If I die before I wake. At least in Heaven I can skate

Yesterday I went to the Sprite Urban Games at Clapham Common and it was quite nice to get away to the 'big smoke'. After parking a few train stops away from Clapham (we had been advised it'd be too busy to park in Clapham) and then travelling to Clapham we found that there were LOADS of spaces and we could've saved ourselves LOADS of time.

After our long journey we got to the common (advised Chris not to go for a pee in a bush as some people might get the wrong idea) and entered the fenced off area where the Urban Games were taking place. I must admit it was a lot smaller than I imagined and wassn't that busy but I still had a good time but after about 3 hours we'd seen all we could and made our journey home.

I must admit that all the stuff going on was pretty cool and makes me want to go out and buy a BMX and do some tricks, but I know I wouldn't be very good at it. I got quite a few photos but it was quite overcast so the colours didn't come out brilliantly.

My compromise is that I'll become really good at vinyl DJing and then my more adventurous mates can do all the tricks. Here are some photos from the day, I think they'll explain it better than I can:

P.S. We did see this cool thing.

Hey girls, hey boys, Superstar DJ's, here we go!

I have no musical talent but when I was at Uni I used to do a bit of DJing. The equipment I used was a Numark CD Mixer and Player, not as prestigious as vinyl, but I still got to learn mixing, got a crowd going, and got to listen and play a huge range of music. It widened my musical taste and although I've never played a musical instrument I could hear music in a completely different way and felt that I could understand it better.

Another thing I got to learn about was PA Systems, how they work, what goes where, specific types on cables, connections, and also general troubleshooting and making the audio sound good. I had a good time doing it and I was able to pass on my knowledge to a handful of other students whom I was able to teach how to mix and how to become an ok DJ.

When I left Uni I wasn't able to DJ because 1) I couldn't afford the equipment 2) I didn't really have the time 3) I couldn't be bothered DJing for anyone else as I wouldn't have the freedom to play a wide range of music that Uni provided.

I pretty much mastered CD mixing and I did get hold of some vinyl decks a few years back for free but I've never got around to actually using them. This is going to change and I'm going to be 'cool' 'cooler'. I've just bought a mixer on ebay and have got quite a few records so I'm going to start learning to mix vinyl as a new hobby, just for me.

In a response to my last post this is going to be my effort to make some 'real music'.

Music makes the people come together

Could you imagine a world without music?

It's amazing how music can reach you in ways that no other form can, and how it is constantly all around us. The only problem is that there is perhaps sometimes too much music that a lot of the 'real music' has been drowned out or polluted by polished, clean, manufactured, commercial music. I do enjoy a vast amount of music that is available in the mainstream on the radio, downloads, CD, or TV but as I've said they're too clean, tweaked in studios till they are considered as near perfect as they can be.

What I really enjoy is when the music is stripped down and reduced for the live gig, the freshness that comes from hearing a song that will never be heard the same again at anytime other than at that gig, added to this is the energy coming from a band on form and enjoying it, and also the unlimited possibility of where the track will go, the quips added by the vocalist, and most off all the thing I love is the audience interaction where you are truly involved in an almost tribal experience. This is something that cannot be achieved whilst sitting at home listening to a song that you know will always end on 3:34 and will always remain the same. Some songs are brilliantly recorded and I could listen to them again and again but just imagine hearing it live.....ooooh.

I feel that I've been deprived of my fix of 'real music' for quite a while now as I haven't been to a gig for quite a while and this is something I'm going to change (I did go to a Uni Ball which had cools bands but I didn't go specifically for them). I'm starting off with going to see my friend Andy's brother Ollie play an acoustic set in Brighton on the afternoon of August 5th, and then I'm going to see a funk band Ticklin The Pickle (I run their website by the way) play in the evening at the Casablanca Club. From small acorns they say, and so I'm planting my gig seed here and hope to add a few more over the summer, maybe even seeing a few bigger bands.

Out on a windy common, That night I ain’t forgotten

I'm off to the Sprite Urban Games on Saturday taking place at Clapham Common, which should be good. I've never been to one of these things before but I've seen some of it on TV, played Tony Hawkes on the PS2, and I had a BMX when I was about 7, so I'm pretty much an expert! I'm sure if I wanted to I could be "utterly bodacious" much like my friend Chris who has a skateboard (but can't ride it).
On show at the Urban Games will be skate, BMX, FMX, and Breakdancers. There's loads of other stuff going on too, and I can't wait to get my camera out and hopefully take some cracking photos. Hopefully they'll look a bit like these.

Preparedness makes us powerful. Butter merely makes us fat

Retro Boy posted this the other day:

"It starts slowly. A bad day. You didn't eat enough yesterday. Maybe you were working late. Maybe you had half a sandwich at your desk. Maybe you grabbed a bar of chocolate. Maybe you went to bed hungry last night. Maybe you forgot to cook. Power cut. So where's the harm. A bar of choclate. An extra slice of pizza. You sit at home, and you don't feel like exercising.

An extra sandwich. Nobody notices. Nobody minds. Middle-aged spread, they call it. Signs of natural aging, for others. But your clothes have a memory. They do not shrink in the wash. Steel expands in the heat, not humans. Clothes never forget.

It's how you become fat. Think of it as storage. Extra fuel for the lean times ahead. That's it. Yes. So maybe standing becomes difficult. Maybe you don't want to stand up for hours on end. Maybe you find the muscles in your legs have wekened. One day you go out onto the porch, and it's the last time you see the world with your naked eyes for 8 years. You can't leave the house. The doors have shrunk.

