The Secret World of an Average Guy

Back to the Future

2009-11-07T16:32:00.003Z

This blog may be long dormant but I've fixed the archives if anyone, including it's author, should stumble upon it...

2003-08-02T16:03:00.000Z

Rise of the Machines
Saw Terminator 3 yesterday - was it the life-changing event I had expected it to be? Er, no. But I wasn't disappointed with it, and I think under the circumstances it was actually quite good. Not perfect, plenty to improve on sure, but not as horrendously awful as it could have been.

The Punisher's verdict: 7/10

2003-08-01T12:38:00.000Z

I'm blogging at work! I guess I'd better get back to it actually...

2003-07-01T18:25:00.000Z

What rating is your journal?
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2003-06-23T16:28:00.000Z

Woo, I'm now 20 years old. Happy Birthday to me...

2003-06-14T14:47:00.000Z

Your Brain Usage Profile

Auditory : 42%
Visual : 57%
Left : 77%
Right : 22%

Alex, you are strongly left-hemisphere dominant and show somewhat of a preference for visual learning, a positive combination of styles.

Your left-hemisphere dominance implies that you are strongly organized, logical and detail-oriented. Visual preference indicates that you learn in an active, simultaneous multidimensional fashion.

With this pattern you would likely be good in fields such as engineering, architecture, drafting, computer graphics and the like. It is likely that you will find situations which demand auditory processing somewhat frustrating unless you can impose your own structures and categories while processing it.

Another possible barrier to using your talents to the fullest may be the excess attention that you can tend to give details in your day-to- day operations and learning. You can acknowledge the existence of "the bigger picture" but concentrate on the details and expect that the picture will emerge from the details themselves.

You strive towards goals and this, coupled with the active nature of your learning preference, creates a sense of you being "driven." Your tolerance of ambiguity is, at times, in conflict with your preference for the straight path and directness in everything. You tend to be as impatient with yourself as you are with others.

You have enough auditory learning capability to somewhat balance your more natural chaotic learning style. It is likely that you "slide into" the more sequential auditory learning mode when you get frustrated with the amount of input to be processed.

You are somewhat likely to be driven and distracted, but you have some capability for articulating and visualizing goals, which helps to reduce frustration. You can listen to others, but not without occasional agitation. There are times when your left hemisphere cannot categorize your learnings and place them in context, because that is the domain of the right hemisphere.

2003-06-06T11:51:00.000Z

Quote of the Day
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger" - Frederich Nietzsche

2003-05-26T11:41:00.000Z

Matrix Reloaded? Good, but not great. 6.5/10

You are the Original Matrix Fan!

What Kind Of Matrix Fan Are You?
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2003-05-09T19:36:00.000Z

New Matrix Trailer
HO-LEE SHIT! It's simply awesome, I physically cannot wait for it. I got goosebumps and the last time that happened for a trailer was... well Terminator 3 actually but that was a couple of months ago. Wow.

2003-05-04T16:59:00.000Z

POO

2003-04-15T18:26:00.000Z

Erm...

2003-04-15T18:25:00.001Z

D'oh!

2003-04-15T18:25:00.000Z

Um...

2003-04-03T18:46:00.000Z

Link-me-do

Ever played GTA? You'll love watching this video then (10mb) - www.tuvok3of11.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/gta4real.mpg

2003-04-01T20:03:00.000Z

Can You Dig That Sucka?
I’m sorry I haven’t done any substantial posting recently, (and let’s face it, by “recently” I could mean the last 12-18 months!) but it just seems I never have time even though all I do is sit about doing nothing. Anyway, I've been home for well over a week and it really is good to be back and get a break from York. I mean, I love York and being at Uni, but it is nice to see all of my family and friends.

2003-04-01T20:02:00.000Z

Book End
The library phoned me up last Wednesday and said they wanted me back, which is great news, but they need to sort some things out at their end before I can go back and as yet I haven't started yet. It's now been almost a week and I go back to York 3 weeks on Thursday so they better sort themselves out if they want me back in time. I am pretty desperate for the money now, I'm about £900 overdrawn. I really don't know where it all goes, as I don't spend that much money it seems to me. I go out pretty regularly, but it's not like I'm out drinking every single night of the week, and I don't buy clothes or DVDs or stuff that much. It just seems that the money disappears anyway. Life of a student I guess.

Exam Stress
At least I've been busy at home - revising and writing an essay. Luckily I've done about half my essay so I'm not too worried about that now but my exams are only in about 3 weeks and I'm quite worried about them. So far, I haven't done anything towards my degree (well, nothing assessed anyway) and after my essays are in and I've done my exams, that's a third of my degree. So as you can see they're quite important. I have been doing revision, but I just don't feel massively confident about them. I've never really had a problem with exams before, but because I haven't done any for 12 months, and they didn't count for anything, I just feel overly nervous about. I'd feel much more confident if all my assessment was done on essays as I think my technique is finally reaching a plateau and I reckon I could write a decent essay on just about anything. Well, perhaps not anything, but you know what I mean.

Spare Parts
Apart from that, I haven't done anything. Mother's Day was fun and it was my Nan's birthday yesterday so I spent the day with her. It's my niece's 3rd birthday in a week or 2 and I'm looking forward to Easter (I am a self-confessed choc-a-holic!). Oh, and I watched Wrestlemania on Sunday night, a proper post about that will follow when I get the chance.

Link-me-do
You’ve seen the Pornlizer, now see the Mr. T’inator!!! - http://firefly.sparse.org/~mrt/

2003-03-26T19:37:00.000Z

Boo Hurrah!

George Bush revealed - http://www.gradis.net/xray.htm

War Blogs - http://www.warblogging.com

Rate people's poo out of 10 - http://www.ratemypoo.com

2003-03-20T16:42:00.000Z

Quote of the Day
"This is simply a warning shot across the bows of the Iraqi leadership" - Foreign Secretary Geoff Hoon describes today's attacks on Iraq

War War War, Jaw Jaw Jaw
War in Iraq is upon us today. Could today be a momentous day in history? The overthrowing of the evil dictator Saddam Hussein? Or merely the beginning of World War III? Sadly, only time will tell. I am against the war without a second UN resolution, however, I realise that Mr. Tony Blair believes he is doing what is best for the UK. Bush on the other hand, well, I'm not so sure what his reasons are, but jingoism aside, he hasn't properly explained himself. But who am I to disagree?

This war is wrong. It did not need to happen; it is unnecessary and was avoidable. There was still time; there were other ways and reasonable alternatives. But they were not honestly explored. In the mad, maddening rush to arms, the point of last resort was not reached. The case was not made; indeed, the wider international and domestic argument was lost. As US and British forces moved to forward battle positions last night and Iraq's civilian population sought shelter before the approaching storm, it was clear that those political leaders who set this conflict in train now carry an enormous responsibility. The responsibility is all the greater since it is by no means clear that it is fortified by international law, morality, logic or common sense.

2003-03-20T16:39:00.001Z

There is the hope that Saddam, despite most predictions, may still flee or be overthrown and that his armies will heed US calls to surrender. The prospect that Iraq's dictator will at last be deposed is perhaps the only clear-cut benefit of this entire adventure. There is the hope that, despite months of US scare-mongering, Saddam will not use chemical or biological weapons. There is the hope that Iraq will not quickly splinter into myriad warring factions, creeds and clans and that Turkey's likely intervention in the north does not lead to ethnic conflict there. There is also the hope that the US military strategy, reliant on relatively few, fast-moving ground troops and tanks, supported from the air, will be able to engage and seize their objectives as quickly as planned. Last but not least, there is the profoundly-felt hope that Britain's own forces will escape serious mauling - and that any casualties, unlike after the last Gulf war, will be properly cared for when they come home. Sadly, Britain's fingers-crossed foreign policy means having to hope also that the government's failure to secure clear UN and legal authority does not compromise our soldiers.

The aims of this war have been unclear all along. That confusion must now end. The objective is not a US-run Iraq or some grandiose, US-designed regional reformation. It is an independent, integrated state led by indigenous Iraqis empowered by free elections and working in partnership with the UN. Tony Blair's assurance yesterday that Britain will seek agreement to establish a leading role for the UN is welcome. Getting in is much easier than getting out; but get out quickly the US must. Whatever Dick Cheney and his far-right friends may think, they have no business there.

Stop the War website can be found at: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

2003-03-20T16:39:00.000Z

This is a political war, a war of power largely orchestrated by the ideologues and zealots who surround that most implausible of presidents, George Bush. This recourse to war is a substitute for thought and understanding, divisive in conception and enormously damaging to the international order. More broadly, this is a war between powerful men on all sides, men accustomed to getting their own way. It is not a popularly-endorsed war, however hard they try to portray it so - not by the peoples of Iraq or the Muslim sphere or the peoples of the west. They did not want it. But it is ordinary people everywhere who will be affected by the imminent instability and terror. By this untimely, pre-emptive act are all debates, all protests and petitions, and - to most eyes - all UN processes set at nought. All that remains is the sad, fretful hope that it will soon be over.

Hope is - and should be - the policy now. In truth, hope is the only policy for a Britain committed to the US come what may, almost wholly deprived of its independence of action, both military and diplomatic, and at the mercy of events directed in Washington. There is the hope that civilian casualties are kept to a minimum (whatever that means) and the American bombs and missiles are indeed "smarter" than in 1991. There is the hope that pledges to avoid essential civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and power plants will be honoured. This war will be prosecuted, says US Admiral Timothy Keating, with "breath-taking speed, agility, precision and persistence". Well, we shall see. Aid agencies warn of possible humanitarian and refugee crises. Hopefully, these human tragedies will not materialise.

2003-03-12T17:43:00.000Z

This is my personality type apparently, I don't agree but what do I know?

Conscious self	Overall self

Take Free Enneagram Test

2003-02-15T16:49:00.000Z

Should've gone up yesterday...

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Ah, February 14th is upon us again and for singletons like me it’s a chance to wallow in self-pity or go out there and do something about it. That is if you believe the hype. It amazes me how each year Valentines Day becomes more commercialised. Yes, if did have a girlfriend then I probably would take them out for a meal (unfortunately McDonalds and Burger King don’t count), buy them some chocolates and some flowers. However, the way society is at the moment, it’s as if we’re under some mystical pressure to do all of these things, and if we don’t then we’re a “bad boyfriend”. I simply shake my head and sigh at this sort of thing sometimes.

England = Poo
Oh My God. England lost to Australia last night in a football match (though to call what England played last night “football” is an insult). Not that Australia didn’t deserve to win. They played extremely well and fully deserved the plaudits. But England were abysmal. No, they were worse than that, they were the pits. I’m not 100% certain whether I think this is a worse result for England than their 2-2 draw with Macedonia or whoever the hell it was.

Playing one team for 45 minutes and another entirely different team for the second half worked about as well as a solar-powered torch. Sven, you have messed up bad, and I understand you’re under pressure from club managers but something needs to be done. I feel like creating a blueprint and sending it to the FA and FIFA on how they should change the game so that the debacle that happened last night never happens again. Rant over.

Quote of the Day
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far” - Theodore Roosevelt 1901

2003-02-09T16:32:00.000Z

Gulf War Mk II
Tony Benn, staunch left-winger and former Labour MP came to to do a talk on behalf of the "Stop the War Campaign" on Thursday, just days after conducting his interview with Saddam Hussein. I went to watch him and he was an excellent public speaker, made some good points about Saddam Hussein, and put forward his views on why we shouldn't go to war with Iraq. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it was well worth it. The highlights included him being told he was not allowed to smoke in Central Hall, to which he took out his pipe and lit it, and then when he received a phone call in the middle of his talk from CNN to do an interview via phone to 25m listening Americans. When they asked him where he was and he said "York", they thought he meant "New York". You just gotta love that.

In a related tidbit, here's something that was originally on the Internet and became famous from the Daily Mirror stealing it for a front page recently, just seemed germane in light of recent developments:

Quote of the Day
"So I drink a lot, have casual sex and swear, and suddenly I'm cast as a bad boy" - Rising British star Colin Farrell on his 'angelic' lifestyle

2003-02-01T17:42:00.001Z

Illness and the Beast
I can’t believe how little I blog now. It always seems to me that I blogged just a couple of days ago, and then when I actually check it turns out I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks. I really can’t account for this. Just one of those things I guess. To be honest, I have been much busier this term at Uni than previously, in fact I seem to be going to the library almost every day.

At the moment though, I’m feeling quite unwell as I seem to have developed a horrendous cold and cough that is making me feel rotten. I was going to go out tonight but instead I’ll be reduced to watching Steven Spielberg’s Taken and the football on TV (not a bad alternative admittedly).

2003-02-01T17:42:00.000Z

America’s Finest
This week saw the return to terrestrial TV of two of one of America’s highest-rated shows and the start of a new “must-see” American drama. I’m talking about CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Boomtown. Because both are on Channel 5 (which is Britain’s sort of low-budget, soft-core porn channel) neither will get massive ratings, though I’m sure they’ll both do well respectively for Channel 5. I’d never watched CSI before and I have to say I really enjoyed it. As you’d expect from America, very slick, well-written, well-acted and just generally of a high standard. Boomtown too was very interesting, it takes a crime each week and sees it from 7 different perspectives so you get the full picture. I guess the closest you thing you could compare it to would be… er, Memento? I don’t know, but it works.

Land of Hope and Glory
Just like most other American shows (e.g. Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, 24), they’re all of a really high standard. Now I appreciate that we tend to get only the best stuff from America, but the point I want to make is that America’s best is by far superior to Britain’s best. The closest thing Britain has to 24 is probably Spooks, which I thought was alright but nothing compared to its American counterparts. Again, something like Ultimate Force with Ross “Grant Mitchell” Kemp and Red Cap with Tamzin Outhwaite are, frankly, poor.

2003-02-01T17:41:00.001Z

Why is this? Basically, it’s money. American shows get massive budgets compared to the crap made by the Beeb and ITV, they have a writing team (emphasis being on “team”) rather than just 1 or 2 writers, and they usually get biggish name actors (the best example being Kiefer Sutherland in 24 or Donnie Wahlberg in Boomtown). Think of one of my favourite TV shows, Star Trek. Imagine if the BBC made that. It would just be awful. Dr. Who may be a cult show, but the production values are laughable. I really enjoy all the American imports, don’t get me wrong, I just wish we could produce something with the same style, slickness and all-round verve of our neighbours across the Atlantic.

Insight into Advertising
Because I have no idea what I want to do with my life, I attended a couple of Careers Workshops this week (before being struck by illness). The first was by Norwich Union, one of the UK’s largest companies, and although interesting, the most enticing aspect of their presentation was that if you join their graduate scheme, you get a starting salary of £20,000 a year which is pretty good. (Not that I’m motivated just by money or anything, but, you know, it’s a consideration).

2003-02-01T17:41:00.000Z

However, the second workshop I went to was presented by an advertising agency called Lowe who are based in London and it was really inspirational. I basically only signed up to this one because I thought it might be interesting, however, it was a real eye-opener. The two people who came in were recent graduates, and, although I understand they were here to do this, they really did make working in advertising seem like an attractive proposition. It certainly made me evaluate what I want to do after Uni. Although everyone wants to work on the creative aspect of things (i.e. dreaming up adverts and getting to film them), most of what they described sounded pretty exciting as well. Plus, 75% of the people in the workshop were attractive blonde women. (Not that I’m motivated by pretty women or anything, but, you know, it’s a consideration).

