Use to laugh 'bout nothing, now you're plain boring. I should know that you're not gonna change.

At 3mins 40sec, the little girl on the left with the hula-hoop....she scares me.
But it's forgivable 'cos the best bits at 3mins 52sec and 3mins 54sec are still amusing after many viewings.



Blink and you miss 'em.

They've just played Gwen Stefani's latest song on MTV. I'm watching it at my parent's house on their lovely HD TV, on lovely SKY HD and in lovely surround sound.
*Le Sigh*
Yeah, it sounded like a really good song.

I miss you MTV. I miss you like a fat kids misses cake.

I'm going in for the kill. I'm doing it for a thrill.

Absolutely loving this tune by La Roux.

La Roux - In For The Kill.

And an interesting remix doing the rounds too.

La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream remix).

The other night, I noted to The Girl that the dog eats standing up and the cat eats sitting down. And then we wondered if that was true with other cats and dogs.

I'm sat here in the kitchen wondering whether I should put a pizza in the oven, or mix up some stuff to make cakes. Or neither. The Girl is out tonight. It's very weird sitting here in her empty house. Hmmm, or maybe a bacon sandwich.

We watched Benjamin Button earlier. Blimey that's a long movie. I enjoyed it though. Although I just couldn't like Daisy's character, so the crux of the plotline was miffed for me. I liked the moral of the story though. And they did an outstanding job making Brad Pitt younger throughout the movie. Shame they did such a shit job of making the other characters age, especially Daisy. Oh well.

I need to get back into The Wire. I think I'm up to the last season now, but I got side-tracked by Weeds. And Battlestar Galactica of all things. And Dollhouse. And I really miss Firefly.

You've been hit by, you've been struck by a smooth criminal.

So, all 750,000 tickets for Jacko's upcoming gigs at the O2 Arena all sold out in record time. Wow, that's a shit load a totally dedicated fans right there.
Oh no, hang on.
As of just twelve hours later, Ebay has over 6,500 people listing tickets for sale. And most of them are more than doubling their money. I saw a few pairs, granted they were excellent seats; front row etc, but still....£3,500 for a pair is taking the piss!
It's a fucking travesty that these people can get away with it.

It's ok though. 'Cos he loves us all.
Bless.

Never seem to get in the place that I belong. Don't wanna lose the time, lose the time to come.

Another visit to the Doctor, my own Doctor this time, has resulted in me being diagnosed with Asthma. It's not 100%, but he's pretty sure and there are further tests which I have to attend in a couple of weeks. Lung Function Tests they are. All sounds very ominous, huh?

So where do I stand now?
Well, I'm not sure. But with conversations with the Doc about my current co-habiting with pets and various aspects of the job I do, neither bode too well with me feeling any better anytime soon. If this is Karma biting me on the arse then I'd really like to know what I did that was so wrong....

I knew it was gonna be a tough year, but please.

Sometimes you feel so....so useless. Sometimes I feel so useless. It's a difficult thing to shake. I'm not giving up without a fight though. I know something good is gonna come out of this year, even thought getting there is gonna be so utterly unforgiving.

And I don't want no substitute. Baby, I swear it's Deja Vu.

With each new video it becomes more apparent....
Well, to me at least.
And I find it very difficult to believe that I'm in a small minority here, but alas, I don't hear/see/read many other people mentioning it....the fact that Beyonce isn't a good dancer. I can't help but see a cross between Tina Turner and Freddie Starr. Perish the thought!

Perhaps I am on my own here. Or perhaps I simply need to get out more.

Ha. Blow that horn bitch!

Appliances have gone berserk. I can not keep up.

Even in these tough times, Sony show that they've still got it!



NSFW by the way.

I don't know much, but I know this for certain. And that is the sun poking its head round the curtain.

