Sunset, Jack Daniels and a 1968 Rosewood Fender Telecaster...

WEDNESDAY

  Happy Valentines Day Gem, all my love x

Walshy Boy.

FRIDAY

  Well, that's the first month of 2007 out of the way already, quite strange how speeded up life can become, wish it could have done that a couple of years ago.  But I suppose it does brings us all a step closer to more presents this Christmas!  Haha.

  But at the moment everything's groovy as they say, me and Gem celebrated 8 months together on Tuesday (even though yesterday was our official day) which is fantastic, I can honestly say with my track record as far as women and relationships go, i'm very suprised that we're still together and still very happy.  Also, the little lady's birthday is coming up on February 8th so as you can imagine i'm frantically looking for suitable presents to stay on her good side!  Haha, nah, i've sorted one main present out, just got to sort the others now but i'm looking forward to her coming down on the 9th as we're out for dinner that evening.  Of course every silver lining has a cloud!  On the Sunday (2 days later) i'm back to hers to meet her ENTIRE family...shite, her Mum's always been pleasent enough to me but Gem does have a tendancy to make her family seem a bit frightening, especially her Nan who (apparently) doesn't even think Gem's having sex yet and doesn't 'agree with it'...I got news for ya Nan!!!  Hahahaha!!!

  Other than that, The Painted Player is trading comfortably, a regular influx of work both from customer orders and Ebay Sales is keeping my head above water for the moment and i've cleared one of my credit cards already...and sebsequently cut it in half and thrown it away, evil!!!  New models are being released all the time, my Jack Bruce FOOL VI only last week, and with my recent investment in some high-class power tools, i'm now putting together a line-up of Luthier Specials including the Slade Super-Yob, John Entwhistle Lightening Bass and the Live Aid 'Africa' guitar.  So should be a busy year, the only drag being my website which is taking a lifetime to sort out but i'm hoping with a little help from upstairs that it will be up and running efficiently by March.

  So, that is pretty much it for the moment friends, life rolls on with a comfortable sense of similarity and my neice and nephew are both doing really well, Samuel is laughing his ass off at his silly uncle who can't stop mucking about and little Eliza is getting more and more beautiful every day.  Can't wait to celebrate their first birthdays later this year.  This year will also be mine and Gem's first 'birthday' too haha, so looking forward to celebrating that in sunny Nice on the French Riviera (holiday).

  Take it easy everybody, a special nod as always to my lovely Polgara who is no doubt preparing like a headless chicken for her up-coming wedding this summer (still had no invite? :p).  Also, expect The Review to make a welcome return later this spring once the official box-office season kicks off with Ghost Rider and Frank Miller's 300 - nice.

Walshy Boy. 

SUNDAY

  Dear God, Christmas, New Year, all gone in a flash without a single Walshy blog!  But as you can imagine I have an excuse, life's just been that much more busy these past months and blogging isn't exactly my highest priority these days, what with Gem, Samuel and Eliza and my business.  But i'll start off hoping that everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, I certainly did and will attempt a brief overview for anyone interested!

  Christmas was superb, Gem came down several days before and we had a Mini-Christmas ie: we excahnged gifts together as we wouldn't be seeing each other on the big day, I got Futurama Season 3 on DVD, Shaun Of The Dead on DVD and a mini Star Wars Lego Star Destroyer!  Cool indeed.  I got Gem some Miss Sixty perfume, some underwear, a guitar book, tuner, lead, strap an amplifier and yes, you guessed it, a guitar (which I built and hand painted myself especially for her - aww).  It was a great couple of days.

  Christmas Day was great, the family gathered round with our two new members Samuel and Eliza and it was, as ever, a huge day filled with presents, music and alcohol.  I got some new tops, a new shirt, a model of the Beatles on stage, some fcuk socks and a Lego Star Destroyer...the 24inch one!!!  Took me all bloody day to build it and in the process I managed to slug 3 bottles of wine and a bottle of Champaign so as you can imagine I was a little drunk.  That was until I threw up!  Yes yes, I got alcohol poisoning didn't I, was up all night chucking up.  Well, far be it for me to dispute God's good humour!

