Eating Cookies

As I write, I'm sitting with Eoghan and Andrew and the rest of the history class in An Tobar Nua, eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate as treated to us by the delightful Christy Griffin. Eoghan says hi, Andrew gives me a look of disgust. Now I will most likely sleep soundly through English and French.

In other news, I had my Irish Oral Exam yesterday. Bhí sé ar fheabhas (it was great!)! As someone said, it was like talking to a brick wall...

Tim Coffen has Been Booted from the Server

Yesterday (and most of this morning), we had Tim Coffen's going-away party. Tim has been an amazing friend to us in his time while working in squareyes and he's not someone we will forget too quickly. Tim is going back to Canada in a few days, so his remaining time in Ireland is precious to us. Tim, I hope you find your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figurine, before it succumbs to the rural wasteland of Connemara.

Now, for the final time:

Tim Coffen has been removed from the server.

Game Over

Diet Drinks get too much bad rep

What is it with diet drinks getting so much bad rep? Of course, they're usually sweetened with the potentially lethal, toxic substance known as Aspartame (to which we can thanks Donald Rumsfeld) but let's look at it from another point-of-view.

About four weeks ago, I decided to stop eating what I consider "junk food": fried food, candy, chocolate etc. This wasn't anything to do with "Lent", although it was most likely inspired by it. I just think that I don't need it. Not only is it bad for me, but it's also burning a hole in my pocket. At this stage, it has become a sort-of challenge, to "see how long I can go", without junk food, much like my good friend Jason (www.jasonparmele.com), who hasn't touched candy or chocolate for many, many years.

I have had one saving grace in this time though; diet drinks, more specifically Coca-Cola Zero and Rockstar Zero Sugar. I drink roughly seven bottles/cans of these drinks per week, which with all things considered, isn't very much at all. At 0.7kcals per bottle, me and Coke Zero get on great together.

Cheers.

My Life Minus Music

A dark, lonely, desolate place, devoid of any color or emotive influence. Deep? That's music, baby.

For the second time since the beginning of melodic interference in my life, my iPod is broken. Music has become a major part of this life, such that I can confidently boast ownership of a "soundtrack to my life". The earlier days contain a lot of Green Day stuff, which eventually transitioned with a bang into my blink-182 days. Next came a surprisingly brief engorgement into Weezer. My current musical love affair is somewhat retro, but cool nonetheless: R.E.M.

• Green Day was the beginning of music for me. I was about 12 years old and was relying solely on my brother for Green Day albums. I only really 'got into them' when I heard the song "Wake Me Up When September Ends". That one struck a nerve; I never found out why. That whole American Idiot album was one that played to most of my (undeveloped?) emotions at the time. I fell head-over-heels in love with anything that took my fancy at the time, something which I think most people get at that age. Make up your own minds...

• blink-182: Mark, Tom and Travis who briefly turned me into a wannabe punk - something which I'll never be ashamed of! It was strange that I only ever started listening to blink after they broke up [c.2005]. I relied on old footage from concerts when they weren't much older than I am now to assure me that 'things do get better'. Their songs were, and still are, absolute gold. They appeal to their target audience, which is the most important thing. Sure, blink were never known for their instrumental complexity (bar Travis Barker's drumming), but frontmen Mark and Tom knew how to write a song aimed at a single mass of people. I'm happy that blink-182 are back together. I look forward to seeing what they can do.

• Weezer was that point I reached where I didn't "give a crap anymore". As a result, I never got very emotionally attached to Weezer or any of their music. Most of their stuff is fairly straightforward anyway. The only complex piece of music written by frontman Rivers Cuomo is the now infamous, "My Name is Jonas", written about his handicapped brother. Lyrically, it's remarkably powerful. Here are some of my favorite lines:

"My name is Jonas, I'm carrying the wheel."

"My name is Weepeel, I've got a box full of your toys. They're fresh out of batteries, but they're still making noise!"

"Building's not going as he planned. The foreman has injured his hand. The dozer will not clear a path. The driver swears he learned his math. The workers are going home..."

• I first heard an R.E.M. song when I showed somebody another favorite song of mine, "When Your Heart Stops Beating" by (the now defunct) +44. He described it as 'sounding like "Orange Crush" by R.E.M.'. I liked it enough to download it from iTunes. One day I was in HMV and saw In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 being sold for €9. On the recommendation of my friend Eoghan, I bought it. I haven't looked back since. It's hard to find much to dislike about R.E.M. Not only are they excellent instrumental musicians, but Michael Stipe's ambiguous lyrics pack a punch. My favorite song for the past while now has been "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?". Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtxz4yV_-3g

The following songs are the songs which I played during the writing of this entry:

----------------
Now playing: R.E.M. - Man-Sized Wreath
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Now playing: blink-182 - Every Time I Look For You
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Now playing: Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies
via FoxyTunes "

----------------
Now playing: Rod Stewart - Young Turks
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Now playing: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Now playing: Motion City Soundtrack - Everything Is Alright
via FoxyTunes )

----------------
Now playing: The Who - The Seeker
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Now playing: R.E.M. - Orange Crush
via FoxyTunes

----------------
Now playing: Ash - Girl From Mars
via FoxyTunes