TAF vs JJJ

So this is a full results list of the 2010 Hottest 100. So how did the TAF playlist stack up? Not too shabby indeed!

1 Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man . 2 Art vs. Science – Parlez Vous Francais? . 3 Hilltop Hoods – Chase That Feeling . 4 Phoenix – Lisztomania . 5 Bluejuice – Broken Leg . 6 La Roux – Bulletproof . 7 Lisa Mitchell – Coin Laundry . 8 Lily Allen – Not Fair . 9 Muse – Uprising . 10 Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over . 11 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll . 12 Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden – Bonkers . 13 Phoenix – 1901 . 14 Jamie T – Sticks ‘n’ Stones . 15 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home . 16 The Gossip – Heavy Cross . 17 Kasabian – Fire . 18 Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars . 19 Muse – Undisclosed Desires . 20 Passion Pit – Sleepyhead . 21 The Temper Trap – Fader . 22 Vampire Weekend – Cousins . 23 The Bloody Beetroots – Warp 1.9 (Ft. Steve Aoki) . 24 Flight Of The Conchords – Carol Brown . 25 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero . 26 Metric – Help I’m Alive . 27 La Roux – In For The Kill . 28 Sarah Blasko – We Won’t Run . 29 Sarah Blasko – All I Want . 30 Flight Of The Conchords – Hurt Feelings . 31 Seth Sentry – The Waitress Song . 32 Paul Dempsey – Ramona Was A Waitress . 33 Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness (Ft. MGMT & Ratatat) . 34 Little Birdy – Brother . 35 Muse – Resistance . 36 Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To . 37 Hilltop Hoods – Still Standing . 38 Passion Pit – Little Secrets . 39 John Butler Trio – One Way Road . 40 Angus & Julia Stone – And The Boys . 41 Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity of Huge (Ft. Chris Keating) . 42 British India – Vanilla . 43 The Bloody Beetroots – Awesome (Ft. The Cool Kids) . 44 Florence + the Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) . 45 Florence + the Machine – Drumming Song . 46 Bon Iver – Blood Bank . 47 Karnivool – Set Fire To The Hive . 48 The Temper Trap – Science Of Fear . 49 Powderfinger – All Of The Dreamers . 50 Sia – Buttons (CSS Remix) . 51 Kasabian – Where Did All The Love Go . 52 Vampire Weekend – Horchata . 53 Miike Snow – Animal . 54 Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning . 55 Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls . 56 The XX – Islands . 57 Philadelphia Grand Jury – The Good News . 58 The Temper Trap – Love Lost . 59 Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone . 60 Lily Allen – 22 . 61 Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks . 62 Bloc Party – One More Chance . 63 Karnivool – All I Know . 64 The Middle East – Blood . 65 Eskimo Joe – Foreign Land . 66 Illy – Pictures . 67 Washington – Cement . 68 The Prodigy – Omen . 69 Death Cab For Cutie – Meet Me On The Equinox . 70 Animal Collective – My Girls . 71 Bertie Blackman – Byrds Of Prey . 72 Sia – You’ve Changed . 73 MSTRKRFT – Heartbreaker (Ft. John Legend) . 74 Art vs. Science – Friend In The Field . 75 Wolfmother – New Moon Rising . 76 Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension . 77 Jet – She’s a Genius . 78 Tame Impala – Remember Me . 79 Yves Klein Blue – Getting Wise . 80 Dizzee Rascal – Holiday . 81 Mumford & Sons – The Cave . 82 Miami Horror – Sometimes . 83 Basement Jaxx – Raindrops . 84 Muse – United States of Eurasia . 85 Kasabian – Underdog . 86 Flight Of The Conchords – Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor) . 87 The Middle East – The Darkest Side . 88 NOFX – Creeping Out Sara . 89 Jay-Z – D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) . 90 Florence & The Machine – Kiss With A Fist . 91 Manchester Orchestra – I’ve Got Friends . 92 Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy . 93 Bertie Blackman – Thump . 94 Regina Spektor – Blue Lips . 95 Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch . 96 Deadmau5 – Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff (Ft. Rob Swire) . 97 Regina Spektor – Laughing With . 98 Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang . 99 Tegan And Sara – Hell . 100 Foo Fighters – Wheels .

