Just in case there is ever any confusion or debarcle, I am posting my Last Will here, in it’s entirety.

“NEVER EVER let John Williamson play OR sing (including pre-recorded material) at my funeral, or any other celebratory event linked to the event of my death.”

Please remember this. It could be very important.

Monday is clearly one of the most abrupt days of the week. With it’s stinging early mornings, and exhausting afternoons, I’m pleased to announce that I am saying goodbye to Mondays for two whole weeks. Next week is a uni recess, and the week after is public holiday, so I don’t have to face another Monday (of uni, at least) until three weeks from today which will be, consequently, the second last Monday of my uni year.

On the bad side, I’ve heard back from the now surprisingly helpful local Apple Store saying that they now can’t get a new hard drive until a week from today. If I can manage it, tomorrow I’ll be heading in to take my computer back and sort out some other arrangement in the meantime.

I spent a few hours today at the theatre arranging the stuff in the orchestra pit and setting up our headphone monitoring setup for the kids musical. The majority of the work was done my Tim a week ago (thanks!), which was a luxury on our usual waiting till Monday to get it done. Now the band will be able to spend our full day rehearsal tomorrow actually in the pit and adjusting levels.

I’ve also completed my research and notes for a listening exam on Monday. I think I can pretty confidently recognise each piece when hearing an extract, and I’ll also spend tomorrow memorising my notes and I’ll be set.

And it’s not even 8.30! I might watch a movie…

The repair of my Macbook has been a farce, particularly considering it is a tiny job to replace a dead hard drive in a Macbook.

I called up the local official service centre this morning, after having had my machine a week, only for them to tell me the replacement hard drive apparently won’t ship from Apple for A MONTH. Yes, a MONTH for a common replacement part. I was then told to call Apple, which was a bit pointless because they knew nothing of it, and I had no order numbers or anything. They did issue me with a case number, and then basically audibly shrugged their shoulders and hung up. I then asked the service centre to call Apple and sort out what is happening, and they said they’d call me back.

That was this morning. I didn’t recieve any call. I just now called back again at the end of the day to be told the person ‘looking after’ my case had ’stepped out’ and will call me straight back. Guess what - no call.

So, for a quick replacement of a common part, it has taken over a week, and was going to apparently take over a month if I hadn’t called up (who knows, it still might). They don’t seem to understand that it’s urgently needed and shit, they might actually have to do something in order to get this thing fixed within a (now beyond) reasonable time frame.

Now I’ll be without my sound patches for the two rehearsals for the show this weekend, which is a gigantic pain in the rectum. I also don’t hold much hope to even get it back before the show next weekend. Losers.

I thought I’d check in for an update considering I’ve been a bit busy with uni and what not.

Firstly, and most importantly - I’m still without my MacBook, which is driving me bonkers. I’m using an old(ish) Dell machine, and not only is it ugly, but because it’s a short term solution, I am not willing to install all my software on it. Probably a dozen times a day I cursor down and think “where did the dock go?” In actual fact though, this computer has been so well behaved (except for iTunes being horrendously slow with only a few tracks in it) I have forgotten I wasn’t using my Mac. Until I go to open my iPhoto, or any of my music software. One thing that has been unusual was that I was always a desktop PC user until I went Mac. The two Macs I’ve had have both been laptops and now I think that’s the only computer I could use. I now find as my work is changing, half of my computer use is away from the desk, and being able to open up your projects anywhere is invaluable. I’m definitely a laptop convert now.

Uni is busy. The last two nights I have gotten home at 6.30ish after getting there first thing in the morning. I’m looking forward to getting a bit of an afternoon off tomorrow (although I got a message a few moments ago saying I might need to have another meeting). Things are only going to get busier as we go into rehearsal for the ACT (children’s) musical this weekend. Playing only in the band (instead of rehearsal pianist) is fun - the whole thing, rehearsals to the last performance, only takes eight days, but it will mean my next eight days are particularly crazy. The ACT show is another reason I need my laptop back, as I plan to use it for the soft synths like I did in Charlie Brown. I have a few new ones to try out.

