the mathematical probability of finding a girlfriend

at work, planning lessons, shuffling papers, procrastinating (already), and therefore contemplating the statistical probability of true love via This American Life: "Somewhere Out There."

"Of all the 6 and a half billion people in the world, what are the odds that any two people are a real match? Stories from people who know they’ve beat the odds, and the lengths they’ve gone to do it—including an American professor who sings Chinese opera for anyone who'll listen, to get one step closer to his mate, and two kids who travel halfway around the country to find each other and become best friends.

Prologue: NPR reporter David Kestenbaum tells host Ira Glass about the time, when he was doing graduate work in physics, he and his other single friends decided to figure out the mathematical probability that they’d find girlfriends. They wanted to know what the chances were that there was more than one person in the world for them.

And This American Life Producer Alex Blumberg and his wife, Nazanin Rafsanjani, reveal the subject of their first fight: They were in love, walking in the park, when Nazanin asked him if it felt like fate—like she was the only one for him. (Yes Alex, there is a wrong answer to that question.) When you’re in love, it always feels like it was meant to be, whether or not it really, statistically speaking, is."

I love these total romantics/dorks talking about employing the power of mathematics to estimate the likelihood of finding a girlfriend, and replacing "intelligent life" with "girlfriends" in the Drake equation, ha.

this american life

Revival Tour

holy shit, I'm happy right now. despite the fact that I just woke up feeling distinctly crummy (it really sucks getting a summer-cold while on the last few days of my holidays), I am overjoyed about the Revival Tour coming to Australia, actually totally overjoyed even

it's kinda funny cos just the other week on the 4ZZZ Punk Show we were generally doing our "end-of-2009 Top 5's", and included a Frank Turner song. I was talking to one of our interview guests (who does a podcast radio show from Brisbane), wondering about the possibility of Frank Turner ever touring to Australia. He seemed pretty certain that he would be here sometime in the first half of the year with Tim Barry and possibly the Revival Tour.

I thought that was an hilariously specific hunch to have, but now I think he probably just had some secret insider-information, because I just got the press-release about the Revival Tour stating pretty much exactly what he had predicted

yep, holy hell all the dudes with beards that used to be in melodic punkrock bands playing all the acoustic punk you could ever want: Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Frank Turner, Tim Barry (Avail), Ben Nichols (Lucero)

"Founded by Chuck Ragan, the singer / songwriter / guitarist and Hot Water Music co-frontman-- THE REVIVAL TOUR is set to launch in Australia from April 22 in Brisbane and wrap May 1 in Hobart.

Drawing from a diverse group of established musicians in indie Americana, rock, punk, Irish folk, THE REVIVAL TOUR will take the band of traveling musicians throughout Australia including Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart."

Thu April 22 The Zoo, Brisbane
Fri April 23 Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Sun April 25 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Wed April 28 Rosemount, Perth
Thu April 29 Enigma, Adelaide
Fri April 30 Corner, Melbourne
Sat May 1 Brisbane Hotel, Hobart

waiting for something to break/left my heart out to bake

slipped my mind that I could use my brain/I'll stay up all night and crash on the plane

Best friends are ones who fix your sickly ailing Ipod for you, while also reprimanding you for your shoddy Itunes filing system, noting with disapproval that Afghan Whigs appears 4 times in your "Bands" menu, and expressing general disappointment that you are NOWHERE near meeting the "required listening" quota for classic and/or otherwise essential punkrock.

But they quickly enact a crucial Ipod-to-Ipod transfer so that you have every Descendents song ever, In Sepia, Songs:Ohia, Jay Reatard, L7, Light Sleeper, Melvins, more Blueline Medic, more Misfits, more Wipers, Spy Vs. Spy ("Don't Tear It Down", yep the song that the Gifthorse covered), extra Mono...

And they immediately fix situations like the fact that you have NO Poison Idea whatsover ...I could go on..but I should probably be ashamed and just stop there.

I confess I'm not sure how I went for so long without the Lemonheads "Shame About Ray" album. I used to listen to it constantly while driving around in my car, so it's nice to have it back in my life again, thanks to aforementioned best friend.

"Rudderless" is pretty much my favourite track from the album, but closely followed by "Bit Part" (a song that starts with someone all-in-love-and-deranged screaming "I JUST WAAAAANT A BIT PART IN YOUR LIIIIIIFE" will probably never lose its appeal to me).

And "Bit Part" is closely followed by "Alison's Starting to Happen" (which is about Alison from Smudge and has those lines about "Alison's getting her tit pierced/Alison's growing a mohawk/Alison's starting to happen/to me"...there is something really cute and adorable and punkrock romantic about this song that's really reminiscent of stuff like "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault" by Jawbreaker.

so here we go:



(hope in my past)
Evan Dando and Chris Brokaw version

I try everything I know

I can't seem to make you mine/

(Sky Saxon breaking hearts and howling at the moon)