CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Originally posted: 07-Mar-09.
I don't watch enough movies.
I've got an unlimited card for the local Cineworld, which means I get to go as often as I like for £13.50 a month (which is less than going to see two movies at full price anyway), and I usually get down there once or twice a week (with the second one being at the weekend). That keeps me up to date with the new stuff, but it still feels like I don't see enough stuff I've not seen before. I've got a stack of DVDs in the house that I haven't watched yet, but by the time I get in from work, shower, eat, navigate around any TV shows my good lady wants to watch, and whizz through any design jobs that have landed in my inbox... it's too late to put a DVD on. The cinema's different, because it forces you leave the house (...I know) for a set time, but DVDs are just too flexible for the busy person in 2009.
So anyway, my fianceé flies out to the US next week, to go to a friend's wedding, and I'll have 12 days to watch what I like (after doing the other 'stuff' mentioned above, obviously). To that end, I'm going to watch one movie every day for twelve days. I shall make time. No rules as such, but the guidelines are:
• Mostly stuff I haven't seen before • At least three of which will be the kind of thing I'd normally avoid • No movies I've seen a lot • Some of them will be at the cinema, so some new stuff • I'll update here every day with a brief 'review' of what I watched
So, if you have any suggestions for stuff you enjoy but I may not have seen, fire away :) All styles/genres are open, but obviously I reserve the right to shake my head and think of an excuse why not :p
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh lanugage and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Short one this week. Fairly uneventful until Saturday night when we went to a wedding reception. Yes, one of the social occasions, like Christmas, where you're expected to drink. Sickly-sweet diet Cola at the function-room bar it is, then. I was fully armed with my faux-excuse of "I'm on a three-month course of anti-biotics", because it's a shite-sight easier to offer that as an explanation all night than tell people why I'm really not drinking. I'm not ashamed, it's just not a 30-second tale.
As luck would have it, no-one* actually noticed (ie cared), or probably assumed there was some manner of spirit in my drink. *I say "no-one", and yet that's not true. My friend Bob did notice I was drinking coke, but that's because he's been reading my blogs. And because he knew exactly why I was drinking coke, I still didn't have to explain it!
I should take this opporunity to thank Bob for just accepting the situation, and not just looking at me and going "yeah, but why?" Like my brother-in-law. I explained (briefly) on Saturday afternoon about the 100 days, and he didn't seem to grasp the concept. Admittedly, part of my explanation was "because I'm an idiot", and he did grasp that part. It seems that, after the initial "it's an experiment and a challenge of self-will" part of the setup, if people aren't getting it; no further explanation is going to clarify matters. They look at you blankly like you're some kind of idiot. They're probably right.
To make matters worse, the wedding reception was also attended by a few of my old work colleagues (from the job I had up until Jan this year). While it was nice to see them and catch up briefly, extended memories of that place really make me want to drink. By 10pm, people were getting slurrier and it was time for us to head home. There's a more formal "reunion" coming up in October, by which time I'll be back to drinking and speaking my mind inappropriately.
I should also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Simon and Jenny on tying the knot. Simon seemed stressed/tired/pissed (in that order), and Jenny seemed de-stressing/tired (in that order), but for the most part, they both seemed happy, which is exactly what it's all about.
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In other news, the new Europe album's a bit alright!
Which is probably as worrying as it sounds, yes. I'd put on Facebook a few months ago that I'd dug out Europe's 1988 album 'Out Of This World', and it wasn't as good as I remembered. Then, the same thing happened as did in 1988. I grew on me again. Sure, the production was a little 'light', the keyboards too loud, and Joey Tempest was in the room at the time of recording; but other than that, some sound riffs and melodies and nice songwriting. Next thing you know, it's permanently on my generic MP3 player.
The new album, Last Look At Eden, is a fast-grower. Sure, if you really don't like Europe, then it's probably best not to bother. But the production's a lot grungier this time round, which tones down the melodity to a more acceptable level. There's a lot of wah-wah pedal on here, and plenty of bass-driven riffs. It's undeniably Europe, but it's also quite mindful of Audioslave... with Joey Tempest singing.
You see, there's no way of toning down Joey Tempest, he just is. He's like the god-equation. You can remove him, but then you don't really solve the problem, you eliminate it all together. So if you can accept Tempest, give this one a go.
Click on here to watch the video. Normally I'd embed it, but that's been disabled on this vid, and quite frankly I can't be arsed to grab the video, re-upload it to my account, only to have YouTube pull it a couple of days later and quite possible suspend my account out of pure spite.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. This particular one also includes badly (if at all) researched scientific theories. Reader discretion is advised.
So, yeah. In case you didn't know, I'm part of the BFS Street Team, an online/physical promo-army for Bowling for Soup. We spread the word about how great the band are, have a great community, and in return get exclusive merch/content from the band, opporunities to meet them etc.
So a few weeks back, we got to ask the singer, Jaret, a question about the upcoming album, Sorry for Partyin'. He'd record a video answering a bunch of questions and one would get a prize. Now I've done a couple of web-chats with BFS, and my questions are always Star Wars based (I know, surprising, isn't it?). I've asked them if they could be any SW character which would they be, and if they could have any ship/weapon, which it would be.
