apparently the hardest pub in europe

tislijiet

franky i am not at all sure i should be sharing (or posting, if you will) this, as i really don't like the idea of it being seen as moi endorsing this sort of thing. no, not that sort of thing, look you see. but, ultimately, my chum Spiros is all excited about it, and i do feel kind of obliged to add things here frequently.

as regular (ish) readers shall well and truly be aware, Spiros is a chap renowned, if not famous, for a fair few things. other than being the greatest legal mind of his generation, he is of course a gentleman who thrives on making short term (yet mutually beneficial) friendships with like minded gents, invariably in public bathroom facilities. 

something else he is (reasonably) well known for is, inexplicably, putting himself in situations where he is quite likely to get his f*****g head kicked in. we, his chums, have never really understood this one, but equally we have never really felt all that compelled to stop him. 

generally, or at least for a good few years, Spiros found the best way to do this was by antagonising taxi driver, especially those affable, tax law abiding black cab drivers one finds in London (innit). regrettably, momentarily (or likely permanently) Spiros is unable to be in that there London, or the wider United Kingdom, due to one or two "misunderstandings" pertaining to accountancy matters and vague points of law. most happy day, then, that he has found a locale where he can easily provoke someone into a bout of fisticuffs. 

it was somewhat by chance Spiros found this place. so far as i can tell he urgently required some refreshment and this was the first establishment that looked like it might offer what he fancied. not long after going in, however, he left, under threat of getting glassed or some other harm befalling him. going on what Spiros said it seems the threat, or promise (more like) was made when he tried to take a few pictures. like the one below, which i have censored as (to be perfectly honest) i have no wish to upset the incumbent proprietor and it's really not something i would show off here, let alone frame and hang on a wall in my place of verk. 

cautiously, due to the nature of what was depicted on the framed picture, i asked Spiros what the rest of the decor, or style, of the place was like. he said the bar area was "like one big massive shrine to Tottenham Hotspur", which is a trophy winning association football team some of you may well have heard of. in the interests of assisting him in his wish (or desire) to get his f*****g head kicked in, i have suggested to Spiros that before he goes back he procures an Arsenal FC shirt to wear, preferably with "Campbell 23" printed on the back. initially he considered going in again but resplendent in some sports shirt or other off of Ireland, but this is now a pointless thing to do, what with so many bellends declaring themselves to be "culturally Irish". 

mostly, i suppose, i am sharing news of the self-styled "hardest pub in europe" for that special kind of English tourist. you know, the ones that go off to destinations which feature heat they cannot handle to drink alcohol they cannot handle and end up starting fights. often they manage to do this on the flight to wherever, causing everyone else's plans to be knacked as the plane is diverted and they are escorted away. for those that do manage to make it all the way to wherever they have booked (and most of them would not have a clue as to how to find it on a map) well, of you go. get yourself an Arsenal shirt and head to this place, if you really think you are hard enough. 

kind of related to the last bit, and indeed the picture above, is the question of whether or not Spiros has managed to have any sort of run ins or dealings with the constabulary. oh yes. recently he met a few officers from what he, for (fairly) obvious reasons, called the "dungaree police". surprisingly they were not there to detain him (if only they knew how close they were to catching him) but instead were on hand to monitor a "legends of rock" event. from what i can tell they were there to make sure only actual, proper legends were played, or paid tribute to, and were ready to make arrests if anyone played some Sammy Hagar or similar, awful tripe. 

to give clarity on that one earlier point, i am afraid it really is the "English" ones that think it is great to either get escorted off a plane or otherwise make sure they get battered when they find out just how hard they are not. don't go thinking it is anyone from the wider UK. for a start, it is of course famously so people who identify as Scottish do not go on holiday. as they are unable to resist telling everyone, usually anonymously from behind a keyboard, Scotland is so brilliant that why would they go anywhere else at all. 

yes, Spiros has (rather kindly) invited me over to his current place of residence, to visit this and do other stuff. alas i have had to decline. my current medical predicament is one which precludes drinking alcohol, with also far distance travelling striking me as unwise. besides, i have frequently seen his valiant efforts to get his f*****g head kicked in many times over the years. 

right, that's about that. if by some chance you were using the internet to search for something along the lines of "where is the hardest pub in europe and how do i guarantee getting into a fight", well, head to this place, preferably in an Arsenal shirt. i suppose a West Ham one would do at a push, but then again if your mindset is to find trouble i rather suspect attire is secondary. 

kunu eċċellenti ma’ xulxin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reading of a hey ho meh nature

greetings

so, another two (2) books read, look you see. and so it is time for the inevitable, if not entirely unavoidable, comments on them. but, that said, my verdict (for such what is worth) on both is right there in the title of this post. for those in a rush neither are bad as such, yet essentially carry an air, or sense, of why bother to them.

to stick with the usual there shall (or will) be a picture of both, a brief overview, and then a look at both in isolation, or separately. more so than ever in this case, however, you are seriously warned that there is both unavoidably and well and truly a *** SPOILER WARNING *** in place. can't say for which of the two novels exactly, but if your intention was to read either then rather not read any more of this. 

from (i think) left to right, which is how i read them, The Templar Secret is adventure number 30(!), or so i suspect, for the character Ben Hope as created by Scott Mariani. it's sort of kind of all right, but the whole series has been getting quite stale. as for The Exchange, well, John Grisham has brought back the lawyer Mitch from (arguably) his most famous (but certainly not his best) novel, The Firm, although this really isn't a "sequel". well written as you would expect, but brief to the point of being flimsy and, ultimately, a rather pointless book. 

again, then, a *** SPOILER WARNING *** is hereby declared. seriously, or really, do not read any more of this post if you have any intention of reading either novel. or just read on if for some reason you wish to pretend that you have and vaguely sound like you know what you are talking about within whatever social circle you have that will be decidedly larger than mine. 

normally, or usually, i think the pattern is that i subject myself to whatever it is Scott Mariani has thrown out as the second of two books what i have gone done read. it wasn't really intentional to in some way switch that pattern, if (indeed) that pattern is a thing. 

provenance of my copy? undoubtedly Tesco, but oddly not as one of their "book of the week" things. it is usually that when Mariani brings a new one out you get it even cheaper than the book of a week when you buy the Daily Mail too. i think book at lower price + Daily Mail comes in at £4.00 rather than the £4.50 book of the week thing, and usually there is a recycle bin for you to immediately put the newspaper in. 

