Saturday, September 28, 2002

Late again. I don't care. Friday Five #29:

1. What are your favorite ways to relax and unwind?

Listening to music, reading magazines, watching TV.

2. What do you do the moment you get home from work/school/errands?

Usually, I take off my shoes, check my e-mail and get something to eat and drink. Not necessarily in that particular order.

3. What are your favorite aromatherapeutic smells?

I dunno about aromatherapy, but I quite like the scent of vanilla, the smell of brand new books, and my girlfriend's perfume.

4. Do you feel more relaxed with a group of friends or hanging out by yourself?

I'm comfortable socialising with friends, people at work or whatever, but I do prefer and feel much more relaxed being by myself.

5. What is something that you feel is relaxing but most people don't?

Listening to really heavy music. Grindcore, metalcore, whatever; anything with offbeat timing, a thunderously dextrous bass groove and superhuman percussion. It sets off those certain chemicals in the brain that everyone has, the ones that make you smile and think that life, despite all the shit we have to go through, isn't that bad after all.

.....

Thursday, September 26, 2002

Everything you know is wrong: take the quiz to see how true this statement is for you.

.....

I'm still alive..... just about.

Work has been getting me down this week, so I haven't really felt like posting. I'm getting a cold that I caught from one of my co-workers - my ears really hurt right now - and my lower back is killing me after the 16 (yes, sixteen) hour shift most of us did yesterday. As you might imagine I really don't feel up to going in there for the next seven days in a row.

I'm gonna start looking for another job, as soon as I actually get the opportunity to look. There just isn't enough to keep me at this place, besides my friends, and the money.

.....

Sunday, September 22, 2002

I wonder if many people watching this week's edition of SmackDown! noticed the return of the humble tag rope.

For those who aren't in the know, the tag rope is a long piece of white cord, similar I would assume to a shoelace, which is tied to the top turnbuckle in one of two opposing corners for a tag team match. When the match is under way, the 'outside man' (for lack of a better phrase) must keep hold of this rope in order for a tag to his partner to be legal. (The referee has to see it too, of course, but we'll take that as a given.) Obviously, the tag rope is there to ensure that the outside man does not stray too far from his post - say, for example, to illegally tag has dazed partner at an adjacent corner.

It certainly seems like an elaboration for a sport that is really just one big entertainment spectacle. But it definitely adds a much-needed element of realism. With all the glitz and glamour and extravagance of the modern era it's the little details like this that ground professional wrestling in the real world, somewhat. We know wrestling's not real, but it's nice to look at how real it could appear to us if we didn't know.

It's been a long time since I last remember seeing the tag rope being used; 1995 at least. It's good to have it back.

.....

Saturday, September 21, 2002

Keyboard problems sorted: I swopped the one that shipped with my eMac for a proper local version, with all the keys in the right place, in town this afternoon.

While I was there I also got a 250mb Zip drive for my mp3s and stuff, so - if everything works like it's supposed to - I should have fully migrated to the Mac by the end of next week.

It's a really nice day here today. Too nice for me. It's very warm, the skies are clear and the sun is beating down like a giant klieg light. Too many people in town as usual, I hate it and I hate them. If I could I would much perfer to do all my shopping online, like I did last night when I bought this. Yeah, I admit it, I'm a total Blogger shill.

I've seen a lot of movies this week. Besides Signs, I saw Monsters, Inc. on Wednesday morning on DVD. I was quite impressed; it's those little nuances that make it great, the stuff that kids won't notice. Thursday night I went to see The Bourne Identity with Grover. I had been expecting it to be pretty crappy but it wasn't bad at all. Lots of action - including a great car chase that actually seemed authentic (no massive explosions and other such Hollywoodisms). My only criticism is that it's yet another in a long line of recent movies that portrays Europe as being plagued by perpetual bad weather. Nothing but snow-covered or rainy streets, and endless grey skies. You know California doesn't have a monopoly on the good stuff.

Oh, and I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but there was nothing else on TV, and I am a sentimental chap at heart: some time this week I saw the second half of Larger Than Life. Please don't hold it against me. I mean, Janeane Garofalo's in it, so if it was good enough for her....

The IFC are having their annual Open Day today, this year celebrating their 10th anniversary. Free movies all day in both screens, plus the Cinemobile parked in the Bank of Ireland on College Green. The Cinemobile is great; it's an articulated lorry that turns into a cinema. Genius.

