Automatic people

9pm yesterday i was walking along the supermarket checkouts and i felt a bit strange, then i realised why. I settled for the end closest the exit, where one employee was surveying 4 machines. then i went through the automated, automatic process, a touch screen monitor and a computer telling me what to do. I remember feeling degraded and humiliated. After i'd finished with the whole thing, which seemed to take along time, i turned around to the employee and said:
"i don't like this. it's spooky"
"You'll get used to it"
"I don't want to. I really don't want to"
In China the bigger the company the more people they have to employ by law. Hence sometimes there seems to be people doing jobs that seem to be doing very little, like 4 people stacking the same Wal-Mart shelf, or people waving in buses with little flags at the bus stop. Yeah, on the surface it seems a little bit silly, but, in reality, there is nothing silly about more people having a job, and if a bigger company need employ more people, it enforces a better equilibrium. This big supermarket i walked around had replaced maybe 50 peoples jobs with automatic machines, and as i was told, i should get used to it. i hope i never get used to a machine telling me what to do, the day that happens is the day i stop being a human being. Now, i have worked on a supermarket checkout, i will say it's not the most enthrawling job in the world, but, 'the sweet isn't as sweet without the sour' and it got me interacting with people and it put some money in my pocket. Sometimes technology isn't progress, 'The Machine Stops' by E.M. Forster springs to mind, click for the link to the story published exactly 100 years ago where nobody leaves their rooms because machines do everything for them.

Fresh food

Fresh fruit, herbs and vegetables from the local market, fresh haddock straight from the local Yorkshire dock. twice the quality than at the supermarket and less than half the price. great taste, no preservatives. the supermarkets have taken the opportunity to sell higher priced, lower quality food. believe we must pay more because of weak Sterling, strong Euro, inflation, recession, believe and it comes true. prices have not risen on my local market, unlike in every 'super'market. we as consumers have the power, we, with every penny we spend not only influence, but control the order of our world. if we choose to buy locally, choose to buy from local markets then they get stronger. it is frustrating to hear complaint from people who resign. people resign to something off in the future, that future becomes present only because people think they have no choice. it's a pre facto rationalisation. you cannot change the future because it doesn't and will never exist. what we do now is everything, it is the only thing that alters the world we live in. our food supply is a most important thing. we are in charge. believe it. i believe in this country, i believe in my people. day in, day out i see mundane actions performed with effortless skill, i see people with immesurable power, kindness and humility. simultaneously i feel the sadness that has taken us. the sadness blinds us from what is truly important in life, replacing it with 'things'. These 'things' we must get more of, have more of, all in vain. In vain because human spirit cannot be substituted, we need each other, not each others 'things'. lets work smarter, not harder, lets be good to each other instead of the corporations.

Nothing

Just to clarify, nobody, ever 'does nothing', there is never 'nothing going on' something always happens, somebody always does something, or they're dead, being dead is also something, but is 'doing nothing' in a truer sense. 'doing nothing' is not the same as not moving, still waters run deep. perhaps when asked the question "what have you been up to?"
you would better reply "nothing different" perhaps replying this way often might help you realise you should, or are always 'doing something'

Facebook Photobanks

Tezla Facebook photobanks click for links to separate albums:
Nautilus
Tezla is Born
Jenjutsushi
May days
Djune
Yaow
Angels
Zai Jian
China

Return

it seems pertinent 4142km to Manchester, 6.06 miles high, with an outside temperature of -54˚c to resolve the past 3 months in the way i've become accustomed. Except, now it seems more apt to describe things that have happened in anecdotal form, rather than describe personal perceptions about entire countries and my summary of their 'collective behaviour'. In 11 weeks in China i recall:
using the green line to Lougang Road subway station then transferring to the Maglev station en route for the airport. The world's first operational Magnetic levitation train growled and rumbled effortlessly into the station, the way only giant machines do. 8 minutes later, travelling 300kph we arrived. of course this would have been most impressive except starting the journey it took two minutes for the doors to open, then a further 6 minutes by a deserted platform for the doors to close. the train travelled 130kph slower than top speed as it does every morning and evening "for safety reasons"
the whole experience reminded me of being in the big cat room at the Beijing zoo.
speaking from outside of England: in england there is greener grass. the regular in flight meal leaving England was terrible, on the return the same meal was excellent.
jumped off the plane onto to the train, "hello ladies is this your first time in Manchester? It is, ah you're both French. Oh me i've been in China 3 months, doin a bit a this bitta that. How about you two, you've come from Switzerland and you're both nurses, oh right... here's my blog address and compass so you wont get lost. welcome to england, welcome indeed.

