mac's world-o-stuff :: a weblog with a bad name


mac's world-o-stuff :: wasting valuable web space since 1999



Tuesday, April 30, 2002

If I were Diamond Dallas Page, I'd take the doctor's advice and retire from active wrestling. But I know he loves the business, so why couldn't he be a manager? Surely he doesn't have to go completely.

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I had my first exam this morning. Philosophy 1. It went okay I guess. I made one silly mistake, but not enough to cost me too dearly. I remember messing up much worse last year, and in the end I was only 2.1% away from a 2.1. But besides, it'll just push me to compensate in my other four philosophy papers. I just want to get them all finished with now. One down, ten to go.

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Monday, April 29, 2002

Lou Thesz has died.

His legacy somewhat lives on through 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. I wonder what Lou thought of him.

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Sunday, April 28, 2002

I complained here a while ago about Gaea Girls, the 'documentary' about joshi puroresu. I couldn't get at the time why the people involved refused to even acknowledge kayfabe, let alone break it.

Now I understand.

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This is a fucking brilliant read. (c/o the yes no interlude.)

I wasn't particularly au fait with Will Self until relatively recently, but I'm glad I'm in the know now. Anyone who can fit in seamlessly with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer is alright by me. Littlejohn, on the other hand, well I remember him from his crappy talk shows on Sky back in the early 90's. 'Loudmouth' is the only word I can use to describe my opinion of him.

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While searching for some information on Gilbert Ryle's behaviourism for my exam notes, I discovered this, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's amazing where search engines can take you. Something for me to check out when I'm free.

Speaking of search engines, of late I have found xrefer to be particularly useful. I had heard of it before but never really bothered looking, but it is quite a powerful tool for the academically-minded.

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I just found this via Google News, and it ties in somewhat with my previous post below.

Is the harvesting of stem cells from embryos completely necessary? I'm no geneticist or microbiologist, but I did read somewhere recently that plentiful supplies of stem cells can be harvested from umbilical cords after birth.

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I've got a bone to pick with Oliver Willis.

Oh sure, you might say it's nitpicking, but he's wrong and I'm calling him on it. Resigning oneself to the idea that science marches on whatever the consequences is almost analogous to saying history is predetermined and there's jack-shit we can do about it.

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Ugh. I'm getting to the point now where I'm drawing a complete blank on episodes from the previous few days.

I'm going over my Philosophy of Mind notes. I go through the five exam study topics (three of which will come up on the paper), one of which is a discussion/assessment question regarding one of a number of articles we looked at in classes. I decide to have a go at Hilary Putnam's 'Philosophy and Our Mental Life'. I turn the page to read the rest of my notes and what's underneath? Notes for the Putnam article that I already made last week. But I can't remember making them. At all.

I don't feel so good.

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Here's a cool site with photo essays of Toronto.

I've been to some of these places. Others I wanted to but just didn't have time. But I'll be back there again some day. Toronto's a great city.

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Saturday, April 27, 2002

Reading this made me think rather than chuckle.

You know, in many ways, the nerds of this world are the most genuine people you could ever know.

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I rented Amelie on DVD yesterday and watched it last night.

Everyone I knew who'd already seen it said it was great, but I wasn't sure. I thought Jeunet made a dog's dinner out of Alien: Resurrection, and I've tried watching Delicatessen a couple of times but just couldn't stick with it.

However, Amelie is a dream to behold. It's been a while since I've seen a movie that genuinely warmed my heart, rather than grabbing greedily at my heartstrings and manipulating them like Thurston Moore with a guitar.

To cut a long story short (doo, do doo do-do-do do-do do-do do-do do-do doo) I highly recommend it.

Have I not convinced you enough? Okay then, just wait until I write a review apres mes examens.

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I don't know why I do this - it's not very punk of me to conform in such a manner, is it? - but on the other hand, it wouldn't be very punk of me to stop just because some people might think it's not punk of me. Ah fuck it anyway, here's Friday Five #14:

1. What are your hobbies?

Hmm.... now that I think about it, I don't really do anything - besides keeping this weblog - that I would consider a hobby as such. I love pro wrestling, but is that a hobby? I don't have a model railway or paint Citadel miniatures or take photos obsessively.... hey, maybe I should break out my camera more often....

