Well there's a fuckin revelation from a reverand straight away !
The days are getting lighter and longer. The tribe of Tantrum is getting bigger. The talent of our favourite bands is getting stronger. The dates for gigs, parties and festivals are coming thick and fast.
In between the shit we all experience, the constatnt misery we are exposed to on the telly and in the "news"papers, we have to look for something which keeps our heads above the sea of misery. How or what you do to alleviate this is of course your call, and there's no shame in calling it a coping mechanism.
Coming this week :
Tantrum Remix Lab Vol 1
MArk E Smith @ The Point on Wednesday
Rugby and Burlesque show @ The Globe on Friday
SICKNOTE @ Glo Bar on Saturday
So we get through anotherweek of drudgery, responsibilty and lip-biting, to be lucky enough to get together with like-minded people and good friends, new friends, friends in the making and acquaintances.
Yes folks the Prozac are working fine, the sun is shining, and a re-awakening is at hand.
so sayeth the Rev.
x
Monday 23 February 2009
Tuesday 10 February 2009
They Want You to Stay Indoors !
I'm a big fan of conspiracy theories; partly because of my paranoid mind, mostly because I dont trust authorities, even more so because 30 years down the line when the information files are made accessible, what was wriiten off as the babblings of madmen often prove to be true. Cant wait till the Church release the files on your Jesus ! How many 1000's of years overdue ? ;-)
Look at what's happening today though ; we have interactive television, computers, game consoles, home entertainment centres, downloading capabilities, online shopping an so it goes on. My theory is, if they catch you outdoors youre up to no good ! This rings especially true for me where "da yoof" is concerned.
The hypocrisy of my generation is astounding, constantly focussing on young people in hoodies hanging out in shopping malls or playgrounds, drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Well guess what? WE did the same fuckin thing ! If we can recall the first time we tried a cigarette or the first time we got completely bladdered on a flagon of Strongbow or a bottle of 20/20, i can almost guarantee we were under the age of 16 and we did it out of sight of adults. Curiousity and experimentation is the most natural thing in the world for a kid who is trying to do things the grown ups do .... in too much of a hurry to grow up ! Throwing punitive measures and BADGES OF HONOUR / KUDOS such as ASBO's isnt goint to solve a damn thing!
Then there's CCTV, the Police with their wee DVD recorders tracking our every move. The UK has more surveillance on it's citizens than any other country in the world (yes, including America) apart from Switzerland. Every UK citizen who ventures outside is caught on some kind of surveillance camera up to 300 times a day.
How many people are aware that the police are now officially instructed to take a DNA swab of a "prisoner taken into custody" ON ARREST ?! NOT after being charged, going to court and being found guilty, just ON ARREST !
I.D. cards. What the FUCK ?! As if they dont have enough information on us already?! Birth certificates, school records, dental records. driving licences, bank details, passports, social networking sites, BLOG SITES !!!! So. we're chipped and logged, we get our I.D. card and it gets stolen .... where's my fuckin identity now ? This scheme serves nothing and no-one and can be used for mal intent. SHOW US YOUR PAPERS ! ZEIG HEIL !!!!
Freedom? What freedom?
Democracy? What democracy.
Please feel free to comment ... all 5 of you ! ;-p
Look at what's happening today though ; we have interactive television, computers, game consoles, home entertainment centres, downloading capabilities, online shopping an so it goes on. My theory is, if they catch you outdoors youre up to no good ! This rings especially true for me where "da yoof" is concerned.
The hypocrisy of my generation is astounding, constantly focussing on young people in hoodies hanging out in shopping malls or playgrounds, drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Well guess what? WE did the same fuckin thing ! If we can recall the first time we tried a cigarette or the first time we got completely bladdered on a flagon of Strongbow or a bottle of 20/20, i can almost guarantee we were under the age of 16 and we did it out of sight of adults. Curiousity and experimentation is the most natural thing in the world for a kid who is trying to do things the grown ups do .... in too much of a hurry to grow up ! Throwing punitive measures and BADGES OF HONOUR / KUDOS such as ASBO's isnt goint to solve a damn thing!
Then there's CCTV, the Police with their wee DVD recorders tracking our every move. The UK has more surveillance on it's citizens than any other country in the world (yes, including America) apart from Switzerland. Every UK citizen who ventures outside is caught on some kind of surveillance camera up to 300 times a day.
How many people are aware that the police are now officially instructed to take a DNA swab of a "prisoner taken into custody" ON ARREST ?! NOT after being charged, going to court and being found guilty, just ON ARREST !
I.D. cards. What the FUCK ?! As if they dont have enough information on us already?! Birth certificates, school records, dental records. driving licences, bank details, passports, social networking sites, BLOG SITES !!!! So. we're chipped and logged, we get our I.D. card and it gets stolen .... where's my fuckin identity now ? This scheme serves nothing and no-one and can be used for mal intent. SHOW US YOUR PAPERS ! ZEIG HEIL !!!!
Freedom? What freedom?
Democracy? What democracy.
Please feel free to comment ... all 5 of you ! ;-p
Monday 9 February 2009
Roll on Spring and Summer
It's amazing how many people i know well or am aquainted with in real life and on the net who are experiencing hard times at the moment. S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) is a recognised medical condition, but whats ben happening around me is much more than that.
Two of my best friends have lost loved ones to the big C, and supporting them is going to be a priority. My family is going through masses of shit we could all do without, and just about everybody is feeling the first effects of the recession.
So what can you do ?
Would it be too much to ask that the education authorities add dealing with illness, loss and bereavement to the curriculum instead of focussing all attention on World War 2, The Tudors and fuckin P.E. ? Probably.