SMP

click for Youtube video

wall ride to fakie photo by Sato Kosuke

Speaker

Lionel Vincent shook hands with Nelson Mandela, personally requested to play music for him to be the first music he heard after being released from his 27 year incarceration. he tells me:
"wisdom, the ability to apply knowledge accurately, your first thought is the best thought, hate no-one, don't listen to those trying to drag you down, listen to the good voice within, for you are a great person, i know this. For a person like you the woman of your dreams will walk right into your life"
he then lends me a book "the wisdom of insecurities" after we have a long morning in a bar till dawn playing pool surrounded by cheap young hookers, drinking expensive cheap rum and listening to i5 quarter rumble from the house speakers.

Dawn

To be reaffirmed is important, true affirmation relies on sincerity and premeditation. That is to say if you feel comforted or someone shares your opinion it's important that you care and important that you are thinking in a balanced way. Having just finished a late conversation (4.53am) i feel reaffirmed. I spoke with several swedish people about things we consider important. We also spoke about China, politics, food and philosophy among other things.

I do not know what good would come of me explaining our opinions to others, for we are here and have qualified our thoughts and feelings, and our experience is just that. But i do write to render my reaffirmation of respect for Scandanavia and affirmation that there are 'no roads to nowhere'. Good and bad are dualistic matters of morality; to venture into the world and do something new is a brave thing. Peace is strength and violence is for the weak. cest la vie mes amis

Pointing

"One might compare the art of photography to the act of pointing. It must be true that some of us point to more interesting facts, events, circumstances, and configurations than others." (John Szarkowski)

1. The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

(Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.)

Rainy Day

back in the rain after 2 months without it.

Shelter

i started the new year in a Shanghai bomb shelter listening to a Finnish DJ rock the place. I re-introduce the compound verb: to 'forrest gump' eg "i forrest gumped a free taxi to the largest skate ramps in the world, didn't break both legs, then, feeling like i'd fallen down the stairs crawled out the door and fell into a vodka martini with a mancurian beatsmith." Far east, first of the first 2009. peac+

Credit Manuva

You may or not know about Rodney Smith, aka Roots Manuva. Speaking as a Yorkshire DJ, with the opinion that not only does this man know what he's talking about, but i feel he's a modern day hero. In a time and place where heros may be perceived to be in short supply you may listen to this music and be inspired whether you understand or not. Like Braintax, who is another hip hop hero, there's little ego and lots of substance. Music like art can be a compromise between the aesthetic and conceptual, i.e. sounding good/saying something important. Some people are heros because they can do both. Some people are also heros because they've fallen, been trodden into the floor, bloodied bruised, picked themselves back up, cleaned themselves off, pulled themselves together then shared their experience for the good of the world.
Experience from the experienced, isn't that what it's is all about?
As for me China has been hard, but because of things beyond my control, and often things unrelated to China. I spent 6 weeks in Beijing, a place with such high air pollution exercise was actually making me less healthy, i paid £900 for a TEFL course which taught me nothing, but a lesson in unethical business practice, and that a TEFL certificate is not necessary to teach English in China. Now i've spent 2 weeks in Changchun where it's so cold moisture and snot freezes to your face. These are both big cities, i don't care for big cities.
i want a holiday, i want a beach that looks like paradise on a postcard, close your eyes and you can see it, mine has a palm tree on the left diving down into the middle with white sand and clear blue sea. paradise is a state of mind, for me it's also a beach in Fiji:
"If the system ain't workin' you betta' think about desertin' or bringin' in some higher learnin'" (mc covert, track: 'are you on it?' album: skitz countryman)

20 below

A woman with a 'festive size' bottle of booze and a street vendor, temperature -20˚c. Christmas Day, Changchun, China.

Location

today's weather highs of -11˚c lows of -22˚c. freezing is the correct adjective.
"People in glass houses, don't throw stones" the proverb has been traced back to Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde' (1385) it came to mind today. i think for the first time i clearly understand the meaning.

Ice

I haven't skated on ice for 10 years. Today I went ice skating on a massive lake in the sunshine. then i conducted my first ice skating lesson. i like these two words used together 'striking distance'

Bad day

A really bad day and in my mind the world tumbles
down.

