Got two things I got to recommend to you. Tonight, all round funny and lovely people, the Diet of Worms will be bringing their excellent Dublin Stories series to your television. It’s part of RTE’s comedy pilot series Project Ha Ha. I’ve been a big fan of the series on youtube and it’s great that these guys are getting the exposure they deserve. It’ll be on RTE 2 at 10.55pm.
Also, my friend Mark from More News From Nowhere has taken some time out of being unemployed to make a podcast of songs about being unemployed. Sadly for him, he doesn’t get paid but luckily for you, it’s rather good. Check it out here.
I’m off to write some more thesis and read papers so I leave with you with one of my favourite Dublin Stories episodes.
Happy New Year! I posted my resolutions last year and although I tried quite hard to keep them all I think some were a little too ambitious. I learnt a good motto to live by in Seattle that I’ll be trying to live by. “Project small, Deliver Big.” So this year’s resolutions are a easier but when you’re as messed up as I am, you’ll accept baby steps in self improvement.
1. Breakfast. As in I’m going to eat one, a proper one, everyday. Porridge with honey and some Cod liver oil capsules. Bleugh!
2. Thesis writing. I will write at least 5 pages a week.
3. Healthy eating. I will no longer eat any of the following foods. Kebabs, Fast Food, Full fat crisps, chocolate and fried chicken. Frozen pizza is to be reserved for emergencies.
4. Running. I will run 10k once a week.
5. Time wasting. I will no longer play videogames until the thesis is submitted.
6. Facebook. No more constant checking and updating.
7. Sleeping. Going to have a regular body clock. 7-11 every day. Like the convenience store.
8. I will ascend one of Ireland’s mountains.
9. I will get my Ph.D. and not worry about career stuff until I do.
10. I will take more photos and put the gazillion I have on my computer on to the internet.
It’s Christmas so I’ve been a bit too busy to do much blogging. A few of you have sent me very nice messages about the sad demise of My Top Five. You may be pleased to know that I’m now regularly contributing to “Pulp & Circumstance, Juiced“, a fantastic blog from Jenna! who was a great presence on MT5. Every Friday I write up a track of the day.
It’s amazing how much research goes into things we simply take for granted. When it comes to perfume I always thought a bunch of people mixed stuff together, sniffed it and then tried to give it a jazzy name. However, my preconceptions have been totally blown out of the water by the recent videocast I saw. It’s by a biophysicist who works in the fragrance industry and from the excellent “TED talks” podcast series which picks talks from innovative people in all different industries and arts. Don’t worry if you’re not a scientist, it’s explained quite simply but is still fascinating. Highly recommended
So for those of you that listen and read to the My Top Five podcast and blog I have bad news. After 1 year, I’ve decided to call it a day. There is one more podcast next week, My Top Five Farewell songs. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading (and a tiny bit of writing) of theses lately and by god are they boring. So when I stumbled on this my heart was lifted. I can’t believe it even exists. A THESIS ON THE PIXIES!
It’s amazing, I wonder what the author got for his grade. It’s incredibly detailed (over 60 pages), going into how The Pixies influenced the genre and other artists and even methodically analyses the individual notes in the sheet music.
Incidentally, if you’re wondering how I find these things. Here is the chain of thought/actions that led me to it.
What is the name of that Pixies song in “Zack and Miri make a Porno” ? Listened to it loads but forget the name. Google.
“Hey”. I listen to it twice, great song. I love that guitar lick at the start. I wonder how they get that killer surf guitar tone. Google “Hey Pixies guitar tone”
Bingo. Thesis on the Pixies. I tip my hat to you Simon Briercliffe.
