We went out into London on Saturday to brave the tourists and the rain so that we could see the film, Bubba Ho-tep. It has been around for a while now, but it has only just made it to the UK, and it is only playing in a few cinemas. Nevertheless, I want to se it so much we ventured off to the big smoke.
This film is a hoot…
"If you see one ELVIS VS. MUMMY movie this year... This Is It!"
Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by acclaimed author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the "true" story of what really did become of Elvis. We find the King (Bruce Campbell) as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death", then missed his chance to switch back. Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two valiant old codgers sally forth to battle an evil Egyptian entity who has chosen their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds… "
Afterwards we decided to grab a bite to eat in a quite little restaurant we know near the Wyndam, trying to keep it small as we were going out to friends for dinner. Then it was on to the Victoria & Albert Museum for some culture.
The museum was quite busy as many other people came in from the rain. The place though is very large and after a mosey around the lower galleries we climbed to the top where not so many tourist get to and found a little cinema showing short films like 'The Crystal Palace' and 'An English Country House'. The V&A is such a big place with such a large number of pieces that it can become quite overawing and tiring to see more than a part of it.
In the evening we went to visit James and Nikala for dinner and to talk nonsense for several hours which we did without much difficulty at all.
Sunday I started to show signs of having a cold, so we stayed in for most of the day (apart for a short excursion to the allotment for more supplies) and I hardly moved from the sofa. Watched some old stuff on the box including the 'War of the Worlds' - go the Martians…
Monday, October 25, 2004
Friday, October 22, 2004
Sshh! ...sleeping...
It has all been a bit quiet this week.
The only excitement at work was a fire alarm on Friday.
The weather has been wet and grey so we haven't spent much time at the allotment this week.
The cat has taken to hunting in the nearby river and keeps coming home wet to his middle. It is pretty much the only time he will seek out someone to sit on - when he is cold and wet. He has also left a few mice in the dinning room for us to find - usually when someone stands on them (it was Kevin on Tuesday - luckily, as I wasn't wearing any shoes). I have gone out and bought a new collar for the cat, one that has a bell on it. We are going to have to 'mug' him to get it on - it is usually a two-person job.
Sue has been very inventive with our meals, keeping within the Weight Watchers guidelines and still making them taste good. We are both doing well at it so far. Points mean prizes.
The Orks failed me this week; they must have been on the fungus beer. I tried a different tactic and they were absolutely slaughtered by Kevin's Dark Eldar.
I have bought a load of music, which is being delivered in stages. I have used a variety of on-line shops this time to get the best prices (Play.com, 101cd, CD WOW, and Amazon). There is a great variety and as usual some are better than others. The joker in the pack, so far, is William Shatners - Has Been (yeah, I know, but it is actually quite entertaining in a not very serious way).
Sue is starting decorating Jamie's old room and has borrowed a wallpaper stripper from Deb and Fog so that she can get it ready for her brother Dave to come and fix up the walls for us.
The problem with having a quite week at work is that you start thinking about things you could be doing. I hope that when we have Jamie's room finished we will end up using it to get some of these things done. I hope to submit a story to a couple of publishers as a trial (I am a… farmyard animal) - what do you think? Also I hope to be inspired to do more drawings. And I still want to get my own web site in place (when I have had a bit of practice with HTML).
I did find a few fun web sites out there that you might like to try. They are all part of the Dumbrella Conspiracy:
Overcompensating: Jeffrey Rowland's True Oklahoma Stories
Wigu: There is no "I" in "team", but there is in "family"
Diesel Sweeties: pixilated robot romance web comic (I just had to order the 'Chewie is my co-pilot' T-Shirt)
Goats: The comic strip by Jonathon Rosenberg
Creatures In My Head - illustration and artwork by Andrew Bell
Explodingdog 2004
The only excitement at work was a fire alarm on Friday.
The weather has been wet and grey so we haven't spent much time at the allotment this week.
