leather bound smarts

Bookshelves are like the intellectuals trophy room. Stuffed and mounted heads line up, proclaiming our reading prowess. "Thats right, I read all of the illiad, check me!" The shelf proclaims. thats why public libraries are still under rated, despite being one of the best ideas ever. We want folk to come into our room and look upon the volume of our achievments and go "so thats the kind of person you are" You can't judge a book by its cover, but we often try to judge people by who they read "An Orwell fan are you? that makes you crazy socialist!"

I'm proud to say that I have an entire shelf devoted to graphic novels, so ha! how very ironically alternative of me.

Bsck to orwell. Had this trippy dream about 1984 being mixed in with the redwall series. So you had the fox police going round being evil and cunning while the mole-itariate work like dogs and Big badger watches over us all with an iron paw!

Thought of the day-Its kinda bad that i get the words zietgiest and zygote mixed up sometimes

synchronized fan hitting

I'm slightly in the shit. And different shades coming from different sources have all hit the fan at the same time.

don't clone me bro!

I play guitar a lot. Accoustic mainly. I used to lean towards electric, mainly cause when i started playing my fingers were soft and squishy, and electric guitars are generally easier on them. But there's a lot less hassle with accoustic, in the simple terms of amp and effects and all that. I also used to use a pick, for the same squishy reason. Now I'm all about the finger picking, gives you more options.

Because i play guitar a lot, there isn't a thick layer of dust on it, as is the case with my dads. sometimes I even clean it and restring it. But, theres a part of it i refuse to clean, for wierd reasons. Because I finger pick, above the saddle and bridge there is a thick layer of dust, accumlated over weeks and months and years, AND ITS ALL MY OWN SKIN!

ummm, yeah

bleh

I told myself I'd feel proud once i reach 10000 words, but i don't really. Maybe when the damn thing is finished I'll feel proud.

i should have really done my essays today

teeth the colour of toffee pop corn

Busy weekend let me assure you. First there was mild sexual molestation at a bus stop, with three dudes waving their tadgers at me. Which highlights the need for me to carry a lighter about from now on. Then there was a reasonably good flat party, where I won at gay twister (like normal twister, but played with gay dudes) And then, on my extremely tired walk home from a flat full of women, i came across an old dude lying on the ground with a young dude doing the contraversial thing of looking over him in concern and calling an ambulance

The young guy explained to me he had seen the old dude collapsed in the middle of the road while drivign, and so had stopped to drag him to the pavement. Now this old guy was quite the sight let me tell you. He fair reeked of booze and piss and shit, his fly was undone and his hands were stumpy and deformed. he did have a rather spiffy cowboy hat though, which he clutched weakly in his non fingers.

I waited with these two, feeling fair useless and pointless, though a whole bunch of other folk passed without so much as looking. I'd like to think that maybe my presence made the kind young guy feel less awkward and stupid for having stopped and done the right thing. wishful thinking no doubt

Anyhoo, eventually the rapid response car ambulance arrives and the paramedic steps out with an air of skepticism about him. which was quite understandale given i think the old dude started demanding morphine off of him. it was hard to tell, his voice was cracked and strained and full of hate for the world. the paramedic (who i was not the least surpised had donned sanitary gloves) told us we could leave. we did

Saw the old dude the next day, walking down the street. gave him a nod but i don't think he recognised me

thought of the day-why do non employed students feel they have a right to call themselves members of the the socialist workers soceity

damnit!

Hey, nice bowl cut robert. you know who you look like in that picture
who?
Gai sensei!
Damnit stewart!

*Later*

I need the toilet, but someones in there! Time for a dynamic entry (thats what she said)
Ha
Stewart, you better not start calling me gai..
GAI SENSEI!
Damnit stewart!

*Later*

Hey guys!
Robert! Is that a woman up there with you?
I don't have to answer that
Gai sensei scores!
Damnit stewart!!!

scrappy dappy doo

Right , I know we all worry about disambigous "yous" getting mentioned on blogs, what with the para oh god oh god are they talking about me? noia. Rest assured, they arent. But I'm putting a stop to it damnit! Well here at least anyways. So everybody know that the you here is aimed at my super smash brother

You are right of course. I got no call to bitch and moan about anything. but then i wouldn't be a kilgour if i didn;t go off on a manly sulk every now and then. so bleh.

And now on to random great awesome ideas that have been gestating in my cranial womb. We need a currency called errection. think of all the fun times that could be had- "the erection rose above the dollar today" "The value of the errection is at an all time low" "The errection plummeted" "The errection isn't as strong as it once way" "damnit you gave you 5 erretions and i only got 3 and a half back" And so on.

