tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19247218212072355752024-02-19T17:09:49.678+00:00wellyousaythat©...IF YOU WANT MY OPINION ON POPULAR CULTURE...wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.comBlogger1356125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-66973126021178870692024-02-19T17:08:00.003+00:002024-02-19T17:08:53.850+00:00LET'S BE CAREFUL OUT THERE<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwrrrYB6M96v9XA7RepJc3oyRSZp_ZrWt94iF6FSKf-CR2F93jO4AcT2ePcfiffkgdeNIGU0RXO-a2-Td9XTqREWLSmPKt_ospevDI6NUinucs9U0YU5Hitgt4h0EyNvs5luwcS6L5rgDZ80T7Eet1H3_-2RfNbYiANK7pUvWqLDJk8nE7zqxe9sUFrM/s1024/414f8de97a487e32498a23ff9e618eec87e9a773_2000x2000.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwrrrYB6M96v9XA7RepJc3oyRSZp_ZrWt94iF6FSKf-CR2F93jO4AcT2ePcfiffkgdeNIGU0RXO-a2-Td9XTqREWLSmPKt_ospevDI6NUinucs9U0YU5Hitgt4h0EyNvs5luwcS6L5rgDZ80T7Eet1H3_-2RfNbYiANK7pUvWqLDJk8nE7zqxe9sUFrM/w640-h320/414f8de97a487e32498a23ff9e618eec87e9a773_2000x2000.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday afternoon turned into Saturday night and a relatively quiet drink with friends watching the Arsenal put five goals past Burnley turned into an anthropologist's voyage of discovery. Unaccustomed as I am to going to bustling pubs and bars on a Saturday night I was most startled to walk into two hostelries that resembled one of those painting by Hieronyous Bosch.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When was life so loud? I'm not talking about music but the sheer volume which emanated from each location, what I can only call shouting.That's right, not reasonable levelled discourse but shouting. I'm sure that the conversations being had were both interesting and illuminating but why those thoughts and opinions were being bellowed at a volume approaching the sound of a helicopter taking off is beyond me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let's talk about etiquette. For me, anyone who is taking up a seat without having a drink in front of them should be summarily ejected from the establishment. So many seats occupied by those not drinking and so little care given about it from the staff team whose aptitude for bar work seemed questionable.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Spacial awareness also seems to have gone out the window. Bumping into people and knocking pint holding hands resulting in splashes and drips is not acknowledged or apologised for. How things have changed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But, what did I learn on Saturday night? That I'm too old for this Saturday night lark? That I find the general public, by and large, very annoying? or that if I do find myself in a similar position in future i need to be better prepared? </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I'm not sure, but in the future, before heading out in London on a Saturday night I shall remember the immortal words of Sergeant Phil Esterhaus; "Let's be careful out there"</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><h1 class="ArticleTitle_root__VrZaG" data-flatplan-title="true" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: AGaramondPro, "Adobe Garamond Pro", garamond, Times, serif; font-size: 46px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 52px; margin: 0px 0px 18px;"><br /></h1>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-80233865649867856652023-11-20T16:08:00.003+00:002023-11-20T16:08:23.501+00:00What A Carry On Abroad<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZH8sgjxwxWKGA4flAeZTNA-0SefPk9dwDtO2y6B098RZGPKNz151yd8B0TpgNcZgZkLc-TqnTK82LS1GQqcjir_BmmGuj6l05pFwSTHgEpRMoWAR4fZ9Wk57aM2QuaA7aDnsJAnb9TLaac-jfpNrJVgs0b_OI0J7DajbH57mNyA7FWAzbRozTm_lPZY/s1300/scan0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1300" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZH8sgjxwxWKGA4flAeZTNA-0SefPk9dwDtO2y6B098RZGPKNz151yd8B0TpgNcZgZkLc-TqnTK82LS1GQqcjir_BmmGuj6l05pFwSTHgEpRMoWAR4fZ9Wk57aM2QuaA7aDnsJAnb9TLaac-jfpNrJVgs0b_OI0J7DajbH57mNyA7FWAzbRozTm_lPZY/w400-h295/scan0018.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>What A Carry On Abroad</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's cold here, which got me thinking about this time last year when I was able to take a well earned break in the sunshine. However, I am also reminded of what an unappealing time was had by all at the hotel chosen to stay at. So I found the review/letter that I sent to the hotel by way of pointing our what went wrong. Suffice it to say, the response was six of nothing and half a dozen of zero!</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>As you are aware my wife and I were recently guests at XXXXXXXX, and I am writing to you in the hope that our feedback will be forwarded to Mr XXXXXX CEO. We were disappointed with some of the aspects of our stay, and I hope that our feedback will be given attention.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>XXXXXXXXX is a hotel that myself and family have visited for many years; primarily for both the location and it’s friendly and gracious staff. Our holidays at XXXXXXX have been special and given the years of Covid, it was with great anticipation that my wife and I travelled to stay at XXXXXXX.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>As previously mentioned, the staff were as kind and helpful as ever on our arrival and as we made our way to our room we immediately felt at home. However, our stay this time around was punctuated by issues that I feel I must bring to the attention of the management of the hotel.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>The room allocated to us was not a room that made staying in it easy. The extraordinarily large Wardrobes in the rooms have folding doors that make navigating between the edge of the bed and the hangers within both inconvenient and impractical. Smaller wardrobes with sliding doors would solve this issue. The shower room was not only small but there were very little surfaces to place anything. The TV was placed on a trestle table which again, limited space to put anything down; a wall mounted TV would be better suited. The key to the room is heavy and outdated whereas a key card would be far more convenient for guests and more in keeping with a five-star hotel</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Thanks to the accommodating staff we were able to change rooms to another close by that had a larger bathroom with plenty of surfaces, and a fit for purpose desktop. I would say that the addition of a Nespresso Coffee machine was a welcome addition to the rooms, but there was no Ironing facilities in the room or trouser press; both of which are standard in hotels with the status advertised.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Leaving our room later I couldn’t help but notice the large number of cracked floor tiles which are obviously a health and safety matter. For nine days of our ten days stay a yellow caution sign was placed over a particularly dangerous piece of broken staircase; I would not expect to see this at a five-star hotel. Why is took this long to be repaired is a concern, by making repairs in a timely fashion you would reduce the risk for guests.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>I was not impressed by the rusty beds beside the pool and the rusty chains on the umbrellas; the covers of which were ragged and full of holes. New poolside furniture would go a long way towards making the area feel luxurious as well as lessening the risk of harming a guest. The fact that the Jacuzzi function in the shallow pool was not operational also detracted from the experience of what is supposed to be a five-star hotel.