NOVEMBER 2001
What a long, strange trip it's been
I am not believing this. I paid one of my frequent visits to Audiogalaxy a few minutes ago to grab some tunes and was confronted with this message:
You cannot request this song due to copyright restrictions.
OK, so this is not entirely unknown. But this was the Grateful Dead, for Christ's sake. The Grateful Dead - the bootleggers' dream, the band who encouraged people to tape their shows, who even set aside special areas for bootleggers where the sound was best. And now they're all precious about their copyrights. I bet this wouldn't happen if Jerry Garcia was still alive.
November 30, 2001
OCTOBER 2001
Updates, updates
I'd like to draw your attention to a couple of my favourite haunts. Firstly, at last, the redesign of the mighty Acts Of Gord has been launched. Gord owns a video games store and anyone who's ever worked in technical support or customer services will recognise the people who try his patience. Secondly I just have to point out a particular gem at Uncle Bob's Diary O' Chuckles. Uncle Bob is a very funny man indeed, not only much funnier than I ever manage to be, which is irksome enough, but much funnier than any man who isn't a professional comedian has any right to be. As you will see when you read And Maybe The Pope Could Be Our Best Man.
October 26, 2001
Self-deprecation masterclass at work
hung3rm00n: It's all your fault.
clifff: No, no it's not. I'm not that effective.
October 26, 2001
European football rocks
Personally I loathe the Champions League and the avarice and elitism it represents. However, it does have the useful purpose of allowing the casual fan to attend games in places for which getting tickets is normally difficult.
And what a genuinely awe-inspiring stadium the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund is. It's not just that it's immense, though it is immense; it's not just that you're close to the pitch, though you are; it's not just that the sight-lines are superb, though they are; it's a combination of all of these. It holds 69,000 people. The terrace behind the south goal holds 24,000 alone and 24,000 people standing together in one place make a hell of a lot of noise. The rake of the seating is something like 35º which means that no matter where you sit or stand you aren't far from the pitch and there is not a bad view in the entire place. Access to and from the stadium via the Dortmund Underground is excellent too; I was back in the central railway station 25 minutes after the end of the match, and that included starting from the furthest side of the stadium.
It's the most fabulous stadium I've ever visited; the only place that surpasses the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. It is a true cathedral of football. You get the chance, you should go there.
October 17 , 2001
SEPTEMBER 2001
My baby loves me just the way that I am
September 4, 2001
From small acorns....
I was delighted to discover this afternoon that two of my friends, one of a couple of years standing and one new, are now a freshly-minted couple. Nick has not had a hell of a lot of luck with the ladies in recent times (there's a soap opera in there struggling to get out, believe me) and thought he was onto a loser this time. However, for some reason best known to herself, Cathy has succumbed to his dastardly charms. Strange girl.
But seriously. This is very cool indeed. It's high time something worked out for Nick and this is just what he needs. And Cathy is just lovely. They make a good couple. They just seem to fit. I'm very pleased about this.
