Monthly Archives: June 2022

song of the week 23: à tout le monde

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“À Tout Le Monde” by Megadeth

  • Genre: Heavy Metal
  • Single Release Date: February 1995
  • Album: “Youthanasia“

In my 20s I fell in love with the romantic notion of this track being my funeral song. At that young age death is only a distant concept but there is something poetic and comforting about both the music and the words that would suit carrying a coffin out of a Church to a graveyard.

Initially the video was banned by MTV for being “pro-suicide” but lead singer Dave Mustaine denied this in a 1994 interview and gave the inspiration behind the lyrics as how I also understood them:

It’s not a suicide song. What it is, it’s, you, it’s when people have a loved one that dies and they end on a bad note, you know, they wish that they could say something to them. So this is an opportunity for the deceased to say something before they go. And it was my impression of what I would like to say to people, if I had say, 3 seconds to do so in life before I died I’d say to the entire world, to all my friends, I love you all, and now I must go. These are the last words I’ll ever speak, and they’ll set me free. I don’t have to say I’m sorry, I don’t have to say I’m going to miss you, or I’ll wait for ya. You know, I’ll just say I loved you all, good, bad, indifferent, I loved you all.

Arsenal of Megadeth DVD. Capitol Records. 2006

The track was re-released in 2007 as a duet with Italian singer Cristina Scabbia. I still prefer the original.

Lyrics

Don’t remember where I was
I realized life was a game
The more seriously I took things
The harder the rules became
I had no idea what it’d cost
My life passed before my eyes
I found out how little I accomplished
All my plans denied

So as you read this, know, my friends
I’d love to stay with you all
Please smile when you think of me
My body’s gone, that’s all

A tout le monde
A tout mes amis
Je vous aime
Je dois partir
These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free

If my heart was still alive
I know it would surely break
And my memories left with you
There’s nothing more to say

Moving on is a simple thing
What it leaves behind is hard
You know the sleeping feel no more pain
And the living are scarred

A tout le monde
A tout mes amis
Je vous aime
Je dois partir
These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free

(So as you read this, know, my friends
I’d love to stay with you all
Please smile, smile when you think about me
My body’s gone, that’s all)

(These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free)

Click here for a playlist of all the songs in this series on Spotify

Header image from 8Tracks.com

gallows lane

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Gallows Lane (Inspector Devlin #2) by Brian McGilloway

This post contains spoilers and affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission.

Once again I’m brought back to familiar territory. Inspector Devlin is a Gardai based in Lifford just 20min down the road from where I live. The title of the book is taken from an area of Lifford that was associated with the hanging tree used for executing condemned prisoners from Lifford Gaol which sets the darker tone of this book. As a young child we were well aware of the associated ghost stories and its place in local mythology. Unlike the previous book (Borderlands) where local areas seemed a little jarring due to changes made in places and names I found this one much more familiar and less unsettling.

There are quite a few storylines running through this book. To my mind Lifford is a pretty sleepy and dull town but the author has created something very different. There’s a serial abductor of young girls who is murdering them in a frustrated rage, drug abuse, burglary and gruesome, violent murders associated with an historical robbery. Throw into the mix some good old fashioned police intimidation and corruption and there’s a lot going on. If that isn’t enough for you there’s a creepy old ex-terrorist priest floating around and Devlin is getting a bit too friendly with his attractive partner. There’s still sub plots I haven’t even touched on!

The complicated interconnecting plots is one of the negative aspects of the book. Another reviewer stated his desire to see less happening and more detail but then again maybe this is the unique style of this author and what sets him apart from others.

Some aspects of Devlin’s character I find hard to accept. He’s portrayed very much as a dedicated family man with a strong religious streak but he’s had two different relationships with female characters that don’t fit this and stoops to some illegal activity himself in this story. I find these different personas jarring and they don’t fit together. I hope this settles more as the series progresses.

The author’s depiction of women is weak also. Devlin’s partner, Caroline Williams, is strong but she eventually succumbs to the pressure of the job after being injured and it looks like she is leaving. Devlin’s wife Debbie is woefully ignored except as a bit of a nag (in fact I couldn’t even remember her name and had to look it up!) and his ex-girlfriend is depicted as a shallow, scorned lover out for revenge for being rejected in the first book.

It does need to be remembered that this is still only the second book by this author. There are three more to come featuring Inspector Devlin as well as a second series with a female police officer as the lead character.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 in reality)

Buy on Amazon UK

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song of the week 22: don’t get mad, get even…

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“Don’t Get Mad, Get Even… ” by Aerosmith

  • Genre: Glam Rock/Hard Rock
  • Single Release Date: Album only September 1989
  • Album: “Pump“

This is the 10th album release from Aerosmith but was my first proper experience of them. I was given a taped copy of the album by a friend along with “Permanent Vacation“. I pretty much wore out the two of them but Pump was and still remains my favourite of the two.

