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I may look like I'm doing nothing at all but on a cellular level I'm actually very busy....  Q&A MAIL ME MY MUSIC LATEST MP3 STATS ARCHIVES Comatose recommends: groc hoursman grrl.com trash addict minddump yeah totally stuff and stuff shelleyness sorehead hello mate bobupndown wibbly weblog dark informer razorhead JonJon also: gizmodo.net astronomy picture of the day peoplenews scientology craziness! funnies: brunching shuttlecocks b3ta who would buy that? useful!: what time is it? what's on telly? rain or shine? This is not a clique - other blogs are available << webloggers >> ? ? britblogs # ? 
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Friday, May 30, 2003
when I saw that footage of John boring the other housemates, I instantly though "I bet there's been a bit of creative editing there".....
(sorry to be a bigbrother bore) The Guardian also has an interview with the Baghdad blogger
I just watched the last ever episode of Crossroads* which was pretty surreal. Last week it suddenly went back in time and all the characters were played by child actors. This week it went back to present day, but for the last ten minutes today it was set in a supermarket and Jane Asher played a common-as-muck cashier who had just woken up from a dream in which she was the owner of a hotel.... Silly eh? All the other characters were also in the supermarket under a different guise. oh dear. It really was a load of rubbish..... sometimes it took itself way too seriously and other times it was really taking the piss. No wonder it didn't last if they couldn't decide which genre it belonged in.....
* I notice the website has not been updated for several months, probably since the date they heard the soap had been axed So who goes tonight? If it's not John I'll be very surprised. It should be Federico though.....
one of my old tracks has been used for a streaming radio channel at endlessmix.com (though it seems you need broadband to enjoy it properly)
Thursday, May 29, 2003
watching TV tonight reminded me of this couple of links, one of which I've used before but they're both quite relevant to my current bugbear about the phony-ness of people in the media.....
my life has slowly turned into Groundhog Day, except that in my version Bill Murray would never leave the house or talk to another person which would make for a very dull film indeed. I'm thinking about going to stay with my parents again for a while just for a bit of variety. I'm still resisting the urge but if I do go at least I'll be able to watch the Friendly TV channel.....
(I could also watch bigbrother live on E4 but the half-hour highlights are barely interesting enough to keep my attention. I think they've been far too cautious about picking people this year)
Cameron went down in my estimation tonight when he dismissively said
"oh bullfighting's not cruel - the bulls are bred not to have any nerves....." duh! That reminds me of Mel from the first series saying "there's nothing wrong with wearing fur, it's no different from wearing leather" Just because she writes for Marie Clare magazine, that makes her an expert on the subject.... I went out with a Spanish guy who said to me "I love bullfighting - it's so erotic!"..... I ended the conversation there to avoid a falling out Wednesday, May 28, 2003
A psychologist / behaviourist-type person was on Big Brother's little brother*, and when asked about her observations of Anouska she said something like:
"I'm amazed by her industrial-strength flirtation - she even managed to flirt in an empty house" - which made me laugh. *Dermot is very sexy but oh-so annoying. He's so glib and seems to think the sun shines out of his arse.... It's that pervasive TV-presenter syndrome again
Have you seen that creepy ad for Nescafe coffee using a song performed by Muse? I noticed that after a few days they changed it and I wondered why. It's because the band hadn't given their permission, but the advert went ahead anyway..... You can read about it, plus a funny story about S Club here
Monday, May 26, 2003
when I heard that the UK scored zero points in the Eurovision song contest, I didn't realise that was the total score after everyone had voted! How spectacularly crap! I think it's hilarious. I heard bits of their record which I thought was okay, but on the night the fancy production goes out the window as they perform live, and the singers' voices are exposed in all their terrible tuneless-ness..... That bloke was kind of funny-looking too. Is it just me or did Croatia rip off "oops I did it again?"
Jonathon King even wrote from prison just to remind us how great he was when it came to fostering talent for Eurovision...... Louis Walsh, Pete Waterman, Jonathon King - they're all the same with their delusions of grandeur..... (via popjustice) there's more from Jonathon King here on the John Leslie story Sunday, May 25, 2003
I always thought that Shannen Doherty's eyes were completely wonky in a weird frankenstein way - and it's not just me (this picture illustrates my point perfectly)
I'm still liking Ray, but disliking Federico more by the minute..... Saturday, May 24, 2003
so who do you prefer out of nush, woosh, tush, gosh, posh, sissy, missy, pissy, tinky-winky, dipsy, lala and po? It's probably too soon to say.... I'm liking Ray (cute and with a luvvvvly accent too)
may I be the first person to (predictably) say that Gos looks just like the chef from South Park Friday, May 23, 2003
what a stupid idea - disposable DVDs for people who can't be bothered to return them to the rental shop..... this provoked in me that common response to such stupidity - *sigh* "only in america.........."