Other thing-what with the weather being as it is, i reckon that with setting the clocks back an hour for daylight saving, we'll also have setting the month back for seasonal accuracy. what a strange and terrible future to live in!

Thought of the day-Pride is like HM cut, only useful in very specific circumstances

getting a feel for it

Beck There is nought left for us here Gordo. The day is gone and lost with our wealth. Perhaps if I throw myself at my father’s mercy he may only beat me.

Gordo Nought left for you, but perhaps I might yet leave with a prize.

Gordo approaches the serving maid

Girl Alas my lord, you have lost your hand

Gordo Might I be compensated with yours? Link it with mine own. With tips we brush and caress the canvas of each others palms, tracing tender affections upon.

Girl It is smooth to the touch, though I’d thought it be rough

Gordo And yours be cold when I’d hope it be warm. Let me breathe upon this snow, and paint it less pale with my breath. A better reason to breath than merely to sustain myself

Beck approaches, looking pained

Beck If stay you must, then I leave alone. I fear my bed is calling me home

Gordo I shall see you in the …afternoon. Morning might yet be much too soon.

Beck Departs

Girl Perhaps we might heed the same calling my lord. The work of mine here is done

Gordo True. And though your hand is now coloured and framed, much else of you there still remains.



Scene shifts to Elmin, walking desolately down the streets


Narrator Luckless Elmin broods through cobbles and dirt and grass. His steps are careless, for there is no destination in mind. Only the small solace to be found in motion

Elmin My spirits have ebbed away like the tides. Fitting, given that no moon graces the sky. Her ghostly light refuses to illuminate, nor can my lantern imitate. Darkness grips us all, and the pool of light that I bathe in only covers me with the stink of my own thin, wavering shadow.

Beck Gordo!

Elmin What! What apparition approaches me?

Beck Hold fast Gordo, did that woman prove herself canny and see through your thin grinning guise? Just as well, you idiotic baboon arsed clown…

Beck reaches Elmin

Beck Ah, apologies my lord. Though night’s thick cloak I mistook you for a companion of mine.

Elmin An honest mistake, as most mistakes are

Beck Ha, you speak true my lord. Yet honest mistakes are oft punished with the rest. Tell me, now I get a look at you, for I wish no disservice. Are you Prince Elmin?

Elmin That I am

Beck Indeed!? This night makes strangers of us all. A father would not recognise his son.

Elmin No, no he would not

Beck Well, unless there is any service you need of me, I shall depart, and hope my own father will not distinguish me. Farewell

Beck exits

Elmin How the fates toy with me, like young cats with a mouse. Sending words, though spoken in goodwill from an unwitting vessel, that might rub salt in fresh wounds.

Drunken laughter is heard

Elmin The sweet sound draws nearer. No doubt another mocking blow awaits.

Gordo What want have I for light my lady? The steps of the dance are well known to me, and the velvet darkness is a garment I would never shorn. Though certainly I could do without a chill

Girl Hold me closer then Gordo. Also warm yourself with this fine wine I have thefted for us. Indeed half I have already had!

Gordo My love for you grows and grows

Girl So I see

Gordo That would be the bottles neck. But look, a stranger appears

They reach Elmin

Elmin Good eve to you both

Gordo And a good eve to your good self my good good sir

Girl A strange thing Gordo, he resembles you in many ways, though his brow be less kingly and his chin less manly.

Gordo Indeed, I might call him brother, though I treat all men as such. But come! To home we go, so I might hold you even closer. Adieu brother.

Gordo and Girl exit

Elmin Well played my unchosen foe. Twice you send me reeling. The Scorn of my father follows me far. Yet I cannot help but feel that through the cruel teacher of pain a lesson may be learned. A father would not recognise his son? Then perhaps a wife might not recognise her husband. It does not bear to dwell on such thoughts, yet encamp I must!

Elmins lamp goes out

Narrator And though it pains him so, Elmin schemes with darkness. Thus for the good of all, his heart is rendered heartless

Watch out obama, it's zombie Oswald!

Right, if you ever want to mess up the age old debate of kirk vs picard, heres the how. Just chime in that, in point of fact, it is captain pike that has statistically had the highest mission success rate, least crew deaths and best ratio of female scoring out of all captains of the starship enterprise.

Also, turns out i'm a bit of a chain drinker. hand feels pretty damn empty when there isn't a beverage in its retractable claw. fortunatly, experiments last night proved that the drink need not even be alcoholic, and i ploughed my way through about 4 pints of water. as a result i feel not shit this morning, which let me tell you is a novelty that will never wear off.

