season end

heya

and so, more or less, another season (series) of football has drawn to a close. in England, that is, look you see. well, sure, there's a couple more games to go, but the league bit is done. 

undoubtedly one will, if inclined, find all sorts of reports, comments and verdicts on the season. this isn't really that kind of post. instead i am here to congratulate, if not quite celebrate, a "win" that has been surprisingly absent from much coverage. 

quite a few go on about the "big six" of the dominant premier league, although recently people have postulated as to if it's now a "big seven" with the sudden success of Newcastle. perhaps it would make more sense to keep it as a "big six" and exclude the lowest finisher of the traditional (for the last few years) six, Chelsea i believe, and have Newcastle in their place. but then, as it happens, really there's only an actual "big four", with the four (4) clubs making up that number being ones what the legendary Joe Cole played for at some point. 

perhaps the most baffling aspect of the season gone is the proliferation of Joe Cole as some sort of sage. various broadcasters have got him in, and i think one or two newspapers (and related periodicals) run articles based on the views of Joe Cole. surely, i thought, a natural extension of this, and the bewildering determination have such a thing as a match declared a Joe Cole Derby, would be to have the Joe Cole League. only four (4) clubs in the present premier league qualify for it, so they are the big four i suppose. 

here, then, in no particular order, are the results of the "big four" matches which could in some way claim to be that apparently most desirous of things, a Joe Cole Derby - 

yes, i did give (brief) consideration to writing them up on a Commodore 64 emulator, but frankly i am not that bothered or interested. but still, somehow i had the time and inclination to get these results together to share here. 

further, showing i still have all the numerical, mathematical skills what came with a Grade C at GSCE in maths (please stop calling it "math", Americans, it is maths), here you go, i worked out the Joe Cole League Table for the season too - 

congratulations, then, to Liverpool for being crowned Joe Cole League Champions. and they did this undefeated, which is to say they did not (unless i missed a result) get beaten off of any other team what had once fielded Joe Cole in the premier league. wow. despite having a relatively poor season Chelsea did a decent job of trying to honour Joe Cole. and West Ham finish bottom having scored fewer goals than Aston Villa. but the bottom two should be ashamed of themselves. still, no one finished the Joe Cole seasons without at least 1 (one) win. 

do the winners of the Joe Cole League get a trophy, or special badge or other such presentation thing? not that i am aware of, no. perhaps he could be guest of honour at Liverpool's first home game of the season next season, with a bit of an announcement that he's there because Liverpool won the Joe Cole League in a most impressive fashion. push comes to shove i could probably knock up some sort of poster of congratulations on MS Paint. 

oh, certainly i am aware of there are other players turned pundits i could have done a league for. i suppose the most obvious would be Lineker, but he gets paid loads to sit and ask Alan or Ian what they thought of a goal for an hour each week, so he can calculate an Everton, Spurs and Leicester league if he wishes. on that note, a Shearer one consisting of Newcastle and Southampton could be done, as well as a Wright one of Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham and Nottingham Forest. knock yourself out if you wish to calculate such for yourself, for i am already on the Joe Cole bandwagon. 

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

justice must be seen to be done

oh, hello

quite to my surprise it is so that The Viz actually bothered to remember to publish the verdict off of one of their crown court cases. perhaps more than me have sent them complaints in this regard, or they simply had space for it, look you see. 

the more regular (or frequent) sort of reader here may recall that, at the start of this very month, i brought forward news of the cheap pens what i got in return for sitting on the jury. in this particular instance it was so that Jacob Rees Mogg (that one) was on trial, stood accused of falsely placing a reduced to clear sticker on an item so as to get it cheaper. yes, this was a rather different sort of trial to the usual in The Viz, as normally it is cases such as someone trying to bum a crocodile what gets heard in the court. 

as you might be able to see (if you squint and hold it to the light) in the above, presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, the verdict was surprisingly one of not guilty. well, blimey. one would have assumed that most readers of The Viz were if not left leaning then inclined to simply vote guilty the moment they were informed it was pretty much any member of the present conservative party on trial. so, i guess, applause are due to all who sat on the jury and reached a balanced verdict, even if i disagree with it. unless, of course, Jacob Rees Mogg got loads and loads of his supporters to write in and declare him not guilty. 

