What is a mid-life crisis? Am I having one right now? And who determines what is my mid-life anyway? I could be in my last days or I could live until I’m 130, for all anyone knows. So to describe these intimations of mortality as a mid-life crisis could be potentially misleading to both myself, my delicate psyche and to those around me. These questions were raised in my thoughts after I recently received an email from a close friend who pointed towards an article posted on MSN about me...

Okay, how would you handle this? Near my work is a great coffee shop. A well-known ex-boxer, an Italian man with a large personality, owns the shop. His main shop has been in business since the 50’s and has a world-renowned reputation as they really do make excellent coffee. The baristas who work for him are generally very good indeed. However, I am a soy drinker. And my order is a always a large soy flat white. Nothing too hard about this, right. Well here is where the problems s...

I’ve been wanting to post something other than poetry but to be honest, I haven’t really had anything to say that doesn’t involve repetitions of previous information about either my life or my band. But something happened recently that has been in the back of my mind, bubbling away in my subconscious. This occurred at the end of August, which goes to show how slow my mind works The band has been going great guns. The last Friday in August was our last night of a very successful month ...

I know I'm getting in real early with this but here it is: HAPPY JULY 4TH to all my American friends here at Joe User. Hope you all have a wonderful, relaxed and peaceful day and enjoy the fireworks. Peace!

In a recent post ( Link ) I suggested starting a t-shirt swapping group for anyone interested. Well, I've been looking at t-shirts and have found some good ones. I guess the next step is to get details from those who'd like one. Please email me at my gmail address: dynamaso@gmail.com and let me know the best size (and a fallback, if necessary) as well as your address details. As soon as I get these, I will be taking it as a sign you want to go ahead and make a swap. I will then send yo...

I love t-shirts. I have a fairly big collection of them. By this, I mean I probably own around 40 or so of them and add to the collection regularly. I know I’m not alone in my love of them either. My favourites are the band and gig t-shirts I’ve collected over the years. I don’t know if some of these are rare and frankly, don’t really care one way or the other. These are clothing and are meant to be worn, not doted over. (One of my current favourites is an Ecko brand t-shirt featuring ...

I didn’t want to get off the bus this morning. A pretty girl smiled at me and somehow it reminded me of just how good life is and that we’re supposed to enjoy it, not lock ourselves away for 9 hours in a cubicle where no natural light penetrates, breathing recycled air and subjecting ourselves to the fake, dry atmosphere of air-conditioning. I just wanted to stay on the bus and see where it would take me. Okay, I knew where the bus was going, but I’m using the bus as a metaphor for the day...

I love my city. It is one of the best looking cities in the world. Sure, I’m biased, but it does consistently win awards for being a good looking city. But like any city, it has an Ugly Side. This side is usually hidden behind walls, under bridges or by unspoken agreements. But the ugly side hopped onto the bus on Sunday, while I was showing relatives from interstate the beauty Sydney has to offer. The Ugly Side came dressed as a late 20’s man, wearing carefully torn jeans, off whit...

I've not been on here much over the past few weeks. To be honest, I've been cheating a little on my JU friends by spending time on our Myspace site (www.myspace.com/jcronikal - for anyone interested) trying to increase the band's profile. We began 2007 with our three songs still at numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the JJJ Unearthed hip hop charts and at numbers 8, 9 and 10 in the Overall charts. We are very excited about the work this success will be bringing us in 2007 but more on that later. I m...

Christmas is a time of giving. We all know this; it has been one of the axioms of Christmas for as long as I can remember (it feels like a bloody long time too, particularly on Mondays). Last week, a local newspaper published an article on how much the average Australian would be spending on presents at Christmas (see the link at the bottom of this article). I was shocked and concerned. I was shocked because the figure is way higher than I expected and I was concerned because releasing th...

My band, currently called JC Ronikal & The Maniacs, has entered a local competition run by a national radio station, JJJFM, or TripleJ, as is known. The competition, called Unearthed, is one of the most unique in the world and has been running for quite a number of years now (over ten, at least). It is responsible for discovering some of the biggest bands in Australia in the last few years, bands like Silverchair and Grinspoon, for those who might know Aussie acts. This year is the first...

It was such a nice day. It was one of those glorious spring days when nothing is too much of a hassle, when the very air I breathed in was laced with the scents of things blooming after lying dormant during the cold months. It was a hell of a day for a funeral, though. Funerals should be on rain-laden days, when clouds act as blankets to the emotions of those gathered to see a friend off. Rain makes it easier for all to cry, the droplets mixing with loved ones tears and carrying them into...

“The balance we approve of in architecture, and which we anoint with the word ‘beautiful’, alludes to a state that, on a psychological level, we can describe as mental health or happiness.” Alain de Botton, ‘The Architecture of Happiness’ We first met you when we were in the first heady days of our beautiful partnership. We were giddy with the excitement of being together, seeking together and setting up a life together. You were just around the corner, waiting for us. It w...