Speaking of the IFC, I'm going to see Crumb tomorrow afternoon. I was supposed to go yesterday, but my credit card bill arrived and I decided to go to the bank to pay it off, like the responsible adult I am. I'm half way through setting up my account so I can do that online in future.

.....

Friday, September 20, 2002

Friday Five #28:

1. Would you say that you're good at keeping in touch with people?

No, I'm actually pretty bad at the practical side of keeping in touch with people. It's a little easier these days, what with text messaging and such, but I don't often feel motivated to make phone calls or write letters. Even e-mails I find hard to write because, just like a normal letter, I never know what to say. All of this is not to say that I forget about people, because I don't. Or at least I try not to, because I would not like to be forgotten myself.

2. Which communication method do you usually prefer/use: e-mail, telephone, snail mail, blog comments, or meeting in person? Why?

Meeting in person is most preferable, with friends and acquaintances. E-mail is better for people one doesn't know that well, I find.

3. Do you have an instant messenger program? How many? Why/why not? How often do you use it?

I have ICQ, AIM and MSN Messenger on my PC, and ICQ on my eMac. I only really use ICQ. It's the best of the bunch; it's the most customisable options-wise, has integration with SMS messaging, and the added bonus of being seemingly the only one that allows messages to be sent to people when they're offline (very important, that). When I use MSN it's only to chat to people I knew first offline, and only because they prefer to use it (it doesn't use a lot of memory; ICQ in contrast is a real gas guzzler).

4. Do most of your close friends live nearby or far away?

Most of them live nearby, within a two-mile radius of my home. Others live a lot further away, but of course the Internet bridges those gaps somewhat. Funnily enough, I don't have any friends in my neighborhood at all.

5. Are you an "out of sight, out of mind" person, or do you believe that "distance makes the heart grow fonder"?

Distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

.....

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

I'm posting from my eMac right now. This keyboard is a real pain in the arse to use. I can sorta type blindly now, but not very well so I have to glance at the keys. When I do, I just see the messed-up characher layout and my fingers freeze up. Very awkward indeed.

But anywho... I wasn't feeling too good today, I woke up in the middle of the night with pains and most of today my stomach felt tight. I blew off hanging out with Grover this afternoon - just couldn't face going around town feeling that way - but I did go to see Signs with Eoin (whom shall be henceforth referred to as the Film Student). It wasn't that good. It had a weird vibe, possibly intentional, but it made it difficult to get really involved in the story. That, and M. Night Shyamalan put Hitchcock to shame with his cameo. He should stick to what he's good at; he's worse than Mamet's wife.

This keyboard is really fucking awkward. And this mouse thing is gonna take some getting used to; specifically, the lack-of-a-right-click thing.

.....

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

About 45 minutes ago, my brand-spanking new eMac was delivered to me.

It's sitting in its box behind me as I type.

I'm gonna go unpack it now.

.....

Monday, September 16, 2002

I slept on it, and I've come to the conclusion that an eMac is for me.

It's got everything that the iBook has and much more (and I'm talking here about the iBook I would have wanted, which costs over €2000). I don't really need the portability that much, and with the money I'll save I can get myself a digital camera and some other goodies.

Seeing the eMac in person today at the Apple Centre swayed me. It is a beautiful machine, with a huge flat screen and a crisp display. I discussed potential upgradability with the salesman - lots of options, more than I expected to be honest. The file transfer issue shouldn't be too big a deal; even if this Move2Mac thing won't be available for a few weeks yet, my good friend Doctor Love has offered me the use of his external Zip drive (much thanks, by the way).

The more I think about it, the more I want it. By the end of this week, I could well be posting to this weblog from it.

It's just a shame that the the price gulf between here and North America is so big. I'd get a lot more for the same money if I were in the States. Nothing I can do about that though.

.....

Sunday, September 15, 2002

np: Friend/Enemy 'Do the Stand on One Foot Dance to the Radio Rodeo'

My grandad and I went to PC World in Blanchardstown earlier this afternoon, after getting pretty confusticated by the atrocious signage along the M50 (come on people, hasn't anybody got a basic grasp on the concept of semiotics?). We were there to browse, to see what kind of range they had. I don't really feel ready to commit to a purchase just yet, you see.