Hard day:forgetaboutitbrushitoff
doesn't really work. i want to shout! moan... complain;,. and BREAK something.
any rhetoric or mantra makes about as much difference as a hippie in a war zone.
Suffice to say this...there is very little one can understand in this world when preoccupied with yourself. multiple combinations of everything going wrong happens, it's very difficult not to break out the violin and play a sad song wallowing in self pity. when dejected try and calm yourself and when elated try and do the same. the reason:
are you really the reason? does your bad day have anything to do with your actions? if so improve them, otherwise 'cest la vie', this is life. it's a hard thing for an ego to deal with, and an ego is a difficult thing to understand, the question is simple:
"does my bad day have anything to do with me?" if i'm walking down the road and get driven into, then fall on the stairs because it's slippery. reach the work place to find out my work is cancelled for the day and i was not informed. does this have anything to do with me? did i make those stairs slippery? was i responsible? did i erroniously walk into the road or was the driver a muppet reversing into a main street and not watching anything?
try not to take everything personally, the real challenge is to understand what is trivial and what is important. some things are matters of fate; matters beyond personal control should be understood as just that. if all else fails buy several kgs of rice in fabric casing and punch through it repeatedly. keep your back straight and use your whole body exhaling on impact.

Prayer

Early morning prayer at the Lama Temple, Beijing China

Lao

"I have heard it said that a clever merchant, though possessed of great hoards of wealth, will act as though his coffers were empty: and that the princely man, though of perfect moral excellence, maintains the air of a simpleton. Abandon your arrogant ways and countless desires, your suave demeanor and unbridled ambition, for they do not promote your welfare. That is all i have to say to you" (Lao Tzu)

BaLTic!

it's highs of -2 and lows of -10 here in Beijing, "Completely Baltic mate, thats Baltic not Balti like the curry!" so i've bypassed the coin machine in the internet room, and im guna try and find some hot water for me teapot.

To our common ancestors

"And so i offer the prayer to our common ancestors on behalf of those seeking to recover themselves from the rubble of modernity as they seek to work their way toward being elders of the new post-modern tribal order:
'May the spirits of every pertinent direction take notice of their heart's desire.
May the forces below pump strength into their feet- that they walk the walk of their life, the walk that heals the wounded truth of their bellies and keeps the eyes of their memory open so they can grow ni yang maru.
May the ancestral fuel burn in their spiritual veins and animate their souls with vision so they can hold hands ni yang maru.
As they walk toward their future.
May they wake up fast to the dialogue between the soul and the spirit.
And may they labor to clean the world from its paralyzing epidemic of soul barrenness so that tomorrow our children can sing together in peace.'" (Malidoma Some)

Chinese checklist

1. Haggle: Haggle with people without getting angry, despite how completely ridiculous haggling is, and how most chinese traders think foreigners are idiots.

2. Accept that people will generally clear out their noses and spit in cafes, lifts and subways.

3. Bring good socks and deodorant, because neither exist in china.

4. Don't fall for the common misconception we have in England that the more money you spend the higher quality something will be. Spend 20kwai on a thermos flask and it will leak and break. spend 100kwai on a thermos flask in stainless steel, with a handle and product guarantee, and it will leak and break.

5. Feel free to take your skateboard and take large drops down marble staircases, security guards welcome the enterainment.

6. If you have feet bigger than a size UK9.5, then buying footwear will not be easy.

7. Use the opportunity to compliment someone when their english in good, especially if you don't speak chinese.

8. Be aware of how fortunate you are; please don't whine about how horrible it all is, and how fantastic it would be if we were all socialists or communists.

me father always said, "i can stand 'owt but a whiner"

9. Try the 'hotpot' a fantastic idea where you go to a resteraunt, buy all the food raw then try your best to cook it yourself.

10. a simple but effective way to clear off beggars, pimps, tricksters and undesirables- extend your open hand right into their face stopping 2inches away, keep it there, they shut up and clear off. crude but 'in the spirit.'

11. Play ping-pong in the park on a sunday, and get your ass handed to you on a plate.

No worry mantra

"Don't worry about the future, don't worry about the past. Make each step more excellent than the last, and you will be where you want to be." (william johnson)

Community

"What we need is to be able to come together with a constantly increasing mindset of wanting to do the right thing, even though we know very well that we don't know how nor where to start... Without a community you cannot be yourself. The community is where we draw the strength needed to effect changes inside of us. Community is formed each time more than one person meets for a purpose. What one acknowledges in the formation of the community is the possiblity of doing together what is impossible to do alone. To make an enemy a friend is to end the need for war, to vanquish the powers of destruction."
(reassembled excerpts from Ritual, Malidoma Patrice Some)

Certified

Graffiti taught, TESOL certified.

