A Complete Explanation Of Everything

Sunday, October 28, 2007

One of the most exciting things...

I just found out yesterday that Sean Penn is bringing us one of my favourite books to the silver screen.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, which charts the story of a young guy called Christopher McCandleless as he voyages, as the title suggests into the wild. Everybody who reads this book ends up in Alaska, I've been, Dave's been. It's an absolute classic and a beautiful poignant human story.

I'm absolutely convinced this film will be brilliant. I always like Sean Penn's work and even better, this film is scored by an Eddie Vedder soundtrack.

I've a good feeling about this.

9th November 2007 - Irish Release.

I COMMAND YOU TO GO AND SEE IT!

http://www.intothewild.com/

posted by Christophe at 28.10.07 0 comments

Heavy...

Man, just been to see the movie, "Control" and then "Iron & Wine" in the Ambassador... Reviews to follow...

So yeah, heavy conversation with my Mum, Dany, about my Dad. She just linked how much he identifies with her dead father to the fact that poor old Gaga (my dad's dad, affectionately named because he had severe MS in his later years) had no dialogue for much of his life with his son.

Ian Curtis had epilepsy.

But he had the ability to communicate.

Depression is a dark, mysterious, dank thing.

posted by Christophe at 28.10.07 0 comments

Holy shit...


THIS APPEARED ON CRAIG’S LIST…

Quote:

I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy… I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City… Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board?...

I dated a business man who makes average around 200–250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right?... Here are my questions specifically:… What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings… Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village… How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY. Please hold your insults – I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them – in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

Well, she got an answer:

Quote:

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.

Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage… I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know
posted by Christophe at 28.10.07 0 comments

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Joyfully yoinked...



Courtesy of Ms. Barks...
posted by Christophe at 25.10.07 0 comments

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Et puis, c'est fini...

Au revoir Stan...
posted by Christophe at 24.10.07 0 comments

Thursday, October 18, 2007

It's an ill wind...

Ireland 1 - 1 Cyprus @ Croke Park, 17/10/07















It was some indication of the appeal of this game pre-match that the corporate tickets had fallen so far down the pecking order that they arrived in our grubby little hands. Either way, I was happy to go along, never having seen football in Croker and never having had the use of the corporate tickets before.

I could see myself there, swilling the beer down and saying feck it to the match in the bar. Which is what I promptly did, didn't even watch the second half outside, just from the screens in the bar.

This was always set to be a terrible match, given Ireland were out of the qualification hunt barring an incredible series of slip-ups from the Czech Republic (and the Czechs didn't do their part either, winning 3-0 versus Germany in Munich last night), but I was happy to be there to help put one of the final nails in Steve Staunton's coffin.

I never really rated Steve as a player, despite over 100 caps for the country and never really letting us down. He was solid, probably more stolid than solid and his gruff Dundalk demeanour isn't exactly designed for oodles of charisma. He's certainly translated his playing style and passionate enthusiasm to the current crop of Ireland players. Prior to this game, he was talking Cyprus up, just as he did with San Marino and in all fairness after getting a hiding in Nicosia (5-2, the fecking mortification of it!), maybe he was spot on in a sense.

Certainly, we were at Cyprus' level last night. Although, you could discuss why on earth we felt the need to play Joey O'Brien in the centre of the fecking park, that Sammy Lee has just gotten the axe at Bolton probably means Joey's days are numbered in the Premiership in any case. He's over before he's started at international level and that's down to tactical ineptitude from Stan.

There's no defending this, we were supposed to building for the future following the embarrassment of Prague & Bratislava. Nobody had high hopes when the group was drawn for god's sake. The Czechs and the Germans were firm favourites but we could at least have been competitive.

There's a powerful dearth of material on the web this morning investigating last night's debacle, watched by over 50,000 in the flesh. The common consensus of some articles on RTE and Ireland.com, is that Staunton is going to brazen it out somehow. Delaney looks impotent on the sidelines, the Chief Executive of the FAI castrated because he's hitched his horse to the wrong wagon from day one. An international class manager? This guy was putting the cones out for Walsall.

It goes all the way back to Kerr. Why get rid of him?

There was no logical replacement, nobody who looked remotely like a candidate and this was proven when we got a complete novice with absolutely no management credentials.

And that legacy came home to roost last night.

The real question is why Steve Finnan stepped in to save the draw at the death. It was ridiculously fortunate and Cyprus deserved the game and the assembled crowd felt the same way. The derision which followed the final whistle equalled and probably surpassed that heard at the death knell of McCarthy's reign. The legacy of Saipan fuelled that, last night was simply bewilderment and frustration at the idea of being managed by a man so clearly out of his depth, so incapable of giving his players any real sense of urgency.

Steve Finnan did not do the valiant thing last night.

He should have stroked the ball fucking wide and stopped prolonging this agony.

The jeers of 50,000 at the end confirmed this sentiment was not just my own.
posted by Christophe at 18.10.07 0 comments

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Good news, bad news...

Al Gore has said he ain't running for the Presidency! YAY!

Casey is back! Oh noez!!!
posted by Christophe at 17.10.07 0 comments

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Peace prize? Give me a break, Al...

People tend to forget Gore has already been in the Whitehouse and didn't seem to do much for environmental issues back then.

Change the dependencies of the american consumer much?

