Me and Scott were surfing a lot on Google Video's last night and we searched for Pokesdown (cos that's were we live!) to see if anything has been posted. This is what we found....
That was episode 3. You can see the rest HERE. It was a bit weird to watch at first but we found that it actually made us laugh quite a bit. NSFW (cos of swearing)
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
...in other news...
Lisa's had a hair cut, yes it's a Pob!...
There was a fire behind the house at the end of the car-park at work. Somebody called the fire brigade but neglected to tell them that the fire wasn't actually here at work but in the road behind. 2 fire engines turned up!...
Lisa, Scott and myself went Christmas shopping in Southampton. They had one of those German markets like they have in Bournmouth. We stopped at the German bar to have a nice hot drink (I forget what it's called - sounds like blue-vine I think!) It was nice...
Me and Scott got talking about Tracy Emin and about how stupid some of her art was. Ooooh wow - a messy bed! Yawn! We decided to throw together some random articles onto a frame and call it art. It's called Headphonenumberpill...
On the Tuesday 28th November it was Lisa's Dad's birthday. Happy 61th Charlie!! We went to Ask for a meal. Me and Scott were saying how if you were really dumb you could have the following conversation for eternity...
And now, headlines without pictures.
Lisa get's vertigo again! Is off work for a while to recover. Is seeing a specialist soon.
Kim invited us up to stay for the first weekend in December, but only if Lisa's feeling better. Lisa looked like she was getting better and then it's got worse again!
Our band is having some very constructive practices. It's finally looking like our work is starting to take shape. We have new tunes to fill gaps and old ones that looked like they'd be impossible to play live are starting to work!
Torchwood is getting better, gorier and scarier.
I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here is boring/annoying this year.
X-Factor is addictive just because the public are messing with the voting system! I mean are people seriously voting for Ray and The MacDonald Brothers because they are good? I think not! People are just voting for them to mess with the judges heads and money. The winners have to have a record contract. I mean, Ray is an annoying little shit that looks like he's been raised by wolves! And the MacDonald Brothers look like those creepy porcelain dolls that have come to life in some sort of horror movie! MAKE IT STOP!!
Oh and Me and Scott have rediscovered our worms!
There was a fire behind the house at the end of the car-park at work. Somebody called the fire brigade but neglected to tell them that the fire wasn't actually here at work but in the road behind. 2 fire engines turned up!...
Lisa, Scott and myself went Christmas shopping in Southampton. They had one of those German markets like they have in Bournmouth. We stopped at the German bar to have a nice hot drink (I forget what it's called - sounds like blue-vine I think!) It was nice...
Me and Scott got talking about Tracy Emin and about how stupid some of her art was. Ooooh wow - a messy bed! Yawn! We decided to throw together some random articles onto a frame and call it art. It's called Headphonenumberpill...
On the Tuesday 28th November it was Lisa's Dad's birthday. Happy 61th Charlie!! We went to Ask for a meal. Me and Scott were saying how if you were really dumb you could have the following conversation for eternity...
Man 1: "So where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 1: "Ok, I will. Where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 1: "Huh? I just did! Where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 1: "Ok, I will. Where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 1: "Huh? I just did! Where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
....... you get the picture! Speaking of pictures...
And now, headlines without pictures.
Lisa get's vertigo again! Is off work for a while to recover. Is seeing a specialist soon.
Kim invited us up to stay for the first weekend in December, but only if Lisa's feeling better. Lisa looked like she was getting better and then it's got worse again!
Our band is having some very constructive practices. It's finally looking like our work is starting to take shape. We have new tunes to fill gaps and old ones that looked like they'd be impossible to play live are starting to work!
Torchwood is getting better, gorier and scarier.
I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here is boring/annoying this year.
X-Factor is addictive just because the public are messing with the voting system! I mean are people seriously voting for Ray and The MacDonald Brothers because they are good? I think not! People are just voting for them to mess with the judges heads and money. The winners have to have a record contract. I mean, Ray is an annoying little shit that looks like he's been raised by wolves! And the MacDonald Brothers look like those creepy porcelain dolls that have come to life in some sort of horror movie! MAKE IT STOP!!
Oh and Me and Scott have rediscovered our worms!
Only 3 posts this months?!?
Yeah, I know. It has been a bit of a slow month really. Just trying to save money.
...although I did get a nice sum of money added to my wage this month cos of my shares in EMAP. So I've decided to allocate some money to myself for a lovely new Bass Guitar. The one I'm using at the moment is actually Glen's. He lent it to me about a year and a half ago and now he's itching to get it back. Fair enough. I should've bought one by now anyway.
Right, so I did a search on the old inter-web and found me a lovely Fender Squire black Jazz Bass that was just perfect for my price range (the only other option was Stagg - now they ARE cheapo!). The shop that was selling it was Sounds Live and I was actually really impressed with the very secure ordering process and rapid delivery. I ordered it on Tuesday afternoon and it arrived on Wednesday morning. Wow! When the delivery guy arrived in the van and handed the bass over to me he said "Ohh it looks like the box opened here" pointing to one end of the box.