The Allies

the alliance will live forever:
"BANGKOK: 'Are you scared?' The crowd roared back: 'We're not scared!' Speculation that the military stage a coup were further fueled by press reports Thursday tank movements that the military later said were only a training exercise."
Rene in China, she's lovely, well educated: she informs me Tibet is a province in China, and this has always been the case. The sky is red, the sky is red the sky is red the sky is red the sky is red. The sky is blue, don't be silly the sky is red. Light graffiti technique let loose in the far east, get snapin' Rene
awake armchair generals it's a beautiful day 08:14 (+8GMT)

Lama armour: better the angel you know

after a long sunday, i visited the lama temple, ate nuts and raisins with a monk acquired a jade dragon amulet, stainless flask then noshed some street meat.

Wall-aye

well, maybe a little bit a nuisance, 'chi yo' 'chi yo'

Empty pocket, empty mind

For the most part Beijing people have very little material possessions in comparison with english people, for the most part they seem all the better for it. those without are not lusting for something, those with, are not lusting for even more. nobody takes drugs and few people drink alcohol and nobody is left wanting. dotted round most residential areas are exercise machines for stretching exercise to improve health and it's not unfamiliar to see 60year old women with their leg up stretching above waist level ("im too old for that!" just ain't cutting it folks.) right here and now in this place; an empty pocket, an empty mind. absense of thought is a blessing that many philosophers strive for and animals have by default.
you have ipods, cars, televisions and you're still not happy.
"When the cup is full, pouring more tea will not help a thing." (w.j.) First realise you have everything you need, then try and realise it's only yourself that needs to change, not the size of your television. improve your 'mental aesthetic'- autumn cleaning. yep

The 1500pound photo

this photo nearly cost me 1500pound. thought i had a bargain on a 4pound tripod, then a strong gust of wind blew over the whole camera setup, smashing the plastic corner of the lens. there goes lens number 3. drop me a lime if you want a postcard sending round the world. w

Sunday

RIPg4

Its been round the world, been dropped, scratched then laughed in the face of any demands stuffed in its face. its brought hope and happiness to the world and been a fantastic machine, as a paintbrush, it would have touched up Mona Lisa, as a chisel, given The David a facelift, but now my powerbookG4 is unrepairable. So, looks like no gigs, photos or video for a while, and sorry Kim, no photos for a month maybe, cos they're stored on the HD that's inaccessible.

Zai Jian

zai jain, au revoir, lawago, inabit, peac+
with prawn crackers

From the second Chapter

"People with intelligence will use it to fashion things both true and false and will try to push through whatever they want with clever reasoning. This is injury from intelligence. Nothing you do will have effect if you do not use truth." (Hagakure)

Bombin' Hills

Bomb Hills not cities. It's skateboard slang for 'leggin it' down massive hills. This is one of the things i love most, and i try and do it every day. In fact i'd rather hope someone fast enough would give me a 2mile downhill race (shortboard, longboard's too safe and its cheating.) Anyway i just wanted to share that last night, it was 12am, quiet and peaceful, i was cruising down a well lit street straight New Hey Road with bright clothes and a torch on my arm, relaxing at the left side of the road, left side of the lane. I clocked a car coming the other way 150ft away and checked behind, i turned round and a green saloon is on the other side of the road screaming right at me, i drift on to the yellow lines the car travelling 50mph me 25 and he's playing chicken. Its the second time in three nights. ooooooo, i really hope one of these guys give me the chance to stop and throw my board at their windscreen, chicken shits, how big do you have to be to drive at someone in a car when he's on a skateboard??? i mean come on?! what does it take to drive at a skateboarder? nothing: a car, small dick, two feet and two hands. it takes alot of bottle to stay on a skateboard when a car's driving at you. Fellow motorists be warned, if you try it on with this guy, miss me and i get half a chance- i'm breaking your car, THEN your face and your mates fingers....CRACKK goes the fingers, pop goes the knee joint.

Seriously though: if you want a fight get your fists out and stand tall, do not use cars, dogs or all your friends to intimidate people. If you do then you are a loser and sooner or later you're gunna pick on someone like me, and not going to enjoy yourself. peac+ peeps

better days...

it takes about a month to run out of positive things to say, then i shut my mouth, fall over and throw up the built-up detritus we all swallow everyday. when it's all out, i start thinking for myself again, until then i'm sayin' nothing, cos whatever i would have to say is the same thing we hear everyday, i refuse to continue the sick cycle. "You don't get clean, by rolling around in the mud"
SO.....two positives, i've stopped drinking alcohol for a while, for all sorts of reasons. second, i threw the kung-fu teacher on his arse. arrogant prick, that should teach him a lesson. "woo-shu, will don't do"
website online tunes updated:
peac+ mindful peoples, water welcomes the winter

Sex and Free stuff (religion and violence)

Music and politics. Leonardo Da Vinci discovered things about the human anatomy 200 years before anyone else. sadly this is irrelevant because his findings were never shared as a result of Christian hounding. share these discoveries, personal triumphs and defeats. Leonardo was masterful at what he put his hands and mind to. Leonardo was a mindful person. if a style or medium didn't suit him, he changed it, upgraded and evolved his method and approach. it is hopeful we can all be like this. to be novel, new, fresh and innovative doesn't require throwing bricks and screaming revolution. take time and care to consider what you believe in. when decided and resolved, act and feel righteous; but don't be blind to change when making change.

