BIO
[The Manitou and a pickle! (circa '98)]
basicj@garynuman.info
Hi there, I'm The Manitou, glad ta know ya! What, you want to know more? Okay here goes:
My real name is Joshua Blanc. I'm an Australien stuck in the not-so-great white north (a.k.a. Canada), and I'm known on the internet usually as The Manitou, BasicJ, or Wire_Slave.
Despite time being an illusion (lunchtime doubly so), I'm 29 years old. Not bad for being well over a hundred in dog years, and several thousand in snail years.
So what, you may ask, is my profession? Hmm, that's a tough one. I'm primarily a writer, secondly a 'computer musician,' and thirdly a photographer. But as I've made next to no money doing any of these things, I'm also a renovator. Hard to believe I have any spare time at all, isn't it?
Here's a little about my interests: growing up with only 2 TV channels, and one AM station, my taste in music, film, and TV shows is odd to say the least. Gary Numan, David Bowie, Front Line Assembly, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Devo, Depeche Mode, Eiffel 65, Beck, Air, Klaatu, Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Bjork, and many other diverse artists make up my large music collection. I'm in my element when I'm glued to one of the many episodes of Doctor Who that I shamelessly own, picking holes in a 50's b-film, or yukking it up with Red Dwarf, The Goons, Bottom, Blackadder, and myriad other British Comedies.
"Ni! Ni!" I will say, as I watch Monty Python And The Holy Grail for the 700th time. And if I can't catch the latest sci-fi or fantasy flick at the theatre, then another viewing of Aliens, The 5th Element, Lord Of The Rings, or the Evil Dead Trilogy is in order. I'll not even go into how many episodes of The Simpsons, Futurama, X-Files, and Ren & Stimpy I've watched (I wouldn't want to scare you away).
When it comes to reading, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, John Wyndham, and Michael Moorcock are favourites. I've recently discovered Piers Anthony's wonderful Xanth series. I also read a lot of classic children's literature the likes of L. Frank Baum's 'Oz' series, and the works of C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll.
I read loads of manga these days, and watch their anime counterparts. I'm a big fan of the original Dragon Ball manga and Doctor Slump by Akira Toriyama. Negima by Ken Akamatsu is a firm favourite, as well as Sgt. Frog/Keroro Gunso by Mine Yoshizaki. Anything by the legendary Osamu Tezuka (particularly Astro Boy), and Leiji Matsumoto. Rozen Maiden, InuYasha, and Chibi Vampire are a few others of note.
If my eyes aren't too bleary from all that, I'll be playing Command & Conquer Generals, Red Alert (2 & 3), Warcraft 3, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Medal Of Honour, or Halflife 2.
If you'd like to discover an innovative electronic musician who's been incredibly inspiring to me, check out my Gary Numan fan page:
Dark Alien Light
Guaranteed to learn you somethin.' See you there, and may your day be a fruity one!
The Manitou, April 2009.
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