attack the block (2011) - joe cornish

I had been looking forward to 'Attack The Block' for a while, as l loved Joe Cornish on the (now sadly no longer with us apart from in cyberspace) 'Adam And Joe Show' on the radio (even if they are posh boys - they are still funny).

A group of youths mug a nurse, get involved with an alien invasion (as you do), but turn out not to be such bad lads after all, as they try to defend 'their block'.

Joe Cornish obviously loves his monster and horror movies, but l got a bit bored of all the chases with the aliens/monsters, and you always thought that the kids would redeem themselves and turn out to be OK in the end, but it was still a decent film that l was not disheartened by (and that is saying a lot).

Now if only they would crack on with some more radio shows.....

Nearly forgot. Nick Frost is getting bigger. I thought my brother lived in Leeds.

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new jersey beaches in 1904 and 1910

These photos were taken a long time ago in New Jersey, but things have not changed that much since then, which is the reason why l like to have a private villa with a swimming pool when l go on holiday nowadays.

Plus it keeps me well away from the scumbags (apart from my friends and wife).

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dodgy men and a hideous dog missus

What is it with people taking pictures of their hideous mutts? I posted one the other day, but here's an old time photo of a poor hooch that may well have been taken away afterwards to live (as man and wife) with his master (who obviously has a fetish for dressing up dogs as women). Each to their own and all that, but l would not like to have been in that dogs shoes when he got home (and was ordered to the bedroom). The owner (let's face it, he is a man) will be dead by now, so l can make any aspersions l want about his sex life/bestiality sessions. Poor hound (but still hideous).

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let me in (2010) - matt reeves

Let Me In is a remake of the Swedish film 'Let The Right One In', and although the new film (as far as l remember) was much bloodier, l preferred the Swedish version. Don't ask me why, l just did, as it somehow appealed to me more, and from the tiny bits of my brain where l can still retrieve some slight information about it, it seemed darker. A young boy who is an outsider and being bullied at school meets a young girl on the playground outside their block of flats. She turns out to be a vampire (girls - eh!), but comes to his rescue later on in the film. A good idea, it's also well done, but nothing special (and watch 'Let The Right One In' rather than this).

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the purple rose of cairo (1985) - woody allen

I must have been one of the few people in the western hemisphere who had not seen The Purple Rose Of Cairo until l had nothing to do the other day. I had caught a few minutes of it here and there over the years, but as the FPO is still slaving away and hogging the computer, l watched it for the first time all the way through, and was glad l did. l won't go into great detail as the story must be common knowledge by now, suffice to say an actor (Tom Baxter played by Jeff Daniels) steps from the screen to fall in love with Cecilia, a disillusioned housewife (Mia Farrow). Mix ups and questions of loyalty ensure, and l was surprised at the ending, as l expected it to be pretty sloppy (and it obviously wasn't, otherwise l wouldn't have mentioned it). One of Woody Allen's better films (if you like him that is, it's a kind of love/hate relationship with most people). I'm firmly on the side of the lovers (with the early stuff anyway).

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my uncle ray - l love the man

While l was prating about on the internet today, l came across a picture of my uncle Ray and his wife (Maria) with one of their sons (they have three), Gary, (and his own family). It was really good to stumble upon this, as Ray was a star when l was younger, taking me to see Manchester United as soon as l showed any kind of interest in football (he supported them already, even though he had lived in Liverpool all his life). This was back in the mid 1960's, so it was before the glorious night of Wembley 1968 and all that went afterwards, and he was also like a surrogate father to me, as my own one was often a insensitive bastard when l was a kid. He still lives in Liverpool, we both still follow Manchester United, and l can't thank him enough for what he did for me. Even though l had to suffer the 1970's and 1980's with Liverpool winning everything, it was still worth it (especially in the last decade or so). Ray - you were (and still are) a star.

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machete (2010) - robert rodriguez

Machete has to be one of the most violent films l have ever seen, but the violence is also done in a kind of cartoon like and over the top way (Grindhouse fashion) so that it does not always appear real (to me at least). It stars a real life (ex) dodgy bloke (Danny Trejo) as Machete, and he gets involved with (amongst other things), assassination attempts, the cause of the Mexican illegal immigrants, corrupt police forces and drug dealing (and still manages to have sex with the ladies - even when injured and stinking). Plenty of stars are involved (including Cheech as a priest), and l was surprised to see how massive Steven Seagal is (or was), but the action and violence are the main reasons why anyone would want to see this film. It was just like being transported back to the 1970's (but without the Kung Fu).

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pictures of london during summer 1976

This all looks as though the pictures could have been taken in the 1960's (or even the 1950's), it looks so long ago. More pictures are here.

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einstein or monroe eye test

This worked for me. Turns out my vision is fine, Einstein was up close, and l did see Marilyn when l walked away from the computer.

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animation on a bike wheel by katy beveridge

Why have l never seen this sort of thing before? There must be a market for it (including putting adverts on the spokes). This demonstration is by Katy Beveridge.

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the cadillac ciel concept car

I don't have a great interest in cars (in fact pretty much zero interest), but even l must admit that this Cadillac Ciel Concept Car looks pretty amazing. It manages to be both retro and space age at the same time. I now have my fingers crossed for this weekends lottery win.

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more optical illusions

Optical illusions - l love them!

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l may be old but....

I should get this on a t shirt (but let's face it - l won't).

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living with the amish - channel 4

The rather lovely Jonathan (in the middle)

I have only seen the first episode of this series, as it was on while the FPO was upstairs looking busy and l was fiddling about downstairs (calm down missus - only with a necklace). The show was the usual kind of boot camp journey, with plenty of back stories, but what came across the most was how the Amish family involved (Jonathan and Marietta) were so nice, helpful, open minded and humble, something l thought l would never think about an Amish family. In an ideal world, l would like to live my life with that attitude (without the religion aspect of it), but l am just too darn cynical and selfish (blame my parents). At least l do my one good deed a day, so that's a starter for ten, and helps keep me in the good books, just in case (are you paying attention God??). Anyway, as the good lady herself (Marilyn Monroe) said..

I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.

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one of the best optical illusions l have seen

It's even better when it is enlarged (isn't everything?). Really trippy maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn.

Pass me my drugs.

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