Edinburgh Is A Dry City, No Drinking Please...

Murrayfield is the inverse of all other stadia in the UK, they do not want you taking alcohol *out* of the stadium rather than in...

C'mon You Wonderful Wigan Warriors!

The real magic of The Magic Weekend starts now as league leaders (and my special side) the Wigan Warriors kick-off at Murrayfield...

Toy Story 3's UK Premiere IS In Edinburgh At EIFF!

Just as I exclusively revealed, I mean, deduced back on this site in October 2009, the UK Premiere of Toy Story 3 *will* be in Edinburgh on 19th June as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.  I've even got the date correct!  In fact as it doesn't look like it's being shown out of competition in Cannes, it will (probably) be the European Premiere.  Let's all say it together... I was right!

Scariest Movie In Years Is Amongst Us... Schizo!

Whilst waiting for The Joneses to start yesterday (good film, nice chemistry between some good characters and decent performances by Demi, David and Gary so 8/10), I saw a "teaser" trailer for what should be the scariest film in many years...  Schizo: The Movie.  Follow the link and watch the brief trailer for something that should be genuinely disturbing!  You have now been told...!

More Intelligent Audience Seen At Previous Senior Scottish Debates...

These "leader" debates are really starting to annoy me...  They are so damaging for politics in the country in a pathetic attempt to try to get more TV ratings and mislead the public.  We operate a representative democracy in the United Kingdom and there is no popular vote.  No one has the choice to vote between David Cameron, (James) Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg - they are all standing in different constituencies.  I think there should be far more local debates (that can still be televised) but are representative of local issues and candidates.  Here's the audience at the 2001 Election looking far more engaged when listening to a panel of Alistiar Darling, Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Alex Salmond, moderated by Sky's Adam Boulton:

BTW there is a far more intelligent (and less egotistical) man sitting to my right but I don't think he made it on camera :-(

Working Lunch To End ... What Will I Be On Next?

Only a few days after the announcement that Working Lunch's original host Adrian Chiles is leaving the BBC, an even bigger announcement comes that Working Lunch is to end.  Sad days...  Let's take a look back at on of their heydays when Adrian passes over to Rob who's "in Edinburgh [with] an unusual share club; they say they're not bothered if they don't make any money" who in turn interviews "a frighteningly well dressed bunch" (according to Adrian)....

Liverpool FC Is Finally Up For Sale! Bye-Bye Muppets!

The Liverpool Echo has posted a brief article about the shocking news released by Liverpool FC today that the club is up for sale!  The BA Chairman, Martin Broughton has been appointed as Chairman to "oversee a formal sale process".  Furthermore Hicks & Gillett state that "having grown the Club this far we have now decided together to look to sell the Club to owners committed to take the Club through its next level of growth and development".  Time to say bye-bye to the arguing Americans...

Tesco Mobile Has Me Bouncing With Peaceful Joy!

Yep, Tesco Mobile do have that interesting cinema advert riding other mobile adverts about peace, friendship, blah blah blah and cuts to a girl saying she just wants her tenner tripled to £30 credit.  Straight forward advertising and probably quite effective (although nowhere near as good as the Orange "film" adverts!).  However, I just discovered that Tesco Mobile shouldn't be so quick to dis the idea of peace coming from a mobile network.  At least I assume that's why their logo comes from Transcendental Meditation, TM.org!  I guess every little helps when you are "designing" a new logo:

Transcendental Meditation logo, TM.org

Exclusive: My Conservative Candidate Is A Klang-Banger!

Second week of the election and I've grabbed my first scoop!  I got home tonight and found a flyer for local Conservative candidate for Edinburgh South West, Jason Rust.  Yes, I know you haven't heard of him or his Lib Dem rival Tim McKay, but maybe you've heard of my sitting MP, Alastair Darling?  Anyway, as I glanced at the flyer I realised that I've seen Jason before ... at a 1,000 person, XXXXX-rated Klangbang a few years ago!  Yes, Jason Rust is merely a pseudonym for Steve Hall!  Does that make William Hague really Merrick?  And is Greg's alter ego Boris Johnson?  If so We Are Klang have reached a new level of anarchic comedy!  See for yourself what I mean about Jason:

UPDATE:  I sent this through to Steve Bennett at Chortle.co.uk to see if it made would be interesting for his WTF (Weekly Trivia File) and it made the cut!  A link would have been nice but that's not why I sent it in, just happy to share!

