The Sound of Silence...

Well, for a while I've been theatening this, but today it happens. This will be my last post for a little while... I am sick of my laptop, and I don't want to spend any more time on it than I need to ot finish my thesis. Which is going well, I have been told that I now just have to fine tune it. Which is good in some respects.. In that my 3am nights are coming to a close, and that I won't have to work as hard and long on bits. But now I will be spening more time waiting for other people to do things.

That generally makes me sad.

So to get your regular Amon fix, go to Bec's Web site, whose password I will give if you ask. All comments are sent directly to my e-mail, so you can just ask that way if you would like.

Sorry for the future silence, but someday, I will return, when I fall in love with my computer again. I know, how sad and pitiful am I....

Bobby Flynn and Artificial Intelligence

As most of my readership(?) is not from Australia, a little background may be needed here... Firstly, Bobby Flynn was an Australian Idol finalist, and Australian Idol, can be abbreviated to AI, which is also, appropriately, the abbreviation for Artificial Interlligence, which is what Australian Idol represents. It is a machine churning out crap that it thinks the Australian public will enjoy. Funny that.... The last 2 winners, ummmmmm did they even release an album? The first series went well, the top 2 have released at least 2 albums, with the runner up releasing stuff of early Brian Adams stuff, quite good for that genre. Anyway I digress...


I had been watching this year because of one person, and one person alone. Bobby Flynn, pictured below. He doesn't have the greatest looks in the world, but he is far and away the best artist I have seen on this show ever. No joke here. I am plenty angry at the Australian public who consistently pick losers, (last 2 winners of Australian Idol are case in points, bonus points for anyone who can actually NAME their first singles or albums... didn't think you could, and they got the most votes). The first time I saw/heard him sing, he did a Cold Chisel song (big Australian rock band), he slowed it down, changed it heaps, and made me well up. It was so unexpected I think it caught me off guard that someone on AI could actually do what he did.

Limewire him, he's there.... they're live recordings from the show, so the crowd is there, but it's so different from the other crap that gets played every week. Honestly, I'm glad that he lost because he doesnt' have to record an album in a week that was written by morons who have failed in every attempt to write a good album... and I would buy an album written by him even before hearing any of the songs off of it.

What I am most sad about though, is that I won't get to watch him anymore... I also won't be watching AI anymore, no point, while some of the remaining people are good, others did the same things every other year.

It feels like watching repeats.

One last thing though, it's become too much of a popularity contest. Lisa whatever-her-last-name-is, she has not sung a good song yet, has consistently been chastised by the judges, and deservedly harsh, and she is now in the top 6. How does that happen without heaps of friends, well, she is a 16 year old girl (or therabouts) and that is the voting demographic isn't it?

Tonight is my last watching of AI, because even though Bobby was voted off, the judges rallied to get him to perform tonight because they are doing performing original songs tonight, and he is simply magic.

Limewire him and get every song you find. You'll thank me.

The hippies of EagleVale

Well, since I have gotten a few comments on these pics through Bec's photoalbum, I thought I would post with an explanation. Me and Bec, along with Alex, have decided to move to a hippy commune. It's peaceful, no need to finish a thesis, and you can just lie back, relax, watch the clouds go by, all the while enjoying some good old fashioned home-cooked special brownies.....

Obviously I jest. The other weekend we had another 21st birthday to go to. This one was for one of Bec's co-workers who decided to have a dress-up theme of the 50s and 60s. Bec went as a pregnant naval wife. And Alex and I went as hippies.

It was a good birthday, but honestly, it was a bit weird walking in and noticing that EVERYONE decided that they would wear nice going out clothes of the 50s and 60s, like evening or dance wear. So there were a lot people from "Grease". Bec fit in well, but me and Alex rock up with ripped jeans, sandals, big hair, etc. I was pretty awesome!!!! Besides the birthday girl's boyfriend (who dressed in a military outfit), we wore by far the most original outfits.

Needless to say, Alex got a lot of attention from the ladies. He wore the wig for a little while, but it didn't stay on too well... But he loved it, and was a good night.

As for me.... Yes, I'm brinin' sexy back.

Photo Album Launch!!

I know 2 posts in one day!!! But this one is to announce Bec's forray into Blogging!! And completely inspired by the Photoalbum of Jennah's (my sister) baby Alexis, Bec has begun the same thing... The link is at right, and the web-site is www.amonsdownunder.piczo.com

One catch though. It's password protected!! Mwaahahahaha!!!! So you can see nothing!!!!!

On the upside though, if you ask, you will be rewarded as long as I know who you are, and you are willing to abide by the terms and conditions. The reason there is a password is because the last thing we want is to have some freak do things with the pictures that we post there that are not called for. If you are family, friends etc, you will be given the password without a second thought. Just ask and we'll e-mail it to you.

my e-mail address is: michael_amon@hotmail.com

I get enough crap on it to not matter, but make sure you chose a good subject, might I suggest "photoalbum password" as a good one, as your mail may go to my junk-mail, and I delete things that I do not immediately recognize. Also, if you want an MP3 of the songs I have posted, just e-mail and ask me, and provide me with an e-mail address capable of receiving 5mB or smaller files.

