Ain't Got No Spit

Top 20 Albums of 2011

2012-01-23T22:16:00.002Z

So here it is. The shortlist of my top 20 albums of 2011. The set of albums that just missed out are also awesome, but I genuinely love listening to every one of these. Good to see a British band at Number 1, as well, although it genuinely just worked out that way.

Male Bonding - Endless Now
Givers - In Light
The Dodos - No Color
Apex Manor - The Year Of Magical Drinking
White Denim - D
Baxter Dury - Happy Soup
Chapel Club - Palace
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
Vetiver - The Errant Charm
Josh T. Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
Nathaniel Rateliff - In Memory Of Loss
Cults - Cults
The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Slow Club - Paradise
Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
Gold Leaves - The Ornament
Braids - Native Speaker
The Horrors - Skying

Traffic Cop Enjoying his work

2012-01-23T21:37:00.003Z

This is a Filipino Traffic Cop enjoying his work like a champ. I have no idea how he manages to avoid accidents, it all looks like random traffic control to me.

Thanks to Boing Boing

A New Testcard?

2011-07-12T10:52:00.003Z

Recently Kate and Wills went to Canada and North America as a married couple. This photo was on the BBC website, covering the story of how they visited Skid Row, a particularly deprived area of Los Angeles, and worked with the children on arts projects.

This picture reminds me of the old BBC testcard from years ago; this is from a time when TV was not 24 hours. There were only 3 channels, and every night the BBC would finish around midnight to the tune of God Save The Queen (you couldn't make it up). At that point all you could see would be the white dot, something parodied in the Young Ones, when alternative comedy was emerging phoenix-like from the ashes of sexist & racist comedians of the working-mens' club circuits in the UK.

Thanks to the BBC

"It takes a long time to get up north, the slow way"

2011-03-11T07:36:00.003Z

I feel compelled to tell you all about a great new Indie radio show that's been launched by a friend of mine, Marc Cooling. Based in Yorkshire, the show goes out on Friday nights between 11 and 12 at night on Phoenix FM. If you're out and about at that time, fear not, you can catch the previous shows on Marc's podcast page.

There's a really eclectic mix of music, from upbeat tunes (Caribou, Everything Everything) to more thoughtful stuff (Jesca Hoop, Villagers, Daniel Johnston), with even a little vintage thrown in (Ian Dury, Kinks, Syd Barrett). So go check it out.

If you listen to the podcasts that are already there, you'll hear the quote listed above in one of the songs. Can you spot it?

Back to the future

2011-03-08T07:35:00.006Z

I love this photo project. it is the brainchild of Irina Werning, who takes old photos, and recreates them with the subjects as they are now.

She describes it thus:
"I love old photos. I admit being a nosey photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today... A few months ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future".

You can tell it was a labour of love because of the sheer attention to detail in the shots. She has picked exactly the same locations and matched the exact clothing too. The picture above is of "Oscar" shot in both 1978 & 2010. She's even managed to recreate the pink colour caste in the aging original.

She adds:
"by the way, this project made me realise Im a bit obsessive..."

Lewis Floyd Henry

2011-03-01T12:30:00.002Z

Just read a review for this man's new Album, called One Man and His 30W Pram, so called because he busks with his sound-gear in a pram, sat on a little stool, operating a drum kit with his feet, and playing the most amazing guitar.

Think Jimi Hendrix crossed with Delta blues and the White Stripes. There is a video on YouTube of him sounding exaclty like Jimi. The best thing about the video though, which is shot in Brick Lane, is that a man dressed as a cigarette is dancing next to him. Bizarre and hilarious.

Love Is Blind

2011-03-01T12:09:00.001Z

This video on YouTube has had quite a lot of hits already in its first month.

It depicts a couple getting frisky in the photocopy room, when a colleague walks in. The boss talks to the colleague, who is blind, and when the man leaves, the couple carry on.

It is an advert from the Norwegian Association of the Blind, who are trying to sell the positives of Blind people in a quirky, funny way. I won't spoil the end caption, but it doesn't sit completely comfortably with me, even if the ad is quite amusing.

End of an Era

2011-02-23T21:43:00.002Z

The pub that appeared in the 1987 movie Withnail & I was destroyed this week to make way for a block of flats. The pub features in the scene where the lads go to the local boozer to get drunk, and end up leaving because an intolerant Irishman accuses them of being perfumed ponces.

The scene contains a really funny cowardly line where, when threatened at the bar, Withnail says: "I have a heart condition. I have a heart condition, if you hit me it's murder".

The pub in the movie is the Tavistock Arms in Westbourne Grove - apparently its last incarnation was a gastro pub, although I had a cloudy pint of real ale in there on one Sunday following a Notting Hill arnival many many years ago.

Neverthless, it was iconic, and it's always a bit sad when a landmark gets taken down, especially a pub.

"I need more wine!"

Top 20 Albums of 2010

2011-02-17T22:36:00.002Z

My top 20 albums of last year are listed below. Although they are not in any particular order, the top one is my favourite album of the year, the one shown left, by the Besnard Lakes. A stunningly beautiful album, and performed live was one of my favourite albums of the year. The list in full then:

Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Nights
Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
John Grant - Queen of Denmark
Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
Dinosaur Pile-up - Growing Pains
Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
Weezer - Hurley
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
Foals - Total Life Forever
The National - High Violet
Drive-by Truckers - The Big To-do
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Everything Everything - Man Alive
Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon

How to watch your day slip away

2009-02-17T21:11:00.002Z

What a site! Just went to Sporcle, which is like a blog, in that there are fresh entries every day. But it's the content that makes Sporcle great. Every day there are quizzes that test your knowledge on some pretty accessible facts. To produce as many as this, someone has clearly created a template, to set them up really quickly.

You get categories like: Beatles songs with the word "Love" in the title; States of the USA; 15 Biggest Wine producing countries of the world; Simpsons Characters (left).

Such a simple concept, but so time consuming. There you are, having named 32 US states, you know you know the others, and that you are going to kick yourself when you find out the answers, you only have two minutes left on the clock (which is counting down), and you painfully retrieve some of the remainder one at a time, till the end.

Once you've finished the quiz, it tells you how you've done next to others who have attempted the quiz, and also which of the answers people found toughest to get. This allows you to congratulate yourself for getting the one no-one else remembered, and to punish yourself for the embarrassingly easy one that everyone else got.

Frustatingly gratifying.

Trafalgar Square

2008-04-30T15:38:00.005Z

I had just been to see a special preview screening of the film Joy Division with my friend Adrian at Panton Street, and as we walked down to Waterloo, we passed through Trafalgar Square. The weather that day had been really rainy, and there were dark clouds in the sky.

As a gap appeared in the clouds, this stunning bright orange light appeared behind the buildings, and so I took these couple of shots with my phone's camera. The quality is not stunning, but the light certainly was.

Best Movies of 2007

2008-02-17T21:36:00.002Z

So enough time has passed to look back on the year's movies and pick my favourites. And it's never that easy, because some movies don't make you feel great, but are magnificent (No Country For Old Men definitely qualifies in that division for 2008). I had two dilemmas: which of the top 2 films was really my favourite (and I changed my mind 3 or 4 times): should Blood Diamond be at number 10, when the 8 places below it are all of a very similar standard, and, as I hinted before, I actually enjoyed some of them more. That took more thinking about, but you've got to make a decision. So here they are:

Atonement
The Lives of Others
Bourne Ultimatum
Mr. Brooks
Michael Clayton
Control
Gone Baby Gone
Zodiac
American Gangster
Blood Diamond

Oops, he did it again

2008-01-13T21:58:00.000Z

According to this article, George Bush dropped another classic.

"President Bush had tears in his eyes during an hour-long tour of Israel's Holocaust memorial Friday and told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the U.S. should have bombed Auschwitz to halt the killing, the memorial's chairman said."

Looks like he'd thought that through, with the camp being full of Jewish families at the time.

Thanks to J-Walk.

2007 Darwin Awards

2008-01-13T21:37:00.000Z

The start of a new year normally signifies the publishing of the Darwin Awards. These awards are given to people who kill themselves accidentally, but really should have thought it through.

This years winner:

The Enema Within

"Michael was an alcoholic who liked to take his liquor... well, rectally. His wife said he was "addicted to enemas" and often used alcohol in this manner. And tonight, Michael was in for one hell of a party.

Two 1.5 litre bottles of sherry, more than 100 fluid ounces, right up the old address! When the rest of us have had enough, we either stop drinking or pass out. When Michael had had enough (and subsequently passed out) the alcohol remaining in his rectal cavity continued to be absorbed. The next morning, Michael was dead".

In order to qualify for a Darwin Award, a person must remove himself from the gene pool via an "astounding misapplication of judgment." Three litres of sherry up the butt can only be described as astounding.

Incredible Picture

2007-09-21T11:04:00.001Z

This is not what it seems. This is a picture of a miniature doll, made by 25 year old Canadian Artist Camille Allen. The dolls are made of resin or clay, and are then painted to bring out their little wrinkles and imperfections. Most of them are now sold out, and mainly exist in private collections. As such they are now worth a fortune, even though they were first available on eBay for £65.

Oops, he did it again

2007-09-21T10:22:00.000Z

Classic case of really getting it wrong... for many years, Channel 4 racing correspondent John McCririck was seen as an affable fool. He epitomised the slightly deranged eccentricity that makes us proud to be British. Then he started getting some more airtime, and we all began to realise that he really is a nasty, despicable man.

He appeared on the TV show Celebrity Big Brother, and his mysoginist homophobic views came over pretty quickly, particularly when talking to fellow housemate, and lifelong feminist Germaine Greer.

Some of his classic quotes in the house include:

"The best thing is for men to go out with ugly girls because they're grateful for what they get."
"Every time you fart, or flatulate, or whatever, you live another 10 minutes. You're getting the poisons out of your body."
"Picking your nose is really healthy, and eating it. Mine's very tasty."
"Always fly club class, never fly cattle truck."

Well, now he's gone and done it again. He was appearing on Alan Titchmarsh's chat show alongside Ingrid Tarrant, who was married to Chris Tarrant. McCririck attacked her to the point where an unusually furious Alan Titchmarsh asked him to leave.

Ingrid recently gave an interview claiming that her ex was bad in bed. Her revelations angered McCririck, who said: "You had a cheek to say that he smelt of vindaloo and fish and chips in bed, what's wrong with that? You're such a ghastly woman. You can't be any good in bed, that's why he strayed away. All I can say is poor old Chris Tarrant, look at what he had to work with if he was bad in bed."

D'oh!

Thanks to Gosh and What's On TV.

Google Earth Flight Sim

2007-09-21T10:06:00.000Z

This is pretty cool. Someone, while using Google Earth, stumbled upon this tremendous Easter Egg. By pressing Ctrl-Alt-A (or Ctrl-WindowsKey-A for Windows PCs), a heads-up display appears, and you can then buzz over any terrain on the planet.

For those wondering how you control the plane, Google does provide a useful guide to control keys.

Thanks to Autopia

SatNav Signs

2007-09-21T09:51:00.000Z

It has finally happened. With the rise of in-car Satellite Navigation systems, it has been noticed that certain routes take drivers down inaccessible or impractical roads.

In the village of St Hilary in South Glamorgan, lorry drivers had repeatedly followed their SatNav advice, and driven down a road that was too narrow for them, culminating in their bloking the narrow road for several hours at a time. Finally, the exasperated villagers appealed to the Welsh Assembly to put up a sign urging lorry drivers to ignore their SatNav (left).

You can see pictures of the road in question here.

Rock Band

2007-08-23T15:42:00.000Z

Electronc Arts' latest game is called Rock Band. Available on November 20th (my birthday, anyone!?!) for both Xbox and PS3, it allow you to play along with songs using four instruments, bass, guitar, drums and vocals. Not only that, but it permits you to record these songs, and scores you for each instrument, based on how accurately you play it.

So, how do you actually play the instuments? There are 3 controllers, a Fender Strat copy that you can play, a set of electronic drum pads, with kick pedal, and a microphone. Obviously, these will increase the costs over and above the basic game, but will improve the enjoyment.

In terms of multiplayer capabilities, it supports all four instruments being played at the same time, and also allows you to assemble the band real time from any one of the online gaming communities. This guy wrote about how he was invited to gametest Rock Band, and he seems pretty blown away.

There are some shortcomings. The guitar controller doesn't have strings, it has neck buttons, and a strum sensor, which seems pretty lame, but the drums look pretty cool, and apparenty, when in tuition mode, if you can play along at Expert level, then you are reckoned to be good enough to play drums in a band. Singing is judged as in the Singstar games, measuring pitch accuracy and timing.

Which all means that your band's recording is rated, and so you can have face-offs with other live bands, potentially online too!

I have never really wanted to own an Xbox, PS3 or any other gaming platform, but I reckon that as soon as I see this game demo'd, I may have to revise that opinion.

Update: Go here to have a look at the controllers in close quarters, and the different game prices.

Shufle

2007-06-05T14:05:00.000Z

Here's a cool game. The purpose of it is to play pool-like shots to remove your opponents balls from the shuffle board, without losing all yours in the process.

It's really addictive, and will kill quite a lot of time practising it.

Despite that, I have only hit 51,340 in playing it, and I see from the hall of fame that I've some way to go.

Thanks to the Presurfer.

Google Street Maps

2007-06-05T13:34:00.000Z

Ok, I've got to mention this now. This has been reported all over the place over the last few weeks in blogs etc, but now people are finding funny stuff in it, and that interested me more than the original story.

Over the last year or so, Google has commissioned the vehicle shown above to cruise the streets of large cities and take shots from ground level. It's a very good way of seeing a road or route as it actually looks when you travel around it.

But this is the good part. Because the vehicle takes hundreds of photos in daylight, and is currently confined to large US cities, it captures lots of ordinary people, going about their daily life. Such as the following cases:

Woman caught in thong exposee
The camera obviously caught her in her truck, leaning over, perhaps to grab some groceries, and if you zoom right in, her underwear is on show.
Man caught driving into work late"..the back of our Prius was captured as I was turning into the parking lot at work. From the angle the shadow casts, you can tell that I was probably sneaking into work at around 11AM"
Google Street Man turns hippy
When the man is placed over a certain hippy part of San Fran, he now sports a bandana, and carries a flower.

