Kris Holt

 

A quick look at my day at T In The Park (including Foo Fighters, Weezer, Pulp)

Tinthepark

Hello. Here's a quick look of my day out at T in the Park.

After arriving at the festival at around 12:30, my companions and I spent an hour so walking around the site before stopping to take in a set by some dude called Professor Green. The set was uninspiring and didn't really get the party going in any way. After relaxing on the grass for another 20 minutes or so, I went by myself to go and catch Blondie. Fun set, and the incredibly heavy rain didn't dampen spirits. Debbie Harry's voice held up well.

After a quick walk around the site and some refreshment in the form of one of the most awful beers imaginable (hi, Tennent's!), it was time to grab a good spot - not far from the second barrier - for one of the two bads I was most looking forward to on the day, Weezer. As expected, Weezer were a blast. They played almost all of the songs I could reasonably expect to hear (no 'Gone Fishin' though, but I wasn't expecting that). Great fun and it was fantastic to hear 'Say It Ain't So'.

Next up was a quick dash over to the King Tut's tent to see The Vaccines. They were not very good though, so I left after 4 songs or so. While walking over to see what was happening on the smaller stages, I heard a little bit of My Chemical Romance from the Main Stage. They sounded predictably bad, but fortunately I was able to hear the only song of their's I like. At the BBC Introducing stage, I listened to 3 or 4 songs from By The Rivers, a cool reggae band. Definitely going to check out more from them. Over to the T Break stage for a while where Rachel Sermanni played a nice little set. Folksy acoustic stuff. Nice voice, but nothing distinctive. Still, I enjoyed her set.

Next up was a trio back to the Main Stage for a bit of Pulp. Nice set from the Britpoppers. I've never been a huge fan, but I like a few of their songs. I was entertained throughout. Afterwards, it was off for a quick bite to eat, my second (and last) beer of the day and to find a good spot for the headliner.

So, Foo Fighters. Certianly in my top 3 bands of all time. However, this wasn't in the best 3 gigs of theirs that I've been to. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the evening, but I've certainly seen them put on much better shows in the past. It was the 4th time I'd seen them at a festival and they're definitely far better at their own gigs. As far as the set list goes, there were few surprises. It was nice and a little unexpected to hear 'Let It Die' but there really wasn't any need for that terrible 'Wheels' tune. However, Dave doing 'Wheels' on his own could only lead to one thing: full band 'Everlong' for the first time in many-a-year. Sheer bliss. A good night, but certainly towards the bottom few of the 11 (I think) Foo gigs I've been to. One last note: seeing Chris' (I think) son hiding next to Taylor on stage and drumming along to the band for two hours was beyond cute.

So there you have it, a few quick thoughts on TitP. It was probably my last T for quite some time, so I certainly tried to make the most of my day. 

[Photo: Random Things Entering My Field Of Vision]

Filed under  //   blondie   by the rivers   foo fighters   my chemical romance   professor green   pulp   rachel sermanni   t in the park   the vaccines   weezer  
Posted July 11, 2011
 

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"

I love Twitter. I really, really love Twitter. I find it to be an invaluable source of information and a veritable treasure trove of awesome stuff.

However, there are a few people whom I follow that, while they are interesting, they can be really fucking annoying too. They are either whiny, humourless or dull. Fortunately, they still help to find some interesting stuff on the Web, otherwise I'd unfollow them. I'm not naming names. I wouldn't do that. But please, lighten up, chill out, relax and enjoy yourselves, damnit.

Let's chalk this post down to a little passive-aggressive venting, shall we?

Posted May 19, 2011
 

On food

First off, I'd like to make a quick apology. I haven't kept up with posting here every day, as I promised I would. I've been busy with other things, such as work, Rival Robot posts (hey, check out what I dun wrote on Fast Five! Words on Thor coming later this week.) and, y'know, life and stuff. In this here post, I'd like to make mention of foodie stuff.

