Gordon Bennet, William Burroughs! It’s Joey Negro!

“Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.”

-Socrates

Hmm. Yes. I seem to be taking a kicking in 2011 for some ridiculous reason. Cash is tight. Work is unstable, as it is for us all in this economic climate. Every job application form I submit is confusing and usually bounces back at me due to computer gremlins, or something. I face stumbling blocks in every task I attempt. But at least I’m trying. Let’s man up, as Socrates would probably advise me, and look at what there is to be elated about.

Fellow blogger Gordon Bennet is singing my praises in his blog, Skeletor’s Armpit. Check out the “Pit Sniffers” section. Respect.

There’ll be a few new voices gracing the site over the next few weeks. I’ve had a minor influx of guest bloggers offering to write posts for me. Most have found me through Twitter, where tweeters like GreatManchester, CreativeLancs, MattHut, carolekeating and mcrmadeiteasy have mentioned my quest for contributors. I’m looking forward to seeing what writing comes our way. Also ManchesterMaps found my account of Leo’s Fish Bar’s revival. Awesome.

Over the last few weeks I have spent a lot of time reading fashion magazines as research for a training course I attended. The assessment of the course was in the form of a mock interview, which is a scenario you can never have enough practice on. The “job”: a general all-round assistant position at an online fashion magazine.

We based the “position” on one found in a real job advert- an unpaid position two days a week, so not ideal in the real world- but perfect for the interview. I performed well on the assessment, despite minor slip-ups. (I had examples of my work but didn’t hand them over. Idiot!)

So I'm now all fashioned out thanks to Wonderland and i-D.

More to the point, I can’t help thinking that you can follow fashion down to a tee, reading blogs like Fashionbeans, touring 10 shops before you buy one top, and looking as good as your wallet will let you. But unless you back up your image with guts, integrity and follow-through, all the fashion tips in the world won’t improve your life. Do I practice what I preach, though? I don’t know. Maybe if tomorrow is more prosperous, I might.

Take, for instance, Saturday night. Avici White nightclub. Manchester. The club has picked up well after its opening night two weeks ago and now has a reputation as a destination for house music lovers. Guest DJ and house music extraordinaire Joey Negro took to the decks for a lengthy and impressive set, mixing house and funk to great effect. He was even wearing the same kind of cap as me.

Pic is from the net- not the night.

Here’s a well-known song of his, featuring a man fighting off attempts by scientists to turn him asexual.

I’d do the same thing, under the circumstances. Wouldn’t you?

Oh, and didn’t William Burroughs mention experiments like this in his book Naked Lunch?

And didn’t Cartman have similar powers in the South Park movie?

I'd prosper more if I'd combat this ridiculous shyness. Anyway. Avici White. Great club. Great Atmosphere. Flat caps allowed. White pumps allowed. I’ll get back to you on Trilbys.

So yeah, there’s a bit of prospering going on amidst the ridiculous Pandora’s box of adversity that is my life. I’ve just got to remember what I called my blog and live by it.