Aside from it being my last day at work, and going to see Southampton play this afternoon, today is notable for the discovery that Felipe Massa, apart from being a kick-ass F1 driver, appears to have joined Daft Punk.



Fucking ace!

Hello, people of Livejournal! Here is where I do an update about the myriad exciting things that are going on in my life.

• I passed my degree! With a 2:1, no less. Which was what I was going for. Despite bombing out on a few modules, my overall grades were good enough to get my desired degree, which for you people who don't know what a 2:1 means, is the equivalent of a B. That's pretty much what I've been getting all my life, so I'm happy with it. Additionally, that's me and education done for now. I'm sure I'll end u doing some more stuff later in life, but that's it for the foreseeable future.



• Remember that job I told you all about? Well, turns out I'm going to be based in Bristol and Bath. Which isn't too far away from home, and they're nice enough places. I'm not entirely sure which place I'll be living in yet, but it's likely to be one of those two. Head Office is in Chippenham as well, so it might well be somewhere in the middle of those three places. I start work on September 3rd, so there's time enough to find out more about accommodation. I spoke to the area director today, and he seems like a really nice guy, so I'm looking forward to getting started at work. If you hapen to live in Brisotl or Bath and know any good estate agents, please let me know.
  
  
• I have, of late, taken to watching House, which is a pretty damn awesome medical drama type thing. I've got the first two seasons on DVD, and season three is on Five here in the UK right right now now. There's not much TV I really watch these days - they're repeating Life On Mars from the beginning on BBC4, so I'm watching all of that, and I watch My Name Is Earl as well, but that's it. I'll probably take a look at Heroes, because I think it's starting this week, but I can't say I'm overwhelmed by the premise. As long as it's better than Lost, at any rate.



• My last day at my current job is going to be this Saturday, seeing as I've given all of August over to getting my affairs in order before starting in September. Then I'm off to see Southampton play Lazio, which out to be a fun game, even if it is only a friendly. Feel free to give me a ring if you're in the Southampton area and fancy going, I'm pretty sure there are tickets left.



• It's still raining, but fortunately Romsey is still above the waterline. This remains all the more bewildering, considering I live between a water meadow and a canal, and my house was built on a flood plain. Either way, I'm not complaining. I quite like the rain as long as it isn't sloshing around my feet while I'm watching TV.



• My days are mostly being filled with reading emails, writing emails, making phone calls and watching DVDs. I'm not entirely unhappy about it. Eventually I'm sure the gears of everything will start to kick in, but until then I'm happy to let it all unfold in front of me.

So that's my life as it stands at the moment. If you'll excuse me, Die Hard isn't going to watch itself! Again!

Watch this. It will change your life.



Seriously. I'm not joking.

"Catherine Tate is set to return to the TARDIS for the complete 13 week run of Series Four of Doctor Who."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/07/03/46831.shtml

Way to go, Russell T Davies. As if The Runaway Bride wasn't hideous enough, you've brought Tate back for a whole series. Billie Piper was fairly rubbish, but I'd rather have here than Tate. Hell, I'd rather have Bonnie bloody Langford than Catherine Tate. Oh, and it gets worse:

"Catherine was an absolute star in The Runaway Bride and we are delighted that one of Britain's greatest talents has agreed to join us for the fourth series," announced Doctor Who's executive producer and head writer, Russell T Davies. "Viewers can expect more ambitious storylines and a whole host of guest stars in 2008."

Because guest stars are of course what make Doctor Who the enjoyable sci-fi romp it is. When RTD is done using it as a vehicle for whatever pop culture references he deems necessary to drop in, in order to appeal to whatever demographic he thinks Who should be appealing to, we might be able to get the new series back on some sort of track. Fortunately I'll be receiving hard drives with every episode of the old series on soon, so I can sit back and watch those while Kylie bloody Minogue minces about the bloody Titanic.

BOO ON THIS.

I got my direct on, ladies.

So I headed up to London for the Wireless Festival.



All my photos are over here for your viewing pleasure. I think they came out pretty good.

( Here are reviews of all the bands I managed to see, along with marks out of five. )

All in all, it was a great day. I'm not as big a fan of festivals as I once was, but this was a really good day out. Organised well, easy to get to, a range of great bands and a fantastic headliner. Well worth the £40 I paid to get in. I'm not sure if I could say the same for the £75 a day ticket for Reading costs these days. It's probably better to think of Wireless as a set of open air concerts rather than a collective festival, but either way I had a great time. Depending on the line-up, I'd definitely consider going again next year. Celebrate and dance so free, one more time.

By finding this post, locked inside a trunk at the bottom of the sea, you have unlocked the secret of this Very Important Poll. Please act accordingly.

Poll #1004024 Triassic, Jurassic or Cretaceous?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 18

Triassic, Jurassic or Cretaceous?

Please check other sunken chests for further Very Important Polls.

Another day, another awesome mix uploaded by me.



I've been listening to a lot of awesome electro tracks lately, and now you get to listen to them. There's some really good stuff on here, so I hope you dig at least one or two tracks. If not the whole thing!

