[Emeric's Scrapbook] The Meaning of Liff

[Emeric]

"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." --Douglas Adams Salutations, each and all. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I am Alexander Joseph Quentin [Insert Generic Irish Surname]. I am 19 and 3/4, and I hail from a small town called London. On my scrapbook, if anyone cares to follow it, I will most probably be intermittently posting links to music that I like. Along with musings on my love for tweed jackets and classic British motorcycles, you may also be accosted by the occasional nerdgasm. So, yeah. Oh, also... rules. No three-buttoned blazers, and... any comments made must be full to the brim with guile and panache! Anyhoo I am at University, studying Marine Biology. And this past year has been the best year of my (admittedly short) life so far, great course, great lifestyle, great location, amazing friends. What more could you ask for? This is generally the part where I would post a picture of myself, perhaps make some self-deprecating comments. But instead, I will show you a group photo of me and my besties (I'm fourth from the left) rocking our TIGER FACES. There was a facepainting stall set up near the University, raising funds for Children in Need, so we thought: AWESOME. For non-UK peepsicles: Children in Need is an annual telethon hosted by the BBC, which gets all sorts of celebrities doing quirky things in the name of charity. It supports children both in the UK and in poverty stricken countries. And it lets you act like a total prat for a day - which is nice. Anyways, then we went to our lecture and freaked our lecturer out... : I digress: The whole motivation for creating this thing was so I could post this song, which I feel pretty well encapsulates who Emeric is as a character. And on that note I will leave you, enjoy the song. Au revoir.

[Emeric]

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” --Albert Einstein I really need to stop spending money... I got paid yesterday and hmm, half? Yeah, half of it is gone. But then, that's the beauty of being paid weekly, I get more money this friday! In Mizahar news: Well, Emeric is plodding along in one thread at the mo with the effervescent Haeli - which is nice. I have a few WIP training threads on my computer, but each seems quite dull and I'm having a hard time coming up with engaging ways to train in his swordplay. My long term aim is to make him something of a master swordswman, all other facets of his character are still in the air. I think I may send him out into the mountains to get into fisticuffs with an owl or something. I feel I need to just offer a word of thanks to the Founders for the not-so-simple act of creating this place, a community where quality of writing is prized and nourished. Before coming here I hadn't written anything substantial in almost two years, and now I'm writing and using BIG WORDS and having fun, fun, fun, fun. So, yeah. THANK YOU FOUNDERS. I've also been (almost) working on a new PC. An Endal Inarta, probably born of a lower cast, bit of a bitch, decent with a bow... Aaaand that's about it! I'm trying to figure out a way to make her able to afford a composite longbow, like, do Endal's get seasonly wages? Plus I really need to work on things to make her an interesting character, both to play and to read. At the moment she's just a clichéd, snarky, adrenaline junkie. Anyhoo, preview: There's also the problem that whenever I want to work on a character, I usually bring up all the pictures I have of the model they're based on just so that the general look of the character is always present in my mind. Unfortunately, this particular model has dabbled in swimwear and lingerie modelling, so I descend into a drooling mess just looking at Miss. Shmexington above. Rewatching the video I posted in my last post, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it was done. This wasn't like, the official video or anything, just someone in india with a HD camera and a love for New-wave British folk-rock. Endstreamofconsciousness.

[Emeric]