I said "Ah don't worry about that it'll be fine." Signed on the dotted line and hurridly rushed upstairs to get me mitts on my lovely new instrument (ooer missus!). Everything looked in place. I tuned it up and started playing, then noticed in the corner of my eye a bloody great crater on the bottom. See pic (will be uploaded tonight). My heart sank! I've never felt excited and deflated at the same time before - it's horrible.
So after a bit of dicussion with Scott and Lisa and some of the guys at work I decided "I'm not having that!" so I rang up their customer support and they wewre really helpful. The problem was obviously when it was in transit. The glue on one end of the box had gone brittle and no longer stuck the cardboard box together. The bas must've slid out of the box when somone picked it up and it hit the concrete. Anyway, the customer service lady told me not to panic and just fill in the details on the website and within a couple of days they'll arrange for it to be picked up. I'm keeping an eye on my inbox and an ear on my phone!
...although I did get a nice sum of money added to my wage this month cos of my shares in EMAP. So I've decided to allocate some money to myself for a lovely new Bass Guitar. The one I'm using at the moment is actually Glen's. He lent it to me about a year and a half ago and now he's itching to get it back. Fair enough. I should've bought one by now anyway.
Right, so I did a search on the old inter-web and found me a lovely Fender Squire black Jazz Bass that was just perfect for my price range (the only other option was Stagg - now they ARE cheapo!). The shop that was selling it was Sounds Live and I was actually really impressed with the very secure ordering process and rapid delivery. I ordered it on Tuesday afternoon and it arrived on Wednesday morning. Wow! When the delivery guy arrived in the van and handed the bass over to me he said "Ohh it looks like the box opened here" pointing to one end of the box.
I said "Ah don't worry about that it'll be fine." Signed on the dotted line and hurridly rushed upstairs to get me mitts on my lovely new instrument (ooer missus!). Everything looked in place. I tuned it up and started playing, then noticed in the corner of my eye a bloody great crater on the bottom. See pic (will be uploaded tonight). My heart sank! I've never felt excited and deflated at the same time before - it's horrible.
So after a bit of dicussion with Scott and Lisa and some of the guys at work I decided "I'm not having that!" so I rang up their customer support and they wewre really helpful. The problem was obviously when it was in transit. The glue on one end of the box had gone brittle and no longer stuck the cardboard box together. The bas must've slid out of the box when somone picked it up and it hit the concrete. Anyway, the customer service lady told me not to panic and just fill in the details on the website and within a couple of days they'll arrange for it to be picked up. I'm keeping an eye on my inbox and an ear on my phone!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Nintendo Wii
Lisa has put the deposit down for my Christmas present!! It's a Nintendo Wii. I honest can't wait and am so excited. At the moment I'm not interested in the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 because they're both extremely expensive and being corporate bullys. Both of them are employing a non standard technology to store the games on (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) - it reminds me of the old VHS vs BETA days when video's first came out.
Let's look at the pricings for both using play.com: Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
As you can see, the 360 is retailing here at £279.99 with game and 20Gb hard-drive. The PS3 comes in at £549 with a 60Gb hard-drive, NO GAME. Now, the 360 has been out for over a year now so the price has come right down to a reasonable price for a new-ish console but in order to appreciate the games fully you need a HDTV... so that's gonna be another £400+ on top of that!! Same with the PS3. Also, I've seen comparison screenshots for the same game on both consoles and the PS3 looks so much better ... but it's much more expensive.
But that said, the original Playstation was £499 when that first came out and that too was a huge leap in console technology. I didn't get my first Playstation until about 2 years after it came out. I'll probably do the same here. In the meantime, though, the Nintendo Wii is a great console that doesn't demand you have the latest TV to play it. It's not a 'next generation' console like the other behemoths, it's more of an 'in-between generation' console. Besides, it's gonna have Mario and Zelda on it! Check the vid...
Now, in case you were wondering why the people in the video were flailing their arms around like novice gamers the Wii has a very unique control system with it. It can detect motion! So, if you're playing a game where you have a sword you can swing your arms around to swing the sword. This is a huge innovation with gaming technology, much more than just higher resolution graphics and the ability to throw billions of polygons around the screen in a fraction of a second.
Nah, I'm really happy with my present. I haven't had a Nintendo since the day's of the Super Nintendo. I missed out on owning an N64 and the GameCube - played them both and loved them but never actually owned one myself. I can't wait for Xmas.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Quiet times
I know I've not posted anything sinse November 1st, but to be brutally honest, Not a lot has happened. I've just been trying to save money these last couple of weeks - y'know tryin to get the ol' bank balance back in the black. Which ultimately means not going out and not buying DVD's, Games, Music, Magazines.... basically ANY type of media. I've been trying to keep food shopping and clothes shopping down. By that I mean not buying sandwiches during lunch everyday and make my own food where-ever possible. And why do I always think it neccesary to buy new clothes every month?.... saying that I have bought some new clothes but only a scarf and a beanie - last year's scarf shrank in the wash.
