scarlett johansson (allegedly) stolen nude photos

I've been a bit slow in mentioning the hacked/stolen Scarlett Johansson nude photos which have been all over the web, but the person (Christopher Chaney) who (allegedly) hacked into her phone and got the photos, has since been arrested. I would however, be curious to know what an international movie star who has never done full frontal shots before, would be doing, taking photos of herself nude, and then not transferring and deleting them in case they were stolen/hacked (or she lost her phone). I don't really think it has anything to do with the (alleged) split up from Sean Penn, but it does highlight a great deal of naivety and stupidity from her. On the other hand (because one hand is already busy fnarr fnar) it provides something to look at during those lonely lonely hours when there is only you and your maker in the room (what a scary thought that is).

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the red sky at night

I've taken some good pictures of the sky and all it's colourful glory (IMHO), but this one is better. Damn that goddam photographer!

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gadaffi is dead - here are the newspaper covers - here is my view

So, Gadaffi is dead, and although there are conflicting reports about how he died, there has not been much doubt that he was shot in the head, dragged along the floor, and not shown much mercy. The British newspapers have been pretty keen to show the photographs of him dead, going with front page shots and having very little sympathy for him. On radio phone in shows l heard today, there was also little sympathy for the way his life ended, with callers saying he should have been shown no mercy, he didn't deserve justice, this is payback for Lockerbie and WPC Fletcher, a trial would have dragged on and cost too much money, and he should have been tortured and killed in the same way he killed his victims. I agree a trial would have cost a lot, may have caused more fighting and also put people at risk. I also agree he was a dictator who caused the deaths of lots of people and l have no problem with him being dead, in fact l do think his death saves money and the media circus and trouble a trial would cause (and it stops the bastard lawyers making money). My problem is the glee at showing pictures of his death on the front pages of newspapers and the general assumption that he deserved no rights because of what he had done. The reason for fighting dictators like Gadaffi is (supposedly) because of their human rights violations. If we do not then behave better than the dictators and set examples of a just and fair system/democracy, what is the point of going in. We cannot just pick and choose who deserves their rights, it's either everyone or nobody, otherwise, who gets to choose which individual is allowed them? It may be galling to treat murderers, dictators (and for that matter, even burglars and violent criminals) in a humane way, but that is how a decent society works. When there are wars, troops expect to be treated as prisoners of war, even if they have just been captured after killing a lot of opposition troops, possibly including friends and family of the victors. The urge at the time may be to just kill them, but it should be overcome. Even a killer should be entitled to be tried, and if capital punishment is then an option and decided upon (after a fair trial), so be it (although l am against it myself, after all, ever heard of miscarriages of justice or false/beaten confessions?). If Gadaffi had been killed while fighting, that to me, would have been a great outcome, but hysterically abusing and then shooting prisoners is not right. If you think it is, see if you still agree if some British soldiers get captured after a raid/killings/fighting in the future (Iraq/Afghanistan? Who knows where this could happen), after all, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" (Gerald Seymour).

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yeong-deok seo sculptures

Yeong-Deok Seo is a Korean artist who uses chains to create sculptures, which look pretty damn intricate and time consuming to make. Oh, nearly forgot - they also look great. More here.

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the stone roses on university challenge

The Stone Roses do University Challenge. Top stuff.

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the exterminating angel - louis bunuel (1922)

The Exterminating Angel (or Le Angel Exterminador in Spanish) is (as expected) another strange offering from Louis Bunuel. I loved Un Chien Andalou and Le Age D'Or when l was younger, as they were so strange, both funny, weird and scary. Although I had never heard of The Exterminating Angel before, I was expecting it to be at least 'slightly off the wall'. It didn't disappoint in the slightest. A well off group attend a dinner party, but afterwards, the servants (apart from the majordomo) leave, and the guests find they (for whatever reason) cannot leave the room. They then start to get irritable, hungry, thirsty and sick, and the niceties of their society start to crumble. They use expensive pots for lavatorial needs, break a water pipe to drink from, and eat sheep that wander in (don't ask). Some of them end up dying, until they re-enact the first evening, and somehow, manage to find the mental strength to leave. Whilst this has been happening, people outside the home have been unable to enter, for the same unknown reason, but when the guests start coming out, they can then come forward, as though a spell has been broken. If all that is all not strange enough for you, they all go to church at a later date, but the same thing happens to everyone in the church, while riots happen outside, and sheep once again follow them in. I thought my dreams were crazy enough, but this was certainly way off on the wacky scale, and you could read any analogy into it, some obvious (although not necessarily correct) like the lambs going to the slaughter (or sheep wanting to join the elite at any cost), or the rooms representing the planet and its depleting resources. I'd rather just appreciate these kind of films for what they are. Bonkers.

