Colonel Blimp

Colonel Blimp is a music video production company that has been responsible for some of the best videos in recent years with a heavy focus on British Acts. This website contains some full videos and some short clips that are worth watching.

Artists include
Goldie Lookin' Chain
Chemical Brothers
The Streets
Scissor Sisters
Dave Clarke (Looks very strange indeed)
Muse
Dirty Vegas (An absolutely superb video to "Days Go By")
Benny Benassi
Graffiti (A great track that should have got a lot more airplay)
Bjork
Fatboy Slim

For the more visually disturbing stuff take a look at Dominic Hailstone section. If Chris Cunningham needs replacing then this guy has to be in the running.

13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13

Definitely an unlucky number for this poor chap.

Very funny commercial

Battle Royale

I love Battle Royale. If you've not seen the film I highly recommend it.

If it's so far passed you by here's a quite synopsis (ooh, he used a big word!!!)

Some time in the near future, schools have lost their discipline and kids are becoming unruly. So a law is passed to take a class of kids at random, put them on an island, each armed with a different weapon, and have them kill each other until only one survives. To make sure they play the game they're all fitted with explosive collars around the necks set to detonate if they stay in one place too long. If after 3 days more than 1 person survives all the collars are detonated.

The film is just superb, the idea is too far out to have been made by the west and I think it's still too radical to be played in America; if you're out there try to locate it. It's definitely worth it. There's a twisted sense of humour running through it e.g. with the weapons one kid gets an uzi whilst another has to make do with a saucepan lid. There is also a nice psychological side to it in that because the kids know they're going to die they all become a lot more honest and reveal their secrets to each other; crushes etc...

Over the last few weeks I've been locating the 15 Manga books adapted from the film. I have 12 and they've been great but I found out that the final 3 chapters are coming out in July, October and February next year. I've never had to wait so long for a book before (Harry Potter doesn't count as I'm not too bothered if I don't read it straight away). The manga is similar to tbe book but being typical manga contains a lot more sex and gore than the original. That aside the novels also give more of a background to each character and help to make the world more complete. Not all the deaths are the same so it's not just the same story presented differently.

Are all town centres the same?

One of the reasons for moving to where I have is that nearby in Sutton there is a really nice pedestrianised town centre. Last weekend I went to Croydon which is also close by and noticed a lot of similarities between the two so I'm wondering if every town centre is the same.

I've noticed that town centres all contain the following.

A chinese man who will make your name by bending metal into shape (do they exist in Greece or Sri Lanka where names are extrmemely long I wonder)
A group of South Americans who play pan pipes, probably to raise enough cash for the flight home.
A japanese man playing some oddly stringed instrument through a loud PA, usually surrounded by a crowd of people not really into the music but wondering how the hell the thing he's holding makes the sounds it does.
An old man who should know better trying to busk by singing old Big Band songs, admittedly better to sing "Mac the Knife" than be under it.
A congregation of young kids all smartly dressed, standing in a circle holding hands praising the Lord for giving them something better to do than sell drugs on a Saturday afternoon.
Market traders trying to compete for having the loudest and most unintelligible shouting. You'll hear the majority of what they're saying but you won't be able to make out the item they're trying to sell e.g. "Get you boorrers", "pound a berrwwwies for a pound"

Well people spotting offers a nice break from the humdrum of shopping.

Musical Baton

I spotted this on a friend's website and whilst it's supposed to be passed on it seems to be getting passed around through people picking it up. So here's mine.

This is an update to the pass-around-the-email surveys which have been doing the rounds over the last few years. This is more a pass-it-around-the-blogs type thing, meaning its actually much more useful and interesting because you can see what everybody else has answered.


Total volume of music files on my computer is…
A rather hefty 16 Gigs.

The last CD I bought was…
"50,000,000 Soulwax Fans Can't Be Wrong" by 2 Many DJs. At the moment I'm a big fan of bootlegs and mashups where you take the vocal from one track and the melody from another and put them together to make a new composition. There are some great albums and mixes out there at the moment and 2 Many DJs seem to come up with the most eclectic so far. I've not bought a CD for a while though, now that I have iTunes. If we're to count that then it's Goldie Lookin' Chain's Greatest Hits and I will say no more on that haha!!


Song playing right now…
A modern reworking by Glyn Barber of the music from "Rastan Saga", an 80s arcade game. A bit geeky but a really nice composition using a full orchestra.


Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me…

In no particular order, songs that mean a lot to me include:

1. Orbital - "Belfast". A truly stunning track that shows you can get emotion from electronic music. I read an article that says this music has been played at births, at weddings, and at funerals and when you listen to it you'll realise why. It's one of those tunes that gets played at Cafe del Mar as the sun sets and just looking around and seeing people smiling to it is a memory I'll keep forever. This is my all time favourite tune so appears top of the list.

2. Young Black Teenagers - "Tap The Bottle". When I was in my alternative clubbing phase this was one of those infectious hip hop tracks that everyone would just jump about to, but it wasn't mainstream like "Jump Around" or "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I also like the track because the lyrics are amusing (which I like in rap) and there is just a great vibe from it. We made this our anthem during that phase of my life.

3. Underworld - "Born Slippy". After my alternative clubbing phase I progressed onto more conventional clubs and was a regular at a small superclub in Angel called "Complex". At the time it used to have the best DJs such as Carl Cox and Danny Rampling but once a month Paul Oakenfold would play and it was during one of his sets that he dropped this and the whole place just went mad. Anyone who knows Oakenfold will know that he plays tracks way before they get released so this was being played before "Trainspotting" had been released (the film the track is associated with). Everyone in the club was completely Euphoric and I don't mean from drugs, the music was enough on its own. If you've ever had that completely high moment in a club you'll understand the feeling I'm trying to describe.

4. NWA - "100 Miles and Running". It was hard for me to pick between this and a Beastie Boys track. During the 80s, it was this genre of music that made me realise there was more to music than pop, which was getting all the airplay. I clearly remember hearing 2 Live Cru and NWA for the first time and I got totally caught up in the VW badge phase the Beasties were responsible for. Everyone remembers NWA for "Fuck tha Police" and "Straight Outa Compton" but I love this track instead for it's raw energy really comes across in the raps and production. The video was great too.

5. Andrew WK - "Party Hard". This guy was proclaimed as being the new driving resurgance of rock after the industry took a slump following the suicide of Kurt Cobain. A few years on and he's pretty much disappeared which is a shame because if he brought out more tracks like this then I for one would buy them. I completely missed his stuff when first released and am getting into it now. If you want a total party rock tune then try this.



Five people to whom I'm passing the baton…
As no one else is passing it about feel free to pick it up.

Where's Wally for Sadists

This guy clearly has too much time on his hands.

THE PICTURE OF EVERYTHING by Howard Hallis

Ong Bak

I hadn't been to the cinema for a while and it's been ages since I'd seen a foreign movie so I decided to go and see Ong-Bak, a Thai film that is doing the rounds at the mo and getting some great reviews.

Whilst the story isn't going to get any Oscars it does deserve something for it's action sequences; to say they're breathtaking would be an understatement, especially when you realise that no CGI or wirework was involved in the action sequences. Tony Jaa really does do double somersaults, dives head first through loops of barb wire and cartwheels between 2 sheets of glass (you have to see this last one, quite amazing).

People are claiming Tony Jaa is the new Jackie Chan but I disagree, sure he's nimble and a talented martial artist but he has no charisma. He looks like a frog and sounds like he's inhaled helium. I think the director realised his limitations and made sure his vocabulary was kept to a minimum.

I also feel sorry for the stunt men in this film, you can see them grimacing before they get kicked in the head/smashed through walls/bounced off tables. The brutal ones are shown from multi-angles too.

Definitely worth seeing

Pics are uploaded

I've gone for MSN spaces to hold my images, just because they have a nice slideshow feature.

The link is over on the left...

Holland Report

The weekend was great and whilst we weren't fortunate with the weather we were extremely lucky with the queues with just about every ride being a walk on. In fact the longest queue I recall was 10 minutes for Goliath.