the plot? Ben Hope and his chums have decided that their existing base for training people in the art of protection and rescue is too small, so they are looking for new premises. the French government is selling off a dilapidated "chateau" (or whatever) quite cheap, so they go for a gander. whilst having a look an odd American is lurking in the cellar of it, apparently excited by some strange carvings on a wall down there. some shady sinister people are watching this, and don't like that people are looking at it. quite a lot of violence and tragedy follows as a consequence......

i am not giving any more spoiler warnings (except just then), as it turns out this is the last Ben Hope adventure, at least for the foreseeable. no, he doesn't get killed off, but someone close to him does, which kind of prompts a change of outlook. there's a kind of "victory lap" sense to the whole book, mind, bringing it "full circle" by having the lady Ben became friends with in the first novel come back. also, well, Templar Secret is a nice reference to whatever the first one was all about (can't remember), plus the first book became a success in part, at least, thanks to people being able to say "well, if you liked reading The Da Vinci Code you will like this". there were worse ways to retire (or rest) the character than this novel. 

for a review (or what have you) of the novel "in its own right", well, the plot is fundamentally flawed to the point of it being really f*****g stupid. them what are watching those watch the chateau are extremely rich and very powerful. with the French government just wanting rid of the property, it would have made more sense for them to, you know, just buy the property itself and fence it off (or destroy it) than have people hang around and start fights with anyone who looked at it. granted a level of suspension of disbelief is required with reading fiction, but then with each twist and turn in this novel you find yourself asking "yeah, but why didn't they just by the place themselves". 

 

on, then, to perhaps the most unnecessary novel ever to exist, which is absolutely not saying that The Exchange by John Grisham is bad. more just keeps making the reader ask "why am i reading this" and, perhaps more pertinently, why is this character (Mitch from The Firm) in it? provenance will have been Tesco book of the week, and it will have been bought on release. i buy all of Grisham's novels, even in this case where i wasn't particularly interested in a return of the one character. quite likely why i have taken so long to getting around to reading it. 

plot? after years on the run (the novel The Firm ended somewhat differently to the celebrated film) Mitch and his wife return to a sort of normal life, with Mitch (all things considered) rather surprisingly making it to partner of a major international law firm. he is tasked with suing the Libyan government on behalf of a Turkish construction company for non-payment of a pointless bridge. whilst in Libya to (ostensibly) look at the bridge, his associate is kidnapped, with a rather hefty ransom demand (eventually) being made.......

easily the biggest issue here is that there is no point whatsoever to it being the character of Mitch at the kind of centre of it. nothing to do with his past is of relevance to the story or events. you keep reading thinking "is there a twist, is this revenge at last", but no. the only time his past ever really gets a mention is when he, for no apparent reason, decides to pop by and say "hello!" to one of the lawyers he put in jail. that seems to happen purely to pad out a really short novel. 

basically the "points" being made by this novel, but never explored in any detail, are that resource rich countries run by violent dictators and populated by terrorist factions are dangerous, law firms tend to be rich and reluctant to hand over money for any reason and governments will do shady deals with shady people for, if nothing else, the sake of appearance. nothing "new" as such there, but oddly Grisham doesn't seem particularly angry or inclined to comment; he just gives them flashes of mention and seems to shrug, saying "that's the way it is".  

as usual, it's really well written and not bad to read. just not engrossing or captivating like the work he is amply capable of. sure, it's not as bad as that time he wrote a novel which was basically an account of various Italian dishes (The Broker i think) or that time he wrote 75% of a novel about church picnics (that was definitely The Last Juror), but worrying that this novel is in the vicinity of them. especially as it was so the most recent i read of his, The Boys From Biloxi, was him at his brilliant best. 

ultimately this fails the "name" test. as in if this novel had been submitted to a publisher anonymously, or with a pseudonym, would it have got published? the answer is "would it f*** as like", with the expanded answer being great writing, too flimsy, go back and add some substance. also some actual, tangible point to it all beyond stating the obvious on the state of the world. 

mostly, or for the most part, i read these at a rate of a couple of chapters each day, in the morning, whilst waiting for some cream to dry as part of the way things now work with my medical odyssey. some of the John Grisham one (i think 50 - 60 pages) was, however, read whilst i was at the laundry. not sure any of that is relevant or had bearing, but if you think my reading might have been distracted by circumstance, well, that's up to you. 

right, that's that for them books. as i am keen to point out i did (mostly) enjoy reading them, even if the conclusion of such was a sense of being spectacularly underwhelmed. yes, by the way, i am indeed aware that Scott Mariani has come up with a new (apparently historical) protagonist for his future novels. it is sat here, but i won't be reading that one next. 

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

my death waits

hello there

an update on my medical plight, look you see. this would mostly be for the benefit of those interested in how my lot in life is going, irrespective of whether they hope for it to be good or pray for it to be bad. still, there's a vague change it might be of interest to random strangers, yet it might be (overtly) ambitious for me to hope it actually helps anyone. one never knows. 

for those reading this with absolutely no idea what it's all about, well, generally that is how it goes here. in this instance, though, you may wish to read this first post, which was the quite exciting medical incident which all this will pertain to. for good measure there's a somewhat less (or "fewer") exciting follow up to it that can be found here. alternatively, or in short, i got diagnosed with diabetes (i believe type 2) a few months ago, and it turned out i had been living with it for quite some time but a lack of interest in visiting actual, proper medical professionals meant it was, well, undiagnosed and not treated. 

sadly (in terms of "excitement") this post shall be closer in tone to the second one linked above, rather than the first, or if you like initial one. well, "sadly" is relative i suppose. being boring and it all, at least mostly, going "well" is a rather good thing, just somewhat lacking the sheer thrill and, to be kind, pathos of a vague system failure and dealing with questions like "how are you still alive" and "how, exactly, are you not in a coma".  originally this post was going to be called "progression not perfection", but then i thought no, let me keep the "death" thing off of the first two (2) posts going. 

