Then and now and then again.

So I’ve just finished watching St Elmo’s Fire on divx, something like 18 odd years after seeing it at a friends house on video (which is just soooo 80’s in itself). Back then I was but a wee lad in my late teens and the oh-so grown up lives of the characters in their very “mature” early 20’s seemed so desirable and sophisticated. I remember thinking then that these people were the height of cool and I wanted to be just liked them when I became a grown up 20 year old.

Looking at the film you can see how it really captures the essence of 80’s culture. For one thing there isn’t a single buff male in the whole film. It seems almost odd now, but back then muscles weren’t chic, it was all about hair and glam! And the brat pack had that stuff to excess. The movie is also very cheesey almost to the point of being kitch, but really that’s kind of what the 80’s was, just one long decade of over-the-top cheesiness! I mean, look at the TV shows and music that came out of that era; Don Johnson in Miami Vice, Duran Duran, Adam Ant, The A-Team! I could go on and on… (but it’s midnight so I won’t). It was all about looking good, and not making things too complicated. I almost laughed at the end of the film when Leslie (Ally Sheedy) has her ex-boyfriend on one arm (Judd Nelson), and her ex-fuckbuddy on the other (Andrew McCarthy), and she says she wants to be alone for a while and can they all be friends (please). Then two guys look at each and make a bit of joke, and everythings fine, noooo problem! I was really surprised they didn’t hug each other, say ‘I love you man’, and then compare bedroom notes! But really that’s what the 80’s was; shallow serious stuff and neat endings with really nice hair everywhere!

Well since then we went through the 90’s which was a retro return to the 70’s with long hair and grunge rock music making it big again (though I think anyone living in Holland probably missed all that as I think they were busy with listening to Andre Hazes and Marco Borsato instead). Glam gave way to scruffy, and rough looking became the new in-style. Movies changed and cheesey serious plots with nice happy endings gave way to brutal reality-like shows, which ended leaving you at a low point just like real life was. Remember Seven with Brad Pitt and Gweneth Paltrow (before they got married)? Then we crossed the millenium timeline in a blaze of drunken glory, and low and behold, it looks like the 80’s again, but with some subtle differences. Stylish glam hair is back, but it’s all about sculpture now, not fluffiness. 80’s music is back, but this time around it’s a lot faster; probably due to a combination of better computers and better drugs. And television show makers can’t even write real life stuff, real enough any more, so now they show real people in real life! Why bother writing a show about people breaking up, when you can take real people and put them on island, and break them up on television! What’s better than the real thing?!

So not to sound like an old guy or anything, but kind of already seeing two decades come back around in vogue and be labelled ‘retro’, I wonder where it’s all going? There was an innocence about the 80’s that seems to be lost in this decade we live in now. Or maybe that’s because I was innocent in the 80’s, but I’m not innocent anymore, that it seems that way. I’m sure that has a lot to do with it, but television shows and movies prove that I’m not completely off the mark here. Each decade we seem to get more frantic about pushing the edge of everything that I sometimes wonder, are we going to burn ourselves all out? By that I mean will we eventually get to the point where we become so numb to the lives of others because an individuals life is just one more television drama; just entertainment?

I like to think that won’t happen; that some kind of civilised conscience will keep us decent and nice, and civilised. But then, I am a child of the 80’s in a lot of ways, so I like nice neat happy endings and good hair. As do we all deep down inside!

Padwanna!

 

Friday is here!

Man I love that friday feeling!

That feeling of anticipation as the last couple of hours of friday wind down and your so close to the weekend, you can almost taste it!

One of my all time favourite tunes is Cure’s, Friday I’m In Love! I used to listen to it as a Friday theme song to get warmed up for a friday night out back him Australia. Every time I hear it I’m reminded of Friday nights in Bris-vegas in The Valley at The Empire Hotel! What a place; cheap beer, good music; hot chicks with questionable morals; and open until 6am. God I miss the place sometimes. It’s hard to find that kind of quality establishment here in Europe, especially Amsterdam. They don’t seem to go for that kind of entertainment here. But that’s another rant…

So Friday night is really that special night where after a long week at work, hitting a bar for some serious drinks is therapy. It’s like releasing the mental pressure valve and letting go of the tension of having do things that don’t come naturally; like meetings and reports! But no matter what kind of week you’ve had, or who your dirnking with, Friday night drinks is grrreat! The trick is though, not to over do it. Those with little experience in the ritual of Friday night drinks tend to go hard early and then by the time the night is half way through, they’re losing it in a mess of slurred words and drunken staggering where they bounce off anything close around them, kinda like a human pinball… ball! Which just isn’t helping yourself if you’re on the pull!