Since the last entry we've had fireworks/bonfire night. Me and Lisa went to Poole Quay to see some. It was pretty good fun, lots of festivities such as kiddies rides, bands and DJ's, jugglers, stilt walkers and lots of food and booze. Not much to say about this except the fireworks were pretty and there were massive queues at the bar. You woulda thought the pubs woulda put more staff on seeing as it's November 5th. Bad pub management all round! (also, the firworks didn't look as impressive as they do on the official link above. In fact they've super-imposed those fireworks in - they're not even in the right place!)
Also, we went to see The Prestige at the ABC Cinema last week using some free cinema tickets that my mum gave me a couple of months ago. The film was absolutely amazing and I thoroughly recommend you go see it. It's got lots of drama and intrigue and keeps you guessing right up to the end... although, being the clever soul that I am I worked it out about 30 mins before the end but hey, there were still some surprise bits at the end. I've got a feeling that it will be a love-it-or-hate-it type film. I'm in the love-it camp! I good movie for smart people - a confusing one for the dumber half of the population. Extra information for the fact finders: the film was directed by the same director as Momento and Batman Returns. Below is the trailer...
Since the last entry we've had fireworks/bonfire night. Me and Lisa went to Poole Quay to see some. It was pretty good fun, lots of festivities such as kiddies rides, bands and DJ's, jugglers, stilt walkers and lots of food and booze. Not much to say about this except the fireworks were pretty and there were massive queues at the bar. You woulda thought the pubs woulda put more staff on seeing as it's November 5th. Bad pub management all round! (also, the firworks didn't look as impressive as they do on the official link above. In fact they've super-imposed those fireworks in - they're not even in the right place!)
Also, we went to see The Prestige at the ABC Cinema last week using some free cinema tickets that my mum gave me a couple of months ago. The film was absolutely amazing and I thoroughly recommend you go see it. It's got lots of drama and intrigue and keeps you guessing right up to the end... although, being the clever soul that I am I worked it out about 30 mins before the end but hey, there were still some surprise bits at the end. I've got a feeling that it will be a love-it-or-hate-it type film. I'm in the love-it camp! I good movie for smart people - a confusing one for the dumber half of the population. Extra information for the fact finders: the film was directed by the same director as Momento and Batman Returns. Below is the trailer...
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Halloween
So last night was Halloween. Or, to use a more traditional term, All Hallows Eve. Lisa, Scott and I weren't up for any parties this year (we're all trying to save cash) so we cooked up a crackin' curry and watched these two films...
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Slither
After that we watched Slither. Now I though this film was great. It had that same sort of B-Movie feel to it that Tremors had. The film doesn't take itself seriously, it's has one liners and lots of outrageous gore. The special effects were amazing. The little alien slug things are really creepy and were really well done. And, yeah, of course there were some horror cliches in it too but, although this is supposed to be a micky-take of the horror genre, didn't have as many cliches in it as Texas Chainsaw Massacre - a film that's supposed to be a proper serious horror movie.
Maybe I'm just getting older and just don't find scary films scary anymore. I remember watching classics like Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween and absolutely shitting myself. But then when I watched these I was still at school and was about 14 or 15. We used to all talk about them in the playground as if we'd all seen something we're not supposed to see.
But then saying that I still haven't seen The Ring. I can't bring myself to watch it cos it freaks me out. I own The Grudge on DVD and that's a wicked film - totally freaked me out when I first saw it. And I s'pose The Exorcist still creeps me out a bit. The Shining is s'posed to be one of THE scariest films of all time but it never scared me - I just though it was a good little film with great ideas and great camera work.
Oh well, next year when it comes to choosing a scary film I'll have to do a little bit of research!
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Slither
They were ok. I mean, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was kinda unintentionally funny. It was just silly. We were ticking off the horror movie cliches as we went along. College students (check), pick up a hitcher (check), someone does some drugs (check), killer has some sort of disfigurement or limp (check), thunder (check), they think it's the killer but it's just an animal in the cupboard (check), a shadow flicks across the screen in the foreground (check), everyone dies except the bimbo (check), the car won't start (check), freaky kid (check), running in the woods away from the killer then fall over (check).... I could go on but I won't. In fact the only thing that made the film interesting was Jessica Biel's tits!...
After that we watched Slither. Now I though this film was great. It had that same sort of B-Movie feel to it that Tremors had. The film doesn't take itself seriously, it's has one liners and lots of outrageous gore. The special effects were amazing. The little alien slug things are really creepy and were really well done. And, yeah, of course there were some horror cliches in it too but, although this is supposed to be a micky-take of the horror genre, didn't have as many cliches in it as Texas Chainsaw Massacre - a film that's supposed to be a proper serious horror movie.
Maybe I'm just getting older and just don't find scary films scary anymore. I remember watching classics like Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween and absolutely shitting myself. But then when I watched these I was still at school and was about 14 or 15. We used to all talk about them in the playground as if we'd all seen something we're not supposed to see.
But then saying that I still haven't seen The Ring. I can't bring myself to watch it cos it freaks me out. I own The Grudge on DVD and that's a wicked film - totally freaked me out when I first saw it. And I s'pose The Exorcist still creeps me out a bit. The Shining is s'posed to be one of THE scariest films of all time but it never scared me - I just though it was a good little film with great ideas and great camera work.