off i went for another appointment, then. as the above picture (in VHS mode) gives you every indication i did indeed need to give up (very) nearly another armful of blood for tests. not entirely sure how, precisely, to express (or take) the news i was given. for a start it was deemed "too soon to tell" exactly how much better (being alive means that it got no worse) i am getting on. but, in continuance, there was enough to say that i had gotten "stable" (no more incidents) but was stable at a dangerous level. like, you know, when you are precariously balancing on the back legs of a four legged table or desk chair, which if you didn't do at school meant you didn't do school properly. 

never quite sure what details to give here and what to withhold. to play it safe, it has been deemed that one of the (many) tablets i have (or had) been prescribed has done all that it can to mend stuff, or mend me i guess. yay, to an extent, for as much as i do not mind all the pills, getting rid of one of them does kind of feel like a "milestone" or similar. a victory, perhaps. 

except it's a medication being replaced rather than falling away. oh. as previously mentioned my system is totes f****d, and that is neither meant as a brag or something to carry a sense of shame. more on that latter side later (rather than earlier), but it's just how it is right now. 

behold my newest, most recent pill, then. yes, in VHS mode. it does indeed look, from what i have been told (ahem), the shape and size of a viagra, only it is Streisand yellow rather than Mr Sinatra blue. a quasi connection in that i have been warned, due to how it works (or what it does), that it might cause me to "develop thrush". my limited knowledge of such (and forgive me if this is ignorance) was that this was a predominantly if not exclusively "lady" condition. well, if it develops i shall presumably just have to jolly well deal with it. 

with regards to what this tablet "does", i have of course forgotten the (precise) specifics. in general it shall make me "less busted". basically whatever my kidneys have been doing with sugar this tablet makes them do it all different, and in a way that will be (to use a phrase) more better for me. reference was made to my "wee wees" (you know, urine or p!ss) be sugar, but i am hesitant to test this in any form of practical experiment. also, whereas not the "main" or well known one, this is one of those drugs which somehow enables (or prompts) weight loss, as used by yuppies, footballer "wags", them influencer types and similar forms of tw@ts. strangely, whilst i would openly confess (whether asked to or not) to being overweight and out of date, my height/weight ratio isn't too bad and i have not specifically been told to lose weight. perhaps the amended diet and increased focus on going for strolls means this will just happen anyway, along with this pill. 

moving, for a bit, away from the specifics of my plight in a direct way and on to "life with diabetes". it was something that i had just accepted, and the overwhelming majority of people have been really supportive. actually, just the one that i am aware of, and who(m) has potentially exaggerated yet nonetheless accurate reason to hold me in disdain, has declared it is "no surprise" i am diabetic and that i brought it upon myself. well, yes to both. my life choices, i seek no sympathy, affirmation or validation, i own that i caused this just as i take ownership of trying to mend it. 

this turns out not to be the same for others with my condition, predicament or what have you. when i went to the cinema recently (Superman) there was loads of adverts and what have you. adverts and trailers, with the latter being the former. one of them struck a nerve, shall we say. and yes indeed i have sort of (kind of) "pirated" it to add here, as i feel it is important to do so. 

can't imagine them what made it (and have excellent music taste) minding me adding it here too much, especially as here is ad free and generates no income. all the same here is a link to the people that would appear responsible for the video and a link to their youtube thing of it. 

until i saw this video i had no idea, or concept, of me potentially needing to feel "ashamed" of being, or becoming, diabetic. my focus has been on just how to deal with it, to make sure i do all that is possible (if not everything, considering cigarettes) to avoid an episode like the one i had. telling people, be it family, friends or the random strangers reading this, just seemed to be the thing to do. diabetes has happened as a result of my lifestyle and life choices, not a quirk of nature or anything unfortunate like chance. it didn't occur to me to feel embarrassed or ashamed of it.

right, a "trigger warning" exists for this paragraph. and the next one. not specifically to bow to the conventions of the strange society in which i live, but more because i found this upsetting. within days of seeing that advert, or video, i by chance encountered someone. can't give the specifics. they elected to confide in me, with some distress in their voice, that they had chosen to just simply stop taking their medication for diabetes. i asked why and their reply was, with a broken voice, to "see what happens". my immediate reaction was that i was presently talking to someone with a fatalistic, possibly suicidal inclination. will leave it as being that i assure you help was called, or alerted, or what have you. 

we all experience life differently. that feels as though i am stating the obvious, and yet the overwhelming majority of "misunderstandings" or incidents in this world stem, at heart, from the fact that we are not inclined to think anything other than "of course" everyone sees the world and all in it the same as we ourselves do and "of course" everyone already knows what we know. i fought the urge to tell this person "but i am taking the meds, i am doing fine, i am getting better" as this was clearly not how they perceived it was going for them. between that video and this conversation yes, a sense of doubt has (maybe naturally) crept in, wondering is it all worth it. likely is, if for absolutely no other reason (where i would like to think there are others) my deciding to succumb, to stop the battle and to simply "see what happens" would be quite painful for me, and a range of emotions going from upset and distress all the way to inconvenient and annoying for those that know me. 

happier news (or better to read of, from my perspective) is that i am no longer obliged to test my blood sugar (or blood glucose) levels 8 or so times a day. this part really was the only one "getting me down", in truth. it was having to remember to do it, timings, etc. also pricking your finger that many times a day has a limited novelty value. for the last couple of months it has been "stable" and within the desired range, although below it in the picture above. my vague understanding is that the medication (tablet) which has fallen away, coupled with diet change, has worked to get it all "stable" where it needs to be day to day, now to get rid of the other (for want of a better word) damage. 

it is still so that i shall test it, for what harm (beyond a little prick) can come from doing so. generally i really do have a "feel" for it now. well, as far as when it "goes low". shakes and that. for such instances i have a handful of an emergency stash of jelly babies, after being tipped off as them being the best things to go for by a very good friend. 

the above is indeed an unused specimen test tube thing, into which i had to provide a liquid sample as and when i needed to "spend a penny" first thing one morning. done, and i am sure you have neither the wish nor the need to see the completed one. getting this sample was a lot easier than the other sample i had to provide earlier in the year, before all of "this". should for some reason you want to know the details of that particular escapade, well, apologies for another link but here you go anyway. 

no idea when my next "actual" appointment shall be. during the next week or so i will be having one of them on the phone consultations, presumably to discuss the results of the armful of blood i gave. likely, you would think, when i am next required to go and give more samples will be spoken of then. maybe it is now at a stage where i just pop the pills and lead a (decidedly) more sensible life in terms of diet an whatever exercise i am prepared to do (walking), but surely it shall be so that they'd like to check my blood, even if only periodically, to see how it is all going. undoubtedly i shall put any further developments up on here, unless, you know, it's a development that leads to me no longer being a going concern. which i would hope to avoid. 

some will have read this purely as they are entertained by the idea of me being in a not too good state. i can only hope they have whatever validation it is they craved. for all others, thank you very much indeed for the support, encouragement and what have you. if it is so that you have stumbled on this via a google search and are in a similar predicament, well, i cannot preach. just, instead, ask you to choose your course wisely, and do what you think is right. 