Toverland was a nice surprise. It's one of those parks where kids and adults-who-act-like-kids can just muck about. Our first impressions were that we wouldn't be allowed to take part on the majority of it but we were. So we climbed to the top of everything, rode the longest metal slides I've ever seen (even better that they consisted of rollers all the way down from some great speed-sliding opportunity) . The other observation I had was that the UK HSE would have a fit if they saw some of the stuff this place had; 10 kids on the same trampoline, 5 year olds walking along an enclosed rope bridge a good 20 feet off the floor and a highrope assault course with no way of getting to anyone who got stuck along it. The kids were loving all of it and it just shows how much of a nanny state we've become here in the UK. The park has been so successful that it is due to get it's third extension soon. As well as the ERS on the booster bike we were also given a mini-ERS on the powered bob and access to a free bar. The bike ERS was going on for so long I think we could have easily tried having another 24 hour challenged on the ride. The ride itself is really nice but it does get a little uncomfortable in a certain area.

Day 2 took us to Efteling, and this park is huge and it is really easy to get lost in it, even with a paid for map so a big thanks to Bart, Peter and Co. for playing the role of park guide and taking a small group of us around the park. My favourite ride was the Bob, much more reckless than the bobsleigh ride I'm used to riding. Vogel Rock was really cool too as was "Dream Flight", however I was disappointed with Villa Volta which I'd been told was the best Madhouse ride anywhere. I don't think it was as good as Hex, although the music is impressive.
The majority of the group went out in the evening to enjoy Amsterdam, I chose to remain at the hotel but did get to hear stories involving string, men dressed as monkeys and bananas. I shall say no more!

Day 3 was the former Six Flags park now Walibi World Holland park. There were no signs of any Six Flags operations at this park, in fact those that had been to the park in it's former guise praised the park for the way it was being run now, so soon since the change of management. Personally I really liked the way the park was being run; we were given a really nice welcome and the 15 minute ERS on Goliath was extended to a good hour. The highlight for me was riding Goliath in the hailstones, definitely a nice way to exfoliate the skin, if perhaps a little too painful. If you review the overall ride experience then Goliath is far superior to Expedition G-Force even if it's not quite as good a ride. Their new water ride is a lot of fun, extremely wet though and ponchos were given out free to protect everyone taking part (would Six Flags have done that?). Superman is now called Express and is running really well, the SLC was a little rough but still OK, the bad egg is the Boomerang but you know what you're getting with one of those; concussion through the loop in both directions. Robin Hood is perhaps the most comfortable car I've ever ridden in, it's just like sitting on a sofa. This park also had the craziest park mascot I've ever seen. He seemed to be a drunken blue elephant, at least he appeared to be drunk the way he'd stumble towards crowds of people without falling over.

That evening a small group of us went to visit Euromast which had been the tallest structure in Rotterdam but when the local hospital went taller the owners wanted the record back so they stuck another tower on top of the existing one. The structure now looks a little odd but it offers amazing views over the city (to the musical accompaniment of David Bowie singing "Ground control to major Tom"). We also came across a small fair which was on it's final night in the city so we rode a few of the rides there. A booster with 5G loops and strobe lights made this the best spin ride of the trip for me. We were very confused by the public transport system however, perhaps someone can explain why we needed to buy 3 strips for a 2-zone journey.

The final morning saw us visiting a small family run park called Drievliet which contained 4 coasters, 1 of which wasn't open as the finishing touches to it's construction were being made. They had a spinning coaster that was a little rough but still fun, a StarWorld type spinning coaster which had plenty of spinning going on and a mouse coaster. This was the best arranged ERS of the trip in that we were given the entire park for an hour before the public were let in. We only had a couple of hours at the park but it was still more than enough. The only bad point was that the bouncy castle was under inflated so those of us who ran into it promptly fell flat on our faces.

Some amazingly good news

Lenny Henry to quit sketch shows

Here's hoping more of his type follow his lead.

DVDs watched this Bank Holiday Weekend

Taxi
This was OK but I preferred the original. Who on earth thought casting Queen Latifah as a cycle courier would be a good idea?


Without a Paddle
Not bad, tries to be Road Trip but fails to be as funny. Who on earth thought casting Burt Reynolds as a wild hermit would be a good idea?


The Twins Effect
Quite good Hong Kong spin on the Blade movies. Who on earth thought casting Jackie Chan as a ambulance driver would be a good idea?


Shaolin Soccer
Truly appaling Kung Fu meets Football movie. Who on earth thought putting these two genres together would be a good idea?


Walking Tall
Surprisingly OK film starring The Rock as a ex soldier who returns to his home town and fights corruption in his hometown from some old friends. Who on earth thought a WWF/E wrestling star who became famous through being able to raise his eyebrow, could become a bonafide movie actor?


Spivs
Disappointing movie that is marketed to appeal to fans of Hustle but has very little to do with cons. Who on earth would have thought I'd have been stupid enough to fall for such a cynical marketing trick?

A very funny (but gross) J-Lo story.

I found this on popdoh and it made me laugh. Thought I'd share it with you.

"Remember a few years ago when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were here shooting Project Greenlight?" (They had gone to Sundance to interview directors and writers and try and create a publicity stunt and an episode out of it.) "I was doing sound in the condo where they were both lodging and filming. At one point Ben took a break from shooting and disappeared upstairs to his bedroom. By mistake he left his wireless mic on."

"Jennifer Lopez was there with Ben, but was hiding out in his room the whole time. At first when I heard Ben kissing her hello, I immediately went to turn the volume down on my headphones. But then they started kissing loudly and making noises, and I felt so guilty, but I left the sound up, and heard Jennifer saying 'I love you baby, I love you... You wanna get busy, baby. You wanna get busy?'"

"Then I heard Ben reply, .'Are you sure you're feelin' better? I don't want you to shit on me again.'"

A strange Orbital coincidence

Orbital recorded a track with a voice over by Christopher Eccelstone.
Christopher Ecclestone is the current Dr. Who.
Orbital also re-recorded the Dr. Who theme tune.

Nightmare Journey Home

I had to go back up to the old flat today. The residents had complained about a hoover I'd left by the bins. When you're as old as they all are you have to complain about big issues like this. With the council refusing to pick it up, I had to get rid of it. Whilst I was up there I decided to pop in and say "hi" to Mum and Dad and watch Takeshi's Castle.

I left there at 18.30 to return home, a trip that should only take 2 hours.
When I got to Kennington the line was stopped due to a train further down breaking down. So I left the station and jumped on a bus to Streatham figuring that was on the way home.

I got to Streatham and headed the wrong way to the station, eventually realised and turned back. Got to the station to realise the train I wanted doesn't run the same on Sunday i.e. it doesn't stop there at all.

Got another bus back to Balham, which was on the mainline route home, but jumped off thinking I was there when I wasn't. I was at Tooting Bec, 1 stop down. Took the tube, which was now running again, back to Balham from where I got a train home.

Total journey time 3 and a half hours.

Streatham is not a place I want to be late at night, I'm usually quite street savvy but I was a little out of my depth there. If it wasn't for the fact I've chosen not to shave this holiday weekend, I may have looked good enough to mug. As I was I probably passed myself off as a homeless person and was left alone.

New PS2

I bought my new PS2 today.
It's very tiny but very cool.

I bought a pack with a free copy of Timesplitters to replace the copy that got scratched to pieces and broke as a result.

However, it was very sneaky of Sony to change the adaptor plug at the back for the telly. I had to go out again to buy a cable that worked properly.

XXX 2

The first one was OK.
This one was also OK.

Having endured "Chronicles of Riddick" I can't stand Vin Diesel anymore, sure he was good in Pitch Black but you can tell the fame has gone to his head. XXX was a nice franchise, and although the original didn't mention the agent would change each film I'm pleased they did.

I can't say a bad word about Ice Cube; growing up I was a big big fan of his music both in his NWA days and when he went solo (Yup, I was a wigger!!) and he's transitioned nicely into movies. Boys in the Hood is still one of my favourite films and for a debut he did great in that. He's done alright here too, he's typecast a little bit as the black man who fights the state but that needn't be a bad thing. Better him doing it than Vin trying to be an extreme sports star.

To be honest the film has no memorable bits whatsoever. As I type this, one day on, I can't recall any of the big scenes; oh one chasing a train and one on a boat. The thing I recall the most was the nice looking cars, clearly DUB Magazine and MTV's "Pimp My Ride" have moved modded cars into the mainstream. It was easy casting XZibit as the mechanic.