There are 4 very well known single releases from this album but this particular track was album only. It is one of my favourites though with its very different beat, instrumental and intriguing lyrical rhythm. I also like the use of well known clichés in the lyrics and how they’re given a new context.

When I got this album I was only 17 and in my first year at Coleraine university. I have a vivid memory of sitting in the upstairs balcony of “The Model” with Karen and Kim from my course in between classes and Karen asking what I was listening to on my headphones. I’m still not sure what she thought of it!

Lyrics

I’ll tell you little secret make you want to jump and shout
when you talk to me in circles take your foot out of your mouth
it’s hard enough to make it when you’re livin’ on the street
and you want to tell somebody but you got to be discreet
then you catch your girlfriend with her skirt hiked up to here
honey, don’t get mad, get even

don’t get mad, get even [3x]

say the times they be a-changin’ though the blind lead the blind
you know your head is empty though there’s somethin’ on your mind
been shackin’ up with Lucy, then when the morning comes
you’re with Sally in the alley and the junkies and the bums
you wonder why your girlfriend has her skirt hiked up to here
honey, don’t get mad, get even

Don’t get mad, get even [3x]

(…’til I can see the white o’ your eyes, baby…)
(…I’m gonna kick ass…)
(…just wait ’til you see what I got in store for you)

roll the dice get lucky ’cause they roll you for the dime
you got nothin’ else to lose if you only lose your mind
when pleasure that is shallow causes trouble to be deep
you’ve been dusted with the devil while he sweeps you off your feet

I’ll tell you little secret make you want to jump and shout
when you talk to me in circles take your foot out of your mouth
it’s hard enough to make it when you’re livin’ on the street
and you hate to be a wiseguy when your feet are in concrete
oh, sleepin’ with the dogs, and you wake up with the fleas
honey, don’t get mad, get even

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the great hunt

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The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan

From Amazon:

Rand al’Thor and his companions set out to retrieve a powerful magical artifact from The Dark One’s Shadowspawn.

For centuries, gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of…

Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen.

In pursuit of the thieves, Rand al’Thor is determined to keep the Horn out of the grasp of The Dark One. But he has also learned that he is The Dragon Reborn—the Champion of Light destined to stand against the Shadow time and again. It is a duty and a destiny that requires Rand to uncover and master magical capabilities he never imagined he possessed.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The second instalment is described as following on directly from the first but some time has obviously passed. The story starts with Rand and company reasonably settled in Fal Dara and Rand having enough instruction from Lan to become at least a competent swordsman. Overall with all the characters there is a feeling that they have all grown up a bit since the last time we saw them.

***SPOILERS AHEAD*** A lot happens in this book. The main focus is Rand coming to terms with his destiny, accepting that he can channel and that he is the Dragon Reborn. How he goes from denial and rejecting this to giving in to the forces of the Pattern and finally accepting his fate is really well done with a powerful ending that sets the scene for the next book.

Another important strand gives us our first insights into Aes Sedai society and politics both within Tar Valon and outside, how the different Ajahs work together while still striving to be in control. This is just a first glimpse of what is to come. We also get first impressions of the process whereby girls in training pass through the different stages and the trials this involves.

Finally we meet The Seanchan. They seem like the real wild card with nobody in the Westlands knowing anything about them or that they even existed. They come with strange customs, armour and beasts and with a determination to reclaim the world of Artur Hawkwing for the Seanchan Empire. Part of this strategy is to capture and enslave all women who can channel thereby threatening the entire social structure of the Westlands just as it appears The Last Battle is approaching.

Overall this book widens the scope of the story tremendously with many new strands introduced. When I first read this series the first book intrigued me but it was this one that really hooked me and returning to it now I can see why.

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the general’s daughter

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The General’s Daughter (Paul Brenner #1) by Nelson deMille

From Goodreads:

Captain Ann Campbell is a West Point graduate, the daughter of legendary General “Fighting Joe” Campbell. She is the pride of Fort Hadley until, one morning, her body is found, naked and bound, on the firing range.

Paul Brenner is a member of the Army’s elite undercover investigative unit and the man in charge of this politically explosive case. Teamed with rape specialist Cynthia Sunhill, with whom he once had a tempestuous, doomed affair, Brenner is about to learn just how many people were sexually, emotionally, and dangerously involved with the Army’s “golden girl.” And how the neatly pressed uniforms and honor codes of the military hide a corruption as rank as Ann Campbell’s shocking secret life.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall a very good story and well written. It’s a difficult task to take on with two topics you don’t see much of in books – murder/rape on a military base and the impact of introducing women into the armed services. I thought that they were both handled pretty well.

