this is england 1988

I can't believe that l forgot to post about This is England 88. It was on over Christmas and is another of the Shane Meadows series following various characters over a period of time around the Midlands (Nottingham/Sheffield) area.  It is one of the best things that has been on TV in the last few years, and the more you know about the people involved, the more you get swept up by their stories, their trials (literally in some cases), tribulations, and their general struggles at survival. There are betrayals, aggression, depression, humour, hallucinations, suicide attempts, questions of faith and class struggles. What more could you possibly want from your Christmas fare?  Happy stuff?  In that case, look elsewhere, as this was one of the most depressing things on over the Yuletide festivities, with the FPO weeping nearly all the way through the three episodes.  Great stuff.

toodle pip

how to make a profit from cds

Some of these figures are just ridiculous. Wait until l unleash my masterpiece, there will be no where left to sell it.


toodle pip

muhammad ali is 70

Ali is 70 years old.  Where in the world does the time disappear to?  Quite simply, to me, and many others around the world, Muhammad Ali is, and will always be, the greatest. He had everything. Great looks, true belief in himself, a serious attitude and conviction of what he thought was right, was not afraid to stand up to the government, and my oh my, the boy sure was funny, quick witted and sassy.
The champ.

toodle pip

the fat idiot rabbit

Just look at the size of Tubbs, the lazy idiot rabbit. About time he had a run around in the garden.

toodle pip

another dodgy advert

This advert is wrong on so many levels. Who the Hell thought of it?  Why didn't anybody point out it looks seedy?  Amazing.


toodle pip

the kings speech ( 2010) - tom hooper

The Kings Speech was much better than l envisaged, as l fully expected it to be some kind of  Merchant Ivory / Rambo hybrid, where the future King overcomes his setbacks and difficulties, to emerge victorious at the finale, despite all odds. Don't get me wrong, it was like that (after all, they want to appeal to the American audiences), but not as obviously overblown as l imagined. In fact, l enjoyed it, even in it's so obvious 'What a sad life he has had',  'Poor little darling he has been teased and frightened', 'I've got no friends' and 'I don't really want this life' kind of way. I have little sympathy for somebody in his position who has untold wealth and influence, when all he has to do is make some speeches and show himself in public, but, saying that, Colin Firth was excellent as King George V1. I also thought Geoffrey Rush was superb as Lionel Logue, his speech therapist, and l lasted to the end, which l was not expecting beforehand. Somewhat obvious, overblown and sentimental, but that's exactly the sort of movie that attracts the Oscars (amongst other awards), so it's no great wonder the film was done that way.
And then he led my grandfather into war.....the bastard!


toodle pip

ideal - two series back to back

Over Christmas and the New Year, l've put the hours in and really got into Ideal, watching two series more or less back to back, therefore getting to know the characters pretty damn quickly. I love Johnny Vegas anyway, but to me, the characters of Cartoon Head and Psycho Paul are superb, as (rather sadly), l either know characters like them, or can relate to the humour of them

 ie
"Psycho Paul doesn't do Relate" (done in a menacing accent).

Now l have made another burden for myself, as l now have even more TV to watch, due to the fact there's loads more series of Ideal that l have yet to see.
I don't know if that's great news or depressing, after all, l'm an old man and l haven't got time for new experiences (although l will make exceptions for certain things - call my mobile).

toodle pip 

sir henry at rawlinson end - vivian stanshall

One of the classics of English prose, poetry, flights of fancy, and music.
Sir Henry At Rawlinson End might appear at first as the raving of an old school English madman, but it is pure genius by Vivian Stanshall. Danny Baker often quotes the start ....

 "English as tuppence, changing yet changeless as canal water, nestling in green nowhere, armoured and effete, bold flag-bearer, lotus-fed Miss Havishambling opsimath and eremite, feudal still, reactionary Rawlinson End. The story so far.."

 There's lots more.
A character called Scrotum for a start.
Here's one of the first long bits (as we say in the trade)....

 "Tendril-fragrant honeysuckle sucked and honey-babed, close to the ancient limestone walls of Rawlinson; and Florrie, awake, bayonetted her turkey head from its privy orifice. It was a lovely morning: gorgeous beyond imagining were brassy hoars of winter-depression-fierce daffodils, blaring yellow-white reveille, and croci, gingering the lawns in tessellate Performing-Right-Society. No need for wellies, Florrie, shawl about her sparrow shoulders, took the interminable beige thing she was knitting into the garden".

We could do with more mavericks in the pop/rock/musical idiom nomadays

Class....pure class.

 toodle pip

notes from a small island - bill bryson

Notes from a Small Island is the first travel book l have read by Bill Bryson, and it was pretty entertaining in parts, with some interesting observations and amusing throwaway lines. The only other book of his l had previously read was 'A Short History Of Nearly Everything', which mainly dealt with science, (and is superb, even with the odd mistakes). 'Notes' has Bill travelling from dahn sarf in Blighty up to the top of porridge munching land, using mainly public transport, and doing a lot of walking, drinking tea, and staying in crappy hotels or bed and breakfast places along the way. He gets a bit tiddly sometimes, gets soaked a lot, but loves the countries and the people. l think l may peruse another one of his books in the future, as they are something you can just dip in and out of, with plenty of moments to make you at least chuckle a bit. He has also enlightened me about the 5th duke of Portland, William CS Bentinck and his life at Welbeck Abbey, including the underground tunnels he had built. What a character he was. He lived the life l could only dream of, but he certainly did his own thing, and bugger what anybody else thought of him or his actions. Check him out.

toodle pip

printed t-shirts with bender, todd snider and timothy leary

I got around to buying some dark t-shirt transfers before Christmas, and this is one of the first of my creations. A Bender face (from Futurama) on a grey shirt. It looks brilliant, even if l say so myself.

