2008: it’s an OCD year.

I’ve been meme’d again, I had an entirely different post planned half written for this, but it was too bloody depressing, so i’ve changed it again and so i’m sharing the satisfying things that are meant to make me happy.

Here’s the 411, Nick pointed to me with one finger and said do it, so I said I would. It’s the things that make you pink:

1. Having the volume in my car set at multiples of 5. It’s a very small, teeny thing, but it just makes me feel way better than if it was at 34 for example. I had gotten out of the habit (yeah right), but i’ve moved back to it now, very comforting and well rounded.

2. I just thought of this one last night talking to secret blogger, you know that click when you open a bottle of fizzy pop, now that is a fabulous sound, there’s a delightful looking forward to whatever drinky is inside and usually a nice experience follows.

3. The Princess Bride. I never get sick of this film. It’s for boys and girls, it’s got sword fighting, romance, pirates, a giant, a spaniard, cary elwes, robin wright, a prince and Peter Falk. Excellent.

4. A really good book, hello how boring does this make me sound? I mean a proper, un-put-downable book. My last two were Ray Charles autobiography, and Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night. Proper losing hours in a book books. There’s not enough of them.

5. 80s power ballads. Enough said.

6. Putting on the radio and Movies and Musicals is on (I tend to miss this a lot) or The Essential Kate Bush. Yes please.

***

Now to point the finger at a five others:

Lottie,

Darren,

Anthony,

David,

Alexia,

Midge (i’m guessing Spain makes her happy)

(I couldn’t do just five!)

Rocky Horror Picture Show

to be remade? According to The Times, yep, in a partnership between Sky and MTV. Hhhmmm.

Did Ken Hammond once have a moustache?

There are not too many pictures of him floating around the internet, but i’ve been wondering, for a while now, whether he ever had one, or whether he has any intention on growing one. I for one would be pro-moustachioed Ken Hammond.

He seems like the type who would have been moustachioed, and i’m not the only one who thinks so. My flatmate does too.

Anyone got any ideas? Did he actually… or is it all in my imagination?

Penguin on Sky

There was a penguin all over Sky news earlier. I mean ALL over it. It probably still is actually. I didn’t have the sound up, so was just left wondering what it was all about, I did think he was officiating something - turns out he kind of was:

A penguin who was previously made a Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army has been knighted at Edinburgh Zoo.

Penguin Nils Olav has been an honorary member and mascot of the Norwegian King’s Guard since the 1980s.

Possibly the only sports related post ever here.

This man - Steve McClaren, he’s English right? Yep according to Wiki he’s from York!

What the flip-flop is going on with his accent… and lovely lilt at the end of each sentence!?

Ba ha ha ha ha

David Kelly

He always seems like such a gent. He’s coming to the IFI on Sunday to answer audience questions. He’s been in some of my favourite screen gems lately, notably Stardust, (current Princess Bride anyone?) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (excellent Grandpa Joe), and Into the West (!), and naturally enough Fawlty Towers.

I’ve been to one of these before. It was an absolute pleasure and David Kelly is such a ledgebag, this looks like fun. More info here.

I’m like a walking press release relayer* today.

*not in fact a real word as far as I’m aware.

Another learned man

Comments on Spelling. It’s the Prez… he’s talking about spelling. Just thought it was an interesting blog post. Nice to see he’s still going.

Then it may of course be that the suggestion that spelling doesn’t matter is a comfort to the many people who are no longer secure in their own spelling ability. Maybe this whole debate is pointless - maybe the complexity of English has already overwhelmed its speakers. Or maybe the time has come to give proper attention to the rules of spelling and grammar, both in order to apply them and, where appropriate and possible, to reform them.

Tunage

The boss man who always does good work. (I’ve no idea why I’m calling him the boss man, it just seems to fit). He’s got a great tune this week:

Do it. Ah go on.

Thought for the Day #18

Ba ha ha ha ha ha

This was just hilarious:

The most common mistake is to say Montaig (ie, to rhyme it with plague). When asked, these otherwise fluent and well-trained salespeople claim never to have heard of Montague, nor to know anything about Romeo and Juliet. The insult that finally gave rise to this letter was to be addressed as Mr Montagwey by a Scot who claimed that Montague was a very, very unusual name.

Oh just lol.

