End of Commonwealth Games

On Sunday, I took my dear old mother to the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

My partner was in the act as a performer. She was one of the 1000 Dame Edna’s. We’ve been going out for nearly 10 years and she has some Edna traits. What they are I will keep secret.

Anyways, it was a good night. Nice weather and a fun show. We were in the Southern Stand which meant that everything was happening the direction away from us. That is the main performers on stage had their backs to us.

Prince Andrew was there, so were some other people. My partner said all the athletes were pretty wasted by the time they ran onto the area to see Johnny Farnham perform. I did get a little lump in the throat when Paul Kelly sang 'Leaps and Bounds'. Nice.

I was going to bring the G6 with me, but I thought it would be hard to get in, so I didn’t. Shame, and shame again. Instead all I had was the N70.

As said previous the N70 is not the photographer’s choice. The shots are pretty ordinary.

It was worthwhile coming in to see it. I have photos below that demonstrate what it was like. I’ve even thrown in one of the Rugby Sevens and I know it is Australia playing but as for the other team I’ve got no idea. Probably some place like Nuie Islands.

They’re a force to be reckoned with! Unless the oceans rise the predicted two meters, I doubt we will hear from them any time soon. Perhaps it’s already happened and no one knows that they are all clinging to coconut shells.

There was an 11 minute Indian extravaganza! Aishwaya Rai was there too. So were some other dancers. Some 1000 of them. Good on them Indians. Lets hope they can stop people shitting in the streets and murdering their unwanted daughters for the 11 days of happiness in 2010!

I’ve also put a photo in of the crush leading to Richmond station. Mum took off! She was ducking and weaving. Luckily she was slowed by the build up at the ticket gates. Here are the photos.

Rugby Sevens at the Telstra Dome. Let's hope St Kilda does better there than Australia did.

Waiting for the fun to start!

All the flashes going off at one time, pre-fun entertainment.

Icons of Melbourne. This was when Paul Kelly was singing Leap and Bound s.

Sweetheart girls going out to do thier thing.

This is the Indian EXTRAVAGANZA. Julia Roberts says that Aishwaya Rai is the most beautiful woman in the world. There she is. The first thing she did when she got off stage was to take off her shoes.








This is what she was doing before coming down off stage to kick back and watch the rest of the extravaganza on the big screen.










Athletes on the arena rockin' out to some Farnsey. My partners in there somewhere.














Walking to Richmond Station to get the train home. It was a long night. But enjoyable.


Mum said she "thoroughly enjoyed it".








There ends my Commonwealth Games adventure.

iPod

As some will be aware, I have an iPod. That's it on the right.

I purchased it in, I think, October 2004 from David Jones at the Glen. I was looking at heading O/S to Korea in November and I needed some way of taking tunes with me.

Previous to the iPod I had a Sony Mini Disk unit. It wasn't bad, but I have never had a stereo that could allow me to download songs directly onto a disc, so I missed a lot of the functionality of it. It was OK especially as it had an AM/FM radio on it.

So when I got the iPod I had already put a lot of songs onto my partner's laptop. And then when I got my own laptop, I went silly and put on a bootload of songs.

Last count there are over 3,700 songs on it. However, it now seems as though it is starting to stuff up. I will have to take it to a dude to get it fixed. It is not working and it shits me. I know there are a few out there that have had major problems, and I hope this isn't one of them, as it has seen me through Korea, New Zealand, France, Paris and most of Victoria for the last 2 years.

I have an iTrip too, and some of them are stuffed, but mine seems to work well. You might be able to see how much it is used, as the print on the iTrip is starting to come off. I've seen the new ones for the video iPod, and I don't like the way that they plug into the bottom. But that's Apple for you. Always bringing out something better than the previous model and then not making anything compatible. I was going to buy the new iTrip which doesn't need the iTrip stations, and still might, as there is nothing as bad as having one of those bastards come on!

It also has a silcone cover on it, which is great. Because when it is dark it glows blue. Excellent. As soon as I got the iPod I scratched the screen. But the cover has a plastic cover for the screen and it hasn't suffered any more damage since then. And the cover has sort of padded corners on it, which saves it when it drops. And has my iPod had some drops! But it still works, and that's the main thing. The cover also has some grip, which means that when I go around a corner in my car it doesn't go flying across the compartment where it lives.

Anyway, what this post is all about, is that last week I was updated some items on the left about me. And there was one there about favourite music. I put some in there, but it's hard work, so I thought I'd just put my song listings on here for anyone who cares. I usually use the iPod in the shuffle/album mode, and I don't really care what comes on, as I listen to anything. I have just started to use the Playlists too, but they come from the below.

I'm not that hardcore anymore to go and get complete back catalogues of bands. I've got some ont here, like Steve Earle, Neko Case, Beth Orton, and Uncle Tupelo (for instance), but these days I go for the greatest hits or 'Essential' type CDs. You get all hero and not much zero. I also buy CDs and don't download them from the iTunes store. As I like to have CDs around and like to look at the booklets that come inside them. The booklet inside the Johnny Cash 'Unearthed' CDs is a book!

I have downloaded some podcasts, AM for example, and the Ricky Gervais show also. That's comedy gold! Mostly I just upload CDs I buy. Best to stay on the right side of the law I say!

Here they are then. I will update the list below in about 6 months with further details.

Enjoy.

Artist	Album
Aerosmith	Young Lust (Disc 1)
Aerosmith	Young Lust (Disc 2)
Air	10,000 Hz Legend
Air	Moon Safari
Air	Talkie Walkie
Air	The Virgin Suicides
Australian Crawl	Greatest Hits - More Wharf
Ben Harper	Diamonds On The Inside
Beth Orton	Central Reservation (Australian Release)
Beth Orton	Comfort Of Strangers
Beth Orton	Comfort Of Strangers-Bonus Disc
Beth Orton	Daybreaker
Beth Orton	Trailer Park
Billy Bragg	Must I Paint You A Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg (Disc 1)
Billy Bragg	Must I Paint You A Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg (Disc 2)
Billy Bragg	Must I Paint You A Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg (Disc 3)
Billy Bragg & Wilco	Mermaid Avenue
Billy Bragg & Wilco	Mermaid Avenue Volume 2
Bob Marley	Dreams Of Freedom: Ambient Translations Of Bob Marley In Dub
Bob Marley et al	Chant Down Babylon
Bruce Springsteen	Human Touch
Bruce Springsteen	The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Disc 1)
Bruce Springsteen	The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Disc 2)
Bruce Springsteen	The Essential Bruce Springsteen [Bonus Disc]
Bruce Springsteen	Tunnel Of Love
Clare Bowditch	Autumn Bone
Clare Bowditch	What Was Left
Clare Bowditch	What Was Left: Loose Acoustic 'One Takes'
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	American Dream
Crowded House	Crowded House
Crowded House	Temple Of Low Men
Crowded House	Temple Of Low Men
Crowded House	Together Alone
Crowded House	Woodface
Culture Club	At Worse...The Best Of Boy George And Culture Club
Dan Brodie & The Broken Arrows	Big Black Guitar
Dan Brodie & The Broken Arrows	Empty Arms Broken Hearts
Dan Brodie & The Broken Arrows	I'm Floatin' Mamma EP
Dave Graney 'n' The Coral Snakes	The Devil Drives
Dave Graney 'n' The Coral Snakes	The Soft 'N' Sexy Sound
Dave Graney Show	Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Dave Graney Show	The Dave Graney Show
Dinosaur Jr	Without A Sound
Duran Duran	Decade
Ed Kuepper	Ed Kuepper Sings His Greatest Hits For You
Eels	Shootenanny!
Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach	Painted From Memory
Elvis Presley	All The Best Volume 1
Elvis Presley	All The Best Volume 2
Elvis Presley	All Time Greatest Hits (Disc 1)
Elvis Presley	All Time Greatest Hits (Disc 2)
Elvis Presley	Sunrise
Elvis Presley	Sunrise (Disc 2)
Everything But The Girl	The Best Of Everything But The Girl
Faithless	Outrospective
Fleetwood Mac	Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits
Garbage	Beautiful Garbage
Garbage	Version 2.0
Gatorbait	Gatorbait
GB3	Circlework
Gillian Welch	Revival
Gillian Welch	Soul Journey
Griffin Technology	iTrip
Happy Mondays	Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches
Happyland	Welcome To HappyLand
Jack Johnson	In Between Dreams
