Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Ian's LiveJournal:

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Monday, May 21st, 2007
11:08 am	G&S happiness I've got a principle part in a G&S production for the second time this year!  After being King Gama in the university society's Princess Ida, I'm now to play Lord Mountararat in Iolanthe with the St David's Players.  Much happiness! I could almost imagine that I'm getting not-too-bad at this sort of thing. Current Mood: happy Current Music: fragments of Iolanthe, sung by me (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 19th, 2006
10:25 am	Nose of the Discontented That's an almost-literal translation of the name (Kagop Buyí si) of the village where my novel starts. Not quite - a kagop is a "land-nose", generally a spit of land or peninsula near a river mouth (they share the mouth metaphor with us, though Imperial sees things quite another way, and the "discontented" is clearly feminine, "river" understood. So it's really "peninusula of the estuary of the Discontented River".  But somehow the other seems more evocative. So, I'm working on my book again.  Which is something I've said many times before, but something seems different this time somehow.  I don't seem to end up despairing at every little setback.  I don't get into panics when I sit down to write.  In short, for the first time I actually beleive I might pull it off this time. That said, I've not done much actually writing yet.  In fact, I can see why I stalled where I did last time I wrote anything.  I think I have a pretty good idea of the general outline of events of the book, but I've got to a very tricky part, where several secondary characters need to be introduced, where a lot of infodumping and/or foreshadowing needs to happen — it's even possible I ought to be dropping things I'm not really aware of yet! —, where the protagonist's motivations need to be clarified, and so on and so forth.  So I'm trying to work out how all this can fit together — and fit together in such a way that action doesn't grind to a halt altogether while I'm doing it.  I think I can do it, but while I'm tinkering I'm not really actually writing much; I'm a little concerned that my optimism(?) will have vanished by the time I get round to the actual writing again…. But I remain cautiously optimistic. Current Mood: discontented (nasally) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006
10:44 pm	Lifestyle diagnostic I've just had the insight that the trouble I have with my life generally is that the things I enjoy, the things that give me a feeling of accomplishment and the things that earn me money have practically no overlap. What I've done in practice is to take a part-time job so I'll have time to do the things that will give me a feeling of accomplishment but instead I do the things I enjoy, while earning not enough money (or at least, I do them to the extent I can given the lack of money). I suppose it's no surprise the first two don't overlap much: in general anything I can do well enough to enjoy isn't going to give me a sense of accomplishment. Why it's easier to get paid for things than bring no one any enjoyment and accomplish not much is something that puzzles me about the world, but it seems to be How Things Are. Current Mood: anxious Current Music: Great King of Gods (Gibbons) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 21st, 2006
12:04 pm	Stray political thought At the last election, the people of the UK had to choose between the evil and the incompetent. The people of the US didn't have to make the choice. Current Mood: lethargic Current Music: P.D.Q. Bach, The Short Tempered Clavier (S. easy as 3.14159265) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 7th, 2006
11:37 am	Huh The strange thing about this test is that it put things in such a strong form: "am passionate", "love" and such - that I disagreed with almost everything. In fact, I don't think I selected the top two ratings for any question, and had the feeling that I was answering questions based more on the wording than what they were trying to get at. But it still yielded a plausible result. You scored as Linguistics. You should be a Linguistics major! </td> Linguistics 58% Mathematics 42% Engineering 42% Journalism 42% Sociology 42% Philosophy 33% Anthropology 33% English 33% Chemistry 25% Psychology 25% Art 25% Theater 25% Dance 17% Biology 17% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 23rd, 2005
7:15 am	Hm Well. Though I think it's interesting that I got this result by rating very low on both: I answered "sometimes" to most questions. Which, come to think of it, probably shows a lack of self-confidence, which is probably traditionally feminine, so fair enough. Feminine You scored 20 masculinity and 53 femininity! You scored high on femininity and low on masculinity. You have a traditionally feminine personality. My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 0% on masculinity You scored higher than 26% on femininity Link: The Bem Sex Role Inventory Test written by weirdscience on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test Current Mood: why-am-I-wasting-time-on-this-when-I-should-be-packing-to-go-to-the-parents'-for-Christmas? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, July 8th, 2005
9:21 pm	Amber So, the noticeable effect of the terrorist attacks it to change the dull black state of alert sign at work to a much prettier amber. And I suspect that's mostly because they think the population will be less anxious if they pretend they're doing something. At least they aren't aiming for the ciimate of fear here.... Current Mood: hot Current Music: The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 8th, 2005
