YULblog meeting- then Steve Lawler

Ok- had to dash out of the Yulblog dinner to change for Steve Lawler's show at the Time Supper Club. Last minute passes (actually- guest list for Lady J, I'm her "+1")

Those of you who don't know- Time is one of these ultra chic concept restos/ lounges. They supposedly have scenesters from NY and Miami there all the time- God knows if NY scenesters are more or less annoying than MTL ones.

[aside]- if I ever become an annoying scenester, please, someone take away my sunglasses.

Who takes Ramadan off? رمضان

Well, it appears my dealer does!! Have not seen that guy in over a week now- and his cell goes straight to voicemail. Maybe he's been nabbed- maybe I'm cut off.

Or maybe he just doesn't want to come good on that bottle of vodka he promised me.... hmmmm.

Ohio- the 500 Pound Gorilla

11:48 PM on the East coast and Florida just went to Bush. Check out this graphic from ABC-

Florida has gone- and Ohio seems to be Kerry's last chance to pull this one out of the fire. CBC news is giving a very depressing analysis of some scenarios where Kerry can still win... I'm drinking some whiskey...

At least if it isn't close the whole country won't be thrown into a state of constitutional crisis :) unless some 200,000 people had their rights trampled on and they are willing to make a stink about it.

You know you've had a busy weekend when...

You haven't posted since Thursday afternoon. I was tempted to look through my archives to see if I've ever posted on a Friday or Saturday night- but now I think I should get some sleep...

Cheers!

(PS- big thanks to Zeke's Gallery for listing my blog, without me having to beg them to!!)

After-Hours Dictionary and Fave Catch Phrases (prt 1)

VIP ticket- free entry, possibly with drink tickets (NOTE- this does not automatically grant access to the VIP area).

Guestlist- same as above, but there is no ticket to loose. You will have to remember the name of the person you are the guest of, including their last name- and also you will have to take it on faith that the host has gotten your name correct.

Newbie night- a night when the entire club has been VIPed or guestlisted just to fill the joint as they are up against a competing event where all the regulars have gone.

Solids- something you think about having after being awake partying on pills for 1.5 to 2.5 days. Alcohol is a useful substitute in the meantime.

"from Laval"- somehow, anyone who is not liked is "from Laval". Especially at Circus, where everyone is from Laval. Leads inevitably to the conversation:
Me- Isn't Red Lite in Laval?
Turbo- Yes, it is.
Me- Do you see us going to their club?
Turbo- Meh!

Oliver Lieb- some sort of DJ- appears as the Cowboy Neal option on afterhours message boards

The Horror! The Horror!

It could happen to you or your loved ones. It strikes without warning, without mercy.

It may come upon you during the evening news. It could interrupt a movie or rip through your soul whilst changing channels.

Yes- Celine Dion's Air Canada commercials are amongst us. Piercing- SHRIEKING!!! Disturbingly pervasive; get cable NOW and spare your family!

Promoter Spam

Today is Wednesday and I have received 3 emails before lunch inviting me to a number of events this weekend, and one to Celebration 2005- the big New Year's party sponsored by 514 Productions.

Now, I'm not one to usually complain about spam- most of these emails are directly from people I know. But really- I still don't have a real grasp of what I'm doing for Halloween weekend- let alone New Years.

And why can't people send me Outlook or Yahoo calendar events instead of email? Then I could view my schedule soooo much easier!

LOL- sound like a diva? Or a computer nerd?

B2B hi-tech sales

Looking back it's hard to believe I was working in an industry where the term "cluster fuck" was widely used.

Just hold onto that level of outrage a bit longer

-while the stock in body bag manufacturers continues to climb.

50 Iraqi Soldiers Found Shot to Death

From my comments at Yahoo AP feed Message #2765158:

The insurgents do want an Islamic Theocracy. The US would prefer to see them have a democracy--- one big problem here- if elections were held in Iraq today the VOTERS would choose to live in an Islamic Theocracy.
Most people outside of the US saw this as the big problem with removing Sadam Hussein by US military force. This is what the criticism of the Bush Doctorine is centered around- there are no exit strategies to debate because it secretly goes something like this:

1. invade
2. regime change
3. reduce Iraq to a US protectorate and police state
4. excite local situation until US opposition turns violent
5. label anti-US forces/politicians as terroists and insurgents
6. eliminate opposing factions/parties
7. allow elections with only US approved candidates
8. move in the oil tankers and build a US Air Base.

Really- this should only take 5-7 more years. Everyone should just stop worrying about it so much. You can't maintain this level of interest for much longer.

Black and Blue 2004

Having arrived EARLY with Turbo we scoped out the floor for the best sweet spots and basically got prepped for the crowd who would follow us- there wasn't more than 1500 people there before 12 AM.