( Tracklisting and download details )

I sure hope you dig these sick, ill and additionally tight tracks. Drop me a comment below if you feel like it, or want to know anything about any of the featured bands.

So I went to the Isle of Wight Festival.



All my photos are over here for your viewing pleasure. There's a few good ones in there.

( Here are reviews of all the bands I managed to see, along with marks out of five. )

The Isle of Wight Festival is growing bigger and bigger, and the friendly attitude that it has had in previous years, as the majority of tickets went to Island residents and families, is starting to die out. In their place are beered up students and other drunken slobs, which adds a slight tinge of menace to proceedings. In 2005, I didn't repeatedly get beer spilled on me, for example. It's a shame that the desire for profit is killing off the friendly attitude I felt at the Isle of Wight two years ago, which I had never experienced at Reading, for example.

In conclusion, music good, atmosphere lacking. Whether I go next year is really up for debate considering the ill-feeling I felt across the site, which has doubled in size over two years. That alone, despite amazing performances, is enough to put me off.

In accordance with the terms of your late husband's will, please find attached the latest Very Important Poll.

Poll #1001512 A Very Important Poll In Reference To Clouds
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 17

Cirrus, Stratus or Cumulonimbus?

Today, I had my last ever exam. I have officially, after three years, finished university. I am very happy about this, because it means I don't have to go to university any more. Aaaaah. That's a nice feeling.

In order to better celebrate this sort of event, I'm going to see the Manic Street Preachers tonight, a beer festival on Thursday, and the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend. Oh, and seeing Daft Punk next week. Not to mention that tomorrow is Pantsless Wednesday. Oh, how I live for Pantsless Wednesday.

The new Armand Van Helden album is good, if you're looking for something awesome for your life. Otherwise, I hope you're all doing okay!

http://www.mp3hursday.me.uk

Nearly six months on, I've finally got my stuff together and archived every issue of mp3hursday. All thirty issues, which amounts to 13 hours and 20 minutes of pure delicious radio. Downloads might go a little slow, but if you missed out on an episode in the past, you can grab it here.

I've also added a brief history of the show, and extra comments for each episode. Enjoy!

Here is the next Very Important Poll you demanded.

Poll #993904 A Very Important Poll Concerning Rocks
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21

Igneous, Metamorphic or Sedimentary?

Choose your weapons.

Choose a choice.

Poll #992712 A Very Important Poll Regarding Trees
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21

Evergreen or Deciduous?

More very important polls to follow.

Every day, there are things that annoy or displease me. But do you know what annoys or displeases me the most? Not making a list of all those things! So I made a list! Of all those things that annoy or displease me! All one hundred and one of them!

( Without futher ado, here is a list of 101 things that annoy or displease me. )

Man, it feels good to get that off my chest!

It's free music time again, kids.



A mix CD of songs about spring, and also involving strings. Quite pleasant for the clement weather we've been enjoying of late.

( Tracklisting and download details )

I sure hope you dig these #1 jams. Let me know what you think.

I will now post a list of things that are awesome.

• Southampton beat Southend 4-1 today, and I was at the game. The atmosphere at St Mary's was electric, especially given the tribute to Alan Ball, a footballing legend and ex-Southampton player and manager who died last week. The win means we're in the playoffs against Derby, and if we win that tie it's off to Wembley for the final. I can't see us getting to the Premiership, but it's exciting and I can't wait to see how it pans out.
  
  
• The new They Might Be Giants album, The Else, leaked yesterday, and it's absolutely fantastic. I'm a big fan of these guys, so to get a new CD of theirs is big time fun. I've put one of my favourite tracks from the album, Withered Hope, up online, so have a download and tell me what you think.
  
  
• Regardless of the clouds, it's shorts weather. I love wearing shorts. I can't be the only one who finds trousers oppresive.
  
  
• Tomorrow is a bank holiday, which means no lectures. Hooray! It also means it's the May Day All-Dayer, which means I'm off to Winchester to enjoy one or twelve beers. While wearing shorts! Hooray!
  
  
• Unbeknown to me, my sister bought me tickets to go see both Bill Bailey and Silverchair later this year, which is going to be more than a little exciting as they're both totally awesome.
  
  
• During a rummage through an awesome CD shop in London the other day, I can across Zaireeka by the Flaming Lips for the meagre sum of £6. I've been wanting this album for a long time, so to actually get my hands on it is very exciting. The concept is thus: four CDs with different parts of the same songs on, that you play on four separate CD players. As an experiment in sound design or music, I think it's fantastic. No two CD players can play exactly in synch, so you'll have notes reverbing before they've played on another system, and so forth. Regardless of what the music sounds like, it's a fantastic concept and I can't wait to experience it. I don't think "listen" is the correct word.

I think that's enough awesome things for one post.

Oddly enough, I had taken a picture of my desk a few days ago that I was meaning to post, so here's a meme that goes along with it. Good times!

"Take a photo of your desk, as-is (no cleaning up / prettying allowed! The idea is to see what it really looks like), and post it twice on your LJ, the second version annotated."

( Unlike some people, I didn't cheat! )

That was fun. We should do this again sometime.