The difference between crime investigation and procedure in the army versus civilian life was intriguing and Brenner is an interesting character with a surprisingly cavalier attitude towards the army and procedures, not what you would expect from a long serving soldier.

I did enjoy the book very much but found the use of leaps of intuition and guesswork to solve the case frustrating. Too much of it came out of nowhere. Maybe that’s the result of years of experience as an investigator but I found it to be lazy writing.

The book has also been made into a film. Reading the synopsis on Wikipedia it seems they have made some interesting plot changes. I’m not usually a fan of John Travolta but might be tempted to watch it.

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a cold day in paradise

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A Cold Day in Paradise (Alex McKnight #1) by Steve Hamilton

From Goodreads:

Other than the bullet lodged near his heart, former Detroit cop Alex McKnight thought he had put the nightmare of his partner’s death and his own near-fatal injury behind him. After all, the man convicted of the crimes has been locked away for years. But in the small town of Paradise, Michigan, where McKnight has traded his badge for a cabin in the woods, a murderer with the same unmistakable trademarks appears to be back. McKnight can’t understand who else would know the intimate details of the old murders. And it seems like it’ll be a frozen day in Hell before McKnight can unravel truth from deception in a town that’s anything but Paradise.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read this entire series a while back and enjoyed it so have decided to read them again.

I read this one on a very lazy start to a couple of weeks off work and finished it in less than 24hrs. It’s a very easy book to do this with as it has a story that rolls along at a nippy pace that encourages you to keep reading and interesting enough to stop you wanting a break. The characters are well developed, although he does have a weird relationship with his best friend and wife, with a back story that isn’t completely explained. This will keep character development interesting for the rest of the series.

Easy to read and a reasonably straight forward story with a few twists. Perfect holiday reading I guess.

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in the woods

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In The Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French

From Goodreads:

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children. He is gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox (his partner and closest friend) find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I almost gave up on this book not long after starting. The style of the first couple of chapters kind of grated on me and I wasn’t enjoying them. However, I’m very glad I persevered as either the style changed or I became used to it. Either way I ended up really enjoying this.

I also didn’t realise that this book was made into a TV series that I watched last year (Dublin Murders). I had a nagging feeling that the story was familiar but I knew I hadn’t read the book. Eventually the penny dropped, Google confirmed it and I was happier reading the story.

*SPOILER AHEAD* This is quite a dark story, dealing as it does with disappearing children, the murder of another child and dysfunctional families. The trauma of Ryan’s own experiences, how he deals with them as well as the new case, the breakdown of his special relationship with Cassie and the eventual harm to his mental health and career do not make for easy reading. However, the author does a great job of making this all very readable.

This is the first in a series of 6 books set in a fictional murder squad within An Garda Siochana but it seems that they are all pretty much standalone. Cassie does appear in the next but this is Ryan’s only one and Cassie doesn’t feature again. This is an interesting approach.

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song of the week 21: gods of war

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“Gods of War” by Def Leppard

  • Genre: Glam Rock/Hard Rock/Pop Rock
  • Single Release Date: Album only 1987
  • Album: “Hysteria“

An anti-war track that was never released as a single this is one of my favourite Def Leppard songs. It’s very long at 6:37 and includes recordings at the end of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regan justifying 1986 air strikes on Lybia as retaliation for a terrorist bombing in Berlin that was blamed on Libya.

All of that was almost 40 years ago and yet sounds depressingly familiar.

The line “We’re fighting with the gods of war” was played backwards multiple times throughout the single “Rocket“.

Lyrics

Feelin’ like it’s over
Feelin’ like there’s no love
Feelin’ like it’s not easy
Breathin’ life in the dust

On a countdown to zero
Take a ride on the nightmare machine
There ain’t gonna be heroes
There ain’t gonna be anything
Oh, here it comes, here comes the light
Here it comes, hell in the night
Here it comes, here comes the light
When we all fall down

When we walk into silence
When we shadow the sun
When we surrender to violence
Oh, then the damage is done
Put away that gun

I don’t want to be there
I don’t want to be anywhere
Here it comes, here comes the light
Here it comes, hell in the night
Here it comes, here comes the light
That’s right

We’re fightin’ for the gods of war
But what the hell we fightin’ for?
We’re fightin’ with the gods of war
But I’m a rebel
And I ain’t gonna fight no more, no way

On a countdown to zero
Take a ride on the nightmare machine
There ain’t gonna be heroes
Woah, There ain’t gonna be anything, no
Here it comes, here comes the light
Here it comes, hell in the night
Here it comes, here comes the light
That’s right

We’re fightin’ for the gods of war
But what the hell we fightin’ for?
We’re fightin’ with the gods of war
And I ain’t gonna fight no more
(Stop fighting for the gods of war)
We’re fightin’ for the gods of war
But what the hell we fightin’ for?
(What the hell we fightin’ for?)
We’re fightin’ with the gods of war
Heavy

“Message to terrorists everywhere: You can run, but you can’t hide.”