With other words: if you believe, you are sure and considered, act and stand strong. should someone come along with other ideas make sure you listen. consideration strengthens our resolve. strength supports us all, and love binds us together.
consider: thinking is normal, belief is common, but truth is most important... and feel free to hate the french, it means there's one less to think about when i'm walking along the riviera drinking dirt cheap wine, eating top notch cheese, sun on my head and smile on the faces of beautiful people left, right and centre. anger and hate are very simple shallow, envy.

the seams

In Toronto a guy said to me, "ah yes, i know Yorkshire. it's a good place to be from"
there's no inspiration here, thoughts and feelings are locked up, and ANY strange behavior, flair or flamboyance is looked down on. in 5 years or so when there's much more students the divide is going to get more severe: "us and the students" a 'we belong here and you lot don't' mentality, which is fair enough. i agree, generally students move in, f*ck everything up, then leave. but it's now government policy that every young person should be one. in the name of equality and P.C. everything has become absolutely insane. unlivable. while the last generation fights hard to save it, the next to destroy, us here an now should not waste our energy when it's strongest. the rest of the world need our talents, this little island doesn't.
whats the solution? well what about more advanced countries, Greece or Finland for example. In Greece university is free and so are the course books and material. In Finland they teach the children several languages instead of xenophobia. In Switzerland EVERY civilian is legally obliged to own 1 rifle per household. This rifle must be operational and every resident should know how to shoot it. In China everyone gets up on a saturday or sunday morning, goes to the local park and practices Tai Chi. In Australia they know how to play rugby and cricket, instead of just inventing it, then importing players to compensate as kids are indoors, too lazy too bored.
somethings are more important than politics, and since when was our politics been correct? 1910 just before WW1 when everyone was lovin' it get smashed out their faces on high quality unprohibited legal substances. smash it up, tidy up, cctv for your safety and protection...i feel safer that you were watching when i got a beating on the train, now i feel safer in the NHS hospital that tragically, is free. Perhaps it's time for a dictator? A dictator to dictate while i write down everything we need to do on an electronic piece of paper, which can then be viewed or ignored by the general public worldwide.
England has been sliding down the plughole for decades, like a spider, it's just not going to get out. it should be used as a precautionary model, like the 'titanic'
i live here because right now i have no choice. if you own a place give us a lift, otherwise when there's more than £1 in my bank accounts i'm gone when the wind changes.
such conversations help us both, and in turn everyone else. without pubs and community they're lost, in turn so are we. most people really don't like hearing certain things, and absolutely:
absolutely f*cking tuff. if they don't like it, treat them like fireworks: in the right time and place, set their fuse, light it and retire to a safe distance...
telling people things they need to know is an obligation. oblige me. much obliged.

Tezla.co.uk

after messy attempts to learn complicated web languages it dawned on me what my cousin mentioned, why not just use what you did last time?? just like powerful computers, we don't always need more advanced platforms, but higher quality content, nothing wrong with old ways in a new style.

Plug+Play 2 Canceled

canceled, sorry for any inconvenience, it's unavoidable. will

New ideas and new music

how are we lovely bright people? was monday mourning worse than you expected? no fear, i, this humble narrator shall conjure words, warm hearts and soothe soles. so:
2econd class citizen: now he's jamin' with the big boys where he belongs.
Feeling lost: its easy to stop and suddenly realize you're not sure what to do. like depression, it's not feeling 'bad' but feeling truly lost, alone in total darkness without light. when you find light or if someone finds you, when you leave that place, then "wow, to be free and back with the world!" is how i felt. i believe troubles are important things because to never question anything, never to be lost, never to despair; is perhaps to never have lived. Robert Frost wrote:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." The road not taken 1920.
Wobble factor: new album by dave tipper released in may includes some really, really well produced material. 'off kilter' and 'snot rocket' are two of my favorites. for those of you who don't know, tipper is a treat for the mind and ears. check out the album 'tip hop' for starters and get your head nodding more than a churchil dog in the back of an army land rover... cor im really enjoying these metaphors today.
Brian: 'dangerous Brian' has become a music tech student. congratulations Brian.
Facebook: it seems i can't delete my facebook account, only suspend it. i 'reactivated' my facebook account after 4 months to find it just how i left it; bland, uninteresting and plastered with advertising.
Nikola Tesla: Wiki link "The man who invented the twentieth century" from whom i take my alias.
Mr Shiraz: played in holmfirth picturedrome sunday 21st september for an 18th birthday. a great bunch of performers and really down to earth guys (when in holmfirth....try not to ask "so who's in the pies"....)

