"I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul!"

I really reccommend bob dylan. For everything.

If you are a songwriter, or a music appreciator, or just wanting a good quote, he's your man.
I've just finished a really long review of some of August and Everything after and a whole bunch of other counting crows albums with my friend on msn, so I really can't be bothered typing it all out again as I was probably going to do before.
So Instead we'll play guess the lyric. Tell your friends! All you need to do is tell me which song and by which band these come from. When all ten lyric snippets are guessed correctly, I'll post a great humourous rant against seagulls and in favour of Josh Cunningham.
Whack some guesses in the comments section. Some are easy, some are hard.

1) If you weren't my mother, I would make you my wife

2) Hey! Kids! Rock and roll! Nobody tells you where to go

3) Look at them yo-yos, that's the way to do it.

4) I said hey, hey don't go giving all your sentiment away, hey

5) One for sadness, two for joy, three for girls and four for boys

6) He said, we haven't had that spirit here since 1969

7) I'm so ugly, that's ok cos so are you.

8) When you're weary, feeling small

9) I wanna move up and be a canadian, or hang down low with nice Australians

10) Last night I had the strangest dream

GUESS AWAY folks and ladies, they are waiting for your ripe brains to peruse them.

So how is everyone? I'm a little tired myself, working hard, But i feel healthy again and that is GOOOOOD.
Saw the set today!!!!!!!! Oh my. Oh my it is soooo cool. It is delicious. It's like you take sex, and mash it up, then make a stage out of it. But it would have to be tantric sex, cos it's nutty.
We are actually all going to fall off it and break bones. Plus it gets lit from beneath! it's insane!

I feel alive.
Unlike Joh Bjelkie-Perterson.
Which is good because, the more i can distance myself form the dead people, the better chance that it'll never happen to me.

I finished my art project today. There's a lot of elements of Magritte in it, and also some of Rothko. Now there's an interesting artist. Mark Rothko is the guy who paints those sort of red squares on orange squares type of thing. very famous modern art. I used to dismiss it as kind of simplistic, but look closer and he has a great understanding of forms, and of how paint works. His technique is very defined and it is actually exceptionally difficult to reproduce similar works to his, no matter how basic it seems.
I've got a cut-out of one of his more famous red pieces on my wall, and it balances dark and light shades, with large and small forms REALLY REALLY well.

Also, I really like the work of Brett Whitely. gee, i could go on about him for hours and pages, but I think i'll save my surrealists are good rant for next time. I need some sleep if i'm going to0 run cross country tomorrow. All the best, arividechi.

"I'm more of a fan of open-ended, unrequited love"

So I have to go back to school tomorrow. How about that huh.

I think the only thing worse is that big brother starts again soon. I'm gonna go on a big long angry rant in about a week's time so prepare thyself.

But right now i feel kind of subdued. Like subdued hues. Like a lull. I don't quite know why.
I've been feeling really bored lately. And filling the gap with creative things like schoolwork, or songwriting, or cartooning but it still feels kind of dull. I need more to do.
I think the problem is that I sleep too much. I never want to go to bed because it's such a waste of time, but then I never want to get up in the morning because i never get enough sleep. And now that it's been holidays I've been getting 11 hours. I feel so dirty.
Why do we even need sleep? I get eternity to lie inert in my mahogany pajamas, why do I waste a third of my life doing it until then????

Anyway, it's all full throttle on Clockwork Orange from tomorrow onwards, the set is constructed and i get to see it tomoz. which should actually be awesome. It's all black glassy and snazzy. or so i hear.

Does anyone agree that the most irritating thing about the world is how little communication there seems to be in an increasingly globalizing planet? I mean news programs consist mostly of headlines to get you to watch more "watch more" comments later, and men and women are still incomprehensible to each other becuase there's no trust or dialogue, scientists spend millions of dollars a year on developing new codes and music and tv are getting more and more cryptic as they try and reflect the real world - which worries me.
I wish I knew what was going on.

