Photo of the day website that I came across today, no explanation given to who took the pictures or where they were taken:

if you're even slightly interested in Alfred Hitchcock, then this is a site to check out

Oh yeah, the PS3 has finally arrived (if you can get your hands on one...). This is the link to the promotional website.

• Happy Easter!
• this is, well, I dunno....
  
  

'I'm afraid that I was very, very drunk'.

God, I love the intermenet. The catalogue of stuff that just seems to have no end, limitless and dark and without any real sense, like space innit?.

Glorious links to this genius creation from Paul Whitehouse writer and comedien off The Fast Show (said to be the definitive comedy sketch show of the 1990's... yes, it really has been that long.) , I bring you. Rowley Birkin QC

other stuff for you today:

Girls, if you like that HEAT Magazine, you'll love this; Weekly subscription to libelous smut on the great and good of celeb land

You know what I was idly thinking? what if I could set up my very own Michael Bolton Tribute, on Ice?. I mean, everybody loves Michael Bolton, right?, and everyone loves Ice skating right?. I'm fucking quids in. But you know what?, someone else has only gone and done it. Shit...

Here is an excellent website defamer for Hollywood bottom feeders

I LOVE LISTS:

Empire Magazine have listed 2007 top 100 movies in their forum section . Hmmm, I'm not sure that I agree with all the listings , but the reviews are written by readers of the magazine, and for the most part, give pretty good arguments as to why their votes count. the complete list is on the forum, but here's a gist:

1st Place: The Godfather (1972)

10th Place: Aliens (1986)

20th Place: The Big Lebowski (1999)

30th Place: City of God (2002)

40th Place: Memento (2000)

50th Place: Shaun of the Dead (2004)

60th Place: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

70th Place: Annie Hall (1977)

80th Place: The Truman Show (1998)

90th Place: Spiderman 2 (2005)

100th Place: Paris, Texas (1984)

A lot of very contemporary films creeping in at high numbers on the list. This is obviously not definitive, there are a lot of other film website with listings, but Empire does have a very strong following in the UK, and so can be taken seriously to a large degree. I don't agree with the list above for a number of reasons - mainly though because it's only representative of the last 20-30 years of film.

this is just weird;

• Salad Fingers
• Monster!
• Holy Shit!
• your life is meaningless and will amount to nothing, look at what this guy achieved, you idiot!

here endeth the lesson.

"God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things.

....Right now I am so far behind that I will never die” - Bill Watterson: Calivin & Hobbs comic strip writer.
As newspaper comic strips go, Calvin & Hobbs is up there with Charlie Brown. Whatever, I just like the quote, I like this one too:

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club..." Jack London (Author, "Call of the Wild" , "White Fang")

Anyhoooo. No particular theme today, which might annoy or frustrate some of you wanting me to stay on a straighter, narrower path. Don't fence me in!.

Whenever I'm looking for inspiration, I'm reminded of a passage from one of my favourite stories by James Baldwin (You can find out all you need to know about this amazing man from the link)

There is a short story named "Sonny's Blues" taken from a book of short stories and essay's "Going to meet the Man" The Story tells of two brothers in the early 1950's, both polar opposites in their experience of life; in particular the passage reflects on questions that resonate through all of Baldwin's work, questions on identity and personal meaning, only, in this case he goes some way trying to establish a point beyond certainty;

"For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it must always be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness."

Of course, there are a number of ways this could be interpreted, and, taken out of the context of the book, even more ways to understand it. (if you want, you can read the paragraph in context here)

I've always chosen to remember this passage as an explanation to all things. Our "life tales" are meaning enough, and that is all the inspiration I need.

"If I had back, all the money I'd ever spent on Beer..."

"....I'd spend it all on Beer..."

This is my local pub, The Crescent, it's located on Clifton Hill in Brighton. It's a proper pub, as opposed to a bar - if you don't know the difference, it might not be your kind of gig.... but it's a good place with a lovely bunch of staff who are genuinely friendly, plus the beer is good.

They're starting a promotion on Saturday & Sunday nights: 70p off all draught pints - which means a pint of Foster is £2.30, or a Guinness £2.50, which can't be bad. the really good news is that it's an all night price, after 7pm. Happy Days!!!!

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you."

