http://ultimategothguide.blogspot.com/
That's where to find me. I've given it a brief trial run and I really think I can work with it much better than I can with Piczo in its current state.
So hop on over......
I'm thinking of taking my toys and going home. Well, going elsewhere, anyway. (Stop muttering about the Great Flounce-Off, Gothic Charm School readers. This is not 'Goodbye, cruel internets', it's 'Piczo is annoying and is now not letting me delete old pages, upload pics to either my site or my blog, receive updates properly, follow people, etc, etc, etc...' so I'm thinking of moving to Blogspot or LiveJournal.
I have noticed that a lot of people I've been following (attempting to follow) have been shuffling over to other webhosts and I think it may be time for me to do the same... although I've been on Piczo for about three years now and am quite pleased with my layouts (although judging from some comments I may the only one... >.<) and am not impressed with the idea of squinching all my pages into blog format. Also, I would lose my nice, neat video archives, which is slightly irritating: although I'm sure I could post a video of the week just fine, I don't think I could store them all together tidily in one place.
So, guys, once again I'm appealing for advice and suggestions - is it time to move on? Do you think Blogspot is a good place for the Goth Guide to find a home? Any crap pages, blog posts or layouts that should be left behind for good?
I may set up a Blogspot and start shifting old posts and pages as a bit of a trial run. Either way I will keep you posted - please, please drop me a line and let me know what you think on this.
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Listening to: Bak VIII - We Are Alive
Report
I have noticed that a lot of people I've been following (attempting to follow) have been shuffling over to other webhosts and I think it may be time for me to do the same... although I've been on Piczo for about three years now and am quite pleased with my layouts (although judging from some comments I may the only one... >.<) and am not impressed with the idea of squinching all my pages into blog format. Also, I would lose my nice, neat video archives, which is slightly irritating: although I'm sure I could post a video of the week just fine, I don't think I could store them all together tidily in one place.
So, guys, once again I'm appealing for advice and suggestions - is it time to move on? Do you think Blogspot is a good place for the Goth Guide to find a home? Any crap pages, blog posts or layouts that should be left behind for good?
I may set up a Blogspot and start shifting old posts and pages as a bit of a trial run. Either way I will keep you posted - please, please drop me a line and let me know what you think on this.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Listening to: Bak VIII - We Are Alive
As promised, Halloween post coming soon, and in theory I should be uploading some new concert photos to my site - both later on today, should all go according to plan. In the meantime, here's a rant for you. I don't really have much to add to this one, other than to invite discussion on why people feel it is appropriate to teach their children intolerance and bigotry.
/startrant
OK, seriously, can someone please tell me what this world is coming to? Why are parents just letting small children run riot and cause havoc? What happened to basic manners?
This is a rant in particular about the behaviour of small children and the inbuilt mentality of society. Let me give you a few examples of what I'm talking about before you think I'm completely insane. The first negative comment I ever got about the way I dressed was from a kid who couldn't have been more than ten years old. Seriously, when I was ten years old, I didn't even know what swear words were, never mind how to use them. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned...? I was walking back from town with a couple of female friends (one goth, one non-goth), when a group of boys aged about seven or eight - there were about ten of them - started throwing stones at us, calling my goth friend and I "F*cking emos." And I'm not talking chips of gravel here. I'm talking great big lumps of brick. We could have got badly hurt or even killed. When I went to a local park with one of my non-goth friends, I was sworn at and shouted at ("F*cking emo, goth bitch", etc) by a group of seven-to-ten-year-olds, and eventually we had to leave because it was just getting too annoying. Yesterday my boyfriend and I were followed from my house to the local shop by four little girls shouting stuff at us. Even the shop's owner came out to see what was going on. Why is this so-called 'modern' society still being governed by neanderthal values - y'know, the good old 'if it's different, it must be dangerous and therefore we should make it either change or go away'. Why are kids brought up thinking, "If someone isn't like me, it's OK to swear at them/throw stones at them/whatever"?
When I was a kid, my friends and I were taught that you shouldn't be rude to people just because they're different - for any reason, whether they're black, white, old, young, disabled, or whether they just happen to be wearing black - because they still have feelings, which can be hurt. Are kids not taught this any more - or have we created a society in which they just don't care because the only things that matter are I, Me and Mine?
Why are there no boundaries any more?
Oh, and if it comes to that, why is it now OK for so-called adults to verbally abuse and even occasionally physically attack children and teenagers - just for being goth? Like the twelve-year-old who had stones thrown at her by an adult Baptist church congregation because she was wearing black and carrying a Stephen King book. Tell me that isn't sick.
