The Incredible Hulk, Omen, and some travelling around.

Three Sundays ago we went with our pal Hannah to see "The Incredible Hulk", which I'm happy to report was very good actually! Like "Iron Man", Marvel have made an entertaining summer blockbuster that features a great leading actor, this time Edward Norton as the scientist/rampaging green monster thing Bruce Banner. It was interesting to see the "Iron Man" link, with the cameo from Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) at the end. Some great visuals and a very watchable cast.

DVD wise, we are nearly through the "Omen" box set, which has been *fab*, with the exception of "Omen IV" which we turned off in about ten minutes -- it's a really dull TV movie with no budget and no class. Oh well. We'll watch the 2006 remake sometime this week. We also saw "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" which is a brainless comedy about Nascar racing, but we love Will Ferrell so it was pretty fun to watch! Sacha Baron Cohen is very bizarre as the French Grand Prix driver; his performance heavily influenced by Adam Sandler I feel.

A couple of weekends ago I drove down to my pal Gary's place in Essex. Quite an achievement as this was my first "big" drive! 2 1/2 hours each way on the motorways, thankfully they were pretty clear traffic wise. We saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at the lovely old South Woodford Odeon and did a few other schlubby things at the house: eat, watch tv etc. It was nice to see him and Martin again. Martin is doing a great job with the garden.

Last weekend, Carla and I did another big drive, this time over to the Norfolk coast to see my parents. After all of these years on the train, I drove it and it was fine. Apart from doing some fun things near to my parent's place, such as a walk on Gorleston sea front and taking my father down to Yarmouth sea front (to see the construction of the new outer harbour) we visited Southwold (pic is of me on the pier) a pretty little town on the Suffolk coast, and then on the way back to here on Monday we stopped off in a couple of towns on the route: Beccles and Bury St. Edmunds. The Abbey gardens/ruins and the cathedral in Bury St. Edmunds were awe inspiring. Lovely part of the town that was! Thankfully, we had clear sunny weather all weekend. We will definitely go back there!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Something I forgot to mention previously is that I turned 36 back on 13th May. Thank you to all the people that sent me cards or internet greetings, and thanks to Carla for the name key ring and 'Indiana Jones' book, and to Joe Sales for the Indy Jones Lego and t-shirt!

Taking about good old Indy, last week, Carla and I watched all three of the previous films on DVD, fitting them in between our favourite TV shows. That was brilliant! ("Raiders" is one of my all-time favourite films, and we kicked off with that on a typical rainy bank holiday Monday.) The most criticised of them, "The Temple of Doom" proved to be great fun and much better than I remember it, although I still don't like Kate Capshaw's character that much, as she screams to much!

On Friday, our pal Mandy came to stay with us for the weekend, and so the three of us watched "The Last Crusade". That lead us nicely into Saturday....

That day, a whole load of us met up in Birmingham city centre to see the new film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Thankfully the weather wasn't to bad, so we didn't get wet. We all assembled a-okay at the Bull statue near to the Bullring shopping centre entrance, and then went off to eat a picnic style lunch in the park by the cathedral (lovely hummus and a fun silly chat, only marred by the mad homeless man begging for cash.) Gerald turned up after buying a few things at a local comic mart, and after lunch three of the gals went off to clothes shopping, and the rest of us did the usual trawl around sci-fi shops looking at geeky film stuff. I have decided to pick up some of the "Mouse Guard" comics when they are collected into a book, as I love the artwork!

Mark kindly booked the tickets for us for the 5:45pm performance at the lovely old Electric Cinema, Britain's oldest operating cinema. I love this venue, as it has bags of atmosphere and an evocative 30's art-deco look. We weren't seated long when two trailers played, and then the Lucasfilm and Paramount logos came on....

Well, I'm happy to report that the film was wonderful - two hours of solid entertainment. That's all I wanted really! I absolutely *loved* the Paramount mountain dissolve into a prairie dog mound! What a great way to kick it off. The long start sequence in the Area 51 hangar and nuclear blast was *fantastic*. I really got into it. Harrison Ford was fine, back after 19 years as the weather beaten archaeologist. He seemed to be really enjoying the experience. The rest of the cast were good as well, although John Hurt's part was a bit of a missed opportunity I felt. It was nice to see Karen Allen back as Marion.

