May 2008 Archives
[Moozik: Joy Division - 24 Hours (Peel Session)]
It's all rather exciting when someone you know has their 15 minutes. After telling me to blog it, without further ado, go watch my friend Margarita do her thing for marvel.com and revel in the awesomeness that is her pink hair.
[Moozik: Orbital - Chime (Live)]
Dear Sharon Stone, please go back to doing what you do best, whatever that may be. Feel free to stop yourself before you make comments in future.
Sharon Stone is facing a ban on the showing of her films in China after suggesting the recent earthquake that killed up to 67,000 people may have been the result of "bad karma" over the country's occupation of Tibet.Yes because that's exactly why there was an earthquake. Now shut up.
[Moozik: Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Being Bad Feels Pretty Good]
As always, jwz with the important movie reviews.
In case there was any doubt, let me assure you that the new Indy movie is made of FAIL. Not the kind of "takes a runny shit on your hopes and dreams" fail of which Temple of Doom was made, but some pretty heroic FAIL nonetheless.
So, still haven't seen it yet and it's comments like this that are worrying me. Temple of Doom notwithstanding, I bloody love the Indy franchise. I so don't want to be disappointed but I know I will. I just know it. Ugh.
[Moozik: Mesh - From This Height (Live 2007)]
Please eat something before you come in to replace my filling. I know you may think that while I'm laying on my back I might enjoy listening to your stomach moaning and groaning. But I don't. Really I don't.
I did have to stifle a giggle at one point. The gurgling was so loud and I think the bloke was rather embarrassed so it took all of my strength not to laugh out loud. Which actually would have been entertaining with a drill in my mouth now that I think about it.
[Moozik: Zombie Girl - Bleeder]
Because I've been living in a cave I've never watched a single episode of Weeds. That is, until this weekend.
I watched the entire first season on DVD and I'm totally hooked. Elizabeth Perkins and Mary-Louise Parker are so good in this show.
I've been a huge fan of Mary-Louise for a while and loved her in The West Wing. I'm trying to think of when I saw Elizabeth Perkins in something. Probably Big now that I think about it.
Yeah, I watched Big when I was 14. What? You didn't?
[Moozik: Psyche - Sex Dwarf]
Teeth!
One of two things happened, either my filling came out or in a moment of comedy gold, my tooth decided to break apart. Not something you expect to crunch on when eating a sandwich. Now there's a nice little hole in said tooth. So, back to Dr Drill & Fill next week. NICE. Now, why is it your tongue will not leave oddities in your mouth alone. Why? What's that all about?
Indy!
Preparation for the new Indiana Jones movie is in full swing thanks to the new special edition DVDs of Raiders, TOD, and Crusade. $10 each. I never tire of watching Raiders, one of the best action movies ever made I think. And to think I always forget how bad TOD is. Silly me, there's a couple of hours of my life I'm never getting back ;-)
Linux!
I bought a cheap Dell laptop from ebay this week. Ironically it's exactly the same kind I used to have at work only in far better condition. So after a trip to Frys Electronics this afternoon to buy 1GB of memory, I spent the better part of this evening getting Ubuntu set up like I want. It's so easy nowadays. I remember farting around with some old Red Hat distros years ago that were a monumental pain in the arse to get even remotely usable. Not so anymore. Well, getting the wireless to work was a pain and why oh why oh why is the build-essential package not installed by default? We have a working make, a compiler, but no headers that would allow, you know, an actual program to compile. What do you mean you can't find stdio.h?
School!
Tomorrow I have to be in Phoenix at 7:30am for my naughty-driver-slow-the-hell-down class. Which I'm looking forward to about as much as removing the hair from my leg with a power sander. But, at least my ticket will disappear once I've completed the class. I hope the person overseeing the day's events is entertaining at least so I can have a remote chance of staying awake.
[Moozik: London After Midnight - Let Me Break You]
Last night's Birthday Massacre concert was so good. London After Midnight opened the show but were somewhat disappointing. Quite lethargic with no real stage presence. Sean seemed quite shy behind the mic in fact. Still, they did an amazing version of Sacrifice to close their set which did get the crowd going a little.
The Birthday Massacre were amazing. So much energy on stage and the crowd loved every minute. In fact the band seemed pleasantly surprised at the reaction they got after each song finished and were grinning from ear to ear. They were second on the bill so even though they only played a short set, they belted out all my faves and I loved every minute of it.