  The week in between passed unmemorably until New Year, Gem came down and stayed for a family dinner party, which was actually better than Christmas, we had an excellent night laughing anf joking and a bit of girls vs boys Trivial Pursuit - which Gem was very good at.  It was also nice that Gem wasn't under pressure, there weren't any stupid questions or undue attention, she was just there and rightly part of the family.  Of course we had quite drunken rampant sex later that night or should I say on New Year's morning.  As always.

  After that, the week has unfolded mainly with work, my business is on the up and up consistantly and i'm invested with hope for the coming year with my website under construction and my product line-up increasing by another 4 instruments at least by the summer.  Things are looking up and with Gem backing me up at every turn I have little or nothing to worry me at this strangely content time in my life.  Long may it continue.

  All the best to everyone and keep your eyes peeled for the next blog which may be some time off with thing being busy.  Sorry to everyone who actually followed my blog with any enthusiasm, guess i'm just a sucker for good-looking gals!

Walshy Boy.

FRIDAY

  23 today, who would actually believe it?  But i'm unusually fine about it and looking forward to a fun=packed day, seeing Casino Royale later this morning, then got my sisters and obviously my niece and nephew round and then Gem is coming down and we're having dinner out together followed by a nice night in bed ;p haha!  The fun doesn't stop tomorrow as after Gem heads off, the DJ is popping over for the afternoon until the evening when we shall kit ourselves out for a night on the piss and meet the lads in the usual slums!  Looking forward to it.

  Thus far I have a new guitar (a 1979 Styner - nice!), some new DKNY jeans, a new French Connection watch, a professional poker set, a bottle of Jack Daniels and some lovely aftershave.  Good old Byz got me that new buzzer game for your TV which is a great laugh!  Got my sisters' present later today followed by 8 presents from Gem apparently tonight!  Haha, more for me!

  So, gonna get to it now, bit of breaky and such so I shall thank all those who've sent me birthday wishes and hope everyone has almost as good a day as me.  Take it easy.

The Birthday Boy.

SUNDAY

  Little 80's reference there to a classic advert for those who remember Transformers and Soft Cell.  Basically the title is a little nudge as to the nature of life itself, it goes on and on and on sometimes in a continuous pattern, not boring, not minotonous, just rolls aong with a strange comfort.  Such is my life now.

  However, me a Gem celebrated 5 months together on November 1st which is great, we still have yet to taste of an arguement or piss each other off and we still look at each other with the same puppy-dog eyes as we have done since the beginning, AWW!  Haha, but seriously, it has been a superb relationship so far and long may it continue.

  On a sadder note, its only 12 days til my birthday!  AHH!  23 years old for God's sake!  I mean what the hell, where did that time go, seems like yesterday I was playing with toys and watching cartoons...oh hang on, that was yesterday...doh!  Haha, yep time has flown by so quickly, especially this last year which started so badly (those who follow this mildly entertaining blog will know how depressed i was after a devestating winter last year) but has transformed into one of the happiest years of my life.  I'm pursuing a dream, have my own business (that's doing pretty good) and have a wonderful girlfriend to share it with and to share my birthday with too, which makes the whole aging thing a bit more tolerable because i get more presents this year!

  Speaking of presents, Christmas looms with even more presents to buy, Samuel, Eliza and of course Gem, AHH!  Cashflow dying, bank balance decaying, must...have...air!!!  But, it's all about giving isn't it and I couldn't be happier that I have more people to give to this year, more people i care about and who care about me.  Though i can't imagine Samuel and Eliza will be Christmas shopping just yet!  But it does leave the wonderful possibilities open for future years, LEGO, castles and pirates, action man (the original 60's stuff, not the new shite) and of course, dolls and soft toys and make-up play sets and not forgetting...Playdoh!  Yay, a chance to relive me youth through my niece and nephew and share in bringing them up, could an old struggling guitar player want for another more?  I think not.

  Hope everyone is well, had a good Halloween and a good 5th of November (remember, remember...) and i shall attempt to blog again soon with some new film reviews as The Prestige, Borat and of course young Mr. Bond make their appearances during this month.  Mr. Bond in fact, on my birthday...it's a sign.

