Rob, Rambling

I was just listening to some Faithless as I was doing the washing up, and when ‘God is a...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:53:23 +0000

I was just listening to some Faithless as I was doing the washing up, and when ‘God is a DJ’ came on, it really hit me that I’ll be seeing these guys lives in about 8-9 weeks time. And I got really excited by that fact.

I’ve wanted to see Faithless live for so long, being totally in love with all of their music, and blown away every time I’ve seen any footage of their live performances. I’ve got a live album, and the sheer energy and passion they let loose on stage is incredible.

I mentioned just before I went to see Rammstein that Faithless and Korn were the other two bands that I’ve always wanted to go see. Well, before 2010 is even halfway through, I’ll have ticked two off that list of three. Hopefully Korn will tour Europe again before too long.

The Channel 5 TV Documentary Title Generator

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:38:57 +0000

The Channel 5 TV Documentary Title Generator:

Noraleah’s post about a TV documentary called ‘Fat Girls and Feeders’ reminded me of this website, which spoofs the titles of various “documentaries” to be found on the schedules of Channel 5 here in the UK.

‘Fat Girls and Feeders’ was actually on Channel 4, however, as part of their passing fascination with morbidly obese Americans a couple of years ago. But the point remains that we have some ridiculously-titled programmes on TV, of which the spoof ones generated here are only slightly distant from the real ones.

Examples:

The Man Who Hated The Horse That Hated The Child Who Hated The Woman Who Died In The Park
The Girl With Five Problems
The Dog That Was Sick All Over The Sahara Desert
The Photocopier That Had No Brain
The Woman With A Hundred Bottoms

And yes, I’ve noticed that I’d posted about this before. Sod it, it’s still funny. As is the Daily Mail headline generator: ‘WILL FACEBOOK TURN THE MEMORY OF DIANA GAY?’.

Jennifer Anniston to make a last-minute decision to attend the...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:39:23 +0000

Jennifer Anniston to make a last-minute decision to attend the wedding, and then ~~Ross~~ Schwimmer to say her name by mistake at the altar.

At least, that’s my prediction.

Evidently people just don’t look at my face, as nobody (save for the girlfriend) has noticed...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:50:24 +0000

Evidently people just don’t look at my face, as nobody (save for the girlfriend) has noticed without prompting that I shaved my beard off over the weekend. Seriously, I’ve had a goatee beard for nearly 9 months, but nobody has commented that it’s missing.

I’m starting to understand why women get pissed off at their men for not noticing a new hairstyle.

Fact: Infinite Jest would be less of a bitch to read if DFW used footnotes instead of endnotes. ...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:22:21 +0000

Fact: Infinite Jest would be less of a bitch to read if DFW used footnotes instead of endnotes.

mar-see-ah

I’m a month into Infinite Jest now, and about halfway through. It was a bit of a slog at first, especially the constant flicking to endnotes, but after I started using a bookmark for that section of the book it made things a whole lot easier.

I sort of understand why he uses endnotes, but sometimes it’s ridiculously annoying to flick forward and discover a 3-word note. At other times, however, I love the massive asides and disconnects to the main text, especially when it gives you a much better view of the near-future in which the book is set. I’m thinking specifically of Hal and Orin’s phone conversation about the history of Quebecois separatism, for example.

The writing in the rest of the book is still magnificent. The lengthy passage detailing Gately’s thoughts on AA meetings is simply stunning, weaving tales of unbelievable substance-abuse lows with Gately’s experiences of being sober.

I remember reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk a few years back, and in the endnotes he tells how at live readings of one of the short stories therein (‘Guts’, if memory serves) people used to faint because it was so horrifying. To my mind, that story wasn’t so bad, but there’s one passage in Infinite Jest which is a lot worse.

This won’t spoil anything, but those who have read the book will remember the passage I’m talking about: it’s one of the attendees at the AA meeting telling how she had a stillborn baby because of doing a shitload of drugs during the pregnancy, but still carrying it round with her for months afterwards.

That was a truly fucked up story, but the writing was paced so well that you couldn’t just fly through it. You were forced to read it and absorb the horror.

And I think that’s the enjoyment factor of the book as a whole: you can’t skim it, you can’t read it quickly. It demands attention and focus, which the use of endnotes actually increases.

Now, only another 500 pages to go…

Continuing adventures in the girlfriend's hangover

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:21:21 +0000

The Girlfriend: [Grimacing] Ugh, I shouldn't have worn perfume this morning.

I love it when the girlfriend is hungover and I’m not. I feel sort of morally superior. Oh,...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:02 +0000

I love it when the girlfriend is hungover and I’m not. I feel sort of morally superior.