As you might have noticed, things have been very much food-focused round these parts. I don't want this to become a food blog or owt, but food is important and should be given appropriate focus.

Up until maybe two years ago, I had a horrendous diet. I didn't eat fruit or any vegetables. I didn't eat Indian food. I'm now eating all of that stuff (well, not all -- I'm still not too keen on onions, lettuce and a few other vegetables). I've been missing out -- I have no idea what I used to eat before. I love apples and oranges and bananas and pineapples (my favourite) and zucchini and lots of other stuff too. Thanks, Mélodie!

Last night, we had butter chicken, dal makhni, naan (garlic and plain) and rice. Bloody good it was too. I had more to say, but I've forgotten now.

P.S. I can has Tumblr! All going well, this post should also appear on my Tumblelog.

I had a Tumblr account before, but didn't pay much attention to it. My new Tumblr has my name (PERSONAL BRANDING ALERT!) in the URL and I'll be using it much more often than I previously did.

Filed under  //   blogging   easy   food   foodie  
Posted May 18, 2011
 

Baking cupcakes is for winners too

This is my second foodie post within a couple of days, but food is important. Isn't this daily posting thing supposed to be about important stuff anyway?

This evening, I completed my very first batch of solo cupcakes. Following one of the recipes from the wonderful Ming Makes Cupcakes (a site that Melodie and I have used on countless occasions), I made the Banana Cupcakes with Maple Butter Frosting.

I'd post a few photos, but I'm lazy and they'll probably all be gone by tomorrow morning. They're fucking delicious, by the way.

Filed under  //   awesome   baking   cooking   cupcakes   delicious   foodie  
Posted May 9, 2011
 

Wow, time flies

Bob_and_claire

A year ago today, I stood up in front of a hundred or so people at the West Park Centre in Dundee and delivered a best man speech that will be remembered for all eternity.

Actually, that's a lie. I can barely remember what I said yesterday, let alone 365 days ago. In any case, my speech went down a treat (or, at least I think it did). 

It was a cracking day, all told, and I loved being able to enjoy myself with my family, friends and Melodie all at the same time. 

Anyway, all of this to say: happy anniversary to Bob and Claire, two wonderful people and very dear friends of mine.

[Photo pinched from Gavin McLaughlin]

Posted May 8, 2011
 

Good food is for winners

This is gonna be a short one, because it's getting late. 

Today, Melodie and I did some groceries at the Jean Talon Market. It was the first time I'd been there, and it was a lot of fun. Most importantly though, the produce was much, much nicer than you'd find at a supermarket and at a better price too.

Picking up fresh produce is much better than choosing food that's been on supermarket shelves for a week. Buying food at a market ensures that the farmers get what they deserve for their produce too. We used the food we picked up to make a very nice shrimp pasta.

Anyway, all this to say that visiting farmer's markets is for winners. You should do it too.

Tomorrow: something a little more substantial. Truth.

Filed under  //   farmers market   food   market   shrimp  
Posted May 7, 2011
 

This is the inanimate object that makes me happiest right now.

P429

I am such a nerd. I admit it's silly that merchandise from a TV show would make me happy, but it's true.

For one thing, I'm just about the biggest kid you'll meet on this side of the Mississippi. For another, Community really is a tremendous show. Check it out if you haven't yet done so. Lastly, I love drinking big mugs of tea and coffee. This mug is a triple-threat.

All together now: "Troy and Abed in the morning!"

Filed under  //   big kid   community   merchandise   mug   tv  
Posted May 6, 2011
 

My digital legacy, and why I will strive to write more often

I have to admit, I'm a little sad. 

Through a link posted on Roger Ebert's Facebook Page (well worth a Like, even if you're not a film buff), I spent a good chunk of time browsing Pen Machine last night. This is the website of Derek K. Miller, a Canadian who passed away this week at the age of 41 as a result of complications from stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer. I'm not afraid to admit I got choked up while reading Miller's last post, as well as several other posts which dealt with the subject of his impending death. Miller's blog makes for an upsetting read, and it pains me that the only reason I was able to discover his engaging writing was because of his death.