Feng Shui: The last 4 days i've been feng shui, my home. based on the I Ching, the oldest book known to man, has already made a big difference to me and made me feel more relaxed and energized.
Coconut water: considering the fact i don't like coconut, recently drinking canned coconut water was very nice.
RSS: RSS or RSS feeds are a method of receiving specific instant updates delivered to your computer from a website of your choosing, with RSS on you don't need to check your favourite websites to be updated. Tezla blog is now running RSS feed, its simple, free, located on the top right of the main page, and there's never any advertising: Tezla Feed RSS
Learning: Today i met my college art teacher again after 3 or 4 years. we talked for an hour about friends, art, and the sincere belief to inspire people. Milton Wexler said:
"A great many people come to me hoping they can change themselves, settle their anxieties, their problems, their marriage or whatever… When an artist comes to me, he wants to know how to change the world."
taken from Sketches of Frank Gehry 2005 by the late Sydney Pollack. Sketches of Frank Gehry 2005 DVD is a good review:
Finally: if it helps leave a comment, thanks.

equal

statement:
the world is equally positive, equally negative. when someone dies, someone is born.
all things considered this is a reasonable way to look at the world. Work, rest and play are part of life, anything else is circumstance, an influence, envy. I don't read the papers or watch the TV news, to watch all the news everyday i'd liken this to traveling through a city on the train, then saying id been there. The world is fantastic, and never the same ever. there is never "nothing going on".
"every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around" and everything, everybody does really matters, try and be happy, it's the way worth living.
oh yeah: any skateboarders out there still listening to hip hop, or is it just me and the strictly emo/indie-tight trousered?

New music

new tunes on ipod-right:
Killah priest- from now till then, thinkhop
Quip- greenroommix, local producer: www.quipmusic.co.uk
I5 quarter- album mix local boys alex, liam, and i forget the other member. contact for services, they are both cutting edge producers, music performance, an a banging good time.
Tezla mix- rough promo, for promoters or all gatherings small to ridiculous, chilled to hectic.
I believe in love- human league, classics never go out, wiseguys say otherwise.

happenings

this blog thing aint doin it for me.

ya ya, this, that. so i got my own site now. mine. im learning xml, html, java, sql, php, css. i never realised how complicated it is to make websites properly. boring, boring to make websites.

Saffron Walden skatepark Cambridge

Above is a video of my skate round arguably the best skatepark in England. This park was built by Dreamland, a legendary Oregon based company. This is the only park they have built in England and only the third in Europe. There is one in Italy and a massive park in the mountains in Austria which is supposed to surpass the bowl in Marseilles, France, which is absolutely ace- i recommend a skateboard pilgrimage. it's really important that fantastic skate parks get built in England. It encourages young people to get outside, exercise and socialize with open minded people, an opportunity to become part of a "global skate family." Good quality parks are safer, less dangerous e.g. smooth surfaces so you can keep the skin on your elbows and hands when you fall. Badly made/maintained skate parks are dangerous, frustrating, become damaged easily and usually cause more problems than they solve.

It's important to be aware that most problems associated with skate parks ie excessive rubbish, drug-taking, vandalism etc are usually not caused by skateboarders, BMXers or rollerbladers, but young people who visit and hang around giving the skate community a bad reputation. Skateboarders, BMXers and rollerbladers i've met around the world: France, Canada, Spain, Scotland, Jersey, Wales- are usually fantastic people. its never been a better time to learn. personally i'd recommend a helmet at first. and treat the skatepark like crossing the road- with respect. click the link for some more information UK Skate Association

i've been looking for the opportunity to hold skateboard classes (for all ages and abilities) at Greenhead Park skate park Huddersfield, if enough people are interested, weather permitting. get in contact if you're interested. When i began going to Rehab skatepark 10 years ago it was mandatory to pass a test to be able to skate.
you can visit the dreamland website by clicking here Dreamland Skateparks

hmmm

hmmm. its all getting a bit serious and preachy. i intend to get back to the program. good quality occasionally light-hearted nonsense, with good bits mixed in: like a good radio station. hmmm yes, did i mention i like cables. dont throw out your cables, give them to me, and i shall smile. i also like £5 notes, Barr cream soda, and big sandwiches.

