General ramblings - 29th of April 2009

I'm just going to spout a torrent of stuff that's on my mind. I'll avoid comics and F1 as much as possible. The other blog's for those topics...

I'm in another depression cycle. I go through them from time to time. Weather has a lot to do with it, but money more than anything else. I have always seemed to be treading water. Just keeping my nose above the water enough to keep going. The media depresses me too. The British media primarily, as it's the one I'm most exposed to, but American media adds to it. Creating stories to scare people, humiliate people, smear people, etc., usually with only the slimmest substance to back them up.

It's nothing new. An example that springs immediately to mind was the manufactured rivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. No substance to it whatsoever. Ask Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney. But it sold papers and gave people something to talk about.

The latest fear of course is "Swine Flu"... Let's not explain it clearly and calmly, instead surely its better to spread panic and fear throughout the world before anyone realises what's going on.

What about companies giving bonuses to people when the company has just posted a huge loss? "We've lost money, so we're going to give some more money that we could actually be putting back into the company to improve it..."

Or, "You've just cost us £300 million, but rather than fire you, we're going to offer you £50 million to go away..."

The company I work for gives us bonuses in the form of "profit-share". If the company makes a profit, I get a share of it. No profit, no share. Simple.

The other thing that drives me nutty is talk of Religion. Newsflash. Darwinism is a form of Religion. Religion, based on its Latin root, means "system of belief". What you believe in. Atheism is a Religion. You don't have to believe in "God" to be religious. My personal Religion has one core belief, shared by most of the world's religions - "Treat other people in a manner in which you yourself would like to be treated." I will admit that I'm not perfect. I lose my temper too easily, and get annoyed by silly things, but I try to treat people well.

I believe that there are good and bad, "angels" and "demons", in all walks of life. Be they British, American, German, French, Israeli, Arab, or Martian. Black, white, pink or green with yellow spots. Male, female, young, old, Christian, Jew, Moslem or Creationist.

Oh, and Scientology is not a religion. It is a business. Full Stop. It was created by a Science Fiction author who saw a great way to make money. You pay your way to advance within the ranks of the business. Look up "Operation Clambake"... It will explain things much better than I can.

That's enough ranting for now.

Night night!

The Sisters of Mercy at the Forum, Kentish Town

The overwhelming verdict seemed to be "Terrible".
Nothing against Andrew, Doktor Avalanche and The Other Two. Once those at the very front of the audience started singing along, it was easy to tell what the songs were, and what verse they were on...
Putting it bluntly, the Sound Engineer had apparently no clue what to do with a Sound Board... I spoke to a couple who had been standing next to her during the first half of the gig, and they said she seemed to be enjoying herself! Maybe she didn't know what The Sisters are supposed to sound like?
The bass drowned everything out. Andrew Eldritch is notorious for singing with a deep, bassy boom, but we were getting maybe one word in ten!




A friend said she was at the Forum last year, and they had a similar issue... Being a Sound Engineer is an extremely technical job. Knowing how to compensate for a crowded room, when your sound checking in an empty venue is an art. One sadly lacking at the Forum in Kentish Town.

There is a way round it. They are called Roadies... You may have seen them onstage between acts at larger concerts, going "Testing, testing. One. Two!"? That was called a "sound check". It comes in useful.

I won't be going back to the Forum, but I wouldn't mind seeing The Sisters again... Ah well, at least I got a new T-shirt, long-sleeved this time!

-- Posted From My iPhone