Dave Luff

2008-08-13T08:43:00.006+09:00

Before I get down to editing two pieces that hold much import, here's something that outweighs them both:

A few weeks ago, I received a book from Mr. Dave Luff/Lough, resident of Dusseldorf, who compiled his second book of Mark E. Smith's lyrics, scribbles and other fan-related memorabilia. Though some complained about the type of paper used, the overall reaction was good. From his 'handle'name on The Fall website, 'Cog Sinister', I'd interacted with him in the past, and communicated by email in order to ensure that the book I ordered didn't get lost in the post.

The book arrived last week and I was very happy. Read it; unwillingly put it aside because of a need to write. After all, the opening page has the legend (in Smith's scrawl) 'Notebooks out plagiarists... and academics'.

So, I got my notebook out, and closed that book, to be re-opened when the clouds brighten and the hurdles are cleared.

I sent an email to him saying thank you. Then yesterday, I hear that he's died - out of the blue. Mr. Smith, a friend of his, must be devastated.

And I'm left with the odd feeling of mourning a man who I communicated with, mainly through a pseudonym, and only last week - directly. I'm just pleased that I could express my gratitude to him.

For the rest of today, however, I'm going to finish editing one article - in honour of him, in the sense that the familiar questions of mortality have arisen, due to him, and given a reminder of the need to firmly grasp our chances while we still can. I've just learned that he had a history of heart problems, but he compiled this book anyway, throughout an illness - for an artist he loved - irregardless of his own plight.

So, I'm going to dedicate today's work to Mr. Luff and his family. It will be most productive.

R.I.P.

Whistle-stop landing.

2008-07-07T23:28:00.003+09:00

Listening to Vernal Equinox on Can's Landed. Surfed onto youtube, and someone mashed a small excerpt with James Burke. Interesting combination.

Below is why I can't join my cyber pals. When work finishes, the below starts - well, ironing thereof.

Taking longer than originally thought:

(Non-riveting) excerpt:

"...but they effect a simplification process that may lead towards omission of the ‘implicitness, open-endedness and intertextuality (Long 2007: 130)’ found in genuine texts. Topics inside coursebooks may also reflect narrow perspectives and may only present ‘socially refined topics’ (Akbari 2008: 278). More truthful, but less palatable, views of ‘life’ are often overlooked. The potentially negative ramifications of using such texts affect instructors too, for an over-reliance upon coursebooks can de-skill teachers to the level of ‘low-level functionaries’ (Kincheloe 2004: 111) at the mercy of the dictate of others....." ETC.

The Worst Restaurant in Tokyo!

2008-06-29T12:06:00.001+09:00

We just had a meal at a Thai restaurant a few hours ago.

After making our order, we received the drinks: laichi juices, and other fruit juices served in tacky wine glasses. My infant son who'd been a bit boisterous earlier, accidentally bit into his 'wine' glass.

Now, we were of course worried, and made sure the glass wasn't swallowed by the young scamp. Then, the owner/waitress came over - I explained what happened in Japanese whilst Mrs. Tagalog double checked that no glass remained in his mouth. The Thai waitress showed no concern for him, and instead gestured vaguely towards the glass.

After the meal, we received the bill - of course, she had pettily put the price of the tacky glass on the bill. I laughed out loud as I half expected it, but what a fucking bitch!

Too pathetic to argue with, I still feel annoyed at this 'madam' type assistant. Thai's are usually full of love for children - not this one.I still feel mildly annoyed, and have a (perhaps equally petty) desire to complain!

What would you have done?

Perfect excuse, anyway, to post Marianne Faithfull's 'Broken English'. Tenuous link, perhaps, but the Derek Jarman video is worth the watch.

Re: The Grief of Metal, Melting.

2008-06-06T19:31:00.008+09:00

Les Rallizes Denudes:

'Romance of the Black Grief'

***

It just had to happen. My earlier fears about the impact of e-cards recently used in Tokyo's transport system, and increasingly in shops near to stations have been verified. The future viewed in incremental changes, happening now:

Yesterday morning, I was *almost* refused entry on to a bus; today I was made to wait at the front of the bus, despite being first in the queue, barred from alighting. Waited over five minutes.

The reason?

I possessed real cash, - the metallic and paper type.

The driver had no change at all; the passengers all possessed robot or penguin emblazoned IC plastic cards - the material that liquids which replenish our thirst are put in. Plastic: the word used to describe something that is 'fake', 'artificial' and 'without substance'. Hell, Ray Davies made an under-rated song, 'Plastic Man' as his initial rise to fame melted down in the late 70s. Sang that "plastic people look the same, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Metal vs. plastic: which is build to last?
Metal vs plastic: which is stronger?
Metal vs plastic: which burns easiest?

Metal wins hands dowm, but metal hasn't been financed by Big Business and childish advertisements aimed at the Japanese LCD (lowest common denominator) and is free of 'kawaii' images.

The market dictates. How right it is. What a dictator. Hidden behind the ever-revolving wheels of commerce. Anodyne lemmings don't realise when they are being deprived of substance. Blissfully unaware of their reduced rights. And because of the Mass Bastards, I, too, had to purchase plastic.

IC cards. Who sees? Do masses care?

They follow the cute, the childish. They s(u)p(p)ort those who bar them from attending to their own, mined.

Is the decline of metal as authenticated currency due to Mr. Aarket, with his commercial fiends making this a must be?

I don't know, but I love coins and paper money, and here's why:

1) I can calculate coins/paper currency in my head - plastic cards don't require calculation by a human
2) I can jingle the coins - plastic disappoints, sound-wise.
3) History is embedded in coin/paper money design - plastic...well?
4) They are weighty. Plastic is as light as a disappearing right.
5) They aren't subject to mechanical error. Cards are subject to machine error.
6) Heads or tails.

The new cards have NO LINK to Japanese history, and instead show how kidult-like the masses have become. Their designers are laughing at their unknowing, prison-like robotic states.

Such are the ongoing events of the modern reformation.

Why do they need to invent robots when fleshy one's are all over the place. Humanimals are coming say some, why are the robots being promoted?. It can't be to replace the human manual, can it?

Heavy metal or cheap plastic? What's the better?

PluS - More Rallizes in supposed decline (1982)

State of the nation.

2008-05-30T23:03:00.010+09:00

It was the chore most abhored; an exercise that, at worst, provoked an occasional curse. After waving him goodbye, alienated and alienating thoughts would appear. To linger and to graze on people's good nature.

Taking the sun to the kindergarten had never felt right. But perception has surprised

and changed course. Right now, in Doutors, after delivering him to an alien State, I can't help but acknowledge my thanks, my gratitude to that face.

True, the cleaning lady scowled at my greeting and set alarms alight. Equally true was her meting out the same to a Japanese father. Even worse, a Japanese mother, passing a parcel of recently born beauty; she too received the grunt.

We can't choose the State we're born into, but almost all choose the state we're in; Others jump unthinkingly into Unknown States. Sight lost to the twilight has returned in the dawn. Extremes have subsided and calmness has brought acceptance. Today, humanity and intelligence were found in that state.

His glee in conducting a tour of beetles, crabs and armies of unknown pond-life; his pride in pictures from a science museum; his teacher's desire to explain stories behind pictures - all merged as coffee cup reached lips, creating thee unmistakable perception: He's in trusty hands,

Dark thoughts of bullying, scenarios proffered by English teachers without hooks in local flesh, can go evaporate. He's in a decent state, and a bright future awaits.

Bad lyrics from Bernard, great bass from Hooky: "State of the Nation" - New Order.

Need A Pussy On My Mat.

2007-12-22T19:00:00.000+09:00

Sat puzzled in a freezing cold Tokyo room, musing on how time is being wasted.

Instead of editing that which needs to be edited, this wandering mind has pitched its flag, and dug hard, making me dream of the forthcoming trip to Blighty, a slang term that crept into my vernacular without noticing. It arose in the last years of the British Raj, derived from the Hindustani word vilāyatī (विलायती) (bilāti), meaning "foreign".

For in a few days back I go, with well-loved booty to impress the family.

But I wonder if that dreadful urge will set in? The pull of the stones and the landscapes of Britain conspire to mock me during these infrequent encounters, chastising me for leaving in the first place.

However, as often is the case, saviour comes in the unexpected, with the far-from-scenic initial port of call, Birmingham, heeding my plea. Easing me in to an England shorn of wild beauty and without landscapes to savour, though there is plenty for all my clan to enjoy there.

It will be a different story when we visit the 4,000 year old Rollright Stones (below) and Wayland's Smithy - there will be that refreshing, but bitter-sweet call again!

Perhaps that call emerges, not from 'Blighty', but via memories of carefree youth? In any case, Return will occur one day, when a priority to acquire a house furnished for the worship of cats will be acted upon. Such a desire has emerged due to oppressive apartmental rules, with prison-like flats covered with bars on windows. Media-fuelled fear has set and gone mad. Coupled to this are the laws forbidding pets - something terrible to this cat lover.

When residents hardly speak to each other, pets are needed more than ever. Which makes me think of my wife's parents dog, Taro - a 10 year old who last week saw a lump emerge on his leg. Loyal and forgiving, he could teach many Tokyites a thing or too about love. Let's hope it's not what we fear, and good news appears by the time we get back

I didn't want this to be a negative post, but having pets is easier in England; the impressive amount of space available in homes being a far cry from the small expensive confines (that increasingly resemble Communist Housing, public and private both) here in Tokyo.

But overall, times are good. Family reunions, time with my nearest and dearest, visiting ancient sites, the end of the project....all is nigh:)

I should be celebrating, but I can't lose my concentration just yet. Excepting the period from Christmas Day to January 2nd, I can't fully let go.

Happy New Year to y'll

PS: Ivor Cutler is looking for truth with a pin

But that shade isn't authentic...

2007-12-19T12:50:00.001+09:00

"So this is Xmas, and what have you done?
Another year over, and a new one just begun."

I think we know who causes most war in this present age, and I think we know who can collectively change it. I guess the present war could be over, if the people wake up from diversion...

*********************************************************************

In one port of call they clamour for Christmas songs. So many to choose from, but they urge me to unearth simple 'authentic' classics. Therefore sadly, for someone of my bent, there is little room for experimentation, or of using songs as inroads to critique life. Any ideas of finding ways to analyse similarities of BC legends aping the Christ myth are drowned at birth. No room to assess the positive and negative ramifications of having this belief downloaded into our mind streams. And then there is the hidden hand, fuelled by finance, and buttressed by crowd expectation, telling me to avoid and steer clear of exploring truths.

So, Mithras, Dionysius, Attis, Osiris, and Orpheus - I leave you to be found by those who choose to swim outside non-institutional and media minded waters. After all, many adult children whom I 'instruct' live inauthentic Disney Time, anyway. Some politicians here think we are sharing the earth with alien life too, if Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura is to be believed...
*

But reality lives in Christmas songs through John Lennon, who used his authenticity and mass media draw to explore truths whilst under fire, together with Yoko Ono. Luckily they have a song, naive - yes, but one which makes even the most mined of minds question consumerism, even if only for a split second, and for that both can only be applauded. But not in Japan - for in the case of Yoko Ono, the hip Japanese today call her mannerisms inauthentic, or so I have been repeatedly told.

*
This thought may be echoed at one of the Paul Is Dead sites, though the Japanese are less apt to focus on unproven slander. That site has a short piece laden with pictures of Paul and Faul mixed with a lengthy explanation from a 'George'. This piece of 'evidence' interests, but hardly incriminates, and includes a Sean Lennon quote alleging that his father was assassinated by shadowy services, as well as this: "Yoko Ono is a spy of the foreign office. She was part of John Lennon's assassination" (quote supposedly attributed to this 'George').
*
Whilst new generations of Yoko's land are shaped to shun this supposed "inauthentic Japanese", their pop culture is awash with dumbed down messages. Her message contained too much real world truth, able to blind those who today wear Victoria Beckham 'Ono' glasses and adorn shiny baubles on their bags. Yet Ono's words will be unearthed and debate will be fostered, for the below song opens debate on urgent topics.

We should be careful and use such thought lest there be a tax on it soon.
*
From the man who allegedly named his record company after his allegedly deceased band mate (A Pall/Paul Records), and his allegedly secret agent wife: some simple, but incisive words from a US/Japan combo. All shades - brown, black, white, yellow, red - authentic therein.

Flood Gates Strong

2007-10-30T21:56:00.000+09:00

Aware of pressures outside, building and battering,

These flood gates strong maintain strength within.

Holding safety secure, confident and comforting

Though several floods wait to test my kin:

They desire to completely flood this club,

Pummel down Ace, her diamonds and heaven's spade,

"Knife the centre of that there hub",

a grey uniformed voice bade.

"Trace and fade, trace and fade."

But these flood gates withstand strong,

from invisible New Orders' New Normal plans

"There's no need to fear", a woman exclaims;

Sad to say, but she is Wrong.

((But right for us to bathe in Cohen's 'Anthem'))

For that man 'Kunio', he increased my fears

Defining my existence a danger, a threat,

Citing "a friend of a friend" who for Al Qaeda shed tears,

And now my body will be painted, anointed wet.

Finance, fingerprinting and fading norms,

Yet still this barrier will not forsake.

Despite the craven lies within treacherous forms

These flood gates strong can much more take...

VON SUDENFED 'LIVE' (MES and MOUSE ON MARS): "FLOODED"

((THE WRONG MOOD FOR THE SCRIBBLE ABOVE!))

Patterns Rippling The Footballing Stream

2007-10-22T12:01:00.000+09:00

(( DEVO live 25 years ago singing about 'Pattens' in your mind, not about the mass footballing mind as below.))

Here we are again – the English national side has once again failed to meet expectations (a 2-1 loss to Russia means qualification to the European Finals is out of their hands). It was, of course, foreseen by millions who wondered why an unproven manager, Steve McClaren, was chosen for the top footballing job. Was it his fake media-friendly smile? Or the hope that his experience as Sven and Sir Alex’s understudy had greatly benefitted the Yorkshireman?.

To be fair to McClaren, football – a sport popularized in England, is in a quite woeful state. Detectable in quite a few patterns actually. Mainly in the physical, passion and artistry side, not the thriving business side. English football, her veins clogged up with overpaid talents with questionable mentalities who seem to have distanced themselves from the good of the common man, is no longer a vital sport from which local players can be expected to represent our broken communities.

Physical Patterns from a Footballing Past
Why should I bother watching? There are plenty of other thrills to passively consume and feel tribal about on the television set. Set my mind to zero and watch the men play. Jump up and down and re-live youth when dreams of becoming a sporting superstar were intense, or at least were shared meaningfully with mates at school.

For me, no matter how much I used ‘The Secret’ back then, I couldn’t reach my dream. Despite the Tottenham Hotspur scout asking my father about going to White Hart Lane, despite the Wimbledon FC trials and the Lincoln City boys days, the dream didn’t come to fruition. Even the hat-trick scored in a first half at Sincil Bank that impressed Colin Murphy didn’t lead to better days. Perhaps, to paraphrase recent words of Oprah Winfrey, the universe had other things in store for this former wiry wizard of the wing, and full attention was not spent.

Yes, it’s bollocks: I just wasn't good enough to reach a higher level. Physical patterns failed me – a lack of strength and a series of asthma attacks (one occurred in the second half of the ‘Colin Murphy’ game) can’t have helped. There were also other patterns that I didn’t like. At Lincoln City, where I played for four years as a teenager, might was right and skill was secondary. Maybe that’s why successful professional Julian Joachim (left) overlooked any potential interest from Lincoln City, and plied his trade at Leicester City, and great midfield powerhouses like Brendan McDaid found later success at Lincoln United. Admittedly, Joachim has both skill and strength, and McDaid’s talents might well have bought him that villa in Spain which he craved after in school, but overall the influence of Brian Robson and his style of playing filtered down to the lower leagues and put pay to this skinny rat.

Oprah would have been correct - there was a mentality that I couldn’t freely partake with. And yes, I didn’t quite perform with that drive the above players did. But the other thing that annoyed me was the topics of conversation – football seemed just a game to me, and excessive tribal banter didn’t attract. More fool me – look at the intelligent footballers of the past – Martin O’Neill, Pat Nevin, Eric Cantona and quite a few others. They proved that football didn’t only have to be about might and unquestioning mass minds.

Yet, the continuing poor performances by the England national team are linked to a happily dumb culture that perhaps is personified by the present managers tactics. In spite of all this, echoes of an obsession with football in the past remain with me, and such patterns in the mind are probably now hard-wired, and I can’t just change channels to the rugby...

Some Financial Patterns of Footballing Present.
So, yes, I’m a member of one of those suffering, eternally optimistic hordes. And I’m finding it difficult to walk away from these behavioural patterns. I can’t change those bloody channels, or the bloody sport.

This, despite dumbed down reportage, and overkill, of football, and the pattern of foreign players taking over English football. I’m all for top players from all over the world playing in the English Leagues. The above table describes the recent trend as a 'foreign invasion' (green is foreign players, red is native players) - I wouldn't put it like that, but, like England legend Trevor Brooking stated, it seems that fewer home-grown players get early breaks and the all-important chances to shine in the stage.

It’s easy to buy a proven player from overseas - English is the international language after all, and a good place to live, but as a consequence it’s even harder for footballing youth now. It could be said that this improves the quality of those who break through, but I’m unsure. Just look at recent England results.

Another pattern that is intriguing and which The Times claimed that “conspiracy theorists...will point to” is the strong links between oil billionaire Roman Abramovich – the chairman of potential English Premier League champions Chelsea - and the current predicament in English football. It’s a curious one. Abramovich, claims footballing agent, Pini Zahavi, “has two loves, Russia and Israel.” Nothing wrong with that, but noticeably, English football isn't included. Again from The Times, “he bankrolls the annual Channel One Cup” a cup for those two loves, plus the Ukraine.

But what was questionable was his treatment of Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho(below), a man who proclaimed himself, “the chosen one”, and who via Abramovich’s money helped assemble a world class team. Jose’s managerial skills were unquestioned, but he was ‘forced’ to resign after Abramovich, someone without background in football, allegedly disliked the way they were playing. Instead, he brought in someone without enough experience at the level Chelsea are at, former Israel manager Avram Grant (bottom pic).

This kind of thing goes on all the time, but it shocked football, and revealed how magnate money is really controlling Chelsea’s destiny. Grant was brought in by another Jewish-Russian chairman to become their Director of Football, yet another example of how money is changing English football culture. It’s not just Russians and Israeli’s though, lest this be misconstrued as an ethnic rant, former European Champions Aston Villa have been taken over by an American fan, and Manchester United were taken over by an American multi-national corporate family.

However, a curious twist of fate has seen England, a footballing nation with a proud history, awaiting a favour from the the Israeli National 11. If Russia lose to Israel and England beat Croatia then England’s qualification to the European Championship looks probable. It’s unlikely that Russia will lose, but if Israel win, then Avram may well begin to feel more acceptance from fickle football fans (some idiots sadly dislike him, not for blatant nepotism or lack of qualifications); and if Russia won, Chelsea’s owner can’t be saddened, can he? Win-win.

