| They'd taken everything he thought was clear and true. |
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[03 Jul 2009|10:44am] |
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Things have been interesting. A lot of positive steps in very positive directions for me, but I'm still plagued by my usual unrelenting lack of drive. Admittedly, with everything going on, I have a lot less free time TO do the things that need to be done, but that doesn't mean I haven't been lazy when time permits it.
I would like more shifts at the ACC, most importantly more than just "bump outs" (stripping down and packing up halls AFTER an event) which, while good work & experience, get a little samey. There's only so much you learn unplugging and putting stuff away. I understand there isn't a lot of work for me- especially being so low down in the pecking order, but I'd love a few more set-up shifts, and some "ops" (operations, actually running the desk during the gig itself) would be even better. I will speak to clay (my boss in charge of rosters) soon, mention that the best way for me to be more useful to them (more than just another 'manual labor' body for their big bump out crews) is for me to learn, and I learn by doing. But as a whole, I'm enjoying the work, enjoying it muchly.
Other occasional bursts of activty come up in the form of sound gigs and band gigs, which keep me occupied- but there are always things I could be doing to get me MORE work outside of the ACC. More work for the band, more work for me as a soundy. Every day seems to pass and things happen, but nothing gets done in this regard. It's the days where I have free time, and I seem to piss it away that I get really mad at myself. But I've always done. I guess, as a whole, I have been better at this than I once was. It's just a slow process of self-improvement. Learning to balance when I should be enjoying my free time for my sanity, and cracking down and doing what needs doing. I do far too much of the former, and it's a detriment to my sanity.
But hey- that's a constant, for me. What else is new? Well. Bought a new guitar, getting it installed with a sustainiac pickup I bought a few years back secondhand. I've wanted to use it for more clean, violin-style volume swells & ambient sounds- but never could justify ANOTHER guitar. However, with the band looking at recording (booked in our pre-production this week, yay!) properly, it'll have a big use there. So I'm stoked. I purchased myself a squier Telecaster; ( More details for guitar nerds under the cut )
There have been other things going on lately- those close to me know the details of my other issues, but out of respect for others I'll keep those to myself- besides, I don't really want to get bogged down in them again. Suffice to say, I thought I'd reached a crossroads, and had to make some tough decisions. But now it seems I may not need to. Or maybe I still do. I don't know, and you certainly have no idea what I'm rambling about, so I'll stop there.
Adelaide has been feeling boring lately- but I don't see myself leaving anytime immediately soon. I never thought I'd be the sort of person who wants to get out, move on to bigger things- but I think these days, I may just be. Long way to go before I start talking about that, though.
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| It's simple, really. |
[17 Jun 2009|09:55am] |
I live on a parkside cul-de-sac. There's a 3-car "park" at the end of my street, that people park in and go walking through the park. The council often use it as an entryway to the parklands by removing a few bolts from one of the wooden barriers/fances and driving through. They've been working in the park the last week. Last night, Dad was in my car park, tess in the other, so I drew the short straw and parked in the carpark out front.
I woke up this morning to find a council truck idling in front of the carpark. there were 3 big, beefy council workers sitting in the cab, all staring at me. I wondered why, until I noticed that my car was parked in front of the section of 'barrier' they'd previously removed for access to the park. Whoops. I felt a bit silly as I got to my car, and drove it out of the way. The whole time, the council workers had been glaring at me, one in particular very angrily. I felt like an idiot, as I'd clearly held up their work for an hour or two by now- until I started down the road and realised something.
There are many sections of timber barrier in this carpark. They could have very easily just grabbed a shifter from their large truck, and removed another section, and driven through. Instead, they chose to sit in their truck, throw their hands up and say "Ah, look, we can't work because someone is in the way. Too bad!". If asked why they weren't working, they could easily blame me. Man- I know it's extremely hipocritical of me to call someone else lazy- but damn, man. That's shocking.
If you've got a job to do, just do it. I guess my new job has been teaching me that. For once, I've been working hard, to the best of my ability- it's really been teaching me that if something 'can't be done' one way, you find another way to get it done. *shrug*
In other news, things have been interesting, lately. Pretty stressful time for Tess and I with her exams looming. Lots to do for me, too- with the recording looming and gigs coming up. Shrug. Anyway, back to it.
