Break Time

V is arriving for a ten day holiday today - as is usual in the circumstances, I am taking a break from the internet while she is here, so will not be blogging. Just in case anyone out in webland wondered where I was - as if anyone would worry though.

Went out and watched X Men 3 yesterday - good movie, if anyone is inclined to watch those comic book adaptations. If you don't know your Batman from your Wolverine from your Sin City, perhaps it would be one to miss - but, as comic book adaptations go, was pretty action packed and emotional. And anything that has both Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, in a turtle neck in one scene even, has to have some semblance of quality.

Angelina and Brad had their baby - called Shiloh Nouvell Pitt-Jolie. Just imagine how famous that kid will probably be - and was scratching my head at the name, before the wires released the name being Hebrew for village or something. The only Shiloh reference I know of, as backed up by Google and Wikipedia, is the American Civil War battle. And probably fifty percent of people don't even know that, let alone any Hebrew translation. Oh, but then again, it's ready packed for us to believe through the media and everything...

Okay, will catch up with you all next Wednesday or Thursday. Try not to break anything while I'm gone :)

Pauly

Fog

The Cantabs won the Super 14 title, sixth win in eight finals. The major thing about the game was that it was played in thick fog which actually got worse as the game went on, and with about eighty percent of the territorial battle, the Crusaders only beat us by one sneaky try. The only try that happened in the game. They really should have postponed the game until tomorrow afternoon, but no doubt Sky Sports, Foxtel and the rest had some tiddlywinks world comp that would have to have been bumped to accommodate a delay. Broadcasting seems to have all the power in sports scheduling nowadays.

Although the players from both sides said they were okay with the conditions, safety wise - a few hard hits put in, mainly by the Crusaders, and probably a few potential All Blacks injured. Ah, next year maybe - just thinking, you are trying to give the best advertisement for provincial rugby, and it may as well be Gorillas in the Mist rather than razzle dazzle rah rah. Hmmph.

And I wasn't even going to whinge about the rugby at all anyways LOL.

On the way back from the pub, being a New Zealand game, it was over fairly early here in Australia Land, passed so many people dressed up to the nines - the girls in cocktail dresses, the boys in suits, on a Saturday even - and I was wondering where do all these 'beautiful people' go? Because I sure as heck don't see them in the normal clubs and pubs I go to.

And then, at McDonald's at Central Station of all places, saw a girl with a backless dress going all the way down her back to where low rider hipsters would sit. Showing her belt line tattoo in all its glory even - and right there was her monkey suit boyfriend, obviously needing - no, actually, I won't make a crude joke about burger choices at Maccas.

Anyways, what I was thinking is why on earth would anyone get all dressed up like that and be in public, and not wear a jacket or something to cover herself? And what on earth would the boyfriend think of her wearing that, and showing almost all in public? A lot of confidence from the girl's viewpoint, possibly a lot of arrogance and superiority on the guy's...

Probably getting off on showing his girlfriend off like that - bastard.

Later taters
Pauly

Winery, Or Lack Thereof

Was meant to go out to a winery today, with some internet photography contacts, but it didn't turn out that way - as the place was nowhere near public transport, I had organised a ride, and waited for a while, I can be very patient, sometimes stupidly so, when waiting, but a while later, realised it would be cutting things too fine to get there at the appointed time. There is another opportunity tomorrow, but nah, think I will see what is organised next month and go from there.

I was thinking of heading down to the shopping centre, but I had that in mind for tomorrow anyways, and don't want to rush seeing a movie (X Men 3) or miss the first wee bit of the Super 14 final. Hurricanes v Crusaders, the first time Wellington has made the final. I actually think we will lose, but as long as it is a close loss, rather than a blow out, I will be happy. And if we do happen to win the game, it will be renditions of 'We Are The Champions' all round - although, as stated, I think we will lose.

Anyone heard of the upcoming movie, Snakes On A Plane? I hadn't before I read this Guardian article this morning, but apparently the buzz across the net is that this may be one of those cult bad movies, like Ed Woods Plan Nine From Outer Space. When the powers that be suggested changing the name of the movie, as too obvious, Samuel L Jackson said change it back, and it was done. There is a competition from New Line, the producers of the movie, for the fans to submit a song, with the winning entry being on the actual soundtrack.

And apparently they extended filming the movie so that the fan inspired line "I want these motherfucking snakes off this motherfucking plane!" could actually be on the finished product. The Truth In Advertising crowd strike again.

The best bit of the article, that I actually laughed out loud at, was if the truth in advertising people had gotten to Operation Iraqi Freedom, renaming it Operation Let's Go Fuck Saddam Hussein Up Because We Can. I bet the anti-war protests and subsequent political bitterness and alienation wouldn't have been as strong if that second operational name had been real.

Oh, and was in the house by myself earlier today, and Weapon Of Choice by Fatboy Slim was on Video Hits. Great song, great video, Christopher Walken dancing and flying around - have to admit I was dancing a bit myself. The things you can do when you are in the house by yourself LOL.

Not even going to comment on the whole chaos in East Timor thing. Don't want to say anything before the situation becomes a bit clearer - although, the UN compound and the airport being the main complexes guarded, please don't let us have a repeat of Baghdad with its out of touch Green Zone, or Rwanda of getting the foreigners out and damn the locals. Oh, and the news flash just before, 'Aussie troops fired on during mercy mission'. Mercy mission my whatever - the rules of engagement haven't even been agreed to yet.

And it looks like a My Lai type situation is being investigated in Iraq. Last year, a dozen marines in Haditha mlay have shot 24 civilians in cold blood - some of the story is being leaked, to prepare the ground for Very Bad News. The congressmen who have been briefed on the situation are outraged - even more so than Abu Ghraib perhaps? Well, yeah, in that case most of the detainees are still alive - and yes, it appears I am talking to myself in my blog.

And as an aside, NCIS are doing the investigation - more than just an abbreviation and 'sassy' TV show, it seems.

More later
Pauly

Rats, Ship, Sinking

Not to equate my workmates with stereotypically dirty and devious rodents, but it feels like we have hit the iceberg and those who can get out are doing so - I think I am too distracted listening to the brass band, and here endeth the garbled Titanic metaphors.