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>In terms of events at the hotel we, along with many other guests were looking forward to Greek night. Having experienced Greek night many times over the years we were looking forward to the music, the dancing and of course the food. This Greek night was a huge disappointment. It started at 7:30 and finished abruptly at 9:00. Yes, there was music (the band packed away and left promptly at 9:00) but there was no Greek dancing. A Greek night that lasts one and a half hours, ends at 9:00 and has no Greek dancing scarcely qualifies as a Greek night. In this respect I feel the guests were misled, particularly as we had recommended Greek Night to a number of guests who stayed instead of going into town.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Which brings me to the Restaurant. My wife and I were surprised that the restaurant closes at 9:45. This is not at all in keeping with expectations of a five-star hotel and many guests went into XXXXX to eat as a result. I would think that a later opening time would not only suit the needs of the guests but have a positive knock-on effect for the bar.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the hotel is the A La Carte Menu which is a masterpiece of ludicrous ideas masquerading as cutting-edge cuisine. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Cod cooked in vanilla sauce, Prawns in strawberry sauce and all manner of outlandish combinations were virtually inedible and, on a night, when there was no buffet, we were forced to eat in Lindos. Fortunately, after discussion with the Restaurant manager the chef was able to make us, some food uncluttered by the strange flavour combinations of the A La Carte menu. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>The scheduling of the evening meals and themes were changed without prior notice making it impossible to plan our evenings in advance. The breakfast offering has been greatly reduced. There was no open access to drinking water or orange juice as in the past and the variety of food was not what it has been. This is not befitting of five-star status</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>I have to say that the food served at XXXXXX taverna was consistently delicious and I feel that more of an emphasis on Greek food in the main restaurant would be welcomed.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>The Leisure options in the hotel that consisted of a Table Tennis table, A Snooker table and an Air Hockey table are good offerings, however, there are no balls or cues for the snooker table and no puck for the air hockey rendering them both unusable. Ensuring that these options are usable would be a good idea for a five-star hotel. The air conditioning in the on-site Gym was not working, making it impossible to use this facility</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>It seemed apparent that there were less staff on duty than previously, however, the general cheerful demeanour of the staff compensates for their lack of colleagues. I regret to say that on two afternoons the Chef at the taverna got angry and was swearing and shouting at the poolside restaurant. This was most upsetting and all the guests at the pool could clearly hear what was going on. I would not expect this at a five-star hotel. There were also loud and aggressive conflicts on the beach with guests arguing over beds and available space with no staff available to resolve the issues in a timely manner; this was not conducive to a relaxing time</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>We were dismayed to discover that there were several services no longer available such as melon given to guests around the pool in the morning and frozen flannels in the afternoons. The option to switch a couple of dinners for lunches was also not available and the drink service around the pool was sporadic at best as was the promotion of Spa treatments, most of the time the spa was closed and, as the hotel is promoted as a five-star resort and spa, this is hardly ideal. These services being withdrawn do not reflect five-star resort and spa status in our view.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>One addition to the menus is a QR readers for the restaurant and bar, unfortunately they guide you to an ineffectual and hard to navigate web page, which is time consuming. Talking of menus, those at the Taverna are ragged and worn and do not reflect well. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>XXXXXX advertises itself as children free, however, there were three weddings taking place during our stay and all three weddings had young children in attendance using the pool and bar areas. I would suggest that mention be made of the possibility of children being in the hotel when weddings take place as to suggest that the hotel is child free is misleading and hardly appropriate for a five-star hotel.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Finally, I feel I should point out that the hotel is non accessible for guests with mobility issues, nor have there been any adaptations made, I see this is a major let down for a hotel with five-star status.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>As mentioned, my wife and I and our family have been coming to XXXXX for several years mostly due to the quality of the staff, and we have recommended the hotel to many people. Unfortunately, this holiday may very well be our last at XXXXX, and I have also discussed the issues raised with my family. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>We paid a sizeable amount of money to stay in a hotel described as five-star and in all honestly, we did not have a five-star experience. I am sharing this info with you in the hope that you will reflect and act upon the issues mentioned. I also feel that when one books a holiday at a five-star hotel there is an expectation that the facilities are commensurate with that status and all these issues detracted from our ability to relax on this first holiday we have had since before Covid.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>I am considering on placing a review on Trip Advisor and other hotel review websites but, we would consider returning to XXXXXX to look at things with fresh eyes, chat with the manager and perhaps make amendments. Unfortunately, flights aside, this is not something we can afford currently, which is a shame as it would give us an opportunity to relax this time around.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>I await your response</i></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-19127842942652467822023-03-30T18:18:00.002+01:002023-03-30T18:18:31.413+01:00PROCRASTINATION<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyFfZUBzB6pLR8mIBikWJs4qsQEOiyXar0t4rWT0Owajunjv61J-pBXs01aT56uiclyq8vSkikxgOCkfN0L_QUG6QQqaYjh258XDTKRTSjlg76PH9jMIX_V5MfvkZPrsgJZiQVWMJq9KbXLSv0ETjIWcRDetmrkN1vF2v48mX1QpNbAQ-lPI1yigS/s958/960x0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="958" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyFfZUBzB6pLR8mIBikWJs4qsQEOiyXar0t4rWT0Owajunjv61J-pBXs01aT56uiclyq8vSkikxgOCkfN0L_QUG6QQqaYjh258XDTKRTSjlg76PH9jMIX_V5MfvkZPrsgJZiQVWMJq9KbXLSv0ETjIWcRDetmrkN1vF2v48mX1QpNbAQ-lPI1yigS/w400-h225/960x0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Yes, it's been a long time since I've posted. What can I say? I've been busy. This is true, but I have also been procrastinating each time I have opened a draft in order to post. What to write today? What will my reader want to see me go on about?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In terms of popular culture there's been Oscar debacles aplenty, many a sad passing of musicians, James Cameron released another block buster yawnathon, Chris Rock kept his dignity and Will Smith didn't, "woke" remains a contentious word, Twitter is in the hands of a megalomaniac, more and more streaming platforms have emerged and ITV have more channels of vapid content.