Quote of the Day
“It’s like a cross between Marx and Nietzsche, with added Hun-hate and a bit of Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodall”” - Zoe Williams of the Guardian assesses the state of videogaming today

2003-01-20T16:26:00.000Z

Film is the Truth
Went to see Gangs of New York the other day. My what a great film. Scorsese manages to hit the peaks that have eluded him recently. Daniel Day-Lewis is exceptional, Leonardo di Caprio (no swooning please) is passable but overall the film was excellent. The ending could be seen as a cop-out slightly (I don't want to give anything away) but was satisfying enough to make me happy.

2003-01-15T15:39:00.000Z

Late Late Late
Woo, I didn't realise it had been so long since I last blogged. D'oh. Anyway, I'm back at Uni livin' it large and having a good time. Christmas was... pretty much the same as every year, though it was good to see all the family again. New Year was expensive (I somehow managed to spend all my Christmas money on New Years Eve) and since then I've just been taking things easy and preparing to do some serious work this term.

Shockwaves versus Bryclreem
I got really bored of my hair about 2 years ago and decided to do something about it so I started using gel (Shockwaves). I've been using that regularly now and I'm generally very happy with it. It can sometimes look a bit greasy but usually gel only enhances my hair because of the way I style it. However, one of my friends has been preaching the virtues of Bryclreem to me so I have decided to take the plunge and buy some. The effect on my hair is incredibly similar to Shockwaves. In fact, I'd probably go as far as saying they have the exact same effect. Despite having completely different textures and looks, Shockwaves and Brylcreem are essentially the same. Maybe it's my stupid hair that renders all hair products the same. Especially now I've accidentally dyed it ginger (don't ask). Maybe I should invent hair stuff that makes everyone's hairs look perfect.

Quote of the Day
"Anarchy is order; government is civil war" - Anselme Bellegarrique

2003-01-01T22:50:00.000Z
Tired and Hungover
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2002-12-16T20:21:00.001Z
Laissez Faire
I’m home for Christmas and I’m really looking forward to it this year. The last few years haven’t been particularly special for me (and 2 years ago I had the worst hangover I’ve ever had on Christmas Day) but this year feels different somehow. Maybe it’s because of my mum but I can just tell that I’m going to enjoy the holidays. The house has already been decorated and looks very festive. As per usual, we have 2 trees up, a real one in our living room and a fake one in our front room.

The Spirit of Christmas
To add to the Christmas spirit, and despite my dwindling finances, I bought “The Best… Christmas Album in the World Ever”. As well as featuring the typical Christmas hits such as ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ and ‘White Christmas’, it also features more recent songs such as Slade and Wizzard’s offerings. However, to my horror, it doesn’t have Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ in all its glory, just a poxy instrumental version. Worse still, no East 17 with ‘Stay Another Day’, and most insulting of all, it has a Spice Girls rendition of Christmas classic ‘Sleigh Ride’. Now, I can just about live with Chris de Burgh’s ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling’, and I really like Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘The Power of Love’, but to put them on and NOT ‘Last Christmas’ is frankly ludicrous. “The Best Christmas Album in the World Ever”? More like “A Decent Christmas Album But Not The Best Christmas Album Ever By A Long Shot”. Bah humbug.

2002-12-16T20:21:00.000Z
Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?
In terms of me me me, I haven’t really asked for anything specific for Christmas. I don’t have much money because I’m a poor student, and my parents don’t have any money because my mum isn’t working and my dad has been on strike a lot recently. (He’s a fireman and there’s been lots of strikes over pay rises in Britain the last few weeks). So, if Santa decides to only leave me some socks, a musical tie and woolly jumper with Rudoplh emblazoned on the front, so be it. I would really like the Lord of The Rings extended edition on DVD though. But of course, Chistmas is about giving rather than receiving, about spending time with family, and about celebrating the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ. Christmas would never become a shameless capitalist exploitation strategy in the name of ever-increasing profit margins. Never in a million years. But I digress. I honestly don’t care what I get, I just want to have a nice Christmas and think about nice things, like Turkey dinner and snowfall on Christmas Day.

Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care
I was trying to remember what I’ve got for Christmas in the past, and for the most part I can remember pretty well. Interestingly though, I have absolutely no idea what I got for Christmas last year. Seriously, not an inkling. I’m hoping this is because I was so blind drunk that even if the man in the big red suit had left me an island in the Caribbean inhabited solely by a group of twenty-something Blonde beauties, I still wouldn’t remember. Sadly, he didn’t leave me such a wonderful present (maybe this year?) and I wasn’t that drunk. So I have no idea why I can’t remember. Perhaps my present was so hideous that I’ve repressed the entire day. Or maybe it was so insignificant in the grand scheme of things that at the time it didn’t seem like it was worth remembering it.

2002-12-16T20:20:00.000Z
I have had some pretty wicked presents down the years though. When I was 4 I got a massive Thomas the Tank Engine stuffed toy that I still own to this day (though I can’t ride it in the same way I used to and it’s a little bit grubby now), plus my first Mountain Bike which was so big when I got it I had to mount it with me on the pavement and the bike on the road, and my Super Nintendo which I still have tucked away in my wardrobe and occasionally bring out to reminisce with. Childhood is such a wonderful, innocent time and I’ll never forget the excitement of coming downstairs to find the mince pie and beer I had lovingly laid out had gone and the massive bags we left under our tree were full of presents. Running upstairs and shouting repeatedly at my parents “He’s been! He’s been!” has to be one of the most magical moments a child can experience. It’s not the same now, especially as I know that the mince pie and beer were wasted on my dad all those years, but seeing the faces of my nephew and niece when they come round on Christmas morning is almost, ALMOST, as good as being 7 years old again.

Space Year 2003
I’m fast approaching the halfway point of my second year at Uni, and I still have no idea what I want to do when I finish. I would really like to go into journalism, but its extremely competitive and the pay isn’t great. I don’t think I have what it takes to be the next David Beckham or the Extreme Ironing World Champion (actually, I haven’t done any ironing for over 12 months, quite a feat I think you’ll agree) so I’m going to have to go back to the drawing board and think of something a little more realistic. Hmmm, perhaps when the clock strikes midnight on New Years Eve, in my 100% sober state, I’ll have an epiphany that will map out where my life is heading in the next few years. Or maybe I’ll just stagger a few feet before collapsing in the middle of the road.

Quote of the Day
“The definition of a beautiful woman is one who loves me” - Sloan Wilson

2002-12-13T22:27:00.000Z

Which WWE finishing move are you?
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2002-12-04T20:29:00.000Z
Groovy
I know I keep promising, but I really will do a proper update soon. To keep you amused in the meantime, check out my lovely computer game reviews at:

http://vision.york.ac.uk/articles/142/games.shtml

2002-11-28T20:58:00.000Z
Living in the Past
York Vision, my University's award-winning newspaper, has just started a computer games section, and lo and behold they needed someone to edit said section. Can you guess who the new editor is?

Wayne Rooney? Er...
Ruud van Nistelrooy? What...
The imfamous Andy Cole? Closer...
The immortal D'lo Brown? Almost...

Alex Rimmer? Wooo!

That's right, I get sent free computer games, have to write a couple of hundred words on them, and then (this is the best bit) I get to keep them! That's right, anything you review you get to keep. God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Ah, bliss.

Quote of the Day
"Fashion, which elevates the bad to the level of the good, subsqequently turns its back on bad and good alike" - Eric Bently, "Introduction to Naked Masks by Luigi Pirandello", 1952

2002-11-13T17:54:00.000Z
Quote of the Day

Stumbled across this in a politics journal today:

"New Labour is a lot like sex... it's not as good as you expected it to be but it's better than the other available alternatives - Can't Remember

Indeed

2002-11-12T16:09:00.000Z
That thing they call life
Well, I'm a little later than expected but better late than never. Hopefully, this will be the first of some more regular posts. I don't want to say too much now as I'm pressed for time, but I have been enjoying:

- GTA: Vice City and Pro Evolution Soccer 2 on PlayStation2 (plus the new SmackDown! game on Friday)
- Star Wars Episode II on DVD
- Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head on CD
- The new series of Buffy on BBC2 (Season 6, yeah I know we're behind but that's British TV for you)
- 28 Days Later at the cinema (a good British film that ISN'T a romantic comedy with Hugh Grant)

Oh, and of course that little thing I like to call my Politics degree. But you know, you need to get your priorities straight.

Simply the Best
A quick congratulations to my housemate Laura, who won Best Student Website of the Year at the Guradian Student Media Awards last week (she's the web editor for the site). Her photo was in the Guardian yesterday, (not the best photo of her mind you, but she cooks a mean pasta dish so I can't make too much fun of her). So, congratulations to her, she wins a week's work experience at the Guardian which is highly amusing because she reads the Telegraph and is really right-wing. Haha.

Anyway, peace out people, I'll be back soon.

Quote of the Day
"Luck is just the residue of design" - R. Branch

2002-09-27T18:59:00.000Z
Apology
The last time I blogged was quite a while ago and I do apologise for it, but I’ve had a pretty rotten couple of months. I don’t want to go into too many details, but basically my mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer which has hit the family pretty hard. At first, it wasn’t known whether it would be terminal but she had an operation and is now receiving chemotherapy and is (hopefully) going to recover. It’s been hard for all of us but we’re just trying our best to get on as normal. Things have been particularly difficult recently with her hair falling out and having to explain it all to my little sister, but we’re just soldiering on. I did manage to get myself a job, though ironically as my mum’s replacement at the library, and then I had to go into hospital myself for an operation which has basically ended my summer and meant I can’t go back to work at the library before I go back to Uni. Not quite the summer I had in mind, but beggars can’t be choosers.

The Foreseeable Future
I go back to Uni next Friday and I really can’t wait for it. It’s a new year, I’m living in my own house, and I guess in many ways it’s a fresh start of sorts, a clearing of the slate. It sounds awful, but I’m also looking forward to getting away from home in a way, not because I don’t want to be home with my family, but I guess just because getting away from it all for a while will clear my head a bit. Normal blogging duties will be resumed on my brand-spanking new PC over the next couple of weeks, that I can promise you.

2002-07-31T18:51:00.000Z
Sorry about my extended absence but I've been a little distracted recently, which I'll fill you in on soon.

And now for something completely different

Murphy's Laws
- Nothing is as easy as it looks.
- To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.
- Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
- Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.
- Two wrongs are only the beginning.
-If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
- Nothing is as easy as it looks.
- Every solution breeds new problems..
- If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then..
- If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
- Exceptions prove the rule ... and wreck the budget.
- Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
- If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
- Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
- Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
- Trust everybody ... then cut the cards.
- Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
- Everything takes longer than you think..
- Two wrongs are only the beginning.

2002-07-31T18:43:00.000Z
- Money can't buy love, but it sure gets you a great bargaining position.
- The best things in the world are free --- and worth every penny of it.
- Every kind action has a not-so-kind reaction.
- Nice guys(girls) finish last.
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Availability is a function of time. The minute you get interested is the minute they find someone else.

Link-me-do
Dancing Bush - a website where you can make George Bush strut his stuff
Frog Guts - dissect a frog online. Go on, you know you want to
Stupid Quotes - hilarious quotes that are plain stupid

Quote of the Day
Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

2002-07-12T19:27:00.000Z
Needle in a Haystack
I’ve spent the last week doing pretty much what I intended to do: bugger all. However, I’m now at the point where I’ll admit that I’m bored. Yep, you heard me, I’m bored. Much as I enjoy sitting about the house all day doing nothing and sitting in the garden when the weather’s nice, I need to be doing something. Anything. And of course, the most productive and practical thing I could be doing would of course be working. I’ve sent some letters and CVs off to various places but still no luck. Apparently ASDA (a supermarket chain) are looking for people so that’s always an option, and they supposedly pay quite well too, so I might pop in and ask for an application form. The thing is, I want someone to phone me up and say “Hey Alex, we love you, why don’t you come and work for us? You don’t have to do anything and we’ll give you shit-loads of money!” Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. So instead, I have to trawl through the local papers and look for something, anything, that suits me. Hell, I’ll do anything that isn’t at a fairground. It’s a thankless life. I keep thinking I should buy a lottery ticket, it’s a 1 in 14,000,000 chance but you never know.

Where do I go from here?
I feel that I’ve reached a cross-roads in my life. I went for a walk on the sand dunes before and I found myself reviewing the last couple of years of my life. I realise that the next 2 years are set for me because I’ve got to finish my degree, but after that I’ll be into the big wide world all on my own. I really don’t know what direction my life is heading in at the moment and I feel quite uncertain about things. I just don’t know if I feel ready to “grow up” and become an adult. I’m 19 now but I feel I’m growing up just a little too fast. I want to be able to just have fun more, not worry about money, just let loose once in a while. Instead, I’m thinking about when my next rent payment goes out and what furniture I’m going to buy for my house.

2002-07-12T19:26:00.000Z
Minority Report
Went to see it on Wednesday. I thought it was good, but not brilliant. Great special effects, decent acting, and the script was quite good too. But I felt just something was missing that stopped this being a great movie. Tom Cruise was excellent, and generally Spielberg handled the material well, including his typical touchy-feeling ending, but still, I felt there was just some intangible lacking. I’d recommend it because it is a good film, and unlike most blockbusters, it actually makes you think. Perhaps this was bad, but I couldn’t help comparing it to AI (another futuristic film, also done by Spielberg in part) and I really don’t know which I preferred. I thought AI was brilliant, a sublime film ruined by a “nice” ending. Minority Report is a merely good, but not ruined by its nice ending. Hmm, too much thinking, need more caffeine.

Quote of the Day
“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but only one view” - Harry Millner

2002-07-01T19:09:00.000Z
The Return
Sorry about the extended delay in bloggage, I’m trying to think of an excuse but it’s really down to sheer laziness. As I type this now I am currently at home enjoying my return for the summer holidays. Despite plans to originally stay in York over the summer in my house whilst working up there, things didn’t quite work out and now I’m back at home. We had this careers convention at Uni and I went to it and signed up to a job agency but all they offered me was 2 days silver service in the middle of July – yep, 2 days work. I politely declined. So now I’m at home, with no money and in desperate need of a job. I could go back to the fairground, and I probably will if I haven’t found anything within in a couple of weeks, but I’d really prefer not to. The fairground was okay, but the hours are long and the people you have to deal with… [shudders]. I saw an advert in the local paper asking specifically for university students for a job at an art studio (nude modelling perhaps?) so I might give it a ring and ask for some more information. At the moment, I’m paying £46 a week rent so I really need to get some money, not only to pay the rent, but also to save up for the rest of the year.

2002-07-01T19:08:00.003Z
So I face the final curtain
So that’s it, my first year at Uni is over already. I honestly can’t believe it because it seems to have gone so quickly. To think, this time last year I had only just finished my A-levels and was about to go on holiday to Ibiza. It really doesn’t seem like a year ago and I guess it shows you should enjoy things while they last. Looking back, I had a good year at Uni and I’m really glad I chose York. I made so many new friends and have such good memories. Being in halls was great and I’ll think I’ll really miss it next year when I’m living off-campus. I also can’t believe that this time last year I didn’t know any of my friends from Uni and yet now some of them are my best friends and I feel like I’ve known them for years. I guess living in each other’s pockets helps but even so, it’s frightening to think how different things could have been. I’m also glad that I chose Politics, because although it hasn’t been a laugh-a-minute, it’s been pretty much what I expected and, to be honest, probably easier than I thought as well. I got all my first choice-modules for the second and third years, and I’m really looking forward to some of them. I got my results back for the exams I took when I went back. I got 57% and 56% respectively, and, when I first saw them, I was really disappointed, but when I looked at everyone else’s results they were actually about average so that wasn’t too bad. I also did a group project where we had to do a half-hour presentation that got video-taped and I got 71% for that, which pleased me greatly. Afterwards, we watched the video of our presentation where our tutors analysed our performances, and mine said I was a really good speaker and could communicate with an audience well. Who’s the daddy?!