Bec's site is under construction, and since we only have dial-up (this will change), uploading takes a while....

Cheers though guys!

Happy Birthday!

Well, last weekend we went to the 21st of one of Rebecca's friends who she met while working at probably one of the worst run day cares in Sydney. She's a nice girl, Alex loves her to pieces, and she loves him too... So it's all good. She had a dress up theme and you could either go dressed up all pretty, or dressed up like a bogun. I'm not sure of the spelling of bogun, but the pronounciation is like that, and it simply means ... trailer trash I guess... Proper definition though from the urban dictionary: (Google it)

1.Australian person, usually caucasian,of uncouth and lower class background,residing on the edge of civilisation. Characteristics of a bogun include,proudly sporting a mullet hair cut,extremely small shorts,a grease stained t-shirt underneath a flanelette shirt of some description.A bogun's natural habitat is any suburb of australia with low property values,in a house that generally has 2 or 3 cars up on bricks in the front yard with no wheels or missing vital mechanical parts.One of the cars must be a ute(utility vehicle).Boguns are genrally spotted with a stubbie(screw top beer bottle) or bong (pot smoking paraphernalia) in hand.

So we went all pretty like. Here's a pic of my beautiful and pregnant wife standingbehind my little guy. Unfortunately though, shared photos generally only capture the happy moments shared between families, or portray the forced smiles covering the pain and anguish lying beneath skin-deep beauty ... Behind the scene is a very Sad story in deed... So Sad in fact, that Sad had to be capitalized. I know, it's come to that....

We took a heap of good photos before we went out, so we all looked super happy (and were) and good and all that... ANd then we took some good photos when we were out... Then I took the camera. Enter Sadness time. Somehow, I deleted all the pictures that were on the camera. So everything was gone, and we were about ready to go home... With a heavily burdoned heart, complicated by a fear for my life (wife's pretty pregnant remember), I went to tell her what happened.. She took it surprisingly well, which for some reason made my Sadness at the loss of such great photos grow. Maybe it was fear that she was too controlled to kill me in public, and that my time would end as soon as we were out of public view... So I quickly tried to get some more of Alex playing in his suit and blah blah blah... I know you're not reading, you've already scrolled down to see the last picture... In agreement with popular conception, I am as dumb as I look and rattled off a stupid tale of garbage. But true nonetheless...

So these pictures that you are actually seeing, were taken after we got back home, and we are tired, struggling to get Alex to smile, and wanting sleep... They came out alright..,. And as for me, I did not die. I just never want to touch her camera again....But he's happy though!!

Riddle me this Batman...

Why is it that when you want to go to bed early, like say 1-1:30, because you have to get up early the next morning, you suddenly find yourself on a role and not able to stop. and this despite that fact that it is now past 2:30?

Not happy with this dissapointing turn of events. Good night.
And may sleep find you easy.

Just a short break

I am taking a luch break right now, so I thought that I would drop a line to my few adoring fans. I gave my supervisors a copy of my literature review, the hardest part of a thesis write-up. It's done though. Well except for a few revisions which are likely to be required.. But the hard part of it is done!! Yay for me. But this has ramifications for you my friends of the Blog. Soon, you will no longer hear me complain about this, and what a relief that will be for you. Now I "just" have to put my results and discussion chapters together, but since they are already published, shouldn't be that tricky.. But still, many late nights to come.

Another topic though (phew you sigh). I saw one of the most beautiful acts by a human being come from probably one of the darkest acts a ... I hesitate to use the word "man" can do. I'm sorry but it regards the horrible, inhuman acts including those planned and those carried out against the Amish girls in the States. While, obviously, my sincerest sorrows and whole-hearted best wishes go to the Amish community as well as their parents, (and also the family of him whom I shall not name). But there was an elder from thier community who said something that floored me. Literally floored me. And gave me a respect I did not previously have for the Amish.

They forgive him.

Despite the acts of depravity planned if not acted out, and the resulting murders, they forgave him within 72 hours. Citing that forgiveness provides a great healing for those affected. Personally, that would be a hard ask. One that I know is right, but I'm just not sure I could do it so soon... So to the Amish community, you have a friend in me. I cannot think of a higher complement I could give them. The ideals they are holding to in this crisis are nothing short of saintly under these circumstances.

So thank you for your clarity in perception in this matter.

Other issues of concern for me at the moment though, besides where shall I work next year? Is that Tool is healining the Big Day Out this year. Regular readers and knowers of me would know that I love Tool. I have all their studio releases and love them. The Big Day Out is a traveling music show which goes around Australia and usually has some pretty kick-ass international bands. A few years ago I think Metallica played, but I don't really like anything they've done since the Black album (what kind of crap was St Anger? I mean really guys, pull your head out, quit fighting music piracy, and write at least one more good song!)... But ya, TOOL is headlining... And since this concert happens sometime January (maybe Feb but I'm hoping not), I guess one of my birthday presents (in ADDITION to my Gibson SG) will be to take my lovely wife to the Big Day Out.

Well, I gotta run now, cheers loyal fans!