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

I have a nice collection of SST Superstore catalogues. I used to collect stamps when I was younger but then I got bored with it as it's actually quite expensive to maintain a valuable collection.

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do?

<sarcasm>Oh yes, due to my current financial situation I am unable to indulge my passion for classic sports cars.</sarcasm>

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity?

Not yet I haven't. I plan to though. If you could call my love of pro wrestling a hobby, then I might do this summer. Just wait and see.

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to?

I am a member of the Film Institute of Ireland's cinema club, which means I get to see uncertified art house movies at the IFC every now and again, without having to go through a whole rigmarole of on-the-spot membership that they have there to stop them getting into trouble with the law.

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Friday, April 26, 2002

I dunno whether there's something funny in the air, but there seems to be a whole rash of 80's synth-pop compilations coming out at the moment. And I want one. Specifically one that has, and I'm completely serious about this, 'To Cut A Long Story Short' by Spandau Ballet, 'Wishing' by A Flock Of Seagulls, anything by Kraftwerk, and those two Gary Numan tracks - you know, the only ones anyone can remember.

This one almost fits the bill (no 'Cars', unfortunately), but is it worth spending all that money for only a handful of songs?

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Don't go here if you have an addictive personality.

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Would you like to be trampled by a herd of jogging Oprahs carrying 3lb hams?

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It's primitive enough that the Israeli army seems to operate a 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy, but stuff like this is absolutely uncalled for.

If the Messiah came down to Jerusalem tomorrow, I'm sure he'd bow his head in shame.

(Thanks for another link, Mat.)

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Thursday, April 25, 2002

The date for the elections has been made official - May 17th, which also happens to be the last day of my exams. Thankfully the polls are open 'til 10:30pm, since I won't have any time to decide who I'm voting for 'til 4:30pm that afternoon, when they call pens-down on my last paper.

Hmm, that gives me all of six hours!

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Wednesday, April 24, 2002

I feel very passive agressive right now. I'm probably going to be like this until the end of my exams.

On a related note, I've been rediscovering my CD collection to 'relax' after my difficult study regime (which is only really made difficult by this unbearable humidity - I only had a shower a couple of hours ago and I'm clammy again), which lead me to 'A Cobra Trilogy' by Janmichaelvincentcarcrash, one of the most original bands I've ever discovered. They're what you get when you give a cello, a flute and a sampler to a grindcore band - jazzgrind! It's a shame they broke up... hey, maybe I could capitalise on their absense from the music scene.... yeeess.... mu-hahahaha!

And in totally unrelated news, the sexy lady who plays Susan on Teachers is doing a web-chat on the Channel 4 website right now. I'd have a look, but that would be a bit sad, wouldn't it? And I mean, what could I say? 'I want to shag you'? Somehow I think she'd answer in the negative.

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This is kinda creepy (c/o This is not a blog - Hah! Another wannabe surrealist!).

Of course, it used to be even bigger than this.

Mommy, I'm scared.

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I just found this, by way of this. 'Ceci n'est pas une weblog'? I dunno.... in the case of Magritte's pipe, it was easier to define. Then again, I've been studying all say so I'm probably just not approching the question properly.

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Kool Bobby left a comment (unfortunately no longer archived) on my last post which, for me, answers some questions and basically sums up the distinct cultural differences between Europe and North America.

Personally, I find it sad that someone can live for years in supposedly the greatest country in the world and only ever travel by train once. They call America 'the land of the free', but it seems this definition of 'free' is more than a little restrictive.

Surely railways exist because people don't feel like driving, or simply can't drive? I mean, who the hell really wants to drive alone across a continent? Sure cars can be good, but even Kerouac got the bus sometimes. Well that would be the European perspective anyway. I mean, continental Europe has a successful automotive industry, yet also has some of the world's best railways. Hell, the people who make the cars also make the trains! (Fiat, at least in Italy, has a hand in both.) And you don't even have to stick with Europe for examples: Japan has an enormous automotive industry, and yet also boasts an impressive (albeit expensive) rail network.

