(no subject)
okay, so lots of people are doing an end of 2008 meme! since I am sometimes just awkward for the sake of it, I think I will instead write a little about some of my interests too, because a) they keep changing and b) I think some kind of need some context.
this whole journal thing has been vaguely bothering me recently since I started to post again. a couple things trouble me with it. I do think I shall make another with added pretty at some point when I am feeling genuinely and measuredly creative. also when I find the cable for my camera.
anyway, :
a well-turned semicolon - well, I thought this was a pithy way of saying writing is sexy, and it probably says all kinds of other things too about revealing the self and writing and, well, not the male gaze but whoever's gaze, you know? and all kinds of things, but really it's just here because I thought it was pithy
activism - I'm never quite sure what is and what isn't activism but it's good anyway
alchemy - I probably used to be able to write a book, or at least a vignette, on why this is a beautiful and amazing interest, but basically it ties in with archetypes and the precursor to modern medicine and its a metaphor and all kinds of things. augh, my memory.
alternative - really I think this is just a hilarious word to use for anything. my friend lent me this book about capitalism using and subverting subcultures and I'm not sure if I can be bothered reading it because I'm sure I understand the thesis anyway. or, alternatively, I'm really arrogant. anyway, I don't understand how you can identify with "alternative" and I don't understand how you can use it to "other" people and I guess if pushed I identify with it anyway. I don't understand a lot of things, y'know?
alternative economy - that said I'm really interested both in the grey economy as well as fancy theoretical stuff like trust metrics and gift economies and all that jazz. its not my revolution without everyone being fed and to do this some fundamental changes are going to have to happen, you know?
anime - its like manga, but in the movies!
archaism - I'd say anachronism but anachronism would also count for things which are after their time, like wristwatches in productions set in dark ages europe! also, archaism evokes ideas such as redundancy and obselescence which I think are interesting and poorly examined concepts!
archetypes - I'm less worried about whether I do Jung than if Jung does me
architecture - I guess it's chicken and egg as to whether architecture shapes society or vice versa, but public and private spaces and social norms and structures and sustainability and yeah there's a long list of interesting things here.
art - this is here less as a "I am intellectual and creative and shit!" and more here to signpost that I'm very interested but not really knowledgeable enough to name specific artists and movements, except I go on to do this anyway, so.
art deco - I guess lots of people like deco but something about it and nouveau I find ferociously appealing
beauty - its interesting and subjective and actually one of the most interesting things about perceptions of beauty is how they change over time, you know? both societally and personally.
belle and sebastian - they're a band that I like! though I am yet to see them live.
bikini kill - I also like this band but they broke up possibly before i was born.
bisexuality - I find lots of people attractive regardless of gender, though it might be best if I just said "sexuality", although this might also seem more weird
björk - well I have a few of her albums but I always failed at tracking down sugarcubes stuff, also I have not seen her live. also I hardly listen to her anymore but oh well.
blade runner - I love this film for all kinds of reasons
buffy - people find buffy very hit and miss but I think josh is uniquely talented at some character driven stuff and finding ways to do things in new ways, you know? also girl kicking zombie ass, and witches, and lesbians!
cats - we find them far more fascinating than they find us
comics - again I love many comics however my interest is too vague to name-drop anyone in particular. I really need to get more Invisibles
creativity - I don't know what this is really, I guess I should really take this off as I find it much less interesting of itself than I used to
da vinci - also this should go, I really forget why I had a strong interest in da vinci, although it was before the da vinci code so that's somehow ok
dada - I frankly think we could do with more of this although its probably here as some kind of feeble attempt to excuse me being crass, thoughtless, or just having produced something of no merit whatsoever, but oh well
dancing - I like dancing a lot although I am quite terrible at some types of it. also it is something I personally find spiritual, cathartic, and lots of stuff
david bowie - so many things but his trousers in labyrinth are the first thing that spring to mind "spring" hur hur sorry oh god
deliberately getting lost - this is a terrible thing to do as a metaphor but rather a nice way of exploring the world when done physically
demimonde - really interesting politically for all sorts of reasons to do with gender politics and power and history and... stuff. yes.
design - good design is so often overlooked
dream diving - well sometimes I get pearls but mostly its a handful of abyssal ooze
elephants in rooms - they're everywhere! treading on the furniture and wrinkling the wallpaper.
everything - frankly I lack focus
eyeliner - everyone should try it at least once
flash gordon - I don't know why.
folk music - I don't know why either.
game theory - life is not a zero-sum game. incentivisation! it's interesting.
garbage - hardly listen anymore but I used to a lot. like a decade ago. woah!
