Contemplating Bah Humbug In July?

Well, here's something to remind you that it's bad enough once a year, let alone twice!

The emo girl is quite cute; I just wish she'd get a decent mike.

Oh ... My ... God!

Thanks to Minh for pointing me at this one! It's horribly festive, but just so damned well done that I can't pass it by ...

S'no Balls

Greg played me a great "Christmas" album yesterday, called "S'no Balls" performed by Rudy Casoni.

Rudy is the Frank Sinatra impersonator persona of Toby Huss. There's something I find just damned hilarious about hearing Frank's silky-smooth voice singing such lewd lyrics :-).

Please note that this is not for those of closed mind!

Here's what the CD Baby entry says about it ...

"S'NO BALLS is twelve rude and hilarious Christmas tunes that are sure to ignite any holiday party. Especially if highballs are involved. And broads. And then some cocktails get thrown in. Dames and booze, put on S'no Balls and WHAMMO, Clyde, it's Instant Christmas!"

To See How Dilligently Dave Reads This Blog ...

... here's a picture I took yesterday of a Bah Humbug tree.

I'll give you the other 20 when you can tell me where this tree is located.

The answer is on this page ... we talked about it over lunch the other day :-).

Mind you, maybe you can work it out based on the background. I will say no more ...

I'm Definitely Getting Old ...

Today, our team had a fantastic end-of-year lunch at the Bayleaf Brasserie, an Indian restaurant in Crows Nest. Great food, wonderful conversation and a few quiet ales.

After that, I popped into the city to meet my mate Gavin for a few slightly noisier ales at the Belgian Beer Cafe, in The Rocks.

Gavin lives my dream ... a year ago he left the computing game to become a maths teacher and now works at a private girls' school.

We drank some wonderful Belgian beer and discussed mathematics for a couple of hours. Ah, so this is that Bah Humbug spirit people keep telling me about :-) !!

After that, we went to hear an Australian singer named Darren Hanlon at the Hopetoun, just up from Central station.

The music was good, the lyrics were interesting. However ... the concept of paying money to get into a venue, which is standing room only, and where one needs to push through the crowd in order to access the bar, is something this cranky old geek got over approximately twenty years ago (come to think of it, I can't actually remember when it didn't bother me).

I'd much rather buy the album and listen to it in the comfort of my own living room ... to which end, I've just purchased his latest, Fingertips and Mountaintops, and two EPs, via my subscription at emusic.

Obviously, I've turned into the kind of old fuddy-duddy I used to complain about when I was just a tad younger :-).

Anyway, it's time for my nap ...

Sorry, I've Just Eaten ...

I had yet another Bah Humbug dinner this evening, with my friends Susan and Matt, at the Pink Peppercorn, an exquisite Laotian restaurant on Oxford St, in Paddington.

There's a bottleshop across the road that I've been past a hundred times, but I've never noticed its sign before :-).

My Brain Hurts

While you're getting frustrated, queuing up at the cab rank over the silly season, spare a thought for the poor drivers.

They're probably just trying to get their heads around the fact that their brains are growing.

Apparently, some scientists at London's Institute of Neurology measured the amount of grey matter in the brains of taxi drivers and other people. They discovered that the cab drivers had more in the part of the brain associated with memory, the mid-posterior hippocampus.

This is the first research which indicates that adult brains can grow when exercised.

So, there's hope for me yet. Now, if I can only learn enough street names to cancel out the loss of brain cells from my Bah Humbug partying ...

The Best Thing About A Hangover ...

... is the next day, when you wake up and you feel 110% because you don't feel like you did the day before!

As promised, here are a couple more pictures from the Forge/Integeo Bah Humbug drinks last Friday: the one with the most people (note the strange Kirlian aura around Eric), one of Michael doing his best impression of King Crimson's album cover from In The Court of the Crimson King, and one of Andy enjoying some quiet time.

So That's Where I Was Last Night!

I knew, the second I woke up this morning, that I'd been out last night.

I'm not sure what gave it away first ... the gentle throbbing of my head, in time to the chirping of the bird outside my window, or the fact that my mouth tasted like I'd licked the bottom of its nest.

Everything was going fine ... right up until that second bottle of red :-).

So, I grabbed my camera and found these (along with 90 other images of the evening). Ah yes, the Forge/Integeo Bah Humbug celebrations, 2006 edition!

It was a very enjoyable afternoon/evening. I'll post a few more photos over the next couple of days. Maybe it's time to finally get that flickr account ...

Only Nine Days To ...

One of the things I detest most about this time of the year is that everywhere I go, my ears are assaulted by soppy, saccharine songs.

Occasionally, though, someone points you to something like this (thanks Gil!) and it all seems just a tiny bit better.

Imagine You're An 8-Year-Old Girl

Then ask yourself the question "What would I like for Christmas?"

I've been trying to do that for the last couple of days. My best answer was Your Momma, pictured here (do follow the link; this tiny image does not do her justice), but I have a feeling a true 8-year-old girl would probably disagree.


Therefore, appalled though I am that even an 8-year-old would consider this desirable, I think I'll go with Jacqueline's suggestion of a Bratz Doll (if you value your sense of hearing, turn the volume down before the Flash video starts ... you have been warned!).

Ah Yes. It's That Time Of The Year!

Well, the Hyperion "Bah, Humbug" party was last night. While I have only a vague recollection, I know it happened, because I have 144 photos of people enjoying themselves, including one of this rotund chap on the right.

While I'm no fan of the yuletide season, the party was a lot of fun. The food was excellent, especially the little prawn and chilli gow gees.

There was a head-dress theme. The prize for the best "hat" went to George, who is slightly more follicularly challenged than me. With his wig on, I didn't even recognise him when he said "hi" to me early in the evening!

This Santa Suit was a big hit. I have shots of at least five people wearing it.

Oh well, another year is almost over.