Oh well, next year when it comes to choosing a scary film I'll have to do a little bit of research!
Friday, October 27, 2006
Strange Statues Around the world
Saw this article on Digg.com today and had to share it with everyone! It's a collection of photos of strange statues around the world. Some of them are a bit racy and made me think "how the hell did they get away with putting this on public display?" Click the link below to see the article. Enjoy
read more | digg story
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Torchwood
I watched Torchwood on Sunday! It was great!!
For those of you that don't know, it's a Dr Who spin-off series. It's a lot more adult that the usual Dr Who series so don't let your kids watch it. Within the first 15 mins I counted 2 fucks, one bugger, 3 bloodys and a shit! It's also pretty darn gorey, has nudity, scenes of masterbation and sex with aliens. Defo not for the kids. But these aren't reasons alone why you should watch it. You should watch it because it so bloomin' good. I will be watching it every Sunday, 10pm, BBC3... repeated Wednesdays on BBC2.
For those of you that don't know, it's a Dr Who spin-off series. It's a lot more adult that the usual Dr Who series so don't let your kids watch it. Within the first 15 mins I counted 2 fucks, one bugger, 3 bloodys and a shit! It's also pretty darn gorey, has nudity, scenes of masterbation and sex with aliens. Defo not for the kids. But these aren't reasons alone why you should watch it. You should watch it because it so bloomin' good. I will be watching it every Sunday, 10pm, BBC3... repeated Wednesdays on BBC2.
Anniversary
Last Wednesday was mine and my girlfriend's 1 year anniversary! I can't belive that one year has gone by already! It's amazing how time flies when you're in love and more so everyday (I know, I know... a bit sickly sweet for some of you to read.... if anyone ever does!!)
Anyway, we went for a lovely Italian meal at Ask in Lansdowne. We both had some Salmony pasta thing with a side order that I can't spell and scrummy afters (which I also can't spell) washed up with some Pinot Grigio (I've got no problems spelling that - it's booze!) Then for a couple of pints Caffery's in O'Neills just across the road. O'Neills was the place we had our first date.... sorry, I'm getting all lovey-dovey again! ... It was weird in there though cos they'd moved everything around and it was pretty empty. We only stayed for one beer cos we were so stuffed after our meal and was starting to feel sleepy.
Here's to another wicked year with my soul one.
Anyway, we went for a lovely Italian meal at Ask in Lansdowne. We both had some Salmony pasta thing with a side order that I can't spell and scrummy afters (which I also can't spell) washed up with some Pinot Grigio (I've got no problems spelling that - it's booze!) Then for a couple of pints Caffery's in O'Neills just across the road. O'Neills was the place we had our first date.... sorry, I'm getting all lovey-dovey again! ... It was weird in there though cos they'd moved everything around and it was pretty empty. We only stayed for one beer cos we were so stuffed after our meal and was starting to feel sleepy.
Here's to another wicked year with my soul one.
Dad's Birthday
Happy 60th to my dad! His birthday was on the 19th October. I know it's a bit late to post this but I've been extremely busy with the Blind Voyeurs filming and editing. Me and Lisa went up to Wimborne to see him over the weekend to wish him a happy birthday and to give him some presents. We got him a DVD about some classic cricket match with Ian Botham (I'm not to hot on my cricket - I think it was a 1981 match! Not sure) and a CD of The Best Of Bread. My dad is an all out Shadows fan. He owns everything they have on vinyl, cassette, CD AND DVD! Even some CDs of Shadows tribute acts! That's pretty much all he listens to. But I do remember when I was very young he used to have some Bread records so instead of looking for some Shads artifact that he wouldn't already own I got him this Bread CD. Thanksfully he was really chuffed with it. Phew!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Gig Preparations Underway...
After finalising a slot for Blind Voyeurs' first gig with Conrad of Solid Air preparations began straight away and now things are really starting to take shape. Up until now we were just jamming and writing new tunes constantly and now have, like, a million tunes and ideas just floating around in the ether. Now that we've actually got a date to work towards we're all a lot more focused of making a set number of tunes gig-able.
Word on the street is that Conrad is planning a new regular event for 2007 and beyond. The event will be more arty than the previous Solid Air with local talent showcasing not only music but other forms of art, such as films, photography, poetry, maybe performance art too. We've been booked for the first night and other acts are yet to confirm (wishlist: Sancho, Brenda, A&E Line) Scott and James from Blind Voyeurs are also going to be DJ'ing before and between acts.
On Friday 13th October, 2006 Blind Voyeurs got together to have a thorough think through (how many words beginning with 'th'??) about what we're gonna play. Although it wasn't intended we jammed a new tune for the intro to our set and then decided on what songs we should string together. We're gonna steer away from the 'play a tune then audience claps then play a tune then audience claps' approach. We're going to tie all tunes together in, what classical composers call, movements.