I saw this film at my new local cinema. I need to make sure next time I don't go too early in the day or sit within sweet throwing distance of the little kiddies who were in there at the same time. Of the 5 sweets that were thrown my way 1 connected. There should be a rule where we can bounce kids off the walls when they do stuff like that, but with the laws of the land more on their side than mine I sat it out. As Sean Connery said in his Oscar acceptance speech, "patience is a virtue".

My PS2 has died

It looks like it hasn't survived the move.
It makes a horrible grinding noise now and has scratched hell out of my Timesplitters disk.

I had fancied those new slim models; now it looks like I'm getting one now.

The new dancing car

Found this on b3ta.com, a very clever parody.

the dancing robot ad but not the dancing robot ad

Cursed

First time I'd been to the cinema for a while what with me focusing on the move and all! I had a nightshift Thursday into Friday with work and so took the opportunity to go to the cinema before it started.

This was pretty lacklustre to be honest, it's not easy to make horror scary anymore and whilst I was expecting good things from Wes Craven, this wasn't it. He relied on cliche, both old and new. Scream was very inventive in 2 fronts; having 2 killers and killing the big star off early. He does very similar here which was a shame.

Christina Ricci looked like a pudgy posh spice and the guy playing her brother looked like the gay presenter of Popworld (My American chum will probably miss both references, sorry!). The one good bit was the transformation from human to werewolf and I thought having a werewolf dog was a nice touch too.

For a final comment with a weak pun; "If you want to see a good horror film, go else where(wolf)"

Google Holiday Logos

One thing I like about the google site is the changes to their logo on different holidays or events. They've finally got around to posting all of them which you can find here

images

Bomb carrying penguins...

Sometimes Americans can be just a little bit stupid as this shows

Damn DVD box security

Whilst I was out shopping today I picked up a copy of hustle when I got it home I thought I'd watch the first disk but had a problem opening the box. Halfway down the side you should open there was a red square that seemed to be keeping the box closed from the inside. 2 screwdrivers and a pair of pliers were then brought into play and after 20 minutes I eventually broke into the box but totally destroyed it in doing so.

Even with the box open I still couldn't get the disk out, the red square was at the end of a red strip that run behind the box and prevented the springs that held the disk in place from being pushed to released the disk. I had to snap that to get the disk out.

It turns out that this is a new security system that the store had forgotten to take off when I made the purchase. I can definitely vouch for how good this security system is. It's called red tag should you be interested in stuff like this.

Oh, and I did eventually get to play the disk; very good it was too!

(2 hustle posts in one week, the BBC should be paying me commission)

Flat Progress

Today I got my fridge, I'd been given a 7am - 7pm window for the delivery which wasn't that ideal however luckily the delivery came at 9am. I was still woken up though; perhaps it wasn't a good idea to drink that bottle of wine last night. Anyway, it's been connected and is working fine. I've popped out today to get some stuff to get in it.

The washing machine has also been connected, after a week of grief. Firstly the moulded plug had to be cut off so that the power cable could be fed through the worktop. Then I had to get longer hoses because they had to traverse an obstacle course through the partitions that led to the taps (bottom of washing machine, through top of first partition through bottom of the second partition and then back up to the taps; a total mess). Even once they were overcome the hoses still wouldn't connect properly, open the taps and water would go everywhere. After making sure they were as tight as I could get them, the taps were opened and nothing! This was a good sign as it meant the water had to be going into the machine. I gave it a quick test and it's working fine. My only concern is that I don't think the plumbing has ever been done properly; the waste pipe feeds straight into the waste pipe from the sink which means when the machine is emptying the sink makes a burping noise. There was also a bit of a smell but I think that was the waste water that had been sitting in the pipes for months whilst the flat was sat empty. No smell towards the end of the cycle but I'm still a bit unsure about it. But at least I can wash clothes now.

All that is needed in the kitchen is the cooker, which isn't being deivered until next weekend. The issue I have with this one is that I can't see where it plugs in. There is a cutoff switch that makes it even more confusing. Ah well, I'm paying to have that fitted so the installers can figure that out.

Hustle

There really isn't that much on the TV worth watching however I have become hooked on Hustle.

If you liked Lock Stock then you'll probably like this. The directoin is a bit cheesy at times but as a fan of cons, both short and long, I think it's great.

The first series is also available on DVD. Definitely one to get.

Jokes with realistic endings

Have you seen Stevie Wonder's new house?

No.

Well, it's really nice.




Made me laugh anyway, more can be found here

Top 100 Movies

This time I'll highlight the ones I've seen.

1 Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back
2 Godfather & Godfather Pt 2
3 The Shawshank Redemption
4 Pulp Fiction
5 Some Like It Hot
6 Gladiator
7 It's A Wonderful Life
8 Blade Runner
9 Schindler's List
10 Goodfellas
11 Psycho
12 Jaws
13 Apocalypse Now
14 One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
15 The Matrix
16 Casablanca
17 The Usual Suspects
18 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
19 Citizen Kane
20 Raging Bull
21 ET
22 Taxi Driver
23 Life of Brian
24 Singin' in the Rain
25 LA Confidential
26 The Wizard of Oz
27 2001: A Space Odyssey
28 Kes
29 Vertigo
30 Lawrence of Arabia
31 Fargo
32 Gone With The Wind
33 Trainspotting
34 The Full Monty
35 The Graduate
36 Alien
37 The Silence of the Lambs
38 Withnail & I
39 The Great Escape
40 Toy Story
41 The Third Man
42 Four Weddings and a Funeral
43 The Sound of Music
44 Fitzcarraldo
45 Deliverance
46 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
47 Kind Hearts and Coronets
48 Chinatown
49 The Exorcist
50 Annie Hall
51 The Italian Job
52 Sunset Boulevard
53 The Jungle Book
54 Titanic
55 Jean de Florette & Manon des Sources
56 Dr. Strangelove
57 Rebel Without A Cause
58 The Seven Samurai
59 A Matter of Life and Death
60 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
61 Secrets & Lies
62 Blue Velvet
63 La Dolce Vita
64 Spartacus
65 Metropolis
66 Bonnie and Clyde
67 King Kong
68 Get Carter
69 The Searchers
70 The Seventh Seal
71 Don't Look Now
72 Brief Encounter
73 M*A*S*H*
74 The French Connection
75 Top Hat
76 The Producers
77 The Colours (Blue, White & Red)
78 Cabaret
79 Goldfinger
80 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
81 The Gold Rush
82 High Noon
83 Saturday Night Fever
84 The Adventures of Robin Hood
85 Enter the Dragon
86 Breathless (A Bout de Souffle)
87 Ice Cold in Alex
88 Battleship Potemkin
89 The African Queen
90 The General
91 A Hard Day's Night
92 Way Out West
93 Henry V
94 Easy Rider
95 My Beautiful Laundrette
96 Belle de Jour
97 The Bride of Frankenstein
98 The Terminator
99 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
100 Do The Right Thing

Top 100 Greatest Cartoons

Here's another. This time I'll highlight the ones I like now or have liked when I was younger.
Are you getting an idea of what makes me tick now?

1. The Simpsons
   
2. Tom and Jerry
   
3. South Park
   
4. Toy Story/Toy Story 2
   
5. Family Guy
   
6. Shrek/Shrek 2
   
7. The Lion King
   
8. Spirited Away
   
9. The Incredibles
   
10. Bugs Bunny
    
11. The Flintstones
    
12. The Iron Giant
    
13. The Nightmare Before Christmas
    
14. Finding Nemo
    
15. Wallace and Gromit
    
16. Akira
    
17. Aladdin
    
18. The Ren and Stimpy Show
    
19. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
    
20. Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies
    
21. Princess Mononoke
    
22. Monsters, Inc
    
23. Popeye
    
24. Danger Mouse
    
25. Pinnochio
    
26. Futurama
    
27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    
28. Spongebob Squarepants
    