As a sci-fi fan I loved the 1950's Americana / aliens / technology backdrop which gave the film an interesting twist and feel. Unlike a lot of annoying internet fanboys out there, I have to say I was pleased with the end: ancient temple, inter-dimensional aliens, big "Close Encounters" style spaceship et al. I didn't have a problem with Indy and Marion getting married after all of that, in fact, it's a lovely way to wrap it all up. Generally good visual effects throughout as well.
(Picture here is of Mandy in the foyer at the Electric Cinema)

I did have some minor doubts about a couple of elements, like the 'Tarzan' moment and some of the editing in the jungle chase sequence, but on the whole I loved the film and cannot wait to see it again. Fab! :)

So where can they take the characters from here? Well, more of the same would be fine, but I also think it would be fun to see an 'Adventures of Mutt Williams' film, following Shia LaBeouf in the main role, with Indy and Marion as his supporting cast. Dunno what they could get Mutt to do, but maybe he could travel with Indy and Marion and then due to circumstances lead the adventure? I wonder if Lucas and Spielberg (aka the bearded ones) will produce it?



On Sunday we watched 'The Mummy', as I was in the mood for more action adventure with a retro feel. That was one of my first DVD's I bought back in like 2000! Great cast, with Brendan Frasier on top form as the hero, and Rachel Weisz is so gorgeous in this film! I like her line, 'I am so proud to be a librarian!' The new film (to be released in August) looks interesting.

Eurovision Song Contest

The first post of two this week, because I leave it ages until I update this blog and I need to catch up!

Firstly, I'm still driving to work a-ok. I'm getting used to the wonders of the A46 every day. I still haven't washed the car as every time I think of doing it I get sidetracked and then it rains!!

On Saturday 24 May, our pal Sarah came up to stay with us for the weekend. After doing a bit of food shopping, Sarah and I watched a great example of 'so bad it's great' film-making: the 1980 camp-a-thon "Flash Gordon". Following that, it was time to pop back into town and do a bit of DVD shopping, were we both bought a couple of second-hand titles. Carla got me the new "Complete Making of Indiana Jones" book which is a really good read, with lots of fantastic photos from the productions.

After dinner, it was time to watch the annual over-the-top tv event that is the "Eurovision Song Contest". For those of you that don't know, it's a pan European (and now beyond) event where each participating country chooses a song and a performer, who then performs that song in a semi-final show and then, if they are lucky enough to go through, a live final. Then the viewers in each participating country vote for their favourite. Whoever wins, hosts the contest the next year. I've watched this for *years*, and have always enjoyed the complete flag waving glitzy nonsense. It's been part of the TV schedules since the 1950s, and so like its British presenter, the ever popular Terry Wogan, is part of the furniture in TV land.

This year the contest came from Serbia and was presented in the usual way by two local celebs with big teeth and in naff (rather than glamorous) dress. There were more melodramatic acts compared to the usual camp silliness this time, although there were bizarre acts from Croatia and Spain. The political voting of course has always been there, but over the last three or four years is seems to have become far more obvious. Eastern Europe votes for Eastern Europe, and in this year's case, that was Russia. The UK entry from 'X-Factor' runner up Andy Abraham came a dismal joint last with Germany and Poland, even though it was quite a funky track. My favourite entry was from Ukraine: "Shady Lady" by the lovely Ani Lorak (see picture here.) Great dancing on top of those big glass boxes!) which I actually phoned a vote in for, and it ended up coming in second. Carla was (sort of) gunning for Armenia which came in third, and Sarah wanted Greece to win and that came in fourth. So not bad results from this household.

I have to say though for me, the show was an overall disappointment as a lot of the entries were rather dull and serious; not enough "fun". In the words of Ireland's Dustin the Turkey, "Oh Europe, where or where did it all go wrong�? COME ON!!!!!!" How apt. After the disappointment of the night, it looks like Terry Wogan is going to give it up as a bad job as he can't stand the complete sham of the voting. Can't say I blame him really. Shame, as the three of us were looking forward to a really fun evening, but in the end it was just 'ok'. Glad we had some alcohol!

The following day, the three of us watched an ancient Doctor Who, "The Sontaran Experiment", a two-parter from 1975. Good cheap looking stuff. :)

UPDATE 5/6/08

Sarah reminded me today to post this silly little picture that I took of our toys!

Yes, that is Jar Jar Binks v Sir Guy of Gisborne (Robin Hood) in the ultimate woodland rumble. Thrust, parry, retreat....o-kee-day! I bet you lot out there are impressed with the 'forest' backdrop. It was the only green thing I had handy.....a yoga mat! ;)

Driving, Collectormania show, and Iron Man

I've just had my first week of driving experience. Not bad so far, although my parking skills remain rather suspect, but the actual driving is getting a bit better each day. I'm getting used to the gear shifting, lane discipline, motorways etc. I'm actually starting to enjoy it for the most part!

I'll have to photo our little KA soon, but it will need a wash first! It's starting to look a bit grubby, thanks to all that motorway travel I've done this week.