2002-07-01T19:08:00.002Z
19 and counting
It was also my birthday last week and I reached the age of 19. My corridor bought me Predator Special Edition DVD (which was greatly appreciated!), as well as a stress boob (like a stress ball, except it’s a breast) and a blow-up doll! Unfortunately the blow-up doll didn’t have any holes in so I couldn’t use it to… er… store things in but it’s supposed to be the perfect girlfriend that doesn’t talk back so I guess in that capacity it works pretty well. Speaking of which, I am still single, so keep that fan mail coming. I must confess, I am actually enamoured with somebody but it ain’t going anywhere so I’m open to all offers.

My parents got me a PS2 game (Medal of Honor) for my birthday as well as a bit of money to ease my overdraft and everyone else gave me money too, which is greatly appreciated. I had my birthday whilst still at Uni and we all went out for a meal, which was nice, before getting drunk. My parents offered to come up and see but I really didn’t want them to and it was only a week before I came home anyway.

2002-07-01T19:08:00.001Z
Spider-Man
I went to see Spider-Man last week and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t expecting it to be absolutely amazing but I didn’t think it would be awful either. Thankfully, it exceeded my expectations. One of the best things about it for me was that it stayed very true to the comics (except for Spider-Man firing web out of his wrists – in the comics he makes the webbing himself, this is something that was left in from James Cameron’s original screenplay of a few years ago when he wanted Leonardo di Caprio to play Spider-Man!). When I first heard Tobey Maguire was to play Spider-Man, I was initially disappointed because I didn’t think he’d be able to play the role well. After watching it, I thought he was perfect for the role and he really surprised me. Apparently, he had to do 6 months intensive working out to build his body for the role but it paid off as he looked (and sounded) great. Kirsten Dunst was also a good choice to play Mary-Jane Watson, and Willem DeFoe rounded off a good cast as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin. It was also nice to see former WWF superstar Macho Man Randy Savage in there, along with Sam Raimi’s old Evil Dead pal, Bruce Campbell, in cameo roles. Contracts have already been signed to make 2 sequels, and hopefully they’ll be able to surpass this film, which was really just a scene-setter, and a way to introduce the characters and the world of Spider-Man. Some of the CGI in this film has been criticised and I guess in parts there is a bit of the “George Lucas syndrome” – too much reliance on computer generated special effects. One scene in particular just looked completely fake and reminded me of a fight scene in Blade 2 where it was blatantly obvious that it wasn’t real actors. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed Spider-Man and can’t wait for the inevitable sequel.

2002-07-01T19:08:00.000Z
World Cup Extra
The World Cup’s over now and Brazil won thank God, because I really didn’t want Germany to win it. England probably could have won it had they beaten Brazil but they didn’t. Bygones. They can win Euro 2004 and possibly the next World Cup so it’s not all bad. I thought they had a good World Cup – they got further than France and Argentina – conversely they didn’t get as far as South Korea. I guess you can’t have it all (unless you’ve got buck-teeth and the most ridiculous haircut known to man).

Quote of the Day
“Cannot find REALITY.SYS… Universe halted” - Anon

2002-05-18T14:08:00.000Z
Today's Agenda
Hey everyone, sorry you haven't heard from me in a while but I've been busy and just generally haven't really got around to blogging. I apologise but to be perfectly honest, I don't have a great deal out of the ordinary to say. Hopefully, I'll be staying in York over the summer if I can get a full-time job, despite threats from my Mum to give my room at home to my little sister. I've filled in a form for a job agency, and hopefully they'll be able to find me something decent to do that pays well. I liked working at the fair, I got what I needed out of it and the people were great (except Rob of course) but I don't know if I could do it full-time over the summer. Ideally, I'd like to be in an office or testing computer games. ~~or running a brothel~~

Stoopid
I'm doing a group project in Politics at the moment and yesterday we had to go into York and ask people this questionnaire we designed about why people hold anti-EU views. A lot of the people we spoke to were incredibly stupid and didn't really know a lot about Europe and one guy was just totally thick and didn't have a clue about anything. One interesting thing is that most people we spoke to were pretty much anti-EU and the single currency but everybody said they think Britain will eventually join it so I guess there's a sense of inevitability about it.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
I went to watch Star Wars Episode II on Thursday and it generallys gets a thumbs up. My expectations weren't that high, as before Episode I they were, and I was disappointed. I wouldn't say Attack of the Clones is the best Star Wars film but it was still pretty good and everyone should go and see it. The special effects were just incredible and I thought the chase sequence at the beginning and the final battle were particularly well done. I also thought Anakin Skywalker was well-played by Hayden
Christensen alsthough some of his emotional scenes felt a bit forced. I did find it hard to make the connection between Jake Lloyd in Phantom Mencace and Christensen in Attack of the Clones. I don't know, I found the continuity in that difficult to follow. Anyway, a good film, poor
screenplay and not great acting but visually and viscerally, it was amazing. And thankfully, not too much of Jar-Jar Binks to stomach...

2002-05-18T14:06:00.001Z
End of an Era
The football season came to a close last weekend and for the first time since 1998 Man Utd ended up trophyless. I'm not going to moan like the rest of the United fans and say "we was robbed" because it's not true. Arsenal won the league because they were the best team (apart from Everton of course) and deserved to win it. They played the best football, had the best team and had the second best player. If Arsenal had Andy Cole, then they would never have lost a game all season (and how is Darius Vassell in the England squad ahead of Andy Cole? I don't know, sometimes I think maybe I'm the only person that sees the ability he possesses).

United had a good season, they finised third and got to the semi-finals of the Champions League. For the majority of clubs, that would be an outstanding season. It's only because such high standards have been set in the last few years that this season is deemed a "disappointment". If Southport had done what United did this season then I think Phil Wilson's job would be a little more secure. As it is, United think the whole world is against them and that events conspired against them. It isn't and they didn't. Be realistic, we're still one of the best teams in Europe and it's not like this was the last ever football season and there's never any possibility of them winning anything ever again. Of course, if they hadn't sold Andy Cole, it could have all been so different...

2002-05-18T14:06:00.000Z
The W..W..E?
Yes, that's right, the WWF lost their court battle with the pressure group World Wildlife Fund and they have had to re-brand with the outcome being that the WWF is no longer associated with wrestling but with giant pandas. Instead, there now exists the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) which is similar but doesn't quite have the same ring to it. On the plus side, the immortal D'lo Brown has returned and is feuding with William Regal over the European Title (go D'lo!) and Edge is getting the push he fully deserves. Hogan is still champion (but for how much longer?) and Benoit should be returning soon. Despite all this, ratings have dropped in America and it seems the wrestling industry's high of the late 90s may well have passed (despite D'lo's reappearance). However, I'm still a loyal fan and will continue to be so until I mature.

Quote of the Day
"I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might have-been has never been, but a has was once an are" - Milton Berle

2002-04-28T15:14:00.000Z
Dave's Inferno
Okay, well it's been over a week since I last posted so sorry about that. Not a great deal has happened to me this week since I've been revising for my exams and there's nothing organised at Uni for the first week of term. I had my 2 exams on Thursday and yesterday (having an exam on Saturday is not good) and they went alright. The one on Thursday was the one I thought was the easiest of the 2 but actually turned out to be harder. Yesterday's exam gave me some pretty sweet questions, especially the one that I actually did my essay on. I just rewrote it in the exam so that was good and the other 2 questions I did were okay as well, although one of them I was doing some major blagging on. I'm just glad they're over and hopefully I'll do alright in them but they're not particularly important so it doesn't matter that much.

Other than that I got this term's timetable and it's much better than last term's. I only have one morning start which is good but a couple of late finishes. I guess you can't have the best of both worlds. I also joined the campus gym and went for my induction on Friday which was pretty basic stuff but important nonetheless. That really is all I have to say because I really haven't done much this week. I went out on Thursday and again last night but nothing special.

I'll try and post again with something more interesting to say soon.

2002-04-19T18:17:00.001Z
Return of the Jedi
Following on from my post the other day, hopefully this will get published today (Friday) albeit in small parts because of stupid blogger. Anyway, to update you all on my 5 week Easter break, I’ll start off by telling you all about my dire financial situation and new-found wealth. When I got back for Easter I checked my bank balance and found I was £230 overdrawn which was a lot worse than I had expected. Although my parents owed me £200 for the deposit on my house next year, I was still theoretically £30 in debt with the next 5 weeks to get through. Sadly, I needed a job. I had a look in my local paper and noticed that the fairground were heavily advertising part-time jobs and I knew Robin worked there so I thought I’d ask him what it was like. Not only did he tell me what it was like but he also got me a job with him. What a guy.

I am The Game
My job was on the game stalls (you know, having to get a ball in a basket or knocking bottles down, that sort of thing) which is relatively straightforward. Also, because I’m 18 I was on a whopping £4.10 an hour (suck on that Partners) which I was very pleased with. Over the two weeks that the fair was open over Easter I worked most of it and a couple of weekends afterwards. Although it’s pretty easy, (really all you have to do is give out prizes and keep an eye on the games) it’s very tiring and you have to deal with loads of idiots. It’s tiring because the hours can be quite long (an average day is 10.30am – 9pm) but that’s good because you get more money (which I desperately needed). I enjoyed working there, everyone was really nice to me and I made quite a few new friends including some very attractive young women. I can go back in the summer to work full-time and I’m leaning towards it but I may still have a look around for something else when I come back in the summer because ideally I’d like to work in an office of some description.

2002-04-19T18:17:00.000Z
Moolah
Basically, thanks to working and the money my parents owed me, I not only cleared my overdraft (yeh!) but gave myself a surplus which I immediately wasted on alcohol, Wipeout Fusion and 4 DVDs. I had been intending to buy some new clothes but alas, my money has now all gone. I also set up my standing order for the rent on my house next year. I’m paying £200 a month for my house starting on July 1st and I probably won’t even move in until the end of September. What that means is I’m paying £600 for 3 months rent when I won’t even be there. D’oh. It’s not like that’s unusual with student housing though so I shouldn’t complain. If I’ve said any of this before (and somehow I think I might have) then sorry but I can’t remember if I’ve explained all this or not. Over the summer I really need a job, not only to keep up with my rent but to save some up for bills and utilities as well. I worked out that if I paid for everything on my student loan, I’d have about £2 a week left to spend on drink and entertainment. Stable income is a necessity, not a luxury.

The Infamous D’lo Brown
Regular readers will know that I am ~~obsessed~~ ~~infatuated~~ a big fan of WWF wrestler D’lo Brown. So it was to my delight that with the WWF’s recent ~~roster split~~ brand extension that D’lo was put on Ric Flair’s RAW roster and has since wrestled a couple of house shows and been on Jakked. Not long now until a monumental feud for the World Title surely. It’s good to hear he’s back (without the frog splash though – that’s the preserve of Eddy Guerrero and Rob Van Dam) and fingers crossed he’s in line for some sort of push. They’re not doing much with the European Title at the moment and since D’lo is a 4 (5?) time champion perhaps they should start there. Also, whilst on the subject of wrestling, I won tickets to see The Scorpion King at the cinema, starring The Rock, and I go to see it tonight. Based on preliminary reports, the film is what most expect it to be (mindless action) and The Rock is a lot better than most predicted. The comparisons with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the next big action hero are inevitable. (N.B. Arnie and The Rock are very good friends in real life so you never know, one day we could see them on celluloid together)

2002-04-19T18:16:00.000Z
Back for Good
I go back to Uni on Sunday and I’m only half looking forward to it. I say “half” because I’ve got exams the first week back for which I haven’t done nearly enough work and because I’ve also got used to being at home again. It’s weird because I didn’t particularly want to come home for Easter but after having been here for a sizeable period of time, I don’t particularly want to go back. I could quite easily spend another couple of weeks sat at home doing nothing all day. Oh well, I’m sure once I get back I won’t even remember what home looks like. Anyway, I’ll try and post again next week, before my first exam. See you in York.

Quote of the Day
“We all know that we have to put up with a bad government when it is bad; the problem is to find a good government” - Jean Jaques Rousseau

2002-04-17T18:48:00.000Z
Apologies
Hopefully, this will be my first successful post in 4 weeks. Although I've been lazy and haven't done much (attempted) posting I have at least tried a couple of times but blogger seems to have problems working with my computer and it never lets me post. I apologise for this but it isn't entirely my fault. I've so much to say yet it all eludes me now. I go back to Uni on Sunday and have my dreaded exams next week (for which I have done hardly any work) and I got a job over Easter thanks to Robin at the fairground to pay off my overdraft which I succesfully did. In fact, I have a slight surplus. Also, I won tickets to see "The Scorpion King" at the cinema on Friday so I'm looking forward to that. Watched Blade 2 as well, was nowhere near as good as the original. Anyway, this is all I have time for now. I'll try and do something a little more substantial before the weekend.

2002-03-20T20:55:00.000Z
N.B.
The reason I'm posting in such short measures is because Blogger only seems to accept posts of a small length. Bah.

2002-03-20T20:54:00.000Z
Whole Again
I’ve finally returned home for the Easter holidays after another tumultuous term at Uni. I promised I’d blog more often this term just gone than I did last term and I think generally, I stuck to my promise I as I actually did manage to make a few posts. However, it still wasn’t good enough and I shall strive to do better next term. I had a pretty good term overall, nothing out of the ordinary happened, but I still enjoyed it. I was sick once (which has left a big purple stain on my carpet) and I’m still single but there’s still a term to go this year. I also got all my work done on time, which I was very pleased with and I also chose all my modules for my second and third years.

Home is where the heart is
Anyway, I’m home and at the moment I really have nothing to do. I’ve got exams when I go back so I really need to do some revision over these 5 weeks, but apart from that I have nothing else to do. One thing I really ought to do is get a job, and thus some money. However, I’d only be able to work for 5 weeks and I don’t know if I can be bothered putting the effort into getting a job just for a month or so. I am tempted to go through a temping agency but as of now, I don’t think I’ll be getting one.

2002-03-20T20:53:00.001Z
Sons of Liberty
The game that many people bought a PlayStation2 for, Metal Gear Solid 2, was released a couple of weeks ago, and I diligently went out and bought it because I’d finished my work and had nothing to do for my last week at Uni, despite my financial situation. A weekend and 14 hours of gameplay later, I had finished the game and now I can share my thoughts on it with you. MGS2 was probably the most-hyped game on the PS2 if not on any system ever. I tried not to listen to the hype too much but after played through the first game and having completed the demo you get with Zone of the Enders many times, my expectations were admittedly high. After finishing the game, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with it, but I did expect more. I can’t really give away many details without ruining the plot but I thought the storyline was nowhere near as good as the original Metal Gear Solid’s on the PSOne. In fact, it was downright confusing and I’m still not entirely sure what happened. The plot was very similar to the first game and was doing okay until you get towards the end of the game (it was kind of like A.I. in that respect). It just got a little weird and I’m not entirely sure what it all means. Like the original game, the voice acting is generally pretty good but some characters are worse than others (*cough*Raiden*cough*). The actual game itself is more or less unchanged from the original and includes several parts that are virtually identical to bits from MGS, however this is partly explained (I think). Some of the new bits are pretty cool including using the excellent first-person viewpoint, coolant to defuse bombs and holding up guards to get their dog tags.