29. Dungeons and Dragons
    
30. Daffy Duck
    
31. Mickey Mouse
    
32. Beavis and Butthead
    
33. Beauty and the Beast
    
34. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
    
35. Sylvester and Tweetie Pie
    
36. Magic Roundabout
    
37. Transformers
    
38. 101 Dalmations
    
39. Charlie Brown
    
40. Rugrats
    
41. King of the Hill
    
42. Samurai Jack
    
43. Ivor the Engine
    
44. Spider-Man
    
45. Pokemon
    
46. Inspector Gadget
    
47. Road Runner
    
48. Bod
    
49. Scooby Doo, Where Are You?
    
50. Donald Duck
    
51. The Little Mermaid
    
52. 2DTV
    
53. Fantasia
    
54. Thundercats
    
55. Winnie the Pooh
    
56. Fritz the Cat
    
57. The Jungle Book
    
58. The Powerpuff Girls
    
59. Chicken Run
    
60. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
    
61. Foghorn Leghorn
    
62. Battle of the Planets
    
63. Bambi
    
64. Top Cat
    
65. A Bug's Life
    
66. Captain Pugwash
    
67. The Snowman
    
68. Hong Kong Phooey
    
69. Wind in the Willows
    
70. Monty Python
    
71. Alice in Wonderland
    
72. Legend of the Overfiend
    
73. Pepe le Pew
    
74. Willo the Wisp
    
75. Lady and the Tramp
    
76. Belleville Rendezvous
    
77. The Adventures of Tintin
    
78. Noggin the Nog
    
79. Peter Pan
    
80. Yogi Bear
    
81. Barbar
    
82. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
    
83. Dumbo
    
84. Roobarb
    
85. Droopy Dog
    
86. Watership Down
    
87. Jamie and the Magic Torch
    
88. Woody Woodpecker
    
89. Felix the Cat
    
90. Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
    
91. Mighty Mouse
    
92. Animal Farm
    
93. Mr Magoo
    
94. Queer Duck
    
95. Charley Says...
    
96. Betty Boop
    
97. Huckleberry Hound
    
98. Wait till Your Father Gets Home
    
99. The Pink Panther
    
100. Wacky Races

Top 100 Albums

Channel 4 showed the Top 100 albums at the weekend which I've listed below. To show how bad my taste is I've highlighted those I've had at some point or still own. I haven't done that well to be honest.


1 RADIOHEAD - OK Computer
2 U2 - The Joshua Tree
3 NIRVANA - Nevermind
4 MICHAEL JACKSON - Thriller
5 PINK FLOYD - Dark Side of the Moon
6 OASIS - Definitely Maybe
7 THE BEATLES - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
8 MADONNA - Like a Prayer
9 GUNS N' ROSES - Appetite For Destruction
10 THE BEATLES - Revolver
11 R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
12 THE BEATLES - The White Album
13 QUEEN - A Night at the Opera
14 COLDPLAY - Parachutes
15 OASIS - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
16 ALANIS MORISSETTE - Jagged Little Pill
17 LED ZEPPELIN - Led Zeppelin IV
18 THE VERVE - Urban Hymns
19 JIMI HENDRIX - Are you Experienced
20 THE SMITHS - The Queen Is Dead
21 JOHN LENNON - Imagine
22 RADIOHEAD - The Bends
23 BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS - Exodus
24 THE STONE ROSES - The Stone Roses
25 SIMON AND GARFUNKEL - Bridge Over Troubled Water
26 BJORK - Debut
27 THE DOORS - The Doors
28 ABBA - Arrival
29 MICHAEL JACKSON - Off the Wall
30 DURAN DURAN - Rio
31 SEX PISTOLS - Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
32 DAVID BOWIE - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
33 THE BEACH BOYS - Pet Sounds
34 JOY DIVISION - Closer
35 THE ROLLING STONES - Let It Bleed
36 BLUR - Parklife
37 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Born to Run
38 BILLIE HOLIDAY - Lady Sings the Blues
39 THE WHITE STRIPES - Elephant
40 BLACK SABBATH - Paranoid
41 THE SPECIALS - Specials
42 THE ROLLING STONES - Exile on Main Street
43 FRANK SINATRA - Songs for Swingin' Lovers!
44 THE CLASH - London Calling
45 THE PRODIGY - The Fat of the Land
46 THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - The Velvet Underground and Nico
47 DIRE STRAITS - Brothers in Arms
48 PIXIES - Doolittle
49 ARETHA FRANKLIN - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
50 THE LIBERTINES - The Libertines
51 HAPPY MONDAYS - Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches
52 PATTI SMITH - Horses
53 THE WHO - Tommy
54 LOU REED - Transformer
55 BOB DYLAN - Blood on the Tracks
56 PRINCE - Sign 'o' the Times
57 DIDO - No Angel
58 AIR - Moon Safari
59 ELTON JOHN - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
60 THE JAM - All Mod Cons
61 JEFF BUCKLEY - Grace
62 FLEETWOOD MAC - Rumours
63 MOBY - Play
64 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
65 THE POLICE - Synchronicity
66 JONI MITCHELL - Blue
67 CURTIS MAYFIELD - Superfly
68 ELVIS PRESLEY - The Sun Sessions
69 OUTKAST - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
70 PULP - Different Class
71 KRAFTWERK - Trans-Europe Express
72 MASSIVE ATTACK - Blue Lines
73 BECK - Odelay
74 STEVIE WONDER - Songs in the Key of Life
75 KATE BUSH - Hounds of Love
76 TALKING HEADS - Fear of Music
77 EMINEM - The Marshall Mathers LP
78 MARVIN GAYE - What's Going On
79 GEORGE MICHAEL - Faith
80 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - The Original Movie Soundtrack
81 PRIMAL SCREAM - Screamadelica
82 JOHN COLTRANE - A Love Supreme
83 LOVE - Forever Changes
84 PAUL SIMON - Graceland
85 NICK DRAKE - Five Leaves Left
86 MEAT LOAF - Bat Out of Hell
87 DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Dusty in Memphis
88 DE LA SOUL - 3 Feet High and Rising
89 THE STROKES - Is this It
90 MADNESS - One Step Beyond...
91 ROBBIE WILLIAMS - I've Been Expecting You
92 NEIL YOUNG - After the Gold Rush
93 PUBLIC ENEMY - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
94 BLONDIE - Parallel Lines
95 THE EAGLES - Hotel California
96 JAMES BROWN - Sex Machine
97 THE STREETS - A Grand Don't Come for Free
98 DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
99 ROD STEWART - Every Picture Tells a Story
100 THE HUMAN LEAGUE - Dare!

How stupid is this?

When I moved in, there was a card from the council to say they'd called but I wasn't in. When I called them to say that I had just moved in and clearly wasn't in when they called I was told that they called round to make sure I wasn't in. (!!!!!)

When a property is empty you're exempt from paying council tax. It makes sense to have a department that checks for this as it would be easy to cheat the system. It just makes no sense to leave a card to say they called round when they find the place empty.

I'm a hurting

Woken up this morning with stiff legs and bruises on my forearms to match the bruises on my shoulders given to me by the ride in Sweden. I'm clearly not suited for physical exertion.

Today I've had no choice but to take things easy, but everything is pretty much unpacked now.

The shower is cool though, it got its first run this morning and is much better than the powered trickle I had at the last flat

Moving home

Well today is the big day and supposedly one of the most stressful days, beaten only by getting married. Actually I'm pleased to say it went really smoothly even if the start wasn't as I liked.

I was actually woken by my dad entering the flat at 6 a.m. After getting dressed I showed him what needed to go and what should stay. I think he was pleased that I really had pretty much got everything sorted, well it had taken me the best part of 2 weeks to do so.

I then made my way down to the new place whilst he oversaw the loading of the van. My mum coordinates moves for the army so I had the loan of 3 of her guys and a van for the day. Saved me a small fortune and a lot of effort. The first worry that I had was that the van would beat me down but it didn't. I was there well in advance; although the loading was quick they took their time with the travel down, which I didn't mind at all.

My second worry was that there were 3 items that I didn't think would make it up the stairs, a large table, a dj console and the sofa. Fortunately, with some effort and coordination we managed to get the lot in. Woohoo!!

With everything unloaded, I spent the rest of the day unpacking which I think I've just about done. I've encountered a problem with the washing machine in that I can't get the plug to the socket without cutting the cable, the moulded plug is too big to get through the hole and I don't want to make the hole bigger. I've ordered my fridge and cooker and they will arrive next week. The other problem I have is that we're not allowed to put up sky dishes and I'm not in a cable area, which means I can only use freeview for digital TV; I would have liked to have had some more channels. So the money I would have spent on that will instead see me upgrading to a broadband connection which will enable both my PC and Playstation to be connected.

Day trip to Gothenburg

In Sweden there is a great park called Liseberg that had invited the coaster club to the press launch for its new coaster, Kanonen. The flight was at 7 in the morning which meant I had to check in at 5. So starting at 4 in the morning, I knew this was going to be a long day.

