Getting to the root of the problem...

Admitting that you've got bad teeth is something people don't generally like to do. I don't want to even say it myself but I'm starting to suffer. About 2 weeks ago I started getting a constant tooth pain in my top right molar. Lisa said I should go see the dentist. I ignored her at first thinking it would go away but it didn't, it got worse. So I had to set up an emergency and appointment with the dentist.

He took an X-ray and compared it with an X-ray from about 10 months ago. It turned out I had an infection in the root and will eventually need root canal treatment. Great! Look forward to it already!! *sarcasm*

He gave me some amoxocilin and set me up for a two stage appointment for the root canal work. I don't think he gave me enough pills cos half way through the course my face started to swell up - only a little bit but it was noticable. During my 'swell' time the pain started to go... but then I ran out of pills.

I rang up yesterday to get a repeat perscription. He wanted to check my tooth first (understandable - I coulda been a druggy hooked on antibiotics!) so set up an appointment at the end of the day at 4:30. I thought "yeah, no problem. All he wants to do is have a look. He'll see that the gum has gone red and swollen and that my face is bigger on the right side and scribble out a perscription instantly" but noooooo! He had to drill a whopping great hole in my molar without anaesthetic right the way down til "you can feel pain, Mr Beck" OUCH!!!!! My infection had turned into an abscess and needed to drain so he made a hole for it to drain through. I hope you're enjoying your lunch/dinner while you're reading this... cos I won't be for the next week. Everytime I try to eat something I'm in pain! But he gave me a course of Metronidazole which is a type of antibiotic that fights against bacterial infections and told me to come back in a week to fill the hole in.

Fingers crossed!

First Footy Match

Bournemouth V Leyton Orient

So I went to my first live footy match on Sunday. I was pretty excited.... but that was soon squashed after about 10 minutes. Basically, my flatmate (Scott) is an avid Leyton Orient fan and as I don't support anyone in particular me and Lisa thought it'd be fun to go watch them when they come down to Bournemouth to play. Everything was going well until Bournemouth scored... and then scored again... and again. Basically the final score was 5-0 to Bournemouth. We left after 60 mins!

Verdict: Footy matches are fun - but make sure you're supporting the winning side!

Louis Theroux back on TV

I'm so glad Louis Theroux is back on TV. After a good 2 or 3 years of nothing, except maybe the occassional watching of one of Scott's DVDs from past shows, it's great to see a new series on BBC2 Sunday's at 9 til 10. Coupled with Top Gear, that's on from 8 til 9 also on BBC2, this is 2 hours of Sunday evening television bliss.

Last nights episode kicked off the new series with Louis focussing his attentions to the gambling and gamblers of Las Vegas. There ia a podcast on the official BBC2 website HERE where Louis reflects on his experiences. There's also a couple of clips there too including a granny that has spunked $4million of her son's inheritance money in the last 10 years. And another clip of a guy who's been gambling for 26 hours straight, lost his 'winning streak' but still won't give up (also I reckon his awakeness is 'chemically enhanced'!)

Now that Torchwood has finished this will be my latest regular Sunday night viewing. Make sure you watch it too, the man's a genius!

EDIT: I've just found out that it's not a regular weekly programme! It was a one off! Nooooooooo!!!!!

Band Update

I know I've not updated you on my band's progress much so far this year so I'm gonna try and round up the key points right now. I shoulda posted lots here cos so much has happened. We've played 2 gigs in Bournemouth and did a secret gig at Three Legged Cross for New Years Eve. All three have gone well, better than I anticipated. Which is great cos I'm feeling much more confident about playing on stage.

Our debut at Centre Stage for EPI was a good gig. We were the curators and organised a total of 5 bands to play including us. It was mentioned in The Echo and DV8 magazine (you can read the DV8 magazine one on their online version of the magazine HERE - it's not up there yet at the time of writing this.)

I need to get hold of Martin cos he says he's got it all on his camcorder! Anyway, here's some pics...