Then again, most European public transport systems are subsidised by government. In return for high taxes, you (should) get efficient public services. You get what you pay for.

Why can't this be the case in the United States?.... Do I even need to ask? You Yanks have way to many industrialists/politicians/whoever with a quasi-Nietzschean obsession with power.

But I do need to ask something - do you Yanks get what you pay for? (And I mean this on a tangible social level, so I won't accept 'armed forces' as a reply.) It seems to me, from my lofty perch, that you pay and you pay and you pay, but because Big Business pays to the right people, they get to call the shots. I wouldn't call that a democracy, would you?

I dunno what Derrida would say, but I think it's about time 'America' was deconstructed.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2002

Another fatal rail crash in the States, the second in less than a week. Accidents like this are turning out to be a regular thing for Amtrack over the last few years. It seems the more the service gets scaled back, the more accidents happen. I mean, even India, a comparatively primitive country with a sprawling bowl-o-spaghetti rail network doesn't have as bad a track record (no pun intended). Isn't it time some questions were answered?

In a related note, I'm having second thoughts about getting the train from Seattle to Oakland when I eventually do my Pacific coast trip. Greyhound seems much more comfortable.

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I know I'm late commenting on the fact that Hulk Hogan is, for the sixth time, WWF Champion. In a perfect world, I would have waited 'til the end of the year before even giving him a title shot, let alone the freaking belt (and I sure as hell wouldn't have changed him back to the god-awful red and yellow - jeez even back in the 80's that was gaudy). But I don't really care that much. It's only profit-dictated expediency on the part of Vince McMahon. I bet he never had this current plan in mind when he re-signed Hogan all of three months ago. It won't last long. The wave of nostalgia will wane, Hogan will say his final farewell, and the world will be a slightly better place.

While I'm on the subject, here's a few things I would suggest If I Were Paul Heyman:

  • Make the nWo bigger, but not too big: Too many members spoiled the nWo broth back in WCW, but right now there aren't enough, and it's leaving me hungry. They could do with maybe diversifying the brand. For example, add the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and myself (if I were Paul Heyman) to the nWo. It'll work, trust me. And hey, Chris Jericho could finally form that Canadian stable that's been talked about forever; it could be nWo Canada or something to that effect. Limit it to Jericho, Test, Christian and Lance Storm... and maybe Benoit, if he wanted to turn heel. And look at all the old ECW guys with nothing to do - they could be the nWo Revolution, a gimmick that could also serve as a nice way to introduce new talent from the farm leagues. And it almost goes without saying: have an nWo presence on both Raw and SmackDown! Doing things this way means that there's as little chaff as possible (no nWo B-team, as it were), whilst maximising the nWo as a real threat to the WWF, storyline-wise.
  • Kurt Angle and Booker T - make them a team: There doesn't seem to be any direction for either of these guys in singles competition, even though they're two of the best workers the WWF has. So why not team them up? They'd be much more credible tag team champions in my book than (uugh) Billy and Chuck, whilst the potential for some comedy stylings is just bursting to get out. Just imagine Booker teaching Angle how to do the Spinerooni. I'm tellin' ya, it can't fail.
  • Bring in some cruiserweight ringers from Japan: Tajiri is turning heel, so it's the perfect opportunity for him to bring in some of his equally dastardly countrymen. They could sneak-attack Sho Funaki for being too 'American' or something. Meanwhile, Taka Michinoku swears revenge, and brings in some friends of his own. Yeah, sure, it's racial stereotyping, but this is just for exposition. The wrestling will speak for itself. It won't be long before the 'fans' wake up and start throwing streamers at them as a mark of respect and admiration.

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The cats are skulking around outside my window right now. I can see Matilda, the tamest of the four, in our neighbours' garden... she's a bit too inquisitive for her own good. You know what they say about feline curiosity.

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Is it just me, or are these guys literally talking out of their arses?

