the 475th post of this

I'm going to try to write something.

Done.

I'm going to try to write something else.

Again: done.

This is easier than I thought it would be.

So...

This was a lot more straightforward when I had things to write about. Remember Edinburgh? There were many events back then.

I'm not complaining. I don't want events. I'd rather have no events and no blog content than lots of blog content and be trapped in a Japanese POW camp.

I won't budge on that.

Today I read a lot of comics. Short of summarising the plots, there's not a great deal to be said about it. I didn't even get a paper-cut.

I've been busy at work, which has made my brain relish every free moment by plunging itself into a joyous thought vacuum. I don't think it will last too much longer, but it's making me feel a bit anxious.

I keep worrying about how I'm spending my time. I should be doing something more worthwhile with my spare moments. ("More worthwhile than reading comics? Get outta here!" "I HATE YOU!" "I was just playing!" "As was I. Now let's stop this before it devolves into the usual back-and-forth-and-shit.")

The worrying thing (and try to keep this under your hat - which will be difficult as you don't exist) is (are you still following, after that lengthy parentheses interlude?) that (still?) my most productive time for writing these is at work. I used to have time for writing between my many high-powered big-cheese financial suit chart big bucks swivel chair word sequence business decisions. But I don't anymore.

I'm hoping my free time will return.

I suppose these things go on phases. I only wrote five blog posts in September 2007.

But of course, that was a difficult time for us all. What with Sept 11, 18 and 19. Those all happened in that month. It's hard to conceive of that many dates existing. But they did. In the infamous autumn of '07.

Maybe I should break things up with a picture of something. I like those. It makes this look like a real blog. One of those ones that's just a funny video or a link to another blog. Real bloggers don't lower themselves to WRITING anything. Oh no.

Well, the "post a picture of something" plan seems to have worked out. I searched Google images for the word "lumpen". I don't know why. It just came to me. This is one of the images:

How cool is that?

The answer you're looking for is "VERY".

It's a link to this article:

The Lumpen: Black Panther Party Revolutionary Singing Group

It's interesting. I'd like to be part of Revolutionary Culture cadre. But I don't think I'd be admitted to the Black Panthers. I'm neither black nor a quadruped.

I find the idea of spreading radical ideas through music to be an interesting one. Music is often closely linked to political ideas, either explicitly through lyrical content, or more generally in an intangible anti-establishment attitude.

But I can't help but think that music is too unwieldy and powerful a weapon to be used for a specific purpose. It's like the One Ring. You can try to harness music, but it influences people on such a fundamental level that you can't know what results you'll get.

Or maybe the best musicians can know - and can judge which notes, or which chord changes, will stir up the correct emotions for anarchism or socialism or religious fervour.

I think most political movements try to use music for their own ends. I feel like I've read something about that recently, but I can't quite remember what.

I'm glad I searched for "lumpen".

I'm going to go now.