Hot Podcastular Action Vol 2

Following this drivel here, I felt that in the interests of nerdy complete-ness (is that even a word?), I should add Vol 2 of the Quite Early Show podcasts. So here we go... deep breaths everyone.

Click on the underlined titles to to be whisked to the download site...

The Quite Early Show - 6th April
In which we talked about our feud with Abi on Drivetime, American and Australian funny shaped buildings and London's Space Gherkin, belly button fluff, God's playlist, listeners letters, gummy eyeballs, Inspector Gadget vs Inspector Morse, Radio 2 & Terry Wogan .

Games: Hunt the Chocolate Eggs

The Quite Early Show - 9th April
In which we talked about Grits & hooves, monkey obsession, penguin fractions, the Day Today, erm-ing, Christian fiction and how crap Left Behind is, Evil & Non Evil music, our professionalism(!), Lee sounding like his Mum, Aled Jones playing drums for Chris de Burgh, Reception animals.

Games: If You Can Spell It You Can Have It

Getting ourselves in the right frame of mind for presenting a radio show on Christian radio

The Quite Early Show - 10th April

In which we talked about Mash ups, inane drivel, Lee & Eyan not being Sarah, Darts, the Queen & the Pope's iPods, Cake & Test Match Special, Round 2 of the feud with Abi on Drivetime, the use of lips in blowing up balloons, Eyan gets a ride in LZ7's hot wheels, taking breaths in recorded albums a la Muse, how Lee is eating too many vegetables and has wind, our new DJ names - Flabby & Flappy.

Games: Balloons & Darts

There are three more podcasts to come including the second Theatre of Noise show. As soon as the engineering gremlins sort them out, they will be winging their way to Nine Tenths Full of Penguins.

Movies
The Bunker ***
Patriot Games ***
Edtv ***
Pirates of the Carribbean 3 *
The only good thing was a magnificent scene-chewing turn from Geoffrey Rush hamming it up as Captain Barbossa. Oh yeah, the effects were pretty good in places...
Zodiac ****

Quzzery in a June Styleeee

Yes, that time of the month has spun round with dismaying swiftness once more. Wednesday night in East Didsbury was yet again invaded by myself and Eyan's unique brand of trivia and silliness in our monthly pub quiz.

See all previous quiz related shenanigans by clicking here. It was my turn to do the general knowledge and theme rounds and they lurk below.

1) The G8 summit is being held in Germany at the moment. Name as many of the member countries of the G8 as you can.
2) What is measured on the Beaufort scale?
3) What is the pirate's skull and cross-bones flag called?
4) Which bird is the international symbol of happiness?
5) They may be complex, vulgar or mixed. What are they?
6) Which country is the home of feta cheese?
7) Which well-loved cartoon animal made his debut in 1937?
8) Roald Dahl wrote the book called BFG. What do the initials stand for?
9) The first official Bond movie was released in 1964. What was the title?
10) Which was the first football team with the word Rovers in their name to win the Premiership?

The aftermath of June's pub quiz

Theme: Greek Mythology

1) The son of Thetis the sea-goddess, Achilles was impervious to harm apart for one weakness. Where was that weakness?
2) Jason & The Argonauts sailed on the ship Argo to find what?
3) Jason was tutored by Chiron the centaur. A centaur is half man and half what?
4) Name the King & Queen of the Gods.
5) What is the name of mountain atop which the Greek gods lived?
6) Medusa was a Gorgon with the charming ability to turn people into stone with a single look. What was the name of the hero who killed her and how did he avoid being turned into stone?
7) Which hero famed for his colossal strength undertook a series of heroic tasks or Labours?
8) According to Greek myth the dead were transported to the underworld Hades by a mysterious ferryman. What was the name of the river they crossed?
9) What was the name of the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, books telling the stories of the siege of Troy and Odysseus’ adventures on his return from Troy?
10) Theseus solved the mystery of the Labyrinth of Crete with little more than a ball of thread. However, what monster made its home in the Labyrinth?

Answers sometime next week...

update 21/06/07 - answers now in the comments region

Hot Podcastular Action Vol 1

There are Refresh FM podcasts available for download. If you would like to hear myself and Eyan larking about on t'radio, do pop feel free to pop across and check out our podcasts some of which are laid out for you in a vague fashion below. Obviously, for copyright reasons, the music has been removed, but the silliness and games remain. This post contains details for our first 4 shows on Refresh FM. Click on the underlined titles to to be whisked to the download site...

The Quite Early Show - 2nd April

In which we talked about how to make Tiffin cake, Call My Bluff, Neighbours, Lee's beard, growing things, Dan going to Scotland, Eyan singing and choirs.

Games: Diagnosticate My Braggadocio & Sin, Lose or Draw (see below)

The Quite Early Show - 3rd April

In which we talked about Dylan from Magic Roundabout and his music, our American friend & Atlanta in Georgia, Lee's sideline in mundane helicopter rides, Eyan's love for Terry Wogan and his podcast, newsforidiots.com, Random Scandinavian facts, a Sonicflood anecdote and biscuits.

Games: Extreme Egg Curling

The Theatre of Noise - 4th April

In which we talked about physically rolling hills and mini mountains, the TON posse, jellybeans, Carruthers from the Beeb and his 'timbre', goodbye to Wax Lyrical, Eyan is mean to Lee throughout, Refresh FM's first ever phone in, Dan & Stef & Carruthers & Fil the Destroyer feel my sack, Eyan sharing a birthday with Rod Hull and getting in touch with our feminine swimming side.

Games: Can You Please Name That Tool Please, Sackcloth & Bashes, the Chainsaw Challenge

wherein we choose between different bad Christian music and destroy the worst one with a power tool....

The Quite Early Show - 5th April

In which we talked about doing badly in the bandwithnoname's humming contest, the Queen in Manchester, Prince Charles' ears, royalism vs republicanism, unmerited privilege, swallowing bees, our feud with Abi on drivetime, flies kicking over jam, old He-Man cartoons and theme tunes, making our own children's programme, Eyan causing Lee pain.

