Rich's Journal

As is customary at this time of year... in no particular order:

• SOUND OF SILVER, LCD Soundsystem


• BECAUSE OF THE TIMES, Kings Of Leon


• ICKY THUMP, The White Stripes


• KALA, M.I.A.


• NEON BIBLE, Arcade Fire


• THE MIX UP, Beastie Boys


• POCKET SYMPHONY, Air


• 45:33, LCD Soundsystem


• ECHOES PATIENCE SILENCE & GRACE, Foo Fighters


• IN OUR NATURE, Jose Gonzalez


• IT'S A BIT COMPLICATED, Art Brut

Honourable mentions also go to the following, which I did not purchase:

• YEAR ZERO, Nine Inch Nails


• MESSAGES, To My Boy


• NOISE WON'T STOP, Shy Child


• PUZZLE, Biffy Clyro


• ✝, Justice


• ATTACK DECAY SUSTAIN RELEASE, Simian Mobile Disco


• YOURS TRULY ANGRY MOB, Kaiser Chiefs


• VOLTA, Bjork


• OUR EARTHLY PLEASURES, Maximo Park

Despite going to the effort of checking the UTSU Bowling page and checking e-mails frequently to see if Past v Present was happening this year - even resorting to the dedicated Myspace page for info (all of which yielded no results), I was bemused to discover that it did indeed go ahead! I was not informed of the event's date/time leaving me a bit concerned that I had been excluded from proceedings.

Update: Mark mentioned something about a Facebook group, but I remain sceptical about the situation!...

Well I went up there on Friday and quite frankly it seems a bit dead in there during the day! Popped in on Friday afternoon only to be told to go because the cleaners were all in there cleaning up! Charming. On top of that, it was closed one night recently for whatever reason, so apart from club nights, when can you go up there to just chill out with a drink and Wi-Fi connection? At the start of the year it looked like it was going to be a promising parallel extension of the Terrace Bar! I may have been dreaming it but I think the pool tables had been removed last time I was up there!!!

Wahey we won the first quiz of the year again. leading the charge with 69 points was our team, 'Bernard, Manny and Fran'. We had some interesting competition in the form of 'Sociology Sociopaths' who came in second place. The moment of truth at the end was captured on video and can be viewed on my Myspace page.

"Start as we mean to go on," said one of our team tonight.

And what a start.

The 10 audio round songs were:

madonna - like a prayer
fedde le grand vs ida corr - let me think about it
n*e*r*d - she wants to move
sash! - encore une fois
source/candi staton - you got the love
ll cool j - phenomenon
wheatus - teenage dirtbag
foo fighters - the pretender
fpi project - rich in paradise
lucy pearl - don't mess with my man

i have just come out of the student union after a quick drink in the terrace bar to find hoards of those "chav" "townie" thingies clogging up the union staircase on their way out from a club one night they put on for them. why on our beloved campus? there was some argy bargy at the entrance between two or three of these people... us students are just going about our business and the union should not be catering to these sorts! Thats what it was, "chav night" or something.. meh! what's goin on man? police sirens etc co-incidence i think not. Why do they hold something for them here on our campus?

Sort it out

4th June. Roughly 50% more vouchers by then.

Be there.

So in keeping with my friends' blogs I thought I would enlighten you, dear reader, with tales of my (essentially nightclub-related) weekend exploits. The fun started on Thursday night when I returned to The Crown after something like an 18-month hiatus. Also in attendance was Ash (who has also written about this night), Benji, Morwood, AK, Vasso, Moony, Statto and ran into a few old faces in the form of Lorna from Shopping, and one of the Women's Rugby girls working behind the bar. The music was great, the crowd was lookin' good, and the drink flowed. Of course, not for me, I'm teetotal. However some tw*t at the end of the night was chucking plastic shot-size containers. (How do you describe them?) Anyway because I met an interesting girl who got thrown out for being legless, I avoided much of that. So yeah this damsel in distress wanted me to walk her home 'cos she was in a pretty vulnerable state. At the end of her street she said she could make it back and I got her name, number and a quick kiss on the lips! I don't expect to hear from her though, but I bet I see her in The Crown again next time!

Friday night was Sumo at The Cornerhouse. Having decided this would be a weekend dedicated to pulling, I chatted up another lass but this time she got my number against her will! She said she was not into meeting new people in clubs. Seizing the opportunity I suggested we meet someplace else and I typed my number into her phone, long story short! Saturday night was The Empire - didn't do too well trying to dance with one or two girlies. Introspective? Awkward? Shy? Sober? You decide!

On another note, 'The Science Of Sleep' is an excellent film - see it sometime.

great news. the music zone stores are operating again, not sure if that includes the original ones that were shed at the start of january, but as long as the redcar one is re-open, that is great news for the town's high street. must pop down there this week when i get better. thanks to the retailer Fopp for buying out music zone :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6333163.stm

I had a very interesting "second interview" with a Stockton-based marketing firm the other day. Sounds promising, right?

