new site

this blog shall now continue at http://tezla7.tumblr.com/page/46

The Election

I believe there needs to be a reduction in the price of kettles, a huge multi-million pound subsidy to lower the price of milk and that tea should be free. Scrap the Trident Missile Program so that everyone in the United Kingdom can drink free tea for the next 100 years. After that, we can move on from there. A unilateral complimentary biscuit program perhaps, or, at the weekends free cake.

The Debate

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=138523

If you are eligible to vote, you are obligated to watch this: the first ever televised debate between politicians during an election in British history. Every single vote is incredibly important, choose wisely, our country deserves your care and attention in choosing the political and economic direction for our future.

not bad, can't complain

if you accept a sad existence then buy it, take it home for the rest of your life and don't complain. i'm sick to death of hearing complaint from people, myself especially. if i start complaining just punch me in the face, i'm serious and it's ok i have a strong face.

there is no difference between me, between you or between any other being on this planet. the only differences between us are in our attitudes.

it's naive to think that we can't save the world. but it is naive to think you can do it by yourself. it is naive to think you can do it in a year. it's naive to think you can do it with an e-mail, with a blog, a website, a phone call or a text message. it's naive to think you can do it with money, or with power. it's down right stupid to think you're going do it buying a fair-trade banana.
How do we save the world?

Who is going to defend us? What is going to defend us? What do we need defending from?

nations carry bombs and soldiers carry rifles, but who is going to defend you, and defend me against the ignorance and against the apathy in this world. pens, books and teachers are the revolution. women and men with their heads held high are the revolutionaries. people proud to be alive are the new future. magnificent human beings ARE.
people who have figured all this out years ago walk along every street, everyday.
life is magical and wonderful, fight for your life and then tell me that i'm wrong.

don't pity, don't hate and stop complaining.

this, this world you live in is your home, whether you walk in the street or another continent. if you see some rubbish on the floor, then why don't YOU pick it up. be an agent of positive change instead of a child in the back seat of social destruction.
never be too busy to help somebody, cause if you fall over, don't expect anybody to be there to pick you up.

some people act like angels. some people genuinely are actual angels. angels are generally treated like devils.

the future

Hello my good friends.

You're all superstars and know a vast amount of people, and a vast amount of things across a vast amount of subjects. I'd like to play records and take photographs this year, all over the place (mainly uk also europe+scandanavia). Thoughts, advice, information, logistics, clubs, bars, cafes, festivals, promotion, vacancies, people to talk to, you're mate that owns a warehouse or a venue, costing, pricing, detailed concise specific experience and advice on all these things is what i need. my photographs and music are on this blog: http://tezla7.blogspot.com soon to be improved and upgraded in the next two weeks.

in return i'll help in anyway i can with promotion/photography or participation in anything any of you have going. also if people register an interest i will set up and maintain a passworded blog/website that shares this information between us.

it is a long-term ambition of mine to unite the genius that you are into a strong creative community, to unite creative communities with the audience starved of quality and inspiration by mainstream prescriptive media... but first things first... i need your help.

many thanks,

Will Johnson

williamaj@yahoo.com

the end

it's usually difficult to understand the cryptic nature of the world.

this blog is finished. it's been running over 19 months and that is a big achievement for any person. i'm going to struggle to find another outlet for my creative endeavours, but i'm sure when i do i will be back with a higher quality and greater substance to what it is i want to say. i've become complacent with this and convenience breeds ignorance.

This, what this was, was never about telling people what to do. This, what it was, was about the idea that if you knew what i knew, maybe your life could be easier. Maybe with another idea, a bit of my opinion about the way i see this world you could walk the walk of your life a little easier and maybe avoid some of the glaciers that i've climbed my way out of, to come back and say "don't fall down there!"

of course i'm no pariah and this is certainly and never will be any form of religious or dogmatic text. i've taken a great amount of care and spent a large amount of energy in creating these pages, of which there are 227 posts which averages out to more than 3 posts a week for over 84 weeks.

personally i feel that this is the only thing i've managed to create of any kind of quality that i am actually comfortable with and i'm finishing it because it's not good enough.