Gilles Massicotte and Micheal Kaiser did an okay job of opening the show- but they did fall prey to the reverb before beat matching some of their transitions. Kudos to them for play that "fucking you makes me bilingual" track. It got most of the early crowd grooving on the floor.

Chus and Ceballos and Sanchez blew my mind- I'm usually not a big fan of prog house but I was dancing like there was no tomorrow most of the night! I lost Turbo early in the evening to the masses but found mini-Stereo close to the DJ booth.

Danced with some cute ladies doing breaks (neat-o!!! wish I could dance that fast!) in Astro-boy style pants and caps...

The Cirque du Soleil shows- I could have easily lived without them. Especially as they happened on two separate stages (one in the center amongst "the writhing" and the front stage below the DJ booth and the VIP area). It was hard to catch the whole action between the two areas, especially if you were in the back half of the hall. Sure, the video screens TRIED to show what was going on- but the quality of the feed was poor and wasn't white balanced properly--- pure garbage...I stopped caring after the bizarre and meaningless Louise XIV 20 minute snooze fest followed by the people-drumming-on-other-people ear drum buster (excellent washroom time, though!)

Oh- and the fire-breathers performing in the corridor into the main hall- the fumes from that nearly made me gag each and every time I walked by-- but the rum and cokes might have played a part in that!



Lighting- yep- it was bright- at some points in time I thought I was getting a sunburn, but that's why some of us bring sunglasses to the club, and some people think it's because we're uber vain or crunkheads (or a mix thereof). Me, personally- I LIKED dancing once in-a-while at the back underneath the thousand 500W lamps they had running up and across the back wall. I was Bono at a U2 concert- a minor deity if you will- and everyone who wasn't missed something!

Vibe!!- 8000 people, 10,000?? Who knows? But knowing where to go to use your complimentary condom and knowing where not to go was all you needed to have a good time- everyone I met or bumped into was friendly and polite. I had my ass groped more at Stereo on Friday night for Satoshi Tomiie than at Black and Blue (4-0)

Water/ bathrooms- yeah- it was a hike... and it could take 5 minutes- or it could take FOREVER depending on how screwed your sense of time/space was. Once, it seemed like I was at the Dorval airport and was trying to get to the terminal across the tarmac...in that never ending tunnel. Again- the sunglasses were handy here in the FULL ON NEON light and the 60 foot windows showering in BROAD DAYLIGHT after 7 AM.

The water fountains were cold and usually not too busy. One point- on my last bathroom trip I did notice a trail of blood running either to or from the men's washroom (on the left side) that made me take some pause...until I chalked it up to a bloody nose- why add drama to a perfectly good and safe party?

Left at 10ish or so- my ears were going and my desire to breath oxygen again over took my desire to hear Mark Anthony's set to completion (how could it be better than his Labour Day gig at Beach Club??? How??)

I made a brief appearance at Daylight (first time!!) and I feared for my sanity- the trunk of my car was more sanitary and solidly constructed than that place. I tried to lean against a wall only to discover it was just a tarp partitioning off another part of the bar (which promptly fell down). Luc Raymond played some sick tunes- glad to see him so soon after Dizzy.

Security- rumour said it was going to be tight, but I could have taken in a small stash of pharmaceuticals and a cache of weapons. Hint- if you wanna see what kind of pat down to expect go to one of the pre-parties. The pat down was identical to the search at Stereo on Friday for Tomeii- light- and a "we-trust-you" empty your pockets policy. The frisk didn't include the front OR back pockets of my pants??? Whazzup wid dat? I could have had a sawed-off shotgun between my shoulder blades for all they knew.

I'd go again- but next year I'm not going to buy a ticket. It seems that free tickets were falling out of the sky starting around noon that day, even including VIP. I'm glad to support the BBCM and all, but I'd rather get a free VIP and make a $100 tax deductible donation next year (anyone at the BBCM who wants to IM me, please do so, I'll have a cheque ready!)

I was sooo glad so many of the regulars were there! Tall Rob, Sara, Anne, Jenn, Patsy, Garo and Jenn, Sabs, Hayden, Larry...made it seem like such not a big party to see familiar faces. Cheers!

Despite it all...

-I love the clubbing life. I love the music, my friends, the crowds! Even the hassles are worth it when you end up having a big smile on your face for 6 or seven hours- or a whole weekend of great times.

And everyone has their deal- they do shit; they sleep around, they're rude and selfish once in a while, they over-do it once in a while... just smile, get it off your chest and don't let it ruin your mood. They'll suprise you and give you the shirt off their back one day.