- Rita Mae Brown (Civil Right Activist)

"Hello, I'm the Devil Incarnate"

This is Jeremey Kyle..... Jeremey "Jezza" Kyle's imaginatively titled TV Show "The Jeremy Kyle Show" tells us all we need to know about the current social climate in the UK।

Well, it does, if sitting at home in your "Pineapple" tracksuit bottoms chuffing on 60 Rothmans, and scarfing down any fast food solids within reach, signifies the "Common Man or Woman in England"

If you shag anyone but your husband/wife/partner and them kill them to death, attempt murder in some heinous way, drink too much before beating your children within an inch of their lives then I suppose you could argue that the show might have niche appeal... they might as well call it "Jeremy Burns a Pikey to Death"

It's about as close to reality as say, Jerry springer was to anthropology.....I seriously don't get it, and , before we go on, let's make one thing absolutely clear; Jezza's only qualification is as a Television Presenter. Let's just repeat that again... let the statement roll around your tongue for a moment, whilst the reality of those words seep into your noggin'. He is not a qualified counselor, Phsycologist or psychiatrist , but never mind. He's got an amazingly over sized mouth, and knows some seven-letter-words. he also wears a suit, which makes him a fucking expert doesn't it.

It's a bloody miracle any of the guests actually get a word in, as he recants; "Listen to me ...Listen to me ...Listen to me ...Listen to me!""Look at me ...Look at me ...Look at me ...Look at me!" every thirty seconds until they just stare at him like they're watching a feather in the air...

The audience & viewers don't turn up or turn on, to watch stories of triumph over adversity, they're not hoping to explore the complex psychological dynamics of relationships presented with challenging external influences. They want to boo and shout random expletives at a parade of social pariahs and pantomime villains: all executed by the Circus Ringmaster Jezza, who's only slightly less sinister that Jeremy Beadle (it must be the name)

Is there anything more hypocritical than his hammed-up pretence of being deeply shocked, outraged and saddened whenever a guest opens their mouth to speak their tiny little thought out loud. I challenge you to give me a reason for his existence!

sorry, but I think he.is.a.twit

Right, now that's over I can get on with me day. No links today..... oh, okay, just one: "Sunshine" (new Danny Boyle movie ) is due out in a couple of weeks, this is a little competition to promote this (probably) excellent film; more info here too

"Drink, Drank, Drunk"

So it’s Friday and, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a bit mingy after last night. I was excited that it was nearly the weekend and got pissed by mistake.

My girlfriend, and most of our little crew, seem to have been drinking more than usual this week (I'm on Doctors orders to cut down, due to my Liver currently being the size of The Isle of White. What does he know!)

Oh yeah, I’ve got an appetite for destruction today!, and feeling every bit a rebel. And as sick as a pike! Today’s post is in honour of all things a slightly “wrong” – do not click on any of these links!

• Especially this one : Heather Mills-McCartney's next Bandwagon : Words fail me :
• "Ohhhh, that crack's very moorish isn't it?" :
• When I'm a bit peckish, I eat my own scabs, how about you?
• Not funny, not ironic, just fucking awful; seriously, do not look here if you're feeling slightly weepy.
• YUMMY!
• Ever wake up in the middle of the night and think "y'know, I'm just not happy with the foreskin I've currently got..." well, worry no more....
  

40% off wine at Threshers, seriously, just print out this voucher

An Imitation of Life

Blade Runner, Possibly the definitive Science Fiction movie of the early 1980's.

It's courted controversy is now as established into the cult & pop psyche as the movie itself. The dubbed voice over, The final edited scene, The addition of a Unicorn. Ridly Scott on /off relationship with the financiers These have all added weight to the story of a film about Replicants.

But Phillip K Dick's Novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , of which the film is tenuously based on, did not lend itself well to the medium of film . The language is difficult to translate, and the dystopian landscape within can be hard to imagine, it's full of the uncomfortable colour of a world gone wrong.

The central story line of the book is disjointed and difficult to sum up in a few words. I can imagine trying to pitch the book to a Hollywood producer would bring even the best out in a sweat.

The book was originally released in 1968 and was received about as well as any book describing a mans decent into confusion and doubt can ever be. Flash forward to the early 1980's and Dick's work was in development with some of the central characters intact. The rest came from the hearts and minds of screenwriters Hampton Fancher & David Peoples. On it's original release, Blade Runner did not receive particularly favourable reviews, and audiences did not necessarily embrace this idea of the future.

When the VHS rental phenomena began in the mid to late 1980's in the UK, the film begun to get its legs. Now of course, it's unusual to meet someone who hasn't seen it, and most of who have, consider it at least a work of weight and interest.

