It has been a very long time since I have posted, but I thought I'd leave a brief one up here just for good measure.
I'm in Hong Kong, and it is awesome. Very big, very busy and very sunny (unusually for this time of year). I'll be home in 4 days, and I'll leave a proper comment up then because i am running out of internet time :D
Conor.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Writing and the silent
Here's a question:
Who do bloggers write for?
I personally don't really have a specific answer to that question. My blog has a relatively low number of views, so even if I am blogging for the readers my blog (as of thus far) has not been very successful. However, one other reason I might choose to write my blog would be for personal development and the ability to recollect my own thoughts in a more organised manner than if they were in my head. Also, I probably need to improve my writing style if I am to succeed at my chosen university course of History, so there is one thing.
While I say those words, however, I have always loved writing even from a young age, suggesting there is a lack of truth in the reasons I just gave. When I was 6 I'm pretty sure I was not too concerned about my future in the historical arts, and when I wrote I wrote stories, never a diary making much of my childhood hard to remember. Perhaps I write for something more, to satisfy some human need to communicate. To me, my thoughts go unsatisfied if I do not share them with others. I am a person that wants other people to know what I think, and I want to know what other people think on the same topics. In this way, I cannot understand those who are the "strong, silent types" who seem to give little care to whether people know what they are thinking or not. One of the most fantastic aspects of humanity is the ability to communicate, and to disregard that is to take for granted the evolutionary gift we have been given.
One final thing. While I talk of people who do not speak much, I would like to read the blog of someone who is considered to be the "strong, silent type", and see what really drives such people to say as little as they do. By no means is this necessary for me to continue functioning, but I would like to understand the types of people who are so different to me. Perhaps it is shyness, or perhaps it is something more to do with valuing your own thoughts over those of others (both admirable and arrogant), but I would really like to know.
So if anyone has any links to any types of blogs mentioned, please don't hesitate to send them my way. :D.
Much Love,
Conor.
Who do bloggers write for?
I personally don't really have a specific answer to that question. My blog has a relatively low number of views, so even if I am blogging for the readers my blog (as of thus far) has not been very successful. However, one other reason I might choose to write my blog would be for personal development and the ability to recollect my own thoughts in a more organised manner than if they were in my head. Also, I probably need to improve my writing style if I am to succeed at my chosen university course of History, so there is one thing.
While I say those words, however, I have always loved writing even from a young age, suggesting there is a lack of truth in the reasons I just gave. When I was 6 I'm pretty sure I was not too concerned about my future in the historical arts, and when I wrote I wrote stories, never a diary making much of my childhood hard to remember. Perhaps I write for something more, to satisfy some human need to communicate. To me, my thoughts go unsatisfied if I do not share them with others. I am a person that wants other people to know what I think, and I want to know what other people think on the same topics. In this way, I cannot understand those who are the "strong, silent types" who seem to give little care to whether people know what they are thinking or not. One of the most fantastic aspects of humanity is the ability to communicate, and to disregard that is to take for granted the evolutionary gift we have been given.
One final thing. While I talk of people who do not speak much, I would like to read the blog of someone who is considered to be the "strong, silent type", and see what really drives such people to say as little as they do. By no means is this necessary for me to continue functioning, but I would like to understand the types of people who are so different to me. Perhaps it is shyness, or perhaps it is something more to do with valuing your own thoughts over those of others (both admirable and arrogant), but I would really like to know.
So if anyone has any links to any types of blogs mentioned, please don't hesitate to send them my way. :D.
Much Love,
Conor.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Misfit Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h76NTH-f97k
Hello there,
I think most people would agree that I am rarely at a loss for words (indeed, often people note I could do with saying less on occasion), but this track off "Era Vulgaris" by Queens of the Stone Age leaves me stunned every time.
From the moment Joshua Homme announces "This is a little dance number called Misfit Love", the audience simply cannot expect the outcome. As the trance-like backing track moves towards the airplane crash guitar loop, the drums ride in with a consistent enough beat and enough variation between the bars to keep it as a reason to become addicted in itself. The screeching guitars, backed the sparse but tactical use of bass amounts to a devastating intro, which lasts for almost 2 minutes. In terms of pure performance, the band live seem to almost attack their instruments, getting as carried away as the track demands. Check out Josh's controlled savagery at 1.47, slicing his body through the rugged auditory chaos as the musicians amount to a mini-climax as the vocals come in.