Swans Abandon Egg A Week After Easter...

I assume that Easter being over cannot be the reason reason why a pair of swans have decided to leave their one egg completely unguarded in a relatively open nest...  I know the picture isn't great but the day before I saw the female re-adjusting herself and caught a glimpse of the egg, but the next day they have both disappeared in the middle of the day.  I always thought one bird stays with the nest at all times to protect the delicate egg from predators...  Fortunately the day after I took this one swan was back guarding the egg, along with some geese nesting on the same little island.

'Shelter' Under Your Coat Or Away From Bad Direction?

At an unusual time of year a supernatural thriller akin to The Ring is released which naturally draws me to it.  Could it work?  First of all, yes, Shelter is like The Ring.  That is it has pointless cut aways and sudden close-ups just to try to build tension or make you jump, so it's quite frustrating.  The underlying story and what they are trying to do will be appreciated by fans of Ringu, the original Japanese masterpiece, despite the occasional ham-fisted way they go about directing it.  A quick overview of the film is Julianne Moore is a doctor of psychology who has disproved a murderer claiming to have genuine multiple Personality Disorder.  Then someone she occasionally works with (who happens to be her father, can't remember his name, so let's use Foxtrot for F, as in father), invites her to review a patient for him.  Foxtrot guy doesn't tell the Doctor all the info about this patient in advance and she discovers seemingly impossible things about him little by little, each time coming up with possible explanations.  There is one really interesting scene where (let's just abbreviate it further) Fox is playing basketball and the red-haired female Doctor storms in and a little exchange takes place where Fox tells her she has to open her mind to the possibilities of the world beyond the limits of her current scientific knowledge.  I think I've seen this somewhere before...  Was this something I made..?  :-)

Going in to see this film prep'ed with this information will probably help you enjoy it more despite some plot holes and questionable decisions by the characters.  The opening half an hour does swerve from place to place and I was unsure where they were trying to go with the film until it finally settled down with the story it wants to tell.  The acting from Jonathan as the patient in question is quite good although I wasn't impressed with the performance Julianne put in.  There are quite a few times where suspension of disbelief just falls apart and the film just feels too much like The Fourth Kind after you find out it's all fiction.  Despite all the criticism above, if you treat it as homage to the great show mentioned above, you can not only get through the film but also leave feeling pleased and mostly positive about the whole experience.  I even laughed with happiness...!

Alex Ferguson is Forgetful In His Old Age ... Or A Hypocrite!

Poor loser Alex Ferguson rants yet again, this time about Bayern Munich allegedly harassing the referee to send a player off (via a second yellow card mind, not even a straight red)... "It was typical professionalism in a way but they saw the opportunity and they almost forced the referee to get the card out - the referee wasn't going to do anything. But we've seen it before from teams like that."  Yes we have seem teams bully referees before Alex, just as my cousin posted a picture of today...

Dictionary definition of a hypocrite

Trash of the Titans - Release the Krap in 3D!

I've been thinking for a while of how to summarise this bad remake of a bad movie (that's not a double negative by the way) and then, the most talented man on TV, Sir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert D.F.A., summarised it perfectly: "they made this film in 2D and then transformed it into 3D but, here's the clever part, all the characters stay 1D". Another bad film "starring" Sam Worthington. It is official, he is the new Christian Bale (like the world needed another one!). The torch seems to have been passed (or maybe the disease spread...) and another "leading" man who apparently can act (Sam won praise for his early roles, apparently) is now stinking up the screen like a piece of wet wood. The paper the script was written on should have stayed as trees, much like Terminator Salvation (where the infection happened) and even Avatar (overly long, poorly scripted, acted and directed and an offence to have it mentioned on the same list as The Hurt Locker). The disease even affects genuine actors around them like Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver who seem paralysed by the black hole sucking all ability out of the shot. Expect more years ahead of lifeless movies with Sam (and/or Christian) cast as the "hero". Please put me out of my misery and let me look into Medusa's eyes (the one part of the story that was authentic to the myth!)...