2007 will see what I think will be called "Blade Runner (25th Anniversary Final Cut)" which I believe will be Ridley Scott's attempt to put all the bits of all the other previous releases (of which there have been 7 so far) into some coherent order with extra scenes, deleted scenes, interviews, trivia etc into one 3 disc set (or something).

It's interesting to note that, as a philosophical comment on what it means to be "human", Blade Runner has few contemporary Science Fiction films on which it can be compared. As a visual aid to what an imagined future may look like, it's undeniably close to what we're living in now. Technologically speaking, many of the "Hi Tech" gadgets we see fleetingly in the film are commonplace items today:

But actually, all these effects or visions of a future are really just a backdrop to a very human question which threads throughout Blade Runner.

"Who am I?"

And, in fact, the one character that portrays in some way the pursuit for an answer is Roy Batty (pictured above), though his conclusion may not be a reassuring one, it is a most certain truth for his character; The irony of course, is that he is essentially far from human.

Some of Batty's last words reflect the truth of things;

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe...All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

You don't have to be a fan of Science Fiction to Enjoy this film. You don't have to be an advocate of all things new. There's a sense throughout the film that actually technology is taking over human space, and certainly not always in a good way.

Oddly, for a film with very little dialogue, this is in someways an extremely pensive view on frailty.

...See this film:

The great thing about television is.....

".... that if something important happens anywhere in the world, day or night, you can always change the channel. " (Quote from the 1970's TV show "Taxi")

My mental TV landscape is not one of northerners talking about sheep-dip , nor is it cockney's trying to sell fruit from a "barrah" or havin' it off with the daughter of their brothers cousin. : No, my earliest TV memories are things like the Hill Street Blues theme tune, Six Million Dollar Man, Knight Rider, Harold Lloyd, Taxi, The Red Hand Gang, Twilight Zone, (it's no coincidence that all these shows come from across the pond)

And it's directly down to these shows, these TV memories, that I am who I am; Indeed, it's fair to say that American TV has subconsciously shaped my views on almost everything I believe in, I have become Americanised. (this would make sense of my shallow insincerity, and need to make everyone in the room laugh once every 15 seconds...)

It's no coincidence then, that when my girlfriend & I went to New York last February, I felt that I was literally inside a TV show. New York, & America, has all the colours turned up.... just a little bit. It is a country of extremes, everything is jurned up, or down, just a little bit;

Food is cheap, plentiful and accessible, yet the US also have some of the worst figures for food related poverty in the west. Sex is on show everywhere, in fact the US is the highest consumer of Porn related materials in the world, and yet has by contrast one of the most puritanical ideologies - and, to be honest, prudish sensibilites. There are in excess of 300 TV channesl in the US, more if you include Public Access TV, but flicking through the channels you would be forgiven to thin there are actually only a few shows ever on; "Friends", "Desperate Housewives", "Lost" or "2obloody4"

British TV, by contrast, can be a bit "twee" & amateur. However, well knownwe are to do extremely good Drama. Our D rama series' are heavily exported and extremely popular in countries such as the US, Australia and Japan (go figure).

Shows like "Our Friends in the North" "State of Play" & "Shameless" have enjoyed viewing figures to put other home grown shows to shame. In fact "State of Play" is currently in US development as a Film, with Brad Pitt linked to the project.

Also, UK TV comedy has had yet another second life, thanks to shows like "The Office" & "Black Books" as two examples, in recent years... (even though Gervaise openly admits being heavily influenced by US shows like "Seinfeld", "Arrested Development" & "Curb Your Enthusiasm", but we're not allowed to mention that....)

At the risk of treading slightly into Charlie Brookers territory, Telly is important. It's hugely influential in parts both good & bad.I'm not going to argue the Anthropological theories here, but I will use one case in point.

The Crazy Frog:

The Crazy Frog is/was a animation created to sell a ring tone. It really is as simple as that. Some people got uptight because the animated advert that was used to sell the ring tone, did show the the Crazy Frog's knackers... but ultimately, it was a vehicle to sell a product.

Because of Telly though, it became something else entirely. Despite the fact that the ring tone was rubbish, it sold in it's millions, and then, get this, they released a single that became number one in the UK top 40 charts, apparently it was number one for a million years. There is also a video game.... absolute genius, there are cartoons, sticker books, colouring in books. Sandwich boxed, rucksacks, Coffee cups. Are you getting the picture?

Telly is so good that, becuase Crazy Frog was pumped into our living rooms day after day, we actually went into shops, got out our wallets and handed over money to listen to an animated frog that had been created to sell a FUCKING RING TONE.

