Aberdeen Blogs

Liam Byrnes: Short Thoughts:When is Inquisitiveness sin?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:58:31 +0000

I am keen to encourage creativity and creative endeavours, and am quick to scorn historical attempts of the Church to limit scientific creativity, but I wonder when does inquisitiveness become sin, when does our research become Eve’s reach for the fruit?

Thoughts in the comments.

Groanin' Jock: Preparations

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:00:00 +0000

This Saturday, Mrs Wife and I are hosting a barbecue.

We did the same last year, and a decent crowd turned out for what eventually amounted to 12 hours of chargrilled meat and cold beer-based fun.

Word has obviously spread, as this year's sequel looks as though it's going to attract 50 hungry punters.

So you'll have to excuse me while I go and mow the carpet, hoover the lawn, marinade the barbecue and scrub the chicken.

Or something like that anyway.

Cameron McEwan: More STAR WARS?

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:56:31 +0000

Kind of..

I recall reading, some time ago, that GEORGEY L (pictured above) wanted to redo the STAR WARS films in the new 3D format. Now, I lurve the new medium and I believe the films would look wonderful realised in this way. Well, it seems the project is definitely on - go HERE to read about it. DARTH VADER dressed as woman? Or a soldier? You got it!

Perhaps that's sexist. I s'pose it could be a guy. Of course, some of you may want 'ole Darth dressed as a clown or with goofy teeth. You got that too!

If you're confused (and many people are these days) these 'helmets' have formed part of the DARTH VADER PROJECT in Japan. Read more about it HERE. But, here's another interesting take on the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Strapped for cash but still want cube~like representations of your beloved pop~culture icons? Well, your needs have satiated. Visit CUBEECRAFT to download all the characters you could possible want. Here's an example below:

'Til the next time,
C.

Liam Byrnes: Mid Week Round Up

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:14:11 +0000

Theres plenty to get through today, normally there is a bit of a smorgasborg of topics, so decided to divide the round up a bit more topically this week (needless to say the topic headings are hopelessly inadequate), let me know if that is useful:

Theology/Church Stuff:

Scot McKnight just started blogging through a book Rachel gave me for my Graduation - The Mission of God by Christopher Wright Ill be reading it along with this series.

The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative

John Stackhouse has written an excellent post for people considering a PhD, well worth a read, it certainly quelled my fantasies of Post Grad work!

Jason Clark gives you a peek into his PhD research.

Andy White writes a helpful post on the subject of why your visions should be unachievable.

22Words challenges you to ‘freshen up’ your language when speaking about the Gospel, I also had a good laugh when Abraham questioned the attribute of God ‘does not faint’ as a strange thing to Praise God for.

Robin Parry - A New blogger from Paternoster gives some interesting thoughts regarding belief in a global flood.

DG quotes Spurgeon’s advice to young pastors, overall a good thought, but what do you think about this comment?: "Begin your ministry with one blind eye and one deaf ear."

There is a preview of the new Church Dogmatics Set at the T&T Clark Blog. Looks nice, but not as nice as the old hardbacks which had bright orange dust covers!

The Greenbelt lineup looks good, I’ve never been but Id like to one day.

Al Gordon@HTB lets his techies take over the band for the day and they come back with some brilliant re-writes.

This is pretty ridiculous…a 200 foot cross to be built at the entrance of Houston, just an idea but maybe there is better ways to spend your money for the Kingdom?

This is a sad story about a research professor who took his ill child to a healing meeting…this is part of the reason I think events like this can be unhelpful.

Zach Neilsen is blogging some excellent stuff - I particularly like the quote he shared regarding imperatives and indicatives in the Gospel which you can read here also this billboard which is trying to get its political capital from things that should never be exploited.

Inhabitio Dei posted some interesting thoughts on the idolatry of Family in Evangelicalism, the post discusses Driscoll, but I am really more interested in the wider concepts of family that are being discussed.

Faith and Theology has a post which re-thinks the popular conceptions of Marriage which I also found interesting.

Scot McKnight shared a brilliant tip for writers to read authors that you would love to write like. I expect this is why Eugene Peterson is such a great writer because he primarily read novels

Technology:

Thanks to Brett for highlighting this incredible HDR shot of a Norwegian Fjord.

