Oceania is at war with Eurasia....

Rune meditation for today: OTHALA, or

HOMELAND- where or what is your spiritual Home?

When your Home is in your heart, you are always there.  You can create a Home around you...

I've always liked this song by Midnight Oil, Dead Heart. It speaks about the Homeland, and how it can never truly be stolen.

On Being a Goth/Industrial DJ in NYC

A DJs career is dependent upon one thing: time.  DJs, to show their worth, must be able to spin a full club event alone 10pm-4am(6 hours).  A 30 minute set is approximately 6 songs- a 45 minute set, 9.  It takes almost no skill to select 6 or 9 songs to play back to back.  A true DJ takes the crowd through fast periods, slow periods, and creates a story or a music landscape in the mind- an adventure into music.   A short jaunt is just a cameo, it's a favor done by the promoter to allow the DJ to make a cameo appearance to build up their name.

It is not normal to have a club event with more than one or at the most two DJs.  This style of club event was brought about by DJ JASON, who decided to make a super party that was made up completely of cameos by other star DJs.  He didn't intend for everybody to copy this style, not realizing that people would eventually think that shamelessly ripping off other people's club event styles was OK.  

What happens when every event has four or more DJs on it?

1) the deterioration of DJing as a skill.  If nobody knows how to spin a club event from start to finish, it is not as much of a skill as it used to be and hardly a skill at all.  For who can't string 6-9 songs together?

2) the cheapening of the image of all DJs.  If nobody can tell a real DJ from one who has only spun at most for an hour, the DJs with no skills get the same promo as the real DJs.  It turns it from being a skill into just a promotion bubble, on the level of the Kardashians.

3) The end of DJing as a career- if no DJ can play a full night, obviously they aren't going to get paid much or anything for playing.  Therefore touring is certainly not worthwhile, nor is learning a skill they are never going to get to use.  Anyone who wants to spin a full night had better also develop the skill of Promoting so they can book themselves for a full night or else they will never be heard on that level.  With this double workload, will anyone without a huge head start ever pursue this art?

For most promoters to book 4 or more DJs is actually anti to the Goth/Industrial scene's music being studied in depth by specialists because it makes it not worthwhile, while at the same time creating a glut of "faux" DJs who have very little skills- who have been billed on lots of flyers but spun a quarter or less of the hours a real DJ has spun.  This horde of "faux" DJs also does not understand the true role of the DJ in club events- a DJ MUST support the club event they have chosen, or which has given them a chance to build a name.  They cannot go from club event to club event on the same night, but must help build up the same club event of their choice in order to build a name.  Promoters think they have found a treasure when they rip off the structure of ABSOLUTION in having multiple DJs, but in reality they are helping keep the Goth/Industrial scene at a minimal level by replicating this style.  It's not meant for everyone, only ABSOLUTION who has done it for 12 years! 

I'm sure it must be confusing for would-be DJs to be given a 30minute- 1 hour sets at EVERY EVENT- that's not supposed to happen.   I'm happy that I did not develop during this time period. 

Aesop's "The Donkey and the Lap Dog"

It's my opinion that everyone growing up should be given a copy of Aesop's Fables.  They come to us from the mid 6th Century BC and are attributed to the wise slave Aesop, but over the centuries have probably been worked on and embellished by any number of people.  The wisdom in these stories holds true to the modern day, and can be seen anywhere there are people, low to high.

Today, let's consider a story by the name of "The Donkey and the Lap Dog".

T
HERE was once a man who had a Donkey and a little pet Dog. The Donkey worked all day in the fields and slept in the barn at night. But the Lap Dog frisked about and played, jumping in his master's lap whenever he pleased, feeding from his hand, and sleeping by his bed at night.
The Donkey grumbled a great deal at this. "How hard I work!" said he, "and I never get any pay but blows and hard words. Why should I not be petted like that wretched little Dog? It may be partly my own fault. Perhaps if I played with my master as he does, I too might be treated like him."
So the Donkey pushed his way into the house, and jumped up on his master's knee, putting his forefeet on his shoulders and giving a loud bray.
The master, almost deafened by the noise and in danger from the great clumsy creature called out, "Help! help!" and the servants, running in, drove the Donkey out of doors with sticks and stones."

Do YOU know any Donkeys?