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Monday, April 22, 2002

I was foiled in my attempts to procure an iced coffee in Bewleys on Westmoreland Street this morning. The entrance layout is quite haphazard, and hasn't the management there ever heard of semiotics? Surely it wouldn't kill you to put up some proper signs. I didn't have any idea where to go, and I didn't have the time or the patience to spin around in circles.

Oh, you might argue, why not just ask for assistance? The thing is, of course, that I could, but I shouldn't have to.

One can never have too many signs; they separate the ignorant (who need assistance, and lots of it) from the merely confused (who don't).

And while I'm here... why is the web so slow right now? Since yesterday everything's been crawling. At first I thought it was just a bunch of nerds hogging all the bandwidth to download a new Star Wars trailer or something, but it's still dead slow. I mean, two minutes for a web-page with no Flash or Java to load? Even on my 56k modem, that's not on.

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Sunday, April 21, 2002

Layne Staley is dead (from Muj on the Wattlist).

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. The man was a heroin addict after all. But it's still sad.

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While I'm on the subject of music, and before I set the video for Touch of Evil and hit the sack, yesterday I got the new Redneck Manifesto album, Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head. It's okay.... I dunno, it would have benefitted from some more crunchy riffing. They have a great sound when they rock out - the bass is full and punchy, the guitars (as I've already noted) are crunchy - but they don't sound nearly as distinctive when they get all plaintive and rootsy, which they do for six out of the seven tracks on this album. They hold back too much, they always stop too soon, as if they're jerking off and afraid of being caught or something. They may be the darlings of the underground scene here in Dublin, but I've gotta call it like I see it. Less faffing, more rocking, please.

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Time to pay a little visit to the Relapse website.....

I want this, definitely this, this, and maybe this.

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Saturday, April 20, 2002

Sonic Youth are playing at the third annual Witnness festival this summer. Alas, it's much too expensive to go on my own to see just one band (unlike the first year, when I saw five good acts in a row, I am not in the least bit interested in seeing anybody else).

However, their new album is due at the end of June. I didn't even know they were working on one. I'm so out of touch since I left HMV.

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I must apologise for the lack of anything interesting on my blog lately. Sometimes I just don't have much to say, and anything I do.... well I'm sure others are saying the same, and probably better, particularly regarding currently significant world events like the Middle East crisis (long story short: Israel is wrong - by this I refer to the Israeli government, not all Jewish people, for 'Jew' is not synonymous with 'Israel' - and militant Palestinians are wrong, so both of you stop persecuting ordinary people).

But this is not to say that I'm going to stop. Why would I stop? Doing this is fun, even if no one reads it. Hell, because no one reads it I'm under no pressure! I've seen far too many of those pretentios whiny paragraphs left behind on dead weblogs blabbering on about how events in their 'troubled' lives prevent them from continuing and they need to 'remove' themselves from the 'net or whatever. Cry me a river, baby. Puh-lease.

As soon as I get my exams out of the way, I'll start making this place interesting again (this will include a name change, or if you will, rebranding). In the meantime of course, you're just gonna get me whining about how much studying I have to do and how well - or badly - I did in each of my eleven papers. Oh yeah, I'll be reiterating the fact that I have eleven exams papers. Over and over and over.

Did I mention I have eleven exam papers? Eleven!!!

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Friday, April 19, 2002

Because I was so preoccupied the last few weekends, I forgot to do the Friday Five, so here's a special triple-bill for ya, numbers 11, 12 and lucky 13:

1. If you could eat dinner with and "get to know" one famous person (living or dead), who would you choose?

Henry Rollins or the late D. Boon. I think both would be very interesting and stimulating conversationists.

2. Has the death of a famous person ever had an effect on you? Who was it and how did you feel?

Not directly, no, but I do think that the deaths of famous people get totally blown out of proportion (witness all the crap about the Queen Mother popping her clogs).

3. If you could BE a famous person for 24 hours, who would you choose?

I wouldn't want to 'be' anyone else in the sense of my mind replacing another's in the other's body, but in the Being John Malkovich perceiving-what-the-other-perceives sense I guess I'd like to get inside the head of Mike Watt. The man lives a crazy, yet totally down to earth life.

4. Do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? Who?

Ethan says I look like Squarepusher. It depends on the light, I guess.

