Skype Me, Baby!

Skype me now!

You're probably saying, "eh?", so let me explain. Skype is this cool little program, that allows you to talk to people over the internet, with your voice and everything. And what's more, it's free! So, if you go to www.skype.com, you can download it, and then you can chat to me by clicking here: Hello!

On the kinkyStereo today: Garbage by Garbage

The Star Wars Marathon!

11.02 - Here we go, kids, the first back-to-back viewing of the classic Star Wars trilogy. I'll keep you posted as we go!

13.04 - A New Hope So Far... Just a small change, but they've finally changed the English writing on the Tractor Beam control panel for the Aurebesh script seen in the rest of the series. A small thing, but it'd been bugging me for a while! The shot of the Landspeeder entering Mos Eisley may have been changed too - it looks a bit less wooden than before!

The major thing is the quality of the picture - good contrast and colours. Ooh, they've sorted out Ben's lightsaber too - looks like both his and Darth's have been re-animated to look brighter and cleaner. Wahey!

13.20 - One Down... Well, that's A New Hope finished. Like I said, no major changes, just a nice clean version, with only one example of matt lines visible. Onwards to the best of the Trilogy...!

14.40 - New Empire Scene... Well, I'd heard the rumours that they were going to drop Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor into Empire, but they've also changed the dialogue somewhat, with the Emperor revealing that it was "the offspring of Anakin Skywalker" who destroyed the Death Star. Vader is unsure how this could be, telling us that he didn't know he had any kids, but the Emperor tells him to "search his feelings"....

A nice little scene to tie things together a bit more, and it adds to the continuity to have McDiarmid reprising his role as the Empereor, as he wasn't in the original version of Empire. And he's sooo evil!

15.10 - Boba's Got A New Voice! Boba Fett's voice has changed! Sounds a lot like Temuera Morrison's voice to me...!

15.52 - Empire Still Rules... Yep, The Empire Strikes Back is still the best of the series. One small thing - the end credits still have Clive Revill as the Voice of the Emperor, even though he's been replaced, and the copyright message only says 1980, 1997, and not 2004 like A New Hope... Has someone made a mistake and not updated them?

Just Jedi to go now...!

16.21 - Jabba's Lost His Subtitles...! I don't know if this is intentional, or an error, but Jabba's lost his subtitles! Most of the time it's not necessary (probably because I know the film inside out), but there are a few times when the Illustrious One's wit and humour are lost to the casual viewer.

Or I may have turned them off somehow.

Ooh, I never noticed Dengar in the palace before...

19.33 - The End of the Saga... Well, that's it, game over! For the most part, Jedi was unchanged, save for the addition of Naboo into the victory celebrations, and dropping Hayden Christiansen in at the end (with his Battle of the Planets haircut...)

So all in all the DVDs are pretty well done. I would have preferred the original versions on there as well as the Special Editions, and perhaps 2 disc sets for each film, with all the original '70s and '80s documentaries, but I'm sure that'll come out in another few years or so...

Aero's finally here!

Well, I've just got a hold of Aero, and even though I haven't got a 5.1 Surround sound system, the CD still sounds lovely and deep and gorgeous! Go get it, you shmoes!

Can't do a proper listen to it at the mo', 'cos I've got bigger fish to fry...

Music and other important stuff...

Is it just me, or is there a lot of good pop music around at the moment? I mean, pure, fluffy, catchy pop? I can't get Annie's "Chewing Gum" out of my head at the moment - and if you know the song, chances are it's in your head too now! Bwah ha ha! And this is the second great pop song Richard X has written/produced this year, after Rachel Stevens's (no relation) "Some Girls" (and now you're humming that one too!)

And that's without mentioning Girls Aloud's "The Show", if only for the line: "Should have known/Should have cared/Should have hung around the kitchen in my underwear, acting like a lady". Pure bloody poetry.

On a similar note, Jean Michel Jarre's Aero comes out on Monday - pity I haven't got a 5.1 surround sound set up yet, so I'll just have to make do with 1.1 stereo. Bah! (BTW, did anyone else see him on BBC's Breakfast the other day? Didn't look well to me - maybe it was just the dead Womble he had on his head...!) If it wasn't clear from the previous post, this is the first album composed from the ground up in surround sound (there have been other surround sound albums, but they were just tweaked stereo), so it should be pretty bizarre to listen to (if you can!)

Battlestar Galactica Trailer

Hurrah, hurrah and thrice hurrah! The new series of Battlestar Galactica is going to be on Sky from October 18th! For those of you who haven't seen the mini-series that came out last year, then you deserve a great big kicking! This is top notch space opera, people!