The cat has taken to hunting in the nearby river and keeps coming home wet to his middle. It is pretty much the only time he will seek out someone to sit on - when he is cold and wet. He has also left a few mice in the dinning room for us to find - usually when someone stands on them (it was Kevin on Tuesday - luckily, as I wasn't wearing any shoes). I have gone out and bought a new collar for the cat, one that has a bell on it. We are going to have to 'mug' him to get it on - it is usually a two-person job.
Sue has been very inventive with our meals, keeping within the Weight Watchers guidelines and still making them taste good. We are both doing well at it so far. Points mean prizes.
The Orks failed me this week; they must have been on the fungus beer. I tried a different tactic and they were absolutely slaughtered by Kevin's Dark Eldar.
I have bought a load of music, which is being delivered in stages. I have used a variety of on-line shops this time to get the best prices (Play.com, 101cd, CD WOW, and Amazon). There is a great variety and as usual some are better than others. The joker in the pack, so far, is William Shatners - Has Been (yeah, I know, but it is actually quite entertaining in a not very serious way).
Sue is starting decorating Jamie's old room and has borrowed a wallpaper stripper from Deb and Fog so that she can get it ready for her brother Dave to come and fix up the walls for us.
The problem with having a quite week at work is that you start thinking about things you could be doing. I hope that when we have Jamie's room finished we will end up using it to get some of these things done. I hope to submit a story to a couple of publishers as a trial (I am a… farmyard animal) - what do you think? Also I hope to be inspired to do more drawings. And I still want to get my own web site in place (when I have had a bit of practice with HTML).
I did find a few fun web sites out there that you might like to try. They are all part of the Dumbrella Conspiracy:
Overcompensating: Jeffrey Rowland's True Oklahoma Stories
Wigu: There is no "I" in "team", but there is in "family"
Diesel Sweeties: pixilated robot romance web comic (I just had to order the 'Chewie is my co-pilot' T-Shirt)
Goats: The comic strip by Jonathon Rosenberg
Creatures In My Head - illustration and artwork by Andrew Bell
Explodingdog 2004
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
A weekend of big lunches…
We had a rather indulgent time last weekend, eating, drinking and generally overdoing things.
Sue spent Saturday morning helping out at her Sister's place as they finish off the major works they have been doing to it. I waited in for a plumber and played with my toy soldiers (having slaughtered the Tau, the Orks now need a win against the Dark Elder).
The plumber didn't manage fix the shower (it runs cool unless you have the cold tap on as well). So we are going to have to get a replacement mixer (we think the thermostat is busted).
We wanted to get out and see a movie afterwards so we thought we would have a late lunch first and then go onto the film. We had a 'blow-out' lunch at an Italian restaurant at Abbey Mills (where William Morris - and then later Liberty - had a factory).
Merton Abbey and area…
http://www.marcus-beale.co.uk/pages/merton.html
…or…
http://www.mertonpriory.org/history/index.html
On Sunday we did some chores and then went off to our neighbours for lunch to celebrate Deb & Dave's anniversary and Dave's birthday. Deb's brother and sister-in-law were there along with friends Alexis and Terry. We had another great, big, meal and some of us had a little too much to drink (no names mentioned).
Even though we had two big lunches we didn't have any evening meals on the weekend, so we might not have done too much damage to our diet.
Sue spent Saturday morning helping out at her Sister's place as they finish off the major works they have been doing to it. I waited in for a plumber and played with my toy soldiers (having slaughtered the Tau, the Orks now need a win against the Dark Elder).
The plumber didn't manage fix the shower (it runs cool unless you have the cold tap on as well). So we are going to have to get a replacement mixer (we think the thermostat is busted).
We wanted to get out and see a movie afterwards so we thought we would have a late lunch first and then go onto the film. We had a 'blow-out' lunch at an Italian restaurant at Abbey Mills (where William Morris - and then later Liberty - had a factory).