The Flyer


Kid Amy


The Grey Notes


Blind Voyeurs


Larry Vegas


A+E Line

More recently (and so far my personal favourite gig) we played at The Gander on 27th January for Ejector Seat. We didn't take any pictures of this gig but I know that Imogen did. I'm still waiting for her email. Below is the flyer.



We've recently just secured a support gig for a signed band called Maps at The Joiners Arms in Southampton. NME are currently going mad for Maps so we're pretty chuffed to be playing along side them at a pretty important venue. I'm really looking forward to this one! (and slightly nervous!)

Deeding the Fucks

Me and Lisa went to Poole Park on Saturday to feed the ducks! I also bought me a pair of flares from Topman.. and a scarf for a quid! They used to have a Topman in The Dolphin Centre but now they've reduced it to just a Topshop. So it's ok for girls in Poole to look good but the boys have no option than to buy their clothes from Primark or Burtons! I guess Topman's biggest downfall in Poole is that they don't sell tracky bottoms for the chavs!

Drivers Licence...

So, I'm gonna start learning to drive this year.... well, HOPING to anyway. Which means I'll need to get a provisional driving licence. This meant I had to get my mugshot from one of those lovely machines that make you look like a serial killer!



Now I've got this far I'll have to fill out the application form. God I hate forms. I'll probably never get round to this for another 2 months or so knowing me.

I'm in two minds when it comes to driving. On one hand, I'd love to be able to have my own car and the freedom to go where I want when I want in my own personal space. And to be able to carry my band stuff around to gigs or whatever. And to not rely so much on Lisa and take turn driving places.

But the other half of me wants to prevent adding yet another car onto our already over-crowded roads, not contribute to the ever increasing build up of smog. It will make me lazy and fat. It'll also make me skint cos of all the road tax, MOT, petrol etc etc. It's not like I can afford to live at the moment WITHOUT a car!

Decisions decisions....

The Christmas period.

Christmas was great this year. Normally, I have to make sure everyone else is happy and do lots of journeys to other peoples houses to make visits when all I want to do is stay home, open my presents and get fat! This year that was pretty much all I did. Ok, I went to my mum's in the morning for Christmas lunch and exchanged presents but we were back home by about 3ish. And I went to my dad's on Boxing Day to give him his present and had a pub meal. But other than that we stayed at home.

Lisa bought me a Nintendo Wii. I knew I was getting one (see?) but it was still cool to actually finally open it... especially after all the news reports about many people with pre-orders being disappointed with stock shortages. I've got to say that it is an amazing console and thoroughly recommend one. Everyone who came to my place over the Christmas period will have played it and loved it so much they're like, "I've gotta get one!". It really is sooooooo much fun!

It was also that time of year for the Glenigan Christmas Party! What a yawn that was. I only went for the free booze! Oh and the members of the board performing the YMCA! The rest of it was boring. Being in IT we always get put on the table right at the back somewhere - usually behind a pilar so we can't see the awards being presented. This year was no different. I eventually moved to a different table with Andy. The food was pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. After the meal was the awards. This always bores me cos I'm not in a department that can be given an award. After that there was a really bad covers band. I felt like I was at someones wedding. Yep, all the usual cover band sinners were played - Mustang Sally, You Can Leave Your Hat On etc etc etc. After that it was the moment I was waiting for...

...play it if you dare! After that I went home.

After Christmas me and Lisa went up to Newbury for James 8th Birthday (for those of you that don't know, James is Lisa's God-Son.) We stayed over a couple of nights and did a bit of shopping in Newbury. I bought myself Yakuza for the PS2 for £9.98...



New Years Eve was a big ol' party at Andy's in Three Legged Cross. This was Blind Voyeurs first secret warm-up gig. It was a warm-up for our first public gig at Centre Stage on the 5th Jan. We managed to practice the whole set before the guest arrived so when we played we were HOT!! I think we surprised a lot of people cos they were expecting something chilled out and ambient. It was our fault cos we did tell then that we were! Oh well. After our little half hour we DJed, got very twisted and jumped in the hot-tub. Good times had all round!

