[crave]: waiting games

The cd is being launched tonight, i got my "designers free copy" today, im still a bit emotional!! Click on each image for a "slightly" closer look!

Paul & the broken finger.......

This is Paul. Yes he is hairy and No the picture was not taken in a brothel or a red light district type establishment, its a photo effect!! Anyway i worked with Paul for years & years & years, it really was that long. We had many bitchy moments, many disagreements and plenty of laughs during the "moore electrics years." I still drop in most weeks on my way to or from the bank just to say hi and rub it in that he still works there!! Im kidding! On saturday morning some idiot pulled out in their pick-up truck at a junction and hammered Paul & his motorbike! I didn't hear of this until monday by which time Paul was out of hospital, shaken, bruised & nursing a broken finger! YES, A broken finger! The crash that he described to me is the type of crash that people usually do not walk away from! His head still hurts, he is still shaken i reckon, but i was glad to get get chatting to him today. The whole biker thing is certainly not my cup of tea, you can no doubt tell from the picture that Paul is a Biker but i have to say bikes scare me a bit. I have 2 cousins who used to be into bikes, had a few great looking flying machines that were simply awesome but they were death on 2 wheels, 2 very fast wheels! The only thing about Paul's crash is he was NOT going fast, he was on a straight stretch of road, good visibility, no problem? Yea no problem until some "tool" decides to just drive into you. Thats the thing about bikes, even if you are not going faster than a speeding bullet, someone can always smash you into oblivion through carelessness. Anyway, we hope & pray that Paul gets better soon and maybe that he will trim his beard!! hehe

coffee & pills.........

Reaching for the paracetamol alongside your morning coffee may be bad for your health, US research suggests. The Chemical Research in Toxicology study claimed a combination of large quantities of both drugs appeared to increase the risk of liver damage. Caffeine is actually added to many commercially available paracetamol tablets as it is believed that this increases their painkilling properties. So i am wondering do any of you take paracetamol tablets with coffee? I think if i did that i would die, this perhaps shows me up as a bit of a loser but i think its normal to not mix the two. My love/hate relationship with coffee is on hold right now due to the cold i have had for over a week. I will resume that one when the cold subsides but one of the main reasons i held back on the caffeine is due to the effects of it when taking tablets of any kind, which i have been doing to "kill the cold," if indeed that can be done!! They say a cold runs its course, doesn't get cured, well if so i will pump some pills into me anyway just to help it on its way and ease the symptoms of course. I doubt that fueling it with coffee is a good idea!! This morning i had some "cold & flu" tablets and a glass of orange juice, some toast and a cup of tea in the space of about an hour. My stomach was doing cartwheels and seemed to be fighting with my bowels until lunchtime. If i take aspirin i fold up in half and edge towards vomiting without actually doing so. If i take the mildest of cough medicine i get dodgy stomach issues. Do you see a pattern emerging? So, add coffee to that and you may as well phone ahead for the ambulance. I can feel my Liver squirming as i type this!!!

Eat your Breakfast, especially this one.........

I never ever used to eat breakfast! All through my teenage years i stumbled out to school with no food in my stomach, a trend i continued into my 20's. I did not change this until just before i got married and since i have continued to eat breakfast every day. It helps when Cherith and i get up at the same time and eat breakfast together, a gentle persuasion to eat food that i never experienced until i entered married life. I am glad for that now, the benefits of starting your day with some food are clearly plentiful. Anyway i am not posting this to rabbit on about health benefits from eating breakfast but simply to compliment a wonderful product. I love when something is done well, when a product is JUST good. It doesn't matter what the product may be, a magazine, a cd, a camera or a breakfast cereal!! Well this compliment goes to a breakfast cereal. Its muesli and usually i would not have much to say about the substance that many people believe to be muesli BUT this stuff rocks!! There are many low grade muesli brands on the market that are simply a box full of dust with a small amount of nuts & raisins!! Well not any more!!

"Pure, natural ingredients and delicious recipes have already made Dorset Cereals one of the best ways to kick off the morning"

My current favorite is: Fruit, Nut & Seeds.

Some things in life need to be taken seriously, like cricket, the making of a good cup of tea and the recipe behind this delicious muesli, which blends pumpkin and sunflower seeds with a hearty mix of fruit and nuts. Fruit, Nuts and Seeds is a tasty blend of chilean flame raisins, apricots, sultanas, banana, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, blanched flaked almonds, whole hazelnuts and multi-grain flakes. Simple, but then the best things in life usually are.

Check them out here

Biffy Clyro................

I highly recommend these guys right now. Their latest album Puzzle is simply awesome, full of great tunes and super riffs. I really love this song from the album..........