Thanks to this article at BoingBoing.

L'Enclume

2007-05-11T13:03:00.000Z

I was just reading Kottke's blog, and I saw a reference to a piece on Rufus Cartwright's blog about an evening he and his Girlfriend spent at L'Enclume restaurant.

This made my ears prick up, because when I was in the Lake District recently with my friend Paul, he had wanted to visit L'Enclume, and had asked me to check its web site out. As it happened, the restaurant was shut for refurbishments, so we couldn't go, but the restaurant is in Cartmel in the South Lakes.

Rufus describes the night he opted for the Underground menu, where the number of courses can be up to 20, and the dining lasts for 5 hours. Largely experimentl, the chef Simon Rogan has elevated L'Enclume to one of the top 15 eateries in Britain. Read his account of the evening, with excellent photos and descriptions of the courses.

The course pictured is called Sticky Tacky Pudding, and is a variant of the locally produced Sticky Toffee Pudding. You are meant to eat the balls in turn, chewing each without swallowing, until they are all in your mouth. Each is a smll gel-covered ball, some solid, some liquid, containing the constituent flavours in Sticky Toffee Pudding.

If any of my friends fancy sorting out such an evening to this restaurant (they also do rooms from £59 a night overlooking the local Priory), let me know.

Piano Juggler

2007-05-11T12:30:00.000Z

Check this guy out. He juggles balls while playing the piano. You can watch his act here, it's pretty amazing.

Heaven knows how long he would have to practice this act to get it perfect like that. His name is Dan Menendez, and his own website is here. Thanks to J-Walk.

On the juggling and music theme, I also found this video to FatBoy Slim's song "That Old Pair of Jeans", which is of world-famous juggler Chris Bliss interpreting the song. Just watching his eyes, and how frantic they become, one can only imagine he was knackered by the end of the record.

Desktop Bluesman

2007-04-30T14:29:00.000Z

This is pretty cool. Fancy a short distraction from work? Check out the Desktop Bluesman.

You can select to have a radio on, playing a basic blues lick as an accompaniment, and you then pick what guitar and vocals you want your bluesman to play. Get the timing right, and it sounds brilliant, if not obviously uplifting.

Cool T's

2007-04-25T13:52:00.000Z

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love my Tee's. but I was blown away by this site, Threadless T-Shirts.

What makes it different is that it takes a community approach to T-Shirt designs. You submit a design, and people get to vote on it, and also say whether they would buy it. When the voting is finished, winners take home a couple of grand, and also get their designs published.

What a great idea for generating new cool designs. I was particularly blown away by the standard of the designs on show. To look closer at the design shown above, click here.

Human Beatbox

2007-03-14T14:51:00.000Z

I haven't posted for a while, and this has totally prompted me to get back in the saddle. I've been travelling Down Under for a couple of months, so that has put me off my stride, but I've got more web time now... then this jumped into my lap.

This video shows a guy on a French talent show, beatboxing.. which we've all seen before .. but he makes the most incredible noises, and manages to throw a couple of melody lines in there as well.It's almost as much fun watching the faces of the judges and the television production gallery while he performs.

Thanks to BoingBoing.

20 overs not enough

2007-01-10T05:58:00.000Z

I went to the England Australia Twenty 20 game yesterday, and it was a desperate display. Not only did Australia post a record Twenty Twenty international innings, but England barely reached half the Australian total in reply.

The spectacle itself was good fun .. there was lots of dance music, as spun by Judge Jules, and the floodlights made it really quite light in the ground. We also noticed that 20:20 is obviously an opportunity to get on it very early. The couple next to us got through about 6 beers in the 3 or so hours, and in front of us were a large corporate party, and they had interestingly been to a meal beforehand. That's not interesting, but apart from drinking several glasses of wine beforehand, their guest speaker was Damien Martyn, who shockingly retired from Test Cricket hours before the Perth Test. He said that he had had enough of top level cricket, and that he wanted to go out on top of his game.

In terms of the game, it was good to see Michael Vaughn back, and he put a reasonable knock together. However, as usual Freddie was disappointing, and James Anderson was dire. Universally popular as always was Monty Panesar, even if the dance music drowned out the Barmy Army's songs.

But just following the retirement of Langer, Warne and McGrath, it was good to see some of the Aussie's new breed .. and they were very good indeed. Cameron White, Shane Harwood and Ben Hilfenhaus all performed well, as did stalwarts, Ponting, Gilchrist and Symonds, who all scored close to 50. On this performance Andrew "Roy" Symonds has cemented his place in the squad, producing some containing spin bowling to augment the medium pace swing bowling he produced in the Tests.

Let's hope England do better in the imminent OneDay series with Australia and New Zealand. Hope appears to be all we have.

Morrissey in Eurovision?

2007-01-10T05:29:00.000Z

Well, they say there's nowt as queer as folk .. they're not wrong. I read today in Mx, which is Australia's version of the Metro paper, which is given free to travellers on the tube, that Morrissey is to be linked with next year's Eurovision contest.

The contest has long been an extremely camp joke, one that is best enjoyed with a Eurovision party, involving many friends, and only slightly more wine than Terry Wogan appears to enjoy on the evening, which is still a lot.

Desperate to disprove this scandalous rumour, I searched on the web, and these articles (1 2) both seem to confirm it.

In the wake of another lamentable performance from the UK entry, with Daz Sampson's Teenage Life coming 19th out of 24 entrants, Morrissey said: "I was horrified but not surprised to see the UK fail again in the Eurovision Song Contest. And there is one question I keep on asking: 'Why didn't they ask me?' That question keeps going round my head."

Of course, everyone thought that Mozzer was expressing disdain with his usual casually arrogant dismissals .. apparently not. Watch this space

Baz-o-saurus

2007-01-05T02:15:00.000Z

One of the guys we are travelling with is a guy called Rupert. He's well educated, extremely funny and well travelled.

He has undoubtedly, in all his travels, managed to develop his own vocabulary, and this has contrived to produce a much cleverer version of Del-boy. I include some of his gems here (with translations):

She knocked me bandy, right enough

she certainly caught my attention, and made a dramatic impact. She was an attractive lady.

He's a b*stard for cricket

his admiration for cricket takes on unusual, almost obsessive behaviour

We've had the luck of the nine blind b*stards

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, they have taken an unfortunate course, leaving us feeling disappointed

It's a right touch

that was a stroke of luck

I never turn down fizz

given the opportunity to exercise my body, get my head down and labour hard, I will never turn a blind eye to it. In fact, I rather like it

to be updated..

Say What You See

2007-01-05T01:59:00.000Z

I am firmly entrenched in Aussie culture now, and one of the great things I've noticed is the ability that the Australians have to describe things exactly as they see them, and not beat around the bush.

Some of the funnier ones have related to serious issues like Drink Driving. In the MCG, we noticed lots of signs encouraging people not to partake of the sauce and get behind the wheel; such as "Drink, Drive .. Bloody Idiot", a slogan I couldn't imagine seeing in England. Also, "Order a cab home, you bloody legend". Somebody is clearly having fun putting the campaign together too. There was a billboard, with the words "Drive Hammered, Get Nailed". To the point .. say what you see.

We've spent the last few days inside the SCG, watching the demise of English Cricket in painful installments. Sydney have an AFL team clled the Speed Blitz Blues, a name that confused us (we're used to things like Rhinos, Warriors, Bulls etc). Then we looked around the advertising hoardings, and everything related to reducing driving speeds in Australia. Of course the opportunity to put some cricket references was not overlooked. Some of the advice started from a billboard showing a policeman holding a speed camera with the words "Caught Out", to the more obvious "Beaten by Pace? .. slow down".

My favourite, and perhaps the bluntest of all was a slogan on the side of a bus advertising Life Assurance. It said simply .. "Prepare to Die". Genius.

France 2006, a diary

2006-11-09T16:26:00.000Z

So here we are in the Perigord, in the South West of France, hanging with my mate Paul, and his son Johnathan, who is out for another 5 or so days before he heads back to England. The region is particularly beautiful, very lush, with large rocky outcrops. The medieval town of Domme sits on one such mountain, with the customary windy roads to get up and down it. The greenness is due to the River Dordogne, which winds slowly through the region. At times it is 100 feet wide, and many of the ancient little towns that have been built over the last few hundred years sit on its banks.

The nearest big town to us is Sarlat, and that too has many medieval buildings, with lots of stone cobbled streets leading through little alleyways to even cuter little squares packed with restaurants and regional produce. Which is largely duck. Every duck product you can imagine populates every menu and tourist shop. Foie Gras, Paté de Foie Gras, Magret de canard, confit de canard: it's everywhere, largely because tourism is also a large part of the region's economic model.

At the time of writing, the tourist season has ended. This has allowed my friend Paul to rent a place quite cheaply, although it does mean that many of the restaurants and bars are shut until March next year, when they re-open for the hordes of British tourists that flock to the region every year. It is little wonder; there is so much to do here; horse riding, canoeing, plus visits to medieval towns, such as Bergerac, Périgueux, Sarlat etc. As if this wasn't enough, there are hundreds of beautiful chateaux in the region, mostly hanging over the edges of cliffs.

Fortunately, I came out last Saturday, so just caught the tail end of the tourist season, which allowed me to try Paul's local restaurant, La Flambée, which is a small, but charming place to get inexpensive three course meal. Better still, we caught the season's last sitting at L'Esplanade, a one starred Michelin restaurant not 300 yards from his house. With a fantastic view, and beautifully presented food, it worked out at around 65 euros per head (£40) for a three course meal with lovely wine. Bon Appetit!

Because we are on holiday (although Paul has grander plans to write a book in his time over here), we have been largely chilling, doing some sight-seeing, but generally getting excited about the next meal. Yesterday, we had Paul's brother Graham and his partner Heather over to lunch, which became a lovely 4 hour boozy affair. Scallops, prawns, local salami sausages, duck terrine, sliced smoked duck breast and salad were all washed down with a Rully, a St Véran and an Alsacien Sylvaner. Yum. As if the view from the terrace in 25 degree heat weren't enough to satisfy us alone.

See some pictures here.

So Far So Good, Johnathan's Diary

2006-11-09T16:22:00.000Z

My first Ecole du vin (wine school), the first surprise that dad organised for me, was luxurious, a taste of what I can expect of my future visits to Hotels du vin, and there will be more. First night there I went and checked out the gym, it was sweet, I let loose on the punch bag and dreamt of a life of convenient gyms, hotel spa’s and sexy women. I’m a believer in knowing yourself and what you like, and it's no different with wine, but being educated in wine only helps you do this, and after that weekend at the ecole my brain is just so much better at soaking up what’s to know about wine. So, after two nice hotels me and dad finally get to France and out pops the second surprise, we’re staying with Graham (uncle) and Heather, who I don’t often get to see, and its gorgeous, we lap up Heather’s cooking and I dream of what it would be like if I owned the place or one like it somewhere back in England maybe. I had one of the best days out I’ve had in a long time while I was there, we all went canoeing down the Dordogne, even dad came, it was the most beautiful day and I find myself dreaming again, of doing things like that more often and all the things I’m missing out on stuck in Barrow, I think dad really enjoyed that day too.

I can tell by this stage I would happily stay here in France with dad through the winter, but I need to finish my college education and get a bloody job if I don’t want to go insane. It always helps me to put things in perspective staying with my dad and especially now that my dad’s mate Davie Mac has turned up, which was another surprise, he always helps to keep things laid back and interesting. Ok and funny too. Finally, I’ve got to eat at Domme’s Michelin star restaurant twice, and as eating is in my top three things to do in life that’s been another highlight for me. It’s movie night here at Le Rosier every night and I get live the simple life for a while, I’ve got another week of this excruciatingly painful living, so far so good.

Dead Rich

2006-10-26T11:10:00.000Z

According to Forbes annual list, Kurt Cobain this year knocked Elvis Presley off the top of the World's top dead earners list.

Cobain, who shot himself in the head in 1994, earned $50 million between October 2005 and October 2006, according to Forbes, largely because his widow Courtney Love sold off his Nirvana song catalogue to New York publishers PrimeWave.

This is the first time Kurt Cobain has appeared on the list in its six years. Prior to that, Elvis Presley has topped the chart, earning in the region of $42million. This is largely through licensing deals of the deceased celebrities' work or images.

The only woman to rank in the top 13 was Marilyn Monroe. The actress, who died of an overdose in 1962, pulled in $8 million, good for ninth place.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 (the complete list is at Forbes.com):

Kurt Cobain, $50 million
Elvis Presley, $42 million
Charles Schulz, $35 million
John Lennon, $24 million
Albert Einstein, $20 million>
Andy Warhol, $19 million
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), $10 million
Ray Charles, $10 million
Marilyn Monroe, $8 million
Johnny Cash, $8 million

You're Nicked

2006-10-23T20:51:00.000Z

Stories like this are manna from heaven. A senior police officer was arrested for using his mobile phone while driving his car, after being followed back to his station by an irate motorist.

Guy Darby, a chief superintendent in the Surrey police, was reprimanded by his force and ordered to pay 30 pounds (56 dollars, 45 euros), the equivalent of the penalty fine, to charity.

A motorist followed Darby to his station after the officer cut in front of him while talking on his mobile phone.

Using a mobile phone while driving has been illegal in Britain since December 2003 unless drivers have a hands-free kit.

Paris Syndrome

2006-10-23T20:35:00.000Z

Here's a great story. Reuters report that psychologists have identified a condition called Paris Syndrome. Up to a dozen Japanese tourists a year suffer from the disorder, caused by the reality of Paris' scruffy streets and unfriendly locals, contrasting greatly with their romantic image of the city.

"A third of patients get better immediately, a third suffer relapses and the rest have psychoses," Yousef Mahmoudia, a psychologist at the Hotel-Dieu hospital, next to Notre Dame cathedral, told the newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

Already this year, Japan's embassy in Paris has had to repatriate at least four visitors -- including two women who believed their hotel room was being bugged and there was a plot against them.

Previous cases include a man convinced he was the French "Sun King", Louis XIV, and a woman who believed she was being attacked with microwaves, the paper cited Japanese embassy official Yoshikatsu Aoyagi as saying.