Happy New Year!!

This is just a quick messgae to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Yes, I know it's 4 days late but I've been really busy and not had a chance to get to my blog until now. But rest assured I have lots of cool pics and stuff to share with you all.

Meanwhile, this is what your cats (if you ave any) have probably been doing ALL day while you're at work...

Blind Voyeurs DJ Set

AFter a bit of a geeky tech post yesterday, it's time to return to a normal post about that I've been up to. This weekend I was originally scheduled to go to Newbury with Lisa for Charlie's 30th birthday. This would involve leaving Bournemouth after work on Friday and staying in Newbury til Sunday. I was looking forward to it until my mum said she really needed me to do a few things for her that Saturday as it was so close to Christmas and needed to get a few things in. Anybody who knows me knows that my mum is agoraphobic and therefore needs me to do a few chores on a regular basis. Anyway, it's because of this I had to let Lisa and Charlie down. Charlie said she totally understood because she is a single mother (as is my mum) ... but I still felt bad.

Friday evening came, and Lisa set off on her way. Gary and Simone came round for a little catch up. Gary's been a bit on the ill side and has had a couple of days off work. Simone is pregnant and loving it. They'd emailed me a picture of her baby scan that she had a couple of days before. Introducing baby Hudspith...

After they left I got back to work on the film while Scott revised his half of the DJ set. There were a few new bits I wanted to edit into the film ... but at the same time I had to find stuff to take out cos it was running seriously over time! Lisa and all the birthday girl entourage wanted to send out a toast to me in the form of a picture message...

I toasted them back via picture message with the glass of wine I was drinking. Followed, shortly after that I was sent a picture of Lisa with a chocolatey hand-print on her chest!...

...they had one of those chocolate fountains, y'see! Girls will be girls!

Saturday, I went to my mum's as usual and did a few chores for her. She's been trying to decide what to get Lisa for Christmas for ages. I suggested something and she wanted me to get it (Sorry, Lisa. I'm not about to type what your getting here!) I also had to grab some stuff for Christmas Dinner.

I got back home at around 3ish. Had a very drunken phonecall from Lisa at about 5ish - she'd been out on the piss all afternoon with Charlie and was not about to give up now! Anyway, the problem with getting pissed that early in the day means that you flake out early. They'd stopped drinking a couple of hours later and gone for a chill/nap at the time I was just starting to pour out the wine for my night out. Because tonight is the night that James and Scott do their first Blind Voyeurs DJ set at Sixty Million Postcards. To say that they were nervous was an understatement. They were practically shitting themselves. I tryed to help by saying stuff like "Guys, you're only gonna be playing music on a big stereo like you normally do every evening!" It didn't really help but hey.

Anyway, the night went well. After getting very drunk at Sixty Million Andy suggested going back to his for an after-party. I'd never been there before but it was cool. Andy had been sober all night cos he was driving so when we got there he mixed up a mental cocktail for all of us with rum, vodka, crushed ice and mint. Jesus that stuff was strong - I guess he had to catch up. We then went into the hot-tub. I thought it was a ridiculous idea cos it was freezing outside. I was told that as soon as your in the hot-tub you don't notice! Man, it was so nice - I've gotta get me one of those! I had no idea what time I crashed cos I took my watch off ages ago but I was getting tired so it was time to crash out. Man, did I have a hangover the next day! Anyway, here's some pics....

...to see the whole flickr set click HERE.

Sunday, I was soooooo frickin hungover! I felt like I was gonna be sick for most of the morning. I wasn't but sure felt like it. I had nothing to eat except a bacon butty. I had to have a massive nap in the afternoon until 6pm when Lisa rang up and suggested we go for a Carvery down at Cooper Dean. Fuckin' mint idea! Scott woke up about 10 minutes later and we convinced him to join us. That sorted my head right out. Good times had by all!

