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November 30, 2003

Everyone should buy Sleeper

But then that's what I said about Jeff Buckley, and see where that got me. It's not that I found out about him through MTV Europe, 120 minutes, and later in more regular rotation - I simply miss the sepia-tinted me.

You know it's hard on your mother and me. Of course it's that much more charming when Louise Wener sings it.

Posted by subtitles at 11:33 PM | Personal

November 28, 2003

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Ding Dong the witch is dead.

Posted by subtitles at 7:11 AM | Personal

What's Next?

Why is it, that on certain days, things just go that slightly bit wrong and you feel as if things will never go right - when you feel your writing's crummy and you're saying things that are so banal and trite. Your raid array appears to be offline from overclocking, and you've watched the season finale of season 2 of West Wing again, and it's made you upset in that despondent resigned kind of unhappy.

Posted by subtitles at 2:55 AM | Personal

November 26, 2003

Not Ready Steady Cook

If I'm not careful, I'm going to spend 2 weeks in Shanghai having a West Wing marathon of Season 2.

I really like the Ainsley episodes - makes me want to go find some good Gilbert and Sullivan.

Posted by subtitles at 3:44 AM | Personal

November 19, 2003

Dean for America

It occurs to me that the polarisation of politics in America, which the Economist attributes to the need by candidates to pander to their more extreme/fanatical supporters, a product of decades of gerrymandering, affects the Democrats as much if not more than the Republicans.

Which is why Dean seems to eager to talk trash about free trade and international labour policies, because of how important the unions are to the Democrats. Which is why all his talk about immigration is focused on groups that are affiliated to the voting public - Hispanic immigration being the only thing he talks about under his umbrella of "immigration".

But oh my is he talking exciting talk nonetheless - in many cases really just talking the right talk.

Posted by subtitles at 3:53 AM |

Bonnie and Clyde

I'm flying to Shanghai on Saturday morning (early).

Oh, and just to give notice to people of York (who give a damn), I'll be there from the 3rd of March to the 26th, and am shamelessly asking for volunteers to put me up.

Posted by subtitles at 12:54 AM | Personal

November 14, 2003

I'm Being Repressed

I'm starting to realise why satire can by its nature be so emphatic and uncompromising - why it needs to paint extremity as extremity. The gesture itself asks for a register that confronts the ridiculous with that measure of outrage (The Right Honourable Rape) that appears so unmitigated, unchecked, irresponsible, unfair and like a man making a tailor.

And also it's never quite as funny otherwise - ambivalence I suppose is the answer and the companion. That and somehow it just doesn't feel right, as if somehow the prose has taken on a life of its own and refuses to be molded in that way.

Posted by subtitles at 5:25 PM | Personal

November 13, 2003

The Women of Qumar

I ask for some indulgence in spite of the fact that my next sentence might well start with "...but the economist says". But well, it does, here and here, which is my belated reaction to the very paltry treatment of the issue by people who should know better. Belated because I'm seeing these episodes of the West Wing on Bravo reruns.

Posted by subtitles at 7:09 PM | Personal

November 12, 2003

Star Trek: Enterprise

I perhaps never quite realised why I remain so loyal in watching Enterprise each week even though it can be so achingly mediocre. Last year when I was stuck in my room lonely and unhappy, it was a kind of solace to have practically an entire season of it to watch on VCD downloaded off kazaa.

Posted by subtitles at 7:08 PM | Personal

November 7, 2003

Tara Reid

I'm just saying, that inevitably, if you want to make an artistic point through representation of things as they occur, you have to understand that this representation, which you invest and presume will act as some kind of "cautionary" (I know, I know, a dirty word) or revelatory unveiling *of barbarism* - that it necessarily becomes subject to aestheticisation, not least by the social discourse around it.

Which is why you can find portions of Body Shots online with metadata that works directly contrary to intention.

Posted by subtitles at 8:31 PM | TrackBack | Personal

Fluff, get it?

Is it really that difficult for people to be more personable? Or do I just bring out terseness in people? I mean I make an effort to be funny in my e-mails, I kept it short, I didn't waffle - is it too much to ask that they attempt to sound more encouraging/direct?

If I have to think more about the Inquirer application I'm going to hoist myself by my balls.

...gets me to the church on time...

Posted by subtitles at 5:17 AM | Personal

November 4, 2003

If the Inquirer hires me I'm going to soil myself

If there ever was a headline that gave the story away... maybe I can webcast it.

There are obviously a whole bunch of things that I now wish I had included in my e-mail to Mageek (whoops, sorry - grand-high-poobah-boss-man), I suppose the most important of those omissions is that I'm just aware of how important context and implication are to providing a piece of writing with perspective and analytical depth - that how online publishing has to gear itself for the onset of aggregation and things like RSS - how important that the headline should pull you in and the content not disappoint to maintain that rapport with the audience. And that I do actually know how to write a non-breathless sentence.

Writing for the Economist now pales in my imagination - the INQ is where it's at.

Oh, and for those of you who've actually lost control of your mouse and seen my "resume site" you'll understand why I refused to send that load of tripe to them.

Hopefully now my pathetic attempts at hardware reviews will never see the light of day.

Posted by subtitles at 1:08 AM | Personal