By the end, they need a crane to demolish the side of the wall so they can take you to hospital. Or the morgue.

Every journey starts with a small step. "

I've started making my small steps. I would say I really need to lose about 2 stone to be at a weight I'm happy with, but I haven't been that weight for around 6 years.

I've alway been 'big-boned' (not in the prison sense) and would say that I've got got quite a large frame... i.e. fat, but over those past 6 years it's got worse. Do you know what I did 6 years ago? I went to University.

I found beer, alcopops, irregular sleep patterns, fast food, women, the internet, etc. And it's been a slippery slope since then. I had always been an active person, riding my bike, playing sports, and generally enjoying doing stuff, but when this is replaced by meeting friends at the pub instead of the park there's bound to be an inevitable change in lifestyle and fitness.

When I was doing my A-levels I used to only have a saturday job at a local butchers and for working 8:30am till 5:30pm I got the handsome some of £20! With this I would go out on the saturday night over to the other nearest town on the "free train" (i.e. I didn't by a ticket) go to a pub (which isn't there anymore) and invest some of my money on a fair few pints of 'Toby Bitter' which cost £1 a pint...bargain and I'd maybe have a few shorts to finish off, play a few games of pool, and then get the "free train" home again. One night a week of doin stuff was all I could afford (and the bitter was like water anyway). My waist remained at a steady size.

When I was at Uni there wasn't just the weekend it was the whole week too and I'd probably go out on most nights and have a fair few beers, funded by my student loan. Eventually you are running on empty and the only food that really picks you up is junk food with its ready supply of fats and sugars. My exercise was cut down, my eating and drinking went up and that was the start of a slippery slope into fatness.

I've had several false starts into fitness, I've previously joined a couple of gyms, tried to cut down of indulgances, but ultimately they have been a failure.
Sice I moved back to my home town last year I'd got a more regular timetable in my life, and I was playing more sports than ever, and eating better food. I thought this would lead to a healthier lifestyle. Apparently it improves fitness but still doesn't get rid of the weight. I've finally accepted that the curse of my adulthood is ......wait for it......BEER!

I know it's not really much of a surprise but it seems that we British usually need to have a pint in our hand to be having a good time. It's the way our society has been built. Well I've eventually cottoned on to the evils of alcohol. I do like beer and I don't think I could give it up but I've realised that is is okay to say 'no' every so often. I used to feel pressure to always have a pint when out and I'd always have to keep up with the rounds, as it was the done thing.

I think the secret is not abstaining completely but only drinking when you actually want to. I'm now quite happy to have a pint (yummy) and if I think I don't really want anymore then I switch over to my drink of choice, a pint of orange squash and soda water. It's very refreshing and at 60p, compared to £2.80 a pint, very cheap (I've blogged a fair few times about how I haven't got much spare money now).

This regime has only been going on the past few weeks but it's great to wake up in the morning with a perfectly clear head anda wallet with money in!

Every so often it's good to get bolloxed but the need hasn't come yet so I'm still good. I think another reason is that I've now got over the initial stage where friends were joking about my squash drinking, and now they don't care about it.

Viva la revolution!

------------------------------------------
Don't you hate it when people are utter c**ts? i'm quite a good natured fellow most of the time but when people are rude and obnoxious I get very angry and a storm rages inside me. This happened yesterday when I was working at my local pub. this person walked in and I thought to myself "ok, he's been a c**t to me before but everyone deserves a second chance, I'll see how he acts today and reserve my judgement. He was still a c**t. No surprises, but it was worse because I had been willing to rethink about his c**ticity. This put me in a bad mood which I'm sure reflected onto other customers. I finished work at 8pm and guess what? I had to have a beer to relax me! first of all I wanted lot's of beers, but one seemed to do the trick and Istopped there. My journey into semi-abstaintion is still on the right tracks.

Good morning TV, You're looking so healthy

It seems that a few of you thought that was the end of "The Big Blog" but that was not the impression I was trying to give when I ended my last post with 'Au Revoir'. I must admit that if I was going to leave then that would've been a classic way to do it, in an homage to Reginald Perrin leaving his clothes on the beach and walking into the sea, or Captain Oates who left with a simple "I am just going outside and may be some time".

I don't give in that easily though and I'm sure I can cope with blogging for the foreseeable future. But how long for? I took the MIT Weblog Survey the other week and one of the questions asked was (I'm paraphrasing here) 'How long will you keep maintaining your weblog?' What a question! In the end I think I answered around 2 years, as a safe option (Thus outlasting my longest relationship)

I think the most endearing things about blogs are the personal nature surrounding them and the insight you get into people's lives. Sometimes I stumble upon a few blogs that are far too personal and I must say I'm a bit of a coward when it comes to things like that and I'd rather read a blog which I can read in a mate/mate style, topics and conversations I could chat about with close friends and not have too many uncomfortable silences [Pulp Fiction has just entered my head- Mia: "Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?"]

I do enjoy blogging though as it gives me a chance to talk about things that actually interest me, and I know I won't be boring anyone. If you want to read it then fine, if you don't then you can whizz off to someone else's blog, not like being stuck in the same room as the person. It's as easy as that and I'm sure I've read 100s of blogs, discarded the vast majority of them and only keep reading the ones that interest me and to which I have a affinity.

From reading the blogs I regularly visit I feel like I know quite a bit about their authors. The bloggers, who's lives I read about, are people who I believe I would probably get on with in "real life", and have a great deal in common with. I could probably meet up with them in a pub and have a great conversation, but would it be the same if I hadn't known so much about them before? I doubt it.

