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Yesterday I got bored of blogging before I ran out of things to say… Onwards!

Went to the Legendary(ish) Button Down Disco on Saturday, the mystique created by needing to be on a mailing list get in or even to be told where it was was comedy, but after I found out that you didn't need it after 10pm the illusion was shattered. Unfortunately I arrived late, after the drinks offers had long stopped and a little way into the set of the random New York guest DJ who played a load of extremely random stuff. Was much standing and looking fairly bored from everyone involved for a while there. At one point the whole club turned two-tone/ska, which was more
than slightly mental as well as a little disturbing. A lot of people were well into it and doing all the appropriate dancing, a few even looked like they might have been doing the same dancing a couple of decades ago. When the dodgy DJ finally finished he was replaced by the clubs own "home-grown talent", which was miles better. You know it's got to be good when a set includes the likes of Girl from Mars, Blister in the Sun or Connection.

I do wish I had been less tired though, two full nights out on four hours sleep is pushing it, but I had been too busy that day to grab a nap. I attempted to combat my fatigue through dodgy Red Bull substitute "Power up" but it didn't really work, although later I did run the length of our road for no real reason :-)

I [heart] Huckabees was really fantastic; there were a couple of scenes that rate among the funniest things I have ever seen. I'm not going to do an in-depth review - spoilers are teh suck - just go and see it! I might get it when it comes out on DVD, it's that cool.

Dismantled one computer, built another one, thought I did it wrong; disassembled it, realised I was right the first time, reassembled. Reloaded what seemed like hundreds of programs onto the same hard drive they are already on, which is annoying.

Saw a couple of bands on Saturday, the first being Vibration White Finger, a bunch of guys having a really great time on a stage, but they weren't actually that good. Though they did have a brass section, an assortment of amusing facial hair, and were Welsh, so props where it's due. The second band were Elefant out of New York, who really made the others look like the amateurs they were. As Leah suggested they weren't too good with working the crowd, but I loved their flippant psuedo-unselfconscious eccentricity, and the music was pretty good too.

Attempted un-specification of CV - which felt a bit contrariwise - and proffered it to people that promised to get back. But people are often liars, so hey.

I do hate it when people smoke in crowds, especially when they hold the cigarette at a perfect level for the smoke to drift into your face. I mean if someone had horrendous BO and insisted you stood in their armpit, or someone was continuously passing wind, it wouldn't be allowed would it? They'd be lynched. And the smell of smoke is probably a lot more persistent.

[Weed, smoke, skunk]

"Argh! Stop calling me that! "

God bless the enterprising businessmen of Camden. Maybe a good place for gigs, but not a cool place to spend a Saturday night.

If you live in London and you aren't going to at least one new gallery, museum, theatre, coffee house, restaurant, cinema, club, pub, gig, or house party every week, then you're probably wasting the experience. You should consider moving back to zone seven and making room for someone more prepared to make the effort.

Listening to:
Lit, random Canadian stuff, Radio 1, whatever winamp throws at me.

Looking for:
Temp work, Stress.

Playing:
Nothing.

Watching:
A bit of T4, and finishing up on Thundercats.

Reading:
This Day All Gods Die.

At a random indie gig thing I picked up a badge with what I guessed was a band name on it: The Black Velvets. I didn't know what or who they were until I heard them played on XFM.

The other night at some stupid time in the morning a Canadian MSNed me a song by The Metric, a band I had never heard of until then… Just a little earlier I heard them on XFM.

Saturday night I'm going to see Elefant, a band I had never heard of before it was suggested I see them… I just heard them on XFM.

And now Lemon Jelly are playing. Stupidly frequent adverts aside, XFM is genius. Mostly genius. They keep playing that rubbish "Do they know it's a wanky over-produced re-hash" song, which is a shame :-(

XFM club night next Friday!

My habit of cycling between sociable and unsociable doesn't really work in London, I can be as anti-social as I like and people will see me whether I like it or not, and I'll get invited to cool things with cool people regardless of my wishes. Not that I'm complaining too much… The problem comes when I come out of my shell and reach out to peeps I haven't seen in a while, and BAM, I'm invited to a silly number of things at once. And I maintain I don't really know that many people here.

I'm still free Sunday though, anybody up to anything fun? =)

Thoughts now fixed. Thanks to Laur for pointing me at them, I didn't even notice they were broken. Numbers out of step in places they patently were in step before and the wrong slash used in a couple of places. Gah! Now up to 404 though :-)

"Welcome! Leave your coats, bags, offensive weapons, preconceptions, self-doubt and inflated sense of self-importance at the door on the way in. Take your pick of cocktails, canapés and glow sticks, and join the hell in! Come on, there's someone you should meet…"

With the 36 comments I just uploaded I've finally passed 400 random thoughts, and that's thought 401 :-)

I had to pay through the nose to replace a faulty part on this old computer, which is damned annoying, given I want to get a new one at some point anyway. At least the thing works now.