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| Goin' like a bat out of hell. |
[10 May 2009|12:02pm] |
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I do read my friends list reguarly, and I comment on others' posts also. Though it seems every time I add someone on this here interweb livebook I realise how little I actually post about my own goings-on.
That said, I did mention a while back that I wouldn't be reguarly updating. This is an old, old, old livejournal. It started when I was in middle-school, and it's continued til now, 2 months off 25 years old. Kinda funny, really, to think that it's probably almost ten years old.
I rarely sit back and read through ALL of it. Most of it is truely painful- I was such an idiot in my teens. Really. Hell, I'm still an idiot now, a lot of the time- only now I tend to write less about my idiocy on livejournal. Someone told me about a year ago that she'd gone through and read every single one of my entries, that it was an interesting story to read, like a novel of sorts. I suppose that would be true- most peoples' lives are somewhat interesting. I should do this for other journals sometime. I should also read back on my own, sometime.
But anyhow- what's going on now? Lots, really. I've started working at the convention centre, which has been better for me than even I expected. Couple that with regular work at the rhino room and the occasional job elsewhere, and I've been doing a lot of tech/sound work lately. I'm feeling very proud of myself- something I haven't felt in a while. Now I just need to start cleaning the house more, something I'm still not very good at. Lazy.
The band is also going great. We've played a lot of shows, they've been great, we're writing tons of new material and planning to record in the coming months. I have been collaborating with Tom and the other guys on new material, and coming up with what we believe is 'good shit'. It's been a lot of fun. We're playing this week, friday night at the Rhino Room- then we've a string of shows in the next few months also. We're talking about a band trip to some kind of secluded area where we can hang out in a house recording demos sometime in the near future, pre-production for an EP later on. Very exciting, for me, anyhow.
I guess I don't have anything INTERESTING to report, you know- gossip, parties, tales of my sex-life (well... I've a few, but I'm not in the mood to share) and the like. These days my entries all seem to be "work, music, other". It's rather bland, I suppose. I've been wondering about that, lately. I'm actually seeming to be 'growing older', whether I like it or not. I'm not as interested in being up late, jumping around, being crazy. Maybe it's because Tess and I have settled down. Maybe my body HAS slowed. Maybe maybe maybe- but I can't help but be frustrated. I really didn't want to go down like this. Not that I really AM 'going down'- but some nights I find myself yawning at midnight, wanting to go home and sleep and thinking "Really? Seriously? What the hell, man."
Or I could, as I do with most things, just be overthinking things. I still live an interesting life. I still have interesting friends, still do interesting things. I still beat the hell out of blandy suburbanites adventures in blandtown, but sometimes I wonder whether I should still be going like the bat out of hell I always figured I would be.
Then again, in the last year I've done some pretty fucking crazy things with some pretty crazy people.
...fuck it. I've still got it.
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[01 May 2009|10:25am] |
Out back we climb the steps to the deck and Richard lies on his back in the sun while I slide my lock-picks out and get to work. "I thought you were supposed to be at work this morning?" I say as I select a pick. Richard laughs.
"You couldn't hear us slamming the photocopier into the wall?" I can picture it, the photocopier's lid breaking off, cheap and plastic under their hard and violent bodies. Sex is always better when you're breaking something.
I learned to pick locks from the MIT guide to picking locks. I found it on the internet, and you can tell it was written by the sort of queer that doesn't like the word queer. The whole thing is prefaced by an ethics statement, again and again apologizing for being a guide to picking locks. Explaining and apologizing, like those fuckers I'm always seeing on TV talking about gay marriage, about being in love and being just like straight people, just as monogamous and sexually repressed.
I ordered the pick set off the internet. I'm having trouble concentrating on which pins are set, though, because I keep picturing Richard fucking the mailroom boy on the photocopier at work.
"I thought it was a headboard," I say. Then the lock is open, and I turn the knob. "We're in." Richard has his shirt pulled up so the sun can get at his chest, and he lays there for a minute in silence before he acknowledges that he hears me.