The serious relationships I've had in the past have always been with women I have been friends with and then it's developed into something else. I suppose it's like testing the waters. We enjoy each others company [we can stand each other], know a fair bit about each other's past and interests, and things have developed into something good.

The not so serious relationships [or acquaintances] I've had have never lasted more than a month, after which I realise that we are completely different [Paula Abdul was wrong] and that I don't really want to spend a great amount of time with this person. I'm sure there were boundaries that could be overcome but if it's that much effort then I'd rather not go with it.

It's good if you have some different interests but it's essential that you have quite a bit in common with each other. If I could read the blogs of prospective dates then I'm sure things would run a lot more smoothly and if I didn't like what I read then I could pick up the phone say "Sorry I just don't think it's going to work, it's not me, it's you" and not waste an evening.

It's just struck me that that's a bit like these dating agencies where you can view a video of a potential date and, like Andy, say "I want that one!". But I'm sure that people who use them lie about themselves or only talk about the positive aspects of them, having a 3 minute section to sell yourself, whereas a blog usually has a years worth on entries where the blogger isn't trying to sell themselves to anyone, only trying to express themselves to no-one.

So there it is, a more meaningful entry to "The Big Blog". I feel better for it.

[Watch this space for a great business idea I have, where I'd like your views. I'll update later with my plans.]

I bore myself to sleep at night, I bore myself in broad daylight

If you've read a few of the previous posts then you'll know that I've been trying to spend little money...as I have none. Well it seems to be working for the moment and I'v ebeen keeping myself busy by working and then doing DIY jobs around the house that I've been putting off.
These are a few of the reasond why I have momentarily dropped off the blogging circuit. I have been reading other peoples blogs though and left a few comments here and there.

I've got a few things I could do a post about but I don't think they'd be very interesting so I'll leave you with that.

Au Revoir

A Change Would Do You Good

On a lighter side of things I thought I'd tell you my two favourite jokes.

Q. What's E.T. short for?
A. Because he's only got little legs!

Q. Why does Noddy wear a hat with bells on?

A. Because he's a twat!

Boom! Boom! Classics, and ones that I can still remember when pissed.
If you've got any classics and you want to share some good humour then post a comment.

I know that there's gonna be a change, Better find your way out of your fear

I was watching the Edinburgh Final Push concert on BBC3 last night and I was greeted by the Sugababes singing 'Stronger'. It was an amazing version displaying brilliant harmonies and excellent voices by three young once young girls, and now young women. Here are the lyrics:

I'll make it through the rainy days
I'll be the one who stands here longer than the rest
When my landscape changes, rearranges
I'll be stronger than I've ever been
No more stillness,more sunlight,
Everything's gonna be alright

I know that there's gonna be a change
Better find your way out of your fear
If you wanna come with me
Then that's the way it's gotta be
I'm all alone and finally
I'm getting stronger
You'll come to see just what I can be
I'm getting stronger

Sometimes I feel so down and out
Like emotion that's been captured in a maze
I had my ups and downs
Trials and tribulations,
I overcome it day by day,
Feeling good and almost powerful
A new me, that's what I'm looking for

Bridge
Chorus

I didn't know what I had to do
I just knew I was alone
People around me
But they didn't care
So I searched into my soul
I'm not that type of girl that will let them see her cry
It's not my style
I'll get by
See I'm gonna do this for me

chorus x 2
ohohohohohohohohohohohohoh

The song really effected me and I was thinking back to things that have happened and things that are happening. Much of this had been brought on by the points raised by 'Live 8' and the 'Make Poverty History' campaign. I know that a few concerts and wristbands are not going to solve the problems but I'm a firm believer that once you recognise you have a problem it's the first step to overcoming it. I felt that we had finally brought a major injustice into the popular mainstream, and that the wheels were being set in motion to solve it.

It had been an emotional day following an emotional week, and after the jubilation surrounding London's successful Olympic bid, I felt we were turning a corner after what has been an awful start to the 21st century (September 11th, Iraq, the tsunami, continuing world famine, increased global warming, I could go on but it's too depressing) and 'Stronger' showed that we can all overcome adversity, pull together, and make a difference. It seemed everyone wanted the same thing. This feeling inside me only lasted till this morning.

I sat watching the news this morning and my optimism for the future was fading from me. I felt sick inside and was hoping (I can't believe I'm saying this) that it was just a tragic series of events that had occurred in our capital. It seems that this is not the case and terrorists have yet again had blatant disregard for human life and done something very bad.

I just wish it would stop. Sorry to all the victims and their families.

Olypics 2012 Update

The Results are going to be announced soon......
I've got the TV on and am blogging, and also doing some design work in Photoshop....busy, busy, busy. vidiprinter style text to follow....no time stamps though, I'm too lazy but all this is happening from 12:20.

The woman talking is quite fit.....I think she's a Singaporean actress....hot...back to the bid now.
-----------------------
Now some drawn out images of Singapore (they are hosting this IOC session)
-----------------------
I'm watching on BBC News 24 by the way, only another 10 minutes to go.
-----------------------
They're showing all the candidate cities presentations in a montage stylee #. What a drawn out process.....I can't wait.8 minutes till the results.
-----------------------
The London bid video, with Heather Smalls in, is actually very good. I like.
-----------------------
Results time.......The President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, has stood up. A 14 year old sailor (from singapore) is going to bring the envelope
-----------------------
A bit of singing now! Hurry up! Whatever happened to a good drumroll?
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They're giving thanks to Singapore. Now the 9 cities who initially bid..
-----------------------
The envelope's out!!!!!
-----------------------
The 2112 olympics has been awarded to the city of...........LONDON
LONDON HAS IT!!!!!!!!!!
BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-----------------------
I thought we might've lost it, but no, brilliant. I actually clapped whe nthe results came out. Roll on 2012!

