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FarqyofFib
Ah, 'Inertia' - a favourite of mine. My favourite off the Mezzanine album, in fact, along with 'Black Milk' and the title track. Blue Lines really does it for me than any other Massive Attack album, though - the tracks 'Safe from Harm' and 'Five Man Army' approach perfection, in my view. On the subject of Blue Lines, are you much of a fan of old-school reggae and dub? Hehe, 'melancholy and sinister' is always a quality worth seeking in music! :P Portishead isn't usually my first choice for my 'melancholy and sinister' fix, though - for that purpose, I'm usually more likely to turn to Scott Walker's Tilt album!
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FarqyofFib
The Straight out the Jungle album is worth buying - a very impressive debut. Aside from that, the only one I'm really familiar with is Done by the Forces of Nature. Definitely to be recommended, I'd say - it's my favourite out of the two, and it's widely seen as a classic. :) Ah, Portishead's work is wonderful - they'd rank among Massive Attack and DJ Shadow as one of my favourite artists/groups on the trip hop scene. :) Any particular favourite tracks/albums of Portishead's, Massive Attack's, or DJ Shadow's? Not terribly familiar with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, sadly - anything you'd recommend as a good starting point?
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FarqyofFib
De La Soul tend to go down very well with me. ;P You wouldn't happen to be a Jungle Brothers fan, would you? DJ Shadow is another excellent choice - I'm generally more drawn towards experimental hip hop artists in his sort of vein (e.g., Tricky of Massive Attack, Gonjasufi) than I am towards old-school hip hop. M.I.A is another interesting figure on the hiphop scene - her music should be my sort of thing, in theory, but I've never really taken the time to investigate. Haha, I'm guessing you're referring to Talkie Walkie? I've never been as fond of that as I am of Moon Safari, but there are some standout tracks - 'Mike Mills' as you mentioned, as well as 'Alpha Beta Gaga', 'Run' and 'Alone in Kyoto'. :) As for the recent strangeness: money worries, feuds amongst my extended family, a terrible sleeping pattern... they tend to take their toll, sadly!
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FarqyofFib
Strange, really - I seem to recall adding ATCQ to my library quite a while ago! You say you like 'early hip-hop rap (or anything that isn't just about guns, bitches and bling)', which suggests that our taste in hip hop may overlap quite nicely. :) Any other acts you enjoy besides ATCQ? As for Air, I only added them to my library the other night - I've been going through something of a Moon Safari renaissance of late. :P I'm doing fine today, thanks - quite a strange couple of weeks, but 'swings and roundabouts', 'peaks and troughs', etc., etc. :P How about you?
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NuNu160
not sure what song you're talking about...link please? :D Almost jacket and long sleeved tees time for Nu :( I wish I could chase summer all around the globe! that would be awesome! So far the only thing that may be happening is a house full of people watching football at my place on Sunday but it's not set in stone! I hope I can have swing a quiet weekend :) How about you? Doing any cooking or baking? hehehe...I havent had anything to eat since breakfast 'cause i was so busy at work today! I'm horrid when i'm hungry! All I think about is food!
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FarqyofFib
Ah, I see. :) What made you decide against university? I have quite an opinionated family, certainly, but there isn't a lot of variety: the main two groups could be roughly described as 'socially conservative, Old Labour socialists' and 'economically protectionist, One Nation-style Tories'. ;P I'm something of a misfit, what with my 'right-on' attitude to social change and my instinctive civil libertarian streak. I also take quite an interest in history, but it's probably not as broad as yours - being all detail-oriented and Aspergery, I tend to focus on narrow, restricted areas. Railway history would be the most prominent of those at the present time. ;P
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amycrd
Hi. I like all kinds of music (except Metal) and NKOTB had a reunion a couple of years ago, they beat Take That to it, I think. As a child of the 80s and Hangin' Tough being the first record I ever bought, I had a weak spot for them. Oh and I realise my charts don't reflect that I like all kinds of music but I do, I just don't listen to the other stuff on my laptop.
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FarqyofFib
Thank you for your thoughts! I knew that the issues of Thatcher and apartheid/Pinochet weren't 'black and white', of course - I was just interested to hear an alternative perspective. :) I come from the Labour heartlands of Scotland, you see - don't get much everyday exposure to pro-Thatcher arguments, and I feel that it's a good thing to at least attempt to broaden my horizons. ;P So, what led you to get into civil engineering? Do you take an interest in any aspects of industrial history/archaeology besides the transport networks?