We are going to have five staff leave during the month when May wraps up, and I have heard good info that two others are likely to go in the next month or two. Out of a group of about forty at most. I feel as if I am missing a message or something, but at least we are getting some newbies - only starting to ramp the recruitment up now after about an eighteen month freeze, and it does take about three months to get someone confident enough to be let out of 'kindergarten'.

Only a couple more weeks until the football World Cup - I am booking most of June to be in front of the television LOL Too bad about the German timezones and all - was an okay game betwen Australia and Greece last night, but so obvious who is going to Germany and who isn't.

We won't talk about the rugby league :)

Pauly

State Of Origin

Hmm, every year I think 'it's not like it used to be, there's not that much interest in it for me, maybe I will give rugby league a miss this year' - and then I see the Blue team come out from the dressing room and I think I hope our boys break your legs mate.

And then New South Wales score a length of the field try to start the scoring, as they just did, and all the bile of the tribalism that I try to suppress in my normal, everyday, non titanic struggle in sport life, comes to surface, just like that.

It isn't like it used to be, though - you will never see a big fight go on for five minutes like Wally Lewis versus Mark Geyer in 89 or 90, one of the two. And I have to admit, as we have made it to half time with three tries to nil, that NSW have had the wood over us for the last decade or so. Bastards.

I can almost convert back to liking rugby league again, at Origin time, but no, the joke that is league scrums will likely forever keep me a rugby boy. Union, that is.

Don't Mention The War

Hmm, Channel Seven is showing the gourmet night episode of Fawlty Towers right at this minute - no matter how many times I watch Fawlty, there is always something that makes me laugh in it. Today it is the boy who wants salad cream rather than mayonnaise. And the short wife. Oh, I could go on - was tempted to buy the complete set at JB's in town today, but at $74, just a bit too much on my budget this week.

Or the drunk continental chef who fell for Manuel LOL.

What I did buy at JB's was three CDs - the first I have bought in ages. The latest Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium - was watching Backstage Pass last week and the boys were saying it is their best work ever. Of course, I know that musicians say that about every new album, but thought I would give it a go.

Also got a Radiohead tribute album - ie, Radiohead songs from different artists - we will see how that turns out, can anyone be as whiny as the original LOL - and the triple CD Best Of Bruce Springstein. Have been looking at that one for ages, and for $12 I couldn't resist it...

Sorry, gone back to the Fawlty episode - 'What, you mean you want a cooked one?' - absolutely classic :)

Went across the Victoria Bridge to South Bank, the Egyptian thing at the museum had been extended to 12 June, so will have time to convince the parents to come down - my mother loves all things Egyptian. Well, pharaonic Egyptian, at least. I could have done the free museum part, but will leave that for a couple of weeks down the track :)

Then went across to Musgrave Park to the Greek Festival in town - was a bit of a line up and five bucks to get in, but eh, not much cost, and I had gone down there specifically, it wasn't as if I was going to go away again. Made my way up to the Greek Orthodox Church firstly, and, even though it's not five hundred years old, like the European ones - try more like fifty - it was well worth the visit for photography opportunities alone.

Lit a couple of candles myself, and then watched some of the congregation come in and kiss the pictures of Mary and Jesus - well, kiss the glass the pictures, or should I rather say icons, were behind. And crossing themselves - which I believe for the Orthodox Church is in the opposite direction to the church goers of Western Europe. One of those useless facts I specialise in...

Very pretty church, am glad I made the effort to head down for their 'open day'.

Then was down for a bit of food - saw the mayor at the SBS radio caravan, maybe that can be my brush with celebrity for the year LOL. Picked up a lamb and chicken souvlaki from the Cypriot Community tent - I may dislike the Greek Cypriot political stance over reunification with the north of the island, but they do a mean chicken souvlaki. I had to go back for a second helping later on :)

Then onto the next food stall, to try honey puffs - which I hadn't tried before, and no, they didn't impress me. Imagine felafel mix, pour it with a kilo of honey, and that is the closest I can think to describe these honey puffs. Didn't help that I hadn't had any drinks for most of the day, and I almost choked on the honey 'fumes' off one of them.

Then went out the back to the amusement rides section of the thing - sideshow alley as it were. Took a few carnivalish pictures, probably the same rides that do the rounds at Ekka and stuff - then back to Cypriot Chicken for a second go, this time with a Sprite, and listening to one of the Greek bands on the stage, very Euro pop I was thinking, nothing too taxing on the brain.

Left the festival very satisfied, and very full. Walked down to South Bank, and came across the Nepalese pagoda left over from Expo 88 - had forgotten about it actually, but is very nice, another fabulous picture opportunity LOL. Thought about catching the train from South Brisbane, but felt I needed to walk off a bit more of the souvlaki, so walked back across Victoria Bridge to the Mall, to wait for the bus.

Oh, and that was an interesting thing I saw at Greekfest, a girl had a tattoo along her waistline, as some women nowadays are wont to do - this one said 'my brother' above the jeans. Hmm, interesting to have that as a tattoo in that area of the body. No, I didn't take a pic of that LOL.

Later taters
Pauly

It's A Shame

Moving day yesterday. For about half an hour I didn't think I would make it - of course the sister has to be on the top floor, four flights of stairs up, on the second floor. I started off well, but by about the seventh or eighth load, a bed end, by myself (silly), I was struggling. My muscles were screaming out, I was stopping after every third or fourth step, and I seriously felt there was the possibility I would fall and take a while to get back up again.

With two of the flights of stairs to go, Mum heard me struggling, and said she would take an end of the wood and metal behemoth I was battling with, and, once we were upstairs, said not to overdo myself - I replied, but everyone else is - and to take a break if needs be. When I flopped down on the couch, I realised I could feel my heart beat a hundred times louder in my ears and head than is usual.

I was wondering whether to put screaming, but I used that word already for my muscles, and your heart doesn't do too much of that anyways, or throbbing, but that wouldn't have indicated the severity of things that I felt. My face was beet red.

And felt a sense of shame actually, that I had piked out after seven or eight trips, admittedly most of them with heavy boxes, when my Dad, twenty odd years older than me, and my brother had to bring the heavy stuff up - like the fridge, washing machine and the rest. When I had recovered, and my heart wasn't going to burst out of my ear drums, I was given the blankets and other light stuff to handle.