Merton Abbey and area…
http://www.marcus-beale.co.uk/pages/merton.html
…or…
http://www.mertonpriory.org/history/index.html
On Sunday we did some chores and then went off to our neighbours for lunch to celebrate Deb & Dave's anniversary and Dave's birthday. Deb's brother and sister-in-law were there along with friends Alexis and Terry. We had another great, big, meal and some of us had a little too much to drink (no names mentioned).
Even though we had two big lunches we didn't have any evening meals on the weekend, so we might not have done too much damage to our diet.
More of wot I have watched...
On Saturday we went out to see the new film, Inside I'm dancing. If you can get past the controversy of able-bodied actors playing disabled persons, and you are willing to shed a tear or two in public, then you need to see this film. It is a revelation and it should make you think more about a section of society that most of us are total unfamiliar with.
'From the highly-acclaimed director of East is East and the producers of box office smash hit Billy Elliott comes a unique story of two unlikely friends who choose to take life head-on in the face of difficult circumstances.
Michael Connolly's (Steven Robertson) life is passing him by until one day he meets the irrepressible Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy), who has a plan that will change their lives forever. Outsmarting the system, the unlikely pair manage to leave Carrigmore Home for the Disabled and land their very own flat. They employ the headstrong but inexperienced Siobhan (Romola Garai) to take care of their every need. Her arrival brings unexpected revelations; Michael experiences emotions he has never felt before and the straight-talking Rory realises he has finally met his match. With their newfound friendship and independence, life is theirs for the taking.
Inside I'm Dancing is a funny and inspirational film about friendship and freedom that will make you laugh, cry and see the world through different eyes.'
'From the highly-acclaimed director of East is East and the producers of box office smash hit Billy Elliott comes a unique story of two unlikely friends who choose to take life head-on in the face of difficult circumstances.
Michael Connolly's (Steven Robertson) life is passing him by until one day he meets the irrepressible Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy), who has a plan that will change their lives forever. Outsmarting the system, the unlikely pair manage to leave Carrigmore Home for the Disabled and land their very own flat. They employ the headstrong but inexperienced Siobhan (Romola Garai) to take care of their every need. Her arrival brings unexpected revelations; Michael experiences emotions he has never felt before and the straight-talking Rory realises he has finally met his match. With their newfound friendship and independence, life is theirs for the taking.
Inside I'm Dancing is a funny and inspirational film about friendship and freedom that will make you laugh, cry and see the world through different eyes.'
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Virtually Art
I have now managed to get around to publishing some of my 'art' on the web.
I have Sally to thank for the link to a web-site that gives space to artists who draw Fantasy inspired works.
Virtually Art
or
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/v/i/virtuallyart/virtuallyart.html
Most of my close friends will have seen this work before (it is very old), but that fact is I have not done much that is any newer. Still now I hope to have the inspiration.
I need to get to grips with modern technology and figure out how to use a graphics package so that I can edit and touch up drawings as many of mine are not in a good enough state to publish.
I have Sally to thank for the link to a web-site that gives space to artists who draw Fantasy inspired works.
Virtually Art
or
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/v/i/virtuallyart/virtuallyart.html
Most of my close friends will have seen this work before (it is very old), but that fact is I have not done much that is any newer. Still now I hope to have the inspiration.
I need to get to grips with modern technology and figure out how to use a graphics package so that I can edit and touch up drawings as many of mine are not in a good enough state to publish.
Monday, October 11, 2004
More of wot I have watched...
The Station Agent
A fabulous, quirky, where not much happens but it doesn't matter, type of film…
Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) is a man trying to live life on his own terms. Looking only to be left alone, he takes up residence in a rural town's old train depot. But much like the station agents that occupied small town depots before him, he finds himself reluctantly becoming enmeshed in the lives of his neighbours, especially Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), a forty-year-old artist struggling with the break up of her marriage, and Joe (Bobby Cannavale) a thirty-year-old with a talent for cooking and an insatiable hunger for conversation - whether anyone wants to talk to him or not.
The STATION AGENT is about three people with nothing in common, except their shared solitude, until chance circumstances bring their lives together. Before long, from this forgotten depot, this mismatched threesome forges an unlikely bond, which ultimately reveals that even isolation is better shared.