For those of you sick of hearing about iPhone’s there are some leaked pictures of the Blackberry Thunder (touchscreen) I mentioned a little while back. Whether a 3G iPhone or BB Thunder, my business upgrade doesn’t come til December so I am stuck.

The Cocioa Blog does a great job at rounding up some excellent apps for the iPhone from the new app store.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the iPhone3G news and suddently want to know everything because you got a crazy tax rebate and want to blow it all then engadget has a round up of all the latest on it.

Engadget also shows you how to use that 3G connection on your iPhone to get online with your laptop.

If you are indeed considering an iPhone 3G read these posts explaining why they are not or are waiting: Firstly this blogger gets meaningfully philosophical about the iPhone and encourages us to have technological discernment, I especially thought this quote was thought-provoking:"When we become engrossed in the capacities of a powerful new technology, our critical faculties may be overwhelmed by the pragmatics of making the thing work and by the sheer delight of exploring new experiences"

Rather more practically, yet just as usefully Andy White tells us why he is waiting a while before buying in to the iPhone craze.

Brett posts his wishlist for the next iPhone. I agree.

WP Bloggers will be pleased to know that Wordpress for iPhone is out!

Lifehacker flagged up a handy app for the job Ive been meaning to do for the last 3 years, tidy up the meta data for my iTunes library!

If you have an iPhone 3G and are not using PUSH you dont deserve one (harsh but fair)…read here to be reinstated in the club of people who deserve an iPhone3G

Donovan has installed the latest wordpress and has the new features video. I dont trust myself so Im waiting for a few weeks before it turns up in Fantastico!

Engadget review what is likely to be my next Blackberry upgrade, and apparently it scratches…and let me just say that I have scratched all my phones to death because I dont know how to put them in a different pocket than my keys, so I am not looking forward to the scratch-life on this handset!

Misc and Music:

I have been reading this guys blog with envy…surely this is every guys dream: "My name is Zac Sunderland and I am 16 years old. I am currently sailing across the Pacific Ocean attempting to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone by yacht"

Whilst you were sleeping your bed Armageddon is happening on Jupiter..OK, maybe not, but one of the spots just got swallowed!

Radiohead just released a music video for House of Cards which involved no cameras, they shot it using 3D geometrics acquisition..don’t ask me why that is cool, it just is.

FP tells you what to fill that silo in your back yard with if you want to be rich over the next few years of economic crisis…then again you could just look like a strange guy who hords things.

FlickrBlog featured one of their more bizarre videos, a lady video taping a storm on her digital camera gets hit by lightening and captures it on film, She is Fine.

GraphJam has graphs for all types of amusing stuff…have a break check a few out.

Scot McKnight features a picture of Chicago from the sky at night, I took a similar flight into chicago and the views were incredible too.

After engaging in 2 or 3 european (continental) trips last year, and being a european, I can heartily endorse TSK’s 10 tips for travelling around Europe over the summer.

Thats all for this weeks round up.

Fitaloon: Virus, Government and Microsoft

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:35:39 +0000

The words Virus, Microsoft and Government Websites in one article should make us all a bit wary. Despite the appalling spelling, the article is as follows. Key Government websites have been infected by a virus that allows cyber-criminals to steal browsers' personal details, it was reported today. More than a thousand Government and consumer sites are said to have been hit, including some run by

Fitaloon: More Batman Bale Victims?

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:14:11 +0000

Are these poor creatures more victims of Christian Bale the star of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight,". BBC NEWS | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Bemused rescuers pick up penguins

Groanin' Jock: Season 2008/2009: Match 3: Montrose v Brechin City

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:13:46 +0000

Local derbies are known for being tempestuous affairs. But pre-season matches are known for being lacklustre and meaningless.

So where does that leave a pre-season friendly between a pair of near neighbours?

The answer from Montrose's final warm-up match ahead of the big kick-off is somewhere in the middle.

Neither side gave it their all, but the encounter was intriguing nonetheless.

Montrose opened the scoring through a well-taken diving finish from Roddy Hunter, who looked more than capable of assuming the goalscoring duties in place of John Baird, who started on the bench.

