Scotland: The Promised Land

There's a Glaswegian singer being interviewed on the radio right now and I am in love her voice. Not her singing voice but her accent. It's not one of those heavy Scottish accents where you KNOW they're speaking the same language but still you have NO IDEA what they're saying. It's a lovely lilting accent.
It's bringing back memories of my short time in Scotland. When I left Australia in mid 2005 I travelled through America and ended up in London. Even though I had plenty of friends and a very cute lady-friend in London, I was never intending to stay there as I really had my heart on living in a smaller city. I had a job lined up in Glasgow and spent about 2 weeks there and Edinburgh. LOVED IT!
I still remember the first Scottish bartender who served me - I had NO IDEA what he was saying but it sounded awesome! And then there was the cute girl in the bottle shop (Maybe she wasn't THAT cute in hindsight but her accent was awesome) who got me pissed while taste-testing whiskies! In the short time I was there I also made friends with a few local jazz players. Good lads who I saw play in Glasgow and then we hooked up a few days later in Edinburgh. We were watching a Charlie Parker tribute night at a jazz bar in the cellar of a Chinese Restaurant and we went upstairs and had some food in between the sets. It's also the first time I had Chinese beer. I also made friends with a guy in Hungry Jacks one night. He was from Africa (can't remember where abouts specifically) and had been in Edinburgh for a few years. We were talking about what the city was like to live in and the weather compared to where we both came from. The subject got onto music and it turned out he was something of an accomplished jungle DJ. And the best thing was his name was "Tiger".
Anyways I returned back to London with the intention of moving back up there in a month or so when the contract started. But due to some tragic events beyond my control and my own fuck-ups the Glasgow gig fell through.
Despite my best efforts for the last 3 years I have not set foot back in the land of my ancestors. The weather maybe shit up there, but fuck- it'd be worth it to be surrounded by people talking with that accent!

Happy Hallmark Day

Something I've relented to after years and years of bad Valintine's Day is to stop with the moral objections and just go with it. It ends up being much more enjoyable.

So I'm off to the shops to collect the ingredients for a 2 course fresh seafood culinary delight and suitable alcoholic beverages. I might even have a look at the chocolates. Which should be interesting as I don't eat the stuff myself so don't really know what to look for.

So it's my 33rd birthday next week.
It's that milestone age for great people to die.
Even though I think I'm pretty GREAT, I'm not really worried about meeting a fatal ending sometime this year. But lets see how it pans out.

Now I've been thinking about what presents I'd like. I know that some of you readers unfortunatly don't get to see me often- or at all these days due to the tyranny of distance. Hell- some of you guys reading this have NEVER even met me. But thats OK. I'll still graciously accept your birthday gifts. And what a GREAT way to integrate yourselves into my life!
So this is what I want (I've selected dvd's for ease):

Battlestar Gallactica season 3
Entourage Season 3
Six Feet Under Season 5
Walking With Cavemen
BBC Planet Earth
Austin Stevins: Snakemaster

Thats all I can think of at the moment- but surprises are always nice as well!

GAH! More comics talk!

I bought my first comic of the year yesterday.


Scud used to be one of my favourite comics and creator Rob Schrab was a strong influence on my own comic style.
However the series ended abrubtly a few years ago. This new series picks up where it left off and concludes the story in 4 issues. Haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Also in the dreaded comic store I was pretty tempted to buy the new Groo The Wanderer series- but they didn't have the first issue (of 4). I think I'll wait for the trade.

I REALLY dig Sergio Aregones. Before he made it as a cartoonist he was a singing waiter in a NY resturant. FACT!

Project 02-2008

My next project of 2008 is to try and sell a bunch of comics I don't really want anymore. Good stuff from around 2000-2005.

To that end I've JUST signed up to eBay.
I've never used it buy or sell before so I don't really know how it works.
What I was intending to do was either scan or take photo's of the books and sell them in the series (e.g Green Arrow #1-10 for $20).

Has anyone had any luck selling comics/books on eBay before?
Just WHAT do I need to know??!!

And when it's all up I'll OF COURSE let you guys know where and when so you can get in on the BARGAINS!