What it involved was going door-to-door in residential estates, learning to sell ourselves and the product we had been plied with, such as monthly charity donations, life insurance, etc. Turns out this second interview involved an "observation day", which I knew was coming, but didn't know at this stage. The confusing aspect was that we didn't get started til around 1:30pm. I joked it must be an "observation half-day", yet the truth is my supervisors were going out until as late as 8:30pm. Luckily for me I told them beforehand I didn't realise how long this was going to be and that I had to be somewhere at 5pm. So, my observation half-day became true in the end.

I had to walk round with a relatively more experienced guy, ticking off the houses we visited and the (non-)sales we harvested. I declined any encouragement from the guy to speak up and sell these wares, pointing out this was 'observation' and not 'participation'.

To the 40-or-so residents we spoke to in the Ingleby Barwick area: Hope we didn't bother you too much!

To the three ladies who signed up for the charity donations: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You made the experience a lot more tolerable.

To the three blokes who shooed us away with a forceful "Not interested" before shutting the door in our faces: Er, fair enough but again, sorry to bother you!

Getting back to familiar territory (i.e. my car) at 5pm, A co-incidental twist had occured: I noticed my mate Dave's car parked on the other side of the street. It was only the following evening when we discussed our interviews I realised Dave had been through the same thing, at the same company, at the same time, except he had to go much further afield (Newton Aycliffe) and stay out til 9pm.

In conclusion, I remained enthusiastic and went along for the experience, and to see just what it was like. I met some great people but this just was not the job for me.

In other news, I ended up being the 130th best Tenpin Bowling student in the country at Nottingham this weekend (I'm a part-timer!). And that was with a house ball. Let's see what rewards I can reap in Sheffield this Sunday.

Maybe a blog is the last place i should mention this, but i have totally fallen for someone who i've seen in the student union lately - i know her name, and we have talked a little since she knows a mate of mine (nothing going on between them). I've been thinking about her quite a bit lately so if i see her this week i'm gonna have to get the courage to talk to her some more. she's so cool!

Now i have sure done the whole "ask out for a drink" thing before and have had mixed results on these eventual rendez-vous. There's a tendency to repeat the positive - and avoid the negative - outcomes from the "lessons learnt" on previous outings. I've had the odd disastrous drink but a recent one was amazingly good, even if i have always managed to screw it up somehow. Anyway, something for the regular readers out there to, well, read...

Ones I own
1. the raconteurs - broken boy soldiers
2. the flaming lips - at war with the mystics
3. breaks co-op - the sound inside
4. the young knives - voices of animals and men
5. p diddy - press play
6. scissor sisters - ta-dah
7. the notorious b.i.g. - duets: the final chapter

Ones I don't own, but big shout outs to:
1. thom yorke - eraser
2. tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
3. the knife - silent shout
4. gnarls barkley - st. elsewhere
5. ok go - oh no
6. css - cansei de ser sexy
7. guillemots - through the windowpane
8. basement jaxx - crazy itch radio
9. hot chip - the warning
10. the magic numbers - those the brokes
11. beck - the information
12. sparks - hello young lovers
13. scott matthews - passing stranger

Going through my emails I found one I missed earlier...

Who, what, urm...? Anyone?

From : John Stevens <johns@hadmore.com>
Sent : 16 March 2005 03:07:46
To : (Fabulous Rich)
Subject : Wed info..

