Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Blue's Clues!
OMG, how freaky. Steve from the US Blue's Clues is working on an album, 'Songs for Dustmites', with some help from the Flaming Lips. His website is funny, although some links don't work and he's exceeded his capacity. And he's all shaven headed and beardy now. Cool. (Link via LYD.)
Hello!
If you search for pics kylie cardiff 2002 in Google then guess who's number 2 in the results? Lil' ole me, that's who.
Also, if you search for move over darling lyric doris day then guess who's number 3? Heh heh, right again!!
Unfortunatley you won't actually find either of those things here, although I have mentioned those words. Sorry folks!
Also, how scared would you be if this happened to you? I'd shit myself I think, snakes are creepy enough without being deadly as well, and without there being 3000 plus their eggs under your frigging house!!
Also, if you search for move over darling lyric doris day then guess who's number 3? Heh heh, right again!!
Unfortunatley you won't actually find either of those things here, although I have mentioned those words. Sorry folks!
Also, how scared would you be if this happened to you? I'd shit myself I think, snakes are creepy enough without being deadly as well, and without there being 3000 plus their eggs under your frigging house!!
There Goes My Gun
I don't understand the American obsession with guns. I do understand, however, that right wing people exist wherever you go, and that while guns aren't a particular issue over here in the UK, the mentality of these people just manifests itself in other ways.
Lazy? Me? You betcha!
OK, so I've been a bit lazy today (I didn't get up until 11:45, and then I didn't shower or get dressed until about 6 this evening), but I was tired after yesterday (I didn't get to bed until about 4 in the morning either) and I haven't had a day off for a while, so I felt like I was owed it. I've spent most of the day on the internet, plus done a bit of reading, and I finished off the Angel Season 1 DVD in readiness for Season 2 which should be with me shortly. Whoo-hoo! God I'm sad.
Monday, April 29, 2002
K-to-the-Y-L-I-E Kylie!
OMG! She kicked ass big style. I can't really describe the whole thing, I'd be here for ever if I did. Basically the show was divided into sections (7, I believe) each with a different visual and musical theme, involving a costume change for Kylie and her dancers. There were 5 video screens, which had graphics and video footage specific to each song. There were three trapdoor things for her to disappear and appear from, including one at the end of the catwalk bit that stuck out into the audience, and she shot out of there on the last encore to do 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'.
The whole things was just fantasic. The set, the costumes, the dancers (tasty as usual!), the music - which was great, not just poppy but really strong with loads of beats, rhythmns, and a good bit of scratching going on during the 80's street section. Her voice was really fantastic - incredibly strong, with no bum notes, and she was never out of breath. She's also really friendly, with loads of chats with the audience etc. Honestly, it's the best show on earth.
The show opened with a really trancy feel musically, with dark, blue lighting, and then a Metropolis style robot came out of the floor into the middle of the stair section, and everyone was like "Ooh, is it a dancer, a prop, or what?" And then gradually the case opened bit by bit and Kylie was inside! She started off with 'Love at First Sight', which is going to be the new single, which moved swiftly into 'Shocked'. I can't remember the whole run-down (luckily for you!) but the highlights for me were:
I could go on a lot, but I'm rambling so it's probably better if I don't. But whoever you are, wherever you are, if you get a chance to see it then DO IT. You won't regret it. Plus, you get a free promotional bottle of Evian water with 'Kylie' on instead of Evian. How cool is that?!!!
The whole things was just fantasic. The set, the costumes, the dancers (tasty as usual!), the music - which was great, not just poppy but really strong with loads of beats, rhythmns, and a good bit of scratching going on during the 80's street section. Her voice was really fantastic - incredibly strong, with no bum notes, and she was never out of breath. She's also really friendly, with loads of chats with the audience etc. Honestly, it's the best show on earth.
The show opened with a really trancy feel musically, with dark, blue lighting, and then a Metropolis style robot came out of the floor into the middle of the stair section, and everyone was like "Ooh, is it a dancer, a prop, or what?" And then gradually the case opened bit by bit and Kylie was inside! She started off with 'Love at First Sight', which is going to be the new single, which moved swiftly into 'Shocked'. I can't remember the whole run-down (luckily for you!) but the highlights for me were:
- Confide In Me - she had a dancer who was doing loads of Shaolin Monk stuff and then breakdancing every now and then, to a really pumped-up bass, with the screens flashing loads of helpline slogans and stuff, it was really cool.
- The 80s street section was great, in terms of the music and the styles. Lots of flourescent colours - maybe dayglo should make a comeback? How cool would that be! I can't remember which songs she did, unfortunately, and one of them I didn't recognise, but it was very cool. I can remember her saying 'All this scratching is making me itch' at the beginning, which was also available as a t-shirt slogan .....
- The Locomotion. Done in a completely OTT Rocky Horror Show-meets-Madonna's Vogue video way, with the male dancers in tights with leopard-skin undies, and Kylie in a basque and stilletoes, it was funny and suprisingly good.
- Light Years. I knew as soon as the song started that they were using the bassline from Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love', and half-way through it she merged Light Years into I Feel Live, which was very very cool.
I could go on a lot, but I'm rambling so it's probably better if I don't. But whoever you are, wherever you are, if you get a chance to see it then DO IT. You won't regret it. Plus, you get a free promotional bottle of Evian water with 'Kylie' on instead of Evian. How cool is that?!!!
Saturday, April 27, 2002
Bagel, anyone?
Barry's back from his hiatus. Hooray! But I'm gone (temporarily, anyway). Ah, the irony. Go read. He's funny.
Friday, April 26, 2002
K minus 49
49 hours until Kylie kicks off on Sunday. I know it's sad, but I am quite looking forward to it. And it will hopefully be cool to go out in Cardiff tomorrow night as well, it's supposed to be quite nice. My updates will probably be non-existant until Monday I'm afraid, so I do apologise. I will try and make up for it though. Not sure how, but I'll try :-)
In News, warmer weather is ahead - in 100 years time, that is ..... OK, that's hardly news is it? But I got excited about warmer summers, and then saw what it was about. Oh well.
