Dreamflesh

Strange Attractor Journal One

Gyrus / 4 March 2004

I’m mostly a pretty reliable type. To the extent that, every now and then, in fragile moments, I wonder if I can be reliable to a fault — namely, being taken for granted, or plain old boring.

Well, I’ve found that there’s at least one thing in which I’m lousy at coming up with the goods (you know, beyond all those other things I’m crap at, that I ignore to fuel the "reliability" self-image): writing reviews. I quite like writing them when I do so; but really, don’t count on me when you throw a CD or book my way.

Meat cities… Meat sky… Boiling oceans of meat.

Gyrus / 19 February 2004

For a while now, a small group of fearless, bickering, Leeds-based sonic pioneers, viscera shredded from wild laughing jags, have been colluding to create Radio Savage Houndy Beasty. I’m proud to have been party to this venture, pitched with haphazard glee between Negativland, Chris Morris’ Blue Jam, bedsit rituals of aggressive conviviality, and the introduction of the cane toad to Australasia.

Go on, install Mozilla Firefox

Gyrus / 16 February 2004

I’m not as rabidly anti-Microsoft as I might be, given my loathing for corporate hegemonies and shoddy aesthetics, and my background in DIY publishing (the mindset of which will surely one day find me wildly advocating Open Source software over the easier-to-use things I’m currently more knowledgable about).

On returning from Bristol

Gyrus / 26 January 2004

Just back from a nice sojourn in Bristol. After three and a half years of not seeing the Thalia crew—Kirsty, Cat, Jolane & young Keiran—it was great to catch up on films, art, neuroscience, magick, anti-religious venom, art, therapy, films, gossip and other good things. Lovely food, too—feta-stuffed chillies, mmmmm! Also managed to share inspiration, despair and belly-laughs with the strange and wonderful Debbie (Foehn, to fans of passionately crafted, mesmerising musical experiments). A few things to get blogged here…

Scatological links on all things shit

Gyrus / 18 January 2004

I find the whole subject of shit fascinating. I wouldn’t call myself an obsessive by any means; I’m no scatologist. I just find it hard to see how anyone interested in mind-body dualism, what culture is, what it means to be human… how could these quite natural interests not result in a healthy concern with crap?

Lament for a cat

Gyrus / 24 December 2003

A couple of days ago I was walking back from the video rental shop (with what turned out to be a wonderful film, Secretary, in hand). I was pleasantly spaced, some white wine and grass finding their way around the spaces that my daily yoga’s been opening up of late. As I approached my road, Tricky’s moody ‘Makes Me Wanna Die’ kicked in on my headphones, and I opened up to its melancholy. Ahead, I saw what looked like a crumpled black bag on the side of the road. Getting closer involved a rapid turnaround of perceptual judgements that, after some nervous oscillation, settled on the reality: here was a cat that had just been run over, its guts blasted part way out its rear.

Microsoft Office swastikas and master/slave politically correct nonsense

Gyrus / 14 December 2003

A couple of bits of Politically Correct nonsense to have made me wince of late…

ZDNet report that Microsoft are issuing a tool to remove swastika symbols from a font embedded in its latest version of Office. MS’s font ‘Bookshelf Symbol 7’ was derived from a Japanese character set, and contains two swastika symbols. An MS spokesperson commented, "There was no indication of malicious intent."!!! ZDNet are enlightened enough to comment on the long sacred history of swastikas, notably as a Buddhist symbol in China and Japan. Here’s what they don’t comment on:

Some art/porn via Fleshbot

Gyrus / 10 December 2003

OK, hello again to anyone who checks in here expecting me to at least put my head around the door every now and then. Just a brief post to pass along some links that have grabbed me. I discovered Fleshbot shortly following its launch a few weeks ago, and just found some wonderfully sensual, interesting art/porn linked from there: four pieces from two artists. There’s Jason Salavon’s Every Playboy Centrefold, The Decades (superimpositions of all Playboy centrefolds, according to decade — an overload of glamour melting into diaphanous, evocative washes) and the similarly inspired 76 Blowjobs. And there’s practicing analyst Ashkan Sahihi’s Cumshots (real, and quite beautiful) and Armpit Series (such an exquisite erogenous zone, warmly portrayed).

A few pleasures

Gyrus / 9 November 2003

For really good sex I don’t have to be with someone who I have an erotic connection with because ultimately I feel I’m the source of my own sexual pleasure. Annie Sprinkle, interview by David Jay Brown & Rebecca McClen Novick ‘

New website of information on sex-enhancing drugs

Gyrus / 9 November 2003

The consciousness explorer David Jay Brown (of the recently revamped Mavericks of the Mind interviews website) seems to be having a new website blitz. Now, following from his series of US workshops with the wonderful sexologist / performance artist, Dr Annie Sprinkle, he’s launched a site dedicated to information about various "pro-sexual" drugs, herbs and nutrients.

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