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I was in a doctor’s waiting room the other day, when a mother and her teenage daughter entered. The daughter had completed her look for her weekday morning GP visit with knee high boots, a mini skirt and skanky hair and makeup. She commanded her exasperated mother to “get her a coffee”, and so she did. When the young lady came out of the doctor’s office, she went and sat down sullenly with her arms folded, leaving her mother to deal with the rest. The mother asked the daughter if she had bought her pocket money for her medical expenses. No response. Then, mother claimed her victory. She asked loudly across the room: “Darling, when do you want your next rabies shot?”. It had the desired effect, and much teenage embarrassment ensued. Mother smiled triumphantly in her golden moment.

I tried for the second time last night to watch Napoleon Dynamite. I can’t get past the first half hour. I can’t claim that the whole movie is of the same quality, having never seen it through (and railing against certain people that think they can judge an entire movie on ten minutes and a prior decision to not like it anyway). However, I don’t know how to get further than this, as no one has told me that it will change that much after the excruciating opening scenes. I have received no useful input, further than snide remarks regarding my cultural standing. “Pfft, you just don’t get it”. That is true.

I had a dream the other night that I went to a housewarming party, and the hosts handed me a drink, in which they had replaced the ice cubes with miniature, 1950’s style appliances and furniture, filled with water and frozen. I was most fond of the powder blue refrigerator.

Last week, Gordon Ramsay gave the prats on channel 9 what for, hooray!

This is such a fabulous, yet simple idea, and one which I will add to my long list of things I should, but probably never will, do.

dude, where's my notebook?

I have a food hangover, after the rich meal we had last night (with a Dixieland soundtrack). I slept pathetically and smacked myself in the scar as I woke up this morning. Commutes were plagued with delays, and women with huge human trailers (handbags) and VIP ego status. Some other things also aren’t very cool at the moment, and I feel like I just fell out a tree, but I can’t help but find things amusing today anyway. The following helped:

+ I read that there will be a Hollywood Death Note movie. I’m sure it will potentially be shit, but we began to fan-cast it anyway: Cillian Murphy as L (the most brilliant thing I ever thought of), and Ashton Kutcher as Light (dude, where’s my notebook? – NB). Naturally, Michael Caine is Watari. We are working on it - this is important stuff, that needs thinking about.

+ I saw someone pull a face behind someone else’s back, when I thought they were buds. My respect for person A grows, as I am not a fan of person B myself, and face pulling is so out of fashion these days, so it was a bold move.

+ At lunch, I walked past a hip young fellow at the same time as he exclaimed to his friend matter-of-factly: “John Farnham!”

+ I was too scared to go to Starbucks by myself, without someone to buffer my awkwardness at being a coffee noob, to help me answer all their mystical questions, and to protect me from the coffee junkies who will scratch my eyes out if I take too long to order. Maybe tomorrow I will work up the courage. Friday was always the brave Starbucks day in Vancouver.

+ Playing with Spore

+ I got paid!

crab eye

Ten things which are awesome today:

1. The way a little rain makes people panic, as though it were the acid kind
2. Having too many colours to choose from
3. Saying ‘phone tiggy’ instead of ‘phone tag’
4. Going out to tea for Kira’s birthday
5. Old people unsuccessfully trying to use internets
6. Laughing too loud and feeling inappropriate
7. Two days until Cut Copy gig
8. Two days until payday, and surviving without any panhandling or instant noodles
9. Hearing that Dos Hell were played on the radio this morning
10. Learning the term ‘crab eye’

operation epsilon kitty

I have spent the better part of my Sunday afternoon, yet again, kitten watching.

Two weeks ago I thundered down the back steps to find a tiny, startled, grey and white kitten. I watched him run into the hedge, and out of the hedge. And as though by a trick of the eye, out of the hedge again, and into the front garden. Lo and behold, there were two kittens. Being predisposed to being a crazy cat lady, and currently deprived of such a being to lavish attention upon, I committed to observe these lovelies for the rest of the day. It turned out they were strays living under the front stairs. There were saucers of milk and much cuteness, and fretting about their well being. Then in the evening the mother came back (the trollop!), fed them and buggered off. We heard them mewing during the rain that week, but didn’t see them again.