"Alright," he says, sitting up. "Let's do this shit." I love how he talks like that, like we're TV criminals, about to "do a job." It makes me want to bring pantyhose to pull down over our faces, but that shit can ruin a perfectly good pair of hose.- Joey Comeau, Lockpick Pornography I forgot how much I loved this book, and wanted to share that section. Go read it, It's free.
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| Reach out and... Reach out and.. Reach out and touch somebody. (innappropriately?) |
[01 Apr 2009|05:21pm] |
Interesting couple of weekends have just passed. One, up in hahndorf for Jack's "arbitary 21st"- which was the biggest piss-up myself and my friends have had in a very long time. Drinking games, vomiting, drawing dicks on passed-out peoples' faces and running off to berenberg farm at 3am to pick strawberries were just a few of the crazy things we got up to, like so many sixteen year olds.
The other, last weekend, an "internet theme" party where many people dressed up in such costumes as "Series of tubes", lolcats, furries, internet pirates, "the cloud", Raptor Jesus, Advice Dog, the list goes on. Hilarity ensued for us geeks, my own "hard gay" costume drawing many a laugh and many a disgusted look from those who just didn't know what to think. Never one to shy away from leather, that's Nolly. We partied hard, but perhaps not as hard as the weekend earlier. Still- the house was suitably trashed. It looked like it'd been hit with the full force of INTERNET.
It's funny to look back and think on how we would party like this, or harder, every. single. weekend, often twice, when we were fifteen. Sixteen. Young. Indestructable. Right now, I'm coming down with another flu, and my body still feels broken, 3 days into the week past the last outing. I know it sounds cliche, but it really makes one think about one's mortality.
Speaking of mortality- I also saw a dentist. Wonderful fellow. I'd broken a tooth in hahndorf on the sunday morning eating breakfast, so I went and got it fixed up. Well. Apparently my mouth is in all sorts of trouble. I had 2 major fillings done on the spot, and booked an appointment for even more work to be done in the future. My teeth, it seems, aren't very solid. He suggested it was probably a high-sugar diet coupled with lack of brushing in my teens. I tried to think about what might be so high in sugar I ate or drank reguarly. Then it hit me.
Red Bull.
Good thing I swore off that stuff a few months ago, but for about 5 years I've been addicted to the 30% sugar drink. No WONDER my body isn't hacking it. But, as I said, I've stopped drinking the stuff. Finally. and now, well. We'll see.
That's it for now.
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[27 Mar 2009|03:09pm] |
It's been a while since I posted. The norm, these days, but that's okay. Things have been looking up- since I kicked the videogame habit (ugh, why do I do these things to myself?!) at the end of the year, things have really come together a lot more.
The Band has started again. Tom's joined us, initially as a temporary fill-in bassist, but now that we've been playing for a few months, he's really enjoying the vibe, and so am I. The band's coming together as a cohesive unit again, and it's good- it's different. Musical relationships are indeed similar to romantic relationships- when one member of a band leaves and another comes in- things change. Initially there's awkwardness and mixed feelings but eventually, the past becomes the past and the present becomes something more, something different.
So, as it stands, The Authentic Replica are back. We're getting tighter, moving in different directions, playing with different ideas. Tom's been an unexpected inspiration to play with (well, not entirely unexpected... just, not in the ways I expected :P) - he's a very crazy, out-there person but he's also very mature about things. He's more likely to go against the grain than with it, and I worried that would clash with my apparent sense of "direction" - but it's done exactly the opposite. It's inspired me to be looser, more fluid. I'm writing again and it's different- there are timing changes and chords I've never used and while yes, it's still sounding like my own style of music, it's becoming far more complex than it ever was. Got me out of a rut, I feel like I'm improving and expanding, and this is an awesome feeling.
I'm proud of this Demo (as sloppy as it it). It's been kicking around a while, but the band's been working on it and played it for the first time last night, at our first real gig back since Tom's joined. We had a blast, and more will come. Already emailed some venues. Go. Me.
