the thing with two heads (1972) - lee frost

By Jove, The Thing With Two Heads was bad. Rotten, stinking the place out bad (and not even in an ironic so-bad-it's-good kind of way). It's just rubbish. I can't believe that Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend, Dial M for Murder) would get involved, but l suppose everyone's got to make some money somehow. He plays Dr Kirshner, a wealthy racist who is getting his head transplanted onto another body (due to his ailing health), but wakes up to find the only body available was a black man on death row. It doesn't get any better. Avoid at all costs.

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old city steps on a time lapse photograph

I can't remember who took this (old) photo, but it certainly has a spookiness about it.

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a cute baby hedgehog after a bath

What's not to like?

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we need to talk about kevin (book) - lionel shriver

As l am planning on going to the cinema to see 'We need to talk about Kevin', l thought l would read the book first, to see what all the fuss is about and so l could assess how much the movie adhered to it. The book is in (very long and precise) letter form, from Kevin's mother Eve, to her husband Franklin, after Kevin has killed some pupils at his school. It is also in the form of a thriller, references other high school killings, and questions nature v nurture. The book was really good, but it could have been shorter, as Eve didn't half ramble on a lot. I would have got out of that relationship pretty damn sharpish, or at least encouraged her to go on more of her foreign fact finding trips. According to the narrative of the letters, l think both of the parents were wrong in their childrearing approaches, but Kevin also just sounds like a little git of the highest (or lowest) order. I did think that Kevin should have remained impassive at the end, rather than becoming scared or unsure of himself. To me, that just seemed a bit of a cop out for a happier and hopeful ending. Then again, l am not a million selling author, just a stinking hippie.

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chocolat (2000) - lassie hallstrom

A strange one this, Chocolat has the look and feel of a French film but with everyone speaking English. It stars Alfred Molina as the mayor who tries to close the chocolate shop, Johnny Depp as a 'water rat' gypsy type, (who falls in love with the chocolate shop owner), and Judy Dench as the chocolate shop's landlady. Who runs the aforementioned chocolate shop? That would be Juliette Binoche (who is French). The little French town is religious and oppressed, and the chocolate shop and it's contents start enriching the villagers lives, despite opposition from the mayor and the young pastor whose sermons he has been influencing. A little bit too long, but the type of film l like, even if it did not need subtitles.

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invictus (2009) - clint eastwood

As the FPO has been slaving away on college work, l have still had plenty of time to watch stuff and read, so today was the turn of Invictus, the story of how Nelson Mandela unified South Africa, using rugby and the 1995 rugby world cup as an emblem of togetherness, forgiveness and looking to the future to create a 'Rainbow Nation'. Morgan Freeman is splendid (as he always is) playing Mandella, and Matt Damon (who has certainly beefed up a bit) plays Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks. I put off watching the film because l have no interest in rugby, but it was pretty moving (but l still don't like rugby).

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recent (ish) photos from my camera

The Wine bar - busy as usual during the afternoon

Catterick Village residents (it's like a horror movie)

Scorton Car Boot Sales (every Sunday morning!)

The rabbit run before l hacked the overgrowth back

Rab still alive and kicking (well, alive at least)

Louise and Dazzers party for the house warming and little Lol

The wall in JT's

Idiots in the Wine Bar (Mr OC, Lonnie, Rich and Ditch)

Idiots dancing on a Friday night in Tunstall

Nothallerton Friarage Hospital waiting room (work in the morning)

The bloody grass before cutting it for bonfire night

Fireworks in the living room - no Health and Safety officer in sight

Mmmmm - Drink!

The Health Centre in Catterick Village (work in the afternoon)

An example of my sadness in front of the computer

The Health centre in Catterick (check up for me in the afternoon)

The river Swale on the way to Leyburn (opposite the caravan)

The beginnings of the bonfire and an idiot rabbit

Warming my tootsies at the end of bonfire night

Another late bedtime with the sun coming up

Bonfire night with a guy in the way

The idiot (and huge) rabbit being cleaned (and looking pissed off)

Thought l would share a few recent pictures that l had uploaded to the computer. What an exciting experience for everyone involved!

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pearl jam piss take with subtitles

I was watching the Pearl Jam documentary (Twenty) by Cameron Crowe earlier on this evening, and this piss take appeared on it. To me, it just got funnier the more times l watched it.

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crazy hallucinogenic cat video

This video is just weird. I sure picked a fine day to give up acid.

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cologne and dresden at the end of the war

Dresden 1945

Cologne 1945

To say Dresden and Cologne were bombed a lot towards the end of The Second World War is certainly a bit of an understatement. It's amazing how they (and Germany) have managed to recover so well, and in such a (relatively) short space of time, that they are now holding the purse strings of Europe.

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doctored burger king advert

Very clever!

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alternate cool hand luke posters

More junk/collectables for me to collect, depending on your viewpoint.

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