In News, warmer weather is ahead - in 100 years time, that is ..... OK, that's hardly news is it? But I got excited about warmer summers, and then saw what it was about. Oh well.
Updated tracks
As I'm going to be away most of the weekend (going to see KYLIE in Cardiff!), I thought I would do this now while I still remember and have the time (well, sort of). The old 5 were: 'Does Your Heart Go Boom!' - Helen Love, 'Allison' - The Pixies, 'Shut Your Mouth' - Garbage, '21 Things I Want in a Lover' - Alanis Morissette, 'Move in a Little Closer' - The Mamas and the Papas.
Thursday, April 25, 2002
4AD rocks
Home to the coolest music on the planet, 4AD also has a pretty darn good website too. Check it out. There's 3 playable tracks off the new Breeders album as well. Definitely worth a listen.
(For those with a long memory, yes I have put this in here before, but it's well worth looking at again - they've slightly updated the site - v. cool, as you would expect.)
I'm watching more tapes of Buffy Season 6 and Angel Season 3 at the moment, courtesy of E and A. Very cool, although Buffy is a bit on the slow side at the moment. But still very enjoyable :-)
(For those with a long memory, yes I have put this in here before, but it's well worth looking at again - they've slightly updated the site - v. cool, as you would expect.)
I'm watching more tapes of Buffy Season 6 and Angel Season 3 at the moment, courtesy of E and A. Very cool, although Buffy is a bit on the slow side at the moment. But still very enjoyable :-)
Wanna grow/Up to be/Be a debaser, debaser
I got Doolittle by The Pixies as one of my birthday presents from work today. It's such a cool album - I sneakily managed to listen to it at work today, by being very busy and putting my phone on to voicemail. No interruptions, heh heh heh! Crafty's my middle name.
Oh yes!
Scientific fact has proved that Elijah Wood is my ideal boyfriend! Heh heh. OK, I had been given some warning that he was one of the possible results on the 'Who's Your Celebrity Match?' quiz, so I may have taylored my answers slightly, but I didn't really lie about anything. Heh heh. However, I wouldn't exactly be disappointed with any of the other results though I think - apparently Josh Hartnett is one of them. Yum.
Link via Josh (no, not Josh Hartnett!!!!!), who I'm afraid has no known website yet. Get your act together boy!
Stars shining bright above you ......
Night breeze that seems to whisper 'I love you'
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me.
*Sigh* I absolutely adore that song. I think it's possibly the most beautiful song ever written. I could listen to it forever and never get tired of it.
As you can probably tell, to me the summer is all about music. Like a lot of people, I do tend to live my life to a soundtrack, and the summer to me is just one huge open-air concert. All the best music comes out at this time of year. I could go insane with the amount of music I have in my head right now. But I love it.
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me.
*Sigh* I absolutely adore that song. I think it's possibly the most beautiful song ever written. I could listen to it forever and never get tired of it.
As you can probably tell, to me the summer is all about music. Like a lot of people, I do tend to live my life to a soundtrack, and the summer to me is just one huge open-air concert. All the best music comes out at this time of year. I could go insane with the amount of music I have in my head right now. But I love it.
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Shooby-dooby-dooby-dooby-doo-wah-wah!
Ah, summer is here. Well, it's getting sunny and warm, anyway. I think that explains why I've had the Chiffon's 'One Fine Day' playing in my head all day long, and why Blondie's 'Atomic' came to me on the way home from work. Classic summer songs each.
Pooped
Boy, am I knackered. I haven't eaten that much in a very long time, and I haven't drunk that much for .... ooh, days. Well, it's a school night, so I should really get to bed, but I don't bother normally, so why should I bother on my birthday night eh? Riddle me that.
The Mexican tonight was fantastic - I had tacos for starters, with chicken enchillada for main. I wasn't going to have a desert, but I was bought a chocolate and orange cheesecake, which came out with a little candle on. Bless. I had to make a wish, which I duly did, and then had to eat the cheesecake, which was hard. But I managed :-) I was also forced to drink a tequila cocktail, which was nice, but coupled with copious amounts of wine has left me a bit worse for wear. At least it's making me check my spelling well, which is always a bonus.
The Mexican tonight was fantastic - I had tacos for starters, with chicken enchillada for main. I wasn't going to have a desert, but I was bought a chocolate and orange cheesecake, which came out with a little candle on. Bless. I had to make a wish, which I duly did, and then had to eat the cheesecake, which was hard. But I managed :-) I was also forced to drink a tequila cocktail, which was nice, but coupled with copious amounts of wine has left me a bit worse for wear. At least it's making me check my spelling well, which is always a bonus.
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Happy birthday to me
Well, I'm blogging a bit later than intended today, after getting a bit tipsy on wine and playing Yahtzee, of all games, and then watching loads of new Friends episodes. Consequently, it's actually now the day of my 25th birthday.
I don't feel old, I don't feel young. Just kind of ..... middlin'. I seem to remember a Judy Garland song about being 'Inbetween' (yes, I'm a gay man, I have to have some working knowledge of the seminal divas of the last century, don't I?!)
So that's that. I may not be able to post tomorrow, as we're going out for a meal quite early (I couldn't decide what I wanted to do, and so it was too late to book a table at a reasonable hour) and we may then progress to a bit of drinking in some trendy establishments (or it may up with a bottle of cheap wine at home ...... which is more likely).
Oh, and yes, I know that title's crap, but at least it's descriptive. I'm too tired to think of anything witty right now. Well, anyway, Boo! that I'm working tomorrow (it beats taking the day off work and then spending it sat at home on my own though), but Yay! that the stupid buggers at work have left me in charge! Ha! They'll soon regret that ..... So, to bed. Goodnight!
I don't feel old, I don't feel young. Just kind of ..... middlin'. I seem to remember a Judy Garland song about being 'Inbetween' (yes, I'm a gay man, I have to have some working knowledge of the seminal divas of the last century, don't I?!)
So that's that. I may not be able to post tomorrow, as we're going out for a meal quite early (I couldn't decide what I wanted to do, and so it was too late to book a table at a reasonable hour) and we may then progress to a bit of drinking in some trendy establishments (or it may up with a bottle of cheap wine at home ...... which is more likely).