But Roman might ponder on the potential damage to profits that would ensue should England, as expected, fail to reach the finals. That roman lives and thrives on profit and accolades – and has bought sporting success. He can’t personally fail in this sad spectacle, and the only losers are English football fans, and the international side's continuing propensity to disappoint.

It's all part of the 'globalisation' process, or maybe an aspect of the ongoing de-evolution that Devo warned about!

Maybe I should just change channels, and adjust my seat....

Triple Gold In First All-Asian Meet!

2007-10-16T11:30:00.000+09:00

Superstar in the making!!?

So, we went to the Nursery Games at the weekend, and shot footage of junior Tagalog (above). The inability of all racers to run straight is funny and cute, and I'm a happy man too - my little one won three races out of three in his first 'All-Asian' meet (there were Burmese and Chinese children in the races). The above race was the first and best. All racers were between four and five, and it was noticeable that although the above year could all run straight, they couldn't. Something physiological and related to running in straight lines must set in during the fifth year...

But the little one won! He got spoiled afterwards - so much for 'it's the taking part that counts!...'

The whole sports day was too long though, and the choice of music was questionable. An "In The Navy" instrumental was followed by "We Will Rock You" by Queen. Surprisingly perhaps, there was nothing remotely Japanese, but what followed later would have been difficult to stomach if the boy hadn't shown such enjoyment and achievement - they played "The Birdie Song" by The Tweets and we all had to dance like birds. Well, you just had to do it. I preferred the game when I had to put on beetle skin and roll over like an insect. That was fun.

I'd have rather they played Lene Lovich's Bird Song though. Maybe I'll have a word next year. Though perhaps the little one's will be too scared to run straight after hearing the Lovich warble.

The Best Blunts Are Buried

2007-10-14T20:56:00.000+09:00

It should be James Blunt above, but that'd be sacrilege! Yet he led me to discover Wilifrid Blunt whose sonnet below, in turn, echoed Biblical imagery and brought the above Peter Tosh track (Burial) to mind.

**************

Since leaving the mother-land for this extended sojourn, much has changed back home. Mostly disturbing, in all truth, and one thing alarms me especially - the global dominance of one Mr. James Blunt. You talk to Japanese girls about England, and this Blunt figure crops up - with talk of his ordinary good looks and sensitive style. It all seems well-produced mediocrity to me, but sobeit. There's no accounting for taste, etc.

What is interesting is his pre-recording history - he was In The Army . In fact the majority of the Blunt/Blounts were Career Soldiers, perhaps bred to be so. And so, he was educated in Harrow, fought in Kosovo as a Captain and so knew The Rite People and possessed the Right Profile to be given the big push into the Media. That's often the way of the Recording Establishment I guess.

How could he fail to succeed? He was publicised and played on the airwaves until the tunes took hold in Joe Public's head. Yes, I guess, good luck to him - he was born into that position but possesses evident bravery and makes girls happy.

So, all's fine I guess.

All fine, except that the smooth transition from the battle-field to the shaper of minds (via the pop song idiom) opens many questions. Being the rooter for the underdog, I'd rather see someone from the grass-roots being published and perhaps funded into fame.

But fame isn't granted to all. And The Face has to fit agendas one feels. Brave Blunt standing with Al Gore in Live Earth and singing songs from All The Lost Souls is not what rock n' roll is surely about. But it is to those who matter.

Again, good luck to him but something about his rise makes my heart stall. Though it makes plenty girls have an active ticker, mind. He's mentioned in this post because of a book I recently picked up - the Anglo-American Establishment by Professor Carroll Quigley. I'd wanted to read this book for years, because of all the theories which it has spawned. Though it's a dry read, I love my history, and I'm reading it slowly, a chapter here and a chapter there.

And today - a Blunt figure emerged. A rather interesting one, a rather interesting one indeed. The Bl(o)unts have been a big name for centuries but Quigley, who had access to secret minutes of Council of Foreign Relations meetings and other archive materials mentioned one in particular: Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. Deserves a mention for his mere name. However, this Blunt was a 'rebel' in Quigley's eyes.

" a somewhat unreliable witness (was) Wilifrid Scawen Blunt, a member by breeding and education of this social group (elite groups surrounding the Salisbury government and The Times) and a relative of the Wyndhams, but a psychopathic anti-imperialist who spent his life imitating the Arabs and criticizing Britain's conduct in India, Egypt and Ireland."

FROM: Carroll Quigley, 'The Anglo-American Establishment' - page 111, chapter 'The Times' where the former tutor to Bill Clinton goes into how 'the Milner Group engaged in journalistic activities which sought to influence public opinion in directions which the Group desired.

I have no idea if there is any distant relation, but I wouldn't be surprised, given the ease to which he rode to fame. Can I say 'but good luck to him...again!'

Looking at Wilifrid's wikipedia page showed that he wrote a novel called: Satan Absolved - A Mystery. A bit different from You're Beautiful, and probably all the better for it. One wonders whether they were distantly related? Anyway, I'd rather read Wilifrid Blunt than listen to James Blunt any day of the week, but sadly 'Satan' hasn't been typed up to Project Gutenberg - it hosting his 'The Future of Islam' instead.

I did some further surfing and found a sonnet which pleased me at first glance. Does James Blunt make lyrics like this?

To One Who Would Make a Confession (1881)

WILIFRID BLUNT (1840-1922)

Oh! leave the Past to bury its own dead.
The Past is naught to us, the Present all.
What need of last year's leaves to strew Love's bed?
What need of ghosts to grace a festival?
I would not, if I could, those days recall,
Those days not ours. For us the feast is spread,
The lamps are lit, and music plays withal.
Then let us love and leave the rest unsaid.
This island is our home. Around it roar
Great gulfs and oceans, channels, straits, and seas.
What matter in what wreck we reached the shore,
So we both reached it? We can mock at these.
Oh! leave the Past, if Past indeed there be.
I would not know it. I would know but thee.

From: http://www.sonnets.org/blunt.htm#030.

Disbelieving the Belief Systems

2007-10-08T23:18:00.001+09:00

A lot has happened since the last post - a plan to return back to the mother country has taken hold - 2010 is the date, and a decision to take the second highest Japanese test in December 2008 has been made.

So many decisions but will they be met? It's so easy to get all negative about such dreams, but this time I'm going for it full pelt. Yet, negativities and 'can't do' feelings plague us all - just a few minutes ago, whilst the Tagalogians were planning a trip back home, the awful railway website put me off - and made me think that staying here might be best for my sanity. Said website was designed to confound.

The general topic leads me to what some may decry as woo-woo territory inhabited by Dr. Bruce Lipton. It's hard not to be interested in someone whose "experiments, examining in great detail the molecular mechanisms by which cells process information, have revealed that genes do not in fact control our behavior." Instead, he claims that genes are turned on and off by influences outside the cell.

Now, that I can certainly support and it flies in the face of much recent science - the gay gene, the happy gene etc. And an interview with a delightful woman called Regina Meredith warmed me to the guy. Yet, isn't this flying in the face of media-fuelled neo-Darwinistic thought?

The mind is open on this, but he's rather an interesting person to look into.

And using 'belief' as a search term on youtube led me to another supposed 'woo-woo' man - Osho, who I knew nothing of. But I like this phrase: "Anybody who gives you a belief system is your enemy."

What shoulder-pads and man, he doesn't blink!

I'd better follow that with George Harrison, I guess, with the excellent Any Road from Brainwashed.

Mysticular-titillation in Babylon.

Adam without Joe plus the Bin Liner

2007-09-10T17:03:00.000+09:00

Adam, half of Adam and Joe (a British comedy duo) uses humour to full effect here, conjuring the bin liner as a working class Brummie. Shades of Ali G here, and possibly lampooning the release of fear on our TV screens.

Adam and Joe - quintessentially English and creators of the Vinyl Justice sketch that made stars seem stuck up-crazed, lovably unhinged, lovable and well-personable.

Why?

2007-09-10T01:27:00.000+09:00

Weighed down by confused cravings, self-anger and feelings bruised and crippled inside, there is only one way to turn, and that's down the avenue Plastic Ono. It could have been funky Walking On Thin Ice, or othersuch easy on the ear tunes, including the only too true (financially and educationally) Born In A Prison. But someone a few months ago put Yoko's classic screeching, clawing song 'Why' on youtube. It seems to have fitted my day perfectly

It's been a dead fucking shitty day. I'm so glad it's gone.

Strangely, music often needs to be raucous to soften those serrated edges. Cuts emerge via sharp blades dotted around the workplace. We usually skirt around them but today one happened to cushion my fall. The bleeding hasn't stopped yet.

I just wasn't paying enough attention. Perhaps the schedule in blunting my edge

But having four different groups of bosses is nobody's cup of tea is it, however reasonable some of them are? And having to face one of the four after fucking up protocol with a 'customer' (who received two appraisals - one incorrectly filled in, and the other correct) made me feel physically sick. As she hadn't been 'promoted' she made a song and dance about it, and complained herself happy.

Afterwards I faced twenty five hundred unwanted questions.

But it's my fault for not getting it right and allowing red tape to get disentangled around a whole gaggle of office drone's throats. I must accept this horrible blunder and move on. But why am I working six days a week and studying too? Where is the time to live and do some　proper written research? Being eaten up by the family, who deserve to munch hard.

One of the jobs just has to go.

Why did I take it on in the first place? It wasn't needed.

In seven months a higher qualification will leave me with better job prospects and more time to write for sheer enjoyment, i.e. not the academic kind.

Why did I accept this job which entailed red tape which I despise?

The ramifications of being born in a financial prison I guess....

Danny Tagalog.

P.S. Good news for those worried about 'chips' - studies have shown they may lead to cancerous growths in living organisms.

"As the AP will report, a series of research articles spanning more than a decade found that mice and rats injected with glass-encapsulated RFID transponders developed malignant, fast-growing, lethal cancers in up to 1% to 10% of cases. The tumors originated in the tissue surrounding the microchips and often grew to completely surround the devices, the researchers said."

Before the joy and the sex came the Neu!

2007-09-08T12:34:00.000+09:00

They've become feted more and more in the past decade, but only recently has Klaus Dinger's Neu! had footage loaded onto youtube. Via a jammy version of proto-punk track 'Hero', you can see Klaus Dinger, loaded with the spirit of real anarchy stomping his neondian beat before some lucky Germans in the year of 1974. Like Hammill's character Nadir, the Dinger brothers and, soon-to-depart to Harmonia and Cluster, Michael Rother were the proverbial shot in the arm to Mr. Rotten, then stalking Sex shops in pre-authoritarian London.

Not only him. D. Bowie too - who wasn't only influenced by Kraftwerk. He allegedly tried to recruit the Dingers when he went through his German phase. Dinger turned him down, like the anarchist-like hater of commercial success he is. So he faded away...

But I like to think the 'decline' was of his choice....

But listen to Neu's Negativland from 1972 and then wonder where Joy Division got their Exercise One sound from. Sonic Youth too, though that is acknowledged by their Ciccone Youth guise and the track "Two Rock Chicks Sat Listening to Neu!!" And Rother-fuelled melodic Neu!? - see early Sterolab.

Go buy Neu!3 - it's a source of magic and a stimulant for later greats. And La! Dusseldorf too - the original Cha Cha 2000 was a claryon cry for the emergence of politicians who "love us and don't cheat us", and for the world to be greener. That was back in 1976 - but your radio stations wouldn't play it. Nor would Dinger be tolerated, not after his 1985 track America. Two decades before Morrissey did the same thing, Dinger was saying: "America, I love you and I hate you" with lyrics exploring 'a' 'holocaust' towards Native Americans, and equating Reagan with Hitler.

What would he say about the present American, British and other national 'regimes'?

Not the sort of thing Joe Six-Pack and the empty TV (MTV) generation would tolerate, eh? But he did add: "Marilyn and Elvis, Dylan, Doors and Velvets are the best of you." So I hope you can forgive a maverick genius whose classic works should be in all our record collections. They're certainly in Bowie's, Rotten's and New Order's members' collections (and members of The Fall, Stereolab, Radiohead、etc etc) - although I think in the case of Joy Divsion, the Neu! influence came via Martin Hannet myself.

Neu!3 - go and buy it and enjoy its light/dark genius!

A Force I Never Felt Before

2007-09-07T01:58:00.000+09:00

Siouxsie -Into A Swan

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Perhaps the sexiest 50 year old in the world, newly divorced Siouxsie Sioux releases 'Into A Swan' next week, where she sings about a 'force never felt before'. And here outside my window, a particularly forceful typhoon is blowing plant pots and unknown props all over the concrete landscape. It's welcome - for nature has too low a profile in this here city; and hearing her power is a veritable delight. Meanwhile, back home, other more unwelcome forces are letting themselves be heard. Tying in with my present material writing, a recent BBC news article on Judge Sedley's pronouncement that all Britons should submit DNA samples to a database has left me boiling in anger. It also

adds credence to the frequent claims that surveillance culture in the UK is deepening, becoming the new normal. Already 4 million people who have been convicted or cleared of crime appear on the database. Yet Sedley believes that in the interests of the larger public, all citizens and visitors to Britain should submit samples. If I had trust in the executive I would consider it, but my God - it would either be misused, sold off or used to falsely incriminate. Sedley is likely a stooge of those behind Gordon Brown, the blue bloods who wish to minimise chances of not only crime, but unpredictability and protest amongst 'commoners'. Luckily initial reactions are hostile. James Randerson's pro DNA database article is being soundly attacked by the comments on his Comment is Free article. A particularly good example is the below:

dfic1999
Comment No. 797039
September 6 12:11
This isn't really an evidence-based argument: it reads more like emotional blackmail; an appeal on the level of 'Think of the children!'. It assumes we 'ought' to put everyone on the database becuase we have the technology to do so. (See the rationalisation in some quarters that because black males are disproportionately on the database now, all of them should be in future.) It turns the UK population into a database of 60m potential suspects until proven innocent: if an individual's DNA turns up at the crime scene, then it will be up to them to prove they weren't somehow involved in the crime. (btw: Has anyone thought why there isn't a 'Police National Fingerprint Database' of everyone in Britain?) Secondly, Sedley's proposals also applied to *anyone* visiting the UK, from day-trippers on Eurostar to touring sports teams, to Oscar-winning actors to potential migrants who want to settle in Britain. (In theory, the world could be on the database simply by virtue of visiting Britain only once.) Thirdly, the logistics (and expense) are on a par with the National ID card scheme - another element of the surveillance state that is justified in similar terms to this article. Victims have a right to justice: I'm not so sure that extends to granting the police and the state unlimited powers, whether of law enforcement or of surveillance.

SHUNNED BY THE FAMILY SHARON STONE

2007-08-03T23:42:00.000+09:00

In the lofty stink of Shinjuku a few days back – a small crowd of rocky revellers sat stunned watching a support act for Dick Boogie and Boogie Woogie All Stars. Forget that dreadfully named group for a moment, with titles aping that greasy haired loser from Manchester (John The Postman). Forget their obvious rock school musicianship – and focus upon something more cutting and knowing. Shun, Sly Stone lookalike, dominator of The Sharon Stones last night, who wowed The Loft with brute basic instinct. Supposedly a rookie, this is certainly no kooky fool. Sly Shun willed possession by Hendrix amidst a downpour of riffs threatening to take us higher and higher. Teasingly this joker pulled the plug on that spell, bringing us down – with laughter, jokes and wit to boot. Whilst hecklers shouted ‘just play’, Shun was unperturbed, relentless, pushing these Stones into orbit again. Rock n’ roll twisting out of polluted, un-natural Shinjuku confines, shooting towards the Himalayas, making mockeries of constrictive forces carved by the Japanese ‘Man.’ You betta catch this crazy diamond and his crew before they shine too bright and self-combust in showers of subversion and humour fuelled by the raw power of rock sages. Go see Sly and His Family Of Sharon Stones in this early metallic guise. In a week when the washed up genius of Sly re-surfaced in London, Tokyo has witnessed a serious contender who just might have discovered the location of Sly’s Original Source.
Danny Tagalog, in Takadanobabylon: August 2nd 2007 CE.

THE UNPREDICTABLE DOES OCCUR.

2007-08-01T00:51:00.000+09:00

THE SLIGHT RETURN OF SLY STONE!

BELOW: CLASSIC SLY SINGING 'THANK YOU..'

Who would have thought Sly Stone would have got it together to perform in London again? Noticing ripples of excitement on the Head Heritage about this, I checked youtube and spent a good few hours looking around the glorious beginnings and the sad decline. In all honesty his latest performances have the air of an unpredictably violent, batty old homeless guy aping the Flavor Flava look – circa 1988. But it’s apparently Sly and it’s good that he’s on a stage. One hopes it will bring the guy some happiness….

SLY IN HIS FLAVOR FLAV GARB ONSTAGE A FEW MONTHS BACK....

*******************************************************************************

P R E D I C T A B L E zzzzzzzz

2007-07-29T17:45:00.001+09:00

Ray Davies' Predictable fits the mood of a Babylon affected by weekend events. Enjoyability of viewing two colleagues presentations was tempered by divisive conversations afterwards. Predictability did punctuate proceedings after two camps emerged. One re-opened a battle of the linguists with characters such as Halliday, Sinclair and Hoey sitting in a British corner. Their armoury being research characterized by empirical analyses of language patterns. Opposing them were the globalists captained by one Chomsky and his Universal Grammar theory. I drifted to the empirical corner, slightly dissatisfied at not grasping Chomsky’s theories fully. A feeling which led me to purchase Syntactic Structures, forty years after its initial publication. Surprisingly ,its forward reveals sponsorship from‘the U.S.A. Army (Signal Corps), the Air Forces (Office of Scientific Research, Air Research and Development Command) and the Navy (Office of Naval Research); and in part by the National Science Foundation and the Eastmann Kodak Corporation.” Way back then, when Syntactic Structures was forging pathways for future linguists, Chomsky was in the pay of the military. News to me.

Quite surprising. Most who dislike Chomsky’s linguistic work love his politics, but hang on: he was once in the pay of the very right. Now that truly is unpredictable, surprising and therefore welcome - at some level. Also unpredictable was the discovery of Michael Hoey's paper on Lexical Priming on the net - via a corpus linguistics approach he shows that the (Chomsky-influenced) theory of lexical items being isolated elements organised by syntax (+ realised by phonology, and cross-referenced by text) to be suspect. He is therefore acting outside of Chomsky's dictate.

Surely Chomsky escaped from strong dictate from armed forces long ago, but increasingly one feels that politicians are following regimented code. This morning, after surprising the little one by taking him to see early morning trains and begin a search for city insects ( we saw earwigs trying to cross darkened streets and cats baying for scraps of meat), I looked on the BBC site, and.....