10:41 pm	Useless It's no good. I'm still paralysed by anxiety even on the most simple tasks. How can I possbily face the anxiety assoicated with extended (or any hypothetical activity which might bring me any sense of self-worth)? And even if somehow I can, do I really want to, given it's perfectly clear I couldn't enjoy it? Better surely to aim at nothing, achieve nothing. Why then do I resist this idea? And why do other people vehemently insist this is wrong? Current Mood: useless Current Music: Bizet: Les pêcheurs de perles (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005
9:50 am	Mexico makes this look a little less pathetic... create your own visited country map or check our Costa Rica travel guide (Comment on this)
Friday, March 25th, 2005
10:53 am	Someone put some work into this one, but I'm not convinced You scored as Professor X. Codename: Professor X Full Name: Charles Francis Xavier Mutant Powers: Possesses the most powerful telepathic mind in the world Charles Xavier was born into the Great Depression years of 1929-33. Son of a nuclear technician, the radiation was the cause of his mutant powers. After his father died in an accident, his mother remarried Kurt Marko, who brought with him his son from a previous marriage, Cain Marko, Charles' new abusive step-brother. Kurt Marko beat Charles' mother on a regular basis, and it was through his efforts to comfort her that Charles discovered his mutant powers. Both Marko and Charles' mother died eventually, leaving the vast Xavier fortune and the Mansion in Charles' possession. He served in the Korean War, but during that time, his fiance Moira wrote to him to tell him that she was marrying another man. Heartbroken, he continued to fight, and afterwards began his travels around the world, during which he met and fought the Shadow King in Eygpt. During this time, he also went to Israel, where he met Erik Magnus Lensherr ( Magneto) and Gabrielle Haller. After a love-affair with Gabrielle, he again left, and his travels were ended when he suffered an attack from the alien Lucifer, which put him in his trademark wheelchair. As he healed, he was cared for by a nurse, Amelia Voght, and they became lovers. To continue his fight, he started the X-men, who then consisted of Cyclops, Iceman, the Beast and Marvel Girl ( codename later changed to Jean Grey). Amelia left him soon after the formation of the X-men, and Xavier thereafter devoted himself to his students. </td> Professor X 70% Iceman 65% Rogue 65% Colossus 60% Wolverine 60% Beast 55% Shadowcat 45% Jean Grey 45% Banshee 45% Cyclops 40% Archangel 40% Storm 40% Nightcrawler 35% Which X-Men member are You? created with QuizFarm.com (Comment on this)
Friday, March 18th, 2005
2:07 am	There's nothing like getting drunk... .... to make one realise how much one hates oneself. Current Mood: drunk (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, March 13th, 2005
8:25 am	quizthingee The Prioress You scored 21% Cardinal, 71% Monk, 52% Lady, and 29% Knight! You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over. You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to get a more precise description of either the Monk or the lady, or you can be happy that you're an individual. My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 4% on Cardinal You scored higher than 99% on Monk You scored higher than 96% on Lady You scored higher than 12% on Knight Link: The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test written by KnightlyKnave on Ok Cupid (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005
11:30 pm	Marks I got my "portfolio" for the creative writing course back yesterday, with a provisional mark of 73, which is of distinction level. For some reason this (with the comments) has made me happier than any other mark I've ever received. The mark itself is nothing remarkable - I had no mark less than a 70 when I did my MA, and the course after all was a first-year undergraduate one, and so marked to a lower standard - though I was less certain of my ability to achieve it on a more artistic course. But I think what makes me happy is that this is the first time I've ever felt that I've done well by actually putting in some effort, rather than getting by by simply being intelligent: I've heard about this effect but never before experienced it. (With some things, like preparing for the February 13th concert last year, I have put in a lot of effort, but they didn't come off as sufficiently successful to get the effect, I think: both components are required. Of course, I'm expecting the exam board to lower the mark (the external examininer lowerd almost all and raised none on my MA), but still.... Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 26th, 2005
5:26 pm	Today Singing in town proved to be ok, weather-wise - I don't think it was much colder outside than inside, and there was sun there (at times). More mysteriously our musical director didn't turn up either for that or for the reheasal - and since his phone isn't working we still don't know why. I am beginning somehat to regret posting my writing. I thought it might be a good thing to do so to try to overcome my usual doubts and regrets about my work, but I'm getting then anyway, though not as strongly as I used to. Of course, it's not just having it on my Web page: soem of it is also submitted for marking just now, and I can't really be sure which is causing the problems. Probably both.... Current Mood: regretful (mildly) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
8:46 am	Cold I can see today is going to be fun. I'm cold and I haven't even gone outside yet. Just the day for standing around outside for two hours singing. At least it's not snowing, though the clouds are looking rather heavy... (Comment on this)
Friday, February 25th, 2005