We went to the Collectormania show in Milton Keynes last Saturday and it was great fun, especially to drive there instead of relying on trains that don't run! It was really nice to meet (and get the autograph of) actress Nancy Allen, who I have adored since seeing her in films such as "Strange Invaders", "Dressed to Kill", and the "RoboCop" series. Lovely lady, really nice to chat to. I got some other bits and pieces at the show, and even got Carla some stylised elephant earrings! We met up with Mark, Paul and some others at the show, and after we had enough of going around the stalls we went to see 'Iron Man' at the flicks. A brilliant film with a great cast (I love Robert Downey Jnr. and wow, Gwyneth Paltrow looked ace!) and featured some great spfx: the sequence where 'Iron Man' tries to avoid the US jets was very exciting! We got to see the 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' trailer as well. Good stuff, can't wait to see Indy back on the big screen.

New car, job, a trip to Cheshire.....and Monkey!

After a lot research, test drives, and stress, we finally organised buying a car today: a 2004 Ford KA 'Collection' with a 1.3 petrol engine and in vitro green - more silver than green. The deal is done with the people over at the Ford garage - we just need to pick it up next Friday. Then I can start driving around all over the place, certainly to work and back which is the main reason for getting the car. I like this little motor; I hope I will get to love it! The countryside is now open to us to explore, that is if we can afford the high petrol prices. (internet picture.)

Oh, I started my new job over a week ago and all is well so far. I'm doing some interesting things with geographic data organisation. It certainly looks like I will be able to expand my experience and skills in GIS. The car will help with the commute to Warwick and back. Only another week on the long train journey.

Last weekend, Carla and I went with our pal Mark up to the Wirral in Cheshire (near Liverpool) to visit our friend Mandy. The four of us attended the 'Space Port' attraction in Wallasey on Saturday: an interactive museum about space research. They were having a display celebrating recent science fiction/fantasy films. The thing that attracted me was that our friends Toria and Jo were working there that day. They are part of a group who dress up in science fiction costumes, such as "Star Wars" Imperial Stormtroopers, who move around the crowd at events looking cool and menacing and posing for pictures with the kiddies. Quite a fun way of spending the weekend I guess! Apparently they did a parade on the Sunday as well. As for merchandise, Mark bought a little snow globe with an astronaut in it. The displays were average at best, and the place looked a bit shabby, with some of the interactive displays broken and the sci-fi exhibits upstairs rather tacky. There were no original film props, and what was there were all rather poorly made. The Jar Jar Binks figure looked as if he was about to fall in on himself!

After that, we went for a very 'bracing' walk on the beach at New Brighton, a sea-side town at the mouth of the river Mersey. It was blowing very cold off the Irish Sea, so we left rather windswept! The rest of the weekend was spent at Mandy's house watching TV (such as the new episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" season 4) and eating, drinking and chatting.

There is a new piece of 'Monkey' merchandise out in the shops. In special packs of PG tips tea you get a 'Monkey' tea-towel and a fab little DVD where 'Monkey' explores the history of tea! A fun little movie to watch!

"Star Fleet" on DVD at last!

At last, it seems that one of my favourite TV shows of all time, "Star Fleet", will be released in the UK on Region 2 DVD at the end of August.

This was a puppet sci/fi Japanese/European co-production first shown on ITV here in October 1982, so I first saw it when I was a 10 year old sci-fi geekling. And it was simply AWESOME. And like "Battle of the Planets", it still is! Dia-X robot space battles....yay!

I have some "Star Fleet" on video tape already (they were released in an edited format in the late 80s on video rental) but these will be a very nice addition to my collection of stuff!!

* happy....jumps for joy!*

Easter and a singing dog!

Wow, Easter 2008 is over already. It's been a nice four day break, and we have two more days of annual leave to go as well! We had our pal Gary up for a couple of days visit, which was nice even though we spent most of the time in the house watching DVDs (such as "Mash", "Jaws", "This is Spinal Tap" and so on.) We did go to Warwick on Saturday morning, but it was *so* cold and windy (and it snowed!) that we came home sooner than expected. The snow had all gone by Sunday lunchtime though.

Oh, talking about Warwick, well, I have a new job there starting sometime in mid April! This means getting a car and learning to get used to the commute!

There is a great advert on British TV at the moment! It's for the new VW Polo and features a cute singing dog! Have a look at you tube here. I wonder if you buy new Polo you get a dog like this!?

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - coming in May!

Yep, on May 22nd we'll see a new 'Indiana Jones' flick in our cinemas -- the first since 1989's "Last Crusade". I'm really buzzed about the new film, as Indy is one of my favourite film characters, with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" being one of my top movies of all time! Lucas and Spielberg created something really special with these films: their take on the film serials of the 1940s were amazing to watch. With "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" we 'll have some 1950s sci-fi b-movie influence as well -- flying Saucers in the desert? Area 51? Alien cultures in South America? We'll see soon!