The flight itself was only £50 return which makes a mockery of our train network. I couldn't even travel to the North of England for that amount.

The ride itself was a lot of fun. It has quite a powerful launch and because it does a lot in such a small amount of space the ride does not relent and throws you at all angles. The restraints are a little uncomfortable and I've come back with bruises on the shoulders; always a good sign of a decent ride (masochist I know). I'm glad I chose not to film on-ride as there were a lot of people smashing themselves in the face with their cameras as the ride launched; one guy even managed to take a blow to the throat.

The park had also opened their wooden coaster, Balder, which is the best wooden coaster out there (according to the enthusiasts anyway). It certainly was a lot of fun with airtime on every hill. I just about managed to keep my jacket on as it was being pulled from my back by the power of the ride.

I eventually got back home at around half past midnight, not good when I needed to be up the next day to move home, but I'm so glad I made the trip. Oh, and in case you're wondering, a day trip to Sweden is not common but I would definitely do it again.

An interesting discussion on how to rewrite song lyrics

It's a bit geeky but a lot of fun, and has kept me up this evening. Can you figure out which ones are mine?

Song lyrics as lists

My back tattoo

Needed for a discussion elsewhere. Apologies if it grosses you out. It won't happen again.

This is not me I swear!

I wouldn't be so stupid to have a webcam on if I was going to dance at the computer

Original Numa Numa Dance

First day of packing..

With the start of the holidays I thought I'd make a start on the packing.

The plan was to do the kitchen, and although I've not completed it, I have done some stuff in the other rooms to make up for it. Clearing out the food was quite interesting I had food that was 2 years out of date buried at the back. Quite a lot of it is being thrown out. Pots and pans are packed but I've left the microwave out so I can eat, that's not going to be good for the diet. Freezer is defrosted.

Elsewhere all the books are and DVDs are packed as are one of my chest of drawers (one other and the wardrobe to go). The bathroom has also been done.

I've also bagged up 6 bags of crap to throw out. I can't put them all out at once as I'll fill the bin, unfair on the other tenants. I'm going to have to stagger them.

I've also sorted out all my paperwork and have it filed in a new metal organiser. This means I can throw out the briefcase I've had the stuff in for years. It's buckled due to the weight and needs to be retired. Whilst I was buying those I also purchased Timesplitters Future Perfect. Curse impulse purchases. That kept me busy for a few hours this afternoon.

Tomorrow I will finish the kitchen and bedroom.

I'm a homeowner

Today I completed my property purchase and I'm now officially on the ladder.
The next thing to organise is the move.

Andrew WK - Party Hard

I thought I'd put something other than movies on this blog.
I do list music as an interest but don't document enough of it on here so I'll post what I'm listening to.

The first one is the old hit from Andrew WK and OK, its been out for a few years and I will admit to it totally passing me by initially but I'm loving it now. I can quite happily put it on loop, and the last time I did that with anything Rock based it was "Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson.

I've exchanged!!!

It's definitely worthy of three exclamation marks as today I got the call I've fought for 15 months to hear.

"You've exchanged and will complete on Thursday"

Looks like I'm going to be a homeowner after all. I was thinking that the only thing I had left to give to see this through was bleed to get the purchase through, and ironically today I gave blood, so it looks like I did.

The next big step is the move when I shall become a Sarf Larndaner!

I'm going to Japan!!!

I got the email I was waiting for today. I am part of the Japan trip this September.

Woohoo!!!

Constantine

Not to be confused with...

Consonant. A film about a letter of the alphabet torn between 2 worlds, that of the living and that of the dead.

or

Clementine. A film in which Keanu Reeves plays a citrus fruit who kills demons in an attempt of getting the forgiveness from Satan.

or

Continent. A film in which Rachel Weisz stars alongside a large land mass and has a scene with her almost drowning.


The film itself was alright and you could tell it had been adapted from a comic book as there is a good story. Forget the fact the Movie Execs moved it from UK to LA and that Keanu took the place of a blond scouse. The film does seem to lose its way in places but the effects make up for that.

I've become a spammer

When I first came online I signed up with freeserve, one of the main providers in the U.K. who have subsequently been taken over by Wanadoo. I've never actually used the email that comes with the account, prefering hotmail instead. However within a matter of days of joining up I started getting a lot of spam, so I've been keeping the account to see how the spam industry is developing over time. I've seen phishing examples for all the major UK banks posted to this address.

Today I look in the inbox to find it full of "Undeliverable" or "Returned" mail notifications. As if I'd been sending the mail out. The format of the email address you get on joining is john@smith.freeserve.co.uk but you can in theory have anything at the front so that you can have accounts for all the family. What appears to have happened is the spammers have got hold of the bit following the @ and are putting random womens' names in the front bit.

I've reported it to Wanadoo and await their reponse. I doubt there's anything they can do though. It's just as well I don't use this account, I'd never be able to pick my legit mail out from the junk.

Payment cards

Last weekend I went to order a hotel room online (for the Gothenburg trip) to find I couldn't find my mastercard. Panic kicks in and I call up card protection and inadvertantly cancel the visa card. On Sunday I realise what I've done and call up a second time to cancel the right card. They advise me to inform the police. I tell them that I've probably misplaced it at home. I never use the cards as a rule and they're wedged tight in my wallet; there's no way it could be nicked.

Go to the police station who tell me that they're not interested unless I can prove it's been misused. So I call the bank and find out if either card had been used and they hadn't.

Panic over, except for the fact I still haven't ordered my hotel room. New cards have arrived this morning and I will do it this weekend.

Today was a good day...

(respect to Ice Cube for the inspiration in the title)

No, there weren'tt any cops pulling me over as I ran the intersection, and I don't know if anyone was killed in South Central L.A. It was however a glorious day in London, not a cloud in the sky. It was funny to see the local pub put it's tables and chairs out onto the street to attract the punters, it did work but there's a petrol station nearby and the diesel fumes were being blown towards them. We had lunch indoors and I managed to get my food order wrong, somehow a chilli burger became a spicy bean burger; and no I hadn't been drinking.

If it's as nice tomorrow I suspect the vain people will be out in their sunglasses as normally happens in the 1 or 2 days that it's not raining. Of course warmer weather means the women dress down. Nice!

Hostage @ Apollo Piccadilly

Yup, another bloody movie review.

Bruce Willis (and you won't recognise him at first) plays a negotiator who cocks things up and finds himself moved to a quiet town just outside L.A. where a bunch of kids break into an accountant's house and take them hostage. Some bad guys, who want something from the house, then kidnap Bruce's kids to ensure he succeeds in his mission.

Nice tension and some decent acting by Bruce. The weird hostage taker, "Mars" is a pretty good character; totally messed up and twisted. A little far fetched how he is able to deal with the FBI (who act mysteriously like SWAT).

Definitely worth seeing!!

I went with a friend to the new Apollo cinema near Piccadilly, it's not obvious as it's mostly underground. It's a really posh cinema with decent bar, and nice seating areas to shmooze before going in the cinema. Arena seating, super wide arms rests and comfy seating make the cinema standing out above the rest. However it's also the dearest at 12.50 a ticket, and the screens aren't massive. I will go again however. In fact I've agreed with the friend to make it a regular thing and we'll take turns to pick the movie we'll see.

She's jokingly chosen Hitch or Miss Congeniality 2. What have I let myself in for?

Gothenburg Day Trip

The coaster club has been invited to the press event for the new launched coaster at Liseberg. This is a wonderful park close to Gothenburg in Sweden that welcomes the club and just has a superb attitude. A few years ago they got a wooden coaster called "Balder" that quickly jumped to the top of the fan's favourite lists. This year they're opening Kanonen (Cannon), a launched coaster similar to Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point but nowhere near as tall, but it looks a lot more fun; it has inversions for a start.

So the invite came and a group of us are flying out at 7 in the morning, spending the day at the park then travelling back at 9 at night. Having never done a day trip to the continent before I'm really excited, especially as it's not France, which is where most people go. The flight is costing me £50 and I can get a hotel room for about the same but split it with someone else who's going. The only other money I need is cab fare to and from the park and that will be around £5 a head.

It's going to be a great day out!