I seem to be feeling a little better, although I'm still far from feeling one hundred percent.
And I find it ironic that I use that a measure considering I can't even remember the last time I felt anywhere near one hundred percent.
I managed to gain some control over my breathing, assisted by an inhaler, only to find myself suffering with terrible stomach pains and a full and unhealthy relationship with the words 'shit', 'eye' and 'needle'.
Still, it could be worse.

I'm desperately scratching around for work. Have been for weeks now. In the quiet times I made the mistake of searching through websites; reading up about plumbing, construction, recession effects, training and other things that have been a large focus of my life for the past few years. A mistake because I've been left feeling like I've made a huge error. I can see it now. I can see all the info that I should have taken on board way back when I was thinking about ditching out of the rat-race. Left wondering why, why, why didn't I see this coming.
And I still feel like I'm a burden, not a boyfriend.

Of all the times a small person can come into the room, it just has to be when the song "Fuck You" comes on, huh? Nice one Lily!

So....on a scale of one to ten, how happy are you, seriously?

And I can't move my arm, for the fear that you will wake. And I'm five years ago, every thousand miles away.

Without wanting to make such a blanket statement, I think most people would agree that having access to the WWW and The Internet makes life easier.
Just the other day, I was remarking how much easier it must be for school kids nowadays. Long gone are the days when researching a subject or person meant such things as going to a Library or talking and interacting with other people. Perish the thought! The most brain-power they have to apply nowadays is just how much 'copy & paste' they can get away with. Anyway....that wasn't my point.
Since the beginning of the year I've been feeling unwell. My energy levels have been piss poor, but more importantly I've had problems breathing. The best description I can give is that I'm struggling to draw anything other than shallow, rapid breaths. The evenings are the worst, finding me waking up several times; coughing, struggling to catch a breath and feeling like I'm fighting to breathe through a straw. I don't appear to be suffering any cold or flu like symptoms; no sore throat, no headaches, no snotty nose.
I'm aware that giving up smoking can often result in chest/breathing/coughing issues and had probably convinced myself that this was as good an excuse as any. But I just can't manage anymore. I'm waking up several times every night with this breathing problem, causing me to cough and splutter, yack and make the most awful noises while I'm fighting to calm my breathing down. Having to deal with it myself would be bad enough, but I've got other people in the house trying to sleep too and I'm surprised that The Girl hasn't at least tried to muffle me out with a pillow over my face.
I have a Doctor's appointment later this afternoon.
In anticipation of this, I've been surfing around websites, looking at symptoms and possible causes. This is where I'd like to state that having access to the WWW and the Internet isn't such a good thing after all.
Enter "shallow breathing" into Google. Click one site, then another. Follow the links. Click, click, click. Read through one site where all the symptoms sound familiar. Click through to another where it sounds like I've potentially got something else. Page after page, link after link, site after site. All of a sudden it gets to the point where I have to close all the pages down because I'm now wondering which of the potentially fatal diseases I've got. Wonderful.

Safety pins holding up the things that make you mine. About your hair, you needn't care, You look beautiful all the time.

Eurgh. January has proved itself to be a big pile of smelly pants. I know there's a day in January which is known as the most depressing day of the year, but I wonder if the month as a whole is just as guilty. The entire country seems to be in a funk. Even the optimistic must be struggling with these blues.
Not surprisingly, work hasn't picked up any. It's usually quiet after the New Year, but I've found the whole month to be pretty dire. In an effort to push myself out there a little more I'm adopting the "got to speculate to accumulate" train of thought and am paying for additional local advertising. Others seem to be a lot more optimistic about the outcome than I am, and I'd love nothing more than to be proved wrong.
A car accident and cancer claimed two of my friends. 44 and 42 is way, way too early to leave this life as we know it. The universe has a strange way of behaving, sometimes.
If it wasn't for The Girl, I'd most likely be digging myself a nice hide-away right now. I'm really leaning on her at the moment and much as I love her, I'm being plagued more and more by the thought that I'm just not good enough for her. She's working so hard with her Uni work, and doing so well, and I'm often sat watching the days melt into each other. My confidence has been taking knocks on a regular basis. My resilience is dissolving.
I picked the wrong time to stop smoking. Well, so long as nobody's counting last Wednesday when the clutch in the van decided to give up the ghost. I've never had to be recovered before. It's nothing to write home about. I mean, it's not like riding in the back of an ambulance with the blue lights flashing.

