You are allowed to enjoy this…

Despite our warnings and requests, the Missus’s grandmother was today robbed by some scumbag. What happened to our old neighbour should have been a warning. She had been robbed a number of times by con-artists pretending to be “workmen” or warning her of a leak. These filth then distract the victim whilst a second person sneaks in and robs from the house. Like I said, this should have been a warning as we’d explained this to The Missus’s grandmother and what had happened to our neighbour, but our explanations NOT to let anyone into the house had fallen on deaf ears.
Today, a young white youth knocked on the door and told her she had a leak. She let him in and he then kept her talking while a second accomplice came in the front door and stole a significant amount of money and her bank book. Part of me is angry by these scumbags and I’d love to have ten minutes of their time alone and part of me is angry at The Missus’s grandmother because she didn’t take any bloody notice of us. I do believe that as you get older, you get more gullible and trusting. Oh well, these scrotes will be back in a few weeks to try it again. They actually pass on lists of vulnerable pensioners amongst each other, so they know who they can target and who is rich pickings. That’s how our old neighbour got targetted so many times to the point where her sons insisted that she be moved to secure accommodation. These scumbags have a lot to answer for. They are the lowest of the low, scum of the earth and I would happily wipe them out without a care. But of course, the bleating middle-classes, those with a conscience, will complain that these criminals are the victims and that society made them this way. Bollocks, I say.

So BBC throw-back detective series “Life on Mars” returns next month for one last spurt of Brut-soaked nosalgia and crime fighting. The first series wasn’t that bad, though I did often nod off during one or two episodes. Anyway, the Beeb is promoting the show by using Camberwick Green style characters. I like the way Gene Hunt is beating up a nonce. Ahhh, the good old days when you could bash up the crims without getting yer collar felt. Have a viddy:

While wandering the web, I found this very strange link. It is a shop that sells diguises for dogs, so that you can take your Hellhound to the park disguised as a poodle without fear of being nicked for having a dangerous dog. Weird…
Meanwhile, I’ve uploaded even more old tunes for you to plunder. Head over to: www.darrenlock.com/music.htm

So I decided to refocus the website. You see, I’ve literally got gigs of data storage on this webhost and so I decided to make the most of my money. So I am uploaded all the music I’ve recorded over the past 10 years. Some of this is dire. I make no excuses – for me, music making is one long learning process and the latter recordings are light years away from the earlier ones.
Anyway, if you go to www.darrenlock.com you can access the first few albums I’ve made available. I would end this with a naturally chirpy “Enjoy!” but I doubt anyone will. Don’t worry, the albums pick up with “Loops and Scales” which I haven’t gotten around to uploading yet. But trust me, they do get better.

Katina wrote on 09.01.07:

It’s weird how things work. Today is Jan 8th, 2007. I met Ian in 1999 while dating one of his mutual friends. I mentioned his name last night… about seeing him on a commercial… and, as chance would I have it, I came across his name on a Resident Evil web page… so out of curiousity… I googled him and look at where I’ve ended up. I feel rather sick…

Yes, while I never actually met Malcolm Xerxes, I had many dealings with him on the net over the years at various music forums. He was a funny guy, if a little eccentric in his ways, but still an Englishman. I was very sad to hear what happened at it was still a shock even though I didn’t really know him that well. I am not going to add any more as I don’t really know the surroundings of the case.
Rtreynor wrote about the Ashbory bass on 12.01.07:

Thanks for this. Yesterday, I recalled seeing a demo for this thing back in 1987. I was impressed, however the price back then was quite expensive, especially for a 17-year old. After a google search (“small bass, rubber strings”), I discovered that they’re making these things again. Your youtube video was great, and I especially like the sound clips of it alone, so you can hear those rubbery strings in action. Very cool sound. Nice job putting this info out here. Thanks!

You are welcome. The Ashbory Bass is a wonderful little instrument, if a little unstable in the tuning department, and it delivers a big old sound. I have fond memories buying my Ashbory for my 30th birthday from Highland Park Pawn in Los Angeles. I recommend this intrument wholeheartedly.
Eino on 17.01.07 wrote:

I’ve been releasing my crap music to electronic bbs:s and web for just a bit over ten years now. I can’t remember more than two comments or e-mails from anyone, except friends or people I didn’t know formerly. Case in point is some tracks I have in Mod Archive:
http://www.modarchive.com/artists/keskitalo/
Apart from “editorial reviews” for two songs, I’ve heard nothing from listeners, even though each piece has hundreds of downloads. That’s how it goes.