Lyrically, Queens of the Stone Age have always been one of my favorites. Drugs, alcoholism and self destruction are a consistent theme, as the opening lines suggest:
"Wanna see my past in flames,
Don't waste a drop baby I ain't fussed"
As the band work their way towards the first chorus, it becomes clear that the song is largely about not only partying, but a sense of superiority imposed by their status. However, being QOTSA, the tone is often one of self-cynicism, as these lines suggest:
"Sidewalks, feel me strut so good?
Gutter, don't forget this face,"
Coupled with the cockiness of the initial line is the realistic realisation that the "Gutter" is never that far away, and that he may well return to it soon. As the track moves towards the final, almost euphoric conclusion, the backing vocals come in, chanting "I need a thrill", summarising the main message of the song (and sort of the band), that everything is expendable for the experience. Fantastically, between the two choruses the lyrics change from "I'm so slick" to "I'm so sick", perfectly encapsulating the two sided nature of Homme's business.
The final part of the song is perhaps the most interesting. Moving starkly away from the dark and cynical nature of the first two parts, The band keeps the tempo and dark lyrics but ups the tone of the song. Perhaps this is to suggest an acceptance of his situation, as he recognises himself as "Just a dead man, walking through the dead of night". He recognises his lost cause as he chants "Cause I've already gone", but perversely highlightes that other people benefit from his personal loss as if they "bet on me" they've won.
This live performance very accurately portrays the version I saw live in Dublin in the summer of '08, and the camerawork certainly does wonders for the effect. A very good live band, interestingly not making use of the many visual tools available to artists these days. However, the message is largely in the music, so perhaps this is a deliberate move not to draw the attention away from what is important.
Simply one of my favourite tracks, with much more to it than one might realise on the first listen. Probably my favourite band, although this track is taken from one of their less accomplished albums.
Anyway, that'll do for now. Toodles.
Hello there,
I think most people would agree that I am rarely at a loss for words (indeed, often people note I could do with saying less on occasion), but this track off "Era Vulgaris" by Queens of the Stone Age leaves me stunned every time.
From the moment Joshua Homme announces "This is a little dance number called Misfit Love", the audience simply cannot expect the outcome. As the trance-like backing track moves towards the airplane crash guitar loop, the drums ride in with a consistent enough beat and enough variation between the bars to keep it as a reason to become addicted in itself. The screeching guitars, backed the sparse but tactical use of bass amounts to a devastating intro, which lasts for almost 2 minutes. In terms of pure performance, the band live seem to almost attack their instruments, getting as carried away as the track demands. Check out Josh's controlled savagery at 1.47, slicing his body through the rugged auditory chaos as the musicians amount to a mini-climax as the vocals come in.
Lyrically, Queens of the Stone Age have always been one of my favorites. Drugs, alcoholism and self destruction are a consistent theme, as the opening lines suggest:
"Wanna see my past in flames,
Don't waste a drop baby I ain't fussed"
As the band work their way towards the first chorus, it becomes clear that the song is largely about not only partying, but a sense of superiority imposed by their status. However, being QOTSA, the tone is often one of self-cynicism, as these lines suggest:
"Sidewalks, feel me strut so good?
Gutter, don't forget this face,"
Coupled with the cockiness of the initial line is the realistic realisation that the "Gutter" is never that far away, and that he may well return to it soon. As the track moves towards the final, almost euphoric conclusion, the backing vocals come in, chanting "I need a thrill", summarising the main message of the song (and sort of the band), that everything is expendable for the experience. Fantastically, between the two choruses the lyrics change from "I'm so slick" to "I'm so sick", perfectly encapsulating the two sided nature of Homme's business.
The final part of the song is perhaps the most interesting. Moving starkly away from the dark and cynical nature of the first two parts, The band keeps the tempo and dark lyrics but ups the tone of the song. Perhaps this is to suggest an acceptance of his situation, as he recognises himself as "Just a dead man, walking through the dead of night". He recognises his lost cause as he chants "Cause I've already gone", but perversely highlightes that other people benefit from his personal loss as if they "bet on me" they've won.
This live performance very accurately portrays the version I saw live in Dublin in the summer of '08, and the camerawork certainly does wonders for the effect. A very good live band, interestingly not making use of the many visual tools available to artists these days. However, the message is largely in the music, so perhaps this is a deliberate move not to draw the attention away from what is important.
Simply one of my favourite tracks, with much more to it than one might realise on the first listen. Probably my favourite band, although this track is taken from one of their less accomplished albums.