On Sunday Scott, Lisa and myself have started shooting for a short film which we're going to project behind the band. Ideas have been coming thick and fast since then and, after a couple of late nights, already have a good 5 minutes of film editted together nicely. We're going to edit the film to roughly fit the mood of the songs of our set. More news of this when it arrives.. in the meantime here are a few stills from the shoot...
Word on the street is that Conrad is planning a new regular event for 2007 and beyond. The event will be more arty than the previous Solid Air with local talent showcasing not only music but other forms of art, such as films, photography, poetry, maybe performance art too. We've been booked for the first night and other acts are yet to confirm (wishlist: Sancho, Brenda, A&E Line) Scott and James from Blind Voyeurs are also going to be DJ'ing before and between acts.
On Friday 13th October, 2006 Blind Voyeurs got together to have a thorough think through (how many words beginning with 'th'??) about what we're gonna play. Although it wasn't intended we jammed a new tune for the intro to our set and then decided on what songs we should string together. We're gonna steer away from the 'play a tune then audience claps then play a tune then audience claps' approach. We're going to tie all tunes together in, what classical composers call, movements.
On Sunday Scott, Lisa and myself have started shooting for a short film which we're going to project behind the band. Ideas have been coming thick and fast since then and, after a couple of late nights, already have a good 5 minutes of film editted together nicely. We're going to edit the film to roughly fit the mood of the songs of our set. More news of this when it arrives.. in the meantime here are a few stills from the shoot...
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Last couple of days...
I can't belive it's Thursday ALREADY!!! Time just flies tooo quickly! Especially when I work all day and am too busy in the evening to make a blog post. I'm having to squeeze some of thi sis during work. I'll make it brief!
Friday was mufti day at work... Jeans for Genes day. Everyone had to pay £2 to charity. We met Kirsty in the Bell at lunch for a pint and chips. Me and Lisa totally convinced her that we couldn't make her party on Saturday night. Mwahaha.
Saturday morning mum was a bit ill so I didn't get my usual 10:00 wake-up call so I slept in til about 11!! Rang my mum, she was ok... she just fell back to sleep. So Me and Lisa went into Bournemouth to see if we could get her a birthday present. Couldn't find anything (she wanted a cardigan) but we bought ourselves some stuff. We also bumped into Kim and Paul (and Kim's parents) in Debenhams. Went back home and had some food before Kim and Paul came round ready to go out. Scott wanted to come cos of White Rose Movement were doing a DJ set at 60 Million Postcards but couldn't when he heard that Fran was going to be there! He was gutted. So me, Lisa, Kim and Paul head off - Lisa was driving and had to leave early cos she had a family commitment the next day. It was a pretty damn phenominal night. After that we headed for the Consortium to continue the drinking and dancing with some pretty old school alternative music (think Pixies, think Charlatans, think Beastie Boys). It's all good fun. Staggered home at 4.30 in the morning and was completely sparko til the next morning
Then on Sunday I had a Mezzotints come round to practice for an acoustic gig tonight. I was acting as sound engineer/producer and recorded everything for them. After that we WERE gonna go back to 60 Million Postcards cos Hot Chip were doing a DJ set before playing at the Old Firestation. We were gonna head there for a sunday roast and check out their set (maybe slip them a CD of some of my band's stuff) but the recording went on for too long and I was too knackered! I hadn't eaten all day (couldn't face food) so by now I was starving. We ordered a take away curry and watched Clerks on DVD.
Monday was 'struggle at work' day. The weekend was starting to catch up with me but by the evening I was fine. Completely forgot about Lee's solo gig at The Portman until he texted me during my lunch break. Told Lisa and we HAD to go to that. Lisa had an interview for a new job. Lee's gig was cool - pretty empty but that's kinda better cos people actually listen to the music instead of chatting all over it.
Other acts included Si Genero's final gig EVER (I think he said he's going to America next week apparently). I missed the last act (Stuart O'Connor) cos I was knackered and wanted to go home.
On Tuesday night was the acoustic Mezzotints gig at Centre Stage. Other acts playing that night were Steven W Lake from A & E Line, and Stuart O'Connor once again. Stuart played first this time so I actually got a chance to hear him. Pretty darn good I thought. Utilising loop pedals to great effect. After him Steven W Lake played what I think he said was his first solo gig and he said he was "shitting himself". He had nothing to worry about cos his usual quirky creative genius saw him through. His short films were being projected onto the screen behind him while he sang randomly and experimentally over his piano playing. Cool. After him was the Mezzo's with their set of 7 songs. They too were nervous. Their usual front-man, Ben, sat out of the first 5 songs and then was beckoned onto stage by Mooro for the last two. Considering they only had 4 hours practice (at my place) they sounded alright I thought! After the set Me, Scott, James and Lee were discussing what actions to take with Blind Voyeurs and decided to book our first gig!! Woohoo!! Now we have something to work towards. We set the date for January 4th 2007 so put it in your diary folks! We've got something special lined-up for you!
And last night I spent most of my evening experiment with video footage and creating test demo's with Premier Pro. I also had a wicked Chinese take-away with Lisa!... and now I'm knackered! Not going out tonight that's for sure!