And l didn't even mention the bear.

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the dale farm riots and clearance

So, as anticipated, the police have gone into Dale Farm to evict the travellers who built on land without planning permission. Activists have become involved, there has been fighting, burning, tears and tasers (what a surprise). The thing is, l can understand that the land should not have been built on, therefore the travellers knew what they were doing, and by definition, they knew the risks, just the same as if l built another home in my back garden without planning permission. The council would be onto me, and l would probably have to have it demolished, although l would obviously still own the land. This is the same situation at Dale Farm, but it has been going in and out of court for the last 10 years, and, in the meantime, people have settled there (settled travellers? Definitely oxymoronic language by anyones standards). The land is old scrap land and the people are now settled (next to the legal travellers site). This now begs the question of where they all now going to live once evicted. Moving them is costing millions, and the land will still be unsightly and good for nothing once they have gone. This should have been sorted as soon as they started building, not 10 years down the line, and l am sure a lot of people working in the legal profession would have made shitloads of money out of this. Even though the travellers have broken the rules, after 10 years, evicting them serves no purpose and will just create more problems. The building rules may well be changed shortly, if the good Mr Cameron has anything to do with it, so let them stay. Next time another one of these situations looks like occuring, give the judges a kick up the backside and use some common sense to prevent building at an early stage. The travellers are at fault, but so is our legal system. Maybe we should send in the rozzers to sort out the judges, sitting there on their loathsome spotty behinds like poor people in church, procrastinating with their decisions while reaping the financial benefits and lording it over the great poor unwashed. Power to the people!!!

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goodies for sale in the old agros catalogue

Once upon a time, this stuff used to be highly desirable. Some of it l even owned. My, how times have changed (and are changing faster and faster). Welcome to the space age (and it's about bloody time!).

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zelig - woody allen (1983)

A spoof documentary about Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a man from the 1920's who transforms himself all of the time, morphing into a version of whoever he is in close contact with, which makes him famous, and also a celebrity patient of the psychiatrist Dr Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow) who tries to cure him, but (of course) ends up falling in love with him. Like in Forest Gump, Zelig features old newsreels that have been doctored to include him, which is very cleverly done, but as with the Tony Blair film (see below), l thought it was another movie with more style than substance. A clever pastiche, but it left me unmoved, and there wasn't that much to laugh at. Thinking about it afterwards, l much preferred Forest Gump, which might have gone for some easy laughs, but it at least fulfilled the role of being both funny and moving (and with clever newsreel manipulation). That's why of course, some films become so popular, because they are done so well and therefore appeal to a mass audience (and life is like a box of chocolates).

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the stone roses reformation

Wow! Something l thought l would never see. The Stone Roses have reformed and are going to be doing some gigs pretty damn soon. Speaking as a man who loved the band, has seen them already (and before they became famous), and even likes the much maligned Second Coming album, l won't be going to see them again, mainly because l don't want to ruin the memories l already have of them. However, just on the level that they were all mates who fell out, it is great to see them together again and supposedly getting along. Even if they have just reformed to make some decent money out of the live market before it is too late, good luck to them. Look at how happy they all are. Ain't it sweet?

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a hard day at the colburn gym

Phew! What a day it's been. I have just spent ages trying to get into the blog, and had to change my password to do so. This is after being at work since 3pm yesterday, working overnight, and then finishing this afternoon, with a trip to the gym being thrown in. I was surprised there was not a lot of people using the facilities, but l suppose they might all have been at work. Luckily, l was not working out either, l was merely dropping someone off and then picking them up again an hour later. It's still what l would call hard work, so l have a right to moan about being knackered. Good to see the old sports field through the back doors, as they were the scene of many of my splendid goals and footie high jinks when l was younger (before the harrowing knee injury). Oh happy days indeed, when the sun always shined, the air was crisp, l looked like a God, and the pretty girls swooned on the sidelines (or was that one of my dreams?). Getting older - what a bastard!!