Oh, and yes, I know that title's crap, but at least it's descriptive. I'm too tired to think of anything witty right now. Well, anyway, Boo! that I'm working tomorrow (it beats taking the day off work and then spending it sat at home on my own though), but Yay! that the stupid buggers at work have left me in charge! Ha! They'll soon regret that ..... So, to bed. Goodnight!
Sunday, April 21, 2002
OMG
I'll say it again: Oh My God. How can a company be so unscrupulous? And expect to get away with it? Call me naive, but I find stuff like this shocking. Just becasue they wanted a bit more money, they're prepared to fiddle a list of signatures by deceiving people, and as a result possibly introduce hateful legislation that would set gay and lesian rights back years. Bastards.
Super Ted shoots through the air, like a streak of red .....
Ever wanted to know how a theme tune from your favourite kids TV programme went? Or you want to settle a family argument about something like what shape The Flumps were (for example? ....), then this site, 80s Nostalsia.com, can help!
My sister and me were practically wetting ourselves over the themes to Super Ted, Bananaman, and Dogtanian, and I was immensely relieved to have heard the Ulysses 31 theme for the first time in about 15 years, having been haunted by it for nearly every day of my life. Now I can finally lay that personal demon to rest. Whoo-hoo! It's a kick-ass theme as well.
Anyway. Go there. Be amazed. Remember. But, one gripe: No Mighty Mouse! He was the king, man!
My sister and me were practically wetting ourselves over the themes to Super Ted, Bananaman, and Dogtanian, and I was immensely relieved to have heard the Ulysses 31 theme for the first time in about 15 years, having been haunted by it for nearly every day of my life. Now I can finally lay that personal demon to rest. Whoo-hoo! It's a kick-ass theme as well.
Anyway. Go there. Be amazed. Remember. But, one gripe: No Mighty Mouse! He was the king, man!
Our lips shouldn't touch (Move over darling!)
OK, songs on the left are finally updated. The old ones were: 'Move Over Darling' - Doris Day, 'Love' - The Smashing Pumpkins, 'Cup of Coffee' - Garbage, 'The Land of Make Believe' - Bucks Fizz, 'No More Tears (Enough is Enough)' - Donna Summer (& Barbara Streisand). I was in a strange place last week I think.
Gay test
If you've always been curious to know how gay you are, in a strictly non-scientic kind of way, then Channel 4 have made a tongue-in-cheek gay test for you! You can chose whether you are male or female, and whether you have sex with men, women, or both, and it tells you whether you're on the right track or not ....
For the record, I got 53% gay, which makes me a "happy well-adjusted homo guy" or something along those lines. If I had swayed under the 50% margin I would have been into the 'too straight' category on their swingometer, and if I had gone further up the percentage scales then I would have become more gay (obviously - you could have worked that out for yourselves really, couldn't you .... I'll shut up now then).
Fun for all the family there I feel!
For the record, I got 53% gay, which makes me a "happy well-adjusted homo guy" or something along those lines. If I had swayed under the 50% margin I would have been into the 'too straight' category on their swingometer, and if I had gone further up the percentage scales then I would have become more gay (obviously - you could have worked that out for yourselves really, couldn't you .... I'll shut up now then).
Fun for all the family there I feel!
Lack of updates
I've been at home this weekend, and so I've been crap on getting any updates in. I just noticed that I hadn't closed the italics tag on the post below, so everything below it was in italics. D'oh! Apologies for that and for not noticing it sooner.
I used my iBook on the train for the first time - I watched an episode of Angel and about half a dozen tracks on the Smashing Pumpkins DVD, which was cool. The time just flew by! What's more, I also managed to read almost a whole chapter of Return of the King while I was waiting for the train, as I was early and it was late, so that was cool, as I've been neglecting my reading recently.
Hope everyone who can has played the Helen Love track in my new Artist of the Month' section on the left - with summer approaching it's an essential song, and the albums should all be available from Amazon in the usual way, so get purchasing people, and tell me how much you love Helen Love!.
I'm hoping to soon have a pic of me available for anyone who might be interested - I'm been experimenting with my cam, and I need to go through a rigorous selection process first, involving a complex consumer marketing test (Hi Josh!). So look out for that very soon - the excitment builds!
I used my iBook on the train for the first time - I watched an episode of Angel and about half a dozen tracks on the Smashing Pumpkins DVD, which was cool. The time just flew by! What's more, I also managed to read almost a whole chapter of Return of the King while I was waiting for the train, as I was early and it was late, so that was cool, as I've been neglecting my reading recently.
Hope everyone who can has played the Helen Love track in my new Artist of the Month' section on the left - with summer approaching it's an essential song, and the albums should all be available from Amazon in the usual way, so get purchasing people, and tell me how much you love Helen Love!.
I'm hoping to soon have a pic of me available for anyone who might be interested - I'm been experimenting with my cam, and I need to go through a rigorous selection process first, involving a complex consumer marketing test (Hi Josh!). So look out for that very soon - the excitment builds!
Friday, April 19, 2002
Apologies for that last post, but it had to be said ...
Anyway, enough about that. I'm going home this weekend, as it's my Dad's birthday tomorrow, and we're going out for a joint birthday meal on Saturday, which will be cool. I'll also hopefully get some more Buffy and Angel vids (A and E - they'd better be ready!), which will also be cool.
Object of desire: a Hello Kitty toaster which imprints a Hello Kitty face on to every slice! How cool would that be?! I'd definitely make more of an effort to have breakfast if I had that toaster .....
Object of desire: a Hello Kitty toaster which imprints a Hello Kitty face on to every slice! How cool would that be?! I'd definitely make more of an effort to have breakfast if I had that toaster .....
Don't do it
Never, ever, EVER take a dump after bleaching the toilet. You have been warned.