“I got fed up with all the sex and sleaze and backhanders of rock and roll, so I went into politics.” --Tony Blair Once again I’ve been dragged away from Mizahar, writing and even the internet in general… Oh woe of woes. However! Valid excuses abound. I spent the early part of the week working obscenely long shifts and sneaking home through riot struck North London. From Wednesday to Friday I was in Portsmouth conducting the summer meeting for our student radio station. On the riots: there’s very little I could say that hasn’t already been said by half a gazillion amateur (very, very amateur) bloggers, photographers and YouTube commenter’s. For me, living in the middle of it I only got a single prevailing sense: This wasn’t civil unrest, per se, but rather… civil restlessness. Especially in an undercurrent of youth unemployment, combined with the summer holidays causing many of our capital’s youths to be on the street. The violence that came for days afterwards, spreading across the country was nothing more than copycat criminal activity - spurred on by anarchists abusing the anonymous and instantaneous nature of social networking sites. Politically, the government and the mayor have come under fire for not “seeing this coming.” And really, that’s pure arse-gravy. Nobody saw this coming, and if there hadn’t been a few individuals, who had been drinking a little too much and were of a more aggressive persuasion in that particular area in Tottenham, on that particular Thursday night, then none of this would have happened. The simple truth is, a fully conservative government, fully labour, fully liberal, whatever - they all would have reacted in very much the same way. As has been the case for as long as I’ve been alive, and in my scant enough studies of modern politics - there has been a gradual movement from the left and right leaning parties into a comfortable centre. Boris Johnson, who for American/International readers you may not be aware of, has been quietly working behind the scenes to make the capital a better place. He has instigated a whole host of initiatives and schemes which has been aimed at building community, raising employment, cutting public spending - and with the introduction of “Boris Bikes” made London more cyclist friendly than ever before, so he’s doing his bit for the environment as well. Under the previous Mayor he tried to improve public transport in the most linear way possible, charge us more for it. If you watch the Olympics next year, you’ll probably see a lot of Boris. Don’t get me wrong, he appears like a totally dishevelled moron and is absolutely hilarious. But he doesn’t deserve the abuse he’s got. Really the point I want to make is that there are three parties who I have to commend during all this violence: The Police. Who have been outstanding in their restraint against some absolutely disgusting thuggishness. (And to any who called for the Army. You’re idiots. Bringing people who’ve spent two years in Afghanistan and Iraq, using lethal force, into a hostile, home city would be tantamount to madness.) The Riot Wombles. Especially to the minority communities, the Sikh’s who guarded an Islamic Temple while they prayed during Ramadan. The Turkish and Kurdish communities who flooded the streets to protect their shops and livelihoods. Proving what London community really is. And, dare I say it, the Media. Still reeling from the Phone Hacking nonsense that Herr Murdoch took much of the flak for, despite it being prevalent in all the papers. They have been doing their civic duty, putting the faces of looters out there, condemning the attacks and providing a direct line between the police and the public in what plans were in place, and advice to stay safe. On a completely different note, the summer meeting was… interesting: Three long days in close quarters with people was never going to be a walk in the park, but I didn’t realise how weird people were. I mean there really is the idiom that familiarity breeds contempt, but it was just strange to note my own shifting opinions of people. Especially one girl, who when I first met her a few months ago I was charmed by, she struck me as funny, intelligent and not a little bit flirty (in that very slight way which means nothing, and I appreciate it as such). She was also fairly easy on the eye. My prevailing memory from our committee handover dinner concerning her was how it quickly became very easy to twist her words into euphemistic statements. A running gag I thought would be quickly forgotten, and which if it were to brought up again I believed would be brought up by us, if and when we tried to take the piss - as we are wont to do. I quickly noticed she will deliberately make these asides and comments to draw attention in the conversation back to herself – which really pissed me off. Now I’m a snarky bastard on a good day, so the driest of dry insults I threw her way were mostly missed - which is a good thing, I’d assume. But I have the next year working closely with her - especially as I’ve volunteered to anchor our University News show. :/ For anyone wondering: my role is Station Secretary & Personnel Manager. This basically means I’m in charge of people behaving and sending emails. I will also have to take over if our Station Manager is unavailable. It’s not that great a role, but it means I have more control over the direction of the station and I get first pick of the slots for next years schedule. So, now I’m going to crack open a beer, wear my brand new Arsenal Football shirt and watch the match. Ciao.

[Emeric]

So I totally cocked up and double posted, which means you lucky buggers, you. MORE MUSIC.



Listen to it, and enjoy. Or else.