Games: ADVENTURE - a dangerously violent Easter memory game,

Movies

The Big Lebowski *****

Clear & Present Danger ***

Old Friends Vol. 1

I've been revisiting some old friends recently. This is nothing to do with me joining Facebook, although I will say it is exceedingly addictive. No, I have been revisiting old musical friends.

Now that I have a mp3 player of exceeding capaciousness, I have been copying much of my CD collection so if I suddenly have a desire to listen to a Phil & John album while out and about, I can. This has meant that I have reacquainted myself with some albums that I used to love, but have callously neglected in recent years. So over the next few weeks I will be posting about some of the albums I have rediscovered.

Delirious - Mezzamorphis

This album was released in 1999 and is an absolute gem. The undisputed creative highpoint of Delirious' output, there are elements of U2, Manic St Preachers and, in places, the mighty Radiohead to enjoy. I hadn't listened to it at all until fairly recently and I was surprised all over again at just how good it is. One of the band's trump cards is guitarist Stu Garrard, who has one of the most recognisable sounds around, possibly rivalling Starflyer 59's Jason Martin for distinctiveness.

The album was unusually well received critically for a band who were and continue to be overtly religious. See this slightly grudging 4 star review from Q magazine, who also included the standout track Metamorphis on their CD of some of the best music of 1999. Previously, due to their roots in creating (admittedly excellent) worship music, Delirious had often been overlooked in the music press and shunned by radio. With this album gaining them critical acclaim, the time was right for a sustained attempt on the charts and mainstream recognition.

However, despite two of the singles charting in the top 20 (a feat considerably harder than it is today), backing from clearly non-religious celebs (Neil Morrissey, who introduced them when they played Glastonbury that year) and appearances on the Big Breakfast and Jonathon Ross' Radio 2 show; Radio 1 still refused to playlist their songs or indeed, play them at all, apart from in the weekly Top 40 so the limited chart success was mainly down to a dedicated fan base. (A later album 'Audio Lessonover' was so called because it is an anagram of 'Radio One Loves Us' in reference to their refusal to play any of their songs)

Live @ the Royal Albert Hall

Yet within that fan base, discontent was growing in places. Many fans disliked the 'new' Delirious, feeling that they had gone too 'secular' and had sold out to the mainstream. I interviewed Delirious in the summer of 1999, and they expressed their frustration at the criticism they received from some Christians because the album didn't contain the word 'Jesus'. Despite the critcism of Mezzamorphis, it is still an album that reflects the faith of the band clearly (in fact, 'Kiss Your Feet' has since been recognised as one their most potent 'worship' songs). Controversy also followed in America with many Christian retailers withdrawing the album due to the lyric 'She's as pretty as hell' in the song 'It's OK'. Lead singer, Martin Smith responded with this press release.

It is a shame that Delirious fell in between two stools, with one side thinking they were too religious and the other often considering them insufficiently religious. This completely overshadowed what was an excellent album, regardless of the 'Christian Rock' label. If Q Magazine could overcome the religious element to see the quality, its a great pity others couldn't. This dispiriting experience no doubt contributed to Delirious' decision to return exclusively to the Christian sub-culture they started in. While still an excellent band, they have never yet scaled the heights of Mezzamorphis (although the next album 'glo' came close). Don't be put off by the 'religious' label, Mezzamorphis has more in common with U2/Radiohead than it does Cliff Richard.

Movies
Severence ****
Star Trek: Nemesis ***
Taxi Driver *****
The Station Agent *****
Downfall *****

Quiz, Quiz, Quiz - Answers, Answers, Answers

Here are the answers to the questions from myself and Eyan's monthly pub quiz. Find the questions 3 posts ago or click here.

If, by the way, you are in the vicinity of South Manchester and would like to join us for our shiny pub quiz (there's real beer and everything), come to the upstairs of the Didsbury Village Restaurant at 8pm on the first wednesday of every single shiny month.

Anyhoo, here are the answers:
Picture Round - click here to see the beautiful piccies.
These were all Oscar losers - i.e people who had been nominated but had lost at least once at the Oscars over the past 5 years.

1) Leonardo Di Caprio
2) Eddie Murphy
3) Heath Ledger
4) Holly Hunter
5) Johnny Depp
6) Keira Knightley
7) Ken Watanabe
8) Kate Winslet
9) Natalie Portman
10) Judi Dench
11) Will Smith
12) Steven Spielberg
13) Peter O'Toole
14) Clint Eastwood
15) Meryl Streep

And the Sports Round

1) Name at least two penalty scorers from the Liverpool Chelsea Champions League Semi.
Bolo Zenden, Frank Lampard, Xavi Alonso, Steven Gerrard or Dirk Kuyt
2) Two snooker legends played each other in the first round of this years Snooker World Championship. Who won – John Parrott or Steve Davis?
John Parrott
3) Which golfer is currently top of the world rankings?
Tiger Woods
4) The next F1 race is to be held in Spain on the 13th May. In which city is the Grand Prix to be run?
Barcelona
5) On Saturday 5th May Sale Sharks were hammered 49-0 by which London side?
Harlequins
6) Which were the two teams to contest the 2007 Cricket World Cup final?
Australia & Sri Lanka
7) Canada beat Germany 8-3 in an international final on April the 8th. But in which winter sport did this hard fought victory come?
Curling
8) In which sport would you find the terms rinks, jacks, ends and sets?
Crown green bowls
9) Last week, China's Qiu Hongmei set a new clean and jerk world record. In what sport was he involved at the time?
Weightlifting
10) Which football club’s stadium is closest to the River Mersey?
Stockport County

Random Movie related meme thingy

Now I may have given the impression that I like movies from time to time.

However, I did a movie related meme thingy where you say which movies you've seen on a list and only came out with 82 out of 239!

A measley 82 out of 239! Mind you, if you click on the picture you will see a readable list of my results, and you will also see that most of them are s***e. So actually, I feel quite good that I haven't seen White Chicks, Scary Movie and other films of similarly pitiful calibre

Hat tip to Naomi

Movies
Serenity ****
Serenity is rapidly becoming one of my favourite movies
Sleepy Hollow ***
The Sin Eater *

This is a mind friendly post....

