From the makers of 'Spaced'. Shaun of the Dead is marvellous. Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost! Directed by Edgar Wright! It's a romantic comedy but with zombies, lots of gore, an English setting, loads of pop culture references and repeated jokes. What's not to like? Spot the other comedy stars in it! Excellent.
For some mad reason the FPO decided to invite the family round for lunch at the weekend, destroying my peace, quiet and happy home. I was even sent to the shops after finishing work to buy sausages (with firm instructions not to buy any cheap ones), cauliflower and booze. On returning home, I tried to watch 'The Sunday Supplement' before anyone turned up, but fell asleep on the settee within about 5 minutes, to be woken with Rook at the door, as a prelude to everyone else arriving. All was going swimmingly once everyone had settled down with a drink, as l was royally entertaining everyone while the FPO was in the kitchen, slaving away cooking (as she should). However, when it was food time, l poured the gravy onto everybodies plates. Where's the harm in this you may ask. Ah, there's the rub...when pouring it onto Louise's plate, little Lol put her hand in it and obviously got burned (slightly, as l have the reflexes of a mongoose and wiped it off). Lol was crying on and off after that (probably scared l was going to throw some more over her) and Louise and Dazzer took her home early, leaving us with Rook and Deb. Still, we then had a good night, watched 'Later' with Jools Holland, and all got drunk. I'll have to remember the gravy trick next time l want some solitude. Everyone has now been warned!
Rope is another classic from Alfred, which involves an (apparently) perfect murder using (guess what) and James Stewart as Rupert Cadell (an old housemaster), working out what has happened. A very similar idea concerning guilt is in the rather fantastic book Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (in fact it is mentioned in the film), and there is a lot of talk about morality, supposedly superior people (Nietzsche and his superman ideas gets bandied about) and who gets to choose who should live or be killed (it was, after all, just after the Second World War). It was interesting to see a film done in real time and with long shots, but I thought the ending was a bit poor. However, l still enjoyed it, even with the over the top acting (and gay subtext).
The Barringer crater in Arizona was created about 50,000 years ago and is certainly something l would like to see before l shuffle off this mortal coil (along with many other things). Then again, if you think that's big and impressive, l suggest a perusal of the Vredefort crater in South Africa. Now that would have been one hell of an impact.
Another dodgy old advert - l'm living in the wrong era.
As it is nice weather again today, l thought l would open the front door and see how hot it was, as l had not even opened a door since Monday, and have been inside all week. Look what was awaiting me (and l nearly walked into). A bloody big spiders web right across the doorway with a fat spider in the middle. I wouldn't mind so much, but it must only have spun it's web today as the FPO went out through the doorway this morning on the way to work. Christ l hate them. Saying that, it didn't half go flying off into the distance when l whacked it with one of the kitchen implements (which l then washed vigorously afterwards). I am definitely checking doorways before strolling through them in the future. That's something else to be worried about - no wonder l can relate to Woody Allen movies (see below).
Something else l would like to see. Not just a humpback whale, Oh dearie me no, this is only a white one! This is thought to be a baby and has just been photographed near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. If it wasn't for the dodgy spiders down that neck of the woods (or sea), l would be there in no time (OK, some time, but a short amount of it).
An old advert for Sega games, and pretty damn funny as well. A medal for whoever came up with it.
As l am still up and coughing, l found the 'Breakfast of Champions' film on my computer, which l had forgotten l downloaded a while ago, so stuck that on to pass the time. It was certainly a strange film, as the main actors were excellent (especially Albert Finney as Kilgore Trout), but they also hammed it up too much and went for cheap laughs, rather than just trying to make a good adaptation of the (rather excellent) book. A pretty boring film with not many (in fact no) laughs. Read the book instead.
There is a bit of a fuss at the moment as to whether Bob Dylan has ripped off an old photograph for his 'Opium' painting. You would be a fool to deny that it has not come from Leon Busy's photograph, which was taken in about 1905, but where is the problem with painting a photograph? If Dylan claims all the inspiration for himself, and says it is original, that is another matter. Until then, chill out and make the most of his Bobness while he is still alive (Plus l like both the painting and photo). Not sure about putting the paintings in an art gallery if they are to be judged on the paintings themselves, but l have no issues with Dylan's paintings/writings/drawings/artifacts being displayed somewhere as a tribute and homage to the great man.
La Regle Du Jeu, known as 'The Rules of The Game' in English, is by Jean Renoir, and is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. Not by me it isn't matey boy. A French drama/farce/satire highlighting the decadence of the upper classes just before the Second World War, it just wasn't that dramatic or funny. I did think some of the cinematography and deep focus was excellent, but the actual story left me cold. A hero pilot returns, everyone meets at a country house, where they are all (including the servants) being (or trying to be) unfaithful, then someone gets shot at the end. There's a nice close up shot of a squirrel, so at least it salvaged something. The first film l have been able to watch for a few days, so l will have to send off a letter of complaint to the French authorities. (and God, who made me ill).