2012 Olympics

I'm watching the vote for the 2012 Olymipics, and for a room full of old farts it's been very exciting but yet I've been left on a cliffhanger.

Initially the possible host countries were Madrid, New York, Paris, London, and Moscow.
After a series of votes (computerised), Moscow, New York and Madrid, were eliminated from each round of voting. That left just Paris and London in it, and there's just been the vote between them, but agony, the end result won't be announced till 12:46 BST.
There's really nothing between them and it will be a lottery to who gets it.

I'll update after the result........

I feel right, the music sounds better with you

I've resisted the urge for a long time but now I really want one......I want an i-pod!!!
I've got loads of mp3s and CDs and I almost bought a Creative Zen Touch around 6 months ago but I resisted and realised I didn't actually need an mp3 player. But now I need one!

From all the specs I've looked at and reviews I've seen, the Creative is actually better than the Apple i-pod, but then there's the whole style issue, and after checking out a few friends ones (i-pods that is) I'm gonna get the i-pod.

I've fallen upon a few problems though:
1) Money - always a big issue. I've checked and I've already got 20gig of mp3s and this is sure to keep going so I really need to think about getting the 60gig one which is a pound short of £300. Luckily as I work for a University I could be eligeble for an educational discount but that only brings it down to £274.95
I've had a look on ebay but nothing is really much of a bargain so I might as well get an official one from the Apple store
2) i-Tunes has just f**cked around with the /my music/ directory and has made loads of new folders! arghhh! Not what I want. Also it hasn't uploaded around 90% of my music, so I'll have to upload all the folders seperately.

If anyone knows where I can get a cheaper i-pod then leave a comment. Also if anyone knows how to undo the folder buggery then leave a comment.

That's all for now.

MIT Weblog Survey

After gettting my daily dose from SwissToni's blog I followed a link from there to the MIT Weblog Survey which is basically doing what it says on the tin. I can now proudly boast this banner.


Why not click on it and become a number too.

they're like buses

You wait for one, then three come along at the same time. No not buses as the title suggests, or women (I should coco), but in fact photo-uploading doobries. In the past I've been uploading pics to my ademweb.co.uk site and directing my blog to get pictures from there. I did this as I have the space and there was nothing else that was that simple without signing up to loads of other things.

Then last month I decided to join flickr. I'd seen people, like SwissToni, had uploaded their pictures on to flickr and used them on their blog, so I jumped in and signed up (for free of course). All's very good there.

Then now blogger has launched a free photo upload service directly from the blog posting section. Easy Peasy.

So What do I go with???? I'm guessing I'll still use flickr and my own hosting, but I don't know if I'll use the actual blogger upload as I won't really know where the pictures are, as they'll be floating around in cyber space somewhere. Scary. I do wonder where all the crap goes on the internet, when people sign up to services or upload things and then completely forget about it.

Batman Begins

I went to the cinema last night with Jonny, Ant, and Ian, and I can say the at Batman has certainly Begun. Batman Begins has been out for a couple of weeks now and I only just got the chance to watch it.

It's usually the case that sequals get worse the further down the line they are, but I think that the time out from the Batman franchise has been good as there was a decline in the quality of the films, with the latter films resting on the laurels of Tim Burton's 1989 film.

1. Batman (1989) ...Great film, very dark, gothic Gotham is a masterpiece
2. Batman Returns (1992) ...Tim Burton and Michael Keaton return. Visually very pleasing, but the quality of script has slipped.
3. Batman Forever (1995) ...Robin is a pansy...a camp affair allround
4. Batman & Robin (1997) ...They didn't learn, crap villains
5. Batman Begins (2005) ...Starts back at the beginning, great cast, script, and visuals

In going back to the beginning of the whole Batman/Bruce Wayne saga the director, Christopher Nolan, of Memento fame, has a chance to start afresh from the series of films that slipped into mediocraty and campness.

The choice of cast is exceptional. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson are great actors and fulfil their roles here.....anyone notice that they're all British actors.

In fact is was actually a bit like a game of spot the Britain - Other notable Brits included - Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy (ok Irish), Colin MacFarlane, Linus Roache, Larry Holden, and Gerard Murphy. These Brits actually take up 10 of the top 15 spaces on the bill. I suppose you get that when the director is british too!

The brits are showing the yanks how to do it. We do love a bit of drama, and always look on the dark side, so I guess Batman Begins is the perfect choice, as fear and darkness are underlying themes in the film.

I haven't gone too much into plot etc as I don't want to ruin the film for those of you who haven't watched it but I can assure you that you will be getting more than just a Summer Blockbuster.


Watch It!

Money, it’s a gas

I came to the conclusion last night that I actually have no money. Weigh up my debts against my assets and I am a black hole of equity. I have negative money.

I have a student loan from my time at Uni but I never think about this as it's not an 'immediate debt' to me. I can forget about it as the interest is miniscule(ish) for a debt that size as the interest is about £20 per month on a debt of over £10,500. I know it all adds up but as I earn shit money I don't have to start paying it back yet. Anyway there's other debts to pay off before I get onto that one.

I went straight to Uni from doing my A-levels and living at home and can say that I had zero debt, I didn't owe a penny, and had never heard of an overdraft. I had a great time at uni and believe that you have to make the most of it. I spent money on beer, going out, having fun, etc, and didn't really think too hard about the money as my loan came thru, I had a part-time job at the uni bar, and.....HSBC gave me an interest free overdraft of £1000..brilliant.