And I'm bored with this place too.
And I used to be funny.

I can't believe he's so trusting, while I'm right behind you thrusting.

A little background info on The Shuffleathon 2008.
The names of those participating are put into a hat and drawn out in order to 'pair' people up. By the end of the exercise, each participant has a person to which they now choose, compile, burn and send a mix cd. Each recipient gives the cd a good listen and writes a review on their blog.

The great thing about The Shuffleathon is two-fold:
Firstly, the songs included on the disc to be sent can be anything you like. While there may be unwritten rules to follow, or more so guidelines, it's entirely in the hands of you the sender whether you want to make a compilation of songs that sums up your character and personality, whether you want to be as diverse and impressive as possible with a mix of the obscure, rare and eclectic or whether you just want to include some of your favourite songs. The possibilities are endless. And it's always great to read what your recipient thought of your choices; good, bad, impressed or indifferent.
And secondly, you also get to receive a mix cd from somebody else to listen to and review. This can often be the most rewarding part because you're playlist is entirely in the hands of somebody else. Sometimes there's songs on the disc that serve to remind you just how good a particular song is and why the hell haven't you listened to it yourself lately. Sometimes there's songs on there that you've never heard and catch your interest enough to make you want to dig further. And of course sometimes there's songs that just don't float your boat.

My shuffleathon disc went to Alan of Randomburblings this year and his review can be found here. The disc I received was from Cody Bones, coming all the way from Chicago and after many repeat listens, here's my thoughts....

One : Kanye West - All Fall Down.
I'm quite partial to a little of The Kanye. Ok, so he often gets his knickers in a twist from being in the public eye, which in turn does nothing to denounce his "I'm a bit of a twat" label, but that aside I think he can do pretty good music. This is one of his better known tracks from his first album, with a great sample that doubles as a perfect hook. The female background vocals are the balls of this song and it's a shame that his more recent songs have favoured more of a focus on his own vocals rather than laying out good samples and great hooks.

Two : Junior Walker - Shake And Finger Pop.
Yeah, some old skool soul. I don't know the song, but you gotta have time for a little soul in your life. Carefree and loose is what this song's all about. And good horns. This is the type of song I like to have playing on the cd player in the van, with the windows rolled down on a sunny day. Not that we get many of those over here. Yep, like it.

Three : Vampire Weekend - A~Punk.
Brilliant example of a damn near perfect song. Short, punchy and to the point. I was a little disappointed with their album, but this is good enough to kick start them in the right direction. That hissing hi hat is infectious. That guitar hook is genius. And those floaty keyboards.... A great, great song.

Four : The Outlaws - Green Grass And High Tides.
It starts off all ominous. Grand and epic. It's a good intro. And then, oh dear. It's turned into an upbeat MOR song that I imagine would sit very comfortably on the playlist on some American Country Music radio station. I just keep wanting to "Big wheel's gonna keep on turnin'." And it makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm afraid this does nothing for me and at a running time of almost 10 minutes, it's almost 10 minutes too long.

Five : Rise Against - Drones.
A terrific balls out rock track. The singer isn't anything special and frequently sounds like any other punk/rock outfit with a shouty/screaming singer, but the music is great. It's noisy, loud and I want to hear more. This track is a big winner for me 'cos I've been pointed in the direction of something new to me and I want to hear more.

Six : ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man.
Oh dear. I almost used the word hate here, but hate is such a strong word. I dislike ZZ Top. It's boogy-woogy guitar plodding pop/rock that sounds as dated as their famous beards. Next!