We loved this movie not least for the scenery. We played spot the place we had visited and felt quite nostalgic at the end…
Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling book, 'Under The Tuscan Sun' follows San Francisco writer Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) to Italy as a good friend offers her a special gift - 10 days in Tuscany. Once there, she is captivated by its beauty and warmth, and impulsively buys an ageing, but very charming, villa. Fully embracing new friends and local colour, she finds herself immersed in a life-changing adventure filled with enough unexpected surprises, laughter, friendship, and romance to restore her new home - and her belief in second chances.
A fabulous, quirky, where not much happens but it doesn't matter, type of film…
Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) is a man trying to live life on his own terms. Looking only to be left alone, he takes up residence in a rural town's old train depot. But much like the station agents that occupied small town depots before him, he finds himself reluctantly becoming enmeshed in the lives of his neighbours, especially Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), a forty-year-old artist struggling with the break up of her marriage, and Joe (Bobby Cannavale) a thirty-year-old with a talent for cooking and an insatiable hunger for conversation - whether anyone wants to talk to him or not.
The STATION AGENT is about three people with nothing in common, except their shared solitude, until chance circumstances bring their lives together. Before long, from this forgotten depot, this mismatched threesome forges an unlikely bond, which ultimately reveals that even isolation is better shared.
We loved this movie not least for the scenery. We played spot the place we had visited and felt quite nostalgic at the end…
Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling book, 'Under The Tuscan Sun' follows San Francisco writer Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) to Italy as a good friend offers her a special gift - 10 days in Tuscany. Once there, she is captivated by its beauty and warmth, and impulsively buys an ageing, but very charming, villa. Fully embracing new friends and local colour, she finds herself immersed in a life-changing adventure filled with enough unexpected surprises, laughter, friendship, and romance to restore her new home - and her belief in second chances.
Science bites…
The New Scientist is a good read for those with an interest in all things scientific, but who don't necessarily have a PhD. If you have a short time to spare and would like a laugh, try their Feedback pages.
Sock singularity! I knew it…
ONE of our winning questions to Stephen Hawking was "Why, when two socks pass the washday event horizon, do they so often become singularities?" (11 September). Peter Hicks's proposal prompted reader Geoff Levick to recall investigating this very serious matter in the 1970s.
He reports discovering that the board of New Zealand's largest sock manufacturer and the board of the country's only washing-machine manufacturer had two directors in common. He deduced that collaboration between the two companies had resulted in a device for the washing machine that extracted socks on a random basis, shredded them, and expelled them in the wash water.
Some time spent upside down in the machine bowl with a torch in an unsuccessful search for the device only led him to conclude that it was very cleverly hidden.
See what?
This is great! I first saw these experiments on TV, and it is surprising how easy it is to fool the eyes. Obviously 'slight-of-hand' magicians and pick-pockets have been doing this for ages, but it is interesting to find out that our eyes are actually quite poor and it is our brain that sees (and not sees) things. Try them out, but don't cheat…
Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard earned the Ig Nobel prize in psychology for their "Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattention blindness for dynamic events" (Perception, vol 28, p 1059). In a study that has already gained some notoriety, they asked students to count how many times a group of people threw a basketball in a video. Over a third failed to notice a woman in a gorilla suit walking through the scene. See http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/djs_lab/demos.html and for the full Ig Nobels go to www.improb.com
Sock singularity! I knew it…
ONE of our winning questions to Stephen Hawking was "Why, when two socks pass the washday event horizon, do they so often become singularities?" (11 September). Peter Hicks's proposal prompted reader Geoff Levick to recall investigating this very serious matter in the 1970s.
He reports discovering that the board of New Zealand's largest sock manufacturer and the board of the country's only washing-machine manufacturer had two directors in common. He deduced that collaboration between the two companies had resulted in a device for the washing machine that extracted socks on a random basis, shredded them, and expelled them in the wash water.
