A happy-go-lucky English rambler dude goes to New Zealand for a year. Here he interfaces with some of those he left behind and details his nefarious activities. Or summat.
Recently clicked on MP3s - 7th June 2005 The Lucksmiths - Warmer Corners
Jens Lekman - When i said i wanted to be your dog
The Trashcan Sinatras - Weightlifting
Teenage Fanclub - Man Made
Laura Veirs - Carbon Glacier
The Decemberists - Picaresque
The Eels - Blinking Lights
Monday, November 24, 2003
OK, i admit it, i'm no longer in Boston.
Instead of drinking at Cheers, i now have to make do with "Lucid" on Braunstone gate. And instead of discussing post modern expressionism with Harvard students while sipping triple-choc-haf-caff-mocha-spresso-frappa-chinos, i now have to watch De Montfort Uni scum racing wheelie bins up down the road, while drinking Nescafe. Ho Hum.
The good news is that I have LOTS of new holiday pictures to share with you all - hurrah! Sadly though, work is keeping me as busy as a blue-arsed-fly that has deadline to meet this Friday, which if it misses, it will have a red hot poker put up it's blue arse. Which i'd imagine would turn it's arse a rather painful shade of dark purple?
Anyway, rather than dwelling on anal torture of busy insects, i'd like to share with you this rather lovely picture of an extremely lovely Chipmunk i managed to take whilst rambling up Mount Monadnock, in New Hampshire, with Mark the other week. There were Chipmunks all over the place during the walk, but when they came to having their pictures taken, were as slippery as a bunch of randy Eels that have had Extra Virgin Olive oil drizzled over them. So when this one posed for me like it did, and i managed to creep up to it, without my size 12 Scarpas scaring it off, i was rather surprised and pleased with the results - if only i nicked my Dad's decent digi cam for the trip....
Gary the Chipmunk, pictured relaxing recently
1:08 am Friday, November 07, 2003
Woo! The Boston goodness continues, this time via the gift of ROCK.
Mark & I went to see the Eels last night, at the Paradise club. Although they are a band i've always liked, i probably wouldn't have bust a gut to go and see them if they were playing in the UK, but i now realise that is because i am a fool. I went along last night, because it was the best looking gig of the week in Boston (I've missed Belle & Sebastian and WWF Wrestlemania by a week - AAARGH!), not really expecting any miracles, but that was exactly what the gig was, from the moment the band bounded on in their red US prison boiler suits, and E came swanning on to stage half way through the first song via the middle of the crowd.
As E himself pointed out, they've played 77 cities in about as many days over the summer, and the band was so incredibly tight you could well believe it. Butch on drums was particularly impressive from our side balacony spot, not to mention wossisface the guitarist, Koool G Murder on bass & stuff - who looked like he'd been thrown out of ZZ Top for being too beardy and ROCKING too hard, and E himself, who threw a wonderful array of ROCK poses, pointing his guitar to the current section of the crowd he was wishing to convey the ROCK to at that moment.
A ROCKed up version of "I like birds" was a particular joy, and the needle went off the scale on the ROCKometer for "Souljacker" and "Dog face boy".
Happily it seemed the rest of the crowd, and the Eels themselves enjoyed the show as much as we did, and we were treated to no less than 4 (Count 'em) encores. During the third E pointed out, "What are we gonna go and do that'll be more fun than this? Go f**k groupies on the bus? Oh, well, er maybe later, but...you know". The fourth was almost like a private party, as not unreasonably, half the crowd had gone home after the lights came up, and an ear splittingly high pitched version of the Star Spangled banner had been played, but just as i was pondering which t shirt to buy, out they came for just one more go, and finished off with a wonderful version of "Tiger Man", before E suddenly leapt onto the back of a waiting helper in the crowd and disappeared the same way he came in.
Even that wasn't quite the end, as the guitarist leapt onto drums, giving Butch the drummer a chance to show off his Mad breakdancing skillz, whilst Koool G made suitable squeaking and buzzing noises by wiggling the jack around in one of the amps.
Wow - What a show! I can happily say i am proud to have the same initials as E, and am even happier just to have been in the same room as someone as cool as Koool G Murder clearly is.
Joy.
6:37 pm Thursday, November 06, 2003
"Hi! How ya doin today? Can i help you find anything?". Yes i've been spending too much time in American shops - and now cannot get the shop assistant's Mantra out of my head.
Had a great day yesterday, buying all sorts of silly gubbins on the wonderful Newbury Street, probably the origin for my favourite Boston shop, Newbury Comics, as well as visiting some lovely art galleries like the Isabella Gardner Stewart Museum, where the sometimes dull art is overshadowed by the loveliness of the building itself.
I've also joined the squillions of runners in Boston, and did a brisk half hour lap around two bridges, and along the Charles river & MIT, which was an absolute joy, and has made me feel infinitely better about all the Chimichanga Burritos, Stawberry Dreamsicles, Cherry Pie and Ben & Jerry's Missisippi Mud pie ice cream i wolfed down yesterday. MMMmmmm......burp.
Oh, and i appear to have killed my mobile phone by charging it up on funny foreign voltages, so don't bother texting me or anything like that, until i get it sorted or a new phone :o( Though come to think of it, i've managed quite nicely without the bloody thing this week, so i might just leave it broken.... (Oh, who am i kidding)
8:57 pm Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Humph.
Annoyingly, like everywhere else, life in America isn't all good. Here are some of the crapper things that can happen over here:
Have Hangovers.
Get lost.
Wander aimlessly round dull areas with hurting feet.
Wait for ages for a T Train on the wrong platform.
Fail to find Art galleries you're after.
Find out that the lane you booked at the super swanky, neon bowl-a-rama "Kings" has been given to someone else.
But fear not, good things still happen too, instead of bowling, Mark and I went to shoot some pool at the extremely stylish, "Flat Top Johnny's", and i did manage to get to the top of the Prudential Center (On the left of this pic) to have look at all the lovely, twinkly lights below.
In other news, research (looking out of Mark's window) has shown that in the eternal battle between Squirrels and Cats, it is the Squirrels that are faster, and that Cats will get fed up of trying to chase three of them very quickly. Now here's Bob with the weather....
3:46 pm Tuesday, November 04, 2003
I don't plan to only ever update my blog from exotic places, it just seems to be working out like that at the minute.
My current location is the Library of MIT, in Boston, Masschusetts, and you can feel the cleverness oozing out of the walls, as well as from the fact that everyone else on the computers here is looking at college related stuff, rather than reading reports on Leicester City beating Blackburn 2-0 the other day.
Hence, i probably shouldn't lurk around too long, occupying valuable resources that could be put to better use, but for now i'll leave you with a Gates style list of the good things about Boston & The USA so far:
Trees & Leaves - Apparently i've missed the best of the Fall here, but what's left is still pretty incredible, and fear not, my digital camera is bursting at the seams with pictures of it all.