Yep, Pauly isn't built for hard manual labour - give me a mental problem to solve, or mindless trivia to answer, and I'm your man - moving anything heavier than blankets, I would rather pay someone to do it. But I didn't manage to talk my way out of the family helping out thing yesterday, dammit :)

Nice area though, quiet, personally I think my sister will start climbing the walls. Took pics of the Presbyterian church across the road, plus the flowers in the garden - is a block of flats, so they pay corporate fees for the maintenance - as well as some pics of the flat itself. There is a door and stairwell to the street, as well as a stairwell to the courtyard inside. I was thinking very Melrose Place, before seeing that the courtyard was really a glorified driveway - but not having a pool saves heaps on the corporate fees, apparently.

We went shopping at Taigum afterwards, apparently to pick up lunch, and for my sister to do her new house first big shopping expedition thing. I didn't have my wallet with me, so a shopping centre was no fun for me - I went back out to the car, and then went over to the Greek Orthodox Church across the road to take some pics, and then got bored waiting, went back inside to find them - everyone's temper was shortening because of the crowds, the busy day we had already had and all that. Eventually got home to have lunch at 3.30 in the afternoon.

And then, apart from the parents taking the sister back and doing a couple of little things over there - I bailed and stayed home, I had done my job I felt - everyone flopped into mindless TV watching last night.

Today, I will hopefully be going down to the Greek Festival in South Brisbane - I want to see the interior of a church that they are giving guided tours to - and also see whether the Egyptian exhibit at the museum has been extended by three weeks or not. On the advertising it said today is the last day, but online it has said June 12 - so maybe I will be able to get the parents to go in after all.

And maybe catch a movie as well, but movies have kind of slipped off the radar for me lately. I wouldn't go so far as to say photography is an obsession - I have always been keen on it - but yeah, it makes me go out in the sunshine, rather than a darkened theatre, and have a look around the city.

I said to Dad this morning that I didn't feel as sore as I thought I would be, after yesterday. He said I must be pretty fit, with all the walking I do - I think he was being nice, because I felt I was letting the side down, not being able to lift the heavy stuff yesterday.

Ciao for now :)

Pauly

Moving Day

Am here in the computer room waiting around for the moving truck to arrive - for my sister to her new apartment. Have been volunteered for the job of lifting and moving stuff, and don't need to get involved in the putting stuff in boxes that takes place beforehand. So will be able to catch a bit of Rage that I wasn't expecting. Still woke up at 8am which I don't usually do on a Saturday.

I had a couple of subjects I wanted to write about over the last forty eight hours, but they have just slipped out of my head, dammit.

Went out for a bit of socialising last night - MGO is on holiday for three weeks, and next Friday he is getting married. Since I have known him, about eighteen months ago, he has been engaged, and it is one of the constant topics in conversation, although, to be fair, he doesn't overdo it, not one of these bores with only one subject up their sleeves. So he was having a couple of drinks down at the Pig and Whistle, yes the same bar where the socialising took place last Friday. And also it would give me the chance to catch up with the second half of the Hurricanes Waratahs match, having missed the first half due to my hours at work this week.

By the time I had circled through the very busy pub a third time, without finding MGO, I was just in it for the rugby, which was very tense, very close. Of course, when I took up a spot to stop and just watch the game, lo and behold, who was on the other side of the stairway.

I was the only one who turned up from work, although three or four had said they would be there. More brownie points for me, to use at an unspecified time in future LOL. And had another couple there, apart from MGO and his fiance, the two guys had been in the same school together in Salisbury, England, and hadn't realised they had both ended up in Brisbane until recently.

I have to say I really enjoyed the company last night - no, not to that extent, get your minds out of the gutter LOL. It was just such a nice change of pace from my usual conversation with workmates - I didn't feel awkward talking about my travels, they were talking about geeky websites, to which BSA was saying I'm not sure how geeky you are Paul, Episodes 4 to 6 of Star Wars, first couple of series of Buffy, first couple of series of X Files? Yeah, that describes my geek factor well enough, hit especially with X Files LOL. Went onto favourite British newspapers - lefty Guardian readers, all of us LOL - BSA's girlfriend, who I didn't quite catch the name of, said is there any other choice for Brit papers LOL.

MGO tried to talk up the merits of the Sun, and I said that when I was in the UK, I tried every paper before figuring out my preference. Which is the way BSA did it, anything apart from the Telegraph through :)

We found a table, we had been standing up all this time, and we went onto discussing the merits of fast food, and the difference between UK and Oz versions of KFC - of all things. The girls were getting hungry, so we asked for menus - geez, pricey with their mains, even though I wouldn't have minded trying out the rabbit pie or some of the other stuff, but it was decided to get one of each from the sides menu - garlic bread, turkish bread, chips and wedges. I got another round of drinks, more brownie points, and the conversation went in the direction of music and TV.

We all hated Celine Dion, although there will be a spot of it at MGO's wedding, as long as it wasn't the Titanic song was the consensus around the table, and BSA was saying when the Beatles songs were redone for that charity album, Jim Carrey doing I Am The Walrus etc, Celine Dion was the consummate professional, in the making of doco. MGO said that he had been to a Celine Dion concert, which was nice, but if you closed your eyes, you could be listening to one of her CDs.

MGO and fiance are big Lost fans, whereas the rest of us have never really been able to get into it. And yes, another example of Lost fans being rabid, err I mean passionate, about the show. BSA said he was a big fan of American Dad and Family Guy. And his girlfriend mentioned Arrested Development, the TV show, not the band. I said it looked good, but with the timeslot it had, at least on Australian TV, it was probably too late to put the amount of thinking required for the show. Which led to discussions of Curb Your Enthusiasm, one joke pony apparently, and Seinfeld.

And then a big Doctor Who discussion. The new Doctors, since the resurrection of the show last year, may not have the personality of a Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker, but apparently the writers are better than they used to be. And as long as the setting for an alien planet isn't that same old mining quarry in south Wales it always used to be in the 70s, it must be all for the good LOL.