Thursday, April 18, 2002
Budget
I've been having a quick flick through Guardian Unlimited. If you're like me and take an interest but can't really be bothered to read much about this sort of thing, then this article summarises the main points nicely. For an overview of the Wanless Report and it's effect on the budget (ie: why taxes are going up to fund the NHS), then read this. Or, if you don't care at all, then skip down a section and download Helen Love instead :-)
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
OK, I've had a slight revamp
But I do mean slight. I've added some lines between sections on the left (Ooh, very classy I hear you say, shame you're not using CSS, to which I reply Hah! Fuck off! I don't care!). More importantly, I've added an 'Artist of the Month' section, where, strangely enough, I will endeavour to feature one artist a month who I am currently listening to, loving, and wish to share with you, the reader.
For my inaugral month (spell check someone? I haven't got a clue!), I am featuring Helen Love. I bought quite a lot of their singles when I was at college, and they resurfaced again last month as I was having a tidy up. Fantasticly creative power-pop music, originating from the days when the whole riot-grrrrrl scene was still fairly new (yes, I am old - 25 next week!). The track I've featured here, Does Your Heart Go Boom!, is one of my personal favourites, pretty much the best summer love song ever, in the history of music. Play it, love, and then buy the album. You won't be sorry!
(By the way, that's my own bandwidth I'm stealing there with that MP3 link, as it's my ISP site where I can still FTP stuff to, unlike poxy Geocities the stingy *&$%ers. Also, I do not condone music piracy - at least, not against independent label artists anyway. In fact, I wholeheartedly recommend that you buy a Helen Love album, and this will apply to all other artists that I feature here, if I actually bother to do any more that is!)
For my inaugral month (spell check someone? I haven't got a clue!), I am featuring Helen Love. I bought quite a lot of their singles when I was at college, and they resurfaced again last month as I was having a tidy up. Fantasticly creative power-pop music, originating from the days when the whole riot-grrrrrl scene was still fairly new (yes, I am old - 25 next week!). The track I've featured here, Does Your Heart Go Boom!, is one of my personal favourites, pretty much the best summer love song ever, in the history of music. Play it, love, and then buy the album. You won't be sorry!
(By the way, that's my own bandwidth I'm stealing there with that MP3 link, as it's my ISP site where I can still FTP stuff to, unlike poxy Geocities the stingy *&$%ers. Also, I do not condone music piracy - at least, not against independent label artists anyway. In fact, I wholeheartedly recommend that you buy a Helen Love album, and this will apply to all other artists that I feature here, if I actually bother to do any more that is!)
Mr Cock, I presume?
You shouldn't laugh at people's names, becasue it isn't very nice, but I was reading this cool article in Yahoo News about 2,500 Inca mummies that were discovered in Peru, and the archeologist's name is Guillermo Cock *snigger*. Childish I know, but funny. The article's actually very interesting too :-) .
I kicked ass at work today
I'm covering for the deputy manager at the moment, she's off travelling around Australia the lucky thing. Mostly I'm just getting loads more stuff to do on top of my normal work, which is a pain, but today I had some nice juicy things to get my teeth into, and I quite enjoyed it. I could also get used to bossing people around - remember never to put me in charge of anything, ever - it appears that I'm a bit of a latent dictator.
Oh, and my views on the Chancellor's budget statement today? About frigging time.
Oh, and my views on the Chancellor's budget statement today? About frigging time.
I'm 1/5th Mac!
20% of my audience recently has been viewing on a Mac, whcih is quite a high percentage compared to actual Mac ownership. I'm obviously attracting the trendy, arty types, which stands to reason really, given my inherent trendiness and the natural design flare that is abundently evident here :-) .
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Ewww
This creature, called a sea squirt, is the closest genetic match to humans of all the animals without backbones, apparently. They have a lot of similar genes, and their embryos look similar to those of a human's, which is pretty bizarre considering they look like turds when they grow up! They're going to be useful for shedloads of genetic and medical research though, so let's say Hi to the new cousins!
Working with a hangover
Is not pleasant. I recovered a lot after lunch though - I had a real craving for mayonnaise, so I had a jacket potato with tuna mayo topped with cheese, with extra mayo added. Yum! That sorted me out a treat. I'm going to get a pizza for dinner shortly. I'll be a bloater before long I tell you. Must get round to joining the gym ......
Grandmaster Flash in the house ......
Whoo-hoo! I went to the Rhino Club in Southampton this evening, to see Grandmaster Flash DJ. It was cool. I got in free. Whoo-hoo again!
He played a lot of stuff that I wouldn't have expected him to play, like a huge amount of Jackson Five stuff, but overall it was very good. The lead-up DJs were good too. He didn't play White Lines though - the bastard.
Anyway, I need to get to bed now - very tired and more than a little drunk.
He played a lot of stuff that I wouldn't have expected him to play, like a huge amount of Jackson Five stuff, but overall it was very good. The lead-up DJs were good too. He didn't play White Lines though - the bastard.
Anyway, I need to get to bed now - very tired and more than a little drunk.
Monday, April 15, 2002
I'm going out on a school night!
Very exciting. Can't stop now, as I'm just on the off. Whoo-hoo!!
Sunday, April 14, 2002
Maybe, if you're lucky .....
I might get some pics of me on this 'ere website. I nicked my parents' webcam when I went home, and although it refuses to work with OS X, in normal or Classic, it works nice and fine with OS 9.2. So, that's cool. Now I just need to get round the fact that Yahoo doesn't allow FTP through Geocities (although it still works through Blogger - thank God, because when I tried to move to my ISP's webspace Blogger couldn't publish to it, the bitch).
Anyway. I'm not making any promises, in case I can't fulfill them. I'd quite like to make a little video for you all to play, but I hate being in front of the camera, so I doubt there's much chance of that happening! Obviously, my dislike of cameras doesn't affect my porn career, because I wear a mask for that, so I don't mind it ;-)
Anyway. I'm not making any promises, in case I can't fulfill them. I'd quite like to make a little video for you all to play, but I hate being in front of the camera, so I doubt there's much chance of that happening! Obviously, my dislike of cameras doesn't affect my porn career, because I wear a mask for that, so I don't mind it ;-)
All new Merry
I've been a bit busy recently, so I didn't notice until today, but Merry has moved, and had a makeover too. Very stylish. She likes Buffy too - gotta be good then :-)
Saturday, April 13, 2002
Am I excited by Angel?