They had some pretty nice desktop PCs in stock, the broadest range I've seen so far, but I dunno, they all seemed so bulky, over-stylised. I really don't need the bulk - I'm not going to be doing any hefty video editing or games playing. Any computer can handle web design and basic image editing - but I do want something that can handle basic music production: track mixing, sound design, etc.; I'm not planning to start a recording studio here, I just want something emulating a 4-track I can mess around with, I'm a musical hobbyist (and besides, who else would want to hear sub-ten-second blasts of electro-grindcore?).

So I wandered over to the laptop section, and I was quite impressed, particularly with a Packard Bell with an Athlon processor, DVD playback and CD burning capability at an affordable price for me. It seems like it could handle everything I'd be likely to throw at it and then some. It's certainly more powerful than this one I've been using for almost four years now.

But then I turned a corner, and found the iBook.

Wow.

Forget what I said on Tuesday.

I want one.

I'd get one right now, but there are two specific stumbing blocks: a) how to transfer my music, photo and website files from my PC and b) whether an iBook is suitable for very basic sound engineering. From what I've read on the Apple site, the latter should not be a problem, but regarding the former, there's a system called Move2Mac that will enable a direct USB to connect the desktop to the laptop and transfer everything in a matter of hours, but it's not available yet. I could get an external hard disk or Zip drive, which would do the job even quicker, but that would add a couple of hundred onto my bill (if I could borrow or rent one, that would be perfect - Dave has a Zip drive, but it's internal).

But regardless, after today, I'm willing to make the switch.

Late Night Update: It's a toss-up between the iBook and the PC. The PC is cheaper and has slightly more going for it in terms of peripheral attachment, but the Mac is just better, although quite expensive.

The other alternative would be to take dg's advice and go with the eMac. I'd be sacrificing portability, but it is pretty swanky, and quite powerful too for the price. Plus, it would still be a huge space saver.

I'll pop into Compustore tomorrow to see everything in the flesh. So to speak.

.....

Saturday, September 14, 2002

np: Harkonen 'Grizz'

Yeah, it's late. Sue me. Friday Five #27:

1. What was/is your favorite subject in school? Why?

Oh that's easy. Art, Craft and Design wins, hands-down. It was fucking sweet, getting do do stuff that you actually enjoy during school hours. And it's an exam subject too. (In other words, doing Art actually counts towards getting a place in university.) When you do Art, you do most of the exam before school ends and the main Leaving Cert exams begin, since it's split into a few different sections (life drawing, modelling or design, a history of art written paper, and so on). Out of my class, only myself and Grover elected to do the poster design rather than clay modelling. One has more time to do the actual modelling (not counting extra time for painting after it's dry) but I couldn't model for shit and still can't. Plus, the sooner I could go home, the better. I think my poster (an advertisement for a museum exhibition of Ancient Greek artifacts or somesuch) turned out pretty well - even if my preparatory work was a tad lacklustre, I was always more of an improv guy in that respect - but it was so good walking out and going home for the day at lunchtime, knowing those other chumps had to hang around till the evening to get their crappy modelling done. Suckers. That's one of my few good memories of school.

2. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

I dunno, I don't think I had a favourite, I've known some crappy teachers in my time but also some pretty cool ones. Some I still know or see now and again (Dave's dad was a teacher at my school, and I've met Mr. Dunne - art teacher - a couple of times at work).

3. What is your favorite memory of school?

I don't have many. None besides what I've mentioned above. I guess anything involving me going home early or not getting any homework ranks pretty high. The last week or so of school in sixth year was pretty cool; we did feck all, and they fucked us out after an emergency assembly two days before we were officially finished. Which was nice of them.

4. What was your favorite recess game?

Oh, that's way too far back to remember. I was never one to partake of many playground activities. That's not to say, hovever, that I've never joined in in a game of Bulldog. It was against the rules and everything - ooh I'm such a rebel.

5. What did you hate most about school?

I just hated school full stop. Don't get me wrong, I liked most of my teachers and made lots of friends (the majority of whom I'm still great friends with, even after three years of college), but I just hated the whole strict nature of it all, having to go in every day, having your uniform just so, having all your homework done, studying for tests every week, two-to-three hours of shitty homework every night. I couldn't wait to get out. In contrast, I loved going to university. There was little-to-no pressure, (usually) no one badgering you for homework and shit, and if you got bored in a class you could just say 'fuck it' and leave. Or just not show up in the first place. University rules. I miss it. I can't wait go back, do a post-grad.

.....

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

We had a two minute silence at work today, at 1.46pm. I was in the security office at the time, babysitting a shoplifter, while one of the loss prevention officers was scanning the store via the joystick-controlled CCTV cameras.

