At last, something off my 'To Do' List

I've been wanting to surfboard for some time now. After all I can do just about everything else in the water (sail, boggie board, swim, body surf, fish, snorkel etc). To be honest I regret not trying it when I was much younger, but as I recall the much younger version of me wasn't interested...

Well we got back from a week of Byron Bay relaxing on Friday and for 3 of those days I learnt at last how ride a board. Admittedly the waves were only about a one or two feet tall but they did manage to give me a ride of 40 or 50 odd meters when I did catch one.

When I was a young lad I inherited from my cousins a yellow skateboard. There was nothing flash about it, it was small had chunky wheels and was made of plastic. But I liked fooling around on it and after a while I got pretty good. One of the things I used to love doing was waiting for a windy day (which was not a long wait where I grew up) and using a jacket or plastic bag as a sail!
The sense of free movement and control I felt then was the same feeling I got from turning my board into the wave and completing my first S-turn. It gave me a clarity of mind and thought.

While learning to surf I shared the water with fish of all sizes and big shark and a pod of dolphins. I had a great time and was not disappointed in the experience. Not everyone I know likes the beach as much as I do, but I hope that people remain open to new experiences. All I've done is learnt how to stand up and some rudimentary basics, for me that's a great place to begin. I'm looking forward to my next surfing trip.

Does anybody have any 'To do' things on their list they can get done?

Something I said

Last night in response to a particular sensory experience
"oh my god! If that smell was a cheese, it would be expensive!"

Gig Review

Last night I saw a piece of Funk and Soul history. I saw Mr Syl Jhonson ('Take me to the river', 'Is it because I'm black') and a backing band of funk soul power, The Bamboos.
Now I do have a problem with fools who take the name of Funk in vain ('its a funky little car', 'this is a funky workplace', 'Fat Boy Slim is fantastic').

Funk is not just music it's a feeling, an attitude, a sight and an energy.

Syl was the real deal and The Bamboos were good enough to beat the Dap Kings in a straight funk shoot out. What I enjoyed most about this gig was the energy that the room and the band and especially Syl generated. I mounted and grew so that by the end of the show I just wanted it to go on and on. The Bamboos drummer was the key to the energy, that little guy just looked liked he was having the best night of his life!

I've seen some okay funk and I've seen some average funk. Part of the problem for this genre is the sound of a live performance. It has to be both loud, powerful and at the same time subtle. The Bamboos incorporate a horn section and from the get go those guys had a crisp, clear and tuned sound. That is very hard for horns to be able to do, unless the player has prepared but also knows his instrument and what it can and can't do. The bassist, was good, he knew his job and drove the line, working with the drummer while the guitarist and keyboard hit the spotlights. They were a tight team, capable of true original innovation in leads and improvisation. Something that is again very difficult to do well, unless you know your instrument.

Syl himself looked and sounded very excited to be in town. I confess to not knowing too much about him prior to the gig, but hopes were raised when he came out with a Gibson ES-335 (and identified it as such). When he did play on it he showed his blues roots and carved out two great solo's on the Magic Sam standards, 'Sweet Home Chicago' and 'All your Love' (both of which I am told scored kicks of maniac approval from my child).

All in all it was a worthwhile and funky investment in the tickets and a good thing too, we found out that by the end of the night there were at least 200 people who could not join in the music.
So Bubbas, keep your ears and eyes out for The Bamboos in the future...

Allow me to retort

After my previous post about 'Man Childs', a learned article in defence of comics...
[HERE]

Owwiees

My head hurts. This afternoon I got a headache and it just will not go away.
I got this thing it seems that whenever there is a sudden change in air pressure (I think thats how the Doc described it) I get a headache.

Thankfully I don't get the migranes I used to get. But this is still a bummer, sort of a dizziness and nausea and headache all rolled into one.

Which sounds a lot like a hangover. But it isn't.