I finished and handed in the last of my PGCE course essays yesterday*. This made me very happy. To celebrate, myself and some fellow course members went for a drink, something to eat and of course, a zombie movie. As you do....

I am a great fan of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later so I approached the sequel 28 Weeks Later with a certain amount of trepidation (particularly considering the last film I saw at the cinema was the abysmal Spiderman 3). When I heard that Boyle was not directing, my heart sank until I discovered that the director was the man behind wonderful Spanish oddity Intacto, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. 28 Weeks Later is a very good film; tight, controlled and action packed. It has one of the best opening 10 minutes of any film I've seen for ages. It doesn't pull its punches and has some very unpleasant surprises. The frantic, kinetic camerawork takes some getting used to, but communicates very well the confusion and panic that occurs when the Infected attack.

I heartily recommend 28 Weeks Later, providing you have quite a strong stomach as Fresnadillo has lots of excellent fake blood at his disposal and is more than happy to use it every chance he gets. Especially in one sequence involving a field full of Infected and a helicopter. I was queasily impressed...

Something else that made me happy is this wonderful flash game. Click here.
Created by the people behind the odd wonderful-ness that is Samorost, it is a lovely little Flash puzzle game made to promote a Polyphonic Spree album and as you help the 3 lost members of the Spree, some of their curiously beautiful music is playing. Do mosey on over and have a look.

*My essay was on something called Mind Friendly Learning. I can assure you, the most interesting thing about it is it's name...

Movies
Spiderman 3 *
Kill Bill Vol 1 **
28 Weeks Later ****

This is very important

Now, I rarely ask anything of you dear reader.

However, I have a request which is also a piece of advice. If you follow it, it could prove very beneficial to your life and possibly the lives of many other people. If you choose to ignore it, the consequences could be dire....

The request is this...

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GO AND SEE SPIDERMAN 3 AT THE CINEMA!!!!!!

Do not waste any of your hard earned wealth on seeing this dreadful piece of hollywood excrescence.

I was a definite fan of the first two Spiderman movies but the 3rd one is quite possibly one of the most appallingly bad films I have ever seen. It is a bloated, overlong monstrosity that is at least an hour too long (although for me, it was 2 1/2 hours too long). It has too many bad guys and Kirsten Dunst looking as if she picked up her acting ability at Primark. On the plus side there are some excellent, but sadly too few, action sequences; a criminally wasted Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman, James Franco's intriguing turn as Harry Osborn and a magnificently funny cameo for Bruce Campbell.

Yet the middle section of the film is what really lets the whole thing down. Now, for reasons far too dull to enter into, Peter Parker/Spiderman comes under an evil influence. This would have been an excellent opportunity for director Sam Raimi to explore the dark side of Parker's personality and inject some much needed weight into the middle of the film. Yet I think what actually happens is one of the worst cinematic own goals I've ever seen.

What Raimi does is turn Peter Parker into an exceedingly camp emo kid, complete with floppy hair and black eyeliner. He looks like a bad My Chemical Romance impersonator.

What happens next is totally laughable as Tobey Maguire prances around camply, does dance moves, is mean to Kirsten Dunst and generally attempts to be 'evil'. He doesn't manage it....

Unfortunately, this piece of unmitigated tripe will no doubt take millions around the world and spawn a 4th Spiderman movie. So this is my reasoning for this request to avoid this movie. If it flops, they may not bother plumbing further depths which will benefit all moviegoers.

I won't hold my breath....

Quiz Quiz Quiz

After a break forced upon us by our radio adventures, Eyan and I returned to our quizmasterly roles this month. See previous quiz related shenanigans here, here, here, here and here. Check out one of Eyan's rounds from this month's quiz on his blog of ultimate silliness here.

It was my turn to do the picture round and the sport round and they are presented for your delectation below.
All these actors/actresses/directors have been nominated for Oscars in the last 5 years but lost out. Number 1 is top left and works across to bottom right being number 15. Click on the picture for a larger view.

1) Name at least two penalty scorers from last nights Champions League Semi between Liverpool & Chelsea.
2) Two snooker legends played each other in the first round of this years Snooker World Championship. Who won – John Parrott or Steve Davis?
3) Which golfer is currently top of the world rankings?
4) The next F1 race is to be held in Spain on the 13th May. In which city is the Grand Prix to be run?
5) On Saturday Sale Sharks were hammered 49-0 by which London side?
6) Which were the two teams to contest the 2007 Cricket World Cup final?
7) Canada beat Germany 8-3 in an international final on April the 8th. But in which winter sport did this hard fought victory come?
8) In which sport would you find the terms rinks, jacks, ends and sets?
9) Last week, China's Qiu Hongmei set a new clean and jerk world record. In what sport was he involved at the time?
10) Which football club’s stadium is closest to the River Mersey?

Answers sometime later in the week.

I had the misfortune to be talking with what I can only describe as a 'fashionista' the other day. They made me very very very angry. I was going to write a furious post condemning these fashion nazis. Then I read this magnificently angry article by Charlie Brooker on the same topic and thought I would give you a link to that instead. Read it here.

Reports, Tears & Monsters

This post was actually written a week ago, but due to my internet weebles being awkward it has been delayed till today.

I have had an action packed few days or so. Well, when I say action packed, I just mean I've done some stuff....

On Friday, it was a big day for me in school as it was time for my mentor to write his report about how I've done on my school placement. I didn't have any massive worries going into the review meeting, but still, there is something slightly unnerving about having someone write your review in front of you. Anyhoo, I had nothing to worry about and my mentor wrote lots of nice things about how I've done. Just got the small matter of a 10,000 word essay to crack on with now.....

Springtime for..... Peter Kay

I went to see the Producers in Manchester Friday night. Now, I am not generally a fan of musicals (no scrap that, I despise musicals normally - if it was made a capital offence to watch, sing or in any way refer to Grease, I would rejoice...), but I tentatively dipped my toes into the heady brew that is the Producers.

Well, I loved it. It was gloriously tasteless, hysterically funny and a great way to spend an evening. The Springtime for Hitler number was so gut-wrenchingly funny that I could barely see the stage through tears of laughter and I was having trouble actually breathing.