Ahem. Well, the series is set 40 years on from the last Cylon War, but set at the same time as the original '70s series. Clear? Okay, let me try to explain. The Cylons from the original series are now the old models, and have been replaced by newer models, including ones that look just like humans. The Vipers from the original series are also the old models, having been replaced by swisher, more computer controlled versions. And there the problems start...

The characters are all the same - in name at least. Adama controls the Galactica, his son is Lee "Apollo" Adama (Apollo now being his call-sign), and Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is the Galactica's best pilot. And she's a woman. But she still likes playing cards and smoking cigars.

I have a feeling I've made it all more complicated than it is, so do yourselves a favour and go and buy the DVD of the mini-series. It's only eleven quid or so, and for that you get 3 hours of bloody good TV. If you can't stretch to that, they're repeating the mini-series on Sky One from 14th October. (What do you mean, you haven't got Sky...? Sheesh, some people...!)

And in the meantime, you can get to the trailer for the new series here:

BBC - Cult Television - Galactica trailer

Farscape: The PeaceKeeper Wars

Cool...

Farscape: The PeaceKeeper Wars

"Secretary"

First of all, forget everything you think you know about this film. If you've seen the trailer, then try to erase it from your memory, because this film is so much more than either the press coverage or even the film's own marketing make it out to be.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, a young woman recently released from an institute. Her family life is less than ideal, so Lee harms herself as a release (with a sewing kit, assortment of drill bits and even a freshly boiled kettle).

In an attempt to lift herself from this self-destructive cycle, Lee applies for a job as a secretary in a very small law firm, working for E. Edward Grey (played by James Spader, in his usual James Spader-esque way). Over time, the two become attracted to each other. Grey tells Lee that she will never hurt herself again, and she listens to him. Grey is able to fill in the holes in Lee's life, giving her the discipline and, more importantly, attention she craves, while she can act as an outlet for Grey's more sadistic urges. Surprisingly, although she fulfills the submissive role in the relationship, it is Lee who is much more open to this unusual relationship, and it is her who continually pushes Grey towards some sort of consummation, as he tries to keep his feelings repressed and buried.

Interestingly, as a study of a sadomasochistic relationship, the film never descends into cliché or soft-porn. Instead it treats its characters with dignity and compassion, and encourages their inner demons to come out into the light of day, where they see that they aren't that hideous after all.

If you were to believe the media coverage, you'd think that this film is a dark, perverse and sordid film about a hardcore SM relationship. If you believe the trailer (about 6 versions of which are available on the DVD, with only very minor changes - what is the point?) you'd think it was a wacky screwball rom-com chick-flick which just happens to feature some mild kinky sex and bondage. But this film is far better than either of those viewpoints. It is a dark, but a thoughtful look at a relationship which seems extraordinary, but which actually works in practice. Both James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal (ohmygod she's gorgeous...) are both fabulous in this film, which I heartily recommend you watch, and be encouraged to let out your inner perv. You never know, you might like it. (14/07/04)

Adam and the Ants:"Prince Charming"

In 1981, a young boy was given this album while he was living in Kuwait. Granted, the album was on a very dodgy bootleg cassette (as they all were then), but he played it over and over again. Something in the music stirred something deep inside, and that album became one of that boy's favourites. It was also probably the first album that boy ever owned (we won't mention Shaky by Shakin' Stevens, or The Kids from Fame - well, at least not here).

Fast-forward 23 years (23! Good grief!), and now Prince Charming has been remastered, repackaged and re-released, (as have Dirk Wears White Sox and Kings of the Wild Frontier, with the others to come) along with a few bonus demo tracks. The album itself is just brilliant, from the huge and storming opening track, "Scorpios" with one of the greatest drum sequences in history, through the baroque and quite splendid (and gloriously named) "Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simios", and out to the hot and passionate decadence of "S.E.X." (which I'm amazed still made it onto the bootleg tape in Kuwait). And that's all without mentioning the two most famous tracks on the album, "Prince Charming" and "Stand and Deliver". Who can forget the videos? The Dandy Highwaymen, and Diana Dors doing the "Prince Charming" (brilliantly revived in the latest Pimm's advert), are both iconic moments in pop history.

