So...It's the 2nd today. That means in 18 days I'll be seeing two bands who I've loved since I started listening to music, live, back after back. Tenacious D supporting Metallica at Dublin Marlay Park. Provided the weather is nice, it'll be an absolutely amazing experience, and one I'll remember for years to come. But I don't think even heavy rain could put a dampener on Tenacious D. I mean...come on. It's the D. It's Jack Black. He could make anything bearable. Coupled with Metallica playing all my favourite songs - Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, Creeping Death, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), and of course the Dublin Staple Whiskey in the Jar, along with a high chance of ...And Justice For All, a cover of So What! and all the other Metallica songs I love....it's going to be mindblowing.

Offline, this summer has sucked ass. The weather has been dire when I've wanted to go out and great when I have. The break in Scotland was epic, and Maiden were spectacular (albeit hampered somewhat by poor sound) but apart from that it's been mundane. All my mates have either been away or at work, while I didn't get a job this year which means basically I'm sitting around the house on the internet. Oh great, some of you might think. I tell you - it gets dry, very quickly.

That brings me nicely to the online part. Ooh goodie, this might have something interesting. Probably not. but seeing as you hyped Nintendo's E3 you might as well hype for something that actually has a chance of delivering. Online, my own forum - Hollow Sound - seems to be picking up again, with more active users on a regular basis. Probably needs a bit of work invested into it, but the other staff members are all away on holidays or otherwise, and I have next to no graphical expertise, so it'll have to make do as it is. I'm still not happy with phpBB3 and informe, which no doubt some LoL regulars will be able to understand straight away. But hey, it'll do for now. What's funny is that 99%, if not all, of the users on it are from ONM's Pokemon forum. Well, it's not funny to me, since I can wholeheartedly understand why, but to anyone visiting, I wouldn't be surprised if they were a tad put off by all the Pokemon jargon that's going on over there. :G

Speaking of ONM...hmm. There's a few things coming up that are really interesting, but...I don't know. People say ONM has been going downhill. I guess you can only hear something so many times before you start to believe it, and I think that's the case with me. I'm not going to go into depth here, for fear of upsetting the wrong people, but the fact that ONM's Oscar award things only have ~125 votes (despite valient attempts to plug them all over the forum) whereas they had hundreds upon hundreds the last times they were run is sort of a testament to the changes that have occured.

Other online adventures and goings on...my Bebo only got 67 hits last month, whereas it got 235 in May. Perhaps my lack of real world contact with people is a catalyst in this slowdown - but I mean...there's very few people I want contact with. When peoples idea of fun is standing around talking, or walking around drinking, or sitting on the beach?... Fuck that. I get my kicks from other things, thanks. Sadly, I've yet to find like minded people. My neighbours come pretty close, and we're all musicians, yet we don't share music tastes. The other guitarist on my street is a Hendrix/BB King sort of player, whereas I would be HEAVILY influenced by Dave Murray, Slash and Dave Mustaine. This conflict of styles means it's rather hard to jam - he's been learning Little Wing whereas I'm working on Charlotte the Harlot. Worlds apart, in my eyes. Speaking of guitar, I got a theory book...but I just do not want to use it. I hate learning direct from a book for practical things - I need people to teach me them. Guitar teachers are expensive, though, and I doubt in this credit crunch thing everyone seems to be ranting and raving about I'll be able to convince my mum to let me take lessons again. So that means I'll have to learn from the other guitarist guy - but it's a pain in the arse carrying guitar et amp up there or down here. No pain, no gain I guess.

So yeah. That's my life as it stands.

Metalica, RDS 2006.

Whiskey In The Jar.

Get it into ya.

Som de flesta gånger vi hänger tillsammans, laddades det upp med öl :) . Men just denna gången drack vi nog ofantliga mängder faktiskt, så här i efterhand kan jag inte riktigt förstå hur vi klarade det. Men roligt det kan ni skriva upp att vi hade :D .

The Who spelade i Marlay Park som är en gigantisk grässplätt här i Dublin. När vi kom dit möttes vi av en liten stad av öltält och provisoriska snabbmatsställen. Värsta festivalkänslan tänkte vi och fortsatte ladda upp med Becks Vier (som var ölet för kvällen).

