Jobs and Radio

Today's dark and strangely grainy picture comes from Scarborough last week. This is looking over from the edge of the marine drive. If you remember, the winds were really high, so the sea was really choppy and exciting. We stood and watched the time period as it got dark and it was so healing and free. I like these dark pictures lol.

I'm into my fourth week of unemployment now.... job news is not greatly exciting, but... I have an interview at Grand Central Rail (the building by Pizza Express) on Thursday of next week, I've put forward for a job at Dunnington, and also put forward for a job at Clifton Moor, which will only last a few weeks but tide me over the christmas period. My neighbour is putting his tree up today lol... i'm starting to feel a bit christmassy too with this snow!!!!

I have some cool radio plans for December... in reverse order of how excited I am by them...

- Some very cool theatre stuff hopefully :-)

- A christmas special on Christmas Eve that I'm going to put a lot of planning into.

- A broadcast from the Archbishop's Palace, where I get to put a question to the Archbishop of York. Wow!

- Wednesday shows going forward, where I'm now very lucky to have a team of 7 people helping out with the show, getting requests etc..

and the biggy....

- I'm going to be commentating on York City home games for York Hospital Radio. This will kick in properly (all being well) from August 2011, but my commentary debut is looking like its going to be December .. i.e. next month... I'm very very excited and very very nervous. It is actually my childhood dream to be a football commentator so I'm really really happy about it :-)
We have a commentary box at the top of one of the stands, and it's such a privilege. I'm collating info and statistics to help me broadcast, and am going to be really really nervous, but so much looking forward it :-)

Spaceman

Wow! I took that picture the other day. I love it.

Very excited about my radio show tonight. All being well, there's 8 premier league footy fixtures, so there is a guy in the neighbouring studio who's going to collate score update and commentary clips from IRN so i can include them in my show. Another guy is selecting the music for the last hour. And five of us are collecting requests from patients :-) I also have a theatre interview in there, oh and a theatre review I haven't written yet.

Ok, as a final Killers song... the second release from Day and Age after Human was Spaceman. The song is about a guy getting abducted by aliens - fun lol - but also has a double metaphor......

So....

It started with a low light,
Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed.
And then they took my blood type
It left a strange impression in my head.

means

It started when I was feeling low.
Next thing I found myself in hospital (suicide attempt)
It left a big (strange) impression on me.

Then..

You know that I was hoping,
That I could leave this star-crossed world behind
But when they cut me open,
I guess I changed my mind

I guess that's self-explanatory now.
"Cut me open" being metaphorically as well as quite possibly physically.

Then..

And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time
Cause they're calling me by my name
And they're zapping white light beams
Disregarding bombs and satellites

Calling me by my name - as they do when you're in hospital!!
White light beams - surgery i guess?
Zapping white light beams, disregarding bombs and satellites...
= really getting through to the core of him mentally (disregarding physical stuff) (i came with an analogy of metaphorically what exactly the bombs and satellites are although i forget it now!)

That was the turning point
That was one lonely night

i.e. the night he attempted suicide and was metaphorically cut open and touched at the core, it was a turning point in his life.

Chorus:
The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down
It's all in your mind"

Very philosophical.
The star make / storm maker saying it ain't so bad - can't quite make out which he's saying - but both fit that they apply to the creator and getting hope from the beauty/magic/creation of the universe.

The dream maker's gonna make you mad - How who you aspire to be and think you should be and what you want to do - will ultimately make you mad, and in his case suicidal.

The spaceman says, "Everybody look down... It's all in your mind"
Brilliant line... It means stop looking out there for answers, solutions... ultimately the truth is, it's all in your mind.

You better look it over,
Before you make that leap

Conclusion of the song really.. passing on his wisdom from his own near death experience.

And the public don't dwell my transmission
Cause it wasn't televised

This is an interesting couple of lines. I'm not too sure, but I think it's somewhere along the lines of how his story and the message of the song are considered by the general public to not be important - because it wasn't televised or simply the fact that is only found in the hidden poetry of a song.

Phew there we go..... Both Spaceman and Human are wonderful uplifting songs.. i.e. perhaps depressing subject matter, but they are ultimately about the hope that comes from it, and the music reflects that.

Words

Hello... i'm into my second week of unemployment... which i'm not going to lie.... is a lot of fun lately.

I seriously can't understand people who say they would carry on their job if they won the lottery. Unless they have a really cool job of course. I always have loads of things I can do and learn. And lots of stuff I can create using WORDS.

It annoys me when people say action speaks louder than words. If that's so, why are they telling me and not showing me. (hehe)

Words have an amazing power, in that they can convey and produce a wide range of emotion, simply by the order they are placed or the pronunciation and punctuation. I went to see Oleanna (the play) last night. David Mamet is an absolute genius with his perfection on punctuation.

Anyway, one thing i LOVE is stuff with hidden deep meanings..... My favourite poetry in music is the band The Killers.... Most people don't know that their music has hidden meaning... so here is just as an example...from Day and Age.....

HUMAN is a truly beautiful song about the battle between being afraid to be different and just going along with what society says, or following the difficult and brave route of following what we truly feel in side - being human.

"Are we human or are we dancer?" refers to . are we human beings or do we just dance along with what we're told to (society)?

Like all good philosophical questions, it is asked with great emotion and spiritual importance ("i'm on my knees, looking for the answer") but does not drill people with the answer...

Very inspirational, about the brevery of being human in a world of dancers:
And sometimes I get nervous
When I see an open door
Close your eyes, clear your heart
Cut the cord

Erm, this verse is about real human qualities often overlooked...
Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Give my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could
And so long to devotion
You taught me everything I know

Similarly, this verse is about being one of society's "dancer"s and not feeling ALIVE.

Will your system be alright
When you dream of home tonight?
There is no message we're receiving
Let me know, is your heart still beating?

So yeah, in conclusion:

it is about the fundamental feeling of being ALIVE
versus just going with the flow

Are we human or are we dancer? :-)