Archive for April, 2008 Page 2 of 3



Grey

Just because you get a few grey hairs doesn’t mean you are getting old. Taylor Hicks hair started going grey at the age of twenty and Steve Martin had completely white hair by the age of thirty.

If, just as a random example, a thirty two year old male blogger noticed three white hairs in his beard yesterday morning; it wouldn’t mark the beginning of his inevitable slide into decrepit old age would it? Going bald is one thing, but going bald and grey would be most disagreeable. Surely it would be just a freak of nature rather than any kind of portent of a retreating youthful vitality?

All this is purely hypothetical of course.

On another note I’ve been playing with photoshop recently. This photo is a result of me trying to fake a method of trying to fake a method to produce fake model village photographs. Or something like that, the whole thing confuses me to be honest.

Anyway this is a real street in our village that I have photoshopped to look like a fake model street. Or possibly it’s the other way around. I can’t remember now. Oh god, you don’t think its senility setting in do you?

Expreiment Tilt shifting

Guest Post Tuesday: Morticia

Morticia is a a friend. Yeah she’s always been a good friend of mine. But lately something’s changed that ain’t hard to define, Morticia’s got herself a girl and i wannna make her mine.

No, wait… I think that’s Jesse. I always get those two mixed up.

Morticia is actually a friend of Kerry’s, although she has been commenting here long enough to be counted as my friend too I reckon. I’ve only met her in person once. We went to a Barenaked Ladies gig with her and her beloved Mr Pops, but she seems like a jolly good egg. Especially since she was kind enough to persuade her entire office to give some money to our Dales Walk.

In this guest post Morticia is attempting to break the world record for longest ever blog entry, clocking in at one thousand three hundred and eleven words. Unfortunately she just misses out to Xbox4NappyRash who recently racked up a staggering three thousand four hundred word on his diatribe about why Colgate toothpaste is superior to Aquafresh.

It’s all high quality stuff though. So why don’t you pull up a coffin, pore yourself a cup of tea from your Diana memorial teapot, and enjoy a little slice of Mortica.

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Lady Diane, Free Tibet Protesters versus the Olympic Torch and other
ramblings…..

morWell I for one feel better that almost 7 million pounds of taxpayers money has been spent on the inquest into Lady Diane’s death. Not.

No doubt though, the conspiracy theory lovers out there are already cooking up the ways in which this inquest has been fiddled and nobbled by various shadowy security forces on the instructions of the Royal Family.

Mohammed Al Fayed appears to have backtracked from his position at the start of the inquest of ‘I will accept the verdict of this jury’ to something resembling his starting place of ‘all those who gave evidence are liars, MI5 are behind it all on the instructions of Prince Phillip, they told me they were engaged and she was pregnant….’

Why can’t it be accepted that if you get into a car being driven at high speed by someone drunk who is trying to avoid photographers and you don’t wear a seatbelt then chances are you will hit something and come to considerable harm/death. Even if you are a princess.

Those set of circumstances - failure to wear a seatbelt, drunk driving fall into my category of ‘no sh+t Sherlock’ and no doubt Sherlock himself would have been appalled at the waste of time, public funds and energy expended on this inquest, he’d have reached the same conclusion quicker than I can type ‘He never did say its elementary my dear Watson’ in the books.

I wonder if the man who went to the inquest and painted or got his sister to paint on his face ‘Diana’ in blue paint, because she came to him and he knew thats what she would have wanted thought of the outcome though. I shall have to see if he’s interviewed in the Daily Fail tomorrow.

I didn’t see any news today but I did hear a very impassioned protester on the radio shouting ‘Liberte Pour La Tibet’ earlier, somehow it sounded all the more powerful and strong for being shouted in french. It seems the protests in France did more to disrupt the procession too as I heard the torch had to be put out and put on a bus at one point.

I saw bits of the torch’s progress on the news yesterday though, bet all those police people having to run alongside it were knackered.

I win at being housewifey today too, as I did lots of ironing, made some soup and prepared some parsnip and celeriac for dinner and then Mr Pops cooked the dead cow to go with it and I made some rolled oat cookies too. Normal service of get in and watch re-runs of the human effluent known as Jeremy Kyle on ITV2 will resume tomorrow.

I was watching Batman last night - god I love Adam West’s voice and even if he is dressed in a silly outfit he still manages to look really quite attractive. In his Batman outfit that is, I don’t want to see him as Bruce Wayne in a jacket and check shirt - that doesn’t show off his chest or his manly chin, it just ruins it.

