That would be an existential matter

Actually, not travelled at all. After Pete’s post about maps, here’s what I’ve visisted. Turns out I’ve done bollocks all. 4% of the world’s nations. Shameful. I’d post the map, but it fucks up the formatting, so just imagine a really gig grey area with specks of red on it. Got it? Good.

What the fuck have I been doing with my life? I did my GCSEs. Then passed my A-Levels. Then got a degree. And where’s it got me? Spending all my cash on rent for a fuckiong shoebox in the most expensive city in the world, with the most expensive transport system in the world. I’ve got a job that is nonsense, I’m under qualified to do anything I want and it’ too late to learn a lot of new trades unless I wanted to earn £12k again.

Seriously, I did everything I was meant to. I worked hard. I didn’t commit (almost any) crime, I avoided drugs, I didn’t waste my time leaving school to learn a trade but stayed and got my exams. I got a degree. An then what? Temp jobs, office jobs, no transferable skills. Early mornings, work pressures, allocated annual leave. There is other way to live, but you’re not going to get them following what school, parents, teachers or society tells you.

I should have left school when I was 15. I shold have followed my “dreams” and tried to make films, write music, be an artist, all the things that you’re told will leave you poor and miserable. Money eh, what’s that about anyway? People put so much emphasis on it, but it’s just bloody money. It doesn’t guarentee a single thing.

Arses to this. I’m not blaming anyone else for the choices I made, I just think it’s a shame that society puts so much emphasis on careers and planning and money and so little on life and discovery and most importantly, enjoyment. Who ever tells you the most important thing in live is enjoyment? Fucking no-one.

That’s it, I’m gonig to live in a hole and cal myself Swampy. Now he had balls.

Note: There’s probably a lot of spelling and grammer errors in this post but I’m leaving them in as I’m ranting and I’m not letting “the man” tell me how to write. Bastards.

Look you bunch of slack jawed, London scummers, here’s something to do that will make you feel better: The mos excellent Pandora.com might be fucked. Like proper fucked. The founder below writes below about it bit right below here (below):

The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays and broadcast radio doesn’t pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.

In response to these new and unfair fees, we have formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters. I hope that you will consider joining us.

Please sign our petition urging your Congressional representative to act to save Internet radio: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541

Understand that we are fully supportive of paying royalties to the artists whose music we play, and have done so since our inception. As a former touring musician myself, I’m no stranger to the challenges facing working musicians. The issue we have with the recent ruling is that it puts the cost of streaming far out of the range of ANY webcaster’s business potential.

I hope you’ll take just a few minutes to sign our petition - it WILL make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.

So sign it or whatever you have to do. Don’t ask me, I haven’t looked at it.

I can blog about cats three.

* This is meant to sound like “your”.

It’s the modern day equivalent of going round somebody’s house and having to watch a slideshow of their holiday, so I’ll make this nice and compact: Here are some Thailand photos. That’s that.

You know right, those people yeah, who like answer their phone and when someone asks to speak to them right, (you following?) they say “who is it please” and then after the person says who it is yeah, they say “speaking”… well it’s annoying, yeah. You know, why not just say hello if the first place eh?

More guitar geekery… Basically been looking into getting a different looping pedal to the Akai Headrush e2 that I purchased after writing this. It’s not that it hasn’t served me well (in fact, it’s been totally awesome and I love it), it’s just that if I replace it with a Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler, I get so much more functionality in one box (admittedly, the world heaviest box, but one box nonetheless).

For example, I was looking into getting a Guyatone SV2 volume swell pedal but the DL4 has that exact functionality. Also, it has a longer looping time than the Headrush, that can be shoved into half-time if needed or played just once, and it’s got about 20 other amazing post-rock delay effects.

Away from the ever changing pedal front, I need a new guitar. I’m sick of playing a cheapish electric Epi SG with a terrible clean sound. There are several solutions to this. I could just bite the bullet and pay a grand to get a lefty Japanese or USA Fender Jag. Or, I could buy any old single coil lefty with a good clean sound for around £500. Although models like Telecasters (urgh) and Strats (fuck no) aren’t options. Still, this tempting Hagstrom that Tim pointed out has me on the verge of splashing the cash. Just look at it!

Guitar geek out.

Back from over two weeks in Thailand. Will bore people with photos sometime later. Also, despite sitting in the sun everyday, cooking, I’m remain whiter than white. I guess that’s what happens when you have Scottish genes. Dammit.