Wikipedia says: Biffy Clyro (often known colloquially as Biffy) are a Scottish rock group from Ayrshire. Biffy's sound is a heavy but melodic mixture of guitar, bass and drums, with all three band members contributing to vocals. They are known for complex and interwoven guitar picks, strums and melodies, that change many times within each track................Yes, Wkipedia might just be right!!!

Foy Vance............

another great clip thats only been on the web about a week or so........

another "new" mac rumor...........

These guys are one of many places where you can read this latest rumor regarding apple products! I have been saving my pennies for a new mac of some sorts for a while now, my first thought was the iMac and then they went and changed it. The new range is simply beautiful on the eye, and had me smitten at first sight. I was completely sold on it until i started to think about the flexibility of having a laptop and also because my cousin Nigel is in London this weekend and has just purchased a new "black" macbook! I am personally very skeptical about a "black" apple..............they have to be white don't they? Well this latest rumor may mess with that opinion of mine in a big way as it is looking like the new range could be black or silver aluminum. They could also be a lot slimmer and lighter with the changes most likely only being aesthetic and not affecting the technical spec.........YET!! So as i was very wisely advised, the best time to buy an apple is NOW! You can bet your ass they will keep pushing the boundaries and updating their products in amazing ways. The line-up shown above is hard to top but apple will no doubt do it, that is what makes them great. So as i try to find out whether this rumor is true and also whether i buy an iMac or a a macbook please spare a thought for the poor pc user who wrestles with the "blue screen of death" on a weekly basis and try to convince him or her that Mac is the way forward!

OJ anyone?

What is the deal with OJ Simpson? I do indeed share his famous surname but i am glad to say that this is the only thing linking me with this nutjob! Simpson, 60, and three other men have been charged with 10 felony counts, including kidnapping and robbery with a deadly weapon, in an incident last Thursday in a Las Vegas hotel room. A collector said a group of armed men charged into his room at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino and took at least $80,000 worth of items that Simpson claimed belonged to him. If convicted, Simpson could get a life sentence. There is no some doubt over the ownership of the goods and it is "possible" OJ had been simply "retrieving" items that had been stolen from him! With a GUN!!! OJ, what is goin on man? Whatever the outcome for OJ, no doubt we will spend the years to come asking "did he do it or is he innocent?.....................ahhhh not again! at least nobody is dead this time!

"residual coughing & catarrh"

Wkipedia says: Acute viral nasopharyngitis, often known as the common cold, is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system (nose and throat). Symptoms include sneezing, sniffling, runny nose, nasal congestion, scratchy, sore, or phlegmy throat, coughing, headache, and tiredness. In severe and rare cases, symptoms of conjunctivitis (red, itchy, or watery eyes) may also accompany a cold. Those affected may also feel achy. Colds typically last five to seven days, with residual coughing and/or catarrh lasting up to one to two weeks!

Well thats just great isn't it? When i was in my teenage years i suffered colds at a steady rate of about 2 per month. It was horrific but through the years i have gotten better at avoiding the cold! On monday morning i got up and began sneezing almost instantly, i continued to sniff and sneeze my way through the day getting gradually worse as the day progressed. Tuesday, i was off work and was feeling not too bad, sniffing, sneezing and coughing a bit but generally not too bad! However, on tuesday night i went to bed and within minutes my head was thumping, my nose was more blocked than it had been all day and i just felt like dung! I didn't sleep for ages, then i slept for about an hour, then i had to get up to go to the toilet. The hot water and lemon combo drinks of the last 24 hours suddenly had multiplied by 100, queued up and were trying to exit at a rate of one pint per hour! So i got up to use the loo, again and again and again! I was sweating, then freezing, then sweating and then freezing again! At about 4am i got really frustrated and was just about ready to scream when i finally caught a little bit of sleep........about 2 hours!! As i stumbled around the kitchen this morning i wondered why i had got out of bed, i would never have done this a few years ago, i would have stayed in bed because work was never worth getting up for. I guess that is a nice compliment to my job, so i struggled on and im glad i did. I am feeling loads better tonight, Robin and Stevo came over to watch the football and im thinking il try the sleeping thing tonight again.....................if i dont sleep tonight expect lots of complaining in tomorrows blog post!!

scary sandwich stories..............