Anyway I was struck by something he said to Robin after he had rescued him from some very nasty looking but ultimately quite harmless plastic crocodiles. Robin was berating himself for being so stupid as to let King Tut capture him:

“Experience teaches slowly Robin and at the cost of many mistakes”

Wise words indeed.

A friend of mine showed me a whole website devoted to the sage sayings of Batman, I’m not sure if this one was on it but I love it. Think its going to be my new motto along with ‘what would Lady Diane do?’ and ‘que ferait Edith?’ I am also going to be adding ‘what would Amber St Claire do?’ to this category - she is the devilish minxy hero of Forever Amber by Kathleen Windsor, one of the most engrossing reads I’ve read in a long time.

I shall quote it if I wake up with a terrible hangover on Sunday morning after attending a Gin and Whores Part. Part Jack the Ripper Re-enactment but mostly having fun with chums and its thanks to the generosity of chums who are donating a lift and bed for the night that I am able to attend. Providing my stomach doesn’t decide to misbehave wildly between now and then that is. Its been a bit grumbly the past couple of days but hopefully it
won’t get any worse. Grumbly I can manage. Bent over double in intense pain I cannot.

I don’t think there’ll be much ‘ginning’ on my part though as I really can’t drink more than a glass or two of white wine at the moment. There definitely won’t be any whoring on my part either - unless of course Detective Goren, Gene Hunt or Batman attends in which case my vow of fidelity to Mr Pops would be broken quicker than you could say ‘tinker, tailor, soldier, twat’ or ‘to the batmobile’.

Mr Pops made me laugh this morning when I asked him what he had had for his breakfast, he’d said he’d had some toast.

“But we’ve run out of butter*” I said “so what did you put on it?”

He said he’d put marmalade on it and I said ‘eeuuw yuck’ as the thought of toast without butter is anathema to me, so he then said “but its alright I put sh+t on the other piece”.

Thinking of toast though, I’m reminded of toast toppers, I don’t know if you can still get them but they were all the rage at one time - before Pot Noodle became the snack of choice for the feckless, lazy, hungover, non tastebud owning types - little tins of what looked like vomit. I used to buy them and then leave it piled up next to someone who had been horribly drunk the night before to make them think they had thrown up. Ahh memories.

I cannot drive, I have taken lessons before but I was utterly hopeless at it, found it completely terrifying and was just basically crap in a car as anything other than a decorative passenger**. Perhaps if I had learnt when I
was much much younger but alas my parents were too skint at the time to pay for lessons for me and I didn’t think to prioritise having any - choosing instead to spend my very part time job wages on eyeliner and hair dye***.

I am however extremely good at road rage - Mr Pops will vouch for this, although I cannot drive I do know the rules of the road and my road rage at other drivers who do not follow the rules is second to none. However its not fair that Mr Pops has to do all the driving and me do all the shouting so I have decided to give it another go.

Another reason for giving it a go (aside from independence from public transport and so not having to put up with the significant and pungent minority of unwashed that use it, along with those that want to deafen all round them with their bloody awful tinny shit music) is that Mr Pops has promised to buy me a hearse if I pass my test.

That man sure knows how to motivate me :-)

*I’ve been a slack housewife this week and neglected to buy some more.
** I love the lady in the sat nav as she means I don’t have to try and follow maps anymore, even though she does sound like she is saying ‘course’ the roundabout and not ‘cross’ it.
*** not much difference between now and then really…

ITV local

ITV local. Neil has been interviewed by the local news station about the Joseph Salmon Trust. You might need to enable cookies to see it.

Six

Continuing my countdown of the Top Ten TV shows ever made.

6: The Muppet Show

I still remember where I was on May 16th 1990, the day Jim Henson died. My English class was participating in a special journalism day. We had been excused all other lessons and were busy writing our own newspaper. As is usually the case in modern media, our investigative journalism went only so far as listening to the news on the radio and copying whatever stories they went with.

I think it was just after lunch when they announced Henson had died. It affected me profoundly. The muppets were a huge part of my cultural landscape growing up, and each of it’s wonderful characters were tattooed on my soul. When we got our first VHS video recorder I carefully recorded every episode and watched them over and over until the tape wore out (a level of dedication which would not be repeated until my teenage years when I developed a healthy preoccupation with certain parts of the film “Weird Science”).

By all accounts Henson was a gentle and peaceful man, and this was reflected in his creative output. Even the briefest analysis of the Muppets reveals an underlying beauty and warmth which has rarely been seen since it passed. And the show was bloody funny too. Henson’s long time partner in puppetry, Frank Oz, was a exceptionally skilled comic and his creations; Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear to name but two; are worthy additions to any comedy hall of fame.