There was an idea of going to sing karaoke or something, but not last night perhaps. I don't know, I just felt comfortable with the group last night, small though it was - maybe it was because I could let my inner geek rampage. I can just imagine MGO being one of the kids with sixteen manuals for Dungeons and Dragons, and 20 sided dice - interesting, it was a English friend at primary and high school who was big into that as well.

Is there still Dungeon and Dragons around, apart from the computer games? Or has that slot of the market been taken up by Games Workshop? They have a Games Workshop in Chermside, and I have never been inside, which I don't consider a bad thing. I always am amazed at how those boys, have you ever seen a woman, apart from perhaps a long suffering mother, in those stores - I am always amazed at how they can paint the models with such care. I think I tried to do it once, a long time ago, galaxy far away etc, and had no skill at all for it. For me they were fine grey LOL.

Yeah, defintely letting my inner geek out last night, and it was a good thing, it was a good night. Hope to catch up with them all again sometime.

I was also happy the Hurricanes won - first final in eleven seasons of trying. Now, if the Bulls win against the Crusaders today, it will be a Wellington final, but I don't think I can possibly overcome the New Zealand team to win instinct I have in me. And was good to see Edmonton get through to the Conference Finals in the hockey, only Canadian team left.

Oh, and talking of Canada, the Australian PM was visiting Ottawa yesterday, the first time an Australian leader had spoken in the Parliament since World War II - err, and how many times have they visited Washington? When it was showing the House of Commons and the outside of Parliament, where the unions were protesting, I wasa thinking I've been there LOL.

And is it just me, or does Howard's two week trawl through Washington, Chicago, Ottawa and Dublin have the feel of a farewell concert series, like the Rolling Stones or something? It's not as if anything of substance seems to be coming out of the trip, apart from Bush saying Howard's not the prettiest.

Now, for this moving thing, should I warm up, or just go for gold and break my back? Or just hide, watching Rage LOL.

Pauly

Idiots

Yeah, yeah, Arsenal lost the Champions League final, it will probably take us another twenty years to get to the Big Cup match again, with the second goalkeeper in and Pires off after the first goalie, Lehmann, was sent off after eighteen minutes, apparently for a kick to one of the Barca players.

Not so much that is idiotic, if Barca were better than us, I will accept it - and we squeaked through the semi, if I remember correctly. More so the UEFA officials who were defending the ticket allocation. Out of a stadium of 77,000 - the Stade de France I assume - only 42,000 of those were on the open market for the fans, the others being allocated to the sponsors and broadcasters.

Even that may have been acceptable, but the way the UEFA spokesman gave the reasoningt, on the radio half an hour ago - I haven't yet been able to find an actual net article about it - saying that without broadcasters, we wouldn't be able to watch the game, without sponsors, the game probably wouldn't be happening, it would be like football in the 1950s, and quite likely there would be no game, no Champions League and no teams. And he didn't hear the teams complaining after getting the cheques for forty million euro each.

Dickhead. And yes, I am pretty sure I was listening correctly :)

Will find a net link this evening on the UEFA idiocy, fingers crossed.

Pauly

Stumped

Have been a bit off in regards to writing the last few days - just haven't had anything of much to inspire me. Saw a couple of ants, lost in the middle of the square, fighting over a crumb, with the winner slowly dragging it away to who knows where, and the loser, who had been half crushed by a foot anyways, to crawl in ever decreasing circles.

They have put a couple of new buildings up in Brisbane that are about seventy stories high - I saw a plane taking off from the airport come up behind one of the buildings (my perspective of things), and I thought when the WTC towers went down, they were hit around the 70th floor mark. Which led me to think about what it must have been like to be in Manhattan that day, especially lower Manhattan.

How does one go about asking strangers permission to take their photos? I see great faces, great hairstyles all the time, I don't look below the neckline for picture topics, thank you very much, and see all the great portraits on the photo sites online, but how does one go about starting to be a portrait photographer? I am sure if I asked my family and friends, they would be nine types of bored and annoyed even before I turned the camera on LOL.

And, I'm done - already. I promise to do a real post sometime soon.

This weekend upcoming is going to be fun. My sister is moving into a new flat, and I couldn't find an excuse fast enough to not help with the shift. At least I'm not painting the place, which Mum and the sister will be doing over the next couple of days - interior painting this is.

Pauly

Family Gossip

Just before I start with the post I was going to write, just a quick mention of a news story I have seen on the front page of the BBC all of about a minute and a half ago. "Bush defends US spying programme" - this is the one where three out of the four big telco companies over there have given the Feds access to all call history, and where, allegedly, tens of millions of Americans have the numbers they have called to in some giant database. My initial reaction when I saw the headline on the front page was 'you f-', and I stopped myself at that F, as I was reacting out loud...

Read the story through the link if you wish, I don't want this entry to get into a whole anti-Bush screed :)

I'm always out of the loop with family gossip - which is partially my own fault, because I'm often away in my own little world, even when family members are around. But this one is hot off the press - my brother and his girlfriend are not, repeat not, going to get back together again. They tried for about two months or so, since she got back from her timeout back home (NZ), but nope, there's not enough respect from my brother in the equation to kick start anything again. It is just leaving the girl more angry than anything, each time they, or rather she by the sounds of it, tries to reconcile.

Sounds like the brother has gotten into the wrong group of friends - again, like he did several years ago. When I was in the UK, and only getting these family crisis reports second hand. Well, I'm getting them second hand again, and I'm living in the same city as everyone - this was apparently mentioned to my parents when the initial split happened, about three or four months ago now. And the question is, how far has my brother fallen in with these bad influences...

Since the ex got back from New Zealand, the brother has only had his daughter, my niece, over for one night - my parents have had her about five or six, maybe seven times, and with the brother, I'm not even sure whether he had the kid overnight, to be honest. Total lack of interest it sounds like, and he is not popular in the immediate family at the moment. I know it is bad to speak err, badly of family members, but seriously, he is a dickhead when it comes to this issue.

Whether he is a dickhead regards other issues, it's not for me to say...

