I want my money back!

As the chap from the Fastshow would put it, 'this week i have mostly..... been feeling mistreated by society!'

There has been a few (I say few, but replace that with about 12) events that have really made me wonder why I bother to get out of bed and act like a normal person this week. On Monday evening my computer had a virus, leaving me no other option but to wipe off everything-pictures, essays, valuable websites that i've forgotten about, music, videos. Then on valentines day our toilet/sink/bath conveniently blocked itself which resulted in a bath full of shit and water. By Thursday things were getting better, 're-cycle' a local charity bike shop promised to fix my bike for free as one of my friends was purchasing a new bike there. This morning I arrived to pick it up to find that an '£8 donation would be nice' label attached to the handle bars. Feeling embarrassed and slightly angry I claimed that there was no fee to pay. With no one there who was at the shop the previous day i was forced (I say forced, but imagine haggling with a charity shop-its just not the 'right' thing to do) into paying £10 pounds for a few nuts and bolts and a seat that I didn't want replacing.

I returned home and quickly searched for something that I saw in a Helsinki Art Gallery last year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w84qzHdEms ....ah that feels better doesn't it?

Its also available in German:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMixEXn2SG8&mode=related&search=

Finnish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBN4dkiREd8

and Russian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdlpxOw86xA

And my personal favourite-for children- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqNG6VTKRh0

Today I had (probably) one of the most productive days of the year/my life. Ive been trying to nail my dissertation title and possibly a PhD proposal, but for months I've been going round in circles trying to figure out what it is i want to say. Ive been thinking of what Vuokko told me a few months ago about 'ecofeminism'*, that is that all environmental disasters or damage to nature in general has been caused by men who retain power. Parallel to this I have been thinking about a comparative study between Scandinavia/Germany/Holland and the rest of EU/world-why is it that the Nordic countries protecting nature and the environment. Some of them go even further than targets set by the EU Commission. In 2004 Sweden said that by 2020 it would not be relying on fossil fuels for energy resources, and Germany have been said to be the driving force for changes in EC environmental law. As for Holland, well you only have to think of the stereotypical dutch guy, riding along on his hybrid/town bike smiling at everyone through the car-less streets of Amsterdam.

But today was something else, it seemed as if everything made sense. For a long time I have been lecturing and moaning to anyone who would listen about cycling, taking trains, buses or walking rather than driving/flying. The majority usually answer with 'yeah I guess i should walk more, or hmm maybe i should get a bike. Others go as far as buying a bike and selling a there car (well only one of them has actually completed this substitution). Anyway today's answer came in the form of a book entitled 'Citizenship and the Environment' which pretty much summed up what's been spinning around in my washing machine of a brain. The introduction was so good i had to run downstairs to the toilets and do a little dance. However it was the third wave of citizenship (feminist virtue) that made me realise I am going in the right direction.

All in all i feel as if I'm finally getting somewhere with all this, and all the thinking and arguing, moaning and lecturing with others has paid off. Ah alas, If only everyday was as productive as this, but I guess that would be boring wouldn't it?


Some incidents that happened this week which made me realise im not young anymore:


- I was in a charity shop and saw a blur live CD (dated 1995) and an Oasis book (1996) which made me realise that all that happened over ten years ago. I am officially part of another generation.

-Vuokko found 5 grey hairs in the centre of my head, this is the new record.

*blogger.com's patriachal spell check did not recognise the word 'ecofeminism'.

The Concretes

I rarely fall for a band so much that I cant stop playing their stuff. I don't quite know what it is about The Concretes that makes me like them. In general I don't like female fronted bands, ...anyway I cant stop listening to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmaqYwONQsE

oh and i cant stop listening to this either..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51V1VMkuyx0

I was told when I started this blog that I would easily become bored of it and jack it all in, I started to feel like that exactly 30 seconds ago-but I'm here now updating like an eager beaver that I am. To be honest the reason I haven't updated is because I haven't been up to much, although the truth is i have and I'm too lazy to talk about it.

Last week I did 3 things that were positive and have had an impact on me:

Firstly I had a 'jam' with one of my friends from uni, I haven't played with anyone for a while and I was negative when asked to practice. But from the start it was a good thing, i genuinely enjoyed it. Without sounding too pretentious I guess I've felt the scars from the ending of my last band.

I then went to see my old work friends band Rizzo http://myspace.com/rizzotheband again I was a bit sceptical of going as I thought it would bring back old feelings of being in a band. Of course it did, but again in a positive way. I spoke to my old friend Nick and it was all in all a good affair. Incidentally the main band were pretty good, which has made me rethink my old notion that all local bands are dismal or ostentatious. http://www.gracemusic.co.uk/ they are not really something that I would go for but the lead singer really reminded me of Morrissey...and that guy from idlewild... and check out his odd hair...it was captivating (it was really odd). In fact all the members were random, like they had just met at a bus stop or in a telesales job.

Finally I changed one of my courses to Human Rights and Philosophy, which has had a positive impact. In general I have never really dabbled with Human rights law, which obviously isnt because I disagree with it or a human right sceptic, I merely fear the possible confrontation that may occur If I end up in an argument. I would probably lose my balance in such a situation and fall down a very dark hole. Anyway this course isnt so much law related and gives a nice balance to the endless cases that I have to read for other classes. Which is nice.

This caught my eye today as well http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2006102,00.html

I have been to the Cavern, which was really odd, it didnt look like what the cavern that was in my mind..more like a kids play centre with a bar. But it was nice to walk where the famous four would have.