I had the strangest dream last night. I was staying in a very gloomy hotel in Leicester with a friend and he had a gadget that was like a digital video camera but it showed if there were any ghosts in the room - and their was one in ours. His footprints could be seen glowing bright green on the carpet as he walked about. Sometimes you could also see ghosts floating outside the window. I remember thinking how glad I was that I didn't own such a gadget as I'd never be able to sleep again if I knew there was a ghost in my flat..... then I got left behind at the hotel and had to get a taxi home. I had no money and I remember watching the amount on the meter get higher and higher, and wondering how I was going to explain this to the driver. And the cab was like an aircraft hanger inside with lots of passengers in rows of seats and even receptionists behind a counter who could take payment by credit card...... weird
Martin Lewis has to be the cutest financial advisor I've ever seen (he's on TV quite a lot which brightens my day. He's up there with Alistair Appleton and Craig Doyle). He's almost worth getting into debt for........ He has his own website with lots of advice here (not that I've bothered reading any of it, I still owe loads to barclaycard and I never open my bank statements. I'm clear suffering from that newly invented syndrome finance phobia)
Thursday, May 22, 2003
I would like to see "Matrix - reloaded" at some point....... what I don't want to do is hear all about it every time I turn on the TV or see the same handful of clips a million times over. Great effects bla bla bla...... made X million dollars bla bla bla..... talk to the hand*..... these days when a good film comes out, you're completely bored of it by the time you get to the cinema
*that's me being ironic - I don't really talk like that.
Shelley has updated with an account of her trip to Florida (the "wang" of America - I think that means "willy" to us brits). On her travels she met this colourful character....
I've just heard Kerry McFadden having a strop on a talkshow saying Just over 24 hours to go till BB season! Monday, May 19, 2003
small, medium and large - I want them all! (thanks to Groc)
apparently they're revamping the lottery (again). Today I heard an interesting statistic - if you play every week, statistically you'd have to have been playing since 276,000 B.C. to be sure of a win..... I know the chances of winning are mindboggling small, it's a wonder anyone ever wins - but they do all the time.... I find it hard to get my mind around that Sunday, May 18, 2003
have you noticed how people rarely blog, leave comments or email at the weekend...... I guess they're all out doing real things
last night on a repeat of CD:UK I enjoyed listening to some verbal sparring between Mel C and Louis Walsh.... They were discussing the merits of the new record by "one true voice". Mel said it was really poor and that to compete these days with the likes of Justin Timberlake you need to have much better material. Louis Walsh agreed and said "yeah, like Westlife" (he's their manager). Mel said "oh no, they're just as bad. That kind of music is from the dark ages". Louis got a bit riled and said pompously "they're the biggest boyband in the world today, they have a huge fanbase" and she said "yeah, they could release any old tripe and people would buy it. I don't care about how many records they've sold, that's my opinion of them, I don't think they're any good". They went on a bit more having digs at eachother, Louis more-or-less saying that the Spice Girls were rubbish, and Mel saying they sold more records and had more personality..... It was quite entertaining to hear Mel C speak so honestly to the guy who masterminded the whole mum-pop genre and who has grossly-inflated delusions of his own significance..... I wish I'd video'd it then I could write a transcript here of the actual conversation. But the "one true voice" record did sound crap (just like the last one). As Louis said "it's all Pete's fault". Cat Deeley still annoys the hell out of me though...... Saturday, May 17, 2003
be still my beating heart! (seriously.....) I've just noticed that Andy has finally added pictures to his site after removing them ages ago.... hubbadahubbadahubbada
I feel bad for not checking his page sooner as he's linked to me for ages
how much would you pay to own a piece of me? how about a broken piece of tooth (complete with discoloured decay)? Maybe I'll put it on ebay...
 two more tatts - a, b (I used an illustration program this time so they're a lot neater). If you decide to use any of them, you have to pay me £200 okay? I've just slept for 22 hours and still feeling drowsy so forgive me if I sound a bit strange.......(well, more strange than usual) Thursday, May 15, 2003
just over a week to go, then it's bigbrother time again - can't wait! It's great when bigbrother is on because I tend to live my so-called life vicariously through the goings-on in the house........ bit sad I know. I hope they don't do that stupid rich/poor divide again like they did last time. I doubt they will as it was pretty unpopular. It was also a shame when they had to vote someone out in the first 48 hours. I really liked that scottish woman whatever her name was, especially after she'd had a few drinks. I better get some videotapes in....