I was also terribly excited in a very nerdy way on Saturday as Nat and I went to see the Dr Who Up Close exhibition at the Manchester Science & Industry Museum. I really enjoyed it and I don't care if you think I'm a nerd. Here is a picture of Nat being bemused at a Slytheen in the gloom.Now I have never fallen into the trap of thinking that Daleks are scary. As cool as they are, they were only ever glorified pepperpots. However, having seen one in the flesh (or the tin if you wish), there is something slightly unnerving at coming face to face with one.

The Dalek is actually 'live' but I didn't know this when I came face to face with it. So there I was taking a picture of it with my lamentably poor camera phone, when it erupts to life. It's eyestalk swivelled to look directly at me and it proceeed to screech "You are an enemy of the daleks! Exterminate!" at the top of its lungs (ahem). Suffice to say it made me jump...

Nat finally left our shores and returned to the US this week. My housemates & I will miss her calming presence in the house. I hope she finds what she's looking for on her return to Atlanta.

Movies
Kingdom of Heaven Extended Version ****
Brotherhoof of the Wolf ****
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy ****
28 Days Later *****
Solaris *****
V for Vendetta ****
Dr Who Season 1 *****
The more I see of David Tennant as Dr Who, the more I come to realise that as good as he is, Christopher Eccleston in Season 1 was way way better.
The Producers (Theatre) *****
Highlander ***
Hilariously bad and brilliant fun! It has a French Canadian as the Highlander with a dreadful scottish accent and a Scot (Sean Connery)as a dandyish Spaniard(?) with a scottish accent

Move On, Move On - Nothing to see here....

Look!
A closer view of my incredible talking into a black tea saucer/simultaneous hand moving trick....
Aren't you lucky, lucky people!

Actually, the only reason this is here is so I can use this picture in my profile.

Sorry....

When I last posted here, I recall that I said I would be posting fairly regularly during my radio adventure with Refresh FM.

As you can see, that did not happen. I am very sorry to those of you who were waiting for me to expose the grim underbelly of RSL Christian radio. Have a virtual edible arrangement by way of apology. (Sadly the only grim belly that manifested itself in anyway was my own mighty paunch, which due to a combination of the excellent Refresh FM cake fairies and a pathetic lack of willpower grew somewhat over the last two weeks.)

Anyway, my shows went very well, despite or maybe because of, a much greater amount of presenting thrown my way this year. I had a huge amount of fun this year and I just want to say thank you to all the Refresh bods who work so hard to put Refresh FM on the air for over 2 weeks every Easter. I also want to thank them for their possibly foolhardy willingness to allow myself and co-presenter Eyan access to the airwaves of Manchester. Podcasts of the shows I was involved in; The Quite Early Show, the Theatre of Noise and the Late Breakfast will soon be available here. Click and await them with baited (um) mouse fingers.

Here am I during the first Quite Early Show saying something astoundingly silly while Engineer Dom levitates outside the window and Reception Badger Kathy looks on in awe at my uncanny ability to speak into a black tea saucer while moving one hand simultaneously. Who says men can't multi-task?

In the course of the two weeks I came across lots of great new music which has earned its very own post in the near future.

I also spent a very relaxing Easter weekend in Llandudno. While there I enjoyed Easter Sunday morning at Holy Trinity, Llandudno, the lovely sunshine and exercising my phlegm trying to pronounce Welsh town names (an activity I have always loved despite my lamentable linguistic skills). Here is the view from the top of the Great Orme which was a fine reward for clambering up a hill of distressing steepness.

Movies
Aliens *****
Hellboy:Sword of Storms ****
Anime Hellboy! Great!
Sunshine ****
A very interesting and visually stunning film I liked very much
The Host ****
A hysterically funny Korean monster movie that mixes elements of Jurassic Park, Jaws and Tremors in a gloriously fun mix.

"Don't worry, no-one's listening..."

I have blogged in the past about Refresh FM here, and now this year's broadcast is here. This year Refresh have (possibly ill advisedly) asked Eyan and I to be more involved in the presenting side of things than ever. Check out Eyan's surreal post about his schedule here.

If you live in Manchester try tuning to 87.7FM at the following times over the next two weeks and you may be unlucky enough to catch me and/or Eyan wibbling away.

Most weekdays 9-11pm will see the Quite Early Show (QES) edge timorously into the spotlight with a mix of music and untrammelled silliness (some of the games and items we have planned for this year are spectacularly silly even by our standards).

I say most weekdays, because on Wednesday nights, QES will be unceremoniously shouldered aside by its disreputable cousin, the Theatre of Noise. This involves playing exceeding loud, shouty guitar music and destroying things with power tools (like the Chris Bowater CD we annihilated on a TON podcast recently and that is thoughtfully pictured below for you) and hammers live on air. Alongside old favourite the Chainsaw Challenge we have a shiny new game called Sackcloth & Bashes for this years TON.

Eyan and I are also job sharing two other shows. The weeknight Wind Down 11pm-12am and the Late Breakfast Show 9-11am will see us alternate with myself one day and then Eyan the next.

For those of you not lucky enough to live in Manchester (um), we are hoping to post a couple of podcasts per week of the highlights (please, let there be some...) and lowlights of our radio escapades.

I think I will try to blog fairly often over the broadcast to give you, sweet reader, a behind the scenes glimpse into the goings on in a short-term broadcast radio station. Investigating its grimy underbelly if you will...

Movies
The Last Samurai ****
300 ***
I've only given it three stars because while hugely entertaining it was one of the dumbest films I've ever seen! However, I saw it at the IMAX in the city centre, which was the perfect place to admire its astonishing visuals.

The world is doomed.... DOOMED I tell you!

This is why.

Apparently I am smarter than over 78% of the world. This does not bode well for our planet's future....

Where's the finish line....

I am having a very confusing few days..... I have been mulling various things over in the mental equivalent of a vat of mulled wine gently warming on the hob at Christmas. *

In the early parts of the week I spent 3 days at school when every lesson I taught was a struggle, and then on Thursday after a day in university I felt so dispirited that I was seriously considering not carrying on into teaching after PGCE. The last few weeks have just been a constant tiring slog and my frame of mind has not been massively positive. However, on Friday after a couple of good lessons and a good chat with my school mentor, I felt much better.