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Theatre has made a comeback and apparently so has darts, New Balance trainers are now cool (allegedly), new descriptive words have become part of the lexicon (limbs, flowers, gaslighting, cringe, hangry, Stan), Political leaders have become very beige and James Bond books are being neutered.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I could go on, but you get the idea. Yet I have found it hard to write about anything. Strange that.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Anyway, this is a precursor to me getting back in the post writing business. And I have a feeling that business will be good. Stay tuned</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-25873603822794505682022-10-26T17:31:00.002+01:002022-10-26T17:31:16.060+01:00POLITICAL APOCALYPSE<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUfjwe1Vz1R46x_D94BtCNkLi9OaiebUiTl6f5R73J6lioCX_oVm0rYGy8N30V8OUIgg-GTBqsmw--GXnzmjgp8wmzLy5ZU9OnMGcLEWgDbGkJueos7TPvude8_ARoFkqxXLxQbndodxGbB9Y9zwoyE21xZ62Vx_rHIrPT5Fbm-yryvysXqbGy4MO/s880/bb%20.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="880" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUfjwe1Vz1R46x_D94BtCNkLi9OaiebUiTl6f5R73J6lioCX_oVm0rYGy8N30V8OUIgg-GTBqsmw--GXnzmjgp8wmzLy5ZU9OnMGcLEWgDbGkJueos7TPvude8_ARoFkqxXLxQbndodxGbB9Y9zwoyE21xZ62Vx_rHIrPT5Fbm-yryvysXqbGy4MO/w640-h432/bb%20.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The political landscape doesn't change but the cast rotates and we all have to grin and bear it. It defies logic what's been going on at the other side of rotating door of 10 Downing Street, it feels like musical chairs is the new manifesto. Default leaders in charge of a listing ship do not inspire confidence, nor do they make a rational argument for not having an election, where the Great British Public can make a decision as to who they might prefer to take the reins.</span></span></p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's hard to know who to trust though, that's the biggest take away from all this. Are any of the senior politicians who might fill the hot seat trustworthy? do any of them not have corruption shaped skeletons in their closets? It seems that they all have stories of arrogance, back handers, illicit liaisons and other shenanigans that don't befit a leader.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is the modern political dilemma; the lesser of evils is the choice. The least grubby, the preference. The less tainted, gets the nod. In the ongoing political apocalypse every candidate appears to be a Colonel Kurtz.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Someone once said "democracy isn't working" and as it's the only system available I guess we are stuck with it. However, democracy can only work if the voter is educated. It can only work if, once educated, the voter can trust the candidates, and if the last couple of decades have taught us anything is that, while trust funds are abundant, trustworthiness is in short supply in Westminster</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-39169506718779327022022-10-21T14:12:00.002+01:002022-10-21T14:12:39.346+01:00MAKE THE DECISION TO SEE DECISION TO LEAVE<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfKcEcyCNOkwmujPSobCUeyldskmHm4298BHVQxUxlV7KgHopvU8un3Ow2u1bNAtkfYzI83pZGFaUSFz14wtEL1k09OUf85X9FpmT830tgZLrGH6g6YZuJ3VKrhEve0Tz_qUfhp4on3E0-VJxetDWa8ujxU9MeDnzmsZDFWcgaZuyz8OH2x_349dt/s1200/park-chan-wook-decision-to-leave.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfKcEcyCNOkwmujPSobCUeyldskmHm4298BHVQxUxlV7KgHopvU8un3Ow2u1bNAtkfYzI83pZGFaUSFz14wtEL1k09OUf85X9FpmT830tgZLrGH6g6YZuJ3VKrhEve0Tz_qUfhp4on3E0-VJxetDWa8ujxU9MeDnzmsZDFWcgaZuyz8OH2x_349dt/w640-h360/park-chan-wook-decision-to-leave.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;">Decision To Leave sees Park Chan-wook reassert himself as the leading Korean director and more, he reminds everyone that he is in the upper echelons of directors, full stop. It’s a film that channels Neo-Noir, Police Procedural and Melodrama to mesmerising effect, oh, and it looks amazing.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4FHWc7ENwtD6I7DfH4KxfBISWKqnz__JiUcA-rEQz_YDIZ8FxXG_mQMTK2yAN46fd_0I4CTNMTlv6bViy8s5rz6lU61gaiMBUGgXURtooTXSNibckWFSnvfMoBvWCr_TW1_RHO-B9iT9Mys0S1SBa3mZpS94qmAj5Rct7ljknPLILEbtYMKAp5cd/s1413/decision-to-leve.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1413" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4FHWc7ENwtD6I7DfH4KxfBISWKqnz__JiUcA-rEQz_YDIZ8FxXG_mQMTK2yAN46fd_0I4CTNMTlv6bViy8s5rz6lU61gaiMBUGgXURtooTXSNibckWFSnvfMoBvWCr_TW1_RHO-B9iT9Mys0S1SBa3mZpS94qmAj5Rct7ljknPLILEbtYMKAp5cd/w400-h201/decision-to-leve.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The performances from the two leads Tang Wei and Park Hae-il are quietly intoxicating and a counterpoint to the drama and violence on the surface. Each scene is composed in such a way as to make you want to linger and absorb the atmosphere. The enigmatic nature of the story leaves us with questions and conclusions we aren’t sure of.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwg28WIzIY36ZKibZCkGmgnMeIk5gzrFfirHsM6YjfA-qyHFfZjiHxDH6KF9wm4xdWQR352_UT9q3OfXI7neNX0S2bfyU9geKafMHpRLKi4Y-6CsgeQBGss5eFaC0m-extMeD8iBmNE3Fy5ZRF2drTynJO2-YsY2_tD5Sk-4xTeUC0y9GuZrGmokN/s1400/decision-to-leave-movie-review-2022.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwg28WIzIY36ZKibZCkGmgnMeIk5gzrFfirHsM6YjfA-qyHFfZjiHxDH6KF9wm4xdWQR352_UT9q3OfXI7neNX0S2bfyU9geKafMHpRLKi4Y-6CsgeQBGss5eFaC0m-extMeD8iBmNE3Fy5ZRF2drTynJO2-YsY2_tD5Sk-4xTeUC0y9GuZrGmokN/w400-h266/decision-to-leave-movie-review-2022.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">It’s a beautiful film which showcases Kim Ji-yong’s cinematography to full effect in both landscape and domestic tableau. It leaves you feeling satisfied with the experience yet unsure of the denouement. It’s been compared to Vertigo, and if it has any similarities with Hitchcock’s masterpiece it’s in the way it makes one evaluate the meaning of obsession and how it can manipulate us, all of us.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZxEBcy94200dnyI6y4PRxFM_nguBNpusRcCBjheVLP-DTnDS8pOpDl3qMjBs7XeDJMncGrh3ZUqPavd0aWlrCGmVrGtDNKur7YmhOymVyvEAn3OF6nSvqV9lGObK6kzIfY7cfAAHZiONcaX75gNn8e3-fvO5ckrqJ52FZPv39LejLToWHRP3hW2P/s965/Decision-to-Leave-2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="965" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZxEBcy94200dnyI6y4PRxFM_nguBNpusRcCBjheVLP-DTnDS8pOpDl3qMjBs7XeDJMncGrh3ZUqPavd0aWlrCGmVrGtDNKur7YmhOymVyvEAn3OF6nSvqV9lGObK6kzIfY7cfAAHZiONcaX75gNn8e3-fvO5ckrqJ52FZPv39LejLToWHRP3hW2P/w640-h360/Decision-to-Leave-2.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p></span><p></p></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-58478041499335598192022-10-06T16:59:00.002+01:002022-10-12T15:44:59.715+01:00THE BIG FOUR -OH!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRwmx_UW-aJRbXUEY-WhXY1_-Pgg7VL2UMfiuy41Q-FQrzYYNCAq_AMvNOPqycNoXDxEeRGxl0c1ZzGPY8TY_EJNDuMpaiQ831wcyPyAWKGJ7pegYPAm6SC5YJlhkHcmwkNQ0z5IOdGdZE9hOHTx9CE-RAp0viV4ovg_4IKx9DvTgilinkGPspKtp/s640/titane-titanemovie.