Seven : Elbow (No, not that Elbow) - Hog The Bed.
Say hello to AOR. It's ok with it's loose drums, strumming acoustics and nice hammond sound, but loses it with that guitar solo. The banjo in the background keeps the pace jollying along but ultimately the song never reaches anything other than just another AOR song. Unfortunately forgettable and not really anything like the sort of thing I'd been found listening to.

Eight : Grateful Dead - Playing In The Band.
More AOR which sounds very dated, but I'm not sure if it's a modern track given that nostalgic sound. I know very little about The Dead, apart from them being consistently name dropped as an influential band by others and this song is ok, but to me, nothing special. The keyboards parts are the nicest thing about it, but they are few and far between, and not up in the mix enough. Nice enough song, but....nah, I just don't feel anything from this.

Nine : Dick Holliday And The Bamboo Gang - Everybody Knows.
Funky bassline for the intro....cool....and then....oh dear....this reminds me of that horrible double time, happy horn pop stuff the likes Matt Bianco, Kid Creole et al used to produce. Out of everything on the shuffleathon cd, this track is my least favourite.

Ten : Lynyrd Skynrd - Working For The MCA.
Sounds a little like a Lenny Kravitz track to me. Even the vocals aren't that far off. I'd like to award them extra kudos for the simple fact that they named their band without any vowels. This is the sort of song that would probably be found playing in the background on an episode of Starsky And Hutch, with the strippers slithering up and down the poles and Starsky was turning on his charm while Hutch was trying to get Huggy Bear to give up some info. It's kitch 70's and it's agreeable. I'm not sure I could take a whole load of Lynrd Skynrd in one go, but as a song that comes on during random play, it's a good choice.

Eleven : Pat Benetar - Heartbreaker.
I think I might have had a crush on Pat, back in the day. Mid tempo guitar driven rock with Pat's easily recognisable vocals and already I'm cast back to any number of John Hughes movie soundtracks. Not one of her better known tracks, but easy enough on the ear to listen to. Sounding a little dated nowadays, but not enough to take away the nice nostalgic feeling it emotes.

Twelve : Lustra - Scotty Doesn't Know.
Well, I'm not sure that I care what it is that Scotty doesn't know, but from the annoyingly repetitive chorus it appears much more important that he doesn't know, rather than what it is that he doesn't know. Whatever. The song itself is ok. I'd put this in the same area as All American Rejects and the like, and as much as the music itself is cool enough, that fucking chorus drives me nuts.
"Scotty doesn't know, Scotty doesn't know, Scotty doesn't know....Don't tell Scotty"
Well, Scotty can just fuck right off. If it wasn't for the crap lyrics this would be a pretty good song. Shame.

Thirteen : The Fray - Over My Head.
I got The Fray album when it came out and thought it was ok. The stand out tracks have all been released as singles now and their popularity has quite rightly grown. Nice mellow vocals over a piano riff driven pop song. This is the sort of song I'd expect to hear on Grey's Anatomy, or one of those other American teen-type dramas that I don't even watch. Good song. I know it, I like it.

Fourteen : Neil Diamond - Kentucky Women.
Well, I recognise the voice, but I don't know the song. I like some of his stuff, but probably more so because it reminds me of when my folks used to play him. Acoustic guitar and skiffle type drums. I know he's still releasing stuff, some of it gaining critical acclaim, but I don't think I can get away with playing too much of his stuff without feeling like I'd turned into my dad. And that thought doesn't even bear thinking about!

Fifteen : The Beat - Save It For Later.
I know The Beat from their reign over the charts back in the Ska hey day. "Can't get used to losing you" and "Mirror in the bathroom" are classics and two of my favourites from those days. Known as 'English Beat' in America so there was no confusion with an established band already over there, their upbeat ska and two tone sounds formed the soundtrack for many a schoolboy's growing pains in the eighties. It might be time to dig out some old skool ska and soul tunes, thanks to this little gem.

Sixteen : R.E.M - The One I Love.
Well, I really like R.E.M so this is a good, solid choice. One from their earlier days and still sounding good, this bluesy rock number complete with Michael Stipes great vocals reminds me of why I fell in love with them all those years ago. The guitar takes turns to be jangly, then deep and blurry, while the drums pound along and Stipey howls out that chorus. Classic.

