Oh, wait, i know why. Flash doesn't like us wild and wiley Linux users. They are skipping a... uhm... whatchamacallit... version, ya, i think that's the lingo knowlegeable computer people would use.

So, (e:Twisted,340), i cannot hear the oh so lovely sounds stylings of the oh so lovely Buzzcocks that you have as your usersound. How punk is that? So, i have no idea which song of theirs is your favorite. I have always been partial to Get On Our Own, but i like it when Pete Shelley's voice cracks. Love the orignal of Boredom with Howard Devoto on vocals... hell, any version of that song. Listened to a live cassette (yeah, that is how old it is... from a cassette box set, believe it or not) yesterday that had a great live version of Time's Up. I used to have a live Why Can't I Touch It? with Pete Shelley's voice breaking at least 3 times on the whyyyyyyyyyy.....

The first time i saw them was in 1991. I don't think that club is around any more. Great club. Just the right size. Not too big, not too small. Here's a pic of the ticket...



Funny how i have 2 from other shows that were signed by Pete Shelley and i can't find either of those...

Mike Joyce was the drummer at that show. There were just as many Smiths fans in attendance, i think. It was a big deal, that show. The comeback of the Buzzcocks. I had several brushes with local celebs at that show.

But oddly enough, it wasn't one of the ones i met Pete Shelley. In Asheville, NC, i left the Orange Peel to chase him down Biltmore, and around to Hillard Ave where the tour bus was parked. He was looking for a light for his fag. I gave him one.

At Lee's Palace, i ran into high school friends milling about in a group and it turned out they were all talking to Pete Shelley. I did too. That's when i found out he used to live in Toronto. During his "Homosapiens" days.

I saw him outside the CFNY studios with Steve Diggle once. They were there for an interview before a show at the Phoenix, but the doors were locked while the dj was talking, so they couldn't get in. I gave them both a cigarette. See? There are benefits to smoking! But i digress.

I swear, i am not a stalker.

But i will travel to see them, for sure.. to SanFran, of course, (e:Twisted)! And we have plenty of room here if you want to travel to see them around here. If (e:Paul) will let you stay anywhere else but his place, of course.. Will keep my eyes peeled for new old pics of the boys. Thanks for the heads up.

Happy Birthday, (e:Matthew)!!

Happy Belated St. Paddy's Day!

Today, i did my usual. I went to the store and got a newspaper (part of me is very much looking forward to the day in which the Buffalo News is a morning paper.. even though another part of me will miss the morning walk). I also went to get bread at Luigis. They were really busy. I asked the woman behind the counter if this was a traditional way to recover from St Patrick's Day, or was there a holiday i missed? She laughed and said St. Joe's. I shrugged and said i am not catholic... that i have irish tattoos, that i am part Ukranian and i have a Polish last name. She said i should be catholic then. And she had me there. But i am not. And i have no idea what St. Joe's is. I was born in St. Joe's hospital in downtown Hamilton Ontario, but i don't think that is what she meant. Is it the Italian St. Paddy's? We had some yummy cannoli for breakfast because of it! Ah, the breakfast of champions. Well, even though i am not sure what i am wish, exactly, let's all have a...

Happy St. Joe's!

I don't make much of a secret that one of my favie bands is the Buzzcocks. I got the new album... oops... they are cd's nowadays, flat-pack philosophy ... the other day. It's ok.. i think it might be one of the ones that grows on me. But there is no way i wouldn't buy it, even if i knew it sucked. I support my favortie band, even if they are getting old and creaky.

No confirmed word yet if they are playing anything in North America, but CFNY said sometyhing about them playing the warped tour? Interesting...

They are playing shows in the UK right now. Played Sheffield tonight.. i highly doubt my friend, David, will go see them. I think the only thing in common David and i have musicly is Morrissey/The Smiths. But that is a different story... I do know the Buzzcocks are playing in Leeds on the 19th. Oh, how i would love to be there. I have been to that club, too... the Cockpit. Just south of the arcade, on the other side of the tracks. The wrong side, of course.

