Mm. Writing.

Moved to: http://gregoryyates.blogsome.com

Enjoy!

It's been quite a long time since my last update, but weirdly, not a lot has changed. I've been doing a lot, sure, but there actually haven't been that many changes in my life worth writing about - which is weird, because I'm using to everything being replaced (friends, commitments, etc.) on the flip of a coin. I think I like it, too.

Cyanide Eyes (my band) are kicking off after our first few gigs. We played the Irish Centre on the 27th March - it seems a loooong time ago now - which was entirely kickass, not to mention fucking rewarding as a musician. We got on pretty late, after The Last Bullets (The Last Ballet) and When Autumn Falls (When Autumn Fails), which was a blow, but we managed to pull it back veeery quickly. Everyone loved us, and to be fair, I think we did thoroughly kerb stomp the other two bands.

Why?

According to a girl I know, we 'care about our music'. That's not as pretentious as it sounds; I think what she meant was that, because we are such perfectionists with every chord and beat we produce (that's no small amount due to me) we are genuinely sensitive to the way we're sounding. In a way, we're not there to please the crowd, though we always do; we're there to please ourselves, and prove we can play it just as hard. Which means that we actually enjoy our gigs, if anything, for the stage antics. ^^

The recent gig at the Way Inn was pretty similar, save for the fact that there were very few people to see us. We, errr, don't have much of a fanbase in Sutton Coldfield, to say the least - but we got a load of indie kids jumping around, which was... interesting.

Peace out.

So, yeah, me and Simon came second place in that competition - which isn't inherently bad, you understand, what with the fact that we spanked a good many teams in the process of reaching the final. But there's still that gnawing sense of loss that we didn't quite clinch it and come away with the prize title. 'Quite' is pretty much the key word there, as two out of the five judges approached me after the competition and said something along the lines of: "It was too close for a unanimous decision, so we had to have a vote. We voted for you, but there were three for the girls from Wolverhampton."

BAWWWWWWW.

Feh, maybe next time. I was mightily impressed with the way the girls managed to steer the title away from our comfort zone. They took "This House believes that all empires are bad." and put an emphasis on the 'all' in the sentence, which was a masterful stroke. Logically, we then had to argue that all empires are bad, instead of just saying that the empire as a construct/concept is what we would call 'bad' - which we did, with gusto, but it stopped us from bringing out some of our more brutal points.

Their main downfall as a team, though, regarding the question, was to bring Rome into the equation. They went down the predicted route of mimicking the Monty Python sketch of "Besides sanitation, roads, clothing... etc... what have the Romans ever done for us?", which of course, me and Simon pounced on quickly. The Romans are a terrible example for highlighting a 'good' empire, what with the slavery, the crucifixion, the continuous wars and suchlike.

It was a nice evening, though. ^^

I'm off.

Watashi wa densha de tomodachi to Birmingham ni ikimasu.

“All empires are bad.”

 

Remember that it's designed to be read out aloud - so it's soaked in rhetoric. Also remember that I don't neccassarily agree with my argument; the Midlands institute just give us the topic and tell us whether we're opposing or proposing. I actually love empires. ^^

Any comments appreciated. The final to the competition is on Wednesday, so I can make some modifications before then.

Enjoy. : )

~

 

Check out my band's new myspace - especially if you're in or around the Birmingham area, because we're playing a gig on the 27th of March, at the Irish Club in Digbeth. It's set to be awesome, so GO GO GO.

Yeah, we stuck it to the $cifags pretty hard yesterday, at the second of the 'Anonymous' protests. I got there around midday, not wanting to be the first around again (awkward shuffling is awkward) and found a substantially larger crowd that I could have anticipated. Considering that there was, at most, fifty people at the demonstration in February, the crowd of 100+ was certainly quite hefty - though, there were remarkably few faces I recognised. Well, masks, anyway. 

