Good Tidings

Today was much better than yesterday. Much, much better. I can’t decide which event/revelation was best, so I will order everything chronologically, to save me thinking quite so much.

First up, the aftermath of the record debacle from yesterday. I was hella stressed out last night, and somehow got me listening to some Band of Horses (whose album I now plan to buy, by the way), which was nice. This morning I took both Give Up and Sinister back to Red Eye to see what they could do. Thankfully, the guy was super nice and took them both back and ordered new copies for me, which will hopefully arrive within the next week or two. Interestingly, they had another copy of Give Up in stock, but upon inspection, it was discovered to have the same problem as the copy I was given – two b-side discs and no album disc! So it was a pressing/packing error rather than a Red Eye error, I guess!

Work was pretty good. I got there a bit early because of my trip to Red Eye, and overall was a good day. I even got to spend a couple of hours trying to figure out the cause of a bug, doing trial and error and pouring over Wireshark (network traffic sniffer) results with Jimmy, a junior developer where I work (although he’s in charge of the program I was working on). Interestingly, it was after Jimmy went back to searching his code that I found the source of the error. I was pretty happy, as it was rather elusive, and it’s always rewarding to finally figure something like that out. No fix as yet, though .

On my walk home I put a fair bit of effort into going back to positive-walking, as recently I’ve become a very bitter and annoyed walker, and it worries me. This was achieved with moderate success, and I’m fairly confident that I can break back out of the Sydney groove and get back into being calm and relaxed while in the city.

Got home, Mum rang. Talked to her about the record fix and walking. She eased my worries about the walking / stressing thing, which was nice. Was feeling a lot more positive by the time I hung up.

This probably set me up for my chat with Dad, which proved to be the icing on the cake. He texted me, asking me to ring him on Skype as soon as I could, and soon enough I found out the reason. See, my uncle has this really nice car that I just love, and it turns out that he just got a new car and decided to offer his old car to me, free of charge! OMFG. It’s a BMW 3 series from some time in the 80s. Which is cool enough, but on top of that, it’s the JPS model, which is the equivalent of the M-Series today, but even cooler. So it goes pretty nicely… (looks like the one in this picture, from memory).

That said, at the moment I don’t actually have any use for a car, so Dad and I are going to pick it up from my uncle in Adelaide and then just put it in storage for a while, until I need it. Sadly, that means it may not be available for me to drive whenever I go home, but hey, I’ve still got the panelvan, right? . Also I have it to look forward to in the future! So, thank you oh so very much Uncle Wes!

But wait, there’s more! As you may be aware, I’ve been having trouble with headphone amplifiers, and don’t even have a record player or proper amplifier of my own, and have to borrow what I can from Steve every now and then. Steve and I went amplifier shopping the other day, but as I was considering spending a few hundred bucks on a neat one, I suddenly decided that I shouldn’t at that time, and that if it was meant to be, something would work itself out one way or another soon enough, so I just let it go. That may sound weird / crazy-new-age-bullshit, but for me it generally works really well. I pretty much credit it for me being where I am now, if that means anything.

Anyway, speaking on the phone to Dad tonight, he remembered that he thinks he has a pretty nice Bang & Olufsen record player around somewhere. It also has a matching amplifier, which my brother may or may not be willing to give me. Admittedly they are rather old (~20 years, Dad reckoned), but they still work well, and maybe I’ll be able to save that few hundred bucks, after all!

That’s pretty much the end of the good stuff (whew!). This evening I kind of went jumper/jacket shopping with Lizzie in Broadway, but it was pretty unsuccessful. Silke is taking me shopping in a couple of weeks, which I’m really looking forward to (shopping with Silke is so far the only time I’ve ever enjoyed clothes shopping), but in the meantime I am desperate for a new jumper/jacket of some sort, as I’m totally sick of being stuck in the same stupid red/maroon/whatever one all the time. So I think we’re going into the city for a bit Saturday. See how things pan out.

But yay, things can turn around rather quickly, no?

Bob Brown is Cool

(in contrast to ‘Pope is Lame’)
As you might know, the Olympic torch relay is in Canberra today. This (from smh.com.au) made me smile:

As police kept watch, a pilot hired by the Greens’ Senator Bob Brown scrawled “Free Tibet” in huge letters in the sky above Parliament House, provoking loud cheers from the pro-Tibetans protestors.

Bob Brown FTW!!

Returns

So today has not been the best of days, I guess. At work, I was on the Red Eye Records website, with the intention of ordering The Postal Service’s Give Up (pretty much one of my favourite albums ever) and Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People when I noticed that OH MY GOD THEY HAVE GIVE UP IN STOCK!! So I detoured there at lunch time and picked it up, along with Belle and Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister, another of my all-time favourite albums.