Well, frankly that's none of your business. I will, however, say that I am very excited about the Angel Season 2 DVD box set, which is released on Monday. Whoo-hoo! So many great episodes to watch. I've nearly finished disc 4 of Season 1, I watched a couple while downloading some software updates this evening, which was nice and handy.
Just spotted something - anybody with a burning desire to buy the first Hear'say album can buy it from Jungle.com for £1.99. What does that tell you about their popularity, just over a year after the Popstars TV series finished? Pop is so fleeting these days, people don't stick around any more, and I think the music industry is the worse for it. All the manufactured for TV stuff doesn't help either. Damn you Popstars/Making the Band - look what you've done - you've massacred an entire genre!
And finally: laptops kick ass. And iBooks kick even more ass :-) Nothing beats watching DVDs and surfing the net while in bed. Nothing. Also, currently listening to: Bossanova by the Pixies. Great album.
Just spotted something - anybody with a burning desire to buy the first Hear'say album can buy it from Jungle.com for £1.99. What does that tell you about their popularity, just over a year after the Popstars TV series finished? Pop is so fleeting these days, people don't stick around any more, and I think the music industry is the worse for it. All the manufactured for TV stuff doesn't help either. Damn you Popstars/Making the Band - look what you've done - you've massacred an entire genre!
And finally: laptops kick ass. And iBooks kick even more ass :-) Nothing beats watching DVDs and surfing the net while in bed. Nothing. Also, currently listening to: Bossanova by the Pixies. Great album.
Friday, April 12, 2002
I'm a hard man
Well, not really, but today I got into a bit of a stressy as I was developing a headache, and I ended up shouting at two people on the phone, which a) isn't like me, and b) isn't exactly the best customer service I've ever given. I did feel a bit guilty about it afterwards, especially the second one because I just completely went off at him for no real reason. Oh well. I'll just have to see if anyone complains about me on Monday. :-)
Hmm, in news today, Russell Crowe is leaving his brain to medical science, as part of a study on talented and creative people. So, Russell's participating because ..... ???
Hmm, in news today, Russell Crowe is leaving his brain to medical science, as part of a study on talented and creative people. So, Russell's participating because ..... ???
Has Blogger gone mad?
I've been trying to edit that last post, but Blogger keeps on garbling the text when it brings up the edit box. Scary. I'm going to bed now, like I should have done an hour ago.
Update: Done now. I got the lyric wrong, but it's fixed. Whoo-hoo.
Update: Done now. I got the lyric wrong, but it's fixed. Whoo-hoo.
It's raining, it's pouring, my lovelife is boring me to tears, after all these years ......
No sunshine, no moonlight, no stardust, no sign of romance. We don't stand a chance .....
Ahh, Donna. Bless her. Anway new top 5 songs to the lIH@ the sake of posterity, the old ones were: 'Temptation Waits' - Garbage, 'Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)' - Garbage, 'Milk' - Garbage, 'The Boxer' - Simon and Garfunkel, '19' - Paul Hardcastle. Hmm, spot the Garbage theme.
I remember I chose 'The Boxer' becasue it was playing one day last week while I was buying my lunch, and it reminded me of the time after I graduated, when I was unemployed. I used to love singing along to the lyric:
Oh, and before anyone comments about Doris Day - she rocks, so shut the fuck up. 'Latin for Lovers' is an absolute classic of the Easy Listening genre, check it out for yourself if you don't believe me.
Ahh, Donna. Bless her. Anway new top 5 songs to the lIH@ the sake of posterity, the old ones were: 'Temptation Waits' - Garbage, 'Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)' - Garbage, 'Milk' - Garbage, 'The Boxer' - Simon and Garfunkel, '19' - Paul Hardcastle. Hmm, spot the Garbage theme.
I remember I chose 'The Boxer' becasue it was playing one day last week while I was buying my lunch, and it reminded me of the time after I graduated, when I was unemployed. I used to love singing along to the lyric:
- "Asking only workman's wages I was looking for a job, but I got no offers. Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue."
Oh, and before anyone comments about Doris Day - she rocks, so shut the fuck up. 'Latin for Lovers' is an absolute classic of the Easy Listening genre, check it out for yourself if you don't believe me.
By the way, I still got to work late this morning
After all that fuss, I decided that I had time to shave after blogging and showering this morning, and so I ended up getting into work a bit after 9:35, despite getting up so damn early!
Oh dear. I've been down the pub this evening with Howard, had a few drinks and a laugh etc, which means that I've got no chance of waking up on time tomorrow. God, has my life become that boring that all I can think to write about is my time-keeping? Fuck that. I'd rather not say anything at all. Sorry to bore you all. Bye.
Oh dear. I've been down the pub this evening with Howard, had a few drinks and a laugh etc, which means that I've got no chance of waking up on time tomorrow. God, has my life become that boring that all I can think to write about is my time-keeping? Fuck that. I'd rather not say anything at all. Sorry to bore you all. Bye.
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Muppet quiz
Heh heh - haven't done one of these for a while.
Cool. Thanks to Comatose for the link.
 | You are Kermit! |
Cool. Thanks to Comatose for the link.
I still didn't get an early night last night
I finshed on the computer about 12:30 ish, but then I decided to do some reading instead, so I didn't get to bed until about 1:30. Oh well, at least I wasn't sat in front of a screen the whole time. This blog is a historical occassion by the way - It's the first time I've ever gone on the internet before work, as I never usually give myself enough time in the morning.
Saying that, I'll probably be late now because of this. No, I won't, I've stilll got plenty of time to get in on time for my official start time of 9:30. I am going to make an effort. Honest.
Saying that, I'll probably be late now because of this. No, I won't, I've stilll got plenty of time to get in on time for my official start time of 9:30. I am going to make an effort. Honest.