Oh, and I take great delight in reminding her that she’s absolutely hanging whilst I’m feeling like a million dollars despite drinking as well.

Does this make me a bad person?

Just another Saturday afternoon, watching 2 sports at once on...

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:45:35 +0000

Just another Saturday afternoon, watching 2 sports at once on the TV and laptop.

True Steppers - Out Of Your Mind Ft. Victoria Beckham and Dane...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:03:00 +0000

True Steppers - Out Of Your Mind Ft. Victoria Beckham and Dane Bowers

(via DayDreamy90 on Youtube)

Remember when Victoria Beckham tried to have a solo pop career? Yeah, I think we can safely say that was a mistake. Her voice is just awful, even with all of the editing in post-production.

Anyway, those were the days…

Listening to Master of Puppets and reading Infinite Jest. Sometimes I wish my journey home was twice...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:48:52 +0000

Listening to Master of Puppets and reading Infinite Jest. Sometimes I wish my journey home was twice as long…

It’s a lovely day out there… Ely Place, EC1, London

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:31:00 +0000

It’s a lovely day out there…

Ely Place, EC1, London

Important question: is cheese better eaten hot or cold?

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:18:51 +0000

Important question: is cheese better eaten hot or cold?

I’ve got a weekend in May that is shaping up to be pretty...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:36:52 +0000

I’ve got a weekend in May that is shaping up to be pretty damn epic, and should be freaking amazing:

Chemical Brothers on the Thursday evening.
FAITHLESS!!! on the Friday (get a ticket at StarGreen, on sale today).
The Champions League final in Madrid, if Arsenal get that far, on the Saturday. Else the football league playoff final at Wembley instead.
A lunchtime drinking session at The Church with loads of mates on Sunday.
And rounded off with the Premier League Darts final at the Dome on Sunday evening.

It’s a good job I’m taking the Monday off work!

A good ol’ dashboard coincidence, featuring whytluda and...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:30:10 +0000

A good ol’ dashboard coincidence, featuring whytluda and kimbaland. I’m now hungry, although probably not for a PB&J, for which I’ve never quite understood the American fascination…

"The Daily Star is well-known for putting eye-catching, celeb-obsessed headlines on its front page...."

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:13:19 +0000

“The Daily Star is well-known for putting eye-catching, celeb-obsessed headlines on its front page. More often than not they neither resemble the story that follows or, more importantly, the truth.”

- Tabloid Watch tears apart the last week’s worth of Daily Star front pages, which are, shall we say running fast and loose with the definition of “news”.

I’ve noticed a big upswing in followers the last 48 hours. Did I get on the Radar or...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:06:00 +0000

I’ve noticed a big upswing in followers the last 48 hours. Did I get on the Radar or something?

EDIT: Thanks to kapi for recommending me to Personalities in the directory. I guess there’s no category for “Gets annoyed easily at the media, and tends to write reams and reams without pausing for breath nor editing”. Yet.

After seeing that Banksy film the other day, I’ve spotted...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:16:58 +0000

After seeing that Banksy film the other day, I’ve spotted some bits and pieces of street art here and there as I’ve been wandering. This one was the other night just near King’s Cross Station, specifically here. As you can see from the Streetview, it’s pretty recent. There are a few more Space Invaders around London, most often round Covent Garden way.

Busta Rhymes - Fire It Up Yep, the Knightrider sample. Remember...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:23:35 +0000

Busta Rhymes - Fire It Up

Yep, the Knightrider sample. Remember when this first came out? Hell yes.

"About the same time that the first figure was placed atop a four-story building at 25th Street and..."

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:29:39 +0000

“About the same time that the first figure was placed atop a four-story building at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue on Tuesday, the Police Department issued a statement reassuring New Yorkers that the figures are not despondent people on the verge of leaping to their deaths.”

- The NY Times on Antony Gormley’s new outdoors exhibition and the police reaction to the lifelike figures being placed atop buildings.

The installation should be complete by 26th March, but there’s already a couple in place near Madison Square. One in particular should be easy to spot, right in front of the Flatiron Building. A small gallery is up at the Guardian.

There was an interesting article on the BBC the other day...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:57:21 +0000

There was an interesting article on the BBC the other day (pre-Oscars), concerning trends/demographics of Best Actor and Actress awards, and whether they could be used to predict this year’s winner.

I thought this little graphic was the most intriguing, showing the ages at which these awards were won by men and women. It’s amazing just how skewed the female graph is to younger actresseses, whereas the male graph peaks from 35-50.

I guess this is a pretty succinct commentary on Hollywood in general, where men are “allowed” to mature more gradually and really perfect their craft, whereas women are more often cast off as soon as the merest hint appears that their looks may be fading?