The Banal Chew

Farewell

2011-12-16T17:21:36+11:00

I've been thinking about deactivating this blog, and now is the time. Life sucks and I don't want to write about it. That's all. It's been a great ride. Y'all take care now, you hear? x

Ravel's String Quartet in F

2011-12-04T18:51:46+11:00

Perhaps there are others out there who will never forget the first time they heard a particular piece of music. For me, it is movement 2 of Ravel's String Quartet in F. The entire work places me in a trance,...

Pepper Spraying Cop Meme

2011-11-22T11:25:14+11:00

I'm not sure who originally created the Seurat-Pike parody, but in the spirit of the meme, I built upon it to come up with my own contribution. (click to enlarge)

The Voice

2011-11-20T12:11:09+11:00

A singer colleague of mine posted on Facebook a link to a recent NY Times article about pop music singers (eg, Adele) and their voice disorders and treatments. This post prompted others, presumably trained singers, to write comments that alluded...

Pop's the Tops

2011-11-17T13:04:15+11:00

I just hung up the phone from chatting with my dad. He is in hospital again. Thankfully, the prognosis is good, as all tests have come back clear. This is another (and hopefully final) hurdle to jump, post-treatment. His spirits...

Another fight, another hall

2011-11-13T19:08:58+11:00

So here I am, sitting with a half-empty glass and wondering WTF. I love acronyms.

Stuff. Meh.

2011-11-10T16:07:17+11:00

Today's delivery of another rejection email in my inbox brings me to the conclusion that THIS FUCKING BLOWS! So instead of using my fingers to mix up some Molotovs to hurl through a number of HR office windows, I'll put...

Meow

2011-10-25T16:40:12+11:00

Every day, I wish I had more to smile about. It has been over 10 weeks since I got terminated from my job. Over here in Australia, they call it "retrenched". Somehow that term seems apt, because this feels like...

Each year, the amount of importance

2011-10-13T17:44:36+11:00

...that I place on my birthday exists in increasingly inverse proportion to the current number of those events. (But I very much appreciate all the grand wishes!) (Image by Kartooner. Licensed via creative commons)

Bluntcards

2011-10-09T09:36:45+11:00

So naughty. So wrong. But so funny! Enjoy more chuckles here!

Nothing Yet

2011-10-07T13:41:50+11:00

Just dealing with it in a way that's cheaper than Zoloft.

Apologies in advance

2011-09-30T13:20:05+10:00

Excuse the pity party, but I feel the need to dance. Cue the music, please. Mark left for the US a few hours ago. He will be gone for nearly two weeks. I am too broke to go. Zane is...

Don't Ask, Don't Tell...Don't Matter!

2011-09-20T15:49:26+10:00

Ding, dong. DADT is dead. On 22 July 2011, after jointly "certifying" that ending this unfair policy would not hinder the USA's ability to fight enemies [sidebar: wtf?], President Obama, Leon Panetta and Mike Mullen notified Congress of their joint...

Ballarat

2011-09-11T17:55:50+10:00

A long overdue family day! Mark, Zane and I caught the early train to Ballarat yesterday morning. The journey is a quick 1.5 hours by rail, during which time you zoom through some beautiful countryside. After arriving in Ballarat, we...

Ecco la Primavera!

2011-09-01T08:39:56+10:00

Today is the first day of spring here in Australia, or at least it is for many Aussies. Some Indigenous Australians celebrate a seasonal calendar that is organized according to the interaction of climate and the immediate environment. For me,...