100 Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows)

This is mainly just here as a reference for myself. You may find them useful too, you may know some of them but not all...

CTRL+C (Copy)

CTRL+X (Cut)

CTRL+V (Paste)

CTRL+Z (Undo)

DELETE (Delete)

SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)

CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)

CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)

F2 key (Rename the selected item)

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)

CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)

CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)

CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)

CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)

SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)

CTRL+A (Select all)

F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)

ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)

ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)

ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)

CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)

ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)

ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)

F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)

F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)

CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)

ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)

Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)

F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)

RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)

LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)

F5 key (Update the active window)

BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)

ESC (Cancel the current task)

SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)

CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)

TAB (Move forward through the options)

SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)

ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)

ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)

SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)

Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)

F1 key (Display Help)

F4 key (Display the items in the active list)

BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)

Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)

Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)

Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)

Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)

Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)

Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)

CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)

Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)

Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)

Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)

Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)

Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)

Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)

SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)

NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)

Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

END (Display the bottom of the active window)

HOME (Display the top of the active window)

NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)

NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)

NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)

LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)

RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut Keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:

RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)

LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)

UP ARROW (Move up one row)

DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)

PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)

PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)

HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)

END (Move to the end of the line)

CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)

CTRL+END (Move to the last character)

SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Nor mal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+O (Open a saved console)

CTRL+N (Open a new console)

CTRL+S (Save the open console)

CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)

CTRL+W (Open a new window)

F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)

ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)

ALT+F4 (Close the console)

ALT+A (Display the Action menu)

ALT+V (Display the View menu)

ALT+F (Display the File menu)

ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)

ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)

SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)

F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)

F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)

CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)

CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)

ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)

F2 key (Rename the selected item)

CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

CTRL+ALT+END (Open the m*cro$oft Windows NT Security dialog box)

ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)

ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)

ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)

ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)

CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)

ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)

CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Internet Explorer navigation

CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)

CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)

CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)

CTRL+H (Open the History bar)

CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)

CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)

CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)

CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)

CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)

CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)

CTRL+W (Close the current window)



Hope you'll find them useful!

Free Thom Yorke remixes online...

Yep. If you're into Radiohead and/or Thome Yorke you might like to know that there are, in fact, two free remixes of tracks from Thome Yorke's solo album The Eraser. First reported in a blog post from Thom Yorke on Radiohead's official band blog, Dead Air Space the tracks are available on theeraser.net.

They're pretty interesting (and very fucked up!), and have been remixed by fans. They're not mindblowing (well, not in my opinion!) but I think they're worth a listen, especially if you're familiar with the album. Although I do have to say that I prefer the originals. Anyway, if there is a remix worth mentioning it's this one... The Clock performed acoustically by Thom Yorke on Later with Jools Holland. Enjoy.

How not to care...

This is the way to live! To not give a damn about what other people think and just have fun. This bloke has given me hope in the human race...

Oliver Stone joke bombs!

I was watching the 2006 British Comedy Awards on ITV with Lisa last night. After it finished on ITV it continued with more awards and backstage stuff on ITV2. It was on this part of the show that Oliver Stone came on to present an award. He told a really bad-taste joke about the Suffolk serial killer. He said "It's great to be back in England. I feel like the Jack The Ripper days are back. Nothing ever changes here." Realising that his joke fell flat on it's face he tried to dig himself out of the hole by saying "You're a wonderful audience"

For the full story of events that night check HERE

X Factor Rants

How the HELL can Ray still be in X-Factor?!? He's a creepy little one-trick pony that looks like he's bee raised by wolves!!! And even if he loses he's still booked for a 19 date tour in massive venues through til March next year!! LOOK!!!!

Blind Voyeurs have a LOUD practice

So, this weekend my band (Blind Voyeurs) had an 'emergency' practice in a practice room out in Sopley. This our first 'LOUD' practice with full drum kit and proper bass amp in a room in the middle of nowhere where we can play as loud as we like and no fucker will complain! WOO!