Note to Gordon Brown - Don't Play A Spin Master At His Own Game!

This has been a really interesting marketing day and the General Election hasn't even been called yet!  The Labour Party announced the winner of a competition for a new billboard campaign, which is "Dave" Cameron sitting on an Audi Quattro with the slogan "Don't let him take Britain back to the 1980s".  Now granted, this does bear a little similarity to Marty McFly in Back to the Future but it is of course it is comparing Cameron to the most liked and coolest character on British TV, Gene Hunt, at a time when the final series of Ashes to Ashes is just about to start.  With Dave himself knowing a thing or two about spin, and having just re-appointed the geniuses behind the Demon Eyes, the Conservatives have already hit back with the same image but with a better and cooler slogan, "Fire up the Quattro.  It's time for change.":

This ad is now going out on the same 11 digital billboards as the Labour one, so there will be 22 images of Dave Cameron as the most loved person on TV.  I'd already asked the question how badly the Labour Party wants to lose this election but this is pure suicide!  Mark my previously written words, there will be no hung parliament, Cameron will win with a decent majority (and that's not my political preference, my ideal would be a Lib Dem - Conservative alliance to bring in real change, just calling it as it will be).

Spanish LFC April Fool's Story Sucks In Imaginary Sports Reporters

Firstly, the story in question is based around quotes in the Spanish newspaper Marca, with quotes from Albert Riera that his negotiations have stalled with Spartak Moscow and he wants to now stay with Liverpool until the summer. The first part sounds reasonable, but having called Liverpool a "sinking ship", allegedly hit a reserve player and criticised Benitez last week, would you really then say "my intention is to decide my future in the summer [snip] I want to continue my career at Liverpool because it is one of the best clubs in the world".  Slight contradiction there but he continues, "The feeling is spectacular, we have a great stadium and I feel very good at Liverpool.  I speak with Fernando Torres and (Jose) Reina and agree on the greatness of Liverpool".  Seriously, this is what got past the news desks at Sky Sports, The Metro, ESPN and The Telegraph on April Fool's Day?  Sigh...


However there is an interesting point about the final two "news sources".  Yes, everyone is simply re-printing the "quotes" directly from Marca, but The Telegraph have lost a lot of staff in recent times and according to Private Eye, they run agency copy for sports pieces and (have previously) attribute imaginary names to the piece.  This story is apparently written by 'Telegraph Staff' and end with "Benitez has not forgiven Riera, worried about his World Cup chances, for so publicly trying to manufacture a move at a crucial time of the season by misrepresenting his relationship with him".  That sounds awfully like the way ESPN's 'Soccernet Staff' concluded their piece which was "The Reds boss has not forgiven Riera, worried about his World Cup chances, for so publicly trying to manufacture a move at a crucial time of the season by misrepresenting his relationship with him".  It seems The Telegraph are not the only ones using agency copy and publishing it as pieces 'written' by their 'staff'.

Help Find A Missing Girl: Laura Palmer. Posters All Around London

I've just passed a phonebox with a picture of an attractive young girl who went missing some time ago.  Unfortunately I was in a cab and couldn't take a picture of the phonebox near Whitehall but some kind soul (normko) has already done so in Hammersmith.  If you know anything at all about Laura Palmer I urge you to share that information with the world.  I certainly will...

Who Said It Couldn't Snow Again?!

Maybe it'll be a happy and snowy birthday for you Mike...
Either way, have a wonderful birthday,
from...

(Almost) 10 Years of Bedroom-based Broadband Browsing

Apparently today is the 10th anniversary of Broadband in the UK, specifically for just one man.  He managed to convince NTL install his cable connection whilst they were still un-going extra test.  The rest of us had to wait a few more months and it was in June '00 that we had our lovely ADSL connection turned on by BT as one of the first flats to do so in Edinburgh.  What do I remember the most about that first day? Surprisingly there was so little out there that needed a fast connection it was hard to find things to download to stretch our new capabilities. So we did what any would do with a new media, we went off to the dark side of the 'net and looked up the videos of people's early careers...

