If you want to know more about it, check out THIS site.
Just a bunch of crazy people? A few people don't think so and even though their case was thrown out, it still makes you wonder. (Government Seeks Dismissal of End-of-World Suit Against Collider)
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Morrissey won the day. I went about 7.30 and caught 30 minutes of my new favorite band 'the national'....they were great. Not a huge amount to look at, but a BIG sound..... I joined Matt & Alex to watch Moz with a slightly enlarged group of Jonathon Ross's 4 poofs and a piano......well, his band were all wearing matching t's......
Morrissey these days, is a bit like watching an old gay uncle dance and sing at your 16 year old niece's party.......embarrassing, yet mildly amusing.....
I took the bus back to Prev's where I was staying....then came home early this morning.
Now I'm off to Guilfest to see Dodgy.......then Neil Young at the Hop Farm tomorrow......
I
Thursday I left work early and headed over to Birmingham to see Tom Waits at the Alabama Theatre.
When I'm asked to share the best concert I've ever seen, two artists come to mind. First is Peter Rowan, who is an excellent songwriter and the most captivating performer I've seen in my life, as well as the most amazing storyteller in the world. He can be almost hypnotic. The second is James Brown. More stage presence than I've ever seen in my life, insane energy, and an ensemble to be reckoned with.
However, though I cannot in any way, shape, form or fashion deduct any merit from either of those two artists, I feel secure in saying that Tom Waits has hit the top of that list. I'm finding it difficult to describe how utterly blown away I was.
So, until I figure out how to describe this most insanely wonderful spectacle, here's the setlist.
1. Lucinda/Ain't Goin' Down to the Well (Orphans) 2. Way Down in the Hole (Frank's Wild Years) 3. Falling Down (Big Time) 4. Hold On (Mule Variations) 5. Chocolate Jesus (Mule Variations) 6. Cemetary Polka (Rain Dogs) 7. Poor Edward (Alice) 8. Lie to Me (Orphans) 9. Hang Down Your Head (Rain Dogs) 10. All the World is Green (Blood Money) 11. Black Market Baby (Mule Variations) 12. Frank's Wild Years (Swordfishtrombones) 13. Misery is the River of the World (Blood Money) 14. Tango Till They're Sore (Rain Dogs) 15. On the Nickel (Heartattack and Vine)--Tom on piano 16. Diamond In Your Mind--Tom on piano 17. Innocent When You Dream (Frank's Wild Years)--Tom on piano 18. Jockey Full of Bourbon (Rain Dogs) 19. Make It Rain (Real Gone) 20. Jesus Gonna Here (Bone Machine) 21. Cold Cold Ground (Frank's Wild Years) 22. November (The Black Rider) 23. Hoist That Rag (Real Gone) w/ Sullivan Waits on congas Encore: 1. Singapore (Rain Dogs) 2. Dirt in the Ground (Bone Machine) 3. Come on Up to the House (Mule Variations) The setting was incredible--and couldn't have been more perfect. The stage setup was of course, busy...Tom's raised platform for shuffling/dancing/stomping purposes (complete with ready access to a really big drum and a gong), and each ensemble member's primary instrument and lots of various whatnot strategically placed about. I honestly can't describe the extent of noise-making objects that were on stage...in part because many of them seemed unique and in part because I was in the balcony, at the point where if you stand on a step and look down to the orchestra pit you find yourself getting dizzy. As for the performance, all I can think to say is it was out of this world. The setlist perfectly followed Rob Gordon's philosophy for mixtape-making.* The show progressed like a slow escalation into the upper levels of the atmosphere which culminated in a sensation of near weightlessness. Some of the high points for me were Chocolate Jesus and Cemetary Polka because I love them both...then Tom caught a gear and hit his stride with Lie to Me. I was thrilled to hear Black Market Baby and Frank's Wild Years (one of Tom's spoken-word recordings) was really great to see. A few songs later was Tango Till They're Sore...which I love. Then, the band walked off stage and Tom Went over and sat down behind his piano. The bass player also stayed on stage. Those three songs, as noted above, were beyond words. It was wonderful to see him at the piano and hearing him at his most basic level--the way he started out with Closing Time. Songwriter and piano. Oh, and bass...which added quite a lot to the piano. I would've loved to have heard Ol' 55, but I forgot that song even existed when he started into Innocent When You Dream. And believe me, that's saying something. I will admit, however, that the one song I absolutely HAD to hear was Jockey Full of Bourbon. As soon as the band returned to the stage and I heard the first two notes, I