All the music in the store was stopped just beforehand, and in the office we could see everyone standing silently, solemnly still on all three floors.

Everyone except for a group of kids in the basement, most likely Spanish or Italian judging by their tans and the way they wore their rucksacks. And some monkey-suited pencil-pusher going through the DVDs on the first floor. The kids I can forgive - I mean, kids do stupid things. As for Mister Businessman with the DVDs? What a fucking asshole.

Speaking to my colleagues afterwards, it turns out that there were a few similar assholes on the ground floor too. Are people that stuck for time that they can't stop and bow their heads for two measly minutes?

So what if you didn't know anyone who died this day last year. One should at least pay some sort of respect. Two minutes isn't much to ask.

All this being said, however, personally I take exception to the overblown nature of the day that's in it. It all started really with the whole 9/11 thing - wasn't it so convenient that it happened on a date that shared its digits with the US emergency phone number? It reduced everything down to a simple catch-all buzzword. But when we use a word too much, it begins to lose its meaning. No matter, here's a handy remedy - lets fill the press and the news on TV with apocalyptic visions of huge burning fires and crumbling buildings, just to make sure that John Q. Public doesn't forget. That's the mourning part sorted. As for closure - you just gotta have closure - well we can't find Osama, and we can't so anything to the Saudis ('cause they're friends of the US military, natch), but isn't that Saddam fellow still around? He'll do for a good kicking.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll pay respect where respect is due, but I don't like being emotionally manipulated. A two minute silence is respectful. A newspaper pull-out of the burning towers and endless TV coverage of people you don't know grieving for their loved ones is crass manipulation.

I hesitate to seem cold, given the date, but isn't it about time to accept, learn and move on? There's no such thing as closure. It would be dangerous if there was.

Appendix: further to what I've discussed here, these are the words of a smart person.

.....

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

np: The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton 'Hollywood Squares'

I'm getting a new computer soon. A PC. Yes, I'd rather have a Mac - it goes with the name after all - but they're too good (i.e. too far out of my price range at present).

I'm looking for something that can easily handle the following requirements: internet usage, web design, basic digital photo image work, and music recording and mixing. I'm not a big gamer so I don't need a monster, but I do want potential expandibility. I also need a CD-RW drive and DVD playback capability, preferably on separate drives. It's not a lot to ask for really. Is it?

You see the thing is, I've browsed around a bit in a few different stores, and of course I've visited the Dell website, but I haven't yet found exactly what I want. Sure, Dell computers can be tailored to my particular needs, but they're also quite expensive, and awkward for me to purchase since they only seem to exist online and as I've said before, I'm a cash money person. (I'd also like to see one working in front of me before I'd stump up any kind of money.)

I haven't yet visited PC World yet, since it is a real pain in the ass to get there (two buses there, two buses back). I'm going to bring a list of specifications with me when I go, to a) bamboozle the probably inexperienced sales reps, and as a consequence, b) get some advice from the people who actually might know what they're talking about so I can get the best value for my money. A PC is a huge investment, for me anyway, and I don't want to fuck it up.

.....

Monday, September 09, 2002

np: Soundgarden 'Toy Box'

I'm almost 100% certain that I walked past this when I was on the Danforth.

.....

np: Craw 'Caught My Tell'

I'm sure that my opinion will alter somewhat in the future, with more experience, but as of right now I officially declare The Dillinger Escape Plan to be the greatest live band in the world.

They simply killed tonight. Most of the fucking poseurs there didn't have a clue how to react, but for the 50% of us who were there for the music, we lapped up every minute of it.

It's amazing how they can pull off what they do, with such awkward time signatures, the stop-start dynamic, and absolutely phenomenal percussion patterns. They must practice every spare hour they can get.

The Icarus Line were excellent too. Their sound is a tad more sludgier now, they played slowed-down versions of a lot of their songs from Mono. I don't think the crowd really got them either, but what the fuck do they know, eh?

As for the opening band, Shat, what can I say about a band with a naked drummer in an old-man mask, a baby-masked guitarist in a dirty nappy, and a singer wearing only a jock strap and a helmet with five foot-long dildos glued onto it (oh, and the singer and guitarist were also wearing enormous strap-ons)? Their CD has 65 songs on it, so I kinda had to buy it.

Oh, and since I've mentioned buying stuff, gotta give props to the nice lady (later, nice topless lady) who manned the merch stand. She had cool glasses.