Success! Of sorts
I was offline for 3 hours, which was quite good I thought. I didn't get much reading done, but I phoned my friend Charlotte for the first time since I found out she was pregnant (I found out about two months ago - whoops! I kept meaning to, honest I did), and I watched Teachers, which was brilliant as ever. So not bad. Unfortunately I did go on online after Teachers, and I'm still on now and it's gone midnight, but I am still sort of on track for getting enough sleep. So a baby-sized whoo-hoo! Maybe. If I can just disconnect now and not log on again in my bedroom. God! It's so hard.
Ooh, delaying tactic - I got a free (as in given to me by a rep, not nicked!!) pen-torch today, the ones that doctors have in their jacket pockets for looking in your eyes, mouth etc. It's so cool! It's bright enough so that you can stick it up your nose and in your mouth etc, and it glows red through the skin. Tré cool, I kid you not!
OK, I know, I'm gone. 'Bye!
Ooh, delaying tactic - I got a free (as in given to me by a rep, not nicked!!) pen-torch today, the ones that doctors have in their jacket pockets for looking in your eyes, mouth etc. It's so cool! It's bright enough so that you can stick it up your nose and in your mouth etc, and it glows red through the skin. Tré cool, I kid you not!
OK, I know, I'm gone. 'Bye!
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Today, I'm going to turn off the computer
That may not sound like news, but I've been completely enslaved to it since I got it, and I've been getting to bed later and later, and feeling shitter and shitter in the mornings. So, tonight the plan is to have a little surf early in the evening (eg: now), and then read a bit (for the first time in ages), watch Teachers (the most inventive, funniest, and best acted programme on TV at the moment), then maybe have a brief surf, very brief, and then go to bed. On time. And then get up in the morning, not tired, and get into work on time. For the first time in months.
Question is: can I do it? History suggests not, and my will-power is infamously non-existant. But I'm going to give it a go.
Question is: can I do it? History suggests not, and my will-power is infamously non-existant. But I'm going to give it a go.
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
Hello Josh!
I'd just like to thank you for cheering me up at work today, that email was just what I needed.
*Sigh*
I'm going through a bit of a restless phase, and this is impacting on my attitude at work. It's not helped by me being so interested in my computing stuff outside of work; I'm becoming really lazy, and doing stupid things like not returning people's calls if I can't be bothered to sort out their quieries, which is the sort of thing that can only lead to trouble. But I just don't care any more, which is a real shame as I used to quite like my job.
Bah.
I'm guessing it might have something to do with me being 25 in two weeks time (two weeks today, in fact). I thought I was OK with it, and I've actually been quite looking forward to it, but I think maybe deep down I still feel that I haven't achieved enough or experienced enough of life for a person of my age.
Humbug.
Anyway, I don't want this to be a negative post (hmm, bit late now!), so thank you Josh for your amusing and witty emails, they are very much appreciated. Great, now I sound needy and desperate. Not only that, but old needy and desperate ;-) . (Well, many a true word spoken in jest.)
*Sigh*
I'm going through a bit of a restless phase, and this is impacting on my attitude at work. It's not helped by me being so interested in my computing stuff outside of work; I'm becoming really lazy, and doing stupid things like not returning people's calls if I can't be bothered to sort out their quieries, which is the sort of thing that can only lead to trouble. But I just don't care any more, which is a real shame as I used to quite like my job.
Bah.
I'm guessing it might have something to do with me being 25 in two weeks time (two weeks today, in fact). I thought I was OK with it, and I've actually been quite looking forward to it, but I think maybe deep down I still feel that I haven't achieved enough or experienced enough of life for a person of my age.
Humbug.
Anyway, I don't want this to be a negative post (hmm, bit late now!), so thank you Josh for your amusing and witty emails, they are very much appreciated. Great, now I sound needy and desperate. Not only that, but old needy and desperate ;-) . (Well, many a true word spoken in jest.)
Blah
I'm in one of those moods where I don't feel like I've got anything to say. Which probably means that I'm better off shutting up now. But I don't want to. Hmm, what a dilemma.
Monday, April 08, 2002
Welcome back N!
My housemate N came back last night after spending a month in New Zealand with her boyfriend, which was all very exciting. We put up balloons and stuff before she arrived, and bought cakes from M&S quickly before it shut as a last minute thing. I don't need much excuse to buy a cake at the best of times, so I bought a really gooey chocolate brownie type thing, and C also bought a lemon cake, both of which were very nice.
N had loads of cool stories to tell, and she did pretty much every activity under the sun while she was there, so we had to sit through the videos of her skydiving and bungy-jumping etc, which was quite cool. I must admit I'm jealous - it's nearly a year since I went to Australia, and I really fancy a holiday now - Italy or somewhere like that would be very cool, even if it was just for a long weekend. I also quite fancy a beach on the south of France sometime in the summer - that would be very nice .......
I must stop tormenting myself.
N had loads of cool stories to tell, and she did pretty much every activity under the sun while she was there, so we had to sit through the videos of her skydiving and bungy-jumping etc, which was quite cool. I must admit I'm jealous - it's nearly a year since I went to Australia, and I really fancy a holiday now - Italy or somewhere like that would be very cool, even if it was just for a long weekend. I also quite fancy a beach on the south of France sometime in the summer - that would be very nice .......
I must stop tormenting myself.
My review
I finally got round to doing my review for the Peer-to-Peer review project today (due date is tomorrow, so strictly speaking I'm not late!). The blog is SomeTHiNG, and my review goes a little something like this:
Hopefully there will be a review of me somewhere, and a link to me. If I ever hear of it, I will of course let you know. I watched two episodes of Angel on DVD while I was writing that review - I love the fact that I can have a DVD playing in a little corner of the screen while I'm focusing on other stuff. So very useful!
- OK, so first the basics: SomeTHiNG is a website made by a guy from Scotland called Gordon. It's more than just a blog, having been developed over the last four years or so and apparently having been through nine incarnations. The current version is very easy on the eye, simple to navigate, and works well in both IE and Opera on PC and Mac (I haven't got round to installing Netscape yet, sorry).
Some websites are very personal, often a form of catharsis, whereas some are more a collection of links and cool stuff. SomeTHiNG is very much of the former, but with shed-loads of links as well, so there should be something for everyone here.