20% isnt bad
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TAF 10 - Just Days Away!

Here's the last TAF update email so you know what's what. If you didn't know, its THIS weekend so get ready to shake your Peaches. Even if you haven't RSVP'd please feel free to call in at some time on Saturday or Sunday to soak in the atmosphere.

Times: 'Play' will be pressed at 11am Saturday morning and you're all encouraged to be there for the official start. I've had to make slight changes to the musical itinerary so click here for the final performance times. Karnivool are closing the festival at around 5.30pm Sunday.

Camping: Anyone camping overnight may erect themselves at any stage but expect plenty of abuse and back-seat driving if your erection occurs late. If you are too intoxicated to sustain your erection and help is required, expect the p!ss to be taken out of you beyond the final curtain of TAF. The Crystal Lake / Candy Mountain campsites have both have been freshly mowed and weeded for an uber-camping experience.

Weather: So far the weather front is looking good:
Saturday - Partly Cloudy - 28
Sunday - Sunny - 27
Keep an eye out on the BOM website for updates.

Payment: Those of you that haven't paid yet, just pay me on the day. I won't mention any unpaid names I'll just give praise to those that have paid! Gold stars for : Adam + Bel, Ben, Anne + Nick, Azza + Narelle, Mike + Rach, Julia + Guhl. The CD raffle method is yet to be determined but rest assured for each $25 paid, a CD will be awarded.

Drinks: Beer will be provided at the 'Ah Yeah' Bar onsite: Bottomless cup for $20 or singles can be purchased on negotiation with the Master Brewer, both can be paid to him on the day. All other beverages are BYO. I will have an esky full of soft drinks and water onsite so there's no need to go drinks crazy at IGA if you don't need to.

What to Bring: Remember its BYO everything apart from T.P. and gas so get your tent, meat and drinks ready. All oddball cooking styles and methods strongly encouraged so start marinating and looking for those random novelty aprons now. Might also be an idea to chuck in a pair of tongs too, don't want any burnt snags cos you had to wait! Our local IGA is open all weekend and just a 2 min drive away. Obviously there will be a huge breakfast cook up Sunday morning so bear that in mind if your camping or coming over early. Bring a towel if you plan on showering, deodorant and a clean pair of jocks - remember TAF is a stench free environment.

What NOT to bring: Chairs/Tables - We have heaps!.

In Emergency: If gate-crashing occurs, garden tools and bamboo flares will be provided to ensure they don't stay very long. There is a strong possibility of police presence so tourists/freeloaders, make sure all your immigration paperwork is up to date.

Hopefully that covers everything but of course don't hesitate to call me if you have a question.
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Open Your Ears Wk 4

Whitley - Head First Down

A spur of the moment decision driving home tonight to pick Whitley as I heard a track on the radio. He is a solo singer/songwriter from Melbourne town (lawrence greenwood aka), a little quirky in habits apparently but writes a variety of tunes, so much so that you don't always know its him.

He is also one of those artists who you don't know the name and yet you know a few songs, or you are surprised when you hear a song back announced as theirs. So to choose an "example" song is very tough here, once again I have chosen something on the poppier side, something with a hook to get you coming back.

whitley myspaz : www.myspace.com/whitleymusic
Head First Down Youtube
Lost in Time youtube : prizes if you pick the add that this was used in

if you are enjoying Whitley why not check out Paul Dempsey
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Building A Backyard Urinal - Day 3 : Plumbing

So you've had a little rest for a couple of days and returned to ground zero. By now it will come as no surprise that the urinal is still standing and your friends have stopped returning your phone calls. There's no turning back now!

Materials Needed: Shovel, Sheet Capping, Cordless Drill, Angle Grinder, Screws, Pipe, Hammer, 2m Guttering, 2m Wooden Board, Full Bladder.

- Today's first step takes place offsite. You will have already pre-planned your brother in law demolishing his house at this time so head on over there for some supplies. Help out for awhile until you discover sheet capping the exact same size as the walls of your urinal and around 1m of storm water pipe. Done? OK. While your there, wait until he isn't looking and pull down enough guttering to redo the Taj Mahal...... just incase. (Note: ensure that you load the car and make a speedy getaway before it starts raining.)