.....

Sunday, September 08, 2002

So I've been thinking about what I'm going to do with my credit card now that I have it.

I'm running a bit over-budget for the rest of the month, so I don't really want to spend any more money (not counting cash expenditure) until next pay day. But when pay day comes, the plan so far is for me to get myself a domain name and a proper web host, and more than likely upgrade to Blogger Pro.

The good news? No more pop-up ads! The bad news? Links to my posts will be rendered dead (but I'm hoping to keep the new domain name as close to the one I have now, so with a moment of nifty editing they should work again).

It's purely a coincidence that about two weeks after I get paid again will be the third anniversary of this website being online. I'm aiming to get everything that needs to be done done by that date. Just to be neat about it.

.....

I first heard about this new Greek law banning all forms of video gaming a few days ago. I thought it was an elaborate joke at first. These things tend to spread like crazy in this day and age. But they also tend to be quashed just as quickly, which didn't happen in this case.

I read the aforelinked piece on the situation this morning, via a link CJ posted to the Watt List. I've read it a couple of times, and I can still barely believe it. I mean, how can a democratically elected government - that supposedly would have some system of checks and balances - be so idiotic as to be "incapable of distinguishing innocuous video games from illegal gambling machines"? This is coming from the birthplace of democracy. If all hope is lost there, what does that say about the rest of the world?

But I guess one can't expect much common sense from a country that convicted a group of British planespotters for spying. If the Greek government can pull stuff like this, imagine what else they could do.

Time to call for a boycott of the next Olympic Games, methinks. Unless, using their twisted logic, the Greeks ban those too.

.....

Friday, September 06, 2002

Friday Five #26:

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? Why?

People in public places, on the street or in a store, walking too slowly, not watching where they're walking, not moving aside even when you're so close behind them that they must know you're there and you want to get by but they just don't give a shit. People on buses talking loudly on their cellphones when such vocular volume is in no way necessary (but I guess they're just showing off, which in itself is a peeve). I could do on for a while here, but I feel like popping a vein just thinking about the question. Let's just say that I fucking hate people in general.

2. What irritating habits do you have?

I procrastinate, which irritates me because I'd like to be more motivated, but most of the time I just couldn't be bothered. Also, I bite my nails. I used to bite them a lot more, out of habit. Now I bite them to keep them short. Yes, because I'm too lazy to do it the proper way. I don't think I have any habits that annoy other people (I don't like to stand out in a crowd).

3. Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be?

The nail-biting thing just gradually wore off. You wouldn't be the person you are without some habitual rituals. In the immortal words of Popeye, "I yam what I yam".

4. What grosses you out more than anything else? Why?

Out of a number of things that I'd rather not think about since I've just eaten my dinner, people urinating in public, in the street, against walls or down alleys or whatever. I mean, for fuck's sake, use a fucking loo.

5. What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do?

Urinating in public. (Note: not counting the dumpster at the back of a Wendy's in north Toronto.)

.....

Wednesday, September 04, 2002

np: King Crimson 'The Court Of The Crimson King (including The Return Of The Fire Witch and The Dance Of The Puppets)'

My credit card arrived in the post today.

I'm afraid to use it.

I don't actually need to buy anything online with it just yet. I'll just let it sit here, in my room, until the time comes.

In other news, today I also got my hands on the new Agoraphobic Nosebleed album, Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope. It's been a long time coming - a very long time, in fact - but it was well worth the wait. If you thought the last Pig Destroyer album pushed forward the boundaries of extremity, just wait 'til you get a load of this. I haven't had a mere half an hour affect me that much since Locust Abortion Technician. Frighteningly excellent. Scott Hull is a fucking sick, twisted genius.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: grindcore is the future.

.....

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Salon.com: Israeli court approves expulsion of terror suspects' relatives

Very dodgy dealings indeed. I mean, even if they did have prior knowledge of terrorist activity, is shunting them around the country like second-class citizens, like the animals the Israeli govermnent seems to think they are, really going to help? Will it really 'create an effective deterrent and help prevent suicide bombings and other terror attacks' like the Israeli military says it will?

Fuck no. It'll do exactly the opposite, and the military know that damn well. It keeps them in business, after all.

.....

np: King Crimson 'Moonchild (including The Dream and The Illusion)'

The last week has been kind of a blur for me. Working more than five days in a row does funny stuff to my brain. Things happened and then whizzed by.