However, I have been inspired by Miller. Between this and Google's Dear Sophie ad (yeah, I know -- it's a cheesy ad, but the basic sentiment behind it is important), I started to think about how I would like people to remember me -- off the top of my head, I would want people to remember me as someone who was a good person, whose heart was mostly in the right place, and was a good writer. 

Whether I have kids or not, I hate the thought that I might be forgotten or have people struggle to think of something to say about me, whether or not I become the most famous writer/film director/actor/author/musician/whatever on the planet (I'm 25 and have no idea what I want to do when I grow up except that I will work in entertainment. Or the media. Or ethical business. Or education. Or... all of these, maybe).

So whether it's here, at Rival Robot, Scribbal, or whereever else (such as a personal website that I intend to be the hub for the vast majority of my online activity -- something that I plan on setting up in the near future), I will strive to record more of my life and thoughts though words, pictures, video and audio and ensure that I create a strong digital legacy for myself. 

I love being able to hold things in my hand, so I would have loved for my life to be recorded in something a little more simple like a diary or scrapbook (hey, who knows? Maybe I'll write a book someday). However, the easiest way to let as many friends and family members into my life as possible is through online services. Besides, I would get lazy or forget to write something each day by hand (I'll try really, really hard to write something each day). 

Writing is perhaps the most natural form of expression for me, so the written word will make up the bulk of what I create. I'd like to branch out into video, music and photographs, but I'm not getting too ambitious just yet. I have to start considering which online services I want to bring attention to/archive when I start my website, but I have a basic idea of how I want this website to work.

Right now, I know that I will continue to use Posterous as my main personal blog (at least for the time being) and will do something about the crappy layout in the future. Creating good content (especially writing) is of the most importance though and I'll focus on that rather than getting hung up on the background colours. 

My personal Facebook account will remain shuttered (that's the only social network I'd like to keep private.), but anyone can view my Facebook Page (which is a little more for professional purposes); Twitter feed (which I use for pretty much everything); musings on film, TV, music and other entertainment at Rival Robot; work stuff at Scribbal; and see other things elsewhere. I'll integrate all of this stuff (or as many of 'em as I can) into my website when I start to piece it together.

What writing more often for myself means for the rest of my goals (which I have generally done little towards, I am ashamed to admit, but that's a different story), I don't really know -- I'll have to reassess those goals soon. But taking half an hour out of my day to write about something that matters to me (or anything else, really) is something I will strive to do. From now until the day until I can no longer do so. It might be 20 words per day, it might be 2000 words, it might simply be a photo. I just don't know. But as long as I write something (or post a meaningful photo/quote/anything else) each day, I'll be happy. 

It might not be every day -- real-life things do happen, after all -- but I'll certainly be posting more than once a month. I promise that.

This is a bit rambly and disjointed, but that's my writing style. I jump back and forth between paragraphs as I scramble to write down new thoughts before I forget them and then return to finish others. But I guess that's something else you might have learned about me though reading this post.

My digital legacy will not only be for me (so I can look back in 10 years and know what I did or thought about on any given day), but for anyone who wants to be a part of my life -- a Twitter follower I don't know in real life is just as welcome here as my blood relatives. 

So join me, won't you?

Filed under  //   blog   book   creating   death   goals   legacy   life   rival robot   scribbal   writing  
Posted May 5, 2011
 

I worked out of the BSN office today

P411

And it wasn't too bad at all. Nice little set up, even after just a couple of weeks. Tried to take a sneaky photo of the office, but this was the best I could do.

I'd definitely think about working from there more often if I had a better schedule. At the very least, it was a good change of scenery. At best, a nice new place to work from.

Filed under  //   montreal   ofgice   work  
Posted March 21, 2011