Don't Opt-Out of Junk Text Messages from Real Numbers!

This may seem a bizarre piece of advice but (as always) bear with me (grrr).  It seems a recent trend is spammers acquiring a load of sim cards and texting out some drivel such as " FREEMSG: Our records indicate you may be entitled to 3750 pounds for an accident you had.  To claim for free reply with YES to this msg.  To opt out text STOP".  My one (despite my mobile being registered with the TPF) on arrived from +44 7515... which is a real mobile phone number. The temptation is to "opt out" so you don't receive any costly text messages.  Of course, as I didn't sign up for them, I know I'm safe and quite confident my mobile provider will be able to verify that.  The interesting thing is as it's come from a normal mobile number they are not trying to charge you anything, they are just looking for mobile numbers that are real.  So replying with STOP (or heaven forbid YES!) will mean they've found someone they can send more crap to.  Just think the very early days of email spam where clicking on the 'un-subscribe' link just verified you email address as real.  Best option, do nothing!

Mensa UK Are Stupid and Unobservant!

Bold statement, can I back it up?  Yes.  Each week Mensa publish their free puzzle and it's usually not too difficult.  The number-based one usually take a few seconds, the word-based ones a little bit longer (and vice versa for a former colleague of mine who shall remain Charlie, I mean nameless).  So let's take a look at this week's puzzle...
"You have £5.84 in change and it's made up of four different denominations of coins, the largest being 50p. You have exactly the same number of each coin.  Which coins do you have and how many of each coin?"
Now you may think that's a good puzzle, it should keep you going for a little bit.  That's true.  The answer will apparently be revealed next week (29th), also fine.  I want to know why they decided to put some stock images of British coins to brighten up the web page...?

Jon Stewart's Moment of Zen Is Sheer Heaven!

Jon Stewart is incredible.  Great host of the Oscars (mostly the second time that no-one watched), star of the latter series of The Larry Sanders Show and of course anchor for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  Last week they ended the show with their Moment of Xen which was a local news piece about the flooding in New Jersey and how these tough guys can't get across the street without a dingy.  Click on the clip but be warned, I had to pause it whilst watching because I was laughing so hard!  What a great way to start last week.

Topping this great observation, Jon ended the week by going full-speed at Glenn Beck and managed to draw some pretty unbelievable conclusions.  Now I'm sure to a lot of people the name Glenn Beck won't mean anything, to others he will always be the guy who sang Hi Ho Silver Lining or sister of the singer of First Time, First Kiss.  However anyone who has seen any non-fictional American TV will realise that Glenn has his own TV and radio show were he puts out, erm, fiction!  Well, to be technically accurate, his show is a right wing op-ed piece that spouts numerous conspiracy theories against the left / centre and how America is under seige.  Each show seems to have Glenn getting maniac and questioning whether he is the only crazy one (yes) or in fact is he the only sane one (definitely not).  He also has a penchant for getting tearful, pressing his fingers against his lips and saying "I'm sorry, I just love my country, and I fear for it".  You are well advised to watch Jon best Glenn at madness and brilliant reasoning.  Thanks Jon for being a shinning light from across the pond!

[Sadly although More4 screens The Daily Show here in the UK we can't watch the clips directly on The Daily Show's website.  Instead we have to go to Channel 4's VOD section which is only up for a week :(  Hurry hurry!]

I Love You I Love You Phillip Morris!