50 best movie endings

2006-08-07T19:40:00.000Z

Sites like this soak up my attention. Lists are classically a boy thing (generally attributed to the slightly autistic characteristics that most males exhibit), but this list is also on movies, one of my perpetual distractions. The list of endings starts with 50 and works down to the top one. Most make perfect sense.. of course, unless you're go a fantastic memory, it'd be difficult to think of any others that fit the bill.

What's also heartening is that he hasn't taken the easy way out by just picking movies where the good guys always win in the end (e.g. Magnificent Seven, Jaws etc), but has picked surprising or astonishing endings. I would have put the Fight club ending number one though. Just thinking about those skyscrapers being bought to earth while The Pixies "Where is my mind" plays in the background makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Human Space Invaders film

2006-08-07T19:37:00.000Z

This is one of those rare web stories that made me laugh out loud. Complete nutters. Using Stop-frame animation, and several friends to act as "pixels" sitting in various cinema seats, the guy has made a human Space Invaders. Just when you think he's done enough to prove a point, i.e. by wiping out one complete wave of invaders, yet another appears, and is also wiped out. Again an impressive effect.

Starry starry night

2006-08-07T19:33:00.000Z

"..paint your palette blue and grey, look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul." Don MacLean's Vincent of course, and about Vincent Van Gogh, describing his famous painting.

Well, this guy recreated his famous painting using only Lego pieces. He took a clear image from the Web, and Photoshopped it to break it into little squares. Then he needed to source the bricks needed to put together his masterpiece, which was a challenge, because he very quickly ran out of green pieces (since only 12 are provided in a normal pack). The final result looks quite effective... even if it's something you'd never actually put in your home.

Fixing Dark or Light Photos

2006-08-07T19:29:00.000Z

A useful video explaining how to correct overly light or dark images within Photoshop. I already had a way of doing this, using the levels adjustment, but I had never seen the Colour Range Selection tool before. Very useful, and easy to use as well.

Happiness needn't cost the earth

2006-07-12T22:19:00.000Z

There's a new way of measuring the international pecking order. Typically, countries rankings are represented by their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is a measure of national income. This figure is also proportional to the amount that a country consumes resource to generate trade, so there is clearly an environmental impact associated with this measure.

However, nef (the new economics foundation) have come up with a better way, a Happiness Index, that aims to show the environmental efficiency by which countries produce long and happy lives.

As you can imagine, things look very different on this ranking. For example, the UK is a disappointing 108th and the USA fares still worse at 150th on the Index (out of 178 countries, where the data is available). It does show that the targets that governments use to denote success do not make for good happiness levels. High levels of consumption do not create well-being. A consumerist view promotes a more materialist culture, and people covet possessions and status, and not health, peace and longevity.

The report goes on to show that overall we are over-burdening the Earth’s currently available biocapacity: By consuming 22 per cent above our ecosystems’ ability to regenerate we are eating into and degrading the natural resources that our life-support systems depend on. In the process we are depleting the environmental goods and services that future generations will depend on, with potentially devastating consequences.

In light of my recent reading material (see below), I am determined to reduce my ecological footprint. Knowing about the the impact of our individual actions gives us a duty to reduce our consumption levels. Since I am the market, I can effect change on corporations. However, legislative measures are more likely to make good practice stick. The report concludes with a Global Manifesto, which deems that improving well-being is bought about by:

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
Supporting meaningful lives
Identifying environmental limits and design economic policy to work within them.

But of course, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. Measures must be changed to reflect the real status of countries. The G8 countries all score low in the happiness index; the people in these countries overconsume, live unhealthier and shorter lives, and on average don't live less meaningful and happy lives.

Book Review: A Life Stripped Bare by Leo Hickman

2006-07-12T22:02:00.000Z

I decided 3 years ago that I would attempt to recycle all the waste that I can, and it has not always been that convenient, to be honest. I was vaguely aware of some of the other ethical issues, such as farming methods, but didn't have too many ideas about how to address them from a personal standpoint. I looked at the front cover of this book, and the sub-title "my year trying to live ethically", and I was interested in what easy steps I could take, and to learn in what other ways I could be "ethical".

Leo Hickman was also concerned; as a consumer journalist for the Guardian, he decided to get in some ethical auditors to examine his life-style, the products he buys and the daily practises he follows with his wife Jane, and family of two. After rifling through every cupboard in his house, there were a range of scathing criticisms of everything, from concerns about excessive packaging, on the use of toxins, on waste management, and supporting global companies who themselves have questionable ethics. Rather than feel pressured to adopt them all, the book is a diary of how bit-by-bit, he decides to balance convenience with ethics, and change certain aspects of his life slowly. We hear about him struggling with washable nappies with his newborn child, how he sets up a wormery to process biodegradable waste, and how he manages his travel without a car at his disposal.

It takes a far from preachy tone .. he uses the auditors as a mechanism to indicate the correct approach, then uses his opinions (cleverly counterpointed with those of his wife Jane) to strike a life balance. Rather, the account more takes an inspirational standpoint, and includes loads of letters from Guardian readers who offer their support, and share their experiences with him. Of course, some of these tips are really easy to implement, and the reader can't help but run a mini mental audit on themselves at the same time. It is the case that once some of the impacts of certain practises are known, it is impossible not to feel a duty to change (in some degree) the way one's life is led.

It is thought-provoking, inspirational, and gives details of things I hadn't hitherto considered. It has made a small change already .. I tend to only look for locally grown (UK at least) organic produce, because of the impact of food miles on the environment. This has opened my eyes to what is seasonal, something I'd long lost sight of ("what do you mean, asparagus doesn't grow all year round?"), and makes supermarket selection much easier. I recently went around Marks and Spencer, and from all the fresh produce, only two things were sourced from the UK: Organic Rhubarb, which had run out, and asparagus. Tomatoes, strawberries and even potatoes were sourced from Spain, Holland and Africa unnecessarily, since they are in season as I write, and grow perfectly well in this country.

As a description of one man's journey into trying to live a better life, Leo Hickman doesn't take himself too seriously. He tries where he can, but readily admits his failures. As an encouragement to take a small step towards reducing your environmental footprint, while recognising that convenience will still triumph in many cases, it is an interesting tale. 7/10

You can buy it here.

World Cup Predictor - Final Results

2006-06-24T10:35:00.000Z

Please excuse the slight delay, I am currently in Stuttgart, on the eve of the England game, and the place is going ballistic. England fans are arriving in their thousands before the game, and of course, the Germans are amassing in the square in their thousands for today's big game against Sweden. At the moment, everyone is drinking plastic Steins (2 litres) of premium export-strength lagerbier (picture your measuring jug in the kitchen, and you've pretty well got it). They are currently fronting up to each other in a friendly way .. let's see what 8 hours sustained drinking and 30 degrees heat does to the mix!

Anyway, on to the final leader board. Congratulations to Mo, Rob B, Ginny and Richard, who all take the money. Not sure on the Goals total, but will post that as soon as I find out. Bry will let you all know about your money presently. The esteemed wooden spoon goes to Ben, who still scored over 100 points, so 'respeck' due all round.

To turn on/off the leaderboard listing, click here.

Place	Name	Points	GTD
1	Mo	175	104
2	Rob B	171	97
3	Ginny	150	99
4	Richard	150	108
5	Mike	148	85
6	Jimi	147	91
7	Jon R	147	130
8	Tim	143	97
9	David O'L	139	127
10	Andy H	135	111
11	Bryan	134	107
12	Jenny	132	119
13	Matt H	132	116
14	Nigel	131	122
15	Tony	131	139
16	Patrick	130	86
17	Joerg	129	98
18	Mick	127	101
19	Keith	126	112
20	Ian R	125	99
21	Kirk	124	79
22	Bob O	122	192
23	Rick	122	131
24	Jon L	117	135
25	Morne	117	141
26	Naomi	117	117
27	John B	115	132
28	Aaron	112	118
29	Ija	112	113
30	Sean B	112	112
31	Ian H	109	126
32	Mucka	107	101
33	Paul B	107	113
34	Steve H	105	138
35	Ben	103	119

WC Predictor (as of Wed 21st 10pm)

2006-06-21T21:12:00.000Z

Two day's updates today, on account of getting home well late last night, and in a deeply drunken stupor. Yesterday was ground-breaking in that 6 people scored over 20 points, topped by a magnificent 27 from David O'L.

Today was different, the scores were much lower. No one experienced this contrast more than Nigel. Yesterday he scored 22 points, and today he scored an unfortunate 0. No contrasts for Mystic Mo, who scored 19 points on both days. This awesome consistency has extended his lead at the top to 13 points. Still catchable, but only if others score heavily when he doesn't. We're gettng near the finish now. Just two more days

To turn on/off the leaderboard listing, click here.

Actual Goals To Date = 97

Place	Name	Points	GTD
1	Mo	162	82
2	Rob B	149	81
3	Richard	136	89
4	Mike	130	71
5	Ginny	127	83
6	Bryan	124	91
7	David O'L	121	106
8	Jon R	121	112
9	Jimi	120	72
10	Tim	119	83
11	Patrick	113	73
12	Andy H	112	94
13	Matt H	111	91
14	Nigel	111	107
15	Bob O	109	160
16	Ian R	109	82
17	Kirk	109	69
18	Jenny	108	97
19	Mick	108	77
20	Tony	107	114
21	Keith	106	91
22	Naomi	104	98
23	Joerg	103	82
24	Jon L	102	114
25	John B	99	103
26	Paul B	97	90
27	Rick	97	109
28	Morne	94	119
29	Mucka	92	82
30	Aaron	91	101
31	Ija	91	96
32	Sean B	90	95
33	Ben	89	99
34	Ian H	85	102
35	Steve H	77	110

Puzzle Bowling

2006-06-19T22:44:00.000Z

A clever little game. Drag puzzle pieces to hit all the pins on the board. 26 levels from easy to very hard! Click and drag groups of puzzle tiles to shift them. Hit the pins with the same colored balls as their platform. Hit the trophy with the black ball at the end of the level. You can drop up to four balls per level.

Thanks to Ursi.

WC Predictor (as of Mon 19th 10pm)

2006-06-19T22:21:00.000Z

Tony is today's maximum scorer with 24 points, another set of unbelievable predictions. Mystic Mo managed to get another good tally with 19 points, and levels up with Rob B at the top, following his fantastic score yesterday.

Everybody got some points today though, which is nice.

To turn on/off the leaderboard listing, click here.

Actual Goals To Date = 75

Place	Name	Points	GTD
1	Mo	124	69
2	Rob B	124	65
3	Ginny	108	66
4	Mike	101	54
5	Richard	100	72
6	Mick	96	64
7	Bryan	95	69
8	Jimi	94	58
9	Bob O	93	128
10	Tony	90	92
11	Nigel	89	85
12	Andy H	86	75
13	Tim	86	64
14	David O'L	85	87
15	Jon R	85	90
16	Matt H	85	75
17	Naomi	85	80
18	Ian R	84	68
19	Kirk	83	59
20	Patrick	82	60
21	John B	81	83
22	Rick	80	87
23	Joerg	77	62
24	Ben	75	76
25	Mucka	75	62
26	Jon L	74	95
27	Jenny	73	85
28	Ian H	72	86
29	Paul B	72	74
30	Aaron	71	84
31	Morne	71	98
32	Ija	68	79
33	Sean B	68	76
34	Keith	67	75
35	Steve H	62	88

Be John Terry

2006-06-19T00:26:00.000Z

This cool little game has you pitting your wits as John Terry against a range of different defences in the World Cup.

Top Tip, read the instructions on this one.

Thanks to Kukla.

WC Predictor (as of Sun 18th 10pm)

2006-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

Well, who could have predicted all of today's results? France drawing to South Korea? No goals between Japan and Croatia? .. Rob B, of course. He had a blinder, predicting all three games exactly, scoring a maximum 24 points, and managing to knock Mystic off the prized Kingpin position. Who also scored heavily? Kirk! Yes, the king of the random scoreline scored 19 points, and in so doing moved himself up 16 places .. it's clearly a game of two halves.

The vast majority incorrectly guessed that Asia would have a bad day, i.e. that France would prevail against the plucky Koreans, and Japan would also lose to Croatia. As such, these two individuals made massive gains against others.

I'm smarting cos the ref denied France a goal that did cross the line, and denied me 8 points .. plus, following some good-natured pasting, Kirk is now above me in the table. Humble pie is duly eaten.

To turn on/off the leaderboard listing, click here.

Place	Name	Points	GTD
1	Rob B	118	56
2	Mo	105	61
3	Ginny	101	60
4	Mike	98	50
5	Richard	94	69
6	Bryan	86	61
7	Mick	82	56
8	Bob O	81	116
9	Jimi	80	51
10	Nigel	80	77
11	Tim	80	62
12	Naomi	79	72
13	Matt H	78	68
14	Ian R	75	63
15	David O'L	74	80
16	Kirk	74	51
17	Patrick	73	54
18	Andy H	72	68
19	John B	72	78
20	Jon R	71	84
21	Jenny	70	82
22	Mucka	69	60
23	Aaron	68	79
24	Paul B	66	71
25	Rick	66	80
26	Tony	66	82
27	Morne	65	93
28	Joerg	63	56
29	Sean B	62	72
30	Ben	61	69
31	Keith	61	67
32	Jon L	60	87
33	Ija	59	71
34	Ian H	58	77
35	Steve H	56	81

WC Predictor (as of Sat 17th 10pm)

2006-06-18T12:52:00.000Z

Yesterday was a good day, with 3 entertaining games (which makes a change), and Deco further confirming my view that this World Cup will have more spectacular goals than any other. Whether it's this new ball, or that the defences of all countries, even the so-called 'lesser' nations are good enough to force more long-range efforts .. who cares, it's great to watch. "Mystic Mo" is still way out in front (good to see you yesterday fella), with Rob B moving up from 10th to 2nd. There's still plenty of time yet, even Kirk's managed to move off the bottom .. plenty of time to end up drifting back down there.

To turn on/off the leaderboard listing, click here.

