8/28/2005 03:00:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|Back from France and my brother's wedding. The French, it must be said, do not do weddings by halves. We finished eating at about one in the morning, I made my best man's speech whilst very drunk and standing on a chair (with simultaneous translation by Coraline (my new sister in law's sister - what does that make her to me?) at about three. Slunk off to bed closer to six, got up, went back to the farmhouse and STARTED DOING THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. At one point I looked at my watch and realised that the wedding had been going on for over twenty four hours, with the briefest of interruptions for sleep. Beat that, Kiefer. We went over a few days earlier, and spent some time in the Montjean-sur-Loire area with Berengere's family, who were very nice and very welcoming. Most of the time was spent in the sun eating cheese and drinking wine, but we also managed a trip to the nearby city of Angers, which was lovely - I can see where the Quebecois got all their ideas from. On our return, I picked up the new album by Pelican, which is quite simply amazing. It's complex instrumental music played on bass, drums and guitars, and just pushes all my buttons. Long instrumental tracks? Check. Pointlessly convoluted song titles? Check (the album is called "The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw", for Christ's sake!). Mysterious arty packaging? Check. But crucially it is also served up with a big side helping of METAL. Inasmuch as it sounds like anything else, it is Explosions In The Sky grooving with Sabbath, and hence pretty much indispensible. Oh yeah, the title of this entry? I have to arrange a second interview for a new job (head office based, with the rather impressive title of "Head of Central Operations" - oooh, get me). In Tokyo. A city where you can buy toys of real pandas controlling a giant robot panda they have built to stamp on buildings. Oh yes. I am blogging to:Pelican|W|P|112516686188090678|W|P|If It's Not Like Neuromancer I Want My Money Back|W|P|danpawley@gmail.com8/28/2005 06:04:00 PM|W|P|Blogger Marcus|W|P|As well as having a sister in law (almost) that Neil wrote a book about, when's the second interview?


Have fun8/11/2005 05:45:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|Dan: We should go and see Send More Paramedics tomorrow night Esther: Why do we want to do that? D: They play Zombiecore E: uh-huh D: And they dress up and stuff E: uh-huh D: Come and look at this video finds video on interweb E:You mean he is going to be standing there like that with blood coming out of his mouth? D: Yes, good eh? E: And they're all wearing silly make up? D: Yes, good eh? E: Maybe you can find someone from work to go with Pah, girls|W|P|112370705462675894|W|P|Actual Dialogue From My House Tonight|W|P|danpawley@gmail.com8/11/2005 06:57:00 AM|W|P|Blogger Marcus|W|P|Tee hee8/03/2005 05:38:00 PM|W|P|dan|W|P|Unbelievably, Mark from Page 45 died this past weekend. I owe him a great deal, since he introduced me (and many others) to some wonderful comics I wouldn't have found otherwise. Fifteen years ago I remember going into the basement in the Nottingham Virgin Megastore where Mark and Stephen sold comics before starting their own business. I picked up the normal load of DC Mature Readers tat I was buying in those pre-Vertigo days, and Mark asked if I'd ever read Cerebus. When I said no, he slipped an issue of Jaka's Story into my bag and said try it out. This one act of generosity led to me discovering a wider realm of comics outside the four colour Big Two world, and opened up all kinds of graphical possibilities to me (and wasn't a bad business decision either, seeing as it pretty much led directly to me spending thousands and thousands of pounds on comics in the next decade and and a half). That attitude carried over to the opening of Page 45, the best comic shop in the world. We've all read the broadsheet articles that turn up every so often and say "wow, comics don't have to be men in tights anymore, you know!", but Mark was one of the few who tried to make this a reality for the everyday consumer, stocking and supporting a huge range of work. His vision for comics retail was an inclusive and welcoming one, and it's a tragedy he didn't live to see it spread far more than it has. Thanks Mark. RIP.|W|P|112305910953143578|W|P|Mark Simpson|W|P|danpawley@gmail.com8/04/2005 02:23:00 AM|W|P|Blogger Marcus|W|P|As well as everthing that Dan said, which I completely agree with. Mark and Stephen became both mine and Ness' friends. And after the amount of people at the Birthday bash, I'm sure this is the case for many other people.

He will be missed.