Thursday, August 26, 2004

A Pirate Adventure

Today I’m wracked with guilt. I did something naughty last night. I watched a bootleg DVD of Garfield the movie.

I’m a big fan of the movie industry – I love the whole process of movie making regularly following the progress of a films completion via websites like Dark Horizons. A good film can be sheer joy, transporting you to other times, worlds and lives. A good film will prompt a heavy post-cinema analysis with your mates in the nearest pub or car journey home. I remember years ago I watched a bootleg copy of The Lion King at a friends house. It was awful, blurry, colour was poor, sound was sporadic and there were the occasional shadows of people walking around in front of the screen throughout the film. That put me off pirates-copies for life. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to watch these awful versions of films when, for a few pounds they could watch it on a huge screen with fantastic sound, picture and a great atmosphere.
These days though Pirates aren’t so bad – don’t believe the propaganda being churned out by the anti-pirate corporations and film industry. Garfield was very clear – great quality and the sound was crystal clear and in full stereo.

So why did I feel so guilty? Well as I’ve said before I love the film industry. I love the huge spectacles that roll around. I love the films that make you think and I love supporting the talented individuals that create these films. But my viewing of Garfield illegally means they don’t get a single penny from my enjoyment of their movie. It’s only £5 to go to the cinema but if say, just 40 people have seen this DVD then the film-makers have lost out on £200.
I have decided that morally I should make up for it, so even though I felt Garfield was average – more a kids tale I will buy the official DVD when it comes out. But next time I’m interested in a movie it will definitely be Odeon Cinema providing my enjoyment – not a dodgy car boot trader…

Monday, August 23, 2004

When the going gets tough - quit?

The media is today commiserating Paula Radcliffe’s performance in the Athens Marathon. She is being hailed as a brave hero, a true champion.
Um,
Hello?
She is a loser, a quitter. She gave up. We are telling our children it’s ok to do this. ‘Oh life’s a bit hard is it son? Never mind just give up you’ll be a hero.’ It is totally the wrong message to be giving out. I cannot deny she is a fit athlete, she trained and trained and even by quitting she achieved more than my unhealthy body ever could. It is, however, utter rubbish that she is being called one of the best athletes of our time – she obviously isn’t otherwise she would have completed her race like all of her team-mates and many of her competitors.
Beckham, Southgate and many more are ripped to shreds when they miss penalties why isn’t Paula getting the same treatment? It’s media hypocrisy. Despite true feelings they want to follow what they feel is the public line – even if that line differs from the paper’s opinion they’ll still follow it, just so they make sure papers will be sold.
Well I’m not selling papers so I will be honest.
Sorry Paula you are a loser and you let the nation down…

Sunday, August 22, 2004

In 2012 my true love gave to me, five multi coloured rings!

I don’t know Steve Redgrave. I have no personal interest in Matthew Pinset so why, yesterday morning, was there a lump in my throat?
The race was thrilling. Close all the way. Team Great Britain grasped rowing gold by just one 800’s of a second. It was a race that saw me shouting at my TV screen in excitement. Then, when they clinched victory I could have cried. Television was amplifying the raw emotion that must have been felt in that team GB boat.
It’s one reason I like television. Good evocative programming can create and amplify emotions from nothing. It might sound sad but I have suffered more emotion at the hand of the magic glowing box than I have through the loss of loved ones. My great grandmother died ten years ago and I didn’t shed a tear. Four complete strangers win a boat race yesterday and I was ready to blub.
These four men though were true athletes. Forget your Beckhams and Rooneys it is the GB rowing team that display the attitudes of true sportsmen. They train for four years for one victory then fade away off our screens back to their lives – we don’t have to suffer their faces all over the press or have Heat Magazine ramming what their fashion tastes are like down our throat. They do it for the sheer love and thrill of the sport not for the million pound advertising deals.
I hope London does win the 2012 Olympics. Forget football – real sport is coming home.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Nostalgic Ramblings...