However, as I approach the final straight, I have to start making decisons. Where do I look for jobs? I love Manchester and really want to stay, but at the same time I realise I may have to look further afield for a good job.

I have other decisions to make as well and I'm feeling rather confused about them too, but I won't bore you with those...

Movies

The Illusionist ****

Having seen both the Prestige & The Illusionist (both period stage magician movies) fairly recently, it was interesting to compare the two. I think that the Illusionist benefits from having one man (Edward Norton) as the main focus, as well as a superb turn from Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Uhl. Rufus Sewell chews the scenery very effectively as the movie's villain and the whole thing moves at a admirably stately pace.

The Prestige on the other hand was fascinating and looked just as good as Christopher Nolan's movies always do. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman were both excellent as the key protagonists and Michael Caine turned in a very dignified performance. However, the only problem for me was that the 'twist' was telegraphed extremely early in the film and by the time the film got to its third act (or Prestige if you will), there was no surprise when the 'secret' was revealed.

Anyway, I watched the Illusionist in great luxury last night, as on the spur of the moment myself and the friend I was with decided to watch it in something called the Gallery at the Printworks in the city centre. It was a very agreeably grown up way to watch a film in a very agreeable evening

*You know, that is a terrible simile. More so because I hate mulled wine...

Arcade Fire vs Radiohead

VS

A couple of weeks ago, I got the new album by the Arcade Fire - Neon Bible. It is very very good, particularly the grand Intervention (it has pipe organs on it!!) which will get plenty of airing when I venture on to the airwaves of South Manchester on Refresh FM. But then I made a mistake. You see, it is such a good album that it got me thinking about others that have grabbed my attention in the same way in the past. That then got me thinking about OK Computer by Radiohead. So I toddled off and listened to Neon Bible and OK Computer back to back.


Now why, I hear you cry, is that a mistake?


Well, the problem is that as good as Neon Bible is, it pales into insignifiance next to OK Computer, which is simply so much better than anything else.


OK Computer is now coming up to being 10 years old and is still one of the few albums that I can sit down and listen to while doing nothing else. It is a magnificently rich and complex album that rewards many repeat listens. There is not a wasted lyric, note, distortion, string or bleep anywhere on it, it is one of those rare occasions when everything is spot on. Despite the intervening decade it has barely dated and still sounds fresh.


It has so many great songs on it; the furious Electioneering, the beautifully melancholic No Surprises, the epic Let Down as well as Karma Police and Paranoid Android. It also signalled Radiohead's transformation from a great rock band into the musical pioneers that they have become. It is the sound of a band at their absolute peak. I wonder if some of the melancholy feeling on the album comes from the realisation that no matter what they produced after this, they would probably never scale these heights again. And despite the enviously high quality of Radiohead's output since OK Computer, none of it is as good.

OK Computer has been lauded far and wide since its release. If you have never heard it, then I implore you, as it comes up to its 10th birthday to seek out a copy and revel in what is, in my opinion - and that of many many others, simply the greatest album of all time....

Up until the Wii small hours

I recently bribed several European marmots to go to elaborate lengths to obtain for me a shiny new Nintendo Wii from Germany. I was forced to this extreme end because Nintendo appear to release about 3 consoles a month in the UK, which makes buying one here a tad difficult without permanently camping outside GAME in the Trafford Centre.

Anyhoo. It is an indecent amount of fun to play with. I have spent many hours paralysed with hysterical laughter with my housemates playing Wii Sports and Wario Ware Smooth Movies. It is simply the best console system I have played, the remote wireless controllers are infinitely more intuitive than normal gamepads. Right, I must go now. Currently ambling around a colossal but very pretty field in Zelda wondering what on earth I'm supposed to be doing....

Movies
Cronos ****
The Manchurian Candidate ***

#Quizzing time is here again...#

Quiz related activities resurfaced in East Didsbury last week like a Humpback Whale erupting from the sea for air. Once more Eyan, Dan and myself terrorised the genteel people of South Manchester with our unique blend of trivia and vague silliness.

Here are Dan's general knowledge round and my theme round (which this month was a personal favourite - Saint or Aint)

1. Quantas is the National Airline of which Country?
2. Which branch of science and technology, dealing with very small systems and devices, takes its name from the Greek word for Dwarf?
3. What is the county town of Shropshire?
4. In which century did diarist Samuel Pepys die?
5. What is the Latin name for the Southern Lights, the high atmosphere effects seen in high latitude Southern Hemisphere regions?
6. Which famous spy, executed by the French in 1917, was formerly a stripper in Berlin?
7. Which sea port famous for the attack of the Italian fleet by the Royal Navy in 1940 is situated between the toe and heel of Italy?
8. Who was the bully in Tom Browns School Days?
9. Who was the female star of Barbarella and Cat Ballou
10. Which unit of measurement is equal to 6080ft?

Saint or Aint
The following saints are either real or I have completely made them up. So decide whether they are a saint or whether they aint.

1) Archangel Gabriel – Patron St of messengers
2) Ambrose of Milan – Patron St of Bee Keepers
3) Francis of Norwich – Patron Saint of Chefs
4) Genesius – Patron St of the theatrical profession
5) Madrona – Patron St of Librarians
6) Guy of Dubois – Patron St of dentists
7) Florian – Patron St of Water, danger from.
8) Hubert of Liege – Patron St of dog bites.
9) Decima – Patron St of abacus manufacturers
10) According to the Catholic feast day calendar. How many saints have their feast days on
the 7th March?

Answers early next week

*Edit Monday 19th March - Answers now in the comments*

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Due to the rather insane workload that afflicts me at present, I have been unable to post for over a week.

But I wanted to briefly mention a movie I watched last night. I saw Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and loved it.

It is absolutely magnificent in just about every way I can think of.

Watch it now.....

Movies:
Pan's Labyrinth *****
Blade 2 ***
Hero ****
An Inconvenient Truth *****

Is this man an idiot?