But the better finish probably came at the other end, with Steven Thomson expertly flicking the ball into the bottom corner of the net, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.

Unfortunately, he achieved the feat while attempting to defend a cross, and scored the first own goal I've seen this season.

The goals aside, the match was notable for a strong performance from Brechin's new signing Ian Nimmo in midfield - he looks as though he could make a difference to a side that could feasibly finish anywhere between bottom and top of their division in the coming season.

Liam Byrnes: Advice to Missionaries

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:52:36 +0000

John Piper quotes Adoniram Judson who has some good things to say regarding missionaries - that is wherever we are called (yes, that means you),

Some of these points are interesting in light of the missions series I have been running.

it was so engaging I have posted it in its entirity:

(Author: John Piper)

As I was working on the fifth volume of The Swans are Not Silent series about the lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John G. Paton, I found a letter written by Judson from Burma on June 25, 1832 with sobering counsel to missionaries.

Actually, these are hard and good words for all of us. Here are four of his points:

Fourthly. It may be profitable to bear in mind, that a large proportion of those who come out on a mission to the East die within five years after leaving their native land. Walk softly, therefore; death is narrowly watching your steps…

Sixthly. Beware of the greater reaction which will take place after you have acquired the language, and become fatigued and worn out with preaching the gospel to a disobedient and gainsaying people. You will sometimes long for a quiet retreat, where you can find a respite from the tug of toiling at native work—the incessant, intolerable friction of the missionary grindstone. And Satan will sympathize with you in this matter; and he will present some chapel of ease, in which to officiate in your native tongue, some government situation, some professorship or editorship, some literary or scientific pursuit, some supernumerary translation, or, at least, some system of schools; anything, in a word, that will help you, without much surrender of character, to slip out of real missionary work. Such a temptation will form the crisis of your disease. If your spiritual constitution can sustain it, you recover; if not, you die…

Eighthly. Never lay up money for yourselves or your families. Trust in God from day to day, and verily you shall be fed.

Ninthly. Beware of that indolence which leads to a neglect of bodily exercise. The poor health and premature death of most Europeans in the East must be eminently ascribed to the most wanton neglect of bodily exercise.

Tenthly. Beware of genteel living. Maintain as little intercourse as possible with fashionable European society. The mode of living adopted by many missionaries in the East is quite inconsistent with that familiar intercourse with the natives which is essential to a missionary.

Cameron McEwan: Sarah Jessica Parker Arrested For...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:25:09 +0000

.... gross négligée.

SJP sans defect.

That was the odd title of a spam email I received recently. Odd because it made me larf. Spam isn't meant to do that. I also found one lurking in my junk folder whose subject was BOMB HER WOMB! I wondered if this was some Patrick Bateman~esque style shenanigans but it turned out the 'bomb' was referring to my (I'm assuming mine) sperm (I'll also accept stoosh, man~goo, trouser relish, little~man mayo, etc...) and the way in which it will 'attack' a woman's purse (other colloquialisms are available). What times we live in!

Nice tongue gross~oid!

DRAGON'S DEN returned to our screens (well, mine at least) last night and it started off in the most comically stolen fashion ever. It's only flippin' turned into THE X FACTOR. We were presented a pitch from a band! How effin' rock 'n' roll they are spending over three times as much on marketing than the actual music. What times we live in. It galled me to see music treated so workman like. Nobody stated if the liked the band or not - I'm not naming them 'cos they're not getting any more advertising from me.

Does she ever keep it in?

I could imagine hundreds/thousands of musicians all over the UK thinking, "That could be me!" Too easy. Those dragons were very easily pleased. When asked if they could play their new song, the band refused. Idiots. It was all different in my day.... I will add, for those who don't know, I'm a musician so this rant may seem slightly bitter. Gah! The rest of the episode was pretty uneventful though it would appear that dressing up as a tree can get you loads~a~money these days.

This is NOT a wax model, just an over made~up, passed~it S~Bag.

A lot of you have been getting in touch and asking if it's possible to get some STAR WARS kitchen utensils. Some of you were more specific and asked, "Hey Cam, get me some lightsaber style chopsticks?" Be careful what you wish for....

This is real.