If only there was a way we could bottle that friday night feeling and sell it! I’d make a million! And also never have to suffer Monday morning blues again! :-)

Have a nice Friday night everyone!

Padwanna.

 

An era coming to an end

Ever since I got a free account of one of my companies products which lets me see – among other things – how many people visit my site, I’ve had the nagging feeling that it is time to hang up my old domain, and start again. The reason I feel this is because my current domain really doesn’t mean jack-shit! (That’s Aussie slang for: doesn’t mean a thing; has little or no relevance or significance.) It was my first one, and I was in a bit of a hurry to come up with a name so I could get on with the technical details of making the site. I actually got it from a joke that one of my mates told me years ago, which made me laugh then… and still makes me laugh now! Heh heh… just thinking about it makes me chuckle. :-)

Okayyyyy… moving right along.

Well, since that time 5 years ago (I can’t believe its been so long) I’ve changed and now I want something that more reflects me. I want a domain that says something about who I am; that captures the essence of my unique personality and view of the world. Boy, I can tell you it aint fucking easy, that’s for sure! My fabo mate Glenno gave me a technique for helping with creative endeavours like this. He said, write down about 30 words on a peice of paper over the course of a couple of weeks and then try combinations of them, which in turn will spark other combinations not in those 30 words. The end result being a cool domain name. Well, I’ve got about 60 words and a ton of other combinations not using those words, and what really shits me is, the one I really like is already taken. Still not all is lost, I have a lot of close seconds, but trying to pick one from the list is going to be a lucky dip more than a formal choice. Glen says to be patient and wait till the right one comes up, but patience isn’t a virtue of mine, I doubled up on flash-in-the-pan enthusiasm instead! Still for once I am going to try not to rush things and do something properly. Admirable of me I know! One thing is certain however, a new domain is coming, and with it a new identity, and new look. One that will make me taller, lose weight, and become more attractive to the opposite sex, all in less than 3 minutes a day!

So the end is coming swiftly for an era that was bright and fun, yet a bit meaningless from my heady days of youth. A new age will dawn thereafter, hopefully with a little more significance, and attention from the world at large!

Don’t worry though my faithful fans (all 3 of you :-) , I will give you plenty of notice to update your bookmarks!

Padwanna!

 

The meditation of running

Recently I’ve started training for an upcoming short course run that is to be held in Amsterdam in September called “The Dam to Dam”. It’s 16 kilometers from one beach to another beach and journeys its way through the city, past various landmarks of interest and The Red Light District. I’m doing this because at my workplace someone asked me if I wanted to run it as part of a company team, and so to look cool in front of a couple of office chicks I said, yeah sure… course I’ll do it mate! Now with only a few months to go till this thing, I figured I better get my arse into gear and do some training or I’m more likely to collapse before making the first turn.

So starting a few weeks ago I train by doing a lap of Vondelpark starting from my flat, which takes me about 40 minutes for a circuit of around 5 kilometers. What I’ve found now is that once I get to the three and a half k’s mark – which is the back straight of the park circuit – my whole body eases into this ryhthmic motion and my mind comes to stillness; the same as if I were meditating. All thoughts and worries melt away and I become conscious of only my breathing. My awareness focuses on… nothing and everything. It’s very hard to explain, but I feel my consciousness simply existing with the rest of existence, without focusing on any one part of it. It’s a totally relaxing and satisfying experience. I can only manage to maintain this state for about 5 minutes or so, but when I find myself here, its really fantastic. All the cares and worries for the day lose their hold on my mind, and I find a peace from the chaos of the day. After I get home, I have a shower and I feel very relaxed and able to think through my problems in a constructive process.

I studied meditation technique a couple of years ago at the London Bhuddist Center out at Holloway Road, but I found it difficult to acheive a meditative state sitting on a cushion in silence. I find it a bit ironic that that same state I can acheive much more easily whilst running through a park with many more distractions surrounding me. In any case, I look forward to my evening runs, 4 times a week, and am interested to see when I get fitter if I can maintain that meditative state for longer. Here’s hoping!

Padwanna.