I've been to a lot of what I now know to be damned arty cool places, but I think last night took the biscuit. Death Disco in Notting Hill, with Alan McGee DJing (indie icon maybe, but his mixing ain't so hot), and a few random but really very good bands. The venue has blatantly been left in a very raw state, and the peeling plaster and stapled panels juxtaposed with certain posters, funky lamps and images projected on the walls; the whole place looked really fucking cool. The crowd was really chilled and bizarrely eclectic. The drinks were a bit too dear but not considering


you're drinking strange foreign beers and absinthe cocktails in Notting Hill. All in all an excellent night, though we should definitely have gone earlier :-)

(And after I got back home I repeatedly completely whupped James' ass at Soul Calibur 2 despite not being even close to sober and not having played it for months. Ha!)

Speaking about that sort of noncy self-aware fringe culture, I've just found out that Waz's band Snow White have a website! Featuring downloadable music, pics and a where they'll be playing. Go on, browse it!

And finally, the World of Warcraft American beta is over! I cannot properly express how amazing it was in much the same way as I can't effectively relate what I find mind blowing about some photographs; mostly because most or all of you wouldn't understand. So I say farewell to my level 23 Night Elf Druid. Maybe one day I'll resurrect him, but maybe not :->

(On American Open Beta)

Today I left the open beta of World of Warcraft downloading through a curious Blizzard branded bittorrent clone - not all that bittorrents is illegal - and went to see Coffee and Cigarettes at the ridiculously opulent Elecrtric Cinema in Notting Hill. It was really good, though I'd hesitate to recommend it as I'm not sure who would ‘get' it and who wouldn't. It was interesting in places, and hilarious in others, but slightly dull in a couple of others. Overall I loved it. Afterwards, feeling artier-than-thou, we walked down an empty Portobello Road, which looks very odd with out a market and at night.

ROFLMAO

Early yesterday afternoon I went into town to meet up with Mikey. We had cocoa, coffee and cakes in a couple of coffee places, browsed some books and shoes, and wandered down bond street admiring the sheer brazen opulence of the shops there.

I arrived (late apparently) back home to my housemate Mary together with Will, Moz, Laurie and Carly - whom I hadn't seen in many months - sitting in the lounge, looking really bored, with a floor covered in balloons. :-) We were quickly joined by Steve while presents and a bottle of cava was opened, candles on the cake blown out, and the drinking began. It didn't end for fourteen hours.

After the gifts and whatnot we headed into a busy Soho to queue outside a crowded Tapas Bar while I tried to choke down a panic attack. I had been feeling anxious all day, and what with the crowds, the attention, expectation and the fact I couldn't leave because all these people were here for my benefit, it got worse until I began to freak out for a while there. Happily my mum happened to phone, and after a short distracting chat to her with happy birthdays and whatnot I was feeling fine again.

Leah joined us as we finally got in to the place, and we got a whole mess of tapas and pink cava. The music was very "variable" and the fried bocerones were rubbish, but everything else was really tasty, and passing around the various dishes of this and that back and forth was an excellent way to do dinner. We stayed there a while, unmoved by the people waiting outside, and ordered a couple more dishes. It was
good :-)

After dinner Tal, James and Darren joined us, Laurie left us and the eleven of us headed to Charlotte Street at the suggestion of a phone call to Leah's Brother, and to an excellent cocktail bar there at the suggestion of Talia, where we had a few rounds of some of the best cocktails I've ever tasted. Much good chat and more passing around and tasting stuff, only this time it was the drinks. Although Mikey stuck to the Virgin Marys I suspect that he might have had an experimental sip too many of other peoples drinks, given he began to phase out after a while.

At time we tubed back to Shepherds Bush, losing Darren, Talia, James and Moz to work, sleep and clubbing. Aside from winning a skipping race I think the trip was fairly uneventful… Got home, Mary got out an amazing Britpop compilation CD, more drinks, more chat. The difference between those who were awake and those drifting off to the land of nod became more and more clear, so at 2 or 3 or so Steve nightbussed it, Mary, Will and I retired to Mary's room with a haul of alcohol and everyone else tucked into makeshift bedding.

We put Grace by Jeff Buckley on repeat, which was a genius plan. Will made a mess in Mary's bathroom, which I don't remember. Chatted lots with Mary and Will, though Will was a lot easier to understand after he actually woke up. And that was more or less us until 6:30am, when the chat tailed off and I decided to go downstairs and sleep in my own bed.