The remastering has really helped the album, removing all the hiss, and really allowing the incredibly high production values to shine through. The track breaks on the CD have been readjusted from the last CD release (when "Mile High Club" and "Ant Rap" were merged into one track, and the reprise of "Los Rancheros" was given its own track for some reason), so the whole package flows much more seamlessly. The demo tracks at the end of the album, are interesting, as they show how the songs developed, as well as highlighting how much all the production helped the finished product.

Punk? No, not really. But this was probably the first great pop album of the eighties - and that's not a bad thing at all.

"The Fermata": Nicholson Baker

his is a bizarre one, and no mistake. Suppose you had the power to stop time, say, with the click of your fingers. What would you do? Arno Strine has that power, and he uses it to undress women. The Fermata is his attempt to write an autobiography, to tell the world about his ability, and what he does while he is in "the fold" of time. As a concept it's brilliant, but sadly, the concept is fairly much squandered by Baker. Arno is a mass of moral contradictions, happily going around undressing and fondling women, leaving them presents of sex toys in strange places and watching them masturbate while ensconced in their laundry basket, while being disgusted by a man who said that he would happily have sex with these inanimate women if he had Arno's power. Arno, it's fair to say, is obsessed by sex and women. He uses a myriad of newly devised terms for female genitalia and masturbation, some funny, most bizarre. He also uses his "fold-powers" to create works of pornography (or "rot") to leave for unsuspecting women. Baker chooses to devote two chapters to repeating these works of "rot", and seems to get a bit carried away by them.

The concept is squandered because Arno doesn't use his powers for anything useful. Instead, Arno is a quite creepy, sociopathic character, seemingly unable to interact with people in any normal way, preferring instead to stop time in order to devise ways to get his rocks off with them. After all, this is a man who is developing RSI from bashing his bishop too much! What is interesting is the way the Arno devises all sorts of methods for stopping time, from pushing his glasses up his nose, to an elaborate scenario involving a washing machine and a reel of thread.

There was talk of a film being made of The Fermata, but it makes you wonder what sort of film it could be, as there is little in the book, beyond the concept, that would translate well. This book is erotic in places, but leaves you with a strange aftertaste. The best thing about it is that it is thought-provoking, and makes you wonder what you would do if you had the power to stop time. Me? I'd probably go around undressing women... (11/07/04)

Shrek 2

Went to see Shrek 2 yesterday. Pretty good - not as funny or as groundbreaking as the first, but still worth the money. No, probably not worth the money, as it costs so bloody much to go to the cinema these days. I remember going to the Odeon in Swansea for only £1.95 in my student days. (Bloody uncomfortable though, especially if you were in the second screen, where the seats all seemed to be at an angle to the screen...)

£13 for two tickets! I ask you! Still, I'll be doing it again in a couple of weeks, when Spider-Man 2 comes out. Not sure about Thunderbirds, though. The 'birds themselves look bloody good (even though TB2 has got a lardy arse), and I'm not sure about a flying FAB1 that isn't even a Rolls-Royce, but why did they have to get children involved? I know Alan Tracy was annoying in the original series, but did they have to make him an annoying child?

And what's Private Hudson doing in charge of International Rescue? "That's it man, game over. It's game over! What the fuck are we going to do now? Launch Thunderbird fucking One?!?"

Aero

Jarre.net - The Official Jean Michel Jarre Site

"Jean Michel Jarre's new best of-album 'Aero' is scheduled for release on 20 September 2004 and will be released as a normal stereo CD and as an audio DVD containing 5.1 surround sound versions of the songs. The album contains newly recorded versions of Jean Michel's best compositions as well as three brand new tracks. The album was recorded by Jean Michel Jarre, Francis Rimbert & Patrick Pelamourgues. Joachim Garraud took care of the mixing and audio optimisation.

Tracklist:

Aero Opening - Scene 1
Oxygene 2 - Scene 2
Aero - Scene 3
Equinoxe 8
Oxygene 4 - Scene 4
Souvenir of China - Scene 5
Aerology - Scene 6
Equinoxe 3 - Scene 7
Equinoxe 4 - Scene 8
Last Rendez-Vous - Scene 9
Zoolookologie - Scene 10
Aerozone - Scene 11
Magnetic Fields 1 - Scene 12
Chronologie 6
Rendez-Vous 4"

Bloody hell! Why does it have to be the same day the the Holy Trilogy is released? I'll have to save up even more. Or just stick them both on my credit card...

I'm taking the day off too! Lots of popcorn, and all three DVDs back to back. Bliss.

Back to my old ways...

Well, I couldn't get rid of that A character thing, so I decided to go back to the old HaloScan comments thing.