I can only think that many of the anonfags from the February protest lost gusto for the cause. I can't honestly blame them; the whole day was a little lacklustre, in a sense. There was a lot more shouting and waving of signs, and a great deal of enthusiasm, but there was still a depressing air about the day. I can attribute it to a few things:

. It was raining. This doesn't sound like a lot, but I get that sense that it seriously matters when it comes to a protest; as with anything in British life, nobody gives a crap if it's raining. The flyers got wet, the people we were trying to appeal to started hurrying past to stay dry, and the guys who turned up to protest started to leave. Luckily, this was only in the latter stages of the day, but still: feh.

. Many of those who turned up aren't neccassarily those who are particularly set against the Church of $cientology, but those who are particularly for the protests. Five members of the public who I remember speaking to in February actually turned up in masks to join in this time round, which is a double edged sword. More numbers is always wonderful, but the problem lies in the fact that they've not really done their research. Yelling: "Scientology kills!" and "Scientology is evil!" isn't really helpful. At all. They're not morally neutral statements, so we can't level them at the organisation.

The best shouts were phrases like: "Lisa McPherson - why is she dead?" and "Religion is free - Scientology isn't!". These can both be backed up with objective evidence, and appear less... fanatical. We're trying to mimick a faceless majority here, and adding emotive statements to the issue isn't helpful.

. The 'party' theme, whilst on paper seemed like a good idea, was annoyingly counter-productive. There was thankfully very little of it in the Birmingham protest, but the moments where it did rise to the surface - someone decided to put party music on an amplifier - were irritating. It's doing nothing to the Scientologists, who were barely even present on the day, and it was just making the public either point and laugh or walk away awkwardly - neither of which are reactions that are likely to make them take our point of view seriously.

The argument of 'it'll make the protest more fun' is pretty fucking stupid, too. We're not there to have fun. If we're there to stand for six hours in the cold, without a break, handing out leaflets and speaking with random members of the public about the Co$, then so be it. I don't mind. I'm not there for a happy day out; I'm there to educate the public on a serious matter. Loudspeakers, megaphones, music, cake and party hats just get in the way of that.

~

So, yeah. Not the best of protests. But, I still got enough of the message I personally supported across, though. I can't even begin to count the number of everyday people walking on the streets of Birmingham who are now predisposed against the cult because of me and my friends, and all other things aside, that's more than enough of a protest for me.

anonfag, reporting out.
   

you're quite funny, but your humour is sort of... normal, i think. dfficult to say. you're more loud than witty. i think this is because your life isn't matching up to the wild days you once had, and you need to find a way to make up for this. still, i like being around you.

you're the opposite: witty, but not exactly very fun to be around. never mind!

life must be pretty boring for you, because you keep interfering with things. stop it.

i don't really know you, but i'd like to. you seem really cool. i don't think you like yourself altogether so much, though. not cool.

your sense of humour is similar to mine, I think, but people are likely to take it an entirely different way. you're realising this slowly, and i can tell, but you only have a loose grip on the people you call your friends. i'm not sure what you do in your spare time, because most the people that know you despise you.

i adore you. come to my side of the world, and teach me to speak your language. i guarantee that we'll be the best of friends.

fuck you! could you afford to lose me as a friend? was it worth it?

it's like you have this totally seperate entity that you view as 'yourself', and you make your personal decisions based on this. you have goals in sight, but you enjoy the self-punishment cycle far too much to ever get them. no worries, though, i don't talk to you that much. you serve a purpose.

what the hell! i can't even begin to suss you out. you have some emotional problems, clearly, but i wouldn't know where to start with giving you anything closely resembling advice on them.

man! if i lived a life half as... sophisticated as your, my brain would explode.

you make me laugh every time i see you!

when you speak it sounds like your voice is put on, like a really eccentric drama.

stereotype stereotype stereotype stereotype.

i don't care why you did it, but what you did was possible the only action i'd ever describe as 'unforgiveable'. he never recovered. i think he's amazing, but when the light shines through, you can see the cracks you left in him. i'm glad he never forgave you, because i like to think that right before you died, you regretted that - and you got to take that guilt to your coffin. your only redeeming feature is that you've shown he and i exactly how not to be.  

bo-ring.

i act differently when i'm around you, and i like it! it's like having a slightly different life. not in any escapist sense, though; i just like not having to make an effort. plus, we have good old fashioned fun together. woo! 

