June 2006 Archives
What the record company says:
"While working on the two "Pirates Of The Carribean" films, Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski became fascinated with the lore and fable of the pirates and sailors who ran the high seas. Enter legendary producer Hal Wilner, who brings his knack for matching maverick musicians with extraordinary material. Artists on this double disc set include Bono, Sting, Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed, Richard Thompson, Lucinda Williams, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, and many more. "Rogue's Gallery" offers a look at the hardships, the horrors, the lusts and lurid depths, and the crystal beauty that led men to the sea in ships for hundreds of years."
What I say:
Aaargh, must have it now.
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Derek's new company has a home
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'Ireland's most avant-garde performer, Gavin Friday, performs his new theatrical show, Tomorrow Belongs To Me, in an intimate setting in Dublin for the first time in three years.'
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American musician and record producer with interesting career choices
Finally was able to make the big announcement today.
This is what I've been immersed in for the last two months (regular readers will perhaps have picked up on the Germanic flavour of certain items and links here), basically doing research and lending a hand wherever I can. Nothing major, mind. It isn't a 'job', it's sort of a string of small favours. What I get in return is the joy of being part of the process, which is just endlessly fascinating.
My trip to Dublin has been booked for a while now, eventhough the contracts hadn't even been signed. I had faith.
It's been a while since I've done a summer break in Ireland, as far as I remember. I'm going over for a week, arriving a few days before the shows to do what I can during the last two production days. I can't wait to see it and find out which of my tiny contributions survive and come alive on stage.
I know it's going to be brilliant.
Ich bin 6 m gross und alles ist wichtig
Ich bin 9 m gross und alles ist mehr als wichtig
Ich bin 12 m gross und alles ist unvorstellbar
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Food and philosophy: 'Korthals is a man who feels passionately about food and rituals around eating it. He's concerned about the erosion of the traditional dinner-time when whole families sat down together to eat.'
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(Angel parody)
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Stick with it, the first few minutes are boring, then it gets going
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I got this simple camcorder so I can put video on my sites.
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Baskin Robbins change their logo. I love BR icecream
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Trying to figure out what 'Hoi tjie fan dai' means
Anyone speak Chinese? I've checked tons of dim sum menus online, but I cannot find out what 'Hoi Tjie Fan Dai' means. That's what this pork (?) dish was called on the Dutch/Chinese menu.
Tjie = Jee / Gee = Pork
A-Fusion is a really nice place stuck between the mostly grisly looking shops and restaurants on Zeedijk. Once you're inside it's kind of hip and trendy in a cool Asian way. I tried their bubble tea, they've got tons of different flavours, but I have to say I thought the coffee flavoured one I tried was a little bland. I prefer the Indonesian version of this type of drink, called 'cendol'.
I also tried their 'thigh' meat (deep fried battered chicken) and siu long bao. I'm not an expert, but I think the siu long bao was too dry. Descriptions of the dish always warn for the hot broth that spills from the dumplings once you bite them.
Service was a little hapless, though I noticed they were a lot more attentive to their regulars.
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Alexis Denisof has grown the weirdest hair
I bought a bamboo steam basket and a couple of trays of (frozen) dim sum from Toko Dun Yong on Gelderse Kade.
Sieu Kaui, Ha Kau, Won Ton and Char Siu Pao.
I'll pretend it's healthy.
What beautiful days we're having. Long walks by the Amstel, sushi in Zuid, crazy voicemails ('Vy aren't you picking up ze phone? VY?') and an (almost) announcement. Things are shaping up nicely this summer.
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What a weird headline that is. Should we congratulate the record company for getting a press release out?
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Story about a two-legged dog
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'LORD Attenborough was an "idiot", Vanessa Redgrave a "ninny" and Sir John Gielgud struggled to understand Shakespeare, according to Sir Dirk Bogarde.'
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Note to self: get dog when old and poorly
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Hackers attack public broadcasting sites. Dutch game.
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Stephen Fry reveals that writer Ben Elton is considering a feature length version of the comedy, set in the final days of the Russian Tsars.
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Bob Hoskins will star as Badger. Characters portrayed as 'largely human'
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Including David Brent's 'If you don't know me by now'. Bwah. But no 'Unfinished Sympathy'?
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'By adding your photo to this group, you are giving ONE.org permission to display your photo on ONE.org or in other online and offline promotions for the ONE Campaign.'
