His Dark Materials: Teaser trailer

Calling all fans of Philip Pullman's brilliant trilogy His Dark Materials. I was reading Spectrum from the Herald today and there was a cover-page article on the first movie (The Golden Compass) based on the first book of the trilogy - Northern Lights. So here's the teaser trailer. It will be interesting to see how much the anti-Christian element (His Dark Materials is said to be the antithesis of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia) is diluted down.

If you need a laugh ...

... check out these series of videos of the British quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, a pop culture two-panel comedy quiz show in the style of Spicks and Specks. The celebrity guests on this episode (Nov 23, 2006) were Robin Ince, Daniel Bedingfield, Kelli Young of Liberty X and (the very yummy) John Barrowman. The show is hosted by Simon Amstell, Phill Jupitus and Bill Bailey (from the excellent comedy Black Books).

This episode was exceedingly hilarious and I really enjoyed watching it. It's certainly a mood lifter!

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3

The Chaser boys do Hillary Clinton

I'm not a big fan of The Chaser, but this stunt by Charles Firth is pretty ballsy. He goes up to Clinton and asks her if he can be his intern - with a cigar of course! This video generated more than 100,000 hits in just one day after it was put up on YouTube. It was removed for a bit (see this funny article), but its popularity in the US shows that The Chaser's War on Everything is certainly going places!

Reelity is so much more fun

Yes, there's no spelling mistake - I'm talking about reel-ity as opposed to real-ity. I have been busy at work, have a relatively full social life and get my endorphins up by playing football. But I still find myself turning to the small screen to reduce my ever-rising boredom levels.

Some people call it diversion, others call it escapism. I guess for me, it's a bit of both. What I like about watching TV is that I can get away from the daily grind, travel to somewhere far away from the confines of my tiny studio apartment, and follow the exploits of some celluloid character saving the world.


I realise that the type of shows that I watch nowadays has changed (or expanded) from those I used to watch when I was younger. Sure, people's tastes do evolve as they mature, but I think my viewing habits are quite telling of the type of life I lead nowadays. When I was in my teens, I loved all the cops, lawyers and doctors shows such as Law & Order, Miami Vice, The A-Team, Knight Rider, ER etc etc. I was a big X-Files fan too, but again, I liked it because of the coppas aspect. I guess my point is that I liked shows that were sort of reality-based (not reality shows, which I absolutely dislike), and kinda dreamt that adulthood would be full of such exciting adventures too.

Now I'm an adult, out of uni and working full-time. Instead of experiencing the constant adrenalin of such jobs, I'm desk-bound and bored as hell. Travelling to exotic places is pretty darn costly. I've only managed to go on such a trip recently, and not without burning a massive hole in my very small pocket.


So nowadays, I realise that I'm very much more drawn to science fiction and fantasy TV programs. I used to brush off such shows as airy fairy and nerdy (me ain't no Trekkie), but I'm started to appreciate their otherworldliness. It's become a way for me to live me life vicariously through others. I do make an effort to go out and meet friends and colleagues, but I find myself drawn deeper and deeper into the reel world of series such as Supernatural, Doctor Who and Torchwood. I love the heroics and adventure in shows like Relic Hunter and 24, and the cerebral gymnastics and wit of House. And with the speed of broadband and the magic of P2P sharing, I've always got some great shows waiting on my computer to watch every time I return home from work.

So what do I do? I can't quite afford to travel overseas to get the kick outta life that I'm searching for. I'm in the industry that I want to be in, but years and years away from the job that I want. I'm not in a relationship (ie. no distraction) and am kinda exhausted with all the current affairs reading I have to do. I wanna have some fun! I'm scared of being sucked into the vortex of celluloid life. But is there any other alternative to the tedium of life that is mine?

Video of the day

Calling all Torchwood fans - do you like John Barrowman? He's a hottie isn't he? And a fantastic singer as well. He's got a background in musical theatre and here he is on the Torchwood set (DVD extras) singing Anything Goes, from his favourite musical of the same name.



DDDRrrrrOoooOOolllllll ...

Footballers say the darnest things

Remember the show Children Say The Darnest Things? Well, one of my favourite pastimes is to read the Quotes of the Week on the BBC website. Sportsmen, and footballers in particular, sometimes say very very strange things. One of my all time favourite quotes is this 1995 classic from Eric Cantona:

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea".

Huh??? (My sentiments exactly.) Well, this quote became so famous that the BBC wrote a whole article on it!

And how can we forget the self-titled "Special One" Jose Mourinho? What in the world was he talking about when he said this:

"The moral of the story is not to listen to those who tell you not to play the violin but stick to the tambourine."

Here are some funny quips from managers:

"I was a young lad when I was growing up.'' - David O' Leary

''At the start of the season you're strong enough to win the Premiership and the European Cup, but you have to be as strong in March, when the fish are down.'' - Gianluca Vialli

"He's captain of Rangers, and that's one of the reasons he's captain." - Walter Smith

"Matches don’t come any bigger than FA Cup quarter-finals." - Neil Warnock

"Obviously it would be tough playing up in the Premiership next season, but I wouldn’t lose any sleepless nights." - Alan Pardew

Some gems from Big Ron (Ron Atkinson):

"The ball goes down the keeper's throat where it hits him on the knees to say the least".

"Tony Adams - he's the rock that the team has grown from."

"Someone in the England team will have to grab the ball by the horns."

"I've had this sneaking feeling throughout the game that it's there to be won..."

"Think of a number between 10 and 11."

and from players:

"I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country." - Ian Rush

Interviewer : "Would it be fair to describe you as a volatile player?"
David Beckham: "Well, I can play in the centre, on the right and occasionally on the left side."

"I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league." - Mark Viduka

"My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about 7." - David Beckham

"I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what religion yet." - David Beckham

"There is a smear campaign against me with facts, which are not true." - Toni Polster

But I think the funniest man of them all has to be Ian Holloway. For the uninitiated, Holloway is the manager of Plymouth Arygle, a CC Championship team in England. Check out his famous quote here:



He is a bit of a cult personality in the UK, and even has a column on bbc.co.uk where he answers all sorts of questions on issues of the day, from David Beckham to Big Brother. He's been voted funnier than the Ali G character in the UK, and has a book of quotations called Let's Have Coffee: The Tao of Ian Holloway. He comes up with the weirdest metaphors that are just a delight to listen to:

"You never count your chickens before they hatch. I used to keep parakeets and I never counted every egg thinking I would get all eight birds. You just hoped they came out of the nest box looking all right. I'm like a swan at the moment. I look fine on top of the water but under the water my little legs are going mad."

Cowabunga!

Yes, the turtles are back! TMNT the movie is finally here and I can't wait to watch it in the cinemas. Remember this?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heroes in a half-shell
Turtle power!

They're the world's most fearsome fighting team (We're really hip!)
They're heroes in a half-shell and they're green (Hey - get a grip!)
When the evil Shredder attacks
These Turtle boys don't cut him no slack!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Splinter taught them to be ninja teens (He's a radical rat!)
Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines (That's a fact, Jack!)
Raphael is cool but crude (Gimme a break!)
Michaelangelo is a party dude (Party!)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heroes in a half shell
Turtle power!

It's quite surprising that I can recall most of the lyrics, especially since the TV cartoon first came out in 1987 - 20 years ago!!! Anyway, if you haven't seen the trailer for the movie yet, here it is:



Totally awesome, dudes!