The site is divided into several sections. The 'Daily' section is the main blog section, which covers daily thoughts, a bit about his life, and a link to something on every post is pretty much guaranteed.
The 'Personal' section does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a series of short essays (for want of a better term) on a personal theme, updated on an ad-hoc basis. Personally, I enjoy reading people's more introspective writings, but I know this isn't to everyone's tastes, so you can always skip this section if you like.
The 'Thoughts' section is similar, comprised of a series of infrequent posts on a range of subjects, from Foxhunting through 'emotional wellbeing' to the release of the Jamie Bulger killers. If you think that sounds boring then honestly, it isn't - it's engagingly written and very easy to follow.
The 'Miscellany' section contains a few randomn things, such as his trip to San Francisco, musical tastes, and causes he supports (he's a fellow Amnesty International supporter, which makes him a good guy in my book). Unfortunately, a promising section with links to some cartoon strips came up with a load of dead links, but everything else worked OK.
There is also the obligatory About section, and a page of links to other blogs and sites of interest which I admit I haven't had a chance to check out yet.
All in all, the site is a good, intelligent read. There's no specific theme, which can make it seem a bit disjointed at times, but this is a personal site and so it doesn't really distract, as the theme is of course Gordon himself.
Hopefully there will be a review of me somewhere, and a link to me. If I ever hear of it, I will of course let you know. I watched two episodes of Angel on DVD while I was writing that review - I love the fact that I can have a DVD playing in a little corner of the screen while I'm focusing on other stuff. So very useful!
Sunday, April 07, 2002
Sunday roast
I hate to gloat, but one of my housemates has invited me round to her parent's for a roast lamb dinner - how could I refuse? I only ever eat roast dinners when I go to see my parents, so that'll be a nice change for me. Anyway, I need to jump in the shower quickly so that I don't smell when I go. 'Bye!
Hmm, just noticed that the posting-time is now right - how freaky is that?
Hmm, just noticed that the posting-time is now right - how freaky is that?
Saturday, April 06, 2002
Grrrrr!
Why doesn't Blogger allow for British Summer Time? It's a minor thing but it's really pissing me off now, especially if this is going to go on all bloody summer. IT'S NOT 9:35, IT'S 10:35 DAMN YOU!!!!
As promised: 5 links
Make your own Mr Man/Little Miss! Very cool, in a takes-you-back-to-your-childhood kind of way. Some tips: on the loading screen, move your curor over the flowers and they rotate; have the volume on and the instructions are read aloud in the style of the TV series; also, it's in Flash, and if you go pressing too many things quickly it will crash.
Hi-Ho! I know this has been done to death, but if you haven't seen this before it really is one of the best things on the net, IMHO.
Comatose. I've been meaning to add this in to my list of blogs on the left for ages, and so what better time to introduce it than now? Basically he's a gay guy who lives in Cambridge, and is always a good read.
Flame/L'il Dragon.com. I started flicking through this last week, and I really liked his style of writing, and the layout is very cool. I think it might be sticky for me.
SomeTHiNG... I'm reading this blog as part of the Peer-to-Peer Review thing, and I've got to write a bit about it by the 8th, so that will be apearing here shortly.
Well, there you go. Not sure if that was the best way I could have spent my Saturday night, but it's too late to worry about that now. At least I had some quality time with my iBook ;-) (Hmm, I must stop going on about that, I imagine it's getting a bit boring now.)
Hi-Ho! I know this has been done to death, but if you haven't seen this before it really is one of the best things on the net, IMHO.
Comatose. I've been meaning to add this in to my list of blogs on the left for ages, and so what better time to introduce it than now? Basically he's a gay guy who lives in Cambridge, and is always a good read.
Flame/L'il Dragon.com. I started flicking through this last week, and I really liked his style of writing, and the layout is very cool. I think it might be sticky for me.
SomeTHiNG... I'm reading this blog as part of the Peer-to-Peer Review thing, and I've got to write a bit about it by the 8th, so that will be apearing here shortly.
Well, there you go. Not sure if that was the best way I could have spent my Saturday night, but it's too late to worry about that now. At least I had some quality time with my iBook ;-) (Hmm, I must stop going on about that, I imagine it's getting a bit boring now.)
Update
I've updated the About Me page slightly, to reflect any changes since the last update about a month ago. Nothing major.
Links? What links?
I've been really crap with putting links in recently, as I've been quite caught up in my whole iBook thing. So, here's an article I just read in Yahoo News, which suggests that human cloning has actually begun in the United Arab Emirates by an Italian scientist. The whole idea of human cloning scares me, partly because in the wrong hands it could be so badly abused, but mainly because I think it oversteps the boundaries of what is acceptable in terms of manipulating nature for our own ends.
Anyway, I might do a Top 5 links or something, to try and make up for for my lack of them recently. This of course has absolutely nothing to do with my recent application to join the GBlogs (Hello Jen!).
Anyway, I might do a Top 5 links or something, to try and make up for for my lack of them recently. This of course has absolutely nothing to do with my recent application to join the GBlogs (Hello Jen!).
Friday, April 05, 2002
Blogger's being a bit flakey at the moment
So I hope this come out OK. I've updated my most-played tracks on the left (or at least, I hope I have). The old ones were: 'Off You'- The Breeders, 'Son of Three'- The Breeders, 'Forced to Drive'- The Breeders, 'The Navajo Know'- The Pixies, and 'Surrendering'- Alanis Morissette.
I think I'm in love .....
Hmm, since I got home at about 5:30, I haven't moved from in front of my iBook - I can see a serious addiction building here. I've been uploading loads of CDs onto MP3, I'll probably find in a couple of days that I've used all the bloody hard drive - the damn disk-drive copies them so quickly I can't keep up. I was up to about 2:30 last night, I kept on thinking of things I wanted to do and try out. I must kurb my late-night tendancies - I've been late into work everyday this week, and I've been a zombie most of the day. Speaking of zombies, I'm going to watch the rest of the Buffy Season 6/Angel Season 3 tapes that I've got tonight. I'll be gutted when I run out of new episodes. I'll happily watch them all again though! *Sigh*
Oh, by the way ....