Check out the phenomenal all star cast of Rogue's Gallery album I've been pimping for the last two months:
Disc one:
"Cape Cod Girls," Baby Gramps
"Mingulay Boat Song," Richard Thompson
"My Son John," John C. Reilly
"Fire Down Below," Nick Cave
"Turkish Revelry," Loudon Wainwright III
"Bully In The Alley," Three Pruned Men (Dave-id, Guggi, Gavin Friday)
"The Cruel Ship's Captain," Bryan Ferry
"Dead Horse," Robin Holcomb
"Spanish Ladies," Bill Frisell
"High Barbary," Joseph Arthur
"Haul Away Joe," Mark Anthony Thompson
"Dan Dan," David Thomas
"Blood Red Roses," Sting
"Sally Brown," Teddy Thompson
"Lowlands Away," Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarrigle
"Baltimore Whores," Gavin Friday
"Rolling Sea," Eliza Carthy
"The Mermaid," Martin Carthy & the UK Group
"Haul On The Bowline," Bob Neuwirth
"Dying Sailor to His Shipmates," Bono
"Bonnie Portmore," Lucinda Williams
"Shenandoah," Richard Greene & Jack Sh*t
"The Cry Of Man," Mary Margaret O'Hara
Disc two:
"Boney," Jack Sh*t
"Good Ship Venus," Loudon Wainwright III
"Long Time Ago," White Magic
"Pinery Boy," Nick Cave
"Lowlands Low," Bryan Ferry with Antony
"One Spring Morning," Akron/Family
"Hog Eye Man," Martin Carthy & family
"The Fiddler/A Drop of Nelson's Blood," Ricky Jay & Richard Greene
"Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold," Andrea Corr
"Fathom The Bowl," John C. Reilly
"Drunken Sailor," David Thomas
"Farewell Nancy," Ed Harcourt
"Hanging Johnny," Stan Ridgway
"Old Man of The Sea," Baby Gramps
"Greenland Whale Fisheries," Van Dyke Parks
"Shallow Brown," Sting
"The Grey Funnel Line," Jolie Holland
"A Drop of Nelson's Blood," Jarvis Cocker
"Leave Her Johnny," Lou Reed
"Little Boy Billy," Ralph Steadman
There's just no words, is there? Jarvis! Ferry and Antony (sans Johnsons) duet! Prunes reunion! Mary Margaret lives! Rufus and his mum!
It's out on August 22, on ANTI.
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Can you help?
"Because you're still asking that question".
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'Sometimes he could be such a dick'
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'Grace's dead soul isn't capable of being bothered. She sits in the hot seat loving the spotlight, reeling off answers wearing that same smug, remorseless expression Rebecca Loos wore while bragging about sleeping with someone's husband.'
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'It's simple, really. People look foolish when posing for a picture. So tell your loved ones you would like to take their photo... then secretly videotape them the whole time.'
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'I find your lack of sanity disturbing'
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I'm starting to believe anybody could sing this song straight into the charts. What a tune.
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Japan fan-site
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What is *wrong* with the BBC, can't they even pretend to keep this a secret?
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My new favourite word
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Message to a loved one?
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Looks like a game I might like (a rarity)
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A decade or more online and I never knew there was a Reader's Digest website
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Interview with Mike Skinner. Not as laddish as I thought.
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Lyrics to George Michael's upcoming single.
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UbuWeb is a completely independent resource dedicated to all strains of the avant-garde, ethnopoetics, and outsider arts.
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September 29th - Octber 14th
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Controversial Irish taoiseach dies
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Yay.
Regrets, I've had a few, but none so big as the one where I kick myself for not having lived and worked abroad in my lifetime.
I envy my cousin who was born in Africa, schooled in Indonesia and Denmark, and is living in France. Cosmopolitan beats nationalist in my book.
In my highschool days I would have loved to go on an exchange program to the USA, but that didn't seem to be available to me at the time. When I was in college I worked in Northern Ireland for 6 weeks, but there weren't any schemes for a longer stay. Later still, well, it just didn't happen. Maybe I'm just not that adventurous.
Let's face it, I should have moved to Ireland years ago. Before the goldrush. When houses were dirt cheap (seven, maybe ten thousand Euro would have got me a nice cottage back then. What a great investment that would have been.
I always said I wouldn't fit in over there, but fuck me, I'm Ms Square Peg whereever I am including this place I call 'home'. Still as round holes go, Amsterdam ain't so bad.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this. It's just a little frustrating at the moment not being able to hop on the DART to lend a hand.
At the metro station this morning the ticket machine only accepted the exact fee. The guy at the cornershop didn't want to give me any change. The station is full of machines that never work. They're either broken, or haven't been put into service yet. This time, the machine was out of money.
I explained this to the guard at the stairs, but he wouldn't let me through. He brought me back to the machine. I told him again the machine was out of change, but he said 'I'm only trying to help you' and asked me where I was going. He tapped in my destination and told me to put 2,70 in the machine. Sigh. Never try to argue with the feeble-brained.
I showed him my 5 euro note and spellled it out for him again: the machine doesn't accept my bills because it's out of change, and no, the guy in the shop doesn't want to give me any. 'There are shops outside,' he said. Yeah, thanks for nothing.
Meanwhile, I am doing the 'mailbox' shift at work, answering problems people have with our websites and our video sterams and this time I'm the one being insulted by customers, just because I can't fix their computer problem.
A world without people. That would be ideal.
On that note: Get Grace Out! Get Grace Out!
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Band supporting NIN on their current tour
Outside, it's 29 degrees and rising. Inside, it's my own private meltdown.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
In this heat it takes longer to recover from this ritual humiliation, this dutiful visit to my 'nearest and dearest'.