for the sake of making this a formal report on the result, the verdict was published in 326 of The Viz, which is prescribed as the June and July one. of 2023. except the back says the next one comes out at the end of June. oh. as it happens, this has been a particularly pleasing edition, with most of it being very funny. sadly no Drunken Bakers, but then the only total waste of space was the disappointing and quite depressing return of "Wee Radge Joe". it's right crap, not funny and a waste of ink. 

some may (might) well query that "48 to 52" split of the vote. it does, at first, seem to be identical to another poll, the details of which escape me for the moment. 

undoubtedly they will have more trials in The Viz, for little of this Fulchester place they chronicle suggests it will ever be a crime or incident free utopia. indeed they also appear to have stopped or otherwise ceased to beg for sponsors, so one can hope (and trust) they are on a bit more stable ground these days. 

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

prime saturation point

hello there

i appreciate this post is very much one of no need. but then, i suppose, all that i bother to put here could be spoken of the same, look you see. no matter, i press on. 

as to why this one likely needs not to be, it's all to do with that darned "prime" drink. you know, the one off of them kids what do the videos and that on the internet, but also i think at least one of them routinely does that thing where you can end up with your head kicked in, kickboxing or something. 

this drink caused quite a fuss when it was first launched, what with shortages and quasi riots at shops which had the temerity, bravery and nerve to stock it. mostly those what did buy it at a retail price (so i am led to believe) of £2 or so just tried to sell it on for considerable profit. like, for instance, all them suspicious shops down at Piccadilly Circus, London (init) what had mountains of the stuff yet seemed unable to shift it at £12 (!) a go. 

most, if not all, of the fuss appears to have died down now. either everyone got bored of trying to get it without being ripped off (not easy), or people actually tasted it and it possibly occurred to them that it's not too bad a drink but really, really, really (really) not worth the fuss. i base this on the fact that i was able to procure bottles of it for my sons without even trying. by that i mean it was just sat there, or at least four (4) of the variations were, in regular shops. 

for those for some reason using this as a buying guide, i picked up some at no less than W H Smith, who(m) of course were charging £2.99 a bottle. that's quite fitting for their usual pricing vs every other shop. by chance i went into a Sainsbury's and they also had it, for the not unreasonable markup price of £2.25 a bottle. with interest the staff told me they had very little interest in it, and had sold unexpectedly little, or if you are one of them types "fewer", as to what they had imagined. sill, W H Smith were selling unrestricted amounts, which meant staff off of the nearby McDonald's were buying it by the bag load, and Sainsbury's had a limit of three (3) per patron. 

no, it (the drink) in itself isn't anything spectacular. i am unaware of what it claims to be inside, other than of course "the greatest source of hydration" (which water may wish to have a word about), but it seems to be just slightly, moderately flavoured coconut water. yet, if that is so, full credit to these lads for what they gone done, for their efforts to put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up appear to be much more better than my own. 

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

on our way home

howdy pop pickers

no, as it happens, i wasn't there. offers were made, look you see, but i declined. all of it felt quite strange, somewhat dislocating and my destiny. oh, that of which i speak is of the entirely unexpected and ultimately quite confusingly brief (for now) reunion of one of my most beloved bands of all time, the great Frankie Goes To Hollywood. 

when the rumours commenced of it being so, i went no, surely not. they simply, really don't, as a collective (although on an individual basis it's different), get along. also, due to the infamously sided towards the label record deal they signed, any sort of reunion would likely cost them more than was brought in, making certain other parties even richer off their art. but within just a few weeks north of a month, it was indeed a done deal - Frankie were to be back together, "performing" at the opening concert for Eurovision, being held in their home town of Liverpool. where just the one of them, Nasher, still remains a resident. hey ho, it's not like any Beatles live in Liverpool still. 

certainly i was, to put it (exceptionally) mildly, excited and interested. but then details emerged. this was not to be a Frankie Goes To Hollywood concert, per se. no. they were to be doing one (1) song, in the form of Welcome To The Pleasuredome, and it would be live vocals over a backing tape. oh. well, if we are fair, the latter is understandable based on how quickly this all came to be. i had precisely no, as in zero, interest in the other acts "performing". despite the kind offers from at least two friends, and yes there is some surprise in me having so many, i declined to go. destiny surely intended for someone other than moi to have the chance. i, after all, saw them in 1987. for decades there have been fans just as devout as me yet never so fortunate, whatever ticket i may have used was surely meant for them, to see the impossible become real. 