And what about comments like the one my mother overheard being said about me when we checked into a hotel on holiday last year? A man was saying to a younger boy who was with him, "Look at that girl, she's got a ring in her nose. She must have come from a pig farm." If adults are saying this kind of thing to children, then that's the kind of close-minded, bigoted mentality that these children are going to grow up with.
I dread to think what life is going to be like for us alternatives in ten years time.
/endrant
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Listening to: Martha's Harbour - All About Eve
Report
/startrant
OK, seriously, can someone please tell me what this world is coming to? Why are parents just letting small children run riot and cause havoc? What happened to basic manners?
This is a rant in particular about the behaviour of small children and the inbuilt mentality of society. Let me give you a few examples of what I'm talking about before you think I'm completely insane. The first negative comment I ever got about the way I dressed was from a kid who couldn't have been more than ten years old. Seriously, when I was ten years old, I didn't even know what swear words were, never mind how to use them. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned...? I was walking back from town with a couple of female friends (one goth, one non-goth), when a group of boys aged about seven or eight - there were about ten of them - started throwing stones at us, calling my goth friend and I "F*cking emos." And I'm not talking chips of gravel here. I'm talking great big lumps of brick. We could have got badly hurt or even killed. When I went to a local park with one of my non-goth friends, I was sworn at and shouted at ("F*cking emo, goth bitch", etc) by a group of seven-to-ten-year-olds, and eventually we had to leave because it was just getting too annoying. Yesterday my boyfriend and I were followed from my house to the local shop by four little girls shouting stuff at us. Even the shop's owner came out to see what was going on. Why is this so-called 'modern' society still being governed by neanderthal values - y'know, the good old 'if it's different, it must be dangerous and therefore we should make it either change or go away'. Why are kids brought up thinking, "If someone isn't like me, it's OK to swear at them/throw stones at them/whatever"?
When I was a kid, my friends and I were taught that you shouldn't be rude to people just because they're different - for any reason, whether they're black, white, old, young, disabled, or whether they just happen to be wearing black - because they still have feelings, which can be hurt. Are kids not taught this any more - or have we created a society in which they just don't care because the only things that matter are I, Me and Mine?
Why are there no boundaries any more?
Oh, and if it comes to that, why is it now OK for so-called adults to verbally abuse and even occasionally physically attack children and teenagers - just for being goth? Like the twelve-year-old who had stones thrown at her by an adult Baptist church congregation because she was wearing black and carrying a Stephen King book. Tell me that isn't sick.
And what about comments like the one my mother overheard being said about me when we checked into a hotel on holiday last year? A man was saying to a younger boy who was with him, "Look at that girl, she's got a ring in her nose. She must have come from a pig farm." If adults are saying this kind of thing to children, then that's the kind of close-minded, bigoted mentality that these children are going to grow up with.
I dread to think what life is going to be like for us alternatives in ten years time.
/endrant
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Listening to: Martha's Harbour - All About Eve
Hello again, and a very happy Halloween to all my readers (special Halloween post coming sometime this week... this evening if I have the time).
In the meantime, here's yet another rant repost (is it just me or did I go through a bit of an angry phase for a while back there? Yikes!), this time covering an age-old topic, 'the scene is dead'. Now that I am a little older (and hopefully wiser), I can empathise somewhat with the jaded 'Goth is dead' mindset - despite my love of modern Goth music, I do find myself wincing a little when confronted with labels such as 'dark trance' and 'neo-Goth'. (Not that I don't listen to some of those types of music - but speaking personally, they're far from what I would consider Goth. I'm open to debate on this subject, but for me as soon as it becomes indistinguishable from trance and techno, it should really lose the 'Goth' tag...)
Cybergoth fashion doesn't really do it for me either, unless you can actually see where the 'Goth' part of 'cybergoth' came from. Full-on neon spandex and glowsticks tend to make me shudder, but dip it in black and add some Dulce Liquido and I'll feel much better about it. (Dark electro - Goth or not? Probably not, but never mind...)
But anyway, on with the show.
/startrant
A couple of things have recently occurred to me.
1) All those elder goths complaining that 'the scene is dead' are wrong. The scene is stronger than ever now - in the aftermath of the Sophie tragedy, we're beginning to see that if we stand together, we are far more likely to be heard than if we stand alone. I'm only just beginning to realise how many of 'us' there are. The goth scene is thriving, and very much alive.