Some time spent upside down in the machine bowl with a torch in an unsuccessful search for the device only led him to conclude that it was very cleverly hidden.
See what?
This is great! I first saw these experiments on TV, and it is surprising how easy it is to fool the eyes. Obviously 'slight-of-hand' magicians and pick-pockets have been doing this for ages, but it is interesting to find out that our eyes are actually quite poor and it is our brain that sees (and not sees) things. Try them out, but don't cheat…
Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard earned the Ig Nobel prize in psychology for their "Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattention blindness for dynamic events" (Perception, vol 28, p 1059). In a study that has already gained some notoriety, they asked students to count how many times a group of people threw a basketball in a video. Over a third failed to notice a woman in a gorilla suit walking through the scene. See http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/djs_lab/demos.html and for the full Ig Nobels go to www.improb.com
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
A food lovers film...
We watched an absolutely wonderful movie last night on Sky. Tortilla Soup, though, is not a film to watch if you are hungry, as the main star of it is the delicious Mexican dishes that are prepared so mouth-wateringly. Hector Elizondo is superb as the retired chef, Martin, father of three very different women. The film also stars Raquel Welch who obviously had great fun in playing the gravity-deifying man-eater Hortensia.
Tortilla Soup
'Retired Mexican-American chef Martin Naranjo shares an L.A. home with his three gorgeous, but single, adult daughters. Though he long ago lost his ability to taste, Martin still lives to cook incredibly lavish dinners for his loved ones and to serve them in a family-style ritual at traditional sit-down meals. Although the women humour their father's old-fashioned ways, each of them is searching for fulfilment outside the family circle. College student Maribel is growing increasingly frustrated with the singles scene and wants a steady man; gorgeous career woman Carmen is fed up with her boyfriend and his wandering eye; meanwhile, eldest daughter Letitia, who has suppressed her own romantic longings, senses something missing in her life. Things take a turn for the romantic when Dad, a widower, meets a vivacious divorcee on the lookout for a mate and each of his daughters, in turn, finds someone. But they'll all discover that the recipe for happiness may call for some unexpected ingredients
The film is based on Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman" that centred on a Chinese family with the same story line basically here transplanted as a Latino clan in Los Angeles and the cuisine Mexican.'
Tortilla Soup
'Retired Mexican-American chef Martin Naranjo shares an L.A. home with his three gorgeous, but single, adult daughters. Though he long ago lost his ability to taste, Martin still lives to cook incredibly lavish dinners for his loved ones and to serve them in a family-style ritual at traditional sit-down meals. Although the women humour their father's old-fashioned ways, each of them is searching for fulfilment outside the family circle. College student Maribel is growing increasingly frustrated with the singles scene and wants a steady man; gorgeous career woman Carmen is fed up with her boyfriend and his wandering eye; meanwhile, eldest daughter Letitia, who has suppressed her own romantic longings, senses something missing in her life. Things take a turn for the romantic when Dad, a widower, meets a vivacious divorcee on the lookout for a mate and each of his daughters, in turn, finds someone. But they'll all discover that the recipe for happiness may call for some unexpected ingredients
The film is based on Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman" that centred on a Chinese family with the same story line basically here transplanted as a Latino clan in Los Angeles and the cuisine Mexican.'
Sunday, October 03, 2004
The Terminal
Today Sue and I went to see Steven Spielberg’s film The Terminal that stars Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stanley Tucci.
The story is about Viktor Navorski (Hanks) who is stranded at JFK Airport when his Eastern European home country is thrown into chaos during a revolution. I seem to recall that the story was inspired by true life story of a similarly stranded passenger who spent ages wandering around in duty-free limbo.
It is a good film with solid acting from the all of the cast although it is slow to get going at first. Once you are into it the film is quite absorbing, a little predictable, but nicely done with a sizable dose of good old fashioned American warm-and-cuddlies at the end.
The story is about Viktor Navorski (Hanks) who is stranded at JFK Airport when his Eastern European home country is thrown into chaos during a revolution. I seem to recall that the story was inspired by true life story of a similarly stranded passenger who spent ages wandering around in duty-free limbo.
