jmtd → log → misc → Between chapters

I have decided to pen an update. It has been nearly a month since my last one and quite a lot of stuff has happened so one is long overdue.

So much stuff has happened in fact that I have been afraid of writing an update, such a mammoth task it will be. I had been planning to dedicate a whole evening to it - I was even planning what food and drink to buy and what music to listen to, in order to help me get through it.

Having said that I've decided to fill a few idle minutes starting this epic monologue - but now I must dash to an appointment with the practise nurse as part of re-registering with my local GP.

..Back. Luckily the tannin/caffeine content of my `sample' wasn't picked up on.

So then, I graduated (297KB) at the end of June and departed the lovely city of Durham, which I still haven't put up a page about. It would seem a bit weird to do that now but I may just do it anyway.

A week after graduating I saw the Cure at the Manchester Move Festival; supported by the Cranes; Longview; Keane and Elbow. Can I just make a brief comment about band websites? It seems that the lesser-well known bands, with (one imagines) lower-budget sites are the ones which are actually informative and accessible. The cure's site until recently wasn't the prettiest thing in the world but it was updated pretty regularly and had a wealth of information on it.

Now they're signed on Geffen the site has been replaced with a flashfest with a pointless splash screen; all the old info (ex-cure members; a cover of pirate ships; etc.) has dissapeared and the news that is posted is all utterly US-centric. The move festival has not had a single mention - before, during or after; virtually all tour dates are for the US (the international events are hard to spot since everything is listed by state); anything time-sensitive is listed as '10.15 eastern' or similar.

Having said that the new site lets you buy their entire back-catalogue in digital formats so some improvements have been noticed. But on the whole some lucky web designer has pulled some flash nonsense out of a dark cavity, ditched the existing content and probably done pretty well out of it.

Moving on... I bought Join the Dots from Ebay a week or so after the gig. I got it for 26GBP (it costs 45 in the local music shops) which is a bit of a bargain.

Oh I haven't even mentioned how good the gig was: I was there from 3pm to 10:30 and such things tend to wear me out so its always a worry that the headline act won't be too impressive but luckily they pulled out all the stops. Keane were also fantastic - better than I expected. Elbow, who I have seen before, did an impressive set. I think Elbow, Longview and the Cranes suffer that their music is not of the sort which gets people moving or excited for the main gig. Also it's pretty difficult to get people into the groove 5 hours before the main act, as the cranes had to. Mind you, Smith picked them all as he thought their sound was ideal preparation for the Cure... who am I to argue?

So since then I've been applying for jobs. I signed on, first dole payment due this friday I believe; applied to 4-5 jobs; had one interview (and one rejection). Applied for one this week which I am really hopeful about, it sounds like just what I want to do. I'm cataloguing all my old tat that I don't want anymore to get rid of online which may help to dent my overdraft.

I am also hopefully moving this site onto a different host and developing a more professional side of things (a `portfolio' of code and design work). I think it would be quite a good idea to get a guestbook up again; its been a long time.

Oh and I started driving lessons again.