Seventeen : The Blues Brothers - Sweet Home Chicago.
See the connection there? Subtle! Ten years ago I would have appreciated this track on the shuffleathon cd a lot more. As it is....it just feels so old. So dated. So....empty. The beauty of the songs from the soundtrack is completely lost without the visual delights of Jake and Elwood, and without that what I'm left with is a song that I'm familiar with, sure, but I'm left feeling short changed. This is felt in all its glory about half way through the song where it just goes on and on and on. In the movie, this is where Jake and Elwood exit the stage and make their escape from all the fuzz. I just really wish this hadn't been the last track on the cd.

So, there you go. Some nice reminders for me to influence my listening habits and some new stuff to search out and enjoy. I'm not sure if there was any theme attached to the tracks included on the cd. Obviously I spotted the Chicago link.
Much thanks to Swiss Toni for all the effort he puts in organising this thing. It's always a fun and enjoyable experience. Thanks to Alan for giving his time to listen to and review my cd. And thanks to Cody Bones for taking the time and effort to do this one for me.

It barks at no one else but me. Like it's seen a ghost.

....
....
Le Sigh.

You can't do that. And it's such an easy way out.

My third involvement with the shuffleathon, painstakingly organised by SwissToni, proved itself to be a bit of a bugger. The main hindrance for me was that 99% of my music is boxed up and out of reach, leaving me with a rather large hole where the inspiration should have come from.
As with most things, there are certain rules....or let's say guidelines that go hand in hand with making a compilation and much as I'd like to admit that I like to bend the rules....this time I feel more like I wiped my arse on them and hung them out to dry.
I could list a baker's dozen reasons why this time it was much more difficult to put the CD together, but I won't. However, what I will say is that the sixteen tracks that made the final cut, only one of which survived the numerous culls since day one, all hold a certain something for me. This hasn't been a project of trumpet blowing proportions, not by any means. I threw out the idea of opening with a blinding track that kicks the listener in the bollocks, grabbing their attention, then continuing with an array of musical selections that were chosen to leave them with an admirable impression of wonderfully varied and eclectic musical tastes and selections.
No, this is much, much more me.

I don't know Alan of Random Burblings, the receiver of my shuffleathon disc. I purposely stayed away from his blog, so as not to find myself swayed by him in my musical choices. After all, this is my shuffleathon disc to him, not vice-versa. Now my disc is in his hands, I shall be reading back through his writings and sticking around, because from what little I've read so far I can't help but like the guy. I'm sure I've stumbled on him before, but in the completely different scenario of a Jack The Ripper message board. How very strange. And to add even more weirdness into the mix, I think he used to verbose with The Girl, back in her blogging days. Small world, huh.


For that cloud reaching guitar hook, for that wonderful mix of different instruments dipping in and out, for the simple reason that they were obviously a talented band even right back in the beginning, for the proof that they weren't always a bunch of 'up their own arses' wankers, for that ingenious angelic choir, for that brilliant banjo intro, for that bassline....that guitar hook....and that anthemic chorus that makes me wanna scream my lungs out, for his voice and those words that could surely touch anybody, for those cheekily clever lyrics, for that dreamy fairytale ending, for her screaming vocals, for that hammond sound that keeps creeping in and those wonderfully strange instruments, for that damned cow-bell, for that building and building of pace and layer, for the way it grows from a simple ditty into a screaming and crashing wall of noise, for that absolutely amazing piano ending that kicks in at 3 minutes 52 that defines the 'hair standing on the back of your neck' moment.
And for a million other reasons....

