Formulas seem to be the theme of the evening.

Am I right with mine?

I caught myself today screaming at an inanimate object that wasn't functioning as it should and shouting "Why can't things just work!"

I then realised that I have started to do this over the last year or so, whereas previously I would have just kicked it or walked away.

Am I showing the early symptoms of "miserable old gittism"?

Or is it an natural process of ageing? I am only 44.

Please let me know.

David Gray and Jackson Browne as headliners.

Squeeze and The Feeling as second on the bill - the only two bands on the whole weekend I would want to see and I'm not paying £95 for the privelige. It is a shame as I have been for the last four years.

Full line-up is here for anyone interested - www.cornburyfestival.com

The Word leaves at the right time!

My daughter will celebrate her first birthday in two weeks time and we have a second baby due in September. What have I learnt?

The joy outweighs the pain.

All babies can be manipulative little gits sometimes.

Sunday lunch has replaced a Friday/Saturday night out as the time to look forward to.

She doesn't like NWOBHM yet!

Let me know your discoveries.

Mine is the way certain people in Supermarkets seem to lose control of their upper body when pushing a Supermarket trolley.

They lean on the handle and walk around the whole store as if they could not walk unaided without it?

Why.......!

The recent discussions about Kasabian have clearly divided The Massive i.e. the copying of earlier bands etc.

So who were the original innovators of each genre of rock?

And how many genres are there?

I would suggest that Blondie were the first "new wave" band from 1977 onwards.

I have taken the plunge and have also won my first contract.

Any advice from others on the pitfalls or lessons learnt?

He/She just seems to wave a stick around to recommend the speed at which to play the notes, It is the Orchestra that does the work and has the talent as I see it.

Please enlighten me.

I've got two of them.

Cats are truly wonderful animals that beat dogs as pets IMHO.

What do The Massive have as animal companions?

I have just been reading the U2 thread and the phrase "by a country mile" was used to describe how The Unforgettable Fire" album is U2's best effort. An opinion I share.

I often use "by a country mile" at the end of a sentence to accentuate my preference for something I like or agree with but I have no idea what it means.

Over to The Massive for an explanation please.

I watched District 9 on Sunday and cannot remember a film in many years that I have enjoyed as much.

It is a truly great film.

This is the awards season for "The Movies" so what else can anyone recommened?

Marvellous.

She also met Kate Bush you know!

See here for evidence

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/kate-bush-now-there-was-an-artist

I am open to any suggestions and would specifically (not pacifically - see earlier thread) like to discover some music I haven't heard before.

I bought the best of Fela Kuti as a result of a thread on here last year and was very happy to discover his music.

So over to you...

I work with a colleague who seems unable to correctly use the word "erstwhile" i.e. former.

She seems to get it confused with "esteemed" and has frequently introduced other people as an "erstwhile colleague" which has lead to a couple wondering when the friendship ended!

Any other examples from The Massive that have caused similar confusion?

My favourite, and this is in the early 1990s, was when a colleague wanted to "Identify a window of opportunity when we could explore mutual interests" i.e. he wanted to talk to me about something to do with the business!

No going back for me!