Walshy Boy.

SATURDAY

  The Departed: The Review

  It's been a while since Martin Scorsese has walked the Mean Streets, and it's great to have him back on them, even if they're now in Boston.  After a line of period pieces including the sublime Gangs of New York, one of the world's finest directors has finally returned to the harsh gangland realities that made his name all those years ago.  Though very few movie-goers will know that Scorsese's latest is actually a remake...

  Infernal Affairs was an instant cult smash in Japan when it was released, once it crashed onto the international scene its status was assured and it was painfully inevitable that an American studio would get the rights to a remake, thank God then that this falls into the 7 Samurai / Magnificent Seven category of Japanese remakes rather than appauling Ringu / The Ring category.  Even better then that Martin Scorsese was set to direct and with a cast list that reads; Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Ray Winstone, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg, you KNOW this has got to be a good thing.

  From the outset, The Departed IS Jack Nicholson's movie, perhaps even a twisted take on the life one of the most enigmatic actors in screen history.  His portrayal of Irish Mob boss Frank Costello will no doubt earn him another Oscar nomination, taking the same aura of menace present in Dennis Hopper's sinister performance in Blue Velvet, Costello is cruel, sadastic but ultimately troubled.  That's what makes him scary, not his threats or his twisted glare, the fact that he is a troubled man, a man that lives in a constant state of terror while attempting to control his world and his fear with violence, drug abuse, alcoholism and acts of horror more ghastly than most people would care to imagine.

  DiCarprio puts in a career best performance as Billy Costigan, a young rookie cop who gets recruited by Martin Sheen to infultrate Costello's organisation, seriously, while always recognisable for his teenage heart-throb looks and the days of Titanic, DiCaprio has matured into one of the finest actors working today and once again teamed with Scorsese after two successful projects, it's clear the pair work TOO well together.  His peformance is calculated, chilling and heart-wrenching as he decends into a state of madness, not quite sure who he really is from one day to the next.  Rarely have i become as involved with the well-being of a character in a film of this genre.

  Matt Damon is an interesting choice for the young Costello in-training Colin Sullivan, Frank's planted Mole in the Boston police force, after roles like Jason Bourne, he's more typically suited to a heroic character but this is where Scorsese makes a killer choice, he's playing a good guy and in that respect, Damon is perfect as the wolf in the fold.  His struggle is harder to engage with than Costigan's, he has the simple task of staying on Costello's good side and feeding him the information he needs to evade capture, however his personal life features a much more complex storyline which makes him both likeable but ultimately the worst kind of villain.  A liar.

  The supporting cast are beautifully chosen, Wahlberg in particular, the cinematograhpy is stunning, the violence horrific and the language very, very Scorsese!  But beneath its rough, gritty surface there lies a very personal story of two men forced to betray their own sense of loyalty or honour in order to become the very thing they loathe.  Two men on two sides of the same coin and utlimately linked by one man who could destroy them both.  This has to be the finest film Scorsese has made since the golden 70's and between Infernal Affairs' superb storyline and the director's own influence this is a must-see, absolute dynamite film.

  The Verdict: *****

Walshy Boy.

THURSDAY

  Today at 15:45, my sister Samantha gave birth to a baby girl, Eliza Lorraine Hallin weighing in at 6 lbs 6 ounces with black curly hair.  It was a long stressful day and i'm feeling quite numb about the whole thing even though its only been 7 weeks since my nephew Samuel was born, who, i might add, is doing really well and getting bigger every day.

  I only got to visit for 30mins this evening as visiting hours were 6-8pm and the parents ie: mine, wanted to have their time first then have the rest of the family come to visit.  Sam, as ever, instantly asked me if i wanted to hold my new niece so i sat down beside her and held Eliza for the first time.  She is beautiful and now i have both a little niece and a little nephew to dote upon as often as my bank balance will allow, its been as traumatic a day as it has been inspirational and i'm just looking forward to it all settling down again now and not only enjoying my niece and nephew, but getting my two beautiful sisters back too.

  Congratulations Matt and Sam x

Uncle Walshy.