The Streets - Alexandra Palace

My brother works at the venue and was going to try to get myself and a few friends in. However due to computer failure they'd sold too many tickets and there was a chance the event would be cancelled. Not wanting to risk anything, especially my brother's job, we agreed to leave it.

I spent the night catching up on lost sleep from the night before.

I nearly have a new home!

I've been keeping this quiet but after the year wasted trying to find a place I didn't want to pre-empt anything.

I've found a 2 bedroom flat in Hackbridge and this time the purchase has gone through smoothly. I've exchanged and complete just before the Easter Holidays. The flat isn't as nice as the one I spent 8 months trying to buy but I get an extra bedroom and I'll be paying £100 less a month on the mortgage. I have a good opportunity to do the place up (double glazing, central heating and new kitchen) and make more money on it too. In hindsight the other flat was so perfect it didn't need anything and so the potential would have been less.

This time next month I'll be a south-londoner!

Comedy Night

The second, and final, event I'd attended as part of the Diversity week at work. This was a stand up comedy night at Leicester Square (I spend too much time here!) and featured 4 acts; A gay asian, an Australian woman, A cockney and a black, oh, and the compére was Jewish. I can't recall the name of the first guy, but he was very funny, probably the best act of the four. The headline was Junior Simpson who I was supposed to see at the usual comedy haunt I go to but he no-showed. He was quite funny too.

The problem with the show is that there was a sense that some of the acts were holding back, perhaps saving their best material for an audience that pays.

After the comedy, the venue opened its doors to the public and became a nightclub. I hadn't intended on staying too late and I was leaving at around 10.30 when a met a mate, who'd left earlier in the evening to watch Middlesboro lose, but come back. I eventually found myself dancing and drinking until 2. There were a group of Californian girls spending their last night in town and they kept me partying as long as I did.

I stumbled home at 4ish and then called a friend in the states. I should really have gone to bed but it had been a good night and I wanted it to continue.

Fix Up

No! It's not another movie review honest!

This week my big corporate firm has been hosting several events as part of it's "Inclusion and Diversity Week". The aim is to show that they're not biased to any minority group. Why it's only happening for one week, I don't know but if it gives them the tick in the box to say they're a diverse company then so be it.

I went along to this play, written by Kwame Kway-Armah (of Casualty and Fame Academy) telling the story of a black book shop owner facing threat of closure. A small cast but a well written play which covered a number of black issues. After it, 4 of the 5 cast joined us for a Q&A session.

It was an enjoyable evening, made even more so by the vast quantity of free champagne and canapés. Usually the bar runs dry at these things, but not this time. No idea how much I drunk, it's always hard to tell when your glass keeps being topped up.

Ring 2

Had a mate at work manage to get some tickets to an advance showing of this.
I really enjoyed the original Japanese film and didn't like the idea of a Hollywood interpretation as they tend to ruin it (Nikita and The Vanishing to name but two examples).

I wasn't disappointed with the film, I knew it would be shit. If I had to pay to see it I wouldn't have done, but because it was free I went along. There are 2 good sequences; the first when deer attack a car, and the second when the girl is climbing out the well. The former has some very clever CGI, the other looking like it is CGI but according to the production notes we were provided was just a stunt woman who was also a contortionist who could get her feet above her head whilst climbing. The rest of the film is too slow and doesn't build up any tension.

In one scene where the kid is explaining he doesn't sleep, I felt it necessary to comment that if he'd been made to watch this film he'd have found a cure. Putting a "b" and "o" in front of the title is the easiest way to sum it up.

Alls well that ends well. (The best Ring pun I could come up with)

The Boogey Man

Hurrah, a horror movie with no twist, no ghosts, kids who see dead people, no schizophrenic lead actor, and fortunately for a film about monsters in closets, no blue furry beasts with the voice of John Goodman.

This is a straightforward monster movie like the monster movies of the 80s. Sam Raimi produced it but there is so much steadycam camerawork that you would think he was directing it too. A simple enough story about a kid who sees his dad captured by the eponymous bad guy and then finds him returning 15 years on.

A couple of jumpy bits, some good tension build up and a pretty scary bad guy makes this worth seeing, Oh, and it was nice to see the blonde die and not the brunette as usually happens.

There, I've totally spoiled that film for you!

Metal Gear Solid 3

I didn't want to buy this until I'd got 100% on GTA San Andreas. I'm nearly there though, just got to steal some cars, buy some property and deliver some drugs around San Fierro. Well I was out buying a Mother's Day present for "guess who" and picked up a copy along the way.

The game looks solid enough but is a little shorter than I would have liked. Yep, I've already completed it, albeit on "Very Easy" level. Decent boss battles, especially the one-on-one sniper battle with The End. A very odd sub-game with you shooting monkeys is also included in there.

To be honest I'll give this a break until I've done GTA then I'll return to it, and play it properly.

Hide and Seek

Whilst looking for a birthday present for my dad I decided to pop into Leicester Square (to any Americans reading this it's pronounced "lesta" not "lie-sesta") , the only film that looked the slightest bit interesting was this so called "super scary" Hide and Seek.

Starring Robert de Niro and Dakota Fanning (the little girl out of "Man on Fire"), it's a story of a man who's wife is found dead and who decides to retreat to the country with his traumatised daughter to help her. She then makes friends with an "imaginary" friend called Charlie and as their friendship develops sinister things start happening around the house..

It's not a very scary film at all, in fact it's a bit contrived and clichéd. Any film that tries to build up tension by increasing the music and having a cat jump out isn't going to enthrall me. There is a twist, and since Sixth Sense you'd be surprised if there wasn't. However this particular twist has been seen before, and done better. (I won't name the film as it would give it away). You do see the clues but they don't register as such, which I guess is how they're supposed to be; at least they get that right.

In the same week "Saw" came out on DVD, and that's still my favourite film of this genre. See that instead.

Yet another movie review,.....The Life Aquatic

This was a really quirky film but then if you've seen anything else by Wes Anders (Royal Tennenbaums, Rushmore) then you know what you're expecting.

Great characters that break the Hollywood mould by having facets of their characters that have nothing to do with the plot. Other characters that have nothing to do with the plot whatsoever, in this film they include a character who does nothing but sing David Bowie songs in Portuguese.

The story about is about an aquatic film maker, Steve Zizzou (played superbly by Bill Murray) and his quest for a "Jaguar Shark" after it reputedly eats his best friend. Along the way he meets his long lost son played by Owen Wilson, and runs into pirates.

The film is a lot of fun, with some stunning sets (the best being a cross section of the boat) and a great story. Whenever I watch a film that stars Owen Wilson I can't help but wonder what the hell he did to his nose to bend it so badly, but that didn't happen this time round. Either he's had it fixed or the film really is that absorbing.

We have snow!!!

OK, so it doesn't stay around for long but we are getting snow in London and as expected it's totally crippling our public transport. This week I've been getting into work at 10 instead of 9 and getting home at 7 instead of 6. But I have been able to make it in, some of the team haven't; in Kent the snow has been much worse.

Near where I live there's a big church at the top of the hill that attracts the local kids. I guess if we had a 24 hour store, or a cinema they'd hang around that instead. Given the options the church seems not a bad place to congregate. However rather than do anything good with their lives they use the hedges around the church to hide behind whilst throwing eggs at people walking past.

Even with the cold temperatures they're still gathering there, but rather than throw eggs, it's snowballs this week; a preferred option of the two. Give them time and they may even get their aim right, I had 2 fly past my head and smash against the wall beside me tonight on my way home.

Farewell Jack

Picture courtesy of European Coaster Club

Found out today that the oldest member of the coaster club died earlier this week after being diagnosed with cancer. Jack Holmes was well into his 80s and loved travelling to Europe to visit the parks with the club.

He'd emailed us the news himself, earlier in the week, to say he had been given less than a week to live and wasn't downhearted but looking forward to his next big adventure, he was saying his goodbye to us all. That alone showed the strength of his character. I don't believe I could be so bold as to do that, and share that moment with others that weren't in my immediate family.

The subsequent outpouring of emotion, thankyous and farewells from the other members of the club showed me that this is much more than a group of people who share an interest in coasters; it's way beyond that. I'm proud to be around such great people.

Jack was from New York and had some great stories about the Coney Island Cyclone, his favourite coaster and one that he had ridden thousands of times in his lifetime. I think those that were honoured to know him will be sure to remember him whenever they ride it. I for one will think of that ride as Jack's Coaster.

