So much to talk about...

I thought I'd bring my topic list with me, just to see how much I could squeeze into one post. It's been a very busy couple of weeks since I last wrote and if I don't clear my head, it will probably explode. Always a messy business. So, let's look at what's been happening...

Dylan Moran

For those of you unfamiliar with this brilliant comedian, Mr Moran is an Irish actor, comedian, film maker and writer. I first came across him in the TV series Black Books in which he played the constantly drunk, bad-tempered, chain-smoking bastard of a bookshop owner, Bernard Black. I must have caught him sometime later performing on a televised comedy festival and was impressed with his stand-up routine, which, while it also sounded as though he delivered in a alcohol affected state, was quick and very clever.

When the chance to see him live in Perth arose, I jumped at it. Finding a buddy to jump at it with me proved a little more difficult, until the last moment when suddenly I had three offers in the space of an hour. I made the trek up to Perth, meeting with two friends, one of whom was an online Muse buddy that I had never met in person before. That's one of the great things about Muse buddies. You meet them knowing you already have at least one thing in common, regardless of other differences. So, armed with my old buddy and my new buddy we headed to the show where I managed to locate my third buddy in the section next to ours. The show didn't disappoint. Dylan delivered his searingly witty show complete with plenty of local references to places and politics which instantly endeared him to the audience. Much of his humour was based on clever word play and juxtaposition. At one point he was mocking the bizarre courses available for study these days, such as 'nuclear dance' or 'marine accountancy'. He also targeted subjects such as middle age, weight management, men, women, parenting and children with much self-deprecation. For anyone who has never come across him before, here is a quick snippet from back in 2006: Dylan Moran in Australia - The English Voice. 

If you get the chance, get yourself to a live Dylan Moran show. You won't regret it.

Knee pain

The ongoing knee saga continues. I went to see the surgeon the day I flew out to Melbourne (which turned out to be the day before I flew out to Melbourne, but that's another story). Unsurprisingly, I have quite a bit of cartilage deterioration (cheers hockey, volleyball, aerobics and athletics - sport is so good for you). Now, cartilage cannot be grown back, so it's not fixable as such, but I'm going to have operations on both knees to clean up the jagged bits and to loosen tight tissues which are affecting both kneecaps. Doesn't that sound like fun? The first surgery is happening on the day I return from seeing Muse in Hong Kong, because, well, why not? As it turns out, my surgeon will be away for the second week of the school holidays. By having my surgery on that day, I get a week and a bit of recovery time before returning to school. I might have to go to the Robbie Williams gig on crutches, but I'm tough. I'll survive. The second op will be on the Christmas holidays, probably in January. Something to look forward to. Hopefully it will be worth the pain, money and inconvenience. No doubt there will be follow up entries to share my uplifting knee surgery experience. Wish me luck.

Minions

I don't get minions. I haven't seen the associated movies and have no desire to do so. The fact that the little, yellow bastards are now popping up EVERYWHERE is causing me great distress. Two weeks ago I had to suffer through an entire school assembly featuring bloody minions. I gritted my teeth and smiled for the benefit of the children, but secretly harboured thoughts of blenders. To exacerbate the problem, they often turn up on my Facebook feed complete with rather excellent quotes that I can relate to so well, but out of pure bloody-mindedness, I refuse to re-post the vermin in the hopes that the yellow plague will gradually disappear. So, just for the record, the pictured minions are the only minions that are even vaguely acceptable near me...

Magic Mike XXL

Let's get the classy stuff out of the way. With all of the hype surrounding Magic Mike XXL (and a passing interest in seeing semi-clad men dancing), I decided to go along to see the movie. Having not seen the first installment, I tracked it down to bring myself up to speed. I'm pleased to say that I went into both films with very low expectations of a riveting story line, so I was not at all disappointed. I got to enjoy 90 minutes of eye candy without having to endure the smelly club full of pissed-up screaming women to go with it. Better yet, I got to see it with one of my best mates from Kalgoorlie. Perfect. So, was it a good movie? Hell no. Did it deliver exactly what it promised. Yep.

Merry Gentry series

I've managed to get myself rather hooked on a series of books by Laurell K Hamilton. I'm yet to tackle her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, mostly because I was interested in researching the fairy erotica genre. As such, I have totally lost myself in the Meredith Gentry: Fairy Princess/Private Eye series. A description of the series from her website looks like this: The Meredith Gentry series published by Ballantine Books features Meredith Gentry as a part‐human, part‐fey private investigator. Under orders from her aunt Andais, Queen of the Unseelie Court, Meredith is in a race to become pregnant and ascend the throne before her cousin Cel does. The cost of failure will be her own life and that of those who follow her.

I've found the series to be compelling reading; fantastically detailed characters, gripping plot and a fascinatingly dark take on fairy culture. If a dangerous 'race to become pregnant' sounds like your kind of thing, check it out.

Photography


With interest increasing in my sunset photography, I decided to start a Facebook page specifically for my photos. Check it out here:

T Holland Photography

I also include my live music photography and travel photography, purely for entertainment at this point. Perhaps one day it could become a professional page. We'll see...

In the meantime, my hobby is allowing me to meet a whole range of interesting people who also visit the beach at that time. It's a brilliant way to wind down after work, whether I'm at the beach or just on the front lawn. Wholesome natural therapy.


Travel!!! (yeah, and Muse)

Ah yes. One of my favourite hobbies! I've recently been to Melbourne, but I'm going to save the details of that trip for my next post which will also feature these previously mentioned topics.

Gay marriage
Holding the Man - book and movie
MIFF
Online friends
Writing
Getting a life
Doors opening / doors closing
Comfort zones

I'm going to keep you hanging to see how they all connect up...

In other news, in just over a month, I'm heading off to Singapore with my niece and nephew to see my boys. Muse are performing throughout Asia in late September and I've been able to wangle two shows into a one week trip to Singapore and Hong Kong. This is my first time seeing them live since 2013 and I'm extremely excited to see them performing the new material from the Drones album, released in June this year. Head to the Muse Youtube channel to check out the official videos released so far. The album is heavy on bass and drums which equals BLOODY AMAZING in terms of live performance. It also features some incredibly busy lead guitar work and soaring falsetto vocals from Mr Bellamy. It's always a pleasure to watch him do what he does best.

I consider myself to be a completely undemanding fan when it comes to setlists. Just to see Muse live is a privilege, so I'm not going to whine about what they do or do not play. I'm just curious to see whether they go with a festival style setlist or a complete performance of Drones. Being a concept album, it's designed to be listened to in sequence. While this is fantastic in the car or on the treadmill, I just can't see it translating into an ideal live setlist in its current order. The song, Drones, a haunting acapella piece, features Matt's voice layered into four part harmony. I swear, I'll melt into a puddle on the floor if they manage to put something together with visuals to make this happen live. My own singing experience as a baritone singer in barbershop built my love for four part harmony, so when I heard this song, Muse soared to new levels of adoration in my eyes. Back to setlist order...Drones is the last song on the album and while it is simply beautiful, I can't see it being used to finish of a gig. It would make for one hell of a transition piece though. I guess I'll just have to be a patient little Muser and see what they come up with.

So, two gigs, new music, in exotic cities, with my niece and nephew! With any luck, I'll return with a fresh batch of travel photos and Muse pictures to add to my page.

That might have to do for this entry. I know there are other topics on my list (Dear Sherlock springs to mind) but they will just have to wait for the moment. Ciao people x