Hhmmm tasty, but my mouth is dry and I need a tasty beverage. AND it needs to be in a glass that celebrates my favourite Astromech droid. Or Protocol droid.

The sign reads: "This Is Real"

'Til the next time,
C.

Misssy M: No Sleep til Varanesi

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:22:49 +0000

One of the phrases our guide uses very often is this:

“This is India”.

This is not stating the obvious. Rather this is a reminder to us all at regular intervals that we are about to experience something that is at odds with out our western experience, or is going to challenge us.

Several “This is India” items have been:

Time. Take the amount of time you are told anything will take and double it. or disregard it completely and abandon the concept of time altogether. This is also known as India Standard Time.
The streets. Man, the streets. So jammed packed with people you can barely breathe. You don't know busy til you've been here.
The hawkers. This term applies to beggars, peddlars and bloody annoying people, of which there are many. These people will get their own special little blog post. Oh yes.
The filth. I have never ever seen filth like it. You are never more than a couple of feet away from a freshly laid human turd, a mountain of refuse, a rotten carcass, or a puddle of piss. In every city. In every street. That photo of the Taj Mahal I posted? Bet there’s a turd in it somewhere. Think of it as Indian “Where’s Wally/Waldo?” 100 rupees to the first person to find it. (It's not in my hair)
The confusion. Turn round and you’ve lost your party. In seconds, if you are distracted, you will find yourself lost. You have had it. No one will find you, you will find no-one, you will not know how to get yourself found. You will be standing bewildered and anxious. And beside a freshly laid human turd. No doubt.

The first time out guide uttered the phrase, “And remember, this is India” was on Day One when we didn’t have a clue what India was. After a first night in a big old posh hotel, we were to be leaving Delhi on the night train to the Holy City of Varanesi.

I was excited about the sleeper train because of a lie told to me in the form of a Wes Anderson’s film called “The Darjeeling Limited”. For those of you who haven’t seen it, three brothers (Luke Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) take a train across India on a quest. The film is quirky and charming. The train is twee, delightful and colourful. There are no freshly laid human turds in Mr Anderson’s film. Mr Anderson is a bloody liar.

“Remember. This is India. This is an Indian train station. Do not stray from the group. Watch your belongings. Follow me at all times,” our guide told us as we got off the bus and headed across the (turd laden) street to Delhi Train Station (address: The third circle of of Hell, Hades, The Underworld).

I always think it is a great shame that train stations in any city are the first thing that travelers usually see. They often showcase the worst aspects of any city. Even polite German towns with their pristine streets and their conscientious and efficient citizens will have a a porn cinema situated next to their town train station, a manky old drunk lying in the waiting room and a dodgy bloke accosting you in the gents toilets appraising one's penis as you try to pee (I'm told). I will never turn my nose up at such mediocre amateur seediness again.

I have been through Delhi train station. And lived!

How to replicate Delhi Train Station in 5 easy steps:

1.Take the entire population of a small country. Perhaps the population of my own would give a representative figure.

2. Take a train station the size of Edinburgh Waverley or one of the more medium sized London stations.

3. Spray liberally with urine.

4.Release ten billion flies. And several hundred mangy dogs.

5. Lie half the people of the aforementioned population down on the passageways to all platforms. Give extra flies to those lying down.

6. Crank the heat up to 45 degrees.

Our small party of 23 white-faced, stressed-out, frightened faces make it through the station onto our platform. Well, probably our platform. Even our guide is unsure. There are ten thousand other people on our platform. or what feel like ten-thousand people. ALL of them turn to stare at us. If it wasn’t so frightening it would be funny.

The train arrives and the ten thousand people rush forwards. We are pushed towards the edge of the platform and the railway tracks. I hold onto my kids for dear life as grown men push my five year old daughter aside without a thought as to anything other than getting a seat for them and the cage of chickens they are holding. I shout angrily at these people. I am ignored. Two of the school pupils help me out and together we get me and my kids on the train.

