Thursday, September 30, 2004
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Warning: Listening to Rock and Heavy Metal Can Seriously Damage Your Health!
Researchers in Brussels report three young men who experienced sudden chest pain and shortness of breath while attending rock concerts or standing near an amplifier in a dance hall. All had developed pneumothorax. A fourth patient sustained the condition while listening to a 1000 watt base box situated in his car boot.
A pneumothorax occurs when air leaks into the potential space between the lung and the chest wall, and can cause the lung to collapse. The researchers speculate that repetitive pressure changes in the high energy-low frequency range of the sound exposures, found in heavy metal and rock music, are likely to be responsible.
Soon to fill our lungs the hot winds of death. The gods are laughing, so take your last breath...
- Metallica (Ride the Lightning)
Monday, September 27, 2004
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Friday, September 24, 2004
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Metamorphosis
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." - Andy Warhol (1928-1987)
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Monday, September 20, 2004
that monday feeling

"Listen...you know those days when you get the mean reds? ..the blues are because you're getting fat or because it's been raining too long. You're just sad, that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?"
-Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)

Saturday, September 18, 2004
Friday, September 17, 2004
Wheelbarrow is going through a transitional phase. I'm experimenting with blogger comments - but didn't want to lose the haloscan comments already made - so both will be there for a while. It would be appreciated if those of you kind enough to leave comments could use blogger comments from now on. And remember, I'm always grateful for your thoughts.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Monday, September 13, 2004
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Friday, September 10, 2004
Thursday, September 09, 2004
word of the day: adage
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
A Word on "Word of the Day"
Every day I get a "word of the day" email delivered to my inbox. I've heard folk say a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm just trying to find one picture to fit one word. My picture for the word of the day. Let's just see how it goes...
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Monday, September 06, 2004
Festival Diaries #15: Otis Lee Crenshaw
It was the last day of the comedy festival, and Otis’ last performance. A gem from start to finish, his show was a superb Festival finale. The first time I saw him, he shattered my belief that “musical comedy” is an oxymoron, however his true genius lies in his improvisation and interaction with the audience. Rich Hall, not unlike Frankenstein, has created a wondrous and terrifying thing in Otis Lee Crenshaw.

Otis Lee Crenshaw

Sunday, September 05, 2004
Festival Diaries #14: The Perrier Comedy Awards
Outside the venue we waited in line watching the protests (you see, Perrier is owned by Nestle - the hugely unethical corporation which, I agree, we should continue to boycott). Perrier sponsor the awards, and don’t directly make any money from them other than from advertising, but I’m glad the protestors were there to inform everyone of Nestle’s disgraceful policies.
But getting back to the comedy (after all it was why we were here); there were 4 acts nominated for the award. Epitaph were a sketch-comedy act that had limited appeal to a niche audience. Fortunately I was in that niche. Sarah Kendal, being an Aussie comedian, naturally talks funny. But the star of the evening was the superbly cool and witty Reginald D Hunter, with his own brand of observational humour that left us whooping for more. He should have won.
The actual winner was Jackson’s Way – an act that would have been better suited to theatre than comedy. Like Nestle’s policies, it just wasn’t funny.