it all looks like my chums, and Frankie fans i know of who came from far to be there for it (a big shout out to the one from America) had a sensational time. most got to meet 80% of the band, and you can guess the 20% who(m) did not hang around to meet and greet. but no, je ne regrette rien, i don't believe i should have been there. 

fascinating reviews and reports from it. comments from the crowd for this Eurovision launch party have been sensational to the point of inspired. one or two commented that the Frankie fans appeared to all be quite "a bit rowdy". no kidding. the single best comment i saw, presumably from someone there purely for the not so covert ethos of all things Eurovision, was one who complained "some of them [the Frankie fans] clearly weren't even gay". i was not aware such was a prerequisite for Frankie fans or for the Eurovision itself. being a fan of both, i don't believe i am gay, but haven't checked my passport for a while, so who knows. still, shout out for the unusual reverse prejudice, no matter how innocent. 

easily the most baffling aspect of it all was the abject, surprising lack of coverage (or interest) in it all off of the BBC. sure, the same night as the gig they had long since already gone big on planned coverage of the concert in celebration of the coronation of HMKC3(PO). you would have thought they might, especially considering (a) how much they have rammed Eurovision down everyone's throats and (b) exactly how much of a big f*****g deal this reunion was news wise, have put it on a different channel or at the least broadcast it on that iPlayer they advertise every 15 minutes, but no. instead they showed limited highlights the next day. 

some have questioned their choice of a one and only song to perform. realistically i doubt there's any of the others they could have done. for a start, well, let's not forget why, exactly, Eurovision is being held in Liverpool instead of Ukraine, so that's Two Tribes off the list. indeed Relax may have been appropriate for all sorts of reasons, but one feels that, individually and all together, they tire of being linked with just that one song, as proud of it as they may be. the most obvious would probably have been to do The Power Of Love, but that famous string arrangement might have seen the band stood around doing nothing. one suspects that a back up plan, had a reunion not been possible, might have been to have just Holly doing that one. 

as good (no, great) as they were, any of the three (3) singles off of their second album, Liverpool, probably would not have gone down so well. so, thus, or therefore, by default we are left with their 4th single which should have been number one but was blocked by despised and disgraced war criminal phil collins, which is also the name of their sensational debut album. which celebrates it's 40th anniversary next year, and if they can all get on might be a thing to celebrate with a far more expansive reunion. 

just why, if we shall never know the how, did all of them agree to this? for most of the band it would have been an immediate yes. the trick, or key, would always be Holly, though. he was absent from the ill-fated but not disastrous attempt to get back together in the early 2000s. let me not sound too cynical or presumptuous, but how handy on the timing, for just a day (or so) after this reunion (and the inevitable headlines) Holly announces a quite rare pair of live shows (solo), which of course sold out by all reports. indeed i should be at one of them. 

reviews have been pretty much unified in celebrating the performance, in particular the buzz and excitement caused by it all. but then speak of the frustration that it was so bewilderingly short. also some, with possibly a fair dose of truth to it, speculated that five or so minutes was the maximum the five of them could be together without a fight breaking out. calls for more are certainly there, but shall they be heeded, and will there be enough interest for them to get along with each other enough for some more fuller shows? remains to be seen. 

yes, it remains so that this is a century i don't particularly understand or care for. it is, be fair, meant as an era for my children and their generation to do with what they will. but still, so far it is a century, or time, which has delivered two impossibles - a Stone Roses reunion and now an actual proper Frankie reunion, or if you wish to be pedantic a second Frankie reunion. not sure how long, exactly, i shall be part of this century, but it does seem to have things of interest now and then. 