As I described almost a month ago now, I’m on a mission to watch every James Bond film (in the official series at least, plus Never Say Never Again) in order. I’ve also been squeezing one in whenever I can, and I have finished watching the seventh, Diamonds Are Forever. Here’s my take on the films leading up to what I have dubbed the “Less Is Moore era”:

1. Dr. No - A very strong start. Bond at his youngest and most James Dean-y. Great allys and the ultimate bond girl, Andress, proving that you don’t need to be a talented actress to be a bond girl (nor speak english very well). A real great adventure tale. It gets a little twisted when Bond is captured, and I love the fact that he gets to spend time with Dr. No.
2. From Russia With Love - I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would. The plot is a little convoluted, and I was never quite sure who was working for who, but I knew all I needed to know - It’s Bond vs. everyone. In the scene where Rosa Klebb is in a meeting with Blofeld, watch for the repeated footage of the fish in the tank. I almost expect Rosa to break into a bit of Threepenny Opera (being the husband of Kurt Weill and all), but we do get that wonderful final scene.
3. Goldfinger - The only film in this seven in which Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his PECTRE isn’t the one causing the trouble! This is a personal favourite, but everytime I watch it, I am fixated on watching Goldfinger’s mouth not always aligning with his voice (another Bond actor who couldn’t speak english well enough). Again, I love the interaction between Bond and Goldfinger, but Bond certainly doesn’t seem as heroic in this one, leaving most of the work to Felix (to be played by the second of eight actors to play him so far, and a new one in Casino Royale).
4. Thunderball - Concluding in what seems like a pretty rushed job, without the trademark Bond and his girl scene as the credits roll, I wasn’t entirely enthused about this one. The underwater stuff was a bit of a bore as it’s really not the most exciting of places to stage a fight. Good to see Blofeld up to his usual tricks (but we still haven’t seen his face), what was it, something about world domination?
5. You Only Live Twice - Bond on tour to Japan, so John Barry fills the score with perfect fourths (because that’s what all oriental music is like, right?). Bond fakes his death for the first time, marries a woman for the first time, and infiltrates one of the biggest sets ever built. I like this one, despite how choppy it can feel. It’s getting a little camp though with the giant rockets, tiny little helicopters and men in silver suits running around. Bond and Blofeld meet, and we see Blofeld’s face. This one has the funny eye skin melt thing, but is not exactly the kind of man I’d let talk me into joining a world dominating empire. And remember, “In Japan, Men come first!”
6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - I’m always a little weary of this one. Firstly, it’s a great deal longer than the others, Bond plays gay and a lot of the voice dubs are very scary (including Bond for the entire section he camps it up as “Hilly”). Lazenby, our dial-a-Bond does a nice job, particularly in the emotional scenes. Diana Rigg is also quite nice throughout. This is Bond with a heart. That is, until that subplot is dropped and Bond finds himself in Switzerland for about 50 minutes of the film. Bond meets Blofeld again, but neither of them recognise each other. Oh well, you can’t blame them, they’re both looking more than a little different. Telly Savalas plays the only scary looking Blofeld, this time with nice eyes but no earlobes. And who can say no to a Bond film with a slow-motion love montage?
7. Diamonds Are Forever - A newly aged Bond, whom I actually thought really ought to be slowing down at this point in his life, appropriately finds himself hitting the pokies in Vegas. This is camp all over with Plenty O’Toole (played by Natalie Wood’s Published-In-Playboy sister) and the killer gay couple, one of whom is an over the top character actor, the other a bass player who worked with Thelonious Monk. Blofeld moves out of Japan (too hot), Switzerland (too cold), to somewhere just right - the airconditioned penthouse suite of a Las Vegas casino. Blofeld slipped and fell in the aging machine when Bond did and he’s now played by the very grey Charles Gray, who’s only physical defect is his fashion sense (returning to You Only Live Twice grey). Sean hangs up his holster for the second and last time (oh, except for one more stint in the 80s), dons some tracksuit pants and joins the blackjack table.

Next up is the first of the Moore films, Live and Let Die, and I’ll write more as I get through more of them. And remember, all the good villians have three names.