I got complimented on my dress sense at work on Thursday - and specifically what I was wearing that day. Got a 10/10 from KSM, and a looking dapper from LBU, and a good combination from KDE. Who also said that I have a good dress sense, and always look good - and on Wednesday CMC said what was I all dressed up for. Umm, it is just me with a normal shirt and tie combo, if I was going for an interview, I would buy a new suit. V says that even my around the house gear is too good to wear 'around the house'.

It's nice to be complimented, and to be noticed. The question is, when did I become a metrosexual without me noticing LOL. For instance, I still love listening to Metallica, along with the best of the black shirt and jeans brigade. I've gotten a couple of colognes the last few months, but don't really feel I will become all classy in that regards until I get aftershave - yeah yeah, I'm a soothe the pain with water guy still...

Hmm. It is interesting where google searches can lead you. Another headline on the BBC website today is how the Croat soccer champions, Dinamo Zagreb, are donating their end of season match money to the Croat suspects at the Hague war crimes tribunal. One google search of 'may 1990 serb croat football riot', as mentioned in the BBC article, and up comes this Observer piece from 2004, about the Red Star Belgrade ultra hooligans. Scary stuff, and Serbia is headed to the World Cup next month...

They are having a memorial for the 25th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, and have brought a statue of the Virgin of Fatima, whom John Paul believed saved him - let alone all the medical care from the doctors, of course - over to Rome to preside over the memorial. Forgive me for being cynical, but I thought the Pope was merely God's messenger on the planet, for the Catholic population at least, but with John Paul II, is it just me or is there a serious cult of personality going on?

More later :)
Pauly

Another Leaving

LDU left the company yesterday - she will be leaving the country at the end of next week, off to Deutschland to be with her German 'hubby'. The guy that she met a couple of months ago when her, CMC and I were out socialising. Along with MRI, KCO and, I heard last night, JSO leaving, it's going to be a ghost town at work soon. But we aren't talking about the other leavings just yet, LDU and going out last night is what this one is about...

LDU actually wasn't in the office the last week - because of something petty, something he said she said kind of crap, I won't go into any details here, well, not that I put any details in with work stuff if I can help it, but suffice to say, LDU got suspended for whatever it was she did. On full pay, so a week off to end it all, but still, it may not have needed to happen - I wasn't in the office, or I wasn't privy to what was going on if I was there, when all this went down.

So last night was the first time I had seen LDU in a week - had an email from her on Tuesday, giving a brief description of what had happened, but apart from that nada. And it was good to go out yesterday, the day at work had been full of crazy people ringing up - I only got one of them, but the others in the team were getting nutters all day long. And yes, when I looked at up the sky last night, it was a full moon.

So, we all congregated at the Pig and Whistle on Eagle Street. I had a later shift, so I turned up about 6.30pm - already there were LDU, KSM, TDE, SPE, MGO, NDE and a few others from other areas of the company. Hard evening to describe really, just talking talking really, with various people at various times - RTO turned up, all bouncy and happy, apologised for not coming to my birthday drinks, but seemed really happy to see me. She is working at a gym now, close to home in the southern suburbs, and seems to be thriving on it. Free gym membership as well, woohoo.

The only others from off my floor at the company that I really got talking to were SCL and MNO, SCL I probably talk to on transfer maybe four or five times a week, and MNO is her fiance (I think?) who used to work with LDU as well. He has Robbie Fowler on his mobile as the background, big Liverpool supporter, big soccer supporter - good to see one around in this country.

I had the camera with me (of course), and, not constricted by the cost of film, I took quite a few pictures. Tried to do the fancy setting stuff, but that was either blurry or the flash went on too long, so just kept it at auto - I am sure my photo software has red eye removal, so will work with that later on. Everyone was amazed at how good my camera seemed to be, both in the pictures it took and the general slimline funky look of it, so that was nice, made me feel I had made a good buy. Someone actually asked whether it was a mobile phone - and everyone was asking me to email the pics into work or, in LDU's case, where ever in the world she will be :)

We had been drinking out in the beer garden - well, in my case it was a Becks, a XXXX Gold, a bourbon and coke, with a bourbon called Slate of all things, and the rest of the evening was Coke. Behaving myself on the alcohol front. Anyways, we were in the beer garden for most of the night, but everytime I went inside, I was tempted to go dancing, or suggest dancing to the others, when hearing Shoop by Salt n Pepa, or Too Funky by George Michael.

But I didn't get around to it until KSM heard, of all songs, California Dreaming - they have added a dance beat to it for some weird reason. So LDU, RTO, SCL and MNO were up there as well, and after California Dreaming, they had It's Like That, the Run DMC v Jason Nevins version, and also Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic. Blast from the past indeed. I think there was also that 'Can't Wait For The Weekend' song in there as well, but then the girls scarpered from the floor when Aqua's Doctor Jones came on.

So about ten minutes on the floor then, but it's always good to dance - everyone is happy, everyone is smiling. Would have wanted to take photos of all those shiny happy people and all, but that would have just been a situation too far to take photos I think :)

Not long after that, this being about 11pm, LDU, DFR, KSM and RTO headed off to the Valley, to either Rick's Cafe or the beat. NDE said her goodbyes, and SPE and MGO were also going home. Having a bit of an economically challenged weekend coming up, I decided to bail as well - was looking for KFC, but it was closed at Macarthur Central, so ended up at Hungry Jacks for a feed. Caught the 11.38 Caboolture train, and ended up home at about 12.15...

As I said, just a chatting, watching footy (rugby union Super 14), chatting, dancing, drinking, eating a late night feed and heading home kind of night. Hard to describe, but the photos look okay :)

Pauly

United 93

I can't remember the last time, if ever, I cried, or grew teary eyed, at an Economist article. Hurricane Katrina wiping out New Orleans, the cover of the dead city was much more shock and awe than anything that happened in Baghdad, the London bombings and the Brazilian getting shot, I got most of my coverage from the Guardian and BBC websites, and after September 11 I think I was all cried out by the time the magazines came out at the end of the week. Before September 11, it was too girly to even contemplate crying about news stories - yes, even for Rwanda 1994. But that is what happened, getting teary eyed to the Economist, this week.