The newly released trailer was fabulous to watch! Harrison still looks good enough to play the part - it is an action role after all. I suppose a lot of the humour will come from referencing Indy's age. Shia Labeouf was brilliant in "Transformers", so I'm looking forward to seeing his character, Matt (Jones?). I was over the moon to hear that Karen Allen is back as Marion, and was happy to see some other additions to the cast as Ray Winstone, John Hurt, and Cate Blanchett, who plays the Soviet enemy with a very severe hair cut!

There are rumours out there in internet land that if successful, Shia's character could be used in future "spin off" movies or a tv series. I always wanted an Indy Jones cartoon!

Roll on May 22nd -- can't wait to see this on the big screen!!!

Star Wars 30th anniversary cake!

Tomorrow, the 19th of February 2008, is my 30th anniversary for seeing the original "Star Wars" film! Yes, the film is *that* old and I'm even *older*. Eeek.

I'm amazed that it was 30 years ago that my brother, Peter, took me to the lovely old Regent cinema in Great Yarmouth on a Sunday afternoon to see the newly released space blockbuster. What an amazing experience that was though! The excitement of queing up, getting a 'Star Wars' baseball cap (a cheap and nasty piece of tat is was though!) jaw-dropping visuals, cheering, and dropping my ice cream in the cinema. I guess it was a life changing/creating moment. Three decades on and I'm still a film geek!

Have a look here and here about the original release.

So anyway, Carla and I are going to watch the original cut of the film on DVD, and eat some cake to celebrate! I may take a photo of this if I get around to it. I know it wont be anywhere near as good as the cake that Craig and the rest of the 'Star Wars' fan group had at their recent 30th anniversary get together (see picture) but hey, it will taste nice: Sainsbury's cakes usually do!

The Lords of Midnight and old video games!

I've discovered an old Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer game available on-line. It's called "The Lords of Midnight" and was one of my favourite titles from my Spectrum gaming days of the 1980s! The game is a graphic adventure/strategy hybird and is simply *FANTASTIC*! The version I'm playing is an update - graphically at least. The gameplay is pretty much identical to the original. The plot concerns a group of "good" kingdoms who are trying to defend themselves against an evil overlord (and his armies of darkness!) who is trying to invade and conquer them. As you would expect it is set in a mythical "Lord of the Rings" style time and place, so there are dragons, towers, mountains, magical swords etc. It's quite fun sending your characters, such as 'Luxor the Moonprince' and 'Rorthron the Wise' around the huge map, finding things, recruiting lords, raising armies and defending keeps and towns. What made the game so revolutionary back on it's 1984 release was that it could generate (for then a staggering) 32,000 different views from the point of view of the individual game characters. The programmer, a chap called Mike Singleton, developed a process called 'Landscaping' to achieve this. As you move the characters around the kingdoms, you can see objects (such as a ruin or forest) getting closer and the landscape revealing itself, as well as armies on the horizon. Very atmospheric: the gameplay is involving and the graphics are wonderful!

The game version I'm playing can be downloaded here at the excellent Tower of the Moon site.

A newer update can be found here at Frozen Empire - looks like they've expanded the graphics and gameplay!

"LOM" is one of many video games from the past that I love to play! Others include arcade classics like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Battle-Zone, Defender, Amidar, Donkey-Kong etc. Talking about Kong, there is a new documentary about two video game egos battling each other for the world championship high score. Its called "The King of Kong" and looks wonderful! Hopefully I can get it on DVD soon and can review it then!

last weekend, TV, movies etc.

We had a nice weekend with our friends Mark and Mandy who came to visit. Before meeting up with Mark in Coventry city centre on Saturday, the three of us went for a quick visit to Coventry Cathedral (which is a fantastic example of 1950s design done right - the remains of the mediaeval one is next to it - see pic) and then after a quick lunch we went to see "I Am Legend" at the Odeon cinema there. Have a look at Carla's blog for our opinions. Other than that, we had a great relaxing weekend with the TV and DVD player. Mark lent us the season 2 and 3 DVD box sets of "Battlestar Galactica", which we both love! The TV find of the weekend was "Ninja Warrior" on Challenge TV - a Japanese show that puts contestants against various assault courses. Very entertaining, especially as Stuart Hall does the *mad* commentary!

I'm hoping to see "Alien v Predator: Requiem" this weekend with a pal when I visit home. Looks stupid, but hey, it is aliens beating each other up in the rain which should provide some entertaining action!

We have discovered the American version of "The Office" which stars Steve Carell, who plays the Ricky Gervais role as the rather odd office manager. It is currently showing on the Paramount Comedy channel. Once we got used to the new cast and slightly different style of scripts, we have become fans. In fact, I like it enough to buy both series 1 and 2! The other thing we have got into is "South Park", which I have to admit has become one of my favourite shows. The scripts and situations are inventive, often grim and very very funny! My favourite characters are 'Eric Cartman' and the wonderfully naive 'Butters' - the little kid with the sprig of blonde hair who Cartman is always being mean to. Poor Butters! What a fab little kid!

