NMA @ the Astoria

Argh. Tired and bruised.

TOP gig. I was concerned when the touts outside were shouting that you could SAVE money by getting a ticket from them - not an auspicious omen, I thought. No fear; it was splendid.

After heading up to town for a very pleasant Yule lunch with my longest-standing client, I pottered around failing to find any presents for a while before heading down to meet drpete and mmcpoland in the Moon under Water beforehand for a beer and a whine, to be joined by Francis WINOLJ and later on vanessaw and her mate Richard. It was thanks to Vanessa that I was there, and my heartfelt gratitude goes out to her. A splendid pressie! Cheers, 'Ness! Quote of the night #1 from Moz: "your life of late has been one continuous scream of misery." Accurate, though.

We wondered in and quickly found various familiar faces - bootpunk and a mate - Sam WINOLJ - and Hatchet [EDIT: who is, of course, cutietrol Oops!]. Moved to the upstairs bar to encounter a rather hairy bencurthoys (who seems, irritatingly, to have grown since the last time I saw him) and _ladylazarus_.

THen back down again in case they shut the doors and we couldn't get in. Pete & Moz stayed on the sidelines and I managed to lose Vanessa, Richard & CJ in the throng. Went hunting - which was fraught, it was packed - but to no avail. So plunged back into the crowd to find Sam and a bunch of her mates. When things got a little bouncier, I plunged into the sweaty pit.

I always forget how hardcore an Army moshpit is. It makes the Buzzcocks' pit look like - well, a bunch of unfit late-thirtysomethings who don't mosh much any more. Truly I am wet and a weed and a scrawny little one to boot. Both my arms are bruised, cut and burned, my knuckles are cracked and aching and I've nearly ripped off about 4 fingernails. Maaarvelous. As Ben breathlessly shouted: "It's like a sauna, a workout and a year in therapy all in one!" Quote #2 of the night, I think.

Familiar faces kept looming out of the mob: s0b, nils, fluffymark, d_floorlandmine, godgirl, minusbat and basically about half of B Movie's regulars. Also a good chance for a natter with mr_prickle's new SO, of which I will, just to be irritating, say no more.

They didn't play quite a few of my favourites, but with such a back catalog, there was nothing to complain about. Two encores and a rapturous crowd made for an excellent atmosphere and a few hours of forgetting. This helped a lot. I was not in a good mood before and I rapidly returned to it once heading home alone.

A hot bath helped. A series of text messages from Caitríona while in said bath helped even more. I think I shall sleep after all.

And so to bed. 'Night, all.

Anniversaries

I cannot better the way my mate Roger put it:

«
On December 17, 1903, at 10.35 local time at Kill Devil Hills on the
North Carolina coast, Orville Wright made what was almost certainly the
first controlled powered flight from level ground. It lasted 12 seconds
and 120 feet. Three more flights were made, but the _Flyer_ was caught
by wind and destroyed while being repositioned for the fifth.

A telegram was sent from the nearest telegraph office, at Kitty Hawk:

SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST TWENTY ONE MILE WIND
STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR
THIRTY ONE MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS.
OREVELLE WRIGHT

An extract from Orville's diary is at
http://www.first-to-fly.com/History/Wright%20Story/OW121703.htm
»

Unless, of course, you listen to the Brazilians who claim that the Wright Brothers did not make "the first controlled powered flight from level ground" because they used a ramp to launch from, and that they first launch from level ground was made in October 1906 by Alberto Santos-Dumont:

http://www.aerospacemedia.com/afp.htm

In other news, and only slightly behind in years, I believe it is also the birthday of our very own pugwash! Happy birthday, Jerry!

Right. I've caught up on my post and am half way there some vital paperwork. Enough. I'm off to the pub.