Gordon Brown

....as Establishment as ever, it's lead article was of Gordon Brown who seemed to be speaking sense. The article began unpredictably: "The world owes a debt to the United States for ....." For Chomsky? For Elvis? For Zappa? For Beefheart? For Hemingway? For Iggy? The list is endless. How did he end that sentence?

Predictably of course:

"...for its leadership in the fight against international terrorism."

How do we define international terrorism? Unsavoury acts flagged into existence by imperial globalist tyranny? Globalist inter-networked cells? I think that 't' word can be defined in myriad ways. One suspects Brown's definition is somewhat different from others. Of course one cannot say that WE have created terror, but some definitions would go down this road, and some would feel considerable sympathy for such an opinion. Exoteric and esoteric meanings spinning around fighting for dominance. Playing to the crowd spinning semantic tricks to run rings round people who can't imagine lies would emerge from Well Respected Guys.

By the way: the picture of Brown. Does he look philanthropic? misanthropic? psychopathic? I know what I think. Your face hardens as you age - and deeds can freeze into view for some. His role governing big business is tough; in keeping the public, sorry his subjects, on their toes, fearfully. And keeping to a party line where terror inflicted by our own upon women and children in the Middle East is left unaddressed.

The people know the con.

Blow up fear and fan the flames far and wide in media organs. There appears no way of resolving messes made by previous psychopaths other than taking more blood-ridden roads to profitable lies at expense of the masses. For politics is business with taxation and extractions and organised acted factions. The prize as always is a seat on the World Stage.

All The World's A Predictable Stage!

And here in Japan as one body changes wings, the thorax stays the same. Always changing face for the public, but never really changing. An occupation continues. Such talk is predictable. But unpredictably Ray Davies appears on the BBC website today, via a report on a shooting case he was involved in, which appears to be collapsing due to his non-appearance in court. Read about it yourself.

Predictably he is unhappy. "I am very disappointed with the way this case has been handled," he was reported as saying. "I intend to pursue it further." Good luck Ray - seems your unpredictable mind does not bode well with the insane demands of the justice system.

That's it from Clean-Shaven Japan - a nation which came 4th in an Asian Cup which Iraq won! The cynic in me thinks it mighty convenient that some good news has emerged from the latest country to be assaulted into New Ways. The realist in me says 'Well Done Iraq!'

Caption Comp.

2007-07-27T15:26:00.000+09:00

The above picture was sent by a colleague who spotted it in the Yamanote Line a few weeks ago; the young girl advertising a new drama. The fine print is too difficult to read, so I wonder if anyone has a caption to fit an imagined voice/mind bubble?

Any takers?

Any comments?

Feline Wisdom

2007-07-26T22:07:00.000+09:00

I might be technologically illiterate, as I can't find a way to move the above picture around - of two Japanese cats seemingly in loving embrace, taken outside a Shinjuku eaterie. All, and I mean ALL passers-by paid homage to this scene. It fitted the mood of a lazy, summer day.

Meanwhile, from Rhode Island, the BBC has reported a cat who apparently has the ability to sense impending death in a nursing home. Halting any thoughts about 'nursing homes' being inhumane for a moment, 'Oscar's ability has resulted in staff alerting relatives as soon as he chooses to sit down next to their loved ones. The BBC got this report from research undertaken by Brown University Professor David Dosa, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Supposedly Oscar 'miaows in protest' if he is moved from his chosen companion.

It doesn't surprise me, for cats are sensitive to worlds beyond our ken. But just so you don't get 'weird' ideas, the article ends with: "A doctor who treats patients at the home said she believed there was probably a biochemical explanation, rather than the cat being psychic. "

Yes, that's probably true, but just how does the cat 'sense' death?

It really would be fascinating to know.

In any case, putting old folk into homes is a sad step to take, but there may be reasons for doing it. If it's in my power - I will never allow mine to end their days in such an environment. The subject is linked to one of Pulp's greatest tunes, indeed - perhaps the only top ten hit in the UK to address the subject of becoming elderly. Good on Jarvis Cocker for having done this...

HELP THE AGED: PULP.

How I Got Blogging Recognition

2007-07-26T15:41:00.000+09:00

Today has been a hot, humid washout of a day, but energy levels have perked up after The Shadows of Time nominated me as having the power of schmooze! Thank you! I'll take off the tin foil hat for a few moments and bask in the honour, and indulge in the Indian takeaway curry, made by Nepalese chefs. Shadows of Time pointed me towards another site of interest: Rigorous Intuition, so loads of thanks for that.

To an extent, all the below satisfy the criteria: “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.”

I have to nominate Eric of 8 Mile Love Graffitti for the poetry, Johnny Yen and his mysterious canoe, Imam Bowie lover Erik, sheepish Lulu and that British Shadowy Falcon, currently navigating Aussie Skies.

All other friendly visitors have been tagged methinks. If not, consider yourself tagged!

Especially Charles at Razor Zen and Barbara the Zombie, though I'm sure you've been memed....

Alien Lie Augured For August?

2007-07-25T00:25:00.000+09:00

"LIE TO ME" BY TOM WAITS.

Just listened to expat Canadian Benjamin Fulford wax lyrical (some would say 'wax hysterical') about his (repeated) threat to certain monied rock, errr, fella's in Europe and one child of wrath.

From being a 'self-proclaimed' front person for a six million strong secret society of Chinese and Japanese academics and private warriors, he has supposedly become the message boy expressing their ire at 'elite' western plans to wage a further war (against Iran) and wipe out millions of Chinese with S.A.R.S designed to target 'Asians.'

Hmmmmm...

But, errrr, most bird flu victims have been Asians, haven't they?

Hmmmmm...

If such plans go ahead, Fulford (whose great grandfather died in Canada's first automobile accident) has been supposedly instructed to 'threaten' the hidden above. Most suspicious: mine bullshit detector is switcheth on full...

Would Fulsome lie to us? A respected journalist turned 'con'spiracist, he certainly sounded sane. At least saner than the certain mainstream men of good fortune. Yet is he accurate?

Impossible to tell - all I'm gonna do is suspend giving in to belief and disbelief. Disbelief is the biggest puller at the moment I must add though......

Well, if he throws weedkiller over that diseased powerbase then that's all great. But it's hard not to be sceptical. He gave them 48 hours to meet 'his group' in a specified location in Canada.

Watch out Canadians!

Hmmmmm.... too ludicrous for the truth, eh...?

But he then mentioned that August may well be a time of Fake Alien Sightings! And what do you know, after flitting through the English newspapers whilst listening, I discovered that the Daily Mail (vomit) has printed pictures of alleged UFOs over Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon

Military Light Show Masquerade? All The World's A Stage?

Hmmmm...

Who knows? Certainly technology could 'fake' a War of The Worlds scenario. And Fulford mentioned that there has been strange sightings over Mount Fuji of late, which he inferred was courtesy of the Protectorate Installed. He reckoned that August could be the month when something 'fake' designed to create panic and coerce cohesion with mistrusted rulers 'appears'.

An Alien (lie) Lies In Wait?

Hmmmmmmm.

Oh, and he also mentioned that the 'earthquakes' in Japan which led to 'nuclear' power leakages were connected to this 'dialogue'

Hmmm.

As Alex Ferguson of MUFC might say, this might be that 'squeaky bum time' he talks of in Asia for a while......

Watch the skies! Beware the lies! Keep an open mind!

But don't go Loving The (fake) Alien, not with those Baggy Pants and Awful Contrived Moves below..

DAVID BOWIE IS LOVING THE ALIEN.

Confusion is sex?

2007-07-23T23:03:00.000+09:00

ABOVE: NEW ORDER (1983): 'CONFUSION'.

For one group of students put under Tagalog tutelage, today was exam day where group discussions, prepared over the past few weeks, took place. I shouldn’t have been surprised that one tall girl went into post test confession mode, after her group disappeared into the corridor muttering goodbyes. I was rather surprised with her eagerness to discuss gender and sexuality. Impossibly smart and self-motivated, most classes bore her – now was the time to release something hidden from class environs.

She soon began letting rip about here impending departure from the closet; about Japanese girls comics where (male) gay characters are depicted in ‘tasteful’ manner, of which she has artistic interest of her own with samples she wanted to show teacher. Thanks a million I thought. Had she read the Kinki Kids post and misconstrued me?!

Though perhaps forewarned in hindsight, I always thought of her as an elegant, tall loner who rightfully disliked many trappings society imposed on her. Yet out flooded 1,001 theories and questions, about homosexuality, about bi-sexuality and of the plasticity of sexuality. I wondered why she chose to offload this burden with me, who is none of the above. Perhaps one should feel complimented, but whatever - I’m unsure whether I dealt with the situation well, or even if whether I read it well. Here’s the gist of the chat.

I told her that she (not yet 20) is still fairly young to say anything for sure if confused about her ‘status’; that I remembered her attending ‘matchmaking’ meetings with boys gleefully a year previous. She accepted this, but told me she had since ‘had full experience’ with a girl; and that consummating the feeling made her feel glorious.

I could see it in her eyes too.

I said: fine, good for you! But… don’t you enjoy reading ‘boy-boy’ love books? Doesn’t that mean you might like ‘boys’?

She then replied that attending single sex schools may be the cause of her same-sex foray. As well it may. It seemed she was re-considering the lesbian status she had just claimed.

And then, she suddenly started talking about Tokyo bars where girls ‘who feel like me’ can take masculine hormones to ‘complete’ something that nature left incomplete. It appeared she felt comfortable in a male role and wanted medicine to strengthen it.

I said: wait a while. And began to consider that this clever girl was ‘playing’ with me. After all, this is a country where there is a large subculture of girls buying comics about homosexual male heroes!

I quickly added that putting male hormones in her body would be too drastic, worried that she seemed somewhat over-eager, and then we talked about Genesis P.Orridge and his pan-sexuality. Talk transformed back to her desire to become a masculine lesbian.
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As open as I am to the broad range of sexuality – I didn’t want to accept her decision, thinking about her age, my previous conceptions, her potential to ‘toy’ with ‘sensei’, and my position in the institution.

Yet she looked so happy with the glint in her eye remaining strong. Apparent newfound feelings still reverberating around her thoughts..

I believed myself to be open minded, but here played the conservative in this position of responsibility. On this matter remaining firmly on the fence, a place she seems to no longer wish to sexually remain.

I still wonder whether I played it right…

Systematic Abuse? Not quite the whole truth....

2007-07-21T13:25:00.000+09:00

Enough To Make You Pull Your Hair Out

I walked into this country with eyes wide open: Japan being a mono-cultural, but slowly diversifying country. Yet stories occasionally surface of abuse towards minorities and Canadian born Debito Arudou has revealed one in a Japan Times article a few days back. Japan benefits from a large amount of lowly paid migrant workers, and Arudou’s article claimed a girl of Brazilian immigrant parentage, brown curly hair, was forced to endure ‘hair dye inspection’ on a regular basis which ultimately led to being forced (or strongly coerced) to dye her hair black.

This may be true and is naturally abhorrent, but as my pal reckoned: here we may have a case of over-hysteria from a seemingly well-read man who likes opportunities like these to carve a name for himself. If true he has performed a great service to all, yet his facts regarding the girl being forced to dye her hair are dubious. The lack of a quote from her is explained away unconvincingly.

He commands praise for opening comment on the plight of international families in Japan though. The reason for the alleged atrocity? High schools out here are promoting ‘patriotism’ after PM Abe pushed it onto the government controlled media. And one’s hair colour is supposedly a big factor. That poor girl if the story is true, deserves paid damages. Think about the psychological turmoil she would have felt. Uniformity is desired by people high up, and those eager to shine in the light of their masters do their best to uphold this monstrous dream.

But she didn’t give a quote….

We all know the Japanese are group orientated: that has many benefits, and arguably uniforms are beneficial for schoolchildren coming from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Yet the colour of one’s hair is something chosen by our genes, and this is the crux. Is there a systematic abuse of differences in high schools?

Well, in isolated pockets perhaps, but when most of the population already dyes their hair brown, this might be a case of over-exaggeration. Yet any racial abuse needs highlighting and stamping out now, especially when these Brazilian immigrants contribute much to ongoing construction work. For this Arodou needs to be applauded.

It is likely that cases such as these occur due to over-zealousness of nationalists clamouring for the natural look, downloaded thought from top echelons. Look at what the top has been delivering of late:

Atom Bomb Row Minister Apologises

Health Minister Calls Women Birth Machines

Yet more psychopaths with little feeling for those who they purport to serve. Isn’t it time to be more active in moves to re-make a system which produces arrogant fools like above? Perhaps the man to enforce this is 50 year old Mark E. Smith who in Reformation Post TLC claimed “Systematic Abuse - is the whole truth.” Methinks he’s been listening to talk of the New Order, and not the Mancunian Factory fodder either.

Weird times in Japan, or is it weird times in my mind? I haven’t even mentioned the chance meeting I had with a Forbes journalist two weeks ago, who had replaced a bestselling author who has claimed he was sacked after delving too deep in corruption reports. He has since been very vocal in the 911 Truth movement and on one radio show made seemingly absurd suggestions that ‘white ninjas’ were ready to get messrs Rockefeller and Rothschild, claiming that Chinese Establishment types (academics and military) are taking umbrage at reports of Avian Flu being aimed at Asian DNA.

This is seemingly absurd, but in societies where criminals are hoisted to be leaders, is not the absurd breathing halitosic breath all over our faces? To continue: I had read about the ex Forbes journalist house a mere hour before the chance meeting!

Cue Twilight Zone music!

No, cue Mark E. Smith’s music in a week when a smug Guardian reporter has suggested this remarkable band quit…after his witnessing one bad gig.

THE FALL: SYSTEMATIC ABUSE LIVE IN YORKSHIRE!

Taking things out of context…in order to further one’s own agenda? I do hope Debito Arudou hasn’t quite grasped the truth.

Perverted by Safety

2007-07-17T05:47:00.000+09:00

Safety Drive.
I was having a curry in Shibuya eavesdropping on a group of university students talking in Japanese about their 'cool' English teacher, about whom another claimed was ‘a pervert with wandering arms.’ It made me quickly muffle my laughter and look elsewhere. What I saw led me to further splutter into my 'little spoon' curry. My eyes had been averted to an advertised skyline.

There I chanced my eyes upon a sickly piece of advertising candy floss starring Bay City Roller hair-wannabees, the Kinki Kids. They were renting their ugly mugs for a 'Safety Drive Campaign', having been hired from their masters to raise the profile of the 'campaign'. Japanese ads have the same shameless ‘idols’ who appear to go anywhere the yen goes. They are mostly loathsome, and usually include members of ex pretty boy-band 'Smap' or of their imitators. I sometimes spend torturous hours trying to coax out conversation with girls who have a desperate need to chat about about these male slags, so please excuse a cathartic need to express feelings about their repulsiveness, on this their fifteenth anniversary in showbiz. As you may see from below, these kids were recruited to dance to lame music and perform topless Thai boxing when 13 years old. Horrible example of what Japanese pop kids are sinisterly fed.

Driven to Unsafety?
In aiming to replace the sickness caused by viewing the likes of the above, refuge was taken in a new (to me) Cohen album Death of a Ladies Man. The album ended with my sitting opposite an establishment offering the sight of supple, hypnotic curves swinging in and out of its doors. Golden Eye also sees hordes of hungry men swagger up its stairway, towards a purchased orgasm achieved in such ‘ファっシオンヘルス‘ （fashion health）establishments. Your health is fashioned and ultimately exhausted by pleasing hands eager to get you ready and grab your plastic readies. I have so far resisted as the idea of an orgasm being financially purchased still horrifies me, though I’m unclear why. It seems to be a deeply held belief that the orgasm is bigger than money; that you are somewhat pitiable to have to pay for any type of sex; and that such a sacred thing should be confined to two willing people.

But isn’t the latter point what is happening?

The Institute of Mental Health.

2007-07-14T23:00:00.000+09:00

The Institute Was Burning.

(PETER HAMMILL: THE INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH)
(B/side to “The Belated Flame.”)

It was the twenty-first day of July and no eyes did look in the sky. Too much was en view down below. For today the institute of mental health was burning.

“Sparked off by the embers of the New York café attack,” wrote some, but the Wiser looked over and beyond these blatant lies that emerged from camouflaged identities in the pay of Stabiliser Organs. They realized that Nadir had punched himself out of the spelling and had re-awoken inside a flame distended; that his tanks ordered to surround Foxed Quarters were about to raise hell, having reversed towards the bunkers where the spell-making goats lay; pawns were stirred into rebellious fury at the realisation of being unwitting participants in multi-generational games.

Forsyth, his foe, stayed strong to Old Thought and the plan, he did keep it up despite the creaks discernible to the ears of alert institute dwellers. Little change in his mind; after all, he had been washed so much self-control had eroded. And even the emerging smoke didn't stir him.

But Nadir had shed the thoughts attuned by the few, and stood aloft the middle table, walking through the firewall walling up the Law section, and did let rip, addressing all. Appealing to the spawns: to ‘start anew!’

Next Gen didn’t realize at first, being too busy slamming law lecture notepaper files onto segmented plots within the murky depths of basemental one. Their olfactory senses had withered, having been engineered out of favour to make room for logical unemotional nonsense. To upkeep the numbers of the Evidently Enlivened and reducing the possibility of sharing booty with the Deemed Deadened, it had been their reason diseased. But Nadir was here to sheik their booties and minds out of the clamps. His spear shook them up rotten all right……

Eventually…...

Amongst the cheers he shook into existence, Nadir thought:

“There’s a lot in a flame.”

The Belated Flame

2007-07-10T10:26:00.000+09:00

Having successfully gained access to my chosen pew at the New York café here in Takadanobabylon, I surveyed the goings on of the heavily student polluted street below. As always Japanese Diana Rigg's glided below, not caring a fig about goings on up above. Often caught in the arms of their latest flames, the scene was soothing and to someone in the middle aged bracket, (early 30s is middle aged according to teenage students here) memories of carefree days returned.

But flames of zeal severe and perverse were looking, hidden from view. Like clouds seeded with particles unknown, a swarm of dead 'humans' freely floated in, honing in on their target off stage left. 'Smoke patrollers’ suddenly pounced and grabbed the streets pulse, throttling its life into some deviant drone beat produced in secretive governmental interzones.

Hiding in wait for young smokers harming no-one but themselves.

The patrollers laughable presence soon became a vast irritant. Adorned in ludicrous yellow plastic uniform, they whipped out their paper swords demanding a fine be instantly paid. Deviant flies unbuttoned, let loose on an idyllic summer night; flopping their rigid pre-programmed morals out without invite..

Soon after this swarm settled payments with their prey, reddened appendages withdrew inside their yellow form, and a flame rose above their heads. Looking up, a new cloud had emerged, rusty brown and craving straightness. I'd never seen an erect cloud before, but this one was determined to force it into form, and those who willed it into existence applauded gladly.