New Hitchhiherks Guide movie comes out this thursday. You're damn right i'll be going to see it this friday. And you're damn right i'll be posting a long winded and praise-filled review of it this saturday. Might help put me in good spirits. Not so sure about Mos Def as ford, but i sure am impressed with what i've seen of zaphod and slarti.
See! half of you have no idea what the hell i'm talking about. It's all some kind of communication breakdown.

And now I must go. I have to write some deep and meaningful stuff on the last page or two of my Art folio before it's due tomorrow. shudder.
Wish me luck. lots of love.

Stupid New England Patriots.

I follow American football. Vaguely.

I mean honestly people, where the feck is New England anyway? In all that huge fuck-off big civil war for independance you guys had, you still have place names named after England. plus there's New York. That was a really stupid war wasn't it? Admit it.
Now down here we just settle for having an old lady on our coins. It's better than having George W Bush staring back at you from a buck let me tell you. Plus we have our own constitution and everything and don't let the Brits boss us around. In fact we kiss more yankee ass.

The point is though, that New England have won three out of four superbowls and that means someone needs to cut them down. I barrack for the Atlanta Falcons, who were rudely knocked out by philli in the final playoff round. THEN PHILLI LOST. I mean the damn place is only famous for a sort of odd white paste that they call cheese.
I was reading the NFL draft which happened today, and a play-by-play breakdown of the superbowl last year distracted me. That's why I'm talking about it.
Still, i was kind of glad NE won, becuase it meant they beat phillidelphia. unfortunately that meant new england won, with their Tom Brady, and their best coach since vince lombardi. I'll show them.

FOR THOSE WHO KNOW ME AND DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GRIDIRON:

1) Atlanta Falcons are the best team in the league. Everyone knows that. Just cos patriots have had a run lately, they are still fools.

2) You get 6 points for a touchdown, 3 for a field goal, 1 for a conversion after a touch down by kicking, 2 for the same but by running/passing and 2 for a safety. Safeties are stupid and are only out-done in their stupidness by the Dallas Cowboys.

3) there are 100 yards to a gridiron. then there are two 10 yard end-zones at either end. Makes aussie rules look really good actually. and nfl look wussy as hell. There are 11 players on each team at one time.

4) the padding is there for a reason. It gets nutty in there. Linebacks are fat. so are guards.

5) don't get in the way of the full back.

6) When teams change from offence to defence the whole team changes. When teams are going to kick a field goal, the whole team changes. This doesn't happen down here in Australia. It seems bloody weird to us. But it happens. Special teams often suck.

Well, Se7en was on the other night.
GREAT MOVIE.
Go watch it now if you missed it, it is fantastic. that, and Fight Club are probably the only good films brad pitt ever made. And maybe the oceans 11/12 ones. Oh.... and snatch..... but he was a minor character.
ANYWAY, aside from brad's brilliance, the movie is really moving. It's a slow paed thriller, which is why I like it. It has some great moving non-scary scenes which I think most thrillers lack these days. Like Saw. Saw was a great movie, very scary, very dark, but very thin in the plot department.
I like Se7en because it's literate. It knows it's references, every scene is well researched, and most of all becuase the main plot is not about the killer, not about the crimes, it's about how much a shithole America's becoming and whether or not it's worth even trying to fight it any more. It's sooooo deep.
The other great thing about se7en is that it doesn't shy away from truth, it never proclaims any of its characters as perfect. Like when Mills bribes the poor lady to get a fake reason to search this guys house. or when .... [those who know the end know what i mean] ... happens. I mean who the hell expected THAT! It's horrible, but it doesn't pretend.
Only thing i hate is that becuase it's R rated, to put it on TV they have to hack it to pieces. they always do it with Pulp Fiction and Full Metal Jacket too. it ruins the film. you just can't feel it when they take half of it out.

Anyway, much recommended. Also - READ THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH.
don't ask why, just read it. it's very famous.

CAN you feel the love tonight??? huh?

He's got the kind of house that makes me yawn,
From the effort of being jealous all the time.
He's got shitty silhouettes of Che Guevera on the wall,
and he plays the kind of music that don't rhyme.