Nine months I've been waiting for this baby!  Okay that's the opening to a whole other post by a whole other person (and probably whole other sex too)...  But seriously, I naively believed that an independent film that stars Jim Carrey (big name but he does the odd independent such as Yes Man) and co-stars hometown hero Ewan McGregor (whose films are sometimes introduced by his mum if he has scheduling conflicts) would definitely be part of last year's EIFF.  Nope.  But it would be out soon after that though, it's going to be a big film!  How wrong I was.  Most of Europe got a release date by conservative Britain still did not have an announced distributor.  Finally, at very short notice, I Love You Phillip Morris has a release date which has now arrived and the title says it all!  I love you I Love You Phillip Morris!  In case you have no idea what this film is about, basically Jim Carrey is gay and goes to gaol (or jail as it is set in Texas) and falls in love with his one true love, Ewan McGregor.  It's funny, has a great plot, based on a real story, good acting and is very fresh.  So why has it taken so long to be released and why are the US only getting it for the start of May on a very limited release?   Could it have anything to do with Ewan and Jim making out with each other, plus a couple of gay sex scenes (one that is relatively graphic)?  Nah, that can't be the reason for Liberal America...  I'm actually a little surprised there hasn't been a mini-whinge about it here by the usual suspects.  Oh well, I don't care because I've seen it and it's fabulous and you should do the same darlings...!

What A Beautiful Sky This Evening... Summer Is Coming!

After a lovely evening we are now being treated by a soft and velvety sky with gorgeous emerald and sapphire tones.  I could stand here looking at this all night long...

Key Is Locked Out Of Chortle Nominees - Quite Rightly!

On Monday Chortle announce the winners of their 2010 awards (for 2009) and guess who doesn't make the list even once...  That's right, Perrier Award (erm, Edinburgh Comedy Award) Winner Tim Key.  At the awards highlight show he did not go down very well with the 750-strong crowd, although it was after midnight and his show is not suited to a big crowd.  That of course is irrelevant as the scandal from Edinburgh last year was the complete omission of the stunning Pajama Men and their show Last Stand To Reason.  Did they make a shortlist in the Chortle Awards?  No, they made two.  Best Sketch or Character Act (along with Idiots of Ants) and more importantly, Best Show!  

So who are my predictions for these awards?  Best Headliner will be Phil Nichol (sorry Andrew Lawrence), Best Sketch or Character Act will be Pajama Men (sorry Idiots of Ants), I'd be surprised if Tim Minchin won Best Music or Variety Act as his last show was the weakest of his three so far, Best Show has to be Pajama Men: Last Stand To Reason (although it's good Tom Wrigglesworth got a nod) and the Best DVD is another sure thing for 2008's best show (even though the If.com Eddie went to David O'Doherty) Rhod Gilbert's Award-Winning Mince Pie.  Let's see how do in a couple of days...
UPDATED:  Yes Rhod won Best DVD (no shock there) although The Pajama Men lost out to the two acts I said sorry to, Idiots of Ants (say their name quickly) as best sketch group (with Stefan in last year's show!) and Tom Wrigglesworth for Best Show.  Sarah Millican won Best Headliner which on the basis of last year's Edinburgh shows makes no sense.  However, a headliner on has about 30 minutes on stage and Phil is definitely appreciated over the full hour so she could be going down a treat.  Roll on Edinburgh Fringe 2010, only 20 weeks to go!

Oh-No! I Haven't Posted My St. Patrick's Day Cards... ):-|

A few years ago I was "bothered" when I received a "Happy Easter" card from my mother (although I appreciated the sentiment).  You send cards for birthdays, at a push Christmas and whatever Hallmark-Holiday you are rail-roaded into (e.g. Mother's Day, Valentine's Day...).
But seriously!  St. Patrick's Day cards?  This is shameless exploitation by card companies (I can't believe they have managed to shock me).  If you want to do something for someone so they have a "Happy St. Patrick's Day" then light a candle for them in church or help out a religious charity.  Please don't buy them a godless greeting card from the altar of capitalism...
[Wow, with this much lyrical venom I could be part Irish...  incidentally I am!]

Put Your Money Where My Mouth Is On Dave's Landslide!

This is your last chance!  Not Gordon Brown, I'm talking to you!  The poll trackers are putting Labour and Conservatives neck and neck, whilst all the media is whispering "hung parliament".  Utter rubbish!  Three months before the American elections last year and McCain and Obama were "neck and neck".  It always happens, the underdog creeps up well before the election as people shy away from the inevitable winner so far away from the election.  People are still in a wait-and-see, non-committal, not wanting to be seen as a die-hard Tory.