Some sort of group-enlightenment had occurred: obedience to the law was the cause.

The coffee-shoppers at first looked the other way, but what could the appalled do? Sit and look askance; talk about it in chat rooms moaning how ludicrous this scene was? The disgust reached a peak, and the humane were stirred. Smokers and non-smokers clambered to look at the scene; where now fulfillment had spread to the pants of these dead humans.

Suddenly one drinker fled out of the room, then more followed - re-emerging outside below. And from that pew, the yellow plastic could be seen to move swiftly away from view. Some lobbing hoods pursued and caught those system overlords in grasps without mercy. Quick as a flash, peaceful group minds entertained new thoughts and bodies began clawing at quickly torn yellow uniforms. Money notes fell out of registered wallets onto the floor. An angered business suit gave it to that homeless woman whose bent shape we usually ignore. And soon the plastic now set alight had given birth to another un-natural cloud. yellowed but emitting pleasantries after the initial burn. These latest flames may be arriving too late but the humane wait with polluted breath.

Cloudbusting...

2007-07-04T22:16:00.000+09:00

Cloudbusting scribble.

Kate Bush has been uppermost in cloudy thoughts of late. In-between shift-work, thoughts drifted, eyes lifted to the clouds; thus fuelling a desperate urge to flee the straight lines and phallic symbols camouflaged within and around these buildings that pierce the spirit.

Instead of adding to the worshippers of straight lines, an urge for natural bushes and grasses to occupy the mind has taken hold. And those thoughts have succeeded. Then, having become the man with curves in his thoughts, a confrontation of the sad realisation of wildness being out of bounds occurred, tempered only by the solace found in a journey back towards Milan.

Kundera and his Book of Laughter and Forgetting, with its contemplation on the mystery of women, was a welcome palliative. Interesting was dialogue on the importance of what 'circles' can represent, stimulating a re-pondering on their invisibility in this city with zigzags of male construction. Making one crave lands far beyond city boundaries – where mechanical forts are long forgotten. Lands unbound by economies, set-squares or jackets, wavy or straight. Kundera doesn't directly address nature, but the fuzzy matters of human relations, with aspects of insane masculine power hovering over the whole text.

Now, when smothered by a concrete totality, one could spend a long time living beneath those sheets. Milan manhandled the dark clouds that previous posts and recent events made aplenty. His intervention made all the more necessary after watching David Shayler and his BBC1 Sept 11 eye-opener. The silence in the homelands is deafening, and what can one do anyway? In the meantime deciding to choose a healing by virtue of Czech clouds of wisdom seems the right ticket to take, stimulating questions that help contemplate some of the mysteries of every day existence.
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But are those clouds above left to their own devices? Some say not anymore, and believe secret healing or scarring of the environment is occurring. What secrets do those clouds contain, if any at all? Below, mysterious metallic droplets fall onto East Anglia from up above. I smells sensationalism, for why didn't the observer collect samples? Yet have a look at the Weird Scenes inside an East Anglian Cloudline.

Why fake this?

Still, human behaviour is littered with truth clouded by f(l)akes.....

Psycho Mafia part 2

2007-06-26T12:04:00.000+09:00

After the last post, a reader forwarded this link. That book certainly seems worth seeking out, but will reading it lead to enlightened change in corridors of power?

The Psychopathic Heads of State

2007-06-22T16:58:00.000+09:00

THE PSYCHOPATHIC TALKING HEADS OF STATE

TALKING HEADS sing PSYCHO KILLER

And so, moving away from the diet of linguistic and vocational texts for a nanosecond, I ventured to chip away at the neglected pile of more joyous texts, of fiction of comment and literature. Yet true to form, I got attracted to the critical again: this time Kurt Vonnegut and sections within his so-called biography: A Man Without A Country.

You’d expect such a genius to deliver the goods, and in his 82nd year he did just that. He went one step further: amidst masses of critical voices farting in the wind towards the poisoned ruling shrubbery, weeds and the like, he has reminded us of something concrete and “scholastically sound” to use against the seemingly wicked. He resurfaced research shedding light on the PP (the psychopathic personality), and the works of Dr. Hervey M. Cleckley in "The Mask of Sanity."

Going further he called a right honourable leader one.

Whoa. Treason.

Well, was he right to be scathing towards the type of person wanting to be class leader and hold power over others? Was he fucking right on the petro-dollar? Or what?.

Those types - pretending to be normal, but who are unable to access or think thoughts that would lead to humane acts being performed towards collective humanity.

Psychopaths who crave power and do not possess the humanity the majority do. It’s so refreshing to hear Vonnegut’s call, underlining thoughts deeply carved in sentient souls. Someone a well-respected friend dubbed a ‘twit’ has harked on about this too: that Scot supposedly deep unearthing his-self from a Canadian matrix: Alan Watt.

But Vonnegut’s words make this credible to all and sundry. Incredible it be that such thoughts do not buzz round the mazes penning in the masses. Maybe because media curtains are controlled by the ruthless and O’Wiley; deviant coyote’s in the pay of bushes and rushes.

Obeying their check, mate. Cue music interlude:

The Psycho Mafia (Salford branch: 1977)

Vonnegut had humanity in spades and I had to read that text twice as the whole book teems with warmth; reaching out beyond the grave. His imploration for us to read the 450+ pages of Dr Cleckley (above link) should be heeded if possible. Take a step back from over-blown hysteria about evil immigrants who supposedly lurk in every corner rasping after your pay check, and place more emphasis on something far more odious, widespread and cunning: the dominance of the psychopath in positions of power.

PSYCHO MAFIA ROLL CALL?

The descendant of freebooters leading a country after shouts of ‘FIX’ in a ‘democratic’ election:

A PSYCHOPATH?

The Prime Minister who shares a surname with 1984 author Eric Blair and is trying to policy his name-sakes warning into action; he even exhibits Orwell's professed love of ‘English’ tea:

A DANGEROUS PSYCHOPATH?

Golden Brown with benevolence teeming out of his every utterance, and love shining out of his eyes:

33RD DEGREE PSYCHOPATH?

Watch them on TV as if you are convinced of their psychopathic status. You might be surprised at how easy it seems to accept such a diagnosis. They might appear to not be in it for YOU, so why would we allow them to stay? Have you ever thought about just who they are serving? Could it be you, or some A.N. Other.

They might be lording it over us in this fixed system, already global; psychopathic cunning has wrapped an international web around localities. Their fiends in the media protect them; TV presenters who don’t even try and hide psychopathy, shouting people down on TV, like students in a JHS playground full of the psychotic deranged.

The systems we traverse and blindly accept allow the psychopaths to ride slipshod over us: the kind but dumb shits. I mean, what kind of shits would agree with a power that sends 160,000 soldiers to a hellish place and be in danger of maiming women and children over what may well be a LIE.

Complicit in crimes against humanity?

Are they still looking for weapons? Have those who fell for that bollocks woken up yet?

Where are the protests?

You cannot beat the pirates; you have to pay their rates, but you could create communities away from their dictate. You could start making a noise. Even a little bleat will suffice.

You have to find enlightenment outside of that which they hold the controls. And they certainly control US. Is it worth looking for alternative ways anymore?

160,000 of your poorly educated representing US in Iraq.

Killing babies and old folk. Keeping our culture oiled.

Star-spangled behaviour supported by brutish Queens.

That old dear. Lovely work, eh?

Shouldn’t the humane be doing something if psychopaths have seized the controls? You wouldn’t allow a killer to look after your children would you?

They laugh at us.

If they treat the ordinary in foreign lands like this, it will be on your doorstep pretty soon. Psychopaths will not stop.

So, we must instead be stalking wretched heads of state. See them for what they are. Remove the hypnosis induced by the unquestioning media curtain; ignore the bread and circuses, and create anew.

Byrne them into extinction before they byrne more Little Children.

NEXT INSTALMENT: something nicer and brighter!

Five Years!

2007-06-16T12:03:00.000+09:00

The disappearing computer was an EU funded initiative that began over 5 years ago.

Five years! My brain hurts a lot!

A good excuse to play one of the best Bowie tunes from the Ziggy era (below).

Five years ago a growing political power funded the disappearing computer onto the agenda - continuing the reformation of ways ordinary humanity communicates with itself.

Keep the cultural wheels moving - but who is behind the wheel? Who are the brain police (as Zappa said)? Who are the culture creators? I bought some Theodor Adorno this week to clue myself up in that. That German philosopher cum musician is well worth investigating by the way.

For there are certainly culture creators, who subtly shape and coerce players into affecting culture in certain ways. Has this present crop of nihilists been promoted to spread the apathy which holds court in many youngsters minds? Certainly some lyrics are questionable: look at those below by Gnarls Barclay which I heard AW refer to in a podcast at 'godboxcafe' where the former musician claimed that such lyrics (below) are intended to promote apathetic mindsets.

It's difficult to accept such a thought, but unwise to rashly dismiss it; certainly the lyrics quoted

from this trendy 'act' are worrying:

"Necromancer."

" It's naughty.

Very naughty,

Necrophilia without a care

I'm compassionate about killing her.

I'd have my way with what's left of the will in her.

Cosmopolitans and cocaine and an occasional pill in her.

When she spoke I saw a spark

But it was dark so I drove her home

When she died

Sexy suicide

Sweet nothings for the Nam

You feel where I'm coming from

Have no fear everything's is fine

My girl parties all the time"

Disappearing morals alongside the 'disappearing computer'? Culture reformed with references to sexy suicides in a culture where small computers are put on pavements, sidewalks, and where the electronificaton of interactions and commercial behaviour have already reduced facial interaction, at least in this metropolis. It is easy to see how some might perceive that the jump towards an increased use of 'chips' in behaviour is inevitable.

The culture police inch this apparant agenda forward which couldn't really be part of an initiative to further dehumanise us, could it?

The Disappearing Computer:

"The mission of the initiative is to see how information technology can be diffused into everyday objects and settings, and to see how this can lead to new ways of supporting and enhancing people's lives that go above and beyond what is possible with the computer today.

AW reported on it and how planners plan to utilise minute technology in the streets. But on to Bowie....

Five years ago: the initiative began. Five years later is 2012, a year which some have claimed is significant - where disinformants have spread lies about psychopathic leaders being 'aliens', about the relevance of dead cultural calendars etc. Yet far more likely is that this date is the goal for our leaders to have re-engineered 'society' into a desired shape.

*
Julian Cope in his wonderful Jehovahkill had 'onward to 2012' in the sleeve notes. What can it mean?
*

I think it's part of the centralisation target, the endpoint of globalisation. Will the Americas be united? Will chips have become part of the cultural furniture - ushered in the back door by treatment of the sick, a la Alzheimer's? Will money be computerized - not an unlikely scenario here in a metropolis?

*
Certainly, I'm flummoxed by the increasing dehumanisation I see around me. People interact more with screens here - though thankfully this isn't the case according to many stateside bloggers.

*
Where is humanity being shepherded to? Is nobody engineering this dehumanisation?

Why have we allowed a psychopathic sect to dominate our laws?

Time to think about ways to dismantle a system that rewards the ruthless and Machiavellian and allows them to mould masses into a morass of unquestioning entertained.

Tequila Quota

2007-06-09T12:10:00.000+09:00

In Ginza late last night I sat down with two good friends and former colleagues and discussed ways to build improvements into our lives. Fuelled by not-so-fine wine, talk centred around our poor finances, our children and our workplaces. One, Charles C, spoke of having to write a work-related piece inclusive of specified vocabulary, was forced to edit 'negative connotations' despite the particular words' meaning(s) being embedded with negativity. He was nonplussed, whilst the Other Mohammad Ali talked about how his attempts to buy a company failed due to the dishonesty of the seller who had doctored his books.

All of us trying to build high, and despite contemplating a type of darkness, we had a good old laugh. It's not all doom and gloom in this quarter of Babylon, not by a long shot! Three male parents: all trying to get along in life and increase our financial quota to improve our lot, having a laugh in some Tokyo 'British style' bar, crowned with Establishment decoration.

In another continent, last week another group of builders met in Turkey, some of them publicly elected and others part of that privileged establishment; they discussed matters we know nothing of - in secret. Yet, we're in living democracies, aren't we? Hmm. Democracy via engineers spawned from aristocratic realms more like. A related news report about these builders follows below, and coincidentally, aristocrat-laced articles have been in the news this week, with John Hooper writing that "the toffs are back in town": people with aristocratic backgrounds are 'suddenly' all over European politics.

'Suddenly'?

If you hold power, you often build machinery to uphold it and improve it. You don't want it to fritter away. Power-brokers haven't given their power away, but instead use their cunning and undoubted intelligence to maintain it, possibly using organs such as the abovementioned conference, where in previous years Bill Clinton attended in 1991 prior to attaining power, and Tony Blair attended prior to gaining leadership. Yes, the Bilderberg conference. Keep reading - an intriguing report follows. One of the writers interviewed had his website attacked a few days ago. I wonder why and by whom?

That researcher makes claims aired by a Dutch TV station which included a report and discussion of this mysterious meeting a few weeks ago, which is a gathering that takes place in a different country every year, and changes location at short notice. Usually word doesn't reach the press until late in the day, but this year, word was leaked. The report includes the revelation that this BUILDerberg group wants to cull the population quite severely. Building new paths, (cough) orders and reforming human capital. Supposedly, they want to cull/kill a (tequila) large quota of the population, and are reportedly in the midst of doing this. It's hard to contemplate that leaders are possible of such evil, but if you want to retain power, you have to be ruthless, and the societies they 'rule' reward the cunning and sly.

Back to the meeting: BBC governors and other core media moguls were there, with members of the European royalty, oilfield power holders and reps from many fields. It's secret - but here is a report we all should see. It poses many questions that are worrying, but all should know. Have a look.

But they only stay in power as WE approve this system...at the moment. A better form of democracy would be preferable, as well as education systems that encourage critical thinking which would help make a better world, but no. No. That would create people who question the monsters who send our children off to wars under false pretences. We should NOT do this. We should forget that thousands of innocent Iraqi children and unfortunate US soldiers etc have died for a LIE.

Yes, we sit and accept and shrug our shoulders and ask why - but any darkening thoughts are soon put in their allocated place. Yet we allow this to continue, don't we? Or isn't it our business anymore? Thoughts coerced into specific areas by fiction and factions and media tripe.

Have a look at the report below- it's certainly worth looking at - and I doubt your TV stations have shown such a report, done light-heartedly one has to say.

FIN.

************************************************************

Closing comment re: the 'toffs' article

boomonkey: Comment No. 621768
June 6 14:50GBR

"Politicians with aristocratic backgrounds are suddenly everywhere in Europe's politics. What does it mean?"
*
It means that we are still living in a class based society. The gains won by the working class after WW2 in terms of better services and conditions are being reversed and the divide between rich and poor is again growing wider and more entrenched. The lesson of this is that there can be no middle ground, the tensions between classes will continue and fluctuate until properly resolved by a permenant revolution. Perhaps ultimatley the only solution is to get Cambodian!

The right to roam

2007-06-01T06:26:00.000+09:00

The B52s with "Roam" - a fair while ago now, imploring you "to roam if you want to, roam around the world." A dream fully lived out by some, especially by statesmen strutting all over Africa, in back-slapping exercises outside of home domains where people no longer trust them, and in fact acting on a global stage which is perhaps their real aim.

In fact, over the past few months more and more people have dismissed our toothless governments, stating that big business is the real engine of social change, or even a third eye above the state and its financial veins. More and more spout apathetic comments, stating helplessness and the fact that worrying changes in society will not affect them in future days.

Sod the future darkness; I'll be long gone, etc.

My closest friends say that such developments happen spontaneously, with confusion being the operative world to describe power-brokers' reign around the world. And consequently the possibility of making active calls for change is nullified. Others say some sort of obfuscating plan is in operation, with shadowy agends kept secret and hidden from our mental screens. It's certainly natural to believe we are developing or devolving quite naturally, as nobody could really want to orchestrate a truly global world where the right to roam would be rewarded by an increasingly monocultural world.

Others contend that there are unelected cultural engineers, those who engine modern-day versions of B52 and U2 planes to control Asian skies, and it has been said that think tanks such as the Club of Rome includes many such engineers, and have already admitted so. Certainly Bill Clinton's former Professor, Carroll Quiqley stated this in The Anglo-American Establishment and Tragedy and Hope. Available in libraries, they open the mind to realities that media hides from you in its feeding of you spin, sport, self-love and sex.

They are in most libraries and are worth a look! Dry, but revealing....

Your eye might be blinded by lights emitted though.

Not a Quigley quote, but one from the Club of Rome, which he researched, is given below, taken from a 1992 book by Alexander King and Bertrand Schneider, from a chapter discussing the destruction of religion and all ideologies (excepting untrammelled capitalism) leading to a vacuum of control which they must fill. Read in one way, we see that over two decades ago, they "came up with idea" of global warming being a tool to unite humanity.

Hmmm. Though environmental change is inevitably true, has it been in any way politically coerced?

“The common enemy of humanity is man. In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. In their totality and in their interactions, these phenomena do constitute a common threat which demands a solidarity of all peoples. But in designating them as the enemy we fall into the trap of…mistaking the symptoms for causes. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changes attitudes and behaviour that they can be overcome…

The real enemy is humanity itself."

An enemy they searched for, and found. Us.

From: Alexander King and Bertrand Schneider of the Council of Rome (1992) in "The First Global Revolution Report." See chapter on "The Vacuum."

Well, even if global warming is blamed on 'humanity's ' fault, they - we - acted in concert with the blessing of establishments, probably descendants of King and Schneider. Blair and his ilk jet around as before, yet only the masses of 'humanity' is increasingly being implored to change their ways. Blair jets off as before. Thatcher rears her head back into the public eye. Bush has been wheeled back to talk about the US being "stewards of the environment", and the rest of us passively inhale their blatant lies.

What if the problem has been doctored, in a way as indicated by recently deceased King and Schneider?

What would that indicate?

Dignity switching off.

2007-05-26T21:59:00.000+09:00

Above: KRAFTWERK live: "Manmachine" in Brazil

Many researchers, often scathingly dubbed 'con**iracists' who question social developments have long claimed that humanity is being guided towards accepting a new normal - being microchipped and 'tagged'. Idiots who mix genuine news with fictitious nonsense have led to this claim being quickly derided, but below in a BBC online article, we see this 'crazy' claim being shaped into fact, being presented as 'normal' and 'natural'.

The smiling attractive women below has been tagged - like a dog. Tagged because she wants to feel 'safe', and oh - isn't the world a dangerous place boys and girls? Well, yes it may well be - but perhaps we aren't looking for the crooks in the right zones - it is above where the danger comes from: from those who we 'look up' to, and allow to stay in fine positions.