I think that pretty much sums it up really. We deserve everything we get.

"Why Can't I Get An Audition?"

In Brighton, If you throw a stick, you'll hit someone who says they're in the "Creative Industries" (for the record, sitting in your pants, uploading your CV to "Stage" website, does not make you an actor...). You've only got to go on Myspce and type in Brighton to be bombarded with "Talent". (I'm not fecking linking that!)

The Famous for 15 minutes idea has been buzzing around my head today. (and let's face it, I'm Subconsciously trying to gain notoriety with this blog... damn you Freud...!). You see it in the heavily edited audition tapes of every "Pop Idol","Feck Factor", "Shag ME! Academy" show. Everyone wants , nay, deserves to be on telly.... (& Famous, and Rich and Happy...)

I love the bizarre caravan dwelling family stampedes to "nasty" Simon Cowell's desk; c'mon Simon, just listen to my little Kylie sing again, p-l-e-a-s-e;

But no, She could be juggling cats.... Simon's word is as strong as Oak. He will not relent. and rightly so. In the Bible it says something about when there's no more space in Hell, then the dead will rise and roam the streets. I get the distinct feeling that Cowell is holding the key to the door. allowing the odd Satan's Angel to sneak out for some airtime, to save us all from more of this: just think of hundreds of thems stumbling about the gaff.

Ray Quinn, sort of an Eddie Munster meets Chucky Doll nightmare has been given public clearance to bleet out his blandness onto a poor unsuspecting public. In fairness, though. some of you actually voted for him. Don't you know what you doing, you're giving him artistic plausibility, put that phone down!.

Ray's Album consists of mainly Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin Crooning type numbers; Frank is said to have had one of the most technically pure voices of a generation, widely known for his impeccable tone and nuanced performances. His version of "My Way", for examply, has a depth of meaning that truly transcends just music, it's history, it's man telling his life story. It's fucking art...

Ray's little mouth cannot possibly ascribe to this: He's little brains have yet to understand the deeper meaning of true success or abject failure. In short, he is a BOY. The greatest Tragedy is that for some, Ray's scary little face and soulless voice might be as close to Frank or Dean's genius & perfection as they'll ever get. Believe it or not, I consider that a greater tragedy than say, Steps not reuniting.

But how can we blame him, in a world where "Smash Hits Re-hab pin up" Robbie Williams has lost so much credibility. I mean, 60 fags & 10 cans of red bull a day is probably going to give you a bit of a headache, but rehab? C'mon Robbie, you used to be beautiful.

As the late great Bill Hicks used to scream "I want my Rock Stars Dead!". But they don't die anymore, the keep on bouncing back.

"Am I Mingin'?"

Like a road accident you slow down on the motorway to look at, .... I've watched in slack jawed awe the hideousness that has been the PR circus of Miss Jade Goody. She has raised the bar on mediocrity to such a degree, even G, G, G Gareth Gates has retired. Andy Warhol said; "In the future we'll all be famous for 15 minutes", I'm not convinced he meant this:

I'm not going to get into wagon jumping that has occurred in recent Weeks' (I've always thought she was a twat, and I am obviously superior for knowing this...) Instead, I thought I'd highlight some classic Goody Twatery: (I don't care that that isn't a word, I'm on the moral high ground tonight...)

These wordy delights all came from Goody's silly little mouthole:

• Rio de Janeiro, ain't that a person?
• What's a sparagus? Do you grow it?
• Sherlock Holmes invented toilets.
• Mother Theresa is from Germany.
• It's Mona Lisa who's symmetrical, innit?
• They were trying to use me as an escape goat.
• Do you play croquet on a horse?

It's one thing to be bit "challenged", but it's entirely another for the rest of us to have to watch it. The fact the somehow we seemed to have applauded this idiocy for three years or so is just as criminal as her getting paid for being a caaaahhhnnt; but there you go: we'll always have Stars in Their Eyes

couple of things to take your mind of it all:

Frogger or watch some TV on your PC (good link...) or this or this

Spot the Family Resemblance?

Sundays I spend with my daughter, Eva: She’s four-and-a-half years old. She’s my little freak! In the last year she has developed a charm offensive that’s something to behold; most people who come into direct contact with her go weak at the knees and start to give her money. Though I think she’s eternally cute, I am immune to her dimples… mostly: Eva’s pretty much like most four year old girls, she likes pink clothing , “Bratz” and Dogs, she like running along walls, squirrels’ in the park and swings. She's recently started Ballet & Drama, God help me if she turns out like this: (I'm the one below by the way, aha hahahha bwahahhhaha...) Now that's out of the way - let no more be said on the matter. I promise not to post any more pictures of Eva and say really rubbish things like:" awww, look her her, like a little angel innit?."