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="640" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRwmx_UW-aJRbXUEY-WhXY1_-Pgg7VL2UMfiuy41Q-FQrzYYNCAq_AMvNOPqycNoXDxEeRGxl0c1ZzGPY8TY_EJNDuMpaiQ831wcyPyAWKGJ7pegYPAm6SC5YJlhkHcmwkNQ0z5IOdGdZE9hOHTx9CE-RAp0viV4ovg_4IKx9DvTgilinkGPspKtp/w640-h269/titane-titanemovie.gif" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">So, I’ve reached the big four-oh. No, not in age; that was some time ago, I’m talking about new films seen this year; the majority at the Cinema. On balance there have been some good films with a dash of disappointing ones. Heres my list in order of favourite to least favourite</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Titane- Unique, powerful and provocative. I loved Titane, Rouselle and Lindon are superb</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moonage Daydream-Mesmeric film making</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Red Rocket-Misfits connecting in this wonderful under seen drama </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ambulance- Totally unexpected action treat. Adrenaline paced fun</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Licorice Pizza-PTA brings us yet another excellent piece of filmaking</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Northman-Powerful movie that punches you in the face</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nightmare Alley-As remakes go, this is right up there</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">8.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Parallel Mothers- A film that spins it's web deftly</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here Before-Andrea Risborough is one of the greatest actors currently working and her intensity is perfect for the subject matter</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">10.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Belfast-This coming of age story is great in every department</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">11.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Batman-Tremendous tale of the new Dark Knight</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>True Things-An intense tale of desire and obsession</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">13.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Boiling Point-Stephen Graham gives a bravura performance in this anxiety inducing one shot</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">14.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Duke-I thoroughly enjoyed this whimsical movie. As one would expect, great performances from Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">15.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Real Charlie Chaplin-Superb insight to the once most famous man on the planet</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">16.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Worst Person In The World-Life with it's complications unwrapped in this terrific drama</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">17.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Top Gun : Maverick-Surprise of the year, losing oneself in this movie is what cinema is all about</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">18.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Men-When Eve ate the apple in the garden of Eden...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">19.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Prey-Great concept executed with panache</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">20.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nope-Peele does it again. He has a masterpiece in him methinks</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">21.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Operation Mincemeat-An efficient drama about </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">wartime i</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">ngenuity</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">22.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>X - Great surprise this tidy tale of terror</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">23.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dr Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness-For Comic book fans this Sam Raimi offering has it all</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">24.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Gray Man-Has it's knockers but is enjoyable high octane hokum</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">25.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Tragedy Of Macbeth-Visually great tale of the Scottish King</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">26.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Where The Crawdads Sing-Interesting slow burn movie</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">27.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Death On The Nile-Christie done just right</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">28.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Black Phone-A retro tale that's really effective</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">29.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don’t worry Darling-Florence Pugh is immense. Some casting issues but enjoyable</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">30.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jackass Forever-Funny? Yes in parts, a reasonable finale for the boys</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">31.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Power Of The Dog-Looks great but somewhat lack lustre</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">32.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fresh-A decent concept but lacked real jeopardy</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">33.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thor : Love & Thunder-Decent in parts, lightness and darkness in equal measure</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">34.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Everything Everywhere All At Once -A tad too meandering for me </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">35.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Matrix Resurrections-Forgettable</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">36.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>West Side Story-To remake a masterpiece you need to nail it. Spielberg didn't nail it</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">37.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eternals-Unsure what sort of movie it wanted to be</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">38.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent-The Unbearable Waste Of Massive Talent</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">39.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bullet Train-A nineties Guy Richie wannabe that fails even that task</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">40.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Crimes Of The Future-As a big fan of Cronenberg I have to say that this is his "forget it he's rolling" moment</span></p><p></p><p><br /></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-73435413597585341072022-09-14T12:53:00.003+01:002022-09-14T12:53:47.058+01:00MONARCHY IN THE UK<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4eX4qh98bBsgUfB04TwM3XwgZSwVfsaM7BJmChKu3-pQdDdE2G51K0fUr2SnBYGbl_Pq7h-mRyV4JJeud-iCbm6bIQFRoZEb34KIvhw5OsYhl3LHHK2Y0M8JZq08FpcJS2hkXrdpshTci2DQvTl6nC0TS7nIzsFRtVaCM-K33hOYrNtaIUB6_yC0/s640/SEI_121249565-e1662730071950.webp" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4eX4qh98bBsgUfB04TwM3XwgZSwVfsaM7BJmChKu3-pQdDdE2G51K0fUr2SnBYGbl_Pq7h-mRyV4JJeud-iCbm6bIQFRoZEb34KIvhw5OsYhl3LHHK2Y0M8JZq08FpcJS2hkXrdpshTci2DQvTl6nC0TS7nIzsFRtVaCM-K33hOYrNtaIUB6_yC0/w400-h400/SEI_121249565-e1662730071950.webp" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Covid, Brexit, War in Ukraine, Boris Johnson, James Corden set to return to UK. Just when you thought we had been given every sort of setback The Queen dies. The surprise element of this was not great to be fair, but it still resonated.