Anyway, remember the 'dog tags' soldiers wore in the recent past. Well, how well they were named, and now we are being shepherded into being the tagged. Building onto having our movements tracked via an overgrowth of CCTVs - and full acceptance of round the clock mobile usage, the aftermath of the tragic shootings in the US has led one established company to advertise Wi-Fi and RFID for the public, and particularly for students. This BBC article/advertisement informs us that the product can buy safety, and protect us from the occasional danger fate throws in their way.

I find the timing quite questionable, reprehensible; the mention of students' need to be tracked will obviously trigger memories of the recent tragedy. Yet I doubt any students truly feels their daily life is full of fear, and that was rare: tragic but rare. Read the article which aims to weasel prototype chips into acceptance by outlining potential advantages to the weak:

"Wireless tracking systems could be used to protect patients in hospitals and students on campuses, backers of the technology said. "

My oh my, campuses are really full of danger aren't they. Such sophistry. Is this a disgusting attempt to make profit out of a tragedy, disgracefully over-reported by the world's media. While the tragedy is still in the public eye, let's strike when the fear is hot. Mmmmmm $$$$$$$$ fear brings $$$$$$$$$ they think.

"The combination of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and wi-fi allows real-time tracking of objects or people inside a wireless network."

People are mentioned in the same breath as 'objects' though I suppose that is the masses, who are little more than objects, germs even to some high-status psychopathic mindsets. Remember Philip's charming quote about over-population?

The company's Mr. Birkl said: "It's very useful for the health care industry - where there are highly expensive pieces of mobile equipment that move around a hospital. "At every point in the day health staff need to know where it is."

So, the present system is failing is it? This is pathetic. Surely all expensive machinery has been kept safely up until now? Why are they so keen to break methods which work and cost nothing? I guess this is the age where machines can be trusted more than the common people. Or rather - this is what the men behind the machine want you to think.

"As wi-fi becomes more popular in schools, the technology could also be used to track students. "

This gets more sinister.

Not 'if' but 'as' it becomes more popular. It will happen in other words...

Would you like to be tracked like this? Do you want to live in a world where people are not trusted and fear is fed from above. It's disgusting. The majority of people have dignity and are good-minded citizens whose only fault is a blindness towards the psychopathy of our 'leaders' in the political (and media and big business) system.

Is this a good development? What do you think? Is Wi-fi and RFID a Step Forward for humanity?

He once spake of saving the queen.

2007-05-24T00:14:00.000+09:00

I'm mothballed and free time has been erased without my even noticing it. Still, at times like these,　a quick look at how great Johnny Rotten has always been in interviews: here in an interview taken 30 years ago.

Open Your Eyes, Common People...

2007-05-12T14:48:00.000+09:00

What did you all think about the Queen's visit to the United States, with those staged grins, gaffe's and winks; and the reference to her being like (a) mother." which looked anything but motherly: it looked like a mouthy kid toeing the line with a sharp one-liner to an angry home room teacher. That clip sees one Prince Philip grinning away; lest we forget, this is a man has come out with some right old gems. Let's re-examine this dangerous buffoon:

He told a Briton in Hungary: "You can't have been here that long - you haven't got a pot belly".
In 1995 he asked a Scottish driving instructor: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test."
During a Royal visit to China in 1986 he described Peking as "ghastly" and told British students: "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed."
"If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it." (1986)
He asked an Indigenous Australian, "Still throwing spears?" (2002)
He once attributed a badly finished carpentry job to one having been done by an Indian

Yes, these are the words of the elite in the UK: in 2007, as well as 1007, from the one's who hold all the cards (I.D) and look at YOU and ME as children. He was the one laughing with the supposed world leader's woman in the above youtube clip. Laughable but ignorant and shouldn't be allowed the platform that media organ gives it. We tacitly accept it into continued existence, yet it would not sniff at the chance to snuff you out - see below Prince Philip quote from 1988.

"In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute something to solve overpopulation.''

Whilst the media created a smokescreen of that ugly spectacle, here a US-EU single market has been created. Oh, isn't that marvellous - more standardisation! The systematic abuse of difference is ongoing as shadows around the globe all clasp hands, organizing space for more flights for us lucky consumers. This, revealed at a time when the effects of air flights on the environment is being debated. The above article announces: the two sides also signed an Open Skies deal, designed to reduce fares and boost traffic on transatlantic flights. But little of substance was agreed on climate change.

I don't believe the Open Skies deal is designed purely for sales reasons - it surely will allow a Big Powerful Government room to roam the skies, regardless of borders and do all that buzzing.... in place of the bees. But surely, climate 'change' needed to be given greater emphasis than this Open Skies deal. Is more traffic really desired? I'd like to see the skies promoted to be full of teeming wildlife, not the warplane lookalikes which we do see swarming around these Asian skies.

In any case, will fares actually fall? Surely they will rise, and passenger planes may well be rendered endangered once those black buzzers stamp their boot on the air. Big business plans years in advance, big business being what government actually is. Business of A Different Class, as Jarvis would say - of those whose desire to retain the reins of power leads to lies without the expected, accompanying guilt.

In closing, I'll leave you to ponder on Gordon Brown's latest pronouncement. Talking about British new "eco-towns" created for the generation of those frozen out of escalated property-prices, he claimed that in these communities:

"Councils will be invited to bid to host the other settlements which Mr Brown said would have bus routes, cycle lanes and schools designed in a way to make them carbon neutral communities overall.

No cars? A 'new normal' engineered in? This sounds suspiciously like the plan supposed 'crazies' have claimed is the beginning of the opening of Habitat Areas where cars are to be phased out, and travel reduced. Sound surprising? What exactly will "carbon neutral communities" be like? And what class will be living in them? And why aren't 'they' investigating energy alternative's more clearly? Eco-towns sound good, but this 'public-private' initiative isn't going to help the commoners without some unwelcome pay back, that's for sure. The media won't talk about the ramifications of ever-increasing ties and carbon-neutral futures in too much depth. Will the 'average' commoner be really happy with this expert-imposed way when the Phillips and Elizabeth's of this world will live in their world unchanged.

Whether said in zest or deadly seriousness, let's take a moment to savour the psychotic, superior clap-trap of those who the people allow to be in the upper strand.

Five Recently Frequented Eateries In Tokyo

2007-05-11T22:16:00.000+09:00

The zombie was breathing down my neck this week, along with the Dead Line Man, so this weekend I'm taking time to pause for reflection, and meditate on this crazed industry I'm in. Also this disarming man had to join associations and network this week, something alien to me; still, the zombie's request was most useful on two levels: by asking for a post on restaurants, as an unsophisticated "meat and two veg" kind of eater, it forces me to become more conscious of culinary choices - a springboard for making a conscious decision to become more educated concerning Tokyo's restaurants; secondly, such knowledge will make for networking blurb.

Here are five recently-frequented establishments from my part of this metropolis, starting off with the cozy Nepalese-Tibetan restaurant, Kumbira, in stylish Ebisu

Ebisu's a decent haunt for expats who spend half a day tralling through the rich pickings of second hand texts in Good Day Books, or the 'sarrrrker' fans who attend The Footnik - see below. The food isn't expensive with an all you can eat shebang for 1,200 yen at lunch time. When stolling throught Ebisu, a post-Kumbira beverage can be had in the aforementioned Footnik - a bar which had its better days in Takadanobabylon, where it sadly uprooted, leaving a characterless sake bar in its place. Still, ye olde Footnik hosted a memorable night when first in Japan - including an enjoyable night where 'we' slaughtered the formidable Germans five nil.

Still, it remains a decent haunt for those missing live sport, and has plenty of the fairer sex stalking lonely foreign sports fans and/or spouses who must fast-track a knowledge of Association Football.

In Takadanobabylon, the Aung San Suu Kyi supporting owners of the Burmese Nagani offer a vastly different experience from the synthetic, yet attractive allure of Footnik. The food at Nagani is, I'm told - authentic, and there's no complaints here with their specialty curries. Being an relatively unadventurous eater, I have to echo a review that mentions the "chef's specials", particularly: "bitter melon in a fish gravy, deep fried winter melon with a hot-sweet-savory dipping sauce, and slices of sweet red sausage with leek. " That's enough to decide tomorrow's restaurant trip with the family. I can say with certainty that their cocktail - the Tamarind Fizz, is rather wonderful; there's quite a few such restaurants in Babylon, but this is the superior one.

Next there is Tong Thai FC in Shin Okubo which is one of the few truly child-friendly restaurants in this part of Tokyo - our offspring never fails to break into smiles due to the sincerity of their owners delights shown towards children. They even take requests to make bland Thai food for him, knowing the boy's fear of spices.

Yet, sadly, despite the many other places which deserve much attention - time does not permit their mention - and I must close with the sad admission that due to the disparate locations visited in my job, too much time has been spent of late at 'Japanese fast food' restaurant Yoshinoya. Functional food that certainly isn't "yummy", but I like the mention of "sidekick" food below.

When Japan produced the strangest discordance

2007-05-04T00:17:00.000+09:00

Above: VU-influenced Drone King Takashi Mizutani of Les Rallizes Denudes in 1976.

Such a superficially happy place Japan seems today - there is no anger displayed outwardly, nor do I increasingly suspect inwardly. It can't be true, as even the most dormant of volcanoes erupt after being inactive for centuries. But, in the aftermath of economic success and a generation of meat munching middle class offspring whose height will tower over westerners filled with junk food, there has been a big change, and all appear satisfied. Enough bread and circuses have been provided by the masters and questions bubble not, and smiles clamber out, which is good, what?

It's a long time since allegedly there were riots in Tokyo and Kyoto Universities - according to a colleague I spoke to last week, this was mainly in protest of the Vietnam war. A generation tired of kowtowing to a foreign master exploded for a short while. That foreign master has taken over the culture, though not the language - English has been held at arms length and a Japanising of the teaching of the language took place.

Around the time of the above riots, the then bass player from Les Rallizes Denudes is said to have taken part in the hijacking of a plane bound for Pyongyang. The singer too was asked to participate - such were the groups connections to radical groups formed whilst at university. Who knows the truth - I suspect it all adds to their myth. As did the reported practice of handing political texts to junior high school students whilst giving concerts here. Again, if you listen to the below stream, how could they be invited to play to JHS students? What a treat for the knowing though!

There is no sign of their radicalism with today's students - campuses without beer, after-hours meetings, or radio shows - no lingering on campuses either: get them bussed out quick-sharpish!

Back then, singer Takashi Mizutani appeared to be a real rebel, and not merely aping Lou Reed and psychedelia as I first thought; his group veered into drone rock tinged with subversiveness, which is hard to imagine coming from this current crop of eager to please conformist types. Maybe I'm not looking in the rite places?

But yes, their music from this period was great too. Mizutani, an EPI fan took Velvet extremities to new levels in Les Rallizes Denudes, a Japanese avant-garde combo who had political links with a whole host of groups antagonistic to the then state's direction. They mainly functioned sporadically between 1967 and 1982, though occasional releases have seeped out through 'the band'. Julian Cope has just put a stream to a newish collection on his website, and in a week when many are talking about the Jesus and Mary Chain revival, it's good to hear some music which covers the pure path they once trod. Perhaps the Chain knew of Rallizes as there is some link there.

The savage guitar in the tracks mid-way through compilation Flightless Bird attempts to trample all over the likes of Sonic Youth and the Chain, and succeeds without question with Flames of Ice. Listening to (what I think is) Enter The Mirror/Smokin' Cigarette Blues/Flames of Ice is taking me back to the first time I heard certain groups that made inroads into taste buds. The only downer is that some tracks have been mastered from recordings of recordings released in small quantities or via bootlegged from their infrequent concerts.

Flames of Ice: what a god-damned fantastic track! About 50 minutes into the stream. Phew!

They didn't enter the business for money - they had no ulterior motive, and god don't the guitars tell you that. No accountants, or bastard lying handshakes a la supposed poverty destroying rock stars like Bonio and the Jagged Knight. Deeply sinister and all the more real - with repetitive simple bass riffs that on occasion splinter behind disconcertingly shuddering, glassy lead guitars; darkly orgasmic shattering sensations abound. I really didn't think this kind of loose, yet intense music could be created in this country - how wrong I was.

Maybe the likelihood of this kind of music has been multiple choiced out of them in the past two decades of education. Or maybe new foods have moulded their minds to be placid and content. Anyway, though I'm not going to rush out and buy all Rallizes' work, if only as it's too darn expensive, at least I'm aware of this splendid stuff which takes me back to the first rush of certain bands I've shared much of my time with.

It's a relief (to me) that Japan didn't always have Stipey Smiley Fakey Happy People. Below is one LRD incarnation rehearsing in 1976.

How Soon Was Then?

2007-05-01T21:48:00.000+09:00

Two decades ago, way back in the pre-teen years of life on a council estate in Lincoln, England - a football mad, precociously knowing music fan was sat listening to one of the dominant tunes of the indie scene: How Soon Is Now, desperately feeling out of place with his surroundings. Pretty soon an explosion of Smiths albums followed, with my father despairing, despite his love of Billy Fury. He was pleased with the above picture though - of Myle X's first eleven, filled with friends from the catchment area of Myle Cross Middle School. It sat on the family mantelpiece for ages.

*****

I wonder if you can guess which one is Danny Tagalog?*

*****

There 's so many characters there. There's one Neil, who had an accident in his pants around this time. Mercilessly, later one dinner I wet towels and soaked his chair. Horrible. There's one Peter Bee (bee again!) whose family were notorious, and only added to this by a group of five Bee's including Grandpa Bee, and a savage looking Nana Bee, all chasing me into taking refuge into the headteachers office after my swatting of Junior Bee's attack. He's the one with the biggest grin by the way. And there is "Sambo" who accepted his cruel nickname - not given by me I must add - who I shared a girlfriend with - well not a true girlfriend, a playground kiss chase partner - Tara Killingsworth. Oh, and let's not forget the one with a stutter who became an acid/E dealer and got trapped in that world.

****

It all seems aeons away.

****

Myle Cross caught kids from St. Giles council estate and from the richer surrounding neighbourhoods that encircled the dreaded "Gilies." Being a Gillie in name but not in nature, ways to survive were imperative. Football offered respect from the dumb and rewards from the strong; and the masses of football programmes in the house allowed imagination and a love of reading to take hold from when I was knee high to a grasshopper. I owe much to the writers of Lincoln City's football programmes - which my Dad had boxes and boxes of, ranging back to the sixties, they opened up a love of geography, etymology, facts and figures and desire to travel.

Disgust at surroundings catapults some out of their nest. And why should I have been disgusted on streets named after Swift (where the Bees lived), Shakespeare,Johnson, Macaulay, Dryden amongst others. But no one ever read on that estate! Looking back, I wish someone had pointed out the relevance of the street names, but nobody did. The Sun, The Star and if you were lucky The Mirror was the reading digest of the Gillies way back then.

Tennyson stands in the grounds of Lincoln's greatest building - we should have been force-fed his works. Yet football, trivia and TV soaps clouded our view. Oh, how I wish that there had been legislation against wrongful encouragement, the culture creators should have insisted on a diet of poetry to alleviate the pains of poverty. Yet, those questions that may have been stimulated might not have pleased the Big Boys, the Curriculum Dictators.

But voicing those questions would not have, one doubts, prevent the desire to take off into the unknown.

I should check out what those mates are doing now. But I'm quite worried about what I'd find. I'd prefer to think back to those comparatively innocent days and the joy of kicking a ball around with them. Running around with baggy trousers, dirty shirts -and well, the below song by Madness says it all...

*I'm the skinny rat not looking at the camera

Foxed by a Performance

2007-04-30T07:04:00.000+09:00

"Tomorrow we will learn what is true and what is not."
Jagger: "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

Above is a clip from cult classic Performance showing Mick Jagger revelling in showing off playing an eccentric rock star, together with the fantastic-looking Anita Pallenberg strutting her stuff. James Fox stars as a gangster who grows to see similarities between his own and a pop star's profession. Below, in a political shift we look back at the distinguished C18 politician, Charles James Fox, and look at his relevence today.

Back to Jagger who undoubtedly produced some of the best stone mason rock music ever made, and who slightly disappointed some by accepting a knighthood for reported "services to popular music." Perhaps, some would say that his affect on an increasingly permissive
society and the sales of Mars Bars after his dalliance with Marianne Faithfull, would have ruled him out of such a reward.

But thinking that may well prove that we are the foxed.

James Fox is a whole different manner - he fled into the all-welcoming arms of Christianity, years later and is a Well Respected Man, as is Jagger who would certainly not be caught claiming to snort his father's ashes . It's not his role, is it? Richards' the Rebellious and Jagger's the Just - the potent star-combination to hoodwink the masses and affect culture creation, though way back in the early 60s when Jagger allegedly drove a motorcycle into LSE, putting an end to his unwanted academic career - it's unlikely that he could have dreamt where his brick by brick movements as a star would lead.

Jagger said in defence of his establishment enshrinement, that the Establishment (as was in the 60s) doesn't exist anymore. Unable to quote with confidence, I'm sure the man who sang about his Cocksucker Blues and his Satanic Majesties Request - and still received a Knighthood - isn't quite telling the 'truth here. But as he eloquently said in the opening line: ""Nothing is true, everything is permitted." And let's not forget he can deservedly be dubbed a rock god. Below's my favourite - what a great demonic buzzing bass sound rumble is created! Pure genius.

Yes, society has changed - the rich grow stronger and cultures decline. Families are squeezed too. It isn't cool to 'settle down' anymore, and I guess - why should it? Those naughty rebels of the 60s are now naughty rich old boys, with Jagger, continuing to add and add to his disparate clan. And well, good for him - though surely a child would prefer to grow up with stable parents - with or without the dosh.

But, back to being foxed, or fixed - there's an excellent article in The Guardian's Comment Is Free- by Henry Porter on how the British have an important chance to tell politicians in the upcoming elections that: "it is we who are watching you" (despite the talking cameras and increased push for ID cards). In the article he invokes the Great British Libertarian: Charles James Fox - no relation to the above-mentioned Performance artist.

Charles James Fox, the licentious, industrious dandy-Parliamentarian who "did nothing by halves" (Martin Kettle) was a supporter of American independence from us brutish Brits. He also was a proponent of abolishing slavery laws, a supporter of the French revolution and of the need to further strengthen Parliament against the Crown. This man famed for his five o' clock shadow was much studied and cited in years gone by.

Yet, Kettle notes that Fox's liberal reputation has been tarnished and Porter added to this lament a few days ago, by adding that we need to invoke his spirit, and quick. There are parallels with situations today: Fox was a Parliamentarian at a time when William Pitt the Younger introduced emergency measures aimed at reducing the terror threat : specifically - suspending habeas corpus and tougher sedition acts. Porter's article, well received in the Comments section is worth reading in its entirety. Below are a couple of points made:

1) Back in the 18th Century there was a "power grab by the Executive", as there is now. Example: one David Maclean - has secretly introduced a Private Members Bill in the House of Commons exemplifying this. Porter accurately calls it a "maggot of a bill." Maclean(?) proposed exempting MPs and the Lords from the Freedom of Information Act, and he did it, to repeat:- secretly.