We've got some money in the kitty, now. Wouldn't mind betting we'll be recording mid-year. Want to get some writing done first, tom and I have writing sessions planned- we actually seem to work well together in this regard. Insane, no?
The Job has also come along. I got off my arse and applied at the Adelaide Convention Centre, and got the job. It's a corporate gig, black pants, shirt and tie style- no room for messing around at all, and I'm nervous but excited about it. I hope everything goes well and I can carve out some work in the place. If I can't, well, we'll see what happens. But I'm feeling positive, really. I'm very proud of myself.
Other things are well also. Tess and I have been through some very, very interesting twists and turns, the likes of which I can't even BEGIN to talk about on this thing- just far, far too complicated. But we're doing well- "Interesting" doesn't mean "bad"- just literally interesting. I mean, sure- we have our bumpy moments as always, but we're 'talking talking talking, communicating communicating communicating' and we always seem to work out the major problems. As it stands, we're both working on ourselves to try and improve our own happiness levels. It's easy to fall into a rut when you're both getting down in the dumps- but I'm proud of how far we've come together, and I'm very proud of what we have.
That'll do. Life update over, internets.
Nolly
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[20 Jan 2009|11:07pm] |
"He asked me to paint myself black from head to toe, so that I might fit in. I told him that I was happier being myself, that we should all be happier with ourselves. He was upset for a time, until I asked him if he would paint himself red. He seemed to understand, and I walked out of the old shower room along a hallway.
The old, rusted chain-link fences curved up and over as I passed by, sheets of corrugated tin covering over my head, some form of flimsy protection from the rain. Not that it was raining.
As I reached the end of the hall, I found the entrance to the fenced-off place. I don't know what was inside, but the gates were haphazard, built hastily for purpose, ugly- and I got the feeling that I'd feel no solace in that place. So I turned around.
The room that I walked toward was a dormitory, of sorts. It was both a small drop, and 100 meters down from the small white-tiled ledge I stood on. There were beds there. There was no rear wall. Instead, behind it, barrels tumbled from a conveyor belt downward through the air, spinning randomly- but I knew they would land perfectly, in the right place.
I hopped off the ledge and both fell, and stepped down to one of the beds. She was lying on it, and she looked at me with a look of unease, mixed with relief. I sat down on the bed and after a moment of discomfort she told me she wanted to make it work, excited like she used to be.
I lie down and slid to the floor between the two dorm beds, and she fell with me, staring up at the chain-link above us. I held her, stroked her thigh tenderly, and she nuzzled my neck, kissing it ever so slightly.
This was an odd, yet right sensation, since our relationship had never been been associated with romance. And somehow, that was the point. It meant more. This meant acceptance.
We watched as the falling barrels landed perfectly in their containers, right-way-up and without faltering.
'I've missed you.' she whispered."
...and then, of course, I woke up.
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| Things, and stuff. |
[05 Dec 2008|09:12pm] |
It's certainly been a while. Too much of nothing, for a while there. But I think I kicked the video game habit somewhat. The last month I've gotten things moving again. Hit a bit of a slump- there, typically, got down on myself when I hit a bump in the road. But I'm moving past that, picking up, moving forward and learning from this.
So things are looking up. I've lost some things along the way in this little... slow period- enthusiasm, and the enthusiasm of others, mostly- but after some work I've managed to beat it, and I'm back on the game.
I've been playing guitar every day the last 2 weeks, and at least bi-weekly the month before that. Sometimes I work hard on scales and chords and all that boring but necessary crap, sometimes I work on my own stuff- and just recently been working on other people's stuff. I sorted things out with band members, for better or worse, and Tim and Jackson and I are moving forward, we've a (temporary) bassist to fill in while we find something more permanent. The important thing is, I think I know why things might have happened as they did, and I'm trying to learn from it.
We got a permanent spot at derringers for wednesday nights- that's a great morale booster. Now, we can focus on where this is going without having to struggle week to week finding a physical place to play music. I'll get back onto the gigs soon, when we're playing solidly again. We're all excited about being able to experiment a bit with new sounds and ideas, but more importantly, we're excited to be playing again.
