Yesterday, on our front path leading to the front door, a badly decomposed frog had been deposited. Who had dropped this croaked croaker is still a mystery. The general consensus of opinion believes that a bird, possibly a crow, may be the culprit. Here’s a gory picture:

A couple of weeks ago, I applied for a job that I really, really wanted. Unfortunately, the position was located in Ealing Broadway, a staggering 29 or so stops away on the Central Line. Despite this, I was heartened to get a reply from the company involved, but then quickly disheartened when all they wanted me in for was to do a test. Now, I am 35 years old and I am past doing tests. I’ve done tests for my O-levels, for my A-levels and for my degree. I know what I can do and I didn’t feel like making a 3+ hour round trip to sit a writing test I could do with my eyes closed, only for them to not call me back for an interview because it was an internal promotion all along. Well, anyway, I replied to their email politely declining the chance of a test and wished them the best in finding a suitable candidate.
Well blow me, that was a week ago and yesterday I got a reply from some stuffed shirt there lecturing me on how everyone applying for the job would be in the same position, blah, blah, blah. It’s my fricking prerogative if I attended the test and it riled me somewhat. So again I replied saying how I would have preferred an interview and a small test on the same day, as I can sell myself better in interviews and again wished them luck in finding a suitable candidate.
You are probably thinking: “Oooh look at him. He thinks he’s King Big Bollocks, not needing a test.” Maybe, maybe not. One of the things I resent about being in this profession is that you get tested at every opportunity. The jobs I’ve got have never had tests, the tests I’ve had never get me the job. So I just know that I don’t perform well in tests. I perform better in the real world. I just want to talk to these people face to face and let them get to know me. A test can’t do that – and great grammar and wonderful spelling and the right haircut does not a model employee make. Or maybe I am just completely objectionable and unemployable. I don’t know. Oh well, their loss, eh?
In the post: Slow Music – Live at the Croc. This was generously sent to me gratis from Don Mackenzie or JTMACK, as he likes to be called. There’s very little generosity in this world and it is a quality that I admire and try to exercise when I can. The only problem with being of a generous nature is that people either become suspicious of you (What do they want?) or people take advantage of you.
I enjoyed the CD greatly, which was a surprise because I wasn’t expecting to. The only shocking thing about it is it took all those musicians to make this noise when we all know it can be done by one man with the right gear. Demarcation, brothers. But yeah, I’ve played it several times and I thank JTMACK for giving me the chance to hear it (while the powers that be don’t give me the chance to hear it, if you know what I mean).
In an email conversation with my old recording chum, Andrew Osborne, I did my best to give him some advice and ended up sounding like Old Pa Fripp by accident. Out of the e-slurry, one line appealed to Mr O: You need to somehow define that it is your intention for the bass to be the lead instrument in the piece. Anyway, I hope my advice has pushed him in the right direction as I’ve been trying to get the guy to record properly for ages, but I don’t know if my nagging is paying off or not.

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