Anyway, that'll do for now. Toodles.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Musing on Musing
"Hmm",
The sound that I typically associate with the word "Musing". Its literal definition of course means:
"to think about something carefully and for a long time" - Cambridge Online Dictionary
However, when my good friend Simon suggested that I should put some "general musings about life" into my blog, it set me, if you don't mind the statement, musing on the nature of musing itself. For example, I find it amazing the amount of information our senses capture at one time, and that it is all processed almost instantly, but it still takes the human brain extensive thought, or musing, on certain subjects to be fully understood. By the literal definition, people muse all the time (e.g. deciding whether to date someone, whether they prefer Chinese or Indian food, or how they should get their hair cut) but i think the word "Muse" should have something of higher quality attached to it. I'd like to believe I live by the spirit of the law, not the letter, and musing to me suggests something more, something profound, that brings new meaning to ordinary things. The example given by the Online Dictionary I used was thus:
"I began to muse about/on the possibility of starting my own business." - Cambridge Online Dictionary
However, for my own romantic ideals to be realised, I would have made it something more along the lines of:
"I began to muse about/on the possibility of starting my own business, which led me to think about my personal goals as a person and whether I had my priorities sorted in such a way as to allow me to live the life that I have been given (which for all I know could be the only chance I get) to the fullest degree possible" - Conor's Wishful Thinking and Rambling Dictionary of Spelling and Grammatical Errors
However, I think its a bit difficult to argue with the Dictionary, so I might leave this point here. I just wanted to point out the strange, and most definitely individual, definition certain words have to certain people.
Also, Muse are an amazing band live.
Conor
p.s. A couple of weeks ago I had 13 pancakes for breakfast, and last weekend i spent in excess of 2 1/2 hours in a hot tub in one go.
The sound that I typically associate with the word "Musing". Its literal definition of course means:
"to think about something carefully and for a long time" - Cambridge Online Dictionary
However, when my good friend Simon suggested that I should put some "general musings about life" into my blog, it set me, if you don't mind the statement, musing on the nature of musing itself. For example, I find it amazing the amount of information our senses capture at one time, and that it is all processed almost instantly, but it still takes the human brain extensive thought, or musing, on certain subjects to be fully understood. By the literal definition, people muse all the time (e.g. deciding whether to date someone, whether they prefer Chinese or Indian food, or how they should get their hair cut) but i think the word "Muse" should have something of higher quality attached to it. I'd like to believe I live by the spirit of the law, not the letter, and musing to me suggests something more, something profound, that brings new meaning to ordinary things. The example given by the Online Dictionary I used was thus:
"I began to muse about/on the possibility of starting my own business." - Cambridge Online Dictionary
However, for my own romantic ideals to be realised, I would have made it something more along the lines of:
"I began to muse about/on the possibility of starting my own business, which led me to think about my personal goals as a person and whether I had my priorities sorted in such a way as to allow me to live the life that I have been given (which for all I know could be the only chance I get) to the fullest degree possible" - Conor's Wishful Thinking and Rambling Dictionary of Spelling and Grammatical Errors
However, I think its a bit difficult to argue with the Dictionary, so I might leave this point here. I just wanted to point out the strange, and most definitely individual, definition certain words have to certain people.
Also, Muse are an amazing band live.
Conor
p.s. A couple of weeks ago I had 13 pancakes for breakfast, and last weekend i spent in excess of 2 1/2 hours in a hot tub in one go.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The beveraged nature of Gap years and Gappies.
Howdy,
One other thing people seem rather more relaxed about out here is alcohol. I have lived in northern Ireland for the last 11 years of my life, a nation famous for its beverage consumption, but kiwis seem to do it both in more frequency and more heavily. I'm thinking about making a post in the next few weeks over what I consider to be the nature and motives behind excessive alcohol consumption (how fun), but for now I present you with a funny story of the weekend's antics.
Setting: New Zealand, Exam location at secondary school.
Conor finishes speech theory examinations.
Conor: (to Andrew and nick) Gee, I'm glad those are over. Chris and I will come watch you guys play rugby, and maybe drink some beers while doing so. After all, i did just finish generic excuse examinations!
Rugby match
Conor: Wow this is good rugby playing. I am also enjoying this chilled beverage.
Chris: I concur. The quality of rugby meets my high viewing standards and my beverage is also chilled. What a fine combination suitable for Zeus himself.
Back at flat
All: I cant believe we bought so much booze. May as well drink it.
4 hours later, back at rugby club
Conor: Whoa dude, you know so much about life and religion. You're amazing.
Dude: I know. I try my best. Let me buy you another beverage on top of the dozens you have already consumed.
Conor: "Sweet as"
One other thing people seem rather more relaxed about out here is alcohol. I have lived in northern Ireland for the last 11 years of my life, a nation famous for its beverage consumption, but kiwis seem to do it both in more frequency and more heavily. I'm thinking about making a post in the next few weeks over what I consider to be the nature and motives behind excessive alcohol consumption (how fun), but for now I present you with a funny story of the weekend's antics.