First of all I tried not to go into it, then only a little, and then I depended on the overdraft limit, teetering on the edge until I put money in. This continued after I left uni, and managed my spending so that I had spent all my overdraft by the exact day of pay-day.

After working for a few years in the 'real world' I have also accumulated some debt on credit cards, luckily transferring my debt around various credits with 0% interest...I am a 'balance transfer whore'!

I was coping, payed my bills, treated myself every so often, was always able to go out, and even made inroads into paying off the credit cards.

But this year has been harder, I've moved back to Ramsgate, where I've got loads of old mates, and along with this it's brought more spending. A lot of my friends earn more money than me, some double, and I always feel I need to be out socially (well only the weekend really) but the past few months have been really expensive and have ruined any hard work I'd done before on the removal of debt (see previous posts of stagweekends, trips to rugby, parties, etc).

Also...HSBC has removed my interest free overdraft completely so I've had to transfer that money to one of my interest free cards to save on paying immediate interest to the bank..cheers.
I've really got to work on my budget and try and get rid of the debt as in another 6 month my interest free cards will stop and I'll be up shit creek.

I suppose I'm kinda happy that I haven't got the overdraft to fall back on and I'll have to really work on those cards. I don't actually use them except for large things I did in the past (I went travelling to Canada in 2003...very expensive although great fun).

I hope no one thinks I'm a hypocrite as I spoken in the past about 'making poverty history' and here I am moaning although I still have a roof over my head, can go out, and I do own a lot of crap, so I shouldn't really moan but it does bother me as I'm still a miniscule part of "the big picture".

Remember you can click on the banner at the top-left of the screen to find out how to help in the 'Make Poverty History' campaign or alternatively on a selfish front if anyone want to be my saviour, if Bill Gates is reading this blog, then feel free to click on the 'make a donation' button on the right!

on the playground is where I spent most of my days

Check this out!==> http://movies.collegehumor.com/media/movies/b-ball-e-mail.mov
All I can say is absofuckinlutelyamazing.

I got the magic stick. I know if I can hit once, I can hit twice

I was at my friend Emma's BBQ last yesterday and, sadly, got browsing on the internet (look, it was cold outside, ok?!). I restumbled across rathergood.com again and found a flash movie of 'hardcore morris dancers' (you'll need sound for this one). It's very funny and I wanted to share it with you, and it also brings back memories of New Year 2004 when I went out with over a dozen mates dressed as Morris Dancers. We didn't just look like Morris Dancers, but we also acted like them and put on a few shows for the people in the pubs. Ah what fun......

BTW...Last year we dressed up as BA Baracus's (that's me at the front.....after a few glasses of milk...)

It took me 2 days to get all the paint off!

Summer Lovin', had me a blast

Last night was the Summer Ball of the University I work at and I was lucky enough to be on the VIP list plus guest, in this case Jonny. I had spent the actual friday daytime helping with preparations such as putting up fencing and generally sweating away on a very hot day (34C), and wasn't actually in the mood for partying from 8pm till 4am but I made it and had a cracking time. The acts headlining were Electric Six, Kosheen, Thirteen Senses, N-Trance, and DJ Steve Sutherland, along Lee & Bombhead from Hollyoaks presenting inbetween acts.

We actually went to the Chicago Rock Cafe for a few cheap drinks as they were doing a pre-ball party. It was very quiet there but we did get a few champagne cocktails down us, although there wasn't really a way to drink cocktails named 'Cherry Blossom' without raising the camp factor, and if you're gonna do that then you've got to do it with style. (see picture below. Jonny and myself had already been labelled 'gay' as he came as my guest, laydees I can assure you that is not the case....well not for me...I do sometimes wonder about Jonny.)

As part of my VIP status (a perk of working there) I was allowed into the VIP area which was a kind of chill-out room......with free booze between 8pm and 10pm. We got there at 9:40pm so in that time we had 3 bottles of Bud and 3 glasses of Rose Champagne each...not bad....shock...Electric Six were starting at 10pm and it was 10:10pm! Off we ran to see what was to be a brilliant act.
The hall they were playing in was like a sauna and from the following pics you can see that Dick Valentine is a wee bit sweaty.

(notice the demon eyes)

Dick Valentine who provides the vocals for Electric Six was amazing and had a real stage presence, constantly encouraging the crowd and showing amazing energy in what he described as "the hottest gig I've ever been to". as the sweat was dripping off him. I knew how he felt, as the sweat seeped through my suit. Obviously the highlights were the singles, Gay Bar and Danger! High Voltage, and you can click here to see a video clip I took of Gay Bar.

Up next it was N-Trance, who provided tunes such as 'Set You Free' and 'Stayin Alive'. I must admit I had a 'rave moment' and was throwing shapes when the played 'Set You Free', which is an absolute classic, and I was happy that the two vocalists provided some interaction as the problem with getting some DJs and MCs is that they sometimes just whack a CD on and go through the motions.
I've actually just visited their website (http://www.n-trance.co.uk/k) and they've got a trivia section with a few facts, the best being that: When on 'Desert Island Discs', Tony Blair picked N-trance's version of 'Stayin' Alive' as one of his choices.

The Fun didn't stop there, and up next were Kosheen, a late replacement for Akon, who had pulled out of the gig with one weeks notice (resulting in posters around Uni stating 'What A-Kon'). I'd rather see Kosheen who's album 'Resist' I actually own. They were brilliant with Decoder and Substance doing their magic on the decks and synths, and vocalist Sian Evans bellowing out the lyrics.

