Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Belle & Sebastian at The Docks - Feb 25/06

Let me say some positive things first - I really enjoyed the band, they sounded great and played a nice long show, and New Pornographers (what I heard of them) were good too. The acoustics were good there too. Also, I do like the new album - not as much as previous ones, but then it's had only a week to grow on me so far. I know some people really don't like the new one, but I do, and they played a good mix of good and old, so yay.

But now on to the bad - the venue.

I had been to the Docks once before, but to be honest I had very little memory of it - Sisters Of Mercy five or six years ago - but what I did remember was it being standing only, concrete floor, and that was it.

No memory of it being crowded like a cattle stampede, so it must not have been a well-sold show! Also no memory of it being such a huge LONG BOX!

And how many tickets did they sell? I'm sure it was oversold - seemed like at least 500 more people in there than was legal or safe.

So yes, stupid.

Also, the most idiotic and dangerous thing: every other all-ages show I've been to, they give you a bracelet if you are 'of age' - here, though, they thought perhaps erecting METAL FENCES throughout the venue would be a good idea. Excuse me? Surely this was a SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE! The tension this created due to pushing and shoving was on the verge of causing a riot - this could have easily ended up like that Who show in Cincinatti in '79, if someone had yelled 'fire' people would have died for sure.

Now, the Docks have set up video screens at the very back of the club, and they display the stage on them, if you're way in the back you can still see them - but back there the music is much quieter, so essentially you've paid $40 or so to WATCH TV - I mean, the screens are a good idea, without them lots of people might never even know there were live performers, but come on. And for those of us who actually braved the ridiculous crowds to get to the middle where the sound was really good, and were shorter than, say, 5'6", there was no chance of even seeing a single band member - so they could have used the big screen idea up there too.

*sigh*

I feel very badly for the people who made a big trip to come to this gig, at least I live here. One of my friends came in from south of Buffalo, AND he's in a chair, so he spent the whole gig at the back of the room watching TV.

So, B&S, I think you were wonderful, and the next time you tour I'll DEFINITELY go to see you - as long as you're not playing the Docks. If you are, I'll sadly have to pass.

(geez, I'm so glad I didn't get tix for Franz Ferdinand)

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Book Meme

Meme instructions:

Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place (parentheses) around the ones you've never even heard of.

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
(His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
(One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
(The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini)
(The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold)
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(Angels and Demons - Dan Brown)
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
Neuromancer - William Gibson
(Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson)
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
(Atonement - Ian McEwan)
(The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert

Found on Chris' blog, by way of Antheras' blog...

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Yes, it's been a little while

Okay, I'm trying to do this again - I keep crashing, I swear!

So anyway, I've got five squares done for Project Linus (pictures will come soon), but I think one of them doesn't count, as it turned into a diamond (yep, a diamond, so perfect too) so I'm trying to decide if I want to make another one before tomorrow. I'm thinking not, as I have friends coming in, going to the Belle & Sebastian show tonight, AND I'm fighting off a really nasty cold.

This week was interesting. Last weekend I went to Kitchener to visit with my godson (oh, and his parents and friends too *grin*), went for desserts and drinks with a bunch of ladies, Jenn and I went to Voila for a spa day that was soooo good, spent too much money (but for really really good deals) at the Jones New York outlet, got some extra stitching in with Janelle, all good. Work was REALLY BUSY but I'm on top of everything, and got a really good performance review on Friday, yay! Also met a lot of cool people at a Stitch & Bitch on Wednesday that I think is going to be a mostly-regular Wednesday night thing for me. Made a trip to Romni and bought lots of sock yarn (for way too much money) and also picked up the new DVD release of Lynch's DUNE, a Cat Stevens best-of CD and the new Death Cab For Cutie CD. Yes, lots of money spent.

Oh, and I went to see The Matador with Todd this week too - really funny, actually, and Pierce Brosnan actually made my skin crawl a bit, which was quite a feat. Greg Kinnear was adorable too.

And I do need to watch that now, as my roommate is now looking for a new place. No, we didn't have a fight - his boyfriend is coming to stay for a few months (if not permanently) and his bedroom is quite small, they need the space. And to be honest, I'm surprised he managed to live with me for so long (I am a slob, as anyone can attest to). So yes, I need to watch my spending.

But I need a new confuser.