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FarqyofFib
Hehe, fair point! My age is part of the reason why I'm so cautious about formulating my views, though! If I argue in favour of a left-leaning or socially progressive view, I get all sorts of sneering about 'youthful idealism'. If I argue in favour of a market-oriented or socially conservative view, on the other hand, I'm dismissed as having 'no sense of history' or 'no gratitude for the struggles of your ancestors'! :P It's all made me a bit neurotic: 'I'd better have a study or five up my sleeve, just in case'. :P
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FarqyofFib
Undecided about Thatcher. I acknowledge that her economic policies were a factor in the revival of the UK economy, certainly, but there are a few aspects of her legacy that cause me concern. One would be her reluctance to accept sanctions against South Africa; another would be her support of Pinochet. Also, while I'm not very well-versed in the literature about the relationships between Thatcher's economic policies and the social problems facing former industrial communities, I'm aware that it's a commonly held view that the speed and scale at which she implemented those policies had an adverse affect on social cohesion in certain parts of the country. Admittedly, I'm not very knowledgeable about opposing perspectives on those issues - as somebody who is broadly supportive of Thatcher and her legacy, do you think her actions could be justified in those cases?
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FarqyofFib
Ah, thanks for responding. :) And don't worry - political cowardice reaches new depths with me. :P I feel this need to have a mountain of evidence to back up my beliefs in case somebody starts having a go at me :P, and no amount of research is ever enough for me to be sure! Even with political ideologies where I'm broadly supportive of the central assumptions - feminism would be an example of this - I'm always very hesitant when it comes to drawing conclusions about the narrower, more specialised aspects. The consequence of this is that I'm very unsure about my political beliefs - even with basic things, like which political and economic systems are best-suited to meet the needs of humanity. :P It all makes me a bit useless when it comes to political debate, but I do love to hear about other people's views. Nuclear power is an example of one of these specialised, intimidating topics I mentioned above, I'm afraid - I couldn't possibly have the authority to comment on it! ;P
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FarqyofFib
Well, thank you for your thoughts. :) I'm afraid I can't really give a meaningful response, though - not terribly knowledgeable about the telecommunications industry or the postal service! Trying to rectify this - I have a lovely history book about the Royal Mail near the top of my 'To Read' list. ;P How would you describe your political leanings generally? I get the impression that you're a liberal of some stripe or other, but I know I could be very wrong!
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FarqyofFib
Ah, no worries. ;) I like to hear about other people's political opinions. You say that you're not inherently opposed to privatisation, so I'd be interested to know which forms/instances of privatisation you support. :)
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FarqyofFib
... road serving that area, the A7, is in a pretty shabby state, and the bus services to Carlisle and Edinburgh are pretty infrequent. I suppose I'm not really knowledgeable enough about the costs, projections, etc., to determine whether road or rail would be the wiser investment.
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FarqyofFib
Re-signing work on the A95? Speyside distilleries? Oh, to be a civil engineer! I'm missing out. ;( Certainly sympathise with your anti-privatisation sentiments. Always a little hesitant to draw hasty conclusions on issues as big as that of nationalisation/privatisation, but it's clear that's something needs to be done about the management of the railways in Britain: the level of inefficiency post-privatisation has been appalling, and we're something of a laughing stock compared to our European counterparts. I'm particularly taken by the system of funding/ownership they use in Germany, but I'm not well-informed to comment on how easily it could be applied in the UK. As for the Borders Rail Link, I'm undecided. I certainly think that the Borders should have better links to the rest of the country - I mean, Hawick, a town with a population of nearly 15000, is about 40 miles away from each of the two nearest railway stations. Still, I don't know whether railways are the answer: the main...
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FarqyofFib
Having done a bit more research on the prospect of reviving the Varsity Line, I think I can safely conclude that I'm supportive of the idea. :) Definitely appreciate your point about East Anglia being poorly served by the trunk road network - coming from an area of Scotland where the trunk roads are in pretty bad nick in spite of the population density and commuter traffic, I can feel your pain. :P So, are there any other transport-related projects on which you have strong views? Any thoughts on the McNulty Report, or the hot-button Scottish issues of the Edinburgh Trams debacle and the Borders Rail Link? ;P
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FarqyofFib
I see! I certainly think a case can be made for a Cambridge-Oxford rail link. From what I've read, I'm particularly swayed by the arguments relating to the reduction of congestion, the reduction of travel times, and improvement of links to and within East Anglia. However, I'm largely ignorant of the arguments surrounding the economic costs/benefits, and I'm reluctant to give it the seal of approval until my mind's cleared up on that issue! From what I know of my family history - between 200 and 350 years back, depending on which branch you're talking about - I have no recent ancestry from outside the British Isles. Most of the names in my family tree are Scottish and Irish, with a remainder being English or Welsh; this probably supports the idea of me having British/Irish roots well into the distant past! I'd love to have one of those ancestry DNA tests, I think, particularly if it unearths something a bit more exotic than 'yet another coal miner from Lanarkshire'. ;P
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FarqyofFib
Telford, eh? A horribly underrated county, is old Shropshire. Shrewsbury would rank alongside Stratford-upon-Avon and Knaresborough at the top of the 'English Towns I'd Most Like to Visit' list, in fact. ;P I'm from Fife, an area with a rich industrial heritage in its own right. ;) Recent family history isn't really confined to the local area, though - among my grandparents' generation of the family tree, Kirkcaldy miners blend in fairly effortlessly with Glaswegian labourers and Warwickshire farmers. ;P Given your remarks on Cambridge and its rail connections, would I be correct in assuming that you support a rail ink between Oxford and Cambridge?