On the work front- I switched positions within the business back out onto the floor. Been trying to genuinely work hard and focus on the tasks at hand, and I think I'm doing okay. I've been looking at work in the sound sector- it comes and goes in dribs and drabs, and I've made a few calls- but as irony would have it now that I'm looking, seems not many companies are hiring. Something about a finiancial crisis. Hah! But I'm still looking.
Oh, I'm doing an induction to 3D Radio. That's right, kids, you'll hear Nolly on the airwaves on 93.7 soon. First (very short, no doubt) broadcast will be part of the "training" program, "mystery train" sometime from 6:30pm to 7:30pm thursday nights, starting on the 19th (Thursday week). It's awesome to be involved- I really like the way the station works, all voluntary. I hope to get involved in the technical side of things too if I can.
Anyway. That's it from me. Music, and work. I won't even start on relationships, friends, weekends, and the rest of it- haha. But drop me a line and I'll be happy to indulge/bore you.
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| Internetting across the galaxy. |
[15 Oct 2008|11:27am] |
It's been a while. I blame Warhammer. I got the game about a month ago now and, as I expected, fell head-first into it with all the tenacity of that wow addiction I had years ago. It's a great game, but it is one hell of a time-sink.
Someone once said to me- I think it was Alex (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) onionmonkey) - That "MMORPG's arent games, theyre jobs." And of course, they'd be right. Not that I didn't KNOW that when I bought it, but I did hope that I'd get some kind of "casual" enjoyment out of it.
But I don't know- between that and my previous Hellgate:London obsession, I think I just need to lay off the grinding. I have a tendency to play too much- Far too much. For the last month of warhammer, and to a lesser extent the last six months of Hellgate, I've just not done enough. Certainly in the last month, I've barely played guitar, and not done a lot in the way of songwriting and recording.
Of course, this was kind of expected. I told myself, since I'd been following the development of the game for months, that I would allow myself some time to play it. That I *would* put things on hold, a little bit. But I didn't expect it to get this bad. I have an addictive personality, it seems, and I'm all too happy to justify not going out to get that extra level. Or hey, I should practice guitar, but then- the enemy is sieging a keep and the guild needs all the help they can get- so I'd better give them a hand.
It's funny, too- amongst the guildies. You just don't mention real life. Every time I log off stating that I've got to get some things done, nobody responds. If I ever lightheartedly joke about how this game is taking up all of my time, nobody says a word. It's like everybody knows- everybody knows that they're spending far too much time in an online fantasy-world- And whatever you do, "don't talk about the war." Clearly, some of these people have far more serious gaming addictions- some of which talk occasionally about how they just don't have time for a girlfriend, or how their husband said "it's me or the game" - and you obviously don't have to ask which one they chose.
That attitude, coupled with the fact that I'm NOT getting anything done, has drawn me to the exact same conclusion I came to after my much longer and more insulated WOW stint- That this just can't continue. At the same time, I don't want to do what I did with WOW and just cancel my account and stop cold turkey. I still enjoy the game- I still want to play. But I know that I'm playing too much.
For me, it seems, it's all, or nothing. I'm either IN THE GAME for hours at a time or not playing at all. I'm either IN THE ZONE writing a song or not even thinking about guitar. I'm a very off-on person, and I'm not sure what to do about this.
But I think there's no other option- I don't think I'll start playing for WAR once my free month runs out. It's a shame, but hey- real life calls.
I've been sick, and haven't been able to get to guitar lessons for a few weeks. We also havent jammed, and my WAR addiction has meant I haven't played guitar. Last night I had a lesson and jamming with Cal reminded me why I play. I'm inspired again- I'm getting back to it.
In short: Life temporarily derailed. Track repairwork underway.
Nolly
(As a side note, I tried to find a journal entry in which I talked about wow back when I was addicted. But I couldn't find one. I did read a lot of my old entries, though- Damn. I seemed much more interesting back then. But then, young, naive- and silly, at times. I think I need to sit down and read through my journal from start to finish sometime.)