Oh my god, everything fell right into place and we are sounding amazing if I may say so myself. We've dropped a song called Ukul and replace it with The Mockery - a song that only me, Scott and Matt played once in a jam and that only us three knew how to play. We had a couple of jams on it with Lee, James and Martin and it ended up sound so ballsy that it's gonna be a face-melter! We're gonna use it as the last track to finish our set with.

Other songs that we were worried about sounding lame are now starting to sound like they have testes the likes of which will make King Kong bow down in shame, such as Ghost Written and Pale Blue Dot. All of this probably won't make much sence to most of you yet as you wouldn't hvae heard of some of the tracks. But you'll be hearing them when we have our first public gig on Friday 5th January 2007 at Centre Stage, next to Pig & Whistle, Westbourne. Be there folks!

Indians have small cocks - it's official!

A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men. According to this news article!

No don't laugh! It's a harrowing story!!

Say Hello to the Goodbye Weapon...

I read a sickening story today on Wired.com about a new weapon that the American Military have been developing in secret over the last 10 years. It's called the Active Denial System or ADS. It is a non-lethal weapon that fires beams of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves -- 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven.

The fact that it uses a longer wavelength means that it limits the effects of radiation. Most of the radiation is instantly absorbed by the top layer of skin, heating it rapidly. The beam produces what experimenters call the "Goodbye effect," or "prompt and highly motivated escape behavior." In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds.

It acts on you natural human repelling reflex - as soon as you feel it you instantly want to move out of it, like you would if you touched a flame.

The weapon will be used for crowd control. It has the ability to clear a street in seconds. The USAAF have made a large number of elaborate tests on human subjects. The volunteers were military personnel: active, reserve or retired. They were unpaid, but the subjects would "benefit from direct knowledge that an effective nonlethal weapon system could soon be in the inventory," said one report. The tests ranged from simple exposure in the laboratory to elaborate war games involving hundreds of participants.

In more than 10,000 exposures, there were six cases of blistering and one instance of second-degree burns in a laboratory accident, the documents claim.

The ADS was developed in complete secrecy for 10 years at a cost of $40 million. The ADS technology is ready to deploy, and the Army requested ADS-armed Strykers for Iraq last year. But the military is well aware that any adverse publicity could finish the program. New bombs can be rushed into service in a matter of weeks, but the process is more complex for nonlethal weapons.

Hate Sprouts?

As you know, it's December. Therefore it's nearly Christmas. THEREFORE it's nearly that time of the year when we eat sprouts! Now, I love sprouts... didn't used to, mind. I used to hate them. I thought they tasted of sick! But now, I don't know why but I actually find them quite tasty. Maybe it's cos I've grown up a bit - I dunno. Anyway, today I was emailed this game where you squash sprouts and try to avoid them getting to your plate! Those sprout haters out there among you will love it. Enjoy!...

New look

Blogger, the site that manages this blog, have updated the way blog writers, such as myself, can control and maintain their blog. You may have noticed a small change in the navigation over there on the right. Now the old and archived posts are listed in a heirarchical format instead of the old flat format. This should make navigating to older posts a lot easier.

Also I can associate each post with Labels (or Tabs as some sites like to call them). This should help you find posts with similar topics. Kinda like film categories (Comedy, Horror, Drama etc)

Local Short Films...

Me and Scott were surfing a lot on Google Video's last night and we searched for Pokesdown (cos that's were we live!) to see if anything has been posted. This is what we found....


That was episode 3. You can see the rest HERE. It was a bit weird to watch at first but we found that it actually made us laugh quite a bit. NSFW (cos of swearing)

...in other news...

Lisa's had a hair cut, yes it's a Pob!...




There was a fire behind the house at the end of the car-park at work. Somebody called the fire brigade but neglected to tell them that the fire wasn't actually here at work but in the road behind. 2 fire engines turned up!...