A Movie Review

So I've been following the Battlestar Galactica series by plot description on Wikipedia (because a: Downloading copies is illegal and really hard to work out as Google doesn't give very good links, b: its illegal and I wouldn't steal a handbag from a lady or her car or shoptlift a car and put a handbag it and frame a midget for the crime..... Sorry got a bit distracted)

Anyway, as you may know I am a fan of the Funny or Die website. The guys behind this cavalcade of hilarity made a movie called Step Brothers and I just watched it.
Funny ass sh*t.

Multiple ninja stars *************************************x10

Its got Wookie masks, helicopter's, men enjoying the wholesome companionship of Steven Segal movies. The fact that the majority of the dialogue was improvised is clear. But it is also the the fact that they are both 40 year old men living like adolescents that plays so very well.

(Imagine I'm sitting in a wood panelled room, I'm wearing a tweed jacket and I've just finished knocking the ash out of pipe.)

Me; I know a fair number of men like those two. Guys who have lost their way and who have become a Peter Pan, if you will.

You(played by someone else); Is there anyone in particular your referring too?

Me; You see, having an imagination is important. But an adult will use their creativity in different, more constructive ways than a Man Child.

You; Oh man, I don't like the tone of your voice. It sounds very judgemental. You better not be about to bad mouth Neil Gaiman or fu*king Vampires and Shi*t.

Me; Oh I'm going there, my friend.

You; You're not my friend!!

[scene ends]

Not sure where I was going with that.
So in conclusion, watch Step Brothers, there are valuable lessons for us all in this movie.

A simple plan

Well Bubbas, there is a simple plan at work here. Its a numbers game and a waiting game all in one.
I'm going to be a dad (later this year).

I've held off making an announcement on the blog for a couple of reasons. Firstly I wanted to tell people in person and secondly it was a question of just what kind of things I share with you. For example I don't discuss my work, full stop. Thats one of my rules. Also, I don't discuss people by their actual names (just in case I change my mind at a later date).
But this is wonderful news and it will change who I am. Which means my audience should probably know about this momentous, life changing event.

When I started Bubbajay it was a spin off from a blog that Hix had set up for the friends from Uni. The Hix blog fell over after a few months, people weren't contributing or whatever. But I found I enjoyed the experience and just started writing about little things in my life on my own. Well this is a big thing and its happening around May.

It also means that Bub will one day have the chance to read about my life pre-them. What will they think I wonder? Will they wonder about the places I've been? Will they ask about the people mentioned?
Probably. Maybe. I hope so. I don't know.

The very thought that I will be a dad, and sooner than I dare to think, is exciting beyond awesome even if awesome was a Surfboarding Ninja. I feel humbled and excitied and proud all at the same time.

Optimus Prime

Well Bubba's it is hot down here in Melbourne. I mean a week of 40C+ temperatures is hot in anyone's language. Right now I'm drinking a beer and sweating my arse off listening to John Mayer.
So I saw this at VideoGum and I love the voice over, hope you do too...

The Bart, The

I fracking hate Microsoft applications (as a user).
This article (LINK) is old news already, but it does have some links to ghastly/good mash ups of the Beastie Boys 'Intergalatic'.

I also enjoyed the quote from VideoGum 'It’s like Microsoft found some kind of home-schooling Christian commune in the woods and hired them to make their commercial'.

A sad day for Art Fans

Tony Hart has passed away and I am poorer for the loss (LINK).

Colours, painting, drawing, fun with shapes. As a young lad I loved Vision On (the little bouncy creature in the opening animation) it was wonderful and vivid and alive.
It was part of TV that had an innocence of focus groups and marketing departments. My brother and I would watch it in the afternoons before 'After School' came on. Its reminds me of the same simple and glorious eccentricity of 'Sesame Street' from the same period (the late '70's).

My artistic ability is not great, but I never felt crap watching Tony Hart. I appreciated what he could do and it made me enjoy my efforts.
Vale Tony Hart.

Straya Day

The latest message from Sam regarding bbq's this weekend is up (HERE) not as much fun as the 07 message, but still pretty good!!
2008 Here
2007 Here
2006 Here
2005 Here

Vote for your favourite!!
Should also point out Evie is a vego.