I don't admit to fully understanding the way the American poiltical system works, but I do keep a weather eye out for the major players. At the moment the road to the 2008 US elections is clogged with people from all sides of the political spectrum throwing their hats into the ring. However, for me, the most interesting character is Democrat Senator Barack Obama. I first came across Obama when he was interviewed on the Daily Show and he was just as funny as Jon Stewart (no mean feat). Since then I have been quite impressed by him (he certainly seems better equipped morally to be President than George Bush - but then a so is a chimpanzee...)

But certain parts of the US media have already begun the hatchet job on Obama. Wild stories and distortions of parts of his past have been hysterically screamed by Fox in particular (no surprise there).

"HIS MIDDLE NAME IS HUSSEIN!"

(so what....unless they are cynically playing up to people's fears)

"HE WAS EDUCATED IN A MADRASSA!"

(Otherwise known as, the islamic name for a school - a sensible, none-extremist school, as the reporters who actually went to the school discovered)

"HIS SECOND NAME SOUNDS A BIT LIKE 'OSAMA'!"

(ooh, there we go, back to cynically exploiting fear again. Fox captioned a news item on Obama with Osama "by mistake")

and worst of all

"HE'S A SMOKER!"

(Genuine quote on Fox "Do we really want a man like that [who smokes] in the White House?")

Now a new question has entered the ring. Clearly Obama, as you can see from the picture here, is black:

But is he black enough? Obama's Ivy League education and Mid-western accent has led many to question his credentials to be America's first black president. While being interviewed by CBS' Steve Kroft, whose picture adorns the beginning of this post, the following exchange occurred:

Kroft: Your mother was white. Your father was African?
Obama: Right.
Kroft: You spent most of your life in a white household?
Obama: Yeah.
Kroft: I mean, you grew up white.
Obama: I'm not sure that would be true. I think what would be true is that I don't have the typical background of African-Americans . . .
Kroft: You were raised in a white household?
Obama: Right.
Kroft: Yet at some point, you decided that you were black?

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but for goodness sake Mr Kroft, the man is sitting in front of you! Maybe his upbringing is not typically what you expected (which seems a little condescending by the way), but surely you can use your eyes to see that he didn't have to 'decide' on the colour of his skin!

Read this very interesting article from this weeks Guardian G2 that sparked this post.

It all seems crazy to me......

The last shall be first....

Formula 1. It's a bit of an enigma.

On the one hand, it is a sport so devoid of humour and fun that it makes golf look like base-jumping. However, it does have a curious, yet undeniable glamour as evidenced by the colossal sums of money and attention given to the top drivers. I myself have spent many a Sunday afternoon watching Grand Prix from amazing locations all over the world. Admittedly, after about the first 5 laps, I tend to slip into a deep sleep and start drooling copiously all over myself.

And that is the main problem, Formula 1 (apart from the mad dash from the starting line to the first corner) is crushingly dull for the most part. In recent years one man has bestrode the sport like a Prussian colossus, eclipsing all other drivers with his inhuman ability to drive in circles very quickly. Michael Schumacher will no doubt be looked upon as one of the greatest drivers to ever sit in a car, however in his domination he has practically killed the sport off as a spectacle because he seemed to win every single race.

Perhaps his retirement at the end of last season will lead to a more interesting contest. But even if it doesn't, Eyan of Fat Roland fame has found a way to make F1 interesting - a fantasy league.

Whats interesting about that, I hear you cry? Well, this league is slightly different as it doesn't champion the few winning drivers and cars, but rather the losers. So the worse your selected drivers and constructors do, the better your team does. Its a great idea and cracking fun. Look at the site here and consider signing up for this year. It only takes a few minutes and costs a few pounds to enter, but all the money goes into the prize fund.

If you needed more evidence of the inherent craziness of F1, you need look no further than the story behind the new Honda's paintjob. Apparently, in order to save the earth, Honda has nobly removed advertising from the car and hope that the 'Earth Car' paint job will encourage people to look after the environment. Most admirable sentiments undermined completely by the fact that the cars will be responsible for emitting over 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide this season. That is over five times the amount emitted by the average UK driver in 12 months. Clearly the person who thought that marketing idea up is a total moron....

Read the full story here

Movies:

splu.net's Chad Vader Day Shift Manager **** Genius! Watch it now!

Fight Club *****

The Prestige ***

Shock as Penguin learns to use Net

What is the greatest threat facing humankind? Is it global warming? George Bush sparking off World War 3? Global overpopulation? Meteors/aliens from outer space? Bird Flu?

I think I have seen a glimpse of the future. We are so focused on our own actions or interventions from the heavens that we have neglected a possible threat in our own back yard.

Penguins.......

Oh they may look cute and cuddly or humorous as they waddle about, but under the facade of the amusing bird, a cunning and evil mind lurks in every penguin. I was tipped off to the potential scale of the Penguin Threat(TM) when I saw this news story. Roxy the Rockhopper penguin has learnt how to use the internet.... This evil genius of a bird has overcome the lack of gripping appendages to set up her own Myspace page in order to find love. If they can learn to do that, what else can penguins learn to do?!

Hack the T'interweb?

Learn to operate firearms?

Sing in barbershop style singing groups? Noooooooooooo!

Just look at these two ill-favoured characters, what evil are they plotting, what cunning dreams lie within their diabolical brains?

The destruction of all that we hold dear in this world, thats what!

Don't say you haven't been warned. You heard about the Penguin Threat(TM) here first.

I have emailed my old mate George Bush about this, expect to see the War on Penguins springing into effect very soon

Movies & Other Stuff:
The Two Towers Extended Edition *****
Troy ***
Eddie Izzard - Glorious *****
Lots of Stargate SG1 ****
Gattaca ****

Pic 'n' Mix

My half-term is slipping away with disconcerting swiftness and I feel I still haven't properly chilled out yet. Oh well, no rest for the wicked as they say...

This post is a bit of Pic 'n' Mix of random things that have been accumlating in the relevant parts of my brain. There are three things. (Did you know that 3 is the first odd prime number, and the second smallest prime after two? Of course you did, my dear intelligent readers, I would expect nothing less from such wonderful people)

1) Fat Roland has begun an odyssey of picture posts related to the Theatre of Noise podcast. Read the highly amusing and spectacularly random first post here.