Also, want to get kids interested in politics??? heres the how http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kdRXptTmLqc

Pretending Pretensions

Got to write a collum for journalism, which means acting like i care about "important" stuff. current political thinking among friends is obama is sooooooo gonna get assasinated. anyhoo...

S.S.D.D

Did you know that there’s an American election on? You did! Well now, how about that. And I thought I was the only one.

Actually, you’d be hard pressed to find someone that didn’t know about the election right now, which is slightly odd, given that it’s taking place some five thousand miles away. Ah but then there is our “special relationship” to consider. And of course, I’m afraid to say but our transatlantic companions do tend to put on more of a show. After all, this is history in the making. A black president? A female vice president? Either way this election goes, things will be different forever. And indeed, as things currently stand, Barrack Obama is certainly looking the stronger contender. Change we can believe in, so the slogan goes.

Except I’m not exactly rejoicing. After all, though certainly interested, I’ve never had the urge to be politically active. Perhaps youthful apathy, or plain ignorance and laziness are to blame, but personally I don’t much like the notion of my ideals being politicized. They are too complex a thing, formed from unique experiences, to be put into either catchy slogans, or general policies.

And also, I’m sorry to say, but things in my eyes seem very much similar between the two camps. I’ve watched all the presidential debates, and true Obama is quite the orator. But he answers questions in very much the same way McCain does. When either is accused of something, the say something along the lines of “simply untrue” and then makes a counter accusations, without really explaining why it’s untrue. They both rely on rhetoric to turn a difficult question either towards an issue they are comfortable with, or an attack on their opponent.

Then there was the whole thing about the election turning nasty. Harsh words were thrown about and pointless accusations made. Regardless of what they say, or even who fired the first shot, it was clear that both parties were investing time, effort and money into smearing their opponents.

Even their policies seem similar. Both Barack and McCain admit that drastic steps need to be taken in order to stabilise the economy, which of course means tax raises. Both admit that the war on Iraq is not going well, and that U.S troops need to be withdrawn. And both are staunch defenders of Israel, and hostile towards Iran. The staunchest of republicans admit that climate change is now a serious issue that needs to be addressed. While the most liberal of democrats concede that drug abuse is not being dealt with effectively.

There is one person, in my mind who has stood out from the herd of public pandering politicians. Ron Paul. There has been just as much booing as cheering that has accompanied his speaking. In my opinion the booing is good. It shows that he is sticking to his guns and not trying to appeal to everyone, which would inevitably mean disappointment for some. I was frankly amazed when I saw him stand up and say that maybe, just maybe the reason the Middle East hates America is because they keep bombing them and establishing bases there.

He really made a name for himself at this years Republican nominee debates, accusing the party of ignoring the constitution and “losing its way”. The debate, which was broadcast live, had a phone in poll for people to vote who they think won out of all the candidates. Ron Paul came first, with 26%. John McCain came last, with 2%. Hosted by the fair and impartial Fox News, the poll was later deemed flawed.

I also respect his stance on abortion. Personally I have always kept away from this issue, seeing it as something I have no right to have an opinion on. As the pro-choice side say, it isn’t my body. Paul however, as well as being a congressman is also a physician, Obstetrician and Gynecologist, and has done much of his work pro bono. Records show that he has in fact delivered well over a thousand babies, as well as having observed numerous hysterectomies and abortions. He, unlike many, has earned the right to an opinion on the issue.

Certainly it would be fair to say that a few of Congressman Paul’s policies seem slightly radical. Going back to the gold standard, despite the reasonable logic behind it (gold being after all, effectively immune to inflation) seems enormously impractical, and Pauls non interventional policies would most likely mean withdrawal from NATO, resulting in a huge power gulf and a scramble to fill it. Less than ideal of global stability.

Yet the more I hear from him, the more I like him. He is a breath of fresh air, an honest man in the fickle world of politics. I’ve never voted in my life before (again, youthful apathy) and I’m American or have even been there. But if I could have, I would vote for Congressman Ron Paul.
.


Word count 828

Recommended for The Times

a scrap

man i need to tidy up my saved files...

We each of us play out our parts
I clutch the fossil of your heart
stabbed by thorns it begins to bleed
but I hold on with practised ease

If I’m obsessed and you’re distressed
Why tolerate this careless caress?

And you tell me just what I am
Hold my eyes and take my hands
Scolding tongue burns my ears
Why must you be so sincere?

It hurts to know that I’m your foe
The source of all your woe