satisfactory Targ-style dance but the bugs went to Tesco. [i keep wanting to type Tescos. Why?] That time I lost my faher in Tesco. i wss wearing sunglasses and wandering around aisle to aisle looking for my hat. i have shamed the socks with my dad. i stare at the moon & Rail & his ladywomen were there & Alex who was taller than I remembered & of course the lovely Emma too, though i spoke words to her numbering but five. and there was much wailing & gnashing of teeth. and the closed restaurants. Last night my father asks me to hurt the chap's feelings. Subtley I admire Potters Bar's serene blue sky, take in the film and not too much swearing. My memory is sooo good. David Mamet must have curse words on Ctrl-V. Still they said they enjoyed it. Jack Lemmon deserved Pacino's Oscar nomination. He is so overrated. Hoo Ha. I got back I found 17 of my shaking hands, whiskey breath and total disbelief in my absence. A credit card statement & a half pairs. They were fifteen lonley & unique socks and one happy pair.) But this was two weeks ago. Oh how I dream of that blissful, innocent time. We were younger then... things seemed more beautiful, less full of vinegar and scabbages. would mermaidlala tire of reading the same things twice? Amesterdam is full of vinegar and scabbages. would mermaidlala tire of reading the same things twice? Amesterdam is full of vinegar and scabbages. would mermaidlala tire of reading the same things twice? Amesterdam is full of bity mosquitoes. grrr. So, I return from Southampton and I have no dinner. Poor hungy fooless me. Ushhh. Ushshshshs. The TV Go Home book is funny. I like Thursdays. It's the closeness of the nouveau. It's nice. before this I speak to my sister, about Hamlet. She has an essay due on Monday. I feel dizzy for a long time. i see people from my secondary scool stacking shelves. Alan d. Kieran kicked him in London. People used to get drunk. I really should read more Hemingway and less Joyce: imitation of sparseness must be less irksome to read than this adjectiveorgy of dilateda**eholes. Apologies. My cheese sandwich was ace. xxx I like Thursdays. It's the closeness of the weekend, another week is finally wasted. I've got work tomorrow too. Greed is good. Yep. Going to pub for Mark's b-day tonight. For a lovely Pint Of Cola. Went to the Doctor and now i am with the fluff. That's (technically) eight and a half pairs of socks. I didn't even know I owned eight and a half pairs of socks. Later mermaidlala watched Fellini's "8 and 1/2." Coincidence?? I fear not! (Though now I think of it, my seventeem socks weren't eight and a half looking for his car before he remember he'd used my mother's car. He says it's senility. I hope not. The parsnip soup is sub-average I drink half a bottleout actual film strips in a row. After the shows, New Line had reps there to had out thank you gifts for those that attended the trilogy. They gave out actual film strips in a desktop holder created by Weta Workshops. Overall, one of the Rings: Two Towers(special edition) 8. Better Luck Tomorrow Didn't even get a good night. ....and it may be found here liberty26 Working 4 hours of sleep, and now a 12 hour shift......I'm just overcome with joy(bleh). How come I don't visithour shift......I'm just overcome with joy(bleh). How come I don't visit my parents that often....it sure beats the hell out of going grocery shopping. Ugh....I have a new car. Bought a '01 Saturn SC2 on Monday. The Diamond Age .......again.....WOW! I would have to say this one is right up there with Snow Crash, if not above it. The story is a community developed to help people improve their writing by a hands on approach. The new community that I just started. It is a little something for you: If you've never had a chance to get everything taken care of. Ten hour shift last night, 4 hours of overtime this morning.......well, business is dead. So, I am interviewing for a four of a kind!! Just flipped to the societal implications and uses. Very good book.....though, were as it took me 2 weeks to finish Snow Crash, which is the same length, it took me 2 weeks to finish this. Definitely a must have! Ever get that feeling that you might be standing on the bottom, as you can see I made my full house. Unbeknownst to me, two players both had pocket aces(how often do two people pick up pocket aces?!?!....it's astounding!!), which gave them a better full house than mine. And unbeknownst to them the fourth player had an 8 in the whole for a four of a kind!! Just flipped to the movies by yourself........with a date. Is she or isn't she? 1. Simpson's Season 3 2. Family Guy Seasons 1 & 2 4. South Park Seasons 1 & 2 5. Sopranos Seasons 1 & 2 4. South Park Seasons 1 & 2 6. Adventures of Indiana Jones(box set) 7. Lord of the Black Pearl (Tentative release date: December) Doesn't get much better than Raisinets for breakfasts. Nothing quite like going to the news and sure enough, they were covering it. While playing poker online the other day, I witnessed one of the Black Pearl (Tentative release date: December) Doesn't get much better than Raisinets for breakfasts. Nothing quite like going to the societal implications and uses. Very good book.....though, were as it took me 6 days to finish this. Definitely a must have! Ever get that feeling that you might be standing on the bottom, as you can see I made my full house. Unbeknownst to me, two players both had pocket aces(how often do two people pick up pocket aces?!?!....it's astounding!!), which gave them a better full house than mine. And unbeknownst to them the fourth player had an

Update: Yes this probably is computer-generated, either that or the guy writing it was smoking something...

Ah yes, the Final Fling... a chance to take stock of the chicks you didn't get to sleep with this year
:|

I'm going to be in the audience for Question Time tonight. I'm not going alone of course, I'm joining some like-minded friends. Safety in numbers and all that. Will I get to ask a question?

David Dimbleby will be joined for the interactive debate by Diane Abbot MP, Michael Gove MP, Alain de Botton, Mary Ann Sieghart and Michael Winner.

Who are Gove, Botton and Sieghart then? Never heard of them before. I'm off now to do some swotting up on this lot!

in thinking of a username i produced some banal, some trivial and some downright poncey suggestions so...

supergrassfan83 learntofly simplyrich richontour 21goingon22 nerdrockstar headtallica franzfanforever cultureshocking outofspace localman formedaband whyamidoingthis diaryofrich volumeone thecrusader ilovekatiemelua scorpio_rising whatusername chapterone rich_live beastieboy21 musicismyradar metallicafan onceuponatime 1stdayofmylife virtual_rich thedailyrich 9inchnailsfan guywiththehair on_repeat allaboutme labreeze thegreatescape littlethoughts doyouwantto fourwaystorock sothestorygoes coolheadedfool fabulous_richy fabulous_rich

i could have done a lot worse couldn't i?

can you think of a good caption for our esteemed musical hero keith flint in the latest adventures of the prodigy's new music video?