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

bulb survival

greetings

well, it's more or less time to do the usual, somewhat annual, celebration of my one particular lightbulb. this is a story which started here, and has now reached its sixth (6th) year, look you see. for those keen to see more of the history, i think other links can be found here. for some inexplicable reason the original has had quite a lot of reads or "hits" but i suspect this is down to people looking for the energy company of similar, as in same, name. 

rather famously i was warned, initially, not to use this bulb. no good, surely, could come from willingly sending potentially dangerous electricity into a one (1) pound purchase off of Poundland. back when, of course, they actually sold things for £1. this bulb, i was warned, would fairly obviously and relatively instantly set fire to any dwelling i used it in, taking me with it. one would think the latter part of that would be reason enough to encourage me to do so, but no matter. 

avid, regular followers of the plight of my bulb might be a bit surprised to see the above. that's my somewhat shiny new bedside lamp, as it happens. indeed a tragedy befell the old lamp, which i shall get to momentarily. 

provenance and similar matters (or concerns) appear to be of interest to some. with that in mind, i went and purchased this brand new bedside lamp for my place of exile off of Boyes. the cost was £8 flat, which is kind of agreeable. my previous one cost somewhere south of that, but times, the world and the economy have changed somewhat since then. not all for the better. 

just what happened to my original bedside lamp? it got busted. quite sad about it really, as it was clearly fragile but had survived a change in life and place of living. but, as you can see in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode (which nicely hides any lack of dusting) above, it is no more. 

exactly what happened to it? a perfect storm of misfortune. i was going to reach into my nearby (and only) wardrobe to retrieve an item, i believe a new towel, when my right arm drifted downwards, connecting with the shade on the lamp. this was apparently with more force than i was aware of possessing, for it hammered the shade down into the ceramic base, shattering it like so many of my dreams, hopes and aspirations have been shattered before it. oh, well. 

by chance, illustrated in the above for you, the bulb itself somehow survived this severe trauma. so all i really needed was a new lamp, which i went off and got. except, of course, for the fact that the bulb has been somewhat disappointing these last six (6) years, with whatever aesthetic value it held on a whim purchase back then long since being forgotten in the face of just how little light it gives off. 

for some reason some of you may wish for a bit of "animated gif" business of the broken lamp, just before it was disposed of as (relatively) responsibly as i could. if that's you, then behold and of course enjoy the bit just below this. 

speaking of responsible disposal, the wrapping (or packaging) what my new lamp came in. obviously it was so that some was required to keep it safe and as damage free as possible. to this end. there was a sturdy, easy to recycle (or throw away) chunk of cardboard protecting the business end. but, also, a good deal of plastic and cellophane wrapping. 

how much of them latter two? well, have a look. the scale does not lie. 

no, yes, you are seeing that right (if you are looking), an entire 16 (sixteen) grams of plastic and cellophane i weighed off of it. quite a bit of that, to be fair, would be the protective cap thing on the plug, and no i did not weight that separately. this seems quite a lot. 

whereas i am not entirely sure, and have no facts or evidence (as usual) to substantiate it, i am quietly confident that, if disposed of in an irresponsible way (which of course i would never do), it could cause the death of at least 7 or maybe eight dolphins, or similar sized forms of aquatic life. obviously here i might be tempted to go on a rant and ask how is it my fault that supposedly clever dolphins have remained stupid enough to keep eating the stuff, but let me not upset anyone. 

my choice of this lamp wasn't entirely financially based, but yes, it was the cheapest. actually i rather liked the predominantly wood one they had for a price £4 north of this one, but i hadn't done any measurements or similar, and to my mind it looked like it would be a trifle too large. for the same price that i paid for this one they had a similar but different model. the navy blue shade on that was, to be honest, more appealing than the grey here, but i just didn't like the gold base on it. here the grey shade is off set by a sensible silver base. let it not be said i am a complete (or totes) fashion disaster. 

one more look at the bulb both in its new home and in action? and further a view of it not in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode? sure. 

right, well, there you go for another year. a challenge, i suppose, is seeing if moi, the bulb and the lamp all manage to survive to do this around the same time next year. maybe. who knows, it could all be happening in another time, another place. 

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

classic c cinema

hello there

it was not so long ago (Christmas, look you see) that i gone done watched three all time greats of cinema which happened to (kind of) all have titles which commenced with the letter "c". this is particularly true of some two thirds of the titles if you are inclined to neglect the "the" aspect of them. 

now, or the day today when this got gone done published, seems like as much of an appropriate time to give a cursory glance of each and wonder which, if any, might be the best of them. for clarity, or the sake of it, the films in question are Convoy and, of course, both of the first two (i think they did a third) films from the expanded universe of Cannonball Run. 