I bumped into my friend Simon Dixon last night, a most excellent popular culture artist. Simon's looking for a new studio in Brighton, If anyone knows anyone with a decent space in town that's going spare, get in touch:
In the early 90's a friend introduced me to J.R. "Bob" Dobbs. For one reason or another I'd totally forgotten about "The Church of the Subgenius" Now I'm thinking about becoming ordained...

"Mother of God!"

In 1985 Weird Science was released: I was fifteen yeas old, and Kelly LeBrock started to happen to me. I can't be sure how many times I went to see the movie, it's all a bit of a blur. But what I do remember was siting there in the theatre, mouth slightly ajar, dropping the odd piece of popcorn vaguely toward it.

To a fifteen year old boy, she embodied every secret thought of what a woman should be. There's no doubt that her acting talent was, well, virtually non existent what a shame this happened to her. Ah well. Life.Moves.On.

"Bettie be Thy Name"

"Wowsers!"

I probably don't have to tell you why Bettie Page was one of the most popular Pin-Ups of her time (1950's, mostly). Here is some really interesting info on Bettie, and here is a decent gallery - I'd wait until you get home to view this:

in 2005 Gretchen Mol starred as Bettie Page in "The Notorious Bettie Page", which got pretty favourable reviews (Gretchen does look uncannily like Bettie, and then, err, not at all). Bettie, now in her 77th year, is finally getting some recognition as an "artist". I wouldn't know about that, but she looks deadly in stockings. Interesting also to mention that Harold Lloyd ("A Pair of Glasses & a Smile") also took to some interesting photography after retirement from movies....




Today, there's a new girl bringing Burlesque into the mainstream. No one is doing a better job, or showing more passion for the style and ideology than Dita Von Teese. There's a great book about Burlesque by Teese, which is definitely worth a look into: (It's art, so strictly speaking the nude pictures are actually a comment modern society. In other words, it's OK to look...) The best news is, she's no longer with Marilyn Manson. So knock yourself out!

"Your rolled up sleeves, and your skull t-shirt"

- Amy Winhouse: "You Know I'm No Good"

; "You say why did you do it with him today?And sniff me out like I was Tanqueray "
crackin' line:
She's ever so slightly bonkers, but I like it: She's got that B-movie-gak-head-rockabilly-chic-thing going on, or something

I got this T-shirt from Howcool.com (Ignore the suspect lingerie section, and just go straight to the T-Shirts)

I think it was about $25 (but no shipping or Import costs) which is a bargain, it's extremely good quality too.

There seems to be a resurgence of Rockabilly in Brighton You can also check out the Engine Rooms website for listings and stuff: "It's too cool for school daddy!" - but the Vince Ray Tattoos are just about the coolest thing there is... 20 Camels, a switchblade and a greasy jelly roll....

"I'm A Dark Little Poet Tonight"

"I don't mean to sound cold or cruel or vicious, but I am so that's the way it comes out."

-Bill Hicks, 1961-1994

... it's 1993, and my good friend Jo Young introduces me to a recording of comedian Bill Hicks (Rant in E-Minor), I was hooked and immediately became a complete fan. 1 year later, Bill was dead; he was 33 years old . RIP you dark little poet...

Now I know I'm not the only person to say this, but there's always been a special place in my heart for Hicks. He was, after all, something of a poet of our times. He did not dress up political confusion, and he certainly didn't have all the answers, but he did make you think about shit that was under the surface, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Couple of books that are either about him or written by him. Both are definitely worth reading, as they say as much about the times & Political climate Bill lived in as they do about the man himself.

Of course, Bill was gaining something of a cult status in the UK for his outspoken Stand Up Routines; some of the official recordings are here, but it's really not hard to find his stuff.

interestingly, and unlike some of his peers, Hick's material does not seem to have dated at all, in fact, it's become eerily topical , and there is also a Poignancy to his work - not least one of his most memorable comments during the "revelations" shows that were aired not long before he passed away. (insert lump in throat here)

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and around and around and it has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud. And it's fun - for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question; is this real? Or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, and they say, "Hey, don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because... this is just a ride."