This is a fun tool

Every now and again the internets gives us something actually useful. By that I mean something useful for me. Wordle (LINK) will take text, quickly count the recurrence of words then display them in a 'Word Cloud'.
Why is this useful? For what I do it means I can write a series of documents around a theme, plug the text into wordle and see how prominently those words appear. It is a useful indication of how numerous the dog whistles are.
Have a play for yourself. Perhaps you are an unhinged teacher and wanted to see themes from a compare and contrast essay? perhaps you bored enough to plug in the Gospel of St John or Othello or that crappy script you've been working on?

Here's one I did earlier LINK

First one for the year

Thought I'd start off the 09 season of occasional music goodies early. This song is by a French outfit called Phoenix. You have probably heard this track before (I hope).
What catches my ear with this one is the rhythm and timing of the lyrics. When you listen to the introduction there is this lovely disco-esq guitar and high hat (which is actually the bridge for the chorus). As soon as the first verse starts the guitar drops back for the vocals. So the rhythm in essence remains the same but the phrasing of the lyrics is what to listen out for, its just after the beat (with the chorus the phrasing is on the beat as usual). It gives the song a wonderful manic quality, as if the singer is trying to keep up with the song.
Anyway, Phoenix is a one hit wonder to enjoy in years to come at retro nights...

Not a Positive Experience

This is actually happened (LINK) and the possibility of it has been in my mind ever since I first got on a chair lift. But from my perspective, hopping off a chair lift was for the purposes of bombing in on a run.
How the hell did this guy manage it...?!?

2008 Clip Show

And now onto the wondrous new year that will be 2009.
Are there any highlights for you? any goals to meet or exceed? will you be happy to have just taken part?
Upon review of my goals from last year;

1. Travel to Europe
2. Appear in Community Theatre

I can say without hesitation that I made some progress toward goal one (I began studying French) but in the end, it is fair to say, that I did not go to Europe. In fact it is fair to say that there will be no trips in that direction for a least a year or two.
With regards to the second goal, it did not happen at all. In all honesty by the time I had gotten to grips with the year and all the activities I undertook, number 2 was not going to happen. Just not enough hours in the day.

So despite missing both my stated goals by a wide margin, in my opinion 2008 was a great year!! Worthy of a review of some of the highlights;

• Started the year with a new life and with a lot of optimism.
• Had some major car troubles but they were sorted out by February
• Met a wonderful person
• Had a lot of travel which is always good for a Gemini
• Played a lot of soccer (and scored some awesome goals)
  
• Made some new friends
• Did a lot of Radio with Artsound (on some weeks I was on air Mon, Tues, Fri)
• Went Skiing for the first time in 5 years. This is a huge personal achievement, I love skiing, I love the snow and mountains. For 5 years I was in a situation were all of this joy and happiness was shut off from me and it is just simply wonderful to be able to connect with this passion once more.
• Learnt French. Its been fantastic to have challenged the brain in this way. Its like going to a brain gym and getting super buff super quick. I thoroughly recommend it as a course of action for anyone.
• Discovered the pretty little country world of Bright in Northern Victoria.
• Helped to win a State Election (in my own small way)
• Went 12 months without a television
• Read a lot of wonderful books
• Listened to a lot of fantastic music
• Moved interstate
  
• And finally I can say that I had a whole lot of fun.

Well I am highly confident that this year ahead is going to special in an amazing way. I won't go into detail just yet, suffice to say 2009 is going to be a hard one to top!!
All the best everybody, lets make 2009 the best we can for us all!!

Thats it for 2008

Well almost in a few days time it will be. Until then have a wonderful and most importantly a safe Christmas and a happy New Year.

What will 2009 hold for us? Bare in mind that we are now only 3 years away from 2012 the so called end, according to the Mayan calender. Will 2009 have any portents? What signs should we watch for?

