My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/08/2007

1. (3) - My Favourite Game - The Cardigans
2. (-) - Europop - The Divine Comedy
3. (-) - Sunbursts In - Eyeless In Gaza
4. (5) - Easy Love - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
5. (-) - This Earth That You Walk Upon - Simple Minds
6. (-) - Masquerade - The Skids
7. (7) - One My Love - Sly & Robbie
8. (-) - Cold Sweat - Albert King
9. (2) - Message Oblique Speech - The Associates
10. (-) - One Way Ticket - The Darkness

Regards,

djp

I wash me face, I wash me hands, I wash me...

Got back yesterday from my trip to London. All tired and shopped-out, but it was worth it. And Arsenal won the Emirates Cup too, so everyone was happy (apart from the fans of Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Valencia that is...)

Taking things nice and easy today. Back to work tomorrow.

Exciting life I lead, eh?

Regards,


djp

Ticketmaster puzzle

Last Sunday, we were supposed to be going to the All-Ireland Hurling Quarter Finals in Croke Park, where Tipperary were to play Wexford and Kilkenny to play Galway. Unfortunately, due to the death of the Kilkenny keeper's wife in a car-crash, the games were postponed to this coming Saturday...

...which was somewhat unfortunate for me in that I had already booked to go to London to watch Arsenal play in the Emirates Cup. Double-booked as it were.

I'd booked the e-tickets for Croker off Ticketmaster, one each for Mrs et moi and one for Younger Daughter. The GAA said that refunds were available from point of sale but the Ticketmaster website was a little bit ambiguous in relation to refunds. I eventually found a part of their site which related to cancellations and reschedulings. Essentially, it said to return the tickets to the Customer Service office in Dubln by secure post.

Mrs and YD decided that they would go to the games anyway, so I was only looking for a refund for my own ticket. Yesterday, I wrote to Ticketmaster, enclosing my e-ticket and requesting my refund. I sent it off to Dublin by registered post - cost me €5, which I thought was a bit stiff, but still...

In my letter to Ticketmaster I said I would also be sending them the text of my letter by e-mail. Given the tight timescale involved, I didn't want to give Ticketmaster the opportunity to welsh on the deal by saying that they hadn't received my letter in time. Safety first, doncha know.

I sent off the e-mail before I headed to the Post Office with my letter. Imagine my surprise when I got back from the Post Office to find an e-mail in my inbox, telling me that my refund had been processed already.

Quick response time, I acknowledge, but I wonder would the e-mail have been sufficient to get my refund? Did I really have to spend €5 to send my letter and e-ticket to Dublin?

Puzzling, but in the context of the tragic accident in Kilkenny, hardly of the highest importance in the overall scheme of things...

Regards,


djp

Ingmar Bergman

The combination of the appalling weather we've been having over here for over a month (36 days since there was a totally dry one, apparently) and the fact that TV is usually crap over the summer meant that last night, I actually found myself watching an Ingmar Bergman movie, "Journey into Autumn" (I think).

I'd never watched a Bergman movie before and I only stuck with this one for about 30 mins. Can't say if Bergman's characters are typical Swedes - I only know one Swedish chap personally and he's a real family man.

Let's just say that the movie was beautifully photographed (it was) and the B/W print was gorgeous (it was, lovely and warm in an "analogue" sort of way). I've never been in Stockholm apart for a few hours spent in transit at the airport, but the location shots looked very attractive - very European in a way that Dublin isn't. Of course, the film came out in 1955, so the locations are probably all demolished at this stage. Might travel to Stockholm some time, but it would help if they had the euro...

Regards,


djp

Panic

This morning, I was having a nice cup of coffee in my favourite café (Café Q), when some bizarre music came on over the PA.

The normal soundtrack in the café is yer usual lite jazz - pleasant and appropriate for the ambience. But this morning, as I was sipping my coffee, I heard an Andrews Sisters-style arrangement of a song, the lyrics of which seemed to be strangely familiar. A few more seconds elapsed before I realised it was a cover of the Smiths' "Panic". I had never heard the cover version before and I was, frankly, gobsmacked. The cover worked well in an ironic sort of way. Kinda curious about what Morrissey's reaction to it would be, though...

If anyone can identify the artist, please help a brother out!

Regards,


djp

Gasping for Oxegen

My elder daughter (just turned 17) is currently at the Oxegen Festival at Punchestown Racecourse.

We got a phonecall from her this morning, and according to her, the mud is only ferocious up there. Two more days of that will soften her cough for her...:-).

Going to festivals is such a rite of passage, isn't it? I did my turn at the helm back in the 80s, and I was glad when the time came to pass on the baton to those with more energy (and less imagination) than me. I can only describe my trip to the Electric Picnic two years ago as an (enjoyable) aberration.

Down with (parentheses)...

Regards,


djp

End of the holliers

I've been on vacation since the end of May and I'll be going back to work next Monday (July 9), but only for two days. It's an interesting existence I have all the same...:-).

I got a lot of things done during my holiday (few of which were planned, truth to tell) and quite a number of things which I intended having a go at are still on my "To Do" list (including creating a "To Do" list in the first place). Still, that's all part of life's rich tapestry, as we used to say in Castleisland.

I'm feeling well rested after my long break and, as I understand that things have been functioning OK in my absence, I can face the prospect of returning to the office without much trepidation. Now, that's something you won't get me to admit very often!

Regards,


djp