geekology - this is probably a reference to some conversation I've forgotten
gender - well its interesting yeah. you know I'm starting to get this genderqueer thing? I mean not that I was all "oh my god that is disturbing" before but well I could see myself identifying this way although hmm I suppose there would be a number of issues with this too? it's complicated!
george orwell - ol' george is rad and not all that bad at that writing thing either
hats - this is actually a very superficial interest. it can be broken down into two things 1) might be better described as "fashion" or "fashion and history" and 2) hats are hilarious. although I rarely look good in any kind of hat. I guess hats are also a metaphor! like all kinds of things.
healing - fascinating although I'm not sure I'm particularly good at it
herstory - yes I also hate this term and frankly its here mainly to annoy people, which is awful. although the concept is really interesting
history - don't learn, doomed to repeat :o
holistics - not one way, one light, one stupid truth
humour - its interesting although mine is kind of hit and miss
iain m banks - like totally my favourite sci-fi author, man
illustration - again, like art (at least so far as the visual arts and yeah probably lots of other types too) something I have absolutely and profoundly no ability in but find, well, amazing. dahl for one just wouldn't be the same otherwise, and so much else
incestuous livejournal - does this really need explanation?
information theory - I really don't know so much about this at all, and certainly not nearly as much as I'd like, but I find it fascinating nonetheless. y'know, I never professed competence
insane projects - the best kind of projects!
insanity - its kind of subjective. like janet frame being institutionalised, and rastas being sectioned for their beliefs, and so many things. norms! who decides? all this stuff. also, it's such a loaded term. "loaded term" is also a loaded term! and now I have visions of an animation depicting a feminist political meeting with clashing ideologies as a gun battle with the words on the guns, you know? like opening up with a sustained barrage from cultural appropriation, which then provides suppressing fire for a flanking manouver and enfilade by the targeted snub-guns of... something. yeah. it's almost 4am.
insistent guitar chords - this doesn't need explanation
international feminist conspiracy - if I ever had a band I would want to call it this, among other things
invader zim - its like my worldview, man
joan d'arc - again I used to be really fascinated and now I can't remember why
joni mitchell - googling "canyon lady" gets awesome results MUST NOT GET DISTRACTED FURTHER
jrr tolkien - some people hate the songs and poems but well they're one of the sadly very few poems I can actually quote. le sigh.
ken mcleod - socialism! in space!
kristin hersh - oh. my. god.
mary gentle - actually I adored "Ash" and "Kitsune" and well frankly the first few pages of "Ilario" seem rather problematic and the rest of her work... some of which I still have to read and some of which (golden witchbreed) made little impact. I don't know. I don't know why.
monkeys - humans - half way between the fallen angel and the rising ape? that gives us rather a lot of credit. I'll concede half way on a good day.
movies - I think that moving pictures might have been a paradigm shift in culture but well they probably just typefied it and now embody our perceptions of that change. maybe both? also I like watching films but somehow prefer the word "movies".
my ruin - another band I have not seen live!
my ubiquitous chip - the u-chip is a rather posh glasgow resturaunt that refuses to serve chips, so I stole their metaphor. class! stuff!
next week's obsession - I lack focus! or possess a disturbing lack of application. elucidation is grand, deprecation is constant, scansion is variable, this sentence will now end.
nietzsche - this should also go as I am no longer seventeen although y'know he was clearer writing on art than a whole lot of other things
noir - I like a lot of films with this appelation however I haven't seen nearly as many as I should
not-for-profit - a solid basis for something or other
people's stories - you know if I had one interest this would be it
pharmacy - its five years since I left uni so I'm not sure precisely what motivates this still being interesting to me but it is
photography - I really want to do more of this
pirates - outside social norms! looking good in eyeliner! romanticised no end, interesting all the same.
pj harvey - still never seen her live
placebo - SAW THIS ONE BOOYAH
poking badgers with spoons - the mighty izzard
... this is getting much less interesting, I'm going to now go with edited highlights, then go sleep.
punk rock manifestos - this is a line from a L7 song i think
queer visibility - this is kind of interesting. sometimes I wish I was more visible but I'm not sure how; also I don't want to just conform with another set of norms; also, I don't know.
speaking truth to power - sometimes in flying shoe form! or stephen colbert form. it's all good.
speaking truth to toast! - because it needs emphasising that sometimes my judgement is not the best.
virginia woolf - I lost my copy of Orlando on the train :((( I certainly can't say I've read everything she's written; far from it. it's all resonated though. you know that's such a weird metaphor. I mean, if I'm resonant does this mean I'm hollow? like a bell or a cookie jar? SO. CONFUSED.
writing - frankly I should end the list with "zombies", and in future I think I shall, I just think having the "writing" at the end looks good because I'm really superficial like that. and hollow. like a gourd cheese sandwich. anyway. enough!
