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There has been an increasing number of charity muggers roaming the streets of Leeds recently. You know, the enthusiastic students in jackets carrying clipboards who interrupt you when you are out and about and try and guilt you into supporting their chosen charity. These people annoy me. I am all for supporting charities but I think these tactics are unnecessarily intrusive. Now when I see them I pretend to be on the phone so they won't talk to me. I am a very determined individual when in town and I usually have a place to be (typically work) or a deadline to meet. I want to spend as little time as possible fannying about and I certainly don't want to be sold something. I don't like the awkward scenario that this presents. Furthermore, badge or no badge, I'm not giving my bank account or credit card details to a stranger on the street. This is against all forms of logic. I don't mind collection tins or people doing a sponsored something in public but these intrusive clipboard people are stretching my sense of good will. So much so, I don't support any charity which employs them. I do a lot of work for charity, largely in Fursuit, so this isn't about not raising money. I would, and have, encourage(d) anyone to donate to a good cause. This is about the methods employed by some charities to raise money and I feel there is a right way and a wrong way to go about things. And these clipboard people fall into the latter category for me. Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
Reading back on older entries, I noticed I used to write about a far more varied range of subjects than I do now. These days, all I really write about is the stuff I get up to. I imagine the smaller LJ audience may be one of the reasons for this - and perhaps twitter scratches that itch somewhat too - but for me now, my LJ is a way of documenting my life and very little else. That's its primary function - the rest seems ancillary. Still, I will try and be more varied in future, if only to be more engaging. Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
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Two days ago, Justin and I celebrated our six month anniversary. We didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but he came down from Chico after work and took me to see Rufus Wainwright play in Oakland.
The concert was wonderful. The band was on tour to promote their newest album, so I heard a lot of music I'd never heard before, and I loved it. Rufus wore a tailcoat, a pair of sunglasses, and some very shiny, very gold stretch pants, and he sang like an angel, just like he always does. His voice is so powerful and precise and effortless. Listening to it feels like flying.
About halfway through the concert, he took off his sunglasses and his bandmates left the stage. The strobes and projectors and rainbow-colored floodlights went off, and Rufus sat down at the piano alone and played my favorite song under a solitary spotlight. It was beautiful. I laid my head on Justin's shoulder and let my mind wander while I listened, and though I felt nostalgic and my thoughts went to a lot of bittersweet places, I was still unmistakably, overwhelmingly happy.
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Sometimes it's just good to just chill and do nothing. I need to do more of this really as relaxing is a big challenge for me. On Friday, Wolfie went out for a meal with Draken and Arcais (I was tired and had work the next day), bringing them back afterwards so we could watch Panda Go Panda. I fell in love with this Japanese cartoon, it's so awesome, plus I can replace the word panda with puppy in the theme tune and have something to annoy Wolfie. The Jamaican panda rocked but all the knickers showing was weird. I want to get more into anime in general and we will be having an anime night real soon, with authentic Japanese food and drink - I am really looking forward to the offerings we will see. Sunday was one of our pizza and DVD nights, something Wolfie and I used to do regularly, but sadly rarely, these days. The pizza was gorgeous and we got reacquainted with 2DTV from the early 2000s. It was certainly a different and happier time, the satire from ten years ago was tellingly different. We also saw Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Comedy, which certainly had its moments. Some of the overtly American references I didn't get but then I wouldn't. Not a bad one-off special though. I loved the talking animals and the animal penis game. So yep two great evenings really, the first with great friends and the second with my great partner. Considering it was one of the busiest weekends of the year professionally, it was also a great personal weekend too. Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
I love speaking politics with Avon, he's one of the few people who gives me hope. We also agree on many points and it's always good when you can empathise with someone. We spent most of Saturday night chatting at the impromptu Leeds pubbage which was great fun as always. Seven of us were out at Foley's, one of the greatest bars in Leeds where I got through all four of Brew Dog's IPA is Dead beers plus a nice Sierra Nevada beer too. There are some excellent craft breweries in the States. The conversation was relaxed and convivial, pretty much the perfect night with my closest friends. I loving in Leeds, it's a great place to be. I will be submitting my letter to Brew Dog later today so if you would like to add your name to the list then please let me know. Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
I am currently working with Brew Dog to appeal the decision by Leeds City Council not to grant them a licence to open a bar in the city centre. The more signatories we have to my letter, the stronger our case, so if you would like a Brew Dog bar in Leeds or even if you just support the development of craft beer in general, please DM/text me your real name to add to the letter. Sorry I don't know your real names but then I struggle remembering fur names quite often too :P. Any help you could provide with this would be appreciated. ADDENDUM: We have got a fair few people involved now so thanks if you have dropped me a message. If anyone else would like to support this, please let me know. Also, please tell work colleagues and other friends too, the more names we get, the stronger our case. Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
Three weeks in and our first batch of Woodfordes Wherry is starting to taste slightly off. It's still drinkable but we had better get down it soon as we certainly don't want to be pouring it away. Sacrilige indeed! Sadly, we noticed we had a little leak in the barrel, which was the reason why the beer was going a little flat, but with that bunged up, things are back on track.
The Eurovision Song Contest is less than three weeks away, necessitating further brews. So tonight, we have started two. The first is St Peter's Golden Ale, my favourite tipple from one of my favourite breweries. I hope we can do it justice. The second is a standard generic barley wine. This is one for Wolfie as it's his drink of choice, probably because it has a high alcohol content and a particular richness which he enjoys. Hopefully both will be ready in 18 days' time for the greatest night of the year. I accept we may be pushing it but I am hopeful all will go well. Wish us luck!
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On Friday evening, Wolfie and I tootled over to York to watch the talented Paul Merton at the Grand Theatre, a marvellous building which represents a wonderful slice of Victoriana that seemed well-suited to his brand of surreal humour and the act we were about to witness. Indeed, the show Merton put on was in the style of Victorian variety, with some improv, mime, songs, ventriloquism, effects, anecdotes and of course comedy. It was the nearest thing you could probably get to the old music hall shows of the early twentieth century, and that's what made the show so unique and fascinating.
Billed as 'a night of sketches, music, magic and variety', it certainly didn't disappoint. As would be expected with Merton, it had a strong dash of surreal humour but as it wasn't traditional stand-up, I wouldn't describe it as hilarious. It was fun though, visually stunning and the use of the entire stage was exquisite, particularly the section behind the back curtain, from which wires and intelligent lighting were used to create some truly memorable scenes. The professionalism of the performers to pull off stunts which would have been jaw-dropping in 1910 was wondrous while Merton's discussion of his childhood and subsequent mental issues, on which the show was loosely based, added a human narrative and context to the randomness upon the stage. There was a structure, albeit one framed in a dystopic world centred on his time in Maudsley psychiatric hospital, while the Paul Merton Players - Lee Simpson, Richard Vranch and Suki Webster - brought Merton's weird ideas to life and added their own spin on proceedings. The fact there were four performers meant the dynamic of the show was different to regular stand-up and, because of the nature of the show, we knew this one would be unique - very much like 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' on which the Players made their names.
The show felt a lot shorter than it actually was and it was a privilege to see it. Granted, I regret paying £2.60 for a small pot of ice cream but such extortion aside, both Wolfie and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Indeed, Wolfie enjoyed the sheer depth of the show far more than I, so I think we may investigate seeing other types of comedy in future. As I always say, if you can go and see it, I suggest you do.
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