5. Have you ever met anyone famous?

If you mean by met 'someone I've been in potential interpersonal relations with', then besides shaking hands with J Mascis, having a headlock put on me by Bill Kazmaier (he didn't last long as a wrestler, but he teamed with Jushin Liger at Starrcade '91 a couple of weeks after my encounter with him - one degree of separation between myself and one of the greatest pro wrestlers who's ever lived), getting a dirty look from Kevin Nash (I've got a photo to prove it - in philosophical terms it counts), serving a small popcorn and coke to the singer from Ash (what a shite band, really), and doing the old good-customer-service bit with Gerard Butler and Michael Wincott* (who was really cool, a real class act), I could rattle off a whole list of people. I've been kinda lucky in my time so far on this mortal coil.

*I didn't know who either of these people were at the time, which probably explains why I was able to converse with them without being completely starstruck.

1. What are the first things that you do in the morning to start your day?

I get up. I get dressed. I brush my teeth. Then I leave. I'm not a morning person.

2. What are the last things that you do at night before going to bed?

I watch TV, and fall asleep with the TV on.

3. What daily routine have you recently added to your day?

I make much more of an effort to take my daily vitamin pill.

4. What routine do you wish you get rid of?

Having to get up in the morning.

5. What's the one thing that makes you feel like something is missing if you don't do it some point within your day?

Checking my e-mail I guess. I dunno why.

1. What's your favorite TV show and why?

Teachers - unlike other supposed comedy/drama type series depicting the lives of twenty-somethings that end up just being overly-hyped pretentious and patronising rubbish (This Life is a perfect example, I absolutely hated it), this just works. I left school relatively recently, and I could really imagine some of my old teachers being like that. I must say that even though the show is only on its second series, it's developed quite a lot, especially with the splash of Pythonesque nonsense - which itself I feel is a reflection of the lack of sense we often find in everyday life, so it's far from detrimental to the quality of the writing and the acting (particularly the one who plays Susan, she's gorgeous - 'tis a pity she smokes).

2. Who is your favorite television star?

I don't have one.

3. What was your favorite TV show as a child?

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I was distraught when Mattel ruined it all in 1989, deleting the Masters (and effectively the TV show) and replacing the old He-Man with some long-haired hippy, and a new cartoon with horrible cheapy French-style animation. The fools. Hell, even Hasbro are bringing back some of their old Transformers this year.

4. What show do you think should have been cancelled by now?

I don't really care. If I don't like a show, I just don't watch it.

5. What new show do you hope escapes the axe this season?

I don't really think about that much since most of the telly I watch is on the British terrestrial channels, and the business over there isn't as cutthroat as it is on the other side of the pond.

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Autechre will curate next year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival next year.

I am seriously considering going, if I can find three other people interested enough to take a weekend off and go on a jaunt to the south-east of England to spend a weekend at a Pontin's centre watching obscure bands play. It's not that expensive really. Including travel and food expenses it'll cost less than €400 each.

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Thursday, April 18, 2002

I got my ticket for the Dillinger Escape Plan/Nasum show this afternoon. They're limited to 300 since Doran's is kinda small so if you want to go and happen to be reading this, I suggest you pop along to the Sound Cellar within the next few days.

I also had my last ever lecture in UCD this afternoon. From a scream to a whisper, as Tim Mooney put it. But hey, I can wean myself off the place by making the most of my student card before it expires and visiting the library over the summer. There's so many books I haven't read yet.

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Wednesday, April 17, 2002

STOP THE PRESSES! The Dillinger Escape Plan AND Nasum are playing Eamonn Dorans on the 5th of May, and I can go because I don't have an exam the next day! YES!

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The WWA is coming back to Dublin on the 6th of July.

Sure, their production values are pretty woeful - just witness the typos and misinformation on their website - but hey, it's wrestling, so of course I'm gonna go.

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Tuesday, April 16, 2002

Can it be? Has Hyatte returned??!! It doesn't matter if he doesn't do weekly mop-ups or not, it's just great to read anything he writes.