It is a good film with solid acting from the all of the cast although it is slow to get going at first. Once you are into it the film is quite absorbing, a little predictable, but nicely done with a sizable dose of good old fashioned American warm-and-cuddlies at the end.
A day out in London…
Yesterday we took the opportunity to do a little site seeing in London. We first went to Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln Fields (Sue couldn’t make it when I visited before with some NZ friends earlier in the year). Soane’s was a well regarded architect of his time who will probably be best known for his work on the Bank of England. He was also an avid (almost kleptomaniac) collector of artefacts and it is necessary to walk sideways in some parts of the building to avoid touching the pieces on display. Unfortunately the Picture Room was closed to allow emergency building work to take place at the rear of the Museum, so the collection of Hogarth paintings was not on display.
Later we travelled over to Chelsea to visit Carlyle’s House . The Atmospheric home of the writer Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane.
'In a quiet and beautiful residential area of London, this Queen Anne house was the home of Thomas Carlyle, the ‘Sage of Chelsea’, for 47 years until his death in 1881. The skilful Scottish home-making of his wife Jane is much in evidence: the Victorian period decor, the furniture, pictures, portraits and books are all still in place. As a historian, social writer, ethical thinker and powerful public speaker, Thomas is honoured in the house, while Jane’s strong belief in his genius and her own brilliant wit and gift for writing are recognised in the many existing letters. Their academic and domestic lives can be experienced today in the evocative atmosphere of the house.'
Neither of us were aware of Carlyle’s work but the house has so much personality and charm that we didn’t feel that we had missed out from this obvious ignorance.
The weather started to close in later so we high-tailed it home with a bottle of NZ fizz to sit in front of the fire.
Later we travelled over to Chelsea to visit Carlyle’s House . The Atmospheric home of the writer Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane.
'In a quiet and beautiful residential area of London, this Queen Anne house was the home of Thomas Carlyle, the ‘Sage of Chelsea’, for 47 years until his death in 1881. The skilful Scottish home-making of his wife Jane is much in evidence: the Victorian period decor, the furniture, pictures, portraits and books are all still in place. As a historian, social writer, ethical thinker and powerful public speaker, Thomas is honoured in the house, while Jane’s strong belief in his genius and her own brilliant wit and gift for writing are recognised in the many existing letters. Their academic and domestic lives can be experienced today in the evocative atmosphere of the house.'
Neither of us were aware of Carlyle’s work but the house has so much personality and charm that we didn’t feel that we had missed out from this obvious ignorance.
The weather started to close in later so we high-tailed it home with a bottle of NZ fizz to sit in front of the fire.
More of wot I have heard…
I have just bought the latest double album from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, called ABATTOIR BLUES / THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS. It is very much for Nick Cave fans and those more accustomed to his particular sense of style. The two albums have a couple of ‘pop’ hits on them but the rest are ‘growers’ that demand concentration from the listener to get the most out of them.
The music of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is not for everybody but if you have an open mind, like your music on the intense side and are in a reflective mood, then give it a go.
The Irish band The Thrills latest album 'Let's Bottle Bohemia' is from the same mould as the first. The distinctive sound and vibe are little changed from the ‘So Much for the City’ album but where that tended to exhibit American West Coast Surfing tendencies, the new one reaches back towards their Irish roots.
It is a great collection of tracks to play as background music to a boisterous dinner party or equally to chill-out to when your guests have gone home.
The music of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is not for everybody but if you have an open mind, like your music on the intense side and are in a reflective mood, then give it a go.
The Irish band The Thrills latest album 'Let's Bottle Bohemia' is from the same mould as the first. The distinctive sound and vibe are little changed from the ‘So Much for the City’ album but where that tended to exhibit American West Coast Surfing tendencies, the new one reaches back towards their Irish roots.
It is a great collection of tracks to play as background music to a boisterous dinner party or equally to chill-out to when your guests have gone home.
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