The Who som hade Ringo Starrs son som trummis under sommarens turné, hade verkligen laddat för en show. Detta var setlisten:

1. I Can't Explain
2. The Seeker
3. Substitute
4. Fragments
5. Who Are You
6. Behind Blue Eyes
7. Real Good Looking Boy
8. Sound Round
9. Pick Up The Peace
10. Endless Wire
11. We Got A Hit
12. They Made My Dream Come True
13. Mirror Door
14. Baba O'Riley
15. Relay
16. Drowned
17. A Man In A Purple Dress
18. The Real Me
19. You Better You Bet
20. My Generation/Cry If You Want
21. Won't Get Fooled Again

Encore:

1. Pinball Wizard
2. Amazing Journey/Sparks
3. See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You
4. Tea & Theatre

Som ni kanske kan förstå av listan ovan (om ni känner till The Who och deras musik), så var Danny överlycklig, jag har nog aldrig sett honom sådan i alla fall inte i musikaliska sammanhang :) . Men det betyder ju bara att det var en väldigt lyckad kväll.

Ireland, the Wicklow Way

When thinking of Ireland what springs to mind? The emerald isle? Guinness?

The map of the country itself looks like the craggy profile of some old sage staring out into the Atlantic Ocean where nose is the counties of Galway and Mayo and the mouth is the River Shannon. However, for many people visiting Ireland they are attracted to Dublin on the east side of the country like a moth flapping around a bedside lamp. I mean, where else would you start? For those in the UK it's a convenient hop across the Irish Sea either by air or ferry from ports such as Holyhead on Anglessey in North Wales and Liverpool.

If the capital is your starting point for a weekend break you'll have a ball but beware the temptation to stick with what you know to get the maximum out of your time there. It's great, but remember the real joy of travel is to search out those other places that are merely footnotes in the tourist guides. Far too many people dare not venture outside the city walls but if you do, you'll be amazed at what you'll find.

Just to the South of the capital you have the county of Wicklow, easily accessible from the Dun Laoghaire ferry port which is also navigable via Holyhead. From here you can catch a train that hugs the coast through Bray on the border, Greystones and down as far as Wicklow town. From here the track ventures inland through Rathdrum and Avoca and back to the county's final stopping place of Arklow before disappearing into Wexford.

The train is great way to let Wicklow come to you as the scenery unfolds through a variety of terrains from coastal plains, cliffs and rugged hinterland but for the more adventurous amongst you, you will probably want to get down and dirty. Time to get out those walking boots!

County Wicklow may well be the Garden of Ireland but it has far more to offer than a view from the patio. There are fantastic walking opportunities here most notably on the Wicklow Way which starts at Marlay Park in the North, stretching down through the imaginatively titled Wicklow Mountains, finishing Clonegal in the South, confusingly in County Carlow. The trail is roughly 132 kilometres (82 miles) long and thoughtfully avoids the highest summits though I'm sure no-one would object if you went in search of the trig points of Djouce and Lugnaquilla for the best camera shots via side trails. For the record the largest mountain actually on the Wicklow Way itself is White Hill, at 630 m (2,067 ft).

Other activities in this area involve the use of a variety of sticks. It could a sand wedge or driver on one of the many top class golf courses such as the fantastically named Druids Glen or using a fishing rod to coach out the salmon and trout from the Avonmore River. Either way, try not to end up in the water.

So what's the deal with the food and drink?

While Wicklow is the county town the general consensus is that you won't go far wrong if you stick close by the Wicklow Way for the best eateries and alehouses. The town of Laragh for instance has Lynhams for decent pub grub and music too while the Wicklow Heather is also worth a shot if it's a blow out you're after. Incidentally, there's a fortnightly organic produce market in the town which takes place at the Brockagh Resource Centre.

Elsewhere The Hungry Monk in Greystones comes highly recommended as does Johnnie Fox's, only 30 minutes out of Dublin in Glencullen but in a completely different world. If you would like the prestige saying you've had a pint in the highest pub in Ireland take the windy road out of the city and take a look.

For more information on Wicklow try the www.wicklowlive.com website. There are also many websites out there ready to give you a pointer as to where to direct your EUROs such as www.irelandpubguide.com and diningpubs.com.