The bizarre thing is, they always answer my SW questions. Maybe it's a generational thing, I'm around the same age as the band after all. Or maybe it's just a sign of how fantastic Star Wars is. It's definitely a sign of how fantastic BFS is, that's for sure.
So, back to a few weeks back. I asked two questions. The answers were put online in four parts. By the third part, I was no longer expecting my questions to be answered. Mainly because all of the q's by then had been perfectly valid, sensible questions O_o
My questions: 1) Are there any SW references on the new album, and if not, why not? Short answer, yes.
2) Did you all try on the Wena suit after the video shoot? Short answer, no.
So imagine my surprise/disbelief when this video cropped up on day four. My username on the site is Harrington, and I've edited this video down to just the bits relevant to this blog (it's meant to be an exclusive for the BFSarmy after all):
So yeah! The guys were going to send me a signed limited edition hand-screened 15th Anniversary poster, and the Tambourine of Death! The tambourine was found in the trash by Jaret, on the day they were in the studio recording No Hablo Inglés. This was also the day that Michael Jackson died. Were these incidents related? The tambourine may well have caused Jackson to die, then fled and took cover in the garbage. Or it could well be that when a callous studio-tech threw the tambourine into the bin and its jangly beat stopped, poor Michael's heart stopped as well. Like the picture of Dorian Gray, or the Grandfather clock in that old song. We'll never know.
The package arrived from Texas this morning, here's the poster:
And here's the Death Tambourine
By now, you either think this is seriously awesome, or you don't know what all the fuss is. Guess which one I think it is? Nothing else I can say now is going to change your mind, though. :P
So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Bowling for Soup, their techs, their roadies, and all the people that make the magic happen. You guys rule.
So pretty soon I can take to the streets in my shroud, scythe in one hand, tambourine in the other. Pruning humanity with only the rhythmic tinkle of bells as a warning. Jackson was only the first on my list...
Bwaha-ha-ha-ha-haaah!
Bowling for Soup are playing the UK in October, as part of their Party In Your Pants tour.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh lanugage and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
The end is in sight, folks. We're into september, and I can see Sunday 27th leering at me from my Mighty Boosh calendar. This time of year is usually reserved for me being a little more introspective, and thinking about the summer just past which (every year) I seem to spend most of indoors. September's sunny-but-cooler days bring that feeling of melancholy, literally transcribed in the title Last of the Summer Wine (a subtle title often overlooked with the distraction of three old men falling down a hill. In a barrel.). For some, it's a time for looking forward to Christmas and cosy nights in over the Winter months, but for the pessimistic bastard I am, it's been a time more for thinking about the things I didn't get done over the summer.
Anyway, fuck all that, I can start drinking again soon! I'm visiting my buddy this weekend, and we're finally going to have that pint for his birthday that we didn't have at the Zodiac the other week. Nothing too mad, honest, but I haven't been to Margate since I started this damned fool idealistic crusade, and I think he's got a bit of steam to blow off, so let's play it by ear, yeah?
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In other (geekier) news, I popped into Toys'r'Us last weekend for the first time this year. Considering how many SW 30th Anniversary Collection figures I got over 2007-08, it's been a bit of a jolt to the system that I've only bought two action figures this year. That being said, given that I started the year unemployed, and spent the first eight months of the year temping for crap (read: better than no) money, it's probably not that surprising. The fact is that I can't really be arsed with the current output of Star Wars figures. There are a few in the A/W09 collection that I'll want, but I can't see them hitting these shores for a couple of months yet. The Clone Wars line is a littlg e to spindly for my liking, with too much articulation. The Legacy line (ie the movies and anything else outside of the CW line) is patchy. Some good figures, some bloody awful ones. For some reason, everyone at Hasbro seems to have forgotten what Mark Hamill looks like. The ones that are good, I've probably got earlier (often better) versions of anyway. They're also ferociously expensive. £8 is pretty ridiculous for a 3¾" figure; you can get larger scale Marvel and Doctor who figures for the same price, with the scupting being equally good (okay, sometimes better).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up, there's just not too much there to hold my interest at the moment. But that doesn't deter me from other, great looking toys. I'll generally go for the 3¾" scale, just so I can stand them with my SW figures, and have some cool mash-ups. So, the only beauties which have caught my eye (ie wallet) this year are:
Mola Ram and The Terminator! Terminator's slightly under-scale, but still works pretty well. Since 1977, 3¾" figures have been practical on many levels: Cheaper to produce, cheaper to purchase, therefore you can make more and they have a greater "collector" mindset. Which leads to the problem with many 3¾" toy lines; Ultimately, the range of characters.
Where Star Wars has a rich spread of characters who look good in plastic, it's a sad fact that Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Narnia just don't. You'll get two or three great figures from each line, and the rest will be mediocre at best. Terminator Salvation's a good example where the manufacturers couldn't secure the rights to Christian Bale's image, so his figure has a cloth over his face with goggles on top. For absolutely no fucking reason.
So, the cyborg based figures were okay, the human ones were pretty drab, and the only real corker was the one you see above.
Indy's only slightly better. The figures look good, but the characters themselves aren't that interesting, outside of Dr Jones and his main adversaries. Sales got so low that Hasbro has actually cancelled the line now. I thought I wasn't going to get Mola Ram at all for a while, there.
So, there's a picture of where I am. No beer, no coffee, and not much in the way of toys. Maybe I should take up fannying about with cars..?
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