Somehow we all make it onto the train. The head count is frantic but swift as the train pulls out of Delhi. We think we are on the right train. But must find our carriage. For this cannot be ours. For one, we are supposed to be in a sleeper carriage, reserved for us. There are other random people here. There are only open benches with foam vinyl coated seating. And no doors. This cannot be ours. Scary looking blokes are here. They do not feature in the "Darjeeling Limited", so they will not feature in my Indian train ride. Begone scary men, I want polite be-turbanned gentlemen with outstanding moustaches serving me mint tea and scones. My Indian dream has no place for stinky gits eating rice out of a plastic bag.

I am wrong.This is our carriage and scary random men will feature. Heavily. In fact scary random men are going to be the leitmotif of my Indian train adventure.

After 1 hour we discover that :

Yes, we are to be sharing our compartment with other people;

Yes, the benches are our beds, yes we may have a random unknown bloke in the bunk above us;

Yes, there are no doors to each compartment;

Yes this is second class. Like it or lump it. If you wanted privacy you should have gone first class. They have a thin curtain to draw across. The lucky bastards!

I am sat across from two men. Our guide cannot believe what has happened. He booked the carriage for us, so that we can stay together, with our charges near us. As is our responsibility. But no, the train conductor assures us that these other people have every right to be here. In the way that train officials do, the world over. Cultures may differ. Train conductors do not.

So we begin our negotiations. I think this will be a simple task. If you explain to people that we are a school party who must sleep altogether, then people will surely understand and gladly swap seats with us.

How wrong was I? People DO NOT want to move. Our guide is getting nowhere fast. He pleads, he bribes, he cajoles, he negotiates. Yet, people are determined to stay put. In fact, some people start to get really bloody angry. Especially the bloke next to me who exhibits the behaviour of an complete and utter pig. After a further hour of this nonsense I start to lose my rag.

Eventually, the compartment me and my kids are in is the last one to fall. The man beside me refuses to move to our excess seats to allow my family and some of the school children to sleep together. He and his friend start to argue once more with the guide. I don’t speak Hindi, but I know everything he is saying. I have only one trump card to play and if it doesn’t work, I am buggered and will have to sleep next to the man, as well as having bad feeling between us after a failed argument. I delve deep into my most emotional blackmail reserves.

“Do you understand me when I speak?” I say.

The man barely meets my gaze. I think he is deeply uncomfortable that I am speaking to him, “Yes”

“Are you a Dad. Do you have children?”

“Yes” he says.

“These people are school children. Their parents have entrusted them to us to keep safe whilst in India. They must sleep beside us. Would you want your children to feel frightened in a strange country when you entrusted them to someone else?”

The man is now not looking at me.

I have lost.

But his friend is. He listens to me as I warble on getting more melodramatic with every second.

And then I start to cry. Mainly because I’m so bloody angry.

“Please take our seats and let our children sleep beside us. Please. Please” I say in a last ditch attempt.

Tears are streaming down my face. I feel a right bloody idiot but I can't help crying.

Suddenly then they pack up and leave. Maybe because they think I'm a mental.

Shame that the same couldn’t be said for the family of cockroaches at the carriage window.

They will be with us the whole 16 hours til we reach Varanesi.

Next: "Bring out yer dead!". The funeral pyres at Varanesi

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Misssy M: Raj Against the Machine

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:18:24 +0000

The Taj, Indy, Jnr Misssy and Misssy M

I’m twelve days into India and I still don’t know how I feel about the place.

It’s too easy to say “ I hate India” yet this seems to have been my mantra over the last week or so. I have woken up saying it, and I have used variations on the phrase throughout the day. It has helped a lot. Specially when I pepper it with swearies.

This is a hard place to be. And I’m living in relative luxury. So really, I’ve got a cheek.

You might be surprised at my attitude. Surely Misssy is one of those people who loves to travel, and yes, I am. But India is different. I have never been so appalled at the state of anywhere I’ve ever been for so many and varied reasons. I have never been put in positions that have tested my patience as much, or made me close my eyes and grit my teeth to get through them. And clutch my children's hands so tight they might break off...Indy and Junior Misssy may need some time and space away from me when we get home, as I have been clamping them to me, like a paranoid lioness.

Sorry for not being able to post regularly, folks. I wish I had been able to…you would have been able to chart my feelings day by day, had I time to type, an internet connection or the energy to get my head round things. I also would have been able keep track on everything we have done and seen. It has been strange and irritating not being able to write the day up. But I have been keeping notes to remind me how I felt and it's all scribbled or in my brain ready to spew forth.

