billion, futurology and socks

hello there

well, this is peculiar. or maybe not.

i was in one of them magisterial  pound shops earlier today, right, purchasing some Vimto and chewing gum for the quieter moments of a day at verk where i am unable to show off how class i am at all that quitting / cutting down considerably at all that smoking stuff. i spotted, at a cost of £1 for that is the way of this emporium, a DVD that was called 100 Million BC. i thought that must be, then, a bit like One Million BC, only obviously 100 times better. or even, if you like, ten thousand times better than 10,000 BC.

look, it has a massive dinosaur thing on the cover, as well as helicopters and sh!t. i figured for £1 how far wrong could i go with it? 

i have not watched it yet as such, so i cannot be certain, but imdb seem to suggest that "quite far" is how far wrong i could go with it. also, the last time i paid a pound sterling for a DVD from that shop it didn't go too well. at all.

it was only after i bought it that i noticed it features the one out of The Blue Lagoon that isn't Brooke Shield, or whoever it was. that's bad, that is. in casting stakes, that's like saying "when we set out to make this film, we did so with the intention of attracting a Busey - any Busey - to be in it, and we were happy to accommodate any and all script and plot changes that whichever Busey we got wanted to be in place".

will i watch it? goodness yes. i have a proud, somewhat prestigious track record for having a collection of quality films, but wasting my time watching rubbish. i shall have a gander, and review it here.

speaking of reviews, Futurology, as purchased on the day of release. nice one.

is it any good? yes, yes it is. to me it sounds rather heavily influenced by 79 - 82 Stranglers, in which the anger of the band was very much present but was also giving way to the simply awesome things one could do with a bass guitar in the quieter moments of studio time.

yeah, this is my mp3 thing being charged up and having the album transferred over to it. i suppose i could have just bought the download thing of it, but i like the CDs, and one day when i am grown up i will have my stag set up and will listen to the CD properly. for now, though, the mp3 player will serve me well enough.

highlights of the album? hard to say, really. no, really it is - i have no clue what the song titles are, as i don't sit staring at the mp3 player as it plays. i think my fellow Manics fans have been getting excited about Let's Go To War, which is very much a fair enough thing to do. there is not, so far as i have heard, a bad track on the bastard.

Walk Me To The Bridge, the sort-of single from it, is probably the outstanding moment, but don't let that observation fool you into thinking there's anything bad. i think the only track i have skipped was on the demo disc ("folder"), don't remember which one but when it became clear that Wire, the tall lanky one, was singing it. he is a class bass player and he is really, really good at saying stupid things at gigs, but the chap should not be allowed to sing. well, William's Last Words was good. and Dying Breeds. but other than that, no.

on the demo note, is this "deluxe" 2 CD edition worth it for the extra £5 or £6? not especially. the demo recordings are OK, but won't get played much. infuriatingly, however, the three new tracks on the end of the demo versions are quite good. i would say, if you are considering it, buy the standard edition of it now for about £10, then pick up the deluxe when it is down to £5 to clear stock in 4 or so months time. 

socks? socks. 

i had reason to go along to Sports Direct today. i love this store, as you know, for every penny i spend there gets given by the proprietor to the so-called "cockney mafia" that are apparently intent on destroying Newcastle United. i don't actually think they are, but i am also prepared to gamble coins of money on it on the off chance that indeed they are trying to do just that.

anyway, i needed to get some things for the boys, which i did. they also had some socks on sale which claimed that they would fit me, so i got them too.

and that's probably that for the socks element of this post. i have not had a pair of them on as such as yet, but i am ever the optimist and hope they will fit in a might fine way, going on to serve their purpose thereafter.

so, this 100 Million BC business. here is the back of the DVD box, or if you like a segment or highlight of the back of the box. which, in fairness, makes it look like it might be quite class.

i am pretty sure this will turn out to be one of the worst films i have ever seen. so far one of the best and most positive comments i have seen of it has been that it features "unrealistic dinosaurs". oh well, i will let you know.

anyway, that will do.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!