My car is such a broken down peice of shit

That the local driving school is using it to teach people to parrallel park behind/ in front of it. They assume I wouldn't/ couldn't notice any scrapes or dents. (Which, of course, is absolutely correct!)

If ANYONE knows somewhere in MTL that I can call for them to tow it away for parts for ANY amount of cash I would be greatly appreciative.

Is this odd, or is it just me?

My roommate and I have our rooms at opposite ends of a 5 1/2 (a three bedroom apartment) and we insist on emailing each other instead of going to the other's room. We're not mad at each other or anything- in fact it's usually to plan some outing together.
We don't even instant message- always email!

Once, I called her cellphone from my cellphone... weird habit?

Hey- let's get excited and arrested over HOCKEY in EARLY FREAKIN' SEPTEMBER.

One thing I am not missing about my old job is the endless discussion of sports at work. It is generally assumed that because you are male and from Canada that you follow hockey.

Personally- I could give a rat's ass about the NHL. Or most sports, for that matter. The amount of time, energy and money put into this form of entertainment baffles me. I've met people who know intricate details of dozen's of team's histories, stats, players, ect, but haven't any interest in how the economy works, how our government runs, or anything about global warming.

I think we need some sort of basic test you have to pass before you can vote. Fuck these anti-intellectuals- let them form their own colony of grunting, no-neck retards for all I care.

What would be wrong with a beatific dictatorship? I mean, really, what could go wrong?

Catching up on life around me

Watching the news, reading the paper- it has been a good couple of days to relax.
Sandrine's relatives have left, it's just the two of us in the house now, which is nice!

We still have to clean up after all of the guests we've had over the past two weeks- but I'll be damned if I do that on some of the few remaining summery days we have left here in Montreal.

You might want to refresh

I've made some template changes to the blog today to make it more appealing and less garish. If anyone has other suggestions that don't involve me spending weeks learning HTML, Java and XML, feel free to leave a comment!

I won't be altering the blog's look very much as this goes on.

Ok- male blogs have been found!

Yep- with my new found free time and a chilly morning I have been reading Montreal blogs, random blogs, livejournals- ect.

This man speaks to my soul- an oil painter who programs Cobal- poor guy- funny as hell!

"Looking at the matter scientifically, my gold Saturn existed in a quantum superposition of states, partially towed and partially untowed, with the uncertainty in its position increasing daily (being a Saturn, there wasn't much uncertainty about its momentum). Somewhere in the complicated equation describing my car there was even the infinitesimal probability that, in my absence, MTV had come along and pimped my ride. "
http://www.idlewords.com/weblog.05.2004.html

Sloooow Saturday

Ok- so there are just some nights you aren't meant to be fufilled- like a night when all you want to do is shake your booty with your friends and the opening DJ is a local hero and he just smokes crack for the first 2/3rds of his set- then the headliner comes on and plays soft beat electro-house (if there is such a term) all night.

Your "e" is questionable but your speed is too strong- but with no "up" kick- just keeps you awake for 40+ hours for $10-- who the fuck invited this shit? They deserve a Noble Prize in Chemistry.

The hot girl that's been sending you signals all night is too shy to carry on any conversation, and the other one is being shadowed by a 300 pound plus sumo wrestler type (I kid u not!) at a pace of 3 feet; which is almost his radius...

Go home- fucktard- fight again another day.

Bizarre photos from the internet make me smile. 

Mazi at Stereo tonight.

And despite saying I was gonna cut back on the after-hours scene I think I'm gonna go check this out tonight.

An immense feeling of cold

I was sitting at work on September 11, 2001, when some of my co-workers started emailing me photos of the World Trade Center on fire, about two thirds of the way up the building.

I then received one showing a plane flying into Tower one- before the fire- and I emailed my co-worker back that it was a nice Photoshop job, and that he should really get back on the phone.

When I went to CNN to see what was going on I couldn't get onto it for 10 minutes, and when I did it was all in text mode- every inch of my body tensed and my mind locked up like the DNS server down in Atlanta that millions of people were pinging for news.

And I thought then and there that the world would never be the same again- and I've been right so far. I'll write more about this as we go- so keep checking back.

ahh- closure

So- the Velocity death trap finally died- the brakes just went on her on my way home from my last day at work (the manufacturer I worked with pulled their funding)- so I could take the generous severance package or become a regular sales rep- I took the package :)

Now I'm planning on buying a newer car (with brakes, an exhaust- stuff like that) and going to the East Coast for October. See the folks and some friends- then come back and relax- look for something more interesting to do than sell fucking computers for a living.

The Long and the Short of it

People came to the Phoon- some of them I didn't want to see- not even my friends, close to enemies.