“We’re determined to stand together, and we’re determined to take action”

“We are not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states. We will not cave in”

“Today, we have done what we had to do.”

“He counted on America to be passive, he counted wrong.

Header image from 8Tracks.com

catch up 2.0

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For anyone that is still reading this blog or following me on Facebook it looks like all I’ve done for the last 5-6 weeks is read, listen to music and play Wordle. Although all those things have occupied quite a bit of my time I’ve also been messing about getting back in the cycling groove.

I’d decided that group cycling probably wasn’t the best idea just yet as I haven’t really ridden anywhere close to consistently since July last year. I was out with a couple of guys early February and on the Club MTB rides a few times over the following weeks but somehow managed to drift away again after that.

Shortly after my Barnesmore Hike I somehow started getting the urge to get back on the bike. Possibly influenced by lengthening days, improving weather but also by the realisation that time was running out if I was going to get any meaningful cycling done this year. I’d already drifted through Spring and if I lost Summer too then that would be it really.

I knew my weight was way up and that my fitness was shot to hell. This was partly my reason for not cycling with the Club yet. I was also wary of embarrassing myself in front of guys I’d fallen way behind. Anyway my cunning plan was to increase my fitness by completing a weekly routine of a couple of short solo runs after work and a longer spin at the weekend while keeping up the reasonably regular early morning walking habit I’d developed.

The theory was a short run of approximately 25-30km would be long enough to push me back to fitness but not painful enough to discourage. Going straight after work meant I didn’t have the opportunity to talk myself out of it by going home first. I figured a few weeks of this would be enough to get me confident enough to get back out with the Club on a Sunday morning.

I’d identified a few routes around Omagh but one really grabbed my attention. This was a spin out towards Gortin and the Gortin Glens Forest Park. This is a slightly hilly road (good warmup) and there is a tarmac forest drive that I figured would be a bit hilly but traffic free with a good road surface. The last two bits were correct but I seriously misjudged the hills and I really should have known better!

forest park entrance

insane elevation profile

A number of climbs were >15% with at least one of them being >20%. I stopped on three of them and had to stop twice on the last and eventually walked a section as my legs were like jelly. Of the total 390m climbing I had 360m at the 18km mark! It’s a great training ride when my fitness is built back up but was a bad idea for a returning, get back into the swing of things kind of ride! After that I came up with a few other routes that were a bit less punishing.

I also knew it was going to rain a bit that evening so had a waterproof gillet with me. What I didn’t expect was heavy rain for most of the ride. I ended up soaked to the skin, chilly and driving home wet due to lack of preparation. Over the next couple of days I developed a rotten cold that took me a good 3 weeks to shift completely. I had a cough, breathlessness and a snotty head that kept returning when I thought I was OK and went out for another spin 🤨

I didn’t do too badly though. During May I managed 6 rides totalling almost 240km and two 50+km rides which were each my longest since July last year.

© garmin

What did take a hit was my walking. At the end of last month and into the start of this month I’d developed a good routine of a short 4.5km walk each morning before work. It was setting me up well for the day and as Catriona has been walking a lot recently and also before work, I was used to being awake at that time of the day anyway. The head cold knocked that a bit. It left me quite tired and I didn’t feel able for both cycling and walking especially on the same day. I also felt that I needed that extra hour of sleep each day to knock the cold properly and not getting it was part of the reason it was dragging on.

© garmin

© strava “training” log

If you’ve come this far with me you might notice a drop in activities completely in the last week of the month. Part of that was lingering tiredness (laziness? 🤔) and working extra days at work (2 x 6 day weeks) but also prep for going on holidays. I’ve been off work since Wednesday for the start of a 2 week break. The highlight of that is a week away so I’m very happy to say that I’m writing this from a holiday resort on the shores of Lake Garda…

accommodation area at 10am

We arrived very late last night after a very long 15 hour journey (long story!), hungry, tired and dehydrated. Today has been about exploring the resort, getting our bearings and recovering from the journey. Tomorrow the proper touristy stuff begins…

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