2002-03-20T20:53:00.000Z
Looks are Everything
The graphics are great, the weather effects are spot on and some of the set pieces are really good. The attention to detail is astounding – ice cubes melt in real time, you leave wet footprints when coming in from the wet and condensation steams up the camera. The cut scenes are all rendered using the game’s graphics engine and they all look superb and many of them could have come straight out of a Hollywood action film. Speaking of Hollywood action films, the music from the game is done by real-life Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who has done scores for The Rock and Enemy of the State among others. The music fits perfectly and it’s hard to believe that Gregson-Williams didn’t have anything visual to work with – he only had lists of adjectives. The music too adds to the whole Hollywood feel of the game, which creator Hideo Kojima was aiming for. So, in conclusion, MGS2 has great graphics, great music, good voice acting and excellent gameplay. The only downside as far as I was concerned was the plot. And yet for me this still makes it a disappointment. The fact that it only took me 14 hours to finish didn’t bother me too much, even though I skipped Very Easy and Easy modes and went straight onto Normal because the game has lots of replay value. No, the only real downer was the storyline. Yet, because of the nature of MGS, this is exactly what makes it such a great experience. I don’t know, the plot just seemed a little clever for its own good and ended up just confusing me. At the end of the game I didn’t really feel like I’d achieved anything and that it hadn’t particularly been worth all that effort. It was worth the money and I’m glad I bought it but I just can’t help feeling that it could have been so much better. I’m not saying it’s a bad game, in fact it’s a great game, but still there’s just some intangible missing. Of course, things were left open for another sequel but right now, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

2002-03-20T20:02:00.000Z
Wrestlemania
The highlight of the Wrestling calendar took place last night but for those of you who haven’t seen it, I’m going to leave my discussion on it for a couple of days (so that I get time to watch it too!) The main event was Jericho against Triple H, but the showstopper was undoubtedly what I’ve called the “legends” matchup – 80s icon Hulk “Hollywood” Hogan against the latest living legend The Rock. Hogan and Rock aren’t the two best workers in the WWF but with the crowd behind them it isn’t so much about the wrestling side of things as the psychology and the spectacle of the match. And maybe D’lo Brown could enter the fray and make it a triple-threat legends match? Or maybe not. And in the future we can see what I consider an even bigger match-up: ~~Southport vs. Everton~~ Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Hogan; 80s vs. 90s; old school vs. the attitude era. I can’t wait.

The End?
I think that’s all for now. After venting my frustrations about MGS2 I can’t remember what else I wanted to talk about. Oh well. I am still playing MGS2, despite its plot, just to try and show that maybe I was wrong about it. Wishful thinking.

Quote of the Day
“Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality” - Frank Herbert

2002-03-15T22:25:00.000Z
What's to come
Hey everyone, I've come home for the Easter holidays regular bloggage will commence. Coming soon: my thoughts on Metal Gear Solid 2, Wrestlemania and life in general. I bet you can't wait.

2002-03-09T16:37:00.000Z

random scousers joke

A Leeds fan, a Man United fan and a Liverpool fan were all in Saudi Arabia, sharing a smuggled crate of booze. All of a sudden the Saudi police rushed in and arrested them. The mere possession of alcohol is a severe offence in Saudi Arabia, so for the terrible crime of actually being caught consuming the booze, they were sentenced to death! However, after many months and with the help of very good lawyers, they were able to successfully appeal their sentence down to life imprisonment. By a stroke of luck, it was a Saudi national holiday the day their trial finished, and the extremely benevolent Sheikh decided they could be released after receiving just 20 lashes each of the whip.

As they were preparing for their punishment, the Sheikh suddenly said: "It's my first wife's birthday today, and she has asked me to allow each of you one wish before your whipping." The Leeds fan was first in line (he had drunk the least), so he thought
about this for a while and then said: "Please tie a pillow to my back." This was done, but the pillow only lasted 10 lashes before the whip went through. The Leeds fan had to be carried away bleeding and crying with pain when the punishment was done. The Manc was next up (he almost finished a half a bottle), and after watching the scene, said:" Please fix two pillows on my back, under my
shirt." But even two pillows and one shirt could only take 15 lashes before the whip went through again.

The Liverpool Fan was the last one up (he had finished off the crate), but before he could say anything, the Sheikh turned to him and said: "You are from a most beautiful part of the world, your city has some of the best bars, nightclubs and restaurants in Europe, your city and football team is known throughout the world. For this, you may have two wishes!" "Cheers mate, your Most Royal and Merciful Highness", The Liverpool Fan replies. "In recognition of your kindness, my first wish is that you give me not 20, but 100 lashes." "Not only are you an honourable, handsome and powerful man, you are also very brave." The Sheik says with an admiring look on his face. "If 100 lashes is what you desire, then so be it. And your second wish? What is it to be?" the Sheikh asks."Please tie the Manc to my back."

2002-02-28T20:26:00.000Z
Life in the Fast Lane
Well, first off I'd like to apologise for not posting anything for a whole 2 weeks. There hasn't been a great deal happening here really so that's part of the reason why I haven't posted in so long and not solely down to my ~~ravenous sex life~~ sheer laziness. A couple of weeks ago York University had a sit-in about 24-hour portering being taken away in some colleges (including mine, Derwent) and approximately 400 students with nothing better to do with their time laid siege to Heslington Hall and staged a protest. It worked and the decision on portering has been put back for a year. However, this was really a bit of a cop-out because the current Vice-Chancellor stands down soon so by delaying the decision he is just giving the problem to his successor. Tsk. So really it didn't accomplish a great deal.

Onto other matters and I have barely any money left for the last 2 weeks of term. Life's a bitch. Renting a tuxedo for next week's Easter Ball probably didn't help matters but there you go. I really want to buy Metal Gear Solid 2 for my PS2 when it comes out next Friday but I may have to wait a week or two until I can persuade my parents to give me a temporary loan. Also, I have to choose before the end of term my modules for my second and third year which I think is a little silly. I mean for next year isn't too bad but for 2 year's time? It just seems a little premature. My choices could change or something. Also, because I'm single subject politics as opposed to a joint degree my freedom of choice is relatively restricted. I really want to do a module on the Security of the European Union but I can't because I have to do a compulsory politics module. D'oh.

Ocean's Eleven and American History X
I went to see Ocean's Eleven at the cinema on Saturday. If you haven't already heard, it's a remake of the 1960 original but instead of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin we have George Clooney and Brad Pitt. This is one cool film. Clooney, perhaps surprisingly, overshadows Pitt throughout the entire movie and this could prove to be his one real breakthrough film. I mean, it's not like he's had complete duds in the past but he hasn't quite topped the mountain yet. There aren't any great special effects and the plot is pretty straightforward but this is still one hell of a film. I was actually quite surprised because despite the movie getting good reviews I wasn't convinced it would be that good. I was proved wrong and you should all go and see it. Now.

I finally got around to watching American History X as well this week. My friend has had it on video since I've been at Uni but I just never got around to watching it. Well, I sure as hell am glad I did eventually get around to it. Starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong (God, his career has nose-dived since the heights of his debut in Terminator 2) American History X tells the story of Derek who at the beginning of the film kills two black men who are trying to steal his car. Derek is sent to jail and through the rest of the film we see flashbacks of his experiences there. His younger brother, played by Furlong, is a lot like Derek: in the sense that he too is a member of a white supremacist group who is opposed to all non-White people living in their town. Essentially, the film tells the tale of how Derek began by being a narrow-minded fascist who slowly comes to realise that his views aren't right. This was an incredibly powerful film and the ending is just brilliant. This is a film with a clear message and even though racism isn't anywhere near as prevalent now as it has been in the past I think American History X can teach us all something. Norton's performance is stunning and this just goes to show why he's rated so highly. Another film you should all see now.

Love's Labour Lost
Oh yeah, and the 2 girls I sent Valentines to? Well, they both have boyfriends. D'oh!

I'll be back soon with more literary delight.

Quote of the Day
"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them" - Albert Einstein

2002-02-14T19:21:00.000Z
Valentines Day
Today is February 14th and you all know what that means. [Cue soppy music, a box of chocolates and red roses] Despite going against my better judgement, I did indeed send a couple of Valentines cards and hopefully something fruitful will come out of them. I've had 2 so far but both of them were from girls down my corridor who already have boyfriends so I think I can discount them. I'm just assuming there were so many of them being sent to me that the postman couldn't carry them all and they'll just come to me in batches. Yeah right.

The Score
I went to watch "The Score" at York Student Cinema last night and I thought it was excellent. Released last year and starring Robert de Niro, Marlon Brando and Edward Norton (wow!) The storyline wasn't that good (de Niro's character wants to do one last robbery before he retires) and Brando didn't have that much to do (about as much as Apocalypse Now) but it was still a great movie. There weren't any really big action scenes and it took a while to get going but overall it was worth it. De Niro was amazing and Norton's portrayal of a reatrd was phenomenal. There was a great twist at the end followed by another and these provided a satisfying climax to the film. This is by no means a classic but something definitely worth seeing.

Buffy and Angel
I borrowed a couple of DVD sets off a friend - Angel Season 1 and Buffy Season 2 - and I'm hooked. These sets consist of a whole series, a couple of documentaries and the odd commentary plus every episode in the series. They're about £70 and you can get them for quite a few series (they've just released the first series of Transformers on DVD). It's just great being able to sit and watch an entire series in a matter of days without having to wait a week inbetween each episode. If I had the money, I could so easly go out and buy all the Buffy season box-sets. They're addictive. I just can't get enough of demons being slain! (or Sarah Michelle Gellar)

Quote(s) of the Day
(I've decided to put 2 in today because they both caught my eye)

"The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents" - Salvador Dali

"A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B" - Fats Domino

2002-02-03T15:47:00.000Z
Bar Antics
Last night I went to an Indie night in Goodricke College on campus. The music was cool but I wasn't in much of a dancing mood for some reason. It was hell trying to get to the bar and it always took about 20 minutes to get served. I like to think I'm actually quite good at ordering drinks because I always seem to get served quicker than some people. I don't know if there's that much technique to it but I just try and get my hand on the bar as early as possible and try and get the attention of the barman/barmaid. Maybe if I attached a big neon flashing sign to my head saying "Serve Me" I'd get served quicker. On second thoughts, maybe not.

Valentine's Day
It's Valentines Day in a couple of weeks and I don't know whether to send a card this year. I had a bad experience 2 years ago so I don't know if I should bother. Hmm, I'll think about it.

Mulholland Drive
I went to see David Lynch's critically acclaimed "Mulholland Drive" at York's art-house cinema last week and it was an absolutely amazing film. Sadly, I can't tell you much about the plot because that would be giving it away but suffice to say I left the cinema feeling a little confused. I went on the Internet though to check out what other people thought of the film and when I found out what it was all about I just couldn't believe it. It's such a clever film because of the little things that you don't notice and then when the climax comes it all fits perfectly. Kind of like "The Sixth Sense" except completely different. Much of the film is satirising Hollywood and many of the genres associated with it. The Tarantino-esque scene is hilarious and the whole cinema was laughing at it. It's not a film that everybody will like and to be frank the ending left me feeling dazed. It was like you walked out of the cinema thinking to yourself "What the hell just happened?" But it was all worth it and it was just such a clever film. It's funny, it's surreal and it's excellently acted. It's obvious that this came from the same person as "Twin Peaks" and this may even surpass that in terms of surrealism.

Happy Birthday
Big it up for Mikey D who hits 19 today everyone. That's all from me for now, not really much to say sorry.

Quote of the Day
Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real. - Tupac Shakur

2002-02-01T19:30:00.000Z
Sheer Laziness
Ok, well because I'm lazy and can't be bothered doing a proper post I've decided to just post my results from one of those e-mail tests here so you can all see what a great person I am:

1. Name: Alexander William Rory
2. Nicknames: Al, Ali, Rimmer, The Punisher, Sex Kitten
3. There isn't a number 3 suspiciously
4. Height: 5ft 8"
5. Hair: Dark brown
6. Siblings: 1 brothers, 2 sisters.
7. What are you wearing right now? Nothing... er, adidas trainers, jeans, black t-shirt and a woolen jumper.
8. Star sign: Cancer.
9.Where do you live: At the moment York but also Southport
10. Sex: Male
11. Righty or lefty: Righty.

ON GIRLS FOR GUYS(LADS ONLY)
23. Regular underwear or thong: Regular
24. Painted nails or not: Without.
25. Bra or sports bra: Sports
26. Cute n' mysterious or wild n' sexy: Both.
27. Dressy or casual: 'Casual'
28. Dark or blonde hair: Has to be blonde.
29. Long or short hair?: Long-ish
30. Dark or light eyes: Light
31.Long or short nails: Not that long but longer than mens.
32. Hat or no hat: No hat
33. Good or bad girl: Good-ish
34. Fat or thin: Thin
35 Hair up or down: Down
36. Jewelry or none: A couple of rings would be ok
37. Tall or short: Shorter than me!
38. Curly or straight hair: Straight.
39. Trowser or dress: Dress.
40. Tan or fair: Tan.
41. Freckles or none: None.
42. Pretty indoor chick or party chick: Erm, Party?
43. Accent or Canadian: Canadians have accents don't they?
44. Shy or outgoing: Both when appropriate

*~EVERYONE~*
45. Chocolate, white or milk? Chocolate.
46. Root beer or dr. pepper? Dr Pepper.
47. Mud or Jell-O wrestling? As long as it's wrestling it's good but i'll go with mud.
48. Vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate.
49. Skiing or boarding? Boarding.
50. Day or night? Day.
51. Summer or winter? Summer.
52. Cake or pie? Cake.
53. Silver or gold? Gold.
54. Diamond or pearl? Diamonds
55. sunset or sunrise? Sunset.
56. Have you ever broke/sprained/fractured a bone? Yes. I've broken my little finger several times and shattered the bone in it once. All playing as a goalkeeper.
59. Do you wear any rings? No.
60. Do you hate any one? Yes.
61. Do you believe in fighting? Only if the outcome is pre-dertermined and the fighters have stupid names, wear spandex and have entrance music.
62. What's your favorite bands? Radiohead/Stereophonice.
63. Who/what do you dream about? Recently, Osama Bin Laden trying to kill me.
64. Do you have a HUGE crush at someone right now? Yep and the feeling ain't mutual.
65. Whos ur loudest friend? Nicola.
66. Who's ur quietest friend? Jonny.
67. Who do you turn to for advice? Hannah.
68. Whos the first person to ask if you're ok? Me.
69. Who do you tell your dreams to? Anyone and everyone.
70. Who is most likely to respond? Erm.

I promise to give a proper post this weekend.

Quote of the Day
"It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved." - Niccolo Machiavelli

2002-01-23T20:04:00.000Z
Recent Developments
Well, I'll start off by apologising for not updating my blog for so long. It's just been a combination of things really rather than anything in particular. I always intend to make a post but something always gets in the way whether it be laziness, the call of alcohol or someone nosey sat next to me. Anyway, moving on.