2) Whilst those who are supposed to be serving the public scurry under cover, civil liberties are under attack: the Regulatory Investigatory Powers Act that allows 500,000 emails and snail mail to be 'officially' intercepted; the increasing number of acts allowing houses to be entered without a warrant; the prevention of demonstrations within one kilometre of Parliament; the impending ID Card Bill that will allow the monitoring of all transactions without your knowledge and the 'terror' legislation that allows for 28 days detention without charge.

The problem with the above is, when compared with MacLeans move - show that the contempt for the British public survives, two centuries on. The establishment is still there Mick, and it is closing ranks again - you are safely ensconced having proved your worth. 'Let's Work', eh Mick? Safe within their troops-ranks, as you always knew you would be.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted?

Well, there are multiple readings of this - an esoteric and an exoteric perhaps?

It beggars belief that people can still believe in this system. Should participation be increased, the present system may work, but by hook or by crook people have alienated themselves. And some countries have Enforced Participation in this crooked system, something which check-mates those wishing to vote with their no-vote. Not voting is a threat to the performance acting of the political establishment, and could inadvertently help the people. Politicians all over the world, or rather their masters - need this public compliance of their roles: we give it - even to this current crop of internationalists - - but if we didn't we'd soon see change - perhaps the real masters would start cooking up a storm, and we'd see their faces on their tool, the media. Read Ben Bagdikian's "The Media Monopoly', and then you'll have facts to underline the suspicions and fears you block out with sport and play. I read it last year, the updated edition...

Proportional representation may lead to fairer ruling bodies, but what is needed is more people to realise that they have power to alter the shift rightwards seen all over the globe. Yet, entertainment - even such as that offered by Jagger - has engineered people away from deeper thoughts about freedom, the family and other big questions. Keeping the Middle Masses in the darkened pen: no wonder Jagger was made a knight.

Outside Plato's cave the stars can be seen for what they are. Read about it: then sit back and enjoy the below tones of one Aussie-Cave-Man.

Answering the Zombie Chain

2007-04-25T21:34:00.000+09:00

Today a zombie asked me the below questions, and I'm so scared that I'm gonna answer them quick-forthwith:

1. What brought you to Japan and how long have you lived there?

Err, after returning to the mother-land after a teaching stint in Ayutthaya, Thailand I planned to teach TEFL students and head off to Indonesia where my girlfriend was studying. After realising the relationship was not reciprocated, I changed track and looked elsewhere - namely Taiwan, China or Japan. I'd loved certain Japanese novelists - Kawabata, Mishima, etc, as well as certain strands of Japanese pop culture. So, with thoughts about doing further study there, learning the language as well as a martial art, here I came. It's been 'over six years' and I'm living a life I didn't expect, which I can't complain about.

2. If you were transported briefly to any point in time in the history of the world, and had to kill one person whilst there, whom would you kill and why?

Maybe the soldier who threw the grenade that split my dad's leg in two, in Aden, just under forty years ago. Fortunately he recovered to father me and my older sister... years later. I'd like to go further back in time, take the grenade, and throw it in the direction of one of the American Shrubs - populated by craven weeds.

3. Would you rather spend one month in space or at the bottom of the ocean (presuming you had the facilities for survival)? Why?

The bottom of the ocean as there are still many new species down there; it would have far more life, even now..... Who knows maybe I would discover a new species...

4. Would you become immortal, if offered the option?

No, I don't see the point of immortality. Life is cyclical and I don't see any point in tampering with this. Pain we don't like,, but I want to be aware when I die - though any brain degeneratory illness would put pay to that. But I'm looking forward to going through the motions of death - you can never remember the beginning, but you'll be well aware of the end, I'd wager.

Also, being immortal wouldn't mean that degeneration would not occur? The brain could become 'faulty'. Nah, immortality isn't for me.

5. What was the last concert you attended? When was it?
I saw the Japanese female duo from Osaka, Afrirampo, in Shin Okubo, Tokyo a few months back. I've been meaning to upload all the footage onto Youtube for a while, but only loaded the into to 'Baka'.

Here's what they were about a few years ago:

*********************************************************************

So, now to continue - you have to answer five questions of my choice on your blog and, in turn, invite others to be interviewed by posting something like the following:

Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"

I will respond by e-mailing you five questions: you have to answer them all. Then you update your blog with the answers. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. Have fun!

DT.

To bee or not to bee

2007-04-23T04:02:00.000+09:00

Below: discussion of the perplexing story about the sharp decline of bee populations, but above is the video to Two Librans by The Fall, released in 2000 where the lines: "To Oprah Winfrey - she studied bees. Studied bees two Librans." can be heard. Seemingly cut and paste wordplay - Winfrey has been working on a "beemovie" for release in a few months time. Strange coincidence that will bolster the oft-repeated claim that The Fall's Bard of Salford possesses some form of psychic powers. Poppycock perhaps, but what an odd juxtaposition: it must relate to Plato and his beehive, really....

Yet, certainly true and URGENT is a discussion and reflection on reports detailing the worldwide decline of bee populations in the news of late. Obviously related to the environment, studies have tended to focus upon it being linked to mobile phone use, the reduction of wildlife, GM crops and chemtrails. Der Spiegal noted that the use of 'genetically modified' plants was a key factor. I wouldn't rule any of the above out at this point. All are very likely, but we need hard data and fast..

Has anyone been following this? As one Albert Einstein said:"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

IE - Wake the fuck up.

And don't forget who has been in power allowing unrestrained capitalism to take over. Don't blame the common (wo)man.

Maybe AE is wrong but I'm sure we will suffer greatly if populations continue to decline. Reports that bee populations are declining at rates of up to 80% in areas of the U.S. and Europe should set alarm bells ringing and demand immediate action on behalf of environmental organizations. Experts are calling the worrying trend "colony collapse disorder" or CCD."

That was from an excellent Prison Planet article - on an apparently " outsider/ conspiracy" site, but an established, (some would call) occasional 'establishment conspiracy site - the beeb - has had similar articles of note: here, here, here in Ireland, and for those bastards with controlling interests in GM food proliferation, this is good news.

Soon we will have to rely on those marvellous GM foodstuffs - and perhaps the bees have suffered from their growth. The road to a Soylent Green anyone?!

All this happening whilst the government makes little pronouncement - and no surprise for all this is happening under their control. Makes you think they don't mind. They don't - and keep this uppermost in your mind - especially this current crop of genetically modified (almost)psychopaths - many of whom control the pen of the law.

The 'crazed' concept of chemtrails also keeps returning; having seen what looked like them here in Japan - on many occasions - I'm wondering about the likelihood of their existence (looking like cirrus clouds as they do). Could whatever they are be affecting the bees too? Surely not?

I'm nonplussed, wary of liars at the top and quite worried about a future without bees. As Mark E Smith inferred, Oprah Winfrey probably is too, though commercial success of her latest project is likely uppermost in her mind. But we had better get some hard data quick sharpish or Einstein's words may come to haunt us.

Any hard data out there?

Elected, prevented.

2007-04-12T00:20:00.000+09:00

Now is the time inmates take relish in checking your house out; poking questioning fingers within glances and deciding your fate. Quite a transfer of roles from three months hence. You were left in no doubt that now it's their turn: your performance and image holds your fate, chances for future employment swivel around their capricious minds

Yet thirty came on a cold, rainy, helicopter-less day and checked the introduction out. Was it long-winded? Did it hold possibities for fun whilst being educated? I don't know. Suppressed nerves, controlled during instruction, played catch-up tricks on me in the safety of home. But before then, three girls who attended, that had been mine two years past, stated their pleasure at being back in the fold.

We all travelled home on the bus and the train.

I'm in awe of Smily, Moody and Giggly.

You all made my day. How my deep, spontaneous intentions remained fully covered, I don't know. I'm expert at this now, for my own sanity's continuance. My powers of cap retention are advanced, though your eyelashes threatened to rubbish that.

None of you can say elected properly can you? It's probably more apt now the cap is doffed.

Le Rouge led to Leonard who reminded me of Alan

2007-04-09T14:21:00.000+09:00

Funny the roads you can traverse inside the computer we spend large percentages of our time inside. Erik Le Rouge gave a post on someone I've intended to look into for over a decade: Canadian Leonard Cohen. Dark, literate and brooding is the above LP; it has real soul and I loved it, especially Dress Rehearsal Rag.

A snippet of the lyrics are printed below:

"You can still find a job,
go out and talk to a friend.
On the back of every magazine
there are those coupons you can send.
Why don't you join the Rosicrucians,
they can give you back your hope,
you can find your love with diagrams
on a plain brown envelope.

Now, the Rosicrucians line struck a chord with something I'd heard by Alan Watt - a Scotsman who lives in Canada and has written books distributed by himself about the supposed esoteric control on modern and ancient man, mainly by higher masonry (including politicians) whose pronouncements have exoteric meanings for the public and esoteric meanings for adepts. Watt does free blurbs which end with a goodbye from him and his dog, Hamish. It's all very surreal, yet scarily real to certain degrees.

You have to suspend your construction of the reality fed, and see if it fits.

The establishment media is full of spin, so nowadays we might need to find truth outside of the main road. Even into the 'occult', though by definition this is covered up. Watt claims to trace back movements to ancient history and the few blurbs I've heard on his site are aimed at spreading awareness of how we are being manipulated, or so he believes.

He's obviously not looking for a big audience. What is he in it for?

But we are being manipulated, yet it's hard to put a shape to it. With a shrinking globe and wars that enforce those who follow different systems into into 'our' own, much of what he says makes sense. Yet when I heard him talk about inter-generational plans by an elite who are steering a path towards a set goal, I had to pause for a second. Is this possible? A plan which is acted on which you yourself are unlikely to see - only your offspring? Cohen may touch upon this territory below, and Watt uses the below song to open his Reality Check on google video.

He seems like one of those old Chinese masters who refuse a position in government due to renouncing the ways of the world. Like Cohen and his Zen escapade which left him wide open to be lynched by a supposed colleague.

I doubt the 'authorities' minded.

Above Leonard Cohen singing "The Future" on Jools Holland. The lyrics say much about the mindset of those who order the politicians.....

"Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture ."

and also:

Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder ."

and also the narrator is:

You don't know me from the wind.
you never will, you never did.
I'm the little jew who wrote the Bible.
I've seen the nations rise and fall I've heard their stories,
heard them all but love's the only engine of survival.

Back to Watt: Well, skeptic that I am, I dismissed much, but what worries me most is that he tends to talk sense and relates it to man-made facts, not crazed theories about other entities or astrology that others who skirt with the occult take refuge in. To be honest, at times, when I listen to his blurbs I wonder whether I'm listening with my Fictional Head, or Factual Head?

But after reading part of his work, doubts cloud, but nagging feelings remain. He talks sense about how we in cities can no longer be self-sufficient - relying on money, and pleasing the money-masters, about how our ideas are moulded by the tragic lantern in the corner of most rooms.

Yet again, when he talks about our leaders being psychotic, which occurs due to a combination of power and in-breeding, it's hard to swallow. But then again: a psychotic is often defined as a devious person who cares little for others. Quite like certain politicians who lie to go to war.

Of interest to science fiction fans is his take on H.G. Wells, a supposed adept aimed at coercing a new future with a reduced populace. Supposedly the film Things To Come has some link with a future reality. I had never seen "it", but it gravitates around a civilisation in Basra, Iraq, that has renounced war and has outlawed independent nation-states. Alan Watt would likely claim that is where we are heading, with the United Nations being the ultimate centre. He did claim that the working class Wells, became interested in 'eugenics' as a form of population control. I looked it up. It was true.

Not so sure about other topics Watt deals with: manipulation of food and weather manipulation yet, but I've an open mind.

Anyway, it was rather surreal, and coincidental, watching Tony Blair a few hours after watching the Wells' movie, discussing the release of the British soldiers from Iranian waters, and announcing the death of British soldiers in Basra.

We may well be moving towards a reduction of nation-state power. It began in Europe. Next the America's?

All just a slightly crazed supposition.

Temporarily Paranoid Tagalog Logging Off.

What is the stateside view? Why no anger?

2007-04-01T02:55:00.000+09:00

A bit of darkness is in this post. Forget entertainment and fiction for a few seconds and contemplate the ramifications of the below; after which a good clip of The Clash follows:

There have been many people in the American media offened by what a Rosie O'Donnell has said ( I hadn't been previously familiar with her) this last few weeks. It seems she has offended chat show, Republican loving Bill O'Reilly - who has promised to 'go after her'

How can Americans tolerate this? In a world of 'democracy' and all that? What's your opinion?

She has the freedom to say this, whether accurate or not. Yet, I see so many people on youtube attacking her for embracing another opinion. It seems that a lot of people are working for what Joe Strummer explained as the "Clampdown."

It's here - and many of us passively approve. Big changes continue to happen here here, under the guise of a 'terror threat' - why aren't more people taking political pronouncements to task? Have we all been neutered, or are we all scared?

Yesterday on the train a sign said: THIS FACILITY IS UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. ALL ACTIVITY IS RECORDED. What the fuck? This kind of message is seeping into our consciousness as acceptable. In the UK, there are talking cameras - it's good to prevent excessive widespread mis-behaviour, but where is this leading? Machines ran by a coterie who reduce our freedoms.

Is this happening in Canada, America? Are you happy about this creeping totalitarianism? I'm not. And I don't mind the 'web' trapping this thought.

Is this world becoming a better place?

In a world where success to many appears to mean many digits in your bank account, are you a 'success'? Are our leaders caring about us, or full of disdain?

That Rosie - she may be a little too paranoid, or maybe not. But she HAS a right to say this, especially as those who attack here are spreading far right view...
and for those establishment-obsessed freaks to atack her so savagely means one thing: they are threatened by that which she is coming out with. I mean, who is this Bill Cunningham - can you believe this man who has little trace of humanity on his face - the eyes, ears and mouth are there, but there's someting crucial missing. Bill and Biil - wearing the smile of psychopaths who know they are serving their meister well.

Wake Up! There's a lot of embedded engineering going down. In this country too, but the populace's movements are relatively neutered.

THE CLASH: GUNS OF BRIXTON/CLAMPDOWN

Feline Fine Passim 119

2007-03-31T23:37:00.000+09:00

Passing the 119 sign at the fire station yesterday, I noticed more cats than usual - always a pleasant sensation. Here and there they passed, whilst enroute to a New Yorker cafe which allows customers to sit for hours, for the fee of a saucer of coffee, that can be slurped for hours without timed pressure to sup-up.

Coffee, contemplation and the chance to plug your laptop in for free. Good for someone editing the final words to a paper that left its owner mothballed and in the dark for too long. But the cats wouldn't leave me alone yesterday - elegant indoor cats with dyed, lightened fur - aping the brownish tint nature placed on my crown - encircled, inconsciously, subconsciously, unconsciously....

I couldn't complain, but I know how these cats have previously mined my mind, with feminine ease. Thus emergency services were placed on high alert, as I headed down to the screen and focused on the matter in hand. Those cats continued their encircling, eye knew it. I welcomed it, but I couldn't help it. It was the scent.

Aroma's emerged from the roman script that beamed out from my temple. It did not come from me, but had been placed around me - a pleasing vehicle for its onward spread. But the aroma was not mine. Placing coffee cups over the text didn't prevent it reaching the cats who moved inwards, feline fine; I had to press 119 and send thoughts to bed, or allow a new cat's tonic to complicate mine.

It was then that the words of an ugly, Floppy Fringed Bowie-Aper From Sheffield emerged:

"Keep feeling fascination. Passion burning - Love so strong. Keep feeling fascination. Looking learning. Moving on."

I erased such thoughts, but they have re-emerged in the safety of home. Those thoughts were downloaded from the below video beamed into my eye and ear as an impressionable child. D.Bowie: you have a lot to answer for, addictive tune nevertheless. From a time when androgyny was highly promoted in the music scene.

Mad Mouthy Manc-Martian Mark's Methadone Hit

2007-03-31T03:25:00.000+09:00

Above: a fledermaus

From the repulsive sight of Phil Oakey in lipstick, to some cross-dressers miming to Mark E Smith's vocals in soon-to-be-released Mouse On Mars/MES project: VON SUDENFELD. The
track with its at-least smirk-eliciting video is: Fledermaus Can't Get Enough. Have a look!

Maybe the post punk pioneer will get a big hit in his 50th year?

Now that's what I would call amusing.

Social Engineering Snapshots on the Japanese Subway

2007-03-29T09:30:00.000+09:00

SUBWAY AD FOR PASMO - A CARD WHICH CAN BE USED ON ALL TRAIN SERVICES, BUSES AND IN A GROWING NUMBER OF SHOPS. E-MONEY WHICH YOU CAN'T SEE. INTERESTING USE OF A WALKING ROBOT - A PICTURE SAYS FAR MORE THAN WORDS, BUT IS IT A COMMENT ON NOW, OR A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE?

Engineers it seems, I'm doomed to be surrounded by. From a retired father-in-law who cannot stop tinkering and fiddling with his tools, to the TEFL teachers who have escaped the profession for a supposedly more adventurous route.

And those of us with dreams of geisha's, sumo and bizarre group rituals can find such 'exotica' in abundance, but stay here for longer than a year and alarming patterns make themselves plain. The co-option of trends without deep understanding of the contexts they sprung up in, and a pronounced tendency to copy, copy, copy: leaving precious few, few true individuals.

Yet, the few who are individuals shine so brightly, and long may they do so. The older I get, the more I see expression of one's self as all-important. But globally, with English being the world language, and its culture penetrating into all four corners, diversity has arguably been cut down in certain quarters. Look at the alternative cultures that have been consumed: aborigines, the Ainu, Indians, African tribes, Gypsy's - those cultures whose slavish worship/zest for money did not reach the levels our education engineered into us to be, as social bee-ings.

Bleeding hearts we turn away from. But TRUE DIFFERENCE has been consumed in the spread of 'our culture'. Yet, I don't even think of it as mostly 'our culture' - many aspects are 'engineered' from above, subtly, cravenly and crafted with a sharp intelligence that could seize your precious breath away from you in the bat of an eye-lid. It is 'their culture' - the culture of power-broking 'engineers'

Social Engineering. It happens often subtly and here in Tokyo - on the surface, a mundane development in the transport service is one example. You see, a few years ago - people used train/bus cards and money, but then SUICA was introduced, allowing Subway users to use a card that didn't need to be put into the ticket barrier slot - you just placed the card over an EYE SEE slot. Reduction of effort - convenient and faster. Just the ticket for worker bees, eh, rushing from hive to hive.