Saying that, there are currently two sisters removing clothing in my bedroom, with a promise of getting all hot and sweaty. l will have to go and investigate. Hope the old ticker doesn't choose now as the time to pack in, or l shall be shaking an angry fist at the heavens.

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the comic strip presents - the hunt for tony blair (2011)

A one off special, 'The Hunt For Tony Blair' was filmed as a film noir style murder mystery suspense thriller, in which Tony Blair ( Stephen Mangan) is on the run for murder, ends up killing more people, but may have been innocent (and gets seduced by Margaret Thatcher along the way). There are some great performances ( Nigel Planer as Peter Mandelson, Tony Curran as Robin Cook), surpassed by Steven Mangan as Blair himself, but it just wasn't that funny or thrilling. A great idea, and superbly filmed, but ultimately, l found it to be a let down, which was a shame, as some of the earlier Comic Strip stuff was excellent. Mind you, l also found the some of the early stuff to be hit and miss, so it should not have been that much of a surprise to me. I am also pretty dubious when so many well known comic actors are involved in something, as the plot and writing are often poor (see Carry On Columbus or St Trinian's for proof). A classic case of style over content.

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an american football player in 1920

Just look at that outfit! Look at the height of the shorts/pants/trousers! Look at his mad glare!!!

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judy and sally geeson

I'd kind of forgotten about these two sisters until l re-watched 'To Sir With Love' this evening (Judy Geeson was in it - see below). At one time (when l was a nipper, back in the day etc) they were both on the screens a lot, but it never really occurred to me at the time that they were related. I suppose when l was younger l wasn't that bothered, even though l fancied Sally Geeson in 'Bless This House', with the rather marvellous Sid James as her father (I still can't believe she let me down to run off and marry William G Stewart in real life). Then there was the 'Carry On' films, '10 Rillington Place' (which is superb), the already mentioned 'To Sir With Love', 'The Fenn Street Gang', 'Here We Go Round The Mullberry Bush' and 'Poldark (which l have never seen)' amongst others. The above pictures are from Judy comic, which states Judy is talented, but Sally is pretty. I bet that led to some pisstaking over the Geeson Christmas Turkey.

I have also just found out that Judy shares the same birthday as me (10th September), but in a different year. What a lucky girl she is, as are the other people sharing that day of joy, such as Johnny Fingers (from The Boomtown Rats), Cynthia Lennon, Siobhan Fahey (from Bananarama), Joe Perry (from Aerosmith), Don Powell (from Slade), Carol Decker (from T'Pau) and Jose Feliciano (solo). Phew! Rock and Roll celebrations all around!!!!!

Rather cringingly though, it is also the same birthday as bleeding Guy Ritchie and Colin Firth (Damn!).

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to sir with love - (1967) james clavell

E.R Braithwaite himself, who the film is based on

Although it looks as though it was filmed in a completely different age, To Sir With Love is still an excellent and compelling movie, dealing with a new black teachers experiences with a tough (and mainly white) East End classroom. It is based on the semi autobiographical novel by E.R Braithwaite, and Sidney Poitier (who plays the teacher, Mr Mark Thakeray) gives a superb (and mainly restrained) performance. The children are cynical and distrusting of authority, but Sir manages to win them over by treating them as adults, while also managing to avoid the dangers posed by love struck Pamela Dare (played by Judy Geeson). Lulu is a pupil, and also gets to sing, and although it is more prominent in the book, another new teacher Gillian Blanchard (Suzy Kendall) also falls for him. In the end, he has to decide whether to take an engineering job, or stay on as a teacher with the next lot of kids. Guess what he does.....

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sukiyaki western django - takashi mike (2007)

A really wierd film this, for starters, the voices are dubbed, even though they are already in English, and the colours are sometimes pretty bright. Sukiyaki Western Django is essentially a tale of two Japaneses gangs fighting, but it is also done in a spaghetti western style (with a cameo from Quentin Tarantino). Very strange indeed. It does have the odd funny bits, but not that many, as it's mainly pretty violent (although one funny bit is also a pretty violent scene). The classic tale of a stranger coming into town and sorting the gangs out, but l wouldn't say it is that great, certainly not as good as the Clint Eastwood westerns, or the Akira Kurosawa films. I did however, love the colours and backdrop.

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