2) Lent has sneaked up on me like a room full of ninjas playing Sleeping Pirate. One of my favourite websites Ship of Fools is offering advice on 40 things to do during Lent here. It's a great list, go and look and consider doing a few of them.

3) I introduced my American friend Nat to traditional church services by dragging her to the Ash Wednesday Sung Eucharist at Manchester Cathedral. I think she was slightly bemused by the copious amounts of incense and all the bowing, but she was very polite about the whole thing.

Movies

Hot Fuzz (again) ****

Favourite quote: "Whats the situation?" "Two men and a f*** load of cutlery!"

Night Watch *****

Currently Listening to:

Muse - Black Holes & Revelations

Iona - Anthology

Memory

This part of February appears to be passing in flurry of Penguins blog action, and this post a few days ago got me thinking about some of my earliest memories.

Valerie & patroclus expressed an interest in knowing more about why I have been chased by monkeys. As this is one of my earliest memories it got me thinking about some of the others, so...

In my early years my Dad was in the army and for reasons that (at least to me) lie buried in the mists of time, he was posted in Hong Kong for two years. I was about 3 when we arrived, blinking furiously in the sun and heat, and the majority of my most vivid early memories come from that time in Hong Kong. So for your delectation, here are the most vivid four (as 4 is my favourite number today) in reverse order:

4: At that time, the main airport in Hong Kong was not outside the city as it is now, so the block of flats where we lived was on the main flight path. Planes would often fly very low over the most densely populated areas of Kowloon City. It was very loud but very spectacular, particularly at night. I remember that we used to sit on the balcony of the flat (I vaguely remember it being near the top of the block) and watch these huge planes roar overhead. We used to play a game where we we would try and guess what airline the plane was before it came close enough to see the livery. This video will show you just how low they used to fly.

3: My favourite drink was apple juice and I vividly remember that the cartons had unfeasibly bright and colourful apples on them.* I remember sitting at the table in the flat with my Mum drinking apple juice and painting with those paint kits that have hard tablets of paint (a bit like this). While I was painting, my Mum would usually chase around the flat after my little brother as he climbed all over everything, periodically breaking things with a little mischievous grin on his face.

2: While living in Hong Kong we went on a holiday to Malaysia. My younger brother was perhaps 1 or 2 years old and at the time of the holiday was rather ill and cried a lot. One morning my Dad took me out very early to escape the caterwauling. We walked down to the beach and sat on a big rock at the end of it and watched the sun rise and the fishing boats making their way back in after a night's fishing.

1: Finally, the most vivid memory of all. In Malaysia, we had a trip to a park where a colony of wild monkeys could be fed by gullible tourists and their stupid children (me). You bought a bag of peanuts and then could fling them at unsuspecting monkeys. I remember feeling a bit nervous about these fuzzy potential killing machines. However, I spied a small cute one at the base of a tree and trundled over to feed it a peanut. What happened next is hazy as it appears to have been blocked out by the gut-wrenching terror. It would appear that the mother of said small cute monkey took exception to me and proceeded to chase me away from her young. Looking back it felt like I was being chased by a pack of slavering bloodthirsty monsters all infinitely more terrifying than King Kong. The reality is probably somewhat more mundane, but these are my memories and I will please myself thank you very much...

I saw an exhibition on Saturday at Urbis marking the 10 year anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China. Its worth checking out. But it reminded of two more things that I remember about Hong Kong.

The Star Ferries and the cable cars:

I'd be interested to hear about other people's earliest memories. Particularly if they involve conflict with animals...

edited for some shocking spelling. I am most ashamed.

* 22/02 - I am reliably informed by my Dad that the juice I was so fond of was in fact Mango juice, not apple. Well, all I can say is that pictures of mangoes and apples look similar to a 3/4 year old. So there.

Torn

In a rather surreal moment at school, my subject mentor showed me this marvellous video of David Armand peforming a mime to Natalie Imbruglia's Torn.

He then performed it at Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball with Natalie Imbruglia who was a real sport and joined in. See that here.

Quizzery Vol. 2

OK, here is the theme round from the last Eyan/Dan/Lee monthly pub quiz. You can see the rest of the quiz here and here.



This great round was Dan's and it is themed around the inconceivably popular board game Scrabble.

1. What percentage of British Households owns a Scrabble set?

2. The Opening Move. The words that will score you the most points in an opening move are SQUEEZY or QUARTZY. What score would you get, bearing in mind the 50-points for using all 7 tiles and the score of the tiles is doubled? a) 124 b) 126 c) 128

3. There are a number of different sources of words. Standards dictionaries will usually suffice but competition players use official word lists. What are the restrictions in place governing the legality of a word in Scrabble. What elements make a word illegal in Scrabble?

4. According to the Association of British Scrabble Players Website a number of documentary films have been made about the game. Which of these is NOT the title a documentary?
a) Scrabylon b) Word Wars c) All Letters Are Not Created Equal

5. In 1986 the standard format of competition Scrabble tiles was changed from traditional wood to plastic. What was the reason for this?

6. High Scoring Words. The basic score for each of these words is 28, but what do they mean?
JUMBOIZE
BEZIQUES
QUIZZERY

7. Questions about Scrabble Tournaments. If you had been competing in last weekend’s Scrabble Tournament in Perth and you had taken you own timing device what would you have received in return?
a) Free Biscuits and Coffee
b) £1 off the entrance fee
c) A Comfy Chair

8. If you take part in the Inaugural Wirral Open Scrabble Tournament at Leasowe Castle Hotel and you are found to be sharing a room without paying for it what will happen?
Will you be:
a) beaten with full bags of competition tiles
b) have 50 points deducted from your final score
c) disqualified from the Inaugural Wirral Open Scrabble Tournament… the shame

9. Some of the highest scoring words are those with two Z’s. Not counting enhanced squares, what is the basic score for placing two Z’s on the board?

10. There are a number of different versions of Scrabble for sale in the UK, from Argos and Toys R Us, name as many of them as you can.

Enjoy! I will post the answers sometime next week.
If you use the interweb to get the answers I will know and come round to your house and beat you with a full bag of competition tiles. You have been warned...