UPDATE (KIND OF)

i got a text message (dans le telephone) off of the clinic or what have you, asking me to call to discuss my test results. the text ended with "nothing to worry about. right. when i called i got told, off of a receptionist type, that my urine test was "borderline" and that they needed another one. unsure of what borderline meant, exactly, i kind of asked, but was taken off-guard somewhat so wasn't too insistent and didn't get much of an answer. some backwards and forwards about should i (ahem) provide the tests there, or pick up another tube and bring it back, with me heading off to pick up a new tube (which i assumed was singular) with a view to filling it (so to speak) first thing the next day. 

yes, as you can see even in VHS mode, i was given two (2) test tube things to "fill". one is indeed somewhat larger than the other. when i asked "why am i now doing two" i got told, and again this was off of a receptionist, that they wished "to do some other tests". as things stand these are unspecified tests, so no i have no clue as to what they are checking on now. right. well, the samples have been provided, and i now wait on news as to what they have tested for, what the results are, or if these are also this "borderline" thing. pretty sure, if not (outright) certain, that i can give them as much of this in the form of samples as they care to ask for. 

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

vhs car wash

now then

yes, another post dedicated to me making use of a car wash facility. not really anything new here as such, look you see, not even the "fact" that it's all in VHS mode. 

if for some (inexplicable reason) you are a regular reader of this blog, many thanks for being so yet let me promise you there's not much here you won't have seen before. there are several interesting other things on the internet and not all of them now require you to upload your passport to see them. not that i look at that sort of thing. well. 

there are other "social media influencers" out there what fill their blog things with exotic, interesting places, or fancy food and things like that. not me, apparently. perhaps the appeal for the inexplicable number of visitors i get (i really only ever expected a few family members and fewer friends to look when i started all of this is that i, mostly, do mundane. no idea, really, i still just write what comes to mind, or things about what i have done if i have an urgent need to add something. 

should you have a truly formidable level of boredom and an excess of patience then the below video, and yes it is also VHS mode, might be of some curiosity. quite by accident, and to help towards the end of the few seconds it is, there's my reflection sort of visible. but it's not like i don't add selfies here on a reasonably frequent basis. 

from memory - and i am certainly not going back to check - it at least feels like the big soft soppy soaking wet floppy brushes are the aspects of the car wash i add the most here. well, it is the business end of the whole thing i suppose. do i consider it to be my favourite part? not especially. all of it, in truth, is a "favourite part", as invariably i am on the paid clock to just sit there whilst the equipment does its thing. 

whilst i have said this before (more than once) i am not sure what, exactly, else i can say of any sort of car wash experience. as it happens i have been to the car wash once more after these images (and video) were taken but didn't document it. i simply could not be bothered. 

perhaps it is so that i've done all of interest that i shall ever do with this life, with all that remains being things like going to a car wash. in respect of that other frequently documented thing, yes, indeed i do have another laundry visit to post here at some stage. but you can't have all the excitement all at once, i need to spread it out some. 

many thanks for reading this as far as the bit where i thank you for reading it.

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

history as it happened

howdy pop pickers

well, with all that Oasis "reunion" tour going well (at least thus far, look you see) i figured why not do a post on a subject that has probably been done by someone else before. quite likely that they were more better and writing that me, and used "proper" pictures to illustrate it. 

up to now it is so that Oasis have played the exact same set on each night of the tour (wisely, you would think, so no fans who have paid ££££££ can moan someone else got a "better" set) and, i think, all but one song in that set comes from their first three (3) albums. there will be cynics and what have you commenting on this, but ultimately they are giving fans what they want. 

something i have found kind of interesting with these first 3 (three) albums is how they "accidentally" recorded their own history in the album covers. not sure if the designs were ever deliberate or not, and to be honest it doesn't matter. it's just always been kind of cool that you can view the artwork this way. 

the only sensible place to start with this (which i hope makes sense, or at least does by the end) is of course with their debut album, Definitely Maybe. sure, there was a distinct buzz around the band, and a reasonable expectation of them being decent, but they weren't "massive" at that stage. 

and so as you can see (in VHS mode) the album cover shows what's effectively (or actually) a gang of mates hanging around in one of their flats, having a drink, smoking inside (!) and watching a video of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly whilst holding aspirations of being a rock and roll band. 

essentially Definitely Maybe depicts thousands upon thousands of gangs of mates, whiling away time whilst aspiring for something else. this is how it was for decades. some went nowhere fast, others were bored before they even began, a select few "made it" and a slight percentage became massive. the latter is what very much happened to Oasis with this album and then, in particular, the follow up.

from what i recall Definitely Maybe was a huge seller. it became the "biggest selling British debut album of all time", a title which i think Frankie Goes To Hollywood held. so, with success of that nature came the inevitable. it was so that any "northern" band (or artist) that made it big, or got a decent level of success, would (more or less) immediately relocate to London (innit). this is a path laid down by The Beatles and followed many others. so it makes sense (and yes, i know that's none of the band on the cover) to have (What's The Story) Morning Glory depict that most bohemian, artsy, rock and roll and absolutely sordidly sleazy area of London that is my much beloved Soho. 

oddly the music press did not, at first, care for (What's The Story) Morning Glory. it got reviews along the lines of 5 - 7 out of 10, with some dismissing them as just doing "more of the same", or suggesting it was obvious that the debut was a "fluke" and all they had to offer. not so, according to the fans, with many of the songs becoming national anthems and the records selling by the (very large) truck load. as it happens quite a few in the press went back and "revised" their opinions. fancy that. 

it was so that the success of (What's The Story) Morning Glory made Oasis one of the biggest bands in the world. when quizzed about the "battle of the bands" between Blur and Oasis, Noel said that Blur were "not really their competition", stating the aim was to be "as big as REM or U2", who at the time could easily claim the "biggest band" title. relevance here is that by the time of the (hugely anticipated) third album they were selling out Knebworth and any other venue, and things like the single of Wonderwall were selling a million copies a week. so of course Be Here Now shows the band as owners of mansions (or a "country pile") with a Rolls Royce thrown in the pool because, hey, rock and roll. 

no, i really don't think there was a "masterplan" (ahem) with the album covers, it's just class that it all happened in a way they can feasibly be viewed this way. as i have said time and again one of the biggest losses to the world with all this "streaming" rubbish is the disappearance of considered, quality album artwork. this is but one of many examples of how cool record covers can be. 

finally, and for the record, Be Here Now is nowhere near as "bad" as Noel Gallagher or anyone else would have you believe. either give it a spin or, if you like, read more here. 

