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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

How could I forget?
Of course, I need to add England's 5-1 THRASHING of Germany to the highs of last year.