Making Films is Easy
I've been spending lots of time with the Cinematography Society recently and I've made 2 films in the last couple of weeks. The first one was called "Boy Meets Girl" and although I was only an extra it was a great laugh filming it. We had to go to a local club (during the day) Ikon & Diva to do some filming and basically all I had to do was stand in the background and pretend to dance. What made it fun was the free alcohol! We started drinking at 2, finished filming at 5 and came back to Uni. But instead of stopping drinking then I thought it best to carry on and went down to the bar. By 11pm I was ~~paralytic~~ pretty wasted and can't even remember going to bed. I really don't know how much I had to drink but when I woke up at about 3am to go to the toilet I was still drunk. The next morning I felt absolutely abysmal and I guess the moral of the story is "never go on a 9 hour bender". Good advice.

Then last weekend, the Cinematography Society decided to do something special and somebody suggested a few weeks ago doing a 48-hour project. Basically the writing of a script can take weeks, plus filming and editing, which means making a film, even a small one, can be a lengthy process. Well, we were going to try and write, film, edit and premiere a short movie in one weekend. And by God, did we do it! I had serious reservations about our success but we managed it. Admittedly, the film only lasted about 8 minutes but what was so gratifying was that all of us were involved in every aspect of the production - writing, acting, editing. We spent all of Saturday morning writing the script and then the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning filming. All of the editing was done on Sunday afternoon and then the film was premiered in my bar on Sunday evening. My acting, was, as always, immaculate and so far an incredible one person has asked me for my autograph (albeit she was a friend and only joking). But making films can be relatively straightforward if everyone is working towards a common goal. I know 2 people who are applying to film school and I think it would be such an amazing experience to do.

House Hunting
As a first year at Uni I get to live on campus which is great as I'm right next to the bar and I don't have to go far for lectures. Next year however, all first years have to move out and find a house nearby. To that end, the last week I've been frantically ringing landlords up and asking them if they have a house available. The Uni publishes a housing list so you just look through that and find the contact details of a landlord whose property you're interested in. Today, I had a look round 2 houses and the first one was okay, not great, but the second one was really nice. We said we'd take it there and then and we just need to sign the contract on Friday. I'm moving in with Tom, Hannah and Laura, all people down my corridor. It's a good mix with 2 girls and 2 boys plus it won't feel like it's crowded. The house is terraced with one bedroom downstairs and 3 upstairs (typical student house really). The rent is £46 a week which for York is about average. However, because I'll be paying my rent out of my student loan and the others are getting their parents to pay it for them (lucky buggers) it means I'll be much more strapped for cash next year. On top of the rent we'll have bills and a television license to pay so I'll really be scrimping for money. Hopefully, I'll get a ridiculously well-paid job over the summer (yeah, right) and I'll be loaded by the time I get back to Uni. Here's hoping.

Other Matters
They're pretty much the main things that have happened to me recently. I'm full-swing back into my course now and I've finished reading J. S. Mill's "On Liberty". It was interesting but hard-going and I think I need to read it again to fully grasp everything he was saying. We're doing ethics in Philosophy at the moment and that's so interesting. Today our lecturer tied in what we've been doing with the war in Afghanistan and some of the things he said made sense. He was basically asking whether it was morally right for so many civilians to be killed during the attacks on the Taliban as between October 7th and December 7th something like 3,500 civilians have been killed due to the war. What's interesting was the lecturer's point that during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, they were attacking what America stood for and the civilian casualties were just a consequence of that attack, and during the war in Afghanistan the American attacks were on the Taliban and Al Quaeda and the civilian casualties were just a consequence of those attacks. So, was the American action justified or are Bush, Powell, Rumsfeld and co. just as bad as Bin Laden and Omar? I think the attacks were justified but it's an intriguing point of view. Certainly something to consider, especially in light of the recent furore over the treatment of Taliban prisoners.

United all the Way
I could talk about how great Ruud van Nistelrooy is and how United are back in the title race but after last night's performance I don't think I want to. I knew they'd lose to Liverpool.

The world of the WWF has become very exciting recently with the news that they may be signing all 3 of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan. I think this could be either great or very bad for the WWF depending on how they're handled.

That's all for now, hopefully more at the weekend.

Quote of the Day
If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. - J. S. Mill

2002-01-19T22:20:00.000Z
Sorry
Ok, so I promised I would update more and I haven't. Well, I've been pretty busy these first two weeks (ok, so the first week I didn't do anything but details details). I swear I will do a proper update tomorrow or in the next couple of days. Loads to talk about, I promise.

2002-01-08T23:23:00.000Z
I gotta get through this
Ah, it's great to be back at Uni. Complete freedom, nothing to do. I got my timetable for this term and it's not too bad, pretty similar to last term actually. Thankfully I only have one 9:15 instead of 2 and no 5:15 tutorials. Woo! However, I had to buy all the books for my course and that set me back £50 (thank God for the student loan). To be fair, last term I spent £90 on textbooks so I really shouldn't complain but it's just that the money could have been put to better use on something like alcohol or seducing women. But anyway, I'm doing some J. S. Mill, Immanuel Kant and Jean Jaques Rousseau this term so that should be fun. Interestingly enough, though I haven't been able to confirm this (nor would I want to) but my old Politics teacher told me that Jean Jaques Roussea wrote an entire book about male masturbation. Hey, don't shoot the messenger!

In other news, well there really isn't any. This week I don't do anything while some poor souls have exams to do. It was great to get back to my corridor because I really missed everyone. Living with 9 strangers for a short while, you kind of get close to them and it's strange not being around them. I'm not sure whether home is "home" or at Uni. Or the WWF. But anyway, since I'm really doing virtually nothing all day at the moment, I'll leave you all in peace. Please keep leaving me your comments, they're much appreciated.

2002-01-06T16:23:00.000Z
Back to Wonderland
Hey everyone, I'm back at Uni now and this is my first of many regular posts. Not much to say at the moment except a thank you to my esteemed friend and colleague, Mr. Solid_Ichelma (Mike). Without him this blog would just be a twinkle in my eye. I promise to repay you in some shape or form one day. But nothing unsavoury.

I'll be back with more soon. Don't go away.

2002-01-05T17:25:00.000Z
Be my sadistic co-worker
After months of ignoring the trend, comments have been installed! You can now easily reply to Al's posts, or at least until the popularity of YACCS outways the available bandwith (like the other free systems).

Anyway, maximum respect to YACCS and to Popdog for recommending the service.

2002-01-05T11:30:00.000Z
How could I forget?
Of course, I need to add England's 5-1 THRASHING of Germany to the highs of last year.

2002-01-04T18:59:00.000Z

New Year New Year
Another year has been and gone. It’s 2002 already. New Year’s eve saw me going into town and just generally getting drunk with some friends. To be honest, it wasn’t really much different to a typical night out but it was the end of a year and everybody was merry. I’m looking forward to 2002 and hoping that it is a year in which everybody can go on to do what they’ve always dreamed of and find happiness. Last year for me was generally a good year, but I think that for most people, with September 11th and everything, it is a year they will never forget. The shadow of terrorism and instability that came in the aftermath of that horrific tragedy will live on in the memories of many people for years to come. 2002 represents a fresh start for everybody – a clean slate – so let’s all try and make a real go of things.

Testing my Resolve
Well I haven’t written any new year resolutions in stone or anything, but there are a couple of things I would like to do:

1. Lose weight – yep, this year I’m determined to finally make a real effort and get in shape. It’s not like I’m a complete slob and never do any exercise and eat junk food all the time or anything (well, maybe sometimes), but I sure could do with a healthier lifestyle

2. Blog more – whilst at Uni I hardly blogged at all. Although I didn’t get a computer at Christmas, I’ve decided that I’m going to make an effort to blog more. I might only be posting once a week but surely that’s better than once a term

3. Read more – ever since I can remember I’ve always read a lot but in recent years, probably due to academic commitments more than anything, I’ve hardly read at all. Well I’ve decided I want to get back into reading regularly, if only to break up all the reading of textbooks I’m doing! I’m starting with the Harry Potter series and inevitably I’ll move on to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. God, I’m such a sheep

4. Live life to the max! – I just generally want to improve myself as a person. How do I do this? Your guess is as good as mine is but I’m going to start by working hard and playing hard. I want to treat people as I want to be treated myself and just be nice to people and make more friends, join more societies etc. I think you know what I’m getting at

So, do I have a chance of achieving (any?) of these resolutions? Maybe.

A Space Odyssey
Right, I was thinking about my personal 2001 and what happened and I thought about some of the good things and some of the bad things that happened:

Good
- Getting a PlayStation2
- Getting 3 A’s in my A-level exams
- Going to Uni, loving it and making loads of new friends
- Manchester United winning the league for the third time in a row
- Turning 18
- Watching “Apoclaypse Now Redux” and “Fellowship of the Ring” at the cinema
- Leaving work
- Never having to go to another goddam boring 3-hour Governor’s meeting again
- Going to Ibiza on holiday and getting a kick-ass tan

Bad
- September 11th (even though I wasn’t directly affected by it, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling I felt as I watched the pictures unfolding on TV)
- Getting a B in my Politics A-level
- Andy Cole leaving Manchester United
- The Rock only being in “The Mummy Returns” for like for the first 5 minutes
- Leaving work
- Not getting onto the Derwent JCRC at Uni

So based on that list I’d say all-in-all 2001 was a pretty good year for me. If one of the worst things that happened to me last year was The Rock only being in his first film for the opening sequence, then surely I must be doing okay. I’m sure I’m missing some things out, both good and bad, but they’re the only ones that spring to my immediate memory.

Something to Look Forward to
Here’s what I’m looking forward to in 2002:

- Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones
- Spiderman: The Movie
- The Scorpion King starring The Rock
- Metal Gear Solid 2 (PlayStation2)
- Final Fantasy X (PlayStation2)
- Seeing the world premiere of my first feature film, “Fear”, made by York Uni Cinematography Society
- An exciting title race in the Premiership for a change
- The World Cup (Come on England!!!)
- D’lo Brown’s long heralded return to the primary roster of the WWF
- Becoming WWF champion
- Moving into my own house for the second year of Uni

Okay, nothing particularly earth shattering there granted, but for me if I can get to see or experience half of those things then surely I’ll be able to look back and say “not a bad year”.

Happy Birthday!
This wonderful little blog is now just over one year old. My very first post was tapped out on 31st December 2000 and reading through it I noticed that the title I called my blog, “The Secret World of an Average Guy”, was only temporary in my mind until I could think of something better. Well, as you can tell I couldn’t think of anything better. No, only joking. I’ve stuck with it because I think it’s relatively applicable (I’d say I’m fairly average apart from the exceptional good lucks and ridiculously oversized peni… er, brain) although my world isn’t so secret if you’re reading this! So, happy birthday to my blog. Of course, none of it would be possible if it weren’t for Mike to make it all happen and give me ~~sexual favours~~ encouragement and inspiration. Forever, I am indebted. And it’s down to him for the snazzy new design too. If only I could have comments… (nudge nudge wink wink)

Life
Now all the sentimental crap is out of the way we can get down to business. It’s Friday today and I go back to Uni on Sunday. It’s been great to come home for a couple of weeks, get all my washing and cooking done for me and see all my friends from college, but I can’t wait to get back to York. Maybe I just prefer the independent lifestyle and can’t stand being moaned at by my parents for staying in bed all day or leaving dirty plates lying around the kitchen. That never happens at Uni! So it’ll be another 10 weeks away home for me and more chances to kill of my liver once and all with alcohol. Ah, I can’t wait.

On a completely unrelated note I bought a TV reception booster yesterday from Currys for £20 so I’m hoping it will the reception in my room at Uni and actually make at least one channel watchable. It makes a difference in my room at home so I’m confident it will have the desired effect. I also bought some new trainers that were reduced from £40 to £15. I didn’t need new trainers but you know, you need a bit of variety in life. This week I also caved in and bought the boxset of “The Mummy” (which doesn’t feature The Rock) and “The Mummy Returns” (which does). “The Scorpion King” looks good from the trailer and will probably be the best film to star a wrestler until “D’lo Brown: The Movie” comes out. Probably.

I’m not sure if I’ll post again before I go back but if I don’t I’ll try and make a post as soon as I can from Uni. Until next time everyone. Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Quote of the Day
“A good Media essay features Madonna or goats but not both combined in the same sentence.” - Michael Dale

[don't panic...it's only me again, posting for al]

2002-01-01T22:42:00.000Z
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2001-12-30T17:50:00.000Z

Take the What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be? Quiz

2001-12-29T21:26:00.000Z

Christmas
Well, it's the 28th December and Christmas has been and gone. As you get older Christmas loses some of its pizzazz and this year was perhaps the first year when it really didn't feel special at all. Even though we've got both our Christmas trees up and all the usual festive decorations, Christmas just wasn't the same. I didn't really get much in the way of presents (I am 18 so it's not like I expect much). I got some clothes and something I found very amusing was the fact that my mother and Nan both bought the exact same T-shirt. I don't think they saw the funny side of it. I got a rocket-shaped lava lamp, which is pretty cool, but I don't know whether I'll take it back to Uni with me. I got the obligatory socks and high street vouchers for the usual stores but nothing particularly interesting or noteworthy. No PlayStation2 games either, :-( so I've had to take the liberty of purchasing a couple myself off the Internet.

Christmas Day was just as it usually is, seeing my brother and his kids in the morning and then going round to my Aunt's in the afternoon. It was good to see all of the family again but since I don't see them that often anyway, even though I've been away it didn't really seem like I hadn't seen them for ages or anything. My Aunt is pregnant again and she's 42 so it was a bit of a shock for her but she seems really happy about it. If there's one good thing about Christmas time, it's getting to be with your family. Getting presents is all good and well when you're younger but once you get past a certain age you begin to see Christmas as more of a corporatist Godsend than a celebration of the birth of Jesus.

New Year
The New Year is approaching and I haven't decided what I'm doing for it yet. I know I'll end up going into town in some form or other but where, and who with is still undecided. I don't really see New Year as a time of huge celebration, more an excuse to get drunk with your friends and start afresh. I know for certain I'll make some New Year resolutions, and, as ever, I won't stick to them. This year I really am determined to make some resolutions that I'll keep for the year. I have said this pretty much every year and yet I've never managed it. This year will be different though. Probably.

Tipping the Scales
I can't remember if I've already discussed this but if I have then I apologise. I assumed before I went to Uni that I would put on weight while I was there. I assumed this basically because most people do and it's down solely to the incredible amount of drinking that goes on. Alcohol is full of calories and regular consumption can lead to a "beer belly". For the first five or six weeks I was having 3 or 4 drinks a night, every night. This was just excessive on reflection and for the last few weeks I cut down a lot. However, every cloud has a silver lining and I miraculously didn't put on weight. I attribute this down to not eating as much as I did at home because I had to all the shopping and cooking myself. It's not like I starved myself or anything, but I'm not a whizz in the kitchen so I was mainly eating microwave stuff and oven-ready meals - not exactly a staple diet. Anyway, even though I didn't put on any weight I would still like to lose some and that is pretty much going to be my main New Year's resolution. I haven't done any exercise at Uni so I'm going to take some of my weights back with me and maybe join the gym if I can be bothered.