Goodbye Jack, and here's to you enjoying your latest ride, one greater than any built to date, and one we'll one day get to join you on.

Working overnight tonight

2 cans of redbull down, 4 to go. I've eaten all my fruit and have some chicken for later.

As I only consume redbull when I'm working overnight, I thought I'd bring enough to see me through the night. We have some changes to our website happening tonight so myself and another are in to see it goes in OK. I am going to be knackered tomorrow as I didn't get the lie in I wanted; The postman woke me up at 9 to deliver a promotional leaflet for Mother's Day.

On the way in I thought I'd pop into the record shops on Oxford Street. Came out with the new Mash Up CD from the Ministry of Sound. I'm loving the bootleg mixes from Party Ben amongst others and so felt a bit guilty about buying what is obviously a commercial attempt to cash in on the market. So to keep my conscience clear I also bought the Go Team album which has had rave reviews but not something I'd got round to getting. Both are good CDs, the latter a nice mix of Avalanches and Wee Papa Girl Rappers (whatever happened to them).

Oh, and as I got off the underground I found myself in a small snowstorm. Unfortunately it wasn't settling. If it's going to snow I wish it would do it properly.

Club night...

I was invited to a workmate's birthday bash on Saturday night, taking place at a small club in Central London. The last time I was in a proper club was during the short run of Home at Leicester Square which was a long time ago, and the night was so bad that I vowed never to go to a club again. People kicking their empties down the stairwells and having to avoid raining glass was enough to break this camel's back.

Anyhow, anywho, anywoohaa (got ya all in check) I turned up and found the venue pretty good with the party in full swing. Even though it only had a solitary light and laser projector the night was really good fun and much better than my last clubbing experience. I think it being a private party made it a little better.

I stayed there until 2, when the party started to unwind and people made their way home. On the way to the bus stop I thought I'd go for a piss at the toilets in Leicester Square and was followed in by a very drunk lad who proceeded to drop his trousers and boxers at the urinal. He was out of it. I laughed at the state of him, and quickly left. I think he was trying to speak to me but it made no sense whatsoever and as I made my way out I saw him still speaking at where I was standing, so maybe he was just wrecked.

Anyway, got to close to the bus stop to see my bus departing and there was no way I was going to run to the next stop to catch it. I have a rule that the only train or bus worth running for is the last of the day, something that rarely happens in London where we have round the clock travel, on the buses at least. I eventually got home at 4a.m.

Good night though, and yes I did dance, and no I didn't take anything. I didn't need to!

Petals Around the Rose

Came across this tonight and after a few minutes I eventually figured it out. See how you get on.

Petals Around the Rose

Ocean's 12.

Yet another movie and yet another review. I'm glad I don't do this for a living, although with the amount of rubbish I see, I probably could.

It was alright, but tried to be too smart. I didn't like the idea of having Julia Roberts trying to play herself, Bruce Willis' character wasn't necessary and the twist wasn't clever because the background to it wasn't shown to us until being revealed. It's this latter point that disappointed me most. The first film definitely had a clever twist. I don't think the writers tried this time round. And the film also sets itself up for another sequel with Catherine Zeta Jones joining them. I only hope 13 isn't an unlucky number.

The high point of this particular evening, wasn't the film but the Thai meal that came before it.

Unseen Fatboy Slim Video

It would appear that Fatboy Slim had 2 videos made for his "Slash Dot Com" track. The one you've probably seen is the man and woman with marker pens writing on the walls in the metallic room.

This, however, is the other, slightly more risque video.

The real slash dot com video

AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

I've lost my GTA San Andreas save game. All the effort I put in over Christmas has disappeared. Curse you Sony Memory Card.

So I've started over and am flying through it, it's a lot easier second time around especially as you know the layout of all the roads, which helps.

Parents not well..

Got a call from Dad this morning, saying that mum had spent the night in hospital following some food poisoning. He sounded terrible, and was really cut up. She was discharged after an overnight stay but whilst she was alright, Dad wouldn't keep his eyes off her and wasn't sleeping. I'd never seen him like this, a very sweet gesture but also pretty damaging for him. Even when I insisted he sleep and I'll keep an eye on her, he'd refused. My brother had tried too but to no avail. Eventually we got him to sleep when she went to bed which he did. The next day they were both a whole lot better.

It turns out my mother had taken medicine she'd reacted to in the past, but nowhere near as bad as this. Needless to say that bottle is in the bin. There is no way she's going to be taking that again.

Wet Ride

What am I giving up for Lent?

Well I'm supposed to give up something I love, and the most obvious candidate was...

Pizza!

Wish me luck, it's not going to be easy.

Chilled Weekend

Didn't really do too much this weekend, Saturday was spent wasting the hours replaying Half Life 2. The game is too short so I need to get my money's worth from it. On Sunday I went to see The Umbilical Brothers. It's 2 aussie mimes who incorporate sound effects and just put on a very entertaining show.

They've been on Leno and Letterman so you may have heard of them through that. Definitely worth seeing!

Happy Birthday to me

drunk drunk drunk I am
and it's my birthday too
but I don't care for I am old
and I'll have nowt' to do

thirty three is what I'll be
and that is fairly old
I had some cake and truffles
and then drunk cider all evening

yes I know it doesn't rhyme
but I don't really care
for at the weekend I had my head shaved
and now I have no hair

Closer

I really didn't want to see this film as it contains nothing that interests me. I've never seen a Jude Law movie, and I tend to stay away from adaptations of plays, unless there's explosions and crap like that.

However when I got to the cinema, this was the only film about to start and I didn't want to wait an hour for "Assault on Precinct 13", which would have contained explosions-a-plenty! A friend at work had also really enjoyed the film and recommended it.

So I've now broken my Jude Law duck but to be honest he wasn't that good, and I don't see what the fuss was about. For me Natalie Portman stole this movie, her acting is getting better and better.

The fact she plays a stripper who does the splits whilst wearing a thong has nothing to do with it. Honest!

This film also has the coolest movie poster.

New Haircut

Over the last few years, my hair has been increasingly leaving me, am I really that hard to get along with? Rather than trying to cover it up I've gone with just keeping it short. I'd like to shave it all off but never have the confidence to go that far.

Today I went to a number 1 which is a new record!

Now my head is bloody cold when I go out, time to buy a hat, although if I do that it looks like I'm covering it up.

I can't win!

Lord of Rings Marathon

Well I've had the Lord of the Rings trilogy box sets for a while but hadn't watched them so I decided today to do all 3 back to back.

08:50 Fellowship of the Ring begins.
10:35 Swap to disk 2.
12:07 Fellowship ends and The Two Towers begins.
13:50 Swap to disk 2.
15:40 Enough of the towers, time to watch The Return of the King.
17:45 Swap to disk 2.
19:32 "The End" is displayed. The marathon is over.
19:53 The credits finally end.

So it took me the best part of 11 hours (10 hours and 40 minutes if you exclude the credits) but at least I can say I've done it. The pacing of the trilogy is perfect and the ending, which seemed too long at the cinema, is just right when the trilogy is viewed all at once.

Now, I need to sit through the director commentaries, but that can wait for another day.

: Flip The Switch - Chemical Brothers Remixed

One for the bootleg fans. This is the same thing that happened to The Prodigy album a few months back. Give each track from the album to a different bootlegger and get them to remix it. Then bring them altogether on a single website and release them on the same day as the album's release. Fully endorsed by The Chemicals themselves, enjoy!

: Flip The Switch - Chemical Brothers Remixed :

Burns Night

Well I thought I'd celebrate Burns Night tonight and cook the meal.
So one haggis, and a bowl of mashed neeps and tatties later, I'm bloated. There was no way I could finish it, but then it was a meal for 4 I was attempting to devour.

I'm such a fat pig, but it was a one-off!!

I might be going to Japan!!

Over the weekend I received a bunch of trip invites from the coaster club and I think I'm going to do the whole lot!

In May there's a trip to Holland, just a weekend, but to 3 parks I've never been to.
In July there's another trip to Hungary, Austria and Italy, which again I've never been to.

Finally, there's the biggy! A 2 week tour of Japan. I had been undecided about this trip as Japan is my dream destination and I wasn't sure I wanted to do it just for coasters. But the club have some sight seeing opportunities and it's come in less than I thought it would be, just £2300. I only hope I get picked, if the club gets over subscribed.