One thing is for sure, my cellphone camera sucks.
[Moozik: Depeche Mode - And Then...]
The New Yorker has a rather long, yet excellent, article on hangovers. My own method of avoiding hangovers is to eat something, drink enough water to kill a horse, take a multi-vitamin pill, then sleep. Now if only I'd followed my own advice on Saturday night.
[Moozik: Hong Kong Blood Opera - Killing Joke]
I've lived in Phoenix for, good lord, over 10 years now. One thing that I'm never prepared for is that teeny little thing known as the Arizona summer. Oh Arizona summer how I love thee. Ahem. They say today it will hit 110°. I went out at lunchtime to go to the bank. What was I thinking? Stay inside with AC. AC is your friend.
Of course this marks the start of the AC wars in my office. That fine balance between those who like it frosty like the north pole and those who would actually live in their own oven if they could. So I took the first shot across the bow when I noticed that the AC wasn't even on and it was close to 80°. And lo, the winds of the north pole did blow. Ahhhhh.
[Moozik: Ayria - Debris]
Rejoice, for my favorite comedian ever, Mr Eddie Izzard is coming to Phoenix for two shows as part of his Stripped tour. July 22nd & 23rd at the Orpheum Theatre. I can't wait.
[Moozik: Seabound - Sig31]
Teevee
For some reason I haven't watched Battlestar Galactica in about three weeks now. I think there will be some kinda, some sorta downloading going on this weekend to rectify that. Just how good was this week's Lost anyway? I watched it last night and was all rather disappointed when it ended. I love that show. Hopelessly addicted.
Car
This week marked the big 90,000 mile point on my car. It's still going strong. I'm simultaneously toying with two ideas at the moment. The idea of buying a new car around the end of the year vs driving the car until it falls apart. Seeing as the car is in really good shape I think I'll keep driving it for as long as it humanly possible.
Fish
I'm moving my aquarium & fish to my new house today. Should be awfully entertaining. I have a plan of attack that involves a mini tank, Home Depot buckets and a lot of luck. If half my fish survive then I'll be extremely happy. As long as my Clown Loaches survive I'll be happy.
Tonight
The Fish Market. The last time I was there I had some amazing Shark. Not sure what I'll be in the mood for tonight though. Something different, something I haven't tried before. Then it's off to see Iron Man. Everyone and their brother has already seen it so it's about flippin' time.
Music
Last week Nine Inch Nails released another album, the second of this year. A completely free download in a plethora of formats: MP3, lossless FLAC & M4A, and even the hard drive filling 24/96 WAVE. Unlike the earlier release this year, there appears to be no way to actually donate money to the cause. Which is a shame. Still he made a pretty penny off that and this album seems to be nothing more than an advertisement for his upcoming live tour. Again, I think Trent Reznor is one of the few artists that really understands that the old record company business model is probably dead.
Next Week's Gig
Wednesday night is the London After Midnight / The Birthday Massacre show at the Marquee Theater in Tempe. Gothtacular ;-)
[Moozik: Psyche - Unveiling The Secret]
For reasons that currently escape me, I appear to have been living in a cave as I didn't know that Joss Whedon was coming out with a new TV show. It sounds quite interesting.
The seven-episode series, which follows a group of highly skilled men- and women-for-hire known as "dolls," launches in January on Fox. The show is tentatively scheduled to air Mondays at 8, before 24.
The dolls have had their memories and personalities wiped clean -- think Bourne Identity -- and are rented out to perform tasks by a mysterious agency.
Our sources at Fox tell us that Dollhouse will take place at an undisclosed point in the future, and the organization behind wiping the dolls and imprinting them is a corrupt, top-secret government agency.
Their handlers are working with a high-tech brain institute that has a vast archive of different personalities to imprint upon the dolls for their various assignments, which can range from assassinations and fantasies to the occasional charitable deed.
I was a huge Firefly fan so I'll certainly watch the first couple of episodes to see what it's like.
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A 6ft5 cow. With photo.
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Today in creepy X-Files big brother news, collecting DNA from every newborn. What could possibly go wrong?
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Amazing overseas iPhone arsehattery from AT&T.
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Finally, the guide I've been looking for. Can sleep a little better at night now.
[Moozik: Underworld - Moaner]
Like a fool I went and let my passport expire. Nice. Which means I'm currently trapped in the USA with no means of escape. Ha. I mailed my passport renewal application to the British Embassy in Washington just over a week ago. Oh, and my $265 fee. Ouch.