Friday was mufti day at work... Jeans for Genes day. Everyone had to pay £2 to charity. We met Kirsty in the Bell at lunch for a pint and chips. Me and Lisa totally convinced her that we couldn't make her party on Saturday night. Mwahaha.
Saturday morning mum was a bit ill so I didn't get my usual 10:00 wake-up call so I slept in til about 11!! Rang my mum, she was ok... she just fell back to sleep. So Me and Lisa went into Bournemouth to see if we could get her a birthday present. Couldn't find anything (she wanted a cardigan) but we bought ourselves some stuff. We also bumped into Kim and Paul (and Kim's parents) in Debenhams. Went back home and had some food before Kim and Paul came round ready to go out. Scott wanted to come cos of White Rose Movement were doing a DJ set at 60 Million Postcards but couldn't when he heard that Fran was going to be there! He was gutted. So me, Lisa, Kim and Paul head off - Lisa was driving and had to leave early cos she had a family commitment the next day. It was a pretty damn phenominal night. After that we headed for the Consortium to continue the drinking and dancing with some pretty old school alternative music (think Pixies, think Charlatans, think Beastie Boys). It's all good fun. Staggered home at 4.30 in the morning and was completely sparko til the next morning
Then on Sunday I had a Mezzotints come round to practice for an acoustic gig tonight. I was acting as sound engineer/producer and recorded everything for them. After that we WERE gonna go back to 60 Million Postcards cos Hot Chip were doing a DJ set before playing at the Old Firestation. We were gonna head there for a sunday roast and check out their set (maybe slip them a CD of some of my band's stuff) but the recording went on for too long and I was too knackered! I hadn't eaten all day (couldn't face food) so by now I was starving. We ordered a take away curry and watched Clerks on DVD.
Monday was 'struggle at work' day. The weekend was starting to catch up with me but by the evening I was fine. Completely forgot about Lee's solo gig at The Portman until he texted me during my lunch break. Told Lisa and we HAD to go to that. Lisa had an interview for a new job. Lee's gig was cool - pretty empty but that's kinda better cos people actually listen to the music instead of chatting all over it.
Other acts included Si Genero's final gig EVER (I think he said he's going to America next week apparently). I missed the last act (Stuart O'Connor) cos I was knackered and wanted to go home.
On Tuesday night was the acoustic Mezzotints gig at Centre Stage. Other acts playing that night were Steven W Lake from A & E Line, and Stuart O'Connor once again. Stuart played first this time so I actually got a chance to hear him. Pretty darn good I thought. Utilising loop pedals to great effect. After him Steven W Lake played what I think he said was his first solo gig and he said he was "shitting himself". He had nothing to worry about cos his usual quirky creative genius saw him through. His short films were being projected onto the screen behind him while he sang randomly and experimentally over his piano playing. Cool. After him was the Mezzo's with their set of 7 songs. They too were nervous. Their usual front-man, Ben, sat out of the first 5 songs and then was beckoned onto stage by Mooro for the last two. Considering they only had 4 hours practice (at my place) they sounded alright I thought! After the set Me, Scott, James and Lee were discussing what actions to take with Blind Voyeurs and decided to book our first gig!! Woohoo!! Now we have something to work towards. We set the date for January 4th 2007 so put it in your diary folks! We've got something special lined-up for you!
And last night I spent most of my evening experiment with video footage and creating test demo's with Premier Pro. I also had a wicked Chinese take-away with Lisa!... and now I'm knackered! Not going out tonight that's for sure!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Yesterday sucked!
Man, I had the shittest day yesterday. Everything went wrong! Ok fair enough it wasn't anything major like getting run over (although I almost did!) or getting blown up or anything like that. It was just all the little annoying things. I can handle one or two annoying thinges but it was pretty much everything.
I didn't sleep well the night before - it took me ages to fall asleep and I kept waking up.
Work bugged me - everytime I tried to attempt a solution to a problem I'd get a phone call or email about another problem. I was working my arse off and getting nothing done. I even put my phone on Do Not Disturb at one point and then people started ringing the phone on the desk next to me - when I picked it up the person on the other end would say "Do you know you're phone was on Do Not Disturb?" NO SHIT!!!
I was farting like fuck! Well, I would've been but I have a social morality issue about farting in the office so I hold it in. This causes me to have tummy ache! I had to either wait until I went to the loo or until I got home. It's cos I've been eating healthily - Oats for breakfast, Wholemeal bread etc. When I got home and finally deflated it was embarressing. I mean, sure everyone loves a home brew but when you find even YOURSELF offended you know you're in trouble.
There was also a weird atmosphere between me and Lisa (no, it wasn't the farting!) I dunno what it was but I just felt like I couldn't relax or crack jokes like usual. There wasn't any arguments but I just felt distant. She was cool though - we just needed the evening to ourselves. Everything's fine now though.
There was even niggly little things. Like everytime I had a cup of tea and dunked some biscuits at least one biscuit per cuppa would break off and land in my tea! How annoying?!?
I'm putting it down to SAD (or Seasonal Affective Disorder) I think we all get it to a certain extent but yesterday it kicked my ass.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Mezzotints Last Thursday
...at the Portman pub. It was good!