One guy got cranked on coke and was randomly talk shit to people- another guy was so drunk we had to have security take his keys and call .08 to drive him and his car and his SCARED SHITLESS date home (first "date"- friend of his roommate- I'd feel sorry for him but he is so clueless as to how un-appealling he is that it wouldn't be worth my time).

And Cynthia- on a coke rage- being loud and self righteous- I had to ask her to use her inside voice. And me- in the middle of this- sketched out- up for 40 hours, "e"-tarded, been drinking for 12 hours and hopped up on speed- and the only halfway normal person there.

Except Linda- sweet, sweet woman- gave me a baggie of weed! Love that woman- it's the only gift I got!

Went home- changed- went to stereo (second gift- free tickets from Sabrina!! Thanks, hon!) Turbo is back- we buy drugs at my house- get into the club and NO ONE WE KNOW is there.

Sure- Sara, Mel and the kids are in force- but the crowd is thin and looks like no one has actually paid to get in tonight as Morales is tomorrow and that will be FUCKED.

As this is Turbo's first night back in MTL since Europe- he's been drinking and did some speed and we have a new batch of G- he's WIRED in the first hour- which is a good thing- since he and I are the only people dancing out of the 200 peopel milling about Stereo.

It's Big Al's fucking birthday gig! And it is beginning to look like a junior high sock-hop, the boys and girls are seperated, the gays off in their corner, no one is dancing!

My body is killing me from lack of sleep and the hard work out I gave it the night before- but somehow I get dancing for an hour and eventual the crowd warms up (read: their E hits them). I vanish to the side to jsut listen to the music.

Then- I see it- two girls are rubbing water all over some guy who's convulsing near a speaker stack... then I look again- IT"S FUCKING TURBO- I run down to see what the fuck, his face is so contorted I barely recognize him, and every muscle in his body seems to be clenching and un-clenching in unison.

He's gotta sit down- oddly my first thoughts aren't about his health- it's about his pride: would he like to be known as one of the guys who's wiped out at Stereo- or can I get him off to a corner where he can G out with some dignity?

Turb's a big guy, though- I call Ian over to help- but he just laughs at him. Turbo can't speak- he doesn't even seem to recognize me. He keeps putting his hands to his mouth like he is about to vomit, which is the ony real hazard. If he inhales his own vomit he will sufficate on it...

On our way to a corner he grabs ahold of one of the pipe columns and won't let go- this is getting scary- so I relent and get security..they take him downstairs and watch him for an hour until he passes out- I leave my number in case he needs a lift or his condition changes and go hame at 6 AM- Pass out.

Sleep until Morales' birthday- Saturday- 1 AM- Stereo Bar so I don't have to wait in line. Excellent- what more can I say- God Damn excellent night- 16 hours of dancing- if you didn't see me there there's no way to describe it.

(every once-in-awhile if I was talking to someone and Morales would play a new tune I would yell " FUUUUCCCKKKK MEEEEE" and shoot back to the dance floor- amazing!)

And that was that.

favorite blogs

I know, I know; you're waiting for the end of my birthday post- I've been busy! OK?

Meltingdolls- the travails of Bunny McIntosh:http://meltingdolls.blogspot.com/
Agency Chick-http://agencychick.typepad.com/
Raymihttp://raymitheminx.blogspot.com/
and Like Sundayhttp://likesunday.typepad.com/1/

Why are all the blogs I read by women?? Anyone suggest a good blog written by a guy?

Friday morning

Don't get me wrong here- I never even got Mary-Anne's phone number. She goes out dancing a lot and so do I- and she is GOOD- she has that noble prancing type of moves, cat like, very up-right and feminine. I made sure to say good-bye to her when I left. She said she'd see me soon.

I didn't say good-bye to Janet- the only thing she managed to say to me all night was to ask if I had any blow.

Went home- tried to sleep- no good- got maybe an hour or two- went downtown. I knew MamaThang and JGirl were working- I owed JGirl $20 and needed to get it to her. Went shopping- bought myself a birthday Zippo, a $45 Diesel undershirt for Morales night (light weight- skin tight- black- PERFECT).

Met up with Mike and Phil for a b-day lunch- which descended into strippers at the Downtown- great idea when you're coming down off your E to have full contact VIP dances in a dark lit room with a girl who speaks very little english and is paid to get men horny.

After an hour or so of that I decide it might be a good idea to get some air so it's off to the patio of Sir Winstons on Crescent St. This was a great idea until the funk band that is playing for some auto-racing event starts their sound check- it was a bit unworldly and too loud!

Then, it was off to the Typhoon to meet my co-workers. How would they be doing this fine Friday afternoon?