into the wild (2007) - sean penn

The real McCAndless shortly before his death

Into The Wild is based on the true story of  Christopher McCandless,  who gave away all of his (from his parents) money, travelled around a bit,  then went to Alaska, where he found an abandoned bus, used it as his base, and lived out in the wild, away from society, and being at one with nature, in all it's wondrous glory (hence the title). Bloody hippie. Although the story itself is good (based on the book by Jon Krakauer), l couldn't relate to McCandless as a person (played by Emile Hirsch), as he just came across as a spoilt git who wanted to make a name for himself, by self mythologising himself everywhere he went. Apparently, he touched people (not in that way) he met along his travels, with one old fellow even wanting to adopt him. If l had met him though, l'd have given him a slap and sent him on his way, as he was just irritating. He eventually starves after eating poisoned berries (although non were found in his body afterwards), as he had been unable to cross the river back to civilisation, even though there is a crossing less than half a mile away from where he was, which shows how much he must have explored the area. Pretty much everything about him got on my nerves. Even when he sent his money away, he put a note in to say it was all of his savings, and made sure he told people about it when he met them. Pah!  He should have sent it to me if he didn't want it, stopped whining, and at least let his sister know he was safe now and again. Still, that's one less spoilt middle/upper class git to be dealing with, so it's not all bad.
The music by Eddie Vedder was excellent, and there was also a rendition of 'Angel from Montgomery', so that at least helped me tolerate the film. What a disappointment.

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dynamite underwear

While l am off shopping for the tie below, l think l will get myself  some new underwear to go with it. The ladies won't know what's hit them, the poor defenceless fools.

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glow in the dark tie

I've got to get myself one of these before summertime gets here and it gets too light.

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roman beware of the dog sign at pompeii

While l was looking up Roman swear words the other day (don't ask), l found this little beauty. It is a 'Beware of the Dog' sign, made out of tiles and found at Pompeii. It shows that things haven't changed that much since the olden days, but l am a bit pissed off, as l have been to Pompeii, but never saw one of these. I was however, surprised how far away Mount Vesuvius is, as it really made you realise how powerful the eruption must have been, as l had always assumed it was right next to it. They must have crapped themselves when it all went off.

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scalping in the wild west

I've said it before, and l'll say it again. Times were hard in the old days, especially in The Wild West. Not only were there the everyday struggles of trying to make a living, and just surviving generally, there was also the risk of being injured or killed by outlaws or Indians. Add to that, even if you survived an Indian attack, they would probably have scalped you, thinking you were dead.
This happened to the two unfortunate chappies above.
The top person is William Thompson, who was scalped by the Cheyenne in 1867, and that is his hair in the trophy case.
The fellow below is Robert McGee in about 1861, who was scalped by the Sioux when he was a child.
I bet it was mighty painful, and rather them than me.
As stated before, times were hard.

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short cuts (1993) - robert altman

Now this is the kind of film l like. Plenty of interesting characters, no great rhyme or reason to the stories, and it also finishes without tying up the loose ends, leaving you wondering what will happen to the some of the people involved. I wont go into the various tales, but some are interlinking, some aren't, and not all of the characters are nice. It was great to see Tom Waits and Lyle Lovett acting, as they were superb and believable.  Short Cuts is pretty long (about 3 hours), but certainly worth it from my point of view.
Thinking about it, this is how 'The Hurt Locker' should have been made. Join the peoples lives at a random moment, become involved with the story, and then an unexpected finish. It would have been so much better.

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invites are out for the nhs emergency summit

This visualisation is by Ben Goldacre, and shows just who David Cameron sends the invites out to when calling for emergency summits regarding the NHS bill. Why does none of this surprise me?

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andy warhol injury photos by richard avedon

I was re-watching a documentary tonight about Lou Reed's  (excellent)  Transformer album, and when they spoke about Andy Warhol being shot (by Valerie Solanas), l was reminded of these splendid pictures of Andy by Richard Avedon, after Andy had been operated on. The scars put the one on my leg to shame.

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apt tattoo for knife in face guy

I bet he was glad he got to display his tattoo at the hospital, but that knife looks like it might smart a bit.

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space age pool table on radiance of the seas

This space age self balancing pool table is on board a cruise liner (Radiance of the seas), and the clip shows it operating in rough seas.

Outstanding stuff - exactly what technology should be used for.