Lisa, Scott and myself went Christmas shopping in Southampton. They had one of those German markets like they have in Bournmouth. We stopped at the German bar to have a nice hot drink (I forget what it's called - sounds like blue-vine I think!) It was nice...




Me and Scott got talking about Tracy Emin and about how stupid some of her art was. Ooooh wow - a messy bed! Yawn! We decided to throw together some random articles onto a frame and call it art. It's called Headphonenumberpill...




On the Tuesday 28th November it was Lisa's Dad's birthday. Happy 61th Charlie!! We went to Ask for a meal. Me and Scott were saying how if you were really dumb you could have the following conversation for eternity...

Man 1: "So where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 1: "Ok, I will. Where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"
Man 1: "Huh? I just did! Where did you go for your meal?"
Man 2: "Ask!"

....... you get the picture! Speaking of pictures...

And now, headlines without pictures.
Lisa get's vertigo again! Is off work for a while to recover. Is seeing a specialist soon.

Kim invited us up to stay for the first weekend in December, but only if Lisa's feeling better. Lisa looked like she was getting better and then it's got worse again!

Our band is having some very constructive practices. It's finally looking like our work is starting to take shape. We have new tunes to fill gaps and old ones that looked like they'd be impossible to play live are starting to work!

Torchwood is getting better, gorier and scarier.

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here is boring/annoying this year.

X-Factor is addictive just because the public are messing with the voting system! I mean are people seriously voting for Ray and The MacDonald Brothers because they are good? I think not! People are just voting for them to mess with the judges heads and money. The winners have to have a record contract. I mean, Ray is an annoying little shit that looks like he's been raised by wolves! And the MacDonald Brothers look like those creepy porcelain dolls that have come to life in some sort of horror movie! MAKE IT STOP!!




Oh and Me and Scott have rediscovered our worms!

Only 3 posts this months?!?

Yeah, I know. It has been a bit of a slow month really. Just trying to save money.
...although I did get a nice sum of money added to my wage this month cos of my shares in EMAP. So I've decided to allocate some money to myself for a lovely new Bass Guitar. The one I'm using at the moment is actually Glen's. He lent it to me about a year and a half ago and now he's itching to get it back. Fair enough. I should've bought one by now anyway.

Right, so I did a search on the old inter-web and found me a lovely Fender Squire black Jazz Bass that was just perfect for my price range (the only other option was Stagg - now they ARE cheapo!). The shop that was selling it was Sounds Live and I was actually really impressed with the very secure ordering process and rapid delivery. I ordered it on Tuesday afternoon and it arrived on Wednesday morning. Wow! When the delivery guy arrived in the van and handed the bass over to me he said "Ohh it looks like the box opened here" pointing to one end of the box.
I said "Ah don't worry about that it'll be fine." Signed on the dotted line and hurridly rushed upstairs to get me mitts on my lovely new instrument (ooer missus!). Everything looked in place. I tuned it up and started playing, then noticed in the corner of my eye a bloody great crater on the bottom. See pic (will be uploaded tonight). My heart sank! I've never felt excited and deflated at the same time before - it's horrible.

So after a bit of dicussion with Scott and Lisa and some of the guys at work I decided "I'm not having that!" so I rang up their customer support and they wewre really helpful. The problem was obviously when it was in transit. The glue on one end of the box had gone brittle and no longer stuck the cardboard box together. The bas must've slid out of the box when somone picked it up and it hit the concrete. Anyway, the customer service lady told me not to panic and just fill in the details on the website and within a couple of days they'll arrange for it to be picked up. I'm keeping an eye on my inbox and an ear on my phone!

Nintendo Wii

Lisa has put the deposit down for my Christmas present!! It's a Nintendo Wii. I honest can't wait and am so excited. At the moment I'm not interested in the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 because they're both extremely expensive and being corporate bullys. Both of them are employing a non standard technology to store the games on (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) - it reminds me of the old VHS vs BETA days when video's first came out.