Excited all day at work, eager to get home and give them a listen (although I did manage to detour via Kinokuniya on the way home…). Got home and opened them up… No white vinyl like the packaging said, and NO GIVE UP!! I’m assuming that actually only the Give Up LP is white vinyl, not the B-Sides one, because it was certainly black. There also happened to be two of the B-Sides ones! Fuck! I mean, sure, they’re darned good B-Sides (most of them I’ve heard before; I didn’t even take the LPs near a record player), but I bought it for the album, not the B-Sides! So I have to take it back tomorrow to see what I can do about getting what I paid for.

Furthermore, the sleeve of Sinister is a bit damaged, and the record itself has a very noticeable scratch over most of Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying. So that’s going back, too. Whoop-dee-fucking-do.

I’m so sick of returning things recently, though. In the last little while, I’ve returned my MP3 player (x3), a Jaycar headphone amplifier (x2) and a power adapter from Dick Smith (x1). Goddamnit!

So yeah, apparently there is a lot of cussing going on in my head. Oh well, as long as I get my proper copy of Give Up tomorrow I guess I shall be happy!

Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People

I kind of have a complete lack of new stuff to write about (as always, it seems), so instead I thought I’d go back (way back) and talk about Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People, which in my opinion is one of the greatest albums ever made. Like, Arcade Fire are pretty much one of the biggest things coming out of Canada at the moment, with their album Neon Bible hitting mainstream, but according (again) to my opinion, their debut Funeral kicks Neon Bible’s arse, and You Forgot It In People kicks the arse of Funeral. So, like… That’s saying something! Because I really really love Funeral!

It’s not as hardcore-rock-the-fuck-out-ish as their latest (self-titled) album, and I think that lends itself to be a good thing. Their self-titled can be a bit much sometimes, especially if you don’t have excellent headphones or something, so you can actually hear what’s going on back there. YFIIP, on the other hand, is still great to rock out to, but maybe a bit easier to listen to, and it has a lot more laid-back moments.

It’s such a varied album, though, that it’s pretty impossible to even say what it’s like as a whole. On one hand you’ve got Almost Crimes and Cause = Time, which are great for rocking out to (I should also include KC Accidental in this category), but then Looks Just Like The Sun and Pacific Theme kind of just make you want to lie down and relax.

There are also the rather strange (even creepy, to an extent) Anthems For A Seventeen-Year-Old Girl and Lover’s Spit. The most apt moment I’ve found so far for listening to is walking down Broadway on a cold, dark, wet night, with hardly anybody around, watching the cars and people go by. The reason for Lover’s Spit being here is pretty self-explanatory once you listen to it…

In another category altogether are Stars and Sons and Late Nineties Bedroom Rock for the Missionaries, both purely sublime, but on a completely different note altogether.

In fact, the whole album is sublime. Buy it! Buy it now! Or download it if you must. I really want it on vinyl…

Oh, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, jump right at it.

Optimism

Not sure why, but I was just pondering before and got thinking about optimism, and how extra awesome it is. I mean, I’m a firm believer that most of the good things in my life come from being optimistic. Being optimistic leads to you being proactive about things, and therefore making them more possible and likely. It also softens the fall if something doesn’t happen, because you’re in a better state to deal with it, as opposed to already being negative and then just getting more depressed.

There’s also optimism’s cousin (or sibling?) body language. Good body language not only gives a good and positive message to other people, but also to yourself. Having good posture makes you feel better! Just like making yourself put on a nice big smile for 30 seconds or so, which is also pretty nifty.

I don’t know why I’m talking about this. The post in my head was going to be a lot different, but it just turned out this way. So yeah, optimism + good body language = awesome. Try it some time!

Glebe Record Fair

Yesterday was the Glebe Record Fair, and I went. Um, yeah. Nobody else could make it, so it was left up to me! I was assigned a few things to get for others, but sadly I was unable to manage any of them (notably a specific Miles Davis record for Steve). I did, however, spend close to 3 hours and $40, coming out with… Nine records. Not a bad effort, if I do say so myself. The $2 boxes were too tempting!

