DiRT

Colin McRae DiRT is a fantastic racer. It's all cool when my car (usually my Mitsubishi Evo IX) gets covered in dust and mud and shit and I win by 22 seconds because Clubman is simply too easy. Speaking of dust...

Predictable photo? Screw you! So I woke up at 5:50am on doomsday and I was pretty freaked out. I though my eyes were bleeding. Then I thought there were bushfires and stuff. Then I went on facebook and Matilda told me it was a dust storm.

The weather has been pretty crappy recently. I was hoping it'd stay all hot and summery but it's now windy. I loaded my 5-stack CD player and was planning to do some outside study, but I thought it was going to start raining when the wind changed so I went inside. My records were:

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Kanye West - The College Dropout
3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
4. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
5. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief

I decided to go 2000s because I'm so frightfully modern and hip.

Here's a photo from today:

That was before the wind changed and the dark clouds scared me.

Oh yeah, I also tried to play some Sega Megadrive yesterday, but because it connects to my TV via RF cable through the antenna plug, I couldn't get it to work and I was not prepared to manually search through 199 channels to find if it was working. I was devastated, I am hardcore craving Sonic The Hedgehog 2.

So then I tried to set up my NES through the dinosaur AV cables (yellow for video, black for mono sound!). That was working, but someone was totally farked with the power supply and it kept turning on and off and on and off and it was shit because I wanted to play ExciteBike and Super Mario Bros. Now I've got a lot of work to do in order to play some old school games. HD gaaaames are no problem, though. Well, they aren't HD because I don't have a HD TV. DiRT looks amazing in HD.

So I decided to play some Nintendo 64. And so I began a new game on Super Mario 64, and it was pretty great, soooo nostalgic. I also decided to get out my ol' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time GOLD cartridge because that's the best game of all time. OF ALL TIME!

DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World

The Feeling Is Hollow

Only after today do I realise who the true friends are. Sure, a lot of people signed my shirt, people who I only ever see at school, but the post-graduation evening is where the real friends shine through. There's people, a select few, that are not in my direct group of friends who I'd love to keep in contact with; Metcalfe, Wylob, Zeb, Bouzios and Pranav come to mind instantly. There's people I'm glad I'll never have to see again (bar HSC exams).

After the graduation, I greatly enjoyed the evening. I top dinner with the best friends anyone could ever ask for. I never want to lose any of the guys tonight:
Aiden
Pills
Hugh
Al
Tahren
Bouzo
Eli
Alex
Tom
Harry
Everyone is unique and everyone is fantastic.

Only today, my final day, did I feel a part of the school. While I got no special mentions (jipped), the guard of honour illustrated all the people that I've built friendships with, from years 7 to 11. My fellow year 12s were not all friends. Most I didn't like at all, and I'm sure the feeling was mutual, but we all bonded today. All of us will never see some again.

Now I'm very, vert tired.
Peace out.

Season 1 & 4

I'm pretty sure Claude Monet painted "Water Lillies" in summer. What other season could produce such beauty? Spring, I hear you say? Shut up, I say to you.

Everyone's aware I've been talking about summer a lot recently. I'm just so excited about it. It's going to be so totally chill and hot so I can hang by the pool in my fluoro boardies with black and white and yellow cubey design on it that are above the knee (because I party) and have the ultimate in summer playlist booming over the valley my house backs onto. Take that children-next-door, your terrible radio pop will be overpowered by my music, with everything from The Avalanches to Amy Winehouse, You Am I to Public Enemy. I cannot wait.

When I get a computer back, I'll totally compose an amazing playlist, one so epic and flawless that the world won't know what hit it. It will cater for all times, the "Oh my god it's too hot to even swim" days, the "Hells yeah, pool party!" times, the "The sunset is so pretty" hour and the "Fuck off, flies, I'm trying to eat dinner outside!" moments. It'll be like 1,ooo songs of perfection.

But summer is a time for gatherings with friends. It's the perfect time to chill with mates in a desperate attempt to stay cool while the sun gives you cancer, where you try to impress that girl who you see up at the local take-away getting an ice cream, and you live your days a little later because the days are longer, and you sleep naked and still end up sweating up a storm. You go for a bike ride and hope to god you make it back home before you dehydrate completely, but then your best friend rings you and you pedal like crazy to get to his place to max your poolside time, then you eat a nice, hot pie and ask yourself "It's 38 degrees, why am I eating a pie?" but you don't care because pies are the fucking boss, so you wash it down with warm Pepsi/Coke and swim till your eyes sting and your back peels and you shout to the heavens "I LOVE SUMMER!"