- Once back at ground zero, lay all the new pieces out on the ground and marvel at the fact that, so far, it hasn't cost you anything. Hose all the dirt/spiders/rust off each piece and ensure they cannot be identified as stolen later on by spray painting them a different colour. If it can't be proven, it will never stand up in court.... except maybe Judge Judy but she doesn't count.

- Drag the guttering into the urinal and mark the size you need. Grab your Angle Grinder and find the dullest, most un-user friendly angle grinder blade. Repeatedly attempt to cut the guttering to size with it. After 6-7 near amputations you should be done (Optional: even though you know its boiling hot, touch the freshly cut edge to confirm. Swear)

- Venture round the back of the shed and produce a suitable board for a backing panel. Measure and repeat as above to cut to size, with the grinder of course. If you chose a thick enough board and your grinder blade is exceptionally dull, you will most probably start a fire at this point. Do not be alarmed. Pretend you knew it was going to happen and try your best to ignore the flame and proceed anyway cos 'your almost done now'. Locate the nearest garden hose (or fire exit depending on the size of the inferno) and extinguish the flames. Mount the gutter piece to the BACK of the board with a few screws and drag the masterpiece into the urinal again to ensure its the correct length. Bingo. Cast it aside for now and draw your attention to the pipe.

- Stand the pipe up and mark 15cm vertical lines down the sides cos now you will need to cut the top 15cms of the pipe in half. Imagine () is what you start with and ) is what you need to end up with! Again, only make the cut 15cms long or you will end up with : ( . Once again, use the same grinder and the completely ripped and now boiling hot blade.

- Stand the cut pipe in the corner of the urinal and hammer it into the ground. The guttering will rest on it at that end so hammer it down a bit then try resting the gutter on it until its the perfect pee height. This should take you no longer than 2.5 hours.

- With the pipe set at the optimum height, rest the guttering in it and screw it to the wall sheet. Use your eye to judge the urine fall angle and proceed to put a few more screws in for good measure. Pour some water in. Unscrew everything and redo it a little higher so that the water flows TOWARD the pipe you setup. Pour some more water in. Swear. Unscrew it all again and mount it so bloody high that it will sound like Niagara Falls when in use. Pour water in................. Success!

- Get a beer and take a picture for your blog..........................pee beer out into the urinal. Laugh to yourself.

Day 3 Lessons Learned
1. Building a urinal makes you wanna pee.
2. Angle Grinders cut through everything.
3. Liquid drains downhill.
4. Your nearly done!

P.S. Happy Australia Day! Eat as much beef, seafood and chicken as you can but PLEASE skip the bloody lamb :)
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Weekly WTF: Fake '+' Home Pregnancy Test

Some failblog treats

i know its pretty uncool to just rip-off other sites but these are three beauties further related to pregnancy therefore quite topical ;)

Want to see the future?

everyone loves to play the
"oh! he has your eyes!"
"she's got your cheeks!!"
"Wow those are Dad's ears!"

well with the dawning of the Dawson offspring i thought we might take a plunge at who might get the nod in the highest of contributions towards DJ's appearance














of course the other option with a nickname like DJ (s)he might come out like this?

Building A Backyard Urinal - Day 2 : Walls

After spending Day 1 walking around, digging, staring, looking confused and working against at least 3 laws of physics - your ready for Day 2. From all the mistakes you made barely building a tiny part of the foundation yesterday, you should be getting quite good at swearing. This will come in handy for today's steps.

Materials Needed: Shovel, Vertical Supports (star pickets), Wall Sheeting, Cordless Drill, Screws, Hammer, Long Wooden Planks, Safety Glasses.

- As you approach the construction area (further referred to as Ground Zero) make sure you have a strong, confident, determined look on your face. It can sense fear.

- Assess the work and progress you made yesterday by doing a quick "Sit Rep". Scout around the area and take down points of strengths/weaknesses as this will be valuable in today's building progression. Once you have stopped laughing and started to get a little concerned about your mental stability, move to the next step.

**Note: If you have arrived at ground zero only to find there's nothing there, chances are it got a tad windy overnight. Pop your head over the fence and check if one of your neighbours yards is sporting your monstrosity. Proceed in one of two ways: 1. If they have finished building the urinal and it came out alot better that you could have done - let it be. Of course if someone is using the urinal, give em a wave on your way back inside. 2. Sneak over there and chuck it back over the fence so you don't have to do the walk of shame and apologise. Remember - No one likes a push over.