Now I hate to admit it but I really like Hollyoaks, and find some of the charactors hilarious, the best two being Lee and Bombhead, so when I found out they were gonna be presenting I was quite excited. Sadly they seemed to be missing and we hadn't seen or heard about them all night then at 1am, by now I was a sweaty, adrenaline-pumped, drunkard, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lee Hunter (Alex Carter). I thrust the camera into Jonny's hands and went and asked if I could get my photo with him ( how could he refuse when confronted with a large shaven-headed man? Notice the unbuttoned shirt...very cool Adem.)

This was at the same time that Thirteen Senses were on, and they r-o-c-k-e-d! I had run out of space on the camera and so only one picture of them. I've actually only heard one of their songs before('Thru The Glass') but I'm sure I'll be hearing more of them.

It was now around 2am, a time when the bars were closing, so we took it upon us to buy more alcohol, and stockpiled it in a bush to last us for the last two hours before our transport home arrived at 4am. In this time I bopped to the tunes of DJ Steve Sutherland who, along with 2 MCs, played a great set, really working the crowd.

I finally got home at gone 5am, collapsed, and sadly woke up at 9:30am.....I'm quite tired now but usually when I wake up I stay up. I think I'll have a lie in tommorrow...

All in all it was a classic night and the depth of the acts was amazing, with no rip-off, miming, ego-inflated stars to be found. Pure Quality.

*this picture is for jonny.

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has met for its annual meeting and has condemned Japan's plan to increase the scale of its catches to 1000 in the name of science.

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling dates from 1946, a time when I think there were more things to worry about, i.e. rebuilding after WWII, and on the subject of scientific study it states:

"...any contracting government may grant to any of its nationals a special permit authorising that national to kill, take and treat whales for purposes of scientific research subject to such restrictions as to number and subject to such other conditions as the contracting government thinks fit..."

After the 1986 ban on commercial whaling, the Japanese embarked on the Japanese Whale Research Programme in Antarctica.

Fortunately there are a few people at the IWC with a bit of sense, who have suggested that it might be worth analysing this 'scientific data' from the past 18 years before they can justify increasing the number of whales caught....I can see the Japanese backtracking now and having to cram on their homework from the past 18 years...."Sorry Sir, my dog ate it."

The Autrailian delagation (lovely folk) put forward a motion that the Japanese would have to cease killing more whales, or switch to non-lethal modes of study, until the data has been collated on the 18 year study.

The motion passed by 30 votes to 27 votes, a narrow margin. Luckily not all the developing countried that Japan had bribed enlisted turned up. (See this post about all those shenanighans)
Sadly it seems that this will not do and Japan will hope to reverse this decision at next years vote, hoping to enlist more nations that would side with them.

"It's time for Japan to respect an international forum which has said for the 41st time in 18 years that there's no justification for this research programme," Patrick Ramage of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) told BBC News.

I've been on the IWC website and had a look at the recent additions to its membership. In a previous post I put maps up to show that many of the countries Japan had enlisted had no actual interest in whaling as they had no coastline. Click on the following names, all of whom have joined in the past year, to see their non-exitant coastlines: Luxembourg, The Slovak Republic, The Czech Republic, Hungary.

I must admit that I'm a bit biased and that I am a bit cynical in thinking that every new country that is joining has been coerced by Japan and is in favour of whaling. Maybe, just maybe, these countries are joining so that they can have a positive say against whaling. I can dream but it seems that people are only willing to join something if they have an alterior motive and want to get something out of it. I am so cynical.....

Blog Anniversaire

I was scouting a few blogs and someone mentioned they'd missed their blogs anniversary.....shock.......I had missed mine too! The Big Blog first came into being on Monday 10th May 2004 and has been going for over a year. So as a belated birthday present here's what the first post was.

Just Started Blogging

My friend Dave told me about blogging so I thought 'Fuck it' and am gonna give it a go. We'll have to see how long it lasts. Hmm now to find stuff to put on it. - adem

posted by adem at 7:28 PM

I'm sure that this is the way that many start but I've seen many bloggers lose their way and fail to update their blog after the first few months......how sad. In fact this is the case for Dave's blog, which has a grand total of eleven posts, and shares the same birthday with the Big Blog.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

Whilst I'm on my self-righteous tip, I might as well tell you that I've been recycling. I must admit that I didn't really do that much until about 6 months ago. Previously I only went to the recycling centre every so often (usually after a large party with a car-bootfull of bottles) but now I'm well up for it.

As you can see from the picture, I collect Newspapers, glass, and tins, and every 2 weeks the 'green' waste (stuff from the garden) is picked up by the special binmen.
The only thing is that there's no provision for plastics, which to be fair are a lot more prevalent nowadays in our throw-away consumer lives. I think it may be because there are so many types of plastic that it would probably cost too much and take too much energy to collect it and thus it would negate the whole recycling ethos. Who knows? I could probably look it up but I can't be bothered (just look here).
I still don't understand why the whole 'returning bottles to where you bought them from and getting a few pence thing' was discontinued here in the UK. I do remember having to take back lucozade bottles and getting a few coins back sometime in the 80s, and local kids would see if they could take other people bottles back (and obviously keep the return coinage.)
I was in Canada a few years back and they still operate that kind of system, and I'll tell you, people are less likely to throw away their bottles (When you buy the drinks your receipt tells you how much deposit you paid for your bottles adding actual value to the receptacle you are using.) Any that do get littered are soon picked up by tramps and they get a few cents their way. Still having plenty of homeless isn't good either.