I've just realized that the reason I keep redesigning the website, is that it stops me from actually writing new and interesting stuff. So, instead of writing the things that fly around in my head, I decide to design a new logo, or change the name of something (again). And it's starting to drive me mad! I've just finished reading M.J. Simpson's biography of Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker (quite good, worth a read if you're at all interested in the man, but I think I preferred Neil Gaiman's Don't Panic), and he was the master of doing anything but writing, but he found writing to be quite an arduous and painful experience. I don't. I'm just bloody stupid, or lazy. I live in fear of the day I might actually get something finished. I enjoy writing, I love getting swept up in the world's that I can create, in making the characters do whatever I want them to do (sometimes they fight back, and go wandering off on tangents I hadn't even seen...) It's just that I have this big problem about disciplining myself to sit there and actually put it down on paper.

I'm about a third of a way through a novel (well, I've written over 25,000 words by my estimate), and I'm making myself write it out longhand, and I will make sure that I won't stick a word of it into a computer until I've finished the first draft. Because I know that if I start to type it out, I'll go off on another tangent, doubt what I've written before, and change it, when I've written some perfectly good stuff already. I've seen a few things in what I've written already that will need changing, but I've been able to resist the temptation to try and sort them out so far. They're not big important plot points, just small things that would make the story better.

It's the same with my websites. Only worse! Instead of writing articles, I'll mess around with the design. And this has stopped me writing the stuff I want to write. For example, I went to see the Manics a year and a half ago, and was absolutely blown away, and really inspired to write an article, not just about the gig, but about my unusual appreciation of the band - the short version is that I've loved them since they started, completely missed and still don't rate The Holy Bible (a sacrilegious thing to say amongst the Manic-devotees) and really like their post-Richey stuff, putting me in both camps of Manic fans. I don't know every song off by heart, in fact, I've got some strange sort of block when it comes to remembering their lyrics. And, as I'm almost totally apolitical, I really like one of the more political bands around... Sheesh. The point is, I never got around to it. The same goes with films and books and so on. This site was meant to be a way for me to tell the world what I think about things. But then I think, what the hell difference does it make? Who's actually going to read what I have to say? Are my opinions worthwhile? And then it all descends into a cycle of self-doubt and anguish.

And then I go off and design a new logo...

Kylie Doll!!!

Gimme gimme gimme!!!!!

Kylie shop - the official Kylie Minogue online shop

The End of an Era

Well, that's it folks. Last night, the final episode of Angel was shown on Sky One. For the first time in 8 years, there will be no more stories from the Buffy-verse. And while the final episode was fabulous, the last season was a bit strange. I know that they knew they were going to get cancelled from quite early on in the season, but it still seems that it was all a bit directionless. Possibly a lot of that is due to trying to deliver more stand-alone episodes to attract more casual viewers, but after the huge ongoing plot arcs of previous seasons, it all seemed a little strange. The Big Bad didn't really pop up until a few episodes from the end of the series, and then was dealt with quite quickly, and almost effortlessly. (I don't want to say too much, in case I give away some spoilers... What do you think this is? SFX? ;-) )

I hope Joss Whedon gets back onto the small screen soon, after working on the Firefly movie. Even if there are no more series in the Buffy-verse, we need him to be giving us TV of such a great quality as he has been. OK, he can have a bit of a holiday first, but then he's got to get back on the horse...!

And Enterprise finished this week as well. And by golly, what a blinding season it's just had! The whole Xindi/Expanse storyline just kept getting better and better. Totally blew anything that Voyager ever did out of the water. The new executive producer, Manny Coto, certainly shook things up a lot, and created some great moments. And as for the cliff-hanger ending... What the f***?! If it doesn't get renewed next season, then there's something wrong with the US TV networks... Oh, wait, they cancelled Angel, didn't they? Oh dear...

The Clock Is Ticking...

Yep, the countdown has started. Well, it could have started at any point, but, well... Look, the new Star Wars film comes out in exactly one year. It has been confirmed that Episode III will be released on May 19th, 2005. What it's going to be called is another question. The papers were all full of it being called "Birth of the Empire", but then the official Star Wars website www.starwars.com "accidentally" said it would be called "The Creeping Fear", but then it was April 1st.

Anyway, I'm excited. This will be the BIG one, the one where it all kicks off - the big Anakin/Obi-Wan showdown, the death of Padmé, the birth of Luke and Leia (though obviously not in that order...), and the moment we've all been waiting for, the moment when Anakin becomes Vader. I personally hope it's the last scene of the film - just imagine Vader's theme thundering out in glorious Dolby Digital, the sound of his breathing, and the first shot of that cool helmet.

