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...

I know my lovely wife Link has already written about the recent visit of my nephew and his best friend, but I thought I would share the experience from my point of view. My nephew Mitch and his best friend, Steve, are what I imagined to be fairly typical 14 year old boys. They are smart, funny, bright kids who have the world at their feet and don’t even know it. Both play representational hockey for the ACT (the Australian Capital Territory) and are keen musicians, among other things. M...

I've got a thing for tattoos. I was told years ago, before I got my first, that I would either hate the process and never have another or love the process and want more. I am of the latter group. The problem is, like a lot of things, tattoos aren't cheap and I don't have as many as I'd like. But slowly, I am getting more. For my birthday this year, my lovely wife bought me some time in the chair. I wrote a bit of a blog about the tattoist and how I'd be going back to him for my next...

The streets are duller and dirtier. The faces passing by less friendly and for some reason the weight of the world seems to be heavier on my shoulders. I can’t focus like I usually can. My mind wanders, wondering what you’re doing right now. I reign in these thoughts, trying to concentrate and get the day-to-day things done but I soon find I’m back to thinking of you. I’m distracted in a way only having you near can repair. I don’t take the same comfort I usually do from my routines. ...

She wore the saddest smile I’ve ever seen. I could feel the weight she was carrying just from glancing in her eyes. If ever there was a figure defined by tragedy, she was it. I wanted to simply hold her and let whatever sadness she was holding be shared with me. But she was a stranger on a train and I was a silly man for thinking I could be any comfort to her. I could have been totally wrong about her but I didn’t think so. I saw her the next day, and the next, sitting in much the sam...