That'll do for now. I hear "Torchwood" playing in the background and I want to eat some shreddies!

layturz....

Bruce Willis zaps the terrorists!

We watched the "Die Hard 4.0" rental DVD last night. What a cracking film!! We both thoroughly enjoyed this. On the surface it was a thrilling action movie that doesn't stop assaulting the viewer for 2 hours: car chases, exploding helicopters, gun battles, kung fu fights, and wise-cracking cynical characters....all very enjoyable. Behind all of this was a truly scary storyline. What would happen if we lost our essential services--power, water, communications and transport--to terrorism? Well, anarchy basically. What scared me about this plot was how it showed how we have become reliant on technology to help run every aspect of our lives. If that is tampered with or destroyed, what do we do then?

Anyway, hats off to all involved. One of the best summer blockbusters I have seen in years. Shame we missed that at the flicks, as those effects would look great on the big screen.

Tonight's DVD entertainment

We've got "The Lady In The Water" DVD to watch this evening. When it was released about 18 months ago, I recall that it had a poor reception from the critics, and only played in cinemas for a short while. Still, I'm hoping the film will be good to watch. I really like Paul Giamatti, especially in "Sideways" which was a hoot!

Right, must go and do some chores. Yippee.

Happy new year and 2008 movies

Happy 2008 one and all! Hope all is OK with everyone and you enjoyed your Christmas and New Year celebrations. We had a lovely quiet time at home, relaxing and watching TV and eating a bit too much dark choccy. I also got to visit home for a couple of days.

We saw "The Golden Compass" a couple of days ago with my sister and her husband. Not bad, although it certainly wasn't in the league of the "Lord of the Rings" films. I only really liked the warrior polar bear (voice by Ian McKellen) although the leading gal was very good to watch. Maybe she will be a big star. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we'll get the chance to see "I Am Legend" with some friends. That looks impressive, and I love the story.

Here are some upcoming films I'm looking forward to this year (in American release order, but who knows when we'll get them here!)

"Cloverfield"

"Rambo"

"Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo"

"Iron Man"

"Speed Racer"

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

"Kung-Fu Panda"

"The Incredible Hulk"

"Wall-E"

"The Dark Knight"

"Valkyrie"

"Bond 22" (I wonder when we'll get a title!?)

"The Day The Earth Stood Still"

"Star Trek"

I'm sure there is some I've missed here! I hope I can get to see most of these at the flicks before the DVD release. I wonder what will be the biggest hits? I'm guessing "Indy IV" or "Wall-E". Oh, there is a 'Harry Potter' film coming out nearer Christmas but I didn't list it as I have little interest in that series.

December catch-up

In case I still have any readers out there…..just to let you all know that I'm still around! I just haven’t managed to get typing of late. Oh well.

We've been doing the usual stuff, including watching loads of DVD's ranging from "The Simpson's Movie" (very disappointing) to "Zodiac" (excellent). I went to the 'Memorabilia Show' at Birmingham's NEC, which had its usual mix of guest stars signing autographs and stalls selling old film and TV tie-in merchandise. I was lucky enough to meet some very old friends there, having not seen them for a few years so that was a pleasant surprise.

I'm really looking forward to the new "Indiana Jones" trailer. It should appear on-line soon and be playing in the cinemas for Christmas. Let's hope Harrison Ford can pull off being an action hero in his mid-60's!

Oh, when I get all the photos from our little pre "Hallowe'en" weekend experience together, I'll post them. It was a great fun day, dressing up and watching horror DVD's and all that silliness.

I'm looking forward to Xmas break, although I have to admit I am enjoying my work at the moment so all is ok there. Only a few more cards to send now.

Recently (thanks to Carla's encouragement) I picked up my pens and paper and started drawing my cartoon characters again. The characters and stories are still in development, but it has been fun drawing them after all of these months!

I've also started to exercise regularly with Carla when she does some of her workouts. It's actually been very uplifting! The worst thing is starting each workout, but once you get into it, it seems ok. We do yoga as well, so hopefully if I stick to it I'll get fitter and more flexible over the next year. There has been some mild pain and some breathless moments, but I intend to carry on.

Oh, a mention to Mark's new "Star Wars" blog here!

A coastal visit and some other things

A visit home.

We went to visit my parent's over a few days in late September, which was great as we got to do some fun stuff in nice weather (for a change!) and of course it was lovely to see them. On the way over we stopped off in Norwich to have a mooch about the city centre and find some quirky shops. We also had lunch in the castle grounds (which is on top of the Castle Mall shopping centre.) Carla wanted to visit the Norwich Buddhist Centre, where she bought a mala (a string of beads for meditation) and find some other 'new age' shops. We found one of the shops, but the other had closed. We then went around some old charity/second hand/oddments shops and she found a box with the symbol for 'Om' on it (you will have gathered that my wife is into Buddhist things now.) We then caught the train to Yarmouth to stay with mum and dad.