Halliwell's
One of the best things about Christmas time is that you get loads of films and premieres over the festive season on TV. So, to this end, I have decided to give you a taster of what's been tickling my fancy:

This week, I have mostly been watching...
- 12 Monkeys
- Wag the Dog
- Night of the Living Dead
- Father of the Bride
- Toy Story
- Back to the Future Part II
- Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
- BASEketball
- Good Will Hunting
- Antz

There's probably more but I can't remember any off the top of my head. Some good ones up there and some average ones. On the subject of films...

Lord of the Rings
I don't want to say too much about this film but I would like to say that it was excellent and well worth seeing. I was surprised how much of the book they managed to cram into 3 hours and it just left me wanting to see the next movie. Much better than Harry Potter, The Fellowship of the Ring is epic in imagination and execution. I cannot believe the Tolkien family has completely distanced themselves from the movie because I feel it is a good and true representation of the novel. You just can't please some people.

Quote of the Day
"The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up, there's no law against whacking them around a little. " - Porterfield

[don't get confused, it's me publishing a post for Al again]

2001-12-24T19:59:00.000Z
Merry Christmas
Just wanted to say I hope everyone has a nice Christmas and gets what they wanted. I'll be back in a few days, hopefully with lots of presents and full of Turkey.

2001-12-21T19:01:00.000Z
Who's that sexy guy?
Yes, the picture below is indeed me. It was taken in my rented tuxedo before I went down for my Christmas dinner. Let the offers from single beautiful women start flowing...

2001-12-21T00:23:00.000Z

You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar...

2001-12-20T20:11:00.000Z

5 Gold Rings
The anticipation for the new "Lord of the Rings" films is just about at fever pitch now. I'm looking forward to it, and although I haven't read the books for about 10 years I think I can pretty much remember most of it. But instead I'm going to talk about some of the films I saw while I was at Uni. There's a cinema on campus that shows all-time classics and there's a couple in York itself. I saw quite a few films actually and here I offer my opinions of the ones that caught my eye:

Harry Potter
Ah, like "Lord of the Rings" fans of the books and novices to the series alike eagerly awaited this movie. I've read the books and I have to say I think they're good but I wouldn't say they've changed my life or anything. Anyway, the film. Harry Potter was pretty good without being exceptional. The special effects were great and I thought the Quidditch sequence was excellently done. I really wasn't sure how I imagined it on the big screen but they actually did a good job. The story was of course pretty much the same as the book with a few notable exceptions - Peeves anyone? I thought Daniel Radcliffe as Harry was, er, well let's just say I hope he improves with age. The actors that played Ron and Hermione though were very good and Alan Rickman gave what we've come to expect from him. Overall I liked it and thought it was good, but it was by no means the epic that we were all led to believe it was. One for the kids and fans of the series definitely.

SCORE = 7/10

Apocalypse Now Redux
Three words: Oh My God. From the moment I found out this film had been given a director's makeover I knew I had to see it. To my dismay I found out it was only being shown at 11 cinemas across the country. However, one of those eleven just happened to be York City Screen. Ooh yeah. Presented in 5.1 Dolby EX Surround Sound and with an extra 45 minutes of footage taking the running time up to 3 hours and 15 minutes Apocaypse Now Redux is simply stunning. A masterpiece. Epic. Think of a superlative usually reserved for movies and apply it to this.

There's just so many great scenes in the movie. The opening sequence is one of the most vivid in cinema history where Martin Sheen gets drunk and starts going mental in his room. Then there's the legendary sequence where the American helicopters bear down on the Vietcong with Ride of the Valkyries playing in the background. This was just amazing on the big screen. Quote of the film (so many to choose from) goes to Robert Duvall with "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".

Based on Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness" Apocalypse Now tells the story of how a man is sent to hunt down another officer who has amassed his own army of soldiers deep in Cambodia and is committing atrocities against both the Vietcong and US forces. Along the way, the true impact of the Vietnam War is felt but the war only serves as the backdrop to a deeper story. As director Francis Ford Coppola said, Apocalypse Now isn't about the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now IS the Vietnam War.

Of the added scenes there were 2 that really stood out. The first tells us what happened to the Playboy girls and the second adds some historical perspective to the viewer about the war. Both of these scenes didn't really add anything new to the movie and the part where Martin Sheen and the crew go to stay with the French people was, to be quite frank, incredibly tedious. But, despite this, Apocalypse Now Redux was without doubt one of the best films I've ever seen. In the cinema on the big screen and that phenomenal 5.1 Surround Sound, Apocalypse Now is more of an experience than a movie. It probably isn't to everyone's tastes but nobody should miss the opportunity to see this film. Classic.
SCORE = 10/10

Croupier
A little known British film made in 1998 was well liked by American critics and is undergoing something of a revival here on video and DVD at the moment. Clive Owen is a struggling writer who gets a job at a casino as a croupier and uses his experience and interactions with punters to write a best-selling novel. It sounds simple and I guess it is but this is a brilliant film. I went into the cinema with no pre-conceived notions about what to expect and I was completely blown away. Clive Owen is really good in his role (although I think Martin Kemp could have done a job as well) and Alex Kingston of Moll Flanders and ER fame gets her kit off. Er, I mean, she's really good in it as well. No special effects or computer generated characters - just a good storyline and a script to match it. The ending threw me as well, which was completely unexpected and just left me thinking what a great film it was. The film makes working in a casino look really glamorous and if being the next WWF champion doesn't work out for me I may just become a croupier. Not all British films are crap you know.
SCORE = 9/10

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
This was released over the summer and although I really wanted to see it I never got round to it. However, it was shown on campus and thus I got to see what all the fuss was about. Final Fantasy, loosely based on the games of which I am a huge fan, is the first attempt at a completely computer generated film with virtual actors. I mean this in the sense that unlike Toy Story and Shrek etc., Final Fantasy is trying to pave the way for the future of the film industry. It took 5 years to make and made a massive loss at the box office (unfortunately) but I think Square and Sony Pictures can take some solace from it. The computer graphics in this film are utterly unbelievable. You'd have to convince yourself at certain points during the movie that it wasn't real. The only sour points animation-wise were the movement of the people, which looked a bit artificial at times, and the lip-synching, which was almost as bad as watching a DVD on a PlayStation2. However, with practice and advances in technology these could be rectified soon. However, for a first attempt I think the audience can forgive this.

The real problem with Final Fantasy lay not with its animation or computer graphics, but its story. Taking its cue from the game series, Final Fantasy deals with the idea that we all have a soul and this then returns to Gaia when we die. Although the makers obviously tried to hide their Japanese background and cater for the Western audience, it came across as too clichéd and predictable. I just thought they could have done something a little less Hollywood-ish. The cast was pretty stellar including Ving Rhames, Donald Sutherland and Steve Buscemi but even they can't save the film from some dire scriptwriting. Over used action movie lines like "Oh my God", "Noooooo" and "Something's not right, this shouldn't be happening!" were used once too often. I think Square were hoping that it wouldn't just be fans of the games would come to watch the movie but sadly I think this is pretty much what happened. Final Fantasy was merely an average movie but with some extraordinary features. Hopefully movie producers won't be put off by its mediocre success and Final Fantasy could be the first in a trend of "virtual" movies.
SCORE = 6/10

Other films I've seen since I've been away:
? The Others (not bad, good ending and Nicole Kidman as a blonde. Hmmm)
? Miller's Crossing (gangster film, Coen Brothers and Gabriel Byrne. Good)
? 101 Reykjavik (foreign, OK, not great)
? The Mummy Returns (again - come on, The Rock is in it for the first 5 minutes, how can I resist?)
? Highlander (classic, pity about Christopher Lambert. Surely they could have got The Rock instead?)
? Full Metal Jacket (fabulous Vietnam film, not for the faint-hearted)
? It's a Wonderful Life (another classic, probably the best Christmas film)
? Meet the Parents (not as funny as I was expecting but De Niro and Stiller make it worthwhile)
? Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan tries to recreate the tension and suspense of The Sixth Sense but fails. Bruce Willis is pretty good but the shock ending isn't really that shocking)

'Tis the Season to be Jolly
Well, only 6 days to go now and I don't really feel excited about Christmas at all. I guess after having been away and only just getting back I haven't had the X-mas vibe eating away at me for the last month or so. In mind of the fact I will get loads of money off people (much appreciated of course) I've been thinking about what to buy with my soon-to-be-acquired wealth. I won't spend all of it naturally, I'll need some money to take back to Uni with me. I think I'll probably buy a DVD or 2 (I bought Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition and Star Wars: Episode 1 while I was away) and I'm thinking along the lines of The Mummy Returns (and we all know why) or maybe the Godfather Trilogy.

Gaming wise I've already bought Smackdown: Just Bring It and I'm looking at Half-Life, Devil May Cry or Grand Theft Auto III. I've rented GTA3 and it's very very good. Such fun killing people for money and then picking up a hooker. The stuff you do in the game is cool as well. (Joke) Decisions, decisions.

One thing I won't be getting for Christmas though is a computer or laptop. I managed well enough without one and my parents have dissuaded me out of getting one... for now. It does mean however that once I go back my blog will once again only be updated irregularly. Phew, that's a hell of a lot more than I was planning to write but I guess I deserve a rant about films after not doing anything for my site for like 2 years. Anyhoo, back soon with more inane ramblings.

Quote of the Day (I'm back and so is this)
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt" - Bertrand Russell

[this is Mike posting because Al seems to be having connection problems]

2001-12-18T11:57:00.000Z
Hey everyone, this is from Saturday but stupid blogger wasn't working...

Where to Begin
Well, here I am, back at home after my first term at University. The reason why I haven’t updated my blog at all in the 10 weeks I’ve been away is because it’s not always easy to get onto a computer and you get absolutely no privacy in the computer rooms so it wasn’t always ideal to talk about a day’s events in full view of everyone else. I don’t really know exactly what I’m going to write here, nor how long it’ll be and I don’t have a set plan or structure. I’ll try and tell you things in a relatively chronological order but I may go off on a tangent at some points.

In the Beginning
The first day was quite nerve racking meeting everyone down my corridor and just generally getting to know people. Being the social animal that I am I found it quite easy to make new friends and now I know more people than I can shake a big stick at. I’m down a corridor with 6 girls and 4 boys (great odds I thought) which actually provides quite a nice mix. Everyone gets on really well and we always do stuff together. The first night we all just went down to the bar and got to know one another. It seems like ages ago now. Living with 9 strangers for 10 weeks is a hell of an experience and I feel closer to the people down my corridor than I do with some of the friends I’ve known for years. I was going to tell you about each of them but I think that might be a bit unfair on them so instead I’ll just drop their names in every now and again and you’ll just have to bear with me OK?

Fresher’s Week
Ah, Fresher’s Week, the infamous first 7 days of university life where friendships are forged and every morning is greeted with a sore head. For me, Fresher’s Week was just a non-stop roller-coaster ride of drinking, laughing and just generally getting to know everybody. We had bar quizzes, pub crawls, drinking games – the lot. My college at York, Derwent, has the best social life (naturally) and they had a “Green Death” night. Green Death is a Derwent secret, only the Junior Common Room Committee (JCRC) knows what gets put into it and its recipe is passed down from one JCRC to another. It’s a green drink and a vat of the stuff has £800 worth of alcohol put into it. Green Death is so alcoholic it’s illegal to sell. Playing drinking games with that proved lots of fun. This wasn’t just downing the stuff to see who could drink it quickest, this was full on doing an assault courses and then downing it or seeing who could say the alphabet backwards the quickest after downing a pint of the stuff. Legendary. I spent way too much money during Fresher’s Week but it was worth it. Fresher’s Week for me lived up to its reputation.

Work?
Yep, that’s perhaps the worst thing about Uni; sometimes you actually have to do some. I’ve done 5 essays and an exam this term but so far I haven’t found the work too difficult. Part of this is because the 2 Politics modules I did were just basically what I did at A-level. However, Philosophy and Sociology were very interesting. We covered Knowledge and Perception in Philosophy which was essentially asking how do we know what we know and how do we know that we are perceiving what is in fact real? How do we know, for example, that the world was not created 5 minutes ago with all of your memories and knowledge? How do you know that you’re not just a brain in a vat somewhere being controlled by a mad scientist who is responsible for all of your perceptions and experiences through a computer? Interesting stuff.

I read a book in Sociology by a man called Ritzer called “McDonalds and McDonaldisation”. He was basically arguing that through McDonalds’ standardisation of products and the service industry it was leading towards a global homogenised society. Drawing on my vast experience of McDonalds and their products I decided to write an essay on it arguing that McDonalds and McDonaldisation are paradigmatic of modernity and globalisation. Of course, this essay required extensive research of McDonalds, which I ~~happily~~ grudgingly but duly carried out in York city centre.

Societal Shenanigans
Part of Fresher’s Week is signing up to loads of societies. There’s over 100 societies at York and I signed up to a few of them. I signed up with the York Student Lib Dems (yes, sad I know), the Cinematography Society, World Cinema Society, York Student Cinema and the Beer & Bar Crawl Society. To be honest, I haven’t been very active with my societies except for Cinematography. The Cinematography Society is about making films. Obviously we’re not talking epics like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings but they have a budget and make some small films. I starred in a short film called “Fear” and making it was perhaps one of the biggest laughs I’ve ever had. I had one scene where I couldn’t stop laughing and it took us 16 takes to get it right. I watched the out takes and they were hilarious. The film is being edited at the moment and I can’t wait to see it and attend the premiere in Derwent College.

The Life of a Student
Even with my limited experience of being a University student I have to admit that it IS the life. Not getting up until midday and then walking by the lake to buy a paper; having competitions on Gran Turismo 3 and Mario Kart64 in the afternoons; going out at night and being with your friends; - this is what I enjoy. The independence I have is unbelievable. You’re not told what to do or where to go. You get up when you want, do what you want and go where you want. Lectures aren’t compulsory (tutorials and seminars are though) and tutors won’t shout at you when you don’t hand in an essay on time. Everything is up to you. My timetable is 12 hours a week and technically I should do 28 hours a week extra reading “independently” (pssst, this is bullshit) so it should be a 40 hour a week. And it is. Sort of. I can’t imagine not having gone and I feel sorry for my sister and brother, both of whom missed out. Everyone should go. The typical image of a student is someone who lazes about, eats junk food, doesn’t do any work, has no money and gets drunk every night. Well, blow me down with a feather but I think that about sums it up.

Any Other Business
Ok, that’s enough about Uni for now. While I was away I did manage to get on the Internet and I just want to say that Larissa’s blog was an absolute must-read and I implore you all to put it in your favourites now. I said “now”. Done it yet? Good. Rissy, you are funny, witty and I love you. Keep up the good work honey. I also better say thank you to Mike, Si and Robin for keeping me company on MSN Messenger while I was away and for making sure my blog didn’t become totally extinct. Thanks guys [group hug].

The Important Things
While I was away I was deprived of 2 of my favourite things: football and wrestling. I took a TV with me but I couldn’t get a reception and so only used it to play on my PlayStation2 (God, that’s all I’d ever need on a desert island). So I didn’t get to watch the demise of The Premiership on ITV (and Manchester United’s capitulation) or my weekly dose of WWF. The Internet alone had to suffice. Manchester United lost the title race before it had even got going and Chris Jericho became wrestling’s undisputed champion while I was away. Damn. Plus, I missed all-new episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Hmmm, Buffy) so it wasn’t all good. What was interesting though is that despite missing 10 weeks worth of Neighbours whilst watching it yesterday nothing had changed at all. It was kind of like when Home and Away came back after a 2-year absence and everything was exactly the same. Anyway, tangent, me, off on one. So there you have it.