These type of needles have probably been on the go for years, but it is the first time l have seen one. What an excellent idea! Obviously (and despite my age), l have 20/20 vision and therefore have no issues when it comes to threading a needle. On the other hand, a lot of others do have issues with them, so this idea is top notch (as we used to say in the Air Force).
Unlike our idiot rabbit that has one (fat) head and half (if that) a brain.
Duncan Hamilton was covering Nottingham Forest when Brian Clough was their manager, so got to know him pretty well (or as well as anyone could do outside of his family). There are some great tales (as expected), and the book is really well written. It reports the highs and lows with Clough, so it is a winner with me (The book also won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award in 2007). Clough was certainly a complex man, who sadly let the drink get the better of him and impair his judgement during his later years, but he is someone sorely missed in management (when he was younger). I, (amongst many others), would have loved him to become England manager, that would certainly have been interesting. He obviously could not have been less successful. The FA - Ron bleeding Greenwood????? - what a bunch of bastards.
Michael McIntyre's book is one that l guessed l would not like, as a lot of his stand up l am not that keen on, and l thought "here we go, another posh boy telling the tale about how they had the same chances as everyone else, but made it through the hardships". Some of it was like that, l'll admit. He does however, not try to cover up any of the posh stuff, and freely admits to any help he has had. I know a lot of established comics do not like him, but he doesn't mention this in the book, (although he has done in interviews). Maybe it's because of his supposed meteoric rise to fame and fortune, but he did put in the hours (years) before he became famous, and there are some good tales of having no money. There are lots of instances of what a hopeless ass he is, and how sad and desperate he was around girls, which was pretty funny, and an especially good part about wanking all the time (you will have to read it). Much better than l anticipated (unless it's the god-damn flu impairing my judgement).
Gary Neville is certainly someone who divides opinion (a bit like Robbie Savage). Manchester United fans love him and Liverpool fans hate him (Gary Neville is a red - he hates scousers). England fans have certainly given him (and his brother - and Beckham) a hard time over the years, so he has some bad memories of playing for them, and admits he would rather do better for United than England (which l admire), but was still proud to play for his country. I'm on the love side of any argument, as he is United through and through, and it was a shame his career petered out through injuries and becoming slower. There was not a lot in the book l didn't already know, but l liked it anyway, as it is always good to hear accounts of the Gods such as Cantona. The main revelation was about how the youth team used to play tricks on each other, as the stories about the England set up/farce is well known. He repeats that the players wanted Venables to stay on as manager after 1996, and thought it was madness he was not kept on, thanks to the FA (who he has no time at all for). Not too much dirt is spilt, but if you support Manchester United, it is always worth reading for another view of the situation behind closed doors (and more confirmation that Sir Alex Ferguson is the hardest working man going). Oh, and he even has some good words about Liverpool.
As l have been unwell and wanted some easy reading, l have gone through some autobiographies, as they are easy to digest in small chunks. Nerd do Well was OK, but (as l should have expected), there was too much about the 'Dawn of the Dead' and 'Star Wars' films for my liking, but, as Simon Pegg admits over and over again, he is a nerd, and he does love those films (but not the later ones of Star Wars) . There is also a fantasy part with himself as a hero with a robot butler, which l was not keen on at first, but it grew on me. I haven't seen 'Paul' yet, and to tell the truth, l am in no great hurry to, as l have not enjoyed his recent films. However, l do hope it is good as l love some of his stuff, it's good that he admits Nick Frost is funnier than him, and he sounds like a normal and nice guy (although I wouldn't want to be stoned listening to him give a critical analysis of the movies he likes).
Urgh! The good news is l have been off work, and will be off again tomorrow (I think I will be back on Saturday). The bad news is l have flu/pleurisy/swine flu/bronchitis/leprosy or something bad, as l have been sneezing, crapping, not sleeping properly, having hot flushes, aching all over, and coughing up phlegm all the time, resulting in a bad chest and not being able to breath properly (I'm really going through my inhalers at the moment). Although the weather has been great, l have been indoors, reading and falling asleep, then waking up coughing. I even took a picture of my wee yesterday as it was pretty dark, but the FPO advised me not to put it on the blog (she has no taste). Feel like l am getting better, as l have stopped sneezing, but am still aching everywhere and not breathing properly (and still coughing up that phlegm!). It will have to be a trip to the doctors if it continues, but hopefully it is nearly over. I wouldn't mind the flushes and can tolerate aches and pains to be off work, but it's the constant coughing and lack of breath that gets on my (and the FPO's) nerves. I blame God.
The ants are drinking flavoured and coloured sugar water. I never thought they would look like this, but l suppose it makes sense.