Checkin in

Checkin' in for the check out, searched out compassion, it seems it's all out. Even as the righteous, im shrouded in doubt, no coming back to your real world, i scream and i shout.
i've done what i could, now i've no discipline left, a piece of stone behind where was a heart in my chest. "Head up, you'll go far, you have the world at your feet,"
and above is the surface as i drown in my dreams. So i hit the floor, wake, when i fall from the sky, a fallen angel as such: i know how to die. It's not an adventure it's a return to the earth, to pretend it's the place that i love and have worth. I've been here before and i know the score, sign up or not, it feels like a war. if the earth were different, if we were at peace, if anyone anywhere could walk down the street, then it wouldn't be real and you wouldn't be human beings. just check in for the check out, you will see what i mean.

War, Inc

An intelligent and successful satire, a response to american, and more significantly corporate policy in the destruction of lives in oil rich countries, then sadistically tendering reconstruction to the highest american bidder. All under the illusion of democracy, freedom and the protection of the fatherland.
nuances of Grosse Pointe Blank very welcome, i look forward to more John and Joan Cusack.

How about this

I am educated. In languages that allow me to listen, but also to talk and explain:
If everything is ruled by one fundamental force, it is life. Life itself is governed by energy. At this point, is this not true? So...
Who has the energy? Energy is physically stored. stored in potential. resonating in the present, and, predicted for the future. Power is human will. the will to act. if i act and stand unequivocated, do something and not run away but stand without a quiver in my mind then i am more powerful than anything around me. i am acting without direction, not a puppet on a string, but pure energy in physical form, which is without right or wrong.
to be strong means absolution. I absolutely believe. Not because it is what i have been told, but because there is no other explanation after study, practice and personal experience. Everything is ruled by energy. Energy is power. Money is potential. Cars, Houses, rings, weapons are all potential. They represent potential.
True power is right here, right now. I have a shopping bags in my hand but I am standing in front of a tank, which can smash my body into the ground but i will not move, YOU WILL NOT MOVE ME.
i don't care about your car, your money, your media or your religion. i'm here for good.
by the way he didn't stop the tanks in Tiananmen, they smashed him into the floor.

Skegness

Left: Me, a long pointy ledge, bluntslide. Photo by Lee with a Hassleblad death lens (ultra fish-eye) the Rolls Royce of camera setups. Cheers Lee, summat to show the kids when im old, can't walk, and can bluntslide no more... my feet can fail me now.!..

I also spent some time in Cambridge. Barrington and Shepreth to be specific, the type of place where it feels like the "Wind in the Willows" as if transported back to a time surrounded by thatched roofs, odd shaped ornately decorated houses and shops, winding roads and... well... rich people. Perhaps the type that truly are rich. Not, "Im rich mate!" bought a small sports car, a boob job for the Mrs, got "loud and in peoples face rich." Rich like a country cottage, spandex cycling on a sunday, kids in the private school, two cars in the pebbled lane, fresh skate on the barby, out in San Morino on a roulette binge, trying not to cringe as they tow the Bentley away at 6am.

Cookin

Garlic mushrooms. Then cucumber chunks, oven roast red sweet peppers, topped with grilled soft goats cheese and a glass of red wine. good eating. perfect after a northern solfest festival.