I wrote Jim Henson’s obituary that day, and had to pretend to my classmates that I wasn’t crying while I did it. Looking him up on wikipedia I’ve discovered that he died of streptococcus pneumonia, the same disease that took Joseph. Somehow that means something to me, but I’m not sure what.

His creations live on of course, now owned by the Disney corporation. And while they still exhibit the odd flashes of brilliance (Muppets from Space), they are now merely puppets. The life force has somehow been sucked out of them. If you have time take a look at this account of Jim Henson’s funeral. If it doesn’t bring a lump to your throat then nothing will.

An open letter to the USA

I’m not usually a man who likes to mock the chronically foreign, and far be it for me to pore scorn on an entire nation because they decide to have rounders as a national sport. But what the hell is it with baseball? Specifically baseball on the Nintendo Wii.

I’ve been playing the game for about a week now, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is completely impossible to hit the ball in any way that does not result either being caught out or given a foul. The other games in the sports package I can do; bowling, boxing, and golf I have no problem with at all. I’ve even gone against all my principles and had a couple of games of tennis. But bloody baseball? Well, I think the handset must have some sort inbuilt Englishman detector which precludes me from scoring any points or something.

Listen I’m sorry we didn’t RSVP to your Boston tea party, or whatever it was that annoyed you chaps back then. But we were very busy running a great and glorious British Empire at the time. Waging unnecessary foreign wars and leaving a legacies of unstable political systems and anti-western sentiment can be very time consuming and distracting. Surely you of all people can understand this.

So lets make up. You let us score points at Wii baseball and we’ll teach you the rules of cricket. It seems like a fair swop to me.

Now, do any English readers actually know the rules to cricket?

Eight, seven

Continuing my countdown of the Top Ten TV shows ever made.

8: Battlestar Galactica

The updated Battlestar Galactica owes as much to Babylon 5 as it does to its original 1978 namesake. It has the same emphasis on complex interweaving plot arcs as Bab 5, the same melding of sci-fi and political drama, and of course the same use of CGI spaceships.

It has slightly less aliens with prosthetic foreheads however, which can only be a good thing.

The themes of Battlestar Galactica are fascinating. Moral dilemmas, love, hate, pride, prejudice, it’s all laid out for the audience to pick over. The show treats it’s viewers as intelligent individuals, and we respond with an almost fanatical and evangelical enthusiasm for it.

The show is one of the few that Kerry and I make a point of watching together. We’ve made our way through the first and second season and have just started the third. I must admit there are some things I don’t like about it, which is why it doesn’t rank higher in this chart. I’m not too keen on the increasing focus on the Cylons, or the whole humanity settling on New Caprica thing, but these are just niggles and I’m willing to see how things develop.

And of course there is Starbuck. Mmmm fiesty.

7: The Phil Silvers Show

I bet you thought that all my choices were going to be geeky sci-fi shows didn’t you? Well a lot of them are, but my tastes are nothing if not eclectic. The Phil Silvers Show is the very definition of timeless comedy classic.

The show, of course, is better known as Sgt. Bilko and I’ve waxed lyrical about it’s charms before. In fact after gushing about Bilko perviously Gary pointed me in the direction of ebay where I managed to pick up a (legally dubious) set of every Bilko episode ever made. I’ve been slowly making my way through all 143 episodes and can honestly say I’ve yet to come across a duff one. It just sparkles with wise-ass wit.

Slivers of course was a comedy god. But his supporting cast was fantastic too. Unfortunatley the large cast was ultimately the shows downfall There was never any decline in ratings but the large number of speaking parts in each show made it economically unviable to carry on. Still, it had to end sometime and 143 episodes isn’t half bad.

And then I shall capture the Golden Stag of Artemis

These are the things I am doing at the moment:

  • Working full time
  • Looking after the kids two days a week
  • Organizing the logistics of the Dales Walk
  • Fundraising for the Dales Walk
  • Training for the Dales Walk
  • Blogging nearly every day

But perhaps that’s not enough. Hercules had twelve labors and I’m only managing six. I need to up my game if I want to qualify for greek god status (and lets face it i already have the body for it). How else can I add more weight to my load? I know, the garden!

Spring has sprung and if I want to grow any veg this year I’m going to have to get started on doing it now. Yesterday I spent a bit of time out the back and planted some peas, carrots, and spinach. I’ve already got some tomato and pepper seedlings sitting on the windowsill waiting until the risk of frosts has passed. And I have vague plans for sweetcorn and pumpkins, potatoes and runner beans.