For example, going to the cinema two evenings in a row; on Thursday I saw Dogtown and Z-Boys, which was excellent - almost made me want to jump on a skateboard - and on Friday Throne Of Blood, which I also enjoyed even thought it dragged in the middle (Noel, who was there but I didn't know until I met him after, agreed) and I was pretty exhausted.

I would have gone to see Rashomon the following evening, had a ticket and everything, but a pounding headache in work on Saturday afternoon made a mess of those plans. I was working all afternoon Sunday so I missed Yojimbo.

Yes, work really fucked me up this week. As a result, I can't even remember on which day the following events occured:

A strange old man, in his late fifties or early sixties maybe, came up to my till one morning last week and asked to speak with a manager or somebody in charge. He called himself 'Mr. Molloy'. I asked what it was pertaining to. He said something about the history of the company.

I ring the assistant manager, who sounded a tad agitated. He's busy going through CVs and doing interviews all day. I inform 'Mr. Molloy' that there are no managers or people in a supervisory capacity who are currently available to speak with him, but ask if I can be of any help. He responds by lifting up a white plastic carrier bag he has brought with him and produced from it an old vinyl record in a brown paper sleeve. Upon further inspection, it appears to be a very old record indeed, possibly 78rpm, at least 50 or 60 years old, the sleeve and record label emblazened with the original HMV logo (from back in the days when the company was in the business of making records, not just selling them). I notice a date written in pencil in the top left-hand corner, some year in the 1940s. 'Mr. Molloy' asks me what I think of it.

Before I had a chance to reply he produced another record in a similar brown paper sleeve, but this time much older, the year 1917 written in pencil in the same place - and as far as I could tell, in the same hand - as the other one. As I examined it 'Mr. Molloy' produced two more items: small tin boxes of HMV-branded phonograph needles, no bigger than a ring case, in near-immaculate condition.

At this point I'm wondering what was the point of all of this. I ask him if he wants to know who much they're worth, or historical information about them, and if so that he should get in touch with our head office (since we are just a retail outlet, not a museum). He says no, that wouldn't do. Very cryptic.

Then he asked me how much I'd pay for them. I said I couldn't possibly do that; that they're worth a lot of money, maybe hundreds, if not thousands of Euro, and that he should take them to an auctioneer to get them valued. I was very surprised when he scoffed at that suggestion. He began to mumble about being unemployed, and he offered them to me for €40 right there and then. I said no, it would be like stealing to take them off his hands at that price knowing that they're most likely worth a small fortune, and therefore I'd be morally obliged to refuse. (I actually said that, 'morally obliged'.) I again urged him to go to an auctioneer to get them valued. If he needed money, surely that would be the first place he should go with items so potentially valuable? Again he scoffed, looking at me as if I'd cursed his family name, saying in an angry tone something about throwing them in the bin if I wouldn't take them off his hands, that they were his and he could do what he liked with them.

His eyes were very yellow. He was freaking me out now. I could feel my heart palpatating wildly behind my breastbone.

When he realised a few moments later that I wasn't going to change my mind, 'Mr. Molloy' turned and left. Needless to say I was quite relieved.

It didn't even dawn on me that the 78s and needles were probably stolen until I'd gotten home that evening and relayed the story. No wonder he didn't want to take them to an auctioneer. No wonder he only wanted €40 for them.

Now I'm wondering what he actually did with them, or with himself. I haven't seen anything on the news or read anything in the papers yet.

I would much prefer it if strange things like that didn't happen to me. I understand that they make for good life experience (and potential writing fodder) but so does LSD, and I'm in no hurry to drop acid anytime soon.

.....

Monday, September 02, 2002

np: Rocket From The Crypt 'On A Rope'

I haven't posted here properly in quite a while. (The Friday Five doesn't count.)

Don't really have an explanation, other than doing a seven-day stretch at work, going to see a couple of movies, and some other stuff that caused me to be in a non-blogging mood for a few days. I'll go into detail tomorrow. I have tomorrow off, and right now I'm pretty tired. I've been pretty tired all day.

But before I go, while out on a spying mission this morning, I snuck off to Road Records to get my ticket for the Fugazi show next month. They have loads left in Road (and presumably the Sound Cellar and Comet too) so if you're passing through Dublin on the 25th of October and are stuck for someting to do, well now you're not.

Oh, and I got a letter from my girlfriend in the mail today. A very happy end to a crappy week. (I'd say more, but it's none of your beeswax.)

.....

random linkage:

.....