Lollapalooza bound...

Just getting ready to head out to catch the Greyhound bus to Chicago and Lollapalooza 2008. Looking forward to seeing Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine and my favourite Nine Inch Nails. Lots more to see I'm sure once we get there. 130+ bands, 7 stages, 3 days.... 

Lets just hope we don't get decapitated on the bus ride there.... 

I can't have a bitch for a boyfriend...

A couple at staying at my neighbours' place last night were very intoxicated, very angry, and very loud. Randy & Diane, as we heard them call each other, went at it from around 1:15am to 2:00am and again an hour later. They were sitting in the kitchen which faces the street and the windows were wide open. They were in-your-face loud in an area that is very quiet at that time of night. 

In her own drunken, stupid way Diane was giving Randy such serious shit, just bitch slapping his sorry self. Every now and then he'd pipe up with some stupid defensive insult in a completely slurred whine. Sample conversation:

Diane: You are a total loser. I don't know why I stayed with you this long. You're a crackhead, unemployed whining bitch. And I'm not going to pay your bills.

Randy: (very slurred) You're a fuckin' loser...

Later on....

Diane: You never once bought me any little trinket to say you love me. Not a single gold trinket to say you love me. Not a single silver trinket to say you love me....

Randy: (very, very slurred) You know why I never bought nothing? 'Cause I got you high. Uh huh.

And a little later on....

Diane:You know what your problem is? I'll tell you what you problem is. You're a whiny fucking bitch. That's all you do is bitch and whine all fucking day. And I can't have a bitch for a boyfriend....

Randy: (very, very slurred) You're a fuckin' crackhead loser....

My S.O. and I couldn't help but listen as they woke us out of sound sleeps. So listen we did. And laugh. It was like having our very own private Jerry Springer show. My S.O. was surprised at just how stupid and mundane these people were. She didn't think people like that really existed.... Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised at all. But I'm cynical.... 

And I laughed my ass off at Diane's "bitch for a boyfriend" comment. Still chuckling this morning. Even the kids thought it was funny.

Seems the old adage is updated: Hell hath no fury like a women drunk....

Hurry up and wait part II...

I posted a few weeks back about swollen, painful lymph nodes and other symptoms I had been experiencing. Well, all seemed to be tied to a bacterial infection of some kind that was cleared up with antibiotics.

Or so I thought....

Since Sunday past the lymph nodes under my left arm have swelled up again and are even more painful than last time. So I'm off on vacation after work today and first thing on the vacation agenda is a trip to the doctor's office. At this point I don't care what the problem is I just want it cleared up.

Hurry up and wait - motto of my place of employment and my health issues.... Bleh.

How many drummers does it take to change a lightbulb?...

Interesting article from the BBC about a study that found rock n' roll drummers "requires the stamina of a Premiership footballer...."

Seems footballers (soccer for North Americans) play approximately 40 to 50 games over 12 months and rock drummers can play over 100 concerts 90 minutes in length over the course of a tour. Rock drummers heart rates, averaging 140-150 bpm during a concert (and peaking at 190 bpm), and the amount of calories burned per show, 400-600 are very impressive considering all the hype around sex, drugs and rock n' roll....

Not to mention the plethora of drummer jokes out there...

Insomnia sucks...

Going on two weeks now that I haven't slept past 4:00am - no matter what time I crash at. My sleeping patterns seem to go through fairly regular cycles of change but I could always count on a week at most of sleeplessness and then things would go back to normal. Things would stay that way for a month or so and then begin the cycle again. But not this time so far....

This so sucks. Tried all the regular remedies to no avail. Tried some prescription sleeping pills that had zero effect - even when I took 3 of them at once.

I'll have to try Insomnia Tip #32 from the page noted above....

I hate insomnia....

Bleh.

Why so serious?...

If you are in any way a Batman fan go see Batman The Dark Knight. Best movie yet of the Batman franchise. The Joker is truly one of the best big screen-psychos I've seen. Thoroughly enjoyed the film and plan on seeing it at least once more on a big screen...

Memorable quote from Alfred:

Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Photos from Official Bat site.

Alien birth scene...

Great image from Today's Toronto Star. Peter Howell, movie critic, picked the alien birth scene from 1979's Alien as his favourite movie moment...



If you were in one of the original audiences seeing Alien first time around then you will surely agree with this quote:

Everyone had been caught completely by surprise. We were all scared out of our minds.

Great movie.

Photo from Toronto Star.

What happens when...

What does one do when in a position of seemingly haven gotten everything one asked for, but then begins to realize that what was asked for isn't really what is wanted after all?

BBC Day In Pictures...

Nice image from the BBC's Day In Pictures (photo #6).



From the BBC site:

A man appears to be wading out to sea to welcome a tall ship as it approaches Liverpool, England. The figure is actually part of sculptor Antony Gormley's Another Place installation.

Slut culture...

Interesting article by Antonia Zerbisias from Tuesday July 15th's Toronto Star entitled "When men lose, women also suffer the loss". Most of the article is an interview with U.S. columnist/author Kathleen Parker. Her book Save The Males deals with how western society has "created a new generation of child-men, perpetual adolescents who see no point in growing up...."

Sidebar to the article quote:

The rise of America's slut culture would seem, on the one hand, a boon to males, whose legendary attraction to visual stimulation has rarely been so eagerly indulged. On the other hand, the sight of so much flesh from coffee through cocktails must be discombobulating, especially to young males who report being perpetually aroused. Such males may be forgiven if they're not sure when greeted by a comely lass whether to grab a sword or a sheath – of the latex variety.

I don't normally agree with U.S. conservative writers but I think are some good points in what she says.... I may even read her book. Maybe get my S.O. to read it as well....

Actually, I just wanted be able to post something with the title Slut culture....

Hellboy II...

Took my oldest and youngest to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army today. A totally fun movie if you're into suspend your belief supernatural Hellspawn, demons, trolls, elves and the nastiest tooth fairies you even seen....

Best movie quote from the evil baby growth thing attached to other creature:

"I'm not a baby. I'm a tumor."

Proof that God exists and has a sense of humor...

From Fake Steve Jobs:

Jesse Helms and Bozo the Clown, dead on the same day. Nice work, O Great One. I honor the place where your sick sense of humor and my own become one.

Too bad.... I'm going to miss Bozo....

'Fake' priest exposed at Vatican...

From the BBC:

A man posing as a priest has been caught trying to hear confessions in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, a judge in the city-state has said.

Well, at least he wasn't trying to molest Choirboys.... Speaking of things Papal - this Pope Benedict guy seems a little too Liberace like if you ask me....

Summertime...

Nothing says summer to me like a BBQ dinner on the beach. We cooked up a big meal of wings, veggie-kabobs, veggies, pasta salad and a bumble berry pie (bought fresh from a local farmer) and took it all 15 minutes up the road to the beach. Had a great feast there with family & kids friends and then a nice long swim afterward.... I just love sitting on the beach people watching. And what a perfect weekend it was for the beach. All the local beaches were the most crowded I've seen them this season. Still about half the regular boat traffic compared to previous years though. Not that I'm complaining....

Red, red wine.... Had several glasses of a nice South Australian Shiraz after we got back home. Doctor's orders that I have a glass of red wine a day. So if one glass a day is good for me then several glasses a day must be even better - yeah, that's how it works....

Better stop at the liquor store on the way home....

Heron on dock...

Photo taken by me on a walk by the lake.

Sunshine...

          

Photos taken by me on a walk by the lake.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull...

Photos taken by me on a walk by the lake.

Bird on a wire...

Photos taken by me on walks by the lake.