Well I don’t know what to say, Eino. All I can suggest is keep on with it. When I started out posting my own crap tunes on the Internet back in the late 1990s, no-one responded. Sites like YouTube have allowed me to get some feedback, but that’s only because of the sheer numbers passing through that site. So pitch your music at sites that get lots of traffic and I am sure you’ll get a response. But don’t expect anything from the listening public, just keep on making music for yourself and any response you get (good or bad) is a bonus. Stay inspired!
On 18.01.07, Hans asked about my recent improvisation:

Did you have a metronome click coming through your headphones on the B improv?

Nope. No metronome was harmed during the making of this recording. I just have a very active left leg.
Joke:
Q.What do you call an elf who uses the Tube to travel to work?
A. A Metro Gnome
With regards to my recent battle with BT Broadband, Crimcinnaman says this:

Sounds like you and RF got the same Indian BT rep! Please, stop not being rude to everyone, your liable to pull something or have an aneurysm.

Oh there are lots of people working at those call centres. I feel sorry for them as they clearly aren’t equipped by BT to deal with the highly technical problems thrown up by ADSL technology. You have to be zen-like when dealing with them and polite at all times. I am never rude to anyone in the real world and am the embodiment of politeness and good manners. Now fuck off! 🙂

To my shame, I’ve not been doing much creative stuff lately. Been too busy messing around with my PC and playing UNO on the Xbox 360, but I recently had a few technical issues with my webcam that stopped me from recording any more vodcasts. Anyway, in an effort to prepare myself for Windows Vista and to claw a little bit of money back from the taxman as an expense, I upgraded my PC. The new PC now lets me record using my webcam and lets me burn DVDs too. The old “Beast” was just too unreliable to keep, so it has been gutted and the parts now available on eBay. My new PC is one of those off-the-shelf types and it is the first time I’ve done away with a self-built PC for over seven years. It’s the price of home PCs are so reasonable now that it made more sense just to buy a whole new PC.
Anyway, I am looking for the creative juice. It is out there somewhere. I know I haven’t dried up. I just need da juice. Here are a couple of vids of me trying to find my way back into the creative process. Be warned – they aren’t pretty or very creative.

Video: 18-01-07 Soundscape
A Soundscape

Video: 18-01-07 "B" Improvisation
An Improvisation

Breaking the law
Breaking the law
Breaking the law…
Or so the immortal rock song goes. Yes, dear reader. I have joined the ranks of the lawbreaker. I am not happy with my wayward ways, but I have decided to come clean and tell you about my brief foray into criminality. So today, I go the chance to be a proper journo again. Whooppeeee! Normally, I do all my interviews via the telephone or the old electronic mail. In fact, email is very popular with lots of the people i have to interview. Anyhoo, I suggested a commission idea of profiling this CD/DVD packaging company and originally I was to just do my regular telephone interview thing. But the editor insisted I travel to deepest, darkest Dartford for the scoop.
I don’t mind a bit of travel, but the thought of a four-hour round trip did make me wince with pain, but I softened the perceived travel agony by upping my fee to make up for it. So I am using this Oyster card thing to pay for my journeys and it is working out well for me. So I travel to Stratford, then head up on the DLR to Greenwich. It was interesting going through the Docklands area again and it seemed ages since my last visit.
In the good old days, me and my schoolmates, Ian and Fahim, used to head up to Canary Wharf and travel on the newly-installed Docklands Light Railway. Back then, there wasn’t much there and the London Development Agency was just regenerating the area and the mighty Canary Wharf building was almost finished. Seeing the old empty redbrick warehouses there was kind of sad, but they have all been replaced by gleaming chrome and smoked glass. Change is inevitable. But I hadn’t been that way in a few years and the dark rain clouds gave the area an air of foreboding.
When I got off at Greenwich to catch my connection to Dartford, it was raining lightly, so I quickened my pace and made my way to the mainline train platform. As I entered, the train to Dartford pulled in and this is where I committed my crime. However, it wasn’t until I actually reached Dartford and presented my Oyster card that I realised I had broken the law, broken the law, broken the law…
You see, the Oyster card isn’t accepted at Dartford. Except it is if you put a pre-pay ticket on it (or something) and despite my apologies of a mistake made and offering to pay the fair, I was presented with a £20 fine. Being a law-abiding citizen, I duly paid, but was upset that there’s never any lee-way for an honest mistake. Anyway, I will try appealing against the fine, if only to ask that the powers that be put effing big signs at mainline stations warning innocent scrotes like me that the Oyster card is nigh-on useless at certain stations. However, some mainline stations accept the card. Of course, I blame Ken Livingstone! 🙂