Would it be too much to ask the Government to concentrate their efforts on keeping people housed instead of bailing out banking corporations and STILL giving bonuses and payouts to the cunts who got us into this mess in the first place by investing in dodgy deals and funding illgal wars ? Probably.
Would it be too much to ask that instead of ploughing money into warfare and unnecessary legislation to rule the people through fear, that money is put into health and welfare, enough money to provide for every single adult and and child on the planet? Probably.
Would it be too much to ask the people to take the power back, get off their fat McDonalds and KFC arses and get out into the streets and protest to say enough is enough? Probably.
So, while all this shit is going down, we can look for silver linings wherever we can find them, and as always for me, on a very personal level, I find it in music and the people who go out of their way to provide it. Not Government approved bollocks with a healthand safety check tagged onto it, but the more soulful, heartfelt, finger up to the suits that you find in originality and the minds of free - thinkers.
Roll on Autumn tours and the celebrations that stem from the relief of the Pagans who made it through another winter : FESTIVAL SEASON !
Just another soul - less atheist in search of world peace and harmony.
x
Two of my best friends have lost loved ones to the big C, and supporting them is going to be a priority. My family is going through masses of shit we could all do without, and just about everybody is feeling the first effects of the recession.
So what can you do ?
Would it be too much to ask that the education authorities add dealing with illness, loss and bereavement to the curriculum instead of focussing all attention on World War 2, The Tudors and fuckin P.E. ? Probably.
Would it be too much to ask the Government to concentrate their efforts on keeping people housed instead of bailing out banking corporations and STILL giving bonuses and payouts to the cunts who got us into this mess in the first place by investing in dodgy deals and funding illgal wars ? Probably.
Would it be too much to ask that instead of ploughing money into warfare and unnecessary legislation to rule the people through fear, that money is put into health and welfare, enough money to provide for every single adult and and child on the planet? Probably.
Would it be too much to ask the people to take the power back, get off their fat McDonalds and KFC arses and get out into the streets and protest to say enough is enough? Probably.
So, while all this shit is going down, we can look for silver linings wherever we can find them, and as always for me, on a very personal level, I find it in music and the people who go out of their way to provide it. Not Government approved bollocks with a healthand safety check tagged onto it, but the more soulful, heartfelt, finger up to the suits that you find in originality and the minds of free - thinkers.
Roll on Autumn tours and the celebrations that stem from the relief of the Pagans who made it through another winter : FESTIVAL SEASON !
Just another soul - less atheist in search of world peace and harmony.
x
Tuesday 3 February 2009
Abstain, Maintain ?
Working in the drug and alcohol field can be physically and emotionally demanding, and moreso, very frustrating. The frustration doesnt always stem from the tragic and often dire stories from the client group though; there is and always has been a division on how to address the "needs" of people with a drug and/or alcohol problem.
Harm Reduction accepts and acknowledges the fact that the use of mind altering substances has been part of the human race for thousands of years, and will continue to be. This approach does not make any judgments about users, it simply works with them at their pace whilst implementing ways and means of reducing the harm that over - use of drugs can and does cause. Abstaining from using drugs isnt always an option for some people until they are ready. No preachy preachy.
Abstention, Abstaining from the use of drugs and / or alcohol, has long been the favoured approach of the church, employing the 12 steps approach as devised by two Christian doctors from Minessota, also known as the Minnesota method. This approach declares addiciton is an illness or a disease and requires you to put you sanity, life and decision making in the hands of your God. It used to be God, now it's YOUR God as you understand God, to be more accomodating and accepting of other faiths. Often accused of being a recruiting cult, the 12 steps practitioners deny such allegations and do indeed help many people through some very difficult times of their lives.
Here are the 12 steps :
1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practise these principles in all our affairs.”
This division which I mentioned earlier is splitting the work of some very dedicated people from both approaches and is, in my opinion, doing fuck all to actually serve the best interests of the clients who need the services.
A "new" "RECOVERY" movement is gaining momentum and would have everyone believe that approaches such as controlled drinking and long term methadone programmes are ineffectual and damaging to the lives of addicts.
In the interests of trying very, very hard to be neautral, I'll leave any more research into these two differing approaches to anyone who comes across this blog.
Harm Reduction accepts and acknowledges the fact that the use of mind altering substances has been part of the human race for thousands of years, and will continue to be. This approach does not make any judgments about users, it simply works with them at their pace whilst implementing ways and means of reducing the harm that over - use of drugs can and does cause. Abstaining from using drugs isnt always an option for some people until they are ready. No preachy preachy.
Abstention, Abstaining from the use of drugs and / or alcohol, has long been the favoured approach of the church, employing the 12 steps approach as devised by two Christian doctors from Minessota, also known as the Minnesota method. This approach declares addiciton is an illness or a disease and requires you to put you sanity, life and decision making in the hands of your God. It used to be God, now it's YOUR God as you understand God, to be more accomodating and accepting of other faiths. Often accused of being a recruiting cult, the 12 steps practitioners deny such allegations and do indeed help many people through some very difficult times of their lives.
Here are the 12 steps :
1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practise these principles in all our affairs.”
This division which I mentioned earlier is splitting the work of some very dedicated people from both approaches and is, in my opinion, doing fuck all to actually serve the best interests of the clients who need the services.
A "new" "RECOVERY" movement is gaining momentum and would have everyone believe that approaches such as controlled drinking and long term methadone programmes are ineffectual and damaging to the lives of addicts.
In the interests of trying very, very hard to be neautral, I'll leave any more research into these two differing approaches to anyone who comes across this blog.
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