Following the instructions on renewing a passport was easy although today I must admit that I'm rather concerned. I was checking the site for a phone number so I could call to check on the status of my application but ended up reading a page I skipped over before.
Now, there's no mention of the need to send new photos with the renewal application on their site. In fact it quite clearly says to fill out form C1 and then...
You must send your old passport (it will be returned to you.) No other documents are normally required.
Makes sense. But then on the important instructions for all passport applicants page it says photos are required. Nice.
Now I'm assuming the need for photos is just for brand new applications so go back to looking for that phone number. Oh there's a phone number alright. Not exactly free. In fact one might say I'm about to get the shaft.
Calls from land lines cost $2.49 per minute. If you wish to pay by credit card and are calling from a payphone or cell phone, please call 1-800 630 3332.
[Moozik: The Killers - When You Were Young]
Thanks to JWZ this is the coolest thing I've seen all week. I want one. At least I want to have a play on one.
From Steve Mason.
I wrote a Missile Command clone for the multi-touch wall at Obscura Digital. Just like the original, except you can fire by touching the wall with your fingers.
See for yourself...
[Moozik: PJ Harvey - 50ft Queenie]
Something that never fails to amuse me are the ring tones people pick for their phones. Ring tones that I would have never associated with the person in question. The other night I was in the grocery store and heard Kanye West's Gold Digger (the uncensored version) blaring out of a phone. I looked up and it was an older gentleman, close to 70 I would imagine.
I looked at him to see if he was mortified that I heard it. You know, maybe his grandkids did it as a joke or something. But he had a sly little grin and was even nodding his head to the beat. I just stood there. Things that you shouldn't be subjected to number 187, excessive pensioner head noddery.
[Moozik: HIM - Bury Me Deep Inside Your Heart]
So I just watched the new X-Files trailer and oh my goodness am I underwhelmed. Go watch it. Tell me if you're not thinking meh after you watch it. Please tell me the actual movie is better than the trailer. Please.
[Moozik: Zombie Girl - Creepy Crawler]
Back home after a whirlwind trip. One thing is for certain, I love New York and can't wait to go back. Mental note to self though, don't get a 6:30am flight out of JFK again. The lack of sleep can be made up for on the plane but the airport itself is dead at that time in the morning.
As the plane came into land it became apparent that the Phoenix "skyline" isn't quite as impressive as its New York counterpart.
Still, what we don't have in vertical skyscrapery, we make up for with impressive urban sprawl. It's never ending.
So now the big settling back in begins. So many little things to do so. The only question is where to start.
Not an awful lot of time to do much after class but still managed to sneak a couple of things in yesterday. 400,000 people decided to go to the Empire State Building and it was packed. Still, it was worth the wait as the view was amazing. Photos don't do it justice really.
Seeing Ground Zero was quite moving.
After wandering around Wall Street and having a coffee next the the Stock Exchange, the next stop was a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. If you ever go to New York I wholeheartedly recommend catching the ferry as the views of the skyline are amazing. Of course the Ferry isn't exactly smooth sailing (ahem) so lady liberty is a little blurry but you get the idea.
What is it about the BlackBerry I ask you? I appear to be the only one in my training class without the crack like device. Everyone is using them constantly even when we're supposed to be, you know, training. It's actually all rather distracting. My lab partner is worse then useless because he won't put down the plastic crack.
[Moozik: Edge Of Dawn - Black Heart (Beta)]
Finally my luggage arrived at my hotel tonight at about 9:45pm. With Camera I might add. Bonus. So it was off to Times Square for a snack, drink and a few photos.
[Moozik: The Cure - Plainsong (Trilogy - Live)]
So my first thoughts on New York. I'm blown away by the buildings and the architecture. Amazing. I actually love being in big cities like this. I always get the same feeling when I'm in London as well. I had my first woah moment in the cab from the airport. We were on some freeway or another and came around a corner and had the most amazing view of the skyline with the sun setting in the background. Even the cabbie said that he never tires of seeing that after living here for 40 years. I can see why.
New York has the best bagels. Bar none. Found an awesome place near the hotel and I'll be going back every morning this week, you know, seeing as the $5K training class doesn't include breakfast. Or wifi for that matter. Which makes slacking off finding restaurants & places to visit training research somewhat difficult. Ahem. Luckily there are more unsecured wife access points than you can shake a stick at.