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127 hours (2010) - danny boyle

James Franco film stuff above - the real life Aron Ralston stuff below

The true story of a trip that went wrong, 127 Hours stars James Franco as a better looking version of the real life Aron Ralston, who went for a hike in the Blue John Canyon, Utah, and ended up getting his right arm trapped by a boulder in a slot canyon. Unable to escape, he eventually had to cut off his own arm with a crappy 2 inch knife attached to a multi tool (after breaking the bones first). Rather him than me - l'd have stayed and given up. Mind you, my blubber would have kept me going for a while, and l'd have drank my own piss and eaten some ants before the water ran out (but that's another story).
The film mainly has Franco filmed alone in the canyon, but there are also flashbacks, a short back story, and some hallucinations. After all, you've always got to include some kind of love interest, even telling a true story like this.
The film flew by, and the suspense never eased up, which must have been a difficult thing to achieve, seeing as most people would know the true story (and the ending) beforehand. Franco was excellent in it, but maybe should have called on some of his Green Goblin powers to try to escape. I think Danny Boyle should have included the swimming sequence with the two girls (if it had to be included at all), as a hallucination, rather than an event (which never happened), but that was my only quibble. I enjoyed it so much, l am off to have a celebratory drink of my own urine, nibble on some rabbit droppings, and trim my fingernails as a homage. I thought about trapping myself in the airing cupboard, but l'm not that stupid.

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super hero costumes for dogs

This makes me want to go out and steal a dog just so l can dress it up (not for the first time).
Costumes are available here.
Only $11.40!

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steve martin - born standing up

I finished Steve Martin's 'Born Standing Up' in the bath yesterday evening, and it was really interesting, if you are interested in comedy, fame, magic and death (which, of course, l am).
It deals with his upbringing, up to achieving (and dealing with) his fame, and the later death of his parents, but is mainly about trying to make it for years, constantly changing his act to be new and original, and his anxiety attacks, probably bought on by too much work and stress (with the help of some drugs).
It is not a hilarious book by any means, but the parts about his drive and desire to learn, plus his insights into dealing with fame, are fascinating and well written, and the death of his parents and his relationships with them was very moving.
It's just a shame about 'The Pink Panther' and 'Sgt Bilko' remakes.
Recommended.

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beatles 'a hard day's night' lobby cards

More crap that l could easily collect. Lobby cards from cinema showings. I used to have some when l was younger, but they were lost years ago, when moving house.
Here's some l would like now, The Beatles 'A Hard Day's Night' ones.
Another collection to be cracking on with.

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the trip bbc series - 2010

This series could so easily have been a bit of a luvvie fest, as it features two friends (Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon), travelling Oop North to review some posh restaurants for The Observer newspaper. Coogan and Brydon play exaggerated versions of themselves, and are shown amusing each other, bickering, and being competitive with quotes, accomplishments and impressions. The Trip also portrays Brydon as a happy family man, and Coogan as a lonely individual, searching for love and striving to be taken seriously, but caught between two worlds. At one point he falls into a river while crossing it, and Brydon shouts he's 'Stuck in a metaphor'.
It took some persuading for the FPO to watch it, and l was not keen myself when it was first shown, but we both found it hilarious and sad. Even more sadly, it made us think meals where cheap when they were £50 per person. Where the Hell have my working class credentials disappeared to? I did think it was good at the end when they said the cheap fry up in the sunshine was as good (if not better) than most of the meals they had (like a good KFC, or sausage and mash can beat most meals).
They should definitely do another series, but stop then (like Fawlty Towers).

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off work and crying to john prine and the trip

Here's John singing the tale of the two girls and a rocky marriage



Bonnie Raitt singing John's Angel from Montgomery, which she has made her own. Some superb lyrics and a real feel of regret and yearning

If dreams were thunder
Lightning was desire
This old house it would've burned down
A long time ago


I'm still off work and been indoors for the majority of the time, which is fine by me. However, l am still going to bed really late and then waking and getting up early, so l have had a distinct lack of sleep for the last couple of weeks. This has resulted in a tear coming to my eye whenever l have been listening to sentimental songs, or watching decent comedy. This has not been helped by listening to some John Prine and watching The Trip (more from that later). Saying that, it's great! Makes you feel alive (and surprised l have a still functioning heart (albeit a dodgy one), not a lump of black coal in it's place).
Might have an early night tonight though, as post is expected tomorrow, and l don't want to sleep through the knocking.


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the hurt locker (2008) - kathryn bigelow

Although l enjoyed The Hurt Locker, it still fell into the old cliché of having a maverick (William James - played by Jeremy Renner) having issues, being a loner, working to his own methods, and  putting others in danger (but obviously getting results), to such an extent, his performance felt like a parody (although it was praised by most).
The film was also let down by some of the unbelievable sequences, such as James going out of the compound by himself looking for a child's killers, and also persuading his two colleagues to give chase where they think a bomber is hiding (it's best if we split up'), without informing anyone else, and after being told that 'It's infantry's job').
There is enough tension involved with the areas and situations that they were put in, let alone the dismantling of the bombs, without having to go down the same route as so many other movies.
I thought they should have just shown the squad at an arbitrary point in time, and the tensions they are under. Squad members (not those sort of members) could have been fired at and blown up at random, with no great rhyme or reason, and new blood shown taking their places. Then, you would have ongoing, relentless tension, as you would never be who (if any) would survive any of the incidents (like at the beginning of the film).
The film could also just end at a random point, with more new squad members arriving (or straight after another death), to highlight that the insanity just goes on.
I should have been involved in sorting this out before it was made, it would have been so much better and hard hitting. Ah well, close but no cigar.
Next time, they should call me first.

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