Jack Johnson	On & On
James Reyne	James Reyne "The Best"
Jeff Buckley	Grace
Jimmy Little	Messenger
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros	Global A Go-Go
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros	Rock Art & the X-Ray Style
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros	Streetcore
John Coltrane	A Love Supreme
John Prine	Fair & Square
Johnny Burnette	Johnny Burnette And The Rock 'n' Roll Trio
Johnny Cash	American III: Solitary Man
Johnny Cash	American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash	American Recordings
Johnny Cash	Folsom Prison Blues. The Concert Collection
Johnny Cash	The Essential Johnny Cash (Disc 1)
Johnny Cash	The Essential Johnny Cash (Disc 2)
Johnny Cash	Unchained
Johnny Cash	Unearthed I: Who's Gonna Cry
Johnny Cash	Unearthed II: Trouble In Mind
Johnny Cash	Unearthed III: Redemption Songs
Johnny Cash	Unearthed IV: My Mother's Hymn Book
Johnny Cash	Unearthed V: Best Of Cash
Joy Division	Substance 1977-1980
Kirsty MacColl	The One And Only
Kosheen	Resist
Kraftwerk	The Mix
Life Without Buildings	Any Other City
Lisa Miller	As Far As A Life Goes
Lisa Miller	Car Tape
Lisa Miller	Quiet Girl With A Credit Card
Lisa Miller	Version Originale
Lyle Lovett	Lyle Lovett and his Large Band
Mal & The Longboarders	Eskimo Roll
Mal & The Longboarders	Five Toes Over
Mal & The Longboarders	Sticky Feet
Mental As Anything	Best of Mental As Anything
Michael Franti & Spearhead	Everyone Deserves Music
Michael Franti & Spearhead	Stay Human
Ministry of Sound	Chillout Annual 2002 (Disc 2)
Neil Diamond	Hot August Night
Neil Young	Greatest Hits - Neil Young
Neko Case	Blacklisted
Neko Case	Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Neko Case	Furnace Room Lullaby
Neko Case	The Tigers Have Spoken
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends	The Virginian
New Order	Best Of New Order [UK]
New Order	Get Ready
New Order	International
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	Live 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	The Best Of (Disc 1)
Oasis	(What's The Story) Morning Glory?
Paul Kelly	Foggy Highway
Paul Kelly	Songs From The South: The Best Of Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls	Gossip
Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls	Under The Sun
Paul Kelly With Uncle Bill	Smoke
Pixies	Wave Of Mutilation: Best Of Pixies
Professor Ratbaggy	Professor Ratbaggy
Pulp	Hits
Rebeccas Empire	Way Of All Things
Red Rivers & The Rocketones	1/4 Mile Down
Reel Big Fish	Why Do They Rock So Hard?
Ricky Gervais, Steve Merchant, and Karl Pilkington	Ricky Gervais Show: Season 2, Episode 4 (Original Staging)
Robbie Williams	Robbie Williams Greatest Hits
Rockbottom James & The Detonators	Blow It Up
Rockbottom James & The Detonators	Bombshell
Rockbottom James & The Detonators	Everybody Stay Calm
Rockbottom James & The Detonators	The Adventures Of Rockbottom James And The Detonators
Sam & Dave	The Best Of Sam & Dave
Sherry Rich	Sherry Rich And The Grievous Angels
Sherry Rich	Trying To Write A Love Song
Smash Mouth	Astro Lounge
Smog	A River Ain't Too Much To Love
Smog	Knock Knock
Songs: Ohia	Magnolia Electric Co.
Spandau Ballet	Gold: The Best of Spandau Ballet
Spazzys	Aloha! Go Bananas
Spearhead	Home
Steve Earle	Copperhead Road
Steve Earle	Early Tracks
Steve Earle	El Corazón
Steve Earle	Guitar Town
Steve Earle	I Feel Alright
Steve Earle	Jerusalem
Steve Earle	Just An American Boy (Disc 1)
Steve Earle	Just An American Boy (Disc 2)
Steve Earle	The Revolution Starts Now
Steve Earle	Train a Comin'
Steve Earle	Trancendental Blues [Bonus EP]
Steve Earle	Transcendental Blues
Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band	The Mountain
Steve Earle & The Dukes	Exit O
Steve Earle & The Dukes	Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator
Steve Earle & The Dukes	The Hard Way
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble	The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble (Disc 2)