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

trains

hello there

lately i have been making fairly frequent use of trains. well, if we are honest, it would be better to say that i have attempted to make fairly frequent use of trains. as is the case with quite a few things here in England, or the wider UK, they don't necessarily work as they should, look you see. but hey, more moans and groans on that as we go. at least from me, you don't have to read. 

for some reason i have elected to take a fair few images of if not trains then the train platforms where i have made valiant and sometimes failed attempts to use what is ostensibly a form of public transport. as there would seem to be little else i could do with these images (and videos) except put then on here, well, here we very much are. most of them are in VHS mode, but not all. at least not the first one.

 

you know what, now that i think about it (and indeed look) i am not at all sure there's actually any pictures of trains here as such. they do feature in the videos, mind. 

i would imagine the details of why, exactly, i have become a frequent train user are of little interest to anyone, maybe even inconsequential. on the off chance that such is not correct, it has become the easiest way to go and see my (known) sons on a weekly basis. well, theoretically the easiest, for one has to contend with the vagaries of them (the trains) actually running like they are supposed to. the instances in which they do are most merry, for by chance the "line" runs not far from my lodgings in my place of exile through to where they remain. mostly, at the least. 

above is a video (yes, in VHS mode) of a train arriving. not too sure, as in i cannot recall, if this was one of the ones which actually left and arrived at the indicated destination. recently there's been a fair few instances of them saying "no the trains are running, honest", only for them to get abruptly cancelled. the reason given is frequently "overrunning maintenance works". not sure if that's bad planning or just quite useless, as in sh!t, staff, but the result is the same. with the result being me finding out exactly how expensive an uber is. 

on the subject of the sheer incompetence of those what are responsible for our trains running all proper a good friend has a theory. he says it is the staff "securing next month's pay cheque". quite a reasonable conclusion - surely the only reason such poor work is done is the staff making sure they have a job next month, so as to "fix" what was likely never broken and most probably was fine before they messed about with it. as for why such gets tolerated, well, government hand outs foot the bill, so i suppose no one is asking. 

 

should one be inclined to do so i suppose one could strike back. there's all sorts of these railway network vans all over. if we treated them like they treated us then i would imagine it would be agreeable to ram some nails or screws into the tyres on such vehicles, but would say stop well short of hurling a brick at the windows. if queried one could simply say "i apologise for the inconvenience caused by the unforeseen circumstances" and that would be an end of the matter. that is, after all, what they expect us to find as agreeable when they explain why they are not doing the job they are paid (exceptionally well) to do. 

blimey, i have added quite a lot of images and videos for what little i have to say on the subject. oh well, i shall just wing it. here, below, is a video from inside the train, showing some sort of scrolling message explaining that there's a delay, and that soon we would be "on our way". which we kind of were; if i remember right it was all the way to the next station, where they made us wait, get onto another train and then get off of that train too, saying it was all cancelled. 

no, seriously, even milking it for short paragraphs i don't have all that much to write here. 

for clarification, no, i am not a "trainspotter", either in the heroin sense or the sense of writing down the engine numbers (or whatever) off of trains. the only reason i go to a train station is to get on a train, thanks. well, in rare instances to meet someone off of a train, but still. the point is i do not go for "fun" or to "spot" trains. 

double decker trains would be most smart. alas, it is unlikely we shall get such wonders here in England as we lacked vision when building bridges over railway lines. pretty sure they do have double decker trains around the world, think Japan has them for a start. 

let me a bit clearer on not being a trainspotter. whereas i do have a splendid notebook which my (known) sons got me for father's day, and indeed some pencils (my own), i do not use them in conjunction to write down engine numbers off of trains, or whatever they write down. also i do not own a cagoule. my Mum (alas) does not make me a packed lunch, and if she did it would not be soggy margarine sandwiches wrapped in clingfilm. further, i don't believe i am either socially awkward or inept, yet true some may argue that. 

every now and then i remember to recall that some of the class (if not as good as the Commodore 64 one was) apps i have for images have features i seldom use. should i be right, it is in the above video that i remembered there was a "zoom" button on the VHS one. 

legend has it that (the much missed) Thatcher once said that "any man in his 30s that doesn't have a car is a failure". quite likely that this was around the time she was getting lots of people to make cars here, and also busy dismantling any public service she could think of. it strikes me as coming from a time when the population was roughly half of what it is now, and before people were all that bothered about the environmental damage of cars. still, if i am viewed as a failure in her eyes i would feel reasonably safe in presuming i am neither alone nor particularly bothered.

righty-ho, that shall do. if i (for some reason) decide to do a post on trains again then i will probably not go and add so many videos and pictures. 

