I am aware that my blog is getting grumpier by the day, and will try to have a better day tomorrow.
But on my way in to work this morning I got hit by a bloody cab. He'd pulled up to a stop in a side road, and as I crossed he suddently decided to accelerate into the oncoming traffic (and me). I managed to slam both my hands onto the bonnet and inform him he was a fucking moron, slightly a la Midnight Cowboy, but - dare I say it - a fair bit cooler and meaner than Dustin H.
I then pulled myself up to the full, nay towering, 5ft 5 and bellowed through the side window that it wasn't his right of way and he should look where he was going.
That told him. I'm a bit scratched and bruised but nothing is broken. I am, however, delighted to find that I've perfectly retained my ability to swear really really well at people who deserve The Wrath.
And speaking of the Scarlet Mist coming down (ethical music lovers), Wifey has managed to get us tickets to see Mogwai tonight at the Royal Festival Hall, so my day can only get better. Bring the noise!
I went to a concert on Saturday and I was sat next to a grumpy-looking chap, about my age, with ginger hair and sideburns, who was reading the very hefty “The Origin of the Species” at quiet moments, who stoically refused to applaud - even for an excellent performance of Chopin’s piano concerto #1. He stumbled upon me at the interval as I was gulping down my two glasses of wine, and scowled - the irredeemable cunt!
I could have spent half an hour doing something more productive but them’s the breaks as a ratepayer.
Attn.: Transport Group, Wellington City Council
via email
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We’re very happy that WCC has contracted Fulton Hogan to reseal Mamari Street, Rongotai. The road was in need of repair and it was done with very little fuss or annoyance to the residents. The road workers were extremely courteous and made sure that we could carry on with our business without delay.
But—and there’s always a but—the entry to the street is more compromised than before, certainly more so than it was after the last repair.
The design of the entrance from Coutts Street is akin to that of a driveway now, rather than a street, which normally I would not have a problem about. In fact, for security, it makes the street look more private and out-of-bounds than it really is.
I know that the Council and Fulton Hogan would have seen this as an improvement and I thank you for that consideration.
There are some road safety issues as a result of the improvement, which you would not have been aware of without being a resident of Mamari Street.
That corner (outside Leo’s and 163 Coutts Street) has traditionally collected a lot of water. Now, because of the way the entrance is designed, more water collects in the new gutter, making it hard for motorists, especially those unfamiliar with the street, to see that it’s not a regular turn from Coutts Street, but more like a driveway. I see potential for accidents as a result of this; at the least damage to suspensions at the carriageway edge and gutter. This has become apparent with the extra rain we've been getting since the road works.
Secondly, the corner on Coutts Street between Salek and Mamari Streets is notorious for tailgating. Again, this would be something you wouldn’t have known. Some motorists will tailgate more on that corner, unaware of the pedestrian crossing there, or that the car in front has slowed to turn into Mamari Street, despite indicating. In the past one could make a hasty but safe retreat into Mamari Street if tailgated. Today, I am not so sure as the driver of the first car would have to slow down considerably more and tailgaters might not be able to react in time.
Thirdly, exiting Mamari Street is now more difficult, especially with front-wheel-drive cars which, as you know, form the majority of modern cars unless you go to neighbourhoods with BMWs and Mercedes. The gutter and carriageway crossfall from Mamari to Coutts now make it hard for these cars to get traction and on a wet day, wheelspins aren't uncommon.
With the increased traffic to and from the Warehouse in Lyall Bay, this intersection has become far busier and wheelspins, while a motorist is trying to join the main road, are potentially dangerous.
It’s another thing you would not have known without living here: with the greater number of SUVs and minivans, it is not always easy to see out of Mamari Street. We often have to come out into Coutts more than we safely should to see what is approaching from the southern end. A motorist coming out of Mamari Street risks getting T-boned as some drivers from Coutts coming from the northwestern side are not always prepared to slow down for the pedestrian crossing or for motorists exiting from the smaller street—sadly, we New Zealanders can be mean-spirited drivers. But to avoid wheelspins motorists may have to come out into the crossfall or risk the front wheels going back into the gutter.