Annoyingly, for you, now that I’ve a connection and some free time I am going to post a couple of stories from the trip in rapid succession. There might be heaps...it'll depend on what India chucks at us in the next few days.

I also wanted to speak to my Mum and my Mother in Law first to reassure them that we’re all safe and OK, as they both read the Misssives and would worry given some of the things I am going to write about. So I did that last night and they are both gamely pretending that they are not at their wit’s end.

More very soon…probably in the next few hours. I’m now off for tea. Mmmm, hope it’s curry, haven’t had one of those in ages…..

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Mark McDonald: Back from Glasgow

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:12:42 +0000

Apologies for the short period of radio silence.

I spent Saturday in Glasgow East before heading back home. I did some street work, handing out balloons, flags and leaflets, which went well, and ended up having some very good conversations with a couple of undecided voters.

I then went out door knocking in the afternoon and again came back with fairly positive feedback, it is clear that this result is going to be tight, and that in itself is a testament to the magnificent efforts of the SNP campaign team, led and organised by the dynamic duo of Allison Hunter and Indygal.

Then, finally, it was out for a leaflet run to finish off the day. It meant that we missed out on some of the tasty grub which was shared out, but I was happier doing my bit for the by-election in the first instance.

On our travels we saw evidence of Lib Dem, Tory, SSP and Solidarity campaigning, but there seemed to be precious little evidence of any high-profile Labour activity, which seems remarkable for the last Saturday of a by-election campaign.

Make no mistake, on paper there shouldn't really be a contest. Labour started the by-election with a 13,500 majority to defend. Ordinarily a good result for the SNP would have been to reduce that majority, perhaps not significantly, but to reduce it nevertheless.

However, the more the campaign has gone on, the more positive the vibes seem to have become, and winning is now a real possibility.

Labour have, therefore, now changed tack and are trying to suggest that if the SNP don't win this by-election it is a disaster for us. Nice try kids, but no cigar on that one.

Some bloggers are also suggesting that Alex Salmond shouldn't have set his stall out to win, and that he should have been content with a "good second place". I disagree. You have to go into any campaign with the aim to win, regardless of how realistic or otherwise that goal might be. It is the only way to keep an activist base motivated, and it has certainly done that. It has also helped put us in the position where we really might be able to win.

I was asked in the comment section earlier if I wasn't just getting carried away from spending time in the company of fellow activists.

I don't think that I am, because I am basing this on what I have seen and heard first hand in terms of what voters are saying to me.

Furthermore, even some of my fellow activists who are well known for viewing the glass as being half empty are coming back to the campaign rooms brimming with optimism.

I intend to be back in Glasgow on Thursday for polling day, in order to help try and deliver a great result.

Whatever the result, it has been the best by-election campaign I have been involved in during my short time as a party member, and that includes Moray where we increased our majority.

Finally, special mention to Esther Sassaman, her husband Barry and their cats Basil and Rosemary for all their hospitality.

Also to Alison Thewliss, aka BellgroveBelle, for pizza and fine banter in the wee hours of Saturday/Sunday.

And lastly to David Linden, for giving me a lift from Alison's to Esther's even though it was well out of his way!

Looking forward to getting back into the mix in a few days time.

Mark McDonald: That Top Ten Thingy Which I Never Make It Onto...

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:05:27 +0000

It is once again time for Iain Dale to compile his top ten political blog lists.

Here is the post which has all the instructions.

I will doubtless be missing out again, on the basis of not being as good a blogger as others, but I hope to see some of my favourite blogs in there.

I might even do a post on my ten favourite blogs, just to make friends and influence people...

Neepheid: Bam attack!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:02:13 +0000

Someone's managed to drive a car into Union Terrace Gardens - from Union Terrace; through a rather solid concrete pillar wall. I can't really work out how they managed to do it. Perhaps all will be revealed if the news picks up on it.

When the council need to make £50m of spending cuts, I don't think it helps having to rebuild intricate masonry.

