The Silly Season is Nigh

1. PJ

Sam has done a thorough enough post on the PJ concert. Everyone I know who went was fairly unanimous about it was o for awesome. I was glad we got tickets in the front of the field and got to do some gentle moshing (we diverted any ungentle looking people who tried to push into our possie).

They really do have a lot of good songs and I was suprised at how good their most recent stuff sounded live too.

My friend Iona was an ideal host - dropped us off and picked us up. A guy at work who caught the train said that after the concert the train was just packed with PJ fans who had drugded in there... and he suddenly got the idea that if there was some crazy person out there who hated PJ, this would be the ideal way to eliminate them en mass..... the train could be going anywhere....

2. Frujus

I got a pack of Frujus a couple of weeks ago when Sam and Rich and co came around for take-aways. Kinda forgot about them.... but have had them all in the last few days.

I'd forgotten how damned good they are! I have a very satisfying routine going with sucking the juice out of the edges, then biting them off.

3. Tiny Stormtroopers

This person's photo collection tickles my fancy. It's two little stormtrooper figurines getting up to all kinds of mischief and adventures. Vader appears sometimes too.

Get Amongst it, Lassie

I quite like this article on stuff about the soccer-girl who yanked down the other player by her ponytail. It's a nice media dissection of the responses.

I tend to agree that it's rather blown out of proportion, when you consider that the male equivalent might be a guy yanking another guy down by his shoulder. That would never make international news. It's just a part of soccer, which is a dirty, dirty game. It was a pretty rubbish thing to do, and it might have hurt a bit, but it was in the heat of the moment and it was done to try to get free, rather than to try and maim her.

I certainly wouldn't want to play against her since she seems to like elbowing people in the kidneys, but the few games of soccer I've watched all looked fairly brutal and it's a game where only the most blatant of fouls seem to get the ref's attention. This culture leads players towards getting away with as much as they can off the ball, or even on the ball. If you wanna make up a little high-light reel of all the times she took out players during the match, then it's more of a criticism of the ref than of her.

I wonder, with our rather 'butch' female culture, if this incident would've been as controversial if it had happened in NZ. I like to think we applaud our female athletes for being rough and tough. I guess we don't support them to the point of unsportsmanlike behaviour, but to be fair only two of the things she did on that clip were grossly beyond fair contention for the ball.

Shh - Maybe Nobody Saw

That leads me to the French saga. As I was saying to Michelle and Sam tonight, I'm not going to criticise the guy who got away with the hand-ball. That kinda thing happens in sport, and if the ref had called it he probably would've nodded and got on with the game.... but sometimes when it doesn't get called, you're kinda taken aback (especially when it's that blatant) and you go with it out of shock. It's the ref's job to call up infringements - there is no onus on players to always be honest (especially at that top level).

Ultimate Frisbee is the only sport where that happens.

Certainly in most sports, if the ref misses something, you're not going to go back and make him change his call. In basketball, if I made a game-winning defensive play, but knew that I'd fouled the player, there's no way I'd say, 'Excuse me ref - but I fouled her, give her some free-throws.' Doesn't work like that. You might just quietly say to the player, 'Tough break - I probably fouled you there,' at the most.

I guess there would be something very noble about having owned up to it, but you can't play 'what-if'. If he'd refused to take the goal, then some die-hard French fan who was pissed off that his country didn't make the World Cup might've fire-bombed his house or something. You can't please everybody, and you've only got a few seconds in which to make that judgement call.

I guess that's one of the nice things about cricket, the expectation of honesty when the ref messes up a call. It's quite a unique and gentlemanly honour-code. It would be a real test of character to see if a batsman would own up knicking the ball in an equivalent situation - say, the final over of a World Cup final, where his team had no wickets left and needed a few runs to win it.

But soccer sure ain't cricket. Apples and oranges.

I have sampled the TV show 'Glee'.

It has its funny moments. Not 'Big Bang Theory' hilarious, but mildly amusing. They usually occur when the evil ex-cop cheerleading coach is around.

My two biggest criticisms are
1) That the singing is so obviously computerised to be perfect pitch. It has those awful Cher-like mechanical trills in it. I'm not going to be impressed by that - but would be impressed by a real voice singing pretty well, albeit imperfectly.
2) After two episodes, it seems that every single show will have the line 'But we're not like them [the popular kids] - that's why we're in Glee club, where we can be ourselves' (said as one of them looks wistfully at a hot cheerleader or cool guy).

Play it again, Sam

I can't remember what it was called, but on Sunday nights there used to be that TV requests show, hosted by Jay Lagaia and sponsored by Minties.

I love how Youtube serves the same function now.

Here are two TV moments I looked up out of nostalgia....

The Cosby Show: Challenge!
The Critic: El Kabong!
Rip Tide: Intro!
Whiz Kids: Theme

At some point you realise....

[photo irrelevant to first part of post]

That nobody is perfect.

I have realised this about bosses (realised it about my parents years ago). Facades have crumbled all around me!

I have been at a workplace long enough to see a total change in management. There seem to be two types of people who have these jobs - the charismatic and decisive ones who don't follow through and like to pass the buck and the methodical but over-consulting ones who are afraid of taking firm stands on things.

While people heavily critique the current management for whatever flaw they have, as soon as they get replaced, the same people will miss them and wish the new ones had their strengths (forgetting about the weaknesses).

It's an interesting thing to observe.

