blog.djstead.net

Back in the day (when I were a lad), I used to post on internet forums – merrily chatting away on topics close to my heart back then. And then I went and said something stupid; I can’t really recall exactly what I posted, but it offended someone/some people, and I got reprimanded by the moderators. The thing is, I hadn’t meant to actually offend those people that read my post – I was simply posting in the not-quite-real-world of the internet. Some of the anonymity that the web had afforded me, had allowed me to open up my feelings and thoughts – and express ideas that I had never felt comfortable expressing before. And being reprimanded by the moderators really annoyed me. I hadn’t said the things that I said to that person’s face – I hadn’t forced them to accept my opinion using threats of real violence – all that my internet alter-ego had done was to post his controversial opinion, for other internet alter-egos to read and comment on. Despite trying to explain t...

A few nights ago in London, I got lucky. Well, okay, not that lucky – but I did get up close and intimate with a celebrity… That (lucky?) person was Simon Amstell , performing a warm-up gig for recording his DVD in Dublin in the near future: I got lucky by buying the very last ticket; I got up close by braving the front row; and intimate because – well, quite frankly, a lot of his material hit home. There was no mention of his Popworld/Buzzcocks history (through which I’m sure many of you know of him) – instead we got a raw insight into “the real Simon Amstell”, as twee and sickeningly OK Magazine that sounds. He took us through the embarrasement of approaching his first until-then-secret crush in a shop, and – instead of communicating in the usual manner that ‘normal people’ seem to achieve so well – he yelled out their full name across the shop, and – having gone that far – could only proceed to communicate with them even louder. He introduced us to his overtly ...

Up until a few weeks ago, I really could not care less about the election. For me – national politics was a joke that I didn’t find particularly amusing, or particularly offensive; it operated outside of my social circles, my circus of ideas; it was something for other people to be interested in. To be quite honest, I can’t even recall if I voted in the last national election – I know I voted locally, because that’s where I believe it matters – but national politics never seemed to matter. The amount of bureaucracy, red tape, cliches, endless fuel for the tabloids, and – above all – blandness – of political influence at a nationwide level, just seemed irrelevant: I’ve likely had the good fortune to not have to live through the Thatcher Years – but politics, particularly in England, seems stuck in the old days. The fact we’ve flipped between Labour and Conservative for the past 65 years seems akin to those years when your options on television were ‘this side or t...

I think most of us are in agreement by now, that life is a finite experience – over the course of which you build up experiences, and you make your decisions and get on with the whole damn thing. You’ll probably have also noticed that there are lots of other people living their lives, and doing things in different ways. However, I’ve come to the realisation that a lot of things aren't set up this way – rather than a continuous evolving/developing consciousness – society seems to resist change greatly: There are plenty of rules and regulations inherent in day to day life that are inflexible, or even have no logic behind them any more, after so many years of ‘just being like that’. An obvious example would be religion in the traditional sense – Same stories, rules, ideas, etc.; handed down over the generations, with little room for consideration of the developing world. Obviously many religious groups are hastily changing tack on this – e.g. the Catholic Church r...

Formulated in the dying hours of Friday 17th July, 2009 – the Theory of Epicality was specifically inspired by listening to Metal, walking home from work in the blistering rain {6.2 on the Epic Scale}; and generally inspired by the abundance of references to epicness on the new crucible of definition; the interwebs. General Theory of Epicality Anything, be it perceived to be bad/good or have a positive/negative effect; can be rated on the Epic Scale. The Epic Scale Conventional use of the Epic Scale operates between 0 and 11. Although exceptions have been recorded, at times of extreme epicness. < 1 Micro - Barely noticeable instance of epicness. Only noticed by trained epicticians. 1-2.9 Minor - Epic occurance that is taken in the individual’s stride. 3-4.9 Light - A glimpse of epicness that is visible to the people around you. 5-6.9 Moderate - Moments of epicness occurring within the context of every day life. 7-8.9 Strong - Prolonged period of epi...

In the darkened skies of the inner cosmos; in the place where dragons lie: A lonely muse drifts through the backwaters of the galaxies, singing a sorrowful song. However, her lament does not go unheard – a lost cosmonaut, left for dead to drift in the endless reams of space, rescues the lonely muse from her eternal fate, and returns with her to a land of oceans and of Fixed Rate APRs. Here, they now make music together – a glorious song, proclaiming their newfound joy for the world. And – for many blue moons – all is well for them. Until, in time, the lost cosmonaut returns to the earth from whence he was born, and the muse – distraught and alone once more – returns to the skies to ride the tideless waves of space for all time. Yet – in their precious few years together – they did have a son. One, unearthly son, conceived at the very crux of the symphonies they performed together. One, ungodly son, that was ne’er alike anything before him, yet shaped things irrever...

It’s often rather fun to stick your own name into Google and see what results you find. One of the more interesting results I have found, pointed me to proceedings at the Old Bailey, on 26th May 1748: DANIEL STEAD, THEFT: SIMPLE GRAND LARCENY, 26TH MAY, 1748. The Proceedings of the Old Bailey Ref: t17480526-9 TRIAL SUMMARY: + Crime(s): theft: simple grand larceny, + Verdict: Not Guilty: prosecutor not present, ORIGINAL TEXT: 271. Daniel Stead was indicted for stealing twelve pieces of leather, value 4s. 6d. the property of George Jarvis. The prosecutor not appearing, he was acquitted. You can view the original page about this here: The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834