- Take the knowledge gained from yesterday and run with it. Learn. Take out any panels that can fall with the force of a drunken stumbling buffoon and assemble them on some flat ground nearby. Place the wooden planks under the wall panels and screw them down. Step out the rough length you need and add panels so its a close match.

- Once you believe its strong enough, stand the wall up vertically. Do not attempt to stop the wall splitting up because it wasn't strong enough, instead, swear and lie the piece still in your hand back down. Proceed to apply so much bracing and support that it now weighs a metric ton, totally disregarding the fact that you have to move it into place on your own.

- Stand the great wall up again. *Optional: Fart. Test the weight of the almighty beast and after confirming it's far too heavy to move on your own, move it on your own. If you survive, stand the wall in the trench made on Day 1. Hammer it down or dig it out until its the correct height. Repeat at least 5 times.

- Kick sand around the base until it 'sorta' stands up. Run and get another support. Swear. Pick up the wall and kick the sand in again before jamming a support in place.

- Stand back and marvel at your awesomeness. Repeat for the 1-2 remaining walls and ensure you bask in your masculinity after each one is in place.

- Find random scraps of wood from round the back of the shed (or break some off the Mrs's prized vegie garden stakes) to build angled supports for the corners. Find the most inappropriately long screws for this task in the hope that it will be to scared to fall down from now on.

- Check the stability again. If its a little shaky, locate some unused PVC pipe that you bought to fix the retic and use that. Remember, the longer the better. Put it in place and get a ladder to start hammering it down. IMPORTANT: Put on your safety glasses! Start hammering the PVC down into the ground and prey that there is nothing of value under it. The PVC will shard with one hit and go into the ground with the next so 50% of the time your doing a good job and the rest is downright dangerous. Ignore the danger and proceed until its down at wall height. Use another huge screw to hold it in place.

- Get a beer and take a picture for your blog.

Day 2 Lessons Learned
1. The rear neighbours have a pool!
2. Eyes don't grow back.
3. Its gunna be wicked when its finished.

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Building A Backyard Urinal - Day 1 : Ignorance

Congratulations on deciding to build your very first backyard Urinal!

By now you've managed to convince everyone you know that this IS a good idea or you're just ignoring them and building it anyway. Either way, good for you, they'll be thanking you later.

Materials Needed: Shovel, Vertical Supports (star pickets), Wall Sheeting, Cordless Drill, Screws, Hammer.

- With the image of the finished product in your head (because you definitely haven't drawn it up or measured anything) dig the trench for the wall sheeting to follow. Pile the sand really close by so you can kick it into the hole again while holding the sheeting vertical later on. Make sure you completely exhaust yourself and cover your entire body with dirt, dust, leaves and misc shit.

- Pick a spot along the trench to start building the wall and hammer in a support. Hold up a piece of sheeting and try to lean it against the support while you get another one. Pick the sheeting up off the ground and try again. Give up and just go get another sheet anyway.

- Wait for appropriate wind gusts to dash for extra sheeting until you have 3-4 pieces up. Wait for an INappropriate wind gust to blow them all down *Optional: Cut yourself trying to hold them in place and not drop your hammer on your foot.

- Finally realise that you need cross bracing on the walls cos they are only 0.5mm thick and get bent faster than Bob Downey Jnr. Assemble the braces and screw them in with the drill so that your creation starts to resemble something........ anything.

- Look up and see that there is no sun anymore and its time for bed.

Day 1 Lessons Learned
1. Dirt sticks to sweat
2. Hammering is loud
3. Wind blows things over
4. 'Thinking' takes time away from 'Doing' so don't do it.
5. It gets dark at night

Onward to Day 2!
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Weekly WTF: Bicycle Brake DIY Flamethrower

Open Your Ears Wk 3

THE DECEMBERISTS - The Legionnaire's Lament

Colin Meloy heads up this indie band from Oregan, USA. They have been around for a fair while, i think about 7 albums or so. It was quite hard to pick a track to really show off who they are and what they are about. I decided to go with this one, real story telling and yet a nice driving melody and sweet disposition.