Well, I like it. It amuses me. So how's everyone doing? Are you feeling ok tonight? I have a bit of a cold but other than that i'm fan-diddly-tastic. I've only got 8 pages to go until Gus #4 is done (finally) and you can see previews of it up here : http://gusandclover.tripod.com if you are good boys and girls. Actually I might forget to post them but go there anyway and read the other stuff.

I was quite content to waste away one of the last days of the holidays today, unfortunately that means i've got more to do in the next few before I have to go back to the damn place. Now there's an unappetising prospect. Oh well, only 20 weeks left.
The good bit about heading back to the daytime demon daycare village is that it means Clockwork Orange rehearsals start again and I get to see the set. It's gonna be sooo sexy. All this shiny black glass and chrome and things. Very snazzy. I'm playin Alex, which means i have a buttload of lines to learn and should be doing that now.

But I'm not. I'm typing. On a brand new keyboard too. Did you know that QWERTY keyboards were designed to impair typists? on purpose? becuase on old typewriters if you typed too fast the keys would get jammed and so they messed up all the letters just to stop that happening. Which means that since the invention of computers and electric typewriters, about 25-30 years ago, we've been carrying on with a tradition that negatively impacts upon us, just becuase we're too lazy to change it for the better. I think that's very exemplary of the human race.

I'm kind of sleepy but i'm gonna keep blogging anyway.
When i was over in Sydney last week i picked up a copy of REM's Automatic for the People on vinyl (I love how the shops over there actually stock things, and are large.) and it's quite a good listen. I recommended a listen to Nick Cave last night, but for this I would recommend a buy. You have to lisen twice to really get it, and around 4 times before it's fully matured.
Tr 1. Drive:
I like this song. I like it because its lyrics are a nice opener. Michael Stipe is a cryptic bastard but he's alluring in being that way. Like on Murmer (their best album), he's opening with a fairly friendly catchy song, but that goes deeper and hints at meaning that might not be intended. My favorite bit is the "ollie ollie ollie" break that he cuts too, simply because it confused me.
Tr 2. Try Not To Breathe.
This is a really dark track but it sets the tone for this side of the record. Probably one of my favorites on the album it's not so cryptic and starts to give more away, but nicely, and with some fantastic lines. As a lyricist myself I love "I have seen things that you will never see." It fits so well. I find myself adding the word 'me' on after "I want you to remember".... pause That's just me tho.
Tr 3. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite.
I don't know why tonite is spelt that way on the record. It confuses me. But as i've said before, that's what makes this record great. This song is the catchyest by far, but it doesn't let you in on the secrets, it just lays them out for you. I think I like this the best, and if i had to pick one song to hear repeatedly, this one really stands out over multiple hearings.
Tr 4. Everybody Hurts.
Everyone knows this song. it's so damn famous. It's nice to hear it in a context tho.
Tr 5. New Orleans Instrumental No. 1
I love random bits that break up records like this. I love the spoken sections on the Tenacious D CD, I love the Ostrich noises on Elliot Smith's last album. They just work for me. You can tune out while your working and concentrate without vocals.
Tr 6. Sweetness Follows
This song kills me. that's it. it's the perfect round off to this dark side of the record, examing paind and death and sorrow like all the other songs, but this time all in one. Plus the title and repeated line Sweetness Follows is really nice.
Tr 7. Monty Got a Raw Deal
This is the best song on side two. It's just power. And the "I don't owe you anything" affirmation as a chorus is really good. It sets a strong tone that I wish the next two tracks followed up on.
Tr 8. Ignoreland
My disappointing part of the record, this drags for too long without enough substance.
Tr 9. Star Me Kitten
This again didn't give me enough to go on. The themes are really good and the lyrics are in places nice but REM have fallen into their own successful trap of washy guitars and no drive.
Tr 10. Man on the Moon
This is really really famous as well. I haven't seen the movie, but I like all the Andy Kaufman references in this song and I think it's hook deserves to be so famous.
Tr 11. Nightswimming
This is so nice. And relaxing. and meaningful. and beautiful. and a tad boring. It's a great song, but don't listen to it too often. It needs a harder bit like Everybody Hurts has.
Tr 12. Find the River
Nice ending. Nice trail off feel, nice curtail. I would have rather the two sides been switched though. Finishing the whole record on Sweetness Follows would have been awesome.