it's also interesting what I don't have listed, although probably the first thing that I don't have that I should is "unwarranted self-absorbtion".
also, happy new year!
this whole journal thing has been vaguely bothering me recently since I started to post again. a couple things trouble me with it. I do think I shall make another with added pretty at some point when I am feeling genuinely and measuredly creative. also when I find the cable for my camera.
anyway, :
a well-turned semicolon - well, I thought this was a pithy way of saying writing is sexy, and it probably says all kinds of other things too about revealing the self and writing and, well, not the male gaze but whoever's gaze, you know? and all kinds of things, but really it's just here because I thought it was pithy
activism - I'm never quite sure what is and what isn't activism but it's good anyway
alchemy - I probably used to be able to write a book, or at least a vignette, on why this is a beautiful and amazing interest, but basically it ties in with archetypes and the precursor to modern medicine and its a metaphor and all kinds of things. augh, my memory.
alternative - really I think this is just a hilarious word to use for anything. my friend lent me this book about capitalism using and subverting subcultures and I'm not sure if I can be bothered reading it because I'm sure I understand the thesis anyway. or, alternatively, I'm really arrogant. anyway, I don't understand how you can identify with "alternative" and I don't understand how you can use it to "other" people and I guess if pushed I identify with it anyway. I don't understand a lot of things, y'know?
alternative economy - that said I'm really interested both in the grey economy as well as fancy theoretical stuff like trust metrics and gift economies and all that jazz. its not my revolution without everyone being fed and to do this some fundamental changes are going to have to happen, you know?
anime - its like manga, but in the movies!
archaism - I'd say anachronism but anachronism would also count for things which are after their time, like wristwatches in productions set in dark ages europe! also, archaism evokes ideas such as redundancy and obselescence which I think are interesting and poorly examined concepts!
archetypes - I'm less worried about whether I do Jung than if Jung does me
architecture - I guess it's chicken and egg as to whether architecture shapes society or vice versa, but public and private spaces and social norms and structures and sustainability and yeah there's a long list of interesting things here.
art - this is here less as a "I am intellectual and creative and shit!" and more here to signpost that I'm very interested but not really knowledgeable enough to name specific artists and movements, except I go on to do this anyway, so.
art deco - I guess lots of people like deco but something about it and nouveau I find ferociously appealing
beauty - its interesting and subjective and actually one of the most interesting things about perceptions of beauty is how they change over time, you know? both societally and personally.
belle and sebastian - they're a band that I like! though I am yet to see them live.
bikini kill - I also like this band but they broke up possibly before i was born.
bisexuality - I find lots of people attractive regardless of gender, though it might be best if I just said "sexuality", although this might also seem more weird
björk - well I have a few of her albums but I always failed at tracking down sugarcubes stuff, also I have not seen her live. also I hardly listen to her anymore but oh well.
blade runner - I love this film for all kinds of reasons
buffy - people find buffy very hit and miss but I think josh is uniquely talented at some character driven stuff and finding ways to do things in new ways, you know? also girl kicking zombie ass, and witches, and lesbians!
cats - we find them far more fascinating than they find us
comics - again I love many comics however my interest is too vague to name-drop anyone in particular. I really need to get more Invisibles
creativity - I don't know what this is really, I guess I should really take this off as I find it much less interesting of itself than I used to
da vinci - also this should go, I really forget why I had a strong interest in da vinci, although it was before the da vinci code so that's somehow ok
dada - I frankly think we could do with more of this although its probably here as some kind of feeble attempt to excuse me being crass, thoughtless, or just having produced something of no merit whatsoever, but oh well
dancing - I like dancing a lot although I am quite terrible at some types of it. also it is something I personally find spiritual, cathartic, and lots of stuff
david bowie - so many things but his trousers in labyrinth are the first thing that spring to mind "spring" hur hur sorry oh god
deliberately getting lost - this is a terrible thing to do as a metaphor but rather a nice way of exploring the world when done physically
demimonde - really interesting politically for all sorts of reasons to do with gender politics and power and history and... stuff. yes.
design - good design is so often overlooked
dream diving - well sometimes I get pearls but mostly its a handful of abyssal ooze
elephants in rooms - they're everywhere! treading on the furniture and wrinkling the wallpaper.
everything - frankly I lack focus
eyeliner - everyone should try it at least once
flash gordon - I don't know why.
folk music - I don't know why either.
game theory - life is not a zero-sum game. incentivisation! it's interesting.
garbage - hardly listen anymore but I used to a lot. like a decade ago. woah!
geekology - this is probably a reference to some conversation I've forgotten
gender - well its interesting yeah. you know I'm starting to get this genderqueer thing? I mean not that I was all "oh my god that is disturbing" before but well I could see myself identifying this way although hmm I suppose there would be a number of issues with this too? it's complicated!
