Unemployed Watercooler Fridge Buzz Commiseration, Alienation and Mental Anti-Stagnation Society (DNRIYHM)

stephen fry got tons of abuse and mocking. Everyone thought he was finished.

and i cant remember the last time i saw tony slattery on tv

This is bordering really close on mansplaining, and I'm not having it. Like, no one is debating that men with MH Issues don't get abuse, but that the quality and tone of that abuse can be really different when it's directed at men. This isn't a fucking oppression Olympics, and I resent the way that men just feel they *have* to point out "oh but that happens to teh mens too!" whenever anyone tries to make a point about the treatment of women. It's not necessary, and it really fucks me off. Makes me want to fuck off back to the Girl Thread and not come back.

The difference is that the men get their abuse in one lump, then it gets forgotten about.

Britney and Sinead get theirs drip-fed over many years, often from the same people that proport to be 'supportive' with regard other female aspects ('size-zero', etc)

New St Piran's Day display name.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6807890572_79f2928e88_o.jpg
Because it is today. by john durrant, on Flickr

Ooops is that as big as it looks from here? SORRY!

its just the way he's sitting

Depression feels so bad today, it's like an iron band wrapped around my forehead. This came out of nowhere, the hopelessness, the desolation, the pointlessness, the sense that my whole life is just a wet blanket wrapped round me, and I'm such a wet blanket I can't conceive that anyone else would ever want me around.

And it's at this point that I start to take the ILX meta to heart, it starts repeating in the back of my head like an ugly voice: that it's always the people who are convinced that they know me ~sooooo wellllllll~ who get me and my motivations and internal movements so completely wrong. And yet, and yet... it's like they're privvy to some secret truth, they're right, they've found me out, that I really *am* that much of an asshole, and not just an asshole, but a pathetic one at that, they're right, all my friends secretly (or not so secretly) completely hate me and just wish I would go away and jesus christ, because, you know, I deeply wish I could just go away as well, but I'm chained to this malfunctioning brain like a fucking meat puppet and I hate it.

It's like that, today. And all the chatter and the cheesecake in the world can't seem to dislodge it.

I can only say I... wish I could take it away. Alas, those are stupid words cause they are pointless and sound trite. Or whatever.

Here it's not great either. But in the cash register, not the brain. I am actually doing remarkably well considering I am prone to panic attacks. I guess the pills do work. lol.

Thanks. I am glad that the pills are working for you. You can be proud of yourself if you're holding it together in the face of cash register problems. Blunt problems you can do nothing about. It's hard.

I dunno, I'm just... caught. I feel like I'm wasting this fantastic opportunity, when I could be doing anything in the world with myself right now, and instead I'm staring at the wall and feeling this dull grey numbness right when I need my brain to kick in and be creative, think up solutions, do stuff, you know?

I don't know. Maybe I should read Dante, maybe I should read Marcus Aurelius... it's like I have this toolkit and no idea what to do with it. I was searching for images of trees and woods for an art project and these Dore prints came up, and I was just reminded of my poor 9th grade literature teacher, trying to spoon feed the Inferno into semi-illiterate convent school girls. All those metaphors that didn't make sense when you're 14, but now it's like... damn. Where the sun is silent. I keep thinking about her because she was one of those few teachers who saw what hell I was going through and reached out to me - but thinking about it now, she was going through some kind of hell of her own, she wanted to be a playwright but her husband got a job as a director at some tinytown theatre, so there she was stuck trying to bash medieval literature into the heads of good burghers' daughters. And she told me everyone who amounts to anything hates their school years. But she never told me middle age would be worse, in different ways. I suppose she tried, through her ninth grade poetry syllabus.

I'm sorry; this makes no sense to anyone but me. I hate poetry anyway, but Dore's damn cool.

I'm glad you're OK, and you're hanging in there.

Feeling rather better today. Don't know if it was forcing myself to go out and be social last night, restoring normality having dinner with a friend - or if it was the restorative power of really amazing music. Often come to the conclusion that art is the only thing in the world that really has the power to impact on one's life like that, but then again, art on your own is no fun. One needs both, I think.