Last weekend we weren’t around, but I heard that they had been spotted. Today they reappeared, frolicking in the garden. They are so tiny, smaller than even a, um, video tape? I spent a lot of time crouching in the garden in a bizarre fashion, moving slowly and avoiding eye contact with them, during which I did consider how I might have looked to a passer-by. But anyway, in the end, I got quite close to them and they seemed slightly more comfortable with me. I fed them a bit and was able to watch them for ages, they didn’t seem to mind in the end. Mother didn’t show up today. It’s an ongoing project.

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Hilarious part of Death Note, made even more so by the magic of the english dub…



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manbabies.com - stupidly mesmerising and mesmerisingly stupid.


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Dos Hell Live @ Ric’s Bar 02.06.08

It was a wet and miserable Brisbane evening, but after the week in the media sun, the rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of Dos Hell or their fans. While the time ticked closer to their much anticipated show, a storm took out the power in the Valley mall. It looked, for a brief moment, like Dos Hell might not be able to play. But they laughed in the face of adversity, and began to set up by candlelight for an unplanned and unrehearsed acoustic show.

They weren’t phased by the new format, rather, they seemed to flourish with the change. The unplugged element brought with it more freedom for stage antics and interaction, and soon Marlon was amongst the crowd. The band played a few songs well-suited to the acoustic setting, including an audience singalong to ‘Heartbeat Radio’, and even covered an impromptu request for Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’. Their impeccable skill and confidence was unaffected, Marlon’s dynamic vocals (and kazoo stylings) unhindered.

Soon after, the power unexpectedly came back on, and the band plugged in for the live set of power-jang that the fans had come for. They treated the audience with some brand new tracks amongst their solid repertoire of songs. Jeremy got creative on some wailing guitar solos, Danny showed his rock chops on the drums, Leon brought thunder on the bass, and Marlon’s vocals soared to new heights. Standout tracks were ‘Her Opinion’, ‘Please Dedicate’, ‘Her Mother’s Eyes’, and of course, another rendition of ‘Heartbeat Radio’, finishing again with their country tribute ‘SMB’.

Dos Hell’s unique blend of musical excellence and geeky pop charm brought many new fans in from the cold. They took the unusual circumstances and turned them around in their favour, their big sound as always making the tiny club feel like a stadium. Even when they are just playing around, these guys still never fail to impress. The lesson was clear – the nature of Dos Hell is irrepressible!

Dos Hell Live @ Valley Studios 18.04.08

Dos Hell’s first ever public gig was as the ice-breakers for a lineup of unsigned bands. The venue was the Valley Studios, the audience a mixture of live music supporters, vague enthusiasts and of course the ever-jaded arty types, most there to see no one in particular. All of these factors might have dented the confidence of a lesser band, but Dos Hell showed no signs of slowing when they came on stage.

They introduced themselves with ‘Down Down Down’, from their demo, and it became clear that they might be more than just another pub band. They had the full attention of the audience. Heads bobbed and toes tapped hesitantly, feeling like it should be too early to do so. Cheeky frontman Marlon led the banter between songs, interacting with the audience and subsequently charming the room. This only lent to their credibility, as it was easy to see through it to what they already knew – here was a group of skilled musicians.

Included in their set, amongst their repertoire of well written songs, an original song with the lyrics from Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ - the re-assurance of a familiar song, without the cheapness of a straight cover version, and the cleverness and talent to pull it off. They had us at ‘Heartbeat Radio’, the song destined to be their breakthrough, and guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days. An impromptu kazoo solo, and a novelty country song as a closer rounded off the set. They drew genuine cheers from the crowd, as they planted the seeds of the excitement that could one day fill a stadium or two.

Dos Hell appear to have to world at their feet. These skilled craftsmen, who wear pop on their sleeves, are wise to the secrets of truly great pop song, and blended them together into something original and fun. In their first show, they created more buzz than many bands could do in ten. They bought us into their catchy, colourful world for only an hour, but left us wanting so much more.