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| End of an era? |
[07 Oct 2008|10:41am] |
...and so, it is with many fond memories (and many not so fond) that Nolly waves goodbye to the food-catching, kiss-messing, somewhat itchy - yet ultimately cool looking (but not really sexy) beard.
( Results under the cut )
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| The list so far: |
[16 Sep 2008|12:09pm] |
Just for my reference; the list of recommended listenings so far. Very diverse, will take me a while to get through.
- Jackson Jackson ("The Fire Is On The Bird")
- Less Than Jake ("Greased")
- Stereolab ("Chemical Chords", "Fab Four Suture")
- Tortoise ("TNT")
- Bowery Electric
- Explosions in the Sky
- Red Sparowes
- Peace Orchestra
- Patti Smith
- +/- (Plus/Minus) ("Let's build a fire")
- Evelyn Evelyn
- Scar Symmetry (Holographic Universe)
- Efterklang (Tripper)
- Battles
- Miss Kittin
- The Hacker
- Legowelt
- Orgue Electronique
- Biosphere ('Dropsonde', 'Patashnik', 'Cirque', 'Substrata')
- The Gaslight Anthem ("Sink Or Swim")
- Scarling (songs: Band Aid Covers The Bullet Hole, Teenage Party Letdown/Bummer (one segueways into the other), We Are The Music Makers, Alexander The Burn Victim, Caribou and Cake, Staring To The Sun)
- Report Suspicious Activity
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| HAHAHAH stuPid fuckin EMOOOOOO FAGGGGG LOL!!!! |
[15 Sep 2008|12:16pm] |
Yes, okay, men of Australia- We get it. You are such a big, tough man for giving shit to "emos". We know, we understand. You are that much tougher than the rest of us for publicly announcing how superior you are to a public image depicted as everything a strong, tough man should not be.
And it's getting old. You're actually not clever. You're actually not original. And while we're on the subject of things that you're not, you're actually not putting in much effort. I mean, come-on. Paying out "emos" ? You do realise the whole emo stigma was created by people like you to be the ULTIMATE in skinny, pathetic, "non-manly" people? Nevermind the fact that there are very few people who actually fit the mould you're so happily, cleverly slagging off about- but even if there were people who really, truly fit this 'girly-boy' stereotype- wouldn't it make more sense to be attacking something more... difficult?
I mean- Lets put it this way. If you were really trying to prove your superiority- would it be smarter to take down a lion, or a mouse? Surely people would 'respect' your powers of strength more for defeating a lion (a far more matched opponent), than defeating something which you obviously see as far below you in terms of size and strength? "Hey guys! look how tough I am! I can stomp on a mouse!" - Brilliant, boys. Fucking brilliant.
But why do I bother? You've probably already dismissed me as a "whiny emo faggot" and moved on to more funny videos of kids falling off of skateboards on break.com.
Edit: Oh yeah, and that big, manly, boystrous laugh you all heartily bellow after you've said or heard such a statement only makes you all sound far less evolved. Good job, neanderthal.
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[15 Sep 2008|10:21am] |
A question for my wonderfully diverse LJ-Friends:
I need new music to listen to in the car. If you have the time to throw me a quick comment, then;
- Name one (or more!) musical artists you're really into (past or present). - I'm not worried if they're obscure (hey! the more obscure, more chance I havent heard them!), or if you don't think I'd be into them- Surprise me!
And if you're feeling up to it:
- Name your favourite albums by this artist. And maybe even a line or two about them, or why you like them. I love the story behind artists.
Just started to load my iPhone up with music to listen to in the car, and I'm stumped as to what to put on it. Going through my 73gb of music, I find I've played a lot of it to death, and while some of it just DESERVES a place on the 'pod for my sheer love of it, a lot of it I'm a little 'meh' about bothering. So I need some new stuff to keep me keen.
Cheers!
Nolly
(PS: If you're worried about musical piracy, I generally buy CD's of artists whom I really enjoy. Or their T-Shirts, or I go to their shows when they come to town. All of which supports them.)