screamed like a teenage girl. What made it even more awesome was the fact that I was just in New Orleans, and the opening of Jim Jarmusch's film Down By Law is a sequence of moving shots in black and while "driving" down the streets of New Orleans to that song. I was in the Alabama Theatre watching Tom Waits perform Jockey Full of Bourbon with images of New Orleans vividly running through my mind. Every song after Jockey Full of Bourbon was a high point. During Make It Rain, Tom held out his hands and glitter fell from above the stage and rained down on him, which was insanely cool. Cold Cold Ground and November provided a brief break in the energy, but no break whatsoever in intensity. And then zang...Hoist That Rag, with Tom's son on congas. Mindblowing. The encore was perfect...I have to say that Dirt In The Ground made me feel my insides...Tom's delivery was so real that everyone in the auditorium should have felt it. Ending with Come On Up To The House gave me all kinds of goosebumps. This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through. You've gotta come on up to the house. That one did move me to tears. And throughout the show he stomped on his powdered platform, bringing up puffs of fog around his feet and later disturbing the glitter, danced and strolled and slid, and made various adjustments to his hat. The stage presence and performance that he demonstrated boggles the mind. This man was born to do exactly what he does. I left at midnight, all aflutter with wonderment. Then, around five the next morning, I heard the gravel driveway under my tires. The three-ish hour roadtrip was great both ways...though the drive back was longer as it was necessary to drive at more reasonable speeds and stop for coffee. But there were tunes, and singing, and...well, more tunes and singing. It's good to have a room of one's own*** every now and again...even if that room is the interior of a Honda CRV. *From High Fidelity: The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. **Thanks to The Eyeball Kid...whose site I stumbled onto when researching titles I wasn't certain of...for having that most helpful site as well providing help with the title of this blog. ***Virginia Woolf
Estonians just love the fact that they have trouble telling the difference between 'b' and 'p'. The best known example is the word "pank", which originally means "cliff" in Estonian, but also is as a loan word meaning "bank". The 100 crown banknote has an intentional pun on its back side - it says "Eesti Pank", which can be understood as "the Bank of Estonia", as well as "an Estonian cliff".
I cannot conduct my life in a normal fashion. Poof! I disappear, poof! I reappear. And regrettably, not always in the same place. *disappears* *reappears* Have you seen it? Now I'm gonna show you a few episodes from my life, so you can see where it leads.
How are you celebrating the 4th of July?
Usually by sitting in traffic for three hours until I can't feel my clutch thigh anymore. Not tonight, though...from last firework to home in 30 min. That must be some kind of record. I felt like my car and I were one symbiotic being and I didn't hit not one. single. person! No matter what kind of a jerk they were being. There were a lot of people, too..go look at the pictures on DeWitte's blog. It was insane.
Huzzah! Now I can go open my wine.
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I kept waiting for this kid to set himself on fire - I'm pretty sure these canisters are supposed to be placed on the ground to be lit ....
Taken with hand held camera from my deck.
Folks,
For those of you who have been following the drama in Malaysian politics in the past week, you'll know about the following:
1) Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was alleged to have committed sodomy against a young political aide. You'll note that almost 10 years ago, he was "charged" for the same "offence" and copped a jail term plus beating whilst in detention. His conviction was quashed a few years back and the whole sordid affair was nothing but a sham;
2) The incumbent Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib, is currently embroiled in an alleged murder case where a Mongolian hooker was literally blown up to cover up a litany of corruption and sexual improprieties. Oh, his wife is also alleged to have been a witness to the alleged murder of this Mongolian woman;
3) The incumbent Prime Minister is nowhere to be seen or heard amidst this kerfuffle, which now threatens to bring the country to a gridlock;
4) The resurgent opposition parties are planning a massive rally this weekend to protest about the high cost of petrol, and I'm sure also about a laundry list of pretty piss-poor decisions taken over the years by the Malaysian government.
