In A Word..

Apparently I've been "tagged with a meme". This caused much panic initially, as I'm not really down with this fancy Interslice lingo, and imagined that I may have contracted some kind of illness. Fortunately, it just means that I have to answer some questions using only one word. Sounds easy. But then, so did Blockbusters. And no, I don't know where question 10 went either.

Here goes..

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket
2. Where is your significant other? Non-existent
3. Your hair color? Dark
4. Your mother? Short
5. Your father? Hero
6. Your favorite thing? Rude
7. Your dream last night? Harrowing
8. Your dream/goal? Batman
9. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your fear? Spiders
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Throne
13. Where were you last night? Bed
14. What you’re not? Serious
15. One of your wish-list items? Watchmen
16. Where you grew up? Llanrumney
17. The last thing you did? Answer
18. What are you wearing? Shirt
19. Your TV? Unwieldy
20. Your pet? Gary
21. Your computer? Rebellious
22. Your mood? Empty
23. Missing someone? Iolo
24. Your car? Small
25. Something you’re not wearing? Pink
26. Favorite store? Comics
27. Your summer? Cold
28. Love someone? Unrequitedly
29. Your favorite color? Colour
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? July

There you go. And yes, "non-existent" is one word. Now I have to pass it on to five other people apparently. Only trouble is, only three people read this blog, and two of them are already infected. That leaves only Gav. I shall hasten to inform him.

Oh yeah, I've got photos of Gary coming up. Actually I've had them for a week, but I'm a lazy man. Anyway, I'll stick 'em on tonight, I promise.

The I Wish I Could Play Guitar Like That Blues

Saw Joe Bonamassa live last night in Bristol. Fair play, the man can play. I'm about as jealous as a man can be. He started playing guitar at age 4 (he's 32 in May 2009) and opened for B.B. King aged 12, after being mentored by Danny Gatton. That's a hell of a pedigree. Anyway, don't just take my word for it, have a look at this:



He also sang this song, which I hadn't heard before. It's called Asking Around For You, and is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. Makes me wish I believed in an afterlife:



He was supported by a lady called Imelda May, who I'd not heard of before. She's got a fantastic voice, and is well worth checking out, rockabilly fans.

I think I'm getting a chest infection. No need.

Gary "The Nipper" McSlitherson

Gary has arrived! And he's beautiful.

Went to Newport last night to pick him up, and got to choose from six snakes. The father has a beautiful pattern of blotches on him, and the mother is orange, so Gary has the best of both worlds - the same pattern as Daddy, but with orange patches rather than brown. Pictures will be along shortly.

He's a feisty little blighter, hence his nickname (the breeder I got him from was calling him Nipper). He's still a little shell-shocked from the move, but he fed last night and seemed pretty satisfied with his new surroundings. He had a bit of a strike at me this morning, but as he gets used to being handled he'll be better able to differentiate my hands from food. At the moment he's about a foot long, and really skinny, but apparently they can grow up to an inch every week! Eventually he'll be between four and six foot, and might even live into his early twenties. A snake, it would seem, is for life, and not just for Christmas.

Watching him feed is amazing. At the moment he'll eat twice a week, but a fully grown corn snake only needs to eat once every two weeks. Imagine eating two weeks worth of food in one go, and swallowing it whole to boot! That's a lot of Wispas. No wonder they need to chill out for a couple of days after that!

Stereotypes, snakes, and Whitesnake.

Latest news on my new snake, the plan of action is to get him tonight. I've spoken to the breeder and she's got six for me to choose from, and is going to let me play with the adults for a bit too. Joy. The vivarium's all set up and raring to go, and I have some little baby mice in the freezer (aw). I've chosen a name for him, and that name is Gary. I say him - they haven't been sexed yet, but I figure Gary's just as good a name for a girl, right?

However, as exciting as my new acquisition is, it's raised a few issues. Being a fan of heavy metal, recently getting heavily into Guitar Hero (I'm well stuck on Welcome To The Jungle on Expert - any tips?), enjoying the odd smoke, living in a loft, having a pet snake: am I becoming a tired "rocker" stereotype? I certainly hope not, but if you throw in my love of 80s cartoons and Batman comics, it looks more and more likely. Should I embrace my stereotypical existence, knowing that it is at least my existence, and that I just happen to have turned out like this, or should I take up knitting to buck the trend?

Speaking of 80s cartoons mind, last night I watched Transformers: The Movie for the first time since 1990. I didn't realise back then, but it's essentially an hour and a half of 80s power-metal ballad-backed fighting. Awesome! And Lion's theme tune is fantastic. Apparently the guitarist is one Doug Aldrich, who for the last five years has been lead guitarist for Whitesnake. Filling Steve Vai's shoes - now that's a tall order.

Here is the erstwhile Mr Aldrich:

At least I'm not the only stereotype, eh?

The blind leading the blind?

A point was raised last night that I'd love someone to clarify. How do guide dogs know where they're going? I mean, it's not like you can say, "come on Rover, let's go to Tesco." is it? What if you want to go to the pub, but the dog takes you to the grocer's instead?

Two possibilities arise: guide dogs are super-intelligent and are hiding it, possibly in order that they may one day ambush us and rule the world; or blind people can actually see, and it's all a scam.

This is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night.

On the subject of pets, I may well be getting a myself a snake this weekend. I've always wanted one, and I'm getting pretty excited!

The Shape Of Things To Come

Right, first post is it?

Well, an introduction first. My name's Dan, but you can call me.. well, pretty much anything really. I'm a firm believer in free speech you see. So long as it's properly punctuated anyway.

I started this blog as a journal of my thoughts and experiences, in the hope that maybe people would draw inspiration from it, and go on to better their lives. Not really though, I'm just bored at work, and have a friend who suggested it. So I thought, why the hell not?

Incidentally, her name is Anna and her blog is at http://www.almostdailyexploits.com. It would seem rude not to plug it.

So, anyway, I'm a 24 year old guy; born, bred, and currently abiding in Cardiff, South Wales. I'm generally a bit of a lazy stoner bum, so I wouldn't expect any tales of derring-do or excitement here. Rather, I imagine I'll be blathering on about football, Lost and comic books; alternately bemoaning and praising my social life; laughing (or rofling, if you're one of those internet-type people) at largely inappropriate subjects; and over-using semicolons, because they're lovely.

Christ, I'm babbling already. This doesn't look good. I'd better say something serious, so as not to be immediately dismissed as a fool. Well, since it's the hot topic at the moment - good news on the American Election front. Well done Obama. I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but he's actually the first black President. You'd have thought the papers might have picked up on that. Anyway, luckily we're not sat here now with a gun-toting Creationist with one hand on the wheel of power, eh? Good on you Americans.

Also, a quick congratulations to Ryan Giggs, for rescuing my beloved United last night. Greatest Welshman ever? Aneurin Bevan might have been a decent chap, but he never won two Champions' Leagues, did he?