I wasn't considering watching the movie United 93, thought it would be too sacchariney (if that is a word), too rah rah American and all that. Lexington, the American opinion piece in the Economist, did an article on it. I suddenly want to go and see the movie - even though I know I will probably bawl my eyes out, akin to Hotel Rwanda. Apparently it is done quite like a fly on the wall documentary - as I suddenly try to shovel The Office, Spinal Tap and all the other mockumentaries out of my head.

From the article -

'Many Americans have done their best to forget September 11th—driven partly by a desire to return to a normal life and partly by a desperate hope that nothing like that will ever happen again. The terrorist threat? A recent CBS News poll on April 28-30th found that only 3% of people think that terrorism is the most important issue facing the country. Airport security? A bore and a farce. The war against terrorism? A hopeless mess.'

And the thoughts from that awful awful day - or night as it was in New Zealand - come flooding back. I was woken at about 12.45am by a frantic sounding call from K, talking about New York and Washington being attacked. Still half asleep I remember back and feel I wasn't convinced, it was either a bad joke or I was still dreaming, she said to turn on the TV, so I did.

And there it was. By the time I woke up, I think both towers at the World Trade Center had collapsed, so there was just the fog of debris covering lower Manhattan on the live shots, but again and again and again they were showing the planes hitting, the towers collapsing.

I gave my parents a quick call, waking them up three hours earlier timezone wise in Brisbane - I am sure I sounded panicked myself, and didn't even say it was me. It wasn't quite that's nice dear let us go back to sleep, but it kind of felt that way - I doubted myself for waking them up for a while, but then was told later on that my brother had come home, woken them up, and they had watched the scenes from what seemed like Armageddon for a little while.

I got back on the phone with K, and proceeded to stay awake the entire remainder of the night. I didn't have cable TV at that stage, it was still about a week away from delivery, but the free to air channels gave over to ongoing coverage, with no ads, for two whole days. The planes crashing into the towers - well, to be more precise, the second plane crashing into the towers, it wasn't until later in the morning that the only video coverage of the first plane hitting made it to screen.

The Pentagon burning, and some other plane shot down in Pennsylvania. I remember that morning, and it was a majority of thought at that crazy time that United 93 had been shot down by the US Air Force. The astonishing, on any other day it would be historic, decision to ground every single civilian plane in US airspace. The coverage from Gander, Newfoundland of those plucky Newfies giving hospitality to all the trans-Atlantic flights - or was that later on that I saw that coverage?

A possible 40,000 dead screamed the first headlines in the print media, later that afternoon, NZ time. Getting off the phone that morning, eventually, having a shower, heading to work, with the images of people jumping from 110 stories in my head. The amazement that some people had only had an hour's worth of coverage after having a 'normal' night's rest - I am sure my thinking was surely something this bad would have sent a psychic jolt through the entire world, waking everyone up. Obviously not.

The news that the President was flitting from Florida to Alabama to Missouri to North Dakota. Coward, I thought, speaking truthfully here. Me giving him half the benefit of the doubt when he did his address to the nation, and the world, the evening of Sept 11. Only a day or two before he had been saying that Mexico was America's best friend, and I had been wondering what had become of the Brits and Canadians - well, they were back in favour on September 12. And NATO giving it's full backing to whatever the Americans wanted to do in striking back at whoever it was that had hit them.

The Economist, as it usually does, puts it best - on September 11, we were in 'a world out of control'.

Embers

Was listening to Wide Mouth Mason on the CD player today - a rock pop outfit from Saskatchewan that I actually believe have broken up a couple years ago. Part of the soundtrack of the whole Vancouver Island trip to see H in late 2000 - a lifetime ago, insert rose coloured glasses here.

Was talking to H through the whole internet messenger thing over the weekend, or sometime last week, not sure when, my First, my TrulyMadlyDeeply, blah blah blah, ended badly broke my heart still not sure whether I have emotionally recovered from the scarring all those years ago. Yes, that stream of consciousness just was ramping up and up there, had to stop myself at some point.

Was looking at pictures from the Feb 2001 Ireland trip yesterday, where things went seriously pear shaped, and found myself getting angrier and angrier looking at the pictures. Almost all the pictures from Vancouver Island I had kept, but I had seriously gutted the Ireland collection.

I was in a bad way back then.

Anyways, was talking to H, as I mentioned before, and we got to talking about our relationship, such as it was - and yes, those last four words are the bitter twisted reaction kind of thing I just added in. She was saying that she couldn't stick with me because I made her too comfortable, too at ease, and she didn't feel she had any control over things at all. And from what she was saying on the weekend, relaxing, opening up, letting her guard down makes her feel out of control - and she didn't like it, feeling so comfortable with me.

She hasn't been as comfortable around any of her other partners as she was with me, at least that is what she said. And she wonders why I ever put up with her, why I still talk to her despite what she put me through. Sometimes I wonder that myself.

Don't worry, I wouldn't consider getting back together with her, even if she was closer than the other side of the world. She is happy enough in her relationship keeping control of herself, and I have moved on. Forward, not backwards, never - well, not in this situation, not at this time.

The embers are long dead, on anything other than a conversation every week or two.

Paul

Another Day Off, Yippee

Went into town today, and not for work. Had another scheduled day off, yay me. So got a three day weekend instead of just the two, so could laze around on the Sunday as well as my usual Saturday off. Instead of feeling 'rushed' to go to a movie yesterday, only went out at 2pm to Chermside, the local shopping centre, to pick up a new photo album and not much else. Got talked into a Mother's Day present at the Body Shop, but apart from that, and a coffee, and a pizza slice, no shopping whatsoever yesterday. Wanted to, but have to save money and all that :)

Actually wandered to and fro a couple of times unsure what to do in the mall - stupid, huh...

Was the Logies last night, the Australian TV awards show - Joan Rivers was shipped out from LA, as well as various other Americans, but Ms Rivers swore and threw the honorary award she got around, said it was the ugliest award she had ever seen, and said that Katie Holmes' kid wasn't fathered by Tom Cruise. Was hilarious to start with, but thinking back on it, it was probably a bit staged - although they were able to beep out the first fuck, why not the second?