Okay. Part of me being less vicious involves me not saying things that I would normally express to people. I'm going to confess some things that have been on my mind. I'm not going to post any names - some people might read this - but for shits and giggles, I want to see what it looks like on the pages. Should be pretty cathartic. Let's try this:

you re-coloured your hair, but it actually makes you look older.

i think you lie a lot, but i enjoy telling myself that you're not, because i love getting caught up in your enthusiasm.

you're like me, but you don't know how to deal with people. enjoy having no friends, you misguided fuck.

you're so cool! that once a week i see you makes me smile, a lot. you're also really pretty, in the sense that you're actually 'pretty', not neccassarily 'hawt', which is better. you're more feminine than pretty much every girl in that room, and i would go out with you in a heartbeat if you'd give me any sign that you felt the same way about me. you do such interesting things in your spare time, and you're so creative. meet up with me! i'll woo you!

i love your accent so much. when you talk, i'm less concerned with the words themselves than how you say them. your voice is almost musical!

at first you seemed as cool as the person two posts up, but little by little i'm finding out that you're nowhere near as awesome as i thought you were - but still more awesome than you think you are.

you're my best friend. i hope you decide what you want from life. don't waste it!

you're also my best friend. you need to draw more.

you're awkward sometimes, and i think that you have some issues to resolve, but you're also my best friend and that's part of the deal, man.

you're also my best friend. sometimes i think that other people are bad for you.

yeah, you're hot, and pretty interesting - but the fact that people tell you this makes you vastly overconfident. you're not the life of the party. i hate to admit it, but i'd probably have sex with you to degrade you.

i just lied. i don't hate to admit it.

you are not the authority on everything! you have a stupid life!

i didn't cry at your funeral. sorry.

every time you tell me something about your life, or how you grew up, or something you did years ago, i'm even more proud.

you look like this girl from a film, but you're not as cool as her.

you say awkward things! stop saying awkward things!

we were once really, really good friends, but circumstances are making us go further apart. i could do something about it if i wanted, but it wouldn't work. we'll probably make up one day.

nobody listens when you speak! ahahahaha!

Veeeeeeeeeeery cold, very cold indeed. It was -5 last night. : [

I empathise with young Werther (From the epistles by Goethe). I hate being 'just friends'. It's entirely lame if you're actually into the girl, but pretending to only be into them platonically. Each time I see her, I'm less likely to end up with her, but if I stay away from her, chances are I'll be forgotten anyway. Bad situation. Not fun at all.

"I can no longer pray except to her; my imagination beholds no figure but hers."

I feel your pain, Werther. Okay, not quite as drastically. You're in love with her, but I just think this girl is very, very cool.

In other news, I got my first hardback publication! I'll post more about it later, when I'm less pressed for time.

Things I have achieved recently.

. Actually getting to the stage where I have something to show for my band's efforts! Check out the new material, hot off the... err... recording laptop from Cyanide Eyes:

http://boomp3.com/m/2e1cf47f7e12 <--- heavy opening song.
http://boomp3.com/m/4818bcec07e0/r…  <--- softer song.

They're both unnamed. Have a listen and rate them through comments; all criticisms are welcome. The recordings are actually quite rough, being done on a laptop, and mastered on the same laptop. Sure, there were a wealth of amps and preamps, but it's pretty back-to-basics stuff.

. Joining the Anonymous protest on February the 10th. That was immense. I don't care if we weren't accurately representing Anonymous as an organisation (or is that disorganisation) but the work we did in Birmingham was amazing. Hear my voice on www.scratchradio.co.uk (the bit marked 'Scientology Protest'). Really good coverage, and entirely better than the biased crap ITV gave us.

. Reading Goldfish, a comic book by some author I can't remember. Read it. It's brilliant.