I decided to run with them this week if you are going to BDO or TAF make sure you catch their set

The Decemberists MySpaz : www.myspace.com/thedecemberists
The Legionnaire's Lament Youtube
On the Bus Mall (Live) Youtube
The Bachelor + The Bride Youtube, probably my favourite track of theirs when done solo by Colin
if you enjoyed The Decemberists check out Colin Meloy playing solo

Teenage Bitches

For my first of many rants in the 'teens' I'd like to rekindle 2 old but far from resolved things that continue to F&*k me off, every single day!

Pedestrians
For those that don't know, Perth is in the dark ages regarding pedestrian movement around the CBD. It was setup and widely plugged as a 'Pedestrian Friendly' city but in reality what that means is traffic is brought to a complete standstill just cos some deuche wants to cross the road.

In all other cities I've been to I have never seen all traffic from all directions stop so that people can walk. Even on the less populated intersections, if the green man (going the same direction as the traffic) is on, the cars turning left have a red. Give the car a green AND the pedestrian a green like the rest of the world - any cars heading left just have to wait for the people before turning. This brings me to my bitch:

Pedestrians that press the button at a traffic light but then walk cos there aren't any cars coming. OK, Just Stop It!!!!! If your one inclined to jay-walk, look first then hit the button if there's no safe way to cross. I have no issue with people that hit the button then wait even if there's nothing coming, all I ask is that IF you hit the button - tough - your waiting. Its so frustrating to be driving along, only to be stopped by an invisible pedestrian, oh wait - there they are......100m up the F*&king road!!!!!

Bus Commuters
I can't comment on anywhere other than Perth and London here but in short, London buses work and Perth buses don't. In my opinion this is solely to do with bus numbers and frequencies. The government doesn't want to spend money on buses cos no one catches them but no one catches them cos there aren't enough of them! In London, if you want to get on a bus, you walk to the stop and wait - no need to check timetables etc, one will be along within 15 mins at the absolute most. This makes it very very simple and therefore they are widely used.

Here in peak times they run every 20 mins and non peak, every hour. They might as well not run them at all other than peak times cos you cant rely on an hourly bus - plain and simple. My bitch is related to buses but back to bitch #1, again, its the people using them that are stupid:

Its common knowledge that you get ON a bus at the front and get OFF it at the back........ or so you'd think. Perth bus-ers are selectively ignorant to this and on all routes, most (not all) get off via the the front. On the older MTT buses it even says on the 'Bus Stopping' light inside the bus ' Exit Via The Rear Doors'. Sometimes its ok and I admit to using the front myself on occasion but if there are people waiting to get ON the bus at the stop, its a no brainer.... or maybe that's the problem - no brains.

Big shout out to my co-bloggers daughter in hospital for the next week or so. Incase anyone is wondering, Yes, TVs can break legs. Get well soon Meelz!
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TAF - 16 Days and Counting

CD's have been ordered, attendance is all but finalised and TAF10 is almost upon us.

Just to give you an idea of the popularity...... 23 people have confirmed their attendance whether it be off and on, 1 day or the full 2 day camping experience. This has made music selection an absolute no-brainer so thanks very much for all of your quick replies.

Once I actually dug into the artists playing I found that not all of them have recent CD releases. With that in mind, bands like Fear Factory and Groove Armada dropped off the purchase list to make way for lesser known acts which also keeps us more on par with alternative fesitval playlists.

The festival music itinerary has been completed so click here for the official lineup.

I have just spoken with Ah' Yeah brewing and there will be 2 beers on tap at TAF this year:
Mexican Cerveza (Sol, Corona) - Mexico is known for its arid lands, dusty conditions and oppressive heat. So it’s not surprising that the people of Mexico are experts at quenching a thirst. Coopers Mexican Cerveza emulates the style of the finest quality beers exported from Mexico. This premium beer is light in style with a fresh clean taste, ideally served ice-cold with a wedge of lime or lemon.
Australian Pale Ale (Coopers Pale Ale) - Our master brewers have developed a beer concentrate in the style of the famous COOPERS ORIGINAL PALE ALE which is considered an Australian icon. The finest 2-row barley, hops and specially selected yeast combine to produce a beer with fruity and floral characters, balanced with a crisp bitterness and compelling flavour perfect for every occasion.
Ginger Beer - For all those intending on driving home or taking a breather off the booze during the festival - freshly brewed non-alcoholic Coopers Ginger Beer will also be available on tap.