- Bill Hicks

"Don't Drive a Car When You're Dead"

...Wise words Graham, wise words. This is Graham "Two Bob" Branch. (I know his face might look familiar, but I promise you, he is not from bumfights. I've known Graham (about as well as he'll let you know him) for about 10 years. he was the first person I ever served, on my first shift, Shakespeare's Head Pub, Brighton. I haven't been able to get rid of him yet. (Just look at his face....)

I never thought I'd say this out loud, but I think everyone should have a Graham Branch in their lives. I mean, how else would I have been educated on the genius of Thelonious Monk ("Thelonious Monk me up, buttercup!") , The Grandeur of Graham Green's Brighton Rock ("You're milky Spicer!") or Henry Holland's Architecture of Brighton's Pavilion. Similarly, I would never of had the pleasure of listening to the entire history of Grahams' teeth (pictured are his brand spanking new ones), or stories of his terrible depressions (I'm terribly depressed) , not to mention his interesting choices in female company. The many, many faces of Graham include; Graham the Hospitality Rep, Graham the Taxi Driver, Graham the Estate Agent, Graham the Gardener.

There's something poetic about seeing him glide through my local pub, drunk as a lord, whirling dervish arms flailing, as if after a session of Electro Therapy. and it's all down to the this "little slurpette"

Graham, I salute you, and all that sail near to you!: "Get a Lifestyle"

As tribute, today's blog is devoted, in part, to those rogue imbibers, old soaks, grand lushes, those royally tanked and oiled amongst us: to the pissed and the damned!

Some people just know exactly what to say:

• "I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day": Frank Sinatra


• "An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools": Ernest Hemingway


• "A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her": W.C. Fields


• "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy": Benjamin Franklin
  

"Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends"

I've always had a fascination with the self destruction and degradation that often comes with a drinkers life (Fact: I have woken up with my face in sick at least a once in my adult life. Not pretty, or romantic, or something you tell a women on a first date.) Charles Bukwoski, Jack Kerouac, John Fante, George Best, Oliver Reed, All of them beautifully fucked up and hideous and wonderful:

Some other Glorious & Beautiful Freaks:

• Dylan Thomas: At the age of 39, Doctors' told Thomas that to continue to drink was to die, but he drank on. "Do not go gentle into that good night," he wrote. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." He died suddenly of acute alcoholism in the midst of his 1953 U.S. lecture tour.


• Edgar Alan Poe: A college classmate once wrote; "Poe's passion for strong drink was as marked and as peculiar as that for cards . . . without a sip or a smack of the mouth he would seize a full glass and send it home at a single gulp." Poe, at 27, married. She was 13 years old and tubercular at the time; when she died, Poe, in his anguish sought relief in alcohol and drugs. He died after a drinking bout, at the age of 40. "Nevermore!"


• Jackson Pollock: Pollock kept himself sober for the purposes of splattering enamel paint over floor-bound canvas . But when drunk, Pollock raged, and chose to do a lot of public pissing . Stunted by the pressure of sudden stardom, he got depressed, drunk and unproductive. He was killed after driving his a car into a tree, killing one other passenger. It was rumoured to be suicide. My guess is he may have been drinking... dribble:

Charlie Brooker, you're my Hero!

Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe & Screen Burn are literally about the only things that make me laugh until I feel sick. His BBC4 show was on irritatingly late, but I would wait up, sitting there looking like a dog being shown a card trick, hanging on to his every word, laughing like a school boy who just heard his first fart joke. Long live Charlie Brooker....

Some may know that he was in part responsible for "Brass Eye" "TV Go Home" & "Nathan Barley" this may be a decent link to some of his stuff : His wit is extremely acerbic and not to everyone's taste admittedly, but Genius is so rarely well received isn't it? (pompous arse)



TV Ideas that we'll never see:

Don’t you point at me!
Channel 4 funds a new documentary experience: Would-be TV presenter hopefuls are given a film crew for 1 day . Their task: to point at random members of the public until a fight erupts, possibly with more than one recipient, and hopefully in a 24 hour convenience store just off the Muswell Hill roundabout

Llama's On Ice:
Watch in awe as Llama’s ice skate & then occasionally spit at two year old children in the audience: presented by Natasha Kaplinsky

Women are from Mars, Men Don't Care
“It’s a Knockout” style survival game show. The Female Vs Male eternal “battle” is played out: Each week there is a different theme (Medieval, Biblical, Watts Riots…) the end inevitably involves a death by bludgeoning with a tyre iron. – presented by Jeremy Kyle.

