Posts by Scott Common
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I take your point as far as it goes - nobody becomes a professional musician (or anything else in the arts) for the job security. It just becomes depressing to read another obit of a musician or writer who dies in poverty after a long life of being screwed like a two-bob hooker.
I certainly know the feeling! It's very interesting to read the comments in this thread - definatly got value out of your posts Simon!
I've been playing round the country for about 12 years now - and a long time ago (actually while I was still a teen) I realised that I'd have to be incredibly lucky to be able to be a professional musican - so I made the most mature decision that I ever did during my teens and went out and got a job. Didn't stop me playing music - a couple of years ago I was juggling 4 bands and a full time government job (turned out to be a bit much and had to drop 2 of the bands :-).
Working a day job has always provided me with a "reality check" for my artistic delusions - but it doesn't stop me trying to promote my projects - just means I don't have to rely on them being financially sucessful. Most of the people I play with (and know) have much the same approach. Also not being financially tied to my artistic endevours means that I don't have to worry about the "commercial viability" of my music (anyone who's applied for NZonAir grant will recognise that phrase).
For me it's always been about the writing and performing of music - and the feedback that I get from people who have seen or heard us.
I'm not a big fan of NZ music month - and generally we take the month off or just spend the time in the practise room!
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and search for ages to find the answer to some disputed fact, rather than finding it instantly with a Google search.
Ahhh but what is your confidence level that the answer that google has provided you is right? Either way you are putting yourself in the hands of third party providers for answers, with the main difference that the book would have had to go through a lot more "vetting" before being published than a web page refered to by google.
I deal with my fair share of luddites on a day to day basis :-)
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Kurt Vonnegut just died!
I only just found that out now and came here to post the same thing. Pretty sad, have a fair collection of his books at home - may have to go back and reread some of them...
Not so after Robert Anton Wilson too :-(
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I will freely admit I'm a bit of a sci-fi junkie (in case you couldn't guess from my list). I've read a fair bit of Iain Banks (the straight fiction) and cut my teeth on The Wasp Factory (that was a bit of an eye opener!). In particular though, I am fascinated with The Culture setting which Iain M Banks has put together and thats why his sci-fi appeals to me more than his straight fiction. The Bridge is also very good - though I'd hesitate to descibe it as a classic (but really who am I to say).
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Another one that I haven't seen mentioned yet, but that I loved, Perfume, by Suskund.
Terrific book - I hear a movie version is coming, how do you visually represent the sense of smell in all its glory?
I lent that to my mother (who works as a high selling fragrance rep) who was both horrified (at some of the brutality in the book) and flawed (by the brilliant descriptions of smell). Wonderful book, not very comfortable - but the best often aren't.
This is one book which is best left in the written form I think (unless they'll be introducing "smell'o'vision" for it :-)
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Well I'm coming to this discussion very late indeed - but it's good to see a number of my favorite authors and books mentioned already (comes as no surprised :-).
The Hobbit was the book that started me reading, my mother read it too me at age 5 and straight after she finished I was determined to read it myself (which took a year but I did it!).
Through my teenage years theres a number of good memories associated with the stainless steel rat books - great times and encouraged me to learn how to pick locks :-)
I'll stop with the chronolgical now and just list some of the "world movers" for myself.
HP Lovecraft I'm sorry, it's kinda naff, but I just adore his writing and the stories he crafted - I've been a fan ever since my late teens and he got me into some other more classical writers like Poe.
Iain M Banks Player of Games in particular.
The Illuminatus Trilogy This blew my little mind when I first read it - of course I had no idea what was actually going on but I was sure it was life alteringly important! On later readings I've been just as flattened and it's yet to loose it's appeal.
_Peace and War Series__ Joe Haldeman - wonderful (if harrowing) take on a number of topics from the brutality of war through too the problems with an advancing society.
The Invisibles Grant Morrison - Stands as a modern day counterpoint to Illuminatus and best read from beginning to end when suffering from a high fever :-)
Blood Music Greg Bear - scary and microbiological - the full novel is better than the original short story.
Babel 17 Samuael R Delaney - Just a great story about language and an unique vison of the future of space and transport.
Ahhhh many others come to mind - but I will leave it there or this post wouldn't have an end. Always good to wax on about books one loves!
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"Anyway, here's the Climate Science Coalition press release calling for "the disbanding of NIWA and the return of all weather matters to MetService". It's deranged, frankly:"
Yeap thats a nice understatement.
One of the most difficult things that someone can get involved in these days is trying to explain science to the general public or the media - the attention spans of both are too short to actually absorb the information which is why we get these boiled down "sound bite" explanations.
I'm in the joyless situation of having to explain both science and legislation to the general public - luckily when it's one on one it is much easier (though still somewhat similar to having teeth pulled) to do this.
Scott
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In regards to the cheap and un-patented potential cancer drug I saw this a fair while ago and though it looks promising there could be a catch...
http://science.slashdot.org/science/07/01/17/1913210.shtml
"But there's a catch: the drug isn't patented, and pharmaceutical companies may not be interested in funding further research if the treatment won't make them a profit. In findings that 'astounded' the researchers, the molecule known as DCA was shown to shrink lung, breast and brain tumors in both animal and human tissue experiments."How ironic would it be if the cure for cancer was never developed because there was no money in it for the pharacs.
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Well the Wii certainly looks cool, i guess my only concern is how long the love lasts. Are those of you who were in early with purchasing a Wii still playing Wii Sports today?
Yeap - pre ordered and got on the release date - still playing it pretty much daily (mostly Wii sports). Waiting for some other titles to come out before I put more in - but as I said earlier it's going to be a console where a fair percentage of the games are average to below average (Red Steel for eg) in the first generation, it's the 2nd and 3rd gen games that will make it shine (ie once the developers are more at ease with the controls).
But yes, still playing, had it for ages.
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We got a Wii on the release date and I'm fully stoked with it. I certainly agree that instead of being in direct competition with MS and Sony, Nintendo has produced a product which competes on a different level.
The key point with the Wii will be that many of the 1st generation of games for it will be average to below average as developers work out how the control interface best works - it's the 2nd and 3rd generation games that will show us what the Wii can actually do.
I believe that Lucas Arts have confirmed that there will be a Wii specific Star Wars title (can't find the link now though) which of course will have lightsabres.
I do half an hour to an hour of Wii sports each day as a combination stretch and exercise routine (it's not the only exercise I do - it's just easy to do it at home) and both the bowling and the tennis have taken a big place in my heart!
Funnily enough I know a number of friends who, since getting the wii, have actually gone out and played the actual sports, mostly tennis and golf - but I did go ten pin bowling recently myself. I used to have no intertest in sports games, now it's totally different.
I expect great things from the Wii - but in about 2 years time.