Today is one of those days. Not one of those days where everything goes wrong. I believe those days only belong to people who wish it upon themselves. Neither is it one of those days where everything goes right. If everything goes exactly right, what is there left to maintain some sort of balance? Its just not in keeping with the Laws of Chaos. No, today is one of those days when everyone wants me to do something and they want it done yesterday. Considering we are all only singular i...
The above line is from a Cure song, for those of you who didn't recognise the lyric. Its a nice thought to start the last day of the week with, I think. If only I could be as positive about Mondays. Today I woke up with two different songs playing in my head. I told my wife this over breakfast and she looked at me a little strangely, saying "two songs" as though it was weird. I suppose for a lot of people it is but in my head, there is a mash-up DJ playing constantly. My wife just rec...
Last weekend I spent all day Saturday (up until about 2am Sunday morning actually) listening to submissions for a music festival held in Canberra, ACT (for those of you who don’t know, Canberra is the Capital of Australia). I had help, in the form of three friends. Two of these guys have been running the festival for the last 4 years, and prior to that, a very close friend and I had been organising it. The festival, called Indyfest , has been running for about 12 years now. While it is no...
Mondays are synonymous with bad luck, as we all know. There is even a word for it: Mondayitis. But I never really believed in the Monday curse. Not until today, anyway. After a very busy weekend (I’m going to write a separate blog about my Saturday), which included a close friend’s wedding yesterday afternoon, I wasn’t exactly the sharpest prickle on the cactus this morning. As I was leaving the house, I realised I’d left my sunglasses at the wedding reception. Now, under normal circum...
I wrote a post recently about a problem I was having with my ears. I had an infection that left me almost completely deaf for two weeks, a hell I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemies. Since then, I have had my hearing restored but have been told if I don’t give up performing and recording music, I could lose my hearing permanently. I don’t know what to do. I am a very creative person, with music being my biggest outlet. Being on stage is better than any drugs I’ve ever tried. There is j...
I have such wonderful memories of my childhood. I am the eldest of five children all born within 6 years (basically, my mother spent the 60's pregnant), with the breakdown being 4 boys then (finally, according to my parents) a girl. My sister had all four of us boys wrapped around her finger from the time she could bat her eyes at Dad. She grew into a beautiful, strong, proud woman who has become a wonderful wife and mother whom I love dearly. My immediate brother Greg and I were best fr...
My wife and I are big fans of Nick Hornby. One of our favourite books of his is High Fidelity. One of the aspects of this book we enjoy is the lead characters and their incessant list-making, particular by the main character Rob. So, in conversation the other night, we decided we would spend the next couple of months trying to come up with our Desert Island Twenty. This is a list of songs that mean so much to us that we would forsake all other music to only listen to these if stuck on a d...
I've written previously about how much I love music. I was recently left incapacitated for a couple of weeks after an ear infection left me almost completely deaf. I tried to keep as positive an attitude as I could during this time but the worst thing was not being able to listen to music. I tried all sorts of tricks to keep my mind occupied but everything kept coming back to music for me. Not only could I not hear my favourite tunes, I couldn't play guitar or sing either (something I try...
The last week has been a bit of a tough one. I'm probably going to be writing about it for a while, but I'll start out with the situation. Over a week ago, I got some sort of cold/flu/virus thing that had left me with an ear infection. The consequence of this is that I've been unable to hear virtually anything for the last week or so. As a musician and, obviously, someone who loves listening to music, I've found this particularly hard. But every cloud has a silver lining, so they say.
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Ah, Saturday. Probably my favourite day of the week. Just waking up knowing I don't have to go to work today OR tomorrow fills me with a great sense of calm. Waking today was even sweeter because yesterday at work was the event that was the culmination of work for the last 6 months or so. What this means is no more hectic days, at least until early next year. The event was an all-day medical research awards competition. And it went off without a hitch (well, a couple of hitches, but the...
Nearly two years ago I turned 40 years old. It’s a milestone, similar to turning 18 or 21 or even 30. I’m not pointing this unchangeable fact out to be obvious, but to reiterate how I still feel like a kid inside. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’m naïve or I have license to act immaturely in public places. I simply recognise where my creativity stems from and allow myself to be indulgent when inspiration happens. Recently, though, a friend pointed out a behavioural problem he thought I...
The afternoon is a splendidly languid summer one, the sort that makes teenagers skip school in favour of being pummelled by surf and wrestling in the sand. I feel like skipping the afternoon drudgery myself. But such is life for an adult, particularly in the western world, that they have to give up these simple pleasures in favour of doing something very few of them honestly enjoy: work. So I go back into my overly air-conditioned office, shivering as I take my seat. The corner workstat...
What if Jesus Christ was living right next door to you? Would you recognise him? Would you feel his presence, understand his message and become a disciple? Would you respect his beliefs and opinions, without necessarily adopting his religion? Or would you want to crucify the bastard for having yet another rowdy party in his backyard, with all his hippy mates, drinking wine and passing around plates of smelly fish. What about if your son or daughter were recognised as an incarnation of Buddha?...
Why is it some people don’t like having their photo taken? The rationale I’ve heard used is basically they don’t think they look good enough. I’ve heard this said by some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever known. Take my wife, for instance (yeah, I know this sounds like the lead up to a corny vaudeville joke, but bear with me). She is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, I am completely biased, but she is, trust me. Anyway, she can’t stand her photo being taken. Whenever anyone points...
How is this for a premise: making an ass of yourself can put points on your wisdom scorecard if you make an ass of yourself and don’t even know you’re doing it. The getting of wisdom comes later when you realise and then go out of your way to eat humble pie and apologise for your behaviour. I don’t think this is being regretful either, because the getting of regrets is from doing something you KNOW to be wrong at the time. Making an ass of one’s self is usually done completely unselfconsci...