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

superman

now then

on a practical level i would suggest that there's little (if any) point to me writing a review of a film which has, for the last three weeks (or close enough, look you see), been reviewed and (rightly) praised on just about every "internet" thing to exist. that the film - and as the title suggests, it is the most recent at time of writing (2025) Superman - is also heading to that magical "one billion dollars" in terms of money made suggests my views are not really needed to encourage anyone to see it. more likely, then, this will be all the usual sentimental hygiene waffle which comes whenever a nostalgia thread gets pulled. 

for what it is worth, and all spoiler free, i am delighted to say that this new Superman film really is as good as the positive reviews have said. i had some doubts about watching it, and there's one scene early on that makes you go "oh no not all dark and broody again", but am i glad i did. there is a temptation to go and see it again, to be honest, but perhaps best i save pennies for when the video (disc) comes out. 

this may all well be more about moi than the actual film, then. and, indeed, a return to a familiar named cinema in a familiar place. which is also the first time i have been to a cinema outside of London (innit) for a good few years. buckle up if you read on, but if possible rather go and see Superman than spend any more time reading this. 

my decision to see Superman was kind of spontaneous and unexpectedly driven by the absolutely dire state of our public transport system. i had tinkered with the idea of seeing it on the Sunday afternoon it opened, thinking i could hop off the train i take back to my lodgings in my place of exile after seeing my (known) sons. yet i was feeling somewhat shagged out (so to speak) from the night before, and wasn't sure i was awake enough to enjoy or appreciate it. then of course it was so that the train people elected to "terminate" my train at the stop i would need to depart at for the cinema anyway, which i took as a sign of fate intervening. 

i also, inexplicably, tried mental gymnastics to find reason not to see it. there was no way, after all, that any Lex Luthor would be as good as the Gene Hackman one, with his (outstanding) performance all the fresher in mind after we recently lost this cinema great. as much as i enjoyed Superman Returns (if we are allowed to say that due to the presence of one actor) and thought Man Of Steel was brilliant, just how dull Batman vs Superman was (mostly due to Ben Affleck but still) felt like a "danger will robinson" sort of warning. yet the trailer and snippets for this new one looked good. 

drawing closer to going (prior to the train termination forcing the issue) i delved into thoughts on what made Superman so special for me. it was the wonder of taping the first (Christopher Reeve) one off the tele on that fancy "video" machine Mum and Dad got that led to it being watched loads of times. the second film held an air of mystery as we, for some reason, never had the video of it. forever shall i cherish the third one for memories of going to some "fleapit" like cinema to watch it with my family whilst on holiday. so yes, it was a feeling i sought, not a film. unlikely that i would get that all alone at a cinema, you would think.

an assumption i made was that a mid-afternoon Sunday showing would be a straightforward film ticket to get. these days the "big crowds" are there for the Thursday to Saturday on opening weekend. plus things like the Wimbledon men's final (tennis) was on, and it was a (vague) summer afternoon. not so, and as it turned out i got the last ticket available. which, like the train thing, was possibly something one could interpret as a "sign" that i was meant to go and see it. 

cost of my ticket? £9, which is "standard", no discounts, specials, memberships or anything like that. and that is quite a statement about me taking as a given that the "half price" Tuesday fee of £7.50 at the Ealing Project seemed reasonable. rather likely you have worked this out from the above image, but indeed this was at the Odeon, which has fairly recently been re-instated down town. get ready for some more sentimental hygiene, then. 

depending on what came out when this will have been the first time i had been to the Odeon in town since Terminator 2, the silence of the lambs or the obscenity that was Godfather Part III in the early 90s. fond memories of the place in the 80s, though, going to see Top Gun 6 times, A View To A Kill at least 4 times and, best of all, going to see Cannonball Run II with my brother. the latter was "best" as we made it before it got "pulled" after three days, can't remember if it was because of poor attendance figures or "audience behaviour". memories, again, then. 

yes, i am sure i will mention something about the film eventually. but first, a "wow" on what a just plain, regular seat is in this new Odeon. all the chairs are them "recliner" ones, and i got disproportionately excited (possibly an age thing) when i saw each and every chair had a retractable table thing. a table much more better than ones you get on planes. 

in regards of "concessions" i believe i got "upsold". their smallest sizes are listed as "regular", so i just ordered a regular popcorn and regular coke zero, since normal (or as some call it "full fat") coke is now a bit of a no-no thanks to my medical adventures. when i ordered the nice lady asked if when i said regular did i in fact mean "medium" as a lot of people were getting confused by the names they had given them. in the interests of just getting my order and heading to the film i said "yeah ok". so the middle size of each came in at £11.95. 

right, then, the film. the only "negative" i have is, as mentioned earlier, a scene quite early in the film, some really, really "low ball" spoilers are possible here. a scene happens when Lois Lane interviews Superman. gone is all the charm of the similar scene in the first Christopher Reeve one. it's a monotonous, miserable and darkly lit scene. my reaction was "oh, for f**k's sake, not more subverting expectations a la Last Jedi please". merrily, it is ludicrously out of tone of the remainder of the film. quite surprised, to be honest, that they didn't go and extensively trim, if not cut entirely, that scene. 

this film was one of the most thrilling, engaging and emotionally involving ones i have seen for quite some time. as many, many critics, reviews and what have you have said, it's just a brilliant, joyful film. with another possible spoiler warning for you, yes, to an extent Krypto "steals the show", for he is a joy and most memorable, but the entire (if you will ensemble) cast are magnificent. who(m)ever it is playing the titular Superman was excellent. that he is "actual Superman" for around 80% of the time, instead of messing about as Clark Kent, was a win. Lois Lane, Ms Tecmaker (spelling, sorry), Jimmy Olsen were perfect, and the "Justice Gang", with particular emphasis on Mr Terrific (who i had never heard of) were great fun. special, and unexpected, praise for Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. for some reason i was expecting not to be impressed by him, yet he was really outstanding. 

with regards to the "twists" and slight changes to the established "Superman lore", well, they have been documented all over, and i won't go into detail here. all of them seemed plausible within the realm of this fictional world, to be honest. no "blasphemy" or anything like that. mostly i am thankful they trusted us in the audience enough to just start off with Superman instead of giving us yet another "origins" story.

let me (more or less) end this here, then. i don't think i can say much more than Superman really was a beautiful cinema experience, bravo to all involved making it. quite likely this shall end up being my favourite film of the year, as much as i am looking forward to the patent nonsense of Naked Gun. 