yes, as you have perhaps (or possibly) worked out, my most recent viewings of these films was on the fancier version of video, which is blu ray disc. well, of course in this brave new world we have an even more fancier version, something called "4k", but i really (really) cannot be @rsed "upgrading" yet again. and it was very much at the behest of my brother that i ended up with these three in this quite good, not too expensive format. 

with regards to, or in respect of, costs and provenance, all three (3) were purchased off of that great big virtual car boot sale of the internet. the bay of e. as to the level of my investment, well, specific fisca details would be frightfully vulgar, but i don't think i laid out much north or south of £20.

rather likely that what little i have to say on each of these films is nothing new, but Convoy. this film is particularly excellent if you happen to like big massive trucks. or, in fairness, also bent, corrupt police officers. should your preference be for loads and loads of trucks driving across America (where else) and being chased by bent coppers, well, this is the film for you. 

certainly i do quite like this one. not as much as my brother, but no one on the planet loves the film as much as he does. this much is true, at least, of the cast and (in particular) crew, who(m) from what i can gather spent most of their time making this movie trying to get fired off it. strange people, them that work on films. at first they seem to struggle to get jobs, and when they have them they complain about getting them. most peculiar. 

you would think that the first Cannonball Run motion picture would be my favourite, since it has Sir Roger Moore in it. except he's just billed as Roger Moore, as he didn't have his prestigious knighthood when he gone done this. but they could have gone and edited the titles to reflect that he is now Sir Roger Moore when they "remastered" it (or whatever) for the blu ray release. also Glass Eye is exceptional in it, too. 

unlike reports off of Convoy, quite clearly everyone had fun making Cannonball Run. well, at least most of the time. everything about it suggests the idea was to make a funny, entertaining film by having immense fun doing it all. 

generally, or in general, Cannonball Run II gets poor reviews. which is baffling, as it is also ludicrously fun entertainment. sure, it lacks Sir Roger, and who knew something with Tony Danza in it would be really quite funny, but it is. also Mr Sinatra is in it, and from what i can recall of film trivia this was his last ever film appearance. so you get Glass Eye, Dino and The Chairman in one film. 

my favourite memory of this one is taking my brother to the local odeon to see it, one school holiday. possibly summer, but could have been easter. i remember us being fortunate as the cinema decided to take it off after three or four days, a decision which made the newspaper. can't remember why they took it off, possibly (most likely) as very few people went to see it. also, the group of lads going in before us got told to behave in the cinema, but we didn't. not sure if i should be happy or disappointed that we were determined to be well behaved. 

all three (3) of these films belong in the video collection of anyone or everyone. they are wonderful. not sure which, if any, are on them "streaming" things, but having them on disc or tape means you can pretty much enjoy them as often as you like. 

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

late to the party

howdy pop pickers

once upon at time it was so that, more or less, all they had to do was place the name "Bowie" on an item and i would purchase it. not so much no more, look you see. and this is not for me being prudent, or sensible. strangely i am in a position where i could probably purchase all they sell in his name, but it would appear they seek money different from mine these days. 

for practical reasons i tend to only want new vibes (tunes) on compact disc. i don't have a record player to hand, i really loathe streaming and tape is, well, tape. yet the last few special anniversaries for Bowie albums have seen them launch all virtually on vinyl only. oh. the only not to people who quite like discs was the frankly absurd Divine Symmetry set, in a package so heavy you struggle to pick it up, and containing discs that contain everything but the Hunky Dory album itself, which it supposedly celebrates. hey ho, if they don't want me buying stuff, ok, it's not like i have a shortage of his music. 

there's also, if we are honest, the bitter and sour taste left by the whole Brilliant Live Adventures debacle, featuring a set of less than brilliant (mostly) live recordings and "limited" so that the majority ended up for sale on ebay at vastly inflated prices. sure, eventually they said sorry and (very eventually) made more copies available, but by the time those came quite a few were just totes f****d off with them and figured if they don't want our money, fine. 

and then i ended up with the Brilliant Adventure EP in my hands. i was down at one of my favourite market stalls, if not uber favourite, and the new and sealed vinyl edition of it was there. on release, for Record Store Day 2022 (if i am not mistaken) i had precisely zero (0) interest in it, for it was a ludicrous price and the tracks featured (mostly) fell short of "brilliant". but for a flat and agreeable £15, well, i figured why not. 