Hope they play Buffalo... wanna come if they do, (e:Twisted)?

Need to know the time and just do not want to bother to turn around or look up from your computer or to another part of your computer to consult a clock? Well, then this site was made for you...

RIP Maimie

On Saturday, a dear friend from Knoxville, Chris, sent (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i an email letting us know about the passing of another dear friend of ours.

Maimie the african elephant at the Knoxville Zoo. We would visit her and her friends once or twice a week (one year we got a letter from the zoo because we were one of the members that visited the most in a one year period!) and i very much considered them extended pets of ours. Once we got to know which elephant was which, we very much recognized their personalities. Maimie was the older, wiser elephant. Not the matriarch, she was too quiet and mild mannered for that. When the zoo built the new exhibit for the elephants, i was very happy for them.. and me. I, and other visitors, got the chance to see all the elephant cows indoors, with a mere piece of glass between us, in the morning and evenings, and Maime's enclosure was right up at the front. I loved watching her eat, looking at what she would choose out of the big huge pile of food.

Some of the elephants at the Knoxville Zoo paint, Maimie included, and when it came time to choose one for myself, i decided on one by Jana, since i heard the matriarch was going back to the zoo she was from, in Louisville, KY. She was the first elephant i came to recognize and she was the most prominent, since she was taller than the other cows (but not the bull, Tonka, he is a giant!). I don't know if she ended up going back to Louisville.. we left before she did, and although i read the quarterly magazine, Wild Wonders, online, that the zoo publiushes, i have yet to see any mention of Jana leaving. Maimie was supposed to show Jana the ropes and teach her how to become and be a mom, but i don't think that ever happened. I miss my elephant friends in Knoxville. I now wish i had a painting of Maimie's to go along with my painting of Jana's. RIP Maimie. I miss you already...

Here's a pic from the article of Maime painting..


Here's the painting i have, done by Jana.



Because Saturday was such a nice day, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i thought we would go to Rochester, to the Seneca Park Zoo and we found out more sad elephant news. Seems the pregnant afriacan elephant there, Genny C lost her baby about a month before she was due. Poor thing. We have been there once or twice and i was looking forward to seeing a baby... but more than that, i feel bad for everyone that spent so much time and energy invested in the life of this baby. I have heard that elephants mourn. I hope Genny C is doing ok, medically as well as emotionally.

Boss Mom

My mom's birthday is coming up next week. And the poor thing has to have oral surgery the day before! Not too long ago, she had some tooth pain. She went to her dentist and he said he couldn't figure out why she was having pain where she was having pain. Unlike me, my mom can pinpoint exactly where she has tooth pain. All i can ever say is that it is "around here somewhere and it hurts, please just make the hurt go away." My mom is brave when it comes to her mouth. Her dentist sent her to another one (scary when one specialist has to refer to another, if you ask me) and he took some xrays. Turns out that in a tooth with a crown that had a root canal in it, her mouth has decided to grow new side roots. They were infected. YIPES! She was (probably still is) on antibiotics and once the infection is clear, on to the surgery. She doesn't want to loose that tooth, or the crown, so they are going to root canal those side roots surgically. Cut open the gum and go in from the side. Oh, the thought just makes me queasy! Talk about a happy birthday f@ck you, eh? I think (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i are going to go visit her on Sunday.. we thought about surprising her on her birthday, but she might not be up for much visiting. So, we think it will be a more pleasant surprise on Sunday. Since she loves shopping when she is here, we won't be giving her much that would take away that fun. Instead, i thought it would be cool to give her food. Stuff she can't find easily in Canada... Mrs T. Pierogies, Triscuit Rye crackers, Duncan Hines Spice cake mix (the spice ones are really hard to find.. i mailed ordered one for her birthday before i moved here), Snickers Icecream bars, and some booze infused stuffed olives from Premier. She will have a chance to munch on these things before her surgery that way, too.