But this year my heart isn’t quite in it. I’m still going to have a go, but wrestling the time away from everything else is proving rather difficult.

Still the evenings are getting lighter and so a little time can perhaps be salvaged there when I’m not working. Whatever happens I must make sure I at least maintain the garden. Despite appearances to the contrary I’ve invested a lot of work out there, and it would be a real shame to let the wilderness re-take it.

IMG_1953

You suck at photoshop

You suck at photoshop. Learn while you are laughing. Great stuff.

Ten, nine

Rol over at Sunset over Slawit recently posted his own response to Empire Magazine’s Top 50 TV shows of all time. Never being one to let a good idea go unstolen I thought I’d have a crack at it myself.

It is usually customary with lists like this to point out that the process of choosing the top ten of anything is purely subjective. One man’s West Wing is another man’s America’s Next Top Model. However, I was recently gratified to learn that in a shock move the United Nations has formally appointed me the official arbiter of quality and merit. So if you disagree with my choices here then under international law you are just plain wrong. You are more than welcome to state your case in the comments section of course; but don’t be surprised if you find a squad of UN peacekeepers breaking down your door in the middle of the night.

Because I lean towards the wordy, and am keen to get as many posts out of the concept as possible, I’m going to split the list up into a few sections. So here, for your delight and delectation, are the fist two entries in my Top Ten TV Shows of All Time:

10: Quantum Leap

Quantum leap came along during a particularly difficult point in my childhood when I felt badly bullied and friendless. It provided me with a priceless feeling of escapism that I’ll always be thankful for.

But even if I didn’t have that emotional attachment to the show it would probably still make the list. Great acting and high production values combined with a premies that encouraged the writers to cast their nets widely means that Quantum Leap still stands up today. Sure it could be a little preachy at times, but that’s not always a bad thing.

Scott Bakula was good as Sam, but it was Dean Stockwell as Al that really shone. Such is my love for him that as soon as Stockwell turned up in Battlestar Galactica I found it hard not to start routing for the Cylons. The unseen presence of Ziggy the computer was also pretty cool, and I’ve often thought the sound it made as Al whacked it would make a rather nifty phone ringtone.

As is often the case with programs I like, my interest in it waned after two or three seasons. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen the fifth series, and pretty much missed the whole “evil leaper” plot arc. It saddens me thought that it all ended with the news that Sam never made it home, and I think for that reason I’ve avoided watching it. That is the danger with making emotional investments in fictional characters, sometimes the creators betray you (Oh Blue Beetle, I miss you so).

9: Batman: The Animated Series

With stunning film-noir like artwork and intelligent and daring storylines, Batman: The Animated Adventures paved the way for an entire stable of DC comics superhero cartoons.

The headline “Comics Aren’t Just for Kids Anymore” is a bit of a cliché in the geeky world, but these cartoons aren’t just for kids either. The writers, actors, and artists had a real commitment to quality that shines through in every frame.

Batman has always been my favorite of all the superheros, and The Animated Adventures stay true to everything I love about the character. The grim determination, the steadfast moral code, the outlandish villains and the strong supporting cast. But the show wasn’t afraid to mix it up a little bit. Villans were reinvented, continuity was tinkered with, and new characters were created (perhaps most significantly Harley Quinn).

I once had every single episode of the show on DVD, as well as a big pile of Animated Adventures comics. But I gave them away to a friend whose 12 year old son had a Batman fixation. I don’t regret my generosity, you have to pass these things on sometimes. His excitement at receiving them far outweighed my need to have them sitting in a corner somewhere. But I must admit sometimes I do get the odd craving for a bit of Dark Knight action. Fortunately I am keeping myself sated by making my way through the Teen Titans episodes on surfthechannel.com

Opening credits

Batman: The Animated Series Theme
Quantum Leap Theme



[Back to the cover]

A brand new post that no one has seen before

I’m sat typing this in The Nag’s Head, a rather nice country style pub with comfy leather chairs and good, high quality food. There is nothing more pleasent than getting out of the house with the laptop and blogging in a different environment. Especially when that environment serves beer.

I am, however, having trouble concentrating on what I’m writing. The reason for this is that the bar staff are in the middle of an in depth gossiping session about a friend of theirs who has recently split from his girlfriend. Apparently he has been showing all and sundry some rather… “personal” photo’s and videos of their time together.

Unfortunately every time they get to a really juicy bit they keep turning the coffee machine on and it drowns out everything they are saying. Bloody frothy coffee. It has no place in a traditional English pub if you ask me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have someone else’s conversation to listen into.

Earwigging in a pub