Place	Name	Points	GTD
1	Mo	96	56
2	Rob B	94	52
3	Mike	90	42
4	Ginny	89	54
5	Richard	86	65
6	Bryan	83	51
7	Bob O	78	104
8	Tim	77	54
9	Mick	76	47
10	Naomi	76	61
11	Nigel	72	68
12	Matt H	71	60
13	Patrick	70	47
14	Jimi	69	44
15	John B	69	67
16	Jon R	68	73
17	Mucka	68	54
18	Jenny	67	74
19	David O'L	66	71
20	Aaron	64	69
21	Ian R	64	55
22	Rick	63	69
23	Tony	63	71
24	Morne	62	82
25	Sean B	62	64
26	Andy H	61	62
27	Joerg	60	49
28	Paul B	60	62
29	Ben	57	62
30	Keith	57	58
31	Ija	56	61
32	Jon L	56	79
33	Kirk	55	45
34	Ian H	54	69
35	Steve H	52	72

England 2 Trinidad & Tobago 0

2006-06-16T08:51:00.000Z

Wow, what a night. some of the guys at work were confident we'd put 4 or 5 past Trinidad and Tobago, but I was fairly sure that we wouldn't. I even suggested that it would be 0-0 at 80 minutes, and that it would end up as a nail-biting affair, similar to the German game.

On that matter, I had a conversation with Joerg, my German chum, and he said that when the Oliver Neuville goal went in 2 minutes from the final whistle, the whole of Stuttgart started several hours of mayhem partying. You see, when you coil up a spring that much, it justs launches itself with more energy.

Some time later, I ended up on a train, after several more export strength lagerbiers, and everybody was in celebratory mood. Then this photographic gift came up (see photo). The Right Reverand was reading the late edition of the Evening Standard, the one that graces the streets of London before normal people wake up. He very genially agreed to pose for the photo. What a time to find your scoring touch, Crouchy. What a headline, what a game.

World Cup Predictor Leaderboard

2006-06-14T20:23:00.000Z

Here are the standings after the lucky German late winner, and Mystic Mo is still way out in front, with Bob O coming up closely behind him (!).

To turn on/off the leaderboard listing, click here.

Place	Name	Points	GTD
1	Mo	62	34
2	Bob O	55	68
3	Mike	53	28
4	Jimi	52	29
5	Naomi	52	35
6	Richard	52	41
7	Bryan	50	33
8	Ginny	50	34
9	Tim	49	35
10	Rob B	48	32
11	Matt H	47	40
12	David O'L	44	45
13	Nigel	43	44
14	Morne	41	52
15	Ben	40	39
16	Patrick	40	32
17	Ian H	39	42
18	John B	39	40
19	Tony	39	43
20	Rick	38	40
21	Paul B	37	40
22	Jenny	36	51
23	Aaron	35	44
24	Andy H	35	43
25	Joerg	35	35
26	Jon R	35	52
27	Jon L	34	53
28	Sean B	34	42
29	Keith	32	34
30	Mick	32	31
31	Ian R	31	33
32	Ija	31	38
33	Kirk	31	27
34	Mucka	30	36
35	Steve H	30	43

Film Review: Da Vinci Code

2006-06-09T10:33:00.000Z

It was a movie that had to be made, really, One of the biggest literary phenomena of modern times, a book challenging core values and beliefs in the Christian faith, which has dominated all the bestseller lists. Hollywood needed to release it - it needed a big lead actor (in this case Tom Hanks), and the two biggest French stars on the planet (Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno), and it needed to have a big name director. Someone who could take a massively familiar story, and spin it out on film.

I don't blame Ron Howard for taking this - but he was on a hiding to nothing really. The central core of the book is the revelations on the bloodline of Christ and the representation of the feminine within Christian doctrine. And therein lies the problem. Whereas the book could tease out a little more of the theory a bit at a time, under the backdrop of a police hunt and a race against time, the film struggles to establish its identity. At times the music gets a bit racy and i feels like a thriller. Then you have massive periods of down pacing where the talkie theoretical bits are. It all adds to a disjointed feel - a detailed faithhful teling of the bok, but not a great movie.

Howard does not ask much of his actors either - the screenplay has to fit so many fatual details in that there is no latitude given to character development. As such, Hanks is wooden, the wonderfully talented Tautou is underused, and Jean Reno never gets out of first gear. Paul Bettany plays the only really interesting character, but as a man-robot following Opus Dei directions, he is asked to suppress his emotions, until a little flourish at the end. An actnig masterclass it is not. Perhaps the most disappointing outcome of all this is that th lead pair have absolutely no chemistry at all. I mean, they even snogged in the book. But with all the plot to cram in, there was no space allowed to develop their fondness for each other.

In other areas, everything was competent, without being great. The score was ok, the editing was ok, the direction solid. the only thig that stood out was the lighting; in the many churches filmed, the lighting and camera work was excellent. But coupled with mediocre acting, wooden performances, and a disjointed pacing, the film serves only as a faithful, if soulless reproduction of the book, and all the poorer for it. 6/10

You don't own your music and films, we do

2006-05-11T12:38:00.000Z

The movie industry claims it is losing billions of dollars because of piracy. In fact they have even paid analysts to estimate what those costs are. And the report that the MPAA produced states the losses to be $6.1 billion for last year alone.

But these figures are always misleading. Are they actually saying that if it hadn't been for piracy and illegal downloads that they would have made an extra 6 billion? Because we know that's wrong. People would not find another 6 billion in their personal budgets. However, since peer-to-peer networking has revolutionised access to media, sales in DVDs and Music CDs has been steadily on the rise, and the effect of sharing is negligible. In fact the music scene in the UK is as buoyant and vibrant as I can ever remember, and attendances at live music events is unbelievably healthy. There are many more music festivals and gigs promoting multiple big acts than ever. It's a fact that unauthorised usage has led to increased purchase, something that of course is never accounted for. A record industry commissioned report even confirms these facts.

You know, maybe the music industry needs to look to itself, Have they ever considered that maybe hauling my arse down to the cinema, or buying space-consuming DVDs is not the most convenient way for me to watch movies? Instead of trying to stem the trends, why don't they embrace them? They've always been the same. When VCRs first came out, they were described as being the death of the movie industry. Again, complete nonsense. A third of all movie company's revenue is from Videos and DVDs, and this largely funds movies that would never get made if box-office takings were the only revenue stream. Because, actually, when it comes to it, people like music, and they like movies. Neither music nor film will die. People like to tell others about the stuff they like. We exchanged tapes in the shool play-ground, and we copied them for ourselves. Because the majority of people only have so much budget for this kind of thing. And if we weren't swapping tapes, there would be artists that no-one would ever know about. And certainly would not get well known enough to go on and sell millions.

So what have these powerful industries done? Has the industry analysed the supply and demand nature of their business? Have they priced their product such that people's budgets permit more choice, more purchases, more propagation of material? No, they have increased prices, and introduced protection mechanisms, measures to stop copying. CD/DVDs increasingly have copy protection, and digital content has DRM applied to it. This kind of protectionism is not providing for the consumer's needs. These days, if you own an iPod, you are not going to buy a CD that prevents you ripping it for your own use on your MP3 player. No, you'll download it illegally, because being told where and how to listen to your music restricts choice, and makes the material less attractive to the end-user.

When will they learn? In the early days of Peer-to-Peer, there was limited availability to media - now you can get absolutely anything, even TV programs that people are making digital recordings of. The industry view of all this access is that they will lose more money. But, if they know people are using the internet more and more, then they should cut the price, to reflect the fact that no distribution chains are in place. People will buy movies for £5; but don't charge them £15, then restrict where they can play them. How many £15 films are you inclined to buy? Not many. Prohibitive measures will only stunt the market, and will force people to get better organised. They will continue to swap tapes in the playground. Hackers will continue to break the DRM and protection measures. What they need to do is close the financial gap between purchase and free, then people will be inclined to buy more.

Presumably they feel they need to protect the business that they have. But it's more buoyant than it's ever been, so can only be driven by pure greed. If their measures weren't mis-guided enough, the whole legislative air that surrounds any activity that they themselves deem illegal (it's still not legal in the UK to listen to CDs that you've previously paid for on your iPod), is getting them a bad name. The software industry should take note too. When consumers act, they'd better listen. If an end-user stumbles upon a security breach, telling people about it is a good thing, not a reason to bang them up in jail. Because the end result is a win-win for all. Draconian punitary practices only inspire appetites for justice, while encouraging people to stick two fingers up at those who try to control our tastes.

Comsumer opinion is galvanising as we speak. In France this week, citizens gathered to protest the hijacking of France's DRM law by Vivendi-Universal. the march was led by "convicts" carrying signs that had slogans like "I played a DVD under Linux," "I loaned music to a friend," "I revealed a security flaw" -- shackled with chains reading "Vivendi-Universal," "Microsoft" and "Apple."

Take heed, evil empires. You're nothing without us.

Film Review: Munich

2006-05-03T12:04:00.000Z

You know what to expect, right? Spielberg releases a new movie, and you’re sure you’ve got the measure of it. It’ll contain some dramatic cinematography, a quality screenplay, some dubious intentions, maybe a little sentimentality? I was surprised by this movie. This film was a very thought provoking well-paced examination of the humanity behind the most horrible acts.

The film wastes no time showing us the news reel from the events at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, when Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and murdered Israeli athletes in the “Black September” massacre.

The Israelis plan quick retaliation, and form a crack troop of Mossad assassins to murder every one of the Munich culprits. These are led by Avner, a zealous Mossad bodyguard, played by Eric Bana.

And so the killing begins. As the team start working through the list of Palestinians, they cannot help but be affected by what they see. This is bought about several ways. For every killing, there are numerous complications, many innocent bystanders and family members get killed, and this starts to play heavy on the assassin’s minds. Inevitably, their need to establish guilt becomes paramount, and they lose some of their robotic ruthlessness.

Things start going wrong; they are betrayed by shifty informers, who are also selling information to other interested parties, and the team are reduced in number as mistakes and ambushes lead to deaths. This increases the level of paranoia, and in the end nobody trusts anyone. Although the movie is long, it needs much of this space to allow the feelings of anxiety and doubt build within the characters.

The more they cut themselves off from their lives, and isolate themselves in the horror of their acts, the more aware of their human frailties they become, and the more they miss their homes and families. Eric Bana, in particular portrays the tortured killer brilliantly; at first ruthless, he advises one of his doubting team “don’t think about it, just do it”, yet he himself ultimately insists on ensuring that the people they take out are genuinely guilty of the crime for which they are accused. His Mossad liaison is also excellently played by Geoffrey Rush, and he becomes the dark side of his conscience when his humanity breaks through.

Spielberg makes no commentary on Black September, nor the retaliation, per se. He instead spins out a beautifully shot tale (using the same Director of Photography as in Schindler’s List), showing a string of explosive action scenes, in perfectly recreated 1970’s European capitals. But more than this, he focuses on the human beings at the centre of all this activity, and shows that extremist ideals and brutal regimes are only as successful as individuals’ abilities to shut out their own frailties. 8/10

You can buy Munich here.

Best Pub Team in the World? .. Probably

2006-04-14T12:03:00.000Z

This is brilliant. It's a video on the web, depicting a pub team made up of England World Cup heroes from the past. It's very funny, and it's amazing how trim some of them still are.

I particularly like the trick they play on Peter Reid, struggling to get in the back of the van, and Psycho taking the call from his mum.

Moral rectitude .v. War Crime?

2006-04-14T11:33:00.000Z

Now this is a tough one. Yesterday, Malcolm Kendall-Smith was sentenced by a judge to 8 months imprisonment, plus was ordered to pay £20,000 defence costs in court. Why?

Because having served in Iraq on two previous occasions, Mr. Blair ordered the troops into Iraq again, amidst all sorts of controversy, and Lieutenant Kendall-Smith refused to go.

Now obviously, if you wear the Queen's colours, you cannot pick and choose when you present arms and fight. But it's still an interesting one.

What if he were an Israeli soldier who refused to fight in Palestine; well, then we may well applaud him. Or if he were a soldier in the US, who like the rest of the world, realised that the Vietnam war was a waste of money and lives, and was morally wrong. Or if he were an Argentinian soldier who refused to occupy the Falkland Islands, because he felt it was wrong. Then he'd be a hero.

Trouble is, if you blindly follow orders, and pursue a line of activity that you strongly disagree with .. and then end up on the losing side, you've opened yourself up to charges of war crimes.

Kendall-Smith said that at the time, all the evidence suggested that it was an illegal war, because there was no documented Weapons of Mass Desruction, and Britain and the US had failed to get a UN resolution to support their plans. As such, he felt he would be committing a war crime, and refused to go.

Of course, we can't allow that to happen. Ill discipline in a fighting force is the start of the end, a situation where you wouldn't be able to rely on your comrades in a sticky patch; an untenable scenario.

But there's a peice of me that admires his bravery. He was prepared to be imprisoned to execute his moral belief that to fight would have been wrong. Top tip for all you military insurgents: if you're feeling 'mutinous', make sure you rebel against a cause that your masters believe in, and if not, make sure you're on the winning team when the dust settles.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest

2006-02-26T22:24:00.000Z

Watch this video of the recent NBA Slam Dunk contest. Competitors are judged not only by the athleticism of each slam, but also the ingenuity of each attempt.

Included are a couple of fantastic dunks from the Knicks guard Nate Robinson, who at 5ft 9in seems too short to catch as much air as he does (shown in the centre of the picture left).

3D Painted Rooms

2006-02-26T21:54:00.000Z

This is one of these sites that makes you think: "cool"... yet "pointless". Still a very interesting set of photos of cleverly painted rooms.

Thanks to Kukla.

Day Tripper

2006-02-15T21:46:00.000Z

I know it's wrong to laugh at others' misfortune, but this is a pearler. When Nick Flynn made his habitual trip to the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge, he didn't bank on smashing up the exhibits.

He tripped up on his shoelaces, and his 13stone weight fell firmly on 3 ancient Qing dynasty vases, valued at £75,000. He knocked them to the floor, and only one escaped being shattered.

Experts are looking at reconstructing the vases, which could take several months.

Engrish

2006-02-14T07:06:00.000Z

Another rewarding trip to the Engrish site, to look at the recent additions yielded this beauty. What, you may ask, is Engrish?
"Engrish can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design.

