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Fed up with lack of RSS feed. Lack of categories. Lack of TLC from the site. Lack of traffic. I'm going back to Wordpress. Click any of the text here to go back to my current blog. I hope this is the last time I move...

A (Protracted) Moan On Self-Righteousness

What I don't understand about (strict) Christians is that they aren't allowed to drink much, but they are allowed to get excessively obese. I know far more hugely fat people than alcoholics, and this is especially the case with Christians; blimey, there must be a ratio of 500 fat Christians to 1 alcoholic Christians. Seriously guys, move with the times and ban overeating as well as alcohol.

Also, a Christian could compare my lifestyle with their's and say to me, "I go to church every Sunday and you drink far too much every Saturday", and lots of people (not just Christians) would immediately believe that their life is much purer than mine. But to me, that quote is no different than someone saying to them, "I go to Scouts every Thursday and you eat too much cake every Saturday". Get out of my face if you're going to be self-righteous, please, you have as many bad habits as I do, it's just that your's aren't mentioned in the Bible. Thanks.

My Production Skills

I produced an album this weekend. It's online on Navigator's PureVolume account. Considering I couldn't get the unfamiliar desk to work for an hour (it was lying when it said it was self-powered), I thought I did an OK job. I have copies that sound better, however, as the PureVolume versions are compressed to 128kbps. Laters.

Top 20 Musics

I made a list of my top 20 most important bands in my life. Not bands that I currently think are great (if that was the case, SikTh and the Mars Volta would be there), but bands that have had a great influence on my life. I haven't ordered them 1 to 20 either, I've grouped them into top 5, top 10, top 15 and top 20. Ordering them would mean that I'd get some wrong or something; it was difficult enough to decide anyway: it took me 90 minutes just to make this list. Actually, some of the bands I've gone off of quite a bit (SOAD, Franz Ferdinand), but I really do appreciate the hole that would be in my life without them. Anyway:

Top 5
Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater

Top 10
Stereophonics, Coheed & Cambria, Converge, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold

Top 15
DragonForce, Dillinger Escape Plan, Incubus, Franz Ferdinand, Joe Satriani

Top 20
Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine, The Futureheads, Anthrax, Queen

Link Reshuffle

I've sorted out my list of links in my sidebar to reflect blogs that are in current usage. I have removed links to blogs that aren't used/don't exist. This makes me feel clean inside, despite stinking like shit on the outside. If I missed any blogs out that should be in that list, send me an email. Ta.

For Those With No Self-Control

If you want to go and sit in college and cry, ok. But if you're about to leave the house and you're in a position wherein you could start crying at any point during the day, stay at home! And I know the argument: "People are allowed to be upset, you unsympathetic wanker". I don't want to see you ruining everyone else's day with your moping about. At least find somewhere with fewer people than the Street for shit's sake! If something came up (and it has recently for me) whilst in public, don't inflict it on everyone else. Go away! Have some sort of etiquette. It's there for a reason you moping twat. I've been through shit too, so SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Exeter

Saturday was one of the most boring days in my life, ever. An outline of the day would go something like:

0830 Get to station, spent too much money on return tickets to Exeter despite a discount card (£23).

0907 Get on train. Survive first two hours by reading. A recurring thought was, I really wish I'd brought my MP3 player. Get ridiculously bored. Fiddle with a guitar pick for an hour

1200 Get off train, walk to Exeter University. The walk from Exeter St Davids to the Exeter University is really really steeply uphill and I was out of breath after the 15 minute walk

1230 Get dragged around the university, eat a lame lunch that isn't particularly appetising with people I don't know in near silence. "What's your name then?" "Mark, you?" "[Other person's name]." "Where did you come from?" "[Other person's hometown]. You?" "Basingstoke." "Oh." Silence.

1430 Fail in an interview for a masters' course in physics. I forgot what spin was called, forgot about the Pauli Exclusion Principle and forgot which course I was applying for (Quantum Science and Lasers MPhys)

1500 Get dragged around the university, sit on a bus, drive around town for no apparent reason and get dropped off at Exeter St Davids station

1630 Get to the station, have a sandwich and a Pepsi. Wait for train for 90 minutes

1810 Train leaves for Basingstoke. Bored from outset. Read 200 pages in a book (A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon, which turned out to be quite good). Fiddle with a .55mm gauge guitar pick for an hour. Get off train, feel like a zombie

2115 Miss bus by a matter of ten seconds (it was pulling away from the bay as I saw it). Spend far too much money on a taxi to Pamber Heath (£15)

Altogether, I spent about £48: £23 on trains, £15 on a taxi, £10 on food. And a wasted day. Just to fuck up an interview.

I wasted my life, learn from it.

Don't follow in my tracks.

I weep in distress.

Stupid Head

To my delight, the phrase, "stupid head" turned up in the latest Weebl & Bob cartoon.

Sullivan

I'm guessing everyone vaguely close to me has heard of this band by now, but I'm going to introduce them anyway because I want to.

They're an emotional band from North Carolina, a Christian band, but the music isn't about God himself as much as it is about life. I have a predisposition towards Christian music, as it's all about God, and no-one wants to hear,

Ghostly figure out at sea,
I hear a voice that’s calling me,
To walk upon the waves of faith.
For in the arms of God, I am safe.
(Delirious?, All This Time)

YUCK! NO-ONE ON EARTH WANTS TO HEAR THIS CREEPY CRAP, OK? And if they do, I'm avoiding them at all costs...

Anyway, back on track, Sullivan are one of the few Christian bands I enjoy listening to. Actually, I think they are my favourite band comprised of Christians.

They're not a big band. I got to hear of them through people: you may remember I got to meet Underoath backstage because my Dad knows the lead singer's (Spencer Chamberlain's) dad; well, the lead singer's brother is Sullivan's drummer (Phil). Their dad, Frank, sent me Sullivan's album, Hey, I'm a Ghost, for Christmas. I listened to it and thought it was great.

Having enjoyed an album by a small(ish) band (at least in the UK) I feel obliged to spread the word. Frank sent me a link this week for the video for Down Here, We All Float, the first song off the album, and one of the best. And I'm leaving the link here for people to click on.

Down Here, We All Float

Guitar Resources

These are the guitar resources I use. I find them very helpful and I'd like to share them with the world:

• Guitar chord dictionary: http://jmdl.com/howard/guitarchords/A_chords.html
• Guitar scales: http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php
• Reverse scales: http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/reverse_scales.php
• Reverse chord name finder: http://www.gootar.com/guitar/

I find that's all I need online to learn new songs, write songs, play solos and find what key existing songs are in.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all except the bastards I want to hurt a lot (I have some people in mind - you know who you are).