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FarqyofFib
Hey, we Scots could definitely benefit from shorter journey times to London! ;P In any case, I think that improving English intercity connections outside London should probably be a bit more of a priority than extending high-speed rail right up to Scotland. For all the idiocy and short-sightedness when it came to closing our valuable local/rural links back in the day, we have quite good intercity connections and Anglo-Scottish links. ;P So, whereabouts in England are you from?
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FarqyofFib
You definitely make a good point re: East-West links and local lines. As I say, I'm all that well-versed in the literature, so I'm particularly reluctant to draw any firm conclusions on very specific issues like routes and intercity connections. Thankfully, we don't have a lot of this East-West madness up here in Scotland: we have more Edinburgh-Glasgow links than we know what to do with. :P
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FarqyofFib
Oh dear! Lots of half-formed thoughts with me, I'm afraid. :P I'd tentatively conclude that HS2 is a worthwhile investment, especially given the government's projections about costs/benefits, and the relative cost of upgrading the existing lines. Still, I haven't read any of the reports, so that's about as far as my opinions go. No point asking me about routes, compensation, environmental impact and the like, really - I haven't even worked out a position on the Old Oak Common debacle. ;P What do you think?
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FarqyofFib
Oh, they're so much more than a method of transport! They're an important relic of our cultural and industrial heritage, don't you know. ;P I suppose I'll have to blame my dad and granddad for the railway obsession. They're also train enthusiasts, so I got a fair bit of exposure to railway-related things back in the day. As a result, I've come to associate railways with childhood and familiarity. I have a suspicion that you might know more about how trains actually work than I do - not having much of an engineering brain, I just have an interest in the classification systems and the rail networks! Still, even I can appreciate the engineering ingenuity that must go into designing a big diesel loco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzgmuI4tGhs :P
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FarqyofFib
Well, I hope all goes well with that. :) Quite a few engineers in my family. Not civil engineers, though - mainly electronic/electrical, plus a few who do engineering work in power stations. They're all quite stereotypical engineers as well: socially awkward, casually interested in trains. ;P I've inherited these traits, sadly, but I don't have any of their engineering aptitude. Life is cruel that way. :P
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NuNu160
Thanks :)...I'm already freaking out at the work I know is piling up on my desk thanks to my absence! hahaha...I am a tropical person...18C is not nearly warm enough for me! Job hunting...ugh....Good luck with that! I'll keep my fingers crossed! I'm not talking about Liverpool right now :( I'm having to deal with text messages from my dad teasing me all the time...he is so cruel =P I cannot tell you how miserable not being able to eat anything is making me! hahaha....i love food way too much!
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NuNu160
18C is a challenge for me to keep warm in...so good luck with the awful weather you're having eeek. I'm sooo hungry...LOL.....and all I'm thinking about is your baked delights! I think i haven tonsilitis so it's kinda difficult to get anything down. Don't talk to me about football! :( my team sucked this weekend....and I had to sit through so much teasing too! ugh! Hope your week is off to a better start than mine :)
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FarqyofFib
Yeah, I knew you were referring to the intro. I just don't associate it with Sergio Leone, for some reason - I go even further on the 'wildly inappropriate intuitive leaps' scale and associate it with an old Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood music video :P: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-SVPJM4L4 Not much of a Johnny Cash geek myself, but I'm fond of his early Sun recordings. :) What field of work are you in? (Sorry for the poorly structured paragraphs - wish I could figure out how to do line breaks on this thing. :P)
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FarqyofFib
Ha! Not the first thing that comes into my mind, oddly, but I do like Sergio Leone's stuff. :) So, how did you get into Scott Walker?
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FarqyofFib
It's odd: I've never really had much of an interest in funk, in spite of the fact that I love soul and jazz! Mind you, I love the funk-influenced work of people like Herbie Hancock, so maybe I'd be wise to explore funk in its proper, undiluted form. ;P Heh, The Smiths and Joy Division were among my childhood favourites. That was my mother's influence, though - those two bands, Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell. I owe much to her. :P I got a lot of early exposure to the Jam as well, but that was due to my dad. His tastes took me in more of an experimental sort of direction - don't suppose there are many seven-year-olds who can claim to have heard and enjoyed The Fall and Scott Walker. ;P
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FarqyofFib
Hehe, probably wise. :P Interesting selection in your library, by the way - not a lot of overlap with mine, but I respect your taste. :) Noticed The Smiths, Joy Division, Massive Attack, Fleet Foxes, The Flaming Lips and PJ Harvey - all very popular with me. ;P
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