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

i was there

howdy pop pickers

generally, or usually, i have (at least attempted) to steer away from the "me me moi me me" approach to things on this blog. these things are often derided as a vanity thing, look you see, but then again what is one supposed to write of in a thing ostensibly for themselves other than themselves? fondly i can recall, several years ago, Private Eye slating an autobiography - won't say who(m) exactly as they have some legal issues momentarily - because it was "too much about themselves". indeed the next issue saw them decent enough to print some responses suggesting (or stating) that surely writing about yourself was the entire point of an autobiography. 

well, that got a bit side-tracked. the reaoson for this post, and the quasi defence of it above, is that somehow it is so that i have kind of ended up on not just one, certainly not as many as three, but two (2) recordings released this year. so yes, this is a bit of "indulgence" or showing off. 

starting with the "appearance" which is chronologically first if the second of these two what i am sort of on, that would be a quite class new Suede tape (disc). the tape (disc) comes gratis with the September 2025 edition of Mojo, ostensibly featuring the late (and great) Brian Wilson on the cover, although a limited variation edition with Suede on it is also available. 

for a "free" disc (with a magazine that costs just south of £7) it's remarkably generous. no, one does not get any of the "big" hits, but you certainly get some huge fan favourites, in particular the ostensible titular tune off of the set, Outsiders. 

not wishing to bore you with all of the track details (sorry if that's why you are here) there's a quite impressive three (3) tracks from their, at time of writing (2025), imminent new album. first off there's a demo of the "single" Disintegrate, which i think got sent out as an mp3 when you ordered the album. at the end there's Criminal Ways, and so far as i am aware this is the debut of anyone hearing it. but, also, in between them, there's a live recording of Antidepressants, which is the titular song off of the new album. so far as i am aware (incidentally) this is the first time that one of their albums has the name of one of the songs on it. 

despite the misprint on the actual disc cover (which states it is live from Manchester in 2023, before they wrote it), as you can see above it's from their gig last year (2024) at Alexandra Palace. part of the joint tour they did with the Manic Street Preachers and, indeed, one of the two gigs on this tour i went to. yes, of course i am providing a link to to that right here. 

i elected, or opted, to stand a bit further back for this particular gig, so as to enjoy it with two really good friends. rather unlikely that you can actually hear me on this recording from the gig, as i suspect the sound engineer will have focused on capturing the band rather than some north of fifty (!) gentleman waving his arms about shouting "Brett, i am over here Brett, you can touch me if you want" or something like that. still, an excellent memento of a gig i was at, especially when, as you will find out if you do click on that link, my awful phone captured pretty bad video and images.  

more chance exists, if you (for some reason) wanted it, of hearing me on the next one. which is the rather brilliant KillerStar doing, as an encore, a sterling cover of Children Of The Revolution. 

considering just how Bowie infused (inspired and devoted too) the band are many are somewhat surprised that they don't do a cover of one of his songs. i guess that would feel or seem to obvious, but also which one? taking on a great tune from one of Bowie's friends, heroes and inspirations makes sense, as does how the groove generally fits in with the band's own distinct tone. 

the band have, over on that facebook thing, said this was recorded on the second night of their residency at the legendary 100 Club earlier this year. yes, the one (as this link can show you) i was at, one what is increasingly looking like my last ever night in that there London (innit). not sure i am in all that much of a rush to go back. 

as to if you can actually hear me on this one, well, i was totes part of the chorus shouting for "one more song", but not sure the most prominent voice on the recording is mine. should you wish to find out, may i suggest that for little more than US$1 or just over £1 in real money, you visit this site and buy a download of it in whatever format you care. yes, i know paying for music is a concept as scary as it is odd in this strange new world, but if we don't support bands like this we shall lose them forever. 

right, i think that's enough of me at worst showing off, at best highlighting two amazing bands and the quality music they make. dig what you dig.

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

eight tapes

greetings

well, no, strictly speaking not eight tapes, look you see. it would be correct to say eight discs, for that is how many i gone watched and will write (badly) of here. no, eight films would not be right, for one of them wasn't a motion picture as such. yes, even though it was moving images. 

as ever with this sort of post i would suggest that a ***SPOILER WARNING*** is very much in place just after the next (and first) image, listing the titles. should you wish to remain unaware of what goes on in any of these tapes (discs) then it is quite likely best you read no further. but, that said, you have my every assurance that the spoilers for Friday 13th 4 are totes worth it and may well inspire you to watch the film. or not. 

no particular order is used here and, rather unhelpfully, also they are not going to be shown in the order what they are in that image above. sorry for that. except there is some slight order, for the first one is one that i referenced (i think) towards the end of my last post on this subject. 

it is so that the film The Entity has lurked around in my mind for 40 odd years without me ever getting around to watching it. the box for it down the video shop always looked vaguely interesting, but not enough to rent. from memory one friend at school, can't recall who sorry, did see it and was well impressed, but also reviewed it in a way that suggested if i watched it then it would be a bit like that time (and remember i was young) i watched An American Werewolf In London after being told i was not allowed to and subsequently having nightmares for weeks. 

plot? a young lady (Barbra Hershey) is living a fairly routine life when all of a sudden she starts becoming a victim of brutal, horrifying, violating attacks. bad enough in itself, but it seems they are attacks of a paranormal, invisible "entity" type. her plight is made all the worse, then, for on top of these highly distressing attacks few seem to believe her story. 

this was actually rather good. at times it felt this was a borderline "let's do Exorcist but mix in something like I Spit On Your Grave", but they generally swerved away from this being outright exploitative trash. Barbra Hershey is excellent, as is Ron Silver as the "doctor" (or what have you) trying to determine if this is real or not. absolutely boss soundtrack, too. not a film for all, since the subject of the attacks - ghosts or not - isn't comfortable viewing, but well worth watching. 

one night i was home, or place of exile, feeling a bit out of sorts. i considered what fifteen year old me would have done alone with a video. the answer was not erotica, thank you, but that i would have very much watched some class horror, with particular emphasis on trash the BBFC cut or banned.

which is how i ended up watching Friday 13th Part 3 (at the cinema in 3D no less) and Friday 13th Part 4, the one rather misleadingly dubbed "the final chapter". didn't really like the first two, with the original being rather boring and the second just some bloke with a sack on his head going about, mostly, with an axe. 

part three was also, as confirmed by watching it again, really rubbish. leaving aside how dire the 3D effects look in a flatter 2D, effectively this is a bunch of kids you take a dislike to immediately getting killed in a variety of ways. also very little nudity, and what there is is "tastefully" filmed so as not to show anything for long. the only decent aspects of this one are that Jason got his iconic ice hockey mask in it and there was some different ways in which people got killed. 

quite rare for the 4th film in a series to be the "best" but that is precisely what Friday 13th Part 4 is. yes, admittedly, it gets that status purely as it has the most nudity of any of the films, but still. this one has a relatively decent plot, is extremely well paced, class killing scenes and some actual, proper, decent acting. best of the latter is easily Crispin Glover. 