Let's look at the pricings for both using play.com: Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

As you can see, the 360 is retailing here at £279.99 with game and 20Gb hard-drive. The PS3 comes in at £549 with a 60Gb hard-drive, NO GAME. Now, the 360 has been out for over a year now so the price has come right down to a reasonable price for a new-ish console but in order to appreciate the games fully you need a HDTV... so that's gonna be another £400+ on top of that!! Same with the PS3. Also, I've seen comparison screenshots for the same game on both consoles and the PS3 looks so much better ... but it's much more expensive.

But that said, the original Playstation was £499 when that first came out and that too was a huge leap in console technology. I didn't get my first Playstation until about 2 years after it came out. I'll probably do the same here. In the meantime, though, the Nintendo Wii is a great console that doesn't demand you have the latest TV to play it. It's not a 'next generation' console like the other behemoths, it's more of an 'in-between generation' console. Besides, it's gonna have Mario and Zelda on it! Check the vid...

Now, in case you were wondering why the people in the video were flailing their arms around like novice gamers the Wii has a very unique control system with it. It can detect motion! So, if you're playing a game where you have a sword you can swing your arms around to swing the sword. This is a huge innovation with gaming technology, much more than just higher resolution graphics and the ability to throw billions of polygons around the screen in a fraction of a second.

Nah, I'm really happy with my present. I haven't had a Nintendo since the day's of the Super Nintendo. I missed out on owning an N64 and the GameCube - played them both and loved them but never actually owned one myself. I can't wait for Xmas.

Quiet times

I know I've not posted anything sinse November 1st, but to be brutally honest, Not a lot has happened. I've just been trying to save money these last couple of weeks - y'know tryin to get the ol' bank balance back in the black. Which ultimately means not going out and not buying DVD's, Games, Music, Magazines.... basically ANY type of media. I've been trying to keep food shopping and clothes shopping down. By that I mean not buying sandwiches during lunch everyday and make my own food where-ever possible. And why do I always think it neccesary to buy new clothes every month?.... saying that I have bought some new clothes but only a scarf and a beanie - last year's scarf shrank in the wash.

Since the last entry we've had fireworks/bonfire night. Me and Lisa went to Poole Quay to see some. It was pretty good fun, lots of festivities such as kiddies rides, bands and DJ's, jugglers, stilt walkers and lots of food and booze. Not much to say about this except the fireworks were pretty and there were massive queues at the bar. You woulda thought the pubs woulda put more staff on seeing as it's November 5th. Bad pub management all round! (also, the firworks didn't look as impressive as they do on the official link above. In fact they've super-imposed those fireworks in - they're not even in the right place!)

Also, we went to see The Prestige at the ABC Cinema last week using some free cinema tickets that my mum gave me a couple of months ago. The film was absolutely amazing and I thoroughly recommend you go see it. It's got lots of drama and intrigue and keeps you guessing right up to the end... although, being the clever soul that I am I worked it out about 30 mins before the end but hey, there were still some surprise bits at the end. I've got a feeling that it will be a love-it-or-hate-it type film. I'm in the love-it camp! I good movie for smart people - a confusing one for the dumber half of the population. Extra information for the fact finders: the film was directed by the same director as Momento and Batman Returns. Below is the trailer...

Halloween

So last night was Halloween. Or, to use a more traditional term, All Hallows Eve. Lisa, Scott and I weren't up for any parties this year (we're all trying to save cash) so we cooked up a crackin' curry and watched these two films...

Texas Chainsaw Massacre


Slither

They were ok. I mean, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was kinda unintentionally funny. It was just silly. We were ticking off the horror movie cliches as we went along. College students (check), pick up a hitcher (check), someone does some drugs (check), killer has some sort of disfigurement or limp (check), thunder (check), they think it's the killer but it's just an animal in the cupboard (check), a shadow flicks across the screen in the foreground (check), everyone dies except the bimbo (check), the car won't start (check), freaky kid (check), running in the woods away from the killer then fall over (check).... I could go on but I won't. In fact the only thing that made the film interesting was Jessica Biel's tits!...