this is my stage. so,

i will leave by saying that you shouldn't worry. you shouldn't ever worry. that anything you ever want or could ever want for yourself is achievable. but that thinking about the end will cause you trouble. the ends, the things we see people happy with, the things that we want for ourselves many years down the line take time. the most important thing to do for anyone is to decide. to decide and realise. to really understand what it is you want for yourself what it is you want to achieve to be, or to understand in this life. then, to do it.

doing it is not a daunting thing when you understand that a little every day will not only accomplish those dreams but accomplish everything you ever dreamed of. Rome wasn't built in a day, neither was it all destroyed in one day.

when things are difficult, which they always will be in a realistic world, you should reassure yourself that if you accomplish what you aim to do today, then the future is assured. even if you don't, then tomorrow is another day. take tremendous peace in that fact.

i've just taken an intermission, two Jehovahs Witnesses pressed my doorbell and came into my room. i took the time to take apart their philosophy and softly put important things in their heads. they were two young men on their way preaching what they believe to be their personal philosophy and i'm sorry it's so submissive for them. i've no doubt that they will think and that i've have changed their course of life for the better. what greater triumph?

the end is important in all things, and there's no greater challenge to an artist than decision, no greater volition for mankind than making the right choice.

with the greatest wishes i wish that you all understand and accomplish your personal ambitions.

will

advice

if philosophy be the governance of collective thought, then conceptual euphemism is pointless. i do not know who i am to other people, only what i am to myself. in the grandest scheme other peoples' opinions are unimportant. i do not know how to better other people, only how to better myself. an that greater morals are foresaken for what it to be considered the personal good.

blogger

until i've found a suitable blog client to switch to, i've switched off comments for this blog. it's getting awkward to improve or do simple things like put up decent quality pictures, they're starting to look like facebook quality images hosted through google blogger and im getting tired with it like i am a lot of things. suggestions are welcomed: tumblr is supposed to be good, as is wordpress etc, but not sure i like either.

flo

souf

baa

school

i remember walking into the rival school's entrance hallway. it was grand, panelled mahogany wood. beautiful. a facade for parents to walk though if they ever decided to visit their kids. i remember the way we used to walk through there, admiring the wood and the piano and the placement and such. admiring things the way they were, and at the same time thinking "we're going to smash these boys to pieces"

you see for as long as i played rugby, as long as i was a school boy, i played for and was a part of the toughest team in the country. for a long long time there was no greater pleasure for me than to hit a person so hard they couldn't get up because they couldn't remember their name. that primal aggression never troubled me, but it didn't last. as i grew older it faded, and a small boy cannot fell young men without a killer attitude.

i'm comfortable that that was the way my mind came to be, although there's no doubt any will has ever left.

perspective

on a chess board at any point any piece can in turn move in accord with the rules of the game. in that sense there are things that can be predicted or anticipated. there are also moves that are more or less probable. however, after a move, the board has changed and the perspective is different. all predictions, probabilities and possibilities are affected and must be re-evaluated.

Bending

seems to be a trend in my understanding; the more curvy, sensuous, thin and attractive the women come, the less they can dance, in fact the less they seem to be able to move at all.

on my walk home i felt quite absolute about this, that i couldn't be with a woman that couldn't move herself to music. then i thought, there isn't anything that any person cannot learn or unlearn.

tension, rigidity and stress exist in most peoples bodies in some measure. think and put your thoughts and feelings around your body. anywhere you and your body are not completely relaxed, change this. the softer and more relaxed you and your body are, the longer you will live and the happier you will be.

clean up

http://www.tezla.co.uk/video5.mov

clean up

download or save target as

London

Have you got back after a few beers poured yourself a glass of tap water, drank some and thought
"ahhh i'll take the hangover, cos this water is worse"
Have you been on the underground with two different people standing on your feet with the sound of the train on the tracks so loud it feels like being the victim in a horror film?
Have i got anything less insightful to say about London that hasn't been said so many times by Northern English people that it misses the point more than a space hopper on a bouncy castle?
yes i do:
one thing travelling does do is broaden your context of thought. One thing that London is, is interesting, very very interesting. i am here for a reason other than passing through or as a tourist. while there are things i would love to dislike about this city it's the same issues that exist in many other large cities in varying degrees in some shape or form.
i think the important thing is to get over oneself and focus on what London has to offer. what it has are people, things, ideas and places that are truly unique and fascinating, set in a seemingly infinite diversity of ethnicity, culture and probability of possiblity.

i would disagree with the meaning in the proverb: "variety is the spice of life"
i believe:
"variety is as important to the mind as breathing is to the body"

Jellyfish

i calmed myself down, but i just couldnt help it

i pointed and yelled

"YOU ARE A SPINELESS JELLYFISH!"

it didn't say very much, Jellyfish are pretty quiet

Angel

today i met an angel. i asked myself how i knew this. Today i know i met an angel because she was too beautiful to be a woman, too beautiful to be from this world.

Valentine

Valentines Day 2010

Tezla Mixes

Chillout Mix

http://www.tezla.co.uk/tezlachillmix1.mp3

Eclectic Mix

http://www.tezla.co.uk/tezlapromo1.mp3

i've cut all the files sizes on the music player. they should play through smoother

Humans

A defining characteristic about human beings is their ability to endure suffering. if happiness is a state of mind then it figures the same is true for misery. the more i learn the greater the suggestion that spirit is the most important factor in all forms of our health and well being. some things weaken spirit and should be avoided. if they happen don't waste your energy with worry or regret. you may have forgotten how epic this life is that you live. once in a while take the time to remind yourself. self doubt is the greatest weakness of man and strength the highest virtue. it is strength that makes all other values possible.

Same Lens, different camera

Copenhagen

"Stop!"

Having stopped i'm quickly flanked to the left and right by two rather large unfriendly looking gentlemen,

"Why are you running?"

such a question would be strange in any normal high street but this is far from that. I'm standing in a ex military base called Christiania in the Danish capital city Copenhagen. The base was occupied 35 years ago and has since then established it's own independent community with its own rules. On the main street shops sell many varieties of wares and large mean looking blokes surround burning oil drum fires selling marijuana enforcing their own rules and regulations. Unbeknown to me (who had forgotten a skateboard) there is no running permitted in the street to avoid gun shootouts between rival gangs. In the cafe we ate organic vegan food then visited a bar and the free skatepark, a rather large and challenging double bowl.

A weekend in Copenhagen was a great experience. For me the city seemed mysterious, with a reserved but powerful feeling, inoffensive architecture, incredible food with vibrant arts and culture. i'll take another opportunity to thank my hosts until we meet again...

Chocolate cake

I think i've discovered the mistake in Sainsburys price reduction logic. it came to me while staring at stale cakes reduced to £3. it seems the supermarket reduces the items based on their original price, rather than pricing them based on their actual worth (which in the case of a stale cake would be about 50p) the fact it used to be worth a lot more money is irrelevant.

i am opposed to this approach for two reasons: firstly i'm a tight Yorkshire man and here in Yorkshire i'm definitely not alone. i'm certainly not stupid enough to pay £3 for a stale cake, so the cakes that would be perfectly edible do not get eaten because they're priced far too high. this leads to the second reason that the cakes then get taken from the shelf and thrown in the bin. old food used to be given to the homeless but UK health and safety regulations put an end to that.

so the food gets wasted. wasting food really is a disgusting thing to do. the 'freegans' of the world (persons who liberate out of date food from food retail refuse bins) could then acquire this chocolate cake from the bin when it's thrown out at the close of the business day, except the bins are now padlocked because of health and safety reasons. it seems someone ate food out of a bin and successfully sued someone because they became ill. perhaps we should grill the lawyers and health and safety officers and then eat them. after that, if somebody gets sick precious little will happen.

in 2010 i think that some people have decided not to accept their inevitable death. they buy life insurance, wear 'anti-ageing' skin creams, they enforce rules and regulations to ensure that people won't get hurt through whatever obtuse or irrational reason. they pay for protection for their possessions, shopkeepers used to pay the mafias, now everyone pays the insurance companies. all these issues aside, none of this will avoid the unavoidable fact that when the time comes, that's it. it's all over. fully comprehensive gerbil insurance ain't guna keep your heart beating.

all this may come as a depressing thought that most would rather ignore. i can understand, death is a distressing concept to those that haven't done it many many times before. those that have might share my sentiment that meditating on the natural course of death is a genuinely magnificent way to appreciate life. because you don't know what you've got till you've gone.

Check in

"Broccoli Broccoli Broccoli!"
the young man says, if he didn't it would cease to exist underneath his hands and within my mind.
"D'yer want sugar in yor hot chocolate?"
fascinating concept, another: Online check-in opens 60 days before the flight departs. i can confirm my arrival up to 60 days before i get there... heeeehee right yeah..

Aldous

some things are better left unsaid. some things come flying out the mouth whether you believe them or not. i'm with Aldous "I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself."

Ready

time to get the skateboard out again

photograph courtesy of sidewalk magazine

What is not

The Importance of What is Not

We join thirty spokes
to the hub of a wheel,
yet it's the center hold
that drives the chariot

We shape clay
to birth a vessel,
yet it's the hollow within
that makes it useful.

We chisel doors and windows
to construct a room,
yet it's the inner space
that makes it livable.

Thus do we create what is
to use what is not.
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching)

nothingness is not a reference to the absence of content, but rather to the absence of aggression. Lao Tzu does not advocate not doing over doing (the popular Homer Simpson mis-conception) rather celebrates the maximal doing with the minimal effort. the yin element is essential in all things.

the shopkeeper says,
"what is happiness? happiness is a state of mind"
an answer difficult to argue with. we decide and are responsible for our own happiness.

Happiness

Today the shop keeper asks me:
"What is happiness?"

Rant

I need to travel 220 miles. First i check the train prices my favourite (fastest and most environmentally friendly) means of travel anywhere and in any country: cheap advance fare £85. second i check the airplane prices just to get a little context: £75.20

aaaaaahhhh, i exhale the way a man does when he's so tired he forgets he's going to have to breath in again. the plane is 3 times quicker and costs £10 less but getting on a plane and flying 200miles on a non-essential journey over ground is a complete joke if you ask me. so, why is the plane £10 cheaper to travel 220 miles than it is to get on a train that costs a fraction of the running cost?

I'm walking along and a man walks past followed by the mysterious eyes of a woman wearing a burqa. is there anything more disgraceful to the human race than a woman hidden in a burqa? Nicolas Sarkozy said that burqas are "not welcome" in France, commenting that:
"In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity"
wearing a burqu has been banned in French schools since 2004. thank God someone can still call a spade a spade "touché, appeler un chat un chat". Home Secretary Alan Johnson raised the UK terror alert from "substantial" to "severe" despite no intelligence to suggest why, best make sure and put our soldiers in the airport to play it safe ay? ah, wait, they're in Afganistan shooting people....inconvenient

America has sent over a thousand marines armed to the teeth to Haiti, taken over the airport and turned it into a military base. now planes full of aid, medicine and water have been denied landing while Chinooks swarm in full of bullets for what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called a major effort to provide earthquake relief. i'd give you the link to the youtube video, but it's mysteriously disappeared.

i'm in a lot of pain, anger and irritation comes easily. my back has locked up again like it did in Australia, i can't really walk or lay down, my left shoulder can't take any weight or tension and my guts hurt from being burned and lasered by a surgeon on wednesday. to make things worse all i seem to hear from people left right and center is moaning and complaining about this, that and everything else. it's depressing, but i really do understand. i do my very best not to encourage or amplify negative sentiment as i walk along the high street in the town centre at midday in the dark, past empty bankrupt retail outlets while a well dressed student plays a funeral song on her amplified violin.

Jesus Christ what happened? did we lose a war i don't know about? sometimes i think that some people are happy being miserable, which of course is fine but it won't do for me. Another way to look at things is to look at the cause rather than the symptoms. where i live there is rubbish left everywhere, it really irritates me so i pick up rubbish and end up carrying it round for miles because there aren't any rubbish bins. transport is the same, taxation is extremely high to deter motorists, but the alternative is very infrequent, irregular and very expensive public transport. a poor alternative is no alternative at all. however, we should accept such things and have the attitude to either change them or live with them. life isn't easy but we're all in the same boat so lets get on with it. you won't get clean by rolling about in the mud.

BPM

i was hooked up the heart monitor,
"you keep fit?"
"not really"
the alarm kept tripping signaling cardiac arrest,
"don't worry about that, it's set to 'British'!"
"yeah we're guna have to stop having these healthy people in"
the nurse said as the alarm went off again. 45 BPM. ace.

Gordon Ramsay

it's easy to dislike a person like British chef Gordon Ramsay, the harsh language, the 'in your face' and often aggressive attitude. my first experience of him on the television i remember him hiding parma ham in a pizza then feeding it to a vegetarian who enjoyed it immensely, then telling him afterwards in a cocky manner and watching the poor guy turn white as he threw it up. i didn't entertain him for a few years after that stunt. i think it took quite a while before viewers came to accept him at all, never mind to actually like him.

One of my favourite television series was Kitchen Nightmares where he toured restaurants around England and later America turning round worthless businesses led by ambitious, but mostly deluded business owners, and in my opinion genuinely changing peoples lives for the better, leaving them with the skills to excel. good reality television.

i recently finished watching the first part of his new three part series titled "Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape" it's called this because things haven't been going well for the guy. in the new series he travels in India to find out about great Indian food from the richest and poorest places. a great show.

say what you want to say about the persona that is Gordon Ramsay, but, the bottom line is this: the guy is a winner. full stop. but a winner at what cost? well it comes at the cost of a few people finding him rude and i'm sure a few people being upset, but, the man is at the top of several trees with a list of accomplishments longer than an Indian banquet guest list in a career that doesn't take prisoners, it executes them. a person that constantly faces challenges (sometimes life threatening) runs marathons for charity and is constantly re-inventing himself and facing new fears without a moments hesitation.

personally i don't own a TV, and this suits me like smoke does a salmon. it helps me enjoy the sprinkling of television i have watched over the past year or two. no doubt a little of the guy goes along way, but i used to be a much rougher version of the person i am now. i upset plenty of people, rattled a few cages, told people how i saw it and thought very little of it. but i'm a smart guy and a cheeky monkey with it. i'll never forget leaving a woman in tears, then bumping into her years later and her thanking me saying that a bit of truth was what she needed. it's a mistake to be closed minded about any behaviour in a world where things are simply not as they seem, nor are they otherwise.

the media love to see a hero fall, but he's a fighter that won't stay down despite countless beatings. in modern Britain's age of extreme political correctness Gordon is a rare gem. the very nature of genius is to be at least a little mis-understood. and lets not forget, nobody needs a kick in the face but some people need a kick up the arse for their own good.

sorry, but it's true.

Smoothie

so i've taken to using the amazing 'older than me' blender given to me by the living legend that is my mother. these days diet is a very topical issue, and it should be. English diet is terrible, diet is a massive influence on health and bad diet is completely reversible and preventable. put crap in your body and you should expect to feel awful and to get sick. on the flip side if you've read a book on diet and tried to follow the instructions you might have found that most nutritionists are insane and following their custom designed diets makes eating a complete misery, how good it might be for your body then becomes completely irrelevant leaving me running for the pork pies screaming "i need it or i'll murder somebody!"

"Enzymes are organic catalysts that increase the rate at which foods are broken down and absorbed by the body. Found in plant foods such as fruits and vegetables, enzymes are destroyed when these foods are cooked. this is why fresh raw produce should constitute at least half of your diet. The quick and easy digestion of these foods, made possible by the enzymes will give you greater energy and health." (Juicing for Life)

if you're anything like me it's difficult to eat enough fruit or veg, and the stuff from the supermarket can often be rubbish and tasteless putting me off eating fruit altogether. however, stick it all in a blender and it's ace. thin it out with water, milk or fruit juice an even healthier add a little raw leafy green veg, like broccoli or kale (as in the picture). great thing about blenders is you can customise the drink exactly to your taste, you can vary the ingredients endlessly, you can ingest more fruit and veg than you would like to by itself and blenders are cheap to buy and easy to clean.

an easier, quicker and tastier way to eat more fruit and veg- great. because to put it quite frankly: if you don't eat fruit or veg you're f**ked.

Z-Trip

If you haven't heard, allow me the pleasure of providing the link to an exceptional DJ www.djztrip.com
RJD2 went pop ($) and left a bit of a hole behind where he used to be. Z-trip plays the tracks i want to hear that seem familiar, that i have in fact never heard before. in my opinion that's what it's all about. fresher than a tube of toothpaste. if it doesn't have you shaking your fist in the air and shouting 'yes!' then donate your ears to charity because other people need to use them.

Soldier boy

screw driver in hand i'm fixing the door, the cold weather has made it stick and fail to close properly. in such icy weather i'm wearing my paratroop boots, plain green trousers, black jacket and a burglar style thinsulate hat (the only hat i haven't had stolen). this lovely ensemble is nicely rounded off with a Glock 6" combat knife securely holstered in my belt, the perfect tool to scrape out the ice in and around the door frame and shave off any splintered wood around the door. unaware they're in earshot my two new neighbours confer quietly as they approach walking up the stairs to the entrance of our building,

"he's a bit..."
"oooo i see what u mean"

i keep this amusement for myself. for me in rough weather, function often supersedes fashion. i often wear warm comfortable clothes, practical footwear and dark colours that don't show dirt. sometimes i look very much like a bad-ass squadie in civvis. difficult not to look like that in those boots without a load of dreadlocks on top of your head, difficult not to wear them in the snow when the soles are made by a tyre company and the fabric is thick leather, breathable, waterproof and they cost £30.

super hardened high polymer lightweight plastic cases the military uses to transport guns and rocket launchers i use as luggage for my laptop and camera gear. an LED torch housed in aircraft grade aluminium that's brighter, lighter and more battery efficient than anything in it's class. the Glock knife sharp and strong with a hole in the holster so it doesn't fill up with rain, a clip on the hilt so you can't grab it from my hip and the top guard which just 'happens' to be the perfect size to open beer bottles. fancy that, the standard issue knife of military forces worldwide has a hook that opens beer bottles....what a co-incidence!

i think the things that attract me to the military issue items that i possess isn't a romantic idea about war or an insecure attempt to project toughness to those around me, but an enthusiasm and excitement about things that work. i'm not a mechanically minded person that likes to disassemble things, take them to bits then repair them while putting it all back together. i'm a person that likes it when none of that is necessary. to buy and own things that other people might scoff at with distaste, but items which last me a decade, are beautifully designed, operate perfectly, are repairable and keep me and my equipment safe. quality long term.

i do think that it's a shame that such huge financial and intellectual resources are invested in weapons of war when they could be practically applied to improve human life with medicine, healthcare, logistics, welfare, housing, communication, peace and prosperity. i don't wear the boots to kick hippies, i wear them to keep my feet dry.

Blood

the blood clinic feels a bit like Dracula is hiding around the corner....!

More Snow

snow, makes even the bins look nice.

snow is brilliant

Year end

Christmas

6 smiley faces on cars later, and i finally got it out of my system. a real white Christmas in England, pretty difficult to top that.

Snow

i got home 30 minutes till sunset, 3 miles to the top of the hill. jogged a large portion of the way happy snapping as i went. when i got to the top i found a guy where i was guna go, so i shot him. they'll never find the body, murrha harr... turns out he was an artist http://richardsweeney.co.uk/

Snowboarding in Manchester

Yesterday i had my very first snowboarding experience, in Manchester of all places. i like snowboarding. it was a indoor 'proper snow' place, kinda like a giant fridge, little kids being dragged round in tyres by their folks, tobogganing, snow ball fights. what a great place.

Fall in

Epping Bowl from william johnson on Vimeo.

The biggest baddest custom built piece of mayhem i ever fell into with a video camera.

Spooky

the other night i had a walk home in the freezing fog. it was the type of weather you wouldn't be surprised being murdered in. spooky

Waste

There are some things and thought processes that i cannot begin to understand or can ever imagine wanting to. to know why somethings happen is to be better informed, but what does it change? walking home i see a packet of chips, but, it's full and its sitting on top of the bin next to the cigarette ends. not only has someone bought or had bought these chips, but they've discarded all of them, during the day without a drunken night for an excuse of wastefulness. not only that but they don't have the tact to actually put them IN the bin. some people...

Absolutely

just about as sharp and swift a chemical kick to the head can be.

Block Rock

i had to leave the careers centre early today because someone threw somebody else across the table and the staff hit the panic alarm. i'm feeling optimistic about my employment prospects.

Home

back home. Melbourne to Huddersfield, summer to winter, 25ºC to 1ºC, sunshine to rain and frost. on the flip side the French markets are in town so it's cheap gourmet eating while i sit back and enjoy some music through some proper speakers.