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble	The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble (Disc 1)
Stray Cats	The Best Of The Stray Cats - Back to the Alley
Supersuckers	The Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World
Tex Perkins	Dark Horses
Tex Perkins	Far Be It From Me
Tex Perkins	Long Night Of The Dark Horses
Tex Perkins	Sweet Nothing
Tex, Don & Charlie	All Is Forgiven
Tex, Don & Charlie	Sad But True
The Allman Brothers Band	The Allman Brothers-A Decade Of Hits 1969 - 1979
The Avalanches	Since I Left You
The Band Of Blacky Ranchette	Still Lookin' Good To Me
The Beach Boys	Sounds Of Summer
The Blues Brothers	The Blues Brothers
The Breeders	Last Splash
The Breeders	Title TK
The Chemical Brothers	Singles 93-03
The Clash	Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (Disc 1)
The Clash	Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (Disc 2)
The Clouds	Favourites
The Cruel Sea	The Most
The Cure	Greatest Hits - The Cure
The Doors	The Best Of The Doors (Disc 1)
The Handsome Family	Twilight
The Highwaymen	Highwayman
The Highwaymen	Highwayman 2
The Highwaymen	The Road Goes On Forever
The Jam	Collection
The Jesus & Mary Chain	21 Singles
The Jesus & Mary Chain	Stoned And Dethroned
The Jesus & Mary Chain	The Sound of Speed
The Style Council	The Style Council - Greatest Hits
The Thompson Twins	Singles Collection
The Triffids	Australian Melodrama
The Triffids	Born Sandy Devotional
The Triffids	The Black Swan
Tom Petty	Full Moon Fever
Uncle Tupelo	89/93: An Anthology
Uncle Tupelo	Anodyne
Uncle Tupelo	March 16-20, 1992
Uncle Tupelo	No Depression
Uncle Tupelo	Still Feel Gone
Underground Lovers	Cold Feeling
Underground Lovers	Dream It Down
Underground Lovers	Exclusive Remixes (With Dream It Down)
Underground Lovers	Rushall Station
Various	Generation 80's
Various Artists	Lost In Translation
Various Artists	MOS: The 2003 Annual (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Rage - More Of The Songs Most Chosen By Rage Guest Programmers (Disc 1)
Various Artists	Rage - More Of The Songs Most Chosen By Rage Guest Programmers (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Rage - The Songs Most Chosen By Rage Guest Programmers (Disc 1)
Various Artists	Rage - The Songs Most Chosen By Rage Guest Programmers (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Simply The Best 60's Disc 1.
Various Artists	Simply The Best 60s Disc 2.
Various Artists	The 2003 Annual (Disc 1)
Various Artists	The 2004 Annual (Disc 1)
Various Artists	The 2004 Annual (Disc 2)
Various Artists	The 2005 Annual
Various Artists	The Annual 2000 (Disc 1)
Various Artists	The Annual 2000 (Disc 2)
Various Artists	The Annual 2005 (Disc 1)
Various Artists	The Chillout Sessions 3 (Disc 2)
Various Artists	The Chillout Sessions 3 [Disc 1]
Various Artists	The K&D Sessions (Disc 1)
Various Artists	The K&D Sessions (Disc 2)
Various Artists	The Look Of Love - The Burt Bacharach Collection (Disc 1)
Various Artists	The Look Of Love - The Burt Bacharach Collection (Disc 2)
Various Artists	The Look Of Love - The Burt Bacharach Collection (Disc 3)
Various Artists	To Hal And Bacharach
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 1 (Disc 1)
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 1 (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 3
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 3 (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 4 (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 7 (Disc 1)
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 7 (Disc 2)
Various Artists	Triple J Hottest 100: Vol. 4 (Disc 1)
Various Artists	Verve Remixed
Various Artists	Verve Remixed 2
Vince Jones	Watch What Happens
Willie Nelson	Across The Borderline
You Am I	Hi Fi Way
ZZ Top	Greatest Hits - ZZ Top

That's Gold. Starts with Aerosmith and ends with ZZ Top. That's fucking awesome!

Update: In the time it took me to upload that photo of the iPod, it has sorted itself out and now working again. Apple, you gave me a scare, fuckers!