I don't quite remember that. I remember Clinton carpet bombing civilians in the former Yugoslavia and Gore being complicit with that. I remember Clinton cutting and running in Darfur and leaving the Somalians to a god awful fate and Gore being complicit with that.

I remember the United States not sending troops, materials or anything of substance to the people of Rwanda during the genocide in 1994.

And he was in office for that too. Oh and of course, you could throw the sanctions against the Iraqis too, for good measure.

Al, it's not the economy or the environment, it's your track record, stoopid.
posted by Christophe at 16.10.07 0 comments

Monday, October 15, 2007

My personality...

Yoinked from Facebook...

Openness

You are aware of your feelings but don`t get carried away with your imagination either. You embrace change when it is necessary while still resisting it when it is not. Beauty is important, but it`s not everything.

Conscientiousness

You avoid forseeable trouble through purposefully planning and achieve success through persistence. You are reliable and in control of your life.

Extraversion

You enjoy and actively seek out social occasions, but they`re not everything. Sometimes it is nice to step back for a while and have a quiet night in.

Agreeableness

People can find it difficult to get along with you as you are suspicious of their motives when you first meet. Over time though people warm to you, and you to them. That doesn`t stop you telling them "how it is" though.

Neuroticism

You are generally calm. Although some situations can make you feel emotional, your feelings tend to be warranted.
posted by Christophe at 15.10.07 0 comments

Friday, October 12, 2007

It's funny cos it's true...

A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job.

The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks “What do two plus two equal?” The mathematician replies “Four.” The interviewer asks “Four, exactly?” The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says “Yes, four, exactly.”

Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question “What do two plus two equal?” The accountant says “On average, four - give or take ten percent, but on average, four.”

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question “What do two plus two equal?” The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the blinds, sits down next to the interviewer and says “What do you want it to equal?”
posted by Christophe at 12.10.07 0 comments

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Lyrics scrapbook part mmxxiivi

"And you feel like sunshine on a horizon...

And you seem like starlight full in the day...

And the world keeps turning on her axis...

As we struggle to turn night into day..."
posted by Christophe at 9.10.07 0 comments

Monday, October 8, 2007

Society in general...

Some little fecker took my driver side wing mirror at some point on Friday night / Saturday morning.

Twas parked outside Christian's whilst we were attending Jane sister's 21st, who as a blonde looks dangerously like the lead singer from Transvision Vamp, and lo and behold, when I emerged in the am, twas gone!

I'd say my face was a picture but that was the first time I've been a victim of vandalism in a long time. Perhaps ever, in a real sense. It was a real neat job so perhaps theft is more appropriate.

No smashed glass or anything, even the motor seems to be working perfectly on the thing.

It's not the €60 that annoys me, it's the hassle pure and simple.

I blame society in general, then Bertie, then the capitalist system and finally God.
posted by Christophe at 8.10.07 0 comments

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Work steals me from friendliness

Man, I'm so shagged out I can't even pick up the phone.

I can type this on the net because it's a yawning chasm of nothingness or something.

Current Listenin'

Idlewild - El Capitan
posted by Christophe at 4.10.07 0 comments

Monday, October 1, 2007

Don't stone the old crow...

Old Crow Medicine Show @ The Village, 30/09/07

I went to this gig firmly convinced that it would be me, my friend Jen and the band. And that would be about it, spectator wise. However, Dublin's appetite for bluegrass is surprisingly voracious given the amount of people that actually turned out on a Sunday night of an Irish weekend.

The boys took the stage, upright bass, banjo, guitars, fiddles and harmonica at about 8.30 and proceeded to mix and meld bluegrass, alt-country and folk brilliantly for the next 2 hours barring a bizarre 15 minute intermission.

Mind you, it's quite intense for the performer, the main man on fiddle and harmonica certainly was entitled to a break after an hour. But, they are all superb players and singers and did great justice to both the latest record, Big Iron World and their older back catalogue.

The crowd showed decent familiarity with the tunes but it's quite clear that the big hit remains "Wagon Wheel", unsurprising as it lilts along pure lovely and has lyrics washed in the downhome southern feel.

But that's not to say they don't tackle contemporary themes as song titles like "Cocaine Habit" attest...

All in all, if you're into your americana, alt-country and bluegrass and you'll have gathered by now that I very much am, you won't go wrong with the Old Crow Medicine Show on a live basis.

"Runnin' from the cold up in New England,
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband...
My baby plays the guitar,
I pick a banjo now..."


posted by Christophe at 1.10.07 0 comments

Free beer...

The scene: Sin é on the quays, city centre, Dublin...

Yours truly leaning on the bar, the bald barman takes a moment's silent contemplation and repose as he washes his hands and I wait patiently as the crowd throngs around me.

"What will you have Sir"

"A pint of Staropramen please..."

Staropramen is a Czech beer and one of the best things about immigration in Dublin means it's becoming widely available on draft...

The pint is duly served, I move to hand over the cash.

"No, no" He says...

Eh? I'm thinking...

"I have a little tradition, at 11.30, I always give my first customer a free pint..."

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather... Free beer is a dangerous and consequently infrequent resource on the Emerald Isle. I've had free beer / alcohol in virtually every country I've visited but it's a long time since I had a free pint round here. Problem being I suppose, with the hint of a free pint available, we'd never go home...

Paddy and the lads were well impressed.

As Paddy remarked: "I'm going to be here next Saturday at half eleven..."

See what I mean!
posted by Christophe at 1.10.07 0 comments