Poor spelling…

Never sounded so good. I’m a bit late coming to this, but this song is so so so so good.

So good. (I wish there was a way of writing in waves. You know what I mean, not italics but waves.)

Shooting stars to peak tonight.

If anyone saw any last night, can they put their hand up. How many did I see? zero. None. Nada.

“Up to 20 times more shooting stars than a normal night are expected, so instead of seeing one every 10 minutes there could be one or more each minute. Although the waxing gibbous Moon will not set until after midnight there will still be plenty of opportunity to see these bright trailing streaks across the sky.”

Everyone hope for the rain to fall all afternoon and be gone, by tonight.

If you miss out there’s also a bit of a lunar eclipse at the weekend. It’s a full moon so that makes people mad anyway:

The exact colour of the eclipsed Moon will not be known beforehand and will, ironically, depend on the condition of the Earth’s atmosphere at the time.

More from the Astronomy lads.

Overpowered

Ever wonder about Roisin Murphy’s mad album cover? or indeed any other artists (nearly wrote artits). Sleevage has the 411, and it’s called sleevage… they added age to the end of the word. That’s one of my favourite things to do.

Anyway cd (remember them?) album covers… history of… Ch-ch-check it out. It’s really good!

*reminds me of Sleeveface. Best website ever? Yeah maybe.

Blog post of the Month?

What month? Any month.

It has to be K8’s about her gorgeous little Laughingboy. One of the best posts I’ve ever read, written straight from the heart.

Read it, then go nominate it. Please and thank you.

Opera-lympics?

If you’ve been watching any of the Olympics on fancy BBC, you’ll have checked out the opening sequences made by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn. I really like the graphics and music they are using, I think it’s something a bit different, and reminds me that…

…they’ve been busy working on a widely publicised opera called Monkey: Journey to the West.

I’ve been meaning to look it up for a while. I think it looks quite stunning. Obviously nothing can compare to a live show, things rarely do.

I’ve been to the opera and I love it, the sheer scale of the sets, costumes, voices. I’ve only been to a few proper ones mind, but it’s something that i’m looking forward to going to again, and I think this is going to have to appear on my list.

Anyway, matter at hand - Monkey is a stage adaptation of an old Chinese novel. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett are probably better known as part of Gorillaz. It premiered at the start of last year, and Albarn scored it, while Hewlett made the set and costumes, not to mention i’m thinking had a big hand in the site and all. I’m a big fan of Damon Albarn, I always thought unlike so many bands he did evolve (I know what a load of pretentious ccok! saying that!), but I just did.

He did move though and experiment with different genres, (mali music), different styles of presentation (gorillaz!), different set ups (the good, the bad and the queen). God loves a trier. Basically I admire the fact that he’s putting his mind to a load of different things, not just to look cool, (although possibly just to look cool), he gives them a decent effort, some have worked, some worked, slightly askew.

Lots of people think of it one way. Opera I mean, a good example is here… See? Hhhmmm… i’m sure i’m looking too much into it.

Either way i’m looking forward to Monkey, I’m hoping for a triumph.

Stax Night…

I’ve been youtubing a bit of Isaac Hayes, he really had such a great voice, anyone who’s interested should check out the Stax Records Story.

‘Tis onlya short bit:

Great compilation here.

In the meantime, more Isaac Hayes:

ehh… think it’s from the one concert:

The state of you…

You need a free CD.

Tumblr

I have one. Haven’t really a clue about it. Gonna learn.

So does Graham Linehan.

His is way better. Figures.

Thought for the Day #17.5

edit: thanks Lottie!

That’ll be four Simpsons sir.

Spanish sweetshop owner Jose Martinez was counting the cash in his till in the city of Aviles when he came across the coin where Homer’s bald head, big eyes and big nose had replaced the serious features of King Juan Carlos.

Meteor Shower tonight

Cannot wait.

The shooting stars, known as the Perseids, should be at their most visible tonight and tomorrow with one meteor a minute expected to streak across the night sky.

I saw a shooting star on Saturday night. It was excellent.

Isaac Hayes : RIP

Such a legend, better known recently as Chef in South Park.

Pants are man’s romances.

Wowsers

Nicholas Pittman via FFFound.

Castlepalooza?

It’s like your own DIY festival.