However the last straw was last night when Gordon said 'I will carry on without a majority' and 'if I lose I will remain Labour leader' (a position he was unelected to, he was anointed). Come polling day, they will duly go in and vote for "Call me" Dave Cameron and he'll start our new Government with a majority of at least 50 seats (so over 348 Conservative MPs).  You should still have good odds on this right now, so put your money where my mouth is on Dave's landslide!

Le Temps Détruit Tout? Or, Things, Can Only Get Better!

Yes the first part of this subject is a very powerful line that really moved me when I first read it*.  It translates as "Time Destroys Everything" and whilst it is not summarising the second law of thermodynamics, it is very true:  Things decay and everything ends.  However, thanks to superstar keyboardist and modest physics genius Brian Cox (no, not Hannibal Lecter, the younger one), we have the line from the D:Ream song (okay, he was an occasional keyboardist whilst at university and then went on to be a superstar physicist).  So which is true?  Well, lots of things decay over time but fortunately PhillG.com is not one of them!  A brand new theme with a great shot of Little Scotland, a nice slideshow of one of my Picasa Albums and, wait for it, all previous posts from Wordpress imported over to Blogger so the whole site is together again!  450 posts and counting over four and a half years!  Woo-hoo!  Now to end on a sad note, if you do want to depress yourself more than you were at the end of A Single Man or The Wrestler, rent Gaspar Noé's masterpiece, Irréversible and find out why Time Destroys Everything.

Marketing Angle: Irish People Like To Drink!

It may not be the most original angle, but it is the angle that Wetherspoons are going with for their bar in London Heathrow Terminal One! It is also the last bar before New York and Edinburgh and Warsaw (ignoring those 'toy' bars during the flight) but clearly the believe this fear marketing will only work on the Irish! But it did work on me... :)

Who Is The Talented Arty-One In My Family?

As a kid (yes, I am now a goat), my brother and I used to love watching "scary" movies although they were usually cheap tacky nonsense.  We did like the original Fright Night (the sequel was hopeless) and in fact used the closing line and theme in a "video" that some of my school friends would be shocked to know still exists!  Anyway, it seems Fright Night is being "re-envisioned" or "re-imagined" or whatever term is the most popular for "we can't be bothered taking chances any more so we'll just re-make old films".  And the news that came out yesterday, is that they now have a director attached, a certain Craig Gillespie!  WTF?!  At least I can take solace in the fact that when you Google me the first couple of pages are all me baby!  [And yes, I sometimes Google myself when I'm feeling lonely, doesn't everyone..?]

Wow! Wonderus Alice Already Usurps Avatar

At the very end of 2009 a massive deal was made about the first full-3D live-action movie, Avatar.  It's a decent romp but the 3D and graphical effects contribute a lot to making it enjoyable.  Now barely 3 months later, the genius of Tim Burton brings a full 3D film to life with much better effects and imagination (think seriously heavy trip), plus previously absent things like a script and reasonable acting.  To quote Stephen Colbert (talking 'Empire State of Mind' as the new king compared to the previous top dog 'New York, New York'), "you can take that thing [Avatar] and throw it in the trash".  Avatar is not a great movie by any means.  It is entertaining primarily due to its stunning visuals and unique technology.  It has been truly bested on all levels by Alice In Wonderland.  The only tiny issue is a personal one, as near the beginning of the film other characters question 'who is Alice?' and I kept having a non-PG lyric running through my head...  Anyway, it is stunning and why Disney would want this be released on DVD in 12 weeks and so prevent it being on the big screen (and not in Odeons!) for less than the normal 17 week run is baffling, it would not be as much of a must-see in normal 2D (although still probably a little bit better than 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus').

Sky 3D Football Is Better Than Being There!