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Her passing inevitably raised questions about the nature of Royalty and the ins and outs of a republic. Words like 'traitor' and 'sheep' were bandied about in place of rational debate and it seemed that one was expected to be in one camp or the other. But here's the thing, you can feel a bit sad about the Queen's death and not be a staunch monarchist. You can reflect on how things feel rather strange without queueing up for 32 hours to pay your respects, and you can acknowledge the passing of a human being that was probably around for all of your life without wanting to hang dissenters from the flagpole of the local Town Hall.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The fact that Charles is going to henceforth be on our coins, notes, stamps and cheap novelty products on sale around the Tower of London and Oxford Street feels a bit odd, but that's how it is.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Those that object to Charles taking over have every right to voice that opinion and to a great degree the Police have opened themselves up to some, for want of a better word, piss-taking, on this matter.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Will they arrest people with banners hoisted proclaiming</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">MY KNOTING!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">IGNOMY TK!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">TONING MY K!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">KING MONTY!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The vagaries of free speech and offence open themselves up to comedic possibilities akin to the output of Goons, who Charles was a big fan of.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Maybe some levity will prick the bubble of the current tone exemplified by BBC coverage which is should be renamed Mourn Hub*.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sometimes people don't know how to react in these situations, what they think they should or shouldn't say or do, how they should feel or think and in the end you can't ignore the fact that this country has a monarchy and that has an impact on the nation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Queen is gone and the Monarchy continues (for now) and that's just how it is and it's fine to disagree with that reality, it's fine to embrace it but I think that any real scrutiny about the future of the establishment can wait. It can wait until everyone has had enough time to reflect on the end of an era</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>* I can't take credit for this phrase, or credit he author, but well done</i></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-30953772596401839082022-08-24T13:57:00.001+01:002022-08-24T13:57:07.284+01:00IT'S MORE THAN MY JOBSWORTH<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75HBafBGdUuvzm0FxFYYVUIWjrsCtAUsimoedieoDCM84juWvqxZy4o_ujQZzatqKTfgYM9-tVBa-No3SXpQ9hgTSGutjcW2rfIE6W4bbrsohJpBLryi_vCcei65xqyAT1-u_xcY5FNE677UqjHhuT3CDXB-oFl3AK4nsrch0BsJuttL2kKX5eKTz/s1021/no+need+to+be+a+jobsworth.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1021" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75HBafBGdUuvzm0FxFYYVUIWjrsCtAUsimoedieoDCM84juWvqxZy4o_ujQZzatqKTfgYM9-tVBa-No3SXpQ9hgTSGutjcW2rfIE6W4bbrsohJpBLryi_vCcei65xqyAT1-u_xcY5FNE677UqjHhuT3CDXB-oFl3AK4nsrch0BsJuttL2kKX5eKTz/s320/no+need+to+be+a+jobsworth.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Being a small fish in a small pond is actually a thing you know and a Facilities Manager can be that literal small fry. The Facilities Manager at a small project that shares space with other organisations should be sociable, a good communicator and able to foster good relationships between parties.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I say "should" but unfortunately there is this hypothetical fellow that seems to have created his own vision of his role and his importance in the scheme of things. Let's call him Ian.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ian loves a sign, usually a grammatically wanting context free sign printed in Comic Sans sellotaped on a wall (it's impossible to take someone seriously who uses Comic Sans) He also loves to stroll around looking like he's actually doing something when in fact he is basically stretching his legs. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ian is very good at sending badly drafted emails telling people not to do stuff, like, don't leave the windows open, don't forget to put the new toilet roll in the holder, don't forget to turn the tap off, don't forget to turn the lights off...you get the idea.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ian's real forte though, is his ability to get under one's skin by repetition of small things that seem designed to get one's back up. Going from room to rom during the winter turning the radiators down so that a visit to the toilet becomes akin to a trip to Antartica is one of his favourites as is his ability to distract staff members with his incessant gossiping.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Fortunately my hypothetical company are leaving Ian's clutches at the end of the month. I am sure he will be as sad as I will be happy, as there will be less people for him to annoy.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There's no need for it! that's my view, why be annoying and petty when you can be kind and helpful? It takes much less energy and makes you feel good.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Fundamentally it all boils down to fulfilling a need. Ian perhaps only has power at work and therefore has a grossly exaggerated sense of his importance. It's sad really and once some time has passed I can be more reflective from the safety of the new hypothetical office, but for now and the next 4 days I will be monitoring my emails with a sense of dread, keeping one eye open for Comic Sans pronouncements and listening out for the sound of his footfalls of dread.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-64654528963761381302022-08-15T11:20:00.002+01:002022-08-15T13:32:31.353+01:00FOR FORKS SAKE!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJYYFxnQv1YTTrWtAb7kOXttwkcbDiYTYzGVQqusy5nQdz7vkO5vy-sy2gRskQt1fiSDiFw3q8TJ2451Lz06zJ8OwrmU8Me0McDcPAle2pkIeB1KPzknCj3QYEwiBI_BDywvoM4QfjaNqFZI_aOut6VpLKSl35el8N78VM3xV1efAFjF47toVCgd5/s447/Picture%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="447" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJYYFxnQv1YTTrWtAb7kOXttwkcbDiYTYzGVQqusy5nQdz7vkO5vy-sy2gRskQt1fiSDiFw3q8TJ2451Lz06zJ8OwrmU8Me0McDcPAle2pkIeB1KPzknCj3QYEwiBI_BDywvoM4QfjaNqFZI_aOut6VpLKSl35el8N78VM3xV1efAFjF47toVCgd5/w400-h231/Picture%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Sign of the tines</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Having just returned from the sunny climes of Greece to the sunny climes of London I have cast my mind back, as you do, to the world of 'this time last week'. Many good memories of a very relaxing break on the lovely island of Rhodes, but one I keep coming back to, one conundrum witnessed daily and still hard to fathom. A mystery that I have no explanation for, a phenomenon that defies logic.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What is this outrage you may ask dear reader, well that's the thing; it sounds trivial, but it isn't.