The Scribbler

The Scribbler is an old generator link, Im sure people know of it already. Well I had a good go on it recently, and it is truly a marvel of the modern world. Its fantastic. Go there now and create some art.


http://www.zefrank.com/scribbler/


Some *clever dick* just pointed out that the link was screwed, but its ok now

A Gap

Been a bit of a short break from posting, but soon time will allow for some indulgent link touting etc....now follows a short interval. If you need to read something good, try the anger management blog. Always top stuf over there....

Kerry/Bush/ Vietnam and the politics from the 1960's to the 2000's

So I was watching TV last night, and an item came on about the Music For Change tour going on in the States, with Springsteen, REM, Dixie Chicks, and probably others, trying to mobilise the Democrat vote in the marginal or swing states. REM's Stipe and Mills were duly interviewed for their finely honed weighty political opinions. On being asked who suited the Presidential Office the most, Mike Mills proceeded to harangue Bush for his military record, and praised Kerry for his experience in Vietnam. "He actually shot at people, and was shot at...". Now, am I alone in thinking that the irony of this situation was beyond the pale? Wasn't it only a few short years ago, that any person smart enough to avoid the draft would have been praised for their savvy by the 'rock' community??? Obviously good ol' lads like REM now value the ability to be a soldier more highly than their forebears. They failed to mention that Kerry was a hero of the anti Vietnam movement at the time and is now being widely vilified for that, it being perceived as a weakening of his chances of beating Bush. In the past it would have been Bush who was the smart guy, avoiding the draft, and staying out of the flak. Now everything is switched, its like Tariq Ali [famous sixties political activist, think mass demonstrations outside the USA Embassies in UK, France etc] standing for the Tories, preposterous.

I am left believing that everything is seen through the looking glass, darkly.

Mmmm

Mmmmm, Kensington Tube Station, on the last Day of Summer. I want to make a site that looks like this.

Music and Music Awards [Suck]

I must say, as a maturing music type person, I find it an increasingly drab view, looking across at the current British scene. Whilst females seem to have been all but banished from the hallowed ground of the upper echelons of the music empire, males are excelling themselves at mediocrity and imitation. I put it firmly down to rubbish role models myself. Mods, Ska, the Jam and even the Smiths are all responsible. Exclusively male gang 'do we have to bring the tarts' artists bring out the worst in any generation, and prove that Britian is a nation of tiny englanders. Women are reduced to spangly dress disco fodder, and seriousness is left to the men, only it isnt, as is shown by the total lack of serious music around. [I don't mean the Streets doing a ballad, that isnt serious, thats cheap.] America, previously regarded as frothing at the mouth jock land, is now so ahead in the clever and futurist music stakes, it's actually become embarrassing. Their women are some of the leading lights, [hello Missy] and even though they have their share of male only men, [not gay, male only, thats totally not the same], there is an openness about their current scene which makes ours look drudgy and dying. For God's sake, even the Icelanders and Swedes can do better than us, most of the time.

Where did it all go wrong? The ruling [tiny] elite in the music press and AnR in Britain have always been about the 'boys own' mentality, and it's sad to think how much potential has been lost to narrow minds, ignorance and pathetic bigotry. I know, I've lived it.

The article is about Franz F***ng Ferf***ngdinand winning some prize or other. The guy who wrote it feels a bit like me......
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/
story/0,11710,1300413,00.html

Russia the new 'Russia'

I dont know what my yank brothers and sisters think, but I just feel it's important to say something about what has been going on in Russia. Now I know I'm no expert, but the Russian Government are never to be believed when it comes to any public statement. The fact they are now peddling the idea that they are not responsible for the end to the terrible events of last week signifies a turn for the worse in world politics. Believe me, the whole nation cringed when Putin came here, staying with the Queen, on a State visit a couple of years ago. It didn't sit well with a lot of people who remember the dark years of CCCP and DDR.
I think we all know what may really have happened at that school. Why didnt they bring in some top negotiators? Was it not deemed worth it? And to think the poor russian people seem to be so easily duped, or at least quelled. The problems of Chechnya arn't going to go away, as we realised here over the Irish Situation. Putin is just showing his colours as the ex KGB man he is, and the cover up jobs he keeps trying to pull arn't really fooling anybody. Are they?

I've just heard a report on BBC Radio that journalists in Russia were prevented from covering the story in depth, and stopped from getting to the hostage site [the school]. As we were being told at the time that many journalists were present, this now seems to be a falsehood. "Alot of journalists have simply given up journalisnm in the past few months, as it has become too hard to persue this as a career," the reporter said.

I know not to believe my own government alot of the time, but what strikes me as very sad is that russians seem very naive compared to westerners in regard to their attitudes to the media. Either that, or they are very good at fooling themselves.

Wangos Appeal

I received some very sad news about the wonderful wangos tent - they were over in Holland, doing the Lowlands festival, and they got hit by the big storms that swept Britain a few days before. The result was that the tent was ripped apart, shredded by the high winds and driving rain. Years of work and struggle have been torn down in a few seconds. There was nothing anyone could do. They now have to start again. [There was no hefty insurance payout...]

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE MONEY, OR HELP IN ANY WAY, DROP ME AN EMAIL, AND I WILL PUT YOU IN TOUCH.

Google AdSense

I've just signed up for the adsense thing, as, even though ad's are sometimes a drag, I always felt the few ad's you got at the top of the free blogger page were quite interesting and informative. I used them to check out the links, and some of the sites were cool and good. So I've signed up, and will now get paid [ a pittance natch] for the same thing. If, however, it turns out to be some dominating large vulgar text column that ruins the vibe, then it will be gone pronto.