The next day we had a few hours in Lowestoft, which as geography fans will know is Britain's most easterly town. We had a fun few hours walking from the extreme south the sea front parade, back along the (European award winning blue flag certified!) beach, past the pier area and across the harbour bridge, and all the way up through the town centre and into the older High Street area, and lastly had lunch in the memorial park. The area around the bridge and harbour is pretty grim, and there seems a sense of faded glory to the place (like so many coastal towns) but the rest of the town centre and sea front was fun to see. Carla was happy to see brightly decorated beach huts! Later that evening we had a nice little walk around Gorleston-On-Sea High Street and then the sea front. Not many people about, and the weather was still and clear. A fun three days!

Techno techno techno…..and meerkats!

I got Carla a little Sony MP3 player so she can use it for her Buddhist meditations. She is now constructing play lists via internet downloads from various Buddhist websites and CDs. The software that comes with it, Sonic Stage, takes a bit of getting used to, but everything seems to be working ok so far.

Our Philips widescreen TV died the other weekend. We came back from a short shopping trip in town and when I turned it on, the picture was a light blue with white lines across it! I guess the writing had been on the wall as its been displaying these odd lines across the screen for a while now. There was this distinct smell of 'burnt electrics' around the house that afternoon! Oh well, it lasted 7 years or so no matter. We got our spare tv from the bedroom and moved it into the living room, and we'll make do with that until it blows. Then it’s a new plasma or LCD!

Also, those pesky (but mostly cute) meerkats have come back for a third series of "Meerkat Manor", which recently ran on the Animal Planet channel and is still narrated by the wonderful Bill Nigh. I love this show: the best soap opera on tv! It was quite sad when Flower the dominant female of the Whiskers group died. Rocket Dog, her daughter, has taken over. Gripping stuff I tell ya!! Can't wait for series 4.

Julie's Wedding and Comic Con

Some updates for late August and early September. Finally got around to do some typing!

Julie and Patrick's Wedding and a weekend in London.

Carla and I went down to London on Friday August 17th for three days. We managed to get some fun things done that day, the first being a trip up to 'Yoga Matters' near Turnpike Lane in North London. This shop specialises in all things yoga, Buddhist and 'eastern'. Best find for me was the "Yoga for Chickens" book! Carla got two more Kundalini yoga dvds. We then headed off back into central London to meet up with our pal Bill and have a walk around Kensington. Lovely evening that was! The guidebook we had takes you off the beaten track a bit and gives factoids about the buildings and places. Apparently we walked right past Michael "calm down dear" Winner's house! Also, the Kensington roof gardens were gorgeous. To finish the day we went for a (disappointing) meal in a Japanese restaurant in Soho.

The next morning we had a look around Oxford Street so I could buy a new suit and Carla could get a new bag, which we did after a bit of faffing about. Good old British Home stores! Then we popped over to the Knight's Templar pub near Chancery Lane to attend the wedding. Patrick was already there welcoming guests, and Julie arrived shortly before the ceremony dressed in a traditional sari (she has a love of all things eastern, and changed into other saris later). Mike and Tracie and her family were with her. The wedding went fine. The simple civil service was held in the balcony which overlooks the main pub area. I did my bit as nominated "giver away" which was dead easy! Carla and I stayed for a little while afterwards, and then headed off to get a meal at a vegetarian restaurant called 'Mildred's' in Soho. We also wanted to have a look around central London and found a fab shop called 'Coffee Cake and Kink'! I love glamour stuff so this is right up my street! Ahem, anyway, we came back later to have a drink with the crowd that was left at the wedding. Julie was still dancing! We wish the happy couple all the best. Check out some photos here.

On the Sunday we met up with Mike and most of the Star Wars fan "groovy gang" to have a look at the 'Star Wars exhibit' at County Hall on the South Bank. This was ok, but I had reservations of what was shown and how it was displayed. It was good to see some of the props and artwork, for instance I loved the early design of Watto, and the model of the Star Destroyer turret, but to me the rooms seemed a little dark and there wasn't enough information displayed about the individual props. I guess I had to buy a guide book! At the end of the exhibit I saw an odd thing. You could by official merchandise from a van out on the street. Yes. A van! I wonder if they sold Bantha-burgers as well!? Haha!

We also got chance to show Mike the famous Covent Garden market, and a football shop where he picked up some Arsenal merchandise for Brian.