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZJq3LphriwupmLaGT3HggBrXvfJzWyhtJFFjz2U1u6j9h5VBzJ6gIx4KTAvMU8SnmpwYqnoJtKyuxBL8oqK4Rhx2AmTa_L1ZVe4WSQC808OnyLpkvmnOPthbBLlK_LyCmnkv5Z_AFcldCFAMUfypyJzxRH9ip2CE22dO9Tepb3nSKTL0Sur0hL9x/s270/fork%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="270" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZJq3LphriwupmLaGT3HggBrXvfJzWyhtJFFjz2U1u6j9h5VBzJ6gIx4KTAvMU8SnmpwYqnoJtKyuxBL8oqK4Rhx2AmTa_L1ZVe4WSQC808OnyLpkvmnOPthbBLlK_LyCmnkv5Z_AFcldCFAMUfypyJzxRH9ip2CE22dO9Tepb3nSKTL0Sur0hL9x/s1600/fork%202.jpeg" width="270" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's the way in which people hold their forks. Yes, things have escalated in the cutlery gripping department to the extent that all sorts are cack handedly brandishing forks at mealtimes. I'm not talking about etiquette or any other ideas of what is acceptable in polite society. I'm talking about ugly forkage.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is not a greek thing, everyone's at it! Our hotel contained representatives of a number of nations and almost uniformly there were representatives of the fork handing misfits society.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Some grips looked like the act of contortionists, others looked like Edward Scissorhands trying to button a shirt, while there were those who came across as playing invisible cat's cradle.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJcCiM8cxzR83QDxZ-HU3q-I_m2LEcHXshToKTsL9P67LTHeFWFOg_uZJD5CCgTTDxHRNzp4W2pxPPEdxUq8_fWoadDBpCAA6_DmRYoeVMnhvRT2QMOxrjFzp_DaXjQ25giNJJn7mB7trOlP4VaLzHQjD_XMAXaO-F38IbU-CXHkzpe6qtC_Z6iJJ/s265/fork.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="265" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJcCiM8cxzR83QDxZ-HU3q-I_m2LEcHXshToKTsL9P67LTHeFWFOg_uZJD5CCgTTDxHRNzp4W2pxPPEdxUq8_fWoadDBpCAA6_DmRYoeVMnhvRT2QMOxrjFzp_DaXjQ25giNJJn7mB7trOlP4VaLzHQjD_XMAXaO-F38IbU-CXHkzpe6qtC_Z6iJJ/s1600/fork.jpeg" width="265" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I assumed that we all learnt to use cutlery correctly as part of growing up as a standard piece of development. I always assumed that the most efficient, practical and comfortable way to spear food was via the standard method but I may have been wrong all these years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This new way of eating comes across as a bit affected in it's impracticality at best, and wilfully bizarre at worst.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Next time you eat out have a look around and I bet you will see more and more manually challenged diners brandishing their eating utensil in the manner of a human octopus hybrid.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-65743152489345147402022-07-19T16:46:00.000+01:002022-07-19T16:46:16.134+01:00NINETEEN SEVENTY SIX DEGREES<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbYt5J-dFBB_PKXQBwsqsybjZ7I0kDjrWywG4-VKMUI_bCf8TIkHc62gyVrN38PlQEOGAVmzZmXch19P1m2A-qe4aGYDZnkOCzEFd13PlnJZMla1HTQs24Sv1LA3Dea7FiUrmYaNdS6jyydvbbwUtHy1nShBac7Lh9Vx2EPk8BZOTW6i07qfB6Tsi/s1000/GettyImages-2660442.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1000" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbYt5J-dFBB_PKXQBwsqsybjZ7I0kDjrWywG4-VKMUI_bCf8TIkHc62gyVrN38PlQEOGAVmzZmXch19P1m2A-qe4aGYDZnkOCzEFd13PlnJZMla1HTQs24Sv1LA3Dea7FiUrmYaNdS6jyydvbbwUtHy1nShBac7Lh9Vx2EPk8BZOTW6i07qfB6Tsi/w640-h460/GettyImages-2660442.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It lasted for a month, the heatwave of 1976, a whole month, and it was great. There wasn't any hysteria just a lot of people making the most of it. It seemed to me at the time that this was an opportunity to get out and about, shirtless, seeking fountains and ponds, listening out for the chimes of the Ice Cream van and hanging around in the park seeking distractions and mischief.</span></span></p></span><p></p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpJ02ORIVgsvEEiYRZDwX9Z3Anolwy8NwETZRM8sykywxShZXWcuqE2Vf_dI-5vVQWv3Q3Y-6QueHA2BXPdfNJCNzk_irgXzv8SFl_A34GXezj8bFQuw_YDDMTOB0-0VxpN4PcwICQmYEf7pXvAS9vEbHX-NTe7oN_rFAh6YGIGXNQQ0BHdGN1l5l/s1200/357356557.gallery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1200" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpJ02ORIVgsvEEiYRZDwX9Z3Anolwy8NwETZRM8sykywxShZXWcuqE2Vf_dI-5vVQWv3Q3Y-6QueHA2BXPdfNJCNzk_irgXzv8SFl_A34GXezj8bFQuw_YDDMTOB0-0VxpN4PcwICQmYEf7pXvAS9vEbHX-NTe7oN_rFAh6YGIGXNQQ0BHdGN1l5l/s320/357356557.gallery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0TfbJXE4EeQINjAYToTMs5cDykZb4mF7nurCCHK7lkJ0M2rygvn258GcnWpHqdmoQ2CLAAZC3w_wJQmrnU3yuYDzLyy12qmuHXu6xCXH3zL2De3QtS5Be88ADBIRE1C4O419FJ-J6nz_zkQSchCxxqwtXaDYMWlq5djvpZrrhrbDksurF-2xnT3u/s1600/19europe-heatwave-1976-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0TfbJXE4EeQINjAYToTMs5cDykZb4mF7nurCCHK7lkJ0M2rygvn258GcnWpHqdmoQ2CLAAZC3w_wJQmrnU3yuYDzLyy12qmuHXu6xCXH3zL2De3QtS5Be88ADBIRE1C4O419FJ-J6nz_zkQSchCxxqwtXaDYMWlq5djvpZrrhrbDksurF-2xnT3u/w320-h181/19europe-heatwave-1976-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was almost a national celebration despite the water shortages, and tales of Queen's Guards collapsing. The papers and TV were full of people adapting to the scorching temperatures and the mood was light. Being a kid at the time, for myself and my friends it felt like the summer of our lives. Days were very long, evenings bright and sleep hard to get but well deserved after a day of travelling around the city.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUsulti9E1kDns6dyV9_Cfd09nldrAwhThes0gMK46ZduebqeJYi23P4NfEHS-JP1I0SXQRrcCWDMzhUq_8ecAKIZ8ovbG8ky5Gw2sLmmicCC_XRnWUyFPyiAPquWuiuEokGebdIsd3MWv6ophv9INaJ-Zi0MKGFfS9psqdlyn4OsjHHeoXQGUa13/s640/ce10faf0-041f-11ed-bbd9-bbae64caf4da.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUsulti9E1kDns6dyV9_Cfd09nldrAwhThes0gMK46ZduebqeJYi23P4NfEHS-JP1I0SXQRrcCWDMzhUq_8ecAKIZ8ovbG8ky5Gw2sLmmicCC_XRnWUyFPyiAPquWuiuEokGebdIsd3MWv6ophv9INaJ-Zi0MKGFfS9psqdlyn4OsjHHeoXQGUa13/s320/ce10faf0-041f-11ed-bbd9-bbae64caf4da.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UgvjXw4wszDF_oLht5MOsx01Kle8ouVA0nS52PIawc6oT5HE2A2d3ELpx-utm2Rit4H4sBYIAOAuO4thyuBgFz_goNiK6fHn2VxgtH1dQ0Edve7RgINOTe97X206Pdy18WZSdCzGJEI9vXrkigy8qmGjHFycM5Y8SUyWCxx5RA5qpON5a9-5ufiJ/s4365/NINTCHDBPICT000251914613.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3052" data-original-width="4365" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UgvjXw4wszDF_oLht5MOsx01Kle8ouVA0nS52PIawc6oT5HE2A2d3ELpx-utm2Rit4H4sBYIAOAuO4thyuBgFz_goNiK6fHn2VxgtH1dQ0Edve7RgINOTe97X206Pdy18WZSdCzGJEI9vXrkigy8qmGjHFycM5Y8SUyWCxx5RA5qpON5a9-5ufiJ/s320/NINTCHDBPICT000251914613.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxFHhHRHeszeo0f7ioYiQARo7hovVv9BaPv0WXBNHQ9N8wDiGCFKoJORRZW-kwG6Yto_7oQrJ73mZxIRQGUVEIqaI0-avn30S29Jv4XUhhNWluW_rQU429oA7J88WJ2LaG4ePjOL_eGeebFxxgj5V0kmayNZ2P_C3kKKhULmA6dEjiSLIYIFcu4ud/s680/TELEMMGLPICT000299254643_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq2_Dk1RSTEQnj2PHghgMjhBBApuT9-KQ-lMbqQX5xG4c.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="680" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxFHhHRHeszeo0f7ioYiQARo7hovVv9BaPv0WXBNHQ9N8wDiGCFKoJORRZW-kwG6Yto_7oQrJ73mZxIRQGUVEIqaI0-avn30S29Jv4XUhhNWluW_rQU429oA7J88WJ2LaG4ePjOL_eGeebFxxgj5V0kmayNZ2P_C3kKKhULmA6dEjiSLIYIFcu4ud/s320/TELEMMGLPICT000299254643_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq2_Dk1RSTEQnj2PHghgMjhBBApuT9-KQ-lMbqQX5xG4c.