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I am, as of this moment, one hour away from completing my Electronic Publishing Research assignment. It's not due until Friday evening, but dammit, I wanna break my personal record before I leave university. Plus, I need to study, and it's taking up too much of my study time.

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Monday, April 15, 2002

Ken Shamrock is a fool.

The money in shootfighting isn't nearly as good as the money in pro wrestling, at least for the time being. It'll be a long time before shootfighting and/or MMA reach the mainstream acceptance and money-making potential that, say, boxing enjoys. When Shamrock was in the WWF he was over. If he came back, he'd be super-over. But is he wrestling before thousands of fans across the US? No, he's still shootfighting for groups in Japan like PRIDE and Pancrase whom nobody really cares about outside the hardcore MMA fanbase. Surely he's done all he can do in the octagon?

And besides, Randy Couture would lick his ass royally.

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Friday, April 12, 2002

I've been wracking my brain trying to think of this all night, but I'm getting nowhere..... back in the 80's, on The Children's Channel (back when they showed Voltron and Roustabout and well before they shortened the name to TCC, sometime between '87 and '90) I remember a series, I think set in Australia - I can't remember the accents but it had that look about it - about a seaside town overrun by alien sea creature type things in disguise.... there was something significant about rocks the kids found on the beach or something, and the usual device of none of the adults - bar one of the grandparents - believing the kids until it was too late..... I think.... maybe some of what I've said is wrong, but I'm certain about the monsters part, and it was set by the seaside, and this was significant to the story. But I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, and I don't have the foggiest idea how to look for it on the net. All I need is a name. I know I don't have many readers (I can probably count them on one hand), but do any of you have any idea. I'm begging you!

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Thursday, April 11, 2002

Click here to see some photos of my very good friend Griet wearing bunny ears. She's the female one... or the one with hair... depending on which mode of representation grabs you initially.

(Actually, you probably won't want to click on that link if you're a homophobic asshole.)

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I'm thinking about going to the White Stripes gig at Dublin Castle on the 4th of May. It's during my exams, but it's on a Saturday, and it's a bank holiday weekend to boot. The thing is, though, I don't wanna see the White Stripes. I wanna see the support bands: the Von Bondies, the Dirtbombs and the Detroit Cobras. I couldn't give two shits about seeing the White Stripes live to be perfectly honest.

And besides, I can just imagine the crowd of mindless sycophants who'll be there to see them just because it's the place to be. (I can also imagine the looks on their faces as I leave well before the Stripes even take to the stage.)

The atmosphere at such shows is pretty bad, there's very little magic in the air. The last time I saw Yo La Tengo for example, overall I was disappointed (too much new stuff, they seemed to be going through the motions) but they pulled off some pretty neat tricks at the end - a Devo cover, a super-slow version of Little Honda - alas, nobody got it (maybe that's just the music store clerk in me) and it pretty much fell flat. And I've already spoken about the Godspeed show. In contrast, when I saw NoMeansNo, the crowd were predominantly old-school fans, and it really made a difference.

So what's the moral of this little story? Ban poseurs from potentially good gigs? Heh, in a perfect world, maybe...

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I got the debut Burnt By The Sun album today. Excellent stuff. This is what the kids should be listening to. Then again, if that happened I'd probably say they sucked or weren't 'underground' enough or something. But it won't happen. Their music is much too sophisticated for today's youth (en masse) raised on a diet of *cough* Linkin Park and *hack* Limp Bizkit *splutter*.

I mean, look what happened to Glassjaw, a fine band lumbered with a major label (yes, Roadrunner is effectively a major label now, and don't try to deny it) who didn't know what to do with them. Ever seen a Glassjaw video? Thought not. Ever seen a Nickelback video? They're all over MTV, last time I checked. Nice to see where Monte Conner's priorities lay (or is he even still around?).

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Wednesday, April 10, 2002

On the bus home this evening, passing through the North Strand (for those who don't know, it was the only place in Ireland bombed during the Second World War - by Nazis who thought they were over England), I spotted a poster advertising a gig by Jad Fair and Teenage Fanclub at Whelan's on Saturday week. I'm very intrigued. It could be an excellent way to spend my last night out before the hell of exams.

