I'm starting to understand why web designers take so long to create sites, I've got a nice three column layout worked out for this site, and it looks great in my head but once I convert it into html it just doesn't quite look right.



Hey Ho...

late night reading material...

Just finished reading this book, It's the biography of Richard Feynman a physicist who is most famous for his work on the first Nuclear Bomb project although he also could have claimed to have come up with the concept of nano-technology and to have discovered why the Challenger shuttle blew up. As physicists go he was an interesting character, an accomplished Bongo player, somewhat of a raconteur and, unlike the traditional view of scientists, a bit of a ladies man (although not always a gentleman towards the opposite sex...). However this book doesn't really dwell on those sides of his personality instead it gets to grips with his scientific mind and his unique way of studying problems in a simple elegant and unique way that marked him out as someone who could be described with the term 'genius'.



I picked this book out as I read a book on Chaos Theory by the same author a few years ago that I really enjoyed, I have to confess though that now I'm old and slow much of the physics described in this book do go over my head. Still, it's a good read, and actually engages a few braincells unlike most of the tabloid-esque biographies you find in bookshops nowadays



The next book (not counting comics books) on my reading list is markedly different to this one; it's a collection of short stories written in the first half of the century. Here's a taste:



Life is a hideous thing, and from the background behind what we know of it peer daemoniacal hints of truth which make it sometimes a thousandfold more hideous.



Cheery eh?! It's from the grand-daddy of horror, Mr H.P. Lovecraft. Since many of the comic books in my collection (Hellboy springs to mind immediately) are apparently heavily influenced by his work I thought it was about time I gave in and read some of his stories...

I have a bookcase full of DVDs downstairs, about 50 unfinished videogames for all the major games consoles sitting in the corner of my living room, I'm running out of room to put all my CDs, I've got a fast enough internet connection to download films and TV shows from all over the world and a comic book collection that rivals the amount found in my local book shop - So why am I so damn bored?



Meh...



In other internet linkage news, I think I need to get one of these alarm clocks.

Ether 2005 | Royal Festival Hall, London UK



Could be interesting...

DJ Food - Raiding the 20th Century



Absolutely essential mix of... well, everything - it's a history lesson about sampling. Boomselection seem to have it available for download, if not may I suggest you fire up your friendly neighbourhood Bit Torrent client and go hunting.

Sweet Zombie Jesus (or should that be Jesu?) I need to go to this gig in London; an evening of fun and frolics from super happy bands Isis and Jesu.



/I am now doing my happy dance!



Tickets can be purchased from the Mean Fiddler site if anyone cares to join me.

Further evidence that we are getting to the most miserable day of the year:

Honestly, I would have thought that the karaoke sessions, late night gaming sessions and general loud drunkeness would have got to them first.

I'm a bit annoyed by this note that I found pinned to my door this afternoon, surely a quiet word rather than anonymous threats of legal action would have been a more appropriate first step? Anyway, to my next door neighbour (although I'm not sure which one has been moaning) I'd like to say sorry, I will try to be more considerate - although at the same time I'd like to wish them a firm 'fuck you' for not just coming round and saying something to me.

Well this is a new and disturbing experiance, being in on a Friday night with not a hint of alcohol in my system and (it get's worse!) I went to the gym tonight...



I don't like it, in my defence nobody seemed to want to go out (note to world in general: you better not be watching Celebrity Big Brother!), maybe everyone is getting in the mood for this Monday? Scientifically proven to be the most depressing day of the year - apparently.

Went to see Team America: World Police tonight - I'm having trouble getting the "America! Fuck Yeah!" song out of my head...

Phil! this is your website speaking. Here are some rules for today:



Don't get stressed at your work computer, an air of contempt and disgust towards it will be plenty.



No nicotine or caffeine for you today, they just make you edgy - and not in a cool post-rock-indie-hardcore way.



And get to the gym at lunch, you're not getting any thinner sitting there...



/end transmission

If like me you have a bunch of pictures on your PC you may find this program called Picasa from the good people at Google useful. Nice interface, I can't criticise the way it organises things and it has some useful effects which may form some inspiration if I ever finish off this god damn new design!



