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caldrail

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Blog Comments posted by caldrail


  1. Cats might be fun, but ultimately they're fair weather friends. Dogs are social creatures that treat their owning family as their 'pack' - it comes very naturally to them. Cats though are not pack animals, though their behaviour varies according to circumstance. Cats are individualistic because they tend to be reared as such. Those born as part of large groups (such as abandoned farmyards and old ladies homes) have a much more social outlook.

     

    I suspect dogs adapt too, but they much prefer to be part of a pack.


  2. The Meaning of Life?

     

    We all have different values and ambitions, so I guess the meaning of life varies from person to person. If you need to address that question, then perhaps your life is lacking?

     

    Firstly, never forget what you are. Human beings, despite two thousand years of christian culture to the contrary, are social animals. Almost everything we do is an extension of instinct. There's no need to be ashamed of this connection. To regard ourselves as 'special' is arrogance, nothing more. After all, is not the natural world something special? The conditions for life seem to somewhat rare in our universe, so treasure it in it's entirety.

     

    Some people see religion as an answer. I have my own beliefs for sure, but surrendering to an organisation that wants to dictate my behaviour seems to me less than desirable. It isn't about what you believe, but what you do. How you treat others is more important. truth is after all in the eye of the beholder as much as beauty.

     

    The japanese used to say that a mans fate is a mans fate, and life but an illusion. They recognised the fletting impermanence of our existence and accepted it. I might not quite go that far, but I do say that fate is the sum of all decisions and natural forces. You can decide what you wish to do - you must accept that others may decide differently. Do you accept the world as is or do you strive to change it? It's your choice.


  3. Do we have such a slave race? Actually, yes we do, but the risk of alienating my fan base prevents me from being outrageously sexist (Before anyone slaps me on the cheek, my tongue is firmly in it aleady - Why do I get the impression I'm digging myself into a pit here?)

     

    As it happens, I agree, cats are very quick to manipulate and exploit mankind.

     

    We used to get a cat hanging around our home many years ago. It was incredibly cute the way it rubbed itself up your leg and inevitably, my parents began feeding it, until we discovered it was doing exactly the same thing for every house in the street. That was a well fed cat. Sorry, kitten, doting privileges revoked. Serves you right.

     

    The next cat to try that got shown off the premises with a hosepipe. Nice try, but no cigar.


  4. Which all kind of misses the point. Art is elitist because a minority want to be seen as superior in status. Thats nothing to do with aesthetics at all, it's simply social behaviour and if I were honest, not really the best side of it, since these people show little respect for common opinion.

     

    However, what drives the genre is money. Experts earn a living by describing and judging nuances, critics earn a living by praising or denouncing work, dealers earn a living by cashing in on reputations, artists earn a living by selling their creations.

     

    We're surrounded by the natural world. The randomness and fractal properties of the small scale lead to interactions of form and colour that the artifical and contrived works of the limited imaginations of many modern artists simply don't match. Modern art is, quite frankly, bland and pretentious. That would be ok if the people in the genre didn't keep on claiming all this significance.

     

    Art does not change the world. How could it? Art is only an expression of the artist and therefore very revealing of their own personalities. Since the artist isn't changing the world but simply making an artistic expression of it, then clearly art has no force for change.

     

    What does change is fashion. One artist is popular for a while (or perhaps longer) then the emphasis moves on. Is my unmade bed art? No, it isn't. Not in any way whatsoever. It's simply moving a mundane object into pubklic scrutiny and the artistic skill and flair involved is essentially zero. Anyone trying something like that deserves to be tarred and feathered as a fraud.

     

    Art is a creative genre. If there is no creative aspect, neither can we ascribe artisitc value to it. An unmade bed is simply a natural consequence of the interaction of physical objects and my nightly slumber. If I take a photograph, or paint a picture, or perhaps carve a sculpture to create an impression of that scene - that is art. Something creative has occured. If I simply roll my unmade bed into a public gallery, I've done nothing more than furniture removal.

     

    As for cracks in the ground, the gas pipe fitters made much more interesting shapes outside my home than Kapoors oval, which was actuallly a rather dull and uninspired piece for he'll no doubt be feted and paid his own weight in gold for. But then.... He did persuade people that his work was worthy. Which makes him on par with a car salesman as I said originally.