The records I bought were as follows:

• Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
• Abbey Road – The Beatles
• Bat Out of Hell – Meat Loaf
• The Bob Seger Collection – Bob Seger
• Ringo – Ringo Starr
• Me Myself I – Joan Armatrading
• Joan Armatrading – Joan Armatrading
• Walk Under Ladders – Joan Armatrading
• Show Some Emotion – Joan Armatrading

So yeah, four Joan Armatrading records. I didn’t actually realise I had that many until I got home. But I like a couple of songs off each record, as I’m used to her ‘Best Of’ collection. Also, I don’t really mind because the four of them totalled to less than $10, so it’s not as if I drove myself broke with it. I think Abbey Road was the most expensive at $15, and I could’ve got it for less but this one is in mint condition! Totally worth it. As were all of them, for that matter. Except I’m not sure about it yet. I haven’t listened to Ringo, and I’m a bit uncertain. Lizzie kept going on about how much she loves Photograph, and this album has it on it, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

Yay, records ftw! Oh, I should mention now. There’s a really big record (and cassette, cd, etc) fair in Paramatta on the 25th of May. I shall be almost definitely attending, and anyone else is more than welcome to come along for the ride. It’s fun!

Procrastinating at Uni

So I came to Uni tonight to try to encourage myself to actually study, as there’s an assignment that really needs to get done. Soon! As a result, I’ve been here probably half an hour, at least, and all I’ve done is decided that the terminal needed to look prettier, so I made a collage of Belle and Sebastian album covers, and my terminal now looks like this:

Much better, don’t you think? Original collage image here, if anybody is interested. Oh actually, I did achieve one other thing – colouring in a Captain Planet character. Yay! (click here to colour your own)

Okay so like, actual work time now? Heh…

Organising CDs

I reorganised my CD collection this evening. Twice. Originally it was in alphabetical order, by artist then album, and the first reorganisation resulted in it being alphabetical by album then artist. I’m now on the second reorganisation, which is by year released. While most of my CDs are now in that order, there’s a number of them that I cannot place, for various reasons, and I was wondering if I could maybe have some help. I need to know which year I should put each of these in.

Reissues (original release date or reisssue date?):

• If You’re Feeling Sinister – Belle and Sebastian
  Originally released in 1996, but reissued in 1998 by Matador due to a big shortage of copies. I have the 1998 version.
• Tigermilk – Belle and Sebastian
  Originally released in 1996, reissued in 1999. I have the 1999 version.
• The Stranger – Billy Joel
  Originally released in 1977, remastered and reissued in 1998. I have the later version.

Double Editions (gah!):

• Heart Full of Wine / Chocolates and Cigarettes – Angus & Julia Stone
  Two EPs put together in one special release. One was released in 2006, the other in 2007.

‘Deluxe’ Editions (original release date or new edition date?):

• Peter Bjorn and John – Peter Bjorn and John
  Has some bonus tracks on the end. Originally released in 2002, bonus tracks included in 2003. Copyright says 2002-2003.
• The Moon & Antarctica – Modest Mouse
  Expanded and remastered. Has some BBC radio session versions tacked on the end (they’re awesome). Originally released in 2000, reissued with bonus tracks in 2004.
• See the Sun – Pete Murray
  Bonus DVD. Main disc copyright 2005, DVD copyright 2006.
• Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes
  Two discs. Original album plus demos and live recordings. Original released in 1982, this edition 2002.
• Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Redux – Pavement
  Two discs. Original album plus random sessions and live recordings. Original released in 1992, this edition 2002.
• Bat Out of Hell – Meat Loaf
  CD + DVD. CD has original album plus three bonus tracks. DVD has… Lots of video. Copyright says 1977, 1981, 2000, 2002 & 2006. WTF? Original album released in 1977. I have the 2006 copy, i guess.

Greatest Hits: Obviously all I can do here is put them in their year of release as a compilation, as otherwise they’d have to be split over many years. But… Do I put them with the normal albums, or in a section of their own?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I really don’t know what to do! I’d love to put them in chronological order of when I got them, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t have a terribly good memory for that, although I could do some. Maybe I’ll do genre some day, who knows. Or by ‘heaviness’? That could be fun! Also, please don’t judge me according to the CDs here. Some I love, some I don’t at all. Some I didn’t even buy myself.

Monopoly = Debates = Fun

Somehow I’m actually managing to be pretty awake and alert, although I have no idea how. Last night we had our second Monopoly night, and it was quite a blast, if I do say so myself! We had the same three people from last time, plus more! The ‘more’ being Lexie, Al and Matt, all of whom turned out to be very welcome additions to this new… Tradition?

It was actually the first time I’d met Lexie ‘IRL’ (lol, I love that phrase… for some reason), and contrary to what I feared might happen, it turned out really well. Everyone kind of… Amalgamated? No, that word doesn’t fit there. But everyone got along really well and normally! Well, except for a certain two people later on in the night, but I’ll get to that in a little bit .

We went out for dinner in some place in Glebe, and shared some pizzas. They were pretty good, although, you know, not brilliant or anything. Enjoyable dinner nonetheless. After which we headed back to start what was the main, uh, ‘point’ of the night? A game of Monopoly!