Well I'm off to bed as I 'm tired and have been working at the pub, and I sure this post has started to ramble a little at the end.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

When will I see my picture in the paper? I can't answer, I can't answer that.

I was in Yahoo, just about to check my email, when the headline "Goss claims he knows where Bin Laden Is", my immediate Goss association was that from the former boyband Bros!

Strangely it wasn't.........silly me.

Something fishy's going on! (I mean mammaly...my bad.)

I love whales.....but I couldn't eat a whole one!! ha ha ha! Well apparently this wouldn't really go down as a joke in Japan, Norway, or Iceland, as they seem intent on overturning the 20 year ban on Whaling. In past years the votes in favour of whaling have gone up, with there needing to be a 75% majority of the members of the IWC to remove the ban.

How can this be? Well since the International Whaling Commission (IWC) set up in 1947, the membership has more than doubled from 30 to 66, with 9 new members joing in the past year. Japan has been bribing recruiting poor developing countries and securing their support by offeing incentives such as large aid packages. Many of they countries have had no previous link to whaling and a few, namely Mali and Mongolia, have no coastline to conduct their apparent wish for whaling from! A bit naughty if you ask me.

Excuse me, Mr Mali, where's your coastline?

Excuse me, Mrs Mongolia, where will you be whaling?
I hope that the ban remains as many species of whales have been almost harpooned to extinction, but even if the ban remains there will still be those countries who simply decide to ignore it and make a sham of a system put in to protect our wildlife (Japan hunted 400 whales last year for 'scientific reasons' and the Norwegians openly defied it by giving its whalers a quota of 670 whales in 2004, up to 797 this year.)
Still we can't talk can we? Don't even get me started on the poor Cod!

In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they fought with expert timing

Now that's better, Eddie Murphy Raw has just started on Men and Motors. I didn't know it was going to be on but I was watching K1 - Ultimate Fighting, which is ultimate fighting and a little bit like Mortal Kombat, and once that finished , Eddie's stand-up video came on. It's got some very funny bits in it but it's definitely not as funny as Delirious, which is absolutely hilarious, if not very PC.

Scent and a sound, I’m lost and I’m found, and I’m hungry like the wolf

I watched Teen Wolf Too (1987) last night, the sequal to Teen Wolf (1985).....that's 91 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

"a big steaming pile of shit" - me

The greatest gift they'll get this year is life

I've moved my 'Make Poverty History' from the right of the screen to the left and made it HUGE. Do you think it's big enough? Hopefully it'll attract a bit more attention.

---------
Also: I joined Flickr today and whacked a few pictures up and put the 'flickr daily zeitgeist' on the sidebar to the right. It should be scrolling through a few of my pics.

Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste.

Football, football, football. I am partial to a spot of footy, both playing and watching. In the words of Jimmy Greaves "It's a funny old game". Over the past decade or so it seems that players are getting the upper hand and contracts don't really mean anything. An example of this is that Cristiano Ronaldo (or actually his agent) has declared that unless he gets a massive wage increase he'll look to move to another club that will be able to offer what he think's he's worth. He's 2 years into a 5 year contract with Manchester United worth £18,000 a week.

Football is constantly changing after the Bosman ruling (freedom to move once a contract has finished) and now maybe the Cole ruling (opportunity to meet potential future employers whilst still under contract to current employer). Many argue that it's ruining the game, but at the end of the day the Clubs are employers, Players are employees, and we the Spectators are the consumers, that's the way it is and Football can't be expected to be treated like anything other than a business, at the end of the day there is profit/loss and the aim to be a successful market competitor.

Show me a job where you, an individual, cannot give notice to your employer and are not allowed to look at or meet prospective employers or business oportunities. I can't see where the future of Football will be when football players gain parity in their contract status with other employees in different fields (excuse the pun) of employment. They will be moving around will-nilly (I have never written that word before, a first, wow!).

In all fairness if another club wants to offer more money to Ronaldo, then he should be able to give a period of notice and move on after that time. But hey that's not the nature of the beast.
I don't doubt that players will gain their 'freedom' sometime in the future, and transfer fees will be scrapped, with the players going to clubs who can afford to pay them (Chelsea anyone?).

Maybe the only solution would be to impose a team salary cap, i.e. all players are free to move as they want but each premiership team can spend a maximum of £40 million on wages a year (See what they already pay). It's be a bit like fantasy football, and the managers would have to decide where the wages will be going. It would also mean that players would keep their wages lower so that they don't price themselves out of the market, and won't ask for huge wage increases.

I do think sports players get paid too much money, but we, as the consumers, are constantly buying the 'product' so why should anything change?

Ticket to ride, white line highway, tell all your friends, they can go my way.

Ian dropped by a CD containing photos and video from the stag weekend in Bournemouth. Apparently after a few drinks I think I can breakdance and will show off my 'style' if I've had enough drinks in me and my so called mates coax me on.

This picture is not of me, but luckily you can check out an mpeg by

clicking here.

It's pretty shocking stuff, and I hope I don't end up like that kid in the email attachments pretending to be Darth Maul (Starwarskid.mpg).

With the briefcase empty and the holes in my shoes. I try to stay friendly for the sugary abuse.

I've just pooped popped up to Westwood Cross and had a look around. It opened on Thursday but at 2:20pm on a Monday it wasn't that busy. Saturday was a different matter when it clogged up the whole area. Anyway there seem to be 3 shops up there that I may actually like! They are...