All of the above will be on tap, icy cold and available via self service for the duration of the festival. $20 will buy you a bottomless glass of all 3 so if you'd like to have 2-3 beers plus, then leave the hassles at home and let a lobster do the talking.

As per the previous TAF posting, everything except loo paper and BBQ gas is BYO. There will be 2-3 cooking stations on the go so we're fully flexible for all day food or longer cooking times. We want to encourage crazy and unorthodox foods with oddball cooking techniques so get your practice in now to show off your mad-skillz.

As far as the $25 CD payment goes, I'll send an email around with my bank details in the next few days. That's all the updates I can think of for now. If you have any queries at all, get in contact asap.

Incase you need them, here is a link to the older TAF posting and here is a link to the festival map.


Phil Dawson
TAF Chairperson

Update 15/1: Make that 24 people! Great to have you on board Amanda.

No Pants Subway Ride

Courtesy of Yahoo.com (and every other news site on the planet!)

NEW YORK – Hundreds of New Yorkers have been riding the city's subway trains in their underwear.

They stripped down to their undies on Sunday for the ninth annual No Pants Subway Ride.

The idea is to act like nothing unusual is going on. Participants met up at six locations throughout the city. They formed groups and dispersed to subway stations to catch trains. Once inside the subway cars, they began calmly removing their pants and folding them up.

Most people read magazines or chatted with their companions like any other straphanger.

The event started in 2002 with just seven people. It has spread to other cities.

The stunt is organized by Improv Everywhere, a group that says its mission is to cause "scenes of chaos and joy in public places."
_________

This entire stunt was news to me! Had no idea about this or the previous 8 years : )


Soundtrack Of The Day: 3 Doors Down - Seventeen Days
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Tattooed Part Too

I got a bit sidetracked yesterday from my original thoughts...

We went to Kalamunda Wet n Wild on the weekend and coz its shirts off everywhere you tend to see a lot of body art going on. Now in the kiddies wading pool lay a big blokey bloke (about 40) with full on beard and performance car cap on. His back was a giant tattoo of two flaming skulls wearing those pointy speared german war helmets with a swastika in the flames and in between the skulls was a giant swastika and embedded within that was that other german cross symbol.

now he was laughing and chatting with his other half whilst his baby was in the pool, now its fairly obvious what this guy's agenda is but was this tattoo something he did when he was "young and stupid" and now he doesnt have much choice in the matter or is he still a neo-nazi and will be teaching his kids those ideals?

Its a pretty powerful image to flaunt around the place and frankly I didn't care much to see it but the funny thing is if he was wearing a rashy I never would have known or even thought of it.

Weekly WTF: Mario Sweater Vest

Open Your Ears Wk 2

welcome to my new segment on squidy, I have been rather slacko with my postings so I am gonna force myself to make a guaranteed weekly contribution

basically I want to introduce everyone to a band or artist that most people don't know so that there is opportunity to expand your musical horizons. I will add a new blurb each monday and by the end of the year you will have 50 new listening experiences*

I missed last week so we start today!

OWL CITY - Fireflies

ok so I am playing nice and safe for this week, an ease into something new... Owl City is the artistic name of Adam Young from somewhere in the USA. No doubt you would have actually come across this song on the radio as its starting to get the flog-o-matic.

He describes himself as "Dream Pop" but I have heard him described as "Electro-pop" and "a rip off of 'The Postal Service'!" basically its sickly sweet keyboard based pop music for all your girly teenage dreams. Unfortunately for all of us who aren't teenage girls he will probably have to be a guilty pleasure behind closed doors.

This song is great, catchy as hell and even better it translates beautifully to acoustic guitar (so I can enjoy it on another level). I have been singing it in my head and playing it on guitar for the last week or so, even considered doing a recorded version. I'll see if I have the time....

OWL CITY MYSPAZ : www.myspace.com/owlcity
FIREFLIES YOUTUBE VID
A GREAT ACOUSTIC COVER

and if you like Owl City.. check out
THE POSTAL SERVICE : www.myspace.com/thepostalservice

Tattooed everything...