  5. I wasn't expecting this to be so contentious ;)

     

    Modern art is an attempt to remove the natural world from the composition. It's the same as taking melodies from music and arriving at Rap, which for some is interesting and for others nothing short of musical excrement.

     

    Can modern art succeed? Actually, yes, it can. The trick is to be aesthetically pleasing but the problem there is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

     

    Also, since we are social animals, every so often an individual breaks ranks and creates a new tribe. This has happened in art with these modern styles. Also, since individuals like to jostle for status, the work they complete becomes symbolic of their own importance, thus we see gross works and some very inflated ideas of the significance of it.

     

    Shock value also gets someone attention. If you want to grab an audience, make something that challenges current thinking. This happens in music too. In art, we see people going so far as putting real body parts in their compositions. Is that art, or just an excess of ego, or simply a crass attempt to get attention?

     

    On the subject of art, people will fall into whichever camp they prefer. Do they want the naturalistic and traditional form, or the brash artificial style? You choose, but in no way does opinion over art reflect ignorance. Nor does it require psychiatric treatment ;)


  6. Funny thing is I tend to be the same when travelling. Way back in my college days we were in a minibus heading for some spelunking in Wales. The lecturer, who happened to be sat next to me, prodded me and asked "Are you thinking about the caves?"

     

    Eh? What? No, I'm looking out the window.... And even funnier, he turned out to be the one with claustrophobia.


  7. Here in Blighty, guns have been something less desirable for a long time. The age when a retired officer still had his .45 Webley revolver in his draw are long gone.

     

    After the Hungerford incident, auto-rifles were out.

     

    After Dunblane - handguns were out.

     

    The only reason shotguns are tolerated now is because country folk demand their use and even then there are strict rules for ownership and security of weapons. The drawback though is that after the legislation to ban gun ownership many weapons were sold on the black market. In fact, some people say it's easier to obtain guns in Britain now that they're illegal.

     

    I must admit, I was once offered an old russian autopistol (an offer I quickly refused) but apart from a glimpse of an armed policeman (still a rare sight in Britain outside London) or a soldier on manoevers, I just just don't see any.#

     

    We don't have the same gun culture that exists in the US. There is one, though, and you can buy all sorts of gun magazines offering all manner of replicas for those wishing to enjoy their hobby or fantasies legally, but even that looks like closing because these replicas are now used frequently as bogus weaponry in criminal activity.

     

    Hunting in Britain isn't a free for all activity either. Even if the gun is legally owned, the shooter requires permission of the landowner before he uses it, and no firearm should be openly displayed in public or you face arrest.

     

    In recent years some debate about home defence arose because two undesirables tried to burgle a farmhouse and the somewhat odd inhabitant shot one dead. Under our law, a person is entitled to use reasonable force to protect self, family, and others. The police hint in private that they expect this, but the truth is that you will risk arrest and prosecution if you employ any violence.

     

    For us British, it's all a bit of a grey and potentially grief-ridden area.


  8. I'd started a whole load of local bands, most of whom I really can't remember the names of at all. Bardiche was a typical period melodic rock/soft metal band I joined in the mid-eighties and eventually managed for a year or so but after Pete Farrar got the hump because I wasn't making enough profit to pay him an expected fee for his services, I kind of got disillusioned with running bands and looked for something worth joining.

     

    Then I found Red Jasper, a quirky sort of contemporary folk band. After a series of embarrasing gigs I pushed the band into rocking it up a little, thinking (correctly) that we'd get more attention. It was a strange circumstance really. In truth, Jasper was an uncomfortable mix and the members were all pulling it their own way. I got blamed for most of that but in all honesty we were all guilty. On the plus side, we played some high profile venues, got rave reviews in Kerrang, and were described as 'Jethro Tull on speed'.


  9. It's simple. but challenging. It's all about business skills. A&R men aren't interested in whether you're the greatest act ever born, only if they can sell you.

     

    They used to receive infinite numbers of cassettes in my day (its internet exposure too these days). One A&R man I spoke to had a big sack in his office full of the things - none were going to get heard. One band I know of packaged their demo in a custom made polystyrene brick (hand-painted) and it was all a waste of effort.

     

    The trick is to sell your band before the A&R man actually hears it. That first phone call is everything, and it helps to have friends in influential places. Other than that, you simply have to get lucky.