1. Burtons (I like simple cheap clothes and some of the stuff they do fits the bill, or Adem in this case).

2. Waterstones (wow, a place you can buy books! It's not the biggest one I've been to so they've had to chop out a few categories. But I picked up Angels and Demons by Dan Brown for £3.49, I'd read his others ones already but that one had eluded me.)

3. HMV (I went to a friends brothers gig at the Brittania pub in Margate, Ollie Hodder, and I must say the boy's got talent. His opening song was a cover of Underdog (Save Me) by Turin Brakes from 'the Optimist Lp' of which I used to have a copy of (now long lost) so I bought that album plus Psyence Fiction by Unkle, which I only have on cassette, in a 2 for £10 double whammy... fantastic!)

ba ding ding ding ding di di ding ding bah bahbeday

Have you ever gone out, not think you've drunk that much, and then woken up in the morning not remembering much of the previous evening? I couldn't remember the places I'd been too and sometimes who I was with!
Now either someone's been dropping the old rohypnol into my pints (I did wake up with a funny taste in my mouth...) or I was just drinking a bit quicker than normal.
hmmm I'll have to wait till next weekend to see if the results can be replicated.

On another note last week I decided I wanted to go fishing but no one else could be bothered apart from Big Gay Tom, so we set off to Deal Pier at 11:30am on Sunday (would've been earlier but Tom had to clean out the rabbits hutch). The weather was a bit cloudy and windy but it was still a good day and we carried on till 6pm as I had to get back home for a session of Dodgeball at Pfizer where Jonny had booked the sports hall. I've realised that I'm not very good at Dodgeball (although it was my first time) but made my own enjoyment by being juvenile and putting my fishy fingers under people noses and saying "your mum!".....ah school days......and MILFS......

Tom casting out his big rod

The ugliest fish ever....(looks a bit like blinky from the Simpsons)

Memories of the day....1. me constantly singing Ordinary People by John Legend (it started to annoy me after Tom had committed suicide) 2. Me constantly going on about "how shallow the water was" (I said it about 50 times).

Maybe we'll live and learn, Maybe we'll crash and burn

A strange thing happened the other day. I was listening to the radio and I heard a great song from an artist I had never heard of before, and then on Top of the Pops (I honestly never watch it but it was on the TV before I went out) I saw him again. The artist in question is John Legend (not too sure if that's his real surname) and the song was 'Ordinary People'. A great song and great lyrics too.
I've just had a look at his website johnlegend.com (obviously) and his biography reveals that his real name is John Stephens (I knew Legend wasn't his real name) and that Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green and The O'Jays are among his primary influences, a fact that is evident from hearing his music.

Legend demonstrates a rare ability to fuse the "feel" and vibe of classic old school soul music with the edgy flavor of 21st century hip-hop. While the romantic themes of traditional R&B permeate John's Get Lifted, there's also a street-worthy hipness and confidence: the sensuality of Marvin Gaye and the sincerity of Stevie Wonder merging with the directness of Snoop Dogg and the wit of Kanye West. Yet, John Legend is very much his own artist, gifted with singular talents and a unique sensibility.

There's nothing like a label bigging up (how hip am I?) an artist, but in this case I think they may be onto something. I think the best thing for you to do is check out the website and click on 'media' to see what it's all about. Hopefully we'll hear a lot more from him, and as he has made it into the 'popular' media I'm sure he will. Even if he falls out of the limelight I think he'll still be successful as a songwriter and musician as he has done session work with Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Eve, Common, the Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West (whom co-wrote his current album). By the way....whatever happened to Jamie Cullum?

A blog a day helps you work,rest, and play

Wow, two posts in the same week! I've got to let people know I'm still around. I do like looking at certain people's blogs, I only comment on a few but I'd like them to know that I'm thinking of them s oI think I'm going to put a blogrolling links list on the Big Blog. I've got a paltry list of 4 blogs on the sidebar that I apparently 'Like' but I do read more, although not religiously, but there were a few I used to read that ended and were never updated again.....a shame.

This week has been fairly chilled, and I think it's helped that the weather has been nice. I've even managed to get a few bits and bobs done at home. I mowed the lawn on monday (looks nice, and becoming a habit), and even did a bit of carpentry on tuesday and yesterday. In the hallway there's a coat cupboard, which had some fairly flimsy doors on that kept popping open, so I got some timber out of the shed, some hardboard (from homebase), and got out my workbench, jigsaw (the tool, not the puzzle), drill, and a variety of screwdrivers, and built a set of new doors. They look good and only need to be painted but the only annoying thing is that the house isn't straight! My doors are perfect but the actual frame is not, which means there's a bit of a wonky gap between the doors, but don't worry (ha! like you were) as a bit of beading will sort this out! I know it's cheating but it's certainly easier than putting in a new frame.

Well that's then end of this DIY post.

Still no updates on the holiday (remember to comment and tell me good places to go in reference to a few posts ago)

If we took a holiday. Took some time to celebrate

I'm thinking of going on holiday this summer but to make a change I want to do nothing. Whenever I go away, I like to actually get something from the different culture, try new things and experience something completely different from my life in Britain.
This time I want to make a change, I want to go on a crappy sun-drenched holiday where I don't have to do anything except order cocktails from the beach. It goes against everything I usually do but I'd actually like to be a brit abroad, speak none of the lingo, just laze on the beach, and maybe, just maybe, relax, and return with a tan. I don't want too many ravers there, maybe something in a Magaluf stylee, where the flights are cheap, and maybe I could stay in a hotel (I'm sick of busy hostels), and I don't want to go sightseeing!

So I put this challenge to you! Tell me where I should go! Just post a comment, and maybe, just maybe, you could change my life! What an incentive!