And while I'm on the subject of music... HOLY-FUCKING-SHIT! I just checked down the Whelan's schedule and it says Oxes are playing here in June with the Warlords of Pez! At last, something worth selling my soul for! If this show goes down (and I will be there if it does) it'll more than make up for Dianogah's abandonment and my inability to see Oxbow (that is, if they make it).

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This is so very true. I should know, since I used to be one. And want to be again.

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Monday, April 08, 2002

Ugh. I'm tired. Started covering phenomenology today. I'm actually retaining the information, which is nice. And I'm deep into my XML practical assignment now, just have to define the DTD to go along with my tags and then work on the style sheet. I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the week, and break all previous records for getting an assignment in before deadline. To be perfectly honest, though, I really just want to get it out of the way for two reasons: 1) the longer I dilly-dally, the closer I get to a scrambling-to-finish-the-night-before job (I want to make this as good as my HTML project) and 2) I want to be done with it so I can do some studying without worrying about not working on this.

But my brain is sore now so I'm going to bed in a few minutes to watch some telly, and maybe (just maybe, if my grey matter will allow) read some more of the excellent book on phenomenology I found in the library today.

[ 9:39 PM | link it | ]

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Sunday, April 07, 2002

It seems my good friend Grover is in Prague all this week. Grover, if you're reading this, I hate you.

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It's late, Dune is on th' telly, and it seems that I'm an agnostic. Or maybe not.

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Saturday, April 06, 2002

Unwound have broken up. I am sad.

Why is it that any band I get into either breaks up a few months later, or had broken up a long time before?

It's a curse, I tells ya.

I am sad, and I was kinda in a good mood since I just got home from seeing 24 Hour Party People (in a 300 seat cinema with four other strangers - ahhh, nothing like a Saturday afternoon at the suburban multiplex).

It's very good by the way, the movie is. Go see it if you can. It just won't be the same on video.

[ 7:20 PM | link it | ]

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I just discovered this via wingnutkj on the Watt list. It's quite sad really. How would you feel if your body suddenly prevented you from being able to do what you love? A similar thing happened to Bobby Schayer (sic), the drummer from Bad Religion, last year. Let's just hope that Mustaine doesn't do anything stupid.

[ 12:43 PM | link it | ]

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Friday, April 05, 2002

According to this website (c/o Mat), I am going to die on Thursday July 21st, 2067 at 12:48:24pm. But if I make a few changes to my lifestyle, I could live 'til 2080. I'm happy enough with that.

[ 6:28 PM | link it | ]

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Thursday, April 04, 2002

Hmm. It seems Dianogah are no longer playing over here this month. Assholes.

However, those lovely gents in NoMeansNo are coming, as they appear to be playing some festival according to their tour dates. (Update: it's a metal all-dayer at the RDS, on the last Saturday of June, tickets go on sale in a week or so.) Will I go see them if I can (work/ticket prices pending)? You bet your sweet ass I will - NoMeansNo are the second best live act I've ever seen. (Even if it is on a festival bill.... with Motorhead headlining for chrissakes.)

Something else I want to witness is the Irish Whip Wrestling show in Tallaght on the 15th of June. I've heard good things about the CZW guys coming over for the show, as well as the Brits talking part, from the pages of PowerSlam, so I'd be pretty stupid to miss it unless circumstances work against me. They're actually hosting two cards, an evening show and a matinee. The matinee is for me - something about a barbed wire match in the middle of the afternoon appeals to me - but only if I can get the time off work. That is, if I get my old job back. I should hear something about that in a few days hopefully.

[ 11:15 PM | link it | ]

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Wednesday, April 03, 2002



take a free enneagram test

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Monday, April 01, 2002

I am listening to this album right now. I'm feeling pretty stressed and I'm hoping the music will work its magic and facilitate the release of some happy-making chemicals in my brain.

[ 9:36 PM | link it | ]

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The WWF has just unveiled their new logo for Raw, and it looks pretty good, in a retro-yet-forward-looking kinda way. That's postmodernism for ya.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of the new Raw stage set tomorrow.

[ 2:36 PM | link it | ]

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