OMG I just textmessaged the radio program with the answer to the question "why is lou reed's nickname drella". you can win tickets for his gig. Hahahahah I DONT EVEN WANT TO SEE HIM LIVE. (Nor dead for that matter.)

LOL, that's one of those factoids that's all "why do I even *know*" this, but wasn't Drella Lou and Cale's nickname for Warhol, rather than Lou's nickname?

(ha ha, thanks to the Bowie poll, I just typed "Warhole" and had to go back and fix it.)

((Where is my "anti-Warholes" t-shirt, these days, anyway?))

Ah yes! It was! Duh! :-)

Short for "Cinderella" because of how he would go to the ball.

Going back to this old login, no matter how inappropriate a name it is these days, because it's the only one that isn't banned that seems to be hooked up to a working email address any more. Apologies if anyone is completely confused by the changeover, it's not done with any bad intentions in mind.

ah, it seems like old times.

Yes, complete with me utterly and totally losing my mind. :-(

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/westboro_baptist_church_protest_radiohead_show.html

Argh, financial troubles are no fun.

:(

Troubles suck. I'm sorry.

Today in utter solipsism, I've realised that my problem is not "the internet" - my problem is that I'm completely incompetent, both as a human being, and at human communication. So I'm just going to give up. I'm not sure what that entails.

Giving up worrying about it might be good. Giving up communicating not so much! Don't!

Asking me to give up worrying is like asking me to give up breathing. I can learn to modify or control it, but it's never going to stop, it's not in my nature.

The communication thing... I'm just trying to think of a way to express this that isn't all "oh woe is me" or (oh noes) read by someone as passive aggressive in some way. It's just...

The internet sucks. It's full of awful, horrible YouTube Commenters just looking to tear someone else down to assuage their boredom for 30 seconds. They're everywhere. And it wears me down, so much, dealing with that. Joining a music forum to talk about music, and being YouTubeCommented to death. And then finally finding a forum which isn't full of YTCs, and they don't want *me*. When even the people "defending" you are saying "I don't like her, either, but she's got a right to be here." OK, I get it. You want me to go, I'll go.

I'm clearly so bad at this, why am I even trying? And get back to ILX and it's going through one of its paroxysms of meta and just more "oh my god, you are the worst person ever" and even if you say "yes, I am the worst person ever, but I've been here 10 years and you haven't, so I will clearly mark everything I am involved with SO I AM COMPLETELY FUCKING EASY TO AVOID if you hate the kind of thing I do" and even that is just more evidence of why you are so bad and should be hated even more and pile on more of the crap that makes you defensive and anxious in the first place.

Like, what do you expect me to do? Disappear? I wish I could. If I could push a button and make me go away, I'd do it. That button doesn't exist.

This stuff hurts, and I wish it didn't, but I don't know a way to make it stop hurting.

Loneliness is just the most *pointless* emotion. I don't even understand why it exists.

OK, well, it's obvious why it does exist - because human beings are social animals, and we evolved loneliness to keep us in tribes the same way we evolved physical pain to keep us from accidentally putting our fingers in fires.

But in a post nuclear-family, atomised social landscape, no, really, what *is* the fucking point of loneliness?

Please don't tell me I'm depressed and I should go and see a doctor. I'm not depressed, what I am is incredibly lonely, and rather bored, to the point where my mind is eating itself. I just can't find a point. And it's not a physical problem, it's a problem of disconnection. And I can't see the point of reconnecting at the moment, because I can't seem to find anything I care enough about to reconnect over. There is no club that will have me as a member, and it's become too painful to try, over and again. I'm clearly so *shit* at communicating. Or maybe I'm such an awful person that everything I communicate is as bad as people seem to think it is. I don't know.

I should start writing another novel, or go to some local meetings of something. Or even start looking for a job again. (It's kind of a curse that I've saved so much money because I don't *have* to look for a job immediately, of course, I have decided to put off that particular load of depressing rejection for as long as I can.) I just can't find it in me to want to do anything except lie in bed or sometimes walk through woods.