[Emeric]

“Boldness be my friend.” --William Shakespeare In Brooklyn, New York. In the 1890’s. There was a man named Charles Murphy. Here he is: So, this guy was in a bar with his mates, talking about the news of the day, comparing moustaches and the like. When the subject of the renowned riders of the day came up, Murphy was already a pretty well known cyclist who had been making a name for himself on the touring circuits. And he bragged to all and sundry that there was “no limit to the speed of a bicycle rider, that speed depended largely upon the bicycle, gears, tracks and pacemaker. I declared there was not a locomotive built which could get away from me.” Unsurprisingly the entire group laughed at him and drove him to actually seek out a railroad company and organise an event where he would prove that he could outpace a train while on a bicycle. After a lot of planning and convincing he got his chance. On boards placed along a two mile track, he rode behind a train and kept pace with it. The train driver and company owner were incredibly embarrassed at how this young punk from Brooklyn had kept pace with the train, and how the train failed to reach the 60 mph speed that they had advertised. So, what do they go and do? They only roll it all back and give it another go. Murphy, this time struggles as the new engine in the train makes such a racket that the ground beneath him shakes and the track bulges and busts. He looks up to the crowd watching at the back of the train and gets blown back, buffeted by wind and heat he stays stable and carries on, pushing with all his might. To all the crowds shock, this kid starts closing in. Catching up to the train, where they are all stood watching. He pulls in, and as they reach the end of the track completely catches up and crashes into the back of the speeding train - flying over the handlebars and into the carriage where a man reportedly fainted from the excitement. He had cycled a mile, behind a steam train, in less than a minute. Earning him the title “Mile-a-Minute Murphy.” It was also reported he had balls the size of Jupiter. Mile-A-Minute Murphy, I salute you.

[Emeric]

“Music is my religion.” --Jimi Hendrix So, I am off from work ‘till Monday. Whoop whoop! Anyway... Moosik! (I’ll try and avoid posting stuff I’ve posted in Chat so as not to be repetitious, but may pluck songs from the same artists…) Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts, you may well already have heard this a bazillion times in the United States of USA. But yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos, *gigglyawesomesnort.* Ed Sheeran - The A-Team, yet another from my school of folky, audio goodness. Stereophonics - Dakota, turn up your speakers and drive your convertible around Malibu. Do it. Now. The Decemberists - Rox in the Box, one of my favourite albums of the last like… year or so. Really elevated them from average to thoroughly good. Lissie - When I’m Alone (Liveish), she’s cool and countryish but cool. AND FINALLY: Kate McGill - Full to the Brim, a YouTube artist I’ve been championing for a while now and who is releasing her debut album in a few weeks. Excitement! Not much typedy typington in this particular scrapbook bojangle, but I do hope you all listened and highly enjoyed this musical feast of splendifirous audio shmaow. Yes, yes. nonsense Nonsense NONSENSE.

[Bolden Denusk]

I'm loving that Kate McGill one. It's almost melancholy but with enough mellow to keep it smooth. Good music that is, *EDIT* ALEX.

[Emeric]

“But at my back I always hear, Time's wingéd chariot hurrying near” --Andrew Marvell This is a quick scrapbooky note to apologise for my glacier speed posting as of late, to Haeli and co. whom I'm threading with (mainly Haeli, cos she's so swift at replying it puts me to shame!) However! I have finished work for the summer, and will be heading back to Uni on Sunday. Which means packing tomorrow, but I'll try and scrape out some time for posting. I've also got a deadline to hit for 6pm tomorrow for the radio station... so tomorrow will be fun! In other news, following on from my relative lack of knowledge on Christina Perri in my previous post - I'd literally heard the song for the first time about twenty minutes before I posted the SB - I went onto the interwebs and procured her album from a highly reputably selling merchant fellow. And it is fantastic! She really has the range of vocals, intelligent composition and whimsy in her lyrics that really... pushes my buttons. IfyaknowwhatImean... Official Emeric Recommendation: Christina Perri - Lovestrong. Hmm, what else? Welll, you know there's that story that JK Rowling always purports about her being on a train between Edinburgh and London and the characters and story for Harry Potter just seemed to wander into her head. Well I had a moment like that this week, half dozing on the tube at 6am on my way to work and in a dreamlike state this story drifted into my mind. I guess it was because for some reason I still had the Hotel Cafe Presents... Winter Songs album on my generic brand mp3 player so it was Christmas themed. And I thought, Christmas TV has been a little disappointing for the past few years, in this country at least. So I came up with this Christmas season miniseries in the HBO vein, and then even started casting it! *coughRichardArmitagecough* There are often times when you wake up from a dream and are all like "Wow! That was so insane and original I should write it down!" But within like five minutes you've forgotten half of it and it is just an incoherent mess, and all you can remember is the feeling that deep down, it was awesome. This idea of mine is a lot like that, except I can mostly remember the main character and the opening and the ending. So that's like... 3% done... I digress. What I meant to say in this scrapbook was that my time has been swamped with boring things, but I am now opened up like a proverbial pearly gate to all the writing goodness that Mizahar avails. Ummm, not much else to say really... Although I have been stalking the forum a lot and lingering in chat a lot. Maybe it's just me looking at a selected selection of selectables but it seems that there is a high rate of people taking on positions within the forum which they can't commit to and then they have to back out at a later stage, it'd be nice if they could stay - but I fully understand the drain on our time that RL can be! If you're one of those, I'll have a box of chocolates and a stuffed bear for you when you have more time to play with us! TOODLES!