An then, when it's night and there's gross bush fly things, you go for a walk because it's still kinda light and really warm and that's what everyone else is doing, so you go hang in a park, but don't drink because you don't want to because you just want to chill on the grass. And then the next morning, you don't wanna waste water, so you swim rather than shower, then your hair is all clumped and chlorine-ey and you feel great, and so with this great feeling, you go party down with other friends but it's more just watch cricket or tennis because that's why summer was invented.

And summer contains my birthday, which should epitomise all the chilling experience at my place and whoever reads this blog (and I know) will come over and we can bust out a keg while we barbecue some souvlaki (Al's not allowed to BBQ, just Harry and I), the barbecue which we set up in the rock near the pool because it's cool and old school, and some burgers and chicken. Also, Christmas Day is usually the bomb because the majority of my family is fucken gnarly, espesh by cousins and my uncle Manios, that guy is so rad, and Christmas Day involves more swimming after Christmas Eve which involves not sleeping and being restless and going "ZOMG, I wanna build my brand new Lego that I aksed for!" because Lego is fantastic.

And women. I like women. But one in particular.

Well, that's what I do, at least...

Summer Teaser Playlist:

POOL PARTY AT MINE, EVERYONE'S INVITED!

1. The Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun
2. The Bees - Punchbag
3. Amy Winehouse - You Know That I'm No Good
4. Lupe Fiasco - Kick, Push
5. Gorillaz - DARE
6. Peter Tosh - Legalize It
7. Antonio Vivaldi - Summer - 1 (Allegro Non Molto)

Top 5's

Albums

1. The Beatles - Revolver
2. The Kinks - The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
3. Radiohead - OK Computer
4. Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
5. The Beatles - Abbey Road

Songs

1. The Beatles - Helter Skelter
2. Pulp - Common People
3. Bob Dylan - Queen Jane Approximately
4. The Beatles - Eight Days A Week
5. The Who - Pinball Wizard

Hip-Hop / Rap Albums

1. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
2. Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle
3. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
4. Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst
5. Nas - Illmatic

Movies

1. A Clockwork Orange (1971, Stanley Kubrick)
2. Spirited Away (2001, Hayao Miyazaki)
3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, John Hughes)
4. Clerks (1994, Kevin Smith)
5. Dirty Harry (1971, Don Siegel)

Video Games

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo 64)
2. Super Mario Bros. (1985, Nintendo Entertainment System)
3. Super Mario 64 (1996, Nintendo 64)
4. Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Nintendo Wii)
5. Chrono Trigger (1995, Super Nintendo Entertainment System)

Glam Albums

1. David Bowie - The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars
2. Roxy Music - Country Life
3. T. Rex - Electric Warrior
4. Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
5. Mott The Hoople - Mott

Indie Albums

1. The Replacements - Let It Be
2. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
3. Sebadoh - Bubble and Scrape
4. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
5. Neutral Milk Hotel - In An Airplane Over the Sea

Punk Albums

1. The Clash - London Calling
2. The Stooges - Fun House
3. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
4. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
5. Fugazi - Repeater

Folk Albums

1. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
2. Neil Young - On The Beach
3. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
4. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
5. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

Electronica / Dance Albums

1. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
2. Leftfield - Leftism
3. The Avalanches - Since I Left You
4. The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
5. The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land

Shoot The Damn Rhino, Too

As some would know, I've been wanting this novel for a while. I finally got it today. For the first time, I was wanting to read a novel. I was eager to get home. I was excited when I opened it up and read:

"We were sitting in the blind that Wanderobo hunters had built of twigs and branches at the edge of the salt-lick when we heard the truck coming."

Hemingway dropped me straight into Africa. It was authentic because the book is autobiographical. It was good.

I'd say this is a pretty accurate listing of my interests:

1. Music
2. Video games
3. Fine art - Paintings
4. Movies
5. Literature

Literature is #5 by a long way because I don't read much. I've never bothered to get into reading because all the modern books people recommended to me (Hellooo "Ice Station" by Matthew Reilly) have been shitty and unenjoyable. I've read some Penguin Classics ("Moby Dick; Or The Whale" and "A Clockwork Orange" to name-drop) and the are the bomb. "Frankenstein" is pure trash. "Romulus, My Father" is the biggest waste of paper I've ever tried to engage with. I'd have more fun reading a blank page than "Romulus...".

People, recommend some good books to read, but start easy, I'm still a literature noob. Yes, Hannah, I'll read "A Room With A View". Yes, Harry, I'll read "1984" when I can find my copy. Also, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" looks pretty funny. No Russians, plox.

