Amusing anecdotes & random ramblings
Media Musings
Now we know who The Stig is. *yawn*
Sep 1st
Ob. disclaimer – these views are mine alone, and nobody else’s
I happened to be in a doctors’ waiting room when Sky News excitedly flashed that they had footage of the Real Stig. People actually looked up to see some handsome chap walk away from the High Court. Then they said “Ben who?”, and went back to their business.
Obviously, I’m not Ben Collins – or Stig 3.0 for that matter – but I’m perplexed as to how many people would want to buy The Stig’s Autobiography, now we know it’s a racing driver who nobody’s really heard of. I can understand he wants to make some money out of being “The Stig” – but surely the money’s in staying gainfully employed by the BBC and BBC Worldwide to walk around in a racing helmet, as opposed to 10 seconds of brief public exposure before he realises that nobody really cares who The Stig is. The fun is in the facade.
Those evil Last Exorcism marketeers
Aug 23rd
I’m a very jumpy person, and I hate shock videos – after an evil friend sent me one, I couldn’t face my computer for a day. I stopped playing Quake 2 when they threw an alien spider in my face, for goodness sake.
So I feel nothing but sympathy for the poor sods who were surfing Chat Roulette looking in vain for a woman to take their clothes off on camera. Then they found one who seemed to turn into a posessed devil woman – of course it turned out to be a scary viral video promoting The Last Exorcism.
If they were really strangers – then they may well be charred for life. Although I suspect that they were actually actors or people paid to surf Chat Roulette for a while – how would you get the clearance rights?
What cool games are there for the X-Box 360?
Aug 12th
so… I can get an XBox 360 for £160 (saving £40).
Or, y’know, save up for a laptop so I can play Civilisation 5 and Portal 2.
Or a mobile phone since my G1 is going the way of the ghost.
Or just save up for my forthcoming child.
Decisions, decisions…
So what brilliantly cool games can I play with the XBox 360 that I can’t play with my PS3? (which is gathering dust in the corner, alas!)
One rule for Chinese comedians, another for Iranian ones?
Aug 9th
I have occasionally dreamt of being a stand-up comedian – oh, the fame! the groupies! The nights of travelling up and down the M1 at 2am before parking in a dodgy service station! – and have therefore occasionally pondered on what my opening line would be.
Omid Djalili‘s opening gambit was to come on and be a generic Middle Eastern stereotype, fulfilling various national stereotypes before turning it all in on itself. And I’d figured if it’s good enough for him, it’d be good enough for me. (Aside from the fact I can’t do impersonations to save my life).
So I was surprised to read on the BBC Arts’ Editor’s report on comedy that Joanne Lau, a Canadian-Chinese comedian, was taken to task on comedy review site Chortle for doing pretty much the same thing in her opening act. And that she’s had to change it as a result.
I don’t particularly remember anyone taking Omid to task for doing the same thing when he started out, and it seems to have worked for him. Any particular reason for this discrepancy?
Playing with Windows Mobile games at the Old School Yard (Qype)
Jun 24th
Ob. disclaimer – I went to the Old School Yard courtesy of Qype for a mykindofphone.com event
As soon as I walked in, I knew it was my kind of pub. Huge screens, games to be played, drinks to be consumed, and a feeling of space. The main problem was a distinct lack of chairs – but if you’re playing, why are you sitting down?
There’s even a tiny back garden with some faux grass if you need a sense of fresh air – or you can stand outside the pub itself, which has plenty of space. There’s even a wonderfully decorated basement with all sorts of nick nacks and decoration touches.
On the night we were there to look at Windows Mobile phones and gaming, there was even a very knowledgable cocktail meister serving some delicious cocktails (we counted watermelon and ginger amongst the ingredients) and some oh-so-juicy burgers. Nom om om.
I was handed a surprisingly svelte’n'sexy Windows phone to play with for five minutes. It had a very whizzy user interface that begged you to swipe and swipe away, and it’s certainly come on leaps and bounds since my last-thwarted attempt to get a Windows phone to work with me, back in 2008. The games looked fun, the screen looked bright and colourful, and the interface seemd incredibly responsive to my touches. Aside, that is, from the touch-screen keyboard which was responsive but just couldn’t quite cope with my drunken attempts at writing a text – but then again, I’ve never gotten on with touch-screen keyboards generally.
If only there was a way to actually try a phone in the real world for a while before you bought one – I’m in the market for a new phone, but have yet to find a cool phone with a physical keyboard – and touch-screen keyboards and I just don’t seem to get on yet. And yes, I’ve been told that I need to train touchscreen keyboards to respond to me – but quite frankly, if I have to train an input device, then something’s gone wrong straight away. I already know how to read and write – I don’t need to adjust my reading skills for a different book, do I?
Cinephilia in West London
Jun 23rd
The ideal living room - Cinephilia
If you like food, or cinema, this is DEFINITELY the place for you.
First off, it’s a learned cinema fan’s paradise. The basement is the ideal living room, stuffed full with cinematic books and DVDs for sale, and at the end a huge screen where they hold evening screenings. It’s a fantastically chilled out place from where to watch your favourite obscure film (Brazil). They hold screenings of curated films once a week, and it sounds like a fantastic way to broaden your film knowledge.
The ground floor holds film exhibitions, and a very very good selection of film magazines that you can just pick up and read. Plus there’s wi-fi if you want to work on your killer screenplay.
Alongside all this is a cafe, but not just any cafe. The sangria is gorgeous, and the cakes are oozing with seductive delights.
If I had one complaint about this place, it’s that it’s obviously not for your average-going Odeon mainstream person who prefers Doctor Doolittle to Doctor Parnassus. And the price for food heaven is a bit high …
But for years I have often lamented the lack of film-centric places in West London. Now there is one, and I can’t see how it could get better. (well, unless they held screenings of Doctor Who)
Check out my review of cinephilia – I am almostwitty – on Qype
The Pandorica Opens… SPOILERS!!!
Jun 19th
Spoilers ahead, if you haven’t seen the frankly epic fantabulous episode that was The Pandorica Opens…
Watch the Best British film EVAH – online
May 26th
Hell, it might well be the best film ever…
If you’re in the UK, you can now watch Terry Gilliam’s superlative Brazil online till Sunday.
It’s the film of a story that 1984 tried to tell, but adds a huge dollop of black humour, fantasy, and terrorism to the mix. Definitely a must see.
Fighting a losing battle against copyright
May 17th
Sarah Cameron not quite standing by her man, David Cameron
So… on the night when David Cameron finally became Prime Minister, HyperHam and I had the following conversation:
HH: “Why is Mrs Cameron standing at the back, pregnant and far away from her husband?”
AW: “Well, we’re living in Tory times now.”
To me, this was so amazingly funny and of-the-moment, that I immediately posted it on Twitter and Facebook. After all, what’s a joke if it’s not instantly shared to as many people as possible?
While a couple of friends graciously shared the joke with credit, another friend of mine reposted the joke without attributing it towards me. Indeed, when I pointed out that I wrote the joke, she deleted the comment, and then we had a slight disagreement before she decided to delete the joke to begin with. But she genuinely thought she was in the right to just copy a joke without any form of attribution.
Record companies and artists everywhere bemoan how we now live in an age where people copy works without even thinking of paying for it. But at least we all know a song by Lady GaGa is by Lady GaGa. How soon is it going to be before people can’t even be bothered to acknowledge that someone else wrote that song or book or joke?