After that we watched Slither. Now I though this film was great. It had that same sort of B-Movie feel to it that Tremors had. The film doesn't take itself seriously, it's has one liners and lots of outrageous gore. The special effects were amazing. The little alien slug things are really creepy and were really well done. And, yeah, of course there were some horror cliches in it too but, although this is supposed to be a micky-take of the horror genre, didn't have as many cliches in it as Texas Chainsaw Massacre - a film that's supposed to be a proper serious horror movie.

Maybe I'm just getting older and just don't find scary films scary anymore. I remember watching classics like Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween and absolutely shitting myself. But then when I watched these I was still at school and was about 14 or 15. We used to all talk about them in the playground as if we'd all seen something we're not supposed to see.

But then saying that I still haven't seen The Ring. I can't bring myself to watch it cos it freaks me out. I own The Grudge on DVD and that's a wicked film - totally freaked me out when I first saw it. And I s'pose The Exorcist still creeps me out a bit. The Shining is s'posed to be one of THE scariest films of all time but it never scared me - I just though it was a good little film with great ideas and great camera work.

Oh well, next year when it comes to choosing a scary film I'll have to do a little bit of research!

Strange Statues Around the world

Saw this article on Digg.com today and had to share it with everyone! It's a collection of photos of strange statues around the world. Some of them are a bit racy and made me think "how the hell did they get away with putting this on public display?" Click the link below to see the article. Enjoy

read more | digg story

Torchwood

I watched Torchwood on Sunday! It was great!!

For those of you that don't know, it's a Dr Who spin-off series. It's a lot more adult that the usual Dr Who series so don't let your kids watch it. Within the first 15 mins I counted 2 fucks, one bugger, 3 bloodys and a shit! It's also pretty darn gorey, has nudity, scenes of masterbation and sex with aliens. Defo not for the kids. But these aren't reasons alone why you should watch it. You should watch it because it so bloomin' good. I will be watching it every Sunday, 10pm, BBC3... repeated Wednesdays on BBC2.

Anniversary

Last Wednesday was mine and my girlfriend's 1 year anniversary! I can't belive that one year has gone by already! It's amazing how time flies when you're in love and more so everyday (I know, I know... a bit sickly sweet for some of you to read.... if anyone ever does!!)

Anyway, we went for a lovely Italian meal at Ask in Lansdowne. We both had some Salmony pasta thing with a side order that I can't spell and scrummy afters (which I also can't spell) washed up with some Pinot Grigio (I've got no problems spelling that - it's booze!) Then for a couple of pints Caffery's in O'Neills just across the road. O'Neills was the place we had our first date.... sorry, I'm getting all lovey-dovey again! ... It was weird in there though cos they'd moved everything around and it was pretty empty. We only stayed for one beer cos we were so stuffed after our meal and was starting to feel sleepy.

Here's to another wicked year with my soul one.

Dad's Birthday

Happy 60th to my dad! His birthday was on the 19th October. I know it's a bit late to post this but I've been extremely busy with the Blind Voyeurs filming and editing. Me and Lisa went up to Wimborne to see him over the weekend to wish him a happy birthday and to give him some presents. We got him a DVD about some classic cricket match with Ian Botham (I'm not to hot on my cricket - I think it was a 1981 match! Not sure) and a CD of The Best Of Bread. My dad is an all out Shadows fan. He owns everything they have on vinyl, cassette, CD AND DVD! Even some CDs of Shadows tribute acts! That's pretty much all he listens to. But I do remember when I was very young he used to have some Bread records so instead of looking for some Shads artifact that he wouldn't already own I got him this Bread CD. Thanksfully he was really chuffed with it. Phew!