And so there you have my music review of the day. Track by track recount of why you should go out and buy Automatic for the People RIGHT NOW. It'll probably be quite cheap, it's old and famous. On vinyl it was only 20. 15 on cd probs.

The bleak nature of it all.

I suppose it's not really that bleak. But it doesn't look good for the human race. I found this quote in the paper this morning, and it scares me.

"Whilse I applaud the move for Sesame Street characters to encourage children to eat healthy, I hope that cookie monster will not be telling any children 'Me eat less cookies.' Apart from the use of 'me' instead of 'I' it's important for childrens programs to use correct grammar, and whenever we refer to something which can be counted, the correct word is 'fewer,' not 'less'"

Thank you. You made my day. Never mind all the other problems facing the youth of today. You've certainly hit the nail on the head with that one. Placing the fewer/less distinction in such high priority when there are other such monsters like "Active Kidz" and "Itz cool 2 be smart" threatening the grammatical education of our kids. WHO HONESTLY GIVES A DAMN.
I would like the publically shame everyone who's ever complained about incorrect grammar and the 'degradation' of our once pristine language. Screw the brits.

On the other hand, I just bought the recent Nick Cave double album Abatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus and it's really quite nice. Dark, but hell what did you expect from Nick Cave? Bunnies in waistcoats? He's still going after all these years and he's still making sexy sounds. Same with lots of other people. That impresses me. Go out and have a listen. Do the cheap 'listen in store' trick. Track 2 off Abatoir Blues is a highlight.

I just finished a high school art project on domesticity, and it was very bleak. I think it's becoming a bit of a phase. I mean, when you really think about it, our domestic attempts at individuality are really really stupid aren't they? If you don't live in a mudbrick houseboat your grandfather won off the Nazi's, chances are your house is just like everyone elses. How dull. My art project was all blue, and shades of blue and all that rubbish. I was quite happy with it. Not so happy with the realisation that my neighbourhood is absurdly cliche. You think Desperate Housewives is made up? not bloody likely. it's either that, or the slum. hardly inspiring.

I obviously need lightening up. I'm going to go watch Not another teen movie now. That'll probably make me sarcastic and artsy.

First Rule of Cinema:

... it's all crap.

I'm sorry. It just is. I've lost faith in the millions of dollars going into that industry. Pay careful attention, this may be the last time I post in a while. I have a very short attention span. It comes from seeing too many crap films in my childhood.

Let's talk about the new pope.
Who likes him? Put up your hand. Now laugh because you're imagining some poor sod a million miles away raising his/her hand in front of their computer. Now stop laughing becuase you realize it's you.
Benedict XVI eh? Really when you get up to 16 it's about time to start thinking of a new name. GET CREATIVE VATICAN! I mean this is the leader of 1.1 billion people. What if everyone followed the example and took on only a certain few pre-chosen names.
"Hi! I'm Pius MMMMCVII, nice to meet you."
Even so, i'm still not sure about him. Lets give the old guy some time to settle in and start the long process of dying before we judge, ja?
I think its mean to admit he's just a transitional pope, whilst the effects of JP2 sink in.
I mean, you work your whole life, God finally chooses you as his representative, but he does so at a really bad moment and in the shadow of someone far, far better than you. What a downer. Still, it's pretty cool that you get your whole life without the constraints of being pope and then are allowed a few years at the end to get your name on offical stuff and secure a damn nice penthouse apartment in heaven. Still, there have been 265 popes and Benny's gonna be struggling to justify his lasting impact on the world. Unless he is in fact a Nazi and then the bureaucrats upstairs would really have a conflict of interest.
I would run for papacy myself, but I hate the celibacy thing. I'm SURE that's not His will.