     

    For instance... Tony and I were heading for a gig in Bristol. The previous night we'd done a support slot at the Mean Fiddler in London. Over the radio, the DJ mentioned he'd been to a gig yesterday at that very venue. Both Tony and I leaned forward with baited breath, no longer interested in the direction the car was travelling. "Saw a Great Band" The DJ said. Yes... Go on... Please... We want exposure.... But it was not to be. He simply said the headline band were brilliant. Putdowns don't come any harder than that :clapping:


  10. "Heck, I still believed I could be a rock star back then. That's how optimistic we

    Whilst i do agree with your comments on how good the music was, am sorry to disappoint you, but Mr Cowel was very much a part of the music scene even then.

     

    So the High Priest of Pop Idol destoryed my career too did he? Cheers Suz, now I know :clapping:

     

    I always found him charming and honest,

    Noooooo! Suz has been turned into a Pop-Idol Worshipper by the Evil Codpiece! Repent, sinner!

     

    Seriously though if thats your impression of him then thats cool. I've only got his tv appearances to go by, and whilst his 'honesty' is no different from the cruel opinions of the entertainment business as a whole (believe me, I knew what people thought of our band!), I find it hard to like the mans personality.

     

    :) So, you'll have to find someone else to blame for the brutal sounds on the radio today lol

    Well at least it wasn't me! :)


  11. I'd have to bow to your superior experience there. It just seems that after the withdrawal of colonialism, the local tribes have rubbed each other up the wrong way and spurred on by the value of natural resources and the influence of arms dealers. After all, the abortive coup in Equatorial Guinea was about nothing more that profit from natural resources.

     

    One aspect of African strife that I notice is the lack of ideological struggles. Although the Cold War supported one side or another as they did elsewhere, the issue was always something more corrupt.

     

    Perhaps though my image of Africa is sponsored by the media. It does seem to be backed up by the accounts of mercenaries I come across - but again, they operate in dangerous areas anyway.


  12. It is a sobering thought given how solitary my life has become. Your experience in african villages is interesting. In the news we see strife. One man complained and eventually got government aid so the bandits turned up to take it away. Then the army turned up to chase them away and took everything he had left (don't know which country, but it was africanish).

     

    Nonetheless, I keep seeing footage of children in the appalling poverty of the countryside and lo and behold they're blissfully happy and playful. Until they're old enough to buy an AK that is.


  13. I like quoting this, but the film Three Kings has an interesting sequence where the men are stopped by the rogue special forces guy and he asks them "What is most important?"

     

    They look stupid for a minute then he says "Necessity."

     

    I do understand your point. We become accustiomed to our luxuries and devices. My world has shrunk enormously since I became a pedestrian for instance. Life without a computer at home would be unbearable! I think though this subject tends to be viewed from the perspective of the individual. Thats not really the right way to see it. Humans are social animals, and unless we're part of a co-operative tribe, the back-to-basics experience can be a lot tougher.

     

    I remember on the tv news a wanted criminal was caught after he'd tried to hide out in the woods, armed with one of those special forces 'how-to' guides. He'd spent two weeks away from civilisation and was caught because he'd attempted to buy matches in a shop looking completely dishevelled. Rather like the Simpsons, where Homer falls out with Marge and lives in the kids tree house. After three hours, he's reduced to a wretched state.

     

    then again, regarding pace of life, mine has almost stopped due to unemployment. In fact, the authorities regularly kick you up the rear to remotivate your job seeking, or send you to obscure units where they try to renew your energy. It sort of works, but I don't think you're unchanged by the experience.


  14. At the time, we had no electricity, no running water, no access to internet, and very basic facilities.

    So... basically what you're saying is.... they're no better off than me?

     

    Seriously though, the 'back to basics' lifestyle is great when everythings peaceful and the necessities of life within easy reach. Add some policial turmoil, a few chinese arms dealers, a famine, a long period without rain, one or two king rats, and you get hell on earth.


  15. Before my time. My Action Man had plastic painted hair. No fuzzy stuff or real gripping hands. The catalogue that came in the box was brilliant. It had all these Korean War uniforms and equipment in them that seemed rare and exclusive, stuff you couldn't get in the shops.

     

    The problem was that my Action Man really wanted to mount special forces missions behind enemy greenhouses, but in reality his poor ring-pull voice couldn't make himself understood.

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