My girlfriend and I yesterday travelled the 64 miles to the Birmingham NEC. We were partly giving her brand new car its first motorway run but we were also visiting a nerds mecca – The Memorabilia show.
Memorabilia is held at the NEC three times a year. April, August and November. Entering the doors and wandering around the tradesmen’s tables is a pure delight. Hidden amongst the various Buffy, Star Trek and Lord Of The Rings action figures there are true treasures of childhood. At least every 5 minutes you here someone whisper ‘I used to have one of those’ alternatively you also here;
"It’s worth how much!? Oh god, why didn’t I keep the box!!"
I went yesterday vowing to spend very little – last year I blew over £100 there in one afternoon, the majority on a hand signed photo of Kylie Minogue. I went there wanting to meet Deep Space Nine’s Ezri Dax (One of the show’s regular guests) and buy a tin wind up bender (from Futurama)
Sadly I failed in my resolution when I cam across a gorgeously detailed model of Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, other than Thunderbirds, the adventures of Stanz & Venkman were my other big childhood favourite. Though unlike most children my original 1985 Kenner Ecto 1 does still have the box…

Sunday, August 15, 2004

A hurricane in Florida kills three people and Bush declares it a disaster zone.
Military action in Iraq kills thousands of innocent citizens and Bush declares it a success…

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

So are Thunderbirds go?

I finally went to see Thunderbirds today.
Johnathan Frakes re-imagining of the classic TV series has caused mix press. Many, traditionally hard core Thunderbirds fans have slated it for daring to alter Gerry Anderson’s vision of the future. Meanwhile other reviewers have praised it for being a good, fun, action packed kids movie. So what’s my verdict?
Well let me inform you that in 1991 Thunderbirds was my life. When BBC2 re-screened it I instantly fell in love with it. I ran to the kitchen grabbing empty bottles and tried to re-create the craft. Ultimately my mother was very pleased when Matchbox then decided to release their own versions thus saving my mum’s fairy liquid bottles from butchering. I new all the stats, facts and plots inside out. This background meant while I was excited at seeing stunning CGI versions of my favourite craft I was worried that the 21st century may have destroyed one of my childhood loves.
So did I like it?
God YES! Absolutely brilliant. The craft look like they always should have (though TB2’s rear end seems slightly odd) they now have power and the Tracy Brothers can finally walk! The campness is there, the suspense is there and all the little in jokes are there. Yes it IS a kids films but the 60’s show was a kids show so see it with that in mind and you will thoroughly enjoy it!

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Exhausting Day

Aren’t coincidences amazing?
Tomorrow my girlfriend is taking delivery of a brand new car, a lovely Kia Picento (sp?) Anyway we were driving down to my weekly pub quiz today in her old car and the exhaust fell off! Seriously, any other day it would have been a disaster but that fact that we’re due to get a new car in just 12 hours meant all I could do was laugh.
Why don’t cute moments like this happen more often?

Saturday, August 07, 2004

Big Load Of (ex)Bollox

What a farce.
Nadia won, but the big question is why. The answer, she had a gimmick. That’s all people care about in these days of sound bites and infoblasts. You need a gimmick. Michelle McManus was fat so she won Pop Idol, Nadia used to be a bloke and therefore won Big Brother.
The 10 weeks in the house should be all that you use to inform your decision of who wins. The contestants past should be ignored and irrelevant. Nadia went in wanting acceptance and she got it – weeks ago. She didn’t have to win to prove she was accepted for who she is, when she broke down on Wednesday was a wonderful moment and I really felt for her but it was her only ‘moment’ in the Big Brother house. The only other thing she will be remembered for is the fact she turned into the Hulk when she didn’t get fags. Other contestants were far more deserving and will be remembered for much much, more than being a gimmick
It’s a shame really because this year I thought the public was finally learning to vote out the bores rather than the annoying people. If this was BB1 or 2 Victor & Jason would have been evicted weeks ago and we’d have been left with Vanessa and Stu & Michelle fawning over each other.
Also can I add the fact that I had Dan in a sweepstake has nothing to do with my bitterness…

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Normal Service Resumed

Wow, Sorry I have neglected my blogging again so:

Saturday – Sarahs 21st Birthday Great gig, good fun – never thought I’d see a dance floor of 21-year-olds dancing to Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by middle of the road! 7/10

Big Brother – It’s taken 5 years but it seems we’ve finally learned to vote the boring ones out. Stuart left the house which is fantastic considering he’s done nowt since being it in there except fall in love with a psycho. I was upset that Victor went but thankfully you’ve all had the sense to keep Jason in. Dan deserves to win not Nadia all she’s done is be a man.

So what else have I been up to. Basically just waiting and waiting for a good thunderstorm to come and clear the air. As I am;
  • A: Asmatic
  • B: Unfit,

it can get hard to breathe in this muggy atmosphere. Also there’s the bonus that ligtening is amazing to watch. So please, please, please let it rain!