Posts

Showing posts from December, 2005

Darlin' Dick Ayers

Image
Jaded? Moi? NEVER!!! Just when you think you're getting even slightly jaded something comes along that makes you sit up, take notice and realise that even if the world isn't the nicest place to be, some of the people in it are just the best ever. In stores this past month is the third volume of The Dick Ayers Story . There's three volumes in the series, each as good as the other, and the concept of a comic book artist drawing his life story is nothing short of brilliant. I'm sure there's going to be several people who'll point towards other artists who've done similar projects, but hey - I like it. I had the chance to interview Dick waaaay back when and I'll say up front he's a true gentleman. I'd long been a huge fan of his, my brother and myself used to pour over Dick's issues of Sgt Fury with a certain degree of glee, and more than once I was removed from a class for calling a teacher a 'chicken scratchin', paper hangin' yello

4:10

AM, very, very AM. Can't sleep. Random thoughts running through head. Can barely breathe sometimes. Need fluids. Insomnia is starting to rear it's ugly head once more. It's the day after the day after. Christmas is an event that just doesn't hold any lusture for me anymore. I try my hardest to muster up the energy to look happy and excited, but the stark reality is that a grinch didn't steal Christmas, my father did. My old man left us as a family back in 1976. He never looked back, just walked down the driveway and wandered off to join the new family that he'd started over a year previously. The irony was that after his new girlfriend gave birth to my first half-sister, my old man wanted to bring her home so that my mother could raise her as her own. Give my mother full credit, she told the bum to get out and live up to his obligations - he made the mess, he'd have to clean it up on his own. So off he went. I have a vivid memory of standing with my brother

Suds

Yesterday was the first session in the Annual Holiday Drinkies Sessions. This one was held at the Griffiths Head - now pretty much the regular - and consisted of Tobias, Chadwick and little Stevie. Funnily enough not as many drinks were consumed as I'd like, but it was fun meeting up with the other half only for her to discover that I'd just bought the same book that she's bought me for Christmas, only I scored it at half the price in a half drunken stupor. Much giggling. Four meatballs later and it was back home, complete with rotten guts. It has made me wonder though. The shops here have been open for last 24 hours straight. That's a boon for all of those who worked the graveyard shift - the award rates must be excellent. However come next year when Howards Industrial Relations reform legislation comes into effect those rates will evaporate. Now can you imagine being told you're working from 12am through to 8am on Christmas eve for the basic award rate with no pen

Bleah Bleah Bleah

People who live here in Adelaide will know who I'm talking about with this one. After listening to the puerile crap that Amanda Blair spits out on the radio, and occasionally reading her utterly hilarious column in the Sunday Mail, I'm now convinced that ole Mandy is the media equilvant of the drunken old sot who sits in the front bar spewing out his own views of the world and general philosophy to anyone unlucky enough to be in earshot. When challenged on her often inaccurate views and opinions, Mandy instantly ignores what's before her and insists that she's right and the rest of the world is wrong. The squeaky voiced one believes she's important, and funnily enough some clowns in the media also share this view. Or do they? Well actually, they probably don't. What Mandy does is appeal to those less educated than herself, and there are a few of those. She hasn't got a lot to say, but she'll insist on saying it loudly. Luckily for her the idiot fringe, t

2005 Award For Customer Service

And the Annual Award for Aggro Taxi Drivers and Bad Customer Service goes to... ADELAIDE IMPRESSIONS CHAUFFEURED SERVICES Established 1993 (Don't call 'em taxi drivers - it really, really annoys them and they will hang the phone up) Gotta love this lot. Driving to work Friday and all of a sudden a Tarago bearing the AI name and colours cuts across the Parade at 8am this morning, doesn't indicate, nearly runs me off the road and then abuses the living suitcase out of me on Portrush Road because I beeped the horn. So I get into work and decide to call the company and lay a formal complaint. Bad move. First off the general manager then proceeds to call me a liar, disputes my version of events, complained that she's sick of dealing with 'people like me' (whatever that means - the public perhaps who've been verbally assaulted by their drivers?) and hangs up. Classic lines included: "What do you expect me to do? I'll speak to the guy, get his story a

Death Penalty

First off let me start this by saying that there are circumstances where I do agree with the death penalty. Those who commit the most extreme of crimes, those who takes lives, especially the lives of children, should face the ultimate justice. They've done the ultimate crime. To me it's a waste to have scum like Martin Bryant rotting in prison for his crimes when the world would be better served just by not having him here at all. At least Julian Knight knows what's coming to him if/when he gets released. However... should Van Nguyen have died yesterday? My answer - nope. It was wrong. The man's main crime was that he was an idiot. Pure and simple. And no-one deserves to die for being an idiot, otherwise the world would be an empty place. On the other hand let's look at some cold, hard facts. Van Nguyen was a drug smuggler. He attempted to smuggle a large amount of heroin out Singapore in order to help pay the bills of his brother, no saint himself. Admirable? To a

Previous Posts!

Show more