george orwell - ol' george is rad and not all that bad at that writing thing either
hats - this is actually a very superficial interest. it can be broken down into two things 1) might be better described as "fashion" or "fashion and history" and 2) hats are hilarious. although I rarely look good in any kind of hat. I guess hats are also a metaphor! like all kinds of things.
healing - fascinating although I'm not sure I'm particularly good at it
herstory - yes I also hate this term and frankly its here mainly to annoy people, which is awful. although the concept is really interesting
history - don't learn, doomed to repeat :o
holistics - not one way, one light, one stupid truth
humour - its interesting although mine is kind of hit and miss
iain m banks - like totally my favourite sci-fi author, man
illustration - again, like art (at least so far as the visual arts and yeah probably lots of other types too) something I have absolutely and profoundly no ability in but find, well, amazing. dahl for one just wouldn't be the same otherwise, and so much else
incestuous livejournal - does this really need explanation?
information theory - I really don't know so much about this at all, and certainly not nearly as much as I'd like, but I find it fascinating nonetheless. y'know, I never professed competence
insane projects - the best kind of projects!
insanity - its kind of subjective. like janet frame being institutionalised, and rastas being sectioned for their beliefs, and so many things. norms! who decides? all this stuff. also, it's such a loaded term. "loaded term" is also a loaded term! and now I have visions of an animation depicting a feminist political meeting with clashing ideologies as a gun battle with the words on the guns, you know? like opening up with a sustained barrage from cultural appropriation, which then provides suppressing fire for a flanking manouver and enfilade by the targeted snub-guns of... something. yeah. it's almost 4am.
insistent guitar chords - this doesn't need explanation
international feminist conspiracy - if I ever had a band I would want to call it this, among other things
invader zim - its like my worldview, man
joan d'arc - again I used to be really fascinated and now I can't remember why
joni mitchell - googling "canyon lady" gets awesome results MUST NOT GET DISTRACTED FURTHER
jrr tolkien - some people hate the songs and poems but well they're one of the sadly very few poems I can actually quote. le sigh.
ken mcleod - socialism! in space!
kristin hersh - oh. my. god.
mary gentle - actually I adored "Ash" and "Kitsune" and well frankly the first few pages of "Ilario" seem rather problematic and the rest of her work... some of which I still have to read and some of which (golden witchbreed) made little impact. I don't know. I don't know why.
monkeys - humans - half way between the fallen angel and the rising ape? that gives us rather a lot of credit. I'll concede half way on a good day.
movies - I think that moving pictures might have been a paradigm shift in culture but well they probably just typefied it and now embody our perceptions of that change. maybe both? also I like watching films but somehow prefer the word "movies".
my ruin - another band I have not seen live!
my ubiquitous chip - the u-chip is a rather posh glasgow resturaunt that refuses to serve chips, so I stole their metaphor. class! stuff!
next week's obsession - I lack focus! or possess a disturbing lack of application. elucidation is grand, deprecation is constant, scansion is variable, this sentence will now end.
nietzsche - this should also go as I am no longer seventeen although y'know he was clearer writing on art than a whole lot of other things
noir - I like a lot of films with this appelation however I haven't seen nearly as many as I should
not-for-profit - a solid basis for something or other
people's stories - you know if I had one interest this would be it
pharmacy - its five years since I left uni so I'm not sure precisely what motivates this still being interesting to me but it is
photography - I really want to do more of this
pirates - outside social norms! looking good in eyeliner! romanticised no end, interesting all the same.
pj harvey - still never seen her live
placebo - SAW THIS ONE BOOYAH
poking badgers with spoons - the mighty izzard
... this is getting much less interesting, I'm going to now go with edited highlights, then go sleep.
punk rock manifestos - this is a line from a L7 song i think
queer visibility - this is kind of interesting. sometimes I wish I was more visible but I'm not sure how; also I don't want to just conform with another set of norms; also, I don't know.
speaking truth to power - sometimes in flying shoe form! or stephen colbert form. it's all good.
speaking truth to toast! - because it needs emphasising that sometimes my judgement is not the best.
virginia woolf - I lost my copy of Orlando on the train :((( I certainly can't say I've read everything she's written; far from it. it's all resonated though. you know that's such a weird metaphor. I mean, if I'm resonant does this mean I'm hollow? like a bell or a cookie jar? SO. CONFUSED.
writing - frankly I should end the list with "zombies", and in future I think I shall, I just think having the "writing" at the end looks good because I'm really superficial like that. and hollow. like a gourd cheese sandwich. anyway. enough!
it's also interesting what I don't have listed, although probably the first thing that I don't have that I should is "unwarranted self-absorbtion".
also, happy new year!