Work is the curse of the drinking classes...

Right... All nighter for no reason again... Hopefully this will reset my body and sleeping pattern... So let's blog...

Where are we right now? Well, my life is actually looking up, since the split virtually everything has improved, apart from the contact I get with my son, which ironically is the main focus in my life right now, go figure...

But let us leave personal lives aside and get on with something far more important; music.

It is a major part of most of our lives, it inspires us, we use it to relax, to get adrenaline flowing, to psych ourselves up, calm ourselves down, to express ourselves when we don't have the words to do so, some songs make us cry, some make us laugh, some make us want to throw the radio across the room so we never have to hear them again, and yet nobody seems to give it the credit it's due.

There are some fantastic songs out there, anything by Billy Joel, David Bowie, Queen... Songs with true meaning... And yet the songs we choose today for weddings, funerals, christenings, etc are mostly shite... The best example (or I should say worst example) would be the wedding where the couple's first dance was the Harlem shake (I think that's what it's called, but I'm really not in the habit of caring what craze is degrading the world this week) and then there are those who have psy or lmfao in there, some even choose thriller... I have nothing against these songs, I've done the zombie dance and gangnam style, along with the YMCA and on several occasions square danced my way through cotton eye Joe, it's fun and after enough whiskey the novelty hits home, but for big moments these are not the songs to choose.

You want a song that means a lot to the couple for a wedding, you want something tearful and poignant at a funeral and as for christenings? These are some of the first songs your child will hear, do you really trust Britney spears and Katy Perry over the Beatles and Freddie mercury?

As I say, I love novelty songs, I still listen to the firm and spitting image when I'm feeling in the mood for a laugh, and weird Al will always have a place on my YouTube... I even love cheesy pop songs, but there is a time and place for them - 80s night at your local, or 1am when your house party has evolved seamlessly from a political debate to group karaoke, not at the highest or lowest points in your life. I've yet to meet anybody who uses party rock anthem to get them through a tough time instead of Johnny Cash, or who discard Alanna Myles for Rihanna.

I beg you, keep the time warp where it belongs - near the end of the setlist at 30th, 40th and 50th birthday parties, somewhere between black laces greatest hits and anything by the bee gees... if a song is meaningful for a reason then yes, choose it, but if you just think it'll be funny you're wasting time, money and my oxygen.

See you when I see you...

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing...

So, assuming you follow me on facebook you'll know it's 2am and I can't sleep, can't decide if I want to either... Anyway, that's not important.

I would like to talk to you all about a subject I know plenty about, and yet still know nothing about either. Pub quizzes.

Since the discovery of alcohol, landlords have tried to lure in custom, while at the same time trying to bleed every penny. Thus the ritual of a pub quiz was born, with the assumption that by the time it's finished every participant is too drunk to remember who won.

Cynic, I hear you cry! Heretic! (I'm not hearing voices yet, don't worry, it's a turn of phrase). Well, let me assure you, nothing is further from the truth. I love pub quizzes, I believe people who say it cuts into valuable drinking time simply aren't quizzing correctly (similar problem with darts and pool players).

Anyway, I love them because I am a font of useless knowledge, my cup runneth over with seemingly pointless facts. For example, the first words spoken on the telephone were 'Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you'. The first line of the hobbit reads 'in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' and from that single line 6 books, several short stories and a collection of poetry was written and a whole world was created. And the word dinosaur translates as 'terrible lizzard'.

You probably knew all of these already, even if you didn't know you knew them. And that is what makes pub quizzes such a brilliant idea, you know the answers, but it takes a few drinks before you'll trust your instincts. There's a theory, one I actually believe to be true, that instinct should always be followed, because our minds cannot explain why we know, but given time we would reach that conclusion anyway.

However, I am actually rambling now, so I'll leave you with a thought from Terry Pratchett:

'(his) body didn't produce any "natural alcohol", and he estimates that (he) was about "two drinks below par". This meant that when he hadn't been drinking, he was beyond sober - he was "knurd". Thus he saw reality as it really was ("first sight"); stripped of all the mental illusions that most people construct in their minds to get to sleep at night ("second sight").'

I feel I am very much that way inclined, I need a few drinks before I know what's going on.

Until the next time...

Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name...

In that way I do, here's an honest post before the descent into mediocrity...

I'm depressed, I know that, what am I doing about it? Absolutely sweet FA.
Why? Out of a fear of getting hurt again? Convenience? Better the devil you know? A form of self loathing that says I don't deserve to be happy? Take your pick.

Anyway, now that's out of the way here comes the fun part; the darkness. One thing we as humans can't seem to come to terms with, our own inner darkness.

What is it? The deepest part of ourselves that we shy away from, the part that says not only is murder ok, but in certain circumstances the only option... I'm pro death penalty, the practical application is what I'm against, because people are too easily corrupted.

Let's not look at the statistics (I don't have access and don't trust them, maths is far too subjective and easily manipulated) but I do know that charm, charisma, confidence and attractiveness mean juries are far less likely to condemn somebody to death. Likewise, race, religion, upbringing and background all factor in too. And at the end of the day, can we trust 12 people specifically chosen for being pro death in the first place? The only reason they're not locked up themselves is they don't pull the trigger, and if they did they're taking out somebody that society has deemed evil anyway.

Which brings me full circle, why does society see a farmer, butcher, hunter or soldier as less reprehensible than a murderer, animal tester, dog fighter? What makes it ok to track, scare, kill, mutilate and torture in those circumstances?

Vigilantes are seen by many as heroes, we glorify it with batman, iron man, the punisher, yet destroy the lives of police officers who cause a death, even indirectly.

Society is fucked. We are either all evil, or none of us is, the only difference is some of us adapt better than others to the restrictions placed upon us.

See you next time.

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars...

So, after quite a hiatus, I've decided to write again. Expect a lot more and a lot of shameless Facebook plugging.

Where to begin? Well, that's easy, I have no end of opinions, therefore no end of material. However, I think I'll start with something not so close to home, although I can't promise to keep my personal life out of here forever.

For now this will simply be my introduction... Or reintroduction... Into a world I thought lost to me.

Oscar Wilde once said 'Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.'

This is a mask for me, a way of being honest, letting off steam and doing so in a way that will only be read by those who care about me... Meaning those who will accept my honesty, and that's important to me due to recent events.

Anyway, as I say, this is only the beginning, I plan to talk more when inspired (probably by criminal minds, watching a lot of that lately).

Do svidaniya