I notice that Kate Lawler* is currently presenter on RI:SE - the show that's gone from bad to worse. Now it seems to be reduced to nothing but generally arse-ing about..... The only good thing about it is Mel and Sue and they're on holiday this week..... ho hum. (*at least she's doing something to legitimise her apparent "celebrity" status) I bought a monitor from a friend a few days ago. I thought it was 17" inches but when he brought it round I realised it was 19" which seems huge compared to my 14" electrified fishbowl..... It's also very heavy and I'm half-expecting the glass-top table that it sits on to break at any time, possibly severing a limb or if I'm under the table fiddling with cables, slicing me in two like a scene from one of the Omen films....... It'll be great for watching DVDs though and now I can actually use some of the software I had which wouldn't fit on a 800x600 desktop. The first thing I did was check my music page to see what it looks like at a higher resolution, only to find that the site had been hacked by some eastern european pest called Daokiem Votinh. I did a google search and found another hacked page where he'd posted the lyrics to a song by Guns'n Roses (oh dear)..... The replacement CD-writer that I need will have to wait for next month. Besides I really can't be bothered opening the PC and risking damage to my life support system just yet...... Monday, May 12, 2003
"....the Catholic Church is considering whether to place a bar on gay priests...."
yeah that'll work they could also try outlawing gay hairdressers or lesbian PE teachers (I don't think those are unfair stereotypes) (I used to have a friend that spent 2 years in Rome training to be a Catholic priest and he had some stories to tell.....) Sunday, May 11, 2003
more misanthropy - here are my least favourite britons:
Richard Madeley (60) - teatime tosser (their words not mine) people I was surprised to see on the list (or as high on the chart as they were): Tony Blair - I didn't think he'd be numer one! people on the list that I actually like: Ant & Dec (56) - surprisingly funny for such ordinary blokes and I completely forgot to watch "I'm a celebrity....!" from what I can tell, it seems that overexposure and becoming an insincere media-whore is a quick way to make yourself unpopular with the british public.... I think a lot of those people are okay but have pissed people off by turning up to every opening (fridges, envelopes etc.) shamelessly flaunting a 2-dimensional glib parody of their former selves. Graham Norton is a prime example in my opinion - though he didn't appear in the list. The bloke presenting the show said something like "don't be too rich or successful, and try not to be too ginger" In the words of the Pet Shop Boys: "we're shameless, we will do anything to get our fifteen minutes of fame Saturday, May 10, 2003
I didn't know you could have desktop themes in XP, till now...... Personally I favour the b0se classic style - for now anyway.....
I want to post my comments on the 100 worst britons, but they still haven't posted the results on the Ch4 website and I'm damned if I'm going to fast-forward through the whole 2 and a half hour programme...... and I completely forgot to watch "I'm a celebrity!" I finally got to meet my neighbour. He's a great guy and really cute too. It's just my luck that we finally get talking on the day he moves out! (to go and repair aircraft at Heathrow). I had a peek in his near-empty flat and clocked the "Will and Grace" DVDs straight away....thankfully he's taking the Kate Bush CDs with him
"The main problem with blogs is that, as far as Google is concerned, they masquerade as useful information when all they contain is idle chatter," wrote [University of Emory politics and linguistics undergraduate Chris] Roddy. "And through some fluke of their evil software, they seem to get indexed really fast, so when a major political or social event happens, Google is noised to the brim with blogs and you have to start at result number 40 or so before you get past the blogs."
what a narrow-minded and ignorant thing to say....
some interesting web searches that led to my page:
"linda barker flashing" I suspect I have quite a lot of disappointed visitors..... I feel bad for those people who end up here while looking for medical information relating to comas and comatose patients. One was even looking for recommended books to read to a comatose person..... I suggest Douglas Adams or something suitably escapist Friday, May 09, 2003
why would you want a cardboard PC case? (via gizmodo)
Jon-Jon's got rid of his beard (temporarily I hope - he really reminds me of a cartoon character, though I can't work out which it is)
so Catalina got voted out tonight - and not before time. What an utterly useless "celebrity" she is. And her real name is Jennifer....
I'll try not to write so many whingeing misanthropic posts from now on!.... for a while anyway Just when I get to download loads of music from the net, guess what happens - my CD writer packs up. I expect it was sabotaged by Windows Media Player..... Apparently 4 years is the normal life expectancy for a CD writer - or maybe thats a myth perpetuated by hardware salespeople (I must stop using the word "apparently" quite so much. Like the word "actually", us brits are prone to over-using it. I shall resist punctuating my sentences with the word "like" if it's the last thing I do.....) Thursday, May 08, 2003
watched an interesting documentary about Heather Mills-McCartney tonight. Apparently she's a borderline bunnyboiler, compulsive liar and social climber - no wonder his kids weren't so happy about him marrying her. I saw her on Parky a while back and couldn't believe what a miserable witch she was. I don't think she smiled or laughed once. Still, her upbringing was pretty shocking and maybe she'll settle down now that she's bagged the most eligible man in rock.....
guess what, I'm going legit' - well partially.... this evening I signed up for dotmusic-on demand..... for £4.99 a month you get 500 credits. Streaming a track costs one credit, downloading a track costs ten (though it's windows media and has all that digital rights stuff) or you can download a burn-able track (it's not clear how much these cost). If you know how to configure your soundcard, you can record the output from windows media player and save the track as a wav file or mp3, thus hoodwinking the digital rights malarkey and meaning you can burn the track to CD.... My sound card seems to do it automatically, I just have to make sure my email or download doesn't go "ping" while the track is being recorded. They don't have any chart stuff that I can see but loads of back catalogue stuff. I'm currently plundering their section of Bowie and Genesis (and a bit of Hall & Oates too).... You can also try it for 3 days which gives you 70 credits to play with and then cancel if you want.
