Monthly Archives: March 2003

Note paper

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I have all this excitement and nervous energy. I’m getting a bit sick of it, but it’s good.

The Oscars were cool. I laughed at Steve Martin’s sexist jokes. The best bit was when Michael Moore won the Oscar for best documentary. It was good because he missed out on getting one for “Roger and Me”, but also good because “Bowling for Columbine” is such a good film. And, yeah, it was spectacular when he brought up all the other nominees and said “Shame on you, Mr Bush!” Dissent is beautiful.

I saw “Chicago” again today. I feel like I’m turning into a housewife/gay man. “Chicago” needs to come out on DVD real soon so I can buy it, watch it once, watch the special features (OMG – a karaoke version of “Cell Block Tango”. Wait, no. Bad idea.), then stick the DVD back up on my bookcase and never watch it again.

I’m doing some MCC homework tomorrow. I’m rather excited about that and I will prob’ly write about it tomorrow.

Oh yeah, I haven’t written about the National Young Writer’s Festival, which I went to in October last year. I should get around to that, because there was good stuff happening.

Idoru

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“American Idol” is screened here five days after it’s shown in America. That time gap is enough for the show summary written by the “Jaded Journalist” to appear on the American Idol web site. This means that by the time the weekly performance show screens here, I know already which contestant is cut in the following eviction show.

I thought that reading the recaps would make watching the performance show unnecessary, but I’ve discovered that I really like watching the American Idol contestants performing. That Clay, he’s such a nice young man. It’s really cool watching the not-so-great contestants struggle through the big high notes – and it’s kind of reassuring knowing that the next few contestants to be cut won’t be all that surprising.

Plus, this week is going to be disco week, so I’m really excited about that.

Urbane

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Oh hey, you know what I’m really sick of now? TV commercials that show the basketball court in the park next to Central Road in Kingsland. It’s become shorthand for a hip innercity location, because there’s the Bond Street overbridge in the background, a bit of the North-Western motorway flowing under that, some trees and grass, and of course the basketball court because that’s so hip and urban.

That park is just down the road from the Mind Control Cult headquarters, and it’s not all that hip and urban. I don’t think I’ve ever seen cool young Polynesian guys playing basketball and/or rapping. I’ve seen people playing touch, and once there was a guy asleep under a tree, but no basketball.

I think that now the park has appeared in a Telecom commercial the basketball court in front of the Bond Street overbridge can be considered a cliche. Make it stop.

Sweetness

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I drove out to Huia today. It’s rool pretty out that. I sat in my car and looked out over the bay towards the Manukau Heads. They look like someone got a knife and sliced a bit off the end diagonally. My favourite bit, though, is when I’m driving down the hill towards Huia and I can see a tiny bit of the Pacific Ocean through the gap between the Manukau Heads and the end of the Waitakere Ranges. Ahh… lovely.

There was a party at my old flatmate’s new flat. I showed up and couldn’t find him so I gave him a call on his cell phone and discovered he was hiding in his bedroom. Ha ha. Later I was hanging out in his bedroom and picked up a random CD, opened it and found some class A drugs hidden in it. Yes, righto.

There was some really good music being played at the party, which is what happens when one of the flatmates is a really good DJ. Fo’ example:

  • I Come Off – Young MC
  • Saturday – De La Soul
  • Dub Be Good To Me – Beats International

Yes, yes, it’s early ’90s, and possibly I’m only digging it because of nostalgia, but it was good.

I went to the supermarket and there were large number of pairs of drunk teenage boys buying beer. “You rule, lady” one of them said to me. Yes, I know.

Electric boogieloo

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Beer + couch + The Shrugs’ November EP + [...] = well, theoretically it’d work.

Today at los mindo controllo culto it sucko’d. It was hard. It was about dealing with stuff I didn’t want to deal with.

There’s a 30 minute documentary on that was on BBC Radio1 about New Zealand’s current music scene. One of the D4 talks about the “legendary” King’s Arms. But he also says it’s an Irish pub and rambles about going out into the garden bar and engaging in “illicit” activities. But really, there’s the King’s Arse, the Dog’s Bollix , the Temple and… where else do bands regularly play around this town?

Actually, going back to the aforementioned Shrugs, I would like to share this item from the news section on their web site:

Band plays at Pub

The Shrugs played a show at a pub. In other news, the band is heading into the studio to record their next single. Andrew Dean will once again be pressing “record” and “rewind”. Sources close to the band have revealed that all their songs are too short. However, the Shrugs were unable to hear this advice as they were permanently deafened by Rawer, ‘the loudest band on the Kapiti Coast’.

More bands should write stuff like that. It’s funny and it’s true, man.