2) There is one thing which will kill the scene if people don't drop the attitude. It's elitism. Or, to be more precise, it's elder goths, old-school goths, and those who wish they were old-school goths, constantly sneering at babygoths, cybergoths, goths who discovered the scene through emo, emos interested in becoming part of the scene - basically anyone who didn't live through the eighties goth scene but still wants to be a part of the subculture.
Yes, babygoths and Mansonites can be bloody annoying. But, seriously, how is being rude to them going to make a difference? They're still going to go on talking about how goth they are, and the rest of the world is still going to believe them. Everyone has to start somewhere. If, everytime some kid sticks a toe in the murky waters of 'goth', some elitist attitude-wielding ubergoth bites it off, there will be no newcomers to the scene (no 'fresh blood', as it were!), no new ideas, no new bands, and eventually the scene will die.
I mean, I hate to sound all 'I know everything', but I'd like to make a small suggestion. Next time a babygoth comes up to you in the street, or even if you just spot one wandering around (just look for the Marilyn Manson t-shirt) why don't you reccommend them a couple of good bands? And no, I don't mean, "You know MM aren't goth, right? Why don't you listen to some real music, like The Birthday Party?" I mean something along the lines of, "MM are quite cool, you might like The Birthday Party as well. They're an old goth band, you've probably heard of them."
Now, if the MM t-shirt is actually hiding a fully-fledged goth (appearances can be deceiving. I love my boyfriend's old Slipknot hoodie...), they'll probably come back with, "Of course I have! What d'you think of Hannah Fury?"
Otherwise, god knows what response you'll get! But, on the bright side, you may have just introduced someone to the *real* goth scene (if there is such a thing). Ergo - one new gothling joins the fold.
Oh, and here's another point for you to ponder on - if we're all about being individual, and being our own unique selves before anything else, then why does this kind of thing matter? Why can't someone listen to Evanescence and The Rasmus, and, heck, Britney Spears, AS WELL AS trad Goth music and still consider themselves goth without being ragged on by other, oh-so-hardcore members of the scene? I don't remember a rulebook saying that someone has to listen to non-stop goth music to be part of the scene. Or dress in head to toe black, come to that.
Yeah, EBM and the cybergoth style are pretty different from the 'original' goth look and sound, but surely, as fierce individualists, we should be pleased that some genius has given us a new way of dressing, a new way of expressing ourselves? And some pretty kick-ass new music! No, it doesn't sound like The Sisters of Mercy. But neither do The Cruxshadows, or Cauda Pavonis, and I don't see anyone questioning their gothy credentials.
What it comes down to is, things need to grow and adapt if they want to survive. And our subculture is no different.
/endrant
I still agree with most of those basic points there. But on the other hand, what would the Goth scene be without those old-school sneering elitists? It's kind of traditional to have at least one jaded eldergoth bemoaning Linkin Park on every Goth internet forum going. If at the first hint of 'you're not Goth enough', the wee babybats shed their black clothing and run, screaming, for the hills, the subculture is probably going to wither and die from lack of spirit anyway.
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Listening to: The Hanging Gardens - The Cure
In the meantime, here's yet another rant repost (is it just me or did I go through a bit of an angry phase for a while back there? Yikes!), this time covering an age-old topic, 'the scene is dead'. Now that I am a little older (and hopefully wiser), I can empathise somewhat with the jaded 'Goth is dead' mindset - despite my love of modern Goth music, I do find myself wincing a little when confronted with labels such as 'dark trance' and 'neo-Goth'. (Not that I don't listen to some of those types of music - but speaking personally, they're far from what I would consider Goth. I'm open to debate on this subject, but for me as soon as it becomes indistinguishable from trance and techno, it should really lose the 'Goth' tag...)
Cybergoth fashion doesn't really do it for me either, unless you can actually see where the 'Goth' part of 'cybergoth' came from. Full-on neon spandex and glowsticks tend to make me shudder, but dip it in black and add some Dulce Liquido and I'll feel much better about it. (Dark electro - Goth or not? Probably not, but never mind...)
But anyway, on with the show.
/startrant
A couple of things have recently occurred to me.
1) All those elder goths complaining that 'the scene is dead' are wrong. The scene is stronger than ever now - in the aftermath of the Sophie tragedy, we're beginning to see that if we stand together, we are far more likely to be heard than if we stand alone. I'm only just beginning to realise how many of 'us' there are. The goth scene is thriving, and very much alive.
2) There is one thing which will kill the scene if people don't drop the attitude. It's elitism. Or, to be more precise, it's elder goths, old-school goths, and those who wish they were old-school goths, constantly sneering at babygoths, cybergoths, goths who discovered the scene through emo, emos interested in becoming part of the scene - basically anyone who didn't live through the eighties goth scene but still wants to be a part of the subculture.