I've got it! I've finally got my grubby little hands on an iBook. After a lot of hassles which I can't be bothered to go into now (and let's face it, I've already bored you all to death with most of them anyway) it's now mine and it all works and it's great! More later, after some sleep and another boring day at work.
Thursday, April 04, 2002
Change of plan
Right, I can FTP to my new site from FTP Explorer no problem, piece of piss. BUT, Blogger won't publish there. It says it has published, but nothing appears, so I'm going to have dig around a bit. As Geocities seems to still be OK with Blogger publishing then I'm going to stick with it for the moment, so no big change after all! (Yet.)
Wednesday, April 03, 2002
OK, bear with me
I'm going to attempt to rebublish everything on the new site over the new couple of days, so I may not post much new stuff, unless it all works out really quickly, which I very much doubt. Anyway, if you're new here then feel free to check out the archives, there's loads of top quality stuff in there (yeah right!) to keep you going.
Tuesday, April 02, 2002
OK, I'm there
Thanks to FTP Explorer and Stuffit Expander I'm now in a position to start the new site. BUT, the name I've registered with my ISP won't be ready for another 24 hours, so we'll all just have to wait a little longer, unfortunately. Even though Geocities is still working, which is bizarre as it shouldn't. Anyway, I'd like to move to my ISP site regardless; the practice will do me good if nothing else.
The reason I haven't written anything else today is that I don't really have anything special to say. If you need an FTP or unzipping programme then check out the links above, otherwise I'm done. Sorry. Except .....
Garbage yesterday was cool. I loved it! A brilliant set, with lots of tracks from all three albums, and I really enjoyed it - I didn't realise how much I actually liked it until I started describing it to people today, and got really excited! If you do get a chance to see them on tour this year, then DO IT - completely recommended. The Garbage website is also really cool, with lyrics from all their albums - so if like me you've always wondered what Shirley was singing about, then now really is the time to find out.
The reason I haven't written anything else today is that I don't really have anything special to say. If you need an FTP or unzipping programme then check out the links above, otherwise I'm done. Sorry. Except .....
Garbage yesterday was cool. I loved it! A brilliant set, with lots of tracks from all three albums, and I really enjoyed it - I didn't realise how much I actually liked it until I started describing it to people today, and got really excited! If you do get a chance to see them on tour this year, then DO IT - completely recommended. The Garbage website is also really cool, with lyrics from all their albums - so if like me you've always wondered what Shirley was singing about, then now really is the time to find out.
Um, will this work now?
Testing! I think Geocities will refuse this.
Update: OK, maybe not, because FTP's blatantly still working. This is just what I would expect when the Peer-to-Peer review thing finally comes through - I'm all over the place, and somebody's got to come in and have a look around. Sorry to whoever that is - I'll try and keep things on an even keel, I promise ......
Update: OK, maybe not, because FTP's blatantly still working. This is just what I would expect when the Peer-to-Peer review thing finally comes through - I'm all over the place, and somebody's got to come in and have a look around. Sorry to whoever that is - I'll try and keep things on an even keel, I promise ......
The Queerest of the Queer (Or, Garbage: The name doesn't do them justice)
I couldn't decide on a header, so I thought I'd do it like one of those double-titled plays. Anyway, I've had quite a good day today - went to Gunwharf Quay in Portsmouth, had a quick look around the shops, then went and watched Blade II, which was actually quite good (suprisingly), then went for a nice Mexican meal (my favourite food), then went and saw Garbage kick of their first UK tour in THREE YEARS, and then, oh yes, I met them!
I was with Howard, and so we got in free in anyway, but we also got backstage passes because he managed to get in with their UK PR company or something. Basically, Howard is my disabled friend, and he manages to get in almost anywhere based on who he knows. He's started doing a book, where celebrities all have to write a bit in their own writing about a certain topic (trade secret - he's looking to get it published!), and so we got them all to sign this book, which was cool, all the while being plied with enough free beer to intoxicate a small army.
And that's it really. Shirley Manson is really nice, really sweet and friendly, very petite too. The three main guys are all nice enough, suprisingly old in real life, and there's another guy, bass player, who might just be a tour person, he's American and young and quite spaced. Oh, and the PR guy, Bernard, also does PR for Frank Black (of Pixies fame) - but not the Breeders though, I already asked!!
And that's been my day.
In theory, this shouldn't have published, because Yahoo Geocities are supposed to be suspending their FTP access from today, but this has gone though OK. Whoo-hoo! Quite handy really, because I still haven't sorted out FTPing to my reserve webspace in case I need it.
I was with Howard, and so we got in free in anyway, but we also got backstage passes because he managed to get in with their UK PR company or something. Basically, Howard is my disabled friend, and he manages to get in almost anywhere based on who he knows. He's started doing a book, where celebrities all have to write a bit in their own writing about a certain topic (trade secret - he's looking to get it published!), and so we got them all to sign this book, which was cool, all the while being plied with enough free beer to intoxicate a small army.
And that's it really. Shirley Manson is really nice, really sweet and friendly, very petite too. The three main guys are all nice enough, suprisingly old in real life, and there's another guy, bass player, who might just be a tour person, he's American and young and quite spaced. Oh, and the PR guy, Bernard, also does PR for Frank Black (of Pixies fame) - but not the Breeders though, I already asked!!
And that's been my day.
In theory, this shouldn't have published, because Yahoo Geocities are supposed to be suspending their FTP access from today, but this has gone though OK. Whoo-hoo! Quite handy really, because I still haven't sorted out FTPing to my reserve webspace in case I need it.
Monday, April 01, 2002
April = birthday month!
Whoo-hoo! I'm going to be 25 this month. I'm quite chuffed, 'cause I've made it to 25 without completely fucking myself up over the whole gay thing. It took a while, but I'm there. And I'm reasonably happily employed, which is something I never thought would happen. Honestly, if you met me when I was 18, and then met me now, I am pretty much a totally different person, and I love it! I was so completely shy and insecure then that it's almost untrue. I'm not saying that I'm completely perfect now or anything, but I am a lot more confident and happy than I've ever been before. Which is nice.
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