And a new vacuum cleaner.

And also I'm in love with a really expensive cell phone that I really want even though I don't need it.

*sigh*

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

...Gold, uh, lime medal?

Hey, I'm done!


I got it done tonight by 9:15! I think if I did it again, I'd add another inch to the height - I've got this great big head, you see.


Saturday, February 11, 2006

It's on!

Started the hat lastnight! I got to the Duke a bit late, but there was no danger of not finding everyone, they took up almost a whole floor of the place!


Casting on was difficult - drinking and knitting, while fun, is not the most ACCURATE thing to be doing! There was a huge huge crowd at the Duke of York for the opening ceremonies, we were a loud bunch!

Anyway, so far so good, I've started into the beads now, which isn't as difficult as it seemed actually - just annoying to have to keep pushing the beads down the yarn every row or so - I'll get over it though, I think it might turn out really nice...

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Olympic eve

Tomorrow evening I will start my Olympic knitting project - the beads are strung, the needles are packed, I'm ready!

In other news, winter is definitely back, we don't have too much snow but it's really really cold out there! I'd better remember some hand cream...

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Latest movie


So tonight I went with my friend Todd to see Good Night, And Good Luck.

Verdict? Excellent.

It was visually stunning, I love black & white cinematography. Well-acted all around. They didn't try to impose modern filmed actors into archival footage, a mistake too many movies try to do - instead they made excellent use of the archival footage without spoiling it. It really makes you think about the current state of affairs, which I'm sure was Clooney's intent, besides that of telling a great story. Put this one back-to-back with Syriana, and there's no doubt about Clooney's opinions.

After I got home, instead of going to bed I watched a bit of TV - The Colour Purple was on. I sobbed like a little baby, again. I remember seeing it in the theatre with my Mum - she's tough as nails, and I remember she cried too.

So now I'm drained. I'm just glad no one can see me right now, I'm one of those people who really looks like they've been crying after they've been crying. Gah.

Also, on another note, I need to read Good Omens again. Anyone know where my paperback copy is? I'm gonna have to read my hardcover copy...

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Go Team Canada!

I recently signed up for Team Canada's 2006 Olympic Knitting Team! The rules are that you can't cast on until the opening ceremonies, and you have to have it done by the time the closing ceremonies come along, and it should be a challenge.

It took a while, but I've finally decided on the Odessa Hat from MagKnits - it's swirly, and it has beading, and that's something I've never worked with before, so there's my challenge!. I went to Romni Wools and got the yarn, I still need to buy the beads but I have all week to do that.

Problem is, I can't really do a proper gauge square for this, because they've given the gauge as "26 sts and 33 rows = 4” / 10cm in hat pattern knit circular" - which means it's not just a square, I'd have to do it in the round, and that's just crazy, I won't have the time for it. I knitted up a straight stockinette stitch square and the gauge matches, but of course that's gonna be off. So already I'm set to start it all wrong, by not making sure my gauge is correct.

Also, I will be making at least one 8" square for the Hamilton team, as they are going to be making a blanket for Project Linus. If I can get to it. Um.

(Later)

Well, I got the beads, they're really pretty - the yarn is a really pretty green so I got some pearlescent bluey-greeney beads for it, and also got some casein double-pointed needles for the bottom part of the hat, so I'm all prepared! Well, other than the whole gauge square thing. And the square for Project Linus. Hmm.

Also happened to just run into a friend of mine while out in the beaches getting my extra supplies, that was cool - we chatted and streetcar'd together, it was all good.

(Even later)

So Monster's Ball was on tonight. Um. Well, it was pretty powerful, and actually Billy Bob didn't turn my stomach, which he has a tendency to do, and I think Halle Barry did a great job. But geez, I had a really hard time watching it. In fact, I kept changing the channel and then changing it back, so I saw it in fits and spurts. I do that a lot actually.

Wow, this entry is really long. I'm setting a bad precedent here...

Friday, February 03, 2006

My first post

Well, this is my first blog, I don't know how it's gonna go but let's see!

A couple of weeks ago I joined some friends in a week-long trip to CuraƧao, it was just fantastic and I want to go back! This picture is of me and my godson down there, having lunch the day before we had to come back. Aaaaaw...

I really want to go back! The snorkeling was just fantastic, we were down there in the water every single day for two hours or so, I miss it terribly...