My question is, in relation to the latest allegations against Anwar's supposed homosexual tryst, why not show medical evidence that something like this actually happened? Where's the kid who made these allegations against Anwar? Why is he in hiding? If Michael Jackson could be hauled into a police station to have his privates photographed as evidence of child sexual abuse, then why not show us graphic evidence that someone did raid his Hershey Highway? Bring out the undisputed evidence or shut up.
This is a bit crude, but hopefully you get my point. I am sick to the back teeth of all this bickering and counter-allegations by a bunch of no-hope politicians who, frankly, aren't talented enough to run a school fete at my local kindy. And they're running Malaysia!
The chickens have come home to roost, my friends. When affirmative action policies have been abused to the extent that they have in Malaysia, and patently unqualified MPs get "elected" into positions of power, the whole friggin' country suffers - especially the poorest of the poor.
And please spare me the race card. This isn't about racial politics; this is about getting Malaysians the best government that they deserve. Right now, it's got nothing that even resembles a functional government that can look after the interests of its citizens. I do not say this lightly: the tragic lessons of Zimbabwe can easily happen in Malaysia if people don't wake up to themselves and be totally, brutally honest.
Let me state unequivocally here: Malaysia's current coalition government - the National Front - needs to either perform or get out of the way. It has had 50 years to do good. It's failed dismally in my book. Time for Malaysians to show some balls and help themselves... because God help this current government! It hasn't got a clue.
Ninja
Police march to the monument honouring constables Brock Myrol, Peter Schiemann, Leo Johnston and Anthony Gordon prior to the unveiling of the Fallen Four Memorial Park, in Mayerthorpe, Alberta on Friday July 4, 2008. The officers were ambushed on March 3, 2005 by James Roszko on a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canada.
MAYERTHORPE, Alberta, Canada - Family and friends of four murdered Mounties wept and watched silently in awe as the people of a small rural Alberta farm town unveiled life-sized bronze statues of their loved ones Friday.
Gleaming under a bright prairie sun, the statues stand in a circle back to back, each constable in full dress uniform, facing out proudly toward those who have mourned their loss every single day since March 3, 2005. In the centre is a bronze-capped obelisk surrounded by doves.
Const. Peter Schiemann is snapping a salute. Const. Anthony Gordon stands proudly at ease. Const. Leo Johnston is at attention. Const. Brock Myrol is standing easy.
Brock's parents, Colleen and Keith Myrol, peered at the likeness of their son in wonder.
"I cried because I thought he is still standing on guard for Canada," Colleen Myrol said.
"It is very good positive energy from the town of Mayerthorpe. Today we will celebrate what good Canadians have done. We have seen the best of the best here today."
Don Schiemann, Peter's father, was speechless as his son's statue was unveiled. Surrounded by a crowd of relatives who were in Alberta for a family wedding, the Schiemanns just stared up at the 400-kilogram statue as a crowd of more than 1,000 townspeople, police and dignitaries applauded.
"I hadn't seen the statue before so I didn't know what to expect. The way that they have him saluting - it was perfect," Schiemann said later.
"Some people might look at it as if it is a memorial to death. I hope it is a memorial to service and to sacrifice."
The young officers were ambushed by James Roszko on his property during an investigation into a stolen parts and marijuana grow operation. Roszko later shot himself.
Juergen Preugschas, the leader of a community group that worked for three years on the $1.8-million memorial park, said the violent crime put Mayerthorpe on the world map for all the wrong reasons.
But he said people in the small town northwest of Edmonton refused to be defined by such a tragedy and quickly got to work.
Once word of the plan to honour the officers became public, donations began coming in from across Canada. There was money from governments and school children, private businesses and 4-H clubs, police officers and concerned citizens.
The statues have helped people channel their grief and transformed something ugly into something beautiful.
"This national memorial, created out of love and respect, does not stand in a national centre, but in the tiny but proud and determined rural little town of Mayerthorpe, Alta.," Preugschas said.