• The CERN LHC has not yet destroyed the planet, nor the solar system. Probably helped by the fact that their network was hacked within minutes of its going live...
• There have not been any zombie attacks, anywhere, at all. Still we should all review our Zombie Plans as a precaution.
• While QANTAS aircraft have been dropping out of the sky and crashing on the run way a lot, I suggest this is a reflection of Fu%^tard greedhead corporate management. As opposed to a portent of doom.
• Obviously the economy is in the crapper, but if you didn't see that coming a year ago - there is very little I, education or evolution can do to help.
• Possibly the most obvious sign of the lord of misrule is that a capable, young, black man got elected over an old monied up, conservative, white man (personally I am very impressed with the voting public in America).

Well the future is at our doorstep and we have to but step out to discover it. Take every one I will see back here next year!!

Bike Paths in Melbourne

I've started to ride into work this week. Actually its part of a whole getting back on the fitness band wagon. Back in August I twisted my right knee while skiing and its kept me off the soccer field since then and off my bike for most of that time. So at long last I've joined a gym here in Melbourne (the local YMCA, there ARE lots of things for me to enjoy!! Swimming, Gyming. Actually thats probably about it...)
What I learned from the process of selecting a gym is to be discriminating. I checked out a few places, some where too small, some where just too expensive and not easy to get to and a small handful were just staffed by wankers. Getting fit has a lot to do with motivation and if you don't like the people at the gym thats less of a reason to go.
Well the guys and gals at my local YMCA are very friendly and the gym isn't too crowded when I go in the morning and I get access to the classes and the pool (for a very good price).
The big plus from all this great energy is the motivation to try riding into work. The distance is about 17kms each way and mostly flat (the odd hill). For the most part its off the main roads and through parks and nature reserves, which is a huge pleasure to ride. I'm glad to say that my fitness is picking back up and I can do the trip in about 50 minutes. My goal is to pair that back some and pick up my average speed.

But I must say the sight of some of the other cyclists does make me laugh. 40+ year old men with guts like a hippo, stuffed into Lance Armstrong professional cycling gear. Sad, funny, weird and wrong all at the same time. Which is some feat!!

A reason to LIVE

Spend every waking second of your life from now on at this site.

Xmas and Don Camillo

We are coming up on Jesus birthday and with that is the attendant struggle to get gifts as soon on. I must confess to being somewhat distracted this year (similar to last year from memory) as my present from heaven will be with me in May 09 - worth the wait.

I got me thinking about the way a behaviour can change if you believe somebody has an expectation upon you. Lets consider the role of Santa in the Nice and Naughty Lists. Leaving aside his mad omnipresent skills, under whose authority does Santa judge us? Let me elaborate, its Jesus' birthday so he uses his mafia connections to hire 'The Jolly Fatman' to dispense a consumer judgement on individuals. 'The Jolly Fatman', who has powerful influence over the Transport Workers Union, delivers said judgements to everybody in one evening and takes the rest of the year off (presumably).
The Christmas message is 'Peace on earth and Goodwill to all men', which in my opinion is a wonderful message and an excellent goal. Does the threat of getting a Naughty Present (Message to Santa, example please? with the coal futures going through the roof, the traditional lump of coal could be seen as a boon. Perhaps tickets to a Baz Lurhman film... Work on it and get back to me.) motivate people to behave?
I would suggest it does. Consider your boss at work (or even the one at home) if they are pissed at you do perform to the best of your ability to placate them? to earn their favour? I suggest you would, the reward is not having your superior breathing down your neck and the chance to earn their trust to perform.
Both Santa and his friend Jesus ask us to 'behave', to treat our fellow man with dignity and kindness. If we fail in this task there is no immediate judgement, perhaps a lump of coal (waiting on you Santa). But ultimately we are neither punished or inconvenienced and yet if we do show generosity and goodwill other people benefit.

In the title of this post I mentioned Don Camillo (I only care that you find out who he is) in his dialogues there is a wonderful exploration of the theme of virtue and our place in the community. This year consider your community, consider your family. Consider what you've done for other people.
I propose that Christmas can be a reflective period, not just about shopping and pavlova and beer. Perhaps that is what Santa is after as a return on his investment on shipping and logistics...

Yummy!!

Apparently this is an actual book.

How would you tell people where you got the recipes from...?
It like going over to your friends house to play with his wii.