What was I thinking?  At the end of January I read a leak of the 9 pubs across the UK that were going to show the Man Utd - Arsenal game on Sunday afternoon in 3D, complete with polarising glasses.  I did have an appointment I had to keep and, guessing that it could be duff information, I opted not to go.  Damn.  It turns out it was Belushi's on Market Street that showed the game, apparently on one 42" LG 3D TV.  Anyway, that was then and it completely went out of my mind, even despite recent talk that Sky are launching their 3D channel this Autumn (yep, I know it says April there but the advert I'm getting on to said Autumn).  So, whilst waiting for Alice In Wonderland to start, Sky run (what I believe to be their first 3D adverts) showing Everton in 3D and OMG!  It was incredible!  Better than being in the stands (not that I've ever been to Goodison) as you are so close to the action and as the ball was lofted into the penalty area you became so much more aware of the opportunity as if you had crossed it yourself!  Forget sports in HD, 3D is the only way to go!  Now the only question is can I justify £6,000 for a 42" TV...? :(

Baileys Gold Is New Cream Of Cream Liqueurs

Last night I got to try the "new" Baileys Gold version of the classic Irish Cream.  It was exclusively sold in airports for a trial period last year and I have to say it is actually quite nice and an improvement on the original.  Each of the different 'premium' flavours in it stand out and it has a far more complex taste that the 'classic' edition.  This could signify Diaego concentrating on the classic elements of Baileys, rather than experimenting with awful variations that just don't work, such as with Mint Chocolate and Crème Caramel.
Let's hope this doesn't become another Malibu Lime (where it tests really well and is a great product but gets discontinued!).  On that subject ... Bring Back Malibu Lime!

Helloes Ladies (once) of SNIPEF!

Lock up your daughters (and lock down your IT Systems)... The boys are back in town!  Sadly, the SNIPEF 2010 reunion has a lower turn out than expected!

If Only We Had A Word For 'One In Ten'...

Sadly The Metro has had to go with a wordy headline today, 'Tenth of council jobs on the line'. I guess they needed a word that everyone knew that meant 'one in ten lost' or axed (or killed!). As I've heard it and read it many times, I always thought everyone recognised the word 'decimate'... Hmm, maybe I'm literally a million miles away from the answer!

¡Estoy Muy Impresionado Con O2!

Just because an innovative sub-company of a British institution gets spun off into its own company and then sold to a Spanish giant, doesn't automatically mean things are going to go downhill...  I've been relatively intrepid about likely changes to my mobile coverage and costs since Telefonica took over O2, however none have been revealed (so far).  So last year why Sky started playing silly buggers with their Talk and Broadband packages (basically taking them off the BT newtork to their own new network, so if you ever wanted to leave you would lose service for several days) with the mis-leading promise of faster speeds (but some customers, including me, would actually get a slower speed) but a 75% reduction in download allowance - and of course increased costs(!) I decided to look around for a new provider and O2 won my business (for my 10th year of having ADSL!).  So, after the long-winded preamble how have they impressed me?  This is the email I got a few weeks ago:

We’re sorry but your O2 Home Broadband will be slower than normal between this Saturday 08:00am and Sunday 08:00am. A transport company is doing some major track side maintenance work where we have some cables, which will affect the speed of your broadband service.  Even though this is beyond our control, we’re sorry.

Wow!  Pre-emptively warning me about possible interference in my internet access and it's not even their guys doing the interfering!  ¡Muy impresionado!

Wishing You A Merry Valentine's Day & A Happy New March!

The end of the anti-penultimate day in February and there is a blizzard of snow in the centre of Edinburgh. It's like the good ol' days, at least according to one source who had thick snow some 20+ years ago in the beginning of April!  Chances of that this year...?  Oh yes, taxi!

Almost Got My Ducks In A Row...

Contrary to the ridiculous business expression, ducks don't like lining up in straight rows and they also have a tendancy to move about the place. Maybe it's the snow that has forced them to queue up just for this shot...


Extra prize for anyone who can identify the 'ducks' for me!

Although, now that I think of it, this post could easily be an analogy for my life right now (except for not remembering the names of birds... ;-) !

Mum's The Word For Pre-School Ed-you-kay-shun...