Most of the Engrish found on Engrish.com is not an attempt to communicate - English is used as a design element in Japanese products and advertising to give them a modern look and feel (or just to "look cool"). There is therefore less emphasis on spell checking and grammatical accuracy (note: the same can be said for the addition of Japanese or Chinese characters in tattoos)."
This has often amused me - I saw a girl at a concert last night, who by all appearances looked pretty cool. She had the hair and clothes of the archetypal "rock chick", plus the obligatory couple of tattoos on her shoulder. Closer inspection revealed them to be a couple of Chinese symbols. Heaven only knows what these symbols actually mean, but she was probably told they represent her name in Chinese, or "Harmony", or something equally laughable.

In the same way, David Beckham got a tattoo on his arm of his wife's name ("Victoria"), in Hindi. However, as this article points out, the editor of a Hindi magazine spotted that the tattooist had actually misspelt it. They had actually spelt it Vihctoria", probably because they were English, and did not know Hindi.

Thanks to J-walk

T-Shirt Folding machine

2006-02-09T22:48:00.000Z

This French site shows how you can make a T-shirt folding machine from four bits of cardboard. It looks pretty cool on the video, even if it doesn't look the most portable of devices.

Mobile Cooking

2006-02-09T22:34:00.000Z

According to this website, you can cook an egg in three minutes using two mobile phones. As if we weren't already scared that excessive mobile use was bad for the brain, some nutter only proves it. Perhaps using mobile phones made them mad in the first place.

Tag Nuts

2006-02-02T10:02:00.000Z

I was struck today by the way disparate news stories can somehow present similar themes. A recent National Audit Office report states that by tagging criminal offenders, prisoners can be released early from jail, presenting a cost-effective alternative. A small electronic tag around the ankle can be used to enforce home curfews, and restrict the offender's behaviour, predicted to save about £9.3 million.

However, when offenders break their curfews, the system to respond and enforce it is inefficient. It can sometimes take a while for anyone to notice that an offender is missing, and even longer to then track them down.

Also yesterday, the Government was defeated in a Bill in the House of Commons. Although the government has only lost one parliamentary vote since 1997, this one was very close, with only one vote separating both sides of the argument.

The Bill targeted extending the Race Hatred law to include belief. Many protestors, including numbers of Government backbenchers, saw the changes as being too wide ranging and restrictive. Comedians, including Rowan Atkinson also attacked it, suggesting that the Bill would make it impossible for comedians to tell jokes about religion, constraining artistic liberty. As such it has been seen as an affront to freedom of speech, a fundamental backbone of democracy.

What makes it more gutting for the Government is that the first vote was undecided, and the second vote meant that the Bill was overturned by a single vote. Worse, Tony Blair is reputed to have voted in the first vote, but not the second. Ouch!

Perhaps they should put a tag on him, to make sure he attends critical ballots in the future! Even so, it may well have taken the authorities forever to find him!

Holiday mix-up

2006-01-31T12:07:00.000Z

I love the story that I heard on the Radio today. A British couple were holidaying in Thailand, when they decided to leave the place, because they didn't like Bangkok. They picked Tenerife as their destination, but the travel agent misheard them, and sent them to Tel Aviv instead.

When they got there, armed Israeli police strip-searched them twice, then imprisoned them while they validated their suspicious story. The woman, pub landlady Diane Bell, said “It sounds daft but I’d never seen Tel Aviv spelt before. I thought it was what people in Thailand called Tenerife.” Classic

Film Review - Brokeback Mountain

2006-01-27T16:06:00.000Z

Starting in Wyoming in 1963, two men get summer jobs minding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. In the midst of hard work, austere weather conditions, and little to comfort them, they seek solace in each other. What unfolds is a two hour masterpiece describing a 20 year love affair, while for the eyes of the world, they live a life much like any other. This involves them marrying, having families of their own and having to organise clandestine fishing trips in the mountains to spend any time together. The film, based on a short story by Anne Proulx, describes all the joy/tragedy/guilt/deception contained in such a life.

I have deliberately described very little in the plot – nothing much more really happens anyway, but to describe events would prevent them from unfolding gently, in the way Ang Lee directs them. Even though 20 years is compressed into only 2 hours, it feels very unhurried; this fine judgment is key to the picture’s success. As a simple story, it relies on succeeding on multiple layers to work on film, particularly since both leads say very little during large passages of the screenplay. It relies on the director Ang Lee understanding the power of visuals, the soundtrack and having expertly fine control over pace. As a lesson in “less is more” filmmaking, it is an exceptional example.

The Wyoming scenery (actually Canadian) is beautiful. Lee picks tree-lined mountain scenes with impressive peaks and rock-lined rivers, and as such it is stunning. There are moments where the audience are encouraged to soak up the scenery, accompanied by the beautiful acoustic guitar soundtrack provided by Gustavo Santaolalla (for which he won a Golden Globe). Lee really understands how to make the silent pieces work for the atmosphere, and it only serves to illustrate the simple nature of his characters. Not only do they share a love that dare not speak its name, but a love about which they themselves speak little.

As for the performances, there’s bucketloads of brilliance on display. Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant as Jack Twist, who has a sense of mischief in his character. Michelle Williams manages to pull off happiness with suppressed despair all through her marriage to Heath Ledger’s Ennis del Mar, who steals the show. As a brooding non-communicative rancher, he has all the qualities of a moody man’s man. He is the one most affected by their relationship; the first to marry, the one most shocked by his feelings for Jack, and the one least prepared to show affection. But there’s tenderness within; he cares deeply for Jack, even if he is often unable to express it emotionally. Lacking Jack’s life-skills, he takes it harder, and never really adjusts. This underpins the tragedy of their love, and added to his guilt and inability to balance his love with the rest of his life, he stands a tragic figure. It is a very touching character study of a man who is ultimately undone by his love for another.

This detail in characterisation, combined with the non-graphic nature of the love scenes, makes it easy not to get distracted by the fact that it’s a single sex relationship. It is a love story foremost, and while the societal aspects of their hidden relationship shape their lives, the human tragedy of enforced separation dominates. As a moving, beautiful movie masterpiece, it will have few (if any) equals this year. 9/10

Monkeys break records

2006-01-25T16:09:00.000Z

The Arctic Monkeys' debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, looks like becoming the fastest-selling debut album in recorded chart history. It sold more than 120,000 on its first day, more than the debut efforts from Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand sold in their first week. This success comes on the back of two number 1 singles, and 2006 could well be a massive year for them.

Wth expected album sales over 350,000 copies by the end of the week, they would break Hear'Say's five-year-old record. How the hell did Hear'Say even get to set such a record? Do people still talk about that album? Can anyone even name it? What kind of society do we live in where television exposure, and no proven track record means massive record sales? Can we therefore expect to see a re-release of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Right Round", on the back of Pete Burns Big Brother experience?

Earlier yesterday, the band picked up four nominations at next month's NME Awards, including best British band, new band, live band and best track.

Film Review - Jarhead

2006-01-25T08:23:00.000Z

Named after the slang term for soldiers in the US Marine Corps, this film centres around the memories of a new recruit into the regiment, Tony Swofford, from his first days to being shipped over to Iraq during the Gulf War.

His early experiences don’t bode well; he gets involved in a branding exercise in the barracks, and this sets the tone. The regiment is clearly full of testosterone charged young men, not all the brightest souls, who will laugh at most things. Aided by a staff sergeant (Jamie Foxx) who not only has a sense of humour, but also has Swofford singled out as a role model, there’s plenty of japes to be had. Similarities can be drawn with the opening act of Full Metal Jacket, with the recruits being taught the basics, and put through the mill by an overbearing senior officer. Only with bags more humour.

This thread of humour continues throughout the film. To the men, when they finally get posted to the Gulf, they view the whole thing a means to kill a few Iraqis, and actually see some service. Their encampment is like a large boys’ summer camp in uniform, for while they wait for front-line action, they carry on their japery. Of course, they don’t get to see any of the action thy thought they would, and this inactivity dominates the middle passage of the film. This is where the director (Sam Mendes, American Beauty) gets a little air to the subject. Here, he can focus more on the characters in the film, and apply a little pressure.

They’re bored; they miss their loves back home, to the point where they’re able to wind each other up about what they may be up to while the soldiers are away. This prays on young Swofford’s mind, and cranks up the tension. Ultimately there’s a faint whiff of combat coming up, and by the time they get to actually shoot their rifles, there is bottle-loads of pent up aggression, angst and mental instability.

Here, the acting talents get put to the test. Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as Troy, the regiment leader, quietly simmering throughout the movie, garnering the respect of the men, and the first to crack in the desert after a year of hydrating, satiating American film crews, and gas attack drills. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent as Swofford, quietly self-assured, but not always the most exemplary of individuals, who leaves behind a whole bunch of issues with a untrustworthy girlfriend, a dysfunctional family and a host of dead-end jobs. The way he changes in the desert further into unstable, paranoid and irresponsible territory is a lesson in understated delivery. Jamie Foxx, too, gives a confident showing.

Mendes takes all this quality, and layers some beautiful camerawork over it. The colourful cinematography is stunning – the burning Iraqi oil wells provide some of the best scenes, and he manages to present the largely flat landscape with his trademark originality.

What this film isn’t is a commentary on the Gulf war, or war generally. The way the boys are depicted, this will never contain that kind of dialogue: as Troy says “to hell with politics, we’re here now”. However, the meaningless way they spend their days does call the question the futility, even if in passing. There’s a lovely reference to how ordinary their lives will become when they finally do return home that does more to describe how surreal their Gulf experience is. That said, as a sad, poignant and humorous psychological study of one US Marine in the Gulf, where nothing much happens, it remains compelling nevertheless. 7.5/10

Film Review - A History of Violence

2006-01-25T08:18:00.000Z

I watched the start of Celebrity Big Brother recently, as all the different " personalities" were led into the house, to share the same space for 3 weeks. The phrase that sprung to mind was Car Crash Television; create a disaster in a boiling pot, then film the whole thing. David Cronenburg himself has a history of creating unsettling viewing, so I steeled myself for History of Violence, expecting a bumpy ride.

The opening sequence exposes an underbelly of violence that never leaves, threatening to resurface at any time. In creating some calm water before the storm, we're introduced to Tom Stall (played by Viggo Mortensen), who runs a small-town diner in a quiet Indiana town. He seems to have it all; a loving marriage, the two of them playful like high-school kids, and they have two good children. Even here, the threat of boil-over is present - his son is bullied at school, and you know there's only so many times he'll bite his lip and ignore the unwelcome attention.

Two villains decide to raid the diner one late night, and Tom, to protect his staff grabs one of their guns, and inflicts the most violent end on them. Tom shuns the press attention he receives, becoming a reluctant hero. There follows a visit by Carl Fogerty (Ed Harris), a gangland boss from Philadelphia, who claims to know Tom as Joey Cusack. It seems Tom's life will never be the same again. He has started to live by the sword, and his past comes under scrutiny as he fights to protect his present.

Cronenburg expertly exposes a seam of violence in a sleepy midwest town that threatens to dismantle everything. Amidst all this chaos, there are some decent performances, Ed Harris shows a calm menace and William Hurt has an interesting cameo. But it's Mortenson who shines, he has enough understated presence to be able to dominate or disappear in a scene, and manages to expertly convey a full range of fear, shock and despair before he too is reduced to a single dimension by the violence.

If there's a criticism, it's that the Cronenburg paint-by-numbers lacks any subtlety at all. The violence is always overblown and over-bloody. The comfort zone, when it is portrayed, is always a little too cheesy and cloying. Where his art lies is in threading the two round each other, blurring the lines between them. The impact upon his wife is realistically handled, with a honest performance from Maria Bello, and his son struggles too with the morals he has been taught, and how he now sees his dad affected. In Crash, Cronenburg attempted to make a connection between the trauma of a car crash and the passion of the sexual act - literally Car Crash voyeurism. At one point, he attempts to morph stark violence with Tom's candy-floss marriage, and produces a grotesque and laughable sex scene.

As a brazen, bleak examination of violence, it's classic Cronenburg. For the most part, he manages to blur the lines well between the different passions on show, but as with all Car Crash viewing there is little enough soul, and even less hope. 7/10

Footnote: History of violence is based on the following graphic novel

Nasty!

2006-01-22T12:26:00.000Z

I didn't believe that Amazon actually sold stuff like this, with a picture too! It's definitely worth a look though, just for the user comments, which are very funny!

Film Review - King Kong

2006-01-14T10:33:00.000Z

This is the third in a line of films made about the mighty gorilla, who ends up falling in love with the girl, only to have his lfe threatened in the big city, swinging iconically off the Empire State Building. So what could this version offer that the previous attempts couldn't? Well, the obvious thing is the visuals. Director Peter Jackson is no newcomer to CGI, having used it extensively in Lord of the Rings, and he uses it to largely great advantage here.

Kong is a movie of three parts.The first begins in Depression-era New York, where Carl Denham, played by Jack Black is trying to fund a new movie. He manages to deceive and connive to recruit actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), and bribe a freight ship to set the movie location on an unexplored island. Thus begins the second section. Here, we meet Kong, and after Ann is captured for sacrificia purposes, there begins an all-action rescue mission, when all the excitement takes place. The third section, as per the previous movies involves bringing Kong back to New York, and watching him haplessly out of place in the so-called 'civilised' world. What gives all three added dimension is the relationship between Ann and Kong. There is a tenderness in the beast that is both endearing, and ultimately the reason for much of its later trouble.

The human input to this is fairly solid. Adrien Brody does a decent job; Jack Black himself plays an untrustworthy selfish schemer, exactly as he has in most of his movies, but with less of the smirky wisecracks that would parody the role. Naomi Watts plays the heroine, and carries off demure and ambitious in a good, if uninspiring performance. People aside, it's the CGI that everyone's talking about. Kong himself is extremely impressive. They took Andy Serkis (Gollum from the LOTR Trilogy), and mapped the graphics to his gorilla-like movements, and an excellent job it is. Some of the scenery is stunning, and the Empire State sequence is a heart-in-mouth thriller of a scene, with a gorgeous skyscape backdrop. The whole section on the island, however is a chance for the Graphics guys to fill their boots. And go crazy they do. As such there's two ridiculous moments; there's a brontosaurus stampede, underneath which 10 or so humans manage to run with them, only one of them sustaining any kind of injury, which is frankly ridiculous. Then, being assaulted by hundreds of giant insects, stowaway Jimmy manages to shoot them all off Jack's back, firing directly at him, with perfect accuracy, which begs a little too much of the audience. Actually the whole storyline around Jimmy seems pointless, and completely unnecessary. Cutting that and those terrible CGI scenes above would have saved about 30 minutes off the 3 hour running time.