And yeah, about that training. Turns out it's actually two separate week long courses condensed into five days so we have a lot of material to cover. This means we don't get out until 6:00pm which is a big pile of poo. Still, it's going to be a mad rush for the subway in order to take stuff in before it gets dark. There are only two of us who aren't actually from New York so we're off doing the tourist thing while the locals roll their eyes. At least if today is anything to go by.
The fact that I still haven't got my suitcase yet is an extremely sore subject considering that I indulged in a moment of utter arsehattery and packed my camera. (note to self, 3 bottles of wine and 3 hours of sleep are not conducive to making sound packing decisions). So, no photos today and I'm going to be pissed (if not unduly surprised) if my camera is suspiciously missing whenever the bastards at United ever deliver my suitcase.
Of the 12 studio albums The Cure have produced over the years, Pornography is the first of what I consider their four masterpieces. The Head On The Door, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, and Disintegration being the other three.
One of the gloomiest albums they've ever made, Pornography is not something you listen to in order to elevate your mood. The album opener A Hundred Years is a dark brooding masterpiece that kicks you in the stomach the moment Robert sings "It doesn't matter if we all die". Simon Gallup's bass work on A Short Term Effect is nothing short of masterful and I defy anyone to not nod their head at least a little bit when this song is playing. I remember singing "everything is gone forever" at the top of my lungs whenever A Strange Day graced my record player and in fact I think I still have my very worn vinyl copy somewhere.
Later this album would come to be known as the first album in a trilogy of Cure albums that would also include Disintegration and Bloodflowers. The live Pornography set they played as part of the Trilogy concert DVD is nothing short of amazing. I would imagine if the audio of that DVD were somehow converted into a format that could be played on an iPod then you might find yourself listening to that more than the original album. Ahem, I would imagine.
Standout tracks:
A Hundred Years
Short Term Effect
A Strange Day
Pornography
[Moozik: Hot Chip - And I Was A Boy From School]
I've got to think that terminal 2 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is perhaps the most boring terminal in the history of airport terminals. Ok, actually I think Venice Airport holds that record but Sky Harbor must come close. I woke up late this morning so decided in my infinite wisdom to grab breakfast at the airport. I dunno, I think $15.65 is a perfectly reasonable amount to pay for a sandwich and bottle of water. Ahem. It's funny how your stomach can override your common sense isn't it?
The bloke next to me on the plane cracked me up as he was sitting down 'sweet Jesus could they make these seats any smaller?'. I couldn't agree more. While we were waiting to takeoff I got talking to a British couple sitting behind me. They'd been over here on Holiday and were truely amazed at how friendly everyone had been to them during their stay. Maybe they expected everyone over here would be an angry grumpy wanker? We had a bit of a natter about Politics as I told them Ken Livingstone had lost the election for Mayor Of London. Being away from Blightly for a while means that I have no idea who Boris Johnson is of course so they were doing their best to fill me in before we took off.
[Moozik: Seabound - The Attic]
It's the little things that you don't think about that tend to slip on by before you realize it. Little things you should know but in all the confusion of a move, you haven't gotten to yet. Like which day is trash pickup day for example. I mean say, for example, it was today and you didn't know that so didn't put the trash out. Oh well, that will have to wait until next week. Except aha, I won't be in town for next week's pickup either. Nice.
Yeah, next week's New York trip. The timing is a little, er, non-optimal let's say. So much stuff to do, so little time. Hectic. My friend Cindy is playing host so I'll get the inside NYC scoop from a local at least ;-) My dogs are being boarded on Saturday. Foster has been before, Murphy hasn't. She's the one I'm most concerned about. I'm crossing my fingers for her.
[Moozik: The Cure - 39(Trilogy Live)]
Empire magazine lists their pick of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time. All my faves are there. Heroes, Band Of Brothers, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, The West Wing, The Sopranos, The X-Files, Lost. Some shows I've heard really good things about but have never watched; Deadwood and Alias for example.
Buffy at #2 and The Simpsons at #1 though? I dunno, I never really liked Buffy and only ever thought The Simpsons was moderately amusing at best. Whatever bakes your noodle I suppose.
[Moozik: The Cure - Siamese Twins (Trilogy Live)]
More bands from my youth that I'll now be seeing for the first time. First up, The Police on May 24th. Then Dead or Alive and Human League on August 1st. I can't wait.