There was also True Swamp Neglect and Shyhawks.. pics of that up as soon as I've stopped getting problems with the Flickr uploader!!
Read a review of it HERE on bhone.co.uk.
Bogey the Glasshopper
I was just here at work seeing if it had stopped raining and I spotted this little fella on our window. We named him Bogey because he's green! I don't know how he got up here cos this is on a first floor window... and there's no grass outside - it's a carpark!
Ten minutes after this shot was taken it started chucking it down and he was washed off the window and was hanging onto the window sill for dear life! He survived the torential downpour and gailforce winds until it died down and then he chilled out until he dried and then hopped off.
FIRE!! ... well, next door anyway!
Last Wednesday there was a fire in one of the flats in the house next door to Lisa's! We heard the alarm going off but it sounded like a car alarm. We only knew it was a fire when we walked out of the garden to go to the shop and saw the people living next door stood outside on the phone and trying to turn the alarm off. When we got to the corner of our road we saw 2 fire engines rushing to the scene!! We were like wtf?!? Anyway, we casually carried on to get some wine and when we came back they were still there.
Apparently it was a frying pan fire. The guy who lived in the flat fell asleep (He was obviously stoned - being an ex-kaner I know what people look like kaned!) and all he was concerned about was how did they get in cos he was sure he locked his door. He was trying to find out who kicked his door open and seemed more pissed off about that than the fact that his life was saved!! Geez, some people!!!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
The Weekend (22nd-24th)
Jesus what a hectic weekend! Was planning to have a chilled one this week but NOOOOO! Social events just kept piling on top of each other and it woulda bee rude not to attend!
First up: Friday. Kim and Paul were down for a couple of days and wanted a catch up with friends and family (and monkeys too - they went to Monkey World!) She rang up a couple of days before to organise a small night out at 60 Million Postcards in Bournemouth. The place used to be Edwards. It still pretty much looks the same - same sorta lay-out - but with new decor and much better music taste. We got there a bit late cos I cooked us a pasta bake and it didn't finish cooking til 7:50 and we were meant to be there at 8:30!! Kim taught me how to make kick-ass pasta bake 3 years ago. Tonight my pasta bake tasted kick-ass!!
After feeding (and drinking a whole bottle of Pinot Grigio between us) we jumped on the next bus into town to meet Kim, Paul, Kirsty and new boyfriend, Glenn. I'd met Glenn briefly at Castlepoint a couple of months back. He's a sound bloke, really nice. Doesn't seem like Kirsty's usual type in that this one's NOT a complete selfish arsehole that will shit on her and drain her of her last penny! She needs someone like this and has said to me loads "Why can't I find someone who's just nice??" I hope they stay together. We got very drunk (no no... VERY DRUNK), caught up on the gossip, had a bit of a dance and took loads of mental pictures like these...
Me and Lisa decided to go home early ... well, I say early but we actually left at around 1am and didn't get back home til around 2ish. We walked home via a garage to grab some nosh to soak up the booze. We went the back roads back past a lot of the blocks of flats that Lisa used to deal with. One of them was a converted hotel and the reception area still looks like a hotel foyer from the 50's...
The rest of the pics are HERE...
Saturday morning I woke up with the worlds worst hangover knowing that I've got to go to my mum's at around 11ish!! Nightmare! I told her that I had a bit of a hangover and to expect me to be a "bit tired" and she was cool about it. Stayed there for a couple of hours doing a few chores here and there and ate some stew. She seemed to be in a relatively good mood despite all her usual aches and pains. At around 2:30ish I set off to get home - I wanted to meet up with Lisa in Boscombe. She stayed at mine hoping to have a couple extra hours kip but had a phonecall from Jen reminding her about the Harley Davidson ralley in Bournemouth (I think it was by the pier) so she had to go that. Initially she went begrudgingly cos she didn't want to let Jen down but by the end she was glad she went. She had a wicked time and it cleared her hangover... for a bit at least. We met up in Lansdowne and went to Costa Coffee for a refresher. Lisa had a Hot Chocolate with marshmallows (yuk!) and I wanted one of those fruity drinks I had before. I went for a Raspberry one. When I got it it turned out to be a raspberry milkshake and NOT the juicy fruit drink I was hoping. I stuck with it for a while but was not feeling the love so Lisa got me the Summer Fruits juice drink I really wanted! Yippee!!!
I know, check out
the bags under our eyes!
We got back to try and have a nap but that didn't really happen - I think we both got about 20 mins sleep before we had to get up and get ready to go out again and get pissed!!!
Tonight we had a birthday party to go to. My former housemate Kate White has turned 30 along with a lot of my friends recently - including me (although, mine was in January!) Plan was to go to Bar Vin for a couple of drinks and then moving onwards to Cagney's for the very last Room 101. Me and Lisa got to Bar Vin before everyone else even thought we were actually 30 mins late from the arranged time. in fact we were there a good 20 - 30 mins before everyone else and the way we were feeling from the night before we were thinking of going home and just hitting the bed. But then everybody arrived and drinks did floweth (I had couple lagers, Southern Comfort & lemonade and JD & coke). Was introduced to some new people including Sarah's new girlfriend, Lisa. She's absolutely lovely and hope it works out for them both (YAY! About time too, Sarah!!)
