After weeks of uncertainty at work, I finally found out today that my job is unfortunately unsecure. Or you know…effectively just nonexistent. At least in it’s current form.
I got called into the manager’s office earlier, and they basically let me know that the store was making huge losses and that they needed a reshuffle as a company. This would inevitably mean cutbacks – and that mine, and several others, positions were just no longer available.
Thankfully there is another store in town – a store infact where our former store manager recently got transferred himself – which has a few vacancies, where I’m being transferred. It’s further away for me to walk every day (especially seeing as I’m moving into the centre of town in a few weeks, where the current store is), but hey, I still have a job, so it could be substantially worse. I’ll have to see how it goes for a while, and if need be maybe think of moving on, but at least I know I have a steady paycheque in the meantime
I’ll keep you posted on any developments
I can’t say I realised just how many nerds there were around here, so I didn’t expect a huge line, so turned up like 10minutes before the signing was due to commence. Big mistake. The queue was literally like 100’s of people long already, and that’s why it took me so long to get in.
In the line I met a guy with a Jay and Jack tshirt, as well as all sorts of other awesome people, thankfully reminding me that I’m not the only person in the surrounding area who thinks it’s cool to be a nerd.
I must say: I’ll be frequenting Page 45 more often, as the staff there were awesome, and worked so hard to keep the people in line happy as the time passed – kudos to them J
And now, with a signed copy of Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life in my possession, I’m totally ready to see the advanced screening of SPvtW tomorrow night. EXCIIIIITED!!!!
As promised, something is finally happening in my life, as yesterday saw me once again venture to our nations capital (once again for YouTube stuff in fact, although this time I was off to see YouTube super-group Sons of Admirals).
With a capacity of 420 or so at Ice Father Nation, I get the feeling the boys expected to be playing to a half empty room, but oh no: about 1000 people turned up, utter chaos all but destined to break loose.
With just 10minutes to go until show time, and the crowd upstairs anxiously wondering if they’ll ever get in, John Green appears, announcing that there was no way he wasn’t going to let anyone who’d made the journey down.
He would do his reading upstairs in the lobby for those who couldn’t get in, while the band played the first half of their set downstairs, then he would go do his proper reading during the bands interval, but instead of the band taking a break they would come up and play an acoustic set free of charge for the crowd upstairs before returning downstairs to conclude their set.
Many a band would simply have said “sorry we’re full, nothing we can do about it”, and sent people home, so seriously: fair play to the lads for not doing this. They proved that it was the music, and playing for their fans, that was what mattered to them, not just getting the cash of the people inside, and in this modern age: that’s something to truly be admired.
Now anyway: on to the main gig downstairs, what you all want to hear about.
John joined us on stage for a brief reading from Paper Towns, as well as perhaps the most intellectual discussion ever to grace this indie venue, covering topics as wide as “How much of what we see in other people is a reflection of ourselves”, and whether John knew the last words of his tragic Alaska Young (Last words being the obsession of the love struck character Pudge in Looking For Alaska). Then it was time to rock and roll.
Things start leisurely, with the three boys (Charlie Mcdonell unfortunately unable to make it) playing short solo sets of their own work – getting the crowd going. Chant’s of “D-F-T-B-A say DFTBA!” ring through the packed crowd,
First comes Tom Milsom, “the greatest music producer on all of Youtube” as Edd would later refer to him, and its true. Playing the ukulele, the keyboard, the drums and the guitar in the space of his set, he rocks quickly through singalong track’s Indigo and Porphyrophobia (which I know every word to but still cannot pronounce the title!! Dam it Tom!! =D)
Next up it’s the turn of Alex Day. To be totally honest, of the three boys, I was really here to see Alex. As much as I love Tom’s music – and I do, I think Tom has RIDICULOUS talent, which I can only dream of ever imitating - Alex has written some of the best stuff that’s ever gone out on DFTBA, and he doesn’t disappoint here. He whips the crowd into clapping frenzy with fan favourites “Awful Lot of Running” and “Pokemon What Happened to You”, as well as his less nerdy tracks “Time of Your Life” (which he begins with a beautiful acoustic version of the chorus before Tom joins him to play the main keyboard part on the track) and “Georgia”. The personal highlight of the set for me was 2nd album title track “The World is Mine” which sounded even more melodic here with a choir of hundreds singing it back to him than it does on the album. Alex deserves to go so far in his musical career, and I hope he gets picked up by a major label soon.