Sorry this is so long and emo. If that offends you, you didn't have to read it. I kinda had to type it, or I felt my head would explode.

I know; I am sorry I am such a downer.

I should get a livejournal or a shrink or just learn how to STFU and take it and not bleed my pain all over everyone else, it's not fair and no one wants it.

This is also a large part of the reason that most people dislike me.

Oh. This is relevant this morning:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/13/why-the-world-needs-introverts

I should probably find a better thread to link it on, though.

Dear MB,

no, you're not going nuts just yet. This is your subconscious speaking. Here is a picture of Thom Yorke's hair doing something absolutely ~adorable~ while he fiddles with his guitar pedals, and also a Jazzmaster. Because I know how much you love Jazzmasters.

http://i.imgur.com/HLlve.jpg

The GrannyPanny trees are budding and almost in bloom, there's a new art exhibit at the library with a local artist you could be supporting, that new pub on the high street has DOOM BAR on tap, maybe you could go and sit in there and ink your sketches while drinking it, instead of moaning that you're not in Cornwall doing exactly the same thing.

Who wants a pint of Doom Bar? I do, even if you're too busy eating worms. Hell, I'll drink the Doom Bar, you draw the worms. Deal?

I was looking through the lots on an online auction house website (a real one, not ebay I mean).

The sort that has "a box of 40 LPs, to contain 2 Hendrix, 4 beatles, etc" type thing.

Anyway, I tried searching "Guitar".. bad idea.

For the rest of the day, I was like "OOH, I want one of those! And that one! And that one!"

Of course, I bid/bought nowt.

Our Alice was in an in-school 'bragging' session with some boy about how many guitars they had in their respective houses. So, we had a think-thought about it and realised we had 13.

One Bass, 4 solid body 6-strings, 2 semi-accs, 2 acoustics, 1 12-string, 2 ukes and I can't remember the last one.

That's not too shabby for a dormant musician.

I remember now, it's another semi-acc, it's made from what feels like matchbox-wood, it sounds awful in an awesome way, but looks hella-cool.

I wish I could still play guitar. It makes my wrist hurt too much, though. :-(

It doesn't stop me from wanting them when I see them, though.

http://lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/10623/2852614/103-20123618026_468x382.jpg

This is where you get to tell me "don't worry, they're really bad guitars actually"

(limiting myself to one pic only)

Who cares if they're bad guitars if they look like that?

I bet all the strings go instantly out of tune the moment you even touch the whammy bar, though. My monstro cheapo was like that.

i think MB needs to listen to doom metal, its what it was invented for!

Um, I know it's like, your favourite music of all time, but I really fail to see how listening to music I don't really like will make me anything but more miserable? :-P

One of my friends on twitter told me to switch my RH playlist for Lindstrom and see if I cheer up, and it actually seems to be working, I'm feeling more relaxed already.

(That said, I don't actually find RH depressing when I'm already down, and not even because of the power of feeling less alone when you listen to sad music when you're sad. But I don't listen to RH because it's sad or miserable or doom-y, but because it's all about resisting the sadness and the doom and the nothingness and all the bad things, which actually really makes it really positive in an odd, whiney sort of way. Which is not a vibe I ever get from doom metal, sorry, no offense if you like it and all.)

Anyway, I'm feeling more like this at the moment.

http://creativereview.co.uk/images/uploads/2012/02/fight_the_nothingness_0_0.jpg

rain-stained brutalism, and all.

never found radiohead,smiths or joy division or anything like that depressing. its uplifting happy music!

see, there's your problem right there. You listen to happy music!!! ;)

Joy Division *is* depressing as fuck, actually. It's the sheer relentlessness of it. But that's why there's Joy Division and New Order.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_metal

it quite clearly states there masonic boom should be making it with lots of hawkwind swooshy noises

Those men are all as ugly as dogs (and to be honest, dogs are insulted by the comparison!)