Fourthly—and this is one that maybe affects me and one other neighbour more than other residents—the verge from Mamari Street to Coutts Street is at a more severe angle than I would like even though it is probably within your guidelines as being acceptable. My car is not a low car, but one neighbour has a Corolla with a spoiler. Even on mine I hear the tiny front spoiler (it is not a large boy-racer one, but a simple plastic air dam) scrape as I exit Mamari Street and enter the Coutts Street carriageway. I hate to think what it would do to her car which does have a larger, after-market front spoiler.
If it was just one issue I’d have been happy to put up and shut up, but faced with several potential hazards, especially the ones that are now becoming apparent with the rain, I hope you can look into this.
I am not sure what the best solution is, but the faux brick paving of Salek Street may be a solution for Mamari Street if the aim is to slow entering motorists. Whatever the case, I believe the entrance to the street should resemble that of a street, rather than a driveway, for safety reasons, even if I personally like the idea of living on a secluded, private-looking street.
Very truly yours,
Jack Yan
13 Mamari Street
(04) ***-****
cc for Councillor Leonie Gill, Eastern Ward
As I pasted this in, I thought: in the old days you might back this up with a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, or send it to someone higher up than the person you were addressing it to, to get extra attention. Now we just turn them into open letters and stick them on our blogs. Power to the people?
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05/16/08 Toad’s Place New Haven, CT
Discography
05/22/08 Slims San Francisco, CA 05/24/08 Les Schwab Amp Bend, OR 05/25/08 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA 05/28/08 Henry Fonda Theater LA, CA 06/06/08 Wakarusa Festival Lawrence, KS 06/07/08 Slowdown Omaha, NE 06/08/08 Bluebird St. Louis, MO 06/10/08 Bricktown Ballroom Oklahoma, Ok 06/11/08 Granada Theatre Dallas, TX 06/12/08 Warehouse Live Houston, TX 06/13/08 Emo’s Austin, TX 06/14/08 Rev Room Little Rock, AR 06/15/08 Hi-Tone Memphis, TN 06/17/08 Southgate House Newport, KY 06/18/08 Mr. Small’s Theatre Pittsburgh, PA 06/21/08 Popped! Festival Philadelphia, PA 06/25/08 Pemberton Festival Pemberton, BC 08/01/08 Lollapalooza-Grant Park Chicago,IL 08/08/08 All Points West Liberty State, NJ 09/26/08 Austin City Limits Festival TX
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Mates of State are back with Re-Arrange Us, coming out May 20th. Let me tell you that this girl-boy duo knows great pop music.
I first heard about them on a 2003 CMJ compilation with a little song called "Ha Ha", but I didn't think much of it. By 2006, after being signed to Barsuk Records, I remember I started seeing that distinctive "indie cover" artwork with Mates of State's husband and wife team, Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, in a very strange half embrace.
There's some great pop tunes on Re-Arrange Us, but the song that the record label approved us to use is "My Only Offer", which I already liked so I have no problem with using this particular song. I thought the trumpet, played by Gary Olson, was a very nice addition to the song.
There's a few great songs, including, "Jigsaw", which basically has Jason repeating lyrics sung by Kori (actually, after reading the credits, it lists Ben Gibbard, from Death Cab For Cutie, as backup vocals). It's really easy to sing along, so I think this would be a great live concert pleaser. Also would play great is "Now", which has the simple, but catchy "Now now now now now now. Now now now now now now, who who who?"
I also really dug "The Re-Arranger", which is basically what the album was named after. This song sounds like it's escaped from the 60s and made a stop in the 80s, before resurfacing now.
The duo are currently doing some tour dates to promote Re-Arrange Us, so catch them if you're able. According to their official website, if you pre-order the album, it should arrive in your mailbox on the 20th, but you can usually find Barsuk records at most good record stores.
PS, apparently the band is a fan of the "Little Boxes" song (there is a live rendition on their myspace). I wonder if they got involved with the song because of Death Cab for Cutie's version or because they're also doing a theme song for Weeds?
I'm not sure quite how it happened so fast, but my little girl is 2.
She had a party with a bouncy castle and balloons and pink cake and icecream and swarms of menacing 2-year-olds rampaging around the garden in deceptively adorable party frocks.
She was asleep when the men came to deflate the bouncy castle and take it away. Mr S and I didn't mention anything when she woke up, and were thus chilled by a scream some 45 minutes later;
WHERE MY BOUNCY TASTLE??????