I just try and do my job as autonomously as possible and remember that weaknesses are often complemented by strengths and vice versa.

For example, I am 'disorganised' (though I could explain the method to my madness - it's more of a 'just-in-time' production technique) but I also adapt well when things don't go to plan. If I find myself in a Mexican stand-off with another teacher at the door to a computer room we both thought we booked, I can handle backing away to Plan B, rather than watch the other anally-prepared teacher begin to self-implode in the uncertainty of the moment.

Anyhow.

People of my generation are starting to be these wonderfully flawed leaders. Crap.

* * *

I was with Cassie at Count Down in the Hutt, when I came across something cool.

A basket on wheels! It's a mini-trolley that is light and handles really well, taking up hardly any space in the aisles, yet holding enough groceries for a single-lady. It's the Formula 1 trolley of the supermarket.

They are, of course, designed for the elderly, but glaciers also like to lean on things whenever possible.

* * *

I found this website that works like a search engine, but for pictures....

I seem to often match up with Asian women (I think it's the fringe) and when I have my hair pulled back I'm a dead ring-in for an Indian man (evidently) and it sometimes confuses my hair for a helmet.

Here is Jon and his similar images (he matches up with male models, lucky bugger).

Luckily I had lots of photos of Jon lying around, him being a photo-hog and all.

* * *

I found this interesting.

I am part of a modern social phenomenon - 'Women's Creation of Camera Phone Culture'.

Preface

I've eaten my way through a box of Cadbury Favourites. I'd like to say I'd shared them, but 'share' is a word the single person does not have the luxury of using. And thus the vicious cycle continues...

Anyhow, I was quite disappointed. I don't really like the changes they've made. It's all very bland and pastel and mushy. Where's the hard raspberry caramel that gives you jaw-cramp? Where's the caramel barrel that bursts into your mouth with gooey runny goodness? And they've added Cherry Ripes. Any candy based product based on coconut seems like a rip-off to me. Coconut is what Mum would sprinkle on the top of perfectly good chocolate slice to make it seem 'grown-up'. Ptooey to coconut, says Kate.

I digress.

In my chocolate eating haze I have been cruising the internet in a leisurely fashion. Leisurely in that I have no more senior classes to teach. So I'm not having to look up new and interesting stuff on wrestling or the newspaper industry. I can be totally frivalous and have no agenda! Bliss.

You will also note my blogging output has a correlation to school workload. Less work = more blog. Blogging is thinking. It's trying to formulate an opinion on something, or retell an event, in a cohesive way. I find it therapeutic. Am I allowed to call it a hobby? Will the people who produce solid, practical things from their hobbies laugh at me? Can I call it a hobby if I actually never get any better at it?

Anyhow, to have time and mind energy to blog is a good thing.

What I Like

I accidentally caught the end of Jools Holland tonight. I have decided to make a point of flicking onto Rialto every now and then, since for about the past 6 months I've forgotten it exists (I tend to go up to 9, then cycle back down - my world is limited).

And there was a girl on there that I liked. She is Imelda May. I actually only really liked the second song she did (which is later in the clip at 3mins12secs). Jools accompanies her on piano. It's jazzylicious.

I also like Colin Hay. I have decided to seek out some actual albums from him. I stumbled across him when I was being a pirate and getting songs from the Garden State sound track. He's done a lot of work on Scrubs.

I came across this song, which is one of my favourite post-break-up songs ever. I just like the sentiment of it. I like this song too, which is a bit more upbeat (a bit).

I like the sound of his voice (I have a thing for gravelly, story-telling singers) and I like the acoustic sound, and I also really like the lyrics.

I used to sing this song to myself back when I used to play guitar (that has been on hold since my flatmates put in enough barbed comments to make me self-conscious about playing - I have lost my callouses).

I like tangible, specific lyrics. I hate hyperboles too generic to mean anything (=Celine Dion).

Beck's lyrics are like poetry. I can't quite figure out what it means, but it sounds nice how it's all put together.

Crushed apple cider buzz.

Surround sound of Gomez's 'Rosalita'.

Niiiiiice.

* * *

Sometimes I wonder if my parents did me a dis-service by being so damned nice to me while I was growing up.

I have a pretty thin skin for mean people. A very thin skin - like an eyelid. I have a thick skin for a lot of things. But for meanness, I have a low threshold.

It can be excused in teenagers, who are still building their empathy stores (and who, for the most part, try really hard to be thoughtful). I could do without passive-aggressive shite from grown-ups.

* * *

I am beginning to lose faith in my scales.

They have fluctuated about 5kg in the last week or so - and I'm sure my body hasn't. Not having trustworthy scales sends me into some kind of existential angst - I'm not sure just how guilty I should be feeling! I want irrefutable evidence!

* * *

When you're in a hospital visiting someone, it's really hard to not cough.

* * *

Summer is a frustrating time when you live in a flat with no good out-door area.

* * *

On some levels I can still really respect my brother. He never has any money for treats. So, we were at the supermarket getting dinner and I said, 'I'll get you some stuff if you want anything.' He pauses thoughtfully and says, 'No.'

Then I insist, and he says, 'Ok - I could get some noodles.' He gets two six-packs of Trident noodles. I woulda bought him a lot more. I then insist he gets a treat as well. He gets a cake of chocolate.

* * *

I wonder if John Key's popularity has peaked. People are starting to talk about how the 2nd year tends to start to show the cracks.

* * *

I want to be friends with Sheldon.