I wonder how good the Apple music service will be. Apparently it's only available in the US so far though I don't see how that's going to make a difference on the internet.....
on the subject of TV again, I notice that Channel 4 are doing a run-down of the 100 worst britons this weekend (a chart of the people we all love to hate). I'm wondering who's going to be number one and if they'll even care.... If Geri Halliwell isn't in the top 10 I'll eat my hat. In their top 100 of movie stars last weekend, Al Pacino was number one which surprised me. I was glad Robert De Niro was number 2 though - he's one of my favourite actors.
I've sometimes though about how much fun it would be to write a fantasy-blog, in which I'd make up some alter-ego and write about a life that's completely fictitious..... This though usually lasts about 2 seconds when I realise how quickly I'd run out of ideas. It would probably grind to a halt within a week (but then lots of real-life blogs do the same).... Here's an interesting article about such a blog - though it just might be true (but I doubt it). I expect most seasoned bloggers have heard the Kaycee story which shocked so many people (me included) - apparently it was a high-tech case of Munchausen's syndrome
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
have you noticed the uncanny resemblance between the singing man in the Halifax ads and Penfold (of Dangermouse fame)?
  from my recent posts, you could be forgiven for thinking that I do nothing but watch television..... Monday, May 05, 2003
having just changed the TV channel, I was reminded of just how much I hate "the Fast show". Basically it's just a bunch of disturbingly ugly and repulsively smug middle-aged men, glibly repeating empty catchphrases to which we're expected to automically respond like over-eager pavlov's dogs.... I only noticed the other day that Arrabella Weir is in it and I thought to myself "that's such a shame because I like her". The only thing I hate more is fans of the show that will constantly quote those catchphrases parrot-fashion..... I used to work with one of those
on top of that I noticed that BBC2 is not only showing Dad's army, but also a documentary about Dad's army. I think they should just make BBC2 the Dad's army channel for ever more
I'm still enjoying "I'm a celebrity"... I'm loving Phil Tuffnell. He always seems so stoned and immature - not things I usually admire but somehow he makes it really endearing.... I was surprised that Sian Lloyd got voted off first - she's so nice and inoffensive. At least now she won't be kept awake by Linda Barker's drunken cackling (she has a voice that could wake the dead at the best of times). That pouty model should have gone first. I'd never seen or heard of her till that programme. I would love to be out there in the jungle, trying my hand at those challenges (except those involving spiders). I'm amazed at the meal that Fash managed to make of his challenges. What's so scary about a big furry possum? I'd want to keep it. Believe it or not I love all that outdoors stuff despite everyone thinking I'm the stay-at-home softie type.....
I was speaking on the phone today with someone I've not seen for years and was telling him about my condition (thankfully he's a doctor too). I was telling him that the prognosis i've heard is that I'll eventually regain 70-80% of my former energy levels, and he said "oh you'll be fine then. You used to be out all the time and doing loads of things....." It was that long ago I'd forgotten what my life used to be like, and it was nice to be reminded. Unfortunately I have a few friends that obviously think I'm just lazy, or it's all in my head and have more-or-less said "70-80% of not much is very little indeed"..... so it was great to have someone saying something positive. Friday, May 02, 2003
some random thoughts provoked by my TV viewing......
I wish Anna Ford would be retired as a news reader. I remember when my school friends used to fantasise about her, but I suspect she's a bit old for that now. Her very serene, plummy voice is incredibly monotonous to listen to. "Here is the news at one o'clock, listen to my voice and feel your eyelids becoming heavy....." Clare Sweeney media-whore has achieved a coup by becoming a presenter on a wimmin's daytime talk show. Now she gets paid to talk about herself every day. She's also in a new ad in which she prances around in a bikini. She's even on a poster in the window of my local betting shop trying to lure jaded old men to part with their cash..... I wonder what it'll be next. She's already made a record, starred in a musical and been on celebrity big brother..... Don't you just hate the way that local news presenters try to be so jolly and friendly to their audience? Their bad puns and "witty banter" are just embarassing. Having said that when I was a student in Nottingham, I used to love the presenters on Central News. In our household we knew them by name and used to worry about the usual weather girl if she was away for more than a few days.... |