The other day we were listening to a very well known radio presenter describing his lunch time adventures in a local sandwich shop. His description was identical to that of most of us i would imagine. The over enthusiastic staff who pack your sandwich so full that it is impossible to eat are often slightly mental in some way, their behavior is still inexcusable despite the obvious craziness! Anyway, it started our minds whirring and remembering sandwich incidents of our own. The guy who made a sandwich for cherith and as he went to put it into a bag the lid of the plastic box thing sprung open, so with the hand that he had just removed a glove from he stuffed it violently back into the box! They wear those little gloves for a reason eh? The guy i worked with who found a blood stain on the bread of his sandwich as he started his 3rd bite! The girl who tried to give me chicken instead of turkey even when i loudly explained that i wanted turkey and i do NOT eat chicken. The guy who proceeded to smother my sub in mayonnaise after i said "no mayonnaise"................what's that about? Getting small burgers when you ask for large, ahhhhhhhh i could go on and on but I bet you have a story to tell..................please do!

Hells Kitchen..........

Barry McGuigan just won Hells Kitchen series 3, the former professional boxer from Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland has been great to watch through this series. He has been such a great ambassador for Ireland over the years, i remember in 1985 we all gathered around the tv screen at home to watch him win the World Featherweight Championship Belt against Eusebio Pedroza of Panama. When a country as small as ours gets a World Champion it really feels like we are all with him in the achievement, it doesn't happen that often. At a time when the "Troubles" were scaring the life out of me this little guy was uniting people through fighting!! Weird isn't it? His boxing record was 32 wins and 3 losses, with 26 wins by knockout, he just endured a grueling test in the Hells Kitchen with Marco Pierre White and is a Champion once again. Oh and here is one of our favorite moments from this series..............

Colin McRae, 1968 -2007

Colin McRae's father has spoken of the family's sadness over the death of the rally ace and his five-year-old son. Mr McRae, 39, his son Johnny, friend Ben Porcelli, 6, and Graeme Duncan, 37, died following a helicopter crash in Lanarkshire on Saturday. Jim McRae said it was "unbelievable" that his son and grandson's lives had been taken "so prematurely". Nicky Grist, McRae's co-driver since 1997, said the whole of the rally world was in shock and said McRae was "such a great character". Colin was always regarded as being a bit of a risk-taker in cars, but when it came to flying a helicopter he was a totally different man Speaking about his time with the former world champion, Grist said: "I have to say they were the best times of my life. "We used to drive to the max and push everything to the absolute limit."

I must be boring....

Quick observation folks! My wife is out at a meeting in relation to some children's outreach work she is soon to be getting involved with. I am watching some t.v. and reading a book intermittently whilst she is out. The "lady" across the street just left in a taxi with a "gentleman" and its most likely they will return in the "wee hours" of the morning, if indeed they return at all. They will not be loud or disruptive so i am not complaining at all, merely observing that many people are only starting to enjoy their evening as i am thinking about having a cup of tea and putting my feet up. I have never been a party type of person and i guess thats fine, it takes all sorts BUT i actually cannot understand it for some reason. When i see images of groups in bars or disco establishments, all bunched together, sweating and bleary eyed in a dimly lit warehouse of sorts i feel like i am blessed to be sitting on my sofa in the quiet. I am not meaning to be critical, i simply wonder at the attraction of it all................can anyone help me? I must be boring or im just getting old, either way i am going to put the kettle on.............

HEAD, MCLAREN & MACARTHUR.............

A few things were pointed out to me today that i am keen to see, read and talk about! Clive, the rep dude who calls about once a month showed me some books that will come in pretty soon. The one on the left is very interesting. I am not a Korn fan at all, in fact i do not even know if i would recognize their music. This guy made the news in a big way when he decided to announce his conversion to Christianity, fans of the band have slated him time and time again and now he has put down his story in a book. So what will it say, what effect will it have if any? I am certainly looking forward to reading my copy. You can buy it in the UK here The other thing we chatted about was Brian McLaren, Steve Chalke and their respective new books which are due to come out soon. McLaren and Chalke are kind of controversial around these parts but i had never noticed or paid too much attention to the fact that Thomas Nelson publishes the new McLaren book and indeed a few other of his titles. They also publish John MacArthur's The Truth War, a direct critical look at Mclaren & the emerging church movement. This in itself is not strange i think, though its usually normal for a publisher to stay in a certain "box" if you know what i mean!? Does it say a lot about Thomas Nelson? Do they really care about whether their books are good and full of truth or do they want to simply sell books by authors who are high profile? I wonder!
Anyway i reckon that Thomas Nelson should gather together their authors and have a huge theological brawl, film it and release it on dvd.............that would sell!

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Joe Zawinul

Austrian jazz pianist Joe Zawinul, who founded influential 1970s jazz-rock group Weather Report, has died. Zawinul, 75, passed away at his home in Vienna. Austrian media reports said he had been suffering from skin cancer. The celebrated keyboardist enjoyed his biggest hit - the Grammy-winning Birdland - with Weather Report in 1977. I had no idea who this guy was until i started to obsess about Jaco Pastorius and as a result found Weather Report's music. He has been credited with helping Pastorius rise to the heights of fame that he achieved and also worked with Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter to name a few. Heavy Weather is one of my favorite albums, Birdland is an awesome track and sets the tone for a great collection of music, this guy was great & will be sadly missed.