Fitaloon: Eilean Donan Castle

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:32:32 +0000

Eilean Donan CastleOriginally uploaded by fitaloonA final Holiday Photo before a return to normal service

Cameron McEwan: Just Because It's Summer Doesn't Mean TV Has To Be Sh*t!

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:09:20 +0000

But sadly it is.

Katie fields another, "Have you seen THE DARK KNIGHT yet?" question...

So much so that I actually watched the second episode of both BONKEKICKERS and LAB RATS, two shows that I gave a licking over last week in a most demeaning (for them) fashion. TW*TBASHERS was worse than the first week but it wasn't nearly as funny. It dealt so crudely with racial and political issues that I thought, for one horrible moment, that I was watching ITV1. Again we got ridiculous deaths and farcical fight scenes coupled with HUGE BOURNEVILLE gnawing his way through each scene lusting after girls in (or out of) their bras. I gave it a chance (coughs) but it stinks. In a big way. BURN GORMAN is making an appearance soon so I'll probably tune in to see him.

Tell me that's for a part...

The other deplorable programme from last week raising its sick~makingly unfunny head was LAB RATS. Again, worse than last week and not nearly as funny. And, remember guys and gals, I didn't laugh at all during the opening episode. I saw the show's "star" and "writer" (and I use that term lightly considering that the garbage I saw on screen could barely be described as thought upon, let alone written), CHRIS ADDISON being interviewed about the 'comedy' (surely an Ofcom investigation is warranted?) and he claimed he wrote it as a silly sitcom watchable by all. Yes it is "watchable", but who would want to?

Transfixed by the BEARD OF FORD!

Chris (and I feel comfortable calling him this) claims his desire was that kids could watch it but I would recommend that the children of Britain stay on the streets and eat gravel and used jerry~bags before venturing indoors to view this turgid BBC2 effort. Thankfully, MOCK THE WEEK provided a few laughs previous to it. Not that many though and, oddly, I caught a repeat of NEVER MIND THE BUZZCOCKS (which I had seen some time ago) on DAVE that provided many more guffaws than the first outing for MTW.

Nice shirt!

Film~wise, I saw KUNG FU PANDA. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of popcorn fodder and full marks to some of the people involved but I do have a number of issues with this DREAMWORKS production. Why did they bother casting Big Lips McGraw in this flick? Not only was her vocal effort extremely poor but you couldn't even tell it was her anyway! What's the point? Don't bother, I know the point. Makes a nice poster/red carpet.

Nice, erm, ears?

Likewise, LUCY LIU? Come on! It's a pity 'cos she did a real good job on FUTURAMA but, then again, she was playing herself. I won't go into the rest mainly because their parts were so small (vocally speaking - ha ha, what a weird thing to type) that, like Miss Jolie, it did not matter who was doing it. Just get someone good, regardless of fame~osity (have I invented a new word?). It works for PIXAR! My last word on the negatives falls to DUSTIN "Hoff"MAN who was woefully cast here. You could tell it was him but who in the world is thinking, "I want to see an animated film featuring the vocal talents of Dustin Hoffman"? Answer? No~one is thinking that.

Is anyone still interested in you?

He was not a good choice for such a large part. Sadly, DREAMWORKS seem to revel in the celeb element of their flicks and who am I to tell them otherwise? They're very successful at producing these movies and, to their credit, KUNG FU PANDA works despite my misgivings about the voice talents. JACK "Career Back On Track?" BLACK was perfectly cast and pulls of the role with some distinction - a wise choice. Likewise, it was great to hear JAMES "I Designed Your Eyes" HONG's voice playing the Panda's dad, a goose.

Not a good look from MAGGY G.

That was one of the nice touches about the film, even though the Panda's upbringing by Geese must have been problematic, it is barely touched upon and the dysfunctional route is thankfully avoided. The film's story is disarmingly simple and the message comes straight out of the GREAT BIG BOOK OF DISNEY - follow your dreams, believe in yourself, don't judge a book by its cover, help your friends out, etc... Not that there's anything wrong with that but I seem to remember that SHREK lampooned the very genre that DREAMWORKS has now comfortably become. Where will the kids get their radical kicks from now on?