With the good news on the flat, assuming it goes ahead, I can afford all 3.

WOOHOOO!!!!!

Good News from the Bank!

I went to see my mortgage advisor today and he found me a new mortgage. The bonus is that I will end up paying £100 a month less than if the last purchase had gone through.

I really was destined not to get that flat.

Elektra

Had nothing to do today so I thought I'd go and see another film today, the third this week. The link to Daredevil is pretty weak and there is no Ben Affleck (hurrah!!). The story is OK, with Elektra, an assassin, sent to kill some people who she then ends up protecting.

The effects are pretty good, especially with the character Tattoo who has animals tattooed on his body coming to life. Good to see Bob Sapp typecast as a muscular strongman, given that he's a 340lb Mixed Martial Arts Fighter I doubt he'd get much else. One lame character though was a guy who's ability seem to being able to balance a large coin on his hand. I'm sure if I read the comics I might have known more about him.

Overall its OK, not outstanding but then doesn't try to be.

Team America

The second film this week was a night out with some team colleagues to see the puppet fest from Parker & Stone. South Park is one of my favourite animated films, the intro with Uncle Fucker just cracked me up and kept me laughing throughout the film.

I was expecting Team America to be more of the same but it didn't hit the mark in quite the same way. The comedy was much more broader than South Park with some clever digs at Jerry Bruckheimer and Hollywood in general.

My favourite piece of dialogue was..
"A car with wings, now I've seen everything"
"Have you ever seen a man eat his own head?"
"No"
"Then you haven't seen everything, and neither have I"

The cruellest joke had to be the one aimed at Matt Damon. I can't wait for him to be introduced as "Maaahhht Daaahhhmon" from now on.

The worst bit of the film had to be the throwing up scene which I couldn't stomach, pun intended. I rarely have to close my eyes but I had to here, and it was just puppets. I have emitophobia (a fear of vomiting) so scenes like that I have to turn away from.

A bit of a scare

Got off the underground and went to get some food only to discover my wallet was missing. I had arranged a team night out and had a fair amount of cash in it, along with the cards. I called the office to see if anyone could see it at my desk and was told "no".

Panic sets in, so I decide to retrace my steps on the off chance that I've dropped it.

I ask the station if anything has been handed in and was told "no".
I spend the entire journey back to work thinking how I could have lost it and conclude that the pikey looking girl next to me on the journey home must have reached under the arm rest and picked my pocket.
I ask the station at the other end if anything has been handed in and was told "no".
I arrive back at work and check with reception and was told "no".

I get back to my office and can't see it anywhere on my desk, so I sit down to start calling around to get my cards cancelled when I realise I've just sat on my wallet which had somehow fallen out of my jacket onto my chair as I left to go home.

So this very happy bunny is pleased to find his wallet but is condemned to go to hell for blaming an innocent party.

Million Dollar Baby

I fancied a week of movie going as there had been a wave of new releases that I'd wanted to see. The first was this one from Clint Eastwood and as I'd been recommended to see Mystic River and blown away by it, I was expecting the same with this.

What I got was something much more complete and better. This had a better mix of comedy and tragedy than his previous effort. Some great acting from Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, with some very clever scriptwriting.

Whilst I tend to avoid films that are nominated for Oscars, I'm glad I've seen this and I hope it does well.

Found a new flat

Spent today back down in South London viewing some more flats.
Found a nice one with 2 bedrooms and cheaper than the one that fell through.
Similar flats in the area are going anywhere between 3 and 10 thousand more so I've picked up a bargain, because it's in great condition. The living room is a lot smaller than the other one but bedroom and bathroom are bigger, plus this one has the second bedroom.

This isn't as close to the shops as the last place was, but is much nearer the station, a bonus!

I put in the offer and it was accepted so I'm back in the process again. Here's hoping this one goes through.

Webcam exploit through Google

Apologies if this sounds a bit geeky...

If you search for "inurl:indexFrame.shtml Axis" in Google you're able to access webcams for various buildings around the world. I think you can drop the "Axis" for more results.

A pub
An airport
Tunnel construction

Quite cool for those with voyeuristic tendencies.
I've also found some more searches if you're interested just check out this link.

4 guys and a cheerleader

This is just crazy...
Pump Up The Movie

A trailer for a movie for those who liked "Bring it On"

Scaredy cat?

Ananova - Jet forced to turn back from US

I wonder what this guy had in his shoes?

The flat has gone

Today I gave up on the flat purchase.
The agents called for an update and I told them I couldn't accept the lease in it's current form patched up with insurance policies to fill the gaps. When I came to sell it wouldn't be a good proposition. I also wasn't happy with the lack of response from the landlord and not sure I'd want to have to deal with him again.

The seller came back and knocked off a decent amount to get the lease rewritten but couldn't commit to the landlord being keen to do his bit. So I chose to not to go with it.

So after 2 attempts totalling a year, I'm now back to square 1 over a thousand pound wasted. Roll on 2005!!

At the end of episodes of Inspector Gadget you'd always get some useful advice so that the program could be deemed to be educational. If this posting was an episode of that show then I'd now be telling you to stay away from flats above commercial properties as the leases are often shoddily written because only a single legal party is responsible for their creation.

Trip to the hospital

Got home after a crappy day at work (too much to do, too little time) to get a message from my parents. My brother had been knocked off his motorbike after a car pulled out on him (quite normal for motorcyclists it seems).

He's OK, managing to come away with only a fractured leg. The paramedics expected a 30mph collision to be more serious. He was disappointed that it wasn't broken, as he was hating the fuss he was causing. However he's content that it's fractured, if there was nothing but bruising he would have been quite pissed off.

So his leg is all plastered up but he's OK, which is the main thing. To cheer him up I raided the vending machine and bought him a kit kat. The marketing slogan "have a break" seemed ironically appropriate..

Jerry Springer the Opera

This was shown on BBC2 last night.
For those that haven't heard of it, it's a musical version of the show with some strong imagery and plenty of foul language, done in a pseudo-operatic style. The Christian community have been protesting about it saying it's blasphemy and inappropriate for a public funded station. Many of those protests have come from people who haven't seen the show though, as is usually the case with these protests.

Personally I found it really funny, even with the language which I'm not a huge fan of. I don't think the complaints were justified, it's no different from me, being an atheist, complaining about the channel showing "Songs of Praise" (a church based program for those that don't know).

I think if anyone had a right to complain it would be the Klu Klux Klan who are ridiculed by having them break into a tap dance routine. But then I'm sure the Christians wouldn't protest about that, after all they're not the subject.

I'm sure there will be plenty of press on the complaints in tomorrow's papers.

A new year, a new start

Happy New Year everyone.

I realise that I've not been posting enough on this to make it worthwhile so I've made a resolution to be a bit more active. So expect to see some more posts and I'll even fill in the gaps from the last couple of months with the more important stuff.

Flat nightmare

I had a meeting with the solicitor today and got some bad news with the purchase.
In short I seem to have a knack for finding badly written leases.
The vendor has filled the gaps by offering indemnity and insurance policies but it doesn't put me in a good position should I choose to change mortgage provider or sell on.
So I've asked for the lease to be rewritten, the money to come from knocking the asking price down by the required amount.

However that will take time and because it's been 8 months since this started I need to find out if the market has changed. I may be able to find a better property now, in which case I needn't bother continuing with the current one.

How much of my time do they want?

We had a 3 minute silence for the Tsunami victims today at work, as was happening all over Europe. I chose to leave the office before it started as I didn't feel it was right to be told how I should remember the tragedy. Yep it's bad that it happened but when the media (who is driving this) asks for my time on a selective basis then I oppose that.

I can't deny that what happened has been pretty devastating but it got 3 minutes today and another 2 on New Years Eve. Even our war veterans get less than that (one rememberance event I have no problem with). I think when Ken Bigley was killed there were 2 minutes there as well (and he's just a fool who ignored Government warnings in light of some quick cash). 9/11 got also got 2 minutes. In what is appearing to be an increasing trend, it won't be long before we're staying quiet for 10 minutes. Asking for all this time demeans the value of it.

The thing with all of these is that in most cases (except Bigley) we can't forget them if we lived through the event when it happened. There are other events such as Rwanda that are just as horrible but because there's no story there for the papers to sell we don't have it pushed in our faces, and feel obliged to remember and pay up.