yes, indeed i have opened it up. i am aware of how the overwhelming majority of vinyl records sold these days are never touched, opened or played. beats me why people buy them to store, but if it is to show off, why not. i couldn't care less (or "fewer") that it has now "lost value" being opened, for it is not like there was any chance of me selling it. 

so, just how bad is this ep? quite, but not the very i had maybe feared. true, someone out there probably thinks that the mid to late 90s era of Bowie was his bestest and most greatest, but not me, thanks. effectively very nearly everything and anything to do with Earthling was boring and, if we are honest, more than a little sh!t. certainly not "brilliant" as the Bowie Estate appears to keep on being keen to market or brand it. 

for fun, then, a "track by track" thing on all four (4) tracks on this ep. which suspiciously plays at 33 1/3 speed, rather than at 45rpm which would be traditional for an ep. 

Johnny Downloader - sigh. yet another "early" version of I'm Afraid Of Americans. blimey, he was really, really keen for the (admittedly great) dour, menacing sound of the music (a constant across all versions) to work with the correct lyrics. for other versions, there's I'm Afraid Of The Animals, and if not that one then another was used on a Verhoven film somewhere. 

I Have Not Been To Oxford Town - listed here as an "alternative single mix", but i wasn't aware this got released as a single? if there were a song i wished Bowie had redone and redone it's this one. quite a bit of the music is brilliant and lyrically interesting......except for the bits of the song which relate purely and exclusively to the "plot" of 1.Outside, and the "Nathan Adler Hyper Diary Murder" thing that no one really ever followed or understood. like vast swathes of 1.Outside something that could have been a great song, but ended up being part of some idiosyncratic, artsy statement. which is like.......

A Small Plot Of Land - one of two (2) live tracks on the ep. probably the single greatest example of the rather indulgent jazz odyssey elements of (to mention it again) 1.Outside. i mean, lyrically, wow, this is truly Bowie at his best. musically, however, just a headache inducing piano piece, free flowing jazz experimentation and every now and then Bowie trying to make absolutely certain you have a headache with some odd high pitch mixing. if you were going to set about convincing someone of the greatness of Bowie it's unlikely you would present them with this. 

My Death - which you may well have worked out is the second (2nd) of two (2) live tracks. Bowie revisiting this one was the only point of interest i had with this release. it was right proper brilliant in or on the Ziggy Stardust film and soundtrack. here he has a go at it as a piano thing. alas, it doesn't really work so good, not even with the great Mike Garson on piano. halfway through or so i swear you can hear in Bowie's voice that he's also clocked it's not such a good way to do the song. 

pretty much what i had expected (or anticipated) from the release, then. quite a bit of ho hum, with the only real "win" from owning this, the only true "brilliant" aspect, being the self-portrait on the glorious full tilt 12" record cover. 

one other plus is that, i think, this is a release i have what has the "Bowie 75" sticker on it. can't remeber if the equally underwhelming Toy box set had one on, and no i am not going to check. don't believe it did, for surely i would have remembered. 

do people even say they know that they are "late to the party" these days? maybe it is an old, antiquated statement, apt for me to use. yes, i do wonder how my love and devotion to Bowie survived that era of his just after 1.Outside and before hours......, in truth. then again, you could always trust him to more or less do something different for his next release, so a poor album could always just be put on a shelf safe in the knowledge the next would likely be better. 

believe you me, i would love nothing more to showcase here not only further Bowie purchases, but ones that i may even like. even if just a little. over to you, Iman and / or who(m)ever is in control of the Bowie Estate, oh yes it's EMI after that deal. how peculiar that they seem to have no immediate wish to recuperate their investment...........

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

notes on getting around to watching the deadpool saga

hello there

yes, indeed i know that it is so that the Deadpool films, or saga, or if you will two part trilogy, are quite old now. or rather they were released some time ago, for (as per the words of a friend) a film only becomes old when you have seen it, look you see. up to now i have lacked the chance or opportunity to see them, but both happened so here we are. 

the boys, being my sons, quite like having all the super hero films on fancy video, or if you like blu ray. well, no, not all, but certainly the "big two", being Marvel and DC. considering how i love my own collections of things of stuffs, i am always happy to assist. so far as i am aware they do not have these two (2) on tape (disc), so it was pleasing to find them reasonably priced (£1 each) down the market recently. i asked them if i should watch them and they said yes. 