I’m back, refreshed, and with a liver that is a lot less healthy than 10 weeks ago. I’m only back for 3 weeks over Christmas but I’ll try and make up for it. Stay tuned folks.

2001-12-14T19:36:00.000Z
Finally...
Hey everybody, it's me, I'm back and ready to unleash my ramblings back on the blogging community once again. First, I need to catch up on a few things, settle some business ventures, kill some gangstas etc. so my long awaited blogging return will commecne tomorrow. Until then, you'll just have to wet your lips in anticipation.

2001-11-15T21:37:00.000Z

reconstructed from 100% real pieces of al

Mr Dale here. Rather than allow Al's great blog here to fall into a state of disrepair post-wise, and to keep you, his ever-loyal readership, informed of his ongoing adventures, I've taken the liberty of collecting together some of our brief communications with him via e-mail and MSN for your reading pleasure - just think of it as like the New Testament...these are the words of Al but in a different order and I've corrected the spellings. Obviously, I've edited out the more sordid, scandalous and private inclusions, but then again, even I'm not even sure about the dodgy things he may have been up to since he stepped out into the big world...

Long time no speak...yeah sorry but it's been really hard to get onto a computer. I had to do a philosophy essay last week and I had to wait 15 minutes before I could get onto a computer so it's not easy to just come on and surf at will. I've been trying to come on every day but it's just so busy. It's not as bad at weekends because then most of the second and third years are off campus. When I come home at Christmas I'm going to buy a computer so hopefully then things will be a lot easier.

Everything is going fine with me. I haven't updated my blog for about 3 weeks, which is bad; it's just that WHEN you do get to go on a computer you get absolutely no privacy whatsoever so it's kind of hard to just pour your heart out. I'm doing really well, managing with my washing, ironing, cooking etc. (although I'm eating mainly microwave meals!) The work is quite hard but it's so cool just to be on your own, to have your own room and just be able to close the door and not worry about anything else. You're completely on your own but you're completely free. Everyone down my corridor is really nice and we all get on great. I kind of miss home but not much. Oh, and I've decided to give Mike £100 out of the goodness of my heart.

Well, keep in touch, keep it real and carry on getting high!

Make of that what you will, but it's all true...that is, apart from that bit about giving me money. Anyway, I’ll post more news on the continuing adventures in life of Mr Rimmer as we get it. Till then I suggest you read imperial doughnut, because, well it's my blog and I'm roughly 1/5th as interesting as Al.

2001-10-10T17:34:00.000Z
Dazed and Confused
It's me. Finally, I'm back. But not for long. I have a oub crawl in half an hour you see. This is just a quick update to tell you all how I'm doing. I've settled into Uni life very well, getting drunk, playing drinking games, drinking Green Death (it's so strong it's illegal to sell it) etc. The computers though are pretty poor and they're always busy so my updates may become very sporadic. Also in the computer room you can't get any privacy as everyone can see what you're doing. Pah. Anyway, until I grace your prescence again, enjoy yourselves. I will certainly be doing the same.

2001-10-05T18:08:00.000Z
The End of the Road
This will probably be my last blog entry before I go to Uni simply because tomorrow is not only England’s crucial last World Cup qualifier but also my nephew’s birthday. Then on Sunday morning I go so it’s as simple as that. I’ve had to delete a load of, er, questionable stuff (and no, not necessarily porn) off the hard drive so my parents won’t find it whilst I’m away. This includes some much cherished .exe files and some funny sound and picture files. I’m tempted to just format the hard drive in case I missed anything but I might leave that until Christmas. I really can’t be bothered doing it at the moment. Before I go I don’t have a great deal left to do, I might look for some new shoes today and I spent over £100 on clothes on Wednesday. My bank balance is already dwindling and I haven’t even got there yet.

To Boldly Go
Hopefully just because I’m at Uni doesn’t mean I won’t be keeping contact with friends or leaving this blog to rot and die a horrible death (like a certain film reviews site or students site). I’m assuming that as long as I can take a minute out of my heady nights of wild sexual adventuring, excessive drug taking and copious alcohol consumption then I can make the odd post here or there. If I’m sober it might actually be funny.

Homeboy
I think I’ll miss my family while I’m gone and I think I’ll be homesick for the first couple of weeks. I’ve never really had to look after myself before although it’s not like I was brought up with a silver spoon in my mouth. But I’m no Delia Smith and washing machines are as foreign to me as Sven Goran Erikkson is English (or Greg Rusedski for that matter). But I’ll manage. It may be on Pot Noodles and Beans on Toast (always the benchmark of a healthy and nutritious diet) for the next 3 years but somehow, some way, with a little bit of luck and hopefully some money, I’ll manage. And if not, well, I can always phone home. Wish me luck for the first few days, speak to you all soon.

Quote of the Day
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Confucius

2001-10-03T17:29:00.000Z
This is Monday's post but blogger hasn't been working very well for the last 24 hours:

The Prisoner
It’s only a week to go now until I head off into the great unknown and embark on the next step up the educational ladder – University. I’ve got most of my things sorted out now though I could do with buying some new clothes. I thought that the closer it got to me going the more nervous I would be whereas it’s actually been the other way around; the closer I get to going the more I’m looking forward to it. I don’t have a bad home life, in fact it’s probably quite good compared to a lot of people’s, but I still can’t wait to be on my home and finally reach a truly independent sense of well-being.

slurp slurp
I finished at my work yesterday and in a way I was sad to see it go. It may not have paid the best (actually it paid pretty much the worst) but I kind of enjoyed working there and will miss all the people I worked with. But life moves on and so will I. They bought me a load of random stuff which they put in a box called “Alex’s University Survival Kit”. Inside the box was lots of canned goods, lots of alcohol, a box of condoms and some Siberian Gynseng (the closest you can get to viagara over the counter… so I’m told). I don’t think that’ll all last me 3 years, hopefully it won’t last my first day. I bought them a big box of chocolates and a bottle of champagne. Knowing the staff they won’t last long. My final act before I leave is to write a really sucky-up letter to Head Office. I’ve basically just said thanks for my employment and I think all the staff work really hard, over worked-under paid etc. I hope it gets them some brownie points. And if not… well, no skin off my nose.

When the water is in the cup, it becomes the cup
My fascination with martial-artist Bruce Lee continued last night as I watched a documentary on him. However, rather than going with his life story (which I assumed it would) or talking about the many conspiracy theories surrounding his death (i.e. his involvement with the Chinese mafia, jealousy from other martial artists etc.) it looked at his career in both the martial arts and the film industry. What I liked about this documentary was that rather than focusing on his most commercially successful film, “Enter the Dragon”, it instead looked primarily at a film he started but never finished before he died, “Game of Death”. It showed never before seen footage and demonstrated how Lee’s dedication to perfection came through in his films.

The best form is no form
The programme also had a look at some of Bruce Lee’s philosophy on life and the martial arts, which was also very interesting. I think the thing that came across the most was that Bruce Lee was a person who was striving for physical and mental equilibrium and came very close to it, if not achieving it, before his untimely death. He talked passionately about martial arts and how he wanted to revolutionise the way styles were thought of. He didn’t want to adhere to one particular style of his own, he wanted to be able to adapt his body to any style. He likened it to water. Water is fluid and when put into something it becomes that object. Lee wanted to apply this idea to martial arts. Bruce Lee was unique. I only wish I could meet him and see if the man was as incredible as the myth.

Quote of the Day
“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it." - Bernard Bailey

2001-09-26T19:09:00.000Z
Back to Reality
This is my first post in almost 2 weeks. Part of the reason for this is that after the events in America it just kind of felt like anything I had to say didn’t really seem important in the wake of the terrorist attacks. But things have to get back to normality.

Dr. Know – there is nothing he doesn’t
For the first time in a few months I went to the cinema on Monday night to see the newly released “A.I.” starring Jude Law and Haley Joel Osment. It was a project of Stanley Kubricks’s for reportedly 15 years before being turned over to Steven Spielberg at Kubrick’s request. The film is set in the near future (I think) and seems to take place in 3 distinct stages, each having a very different theme and mood from the others. It seemed obvious to me where Kubrick had influenced the film and even more obvious where Spielberg had influenced the film (such as the ending). The special effects were phenomenal and the world in which the film took place was well realised.

The Blue Fairy
I liked the film, I really did, but for me 2 things stood out that I have a problem with. Firstly, Gigolo Joe (where shall we go?) played by Law was a great character but didn’t really fit in with the film, was only in it for an hour, and ultimately had no real role to play in the movie. He was more of a glorified extra than a pivotal character. Secondly, the last 20-30 minutes of the film were, in my opinion, a little too surreal for my liking and just began to get a little silly. I won’t describe the ending because that would ruin it for everyone that hasn’t seen the film, but suffice to say if someone had told me how it ended about half way through I probably would have laughed at them. The ending just sort of came out of nowhere really.

The Bottom Line
I think it’s definitely worth seeing and Haley Joel Osment was excellent. Many reviews have compared aspects of the film to other movies like “Mad Max”, “Blade Runner”, “Robocop” etc. but funnily one review compared it to “Babe: Pig in the City” which I found quite amusing. I thought the film was overly long and if it had ended maybe 20 minutes before it actually did without the sentimental ending I would probably give it a 9 out of 10. As it stands however, I’m only giving it a 7. Also, if you don’t trust me, check out the expert’s opinion with my favourite film reviewer, Roger Ebert.

Donnie Brasco
Speaking of films I saw “Donnie Brasco” starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp on Sunday night. It was a sort of typical mafia film – great acting, great script and one of Al Pacino or Robert de Niro (and who says actors are type-cast?). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the film but like “A.I.” I didn’t like the ending. I thought the viewer was kept guessing how it was going to finish right up until the end and I just felt a bit let down because it seemed so flat after such a big build up. It was more “Goodfellas” than “Heat” or “Carlito’s Way”. We can't really fault the ending properly as the film was based on a true story. Bah. As I well know real life is never as interesting as Hollywood makes it out to be. Anyway, I’d still give it a solid 8/10.

The Long Goodbye
Since I’m going off to University in less than a week it means I have to leave work. Obviously I am absolutely ~~ecstatic~~ gutted about this as it means I no longer have a stable (and extremely rubbish) source of income. However, I’ll miss all the people I work with and even though it was work we still managed to have a laugh from time to time. I’ll probably buy them all a big box of chocolates or something and get the manager a bottle of wine or champagne. Just my way of saying thanks.

Quote of the Day
“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute" - Josh Billings

2001-09-18T09:23:00.000Z

el-ev-ation

Following critical comments regarding the design of this template, some minor tweaks will be made soon. As a side note, J.E.E.t.B. is set to be unleashed on the world on October 31st. I for one believe it will add a new dimension compared with the existing group blogs any of belong to currently, and if everyone puts in equal effort it could become better than I expected.

To those still wondering what the frell J.E.E.t.B. is anyway...wait and find out. In a nutshell, it's a group blog that's been in development for months with some great unique ideas that will help us ~~enslave the human race~~ share our thoughts and opinions in a much more organised and fluid way. You want to join? Well, it's not as easy as getting into the Corp...

2001-09-14T17:55:00.000Z
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The International blogging community 3-day silence is over. I’m back and I have no idea what I’m about to say but I can assure you all that whatever does come out will be from the heart. Tuesday September 11th 2001 will be a day that will forever go down in history. I think everyone knows what happened. Terrorists struck in America causing death and devastation beyond anyone’s wildest nightmares. I was playing a rented game on my PlayStation2 when my mum shouted to me that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Centre. My initial reaction, like when she told me Princess Diana had died in a car crash, was that she was joking. But when I switched on the TV and saw the pictures for myself I realised the truth.

I couldn’t believe it and to be honest I still can’t. I am still in a state of shock and disbelief. A lot of people have said to me it’s something like out of a film. I don’t live in America nor have I ever been there but I feel deeply affected by Tuesday’s events. More than once I have been close to tears and it seems with every passing minute the situation gets worse and worse. This whole event has put everything in my life into context and I feel like nothing matters in comparison to what has happened. Some of the scenes and descriptions given by people are beyond words. People jumped out of a 110-storey building to escape burning to death. Whilst people around them rushed away from the scene emergency workers bravely tried to save as many lives as they could. One firefighter said in the aftermath that although they’d saved 6 people from the rubble he couldn’t begin to say how many dead he’d seen and how many body parts were scattered around the area. I don’t think words like “atrocious” or “tragic” begin to scratch the surface.

What is also becoming apparent in the aftermath is that the terrorists who did this seemingly took over 4 passenger planes armed with only knives. They told the people on the plane that they were going to die and let them phone their relatives to tell them they would never see them again. I can’t imagine how awful that must be. People will never feel the same about stepping on an aeroplane again. Security has been tightened world-wide but I can’t help feeling a little vulnerable now. If it can happen in America why not anywhere else?

George Bush has promised that it was an “act of war” and the US will get the terrorists that did this and most fingers seem to be pointing at Islamic extremist Osama Bin-Laden who was responsible for the bombing of the World Trade Centre in 1993. However, Bin-Laden has denied that it was him but “thanked Allah” that it happened. Bin-Laden has apparently declared war on all American citizens and is one of the few people in the world with the knowledge and resources able to carry out an operation like this.

When I saw pictures of people from Middle-Eastern countries celebrating in the streets what happened it made me feel sick to the stomach. Little children were dancing in the street at the news that thousands of Americans had been killed. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to be joyful at someone else’s death. Nearly every national leader has condemned the terrorist attacks, even Yasser Arafat, except Saddam Hussein. How can anybody celebrate the deaths of thousands of innocent people?

The death toll is expected to reach into the thousands. For anyone who has suffered a loss because of this terrible tragedy I send out my heart-felt condolences. The Pentagon and the New York skyline will never be the same. I wish there was something I could do to help. I already give blood on a regular basis so maybe it’s a start. I sincerely hope that many more people are recovered alive from the rubble. And although it sounds heartless, I sincerely hope that whoever did this gets what is coming to them.

God bless America and the American people in their time of need. It could take a long time for everything to return to normal. If it ever does. This is the sort of event that will change the world. My perception of it already has.

2001-09-11T18:52:00.000Z
My heart goes out to the families of everyone involved in the terrible events of today. I don't really know what I can say. It seems like the whole world has come to a stand-still. I'll try and organise my thoughts into something more semblant for tomorrow.

2001-09-09T16:50:00.000Z

Mr. Monday Night
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what direction my life is taking and what sort of things I’ll end up doing in years to come. I haven’t really set myself any sort of goal – just a general “get a really well-paid job and marry a beautiful woman” sort of thing. Nothing specific. I’m at that period now where life-changing events and decisions are to be made and I keep wondering if I’ve taken the right fork. Should I have done things differently? My philosophy has always been to have no regrets – mistakes are all a part of gaining wisdom and experience. But what if I have made a fundamental error of judgement somewhere along the line? It’s too late to change it now. I once wrote a play in school that I performed with a friend and a passage from that springs to mind now:

“The past was and the future will be, ‘ifs’ are ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ are ‘buts’. All we can do now is look back and think what might have been.”