I'm in a bit of a Top 5's mood, so I'ma get my listage on. Luckily I've got some Public Enemy to keep my buzz going.

I LOVE YOU IGGY POP! YOU ARE THE GODFATHER OF PUNK AND I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL!

Nick Drake - Cello Song

Wow

I had such a shitty day compared to the two on the weekend. Saturday was good, I hung in Newtown for the first time, and next time, it'll be for longer. Sunday was just so chilled, so that was great.

Today was just a long day at school, though the boombox was ultimately fantastic. The bus and train home was headache-inducing and I was pretty much just in a vegetative state all afternoon. Thankfully Drive Like Jehu's "Yank Crime" was simply the perfect thing to listen to. Brain thrashing while sitting on the bus in pain.

Why is Kanye such a retard? Come on, Taylor Swift may suck, but I'd rather be subjected to her video clips than Beyonce's.

Also, Juarez in Mexico is a fucking dangerous place, so many people being shot over cocaine like every hours. Sheet.

Sport is so lame. Seriously, who gives a shit about fucking rugby league. It's like the shortest sport ever, as well. Why is the bulldogs chilling on the beach a news story? Fuck!

I want this headache to go, I've got an evening to enjoy pain-free.

Yes, Nadal is out of the US Open. I hate that guy.

Time to listen to Stand! by Sly & The Family Stone. Funk is god's music.

Here We Go, Another Def Jam

Poo poo poo poo poo is how I'm feeling right now.
The Matrix Reloaded is the definition of suck.
Phone porn ads are running rampant in the breaks, along with Advanced Medical Institute ads. People can't get it up, I get it.
Ponyo is one of the worst characters ever created, she is infuriating.
I want "Green Hills of Africa" by Ernest Hemmingway.
"Maquee Moon" is one of the greatest albums ever. As is "You're Living All Over Me".
I need to lose weight.
I need to sort shit out, otherwise my life will go down the shitter.
Get proactive, Con!
And get a good ATAR.
No pressure or anything...

Download:

The Small Faces - Lazy Sunday

Sydney Symphony

Tomorrow will be my final attendance to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's "Meet the Music" series. I've not missed a show since year 9, so this will be #16.

The aim of the school doing this is to broaden a musical exposure to classical stuff a mere 4 times a year. Looks like school finally did something helpful.

There are some assholes (you know who they are) who ditch the SSO's series. All this does it seclude them further from any sort of formally rad music.

Unfortunately, we've seen some true duds at the MTM series. More often than not, it was the token Australian composition. Brett Dean and Peter Sculthorpe, you are both shit. And merely one Stravinsky piece in 4 years of attendance.

If you've never been to a symphony, I highly recommend MTM. It's noob classical (me) and gives a basic intro to orchestras and what not. Otherwise, you'll remain and uncultured fool and I shall be superior to thee.

Also, next time Swan Lake, The Nutcracker Suite or The Firebird Suite ballets are performed, who would like to go with me? Yes, I'm willing to, as a very straight man, take another guy to the ballet.

Lastly, anyone wanna see Wicked with me sometimes when it's on?

DOWNLOAD:

Ryan Adams - New York, New York

School

I can't wait to get out of that place. It's so bloody restricting and shit. I've never really enjoyed my time within the Newington community. There's just too much crap about sport and "challenging" the expectations from the new headmaster and deputy headmaster. I mean the brand spanking new heads have more school spirit that I have ever had.

Dad always said that if I hated it so much, why didn't I leave? Clearly I wanted to stay at Newington to be with my awesome friends and because I've been provided a great education. I'd much rather deal with the school's gayness and get a good ATAR score than have fun and be a fucking dero at the local high school.

But come on, Newington, you're a school, not a town. You don't need to force us to be a part of the school, your main focus should be on providing an EDUCATION. Good work, school, make sporting events compulsory but "encourage" us to be there to support the debating teams and artistic events. I say whatever, I don't go to shit except the stuff that will make me lose my prefectship. Sorry debating teams, drama guys, musicians and fine artists, 6 years and I never really bothered.

I had a cool night-daydream while listening to The Mercy Seat by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds not long ago. We played it at assembly and caused a full-scale student rebellion and it was rad and I had Nick Cave hair and everyone was going off. Imagine the gnarliness of that.

Last few weeks of school are coming up and I'm gonna chill, but I've gotta still work if I'm going to get band sixes in IPT and Music. And a band five in Chemistry would be nice. I've got potential for a band six for maths, says my teacher, which is nice.

The Scare - No Money