I went to my kids daycare Christmas party and made an interesting observation, the majority of man and a significant number of women had visible tattoos. Now I'm not suggesting this is a good or bad thing just a thing.

So I came to the basic conclusion that I live in a middle/low income area and there is probably a correlation between the two but I don't understand why that is.
Wiki says
Insofar as this cultural or subcultural use of tattoos predates the widespread popularity of tattoos in the general population, tattoos are still associated with criminality. Although the general acceptance of tattoos is on the rise in Western society, they still carry a heavy stigma among certain social groups.

So whats the pay-off? what inspires the ever increasing number of people getting tattoos to do it? I mean how many people would get a hair cut that they could never change for the rest of their life or wear the same shirt everyday?

From my ignorant perspective I see tattoos as advertising, whatever it is that you are choosing to say. Now what does it all mean to everyone? Does a tat remind the person of this that or the other or is it tell everyone else this that or the other?

Here are someones guess at the top 50 tats clickity click

so the answer lies basically in a couple of catagories
1. i wear this proudly because i belong to or am a fan of....
- religion : crosses, symbols, swastikas etc
- gang : clan symbols, markings etc
- band/artist : band names/logos
- sports team : logos, player names, team colours
- product : motorcycle brand, musical instrument brand
2. I gain strength or belief from
- religion
- tribal symbols/art
- animal attributes
3. I want to alter my body image toward
- strength
- power
- beauty
4. I want to honour those I love
- family members
- deceased

I have never really thought about getting a tattoo, I am a giant scaredy cat #1, I don't see the point #2 and I'm so weedy it probably wouldn't look good anyway. However I would almost guarantee that if one of my children died at a young age I would get a tattoo to have that permanent reminder (not that anyone would forget). For some reason this makes sense to me.

So i guess my question is... does your opinion of somebody change if they have visible tattoos? do you have a negative instinct? do you have more respect for them? do you admire them? do you run away from them? and for our readers who do have tatts, how long did it take you to choose a permanent body image?

Happy 75th Birthday Mr P Rez

Elvis you've done it again - your birthday has come around like some sort of annual occurrence and people STILL think you're somewhere celebrating it! In light of this momentous day on the celebrity birthday calender, I decided to head to eGraceland and check out www.elvis.com.

Heavens to Betsy!

Is there anything this site doesn't offer? Apart from the obvious like Bios, Graceland info and Music/Movie repertoire they have links like 'Elvis Kids'. Elvis Kids contains colouring-in templates, an interactive Elvis surfing game and even a basic 'Find Elvis' game which is basically Where's Wally so the tiddly-winks get hooked on the undead phenomenon early in life.

Need a GracelandCAM? Done. An appropriate Elvis e-Card for all occasions? Done. Panoramic Galleries, Stats, Family + Friend links, an official impersonator database with full tour dates/times and of course Sightings.

'Sightings' seems simple enough but is full of "I saw him in a picture on the wall at Burger King" and other general rubbish like that. Elvis spotting has blossomed into the 21st century though because you can download the official Elvis Sightings iPhone App to immediately log sightings when you're out and about. I've done a quick search on the App Store but sadly I can't find it :(

Happy Birthday Elvis - It's awesome that your legacy lives on brother!!

Soundtrack Of The Day: Elvis - Greatest Hits

P.S. Yes I am very concerned about the odd shape in this mans crotch.

Mediche Life One

Mediche Ltd have released a new organiser for diarising diabetes health readings and unlike the usual gadgetry on squidring.com, this one seems useful.

The package contains a glucose reader, injector pen and mobile device. In the picture, the device looks an awful lot like an iPhone though they assure that it's only the prototype and it will look alot different when it actually comes to market.

The pen contains an inbuilt memory chip which records date, time and dose. When the pen is returned to its position in the folder, all the data is automatically uploaded to the mobile device which then transmits it to the Mediche secure server. The data is then collated and viewable on their website via the users personalised login. While I can see some good in this day to day, the value might be in the longer term. Being able to generate an accurate on-the-fly report of the last year has got to be helpful.

Here's an official benefits blurb from Mediche.com:

With clearer and more information regarding their condition the person with diabetes is better enabled to manage themselves which can help reduce the consequences of mismanagement of diabetes which include loss of sight, amputations and heart problems.