Cagney's was absolutely crammed full of people. Most of them have really dressed for the occasion. Room 101 has a retro Mod feel to it so there were guys in sharp suits (think Style Council) and girls in 60's mini-dresses. The music was great too. I'd been there before a couple of times in the past and it's been practically dead so it was good to see it packed. Drinks did floweth again (4 lagers, a shot of tequila and a shot of apple schnapps!)
Once again we left at 1ish and shared a taxi with Sarah & Lisa. Got home at 1:30ish to see Mooro and Alex leaving our flat just as we were going in. Had a little chat and said our goodbyes and went upstairs. Kim, Paul, Gary and Simone were still here! Gary and Scott were doing some weird experimental photography involving slow shutter speeds, movement and light... so I got involved in that. We were kinda hoping to go straight to bed once we got home but we soon shrugged off the tiredness once we started chatting again. Here's a few pics of that...
continued...
First up: Friday. Kim and Paul were down for a couple of days and wanted a catch up with friends and family (and monkeys too - they went to Monkey World!) She rang up a couple of days before to organise a small night out at 60 Million Postcards in Bournemouth. The place used to be Edwards. It still pretty much looks the same - same sorta lay-out - but with new decor and much better music taste. We got there a bit late cos I cooked us a pasta bake and it didn't finish cooking til 7:50 and we were meant to be there at 8:30!! Kim taught me how to make kick-ass pasta bake 3 years ago. Tonight my pasta bake tasted kick-ass!!
After feeding (and drinking a whole bottle of Pinot Grigio between us) we jumped on the next bus into town to meet Kim, Paul, Kirsty and new boyfriend, Glenn. I'd met Glenn briefly at Castlepoint a couple of months back. He's a sound bloke, really nice. Doesn't seem like Kirsty's usual type in that this one's NOT a complete selfish arsehole that will shit on her and drain her of her last penny! She needs someone like this and has said to me loads "Why can't I find someone who's just nice??" I hope they stay together. We got very drunk (no no... VERY DRUNK), caught up on the gossip, had a bit of a dance and took loads of mental pictures like these...
Me and Lisa decided to go home early ... well, I say early but we actually left at around 1am and didn't get back home til around 2ish. We walked home via a garage to grab some nosh to soak up the booze. We went the back roads back past a lot of the blocks of flats that Lisa used to deal with. One of them was a converted hotel and the reception area still looks like a hotel foyer from the 50's...
The rest of the pics are HERE...
Saturday morning I woke up with the worlds worst hangover knowing that I've got to go to my mum's at around 11ish!! Nightmare! I told her that I had a bit of a hangover and to expect me to be a "bit tired" and she was cool about it. Stayed there for a couple of hours doing a few chores here and there and ate some stew. She seemed to be in a relatively good mood despite all her usual aches and pains. At around 2:30ish I set off to get home - I wanted to meet up with Lisa in Boscombe. She stayed at mine hoping to have a couple extra hours kip but had a phonecall from Jen reminding her about the Harley Davidson ralley in Bournemouth (I think it was by the pier) so she had to go that. Initially she went begrudgingly cos she didn't want to let Jen down but by the end she was glad she went. She had a wicked time and it cleared her hangover... for a bit at least. We met up in Lansdowne and went to Costa Coffee for a refresher. Lisa had a Hot Chocolate with marshmallows (yuk!) and I wanted one of those fruity drinks I had before. I went for a Raspberry one. When I got it it turned out to be a raspberry milkshake and NOT the juicy fruit drink I was hoping. I stuck with it for a while but was not feeling the love so Lisa got me the Summer Fruits juice drink I really wanted! Yippee!!!
I know, check out
the bags under our eyes!
We got back to try and have a nap but that didn't really happen - I think we both got about 20 mins sleep before we had to get up and get ready to go out again and get pissed!!!
Tonight we had a birthday party to go to. My former housemate Kate White has turned 30 along with a lot of my friends recently - including me (although, mine was in January!) Plan was to go to Bar Vin for a couple of drinks and then moving onwards to Cagney's for the very last Room 101. Me and Lisa got to Bar Vin before everyone else even thought we were actually 30 mins late from the arranged time. in fact we were there a good 20 - 30 mins before everyone else and the way we were feeling from the night before we were thinking of going home and just hitting the bed. But then everybody arrived and drinks did floweth (I had couple lagers, Southern Comfort & lemonade and JD & coke). Was introduced to some new people including Sarah's new girlfriend, Lisa. She's absolutely lovely and hope it works out for them both (YAY! About time too, Sarah!!)
Cagney's was absolutely crammed full of people. Most of them have really dressed for the occasion. Room 101 has a retro Mod feel to it so there were guys in sharp suits (think Style Council) and girls in 60's mini-dresses. The music was great too. I'd been there before a couple of times in the past and it's been practically dead so it was good to see it packed. Drinks did floweth again (4 lagers, a shot of tequila and a shot of apple schnapps!)
continued...
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