Welcome home /= drone

Well, 1000miles driven, 750 over two days. working my ass off for other people, at times made to look like a fool, to come home after a week, have less money than ever, a parking ticket for parking outside my own house and two letters:
1. electricity bill,
2. the police vs william johnson
arrrrrrrr!!!!! i can't stand all this bullshit, working harder and harder to owe more and more money. let's all just get jobs in factories making boxes, to hold the books university students don't read because they're out getting pissed, so that everybody can be equal, paying 80% tax on their drinks that finances the widescreen TV in the police station and the video camera on the ceiling which can incriminate me, but which won't exonerate.
when all hope is lost and people give up their passions and stop trying to save the world, what happens? I believe most just drown in apathy, and become the things they always dreamed of never being. subservient, suppressed and accommodating:
"now is not the time for the debilitating drug of gradualism" martin luther king
its not society, its not us, its not: "well that's just the way the world is"
when a person believes in an order from someone without question, they are capable of anything, they are no longer a human being with morals, but a tool in another person's hand. recollect the royal navy advertisement:
"Who wants to become a cog in the machine? Well, that depends on the machine!"
the royal navy doesn't save people, they kill people. the army, the airforce, the military: KILL people. the royal lifeboats save people, cancer research saves people, actionaid save people, these organisations are all charities, they receive nothing from the government, but everything from us, the people. the military receives without question, to finance murder and death. a bullet is still a bullet, whether from a soldier or from a gangster, a gangster merely has less members and less money.
murder, rape, missing, crash, death, fear, hate. SORRY bullshit. its not my world, it has nothing to do with me. another soldier dies: so fucking what? how many orphans did he create? fathers did he murder, wives widow. im sick of this blind patriotism. soldiers die because they run around with guns in someone elses land, trying to save the world, BECAUSE someone TOLD them to. safe- to keep from harm. gun- a weapon designed to wound and kill people. only non-violence matters, it is the only credibility.
the news, the media, is a sedative, to steal my righteous mind.
beauty, liberation, birth, sunrise, emancipation, love. this is real, as real as my dreams, which are as real as day to day life. i'm not trying to be a revolutionary, asking you to go on strike shouting injustice, but a person asking people to try and find the truth. life isn't horrible. it is no more full of death and destruction than its full of life and creation.
what is a knife? a knife is a tool. it becomes a weapon when used as one, the same as a bat or a hammer. if YOU and me keep absorbing all this hate and lies, you could become a weapon in someone elses hand. like your mind, keep your knife sharp, it cuts vegetables better and seals in freshness. instead of reading the newspaper, KNOWING its all bullshit but reading it anyway- Don't pick it up. please, write blogs, books, draw pictures, make photos, videos. its never been easier:
"page 1: it was raining today. in the afternoon it cleared up. my yorkshire weather, like teenage emotion changes so fast, but is never boring or predictable and always leaves something to talk about."

Unity Day 2008

All over for another year. Overall a good day in my opinion. However, things worth noting:

1. people will be people, assaults, random violence, thievery, may have happened but to very few people.
2. huge, endless amounts of rubbish covered the entire park at the end, the park was pretty clean even at 4pm during the same day.
3. too much amplified music in my opinion, leaving 4 sound systems to seemingly battle each other for volume after night fall in the top field, in what appeared to me, and others to simply resemble a free-for-all rave in the park.
4. exterior generator tripped out several times leaving exterior lighting all round the park switched off for long periods of time during the night.
5. unity day finished at 11pm, two years ago it finished at 9pm, before it got dark, giving people and families more opportunity to leave before nightfall, and less opportunity to get up to no good or become victims of mayhem.
suggestions:
1. halve the amplified music.
2. finish the festival BEFORE nightfall.
3. more litter points.
4. more acoustic music, amplified or otherwise: IDM and Gabba DO NOT promote peace and unity, sorry, they don't and i love them both.
finally to say a very well done to everyone involved in helping with the event, you know who you are, and all those who attended, or contributed in any part. its a positive thing. my photos will be online soon. also thanks to all high vis officials who all seemed to be working hard.
will j.

Unity Day 16th August and my birthday.

To celebrate my birthday there will be a large event in Hyde Park Leeds tomorrow known as Unity Day. Gifts of all shapes and sizes are accepted but my no means mandatory. Bring some quids and a smile, it's a great event for a great cause. live music, fresh food and plenty of information about great activities in and around leeds.

comedy central

Don't you Know?

Don't you know that i know nothing? The sooner you realise this about yourself, the better. The more i learn, the more i learn there's so much more i don't know about so many more things.
As i know this, a great peace and security i feel, about how fortunate i am, as we all are. like if i'd taken the route i normally take back home this morning, at the exact same time, exactly in front of a moving blue car i would have been. i chose not to, but to use the pavement not the road. For the people who don't believe in fate, because they don't like the idea that they are not in control of their lives, is perhaps to believe in themselves above the greater power of life, the universe, and everything.
perhaps i might suggest that this is egocentric....
11/8/8

Huddersfield

Big enough to be ignored, small enough to be recognised

Dear Diary

Today i left my flat, its raining, put the skateboard back. go out bump into my skateboard friend Ralf after buying a beer, walking back up the stairs,
"Hi i'm Will"
"Hi i'm bob, are you new."
"Well been here a year!"
"Ah seen you before"
it only took one year and a month, now i think i've said hello to everybody who lives in my building. cool. 5 people, within 30ft, after 13 months now i know who shares my outer door. i find stuff like this interesting :)

excerpts

Poor people are crazy. Rich people are eccentric. success becomes the measure of all things, and compassion a measure of none.

Morgan Freeman

My thoughts and feelings go out to Morgan Freeman who was involved in a serious car crash last night (left shown as god,) where the vehicle flipped over several times before ending up in a ditch in Memphis Mississippi, USA. and who is now making a good recovery- 8.57am.