'Human-animal' embryo green light....

Regulators have agreed in principle to allow human-animal embryos to be created and used for research.
But scientists wanting to use hybrids will still need to make individual applications, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said. An HFEA consultation showed the public were "at ease" with the idea when told it could pave the way for therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Opponents have said many people would be "horrified" by such a move.
Read the BBC story here

As i ate breakfast this morning i watched a debate about this, i was appalled by some of the reasoning of the contributors of the show. I was shocked by how dismissive some people have become of any kind of "religious/faith based opinion" but i shouldn't be really. The scientific argument played down the process as something that has been greatly exaggerated by the media & opposing groups. Whilst i accept some of their very valid points and doubt that we will end up with half man/half sheep hybrids as a result of this work, i most definitely agree that science has stepped across a moral line and is messing with stuff that they shouldn't mess with! However, i am not stupid enough to think that i can throw a Christian viewpoint in the direction of science and they will suddenly say............"oh you know what, the christian is right!" So, what is the answer? I do not know? It scares me that i do not know and thats when i think about what i can do or what i should be doing about these kinds of things, if anything? what do you think?

[crave]:

image copyright: Connor McCullough

Soon and very soon we will show you the [crave]: artwork, i have to admit i do love what iv done with it BUT for now go check out the bands myspace page here...............
I highly recommend that you listen to all the tracks, of course!! BUT i am loving 'Break' right now, it is simply awesome........go check it out! Oh and the image above is one that we didnt use in the artwork!

have a good weekend....

new iPods..........

Just when you think that they cannot surprise you or impress you any more, apple go an introduce another fine and great looking product! Here are the most important things you need to know about the new iPod touch, it has a "Revolutionary multi-touch interface, 3.5-inch color display, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) Safari, YouTube, iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and its 8mm thin!! Comes in 8gb or 16gb and i want one!! They have also upgraded the whole iPod range 

check out the new range............

Marco, Gordon, me & Mr Ishi (with 2008 update)

There is something glamorous about chefs & restaurants and that whole world that i love. My brief and frantic leap into the world of restaurant life was exciting and exhausting. I was not even close to the world that guys like Marco Pierre White or Gordon Ramsay occupy. When we were busy it was crazy, but nothing like the kind of intense atmosphere that a "real" kitchen or restaurant experiences. So, Marco Pierre White has taken over from Gordon Ramsay on Hells Kitchen and its been entertaining so far, his "style" of abuse has not seemed quite so vulgar as Ramsay just yet but flashes of anger and violence have been not far away. He's simmering and It can only get better!! When you see the order coming in over "the pass" it is like all hell breaks loose in that kitchen, orders are screamed at each team member and as work begins on each dish the clock ticks! It was never a screaming match in my experience but a few times we got pretty stressed, words were firmly exchanged between my restaurant team and stephens kitchen team! I have said it before and felt a little arrogant BUT i ran the "floor" very well, i never panicked, never lost my cool.......ahem, well nearly never!! On the few occasions i was pulled into the kitchen i was never out of my depth but it was slightly more scary work. However, i got bored, i got tired and restless and i had to move on. How anyone can do this sort of work for a lifetime is beyond my realm of understanding.
Anyway, enough about my amateur dive into restaurants!! I found out when reading a little about White that he has never learnt to drive and has a Japanese man servant called Mr Ishi who drives him everywhere. We reckon Mr Ishi hides in fridges and below his bed and that they wrestle and fight when nobody else is around. These chefs are crazy for sure. Famously White made Gordon Ramsay cry in the kitchen, there is a photo to prove it in his book White Heat! I reckon Ramsay wanted to be Whites man servant and he said no, hence the crying! Whatever the reason i can honestly say i am glad i didn't delve too deeply into the restaurant world, i would have no doubt encountered one of these nutter chefs at some point and probably ended up hanging on a meat hook somewhere!

UPdate: thanks to all who are currently visiting this post via google searches for Mr Ishi. You all Rock!!

the car wash

when i was a child i was in a car when one of these things crashed through the windscreen.......i dont like carwash machines!!

About Time......................

I have been yapping on for about 10 years now!! Get your music on myspace or somewhere, just do it!!! And finally we have a myspace for my little brother. There is just one song added so far, a demo of Rock of Ages that he did very quickly but more will hopefully come soon. If not i will kick his acoustic ass from here to nashville!!
check out stephens myspace........and bookmark it NOW!