Not that the time drags at all, but these inclusions detract from what is otherwise a great movie. Kong's movement and tenderness, the relationship with Ann, the 1940s look and feel, the action on the island, and the CGI of Kong fighting are spellbinding, and the whole thing rips by. Considering that the first hour passes without mention of Kong, there is plenty of space given to setting the scene and developing the characters, making the climax more tragic and believable.

As a revisited love story, an action adventure, and a morality tale of how man subverts and ultimately destroys all the beauty around him, it's a great 3 hours. The updated visuals make this worth remaking, even if the "less is more" maxim isn't always followed. 7/10.

Film Review - Match Point

2006-01-14T10:27:00.000Z

As Woody Allen's latest offering I expected Match Point to be a whimsical, lighthearted affair, with lots of great comic timing. And while it does not disappoint, Woody has crafted a film surprisingly deeper than the norm, one which tackles class, greed, fidelity and chance with a wickedly clever ending.

Set in London, the story centres on Chris (played by Johnathan Rhys Meyers), who is a former tennis pro, now paying the bills by coaching. One day he gives Tom (Matthew Goode) lessons, and during later conversation, Tom invites Chris to social events with his extremely wealthy family. Through these experiences, Chris is seduced by their sheer decadence, and also by Tom's sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer). The pair eventually marry, but Chris' eye is caught by Tom's new fiancee Nola (Scarlett Johansson), a struggling American actress. The scene is set for an affair, with all the associated awkwardness to boot.

The script bubbles along; Woody has lost none of his magic for creating claustrophobic situations that people cannot escape from, in which people desire those they cannot have, get themselves into situations they feel little control over, and end invariably in a tumultuous heap. the last few Acts do not disappoint; apart from an extremely surprising turn of events, circumstances collude horribly, creating an even more claustrophobic environment. The pace of the film is really satisfying too: if there's a failing in the dialogue, it's that while there is plenty of upper-class twittering (Tom even says "yum yum" loudly in a restaurant), some of the directness of speech is quite un-English in nature. It's easy to forgive him for that, since he keeps his foot on the gas to set the scene for the finale.

Scarlett Johansson crackles with sexual energy, as she is both beautiful and alluring. Matthew Goode does a flighty playboy really well, and Emily Mortimer has a fine supporting role as Chris' loyal, unsuspecting and maternal wife. But there is a problem with Johnathan Rhys Meyers. Make no mistake, after one of the lead roles in Bend it Like Beckham, and a supporting role in Vanity Fair, this is the jackpot for him. And there are times in the film, when life is sweet, when he does content and secure really well. The issue lies with him tackling anything else. He clearly subscribes too much to the Ron Weasley (from Harry Potter) school of acting. Every facial expression looks like some kind of pantomime gurn, and his speech timing is often slightly out, making scenes feel a little awkward (the scene with Cold Feet's James Nesbitt and Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner is a prime example). At least he does show more restraint that previous performances, and that definitely can't be a bad thing.

That observation aside, Woody has contrived another tasty casserole of a drama, where all the ingredients are stirred together, and are set on a steady simmer, always threatening to boil over. In Match Point he has made his best movie for some years, and it will almost certainly prove to be one of the best of this year. 8/10

Film Review - Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

2006-01-06T16:20:00.000Z

From the very first scene, thrust into the middle of a bombing raid over London, we get to meet our four young adventurers, rushing for cover in their family shelter. Soon after this, they get transferred as refugees out to the country, to be housed under the protective wing of a professor, and the watchful eye of his strict housekeeper. One day, while playing, the youngest child finds a route from the back of a wardrobe into Narnia, a magical land where they get caught up in a monumental battle.

The time spent at the beginning forming the characters helps the audience to understand how they all relate, and sets the scene nicely. Obviously, the second they wander into Narnia, everything changes, not least the landscape, and the computer generated imagery largely comes into its own. Working with scenery and characters that are generated during post-production can be challenging for any actor, but there are some decent performances nevertheless. The best come from Tilda Swinton, playing the white witch, who manages to carry off a cold steely character without making a pantomime baddie, as Glenn Close did with her Cruella De Vil. Another to shine was, perhaps surprisingly, the youngest of the children, Lucy, played by Georgie Henley. Some of the voiceovers were also spot-on. Laim Neeson plays the resurgent Aslan, and he seems increasingly capable of playing leaders, with a calm dignified air of self-assurance (as he did excellently during Batman Begins).

But humans aside, it's the CGI that dominates this film. Actually the Computer Graphics looked very good, and there were only a couple of occasions when it appeared a little clunky. Aslan looks every bit the hero returned, which is clearly important for the central struggle of good against evil. The White Witch's police force of wolves were realistic and menacing, and the beavers added a light comic touch to the procedings. The scenery is at times stunning, and for the most part believable, if a little Shrek-like at times. And peppering the landscape are some amazing, mythical creatures, dwarves, Lord-Of-The-Ring-style orc-like creatures, prehistoric birds, centaurs, fauns; it's not a film to take too seriously. Despite that, you never have to consciously suspend disbelief, you are at once interwoven into the fantasy fabric unquestioningly, which is a measure of the success of the mood set.

All in all, it's a simple story, simply told, a fable of good and evil struggling for supremacy in a parallel world. As such, it is good natured family fun, and will be appreciated by all age groups. 7/10

The Evil Empire strikes again

2005-12-21T17:17:00.000Z

No, I'm not talking about Darth and his asthmatic team of henchmen wreaking havoc around the universe, I'm talking about the music industry, which has been fairly dumb about music on the internet. And why? .. pure and simple greed. It's not enough that we pay nearly £14 for a brand new CD from shops in the UK, it's worse when you hear that the artist's cut is less than one pound. So you know straightaway that the record company, purveyor of nothing but distribution, marketing, premises etc is making the real killing. Should a third party that is merely an enabler make the lion's share of the rewards, when they actually produce no music at all?

What's so fantastic about the recent Arctic Monkeys rise to fame is that from their creation, they built up a huge fanbase on the Internet. This meant that when they starting touring in earnest, even they were surprised that hordes of people actually turned up to their gigs. Furthermore, their first single went straight into number one, with no bespoke record label hyping and very little radio airplay. How cool is that? The record company's (naturally) clamoured to sign them, and radio stations had to play their records, in order to reflect the zeitgeist. But it was the music and its fanbase that ensured success, nothing that the Evil Empire did.

Because of the fundamental greed, the music industry sees the Internet as a potential dent in profits, and keeps attempting to introduce restrictive measures, particularly in the arena of music copyright. Their thinking is that people who download music are slashing their profits. So they've introduce Digital Rights Management, so that tracks contain license information that restrict the copying and distribution. In some cases, this means that the tracks cannot be loaded onto iPods or other MP3 players. This is stupid. Damien Kulash, the lead singer for the band OK Go, put it nicely in his NY Times article "DRM Screws me, and my fans", when he says:

"As for musicians, we are left to wonder how many more people could be listening to our music if it weren't such a hassle, and how many more iPods might have our albums on them if our labels hadn't sabotaged our releases with cumbersome software.

The truth is that the more a record gets listened to, the more successful it is. This is not just our megalomania, it's Marketing 101: the more times a song gets played, the more of a chance it has to catch the ear of someone new. It doesn't do us much good if people buy our records and promptly shelve them; we need them to fall in love with our songs and listen to them over and over. A record that you can't transfer to your iPod is a record you're less likely to listen to, less likely to get obsessed with and less likely to tell your friends about."

Arctic Monkeys proved that the appetite for sales was whetted by free exposure, by handing out free 16-track demo disks at some of their early gigs, and being available for free downloads. Within 3 months of their first single release, they have managed to fill Brixton Academy, holding 4000 people, three months ahead of the gig. The current Number 1 in the UK music charts is Nizlopi's JCB song, a cutesy folk song about a boy who rides on his dad's JCB at work. When interviewed on the radio this morning, the band's singer Luke explained that they had built up a following by touring relentlessly, and by getting Web presentation company Monkeyhub to put a line-draw video for the song on the internet. What prompted them to actually release the song as a single was when they realised the video had attracted over 1 million hits. And there they are, at Number 1. Bad for profits? Of course not. He did add however that they won't be number one next week. He knows, and we all resignedly know, that the might of the Evil Empire will swamp the market with the manufactured pop of this years X-Factor winner, or Westlife, who are so successfully marketed, that this will be their 4th Christmas number 1. They will ensure massive radio play, massive marketing and massive sales, leaving us all massively dispirited with the state of our music industry, just to achieve a Christmas Number 1.

I say industry, not the actual music itself - the internet has meant that up-and-coming music is as healthy as it's ever been. CD sales actually increased to a record high last year despite the Empire's draconian measures. Fingers crossed they don't succeed.

Analysing emotions

2005-12-21T15:35:00.000Z

New Scientist magazine published an article this month about some new software which will analyse a photograph of a face, and rate its expression based on six primary emotions. It bases its assessment on an algorithm which takes into account lip curvature and eye crinkles, and these are compared against "neutral expressions" stored in a database.

Why would you want this? Well, one of the facets that has revolutionised the web has been personalisation. Amazon tailor their suggestions to you, based on things you have bought before, and the items you have searched on in the past. Imagine a machine that can analyse your mood based on your facial expression. Actually, it sounds like it could be really annoying, but the potantial is there, certainly.

. But what do they make of the most famous expression in history, Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile? Well, apparently, she was 83 per cent happy, 9 per cent disgusted, 6 per cent fearful and 2 per cent angry. Case closed, no more speculation.

(Thanks to Boing Boing).

Helicoptor game

2005-12-21T15:33:00.000Z

If you want a bit of seasonal fun, try this helicoptor game. The idea is to pick up stranded people, using a helicoptor that you have to both keep off the ground, and steer. Be careful you don't let it drop from too high, it'll crush the poor little fellas.

(Thanks to boing boing)

The Great Scottish Santa Run

2005-12-21T15:31:00.000Z

Now this made me feel Christmassy! One of my work colleagues travelled down from Edinburgh last week, and I read in the Daily Record that the city had hosted 1500 runners, dressed in Santa costumes, in order to raise money for the terminally ill. The sight of that many bright red costumes cannot help to bring a smile to the face.

I read that the world record attendance is 3445 in Powys, Wales, but was also surprised to read that they held one in Las Vegas too. I know it's only about 20 degrees out there at the moment, but that's hot enough to run a 5k, with a full Santas outfit on. Still, a good cause, and the costumes are even provided for you.

(Picture courtesy of BA - Thanks to JWalk)

Film Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2005-12-02T11:43:00.000Z

And so the fourth Potter film is upon us; time has passed since the last movie. All the characters are a little older, as are the audience, permitting a darker theme. The movie is less kidlike (reflected in the 12A rating), is more fun, and there are more adult themes explored. The central trio are now teenagers, both confused and vulnerable; when Hogwarts holds its annual Yuletide ball, the full gamut of hormonal uncertainy is exhibited. First, they survey the opposite sex with some 'nudge nuge wink wink'-style knowing looks. Then they get to worry about who they will take as a date, whether they can handle the rejection, or even dance when they get there. On top of which, there is of course a little misplaced jealousy, and the obligatory tears after the party.

Mike Newell has recognised the mood shift in the series, and the cutesy constraints of the previous movies no longer apply. In acting terms, they have all developed, and Daniel Radcliffe is starting to look like he can actually do the job at last. There are still some of the usual gripes. Ron still pulls the most ridiculous gurning facial expressions, but his voice has broken now, and he's no longer just a comic foil to Harry; in fact they have a fairly normal teenage relationship. Hermione is still annoying; she exhibits some more teenage characteristics, such as scrubbing up nicely for the Ball, and that helps, but she's extremely irritating. "Oh Ron, you've ruined everything" she exclaims at one opint, in the same way that Kiera Knightly would; that overpronounced, melodramatic, fake up-yerself poshness. Nobody actually talks like that.

Some of the newcomers put in great performances. Ralph Fiennes is an excellent Voldemort, convincingly evil, and sporting a pair of lizard-like nostrils which add a really sinister look. Brendan Gleason plays mad-eye Moody, the imbalanced professor on the Dark Arts, and he must have relished the opportunity to portray such an eccentric over-the-top character.

The central event of the movie is the "Triwizard" contest, for which Harry is unwittingly entered. The individual challenges are fantastically portrayed, scary and realistic; historically people have actually died performing these tasks, and you really sense the danger, These passages give the special effects teams the chance to shine. The dragon sequence, and the underwater challenge are incredible, they both look and feel realistic, and really involve the viewer in the tension. This can very often be a shortcoming of FX-driven sequences, we know they're not real and we therefore don't care - this isn't the case here.

I found the ending disappointing, Without describing events, there is a intense low moment, followed by everybody suddenly leaving. Huh? No happy ending? It's hard to understand how the morons on the tube reading this book would have been satisfied without the standard triumph of good over evil. Apart from the fact that, as remedials, still reading junior school primers well into their 30s, they are obviously easily pleased generally.

Despite the darker feel of the movie, there's still plenty of the usual cute stuff to please the younger sections of the audience. The touches of magic are still enchanting, such as the self tidying library, and the the ever-present living paintings. There's plenty of humour too, such as when Harry encounters Myrtle in the prefects bathroom, and the cheeky scene that follows. The movie series improves with every release. Harry is less like an invincible being, and much better portrayed as a "mortal with potential of a superman" as Bowie once put it. He genuinely comes over as a young man who is really up against it, under intense threat, and you sense that worse is to come later in the series. It still has some shortcomings, but it sufficiently whets the appetite for the next offering. 7.5/10.

Is Harry Potter too scary?