PASCO AD. NOTE THE SAMENESS OF THE PEOPLE. NO JOKE. IMAGERY SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Yet, SUICA was introduced in many shops in train stations and beyond. Like a credit card, you could use it to buy good goods as well as bad goods, and not fiddle with money. Once again, it is 'convenient' : you don't need to fumble for change.

But, I like calculating sums when buying something. I like the mental activity, and SUICA took that odd pleasure away. So I booted it into touch, making a point of sticking to paper tickets and dealing with coins and notes. Yet PASMO has extended SUICA's reach, which wasn't used on non-subway trains and buses. PASMO is electronic money which can be used in more shops., and ALL train and bus services. Quite an extension of e-money.

You can call me paranoid, but I dislike this 'development' on a number of levels. 1) There is no need for e-money. Though it is being marketed as 'convenient' (which it is), it further establishes the relevance of electronic money. E-money doesn't exist, you can't touch it, and if the computer goes down, or the owners of the particular computer system take a disliking to you, your money could disappear.

2) I like using my brain for calculations and not having automatized machines smother my life.

LEFT: YOU CAN SEE THE PASMO SIGN ON THIS DRINKS MACHINE. THIS 'CONVENIENCE' MIGHT WELL BE USHERING IN SIDE EFFECTS THAT ARE WORTH PONDERING...

I'll end this post with a mention of A WONDERFUL, GODDESS TYPE LADY who I saw twice feeding a group of unwanted stray cats who have had their environment consumed by a pointless road built obviously to fatten some soul-less bureaucrat, and further reduce glimpses of nature in this metropolis. SHE feeds the delightful creatures, and I gave her money to help her continue. While talking to her, a group of children with their parents came over, and suddenly a community emerged, and we all had a laugh. Nothing unusual, but in the rush of this city, where change is engineered and barely noticed by the citizens, such a spontaneous chat between strangers is rare. It was delightful and made me realise that the dehumanizing trends I detect can be reversed.... The cats looked a little like the one below, but without the hat!

Skyline bees sting the be-he-moth.

2007-03-22T13:56:00.000+09:00

Whilst we await the cherry blossons to release her late beauty, witheld for reasons currently in debate, people wear their past expectations on their present mouths. The 'face mask' of Devonic appearance all over the underground, working to keep out the spores of nature.

And keep what in? Ask the leagues of salary men taking the train to Tokyo's business hub with white swabs suppressing their free movement of breath. Hey! Fever spreads amongst the ingrained, expectorant worker bees.

Back in the mothball, hiving away on data, I fell asleep just as the remaining birds began to wipe the chemicals off their beaks. But not for long - as soon a re-awakening occurred from what appeared to be a Good Morning Call by a fleet of unseen, unwanted copters.

"But they weren't there. They are seen but unseen"

The clever sophistry of distraction. Fallacious paradigms swallowed whole. See the sickness wreak.

Very nice of them.
Very nice of them indeed.
They might have given us some lovely pollen of their own.
Sweet things. Bless them.

Their singing took on a buzzing tone for over an hour , yet could not be seen above the clouds. Maddening. A military exercise in the city. Harmless of course. Oh yes of course.

The reformation is coming. It is coming fastly

But from a moth who was forced to feel your droning and inhumane emittances, - give it a fucking rest won't you.

Puerile nerds and presidential words.

2007-03-16T00:29:00.000+09:00

A couple of posts before I looked at parallelism, which foolishly vied for attention with Deborah Harry.

No guessing who won.

But, undeterred, with a withering audience finding thrills and spills elsewhere - I delve deep into my textbook for more hints of 'classical rhetorical' style. From parallelism, we move to:

ANTITHESIS.

For a music link, I guess I could bring in the Anti-Nowhere League, a band who before a few minutes ago I knew only the name, but nothing else. A quick scurry over to youtube To "So What", and I quickly realise why I've never delved into their cack catalogue.

But they impressed Metallica who covered the below song.

If you love puerile lyrics, then The Anti-Nowhere League are your group. Well, that means a big fat zero of this community then. Or is it? Are there any Anti-Nowhere closets out there?

WARNING: PUERILE, DISGUSTING IMAGES IN THE VIDEO. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.

From piss poor punk to a piss poor President displaying ANTITHESIS:

Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in. Those left behind, we will help to catch up.” Richard Nixon(!), Inaugural Address, January 20, 1969.

His script-writer was having a right old laugh wasn't he? Are there any Nixon supporters out there? He must have done some right things - and that sentence was one of them: an example of antithesis .

Antithesis is where we juxtapose contrasting ideas, often occuring in parallel structures... – thus relating to the last post on parallelism

Perhaps Richard Nixon should have said this example of antithesis:

“Let the poor and needy give to the rich and properous.”

Other examples:

“Though studious, he was popular; though argumentative, he was modest; though inflexible, he was candid; and though metaphysical, yet orthodox.”

- Dr. Samuel Johnson on the character of the Reverand Zacariah Mudge, in the London Chronicle, May 2, 1769

“Essex thought him wanting in zeal as a friend; Elizabeth thought him wanting in duty as a subject. "

- Thomas Babington Macauley, “Francis Bacon” (1837) .

Though odious, they were popular; though unskilled, they attracted a following; though original members have died, the band do now thrive...

- Danny Tagalog, "On encountering The Anti-Nowhere League."

It's not good is it - mixing tenses and all. ...

I better close with the alleged first man on the moon.

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong, Sunday July 20, 1969.

Swindlers warming up...

2007-03-13T11:53:00.000+09:00

THE SEX PISTOLS: LIAR

Everyday life is full of attempts to coerce, to mould and to affect our consciousness. In the midst of this, both unknowing and intentional liars proliferate. Often the worst are from those who set themselves up as our highers. Look at Bliar and the words of worst offenders across the pond.

But last week on Channel Four in Britain, a documentary lined up several esteemed scientists claiming that the facts behind 'global warming' have been spun, and that man-made CO2 is not the main cause for the heating and strange weather patterns of the globe this past few decades.

The documentary linked below is worth watching, if only to see what opponents to the established belief about global warming say. Basically, their claims can be melted down to three very well argued points:

1) An 800 year lag occurs in the ice core record between temperatures increasing and CO2 levels increasing. Thus implying that the temperature rise is the actual cause of the rise of CO2.

Al Gore argued the opposite in 'Inconvenient Truth'

2) They argued that the current warming is not concentrated in the troposphere. Instead warming is occurring closer to the surface. This would be expected by the "sunspot theory".

3) This "sunspot theory" argues that water vapour forms water droplets, which develop into clouds, around particles from cosmic waves. These waves are deflected by explosions from the sun's surface, which in turn leads to fewer clouds being formed. Thus leading to more sunlight reaching the surface.

Supposedly, the link between global temperature and sunspot activity goes back over 400 years - and if you watch the documentary below, you will see a definite correlation.

YET, since the documentary was aired a key environmental website: Real Climate has refuted the above claims here. More refutation here

So, if this programme was a pack of lies, what were they in it for? I can't comment until really digesting the science. In the meantime it's worth watching...

Then it's worth reading George Monbiot attack the makers of the documentary.

New parallels

2007-03-11T19:46:00.000+09:00

The development of style in any sphere takes a long time, and requires intense study. Some people take off immediately, yet others need to buckle down for a long wait. With this in mind, wanting to deepen awareness of 'style', I've dusted down a textbook on 'writing style' and decided to acquaint myself with aspects of good (classical rhetoric) style: starting with parallelism below.

What a chance for a mention of a pop princess whose records were inescapable in my infancy, courtesy of having a father with a sideline as a DJ. A lot of his stuff was dross but Blondie singles were everywhere, three or four must have been from their seminal Parallel Lines. As a very young child, I was so enamoured of Ms. Harry that I recollect being told that I went to 'nursery' with a Debbie Harry badge. What my Action Man playing mates thought I can't remember. But I do remember the below video and that woman is easily the sexiest 'pop' star to grace the scene. Betty Boo comes close, but Debbie H wins hands down.

In this attempt of acquainting myself on better written style, I've delved into Corbett and Connors' "Style and Statement” (1998). I bought it four years ago and only looked into it on occasion. Recognising this as a waste, I will look at examples of Figures of Speech for a while: starting with parallelism.

In “schemes of balance”, parallelism relates to a similarity of structure in a pair or a series of:
words, phrases and clauses. The grammar of co-ordination must be followed...nouns must be yoked with nouns, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases….” etc.

A few examples follow.....

Example 1:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from those honoured dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
- Abraham Lincoln.

(Relevant words for all ages, yet worth re-appraising – what would Lincoln think in 2007?)

Example 2:
It is certain that if you were to behold the whole woman, there is that dignity in her aspect, that composure in her motion, that complacency in her manner, that if her form makes you hope, her merit makes you fear – Richard Steele, The Spectator, No. 113

Building on the concept of not violating the grammar(s) of co-ordination, he moves on to look at a scheme called the isocolon

The isocolon is a scheme whereby parallelism is achieved in structure (grammatical form) and symmetry in length. By length, this refers to the same number of words and syllables. A useful tool to use when needed…

The Isocolon in action:
“His purpose was
to impress the ignorant,
to perplex the dubious, and
to confound the scrupulous. (p.46)。

My quick attempt at parallelism:

When you look back and contemplate the glory of Debbie Harry, there was that punky edge to her image, that sultry shine to her vocals and that common touch to her lyrics.

Or:

Because Debbie Harry was sexy, cute and and sang well, she was a record company's ideal performer.

Is this a good example of parallelism? It's too clumsy isn't it? Can you think of any more?

THE UTTER TOSH OF AN EVIL RULING

2007-03-10T00:15:00.000+09:00

We all deserve to be free of pain, and we all supposedly have the freedom to pursue our own ends. Right?

Wrong.

Just take the issue of a 70 year old English pensioner, Patricia Tabnam (above). Officially prescribed medication okayed by her Big Daddy doctor hasn't worked, so she turned to a natural remedy. Y'know: natural, as in something which GROWS IN THE EARTH. By all accounts she grew it to relieve pain, beginning this habit after the death of her son thirty years ago.

A natural remedy: not like your manufactured aspirin or paracetamol type substance that the official pushers foist on some.

So, she tries to find a remedy from the fruits of the earth, in the form of (shock, horror) cannabis. She finds it works for her. Great, congratulations, happy ever after.

Nope. The poor woman is facing prison because a man dressed in a wig has stomped his jackboot on her helpless face. The Old Bill acted off a tip-off that she was growing the herb in her house.

A Composite Thought: "Oh, but doesn't cannabis lead to heroin and Ecstasy amd errr and errr mumble mumble composite thoughts ad infinitum...."

Oh yes, like those fine citizens Prince Harry, Bill Clinton and Paul McCartney.

In the UK possession of small amounts isn't an arrestable offence: in Japan it could get you kicked out the country. Just like that wonderful Beatle Paul did in 1979. Family members back home have smoked and attained enjoyment, without falling down that supposed spiral leading to drug addictions. Yet, here in Japan, though I hear it's available, rumours of occasional purges abound. The last notable police raid that I heard of was on a group of English language 'teachers' who spent their wages on cocaine. Begs the question: how on earth could they afford it?

Anyway: back to the grandma - she has her blogger page (unused for a while) where she has this to say:

"I am coming up to seventy and I believe that people are having their rights taken away from them. I will keep on fighting for the right to have good quality medications of our choice available for every man, woman and child on this planet until the day I die."

I close with Peter Tosh whose thoughts are echoing round Babylon as I type...

Amazing revelations: suspicious minds all round

2007-03-07T01:30:00.000+09:00

Key 'movie' celebrities: Eddie Murphy's director from Trading Places, Aaron Russo, Twin Peaks director David Lynch, actor Charlie Sheen have all come out recently and talked about an alleged cover-up over that day six years past. As expected, it didn't reach major media outlets. In fact he talks about the likes of Bill O'Reilly bullying people by calling questioners lunatics. Are the above all "loonies"? Well, one maybe, but perhaps not all! Bill, Aaron, David: who's the looniest tune there?

Aaron Russo himself gives a great interview below - his are no idle words, all should watch. "Take our country back. ...Stand up don't be afraid." Words from a whistle blower suffering from cancer. But is he for real? He's interviewed by an Alex Jones, who if what he claims is true, is surely a target himself. Russo - from hobnobbing with what he calls 'the elite' has sided with 'the people'.

He talks about the 'cold' nature of the financial controllers towards the majority, the unquestionable masses...

There is an urge to instantly rubbish his claims as ludicrous - yet the below is sadly feasible. It's a curious state of affairs where even writing about this puts one in line for being condemned as 'crazy'. But the director of Trading Places and former politician Aaron Russo is far from crazy. His voice should be heard. It's worth it, but is it a trustworthy voice? It might well appear so. In the interview he talks of his friendship with a key financial mogul (one of Rocky's fellas) and how he suffered from 'retrospective taxes' by the IRS.

Then he moves on to prime conspirational topics, words from the mouth of what he calls an 'elite': ie: a plan for a microchip population, disdain from the financial elite, and the culturally engineered fight against individuality that is leading towards a communistic state. All seemingly impossible. What has compelled this man supposedly suffering from cancer to say this? Can what he says hold some truth? He even was informed about a 'big event', nine months before the 'event', that would instigate a war on terror. Look 35 minutes in. Is what is being wrought in our name right? In our name.

Yet why is he saying this now, and why aren't these words being acted on? He says that the whole war 'is a fraud." Surely these words need to be pursued. They won't be by people high up, those who are likely to have taken the bait Russo stated that he ignored.

Is it worth even considering them? Or should we ignore this - is he a traitor? Am I a traitor for mentioning this interview? Is Russo acting? Is Jones disinforming the public? Because what is said in this interview might be shattering some people's perceptions. I wanted this stuff to be all lunacy and fake, but there's too much believable stuff here. Perhaps if you love democracy you should watch it. But why, if it were true, is it still there?

Is it a dragnet? In any case the interview is certainly worth checking out and judging for yourself. If it were true, what would you do? Accept it? Write letters of protest? Change your perceptions? Stop believing in the system? With these allegations in mind, I certainly have seen hints of a drift towards unwelcome cultural change. Who is the engine behind cultural change? Who's ridiculing who?

Signed: Suspicious all round.

PS. He talks of mobilization. Will people continue co-operating with this seemingly duplicitous group? If this were true, what is the right act?

Music inside the Mothball

2007-03-04T22:25:00.000+09:00

I've never done a music list, so as a quick posting, here's what's been going on inside the walls of this mothball this week, in-between project bouts. A worthwhile waste of your time would be to click on the links and check out your fave. Granted, some are far from household names in any community, but there is something for everyone here. The bee draft and Pablo are top of my pops at the mo.

Pablo Satta: AUGUSTUS PABLO
Damaged Tart c/w Bee Draft: KAERTROUZ
The Light Pours Out Of Me: MAGAZINE
The Nest Egg: PETER BRANSCOMBE
Rehab: AMY WINEHOUSE
Fall Sound: THE FALL
Le Bien, Le Mal: GURU
Twiggy Twiggy: PIZZICATO FIVE
Starry Eyes: JULIAN COPE
Trans-Europe Express: KRAFTWERK
Rheinita: LA DUSSELDORF
Cutie Honey: KODA KUMI (the Queen of manufactured J-Pop is in the list as I've been forced to listen to it, right...)

PS. More importantly, have you checked this out. Errrr, how many more anomalies are gonna be missed in our frantic scurry-hurrying through life? I'm still digesting it, and errr.... what the hell?

Danny Tagalog has been put in (short-term) mothballs

2007-02-27T21:39:00.000+09:00

Danny Tagalog has been put in mothballs due to a change in his immediate working climate.

Thanks to all of you who have visited the blog in the last few months. I'll try to keep visiting this splendid community, and continue posting after the deadlines which plague me are dealt with.

One of the pleasant problems with this 'community' is that it makes me want to have a real go at writing creatively, and that is more compelling than my present commitments.

So, ta and see you on your blogs. Hopefully I can get back soon (i.e. April) .

Goodbye for now!

If it don't broken isn't fix it..

2007-02-20T13:43:00.000+09:00

Unsigned, Unsung - give it a listen and comment on...

A most mature outing from my good mate - the mysterious statesman of the expat-j-pop-scene in which he pulls out a few mind-provoking corkers that's sure to have the Kanto panters punting. Despite this, Real Player mistakenly read Peter Branscombe's latest home recording as "Def Lepperd". Nothing could be further than the case - listen here for the tracks from the excellent three track E.P, followed by two wonderful tracks from another P.B. - Peter Blegvad.

From the opener 'Lullaboy' we see a curious softened edge, even after the mellowing out that was the Unenlightened. Traces of the effects of fatherhood, a la 'Cryingbabiessleeplessnights' era Julian Cope can be detected; one man and an acoustic guitar singing about the beauty of fatherhood: this time with the fragile tone of a man fully realising his crime in daring to utter lyrics that Sir Cliff Richard once sang, albeit in a far different form.

Score: Eight and an 'alf pointened stars and a plutonic skyline

Onto 'Your Peril' and we see a claustrophobic horizon where life choices are made - amongst a backdrop of hazy, chemically affected skylines. Sirens blare in the background as decisions are made and hopefully the exaggerated choice of
individualising oneself is choiseden. The layers and layers of sound
mark a new high in the former Morbific Seeds guitarist's acoustic era.

Score: Nine and three quarter comets outta Tun Fulla Brix.

Following the peril comes the gem of the EP - a tale of an investor building a nest egg helped by computer codes, and guided by astrological gibberish; the investor not being cognizant of the money being used to extinguish species after species. A knowing, damning examination of under-nourished half-baked greedy minds, feasting on the shit engineered by culture creators. Musically, I can hear the spectres of Bill Fay and Blue Orchids here - with the song taking in the folly of spiritual desperates and craven capitalists, stripping the forests of her timber.

The question of who is to blame for the earth falling sick is raised. Who is to blame we are asked? Nothingness, inevitability, or some human undercurrent, - something undercover, in control of the big box - allowing a system created to spin out of control and pass forth disaster.

Score: A tonne of ten outta tens for this gem.

Result: Bloody good stuff. Gets better the more you listen! Is this your coming of age day Pita Bread?

The Fall: Reformation Post TLC (Japan ed).

2007-02-14T23:33:00.000+09:00

Thirty years on from their birth The Fall have once again sprung from the pit, and the pendulum appears to be favouring their rise once again. Thankfully for this helpless expat-acolyte, this means they have a Japanese only release of their latest creation, released here in Japan on Valentine's Day 2007. Yet the slightly saddening thing is a lack of additional aural goodies within the attractive package. Even worse: I received nothing on this Japanese Valentine's Day (where only women buy chocolate for their menfolk). But I did at least receive the 26th album by these living leg-ends.