Um, that sounded a bit crap (and a little bit suspect...) You know what I mean. I hope.

Just as long as they don't balls it all up with too much CGI and some crappy slapstick moments... You know who you are, Jar-Jar Binks... Don't make us come down there....

Until then, though, we've got to all be content (heck, ecstatic) with the release of the Classic Trilogy on DVD on September 20th. Finally we'll be able to see A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in glorious, pin-sharp DVD-ovision! Of course, these will be the Special Editions released a few years back, as George Lucas has decided these are the "correct" versions of the films. I personally think they should have released them in dual-format, like they have done with the Alien Quadrilogy, so you can decide which version you want to watch. On the plus side, there are rumours that the nasty CGI Jabba in A New Hope has been replaced with the smoother version from The Phantom Menace, and that Ian McDiarmid has re-recorded the Emperor's scene in Empire, just to keep things nice and contiguous.

Happy St. George's Day!

Well, yes, I'm very pround to be English, so I don't feel it's a bad thing to celebrate St. George's Day. If the Irish can celebrate St. Patrick's Day in every single corner of the known universe (especially in the US, where of course, every single person is Irish!), then why can't we celebrate our own patron saint? So get your flags out and celebrate! (Drinking warm beer is obviously optional, and we don't condone that sort of thing here!)

The Public Face of a Private Grief

If any of you have seen the papers today, then you'll have seen the pictures of Gloria Hunniford at her daughter, Caron Keating's funeral. Now, I understand that such things as this are news-worthy, but I don't believe that we should have to share in a very private time for her family in such an explicit way. The pictures of Gloria showed a poor mother who has lost her daughter, and was absolutely heart-broken, and yet the papers show it as if it's yet another picture of Jordan getting her over-exposed chest out again.

As someone who has gone through such a loss, and has watched his family deal with their grief, I think it's absolutely disgusting to have it splashed over the tabloids like that. I think something so private should stay that way, regardless of how famous you are.

Karma (Again!)

See, exactly my point. On Wednesday I went to see Duran Duran. Good Karma.

On Wednesday, Caron Keating died. Bad Karma.

On Wednesday, I found out that Disney were bringing out a film based on Chicken Licken. Not much harm in that, you might think, but me and a couple of hugely talented friends were just about to start work on our own Chicken Licken film. I'd written the script, and they were getting all geared up to start the artwork and pre-production. Bad Karma.

Do they balance out, do you think?

The Wild Boys are Back!

When I was younger, one thing that really pissed me off was the fact that I would probably never get to see the original Duran Duran line-up performing live. After Live Aid, both Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor got fed up and left, leaving Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon and John Taylor. They carried along for a while, being joined by Warren Cuccurullo, who left a couple of years ago, quickly followed by John Taylor. It all seemed as if it was all over...

And then they all announced they were getting back together! They recorded a load of new songs, and played a few gigs in the USA, to huge acclaim. And this week, they started their sell-out run of shows in the UK... and I got to see them at Wembley! Hurrah!

I could bore you all by writing a full-on gig review, but I won't. I'll just say that Goldfrapp were absolutely brilliant in support, even if most of the people there didn't give a fig. Damn, that girl can sing! (BTW, I heartily recommend their Black Cherry album.)

And the boys themselves were brilliant, playing most of their big hits, some of their smaller hits and some quite fab new material. They all played their little hearts out for nearly 2 hours! All the crowd danced and sang along for nearly the whole night (especially to Notorious and Is There Something I Should Know?), and a thoroughly good time was had by all! If you have the means, I heartily recommend a visit. They rock!

So, there you go. If you're very lucky, sometimes dreams can come true! (And I heard my favourite ever song (The Reflex) played live. Karma's a good thing sometimes!

Caron Keating

I'd just like to do a quick obituary for the wonderful Caron Keating, the former Blue Peter presenter who sadly died this week. Caron Keating, you may remember, was the Irish presenter (daughter of Gloria Hunniford) who wore some very interesting clothes (I even think she once wore a rubber dress on the programme...!) and, to be honest, I had a huge crush on her. I even wrote into the programme and told her she was the best presenter since Sarah Greene(!). I got a signed photo in return, so my embarrassment wasn't in vain!