2005-11-07T21:12:00.000Z

Just days after the premiere of the new Harry Potter Film, critics are asking, "is the film too scary for children?" The This is London site certainly think so. The movie was granted a 12A rating by the British Board of Film Control, which recommends that children under 12 be accompanied by an adult. Children put off Harry Potter? Why would this catch my eye?

Well, the BBC had a poll for the greatest novel ever written, Lord of the Rings won hands down, and Harry Potter came in fifth. Let's just say it slowly; Harry Potter (in the eyes of the British public) is the fifth best book ever written. In the same way, Radio 1 did a poll at the Milennium to ask what the best song ever written was, they voted Robbie Williams' Angels in 4th place. Now, I'm not saying any of the above are rubbish, but they're hardly high-pedigree products. They're Ant & Dec's Saturday Night, they're X Factor, they're Strictly Come Dancing, they're the shallow hits of a Playstation generation that can't be arsed to seek out anything of any depth. Don't get me wrong, I read the Da Vinci code too; and I scored it 7, if I recall - but that means that a book only has to score 7.1 or above to be adjudged better, and we all know there's 10s of thousands of novels that would all rate higher. But here's the rub .. they won't get read.

For all you can say about Harry Potter, it has forced millions of non-literate adults to read again for the first time since they were at school, and lots of kids to grow up with the series and remain interested in books. But it does tickle my sense of irony when a report like this suggests that its adoring target audience wouldn't all appreciate it, because of where it's pitched. Now adults will have to leave their nervous pre-schools at home and go and see the film on their own, without the cover of the 'family cinema trip' to hide behind, and without an adult version of the book cover to shroud their shame.

How to Cook

2005-10-28T12:24:00.000Z

This post is for the Archduke and DoubleD, who need basic lessons in the art of cuisine. It's a site put together for batchelors principally, but there's a good photo series that takes the would-be cooking student through the stages of cooking pasta.

Actually, I hear both the above have branched out and cooked at least one meal for themselves, and independently too, with no help! If things get really bad guys, make sure you put Cooking for Dummies on your Christmas lists.

Thanks to J-Walk.

Film Review - Corpse Bride

2005-10-05T17:55:00.000Z

Having seen and enjoyed 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', I was looking forward to seeing the Corpse Bride; I had read that it was another of Tim Burton's projects - his way of welcoming the audience to his own private view of the world. A view I've always enjoyed (apart from Planet of the Apes, of course). Of all the Batman movies, only Tim Burton's looked like the dark cityscape that the original comic books portrayed. This atmospheric vision repeats itself in many of his movies, and apart from the technical achievement of adding so much life to customarily dark subjects, his camera angles, and his sense of drama define his movies.

This film centres around a wedding between Victor and Victoria, and it starts with a song shared by both the parents. It immediately stamps a light heartedness, and a real sense of Englishness on the movie that I warmed to straight away. One set of parents are nouveau riche, and are marrying off their polite son to a posh girl from a family, who, while dreading the lower classes joining the family, are secretly looking forward to the money they might bring into the fold.

The wedding rehearsal goes badly - Victor stumbles on his lines, and makes a fool of himself. Later that night, when he is on his own, he rehearses his lines to find he has accidentally married a corpse. He gets taken into a world beneath our own where the dead run around in some sort of vaudeville club, singing morbid songs, and generally having a great time. In the struggle to return to his living bride, the mawkish Victor starts to develop feelings for his dead bride, and this complicates the original plans.

This is a highly original plot, and is very amusingly portrayed. The song and dance routines are great fun, and the voices are spot on. A heavyweight cast of voice overs include Johhny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Joanna Lumley, Christopher Lee and so on, and again the Englishness shines through.

I felt the middle section dragged a little bit; obviously at this point, having introduced the characters, and the misery of Victor's situation, he needs the give the characters space to form bonds, and develop a rapport. Maybe it’s because they are puppets that doesn't help the realism of the situation, but the first and last acts are chock full of humorous observation, and seem to flow better.

Technically the film is brilliant; the animation, and even the tiniest facial expressions are captured in detail. The effort needed to produce stop animation films is immense, but no corners have been cut. Again we are thrust into Tim Burton's imagination; and as visions go, this one is pretty compelling. 7/10

Las Vegas diary - Part six

2005-10-03T11:01:00.000Z

This is the final installment - alas, my holiday is now at an end, and I write this from my computer at home.

Friday was good fun - I met Phil at work, and afterwards we joined his mate Jeff at his second leaving do this week. This was held at Artisan hotel on the edge of the strip. This place is classy (in its own opinion, anyway), with lots of artwork around the place, and a saxophonist playing just loud enough to make conversation noisier than it needs to be. Even the toilets had works of art in them.

Well Jeff was pretty loaded, and had to leave early, so we all left around 9ish. A small group of us then went on to our favourite Road Runner bar, where we stayed until around 2.30am. I woke up early again, as I have every day on this trip, and watched some college football till Phil emerged at around noon.

We had to nip into work quickly to finish what Phil had started the night before, and then we bought a ticket for the cinema. We then went for a quick couple of beers and a game or two of pool, then watched Serenity (review to follow). We were planning to head out towards Charlston as quickly as possible, a place with fantastic views, but since the traffic was horrendous, and the sun was fast fading, we didn't quite make it.

We got about as far as Red Rock, and took some photos there, which have come out ok. We then headed towards near Art's house (one of Phil's mates), and went from some Mexican (the best yet), and then wandered over to Sedona (pictured), a genuinely up-market bar. After a good few in there, we headed back, with only some packing left to do before flying this afternoon. We did manage to grab breakfast in the Sunset Station casino, which was delicious (and voluminous, as pretty much all the food has been all week).

So it was with some sadness that I left today, as I had a fantastic week, and Phil has been brilliant company, as has everybody I've met this week. I only hope it's not as long next time before I come back.

Film Review - Dukes of Hazzard

2005-10-01T00:53:00.000Z

Well, once upon a time there was a TV series that became a minor cult classic. Nothing happened in it really. Two young lads tore up Hazzard County in their orange Buick, getting in and out of fights. Their uncle brewed moonshine, and their cousin flashed her long legs at every opportunity. That's it. Every week, the show lasted about as long as you could wheel out the same plot again.

So why remake it as a movie?

Why indeed. 4/10

Las Vegas diary - Part Five

2005-10-01T00:24:00.000Z

Thursday was mostly a day to myself. Phil worked the whole day, so I went hunting for shopping malls to buy stuff for people back home. I had in mind that I would get Phil a set of nested tables for his apartment, since his coffee table is a box that contained a set of 8 saucepans (which I don't think he's used!).

In the end, on some good advice, I decided to look for a Target, KMart or Walmart for something not too expensive (well, I looked in some furniture 'galleries' ('shops' to us), but some of the tables were nearly $1000 - he's a mate, and everything, but there's limits).

I found a KMart, and bought a set from there, which we then assembled when he came home from work .. boy, do we know how to party. Then we set out to a friend's house for a BBQ, that turned out to be a takeaway (nobody, I mean nobody cooks). It was from P.F.Changs, which is a franchise chain that I've started to see in the UK (I know Edinburgh has one on Waverley Bridge). It was actually very good, despite my normal disappointment with Chinese takeaways.

I was also invited to spend time down at Aladdin Casino (pictured), in the spa there. So today (Friday) I went down there, and it turns out it is an Elemis spa (who are actually based in Leatherhead), and is quite the biggest I've seen. Two hours later, after a sauna, steam room, and full-body massage, I was feeling about as relaxed as I felt all week (without sleeping, that is).

Las Vegas diary - part four

2005-09-29T15:23:00.000Z

Tuesday started with the same delicate head that Monday started, but it was all good. We grabbed a little lunch, and then hung around Phil's apartment, watching the Little Britain DVD while Phil caught up with some work. It meant that by the end of things we were saying "yeah, I know" in the style of the wheelchair-bound Andy character until we were getting on each other's nerves.

Later that night we went to Fado's again in Green Valley, and came fourth in the pub quiz there. I confess, we did use Google a little to help with some of the more American questions, but we still did pretty well. The night finished with a couple of bottles of wine, and we were back in our customary states of mind.

Wednesday was another slow start; Phil had to work, which meant that I had the use of the Jag to cruise around for a while. I went to the outlet mall and had a look around for gifts, then watched Crash on DVD. Later, I dropped by Phil's office, picked him up, and we went down to a leaving do. One of his colleagues, Jeff, is leaving after 16 years in Vegas, and threw a party. We stopped around there for a few beers, then went to Gordon Biersch, which is a bar that makes its own beer.

We managed to find a couple of chairs that weren't attached to a table, but were just placed on their own. It was perfect - we became Waldorf and Stadler, the two characters from the Muppets, people-watching and talking rubbish. This fairly well represents the best moments on this trip; supping a few beers, and giggling like schoolgirls at everything and anything. From there we went to get some food, and then sloped home to another deep sleep.

Las Vegas diary - part three

2005-09-27T15:00:00.000Z

Monday started a little gingerly, on account of our hangovers, but it didn't dent our spirits. The main part of the day was spent at Hoover Dam. It's less than an hour away from Vegas, but for some reason is way hotter. It was 110 degrees when we went there, which will get you in the end. It's an amazing structure, absolutely huge, and behind the dam is stored up a lot of water in the world's largest man-made reservoir.

We actually went on the organised tour, which was pretty interesting, and went inside the workings of the Dam, to see the generator farm. The Dam cost the US taxpayer nothing, because since its construction finished in 1935, the electricity generated has been sold on to recoup the costs.

The story of the construction is amazing; they had to redirect the Colorado river to build it - no small feat in itself; this was done by boring 4 tunnels into the solid rock, each 3/4 mile long, and encased in 3-feet thick solid concrete. In fact, there's enough concrete in the dam to cover 18.5 million acres of land a foot thick. Now that's a lot of concrete.

We left there to go over the Arizona border, just to get a couple of pictures, then drove back to Vegas. There we picked up Tori (pictured), and went looking for some childish fun. We settled on the arcade at the New York New York casino, and played all sorts of games. I managed to win a Bart Simpson toy for Tori, and we managed to get a few things out of those claw games. You know, the ones where you position a really weak claw over a collection of fairly undesirable toys, and when you press the button, the claw drops to pick up the toy, and then invariably drops the toy itself. It became a bit of a challenge to our manhood, so we wouldn't leave a machine until we'd won a toy. It meant Tori left with quite a few in the end.

After we'd dropped Tori off, we went to Road Runner, and stayed there, playing mini bowling and drinking till 3am.

Las Vegas diary - part two

2005-09-25T14:31:00.000Z

Saturday night we went to a drive-in. Apart from the fact they don't have them in the UK, I'd never been to one. It was pretty good fun. Everybody pulls up in a big car park, and tunes their radio in to a particular frequency on the radio. There's people there with boom boxes pumping out the soundtrack, and it was so warm - we just sat around on sun loungers, and took it all in. We got two movies for 6 dollars. which puts them at about £1.60 each, about a fifth of the cost of a cinema back home. We saw Tim Burton's new movie Corpse Bride, and that was followed up by The Dukes of Hazzard, the reviews are to follow.

Sunday was my first day on the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard), where all the casinos are. We went into the new Wynn Casino (pictured), and it was very fancy. They've obviously spent a fortune on it, and judging by the restaurant prices, it's obviously pitched a bit upmarket. We played on the Megabucks machines, which are the ones that are all linked together, with a large jackpot. When we played it was at 10.5 million dollars, which would do nicely. We won about $15 each. Not a life-changer, but I got pretty excited, I can tell you.

We left there to go find somewhere to eat, and went to the Crown and Anchor, the 'British' pub, but it was rubbish, and the beer and the service was pretty poor. We ended up going down to Green Valley Ranch, to the casino there, and that was chock full of local gamblers. In Fado, the Irish pub, the time just passed, the Guinness was pretty good (for Vegas, anyway), and the giggling just got louder. We ended the night there, and it was the first time Phil looked drunk. Which was highly amusing.

My Vegas Diary - part 1

2005-09-24T22:43:00.000Z

Got to Vegas yesterday, about 1:30 pm, and it was a pretty good flight. It's the first time I've flown to Vegas direct, with no changes, and it's worth the extra money. The air crew were much like any other, but they actually had smiles on their faces, like they really enjoyed being there! Whatever next? Managed to restrict myself to just a couple of beers and some red wine, which was manfully understated.

Phil met me at the airport, and we got into his 2004 Jaguar XJ8 (in white, not something you'll see in the the UK), and cruised around in iced luxury. We got back to his place, sucked a couple of bottles of Becks (European tastes never leave you! - Phil's a Brummie who's lived in Vegas for 8 years), then went down to his local, the Road Runner bar. I managed to last until about 10:30 pm before I fell asleep in the bar. In mitigation, because Vegas is 8 hours behind us, I had been awake for about 24 hours, so it was the equivalent of 6 in the morning.

Got back to Phil's and crashed on his living room floor; he couldn't wake me so he went straight to bed. I traipsed into my room some hours later, for some delicious sleep. Today we got up and ran some errands - went to some output warehouse, and bought 24 bottles of Becks for about 8 quid! Our country is so expensive. I saw a camcorder there for 170 pounds, normally 220 back home, so my eyes twinkled momentarily. Went to one of his friend's house, and performed cat duty (litter emptying .. eugh!), before cruising around some more. Tonight we're off to a drive-in movie (another first) so will keep you posted.

Film Review - The Cinderella Man

2005-09-21T18:04:00.000Z

James J Braddock, the Bulldog from Brooklyn (played by Russell Crowe) is an American Irish boxer who has to retire from the ring, because of declining results and some serious injuries. When he hits hard times, and can no longer feed his family, his manager, played by the excellent Paul Giamatti, manages to get him a no-hope fight against a #2 contender for the world title. His comeback starts here.

The whole movie is set in Depression-era New York, where people are crammed into single-room slums, and the menfolk have to queue in the morning hoping to be picked for work at the docks, only to be paid a pittance for their efforts. The whole washed-out colour effect that Spielberg used in Saving Private Ryan is used here to add a grittines to the housing areas, the docks, and accentuate the sheer hopelessness of their lives. Day-to-day Braddock doesn't know where his next meal will come from, even having to work with a broken hand one day just to make ends meet.

His wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) is supportive without being disapproving, but shares the struggle as she tries to keep things together at home. Paul Giamatti, having no doubt leapt up casting lists everywhere since his fantastic success with Sideways, is excellent as the driven yet sympathetic manager who has to use all his wiles with promoters to get Jimmy back in the ring. This level of non-showy goodness pervades these three central characters: people struggling to get on with their lives with dignity, and quiet strength.

But it's in the ring that Braddock has his finest moments and no longer appears a victim. The film culminates in a big fight for Jimmy, one that is absolutely spellbinding. I found myself moving in my seat just watching the action in the ring, such is the excitement. In all but this section of the film, it has you gently attached to its core characters. You feel their pain without crying with them, and their fun makes you smile. But the final fight has you nearly screaming.

The formula has been done before; after all, this is merely an updated Rocky, but the fight scenes are shot realistically, using flashbulb sequences (as in Raging Bull) to add to the drama; the sense of understated courage shown by all the characters adds an emotional depth to the film. It doesn't allow itself to become a caricature, because it shows honest people fighting in all aspects of their life to stay afloat. The acid test for me is whether you care about the characters, and this stark portrayal of bum-came-good left me begging to see them all succeed. A fine movie, and worth watching, if not quite challenging Million Bollar Baby for the best boxing movie this year, 7.5/10

More Annoyance!

2005-09-19T20:17:00.000Z

This maze game is in turns the most brilliant and most annoying game I've played. Reminiscent of those stupid games at the fairground where you've got to guide a ring of metal over a twisted wire without setting off the buzzer, this maze game will require precision mouse work.

I've just failed twice, but I know I will have to play on until I complete it .. arrgghhhh!

thanks to Kukla.

Evil Alarm Clock

2005-09-19T19:46:00.000Z

Alarm clocks generally aren't going to make you a happy person, they can just remind you that you are somebody else's slave, and that you need to get up and serve them.

Actually my one's not too bad, it projects the time onto the ceiling in a soft red glow, which is pretty cool, and synchronises itself automatically with the Atomic clock, which again, is not too shabby.

Well, the one in the picture is a new kind of evil clock:

".. which actually hangs above your bed, and wakes you up in the morning by chiming. The only way to silence it is to reach up and gently tap it. The Sfera then slowly rises away from your reach, and causes you to stretch higher each time to gain another ten minutes of snooze time. Clever! When it reaches the ceiling, you have no option but to reach for it and drag it back down to your bed - an action which switches off the alarm and forces you to finally get up."

Thanks to Travelizmo.

End of a Music Landmark?

2005-09-12T19:53:00.000Z

surely it cannot be: the place where Richard Hell, Television and the Ramones all rose to fame is now going to close. According to this New York Daily News article, after 32 years, the club will not get its lease renewed. The bar that launched punk rock will no longer be, although hordes of local residents and musical artists are protesting to keep the club alive.

The club's official web site defiantly states that the club will stay open without a lease, and even has plans for some Benefit Gigs to save the venue, featuring artists such as the Dandy Warhols, Helmet and a band called Dead Men Walking (featuring: Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats, Mike Peters of The Alarm, Captain Sensible of The Damned, Kirk Brandon of Theatre of Hate/Spear of Destiny). How cool would that be? For the ultimate history (with cool pictures of the club), get the book here.

(Picture from CBGB site)

Chocolate and wine diet

2005-09-10T13:34:00.000Z

This article from an Australian news site tells us what we've wanted to hear forever:

"Scientists in Australia and The Netherlands have come up with a diet they claim will cut a person's risk of heart disease by 78 per cent. And the good news is, you'll want to be on it.

The diet focuses on seven foods that have been proven to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. It involves daily consumption of 150ml of red wine, which has been found to cut heart disease risk by 32 per cent. Chocaholics line up, because you have to consume 100g of dark chocolate per day, an amount the scientists calculate will reduce blood pressure."

Thanks to J-Walk.

Rollable reader display

2005-09-10T13:22:00.000Z

One of the areas which Microsoft have invested over the last few years is reader technology. This makes it easier for people to view large documents (such as novels) on hand-held devices. Ultimately though, because the viewable area is so small, people have been unable to read large sentences comfortably, and this has meant it has never quite taken off.

Phillips have developed a new rollable display pocket e-reader, (as pictured, click here for larger picture), which starts small, but expands to expose a much larger screen area. In itself the device isn't that impressive, but if the technology gets adopted in the mobile computing arena, it could revolutionise portable displays, and reduce existing restrictions.

"Building on its leading position in rollable displays and drawing on its considerable heritage in personal electronics, Philips Polymer Vision is revealing its Concept Readius at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin, Germany, September 2-7. Philips Concept Readius is a prototype of a connected consumer device for business professionals unwilling to sacrifice readability, mobility, performance, or weight in a pocket-sized, e-reader concept.

Polymer Vision does not intend to commercialize this concept as a product in the market. Instead, it is demonstrating the fitness of its rollable displays for use in the mobile devices of tomorrow."

Thanks to Kukla.

I Guess So

2005-08-29T17:23:00.000Z

Sometimes, you won't know the answer to a question, but you could estimate somewhere very close. Wouldn't it be nice to have an educated guess at some questions (that you probably ought to have a good idea on), and have a stab at a solution, with a little tolerance.

Well now you can: The Estimation Quiz permits you to do exactly that. and the nearer you get, or the lower the tolerance (i.e. your level of confidence), the more you can score. That said, I scored 26%!!

Thanks to J-Walk.

Happy Birthday Steve

2005-08-24T23:11:00.000Z

Yes, today was the 37th birthday of Guildford's answer to David Brent .. hope you had a good one mate.

Today we all received an email at work saying that Steve had bought some cakes and biscuits for all, which was nice, and also that he shared his birthday with Jean Michel Jarre, Yasser Arafat and Windows 95. Over lunch, we talked about the usual drivel, but tried to come up with people's best list of celebrities born on the same day they were born.

Then someone came up with the idea of taking everybody's list of 3 celebrities, and having them compete against each other in some kind of Superstars-style competition. This hit problems straight away when it was pointed out that a 100m sprint involving Welsh diva Shirley Bassey, the wheelchair-bound cosmologist Steven Hawking and the Operating System Windows 95 might not work too well.

I was looking at J-Walk today, and there's a link to Wikipedia Daily, a site with an entry for every day of the year. So, events that happened on your birthday Steve, over the years have been:

Mount Vesuvius erupts, AD 79, covering Pompeii
Potato Chips first prepared, 1853
Born: Steve Guttenberg, actor, 1958
Alaska become US territory, 1912
Mark Chapman is sentenced for murdering John Lennon, 1981
Born: Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author of the Alchemist

Book Review: No 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith

2005-08-24T07:24:00.000Z

This book is set in Botswana, and tells the story of Precious Ramotswe, who decides to start up a Ladies detective agency when her father dies, and leaves her his inheritance (a herd of cattle!). The narrative is split between her 'cases', which are mostly small incidents of mistrust and disappearance, and pieces about her and her country (with a lovely scene-setting piece by her father).

It is clear that the author wants the reader to also develop a relationship with the country, and the book is both informative and proud about southern Africa, and its different countries. McCall Smith describes his own love of Botswana through Precious, and paints her to be a logical and practical person. Raised by her cousin to solve problems and have an inquisitive mind, she goes on to have an ill-advised marriage with an abuser as a husband. These experiences lead her to have a healthy mistust of men, and a methodical approach to meeting her clients' needs.

The prose is mostly written in the first person, and this allows the English to take on a simplistic style. There is a lovely economy of words that makes the book extremely easy to read, and there is beauty in the way certain things are phrased. The way words are spoken are really indicative of a no-nonsence honesty that her people have, and as such hardly any words are wasted. Precious is described as a "good fat woman" in the book, again in a 'say what you see' style; such candour only illustrates how much we ourselves overcomplicate our lives, and how much there is to enjoy in the simple things in life.

For this reason, it's a feel-good book. Precious keeps the problem-makers in line (mostly men, it must be added), and bestows wisdom on those that need it. She also has a very touching platonic relationship with a local mechanic, who plainly worships her, despite her refusal to marry him. He helps her during different stages of the book, and their exchanges are also refreshingly written. But it's her relationship with Africa that most stands out. This book is not a literary classic, but it is a delightful read, and I'm half inclined to start working through the four sequels, to see what becomes of Precious Ramotswe and her detective agency, 7/10.

You can buy this book here.

When I Was Small (quand j'etais petit)

2005-08-21T16:05:00.000Z

What a great idea. The Quand J'etais Petit site encourages people to post pictures of themselves when both adult and chilren. As you can see, I've entered into the spirit of things by putting two such pictures here. the one on the left was taken in 1966, at a couple of months old, and the one on the right was taken recently (12 Aug 2005).

No real change, you say?

Book Review: Hey Nostradamus - Douglas Coupland

2005-08-21T15:36:00.000Z

This book is told from the view of four people, all connected to and impacted by a high-school massacre: Cheryl, a 17 year old girl who was shot in the massacre, reports on her view from beyond the grave. Jason, her high school sweetheart, who turned out to be a hero on the day of the shootings, and who was secretly married to Cheryl. Heather, a girl who years after had a relationship with Jason, and has to deal with some strange circumstances that subsequently befall him. And finally Reg, Jason's dad, who is a religious zealot, and has had a fragmented relationship with all his own family, because of his extreme views.

This book is so well written, it is easy to get inside its rhythm, and that of the characters too. The themes of religion, family, life and love are explored throughout, and by covering four different perspectives, the author does not obviously impose his own views, but discusses the subject in a provocative way, one that weill inspire discussion. All the characters have appeal, despite some of their views. Because each successive viewpoint is from several years on from the previous one, it permits the author to describe how Reg's extremist religious views cause problems early on, yet gives him the chance to soften and repent his ways by the time we reach the final section.

Then there's the surprises. Coupland throws in a few completely unexpected events to keep the reader on their toes, and mix things up a bit. The author's imagination is already legendary, and here he desribes some outcomes that you just couldn't have predicted. These only enhanced the enjoyment of this book for me, which for the most part is a sensitive and human exploration of how the shootings touched and changed people's lives. But this is no nostagically sentimental eulogy. The massacre made some people very angry, with betrayed senses of loyalty, leading to shop-damaged views on what it means to live your life righteously. Yet they all have good hearts, and are all trying in their own ways to find truths for themselves.

So simple, yet so evocative. I just want one of my friends to read this book, so we can talk about it at length. For me this is Coupland's best to-date, 9/10.

You can buy this book here.

Book Review: The Family Way - Tony Parsons

2005-08-21T12:32:00.000Z

This book was billed as Tony Parson's best book since Man and Boy, so I was sufficiently impressed into buying it. It's the story of three sisters, who were abandoned by their mother, an ex-beauty who looks out for herself first. The girls are: Cat - the eldest, who stepped in to be mother when her real mother left. Having done it all before, she suppresses feelings for having her own children; Jessica - the beautiful middle child, the one most upset by her mother's departure, and the one most desperate to have a child of her own, despite many months of trying; Megan, the curvy younger sister; makes up for looks with brains, and takes a neutral view on family.

And my problem with this book begins there. Tony has to tick all of the beauty/brains/desire-for-family boxes for each of his three main characters, in order to create counterpoints between them. This means that he doesn't have to present too much real insight to get a dynamic going. Not that he doesn't try. It is a Parson's standard to present clever insights to each of his characters - it is also the reader's identification with these inner thoughts that bond us to them. All the real insight in this book is from the women. The men seem rather 2-dimensional; plus, it does make me wonder what women readers make of his all-too-knowing familiarity with the feminine psyche. Does it ring true, I wonder?

It's certainly a departure for Parsons, who has previously written from a man's perspective. That's not to say that this book is without merit. He knows how to pace a book, and writes in an engaging charming way that makes it very easy to read. Not only that, but not all the perceptive pearls of wisdom are awry - many still ring true, and he still can create a surprise to bring a lump to the throat (now that's definitely a Parsons trademark). But the ending is cheesy, and with the lack of 'realness' in the characters (there's an obsession with the sisters' looks .. constantly .. repeatedly!), it smacks as pop fiction. It wouldn't feel like a work-in-progress if Parsons was a bit clearer on what he is trying to say.

An easy read; a holiday book; but no better, and a disappointment from an author who normally makes you feel as if he is in part describing you. 5/10.

you can buy this book here.

Book Review: Sideways - Rex Pickett

2005-08-21T12:31:00.000Z

I felt that this book would be challenging for me, since I had seen the movie version earlier this year, and loved it. There's always a tendency for the reader to picture the characters as they are in the movie, and falling into that trap could always slightly mar the enjoyment of this book. Rex Pickett's novel is hilarious by painting the two central characters as slightly funnier, and I did not find it to be a problem.

It describes how Miles Raymond, a failed author, senior school teacher and wine buff, takes his friend Jack, to whom he is Best Man, away for a week to California Wine Country, prior to his wedding the following Sunday. Jack is an over-the-hill actor, reduced to voice-over work, and is determined to get some tail before he finally ties the knot. Miles, however, is a manic depressive, who suffers from panic attacks, and he hasn't got over his year-old divorce from Vicky (despite his having caused the break up!). Jack's larger-than-life affable nature contrasts well with Miles' cautious downer approach, and the scene is set for a whole lot of fun.

It's really a buddy caper, where anything that can happen will happen. The passages of food and wine excess are clearly opportunities to drunkenly analyse their own life problems, and to get things horribly wrong on more than one occasion. The book finishes with each of them having a better understanding about each other, and they do have a terrific time.

Apologies for the short review - I reviewed the movie here, and didn't want to repeat the whole storyline, since the majority of the key events appear in both. The book however paints a picture less dark than the movie. They are actually both quite likeable individuals, and have a begrudging respect for each other. Miles' self-loathing principally happens when he's left on his own, stewing in his own shortcomings - around others he's certainly anxious, but uses wine to introduce some levity, and it's at these times that he's bitingly witty, and an intellectual foil for Jack's agreeable teddy bear approach.

I would thoroughly recommend this book - it's a cliche to say "I laughed out loud", but I genuinely did, and that's very rare. I will leave this book a year, and read it again. 8/10.

You can buy this book here.

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