10:49 pm	Prose OK, so I've ruined everybody's fun by actually linked those links before most people (I'm sure) even had a chance to click on them uselessly. So yeah, there's some prose there now. Comments welcome, in the same sort of way that welcome mats work, again, naturally. I knew that all this prose was quite short, but it's rather distressing to see how each piece fits onto one screen in my Web browser. Admittedly I have 1600x1200 pixels for it to fit into. http://ianspackman.free.fr/Ian_Spackman%27s_Writing.html, again. Current Mood: cold (1 Comment |Comment on this)
8:58 pm	Bring out the poetry appreciation chair My poems are now up at http://ianspackman.free.fr/Ian_Spackman%27s_Writing.html. Comments welcome. Well, unless the comments are nasty, in which case they probably aren't really welcome, but, well, that's how things go. I don't think I'm as bad as Paula Nancy Millstone-Jennings, anyway. Some prose to follow. In the meantime, you can amuse yourself by clicking on where the links will be. If you're easily amused. Current Mood: prosaic (4 Comments |Comment on this)
10:52 am	Last several months I've not posted much of substance for a while, so I'm summarising the last few months; for a change, it's not a matter of "the same as last year". With less and less lexicographical work coming through, I've not really been earning a living for a while now. I went back on benefit in January last year, and since Decemeber have had an exciting job ordering stationery for the Pensions Service (without even the benefits of being a real civil servant). This is afternoons only, Monday to Friday: the idea is that I should be able to fit any lexicographical work that comes through around it, or in the absence of that do Other Things. The downside is that I'm only about as well off as I was on benefit if that work doesn't come through. Other Things hopefully mostly means writing. I signed up for a Creative Writing course from the University of Exeter in September; I just got my final assisgnment off yesterday. It's a distance learning course, though ironically the campus it's based at is only a block away. This turns out to be an excelllent way of doing creative writing - over the Net you can send in drafts for comment, and see comments on your drafts and other people's much more than in a traditional classroom setting. Unfortunately, with the recent cutbacks the entire creative writing programme at Exeter has been axed while it was still getting off the ground. Open University offers a few creative writing courses, which I may look into if I feel they would help at some point. But at the moment my plan is to try to use the time I have set aside for writing to see if I can get on with writing by myself - probably a combination of shorter things such as I've been doing on the course and some work on my intended novel, if I can indeed bring myself to write it. Certainly the course has helped with my confidence, and I feel a lot more optimistic about writing than I have in, hm, probably about 20 years, actually. I am just now at that rather tricky point of transition from course work to working on my own - wish me luck! I'll be sticking some of the stuff I wrote on the course on my Web page with a link from here soon (and, incidentally, will be taking down the first half of the Mexico photos to reclaim storage - whether I'll ever get around to putting up the second half, and whether I'll be able to remember what the pictures are of if I do, is another matter!). What is the same as last year is that I'm in the university Gilbert & Sullivan production: Iolanthe this year (again, just in the chorus). Tomorrow is the first of our two Saturdays singing in town to advertise it; apparently it may snow. (I think of all the years I've done this only once was it not cold and/or precipitating.) Well, that about covers it for now. I really am going to try to post more frequently! Current Mood: cold (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 14th, 2005
11:50 am	Back to thinking about silly languages My current orthography for "Northern" consonants is as follows: bilabial linguolabial dental alveolar palato-alveolar lateral velar uvular glottal p <p> t̼ <tb> t <t> ʦ <c> ʧ <cz> tɬ <x> k <k> q <kr> ʔ <q> ϕ <f> θ̼ <db> θ <d> s <s> ʃ <sz> ɬ <l> h <h> m <m> n̼ <nb> n <n> ɴ <nr> β <w> ʎ <y> But I'm unhappy with the <r> for uvular, mostly because though <kr> and <nr> look ok initially I find they're ugly finally.  It also seems silly to go to using a modifying letter in an unprecdented way for a series of only two segments when there are some letters going spare.  The only trouble is the letters aren't very well suited to the roles. I'm happy to reconsider <q> for the glottal stop as well; this gives the letters g, j, q, r and v to play about with.  The two schemes that come to my mind as most plausible then are: <q> for the uvular stop (the proper IPA character anyway); <g> for the uvular nasal (can be seen as a reduced ng; I suspected it's realised as the velar anyway in some cases; <j> for the glottal stop (for no good reason other than it's a little letter).  Of course, there's a lot of precedent for using an apostrophe for the glottal stop, to the point of cliché, which is also viable. <q> still for the glottal stop (for which I think I use it in Imperial); <g> for the uvular stop (as at least being a stop); <r> for the uvular nasal (as at least having some vague uvular connections).  Or with the two stops switched (though <g> for the glottal stop seems very odd to me somehow). Does either of these sound even remotely tolerable to anyone? Hopefully soon I'll start posting stuff more regularly again. If "again" can be used in that context. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 28th, 2004
11:37 am	If they say so: I can't make up my mind Which File Extension are You? (1 Comment |Comment on this)