This isn't a top secret revelation, although I do firmly believe the authors would prefer this be kept quiet, but I do have to give credit to my Mother of all people for this posting.  Quite simply Sefton Council (as in Merseyside) have a new leaflet out to tell new parents what grants are available to help their babies get the best head-start in their life-long learning journey.  I think any parent would be happy if their child could read (or spell)...

What Is Real? It Seems Everything On TV Is Fake!

There are many things in life that make me question my beliefs and assumptions about the world.  In the realms of TV, I believed very little of what I saw.  In fact, I should have believed even less as the few things I knew were real ... have turned out to be fake!  The world is not as my TV tells me, locations aren't as they appear and, not in an environmentalist way, the world is green!  Am I just babbling nonsense?  Probably, so watch this video from Stargate Studios and be prepared to never again look at a TV show the same...  Credit to TV Squad for posting this first and me for having the ability to read that post!

Scousers Here, Scousers There, Scousers ... erm Not In Parliament?

Do Labour really not want any MPs in the next parliamentary session? In a relatively safe Labour seat with the main opposition being the Lib Dems, we have a sitting MP who is standing down. This seat is last year's Capital of Culture, and my home town, Liverpool. So which incredible talent do the reach out to as the next candidate? Paul McCartney? Cilla Black? Daniel Craig? Craig Charles??? No. Apparently the Liverpudlian candidate was not good enough for the Labour Party and they went with Luciana Berger. No, not the daughter of Patrick Berger, former Czech Republic and Liverpool FC star, but instead the one from nearby LONDON!
This has caused an outrage! She foolishly agreed to be quizzed by the Liverpool Echo on Liverpool's history and from what I can tell she only managed to name one of The Beatles and has no idea who Bill Shankly was or who performed Ferry Across The Mersey! Aside from countless questions being raised within the Labour Party, they now face a huge threat to their vote share with Comic Actor and famous Socialist Labour Party supporter, Ricky Tomlinson (from nearby Blackpool), trying to stand against her! So come May we can expect Labour to lose, maybe the Socialist Labour Party or Lib Dems to win, but the biggest winner will be David Cameron with a majority one greater than it would have been if sense had of prevailed.

Why Is Michael McIntyre Starring As The Wolfman?

Just back from watching The Wolfman and there are several things that have surprised me about this film.  I believe it has been delayed by many months which it spent in post-production and I'm pleased that this hasn't made it into a long and drawn out film.  Yes, it is a little bit schizophrenic at times, but the acting, the direction, the sets, the special effects and the make up are all very professional.  In fact on the, I'm stunned how they managed to take 21st Century comedy maestro Michael McIntyre and age him slightly to be the lead actor:

The film is quite enjoyable, doesn't bore you at any point and has a nice sprinkling of loud noises / jump out scenes as well as some hardcore gore (similar to Daybreakers in not pulling any punches).  From the opening titles, you realise that this is a remake of a classic Hammer horror film about "The Wolfman".  It's not a serious thriller about werewolves nor a teen flick about love between monsters.  All it tries to do is tell the story of this one Wolfman and it does that pretty well.  That said, there are times especially in the first half hour were the direction and acting comes across as a serious drama or suspense thriller which at the time does confuse you.  When you leave and you recall the opening titles, the main sequence in the middle and the closing scene, you know that it is very good and modern Hammer horror film which does entertain.

Finally ... A Social Network For Bees!

I'm really happy that the human-centric web has finally reached out to our cousins, the delicate bees, and created them their own social network called Buzz (unconnected to the directory service from AT&T).  It seems it's all part of Google's "do no evil" strategy and has nothing to do with facebook or twitter and the on-going battle for the future of mankind (aka the internet).  I went to see what the, erm, hub-bub was all about and low and behold, Google think I'm so important they have created a profile of me (very flattering, much better than being profiled in a serial killer kind of way!).

Happy New Decade With A Grainy Picture!

What happened to January...?  Any way, here's how I welcomed in the new decade, kneeling in the middle of the frozen Union Canal with a glass of champagne in my hind.  Start as you mean to go on...