The life of a hermit

Ah good,
so I have managed to not post here for AGES. Life has been appallingly busy as usual. I have been living on myspace trying to get the band website sorted out & up to date (as you can tell I'm not writing about anything that means anything in this post). This term work wise its more ecological economics, more sustainable development and a joy inducing module on international politics & the environment. This week is on the state and already I'm bored out of my mind . . . it should get better as the term goes on though. Right, well at least I've written something now. And so I must sort myself out to get to Leeds in time
Write soon
rik

Drunkeness

Oh dear, am very drunk, and therefore should not be posting all that much. Needless to say, I have a sack load of work on my plate (but that's just part and parcel of a master's degree), which isn't so much fun. Any how, life is continuing alive, which is a bonus. Utopian thinking is merely reduced to hating Bush and Americana in general.
Dont get me wrong, American's, in general, are lovely people, but its just America itself that gets me down, and I know I'm not alone!!!
Anyway, my exam is next wednesday, & I promise I'll post something of some significance afer that!!!
"Hey Christian soldier with your high and mighty errand, your actions speak so loud I can't hear what your saying"
rik

p.s. I promised myself in this blog that I wouldn't leave song lyrics as final remarks, but it appears that music is just too big a part of my life :-s

Economics: (un)saviour of the world

Phew! What a day, writing my my entire terms notes - hard work if also very boring. It has however had the benefit of allowing me to think a little.
For I was writing about ecological economics today, and how they are trying to break away from more mainstream neo-classical economics, to traditional haunting ground of the political right (which actually in our society means all 3 of the major parties). But I digress. My point is that for all the good work these people are doing, it wont be enough. What is needed is an entire paradigm shift in thinking (or should that be shift in paradigm thinking). And a few economists, respected though they are, are not going to convince the Bush & Blair administrations that trying to include environmental degredation into our national accounting is a good idea & will aide environmental progress. Perhaps we are doomed after all :(
rik

Resource Scarcity

Been reading again some ecological economics articles for earlier this term. There's this big debate about whether technology and efficiency increases will lead to a decreasing dependancy on natural resources. Some people (in what I have affectionately termed the 'fools' camp) seem to believe that this is actually the case & as long as we are all just really efficient, plus harvesting the sun's energy more effectively, we can happily carry on growing and consuming. Well, at least that's what I think they are on about. But then there's the other camp of ecological economists who point out - what are they on about? Just because your really efficient doesn't mean that you take natural resources out of the equation! The best chef in the world cannot make the nicest cake if he has no ingredients . . . to paraphrase the analogy. Forms of capital are not completly interchangable, but compliments. We need to be worried about these economists if they really are thinking that growth is not resource dependent. Or we're never going to get anywhere.
Right, back to work
rik

More lyrics

More song lyrics - though not strictly politically minded I'm afraid :) Am officially smiling for the first time in a long time!

Afternoon Drinking

Cracked open lager in the summer sun
Makes me think of times that I'd forgotten
You were meant to be there by my side
But I just got my own way one too many times

Afternoon drinking with my friends and me
Back down, in the sun, happy as can be
Drinking in the evening isn't quite the same
Now I'm pissed in the daytime and I've only got you to blame!

Ba ba da ba da ba baa
Ba ba da da da da da da da daa


Try To Survive

Why is it that day to day
I find it so hard to say
Whether ranting of politician's lies
Or staring deep into your eyes?

“I cannot help” is all she'd say
Your gonna get it anyway
The secret to all my beliefs
The reason it's all sold off cheap

Chorus:
It's taken my life to realise
It caught me out with such surprise
I've done my best now to deny
But I have to be with you

Singing on my acoustic
That night we shared my bed
For the first time
I wished on all our lives
That it would be enough for us
Just trying to survive

Corporations Suck!

Here's lyrics to one of my latest songs:

Corporations Suck!

They're building another Subway™
Just down the road form me
Now there are f***ing Subway's™
Everywhere I see
I wouldn't find it quite so hard
If only I believed
But they're building another Subway™
Just down the road from me

Chorus:
F*** the new religion
It's still superstition
We're on a different rhythm
The thought of anarchy
Life's been turned upside down
Branding ain't so profound
Capitalism's not so sound
Our thoughts of anarchy


They're building a McDonald's™
Just down the road from you
I know that they're lovin' it
I hope you love it too!
They're always misleading
About the way their food's construed
But they're building a McDonald's™
Just down the road from you

They're building a Tesco Extra™
In the park across the way
And the values of the system
Tell us all this is ok
And everyday the people spend
The cash they earned today
'Cos they're building a Tesco Extra™
In the park across the way

This is getting silly

I just don't have the time to write a blog right now! Argh!!! - I'm not sure what to do now, I think that effectively this blog is to be suspended until after I've finished my course and actually know what it means to have free time. I'll just occasionally post my poems and lyrics up here, if they have some political relevance, which more often that not they do!
Write soon
rik