We explained that the bouncy castle had come for the party and had gone away now, but if we were lucky maybe it would come back next birthday.
NO, she declared simply and stormed off to the garden where she spent a good 10 minutes examining the grass where the castle had stood, gesticulating wildly and muttering to herself,
Where my tastle? Where it gone? My bouncy tastle! Gone! Where???!!
As if hoping that by peering hard enough at the ground she might find it hiding behind a flattened blade of grass.
What's the best thing about your mom?
She is freaking hilarious but she'll only let you know it if she wants you to. Otherwise you'd pretty much think she's really quiet and keeps to herself. I love that about her.
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I love bacon, and I love sneakers.... so by transference, I would also love Bacon Shoe. These two MCs (Lethal D and Mr. Ruggles) and one DJ (DJ SKU), are a comedy hip-hop crew from rap hotbed of Kansas City.
I couldn't find any information on their debut album, Ass, originally released in 1997, but obviously that's a decade (!!) prior to Back from Stinktion (that's extinction for you non-hipsters).
Although there's no pending pressure that they're on tour or are in need of promotion, I was inspired enough after watching their misadventures in SXSW 2006 (their album came with a bonus DVD) to write about it.
It seems to me that they only had a few booked/confirmed shows in Austin, because the time that they weren't booked, they drove to various bars and started playing music and rapping. What's really interesting is that in one of the videos, you can see the slow buildup of passerby people actually stopping and watching them perform.
They're incredibly mobile and, watching their behind-the-scene stuff, they're quite funny.
The music portion of the album doesn't quite capture their live energy, it makes it up with various comedy bits. Like on "Toine in the Studio" doing some intentionally horrible unrhyming freestyle or on "A New Discovery Shed" where Lethal accidentally dropped "sometime you gotta bend over and take it up the a** a little bit. Erm, no you don't. I'm sorry, That's not true. I never done that before, so don't think I'm like..."
My favorite song is "Cheesedick", mostly because I think of Aqua Teen Hunger Force whenever I hear it.
Bacon Shoe's Back from Stinktion is a great album to have right next to your MC Frontalot collection. The bonus DVD added a nice value to the album, so get the physical copy from CD Baby.
Links:
www.baconshoe.com
myspace.com/baconshoe
last.fm/music/Bacon+Shoe
Interesting commentary on ABC’s brand-new hit shows for 2008 in the American TV Week:
Buzz projects: Game show “Opportunity Knocks,” which takes the game show out of the studio and into contestants’ front yards, is gaining steam. An adaptation of British crime drama “Life on Mars” is virtually on the air, although producer David E. Kelley’s involvement is in doubt.
We know Life on Mars is a remake, but Opportunity Knocks? Talk about reviving something very, very old.
It began on BBC Radio in 1949 and the Hughie Green TV version on ITV began in 1960 in the UK.
While this version sounds a bit different (‘contestants’ front yards’?) I can’t help but think it’s somehow the same show—it certainly sounds like a talent show with everyday contestants, as with the original.
The original was infamous for having a young Su Pollard beaten by a dog and some dude called Gerry Dorsey (Engelbert Humperdinck to most of us) getting rejected at auditions. But it was a solid ratings’ hit for ITV and Thames in its day.
It was so famous that Benny Hill did a parody of it in 1971, pretending it was on German television:
Again, I shall be interested to see what transpires, and I mean that most sincerely, folks.
Just as I finished writing about Philip Glenister getting his driver off a ticket by acting as Gene Hunt, I surfed over to an article about Canadian actor William Shatner linked from the Daily Mail page I cited earlier:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=565380&in_page_id=1879
In the 1960s, Shatner wore his Capt Kirk uniform rushing to work and was also stopped. He writes:
I got out of my car, dressed in my uniform. The police officer looked me up and down, frowned and asked: “So where are you going so fast at this time in the morning?”
I told him the truth: “To my spaceship.”
He sighed. “OK, go ahead,” he said, before adding the Vulcan blessing: “Live long and prosper.”
Nothing new under the sun.
The story is quite good, told in the first person. Shatner recounts his lows and the death of his third wife (after what seems to be the final paragraph talking about the price of his autobiography).