Mark Kermode’s 50’s throw back Cook Off:
50’s style throwback Mark Kermode presents late night bed-sit cooking show. C-list Celebrities stagger onto the set half cut, after drinking Czechoslovakian wines in the green room. They reminisce about their first flat shares & embarrassing sexual experience at Stage School , whilst microwaving a baked potato – Kermode shouts at them, and discusses European Cinema, making C-Lister's and audience alike feel inadequate. (BBC4, possibly)

Tim Burton's Gothic Makeovers
Tim Burton does Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen makeovers of inner city housing Projects. Watch as Hooded A.S.B.O gun runners come home to find their flats have been painted opaque black from floor to ceiling, and decorated with figurines of Edward Scissor Hands, displayed in glass cabinets…

Cat Mangler!
Woozy – experimental visual hijacking: Ray Winston literally mangles cats through a Victorian Landry Mangle, whilst shouting things like “Shut it you scroat” Music by Lemon Jelly.

"Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world"

The quote is from Actress & Comedienne Lily Tomlin; and it's (almost) my sentiments exactly!

Looking back on previous posts of the last few days, it's clear that there is already a pattern emerging in terms of content: So, what we're looking at is a film/TV/Music/Pop culture reference blog. Damn it all!, I thought I was making this slightly quirky-original-kooky-unique-please-like-me!-blog- blog.....

Now I realise there's a bit of a problem with that intention; there are something like 50 Million Blogs out there in the wilderness - all I can hope that the odd passer by looks at something here & doesn't think it's shit!

The things people will do to get attention

TV Journalist Christine Chubbuck , July 15, 1974 shot herself in the noggin on live telly!. I mean, SHE WAS ALREADY ON TELLY, how much attention do you need. She was probably just a bit tired.

It's not unusual for young children to do a runner, in the vain attempt at punishing their parents for not giving them enough chips for tea or something, adults should just know better - this story just takes it to a whole other level;

In Hollywood the normal rules don't apply: Attention seeking can go too far, often resulting in deaths that are always intriguing, and sometimes a little weird;

• Peter Finch: died of massive heart attack while promoting the film Network . He was first and only actor to ever receive an Oscar posthumously; "I'm as mad as Hell, & I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
• Montgomery Clift: 1957 Smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a jolly at the home Elizabeth Taylor. Clift needed plastic surgery, his handsome appearance permanently disfigured. The "before and after" face of Clift was obvious. Clift became ever so slightly hooked on booze and pills (well, you would...), and his health deteriorated. Clift died in 1966 at aged 45 , of complications brought on by his "slight" fags/booze/pills addictions
• Judy Garland: (The Wizard of Oz.). Official cause of death: barbiturate poisoning "incautious self-over dosage", otherwise translated as, Utter madness made her think that 1 bottle of pills was a reasonable amount to take. Gay men still weep.
• Elizabeth Short: AKA "The Black Dahlia" - Most disturbing of them all! Aspiring film actress found in a vacant lot in downtown L.A. her body had been "savagely mutilated" and "hacked in half at the waist." No one has ever been arrested in connection with the murder. But hey, it's OK, Coz they made a film about it
• But for my money, one of the best "Look at me, I'm mad, me" attention seekers of the last 50 years just has to be Mr Evel Knievel: on his official website there is this absolute classic paragraph:

Some career highlights include:

1) Jan. 1968 - Crashed in an attempt to clear the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Los Vegas

2) May 1971 - Crashed in an attempt to clear 13 Pepsi Cola trucks in Yakima

3) March 1972 - Suffered serious injury in San Francisco's Cow Palace when his motorcycle crashed in a very difficult landing area.

4) September 1974 - After two unsuccessful unmanned test flights Evel decided to keep his word to his fans and risked his life in a specially constructed rocket powered "Skycycle" in an attempt to clear the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Even though he made it across the quarter mile wide chasm, strong winds blew the malfunctioning parachute back into the canyon, landing just a few feet from the swirling river in which he would have surely drowned.

5) May 1975 A record crowd of over 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in London, England watched as Evel crashed upon landing, breaking his pelvis after clearing 13 double-tiered buses.

Watch this crazed hero of my childhood fall off bikes here. Call me cynical, but that's 5 career highlights I can live without!. Better still, buy one of your own.

Bless Evel, that crazy ol' drunken wife beater is still alive and suing the shit out of Kanye West for adopting a "certain likeness" in a recent Music Video ; Raise a glass to the maddest redneck on a motorbike you'll ever see jumping over stuff, needlessly (sensible people drive around...)