up above this writing should be a brief video showcasing Crispin Glover's bonkers spastic dancing in the film. this in itself would make it class, but you also get to see the (then) young actor be all dorky and shy, use sexual swear words, do a sex, this dancing and, let me remind you of the spoiler warning, also eventually get (briefly) crucified. calling this the crowning glory of Crispin Glover's career feels like a bit of an understatement. think it will have only been a year or so after this that he did Back To The Future, improbably playing Michael J Fox's dad. 

speaking of fifteen (or so) year old me, i finally (or if you will eventually) got around to watching one of them "oh yeah that looks good" films. i saw the trailer for Deadly Pursuit, released in some countries as Shoot To Kill, about a dozen times at the cinema. this was, of course, when cinema was a cheap and easy to access form of entertainment, and not the life consequence decision is bizarrely is today. for some reason i never got round to seeing it, or renting the video. 

happy days, then, when i saw it for sale down on my preferred tape (and disc) seller at the market. all sorts of nostalgia kicked in and so i bought it. which was hurdle one, the second (and final) hurdle being to use what time i have to sit and watch it. 

my brother was delighted to see that i had found a copy of the video (disc) and also knacked me for not having watched it before, stating that it was really good. he was right, which is kind of peculiar since his general stance on cinema is that Convoy is the greatest film ever made. this was an excellent thriller, with the big plus that the "baddie" is really well hidden and not ruined by any spoilers in the trailer. both Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger were class, and shout out for a then relatively unknown Kirsty Alley being really good too. won't give any plot details, but worth a watch. 

random time. i randomly went into a shop where i randomly found myself as it looked a bit interesting. they didn't really specialise in tapes (discs) or what have you, but had a few on the shelf. one of them was a film called Zombie Women Of Satan 2, which looked most decidedly English made but also most decidedly sans any official BBFC certification or what have you. on asking for the price i was told £5, so went sure, why not. 

there was some trepidation about putting this video (disc) on, as everything about it said it was home made. which would usually mean poor quality picture, terrible sound and awful camerawork. not so, as it happens. really well made and, surprisingly, exceptionally funny. well, if you have a vaguely dark sense of humour i suppose. 

i had not seen the first film, true, but it didn't feel like i missed out. could follow it just fine, and besides the cover promised this was "boobier", so likely i would enjoy this more than the first anyway. certainly it was so that there was a fair bit of (topless only, but still) female nudies, which was agreeable on top of the ridiculous humour on the show. quite surprising just how much nudies, really, as the whole cast seems to be off of (why aye man) Newcastle, a city renowned for quite prudish, Victorian to Jane Austen levels of disdain for displays of flesh. not all that many people within my limited social circle i could suggest this film too, but all the same i enjoyed it. 

since we are (and i am never far away from it with my choice in film) on the subject of nudies, i have clocked that "world cinema", or foreign language films, tend to sail through the draconian ways of the BBFC. usually they would censor anything with nudies, but they appear to take as a given that anything in a foreign language is "artistic" and don't cut it. yes, i appreciate that one can access all sorts of curious, gruesome and exotic "nudies" on the internet, but i do like a proper video (disc) and also enjoy getting such things that the BBFC appear to have either overlooked or applied a double standard to.

not surely exactly, but i would suspect that i purchased these two on "special offer" off of Fopp whilst down in that there London (innit). possible also one from HMV on Oxford Street, but likely Fopp, since they appear to specialise in the more, um, esoteric sort of film. if that is the right word. yes, both were bought in the hope that significant, copious nudies were present, but if there was a decent story then that would be a welcome plus. 

perhaps this will sound mean, but all the same Ecstasy (or as the credits show A Thought Of Ecstasy, which implies the BBFC let the full tilt version through) highlights what makes directors like David Lynch and. vaguely in terms of some of the subject of the film, Stanley Kubrick more celebrated (or to be frank superior) to others. all that is needed for a cinema masterpiece is here, but this is woefully dull due to how poorly it was made. alas, just filming some desolate area of the desert does not make it poignant or meaningful. you know you have an issue when the large amount of nudies, and close up full on penetrative "action" (usually a big no no for our censors), is just dull. quite the shame, really a lost chance of making a remarkable motion picture. film students should watch it just to learn what to avoid so as not to f*** up a really good set of material. 

a fair bit of money (less than £50, but still) has been spent to learn that the Shameless video (disc) label is one gigantic con. there's about 5 or 6 of their discs (tapes) what i have bought now, all with the promise of them being sleazy, controversial and (most importantly) laced with nudies. more often than not they have turned out to be bland, mostly fully clothed, dull C or D grade films. sadly Top Sensation continues this trend, and i think it will be the last one i buy off of them. 

from what i could tell the "plot" of Top Sensations was that two grifters were conning some wealthy lady out of a lot of money on the basis they would help her son "overcome his shyness" towards ladies. it appears to be famous for a scene where a lady has an "intimate moment" with a goat, which is both quite a European cinema thing and not the sort of thing i would imagine anyone wishes to watch, or at the least would not admit to such an ambition. there's a vaguely amusing scene where some peasant farmer is caught (ahem) entertaining himself in some bushes as he watches two topless ladies sunbathe on a yacht (he seems more than the audience), otherwise dull and forgettable. 

last up is You Gotta See This, to which my immediate reaction is "no, you don't". it's a 40 minute or so compilation of "sporting mishaps" and, of course (i would not have bought it off the market otherwise) moments of nudies. were we in the era of video, then this is a video you would pass around mates at school, or possibly watch as a gang with takeaways. 

on the plus side of this video (disc) the nudies are mostly agreeable, as in all of the female ones are and the male ones they didn't have to include. would have been nice to have a couple of streakers, but this appears to be American. and none more American than with the "backyard wrestling", featuring some keen types going at each other with cheese graters and fire. yes, at the same time. they, oddly,, are not the most retarded people in the video; that will be the various skateboarders and "rollerbladers" or whatever who(m) try to rind (or "grind") railings, bannisters and what have you some considerable distance up from ground level. results of this are somewhat enjoyable but mostly predictable. 

yes, i do indeed have a huge pile of classic, or well regarded films here to watch. but instead i have indeed just watched all of this lot with some spare time. mostly just dig what you dig, and rather watch stuff what appeals rather than worry about what other say you should. especially nudies. 

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