Another confession: other than Eddplant’s cover on the Erase This album, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to anything he’s ever done. So when he took to the stage, I didn’t really know what to expect. Opening with an AMAZING acoustic cover of King’s of
“Less than Three”, the story of a guy who can’t say the three words “I love you”, yet needs to say something stands as probably the best songwriting effort of the night, and I’d buy the album just for this one song.
As they ramp it up in the second half of the set, there really is only one song they can close with, as the whole of Ice Father Nation explodes into movement for Ed’s superb ANTHEM “Girl Can’t Dance.” I can tell you this: if anyone else there did not know Ed before last night: they know him now, and I can say he has gained at least one subscriber following the gig.
The crowd shout for an encore, and the boys are more than happy to accept. They won’t play Here Comes My Baby though. “It wouldn’t be right without Charlie”, they say, and to be honest they’re right: the song has four verses, and it’s one each. Sure the crowd would know the words to the missing verse, but it really wouldn’t be the same.
Instead they rock out acapella style, closing with Tom’s “Animals”, the 3 quarters of Sons Of Admirals send the crowd out in style.
“We’ll be back soon, we promise!!” they say. And we can only hope that next time round it’s a full UK tour, with the full band – the crowd tonight surely proving they can fill a venue!
I’ve been thinking a lot since the release of Toy Story 3, which I maintain by the way is the best movie you’ll see this year, about the greatest movie trilogies of all time
The Toy Story trilogy is made up of 3 of my favourite movies, and when I came out after seeing it with my family my dad said that it was probably his favourite ever trilogy. I found myself unable to think of one better there on the spot, and to be honest I’m still struggling. I’ve thought about it and thought about it, and have come up with a list of some of my favourites.
So this is my top 10.
10) The Matrix – a somewhat flawed second act, but overall the story is brilliant, and the first and final movies are awesome.
9)
8) Austin Powers – That rare thing, a trilogy which got funnier and funnier as it went along. So many in jokes have spawned from this trilogy. Just plain funny as hell.
7) Bourne – Three of the best thrillers ever, Matt Damon kicks ass all three times out. Just don’t ruin it with a fourth film or a prequel…Please?
6)
5) The Mighty Ducks – Ok so I know this sticks out like a sore thumb on this list, but seriously, I grew up watching these 3 movies more times than any other movie I can think of. Coach Bombay and little Charlie Conway… Probably THE BEST sports movies ever. There…I said it.
4) Lord of The Rings – Some of the most expensive movies in history, and some of the best, this narrowly misses out on a top 3 placing. It’s sort of…honorary top 3 though!!
3) Back to the Future – I will always remember the first time I ever came across Marty McFly and Doc Brown, my dad had the trilogy on VHS, way back in the day. I found it sat around and put it in, and I literally watched the entire trilogy in one go. It was amazing, and from that point on I was hooked. I got the DVD as soon as such a thing existed, and plan on upgrading to Bluray in a few months when that comes out because even my DVD is looking tattered from over usage.
2) Toy Story – The third film is still in theatres, but I’ve seen it 4 times now, and that’s plenty to judge my reception to it. 3 literally perfect movies, with a message of loyalty, love and friendship. Woody, Buzz, and all the rest will always have a place in my heart, from here to infinity (and beyond)
1) Star Wars (the real trilogy) – There is simply nothing to say regarding Star Wars that hasn’t been said before by much smarter people than I. George Lucas (the real one, not the cyborg who killed him, stole his body, and churned out the new trilogy) is a genius. Fact.
Comment below on your favourite trilogies. Did they make my list? Did I miss something? Let me know what you think.
| Award | Want to Win | Think Will Win |
| Best Actor in a Comedy | Jim Parsons – Big Bang Theory | Jim Parsons – Big Bang Theory |
| Best Actress in a Comedy | Lea Michele - Glee | Tina Fey – 30 Rock |
| Best Actor in a Drama | Hugh Laurie - House | Mathew Fox - Lost |
| Best Actress in a Drama | Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife | Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife |
| Best Comedy | Glee | Glee |
| Best Drama | Lost | Lost |
| Best Miniseries | The Pacific | The Pacific |
| Best Reality | The Amazing Race | The Amazing Race |