That's not even the tip of the iceberg - I'll save that for another day:

And in Other News:

My Girlfriend has had a continuing battle with the banality and bureaucracy of our local Council in Brighton regarding parking permits; (I don't drive so it's not really my rant...) I'll have to add a point or too here when I've spoken to her about the actual facts of the matter - rather than make unsubstantiated remarks that amount to rumour & conjecture - after all, I wouldn't want to get sued by the council - imagine that...

We live in a fairly nice part of Brighton: But the Council are total Mung Bean eaters. I mean, only in Brighton could a City Council take years to decide what should happen to this until this finally happens: Bloody shameful, the only A-listed Pier left in the UK, now stuck out there like a discarded Turkey Carcass. So, if they can't sort out a stationary structure in the sea, what chance have you got with a parking permit!.

Plug of The Day:

Red Nose Day is Friday 16th March here is the website to contribute. I will no doubt drop some coins into a bucket at my local pub

"I Hate Dogs"

".. no you don't" says my girlfriend;

"You love Archie...."

Archie belongs to our Friends, Ian & Steve. He is a very cool dog (Pictured left , in Cornwall November 2006) Labrador's are so funny. He's a total idiot, but you gotta love him:

It's true, I'm a total sap for his stupid little face!. (not as stupid as this one ) Thought it would be good to add a picture of him here.

The missus is happy I have a new hobby (i.e. this blog) I'll remind her of that in a couple of months time.... So let's get cookin'!

As this is the random section today, here's what I've come up with:

• Anyone who liked "Six Feet Under" will want to check this: (this is quite hard to find, so it will no doubt go down in a matter of days)
  
• New Bands, MP3 downloads & free stuff @ "This Is fake"
  
• Amy Winehouse: Ever so slightly wrong, but so right! She simply has the best voice out there right now, even if she does come across as some kind of 1950's b-movie gak freak. - "get yer 'and of 'errr, she mine you cahhnt" it's like watching a car crash in slow motion, innit?. this is good too
  
• A short animation called Rabbit: Imagine, if you will, those old ladybird ABC books, combined with symbolism of Fight Club. Bit weird, but in a good way.
• We got a Wii recently - so far , so ordinary; but "Rayman Raving Rabbids" is a right fecking laugh! forget the game - the "Rabbids" rule

I think that's enough for one day....

"It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information"

The quote is from Oscar Wilde

The Picture is by an Artist called Varga
He was Hungarian, and drew just about the best airbrush pictures of Pin Up Women for Esquire Magazine before & After World War II.

I've been sending random links by e-mail to friends for a while now, in the vain hope that they would carry on thinking I was an OK person(!) - so at least with this blog they can stop worrying about trivial little annoyances such as e-mails from me... (Dear friends, feel free to drop your links onto me!)

I've been watching a bit of old TV on line lately (Alias, Weeds, Peep Show) here is one of the better sites I've found where you can watch a lot of content for free. There are Movie Sites too, but the links do go down pretty quick (Borat was on for about 4-5 days..) worth looking if you're bored.

I'm not a massive fan of Anime ( I watched "Spirited Away" with my 4 year old daughter, which was beautiful) but one company that I find fascinating are tokyoplastic there website is definitely worth a look at। this is also awesome!

This is not Anime, or intellectually challenging, but just funny

Twilight Zone used to scare the shit out of me: now I can watch from behind the sofa again

This one is for my good brudder Barry: Word.

I don't know about you, but Noel Fielding's stupid face makes me piss myself : Every silly moment of 'The Mighty Boosh" is here (Series 1 & 2)

I'm Entering the Hell Mouth of Blog:

My Girlfriend tells me I should get a hobby. Pah!. I'm perfectly happy siting around looking at needless shit on the Internet and laughing at silly bollocks on You Tube or something like that:

I like movies a lot, and spend too much time getting all nerdy over IMDB trivia (usually, at work I can get away with a couple of hours checking pointless facts about one film or another that I've watched the night before. That's a hobby, right?) I'm a 36 year old boy masquerading as a competent human. At least I don't have peoples' lives in my hands, they would be buggered if that were true.

I'm certainly hoping this might end up being a pointless dumping ground for stuff that I find slightly amusing, or at least a place where I can put all my empty thoughts out there, y'know, let them spill out needlessly onto a poor unsuspecting world.

Most likely there will be one other person who I connect with, who I'm certain will adopt a less than healthy interest in me. Here's hoping: