Ant

The Charlie Hebdo attack is an utter affront to the journalist in me. Every fibre of my being, reinforced by my education, is bristling. Journalism, in its purest form, is the ideal of unadulterated freedom of expression. It is the greatest bastion for freedom of speech, at all costs. It must not be subdued whether via threat of violence or other odious means by those who would have the truth forever untold. Any true journalist would give their life to uphold these ideals, because if they are not prepared to pay the ultimate price, then it is an admission that their ideals end where their safety begins. It is an admission that they can be stifled into silence.

Journalism is what holds governments, companies, and organizations to account. It should be feared as the most legitimate threat to dishonesty, corruption, and outright evil. If the borders of freedom are invaded then new borders will be quickly imposed the following day, and the day after that. The integrity of journalism, and the voice of every individual, would be bombarded until no territory remains. That cannot be allowed to happen, and it is the duty of every journalist to uphold their beliefs, especially in the face of danger.

I am attending a vigil in Nottingham tonight and I hope that the crowd is vast, peaceful, and compassionate. Unconditional love of truth, and humanity, must prevail.

Je suis Charlie.

Go sniff the updated Stickman Chronicles website. Now complete with character biographies and links page (many more links to be added). Those fairly new to my friends list who haven't visited, do so now. Many treats await you.

A new animation will be up very soon. Music is currently being added, Can's Soup and a little number by DJ called Cloud. There may be more, but that'll soon be decided. DJ has decided to do an animation of his own, which should prove to be slightly disturbing. DJ has a lot of Uni work to be getting on with, so this may take a while.

We're going to be like Fat Pie with none of the good parts.

Stole this from vulva,

Guess the song and artist! If you get the album as well, you get bonus points. Each bonus point is equal to a half-oz of Skunk, so good luck fuckers.

1) Froggie and Toadie carried off tangerine seeds one by one, and came back for the popcorn after dinner asking "will you please have some?"
2) I woke with a start today, determination...
3) Before you slip into unconsciousness, I'd like to have another kiss...
4) I'm lying in my bed, the blanket is warm, this body will never be safe from harm...
5) Cat's foot, iron claw, neurosurgeon screams for more...
6) T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair...
7) Then at last the mighty ship, descending on a point of flame, made contact with the human race at Mildenhall...
8) In the next World war, in a jack-knifed juggernaut, I am born again...
9) Living makes me sick, so sick I wish I'd die...
10) Dreaming of that face again, it's bright and blue and shimmering...
11) The fist will run, grasp metal to gun, the spirit sings in crashing tones, we gain the battle drum...
12) In a way, without hate, I wouldn't be what I am...
13) He listens to the fucking Smiths, he's got a moustache...
14) You could be from Venus, I could be from Mars, we would be together, lovers forever...
15) I hear your winter, and I hear your rain, and I feel your summer rains, and I feel no pain...
16) Goodbye sunshine I'm on my way, I'll be long time gone by the break of day...
17) And all I knew, I held too few, and would you stop me, if I tried to stop you...
18) You say you love me and you hold me tight, but when I wake you're out of sight...
19) Run, to the beach-house...
20) Borderline case, reinforced glass...

That took me fucking ages. Surely I'm not this bored.

Christmas Day was damn good. Once again, mum provided a damn fine meal. I got the following presents:

• New mobile phone (thank God, my old one was screwed),
• iPod speaker station (woofer and all, fucking incredible),
• Roger Mellie's Profanisaurus (over 4,000 instances of profanity defined in a single book... fucking genius),
• Slippers (walking over the kitchen tiles back in Lincoln will now be a shitload easier),
• Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain, and
• Boards of Canada - Twoism.

As for Secret Santa (I discovered it was Alan all along, the sneaky bastard even waited til I left Lincoln to shop for my presents): -

• The making of Taxi Driver (a book I haven't been able to put down since yesterday),
• Bill Hicks - One Night Stand (what more needs to be said?),
• Simpsons shot glasses and,
• A Family Guy poster (sweeeet).

Every single film idea I have contains the same archetypal Travis Bickle/Holden Caulfield (although I have never read Catcher in the Rye because I'm a fucking idiot) figure. The typical loner shunned from society and disillusioned by everything that he sees. It sucks, but at the same time I realise that my reasoning behind it is that I relate to that type of character so well. Almost every single person I admire was/is an angry man who fits this stereotype.

Nevertheless, my latest idea involves this type of character and I'm tempted to start writing my ideas out and giving them more structure. Hell, I'm even willing to play the son of a bitch. In my mind this guy has a beard, so I'd enjoy growing my facial hair out and acting the outright lunatic. My acting, however, is questionable.

We'll see. As per usual, most of my ideas come to nothing due to my laziness so don't be surprised if you never hear about this ever again.

Merry Christmas.

2005 went way too fast.

Come on Santa you fat fuck, bring me some bitches.

Christmas at home is going well.

Yesterday I visited Riber castle along with John, Kimberley, Wiggy and Cheryl. It's where the final scene and some of the most important parts in Dead Man's Shoes take place, and I practically died when we found where Anthony was "hung" (spoiler alert, just ruined the film for everyone who hasn't seen it... fuck it, it's your fault if you haven't seen it after all the time I ranted on about it). We're planning on going back some time soon and I'll have to take my camera. The rest of the castle was equally awesome, you could get into every single room in the building. The prospective photography that I can take of that place is breathtaking. It's such a beautiful place.

Then today several people went on a drive to the edge of East Midlands Airport to watch the planes fly over us. Not the most exciting thing in the World but when you think about how much a plane weighs and how much force it takes to get the fucking thing in the air, standing directly underneath one that's still airborne is cool. It's amazing how many things we take for granted nowadays.

All the same, that's two more things I'd never done before yesterday and it was all completely worth it. All work and no play made Ant a dull boy, but now I'm out of that shithole of a Uni for a while I'm free to enjoy myself a little bit more and actually be happy for a while.

Dear Santa,

Seriously, where the Hell is my girlfriend?

Geeky girls preferred. The kind who love smoking pot, watching anime, listening to damn good music and playing videogames. Not picky about breast-size, but big ones are great.

-Ant.

Notes on modes for my benefit - feel free to ignore.

Stories without Words:

E, D, E, D, B, C.

My arpeggios for each chord:

First time: Emin, Bmin, F#min, G, Bdim#5 (I think...), Emaj7, E3.
Second: (All over E) B5, B5add9, B5b7, (over D chord), E.

Fucked if I know whether or not those sequences make sense, but they sound good over Ben's chords. This is what I get for listening to Jazz far too much; stupid chords and chromatics soon come into play. Hudson should be pleasantly surprised by the new sound, though. I'm currently rewriting a lot of my easier, shittier parts in order to improve the songs.

Speaking of Hudson, Magz, did you ever sort out the Remote Hissy Fit thing? We still want to see it!