Mr. Pay-Per-View
I don’t really know if the previous paragraph is referring to anything in particular or just a random outburst. I guess it’s just the whole 9-5 working in an office all day mentality that dominates society. Most jobs, let’s face it, are dull and never amount to much. Not many people get to become actors, writers or sports stars (and yes, that includes wrestlers). I don’t want to do the same job for 30 years, go home to my wife every night and only spend time with my kids at the weekend. I want something different, something varied, something stimulating. But at the same time I do want some normality for the future. I definitely want to get married and have children. Where am I headed now? Well, University for the next 3 years, possibly 4, and then… well, let’s just say from there on it’s clear highway.

The Whole F’n Show
A film called eXistenZ was shown on TV last night and although I’d seen it before on video I remembered it as being pretty good so I watched it again. The plot basically revolves around a computer game designer who is having multiple attempts made on her life and tries to find out if her game has been damaged. Released in 1999 (I’m surprised it’s been on TV so early) it was originally billed as being similar to The Matrix. It features one of those cliff-hanger endings where you’re not entirely sure what the hell just happened and second time through I understood things more clearly. I thought it was a good film, although I didn’t think much to Jude Law’s American accent, and it raised some intriguing questions and issues about one possible future for computer games. A good ending, kept you guessing until the end, and of course any David Cronenberg film wouldn’t be complete without gore galore.

Rob Van Dam
RVD continued his meteoric rise to the top of the wrestling industry with a clean pin over Austin on this weeks Smackdown. Yes, that’s right, a CLEAN pin (albeit with a little help from Kurt Angle). Since Austin came back, only William Regal and HHH have managed that. Considering RVD has only been in the WWF for about 3 months he’s already had phenomenal success – 2 PPV wins over Jeff Hardy, the task of reigniting interest in the Hardcore division and now a clean win over Austin. It reminds me a bit of Kurt Angle when he first started because within a year he had won the World Title and many critics argued that he hadn’t “paid his dues” and gone through a period of doing the job and proving themselves a company player. RVD has reportedly been humble and polite backstage and not shown any signs of his ego taking control. I’m sure the fact Paul Heyman has so much pull and respect backstage helps his cause no end but even I’m surprised Vince has let RVD rise through the ranks so quickly. I understand that he is incredibly popular because of his high-octane style and constant posing to the crowd but it is surprising how well he’s done and even I didn’t expect him to have such an immediate impact. Maybe the win over Austin will just end up with Austin taking revenge by beating him up backstage or squashing him in a match next week. Either way, his inevitable face turn could be just around the corner.

Quote of the Day
“The secret to success is to know something nobody else knows” - Aristotle

2001-09-07T18:51:00.000Z
The man, the myth, the legend... D'lo Brown

2001-09-05T17:06:00.000Z
Enema of the State
After my last blog entry about men making moves on women and vice versa I have been bombarded with e-mails on the subject (1 so far and counting). In fact I had the perfect opportunity today to start talking to a beautiful young lady on the bus to town but instead of taking the plunge I sat in silence, admiring from afar. So, after thinking about it some more, I have come to the conclusion that the less you think about matters such as these the better. Could someone pass me the Alka Seltzer please?

The Next Episode
So, England 5-1 Germany. What a scoreline. What a victory. The Mirror had a headline entitled “R.I.P German Football” whilst The Sun devoted 14 whole pages to England’s historic victory. In the space of 90-minutes we had gone from having a mediocre football team with some potential to the best team in the history of football. Ever. Well, that’s more or less the press reaction anyway. Sure, England did well but let’s not forget we had everyone fit and played a German team that is a mere shadow of it’s former past glories. To say that we are now up there with France and Holland is a little premature. What I find interesting is if England had lost the game Sven Goran Erikkson would probably be no better than Kevin Keegan in the eyes of the media but because they won, and so resoundingly as well, he is now officially (yes, that’s officially) the best thing since sliced bread and can do no wrong. That is, if England win their remaining games. I’ll admit that England did play well and do have the potential to do well in the World Cup but I just think all the newspapers have maybe blown things out of context a bit. If England beat Albania 10-0 then I might jump on the bandwagon, otherwise you can just call a cynic.

Anorexia Nervosa
After watching Enter the Dragon on Sunday I am now a big Bruce Lee fan and feel it is such a shame he died at only 33. What makes it worse is his son, Brandon Lee who starred in The Crow, also died very young whilst shooting said film. Enter the Dragon would never win any awards for it’s screenplay or acting but the fight scenes, choreographed by Lee, were exceptional. The plot was a bit thin and the ending pretty lame but man those fight scenes! Bruce Lee, I lay down my hat to you.

Bulimia Nervosa
Here’s a useless fact for you all on the subject of self-defence: I used to do the ancient martial art of Ju-Jitsu but gave it up after only a year. If someone attacked me today I’d be more likely to defend myself with a Stone Cold Stunner or a Rock Bottom than a well-timed karate kick or judo throw. I wonder which would be more effective? I mean in wrestling, those 2 moves can usually devastate an opponent for at least 2 seconds. But I think one day I will take up a form of self-defence again, if only to do those stupid high pitched screams every kung-fu person does before striking an opponent. HI-YA!

Quote of the Day
“Only people who look dull ever get into the House of Commons, only people who are dull ever succeed there” – Oscar Wilde

2001-09-02T09:53:00.000Z
Hung like a Donkey
This will be short as my head hurts from too much alcohol consumption and I've got to go and see some relatives today where my parents have the exact same conversation with them every time we go. "You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family." Or maybe as my manager at work better put it "You can't choose your family but you can kill them". Anyway, onto one of life's delicacies and I am very happy because England won 5-1 (an absolutely ridiculous result in hindsight) and everyone was just ecstatic in town last night, even the people from where I work. You know things are different when "Vindaloo" and "3 Lions" (football songs) are played in nightclubs and everyone is dancing to them like headless chickens. The only bad thing about the night was that all the goals were scored by Liverpool players [spits on floor]. Just imagine what the scoreline would have been if Andy Cole had played...

I'll be back with a better post and press-analysis later in the week when my liver has sufficiently recovered.

Quote of the Day
"I think it'll finish 1-1" - me just after England equalised. (Shows what I know about football)

2001-08-31T17:11:00.000Z
The Green Mile
Today it has been nice and sunny which makes a periodic change to the typical grey-sky and drizzle we seem to be getting a lot of recently. August is usually Britain’s best month of the year, well not this year. It’s been more akin to a February or December. But hey if you want a tan there’s always sunbeds. It’s just nice to be able to sit in the garden, sunshine and killer UV rays washing over your toned body whilst listening to a tune on your personal stereo and reading a good book. Ah, bliss. But with British weather you only get that opportunity once in a blue moon. And I don’t ever recall seeing a blue moon.

Women: can’t live with ‘em. Period.
Ah yes, the female of the species. We men love them (some of the time). On TV this morning before I went to work there was a debate on whether it is easier for men to go and talk to strange women or women to go and talk to strange men. On the bus to work I mulled this over in my mind (yep, I’m a deep and profligate guy, what can I say?). Obviously I can only speak from personal experience as a male as I’ve never been a female (at least, not that I can remember, but then again you never know what can happen when alcohol is involved…) But anyway, talking to strange women. For those of you that don’t know, I work in a shop. Not a particularly cool or trendy shop but it sees a lot of customers. Perhaps one of the best aspects of working in a shop is that you quite often get to check out babes, er, admire beautiful girls when you serve them or show them where something is in the shop. However, many a time I have thought to myself “ooh, she’s nice, I’d love to take her out for a drink sometime” but how do you do it?

The Route to Success
What do you say to a girl you’re interested in that you’ve never met before? “That’ll be £4.62, your receipt is in the bag and by the way, can I have your phone number?” Hmm, not exactly romantic. If you’re out in a club or for a drink then things are a little easier because generally alcohol is a potent aphrodisiac and usually people in those situations are looking to meet new people. But in a shop? Come on, not many people meet their next hot date over a shop counter (well, except in my case maybe). For women though is it any easier? If they saw a cute guy in a shop or walking down the street what can they do? I have no idea. If I ever wolf whistled at a nice girl walking down the street I’d probably get a dirty look and a slap in the face rather than the pined after meal, drinks and romantic walk by the sea in shimmering moonlight. This whole dating relationship malarkey is a lot of work. Is it worth the effort, embarrassment, shame, humiliation etc? I sure hope so, certainly for when I make an ass of myself by pinching a girls bottom in a shop. (Hey, that was a joke OK? I’m not that sort of guy. Honest. But maybe it would be a good way to start a conversation…)

The Auld Enemy
Back to more important matters and football. Tomorrow sees England play Germany in a much over-hyped match that will make or break England’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup automatically. England vs. Germany I guess it all goes back to the whole “the 2 World Wars were all their fault” argument and then subsequent victory in the World Cup of ’66 and heartbreak in 1970, 1990 and 1996. The English press like to build this game up as some sort of titanic clash that has the whole nation on tenterhooks. I guess it’s true in a way but mainly for football fans. My mum for instance doesn’t give a toss who comes out on top as long as it doesn’t interfere with the scheduling of Coronation Street. But alas, I may not be able to watch it as tomorrow represents a staff night out for my work due to me and 2 other girls leaving. Hmm, dilemma. Do I go out for the meal, have a few drinks, laugh and joke, flirt with my work mates or do I sit at home on the edge of my seat, nervously biting my nails, desperately hoping that England win? Only time will tell but since I’m one of the people leaving I guess I really ought to go. Come on England, give those Germans/Krauts/Nazis the stuffing they deserve! [The preceding comment was in no way intended to be racist, insulting or derogatory towards German people and their football team and was in no way serious. Well, not much anyway]

Quote of the Day
“Politics – the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.” – Oscar Ameringer

2001-08-31T17:10:00.000Z
Stupid blogger

2001-08-28T17:07:00.000Z
Little River Band
And so another uneventful few days has passed me by and my bank balance is being whittled down further on necessities such as new trainers, McDonalds and alcohol. I’m feeling very tired right now but fortunately the weather is good so things aren’t too bad. I have only 6 weeks left until I start University and over the summer I have done very little. Nay, I have done nothing. Apart from working, I haven’t done anything of note except go to Ibiza for a week (with my parents) and get my A-level results. The days have been spent lazing around, sunbathing at every opportunity and just generally wasting time. Ah, to be a teenager.

Come Sail with Me
My parents have gone away for the week and this time my older sister has gone with them leaving me all alone and fending for myself. But it’ll be good practice for Uni. What is good is that I have hooked up my PlayStation2 to our 32-ich widescreen TV downstairs and believe me, games and DVDs look much better on a big screen. I guess it’s true what they say, size does matter…

Authorised Collection
I’m looking after a house across the road while it’s occupants are away on holiday and this basically entails collecting the post and letting the rabbit out. However, while I’m there I usually borrow a couple of videos, make a few phone calls etc. and just abuse my position of power [laughs in an evil manner]. When the neighbours asked me to look after the house the people came round under false pretences. As a (former) Psychology student I enjoy watching people and the way they behave in certain situations. The neighbours came round with a “Congratulations” card for my exam results and it was sort of like “Well done Alex, we heard how well you did and brought this for you. Oh, and while we’re here…” I just found it funny how they came round pretending to give me a card when really they only came to ask me to look after their house. If people were just frank about things life would be so much easier.

Video killed the Radio Star
I feel like I should write something really profound, like a general observation on life or something, but nothing springs to mind right now so I’ll talk about football instead. Man Utd have sold their star defender Jaap Stam to Lazio for £16.5m. I was shocked at this because he’s easily their best defender and without him they’re just not as solid. I understand that me made an “error of judgement” when he wrote what he did in his autobiography but to sell him because of it just seems over the top. Even though they’re talking about replacing him with Roberto Ayala or Laurent Blanc, neither of them is in the same class as Stam. If only they’d got Sol Campbell things might not be too bad. Anyway, somehow they’ll get through it but they won’t win the European Cup and it’ll be hard to win the league. Maybe this is all some sort of football-nightmare and none of it has really happened. The next thing that’ll happen in the crazy world of football is Bolton will top the Premiership with Everton in second… (yeah right)

Quote of the Day
“There are 2 kinds of problems in my life. The political ones are insoluble and the economic ones are incomprehensible.” – Alec Douglas Home

2001-08-22T17:25:00.000Z
Nationalism in the Contemporary World
I don’t have a great deal to say today but I’ll try and keep you entertained. Since the A-level results my life has basically consisted of work and consuming copious amounts of alcohol – a great combination. Let’s just say I went to a birthday party with an “open” bar and regretted it at work the next day. So, for those of you that work in retail like myself (or for matter, those of you that just “work” full stop) here is a little “Prayer for the Stressed” I came across that conveys how much we all really like our jobs and, in particular, dealing with the public. The last one is my favourite. Enjoy:

Prayer for the Stressed
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today because they annoyed me.

Also, help me to be careful of toes I have stepped on today as they may be connected to the ass I have to kiss tomorrow.

Help me always give 100% at work… 12% on Monday, 23% on Tuesday, 40% on Wednesday, 20% on Thursday and 5% on Friday.

And help me remember that when I’m having a really bad day, and it seems that people are trying to annoy me, that it takes 42 muscles to frown and only 4 to extend my middle finger and tell them to f**k off.

The Heat is On
So, the rest of this week should be work filled, and then I’ve got Bank Holiday Monday to look forward to. Doubly pay, wahey! So it means I’ll go up from 1p an hour to 2p an hour (slight exaggeration). And then next week I may be going away with my parents to stay in our Uncle’s caravan. However, I’m looking after our neighbour’s house at the moment while they’re on holiday so if I go there won’t be anyone to feed the rabbit or anything. It’s a hard life. Important decisions like this just seem to crop up all the time. To go or not to go? That is the question.

Teenage Dirtbag
I’ve been reading a satirical book on the British and American Politics in the 20th century (in preparation for my degree course, don’t think this is my usual bed-time reading) and it featured some funny (and some not-so-funny quotes) so I thought the ones that tickled my fancy I might post here. I’m not going to deluge you all with them, just one at a time. Today’s I thought was quite funny, especially in light of good ol’ George Dubya Bush and the Florida debacle.

Quote of the Day
“98% of the people in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy 2% that get all the publicity. But then – we elected them.” – Lily Tomlin

Designed for Life
And although I've thanked him privately here is a big public thankyou to Mr. Mike Dale for persevering to work on my blog and make it as good as it can possibly be. As you all can see, he (unlike me) knows what he's doing. You can all say thankyou by visiting his blog here.

2001-08-18T17:32:00.000Z
Designed for life

For the 3rd time in it's life this blog has had a bout of cosmetic surgery - courtesy of me, the one and only Michael Dale. It's half a reward for Al's fantastic results and half because I messed up the last template with my continued tinkering. Anyway, it's influenced by two major interests of my life at the momment, Dawson's Creek (the title font) and Yoshi's Island (the various little sprite images). Ok, so this is Al's blog and not mine, but hey he gives me creative freedom to do what I please.

I know it's not exactly mind-blowing or revolutionary but I like it a lot, for the next few weeks at least. Over complication of template design is the route of all evil on the internet, so I tried to keep clutter down to a minimum. Well, that's just about all I have to say other than I hope all of Al's loyal readers, and the man himself, like it and enjoy!