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[08 Sep 2008|09:17am] |
So warhammer online goes open beta today. I preordered weeks ago and still haven't recieved my code. Even though this is just a video game, and its not a big deal- I'm somewhat annoyed that I paid extra money so I could get into the open beta and I'm now not able to do so. I kinda want to ring up (a fourth time) and complain a little, but who the fuck complains about something like that?
/end nerd rant.
Edit: Hah. Oh, irony. They called about an hour after this post. I went and got my code- and when I got home and logged into the "beta centre", I discovered:
I had been already invited to the closed beta. - I hadn't checked my beta centre for months, assuming there'd be no way I'd get an invite. But I had. God knows when I did, too- but damn, it would've been cool to be part of the closed beta. Just for the wank factor.
Silly, stupid boy.
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| This time, I have no chorus. |
[06 Sep 2008|10:04am] |
( 'Love, they're claimin' is the top o' the world, )
Also; I have an iPhone. Already have a love/hate relationship with it. But the reason I bought it- the user interface- is amazing. So tactile- it feels like a 'part' of you. Apple always seem to get their UI's right. Now- fix the other shitty problems! I WANT SMS FORWARDING!
First photo on my new phone- Showing off my (now neatly trimmed) unruly mostache.
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| It's hard, to say, what went through your head- |
[25 Aug 2008|09:52pm] |
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Here's another one- This is the end result of the song I posted recently. I'm really, REALLY happy with how this one came out.
This new 'technique' I've been using of simply hitting record and playing (the guitar parts, at least) without a click-track has really been WORKING. I've gotten quite a few songs down lately- and when I get results like this, well- I'm very, very happy.
I'd love your feedback. It's another softy, but this one's a positive softy. It's about a girl, and some fucked up situations I've never been able to forget. It's about how, in retrospect, I'm really glad it all happened- as it showed me things, emotions and experiences I never thought possible. And it showed me that I can survive them, and, in a strange way, enjoy the ride. Hell, I look on those somewhat painful memories fondly, these days.
I've wanted to write this song for a very long time.
Your feedback is, as always, very much appreciated.
Download (128): Andrew Noll - Derailed
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| Kids not attending school? Take away their family's money! That'll fix the problem FOR SURE. |
[25 Aug 2008|09:41am] |
Rudd takes "Hardline" approach, introducing a bill to CUT Family welfare for children who do not attend school.Families face losing their welfare for three months if their children continually skip school, under legislation to be introduced to Federal Parliament this week.
Under the Federal Government's proposed scheme, regular school attendance will become a condition for receiving all welfare except the Family Tax Benefit. Err... Say what now?
C'mon, Mr Rudd- You're 'for the people'. Surely you don't agree with this...?Mr Rudd says his Government's priority is making sure that all children go to school.
"We think this conditionality - that if individual families are in receipt of income support payments the regular attendance at school by their kids is a necessary precondition - is the right way to go," he said.
"We need, in order to compete with the rest of the world, to boost our current school retention rate from 75 per cent to 90 per cent by 2020, [but] we have real problems of school non-attendance in Indigenous communities and also school non-attendance on the part of certain other kids as well.
"You've got to take a hardline approach."
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the bill is aimed at sending a message to parents about their responsibility to ensure children go to school.
"We need to deal with this problem," she said. .....
....This is so fucked. Not fucking cool. For fucks' sake- there are so many GLARING problems with this. Coming from an Indigenous-populated hometown (Port Augusta) NOTORIOUS for it's low-school attendance and 'problem children' I can say for CERTAIN that cutting money given to families for their kids not attending will do NOTHING but make families poorer.
The idea is, that it "teaches the parents" to get them to school. The idea is, that faced with a loss of income, the parents will 'pull their finger out' and start teaching those 'slacker kids' to get themselves to school.
Sure, Mr Rudd. They'll get right on that. They'll instantly fix their alcoholism- They'll make sure they're home every morning, bright and sober, to fix their kids a bowl of weetbix and get the kids to school. They'll sit down and have stern talks with their 10 year old (who by now is already into drinking and drugs) that if they don't go to school, they won't have enough money to live. And of course, the child will completely understand, wont act at all rebelliously, and will take this on board and suddenly BAM! IT WILL ALL WORK FINE.