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This time around, our two day heatwave is in the context or aversion to risk and the associated potential problems of having the windows open. Maybe it's an increased awareness of the harmful nature of exposure to the sun and extreme heat. Or perhaps because we have been and are still living in a Covid world. One things for sure is that it cannot be as much fun as that glorious summer of 1976</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvjMaanRyUTMPS__W6KBg7geIWgrUBR7gbco4DQvq4VfWtPxrKthnX4vgzVLT-OcZrGgKCejNkTMQsnW6H8BgfV42_Pav8akc43Vl1DQUVxHynlqua8zdc8H3TPiOHQ83EpChSW8tRL9KnwbHpKvFffxbdJPtVutviAjwV50f0xQ0ZIZx8G6eXFX5/s342/TELEMMGLPICT000168487690_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq0OoApjjZbOQpC6HTLcDG3FktRxJEi9N_UV-tGO99IGY.webp" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="342" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvjMaanRyUTMPS__W6KBg7geIWgrUBR7gbco4DQvq4VfWtPxrKthnX4vgzVLT-OcZrGgKCejNkTMQsnW6H8BgfV42_Pav8akc43Vl1DQUVxHynlqua8zdc8H3TPiOHQ83EpChSW8tRL9KnwbHpKvFffxbdJPtVutviAjwV50f0xQ0ZIZx8G6eXFX5/w640-h400/TELEMMGLPICT000168487690_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq0OoApjjZbOQpC6HTLcDG3FktRxJEi9N_UV-tGO99IGY.webp" width="640" /></a></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-5780990577617282822022-07-15T11:47:00.002+01:002022-07-15T11:47:47.714+01:00BOB & BROOKE A STRANGE RELATIONSHIP<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyqc0JpnAGiCHUBCHKhAY0cr9LOrkyXX5ksK3378UdNC7JTQQlCyccrx_yXszSegUERwkbUyyB2DoiMJsNS35rEBWiuIwnYTbFJ_KztuWdF6A6Wmdxuqgshjq6czdDH13MRmdZPgXsUoVm8nO9TtUIS7rPO-ZAnsdx-kc9u81Ut0HDTkUlNU8SR9v/s500/s-l500.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="389" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyqc0JpnAGiCHUBCHKhAY0cr9LOrkyXX5ksK3378UdNC7JTQQlCyccrx_yXszSegUERwkbUyyB2DoiMJsNS35rEBWiuIwnYTbFJ_KztuWdF6A6Wmdxuqgshjq6czdDH13MRmdZPgXsUoVm8nO9TtUIS7rPO-ZAnsdx-kc9u81Ut0HDTkUlNU8SR9v/w498-h640/s-l500.jpeg" width="498" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Bob Hope, a Londoner born in 1903 and Brooke Shields, born in New York in 1965 shared a working relationship that bordered on the bizarre. A new starlet ascending the Hollywood ladder and a legend considered </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">passé often pictured together, usually with Bob wearing outfits and wigs of varying degrees of silliness. For some reason Brooke consigned the relationship to the dustbin when recollecting her journey to stardom, perhaps reflecting that on the way up Hollywood demands that you step over those on the way down.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0s3Z2ZJs5vWuGw_gdFCxZ1hRgdU2u9YaqjKTmENZn9b3AT10EQvZrAkGLs8fQrQyfChSny_5X3jWMnbWvfFecRC3CorXouMRT8e7e2_YefuLW7QRE9sGmPiuQFVThKTUQc1DCXSGZFwZgHZZE-tG0iKAOtVrWusWlBhrF_j3FY3gYlzTrQce466F/s275/images%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0s3Z2ZJs5vWuGw_gdFCxZ1hRgdU2u9YaqjKTmENZn9b3AT10EQvZrAkGLs8fQrQyfChSny_5X3jWMnbWvfFecRC3CorXouMRT8e7e2_YefuLW7QRE9sGmPiuQFVThKTUQc1DCXSGZFwZgHZZE-tG0iKAOtVrWusWlBhrF_j3FY3gYlzTrQce466F/w213-h320/images%20(1).jpeg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8EA_-gqJ_ckPe0XawTDay6gQUKYXwd6lcOA77Q_-M9JIvJJQJK5DLTdVg2z_Ldk9-tHNZKYLMR4it_lm8zoEM6uFZxNLscRDo7KlDPFvzw0gy4Lt4JsCBStAtuztlUqwIw-0tLk2DtorbxDaBc7-RaBsEiFbfB9II-b4FczBAMAGT9pejf5W8FlG/s2048/gettyimages-101952386-2048x2048.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="541" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5p_VeJ14Zs06RmCDVoKwZjRjxqxCyf2mlcPIpdSVNT8YEDSZBYTvVGQrSuvuUgFtRgojHd7XbJ-BC2dIUMlqicRh3cm6VLayDiw8StDLydKPH_827ZeRtckFy8lmjUSOACPk76c3KqB3t6KKVEcazTGfO6t7ZxeWRZgCng508eC2zZr20QEzEnv7/w270-h400/tumblr_e1f4b0d64edbafced2c8237e20c8f1b3_e433fece_640.jpeg" width="270" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div> <p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-18667439803277519622022-07-12T14:30:00.000+01:002022-07-12T14:30:22.457+01:00SHEER SHARK ATTACK!<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjps6L8pvs-fnbIkxKssF9nrajxt9GWlpA8zq21A6FyeOkRhHi92MI2KSqTDFzKBBsJ68xeRHQsGSM5pvaUJhPBt_YmGScPuRQrbfgdKSv7W4x-gQnuKVh43GQckeDEY7IlmyMW7qYKe74yMe_yLNCxf_Hxmw8YUQBb9yBeiABPeP-l7zp0rQ5-0pk4/s3082/GAG.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3082" data-original-width="2200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjps6L8pvs-fnbIkxKssF9nrajxt9GWlpA8zq21A6FyeOkRhHi92MI2KSqTDFzKBBsJ68xeRHQsGSM5pvaUJhPBt_YmGScPuRQrbfgdKSv7W4x-gQnuKVh43GQckeDEY7IlmyMW7qYKe74yMe_yLNCxf_Hxmw8YUQBb9yBeiABPeP-l7zp0rQ5-0pk4/w456-h640/GAG.jpeg" width="456" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Sharks and comic books have a long and glorious partnership. A shark on a cover is visual dynamite and when combined with a muscular hero or svelte heroine you should have a publication that flies off the shelves.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnoCiCrE5bAZcNyyhVUhQ3c2JlbMevs2T4_3tTK67E3FO1x5A4F_xI87S8gB4AVFDjvNnPqcWuD1Llkgjc4EujwPg2eF5LCOhDLJmtpzXzUbw3yCIcNbPt2ZnWuS6s70JxS2yRL0eddUGDSg2psledPCx-C654tulX--k0crX8fzJvt9HEtPhiiAc/s1000/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.u3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnoCiCrE5bAZcNyyhVUhQ3c2JlbMevs2T4_3tTK67E3FO1x5A4F_xI87S8gB4AVFDjvNnPqcWuD1Llkgjc4EujwPg2eF5LCOhDLJmtpzXzUbw3yCIcNbPt2ZnWuS6s70JxS2yRL0eddUGDSg2psledPCx-C654tulX--k0crX8fzJvt9HEtPhiiAc/s1000/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.u3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnoCiCrE5bAZcNyyhVUhQ3c2JlbMevs2T4_3tTK67E3FO1x5A4F_xI87S8gB4AVFDjvNnPqcWuD1Llkgjc4EujwPg2eF5LCOhDLJmtpzXzUbw3yCIcNbPt2ZnWuS6s70JxS2yRL0eddUGDSg2psledPCx-C654tulX--k0crX8fzJvt9HEtPhiiAc/w240-h320/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.u3.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDfu35luVoDDEKaKWfmyqvdOXb8HGhDXI6ZO03udvW9OkJIL3fHLcVnRNvB35cZAf9yeZN3yjsj5QERmKp5jpLKeC9W_8DQnJX45fGLy6WH30zUM0s4LUIxF5cGhcp7IOjaxLJ_-KnU3H1jvjcUzmRtgnDt26r2O20ocHMrwK6Mds61WNdAIqGEUO/s1213/d5ace01ca912666383203e837369d239.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDfu35luVoDDEKaKWfmyqvdOXb8HGhDXI6ZO03udvW9OkJIL3fHLcVnRNvB35cZAf9yeZN3yjsj5QERmKp5jpLKeC9W_8DQnJX45fGLy6WH30zUM0s4LUIxF5cGhcp7IOjaxLJ_-KnU3H1jvjcUzmRtgnDt26r2O20ocHMrwK6Mds61WNdAIqGEUO/w206-h320/d5ace01ca912666383203e837369d239.jpeg" width="206" /></a></div></div><p></p></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My all time favourite comic cover is Guns Against Gangsters number 6 by legendary artist L.B. Cole which is peak Shark Comic Cover. The frightening jaws of doom menacing a fearless femme fatale brandishing a knife and Red ankle-strap Stilettos.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tKLqjhMVjZq2ixBF6eIUvSZZz06S6cslkvd7GRbjCYf7JBWb-xVbPE7_syTJngEsTKIHVLv2ShTqajHSFcBE6QePls6IVNqw-eucEfs4dQsF4MUX7M9L7-BAfZOxD3vJ_boRUD9aVsHJXIagMVxNFR3c2JSkiEQ3DlSCY-IgHKIrdd_rzauTrM3j/s1024/1625487513_4ed0d94121_b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="690" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tKLqjhMVjZq2ixBF6eIUvSZZz06S6cslkvd7GRbjCYf7JBWb-xVbPE7_syTJngEsTKIHVLv2ShTqajHSFcBE6QePls6IVNqw-eucEfs4dQsF4MUX7M9L7-BAfZOxD3vJ_boRUD9aVsHJXIagMVxNFR3c2JSkiEQ3DlSCY-IgHKIrdd_rzauTrM3j/s320/1625487513_4ed0d94121_b.jpeg" width="216" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpuFOgGSd3GZoqdPl2HD6h5Q4KtJ8Trs4-4vu8G1Ry1zR6OnM3Y-0IAl3Nkni7Kvu9f2irFyYwIS8Ulv3CQ7ZuQyg8_dhckHgYAREbijbqPlMBRBaYFvMFlaidAKr0-sHOLSF_H2XuDMLjvj7ERlWDZL6V052jkxMOtjeFI0vjDi_7nmcu5tlFIXB/s618/60-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpuFOgGSd3GZoqdPl2HD6h5Q4KtJ8Trs4-4vu8G1Ry1zR6OnM3Y-0IAl3Nkni7Kvu9f2irFyYwIS8Ulv3CQ7ZuQyg8_dhckHgYAREbijbqPlMBRBaYFvMFlaidAKr0-sHOLSF_H2XuDMLjvj7ERlWDZL6V052jkxMOtjeFI0vjDi_7nmcu5tlFIXB/s320/60-1.jpeg" width="217" /></a></span></div></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The glory days of Shark Comic covers was the Fifties when pulp titles went for sensation on the cover to sell the contents within and these covers have a raw power that has been diluted through commerciality over the years.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdYN54DanLtg-XVotbriH-CTn0qh4EU6Xf_pA4r24dDKbbdYJ5q32FzqbdG3b5mmLNTYC09UdTtnzN5EuTSxuURRjW792vuMagyFO4wwiOqMMRfZElH7cJwCxLME5w0ePhDf29jUG215u33PtaF1UG15d2wsY6UcYq5FMALuHVrH5R127G9j-Yeq1/s569/18-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdYN54DanLtg-XVotbriH-CTn0qh4EU6Xf_pA4r24dDKbbdYJ5q32FzqbdG3b5mmLNTYC09UdTtnzN5EuTSxuURRjW792vuMagyFO4wwiOqMMRfZElH7cJwCxLME5w0ePhDf29jUG215u33PtaF1UG15d2wsY6UcYq5FMALuHVrH5R127G9j-Yeq1/s320/18-1.jpeg" width="236" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Pot3jcgEg5FfaeJEzmrOXUuDc_9Ki7POIz9rFxL3sUBvHfJXw67Sqf4V3Y0MnDJOvu_c0stscIJVB5l_1BfO8IlbpQShxY2xtaAlXERB-zzB0OLQaR83OvZ2si2mi2b-eWD3exkp5IW-vlR8GanKIo1CDx0bvJtM8VJY7chFg1qOk1eljHk8gbga/s770/e9eafe772663ba59f0cacf2543825149.