The London Film and Comic Con (Sunday, September 2nd)

I went down to London's Earl's Court to have a few hours at the 'London Film and Comic Con', which is now in its third year. The day started off well: I got to the railway station in time for the first train to London, and it was early in, and not that busy so I got a seat. Nice sunny day as well. Then of course, it all went down hill. An announcement told us that we would be delayed because of a de-railment of some Railtrack maintenance equipment near Rugby! After an hour, we finally got under way. Then nearer Northampton a strange thing happened. The train was held up by sheep on the line! Idiot stupid farmer who can't repair fences! He should be fined. Anyway, in some ways this was funny as it turned out the train driver and the conductor had to moonlight as sheep herders!! They spent a good 30 odd minutes deciding what to do, then the next 30 running around the track and embankments trying to get the sheep back into the field!! Finally got into London an hour late, but never mind. Off to Earl's Court I rushed. Thankfully, no hold ups on the tube.

The fair there was the usual "collectors show": lots of stalls selling film and TV merchandise, various actors and actresses selling autographs. There was even an area for talks. When I investigated that part of the hall there was a "Star Wars" talk going on with Gary Kurtz (the producer) and actors answering questions posed by fans.

I got to see my friends Sarah, Paul, and Jamie there. Being able to see pals from far away is always the highlight of these events. Part of the hall was in chaos. This was because some of the cast of Heroes were there signing autographs, including the lovely Hayden Panettiere. The queues went on for hours. I suppose that confirms the show is a mega hit! Sarah managed to queue a long time for Patrick Stewart's autograph, who is apparently much shorter in real life. That's what camera angles do! In her words:

"Sunday 2nd Sept at LFCC. Experienced quite an odd day at my first convention, as I spent most of the time wandering about the dingy bowels of Earls Court 1, surrounded by fanatical people in strange costumes, in order to get my 10 seconds with Patrick Stewart. Like most people off the telly, in the flesh he was actually rather tiny, but a very polite man all the same. Somehow though, I don't think I'll be doing LFCC again..."

For me, the main problem with the event was the venue. Earls Court is sooooooo dark and gloomy! The place really is showing its age. I do hope Jason moves the show back to Earls Court 2 next year, which is a far more pleasant experience as its newer, the lighting is better and design of the hall is less oppressive. Organisers take note!

I got back ok.....no sheep on the line!

Park Meet 2007

On Saturday 4th August I popped down to London for 'Park Meet': the annual get-together of my "Star Wars" fan friends, or "the groovy gang" as Jane has named us! We've done this since the summer of 2002, with all of these meet-ups being very well attended, and thankfully held on days of great weather! This year's was no exception. The only downer being that Carla couldn't come with me this time as she was working that Saturday. Oh well. It was Paul that came up with the idea, so before anything else, a big thank you to him for some fun days!

I got down to Euston just after 11am, and headed over to 'Planet Organic' for my vegan 'bunny munch' sandwiches etc, and then headed on over to kill some time in the book shops on Charring Cross road. What type of book shops, eh?! Ahem. I'll leave you to guess. On the way down Tottenham Court Road, I was surprised to have a flyer for a computer fare thrust into my hands by some young American lass who then said, "Wow, I luuuoooooooove your t-shirt!!" in a her croaky yankee accent. I was trying to eat crisps at the time so didn't really engage in much conversation, apart from a "Thanks, it is a great film, isn't it!" I suppose I could have stopped and chatted as she seemed friendly enough, but the crisp eating took over. Plus I had to meet my pal Sarah. In fact, I got several looks and smiles with regard to my t-shirt choice of the day: a 'Vote for Pedro' shirt, as featured in the cult film "Napoleon Dynamite". It certainly has a following! With lines like "I caught you a delicious bass." and "Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes, all day. Besides, we both know I'm training to become a cage fighter." I'm not surprised!

I got to rendezvous with Sarah about mid-day at Leicester Square, and we then checked out Forbidden Planet, The Cinema Store and Vintage Magazine collector shops for what must be the premier piece of film merchandise in the world: A Daniel Craig fridge magnet. Yes. Daniel Craig. On your fridge. We couldn't find one, but Clinton's Cards have them so Sarah can hopefully get it there! (She did, BTW - thought you should know.)

We walked over in hot sun (glad I brought the sun cream) to Green Park tube station, got some water from a local Pret-a-Manger, and then found Tess, Lindy and her boyfriend sitting in the park making friends with a VERY TAME squirrel! He was so tame; he literally came up to eat nuts from their hands! What a cute little critter. After chatting for a bit I managed to find the rest of the gang via the glory of mobile phone technology, and we moved over to our usual tree. The afternoon was a rather nice and relaxing few hours, spent lazing about talking, eating and drinking. We had a great turn out, some 25 of us I believe. People were arriving and leaving and different times.

Several of us chatted about the recently released "Transformers" film (I think about a 50/50 split there between 'like' and 'dislike'), and there was the usual chit-chat about movies and DVDs, Lego collecting, classic children's TV, and other such geeky fare combined with a more grown up stuff like impending flat purchase (Paul), weddings (Kerry-Anne, Craig and Karen), shopping and vegan diets (Tess), college stuff (Lindy). The usual silly games of cricket and frisbee went on in the background (you had to be careful - those balls flew everywhere!) as the rest of us chilled out. Some of us took photos. I went over to Piccadilly with Lindy, Tess and her bf to look at the artwork, just before they left to check out the Japan centre.