Yes, babygoths and Mansonites can be bloody annoying. But, seriously, how is being rude to them going to make a difference? They're still going to go on talking about how goth they are, and the rest of the world is still going to believe them. Everyone has to start somewhere. If, everytime some kid sticks a toe in the murky waters of 'goth', some elitist attitude-wielding ubergoth bites it off, there will be no newcomers to the scene (no 'fresh blood', as it were!), no new ideas, no new bands, and eventually the scene will die.
I mean, I hate to sound all 'I know everything', but I'd like to make a small suggestion. Next time a babygoth comes up to you in the street, or even if you just spot one wandering around (just look for the Marilyn Manson t-shirt) why don't you reccommend them a couple of good bands? And no, I don't mean, "You know MM aren't goth, right? Why don't you listen to some real music, like The Birthday Party?" I mean something along the lines of, "MM are quite cool, you might like The Birthday Party as well. They're an old goth band, you've probably heard of them."
Now, if the MM t-shirt is actually hiding a fully-fledged goth (appearances can be deceiving. I love my boyfriend's old Slipknot hoodie...), they'll probably come back with, "Of course I have! What d'you think of Hannah Fury?"
Otherwise, god knows what response you'll get! But, on the bright side, you may have just introduced someone to the *real* goth scene (if there is such a thing). Ergo - one new gothling joins the fold.
Oh, and here's another point for you to ponder on - if we're all about being individual, and being our own unique selves before anything else, then why does this kind of thing matter? Why can't someone listen to Evanescence and The Rasmus, and, heck, Britney Spears, AS WELL AS trad Goth music and still consider themselves goth without being ragged on by other, oh-so-hardcore members of the scene? I don't remember a rulebook saying that someone has to listen to non-stop goth music to be part of the scene. Or dress in head to toe black, come to that.
Yeah, EBM and the cybergoth style are pretty different from the 'original' goth look and sound, but surely, as fierce individualists, we should be pleased that some genius has given us a new way of dressing, a new way of expressing ourselves? And some pretty kick-ass new music! No, it doesn't sound like The Sisters of Mercy. But neither do The Cruxshadows, or Cauda Pavonis, and I don't see anyone questioning their gothy credentials.
What it comes down to is, things need to grow and adapt if they want to survive. And our subculture is no different.
/endrant
I still agree with most of those basic points there. But on the other hand, what would the Goth scene be without those old-school sneering elitists? It's kind of traditional to have at least one jaded eldergoth bemoaning Linkin Park on every Goth internet forum going. If at the first hint of 'you're not Goth enough', the wee babybats shed their black clothing and run, screaming, for the hills, the subculture is probably going to wither and die from lack of spirit anyway.
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Listening to: The Hanging Gardens - The Cure
I made this rant originally when the Gothic Liberation Front (GLF) still boasted Laureli and Shadow Slaughter as its YouTube spokespeople, and still actually seemed to be somewhat 'active'. What's going on with the GLF nowadays? Does anyone know?
Anyway. I was, and still am, a strong supporter of the GLF's cause - basically, to end hate crimes against Goths and other alternatives, especially in the wake of the Sophie Lancaster murder when it seemed you couldn't log on to Google news without reading about the latest spate of violence against alternative subcultures.
/startrant
Some goths are idiots.
This has just been proved to me as I was watching a video for the Gothic Liberation Front. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the GLF an organisation created to help us, to support us, to fight for the rights of alternative subcultures to be recognised as people, as equals, instead of something lesser that's just there to be abused. Right? Right. Thought so.
So why in the name of muffin are they having to post videos asking goths - yes, that's right, goths - to stop hassling them and sending them hate mail?! Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face! So - you think the GLF are 'provoking' the mainstream? That was the excuse, if I remember - 'if we draw attention to ourselves it's going to get worse'.
OK then. So what do you think we should do - just sit around and get beaten up, and raped, and murdered in cold blood like Sophie Lancaster (you can call it whatever PC term you like, but that was murder - if you repeatedly stamp on somebody's head THEY WILL DIE. You know that. I know that. Those evil little thugs so totally knew that - and they did it anyway. That's called MURDER, people. MURDER.) and then wonder why nobody is standing up for us?
