what is art? (& at 3:30am, does it fucking matter?)

art, to be true, is between the art and you. it is a form of prayer, the act of praying being in the creation itself. any display of the artwork cheapens and degrades the artwork (and artist) as it immediately introduces ego into the transaction. from the displayer: "is it good enough?" to the displayee: "could i do better?".

the point of art is to allow its creator to achieve a trancendental state of mind outside of the usual temporal limitations. this is why we have art. it is not to make a point, to convey a message or to make anyone (especially not art dealers) rich.

it is a form of meditation, not a form of commerce. this has been forgotten by modern society (admittedly over a very long period of time) and so art has become meaningless (see: pretty much any art of the late 20th & early 21st centuries). this is why most people don't think they understand art; to get it you have to get stuck in and make it. then you should burn it.

for the only way for art to remain pure (&, some would say, holy) is for it to be destroyed upon completion. the point of art is not in the showing, it is in the creating. so kids, the next time you see some artwork on display, grab your petrol and matches. if anyone complains it probably wasn't real art anyway.

christ, i wish i could just go to sleep like everyone else...

pop video

me ever one for all round entertainment. so here's a music video. with proper eye candy an' all. what more could you ask for? you ungrateful bastards.

i wroted a poem! it's not very good but it gets the point i wanted to across and no one read this shit anyway so fuck it; here it is!

a buddha in every city

reincarnation; a souless transaction
only our bodies exist
through our genetics we're
formed like ancestors
a buddha in every city.

someone just like me has been here before
and will surely be here again.
there's someone just like me around
the next corner
all just a facet of man.

do you not see? scrap it spiritually
it's all just a case of genetics
we all share the same
& it's still just a game
just please try to look after your children!

inglan is a bitch!

saw this in the library today, it's by a poet called linton kwezi johnson. caught me fancy; though i'd share it!

inglan is a bitch by lonton kwezi johnson


w'en mi jus' come to Landan toun
mi use to work pan di andahgroun
but workin' pan di andahgroun
y'u don't get fi know your way aroun'
Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin' it
Inglan is a bitch
dere's no runnin' whey fram it

mi get a lickle jab in a big 'otell
an' awftah a while, mi woz doin' quite well
dem staat mi aaf as a dish-washah
but w'en mi tek a stack, mi noh tun clack-watchah!

Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch
noh baddah try fi hide fram it

w'en dem gi' you di lickle wage packit
fus dem rab it wid dem big tax rackit
y'u haffi struggle fi mek en's meet
an' w'en y'u goh a y'u bed y'u jus' cant sleep

Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch fi true
a noh lie mi a tell, a true

mi use to work dig ditch w'en it cowl noh bitch
mi did strang like a mule, but, bwoy, mi did fool
den awftah a while mi jus' stap dhu ovahtime
den aftah a while mi jus' phu dung mi tool

Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch
y'u haffi know how fi suvvive in it

well mi dhu day wok an' mid dhu nite wok
mi dhu clean wok an' mid dhu dutty wok
dem seh dat black man is very lazy
but it y'u si how mi wok y'u woulda sey mi crazy

Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch
y'u bettah face up to it

dem have a lickle facktri up inna Brackly
inna disya facktri all dem dhu is pack crackry
fi di laas fifteen years dem get mi laybah
now awftah fiteen years mi fall out a fayvah

Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch
dere's no runnin' whey fram it

mi know dem have work, work in abundant
yet still, dem mek mi redundant
now, at fifty-five mi gettin' quite ol'
yet still, dem sen' mi fi goh draw dole

Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch fi true
is whey wi a goh dhu 'bout it?

my holiday acid joke

as i have mentioned elsewhere, i recently went on holiday, and very nice it was too. whilst i was there i accidentally took some l.s.d. (as you do at a beach party). now acid effects everyone diffently and if it's not convincing me i've just been shot and my body taken to a secret govenment facility (my parents and friends having been told i was dead, of course) where they are splitting me into several versions of myself so they can test-drive some form of hell with me always in it, it makes me laugh. when it makes me laugh i often come up with a joke to giggle at. usually just the one. it starts as a catchphrase and slowly builds until, near the end of the trip, the punchline drops into my lap from somewhere. anyhoo, without further ado, here it is:

it is not just a look...

it may appear to the casual or even not-so casual observer that i woke up this afternoon wearing these here shorts, picked this t-shirt from the floor and put it on. it would then appear that i stepped outside and spotted, on the floor, this pair of sunglasses, which i then proceeded to put upon my face. this was quickly followed by my placing, very carefully, a paper hat with the words: do not wear in rain" on the label, on the top of my head. i was now ready to rave, to be sure, but to suggest, even for a second that it was simply some sort of "look" would be as great an understatement as suggesting that the prime minister is simply a war criminal.

for it is not just a look.

3.5 billion years have gone into this. three and a half billion, that's 3500000000 years to those who don't know they numbers so well (like me, i had to google it to be sure!). 3.5 billion years of struggle, from the birth of the first living cells (if that is indeed where it started) to the great merger of mitochondria and methanogen (if that is what they were, for more i recommend reading power, sex, suicide by nick lane) and the birth of true multi-cellularity. from there to the birth of the first eyes, crude light-sensing organs and the arms race that then ensued.

to today. me standing where ever i happen to be (in this case a beach near metaponto, s. italy), dressed up like one whilst raving them off. all that blood, sweat and tears were for this one moment. 3.5 billion years so i could shake my funky stuff in style. to mistake it for some sort of look would be an misjudgement of the highest order.

still...it's only a fucking costume!

our descendents are fucking with us, man!

oh yes they are & you heard it here first.

you can be certain of everything and anything in this world, anything and everything is measurable on some level. except, of course, the possibility that our descendents will travel back through time and fuck with us and our lives...for a bubble.

true fact, man.

why you or i might use a likkle ting

the main reason people use drugs is because it gives them a feeling of control. to the non-drug user this often seems particularly odd as the reason they often cite for avoiding drugs is: "i don't like to lose control". to imagine that someone would use drugs in an effort to gain control. but they do.

some people use alcohol to give themselves confidence. it's probably something you've done at some time yourself, say at a party or social event. you are looking to control your confidence levels with drug. just like an ill person will use medicines in a an attempt to control his disease, we drink to shut up that little voice in your head that says "don't do it! you'll embarrass yourself!"

similarly some people use heroin to attempt to control various aspects of their lives or bodies. their sex/hunger drives, pain levels or a complete inability to live with the misery and injustice that surrounds us on a daily basis. all of these can (and are) quite successfully controlled using opiate-style drugs.

cannabis and users of hallucinogenic drugs also attempt to control the way their minds work and give themselves a glimpse of something special. similarly ketamine users (esp. the heavy ones) are merely trying to work out what the fuck is going on. one has to accept here, that appearances can always be deceptive. but it's true.

another reason people use drugs is that they are trying to make everyone else happy. this is sometimes referred to as "people pleasing" but rarely by anyone with half a brain so please don't. again one has to accept that will seem absurd to non-drug users, perhaps especially to those who know a drug user personably.

but what, one asks, is having a drink to increase your confidence levels but people pleasing(see: thick as pigshit me)? are you not worried that your normal undrunk, sensible self will not be interesting enough for everyone else? if you were that boring, no-one would invite you out for a drink in the first place.

so please people i ain't saying say no (you'd hear the laughter from space). all i'm saying is, say know. and sorry for all the drug talk, i've been on 'oliday!