I was passing through the Domain today and stopped off at the Wintergarden. It’s recently been refurbished, but it didn’t look much different to me, which I suppose is a good thing.
I took a few close-up photos of flowers, but then I looked up, inspiration hit me, and I flicked my camera into black and white and took this one:
Hey, it’s the 22nd so that means it’s my birthday today. I’m 32. This is twice 16, which has all sorts of disastrous consequences, the worst being the phrase “But I’m twice your age, sonny!”
My favourite conversational trick at the moment is to append “grandma” or “grandpa” to the end of any response to a question.
For example.
X: Did you get horribly drunk at the Christmas party?
Y: No way.
(Implication: Y is a sensible yet dull person.)
X: Did you get horribly drunk at the Christmas party?
Y: No way, grandma.
(Implication: X is out-of-touch with youth culture and is attempting to appear down with the kids, but is just demonstrating even more how hopelessly out of touch she is.)
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Teh Matt has one of those newfangled Nintendo Wii things, so I went over to his bachelor pad to play with it. (“Hey, Matt, can I play with your Wii?” = lolz!!!!) It’s really really choice. It sounds like Nintendo have deliberately made it so it appeals to a broader audience than just teenage boys.
I like that’s it’s not just about finger and wrist movements. It makes you get off the couch and throw your arms about in all sorts of directions in order to play the games. It kind of seems like a response of all that obesity epidemic lifestyle stuff.
Already I’m rather good at the 10-pin bowling game, and I even got a silver medal for shooting. I’m not quite at the point of wanting to go out and buy one for myself (, grandpa), but I’m sure the price will eventually come down and then I’ll have yet another excuse to never leave the house.
Someone needs to implant some sort of device in my brain that will stop me buying music on iTunes. It hasn’t even been open for a week and already I’ve spent over $40.
Some purchases are essential, for example “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse and “Tonight She Comes” by the Cars. And I bought the Killer’s Christmas song because, like, it was for charity.
But did I really need to pay $1.79 for Nsync singing “The First Noel” from their 1998 Christmas album? And even though I already have a Talking Heads CD with “Take me to the River” on it, was I really too lazy to get up off the couch and get the CD, instead paying $1.79 for a song I already own? Evidently yes on both accounts.
But while the New Zealand iTunes Store (or should that be iChoons Shop?) is a potential source of great musical joy, others have complained about it, and the truth is that iTunes New Zealand store does rather suck in its early days.
The range is rather limited. I want to buy the new Justin and the new Robbie albums, but iTunes have neither, just a pitiful collection of old singles and music videos.
My least favourite aspect of it is the “Local Sounds” page, featuring a really really awful design made up of a scenic South Island mountain range with a rippling New Zealand flag faded over the top.
I secretly hope it was hastily designed at Apple HQ in Australia, based on a design brief by someone whose only experience of New Zealand is “Lord of the Rings” and a South Island ski holiday, and who doesn’t know anything about New Zealand’s music scene. I really hope it’s not anything to do with anyone directly involved with New Zealand music, because that would be so depressing.
But despite the room for improvement, it’s nice that the iTunes store has finally opened and that the simple act of buying music in digital form can be a part of my everyday life (but hopefully not every day). I just need to make sure I don’t go buying any more songs that I already own on CD.
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Peter Dub Dot Dash asked around and has put together a list of people’s favourite local song of the year and music-related predictions for 2007. I contributed my part, but I refuse to reveal the awful truth behind my pick.
It’s no secret that the work Christmas party ain’t nothin’ flash, so if you want to have a good time, you have to rely on yourself and your workmates.
So we ended up in the Morepork meeting room playing truth or dare with the “or dare” component conveniently removed.
It was concluded: LL Cool J.
And then:
