Song of the day, three

Tracey Emin. Guardian Review

'Emin has had to develop in public. One of the difficulties is that much of what she does is a kind of performance, one she has had to work out as she goes along. This is true for all of us in our multifarious ways. Life is performative – but Emin has turned it into her art...

One outdoor sculpture court appears to be just a windswept stretch of concrete, until you discover the painted bronze infant's shoe, the teddy bear and the sock scattered on the ground. A missing child, in other words. There's an indelible sense of abandonment, a silent sense of loss.'

Writing for love

Some good words about writing for those we feel for. The last paragraph greatly represents the feeling I too hold when I think about writing and what it provides for me. Some day I also aspire to have a career more involved with one of my most important passions:

'And here I can mention that there is nothing like writing for those you love. Building something out of words, an intensely personal medium – something for someone you respect, someone for whom you care – that's both a pleasure and a properly testing exercise. I have long argued that the writer's relationship with the putative reader should probably be one of loving respect: it's a way of maintaining a correct form of address. Having a literal someone out there for whom you would like to do more than your best, someone to please, can be helpful...

If you've ever tried writing for a lover, that can be intoxicating and wonderful, but it can also lead you into self-indulgence and, should the relationship founder, your deathless lines may end up all over the kitchen wall. Still, if you want to have a go ... well, I wouldn't be able to stop you. Writing from love and for love – love of the words, love of your species, love of specific joys – that's a fine remedy for ills.

And it's a reminder – Dum-dah-dum, da dah-dum dah-dum – of a deep pleasure in being a writer: the permanent music it provides. Sometimes having the benefit of a free head full of words offers as clear and complex a melody as any track I'll ever play to cheer me. Sometimes the words are background noise, sometimes they can feel like being a kid again and simply happy, sometimes they're an excuse for nearly dancing on a railway platform, sometimes I get paid for trying to put them down on paper, sometimes they'll end up in a letter with a readership of one. And this is something we all have: it takes negative intervention – illness, fear, threat – to damage our music, muffle it. But it's still there, waiting, singing inside. Onwards.'

Naked Ballet Dancing

Naked ballet dancing. Fantastic. For those that walk out or hide, well. Silly. Why would one fear the naked form, it's not like ballet dancers will have the most grosteque appearance.

Clearly, it is self contained issues. Is it vulnerability in looking at anothers naked human form?

'What's the justification for such aggressive nudity? St-Pierre, who is fascinated by taboos and the breaking of them, is trying to create a raw physical intimacy between dancer and audience, and he wants to make us laugh, too. Michael Watts, one of his dancers, says most people find the naked scenes funny. But, he adds, "we're being very childlike – we're behaving like six-year-old boys, and we get a lot of taps on the bottom from old ladies". They do occasionally encounter angry resistance, though. "One woman just hid her face completely," recalls Watts. "She put her jacket over her face. Another man got up and tried to run away. And a few dancers have got hit or pushed."'

Perhaps we forget that whilst growing up we have all in a sense, been conditioned to believe when and where is appropriate to take off our clothes and be naked. In a sense, when people say it is a form of expression; well on the one hand you could say it is the least form of expression as after all we were naturally born this way to begin with. In 'expressing' what we naturally posses, slightly baffles me. It's taken conventions of history to produce such a turn around effect. Sure, we enhance our hair as we naturally have that on display anyways; nudity holds its reputation as 'expressionism' as it goes against our conditioning to cover up. Less covering up becomes individual itself because the norm is to wear clothes, and express with material instead.

Most know if we went to the shops in our pyjamas, just thinking about the reaction we may receive would certainly effect our choices in 'expressing' in that way. If one doesn't become accepted by others this seems to largely affect the individuals choice. We grow up being taught how to behave, when and how we should eat, most of our decisions or instincts become confirmed by our parents before being allowed to do anything. I do wonder whether it is the same in relation to nudity. Unmissably, our parents-without fault as this would be the norm for them too, have encourage one to dress nicely and appropriately for each occasion. No wonder we hold the fear that, if walking to the shops in our pyjamas is a dialema, to take a further step into a nudist world seems almost possible for some.

I find myself enlightened by the prospect that dancers are encouraged to perform nude. With so many body issues in the media, and discussion that such ideas should be discussed as part as the national cirriculum; I do hope to see much more development into enhancing what we have already. I enjoy seeing the turn around and regurgitation of fashion, classic values and even now we return to expressing our raw elements. It somewhat suggests that we had most of the answers already towards great ways to 'be'. I am glad they are starting to be recognised once again.

Peado Phenomenon

This I find a bit dramatic. If they ask kids to change their school uniform in risk of paedophiles; isn't this the same for adults, to avoid wearing skirts and dresses to further avoid tempting rapists?!

'Chief executive Eileen Prior said: "Creating a link between school uniform and paedophilia seems to be a dangerous and unhelpful one for everyone involved.

"It implies that young people are in some way responsible for the activities of paedophiles, which is an extremely dangerous argument and one which has echoes of the comments sometimes made around rapists and women's dress.'

Again, I find that authorities in society tend to source responsibility onto others if they possibly can. I am not saying that local authorities should take full responsibility themselves, it just seems that alternative methods in handling situations such as the above could be treated better. If there is a problem, the solution seems to be pointed towards what the victim could do, instead of finding ways in targetting the problem itself. Though perhaps, that is the local authories' way in trying to take less responsibility themselves.

Song of the day, two

Listen to it all or more importantly skip to 3 mins 34 seconds. It will feel like a fist has punched into your chest. This song is amazing and is the only piece of music I have found EVER to summarise anything and everything of what goes on inside my brain.

This piece is a glory. A vision of heartbreak, of pain, of hope, of peace.

Morning Leaflet Girl

Approaching Monument on my walk to work, due the second week opening of 'Prego', leaflets were being handed by one girl for 'free cups of coffee'...

For a change, someone who was handing out leaflets at 8:10am had a lovely smile and the humour to go with it. The fact that people kept brushing past her and treating her like a mere lamp post didn't manage to knock her spirit. It's people like this that make the morning walk to work what it is. Leaflet work is mundane and most of the time I also ignore those that hand them out, mostly because they aren't giving them out with the passion that any job deserves. It would also be good that, if passers by register that these people feel like they are actually doing their job, when someone simply takes the item out of their hands; I think it might make a difference to their day as well as ours.