Why would I want to involve myself with a genre of music where the men are so unattractive! At least Radiohead have the consideration to be remotely sexy, despite the occasional tragic haircuts (and ponytails.)

Now I'm off to listen to Pablo Honey and laugh myself sick, and none of you can stop me.

The new pub (which is called Pratts & Payne, LOL Streatham) is AWESOME. It's too nice for Streatham, it will be taken away. It has nice beer, and it has good music. It will not be allowed to stay.

That said, I had a horrible scary moment sitting there drinking my real ale, that I thought I had actually started to like Neil Young. ARGH.

Came home, put on After The Goldrush, phew, I still hate Neil Young, all is still right in the world.

It's a lovely pub, though.

p.s. what is the best version of ATG, or will this be a harder choice than Silver Dagger? I don't think the answer is Dolly Parton this time, though.

WANT.

http://images.travelpod.com/users/coastpath/1.1273262213.hedghog-ice-cream.jpg

I know I'm talking to myself here, but I might as well carry on.

That thing - that gulf between 1) the thoughts and processes of what is going on in your own head, and why you are doing the things you are doing, and 2) how your actions are perceived and interpreted by others - that thing is killing me lately.

When I come up out of a nosedive, and look at the things that were going on and it's hard to believe that two different people could have such different perspectives on the same events. And yet, at the time, and even afterwards, it seems almost impossible to stop the crash from happening, as it's playing out. And you're just looking at this wreckage, going "but neither of us wanted this, so how did we end up with it?"

It's maddening, but also, mainly it's just saddening.

I'm kind of obsessed with talking about communication, because I'm so bad at it. But I suppose it's easier to learn Cornish than it is to learn to communicate properly.

How is everyone today? ILX seems like it's in a bit of a rut, there don't seem to be any threads about anything I find that interesting, and maybe everyone's as bored as I am, or maybe it's just a lull, or maybe I just don't have any interests any more? How are you all feeling. Is anyone even reading this except me?

I'm tracking a handful of threads on ILX in desultory sort of way, but trying to resist posting anything other than the occasional flip comment as work really is backing up around here and I can just about get away with reading while I'm on a conf call, but not posting.

I think the education thread is quite interesting, but it's mostly about American education afaict, so nothing for me to contribute.

Yeah, threads on the American education system are slightly interesting to me, because I spent most of my education in the American system. But not really that relevant (though, granted, I'm kind of scared of how the UK system might be headed that way.) It's not just a to-MAY-to to-MAH-to level difference, I guess it does reveal deep differences.

I suppose I'm just bored because lack of money (and therefore lack of internet access to properly listen to things) is keeping me off music threads, which would normally provide my ILX reading material.

I thought the avant-guard thread was going to go somewhere interesting, too, but it seems to have petered out prematurely. I think I almost hate when that happens more than I hate a clusterfuck.

Oh dear, meta. Posting on ILX about posting on ILX, I think my boredom really has eaten itself and I should go back to reading my book. But it's a depressing and upsetting political tome and I think I'm avoiding finishing it.

Grab another book?

I hate abandoning a book halfway through! Even if I don't like it. (And it's not that I don't like it, it's a very good and necessary book - it's just that it is incredibly bleak and at the same time, I don't want to be reading something this depressing when I'm having depressio issues to start with - but I am also aware of my staggering lack of knowledge when it comes to political subjects, and fear that throwing up my hands and saying "this is too depressing" is Part of The Problem WRT politics.)

The other books I have available to me in the reading pile are: Misogyny, The World's Oldest Prejudice (will be depressio), In Search of P.D. Ouspensky (diverting mystical shit, but I like the author from his other works) and The Icarus Girl, which I know nothing about, but I liked the name, but it also looks like it might be depressio.

Maybe I should just go back to the library and get some more inconsequential reading material.

ARGH I hate listening to Spotify on my home connection, it's just impossible, it times out ever 30 seconds, why do I even bother?

Spotify is great but what is wrong with your internet connection? You're not still using a dongle are you??