Why I Miss Chapel Hill, Part 456

Their chalk graffiti is the best I've seen.

Bah.

You have no idea how much I wanted to get a Sharpie and fix this sign (you got it right once! Why screw up on the others?)

More Adventures In Soft Drinks!

Resurrecting a feature I used to do while I was living here. For my sins, I tasted Pepsi Blue, Mountain Dew: Code Red, and others, reporting whether we should be jealous that they’re not available in Britain (in the main: no). So, today: Coca-Cola Zero!

The story goes that back when Coca-Cola was developing Diet Coke, their first idea was to simply replace the sugar with NutraSweet. However, the results of this proved to be quite disappointing, so they came up with a different flavour, which is why Diet Coke doesn't taste the same as Coke. A couple of years later, they tried to do it again; this time though, they had looked at the success of Diet Coke, and thought: "hey, why don't we add sugar back?" Thus, New Coke was born. And fairly quickly shoved into a Moses basket and sent out to sea, but that's another story. Coca-Cola Zero goes back to the original idea, perhaps due to advances in technology since the early 1980s; it's Coca-Coca, but just as healthy as a Diet Coke. The taste is…slightly underwhelming, as it lacks the suagr rush of normal Coke, and feels bland in comparison to Diet Coke. So there you go…

In other news, I can also recommend that you avoid watermelon milkshakes, as they are perhaps one of the most disgusting drinks to grace this planet. Other things we learnt last night while driving around Durham: don't discuss irons around Mandy, cars that disappear and reappear on dark country roads are quite unsettling, Ian should speak up during the milkshake collection phase of the drive-through, it's harder to give bite marks whilst wearing braces, the toiletry habits of certain Scottish people leave something to desired, and caramel fudge really doesn't taste the same as chocolate cherry. Considering that was all packed in to three hours late last night, I think it was a fairly successful day!

(Also, the new Apple mouse is sooooo good. I had to pull myself away)\

currently playing: Scissor Sisters – Take Me Out

And remember

The Daily Show. On More4. Daily. I’m assured of this…

(hehehehehe)

currently playing: Bloc Party — So Here We Are

An Adventure In Jukeboxes!

I tried my first digital jukebox last night. An interesting experience, although I think I prefer the old-fashioned scrolling-through-every-single-album-to-find-the-song-you-want interface as opposed to the new-fangled touchscreen version. It was, dare I say, an indie/hipster-type venue, so there wasn’t a lot of pop on the menu, but some of their choices were bizarre, from a British point of view. Think Tank and Blur but no Modern Life Is Rubbish or Parklife? All of the Oasis albums except Morning Glory, but for Definitely Maybe there’s only one song present, and that’s Supersonic? Very strange. There’s also a search function, to get you straight to the song of your drunken desires, but sneakily, if you use this option, it costs 2 plays for a single track rather than just one. Which is a little ungentlemanly, I feel. And it’s Carrboro! The jukebox should ideally be a free commune-type affair, with hippies providing their own compositions. Or perhaps not…

(In the event, my choices: This Charming Man for Josh, Fairytale of New York, which was met with bemused indifference, damn them all, and The Human League's Don't You Want Me?. I never claimed to be original.)

currently playing: Stars — Celebration Guns

Arrgh!

Sometimes, I think that it’s good that I don’t live here, as I’d spend all my time in the second-hand shops. I’ve found a copy of the tape version of Substance, which has the full 12” version of The Perfect Kiss, unlike the CD version with its missing forty seconds. Somebody please stop me from going in these shops!

currently playing: Prefab Sprout — When Love Breaks Down

Let's Start A War…A Nuclear War

(look, I’m really sorry about the continued use of Electric Six lyrics. It’s not big or clever, I know, but it is fairly germane to today’s entry)

So, last night I went to a gay club in Raleigh, as the token straight guy with my friends. It was…an interesting night out; I was told by Mandy (assume spelling correction to come) before we left for Raleigh which toilets to avoid (i.e. the ones without a lock on them), and a little about what to expect.

To whit: lots of men with no shirts sweating on a dance floor. As you'd expect, really. I have to say that I wasn't the greatest fan of the music, which seemed to follow the tried and tested formula of "stick a thumping house beat on, our kid, and change the singer every now and then, you know, for variety", but I guess that it did its job well enough.

I can't say that I have too many enlightening comments on the night; although it was funny to hear the girls complain about the lesbians in the corner who were just talking rather than dancing, and their bartenders are quite annoying and rude. I did feel a trifle out of place, although I know I wasn't the only one, so that made me feel better a little.

Anyway, after discovering more detail than I perhaps needed about Mandy's piercings, and avoiding lots of broken glass, we headed off to the essential destination after a night out: yes, the Waffle House. Waffles and hashbrowns for all! Or something. Eventually, just as the sun was coming up, we got back to Chapel Hill, ready to sleep away a rainy Sunday. And my last full Sunday here. Boooo…

currently playing: Low – On The Edge Of

Crazy Golf!

Naomi coming up the course after a successful shot.

Stacie's Dosai

See, I wasn't kidding when I said it was huge!

Fuse!

No idea what it's supposed to be though…