"This park belongs to every person who has a beloved peace officer lay down their life for the citizens of this country. It belongs to every grieving individual who needs to know that the rest of the country does care."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the murder of the four Mounties a "monstrous insult to all that is good and decent."
Harper said such violence is especially out of place in a peaceful, close-knit rural community that exemplifies Canadian values the way Mayerthorpe does.
The prime minister praised the spirit of the community.
"Other people in other places might have exploded in rage, or sunk into despair. But not Mayerthorpe," Harper said.
"Everyone associated with this terrible event has conducted themselves with grace, dignity and purpose. Your courage and resiliency have been an inspiration to all Canadians."
Margaret Thibault, one of the driving forces behind the Mayerthorpe Fallen Four Memorial Society, choked up with emotion when she named each of the four dead officers as the statues were unveiled.
A resident of the town for 31 years, Thibault, who once worked at the town RCMP detachment, knew some of the fallen Mounties personally.
The dedication of the memorial park should help people move on from their grief, she said.
"It is not enough just to survive. Today we show it is possible to prevail," she said.
"It is possible to feel that pain, but then build something that helps celebrate the good memories of Peter, Leo, Anthony, Brock and their brothers and sisters that stand shoulder to shoulder with them."
In turning tragedy into 'goodness,' the tiny community of Mayerthorpe, Alta., unveiled four life-sized bronze statues in a new memorial park dedicated to the Mounties gunned down in 2005.
Creating the statues has been a labour of love for sculptors Don and Shirley Begg and their staff at Studio West in Cochrane, Alta. They toiled under tight security to ensure the public didn't see their work until the unveiling.
The Beggs consulted closely with each Mountie's family to ensure his statue is as lifelike and accurate as possible, right down to the inscriptions on the uniform buttons.
Working from photographs, the sculptors slowly built frames for each statue, then fleshed them out in clay, nimbly using their fingers to capture the likeness and character of each man. The mothers were consulted to ensure they got it right before the final moulds were made and the bronze poured.
Kelly Johnston, Leo's widow, trembled with emotion as she spoke of her loss after his statue was unveiled.
Johnston has been locked in a bitter legal battle with her in-laws over her husband's remains - she wants them moved to RCMP headquarters in Regina, but they say moving the remains from his grave in their home community of Lac La Biche would go against his wishes and beliefs as a Metis.
The parents, Grace and Ron Johnston, were at the ceremony, but declined to speak to reporters.
Kelly Johnston said words such as disaster, tragedy, horrific and horrendous cannot even begin to describe the pain she has felt since her soulmate died on that cold March day.
"My world went black. Colour is slowly, slowly, slowly filtering in. Something like this is a nice start. It is a beginning," she said.
"The community came together and supported all of us that day. And it's nice to see the community coming together again today and saying 'Look, we are starting again anew, and this is what we are doing for you."'
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23971495-601,00.html
Folks,
I don't know about you but I have my views about our tax system.
I am keenly aware, as are most Australians, of the stupidly high rates of income tax that we pay in this country. Most of the execs I know are paying close to 49 cents for every dollar earned, which is why - and this shouldn't come as a surprise - many seek whizzkid accountants/lawyers to try and mitigate those payments to the ATO.
Tell me, would anyone be happy giving away almost 50% of what their own hard work brought home?
Now, I know that we have a lot of social services to be maintained in our country. Heaven forbid that we scrap the welfare safety net or removed the many benefits such as Medicare or Family Support or Disability Pensions or Unemployment Benefits etc.
But, something's got to be done to introduce a lot more equity into our tax system so as to stop the high-flyers like Paul Hogan from feeling so aggrieved that he has to leave Australia to seek economic refuge in the US. I mean, who wants to lose half of their earnings to the tax man??? Seriously.
Don't even get me started on the dis-incentives to working hard in this country when the tax system penalises you heavily for earning too much. Something's got to be done about this.
I'm not a huge fan of Paul Hogan, but he has a point in wanting to challenge the Australian Tax Office. I sense his fight isn't about money; it's a question of principle.
Ninja