Journal Entries
Setting up a business
Posted May 4, 2000
Today I set up a virtual business here on H2G2. I've decided to become a tour operator, doing grand tours of H2G2. The kind of thing the victorians and edwardians would do. Travel around and soak up the culture a bit that kind of thing.
Thing is I managed to make a bit of a muck up of things to start with. I thought I could get away with being flash and putting a forum box on the page, but the posts using the forum box seemed not be be doing what they should. I've relaunched with a new page and a sign up forum at the bottom. Should have just kept things nice and simple to start with 
At least this isn't in the real world where these kind of mistakes cost real money!
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Latest reply: May 4, 2000
Manchester, England
Posted Apr 21, 2000
I went into Manchester today and part of the trip was to go and see the work done in rebuilding the part of the city that was blown appart by the IRA on a summer saturday in 1996.
I must say I'm impressed. The new Marks & Spencers store looks good on the outside. The bridge linking M&S and the Arndale across Cross St is a nice piece of engineering, a glass cylinder with an outside lattice of steel to hold it up. Around the back of M&S a new street has been opened up from the old Shambles Square shopping arcade. New Cathedral street currently has boards up while the redevelopment of the shambles takes place. On the boards though is a pictorial histry of the work done to rebuild since the bomb. It shows the new glass domes on the roof of the royal exchange building being put into place. The new alien spacecraft like theatre inside the Royal Exchange. The waste land of demolished buildings that were the site. The inside of the Corn Exchange building. After walking along the street I came to where two pubs now stand, Sinclairs Oyster Bar and The Old Wllington Inn. These are a couple of very old buildings which managed to survive the bomb very well. The have also managed to survive being taken apart and rebuilt twice. The first time they were moved was when the Arndale centre was being built and now they've move again. They did look the part, sitting together with a courtyard area outside. Shame the weather today wasn't up to sitting outside at times.
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Latest reply: Apr 21, 2000
I was going to write something but now I'm not
Posted Mar 26, 2000
I was going to write something about how I felt when I saw someone today (pretty crap and wanting to go out and get wasted). But now I've had dinner and some drinks and spoken to my sister and listened to some music I don't feel half as bad.
I just wonder what it is that makes you keep going back for more even when you know it's going to hurt like hell afterwards?
Insecure What you gonna do?
Feel so small they could step on you
called you up answering machine
when the human touch is all I need
all I need...*
it's what I was going to put but I think it's such a poignant lyric I'll put it there anyway.
*Out To Get You by James
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Latest reply: Mar 26, 2000
Eels
Posted Mar 13, 2000
Eels, 2000-Mar-13, Dominion Theatre, London.
A sit down show in a proper theatre for what are primarily an indie/rock band seems a bit strange, but something that doesn't feel quite right is what should be expected from Eels.
The support was a solo singer with a semi-acoustic guitar. She sang songs with some similar themes and ideas to what Eels do with a more folk or country background to them. I did think it would have been interesting to see what the band would have done if they were allowed to do the backing.
The main event started with most of the band on stage doing a sort of orchestral overture of previous hits. The band were looking like quite a respectable saloon orchestra. The percussionist, Butch, was even at the back directing whilst wearing a big white stetson, the bass player in a long frock coat and ribbon bow tie playing a stand up bass.
When the front man E came on stage, he looked to have walked straight in from some mid-west truck stop garage, denim jacket, jeans and a lightwight short sleeved shirt.
The set comprised mainly songs from the latest album, Daisies From The Galaxy. The songs themselves little documents of dispair, world weariness, isolation and the feeling that the wolrd has beaten on your insecurities but with that little nugget of hope buried within were delivered in E's unique vocal style. The band had a good time providing acompaniments which in some cases turned parts of the songs into semi improvised jazz style sessions.
The encore started with Also Sprach Zacharusta being played and then went into Novocaine for the Soul from the first album Beautiful Freak.
The second song of the encore was played and sung with a heartfelt longing, tinged with sadness and a feeling of being an outsider. It was Can't Help Falling In Love. I don't think I've ever heard or will hear a version like it again, I think this was the highlight of the night for me. The band did a second encore which finished with E playing Bongos on a B-side, Hospital Food.
The lights came up and so everyone started leaving, but onece more after a few minutes the band came back and played one more song to a stunned audience. After they went off, everyone just stood there waiting to see if anything else happened (which it didn't 
).
Altogether a very enjoyable night, in which I didn't get horribly sweaty dancing, or crushed in the mosh pit at the front because it was all so civil with everyone sitting in nice comfy chairs. 
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Latest reply: Mar 13, 2000
Cats
Posted Feb 23, 2000
Cats 2000-Feb-23, New London Theatre
Ok so yes this is a bit of a change from the other reviews below, it's because it was a birthday treat for my little sister. I got to take her to the theatre in the big smoke.
The longest running musical in the west end, playing since 1981, Lord Lloyd-Webbers setting of T. S. Elliot's cat poems to music has been a success with the people who pay to see the shows.
I have to say I was impressed, the cast were energetic, looked like they were enjoying themselves and seemed to want to impress the audience. As a musical it's certainly more of a dance show than a singing show, but we're dealing with cats. Cats jumping up and down, running, playing, chasing, fighting and in the end dying.
The set piece routines were done well and the solo and duet perfomances were impressive. The singing certainly hasn't been forgotten with all this cavorting about a stage in the round. The vocals were well delivered at all times and hadn't taken a second seat to the dances.
A totally enjoable show that many people will enjoy seeing, it doesn't matter ifyou're young or old there's something for everyone.
And yes I did have a tear in my eye at the end when the cat who is chosen ascends up into the heavens, leaving only a memory of the happy times.
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Latest reply: Feb 23, 2000
Phil
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