* The answers are now in the comments. Enjoy the scrabble related trivia....

Currently Listening to:
Dead Poetic - Vices

7

I stole this from patroclus who has a cracking blog - do go and read it.

Seven Things I Have Wanted To Be
1. A professional radio DJ
2. More intelligent
3. Able to play the guitar
4. Better at cricket
5. Not afraid of wasps
6. A traveller
7. Thinner

Seven Things I Have Been
1. A youth worker
2. Married
3. Separated
4. Unhappy
5. Content
6. Happy
7. Chased by monkeys

Movies
Hot Fuzz ****
I saw Hot Fuzz tonight. I liked it very much. If only for the sight near the end of Tim from Spaced and an ex James Bond fighting amongst the buildings of a model village! It was like a homage to those marvellous Godzilla vs Mothra style B Movies. Go and see it, its really very funny...

Верхняя Шестерня

(Top Gear in Russian....)
Just watched tonight's Top Gear on BBC2. Absolute genius...
I laughed so much all the way through it. Highlights included:

• Jeremy Clarkson driving a Camaro with a huge dead cow strapped to the top of the car.
• Richard Hammond driving through red-neck central in Alabama in a white pickup with 'Man Love Rules OK' in pink writing down the side.
• Fat Stig.
• Jeremy's in car shower cooling system & Hammonds truck mounted BBQ
• James May calling the other two 'insufferable oafs'. (Great insult...must use it soon)

However, possibly the most disturbing thing was the way the cast and crew were literally run out of the Alabama town of Bagdad by a stone hurling. red-neck mob. (Admittedly, their cars were daubed with vaguely inflammatory slogans like the one recorded above and 'Hillary for President' and 'Country & Western is Rubbish'). But it was still a extreme over-reaction. Surely these people can't be so insecure in their beliefs that the sight of 3 middle aged men in cars with silly slogans on them incites them to such a violent reaction?

But the most memorable footage was the shots of New Orleans one year after Hurricane Katrina. It was rather sobering to see how devastated much of the city still is.

Movies:
V for Vendetta ****
Kind Hearts & Coronets *****
Music & Lyrics ***

(As I have mentioned elsewhere, this is not normally the type of movie I would see, but I quite enjoyed it. I find it difficult to really dislike Hugh Grant, it would be like kicking a puppy)

Currently listening to:
Starflyer 59 - My Island
Showbread - Age of Reptiles

Quizzery Vol 1

The quiz that Eyan, Dan and I run on a monthly basis rumbled through East Didsbury once again like a cement mixer full of FACT and KNOWLEDGE.

Eyan may post his general knowledge and picture rounds on his blog at some point. I did a sports round this time, and here it is:

1) A Man Utd goalkeeper has not played for England for 22 years. What is the name of the Utd keeper who will change that against Spain on the 7th Feb?

2) What was the scoreline of the England v Scotland rugby union game played on Saturday 3rd Feb?

3) Which former Test Cricket umpire is suing the the ICC & the PCB for racial discrimination following last summer’s ball tampering controversy?

4) What is unusual about Ralphie the buffalo, the live mascot for the Colorado Buffalos? (American football team).

5) When Lennox Lewis retired, he was the first reigning heavyweight champion boxer to retire since Rocky Marciano. When did Lewis retire? June 2003, Feb 2004, July 2005

6) Ronnie O’Sullivan won the Snooker Masters at Wembley Arena in January. Who was his opponent in the final?

7) How many career wins does 2006 F1 champion Fernando Alonso have? 15, 25 or 30

8) "When you are in the rough the most important thing to remember is to make sure you get out. Don't be greedy and attempt to hit the ball too far from heavy rough. You may only manage to shift it a few yards and end up in even worse trouble". What number iron would you use to get out of the rough?

9) In tennis, who won January’s Australian open?

10) Name five Premiership, Football League or Conference teams that begin and end with the same letter.

I will post Dan's Scrabble theme round tomorrow...

*Edit 17th Feb - The answers are now lurking in the comments...

Two things that make me happy.

Two things have happened that have contributed to me feeling rather cheerful this week.

Firstly, I have started my second PGCE school placement which has been great. It is a very different school to my previous placement, and I have some classes that I'm sure will turn out to be 'interesting'. However, I am just glad to be back in school after a month in university. Teaching makes me happy...

Secondly....

It snowed on my way to school this morning! I love snow. This was taken this morning, unfortunately due to the rubbishness of my camera phone, you can't see how much snow was coming down, but trust me it was lots! I actually got off my bus 2 stops early so I would have further to walk in the snow. I've always liked walking while snow is falling, it makes me feel very very alive.

It was wonderful, all the other people who walked past me must have thought I was mad as they were all hunched up against the snow and wind and I was walking through it with a big silly grin on my face. Snow makes me happy...

Movies:
Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut ****
Come & See *****
The Machinist ****

Hmmm, Podcast Action

Hurrah!

I have finally beaten the elaborate uploading process on myspace and managed to post the shiny new Theatre of Noise Podcast. It was recorded in a dungeon at a secret location somewhere in Manchester City Centre and is a small flavour of the Theatre of Noise shows that will terrorise South Manchester on Refresh FM at Easter. It is a bit raw and due to copyright reasons music-less, but hopefully quite entertaining.

It contains a myriad of delights* including perennial TON favourite, the Chainsaw Challenge, an exclusive interview with Jade Goody** and a shiny new game called Feel My Sack. During said game, Dan used his new fangled image recording device/phone to film the game in progress, Eyan then used a wondrous confabulator to upload it to Youtube...

Listen with your ears here: myspace.com/thequiteearlyshow

Watch with your eyes here: Feel My Sack Vid

Smell with your nose here: Erm...

Do have a listen, although I had to reduce the quality to post it on evil myspace. A Quite Early Show podcast was recorded too and will follow when I have regained the will to live.

Below is the stirring sight of the Chris Bowater CD destroyed in the Chainsaw Challenge. It was literally on fire due to the ferocity with which Fil angle-ground it.
('Angle-ground' is a new word I invented to describe the process of using an angle grinder in the past tense)

* No actual delights promised
** No real Jade Goody promised