Dress of the night, only one that made my eyes do a second take, and that was the red backless number from one Ms Giann Rooney, former Australian swim team captain, and no doubt on her way to a substantial TV career. I would hire her :)

Today, went into town fairly earlyish, put some old films in for reprints, got a haircut, had waffles, maple syrup, and whipped cream for lunch - was rather uninspired as to what to have, and KFC was packed (yeah, I have to admit it was my first choice), and then the Crepe Cafe just struck me over the head with the pictures in their menu board - yum.

And then caught Mission Impossible 3. Good popcorn movie - Tom Cruise pisses the heck out of me currently, and the scenes where he was with his fiance agonising over telling her he was a secret agent put me to mind too easily of any possible and possibly libellous conversations he may or may not have had with Katie Holmes. There was a good sense of humour through most of the movie, and the Asian girl in the red dress with the Lambourghini - va va voom indeed...

It wasn't until the scenes on the causeway, with missiles and such that I really got any wow factor out of the movie, but of course, when the scene is actually playing and you are drawn into it so easily, you don't realise the wow factor there and then. But then, cynical Paul makes a comeback, if you are extrajudicially rendering a multinational terrorist, surely you would send them to Guantanamo or Uzbekistan rather than Langley or the Pentagon?

Lots of action, not much showing of reaction. I dunno, maybe with the mention of international terrorism and such, I would have wanted to see what the reaction would have been to another attack on the United States, rather than flinging Ethan Hunt and the team all the way over to next impossible situation. But anything that gets Michelle Monaghan in it, can't be all bad :)

Later peeps
Pauly

Midday Movie

Hmm, just flicked on the TV at the end of the morning movie show, and it segued, as it does, into the midday movie. Directed by Steven Spielberg, pricked my interest, with Tom Hanks, also pricked my interest, also with Shelley Long, my interest nosedived. A quick IMDB search on the Money Pit, and it seems to be a middling movie, may flick the channels to see what else is on.

But when I actually raise the remote to change it, some funny line or situation comes up - well, funny in a Sunday midday movie context.

And another thing, every time an old movie is on, old being from the mid 70s to 90s, you'll see what I mean in a second - every time an old movie is on, and the World Trade Center is part of the scenery, I do a double take, and think back to that awful awful day. Sure the Pentagon was hit as well, but what will stick in the collective memory is the planes hitting the WTC and the towers collapsing in on themselves.

I went to Ground Zero, when I was in New York, about eleven months after it happened. The stillness, the quietness, the black awnings around the other buildings, so unlike the rest of Manhattan with the noise, the bustle. And after the viewing platform visit, going down to Wall Street, with the huge American flag, very much a sense of defiance at what had happened and who had done it. Wasn't until we were walking around SoHo, about an hour later, that smiles and laughs appeared in the conversation again.

Will not mention the pissing away of international good will with the focus on Iraq afterwards. A focus that was incorrect, as far as the WMDs were concerned - oh, I wasn't going to mention that.

The WTC were also in the background shots of some Bananarama video on Rage the other weekend. Did the double take with that as well. And of course, the Sopranos opening clip that had to be changed because the series was still going over 2001/02.

Okay, this movie has sucked me in enough for it to be inoffensive background noise, even though I prefer Tom Hanks in his Apollo 13 or Saving Private Ryan 'golden age', than the Big era apprenticeship.

Will be off to Chermside to do some windowshopping and maybe get a haircut today - or could do it tomorrow, have a day off from work. Again. I do work as much as anyone else, just more on the other days I am in the office to get two days off every four weeks.

Hmm, Love Actually will be on TV next Sunday, as a Mother's Day thing. The last movie I saw with K, hmm. I actually liked it, but haven't seen it since. It is a bit soppy for a guy to say he likes that type of movie. Where's the rugby to get those soppy thoughts out of my head :)

Later peeps
Pauly

Metallica

Was listening to Metallica's Black Album - okay, so the real name of it was Metallica, but Black Album, everyone who knows Metallica knows what it is - had that on my CD player on the train home last night. Before catching the train, had gone into the pub below the station for five minutes, just to catch the score in the Hurricanes Reds rugby match, and had a few sips of Stella, yum - and we (Hurricanes) were leading 13 to 8 at half time.

So the taste of beer on my tongue, Metallica belting out in my ears, probably at a higher level than I should have - but you have to have Metallica blaring, you can't have it at merely background humming level - and I was taken back to the mid-90s. Cue soft edged framing LOL.

Downing copious amounts of alcohol, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Chili Peppers or err Bob Marley blasting out. Sleeping over at the friends' places, waking up to the alcohol aftertaste - I wasn't getting hangovers at that stage - and various glasses, bottles and such half or a quarter full, some with cigarettes in. Looking at which CDs were ruined with scratches, smudges or liquid damage.

Or the quieter weekends, where we talked, drank, watched crap TV - or the rugby - oh, I remember the Ranfurly Shield Wellington Canterbury match where the pre match hype had Big Bill Cavubati, if that is how you spell the name, putting lamb chops on the barbie. Wellington got slaughtered about 66 points to 7 if I remember correctly.

Or just getting some energy out on the punching bag. Or the next morning putting on Sky and watching some American college football. Always plenty of food around, as one of the girls always had to feed up her men - sausages, meat patties, sometimes steaks, all wrapped up in a piece of bread, with copious amounts of tomato sauce.

Going around to the brother's place, endless playing of Whitesnake, the Willy Wonka drinking game, the Once Were Warriors drinking game. Oh, and Cypress Hill on the playlist as well. The paying extra for Sky pay per view when a big boxing match was on, everyone settling in to the couch, beers for the boys, vodka or bourbon for the girls - the sense of belonging I guess. With these guys I didn't have to pretend to be better than I was, they had seen me in both good times and bad, and accepted me for who I truly was.

In most of the rest of my life, in most of the rest of my social interactions, I have always been trying to make a good impression, even if I have know the people in question for years. Maybe it was the fact that this group took my side in the only semi-fight I have had for the last almost 25 years - one of the other people at this one particular party was calling me gay, faggot blah blah blah, and usually I just let them go, wear themselves out, I would like to think I have a pretty thick skin, but he just kept on and on and on. I was close to tears, if not teary eyed, as I finally threw a punch - a pretty weak one I would have to say, I'm not anyone for anyone else to be frightened of physically, and the boys backed me up completely.