by chance, or as it happens, day one (1) of the snooker world championship provided chance to watch them. i did have every intention of watching Columbo repeats between sessions, but they weren't showing any of the Shatner episodes. and only one of the McGoohan ones. oh. well, an opportunity to have a look. 

indeed i did, vaguely, have some idea of what to expect, in particular of the first one. and this was delivered, pretty much. Deadpool is easily the best of these, with the coarse language, very welcome excessive (and needless) nudity and crude jokes.unlikely i would watch again, but i can see why it was a fairly decent hit. even if the plot is simplistic. 

so far as i could tell, or ascertain, Deadpool 2 appears to exist only to confirm to everyone (or anyone) interested that yes, all the best jokes were in the first, they had run out of steam, and this was the best they could come up with. it (unwisely) lacks the level of nudity of the first, has no better or more detailed a plot which makes the longer running time senseless and, overall, seems considerably more toned down than the first. as in yes, i suspect there was an effort to maybe deliver a version of this for American audiences which would be "PG13" instead of "R". 

my overall feeling on the films is that it is little surprise the ostensible main actor, or star (if you will) has decided to go and own a Welsh football team instead of do more of these films. whilst they were entertaining enough, it has to be said that my favourite ever Dead Pool film remains, but of course, the original The Dead Pool off of the 80s, featuring Clint Eastwood. 

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

the force will be with you, always

greetings

so, here it is again. or here we are again, look you see. it's 4th May, or May Fourth as our friends in America say, so it is very much Star Wars day. at least it is on the day this is published, but probably not if you are reading it any point after that. 

many years ago i saw a documentary. it was ostensibly all to do with Star Wars, but the part what stuck with me was the scenes of some school kids, of an age range of say 9 or so to 12 or so, making films at school. based on Star Wars. for quite some time after i looked at this with envy and jealousy, for there was no such opportunity for us to do same at school in England. back then British cinema had to be all meaningful and poignant, which is to say dull and boring. no wonder our friends in America are the true world masters of cinema entertainment, they get encouraged to make things people would actually wish to see, from a very early age. 

but, as i got older, another part of it has always remained in my mind. in the documentary all of the children were asked what they loved of Star Wars, with one young girl saying that it "helped (or allowed, i forget, sorry) her to escape from reality". and there is the true, sheer, unadulterated beauty of this Star Wars thing and why it's so important to so many in so varied and different ways. ostensibly it's all a fantasy thing, a very basic and straightforward good vs evil story. but it lets you read so much into it, and imagine so very much more. 

here, on this blog, and in conversations with many over the years i have done my bit of being critical. be it in regards of some disappointments in the world of Star Wars, with Last Jedi or in particular Solo coming to mind, or the "fanboy living in Momma's basement in Wisconsin" type, who can't understand why his version of Star Wars was not made, why didn't George Lucas or Disney just call him and let him explain how to make a film (or tv series) that all would love. in some regards, or to an extent, i have not been very understanding in doing so. as far as i am concerned it is perfectly all right to be let down by some of the films, and no, some of the ramblings of "fanboys" goes too far and is quite hurtful to others, but maybe (likely) a bit of understanding is needed. 

there is no point holding on to statements such as "they are just movies". long has it been since the whole concept, or rather phenomenon, stretched out way further. it's getting close to 50 years that these films, and all that come with them, have been a rather dominant, unavoidable and inescapable presence in popular culture. being dismissive of them, and the importance they hold, is like looking at some plays by, if you will, Shakespeare, and saying "these are just plays, move on". 

what am i trying to say here? not sure, as ever. mostly that i think i understand where all the getting carried away, overheated and somewhat excessive moans some (at some points all of us) have when anything "new" comes out in the realm of Star Wars, be it a new "special edition" of one film or one of the new tv things they are doing. certainly i don't agree with several comments made, but now, i believe, i get the angle they are coming from. 

every new release of something Star Wars, then, in some way impacts or impinges on the comfort blanket it has all become for some significant number of people. the escapism provided, the brief pause from whatever's going on in reality, gets abruptly halted by a "reality" in the realm of it all. something that someone imagined is no longer so, for a new thing off of Star Wars contradicts it. indeed they could let it go, certainly they could get a sense of perspective on their reaction, but ultimately i get why they are so upset, or put out, about it. no, there's no way to fix, change or avoid that. 