Next on the list was this Todd Snider one, which looks great as well (and l've got my tickets to see him at The Borderline in London in February!). Hurrah!!!! His only English date.

This also worked out great. An old 'Turn on' poster by Timothy Leary. I should be doing this for a living, l've got such a great eye for what looks tasteful, stylish, and slightly different.

It's just a pity about the other one being wonky and crazed, otherwise, once again, l could have made my fortune.

toodle pip

boardwalk empire season 2

At long last! Finished watching season 2 of Boardwalk Empire tonight and it was certainly not a let down in any way, shape or form.
I wasn't that keen towards the end with the Jimmy at college storyline, but l suppose it gave him more of a back-story and helped you empathise with him more.
Series 3 is in the pipeline, and l'll certainly be perusing the networks and t'net for when that is broadcast.
The whole series has been excellent, with plenty of twists and turns, double crossings, outrageously authentic sets and clothes, and of course, lots of violence (l had to keep the idiot rabbits eyes diverted from that).
Why isn't there more TV like this?
Don't bother writing in - l know the answer. It's too time consuming and expensive.

toodle pip

two moons this morning

This blurred image is off two moons l could see outside of the work place at about 5.30am this morning. The middle bit is the flash from the camera (I think, l only saw the two moons). This sort of picture could make my (long awaited) fortune. Hurrah!!!!


toodle pip 

the green hornet (2011) - michel gondry

Damn! That's an hour of my life l won't be getting back. I tried, brothers and sisters, l really tried, but ultimately, The Green Hornet just annoyed me more and more as it went on, until l crumbled (after giving it waaaaay too long) and admitted defeat. I don't really know what l was expecting from the film (not a lot, to be honest), but it is based in the USA, and it's from an American comic and radio series, so l shouldn't have been surprised that it was so American. The trouble was, I didn't find Seth Rogan (who plays The Green Hornet) at all likeable or funny (and he was certainly meant to be), as the humour was too American for my delicate English sensibilities. It wasn't like The Simpsons funny American - more like lots of crap American gross out movies American (with the sort of partaaaaays l would rather die than go to). I didn't find Kato (Jay Chou) that appealing (although l'll admit it was good they referenced the Bruce Lee TV series), and l just got bored and pissed off with the film it as it dragged itself onwards to a (no doubt) overblown yet ultimately unsatisfying conclusion. I did like Christopher Waltz as Chudnofsky (a Russian crimelord), but that was it. Crap.
I've got 'The Kings Speech' coming up soon, and l am feeling dubious about that as well (even if it is English).

toodle pip

michael jackson- the magic, the madness, the whole story - j. randy taraborrelli

The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, was pretty much how l expected it to be. Tales of being bullied to perform at an early age by his father (who drove those children hard), plus the dysfunctional family and tales from Neverland. I didn't realise he had known Debbie Rowe for so long, and there was some details about him and Lisa Marie Presley l had rather not known. Inevitably, there is also a lot about the child abuse allegations, and J. Randy Taraborrelli actually goes pretty leniently on Michael Jackson regarding these. He thinks the later court case regarding Gary Arzivo reached the right decision (Jackson was found to be innocent), but is more unsure about the earlier one involving Jordan Chandler (who's family were paid off). It is still staggering that any mother or father would let their young child go away with Jackson, and allow them to sleep in the same bed as him without another adult there to monitor and /or supervise. Jackson was obviously one really messed up individual, but the stuff about 'being like a child himself' or 'innocent and loving children' does not wash with me. He was an adult.  He made adult decisions all through his later years (some admittedly, not for the best), and if he loved the children that much, he should have protected them from media attention and speculation. I have no proof he was a fiddler, but l know where my money would be placed if l was a betting man. He still produced some great records, and looked great before all of the surgery.  As was said to George Best - 'Where did it all go wrong'?

toodle pip

boardwalk empire, al capone and stephen graham

I am currently ploughing through Boardwalk Empire at the moment, and although there is a lot of fine acting (plus bloodshed), one of the roles that stand out for me, is Stephen Graham playing Al Capone. As l have seen him before in 'This is England' (amongst others), l still can't get over the fact he hasn't got a Scouse accent and is so believable. Top stuf indeed.

As a diversion from that, this is Al Capone's cell (as it is today, untouched and available for viewing) at the Eastern State Penitentiary. Capone, as most people know, was jailed for tax evasion. What a lot of people don't know, is he went delusional and reverted to the mental capability of a 12 year old due to Neurosyphilis. A bit like me.

toodle pip