FUCK. YOU. Mr Rudd. That's complete BULLSHIT. Families in low-income districts like Port Augusta are in utter turmoil. The parents are drunks. The children are often beaten and abused by both parents, and in the worst situations, the parents often don't feed them and they're forced onto the streets.
My mother worked in Port Augusta on a trial program for aboriginal and low-income families in P.A that went for 5 years, roughly. The program involved a community bus which started very early in the morning, with mum on it. Mum and the driver went around to nominated families homes and would pick the kids up and take them to school. A lot of the time, the families were drunks, still asleep or not even home. Sometimes the parents were helpful, sometimes mum would have to literally get the kids out of bed and dress them, get their lunch organised (the bus supplied a small lunch at the end of the program), and get them ready. Sometimes the parents were abusive towards mum, the 'white woman' working for the government. One family set a dog onto her.
But through all of this, mum persevered, as well as one other bus with another kind social worker doing a similar job on another route. The kids got better at going to school. The kids were great, most the time. They enjoyed being on the bus and they loved Mrs Noll - I'd reguarly get little kids running up to me saying "HEY! You mrs Noll's kid! I love mrs Noll!" - their attendance went from non-attendance to 70-80% or so within a year. The program was a complete success for those who had it. So much so, that there was too much demand.
When they applied for more funding and more busses, they were denied. Eventually, the program was cut completely- as the 'spending was too high'. A load of SHIT. Mum got paid pittence for it, as did the driver. The bus didn't cost much to maintain. Compared to a lot of other spending budgets on the subject, it was nothing. But it was just too hard.
Now- ten years later, they look to implement THIS PILE OF HORSESHIT. If this bill fucking passes, I'm going to be spitting chips. They just don't get it. It's a typical middle-class, fat-cat, racist point of view. "The parents need to be taught to get the kids to school!" - Sure, I agree. Programs like Mum's DID that. The parents DID get better, they started to get up in the mornings to get the children ready- in some cases the parents eventually cleaned themselves up over the 5 years, and mum would never need to dress those kids. That worked.
Taking away their money because the kids don't attend is just stupid. Stupid on so many levels. These people need encouragement, not denial of the money they live on. This applies to non-aboriginal kids, too- There are a LOT of messed-up families out there with messed-up kids. These kids won't give a shit about the financial concerns. Their parents could tell them till theyre blue in the face- they still won't go to school. So the family will be poorer. Good work Mr. Rudd- that'll fix ALL of the problems.
Angry.
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[23 Aug 2008|09:59am] |
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 Friday the 5th September - Just a few weeks away now :) Free!
I set this show up at the unibar- It's a great venue, with a great atmosphere. I've seen so many inspirational live shows lately- I can't wait to get back onto the stage and entertain.
I'd love to see you and your friends there- If you're at all into rock, Diesel Witch are sure to entertain. And for those in the mood for some old-school progressive rock vibes- Entactogen are one very talented and entertaining act. And for those who missed the last show- we'll have a couple of new songs going too.
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In other news, well- I guess you can say things have been music-centric. Apart from Tess's 21st, which was a nice break from the craziness in my head, I've been trying to get things done on the studio front, writing front, recording front, gigging front, and jamming front. I really have been trying hard to come up with new songs and new ideas- We've tidied our room which has really helped get the creative juices flowing- strangely.
Nolly
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| Writer's Block: Your Username |
[19 Aug 2008|11:53am] |
Mine came from my primary school days- There used to be a show on TV called "Alias the Jester". A friend of mine started calling me "Nollias the jester" (due to my last name), and when I first got on the internet at like... 10 or 11 years old, I used "nollias" for a few weeks, but I for some reason changed it to Nollykin soon after. At the time a lot of people were changing their handles every friggen week, and I stubbornly decided that this was to be my online handle forever.
I've since often worried that it would be my downfall, as if anyone simply googled "nollykin" they can instantly find out a LOT about me. And my shortcomings in the past. But hey. It's who I am. Aside from real security worries, I've nothing to hide, really.
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