Today involved watching a bunch of television that refused to make any sense at all, eating Will's traditional post party meal and saying farewell to those that had stayed over as they left one by one, and now -*looks at clock*- my birthday is over.

Thanks to everyone that chipped in in one way or another, especially those that traveled down for it, despite my misgivings it was another good one. xx

/me fixes the link I gave a few days ago to The Power Of Nightmares in case anyone was too stumped to work around my cretinous error. Mostly because I'm bored. Also here's another one to a bunch of comments on the series. Have a gander.

So! I saw One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest starring Christian Slater and that dude from the office, courtesy of Laurie. It was AMAZING. Good play too. Slater running around in a towel was not something ever thought I'd see. Not that I had given it any thought before I today, to be honest, but still. It should be pointed out that he's definitely more a figure of awe rather than lust, as some of his film characters were very important role models to me in my "formative years".

And then, against my better judgment, I joined peeps heading to Popstarz. Again. Seriously, becoming a regular is not something I am going to tolerate. As soon as I get a better offer I'm out of there, but as Popstarz seems to have music I like and the people I like to hang with… I guess I'll settle for being an irregular? Anyway, some good dancing, on and off the stage, and a few good chats, including on the bus back. For me it's the chats and the music that make any night, and both were good. Props where it's due.

I've put a bit where you can see the last 10 pics that have been put up and linked it above. I might use it to put more than one pic up at a time in the future sometime… If you want to look at pics before the last 10 entries, then you have to look in the general archives, where they're lumped in with the text entries. Also, if you have missed pics older that that, you should clearly be checking the site more often!

In my explorations I also came across a page I never upgraded from mynciboi 2.0, so it's still an eye-jarring half and half (old html, new css). I'm not that fussed about it, so I'm going to leave it in that state, but if any of you wanted to look at those collages I made of some of my uni friends oh-so-long-ago then do have a look.

Thought for the morning. Years from now when the world is sane again and we look back on this, Bush will have been in charge from when I was 19 to when I was 27. Mental.

It's the 4th! Which means it's my brothers birthday! (Happy birthday!) Which means my birthday is in three days! And I really wish it wasn't. On the list of things I'd like to be doing any time soon, celebrating annual Dan day is not high.

So! Bush wins by a popular and electoral vote, increasing his margin and validating his policies. Not to mention giving him a great mandate to do what the hell he likes now, not least because he is in his second term and has nothing to lose, and I'm sure having Republican majority in the other branches of the government can't hurt. Oh, and in single sex marriage is now banned in 11 State constitutions.

What the fuck? It's not like I can even fault the electoral process, they got what they voted for, it's just been a really bad day for the democrats.

I saw the last in a three part series called The Power of Nightmares which really was astounding watching, I reccomend it to anyone that gets a chance to see it. It refutes with evidence so much of the crap we?ve been force-fed on terrorism that I'm not sure who to believe about any of it anymore. One thing I know is thinking about where this is going to end scares the crap out of me.

Also, I'm very glad to live in Europe.

America has still never turfed out a president while at war then. How loyal of them. How depressing. All bow to the power of the uninformed minorities. I wonder if they'll still be in Iraq in four years time. Or some other country.

So! Went to see the Scissor Sisters tonight, thank to Tal's ticket hunting efforts. I'm very glad I went, but not because I had a particularly good time. The vibe was all wrong, in my opinion because the crowd was too eclectic, even in the smaller catchment of near the front. You had "Fat Essex slags", public school types, indie too-cool-to-touch as just a few examples, basically gay and straight, rich and poor people of all ages, and in every stage of fancy dress too, from normal clothes to a giant egg with devil horns. Deviled egg. Geddit? I didn't. In most situations such eclecticism is generally a good thing, but not in such a crowd where they must all operate by roughly the same rules or it just doesn't work. To mosh or not to mosh? It's not quite that simple but that's the gist.

In any case, as I was saying, I'm glad I went, because it was something I very much wanted to *see*. I liked the starting act, and I'm aware I missed a lot of references, but so do a lot of people, and I got the main show reference (Rocky Horror Show), having seen it on stage and screen. I have to say that Jake Shears makes a better Frank N Furter than Jason Donovan. But, disturbingly, there's not that much between them. And the fact that I can give that anecdote, recollect the night with friends and add it all to the list of Stuff I Have Seen makes it all very worth it.

Here's a little thing I wrote earlier tonight which has no relevance to what is said above, apart from the fact that I came up with the idea at the gig.

When does discomfort become pain?

When does that nameless sensation…

           …become so strong…

That impassive analysis is no longer enough,

That immediate action is demanded and taken?



Who's to say it ever does?



In my final seconds,

It will be with bemused curiosity,

That I watch the ground spin,

As it rises up to meet me.