Look, people, the GLF are there so that WE CAN STAND UP FOR OURSELVES. Nobody else is going to do it for us. Some random politician isn't just going to go, "Oh, those goths and emos aren't really such a bad lot, they don't deserve this, I think I'll fight for their rights this week." Why? Because the mainstream does not like us. They think we're weird, twisted freaks. Just because we're different. And what politicians want is to be popular. Politics in its simplest form is nothing more than a popularity contest. And befriending goths is NOT going to make a politician popular. Ergo, the officials are not going to help us.
The GLF are doing everything they can to make life better for us. They are creating a ruckus so that we can be heard. Yes, people are going to be shocked. Provoked? I damn well hope so. If we 'provoke' them enough maybe they'll realise that things have to change.
Do you know what? I put up loads of GLF flyers around my area - and within three days all but one of them had been ripped down. Even that last one is gone now. Nobody wants to listen. So we have to get louder. More flyers. More campaigns. More being nice to little old ladies so that one more person thinks, "Oh, maybe those gothy types aren't so bad after all."
No giving up. This is crunch time. It's been crunch time since the second a drunken teenage chav decided it would be a good idea to punch Robert Maltby. It's not the first time we alternatives have suffered. Remember Brian Deneke? Just like Sophie, he was murdered because he was different. I don't know about you, but this time I've had enough. I'm sick of staying silent. Now, I want to be heard.
The GLF is rapidly becoming a multi-national organisation with the power to make a difference. If you don't like what they're doing, that's fine. Just get the hell out of their way. Don't heckle. Don't hate. Just watch from the sidelines. It's time to stand up or stand back. Make your decision.
/endrant
Kind of a shame that the GLF's campaign seems to have tailed off into nothing, isn't it? :-/
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Report
Anyway. I was, and still am, a strong supporter of the GLF's cause - basically, to end hate crimes against Goths and other alternatives, especially in the wake of the Sophie Lancaster murder when it seemed you couldn't log on to Google news without reading about the latest spate of violence against alternative subcultures.
/startrant
Some goths are idiots.
This has just been proved to me as I was watching a video for the Gothic Liberation Front. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the GLF an organisation created to help us, to support us, to fight for the rights of alternative subcultures to be recognised as people, as equals, instead of something lesser that's just there to be abused. Right? Right. Thought so.
So why in the name of muffin are they having to post videos asking goths - yes, that's right, goths - to stop hassling them and sending them hate mail?! Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face! So - you think the GLF are 'provoking' the mainstream? That was the excuse, if I remember - 'if we draw attention to ourselves it's going to get worse'.
OK then. So what do you think we should do - just sit around and get beaten up, and raped, and murdered in cold blood like Sophie Lancaster (you can call it whatever PC term you like, but that was murder - if you repeatedly stamp on somebody's head THEY WILL DIE. You know that. I know that. Those evil little thugs so totally knew that - and they did it anyway. That's called MURDER, people. MURDER.) and then wonder why nobody is standing up for us?
Look, people, the GLF are there so that WE CAN STAND UP FOR OURSELVES. Nobody else is going to do it for us. Some random politician isn't just going to go, "Oh, those goths and emos aren't really such a bad lot, they don't deserve this, I think I'll fight for their rights this week." Why? Because the mainstream does not like us. They think we're weird, twisted freaks. Just because we're different. And what politicians want is to be popular. Politics in its simplest form is nothing more than a popularity contest. And befriending goths is NOT going to make a politician popular. Ergo, the officials are not going to help us.
The GLF are doing everything they can to make life better for us. They are creating a ruckus so that we can be heard. Yes, people are going to be shocked. Provoked? I damn well hope so. If we 'provoke' them enough maybe they'll realise that things have to change.
Do you know what? I put up loads of GLF flyers around my area - and within three days all but one of them had been ripped down. Even that last one is gone now. Nobody wants to listen. So we have to get louder. More flyers. More campaigns. More being nice to little old ladies so that one more person thinks, "Oh, maybe those gothy types aren't so bad after all."
No giving up. This is crunch time. It's been crunch time since the second a drunken teenage chav decided it would be a good idea to punch Robert Maltby. It's not the first time we alternatives have suffered. Remember Brian Deneke? Just like Sophie, he was murdered because he was different. I don't know about you, but this time I've had enough. I'm sick of staying silent. Now, I want to be heard.
The GLF is rapidly becoming a multi-national organisation with the power to make a difference. If you don't like what they're doing, that's fine. Just get the hell out of their way. Don't heckle. Don't hate. Just watch from the sidelines. It's time to stand up or stand back. Make your decision.
/endrant
Kind of a shame that the GLF's campaign seems to have tailed off into nothing, isn't it? :-/
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