Thirteen Senses - Thru The Glass
Albert Hammond Jr - Lisa
Elbow - George Lassoes The Moon
Genesis - Duchess
Fightstar - The English Way
Gomez - How We Operate
Jet - Lazy Gun
Radiohead - Last Flowers
The Seahorses - Love Is The Law
Jem feat Vusi Mahlasela - You Will Make It
Paramore - Decode
Talk Talk - Inheritance
Portishead - Magic Door
DJ Shadow feat Christina Carter - What Have I Done
Broken Family Band - It's All Over
Leaves - Epitaph

You got us into this, so get us out of this.

I'd like to say it's been a good one.
And it has.
But, something hasn't been right.
I haven't been right.

It's been a huge year for me. Mahoosive changes.
I'm really pleased that I've survived.

For the first time in many years, I'm going out for New Years Eve. It's been quite a while. I have to admit that New Year celebrations don't do anything for me. And I hate all the crap that goes with it; the drunkenness, the pathetic behaviour, the shouting and the fighting.
Anyway, I can say that technically I'm not going out for New Year celebrations. The Girl and I are going to a night of Birthday celebrations, for one Danny McNamara. We're on the guest list too. Go figure!

There goes another 12 months....

Won't you stay and leave a light on for me?

It's difficult when you have so much to say, to know where to begin.
So maybe I won't.
Maybe I'll just take this time to chill out, get my head more together and enjoy this season for what it is.
And maybe I'll come back here a little later.
Maybe.

Lots of people are alone at Christmas, and it's always those who I think about at this time of year. It doesn't matter about the size of present. It doesn't matter the value. And it's not important that you gave or received the right present, if indeed you gave or received one at all. It's about people. At this time of year, people just like to know that they're not alone.
And they're not.

Good wishes and a peaceful New Year to anybody who stumbles by here.
x

You float like a feather, in a beautiful world. I wish I was special. You're so fucking special.

There's some musical fun going on over at theauditorium.
Swisstoni, LB and I are running down our favourite albums of the year.
What's mildly amusing is that how professional and well written their reviews are. And then there are mine.

This is just a nightmare. Soon I'm gonna wake up. Someone's gonna bring me around.

In my other life, the one I can dream about, I'm everything I want to be.
By day you would find me at the controls of a mixing desk, tucked away inside some recording studio.
Making good bands sound even better.
Making shit bands sound as good as they ever will.
Making sure nobody runs out of coffee.
Being witness to the birth of something wonderful. Time and time again.
Leaving a tiny little dent imprinted for people to find, should they have the inclination to look.
By night you would find me amongst the crowds, seeking out different sounds, different directions, difference.

How could any of that possibly feel like work?

There are things I could've told you. There's a time and a place. Well, my words would allow me to say what I won't change.

The relationship between The Girl and her mum is alien to me.
I've never been witness to such a cool parent and sibling situation before, certainly not first hand anyway. It's very warming to see.

They seem to be able to speak to each other about everything. Everything and anything. And I know that's how it should be between parent and child. After all, what parent wouldn't want to know that their child, their own flesh and blood, can speak to them about anything. Anything in the world.

Sometimes though, it's quite strange to be in the same room as them when The Girl talks openly about things like drugs and sex. Her mum doesn't just sit there and listen. She actively takes part in the conversations, sometimes even instigating them. Just this morning, they were talking at quite some length about how much 'maintenance' having a fanny* is. Previously, there have been discussions about smoking dope, taking pills and the like. And then there's the use of naughty words. The Girl doesn't seem to think twice about dropping in a "fucking" or a "wanker" mid sentence, to which her mum appears to take in with the same ease as having a discussion with a neighbour about keeping chickens in the back yard. When her mum swears, I usually have to ask her if she did just say what I thought she did. And she confirms it with a sly smile. No wincing in sight.
Nice as it is, it still takes some getting used to when I overhear things such as The Girl telling her mum that the reason we didn't answer the phone was because she was upstairs, being taken over the bed. After exchanges of that kind of nature, it's quite amazing that I can still manage to look her mum in the eye.