I left about 6:20pm to get my 7pm train back home. I think the rest of them went to the pub! All in all, an easy going fun day! I guess we'll have another one next year. Let's just hope for good weather.

Oh, thanks to Kerry-Anne for the wine and showing us her picture of meeting Mark Hamill at Star Wars Celebration Europe!

Indiana Jones 4

Just before I chat about our 'Park Meet' held last Saturday, I want to put this image up of what should be 2008's biggest film - "Indiana Jones 4" - which opens in May. I must say I'm buzzed about this flick! The cast look great and I know Spielberg and Lucas will put everything into this to make it action packed and fun. Expect a huge "Indiana Jones" merchandise wave to hit the shops next summer, including Indy Lego!

What with that and another "Batman", next summer should be fab for blockbuster geeks like me!!

Family vist and a cinema trip

I always seem to be catching up with this silly blog! You may have noticed that I have severe apathy when it comes to updating it. Sorry!

Still, here goes with what's been happening of late…

Carla's family visit (Saturday 21 - Monday 30 July.)

Carl and Ethan, Carla's father and son, came over for a visit. We met them at Birmingham airport a full day later than planned as they ran into some trouble with connecting flights in the USA. Oh well, it was raining and grey all that Friday so they didn't miss much! The first weekend was spent at home doing stuff locally, as was the second. I was at work for two days into their holiday but one of those days Carla took them into Birmingham city centre to look around the shops. I think they got as far as doing the Bull Ring centre and china town. Ethan decided he didn't want to see the new "Harry Potter" flick, even though it was showing in 3D at the Imax cinema. On the Wednesday, we all went down to London to do touristy stuff there: The Tower of London, a trip on the DLR out to Greenwich, then a boat trip up the Thames to Embankment (near Westminster.) We didn’t have much time at the Tower, after getting to London at lunchtime and having a bite to eat, checking into our hotel etc. Still, it was a nice if brief visit. The place was full of scouts! Onto the river trip, which was wonderful! You get some fantastic views of the city from the river - even when it is grey and windswept. I really want to do that again! To finish off the day we had a meal in Wagamama (yummy noodles and vegan nosh!) and then went to Namco Station arcade in County Hall, so Ethan could play video games until his credits ran out!

Thursday was spent out at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey. What an impressive place this is! We had time to explore a great deal of the palace and its grounds. The staterooms are opulent and a little overwhelming. The whole place is very interesting. I particularly liked the display about King Henry VIII and the Tudor kitchens with plastic re-creations of 500-year-old food! haha. Great stuff. The gardens are beautiful as well. Very scenic, especially as the Thames flows right by there.

In the evening we went back into Central London and went bowling in Bayswater (as it was close to Paddington station) and then we got the train to Bath, so we had a few hours doing more touristy stuff there on the Friday. This included the Roman Baths museum (the commentary playing machines now include added comments from author Bill Bryson!), a tour on one of those hop-on hop-off buses, a nice lunch by the river, and a quick trip to the fashion museum. Bath is a grand city of primarily Georgian architecture, set in a picturesque valley of the river Avon. As the weather was nice that day, it was a great visit.

Over the holidays, I dug out my old Nintendo Gamecube system, which kept Ethan happy! He played my various "Star Wars" video games on it for quite some time. Its amazing to think that five years ago, this system was state-of-the-art, and now everyone treats it like its from the Noah's ark!

Oh, and on the last full day of their visit we went to see….

Transformers at the Nuneaton Odeon. Yep, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg's big screen version of the 1980's toy and cartoon finally got released that weekend. I'd been buzzed about this film since it was announced, being a big fan of the robots in disguise. Well, I have to say I loved it! I came out of the screening with a big smile. Excellent sfx, remarkably funny script, good lead actors, particularly Shia LaBeouf. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, especially ILM's special effects guys. The only downside is my standard criticism of any Michael Bay film…his editing style takes some getting used to as everything moves at a cracking pace. Anyway, I think this is his best film, and we all enjoyed it so let's give it 9/10! I hope to see this again before it ends its run.

Oh, I have completed (yes! actually completed!!!) my Merlin "Transformers" sticker album. This was achieved by getting a few packs last week, some doubles from friends at work, and then buying a complete box on Sunday! Now I need to try and complete my "Star Wars Episode 3" album (oh where are you no 154?!)

Anyway, it was fun to see Carla's family, being hosts and do touristy stuff with them. Thankfully, all seemed to go well!

I will cover Park Meet, our annual fun day out at Green Park, in a few days time!