If I'm being honest it's not just lack of inspiration that's been holding me back, my new found ability to recover really really badly from drinking binges isn't helping and I've been buying tons of stuff (retail therapy I guess...) like this book by Jaime Hernandez :

Honestly, if your the sort of person who normally looks down on comic books you need to read this. It basically tells the tale of two bisexual hispanic punks called Maggie and Hopey, beautifully drawn in solid black and white throughout covering about 20 years worth of Love and Rockets comics - given that amount of material you get character development that most normal books can only dream of. Really nice book, will probably be made into a really horrible film one day.

new year, new CD...



Andrea Parker - Nobody's Perfect

Electro bass-obsessed mix CD that goes thunk in all the right places, nice and cheap too.

very, very wrong

still very, very wrong

Is it me? Has this week been replaced by some sort form of Purgatory? Although now that I've just had a prod around in google for the actual meaning of Purgatory I'm beginning to think it's more like something further down the levels of hell...



Or maybe it's just that I can't quite create a satisfying background image for my new website design.

I think what this site needs is a good hard redesign...

Hours of fun looking at unsecured Japanese Security Cameras.



You'll need to install an activex control to view them...

I've been to see Jerry Sadowitz tonight, the first few minutes seemed a bit forced to me with some swearing for swearings sake, but once he settled down into some full on abuse (my favourite being to the kid on the front row - "YOUR DAD'S A CUNT!") I thought he was hilarious. He's also a mighty fine slight of hand magician, quite impressed that a few tricks using just playing cards and coins could work so well.

post-Christmas CDs



M.I.A. - SunShowers

Single from M.I.A.'s upcoming album, I got it as I'm too damned impatient to wait for the album, the B-side 'Fire Fire' is brilliant.



TV on the Radio - New Heath Rock

Another single purchase based on me being too impatient to wait for there new album. The title track here is fantastic, a bit rockier than there earlier stuff but with the same sweet sweet vocal harmonies that make this band a bit special in my opinion. They also do a pretty interesting cover of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs track on this EP...



Bark Psychosis - Codename: Dustsucker

A CD that has been getting alot of critical acclaim, it's sort of gentle ambient indie music with a hint of dub here and there - not exactly dissimilar to the last Broken Social Scene album I got. It's very pleasant, but to be honest not completely essential.



Rob Sonic - Telicatessen

A very 'Definitive Jux' album, it's all old synths and electro riffs together with some good old fashioned dirty beats. Sort of old-fashioned, but with a vaguely futuristic edge - not too shabby, fun for all the family?



Boredoms - Chocolate Synthesizer

Completely fucking mental Japanese Punk... thing. Leaves me slightly breathless



Boredoms - Super Ae

Now this is a bit more like it, this is from when the Boredoms were getting a bit more psychedic with there music - once you get past the first track which seems to be designed purely to annoy. The second track has one of the most awesome screams ever recorded about half way through it, actually make that war cry as that's what it sounds like the most. The rest of the album is really good if you are in the mood for some Japanese Psychedelic Punk Rock nonsense.



Swans - Various Failures 1988-1992

Not a failure at all! This rather self-deprecatingly titled album collects various songs from the tale end of the Swan's career, this being the point where they'd matured from a band that had a reputation for being harsh, brutal and noisy into something that I've seen described as more like Gothic folk music. Ace stuff



CocoRosie - La Maison de Mon Reve

One of the oddest albums I've ever brought, two sisters produce very very lo-fi bluesy soulful songs in a Parisian apartment with an acoustic guitar and what sounds like a bunch of broken toys... Very odd, but intriguing...

Dear Internet, Happy New Year - hope you had a good New Years Eve and didn't get too drunk, here's what mine looked like... *click*



Time, to make some new years resolutions. OK, so I may have failed miserably over most of last years but I did join a gym this year so there is a small element of success - and I'm all for small elements of success. Anyway, here are this years:



1. Give up smoking - this year will be my tenth anniversary, I started smoking properly (ie being forced to buy my own fags after poncing one too many off my friends) when I was 21 and in my last year at university. I'll be 31 this year - hence the anniversary, time to stop now or I never will...



2. Three o'clock in the morning is not a reasonable time to go to bed, one o'clock is not an early night. I really need to get my sleep patterns sorted out.



3. Maybe go somewhere interesting this year on holiday?



4. Which relies on the credit card bill being tackled properly



5. Occasionally update this site with something approaching enthusiasm.



Meh, that'll do...