After I threw the punch, without any sort of power behind it, but more as just a symbol of my frustration, I basically burst into tears - yeah, I was that pissed off, feeling powerless, and probably the beer had something to do with it as well. The boys told the guy teasing me to piss off, not to punch back, and apparently they never invited him back. You take that with a grain of salt of course, but I felt I belonged.

This group are not the type of people that I would ever have associated with at school, and my family and some other friends are unsure what I have ever seen in keeping the friendships going on the 'dark side' may be the best shorthand, but I just feel comfortable with them, they are straight up and down, you get what you see with them, and sometimes it is just good to blob out, have a few beers, watch the wrestling. They never expected more from me than me.

Of course, there were evenings that weren't so good. The water and oil dynamics of one set of my friends and another came to a head at a 21st (not mine), where friends of friends of friends threatened the other lot and some stuff got smashed or something. Have always had to walk a fine line with who to invite to which thing ever since.

The evenings where the girls have gotten mouthy to others, either when out or having a party with two or three flats together - girls can get so bitchy, you know, and the partners have had to break things up. One guy especially, who can handle himself if required, and sometimes I don't know, can give an impression of menace, always rolls his eyes when his girlfriend, partner (they have three kids now) starts raising her voice, and not in the laughing kind of way.

And yes, I realise this has turned into a love letter of sorts - if they could read this, the boys would probably give me a dead arm, and the girls would probably go aww and feed me up with another steak. Almost completely the opposite social grouping that you would expect me to be in with, but they accept me, and I have always seen the good in them, despite what my family and other friends think.

I could fill up an entry three times as long as I work my memory for more funny haha and funny strange stories about the guys, but I think you get the picture. All from one Metallica album listening.

I was going to add something about the U2 Best of the 90s album, that I was listening to earlier in the week, but I think this is enough for now :)

Pauly

Retail Therapy

Had the day off work today, and instead of vegeing around the house as per my normal days off, I went into town. Yes, I know I do that every day anyways, but this was getting onto the bus at midday. So yeah, I did kind of vege out for half the day LOL.

Was only planning on doing the developing photos thing - yes, all 209 of them, in three, count em, three weeks - but had been holding myself on the leash spending wise for too long, like two and a half weeks, so it all came to a head of retail therapy.

First on the agenda was lunch, but after that went into JB's for DVD looking. Ended up buying American Beauty and American Psycho, both were on special, was looking at Downfall as well, but trying to keep to a budget, and Downfall was full price. Then headed into the Myer Centre, a display at Tie Rack caught my eye, and I couldn't find a second tie to 'save' extra money.

Then went across the road to Borders. Believe it or not, it was the first time I had been into the Brisbane store ever. And I was in booklover's bliss - one of those book stores that feels more like a library. Mostly classy music piped in over the PA system. A whole row of international magazines, airfreighted in. A whole two shelves of anime graphic novels, as well as some DC and Marvel. Seats scattered around for customers to actually sit in. Bliss, I tell you, bliss.

Whether it is enough to convert me from Angus and Robertson land, still too early to tell, but it made a very good first impression. And yes, book store rivalries are exciting, somewhat, to me :)

Ended up my spending splurge with a nice short sleeved shirt, also on sale, from Colorado. Picked up the photos, wandered around King George Square, and came home on the bus.

Just a thought I had about my photo taking addiction at the moment, along with the fact that I got American Beauty on DVD today - had the thought a couple days ago, but buying the DVD reminded me of it. I have always looked out for a good angle for a camera shot, but I hope I won't become like that guy in Beauty who videotapes swirling plastic bags and thinks it's beautiful...

Hopefully not :)
Pauly

David Hicks

Warning, political content ahead. The American head of Guantanamo Bay has been reported as saying how David Hicks is arrogant. My reaction, vented on another website, before I thought of bringing it here, is as follows -

So much I want to say on this topic, I don't know where to start. Or, at least, where to start coherently.

Every day that the Guantanamo Bay complex is left open, every day the Abu Ghraib abuse story goes on without anyone saying sorry, let alone taking responsibility, is another day that the West's self image of being on the right side of right and wrong takes another hit.

It is absolutely disgraceful that the United States can just lock people up and throw away the key without evidence. When Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and the other tyrannies do this, Western nations are supposed to complain, but any moral supremacy we in the 'civilised world' just seeps away in the face of what is happening.

Not only the United States Administration for locking the alleged terrorists up at Gitmo deserve a glassing, but also the Australian government for being so craven in ceding authority to Washington. The Brits pressed the Americans to send all their Gitmo detainees home, the Germans have allowed that guy that got illegally rendered from Macedonia to Egypt to Iraq to Afghanistan the run of the media over there...

What does Australia do? It enacts some tough anti terrorism and sedition laws earlier this year, but consistently says it can't make the laws retroactive to make David Hicks eligible for criminal detention in Australia. Just gives me a sense of Pontus Pilate washing his hands of the whole affair...

Sure, David Hicks may have fought against American and Australian troops in Afghanistan. Sure, he may have converted to some ultra orthodox kill the infidels version of Islam. Sure, he may be a traitorous prick - but give him a trial, don't drag it on for so fucking long. Even if the verdict is preordained, like at Nuremburg or what is going to happen to Saddam.

When Gitmo was opened to Global War on Terror 'visitors', we were assured that only the worst of the worst would be sent there. And all it turns out to be are the foot soldiers. Another load of bull brought to you by George, Dick and Don. Even the Pakistani and Afghan governments seem to have gotten most of their Gitmo people out.

Every day that the Gitmo facility stays open, and the Iraqi occupation continues, the nutter Islamists must be rubbing their hands with glee - the perfect recruiting tools, as it were.

Oh, and how many weapons would the AWB payments have bought for the Iraqi regime before March 2003? That would have been a whole lot more than one guy, even with a rocket launcher. And don't give me the bull about the buck stopping with the private company, the government knew - or it should have known, and incompetency is perhaps worse.

But let's all watch Big Brother and Dancing With The Stars, leave all the heavy lifting of actual thinking to those strange people who have no friends and no life. Just the way the government AND media tries to portray anyone who questions things deeply.

Sunrise or Today, Today Tonight or ACA cutting edge media? Yeah right