I don't play the blame game, but I wonder who I would be if I wasn't always busy just trying to survive.
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He has been doing this type of stuff for 20 years or more. We used to have great painters. Now we have great photographers.
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More of his stuff. Must buy some of his books
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The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain covers Nirvana
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'Use your webcam to record and upload'
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One word. Star.
Should I, or shouldn't I go see Bauhaus in Utrecht this August?
Tickets are 26 euro.
... made up my mind, going.
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'A gardenia fruit extract used in Chinese medicine for centuries to treat adult onset diabetes is effective, scientists have found.'
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I've always said Gervais could be Bowie's brother
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An in between seasons short. The boys encounter a strange animals in the firehouse.
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Language changes all the time, but this is one of the less fortunate ones.
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'As far as I can tell, Rooney looks like a man who could play this weekend.'
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'You're the reason I swear, you're the reason why the profanity is in me..'
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Fun asian food blog
I was unwell for most of the day, but once I recovered (having obtained my life saving Maxalt tablets from the chemist) I legged it into town for a trip to the chinese toko. Not because I needed anything. Just by way of entertainment. I bought fish balls and frozen scampi, and chinese greens as well as a couple of those extremely tempting red bean mochi.
A hearty soup is what I needed so I decided to make a fish ball soup, mixing japanese and chinese ingredients and. Here's what I did.
I made stock (3/4 liter) from dashi powder, bonito flakes, a slice of ginger root, some crushed garlic. Then I added 4 scampis, 4 fish balls, a sliced carrot, 4 shi-take musrooms to the boiling broth, as well as portion of udon. I should have prepared the udon separately, but I was lazy so I just cooked them in the broth.
Topped it off with a few stalks of yau choy sum (one of the many types of 'chinese seasonal greens') and deep fried japanese tofu. Didn't have any spring onions, which should have gone on top. The last thing I added was a raw egg, which slowly cooked amidst the noodles.
Tasty! The comfort food of my childhood. Next time, I'll try to remember to take a picture before I eat it all.
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portal page
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fan site
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That's what I am according to the BBC
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"It will feel darker in tone...More 'Serenity', less 'Star Wars'..."
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An American view on Doctor Who and the spin-off series Torchwood
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Argh. Similar to the ones I bought yesterday. Half the price. Couldn't resist. They're very comfortable.
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I'm sure it's been done before, but 'The Netherlands as seen from trains' would be a good theme for an exhibit
'What is it with that corner?' 'I dunno, I just don't like it.'
If you can, download this week's Top Gear, starring Michael Gambon in the reasonably priced car part of the show. He previously appeared on the fourth ever show and had a corner of track used for the celebrity laps named after him.
He does quite well on his lap. But never mind that, his little chat with Clarkson is the interesting part. He admits to telling stories (read: lying) in most of his interviews, or otherwise he'd be bored. For example, when a journalist asked him how he dealt with the 'homosexual' scenes in his role as Oscar Wilde, he explained he had no problem at all because he used to be a homosexual himself, but had to give it up. Then he told the bewildered journalist it was because it made his eyes water.
So very Irish, despite the plummy accent.
Yes, that's my excuse. I watch Top Gear for the interviews.
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Dutch news item, interview in English. Greenaway lives in the Netherlands. Also features his project in Fort Asperen, visualising the threat of flooding
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Rijksmuseum website
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all through the night
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'For guys who love stuff'
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Uncrate for women
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My new shoes
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Nice to know I'm not the only addict out there
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Bwah!
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Awesome collection of sneakers. Absolutely want a pair of those ZX's
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'There's something very nasty about brushing your teeth and then all that flossing.'
Sezer. I don't remember anyone more annoying or vile on television, except perhaps the (fictional) Billy from Six Feet Under. He's just repulsive, the accent, the clothes, the attitude. He, Imogen, Grace, Mikey... the self appointed 'cool kids' (a.k.a. The Plastics) of BB UK S7, must be eliminated.
If I had to choose to live with any of these people I'd pick Peter, Nikki, Richard, Glyn and Lisa. I think I did live with people much like them in my student years. Nikki's just hilarious once you get past the shock of her total ineptness - she's a decent middle class girl underneath the trashy outfits. Pete's a genuinely good guy. Richard is someone you wouldn't want to get too close with, or you'd get hurt, but would be ok to have as a fun and mildly outrageous colleague. Glyn... ordinary boy. Lisa... more or less ordinary girl.
Which leaves Lea, who isn't annoying, or entertaining, or anything. She can go next week.
Update: Oh, fan-bloody-tastic, he's out with 91.6% of the votes.
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The third season of Denis Leary's excellent television series Rescue Me, about the lives of New York firefighters post 9/11, has kicked off
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Pixies songs sung in the way of various bands/singers would have done them.
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pictures of sharp dressed New Yorkers
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Former boss' weblog, focus on broadcast media
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Competitor of the M-audio Microtrack. I think it's time for me to take the plunge and say farewell to my MiniDisc.
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Edirol vs Microtrack comparison
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This one records video as well as audio, and is cheaper than the Edirol or M-audio