That's enough for me. For this is a band who rescued me from the sting of The Police when just fresh into two digits, John Peel had just played The Fall's take of Mr. Pharmacist and this young lad captured that brutal mauling of The Other Half classic onto a cheapo Kwik Save cassette. Over the next few days I re-played it again and again and again, amazed - to the chagrin of family, by it all. Perhaps the family sensed the inevitable addiction that swiftly set, and though I didn't know the full meaning behind that particular song, enough of a lasting impression did pass into mine to begin a welcoming affliction as Smith's unique vision was first glimpsed. It pulled me in-deep, leaving U2 jets, Queens and Police sirens withering away in its midst; way before teen-age time-arrived, my parental-approved collection of such mass market-targeted tunes were gladly given away at school not long after.

Two decades on and much enjoyment has emerged from the words of the Smith. As a young lad, he had already led many to Lovecraft, Blake, Henry James, and Burroughs, artists that school would sadly rarely touch upon. The allusions to these past masters were sprinkled inside early releases - see here for a wonderful look at Smith's early allusions to literature and establishment of his own vision - the songs and words of Smith acting as knowing reference pointers which stimulated many who appreciated a sound that swiftly left the seas of the punk/new wave scene of Manchester in which it initially emerged. Dubbed 'country and northern' in the early 80s, the sound was buttressed by a stubborn anti-fashion-look, that left no trace of flab to be co-opted by pretentious thought. This deceptively intellectual, bona fide, working class man astounded me upon initial discovery - here was no class hero - as he often decried WC culture - but here was one with leadership qualities aplenty; a man whose passage to fame was continuously checked by his own mistrust of the cogs of the music machine which demanded an alien word to the Smith cannon: compromise. Rather than betray his WC roots, and be co-opted by bourgeois art critics, rightly or wrongly he stuck to his guns and remained unaffected.

Despite this approach, well received plays were written about William of Oranj and Pope John Paul with theme based albums never short of phrases that upgraded the status of indie pop and single-handedly raised its intelligence quotient.

So, what of this 26th studio album: Reformation: Post PLC? Recorded in a year in which one group of musicians supposedly upped and left Smith in the middle of a US tour (only to be swiftly replaced by superior performers), it's a top drawer album in my admittedly prejudicial book. The change of personnel must have been bubbling for a while, with the last elpee's title Fall Heads Roll giving an inkling of change afoot. But what's astounding and suspicious is how swiftly he found 'the right staff' to replace the pub rock electronica of the last gang, who had helped propel Smith back to a fuller profile that led him bizarrely to read Final Score on BBC last year and see Mitsubishi use "Blindness" in their US car adverts this year. This new album is full of fighting spirit, but punctuated by an uplifting atmosphere helped by the presumably temporary American musicians (from Darker My Love). It seems that the time is ripe for them to build on their formidable popularity as a live band, and sell units....

But this is unlikely. Not as the album is bad - predictably it was love at first listen for this hapless fan - but I do wonder whether the uninitiated would persist after opener Over! Over! with its apparently drunken sounding vocals? They might also be enraged by Das Boat and its meanderings which divide aficionado's as I type. Ramshackle in a way that their cover of Iggy Pop's African Man was, it's amateurish electronic sound collage doesn't offend me, but would, undoubtedly, turn off many others.

Hopefully others would persist though as there are gems within, including the opening song, which is funny to my ears, with Smith growling "I don't love yer, and I never did!" repeatedly in a singing voice dripping with so much sarcasm that it might detect attention. By persisting you get an album that gives off a number of alt.styles with more restrained vocalics than is the Smith norm. Still, the repetitious droning of Reformation and Systematic Abuse will please those who want the no-nonsense Smith of old, but I'm a fan of the vicious, softly spoken - chanted- voodooesque song that is "My Door Will Never" in which somebody is targeted with a death wish within Smith's 'mind-eye'. Paradoxically, this may well be the most therapeutic track of them all.

There's more highs embedded within: is "I can never repay, my friends from my childhood days.." perhaps inspired by original liner-upper Tony Friel's website publishing of early letters and staked claim towards the origin of the band's name; is "Coaches and Horses" a tune taking its thread from Needles and Pins by The Searchers; is his wife talking about Genesis P. Orridge's plastic woman's bosoms in "The Wright Stuff/Staff? All and more will likely be revealed through later listens.

Later listens, however, might have to be confined to an mp3 player - the missus already having shown her displeasure - "are they tuning up instead of playing the song?" And this from someone who appeared to love much of Fall Heads Roll.

Supposedly taking its cue from the last line-up's departure and other Mancunian groups reformations for dosh to keep their Cheshire homes free from the taxman, the topics are thankfully not purely self-referential. Thankfully too - the musicianship remains primal, but with added subtlety, though these stateside hired hands are surely here on a temporary basis. I hope not though, as if Smith is to fully regain his focus, they could provide the necessary back-up to a gentleman entering his sixth decade, and whose cover of Merle Haggard's White Light Fever is lovely to hear. That song expresses the main man's realisation-in-song of the long road already traversed. Is an end soon to be in sight? Hopefully not, as this new release has once again proved their continuing relevance .

<

*************************************************************

Any newcomers be forewarned! There's a lot of ball scraping compilations that don't do The Fall justice. Good introductions: 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong / This Nation's Saving Grace / Grotesque / Extricate / Hex Enduction Hour / Slates, Slags, Etc: All these show certain sides to The Fall which might well delight you.

A ballad from 1990! Chart success in the 80s. Last year!

Gangsters alert!

2007-02-09T00:05:00.000+09:00

THE WONDERFUL SPECIALS SINGING CLASSIC FROM YESTERYEAR: GANGSTERS..

Japanese news rarely hits the news of foreign media, except on occasions when bizarre snippets of her culture are honed in on, and this week has been no different, and it may tie up the mystery of a few mutilated bodies in bags found a few miles from Takadanobabylon itself. Appears that movements within Yakuza gangs are leading to conflict; from gangsters who it appears are treated tolerantly by the Old Bill out here. Yet having experience of the police force out here, I'm sure it's the reverse - the Yakuza tolerate the police, who appear to be little more than highway patrol men at times.

When first arriving on a drunken night over five odd years ago - I missed the last train and did what many scallywags in my trade have done - hitched a ride on a derelict bike that seemed set for the bike cemetery (they are all over this metropolis). Riding faster on the half-inched contraption than sense should permit - a policeman stopped me, and I confessed without question. It transpired that he only wanted to check my foreign registration card. Idiot me.

So, I was stuck in a police station for four hours, with the courteous gentlemen awaiting a reference from an older friend, which I got - but what set me free was an apology. They seemed to be waiting for something, but after I told them I was ashamed, they let me loose. They were waiting for that word, after which they treated me to tea and cakes. Like pussy cats and pen pushers more than anything. Of course my crime was stupidity and not heinous, but I couldn't imagine those police in the midst of gangster battle.

For Japan has few crime of any note, except for the hidden obvious - the politicians no doubt - but the story here tells you of two gangs who have come to clash, hence the mysterious bodies appearing around Tokyo of late. Before I came here, I knew of the Yakuza's fearsome reputation, and after learning basic Japanese, I recognised the signs in the onsens - forbidding those with tattoos, for the Yakuza do like their body decor, and they do tend to bring forms of trouble with them.

And soon I learned to be not glare whenever their cavalcade roamed near - which they do on occasion. "Don't look into their eyes" I was warned by more than one out here. But the extent of the power of these gangsters is open to question - they may well have fingers in the entertainment industry companies and procure money from Tokyo's inescapably visible sex industry, but one wonders who is behind the guys who drive the cars in their Godfather suits - doing their utmost to look hard.

I wouldn't like to push them, but I do wonder. Perhaps the police do have the upper hand - but perhaps the test is this week: will more bodies and shots be heard in Shinjuku Town? It's as quiet as usual here - the BBC is perhaps over-exaggerating the news. I do hope so.

A dictionary speaks.

2007-02-06T22:05:00.000+09:00

ABOVE: THE PRINCE OF ALPHABET STREET

He could have made a better video to accompany this gem of a tune, which whether he knows it or not is a homage to me. The superbowls real star did me proud when singing about the nuts and bolts of what I daily impart to some of you. You never catch writers and word-lovers celebrating me much in public, but they can kiss Rogets warty hoary’arse for all I care, as I know they need me. I know your secret whiffs of excitement when you part my leaves. Some of you write on me, seldom write for me, and that pains me, but as long as you use me, you please me.

I come in many colours and types – some more loved than others. The master of this computer is isolated from his beloved OED 1933 edition, stranded in a shed in the basement room of some flat in the British Isles. He reckons he can often hear moans of their state of disuse, but the mutual satisfaction arising when man and book re-unite will reverberate around the world, causing shrubs to shrivel and die, and ivy* to smother cement up high. So, he makes do with a cheapo Merriam Webster International Edition and an Oxford Thesaurus, but to you word lovers and word fetishists: what do you choose when meanings cannot be found. And does it satisfy all your lexical needs? Does it cater for your kind, or is it too much of a catch-all marketing fail-all?

Below: A file under arcane - insane, nonsensical sentences.
*"Poison the shrubble and spread wide the ivy leaves so I can happily rest Elizabethan Nothingness on my thigh."

How did he end up there?

2007-02-04T20:52:00.000+09:00

Tong Poo: Yellow Magic Orchestra (1979) - replete with ancient arcade games.

Those who drift out to foreign climes, hitching a ride on the EFL train - not realising they are globalisations's foot soldiers, often have little reason for choosing the counties they end up in. Adventure and a release from the daily grind that crushes pleases all, and lucky us: we get away and see another culture - even one which ours is slowly, slowly affecting and even engulfing.

Why did I end up here? It's a question that, rephrased could have come from any of the thousands of students who have looked upon me as a sensei in my tenure as a teacher. Embarrassed I was to be called this at first - but the clothes have shrank-fit me now, and I can feel at ease in them. But back to the question: what propelled the move? I know Tong Poo above helped sew a quizzitive seed in my infantile mind, and Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima and Yoko Ono soon deepened a primitive obsession that may well have originated with the above tune that still cooks up well today.

It all boils down to a search for something more meaningful and tolerant to a supposedly grimy, sensitive, council housed boy whose friends laughed and laughed at his father's profession. The man who fell victim to Queen and Country Lies and was thanked by a grenade that blew up his leg in Aden. It never stopped his dumb pasting of pictures of Diana and Fergie on his office wall, or his tears when the soldiers did Trooping The Colour on TV, or his pride in those metal reward-apologies he hung around his neck . Rather that look into an mental abyss he allowed composite thoughts to box in his mind.

In coming from a culture that led my first real God down a treacherous road towards an exploded grenade that hastened ill health, and jobs which his son's 'friends' laughed at - the adventure promised was a bonus too. Slipping through class bars, escaping grime-filled jackets and allowing one's face to be scrubbed clean by warm foreign hands who didn't look at parental postcodes. They don't like to let you onto their code though mind, hell-bent they be on co-opting your own more valued, utterance forms.

You remain your self, and they make it difficult for a new self to emerge. Time passes and you become trapped in thoughts and codes which those back home have long jettisoned. Then the sense of isolation which emerges slowly thaws and frees you. From culture, from category, from unspoken expectations and a need to 'be' one way or the other. You re-build the blocks of personality that you deconstructed purposely in order to re-assemble and shuffle your self.

And encrustation returns, and the new you has kept your native culture freeze-framed in a time zone, but now infected by an alien outside force enlargening possibility. Can you accept it? It can rejuvenate you, and start trimming and pruning synapses long dormant. Growth re-occurs. You look around and see nobody pointing at you, and you realize that you have emerged in that wonder you sought in Tong Poo - it could be Sumatra, the Belize or Islamabad - doesn't matter.

Meet The Monster? Or the Saviour?

2007-02-03T01:18:00.000+09:00

An age old ritual of casting dark spirits out the house is taking place across Japan this week, whereby a type of seed is thrown in ceremonial manner out of the entrance of the house, with the aim of ridding the house of 'monsters.' Such monsters, personified by the two horned ogre, the oni, are visible all round Japan right now, and the little scamp made his own one-horned wonder today (see above).

READ THE BELOW, THEN WATCH THE FOLLOWING 'ECCENTRIC' VIDEO, AND FINALLYANSWER THE QUESTIONS PLEASE!

Linked to the concept of monsters is something we both watched the other night, a video by Residents influenced Renaldo and the Loaf. He laughs at it and negotiated his own meaning behind it, a comedy-tinged look at 'play' for him - as the boy in the video is the same age as him. It's oddball, stimulating and able to be read in myriad ways, some dark - but though I initially found it disconcerting, my four year old keeps asking to see it again! The incongruence of the images appears to be making him laugh. And though I haven't worn women's clothing, the end scene where the 'mother' turns out to be a 'father' is me according to him. Now I have done that kind of scary/humorous action, but not the women's clothing bit. I swear !

I got this via a link to The Residents and I can't quite settle on what to make of it? Dadaist genius? Corruptable nonsense....?

Questions:
1. What is your overall reading of the video?
2. Is the mother preparing the son for lunch?
3. Is the man the father, and is saving the boy from something? Or is this something more sinister?
4. Is the concept of being re-born in there somewhere?

Answers would be appreciated. I found the video disconcerting yet the colours entranced, and the lack of a clear story annoyed me! Is this just esoteric nonsense or can meanings be extracted/created?

Fixed n' Breakable

2007-01-31T23:14:00.000+09:00

Q. Can we fix it? A. No, we can't (because the spares have dried up....)

Hands up those who have fixed household machinery with their own hands using spares purchased from a vendor this century? Right, not many (he says with his hands held low). And not many would have even contemplated fixing damaged gear I'd wager, such is the newly established state of buying anew being cheaper than repairing anew.

How daft is that? How have we been engineered to willingly allow Machiavellian companies to empty our pockets with over-exaggerated new improved blurb? Creating scenarios whereby we too easily throw away the old, glazing over the waste incurred and shoving such thoughts back into the far reaches of the subconscious.

Consciously, as a pre-teen, I suspected that turntables were being drastically reduced in quality to make way for the introduction of that format which made people re-buy their favourites, a magic trick since repeated with further 'advances' in technology. Did these advances improve sound quality? I'm doubtful - with the punchy bass sound of original vinyl reduced to a comparative squeak on the shiny polite CD. Scratches no more, yet - as the great John Peel once said, life isn't clean - it has surface noise, so what's with the rush and obsession for sheen?

Only a few decades ago, machines were built to last and expected to do so. Often the technology was easier to manipulate, and could be repaired by your own hands, spares being made widely available. Yet, no more - and after reading, "Can’t We Fix Anything Anymore?” in The Guardian a few days ago - our ridiculous present scenario (of buying rather than repairing, of losing a natural urge to fix rather than getting things fixed, and being fixed by industries), became startlingly clear, in the forefront of the mind. Demand for spare parts has dried up, or been allowed to dry up - and we have no choice but to ally ourselves with disposable culture, and throw away recoverable machinery.

Two legendary figures: one from British pop culture, the other from kids culture would dislike this turn of events, and would surely help stem the tide were it possible. Firstly, the creepy dream supplier and original R1 DJ - Jimmy Savile, a bizarre radio/TV presenter who fixed it for many kids to have their dreams come true on TV, and secondly Builder, Bob. The former, Jimmy, cut a ‘daddy’like figure and who has been at the centre of a whole host of horrific rumours and innuendo's about his ongoing relationship with his deceased mother and her clothing, with rumours of necrophilia reaching the highest ranks of the media. Surely this kind of distasteful act in the form of a rumour is appalling in itself, but Savile, with his appearance on Louis Theroux a few years ago, seems to have fended off the jibes, albeit reinforcing his image of having an unconventional personality with the appearance as the seeming Godfather of Chav. Could he fix this trend? Well, Jimmy boy's in his eighties and the other - Bob - is too busy in animated land to help us fix our loss of fixability.

Add their two names however, and you get the unlikely gruesome twosome - Jim and Bob – whose names take me back to 90s indie grebo extraordinaire band Carter USM (The Unstoppable Sex Machine), a machine beyond repair - born broken, with there being no spares for an act that aped the vastly superior I,Ludicrous. Bob and Scoop would have scoffed at the state of the Carters and let it rot in the hands of that Worzel Gummidge type scarecrow who plays havoc in Bob-land. Look below for them being immature on a BBC kids children's awards show, and attacking a slimy children's TV celebrity.

THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT CARTER: THE RUGBY TACKLE ON PHILIP THE ODIOUS SCHOFIELD (below).

Fixing a problem has been made unnecessarily difficult and one gets the strong suspicion that it’s unnecessarily complicated to fence us consumers deeper, trapped, in this disposable culture that's at least partly responsible for the Spring in January weather we're undergoing.

I remember not so far back - relatives fixing machinery with little difficulty - obtaining spare parts easily ten years after product purchase date – with few obstacles in the design to prevent you doing so. Not now though, and I'm possibly not alone in mourning the apparent decline of a dying art. Yet,instead of going along with this pattern of buy rather than repair - I'm going to go without until time allows me to fix it myself. This worm has turned and my gadgets will not automatically be replaced by the shiny new. The choice of accessing spare parts for machines may have almost GONE, but I'd rather do without, and defy the faceless enemy and their obsession with continual consumption by stepping sideways and GOING THE OPPOSITE WAY.

Fix the fix of being the victim of industry-tricks.

Danny Luddalogite

Ivor Cutler lives On

2007-01-28T23:28:00.000+09:00

Having befriended many non Brits during this blog experiment that has transformed into an addiction that ruthlessly eats into allotted time for study, projects and the like - I think I should mention a notorious cult musician, specialising in the accordion of all instruments - who died (aged 83) two years ago, and who recorded with The Beatles producer, George Martin in 1967 in a spoken word/jazz album that captured his child-like, some say nonsensical art perfectly on the album Ludo (see above).
I doubt many will take to him, especially not in the manner in which he has sent a few of us into stitches at the absurdity of his monologues and conversations centred around word play that could never be said to be intellectual, but instead more crucial, and on occasion like an enlightened child's zen koan.

But not in the below though! He was already about 55 in the clip, and it's, well, what is it? The track is one of the shortest on Ludo and must have been recorded in the mid 70s by my reckoning.

He be Ivor Cutler, and he be the man they called Buster Bloodvessel in the Magical Mystery Tour in 1967, and he be the man who graced John Peel's legendary radio show for over three decades, perhaps more. Below is a part interview with Macca followed by a clip of Cutler as Buster Bloodvessel in the 'Mystery Tour', whilst above is a track my son loved: I'm Happy, recorded on The Old Grey Whistle Test on BBC 2 in the early 70s.
It doesn't do him justice, but if you ever see Ludo - snap it up and allow the maddeningly sane Scottish Jewish teacher re-arrange your perception of words and innocence. Tracks are longer than the above 'ditty', and make my son laugh himself to bits. Fully recommended - after all The Beatles even took to him, and it seems Paul McCartney was the main fan, who wanted him in the Mystery Tour.

** Finely Tuned In Babylon **