[Haeli]

I never mind waiting for your posts. It often feels like a special treat when they get put up, and I frequently worry mine are lacking. So please don't fret on my account. I'm flattered that you do. In time things will straighten out and you'll hopefully be able to write more frequently. Until then we are all patient.

Here's a favorite poem of mine for your scrapbook. It reminds me of fulfilling promises and speaking to things we cannot see. This man, this Traveler, reminds me of Emeric.

The Listeners
by Walter De La Mare

'Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grasses
Of the forest's ferny floor:
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller's head
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
'Is there anybody there?' he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller's call.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
'Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:-
'Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,' he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.

[Emeric]

“Because - equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who is confronted with it. We need equality. Kinda now.” --Joss Whedon Wow, I absolutely loved that poem. Tanks, tanks very much. [/IrishAccent] I am currently sitting in my room, at my desk, in my house. COS I'M BACK AT UNI! Currently with kitsch posters, pack of cigars and manly mags (all for street credit, you must understand) and in the corridor to my right is an electrician who's like... tinkering with EVERYTHING. There's no real point to this scrapbook I guess I just felt like writing something, and my solo is nearly finished but needs ummm... spellcheck. Hmmm, what else has been on my mind? The internet was a hassle to set up because I forgot I had been running through a proxy at home. When I rang the ISP and we eventually found that was the cause I literally slapped myself on the forehead... There's a new Sarah Jessica Parker film plastered on the side of buses in London and gee whiz, if it doesn't fuck me right off. For one: How the fuck is this woman in SO MANY hollywood films, she's not particuarly talented, she sure aint no Scarlett Johansson in the looks department and 95% of her films bomb, both critically AND commercially. And yet she still gets these roles... whoever she is giving these sexual favours too must be incredibly powerful, and incredibly blind. PLUS: The tagline, oh my... I was seething when I read that... And bare in mind, I was raised entirely by my mum and sister and would definitely identify as a feminist. (Despite my oft-found expression of drooling over the particuarly... well endowed lady folk) "If it was easy, men would do it." Like, right, I get that the target audience is not welll... men, ever. But way to alienate 80% of the film critics in this country, as well as piss ME right off (cardinal sin.) The whole film revolving around a single mum who is also succesful in her career... aaaand that's about it. Basically SJP saying to the world, "Hey! Hey! I have kids now but I'm still a rallying post for all female empowerment!" Sex & the City died 10 years ago, hun, get over it and get off the big screen. (And the fact that these women who spent about 8 million episodes fretting about shoes and men were poster girls for the 90's feminist media invasion is just utterly tragic. Go watch something Joss Whedon has made to see what female empowerment is.) ....yeah. Rarely do I get riled up like that, I have very little time for serious political and religious debates cos they just bore me, but sometimes something stupid like the tagline of a film just sets me off... TOODLES.