The relationship I have with my own parents is quite different. I could never speak to them about previous drugs experiences I've had. I can just picture my mum's face when I would be telling her about the last time I was really stoned, or when I used to 'pill-up' before hitting the clubs. Her face would resemble a mixture between a girl who's just found naked pictures of herself on the internet, taken years ago by an ex boyfriend, and a bulldog chewing a wasp. And if I let out a "fuck" or "wanker" into a sentence, I'd almost certainly be blessed with a swift smack round the face. In my younger days it would have been a clip round the ear, but as the years have gone on, the punishments have progressed.
I'd liken the relationship I have with my parents to that of working for a friendly Boss. You could talk to them about things, say the occasional mild swear word, banter around the outlines of sex, things like that. But cross the line and you'd know about it.

I really enjoy being so involved with The Girl's family. They've been nothing but lovely and welcoming to me, and I know that they'll never know just how wonderful that feels for me.

I guess part of me wishes that I had such a cool relationship with my own folks. Even though we get on fine, most times, I can't but wonder what it would have been like had they been more open and loving with me. Because that's exactly what I feel like I lacked in my childhood.



*In the UK sense of wording, not the American.

How did we get here? I used to know you so well.

I love this City.

It takes patience, lots of patience. Then it's over. Fucking over.

I stumbled upon this amusing story earlier and it made me realise just how sucked into the whole virtual world thing people can get. It's bordering on scary.
The Girl is particularly excited about the new expansion pack for World Of Warcraft that's been released today. She's already got her copy, but I insisted she went to uni instead of 'working from home'. Yeah, right. As if she would have done any work, knowing that new undiscovered lands, enemies and quests were within her reach. I don't get the whole WoW thing, but each to their own, I guess.
Needless to say, I've just signed up with Gamer Widow. Just in case.

I've signed up for Swiss Tony's Shuffleathon again.
I'm very much looking forward to listening to the CD currently being compiled for me by Cody Bones. I'm resisting the urge to 'read up' on Cody and the person to whom I will send mine. OK, so I quickly clicked over and had a brief read, but left it at that. I especially don't want anything I read about my recipient influencing my choices. That would take the fun out of it. And I'm not telling them in advance that it's coming from me either. They are, from what I can gather, a well known Blogger, who, by some very odd coincidence used to know The Girl....back in the day.

The Family.
I loved it. Heavily edited, but none-the-less a compelling watch. Each episode found me warming to each family member more and more. Except Emily. Even though the producers managed to show her soft and caring side, she was just far too much of a bitch for me to handle. I liked the mum though, much to The Girl's disapproval.
Unfortunately, it's finished now. Not long enough, dammit! Luckily my Wednesday evening viewing hole can now be filled with new episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Cool.

The Wire.
Season Three is over for me now. It took me a while to get through, but I got there in the end. Whilst I found the last episode a big disappointment, the rest of it was great. I really like the fact that it doesn't matter how minor or major the character is, there's always a chance they wont make it through to the end of the episode. And I don't know whether it's just the way I've connected with it, or if it's down to the excellent writing and presentation, but I can't help but root for the bad guys. Human nature dictates that we would always want to see good prevail over bad, but for me, I like to see the bad guys get through to fight on another day.

There's no good news on the work front. My phone is very quiet, so much so that I went back down to The Midlands a few days ago and did a couple of days work with my mate down there. How desperate is that!? The Girl and I spoke about it again last night. It's all very doom and gloom. Still, it can only get better than it is right now. So, onward and upward and all that jazz.
A refreshing and much needed change to all the depressing crap came in the shape of my birthday last week. The Girl and her family treated me to some lovely presents and a really nice evening out. Although I could have really done without the "Happy Birthday To You" tune in the restaurant, along with the candlelit waffles presented by our waiter. Cue red face and desperate wish to be invisible.

I climbed the wall, the wall of news. I watched them show the tragedy.

It's weird.
I'm sat in my mum and dad's living room, my parents sat on chairs opposite, stoned (me, not them), wondering how I'm gonna explain that I think I've just wiped their hard drive.
Fuck