Within the UK alone, in 2008 the NHS spent £1.3 billion (5% of the total budget) on diabetes and diabetes-related care. With better management this can be reduced, saving the NHS and other health organisations millions per year.
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Impulse Buy

Just when you thought there wasn't anything more useless than a Cuddlee...... ("WOW, a blanket with sleeves!!!" or perhaps just a reverse dressing gown - dumbasses) I present the Wrap-Around-Towel.

Its a towel that wraps around you...... ooooooooooooooooo. It's claim to fame is that it doesn't have any fasteners but all I'm thinking is what they've created is a useless towel tube you can stroll around in, looking like a twat.

I think they have failed to see that while wrapping a towel around yourself IS one of the things we do with towels, it isn't EVERYTHING we do with them. What about Sunbathing? What about when you run out of home towels and you grab a beach one when you get out of the shower instead? What if a little kid wants to use the towel and it doesn't fit?!? What if your Mrs grabs yours on her way out instead of hers, only to have a public beach wardrobe malfunction of toga proportions? What about when you throw it in the wash and it gets all caught up with the other clothes cos its a bloody tube!

They call it the Wrap 'A' Round Towel but I reckon its just so people don't call it the WAT. Cos when you say WAT, it's only a short jump to WAT.T.F - spose you can see why they were worried.

Unless you want to go to a fancy dress party as someone from Asterix or if you want to see yourself as a human Fajita, I'd let this one go through to the keeper.
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Las Ketchup

Finally my efforts of growing edible produce is starting to pay off.

The little tomato champ pictured (isn't it cute) was hand reared and plucked from the plant with all the love you should expect from home grown fruit. It was then carefully washed and eaten within 25 seconds!

Well, what do you expect! I only had 1 so its hardly a salad starter and at 15mm diameter it didn't spoil dinner. Actually I shared it with DJ so it barely even touched the sides........ somewhat like dropping a marble into a bucket........ there's the mental image! Cmon, get the image of it in your head, its ok I'll wait. The bucket in my head is blue, what colour is yours?

It's the first of many many tomatoes, chillis and capsicums which are growing very nicely. The weight of the fruit is now dragging the plant downward while its trying to grow up toward the sun. Day by day you can see the stem get a little stronger only to compete with the food getting bigger too! *insert fist shake*

Hope the new year is serving you only the finest of life.

Ciao bello's + bella's
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The Mistakenly Neutered Thirtysomethings

I'm proud to admit I was all about Turtle-power in the late 80s and this year marks the 25th anniversary.

How do I know this? No, I'm not THAT much of a turtle-maniac - I was strolling through the toy aisle wasting time while Kylie looked at clothes and I was very shocked to see TMNT figurines for sale once again. I've seen with every new movie, they change the packaging and re-release the same stuff to the next wave of wannabe ninjas so I just assumed there must be a new movie coming out........nup, not this time.

The look and feel of the packaging is permanently embedded in my brain so I quickly noticed that they are the same as the original figures released in the 80s. The Figure, Weapons, Accessories, Cardboard and even all the pictures on the back of the packet are identical. Apart from a little 25th Anniv. sticker they ARE the original ones.

I have a few mint 80s cartoon figurines in original packaging scattered around my house (no not Turtles!) so this made me think - "What if someone had a mint collection of TMNT figures from the 80s hoping they were worth cash 25 year later?". I can give you their answer too, they'd be completely pissed off! Usually manufacturers change something on the figure or re-date the packets but not so this time. Anyone can just walk into Target with $15 and get one - bend over collectors and take that one up the Splinter.

As with all of my toys from childhood, I've still got them......... somewhere. I remember that I had almost the whole set including the blimp, sidecar and skateboard. I think i just need Shredder, Splinter and April to complete it so maybe I'll keep an eye out on the shelves for the final few and finally complete the collection : P. Lucky for me tho, I ripped those packets apart like they were yesterdays trash!

I'll try and recap on the figures I do have to spark some reminisce juice in all of you: Leonardo, Donotello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady, Foot Soldier, Leatherhead, Casey Jones, Usagi Yojimbo and Rat King..... ah the memories.
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Weekly WTF: CoughPee Table