Pruning
Yes folks, it is winter, and we all know what that means… it’s Rose Mutilation Time! (Hurrah.) Not that we ought to be feeling too sorry for said roses, though, since they do have very nasty thorns and they do know how to use them to great effect (yes, I own gardening gloves; what’s your point?). Anyway, my roses are but faded shadows of their former selves, which ought to see them go nuts in about three months’ time, with any luck. Worked like that last year, at any rate, although I guess Mum was here for it then, and she’s probably a bit more ruthless than I am when it comes to snipping. I have tried my hardest this time, and I think there are few places where Mum would tsk me.
Now all I have to do is remember to fertilise them.
Bookcrossing… yay!!!
How cool is this!! Excuse my excitement, but one of the books I released yesterday has been registered as found!! Yippee!! I would guess that the others have been found too, just not registered.
I hope that I may add “not yet” into that last clause and it proves true.
Anyway, I am excited to bursting that Aeneid has been found, and the person who found it said they would read and release it!
Yay. How exciting.
Bookcrossing
I haven’t released any books for a very long time, but I did today – four! The joys of public transport. I do hope they get picked up by people who appreciate them. I also hope it encourages me to do it with more books… since I hang on to them rather selfishly most of the time.
Dead fishie
Well, it’s a bit sad, but somehow I feel the grinding wheels of inevitability have just turned once more. The runt angel fish died yesterday – spent most of the day moping near one the filters, and ended up against it with nary a fin movement. I don’t know whether he got picked on to death or what, but he is gone. Sigh.
On the up side, ten days of neglect don’t seem to have harmed the tank in the slightest. The plants all look good and there were no deaths (that we can see). The fish were awfully happy to be fed when we got home though.
Robert Plant…
… and the Strange Sensations; I finally got around to listening to their album, Mighty Rearranger, yesterday. It’s not bad. The different songs are moderately eclectic, which is nice…
Some of the lyrics are derivative. Well, OK, I’ve found two examples. And for a little while I was a bit concerned that saying that was sacrilegeous… until I remembered that for starters I’m only assuming that it was Robert Plant who wrote the lyrics, and for a second, this is the man who wrote numerous songs with strong references to Lord of the Rings, which I heartily approved. The lyrics? One song talks about “The Father, Son and Holy Ghost” doing something near the coast (American Pie, of course); another has something about “your love light” – leaving it on or something (Blues Brothers 2000).
Overall, I like it.
Wolfmother
Another band I am obsessing over a bit at the moment, which is a bit trying given they only have an EP out at the moment, with four songs on it. Their website promises an album soon, though, which is exciting. They’re Australian, which is brilliant… but I think I am drawn to them because they really sound like Led Zeppelin. Strong guitar and keyboard bits, compelling vocalist… I don’t know how to describe it, I’m no muso (that’s why I play bass), but “Dimension” is just fantastic, and “White Unicorn” is that kind of eclectic weird-out possibly heading for psychedelic stuff that shows LZ’s range as well.
Ok… enough on that… they’re just COOL.
J plays with camera
So this is J playing with his new camera. He did this when he first got it, too, and had some excellent opportunities with angels and even Fido posing for him, but because he wasn’t using a tripod the pics apparently weren’t that good.
I think the fish got annoyed with him and decided to move a lot just as he pressed the button, in this one.
I pruned today. A lot. There is now actually light on the right-hand side; that’s an amzing thing.
Beck
While I’m at it I might as well rave that I also am really enjoying Beck’s new album, Guero (which I believe is Mexican slang for ‘white boy’, in a bit of a nasty way). It’s cool – has a range of different sounds in the songs, including some with awesome bass bits, which Beck apparently plays himself, along with the guitar. J thinks that he sounds a bit whiney, but I must disagree. I’ve always liked Beck, ever since he did the theme song for An Ordinary Life, which was a fantastic film that didn’t get the exposure I thought it deserved.
Anyway, so I am expanding my musical horizons.
Led Zeppelin
I just created a new category simply because I want to rave about Led Zeppelin. So, SO cool! I could listen to Led Zeppelin all day and not get bored. In fact, I think I could listen just to Kashmir all day and not get bored – well, not too bored.
How did someone who was barely born in the Led Zep era get so obsessive? Blame the show Dancing in the Streets that was shown on the ABC when I was in Year 12. I loved that show; sucked it up be the strawful; and was heavily influenced. As a consequence, I like Johnny Lee Hooker; I really like Cream; and I love Led Zep. I nearly staed home this weekend just to go to Let’s Zep, a Led Zeppelin tribute band, playing at a pub in Carlton.
I bought the DVD of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page doing MTV in 1995 a couple of weeks ago – I already had the album: wow. Amazing. Sad that Page got ugly, but Plant doesn’t look much different, only older. They did four new songs for the album, and they’re just about my favourites on the whole thing. I also got the Led Zep double DVD of them at 5 or 6 different concerts, plus some TV footage etc. I’ve only watched a little bit of that, since I haven’t really had 5 or so spare hours recently and I figure I should at least watch the entirety of each concert in one sitting, or if remotely possible the entire thing (chances?).
On top of those, I bought Robert Plant’s new album, which I actually haven’t got around to listening to yet; what an indictment. I like that he is still doing stuff – and quite different stuff, I think.
So. Yay. Led Zeppelin.
Deathstalker/Long weekend
Ok, so… in Lorne for the loong weekend, and I didn’t leave the house in about 48 hours. That’s not to say I didn’t go outside – I did, they have a perfectly lovely balcony. We dragged cushions out there and slept for a bit in the sun on Saturday afternoon; it was great.
Anyway, I started my third book of the weekend this morning. The first two were the Deathstalkers I mentioned. Really good. The book – even two books – before, I was getting a little bit distressed that maybe, just maybe, he was losing The Touch a bit; he was repeating stuff in the same book, whole phrases in fact (which is fine if it’s a character’s catch phrase, but when it’s the narrator describing something, I’m not such a fan), and I was getting a bit narked. But never fear – these were really well written, so it’s all good. Except… yes… I realised when I got home that I have not, as previously thought, bought all of the next books. I have Deathstalker Prelude, which I am looking forward to reading, but I don’t have the one after Deathstalker Legacy, which is making me a bit mad. But the Readers’ Feast night is coming up, so I’m not that fussed… they will soon be in my grubby little hands.
Randomly Yours, Alex 