Bale shoot his load into robot [WALL-E Deleted Scene]

The film is pretty a much a larf~fest with plenty throughout and I must commend the makers of KUNG FU PANDA in creating fight sequences that were not deadly dull, as so many are now. Each one is imaginatively realised whilst providing a bucket~full of amusement for the older viewers. Full congratulations on the 2D opening; quite beautiful and most unexpected. Technically though, the film's not all there. Sure, some of the characters are perfectly done; the Panda, the Goose and Dustin Hoffman (good idea for a sitcom right there) but the others don't fare so well, especially the five other Kung Fu guys and gals voiced in such a pedestrian manner by the 'stars'.

You lost a bet, right? Being seen out with him...

And what the 'eff was IAN "Mc"SHANE doing in there? All in all, a most enjoyable experience and probably DREAMWORKS best since SHREK 2. I note, with some disdain, that their next effort is MADAGASCAR 2. Groan. Speaking of sequels, SEX AND THE CITY is getting one - go HERE for the 411. Let me guess: Big will change his mind about something; Miranda will be a work~obsessed bitch; Charlotte won't get a storyline; Samantha likes sex; and Carrie will still act like she's thirteen. Stick in the latest (and hotest) minority in there and you've got yourself a hit.

RICK ASTLEY is back!

Not quite a sequel, more of a remake, but CLASH OF THE TITANS is back! Go HERE for the full story but one has to ask, why? Are we completely out of ideas now? (Some say we were back in the last century - remember then?) So much so that we have to plunder mediocre Eighties fare? How long before KRULL gets re~done? Or a re~imagining of BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS? Another 3D version of SPACEHUNTER anyone? Oops, I realise I have just demonstrated the extent of my geek~dom so I will move on to some HOT news of a televisual nature.

SHINY! Hold on, is that ANDI PETERS in the background?

Regular readers, and perhaps irregular (I don't care what size you are), will know my affinity for the US version of THE OFFICE. Though to say it is the 'US' version is doing it a massive disservice as it has now become a very credible entity of its own. Anyway, some time ago it was reported that a spin~off was in the, erm, offing. Looks like it will star AMY POEHLER according to VARIETY. Great choice though I'm not too sure about a spin~off. Time, as those so devoid of imagination constantly state, will tell.

JAIME WINSTONE in a couple of years...

Music~time! If the picture of DOLLY PARTON (that's her upstairs) got you excited then you'll be even more aroused to learn that I am about to 'review' her latest album, BACKWOODS BARBIE. Incredibly, it's got a cover of She Drives Me Crazy - though the Partster drops the 'she' - originally by FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS. It's not awful, unlike her version of SMOKEY ROBINSON's Tracks Of My Tears that turns up here too, but it is strange. I like her voice but there's one too many country songs included (surprise!) but there is the odd pleaser. Speaking of country, GLEN CAMPBELL is back!

DOCTOR WHO takes an odd turn in the 2009 specials...

Who? You may be asking if you're under thirty. Well, that doesn't matter but he's just delivered an album of covers, rather amusingly called MEET GLEN CAMPBELL, that include GREEN DAY, U2 and TRAVIS. Worth a listen and like many country artists his voice is very honest and quite endearing. Don't pay any money for it though, barely made it to a second listen right through. Similar words can be said for the debut from BLACK KIDS, the provocatively titled Partie Traumatic. It's like a cross between THE CURE and ORANGE JUICE with a dash of AZTEC CAMERA. Hell, it's not 'like' a cross. It is a cross. Very derivative.

... and this is the regeneration scene...

Lastly, CSS are back with their "difficult" second album DONKEY. I lurved the debut but this falls way short. It's quite obvious they wrote this on the road, full of more rockier tracks suited to the festivals they've been whoring themselves out at for the past two years. It's got the odd good track on it and there's even one, incorrectly called Beautiful Song, which invokes We Didn't Start the Fire by BILLY JOEL. Not a good reference point. A disappointing follow~up for sure.

Casting for the MORRISSEY film begins...

'Til the next time,
C.

Fitaloon: Bla Bheinn

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:04:31 +0000

Bla BheinnOriginally uploaded by fitaloonOn a visit to Skye we went on a trip to Elgol to view the Cuillins. This is Bla Bheinn about half way to Elgol