Setting: New Zealand, Exam location at secondary school.
Conor finishes speech theory examinations.
Conor: (to Andrew and nick) Gee, I'm glad those are over. Chris and I will come watch you guys play rugby, and maybe drink some beers while doing so. After all, i did just finish generic excuse examinations!
Rugby match
Conor: Wow this is good rugby playing. I am also enjoying this chilled beverage.
Chris: I concur. The quality of rugby meets my high viewing standards and my beverage is also chilled. What a fine combination suitable for Zeus himself.
Back at flat
All: I cant believe we bought so much booze. May as well drink it.
4 hours later, back at rugby club
Conor: Whoa dude, you know so much about life and religion. You're amazing.
Dude: I know. I try my best. Let me buy you another beverage on top of the dozens you have already consumed.
Conor: "Sweet as"
In a bush outside, 30 mins later
Conor: Boooo!
Others: Conor, pray tell, why do you seem to have established residence in that bush?
Conor: Boooo! (trip, lies on pavement face down)
Others: Why, dear me, Conor seems to have experienced a rather healthy dose of fail.
Back at the flat
All: More drink!
In bar #2, after failure to make it into bar #1 due to inebriated status
Conor's female friends: Why hello there Conor. How do you feel this fine autumn's eve?
Conor: hehe, whooooOOooo, ugh (licks back of hands).
Conor's female friends: Perhaps we should return this fine gentleman to his place of residence. He appears to commenced snoozing upon the table and is also devilled by the drink of alcohol. (Conor gets driven home)
Outside bar #1
Andrew: woooOOOOooo (punches window) ooowwww (dribbles) ugh (hugs friend).
Friends: we should return him also to his abode. (Andrew gets driven home)
Flat, 1.30am:
All: Oh dear, the flat is locked.
Chris: I shall retrieve this caretaker! (retrieves "caretaker" from home, who is in fact a senior staff member)
Senior staff member: Oh dear, Andrew appears to have expelled vomitus into the hallway. I shall both clean it up and put this handsome man to bed.
Andrew: dribble. (Andrew gets put to bed after further vomitus in the shower)
Flat 3.30am:
Nick, Andrew and Hannah: We have arrived back home! Andrew did indeed come come out to meet is in town. Conor, how feel you?
Conor: Well enough my pals. I hear we have pizza in the fridge!
All: HUZZAH.
Fin
So there we are. A tale of life, love and mystery, presented through pretentious drama setting and incorrect grammar. I hope you enjoyed it, because I certainly payed the price for it the next morning.
Anyway, expect a few more updates in the next couple of weeks.
Peace out xoxo.
Old post unpublished from May:
Hello everybody.
I realise it has been ages since blog postage on my behalf, so here is a nice brief one to keep the habit up.
"The Host" is a South Korean monster movie. It is also, interestingly, remarkably good, and somewhat famous. If you have not watched it, i thoroughly suggest you do. It has evil scientists in it, comedy and a big monster that eats people. I personally find that combination very hard not to like, and while it sounds rather silly it manages to satirise the genre that it simultaneously masters. Srsly, check it out.
Separate/related note: There is nothing more infuriating than an erratic DVD player. SHAME on you SONY.
Who remembers nerds? The sweets? Well, I was amazed to find out that they still sell them here in New Zealand. Amazing/delicious. They were probably taken off the shelves back home because they were dangerous or something, but the kiwis don't seem too fussed. Then again, our car's handbrake does not work and it passed its warrant of fitness, so it would seem the nation is more relaxed about things more significant than sweets.
Anywhoo, cheerie-bye.
I realise it has been ages since blog postage on my behalf, so here is a nice brief one to keep the habit up.
"The Host" is a South Korean monster movie. It is also, interestingly, remarkably good, and somewhat famous. If you have not watched it, i thoroughly suggest you do. It has evil scientists in it, comedy and a big monster that eats people. I personally find that combination very hard not to like, and while it sounds rather silly it manages to satirise the genre that it simultaneously masters. Srsly, check it out.
Separate/related note: There is nothing more infuriating than an erratic DVD player. SHAME on you SONY.
Who remembers nerds? The sweets? Well, I was amazed to find out that they still sell them here in New Zealand. Amazing/delicious. They were probably taken off the shelves back home because they were dangerous or something, but the kiwis don't seem too fussed. Then again, our car's handbrake does not work and it passed its warrant of fitness, so it would seem the nation is more relaxed about things more significant than sweets.
Anywhoo, cheerie-bye.
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