i suppose it was the curious double whammy of the prequels turning up around the same time that using a thing called "the internet" took a dramatic spike north in numbers of people using. all of a sudden people who might utter some disappointment in a film could now project, or broadcast, all of their views to a (literal) global audience. for some reason people got all bothered about making sure what they had to say about something like, for instance The Phantom Menace, got heard above all other opinions, so the shouts got louder, the commentary more extreme. 

for now, then, what a time to be alive as a fan (of any level of obsession) of Star Wars. of the, let me count, five (5) films made since Disney bought it all up, at the very least 2 (two) have been met with generally pleasant comments. by that i mean Rogue One and Force Awakens, although yes, some are disappointed in each. in respect of the latter film, i am still baffled they went to all that trouble to get all of the heroes of the very first (to be released) film back together and did not give them at least one scene together. but, hey ho. 

how amazing is it that there are so many tv things off of Star Wars on the go? one of them, The Mandalorian with the magical frog thing, is pretty damned close to being the bestest, greatest thing in all of Star Wars creations in my books, although no Lando and in particular no Lobot means it doesn't quite beat Empire Strikes Back for moi. back when we were kids we kind of dreamed of some tv show of Star Wars, but all we got was the Droids cartoons and the somewhat misguided Endor films. 

not sure how much of a "celebration" this is on the day all with an interest in such have agreed to praise the things of Star Wars, but with some fortune at least one or two will "get" what my rambling words are trying to say. my life, at times, has been made considerably better by the entertainment offered by it all, the sense of daydream it tends to naturally inspire. so, nice one to all of them what have made these magnificent things. 

live long and prosper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

viz pens, again

ow do

yes, indeed this is me (moi) posting something mostly just to have something to add here, look you see. it would be interesting if this was like totes the first time i had got some free (cheap) pens off of The Viz, but it isn't. as point, or matter, of fact, i now has so many of these items that i have absolutely no clue what i shall do with them. perhaps they should commence issuing free pencils, but as i recall they only given them away if you spot Jimmy Hill in an edition, and yes i have some too. 

as far as i am aware - and no, i have not ever never tested this - all one really has to do is send an envelope with both your own address and a large letter size stamp to them at The Viz and they will post you some pens. normally two (2). but i prefer it when they set some sort of challenge, or quiz, or similar, for you to do in order to be worthy of the pens. in this instance, you had to be part of (yet again) the jury at Fulchester Crown Court, deliberating on a heinous criminal matter. 

the case, in this instance, and it is to be found in edition 325 for those of you interested, features a certain Jacob Rees Mogg (that one) as defendant. he stands accused of peeling a reduced to clear sticker off of some donuts and placing it on a bottle of champange, so as to purchase it cheaper and defraud the retailer (in this instance M&S). compelling evidence is provided that he is, as point of fact, guilty, but also he calls on a certain Boris Johnson (that one) as a character witness. we, the jury, had to send our guilty or (if for some reason you deemed it so) not guilty verdict, along with the SAE so as to get pens as compensation for time lost being on the jury. 

of course i voted guilty, and yes this was determined (the guilt) more or less as soon as i saw who was standing accused. further, or also, why would the police arrest someone who was innocent? however, i did put a note in with my verdict, saying that i am not convinced the matter would or should have been heard before a judge in a crown court. my suspicion is that it would be a civil matter and probably heard at a magistrate level. so, he may well walk free. 

for people interested in such things, yes, indeed it was a stamp featuring HKC3(PO) what i used for them to send me the pens. this is, i believe, the first instance of me getting one. even if i did, of course, kind of (sort of) send it to myself. 

putting Jacob Rees Mogg on trial, for whatever (pretty much any) reason, is something that would cause a good deal of joy, indeed delight, to several people. some caution and care must be taken in doing so, for as i have shown before on this blog he has the power of time manipulation, if not outright abilities to travel in time. who knows the vindictive ways in which he may use this assumed power to seek vengeance on those what dare to hold him to account. 

it is so that The Viz claims they shall publish the verdict in their next edition, due out relatively soon, as in on 18 May (2023). however, the last two (or 3) cases has seen them not publish the verdict. maybe some sort of super injunction thing came in. or they forgot, which is why they have said that they shall publish the verdict if they remember to do so. we shall see. 

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