It was actually a pretty interesting game, with numerous surprises and comebacks. I think one of the best parts was all of Al’s strategies and economic-talk, after which he went bankrupt and came last. Ironic? Or maybe only to Alanis…

I have no idea how I survived to the end, as at one stage I had like $200 and two crappy properties (a purple one and a power station), and was pretty much screwed, but somehow I ended up with a few hotels and lots of lucky rolls, and managed to come out unscathed. That said, Steve won by default (despite that after everyone put their money in the middle, I grabbed it and declared “all your base are belong to me”), as he had a good five grand and lots of property, but we didn’t really have time to properly finish up. So everyone except Al and Matt survived to the finish.

What was probably more interesting that the game of Monopoly itself, though, was the debate that I *think* stemmed from it. I’m pretty sure it started after Al started with all his economic stuff, but got into politics (Al is a Liberal voter), religion (Al is a believer in creationism) and even gay rights (Al is against gay rights). (Sorry, I have nothing against Al, but his views were ratherm uh, unique in the group). His main opponent was actually Lexie, and they both put up a pretty good fight. That said, neither of them won the other over (which was expected; they both seem pretty stubborn ). Oh, and I should mention Steve’s contribution – swearing at Al over his views on gay rights. Fair enough, fo’ shizzle, but it was still pretty funny.

Lexie had to leave at some time after 1am (I think she meant to leave before midnight, but… Got distracted?), and I kind of thought the debate might die down, but I was apparently wrong. Rob also joined us for a while. We eventually decided bed was a good idea (okay, so somehow it got to be after 4am in this time… Don’t ask me how), but Lizzie couldn’t really walk home, so we decided to watch Juno. Al and Matt decided to go to bed beforehand, I feel asleep during it (it was in my room, so I had my bed!), Steve left halfway through (apparently), and as far as I know, Lizzie fell asleep on my chair before leaving some time in the morning. Pretty confusing, heh.

I should also mention Mary Jo’s contribution to the evening, providing lovely mood music throughout the night. She did rather wonderfully, I must say!

Oh, and one last thing. My Dad texted me this morning asking if I was going to see the Pope at World Youth Day. What the hell?!?! Why would I do that? I mean, sure, he and Mum sent me to Catholic schools, but neither of them are Catholic, and he knows god-damned well that I’m not Catholic (although I did stick up for Mary in a mini-debate with Steve the other day). So why on earth would I go to something I don’t believe in, and am even against? (I don’t have a problem with the event itself, just that the government is providing $40million in support for it, despite the enourmous wealth of the Catholic Church itself). I told him that I would much rather protest it than attend it, although I don’t really plan on doing either.

Well, big blog! Lots to write about, obviously. I’ll finish up now… Gotta do study! Spanish exam this week. But no I.T. classes! Pretty cool. Well, the lack of I.T. classes. Shame I don’t have a full two weeks of holidays, but oh well, you get that eh. Catch you round!

Importance of Material Things in Relationships

Lizzie wrote not long back about the importance of what you like, not what you’re like, in a relationship, with reference to High Fidelity, among other things. At first, I completely dismissed the idea, being a long-time fan of personality-based relationships. However, something tonight (not sure what) made me think of things a bit more from the other side of the pond. But you know what? I have no friggin’ idea how important music and literature tastes are in a long-term relationship (namely a marriage or de facto relationship).

So, I have a big, big favour to ask people. I Googled some strategically chosen search terms, but couldn’t find anything remotely like a study on this sort of thing. So, I propose to undertake one. I would appreciate it oh so much if as many people as possible could help out by asking people (where they feel comfortable), but before we get to that, the questions need to be laid out carefully.

Firstly, they need to be directed at married or de facto couples. Anything less will not be sufficient, I think. Also, they need to be very well-defined, with specific sets of possible answers that can be easily aggregated and made sense of.

My suggested questions would be something along these lines, but worded better:
- How similar would you rate you and your partner’s music tastes?
- How much influence do you think your individual music tastes have had on your relationship?
- Did your music taste have anything to do with you first becoming friends / more than friends?
- How good do you rate your relationship? (maybe necessary so that bad relationships aren’t counted so highly?)
Repeated for literary tastes. These would need to have predefined sets of possible answers (rating 1-10, very low – very high, etc), so make answers more standardised. Please help me out by making these sound better, and adding or removing questions according to their applicability. Also recorded would be age, gender, maybe other things (suggestions?).

Of course, the answers to any of these types of question can be heavily influenced by other things, such as the background and education level of a person (well-educated people will probably share a greater interest in books, for example), but I’m sure we can at least get something meaningful out of this.

So please, help out! Could be fun!

Use comments or email me if you want more info or something.

(will post actual questions and more pleas for help soon, so the investigation can begin!)