Caron died from breast cancer, which she had been battling for seven years. She leaves behind a husband and two children. We here at the KinkyMachine will miss her.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'd just like to say a big thank-you to everyone for all the cards and presents for my birthday. I'll still accept them if you haven't sent any already! We had a really good night at D-Tapas in Chelmsford last night, and it was really good to see everyone again.

It's still quite strange to see the number 30 on all the cards. I'm not sure I'm ready for all that grown-up business! Still, I'm sure I'll get over it.

Three Nights in Lyon and the Great Question of Karmic Balance...

So there we were, at half past six in the morning in Terminal 2 of Heathrow, having got up at stupid o'clock to get there. I needed some credit for my mobile, so I went into Boots to get a e-top up thingy for £20. The girls swiped the card and then my debit card. She gave me my receipt and I walked off while The Wife got credit for her phone. And then she said that my credit hadn't gone through, so she gave me back £20 in cash, and to try again later. The Wife got her credit without problem, so we went off to check in. And then I checked my balance and found the credit had gone through. So then you're faced with the big dilemma aren't you? Do you fess up, or do you just slink off and hope no-one realises? Well, as you can imagine, we scarpered off through check-in!

Lyon is gorgeous (once we'd worked out where the hotel was - it comes in handy that The Wife is fluent in French, and likes talking to Gendarmes...). I might upload some of the pictures I took if I can do it easily... BTW Photoshop Elements Panorama generator is pretty darn cool...

The food in Lyon is... unique. For some reason, they seem to like eating the parts of animals that other people think are best left to the actual animal - ie. internal organs, heads, feet... One night we decided to try some of the more palateable stuff. I had snails to start - they're not actually bad. All I could really taste was garlic and parsley. And then I had this sausage thing called andouiette, which is made up from suspect bits of pork, and tastes pretty good, once you get past the smell when you cut into it... Boiled cabbage, or something a touch more... flatulent. Still, it's all covered in a delicious creamy mustard sauce, and we ate like pigs.

We also discovered the delights of kirs - creme de cassis and white wine. So, as you can imagine, we HAD to buy a bottle of cassis to bring home. And the karmic balance of the universe swung our way again. The cassis cost about 12 euro (still keep calling them francs, but then so did most of the people in Lyon. I suppose we'd still say 5 quid if we had to join the euro-zone), and we paid with a 20 euro note... and then got about 12 euros change. Wahay!

It rained all day on the Sunday, and snowed on the Monday, so I suppose the karmic balance swung back the other way. Oh well, you can't have it all!

Thoughts on Turning Thirty

Yes, it's true. The big 3-0 approaches in less than three weeks. I can't say I'm that bothered, I just can't believe I've been on the planet that long! I mean, I kind of thought I'd have everything sorted by the time I was thirty, and I now feel that I've only just got started. Still, I've always felt that my life would get on the right track in my thirties, that I wasn't really cut out to be a teenager or a twentysomething, so I'll have to wait and see!

Everyone keeps asking me what I want, but I haven't really got a clue. I'm hoping to start an iPod fund (I'll settle for a mini), but I think people want to buy me a "proper" present. And then they get annoyed when I can't tell them what I want. I've vaguely said that I want some "art", but don't really know what that means. Some big framed movie posters would be cool - like old French movies, or classic Sci-Fi - Metropolis would be excellent. I'd also like weird sculpture-type things. I suppose art is a bit of a unique taste thing so I'm not really surprised people don't know what to get me. I've got a wish-list on Amazon.co.uk, so if you really want to get me something, you might get some ideas there.

Went to see Bird with a Pearl Necklace this weekend. Oh, wait, that's not the title, is it? (Though there'll hopefully be the porno version out soon!) Well, I'd been hogging the cinema choices recently (2 lots of The Matrix and LOTR:ROTK) and The Wife was getting a bit miffed. She'd read the book last year and loved it, and Colin "Britches" Firth was in it, so I agreed to go with her (not because Mr. Firth was in it, but in the spirit of marital harmony).

So anyway, I thought it was pretty good. It looked fantastic, and Scarlett Johansson was fabulous (and damn good looking too). I felt that it could have been a bit more erotic, but The Wife said that I was wrong. And I probably was. I just felt the sexual tension could have been more... tense. And will someone tell me what else Cillian Murphy has been in?

The New and Improved kinkyMachine

Look, one day I will stop arseing around with the design and actually write something. Just not today.

And yes, I do know this Blog isn't formatted the same as the rest of the site. I'm working on it.

It's just that I've nearly finished Ratchet and Clank. I highly recommend it to you if you are in posession of a PS2. It is so choice.