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Pot3jcgEg5FfaeJEzmrOXUuDc_9Ki7POIz9rFxL3sUBvHfJXw67Sqf4V3Y0MnDJOvu_c0stscIJVB5l_1BfO8IlbpQShxY2xtaAlXERB-zzB0OLQaR83OvZ2si2mi2b-eWD3exkp5IW-vlR8GanKIo1CDx0bvJtM8VJY7chFg1qOk1eljHk8gbga/s320/e9eafe772663ba59f0cacf2543825149.jpeg" width="226" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It was inevitable that with the growth of Marvel and DC we would see the humble shark adorning all sorts of covers in all sorts of situations.the art, probably more polished, the colouring more expansive due to technological advances but for me, you just can't beat the old covers where the apex predator shared top billing with the star</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE53hI2hUh9lzb2EMsgKfwYzGyOgdZehyg5Klkw1BuNcyv2ltyOuB4yxuBGDdm4YPZJrpRUVg2Cs-kZYBGQhfDwQKlOlYC36eWih5G8T9Wb2JUcHWMNu0-Ze3q8ZzfD9IbFTxaesHl_Y0sB9c4gJdAZwnX6nSD8iZbExfBCu8G5DTDcav5Yqslg1if/s561/38285.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE53hI2hUh9lzb2EMsgKfwYzGyOgdZehyg5Klkw1BuNcyv2ltyOuB4yxuBGDdm4YPZJrpRUVg2Cs-kZYBGQhfDwQKlOlYC36eWih5G8T9Wb2JUcHWMNu0-Ze3q8ZzfD9IbFTxaesHl_Y0sB9c4gJdAZwnX6nSD8iZbExfBCu8G5DTDcav5Yqslg1if/s320/38285.jpeg" width="228" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyV1r70bOxu1mPguWfHc8BNaBPwhxrwtW2t_nPc0y7Zzlb8DJuAIjWijQSea9M-i8JZuqbqnWFyo7cQimLd8U6ccfKGEdHEf7MncUtdG3Fndk78XxMDmbH4ve-A-ipwKTDM7v7ZXZVvyAesWZDOS60yQoF7KJDle4amqBlEFe2cMoV6ikQM4XkOD2/s353/99ccc35a289eb8d29bcb1d4b1afbc6bb--comic-book-covers-comic-books.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyV1r70bOxu1mPguWfHc8BNaBPwhxrwtW2t_nPc0y7Zzlb8DJuAIjWijQSea9M-i8JZuqbqnWFyo7cQimLd8U6ccfKGEdHEf7MncUtdG3Fndk78XxMDmbH4ve-A-ipwKTDM7v7ZXZVvyAesWZDOS60yQoF7KJDle4amqBlEFe2cMoV6ikQM4XkOD2/s320/99ccc35a289eb8d29bcb1d4b1afbc6bb--comic-book-covers-comic-books.jpeg" width="214" /></a></div></div><br /></div></div></div><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-39984301046734929722022-07-08T13:25:00.000+01:002022-07-08T13:25:11.503+01:00JAMES CAAN<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5uQwFFbq2OfTZS_7p4QPLs4DsQsS96yXK9Bz7-7BN9VWkt5jLu8eIjJ8rYgiPBa7dkkEyQKWTsgaHYu2outEkpXmC1bjbjFBOVT0m5mXnbzeQFsgovl9Rml0QPrItNW5L4u9U090Kktg3QNs-3c3iIUK-qQfQGu2d6DoNFaVm2474ukM9x1Z5xQX/s920/DiscreteBetterBlacklab-size_restricted.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5uQwFFbq2OfTZS_7p4QPLs4DsQsS96yXK9Bz7-7BN9VWkt5jLu8eIjJ8rYgiPBa7dkkEyQKWTsgaHYu2outEkpXmC1bjbjFBOVT0m5mXnbzeQFsgovl9Rml0QPrItNW5L4u9U090Kktg3QNs-3c3iIUK-qQfQGu2d6DoNFaVm2474ukM9x1Z5xQX/w400-h225/DiscreteBetterBlacklab-size_restricted.gif" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The actor James Caan sadly passed away and perhaps he is best known for his role of Sonny Corleone who perished in a hail of bullets, or Jonathon E the anti hero of future violent sport Rollerball. His turn as the author beset by a super fan with an obsession verging on lunacy in Misery or his many muscular and intense performances will be remembered with respectful pleasure.</span></div><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9NhwpddC9xgI1EjUj9qzAu3veisEWltf5VwRJH3y0fjia5RKBQsNMtmkHbsgUvx7hg7WESrNfN_lrJ-6CHAQt9QznxUVi5VxJcH8uSIRsvK_7uPGmtl52CzRrMAOxm5s6c7DBtD8qAwvTpytEx3XgAaKDt7xkkPooyip-jr6ACidtCxbo6r2KXE-/s240/FrailMeatyBlackfootedferret-max-1mb.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="240" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9NhwpddC9xgI1EjUj9qzAu3veisEWltf5VwRJH3y0fjia5RKBQsNMtmkHbsgUvx7hg7WESrNfN_lrJ-6CHAQt9QznxUVi5VxJcH8uSIRsvK_7uPGmtl52CzRrMAOxm5s6c7DBtD8qAwvTpytEx3XgAaKDt7xkkPooyip-jr6ACidtCxbo6r2KXE-/w400-h217/FrailMeatyBlackfootedferret-max-1mb.gif" width="400" /></a></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For me, his turn in Michael Mann's Thief (1981) as the main protagonist Frank, is his most important role. Important as it's the defining and most influential Neo Noir performance of all.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Neo Noir aesthetic showed early signs of definition in the seventies but really became identifiable in the eighties Frank in Thief is almost a blueprint for what followed with the likes of Drive, Heat, Payback, The Grifter, Momento and many others.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Caan plays an antihero of real intensity who gets caught up in a web that he has little control of. His performance as the existential protagonist struggling to complete his journey is superb.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With Thief James Caan may very well be the godfather of Neo Noir.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>James Caan 1940-2022</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcYg_PRUXhadhxZKRbadakPpeKuLXeyvnOnVjs-Y5t0r_A93Pcnrs_vre0UysilpAoI9I3nalm_nM_UE1L2-eqq7n5IokiTrXWDXm0FnHmo-k0GzkKSRwj-m2u1of44Nnp0Vk8-9XwEZuIcfhNwF0iN6H_NjkZ0_kXS-jZRY9iNvlW-fPSljkEbGx/s500/tumblr_d74c98ebe83d8d25fb5f4ab404582c69_a8c3ada0_500.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="500" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidcYg_PRUXhadhxZKRbadakPpeKuLXeyvnOnVjs-Y5t0r_A93Pcnrs_vre0UysilpAoI9I3nalm_nM_UE1L2-eqq7n5IokiTrXWDXm0FnHmo-k0GzkKSRwj-m2u1of44Nnp0Vk8-9XwEZuIcfhNwF0iN6H_NjkZ0_kXS-jZRY9iNvlW-fPSljkEbGx/w400-h255/tumblr_d74c98ebe83d8d25fb5f4ab404582c69_a8c3ada0_500.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-27403701777432415942022-07-06T12:58:00.003+01:002022-07-06T12:58:29.396+01:00THE JOY OF BOOKS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5uYajo7ass9IyOquQphH-HXucvE5bD2AnDPIMWrdDeVZUKzRWn_dfZKNJzFgdk_Rxs2ijbYt3rwEOyI0960XAqRo8DpXQfVp5h8BfdQjMYmgRZjwN3wrn8ndTnpazbTSGqgyx-hAc8ulqIYWH8gGV2IQZusP6Myltid1tTZcKxD7clghfvFFz2Cp/s500/280102588captain-pickard-reading-books-gif-11.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="500" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5uYajo7ass9IyOquQphH-HXucvE5bD2AnDPIMWrdDeVZUKzRWn_dfZKNJzFgdk_Rxs2ijbYt3rwEOyI0960XAqRo8DpXQfVp5h8BfdQjMYmgRZjwN3wrn8ndTnpazbTSGqgyx-hAc8ulqIYWH8gGV2IQZusP6Myltid1tTZcKxD7clghfvFFz2Cp/w400-h297/280102588captain-pickard-reading-books-gif-11.gif" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I am going on holiday. Not earth shattering news I know, but for me, it's the first holiday in two and a half years due to a number of conspiring factors. This time around I'm taking books, plenty of books. No electronic media for me. I may take one of the books I read again every couple of years;</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiv-9sUfZu5m7jX_GYf8M08WFkW31mArqYOnwiyBxUkCLew6MrjCfasNT1Hd4VzhOJnOnbNfT4gRl5IfDbY32zNhhtTH3zh06LvclYYJRjByOQGx7yvuksOBvtqXro1AOZMxfuiQXFnWpsy-QeM8Q_yoOKZk3yjMql_hNtpTLuIWBsuiWtlEumhkER/s800/1042009532.0.x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="572" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiv-9sUfZu5m7jX_GYf8M08WFkW31mArqYOnwiyBxUkCLew6MrjCfasNT1Hd4VzhOJnOnbNfT4gRl5IfDbY32zNhhtTH3zh06LvclYYJRjByOQGx7yvuksOBvtqXro1AOZMxfuiQXFnWpsy-QeM8Q_yoOKZk3yjMql_hNtpTLuIWBsuiWtlEumhkER/w229-h320/1042009532.0.x.jpg" width="229" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Zty5UN9_rP6Svxnr4P6H2OrsirQQNzktMaxVUqVsYrrFF5EZs8n7KaeYyAbUsDYbnWIR9nAczQgP-dpwuGPRJ7dM6b8_op632Ob5CpaUQanZaw5K0psWAI1eRhFeBkkVyoDVdnRMLJ18J8PXZbXnRrDnPdw6FKzWbY7lBd-iDtFwHl6ViMefVVjb/s2110/9133km002-L.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2110" data-original-width="1316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Zty5UN9_rP6Svxnr4P6H2OrsirQQNzktMaxVUqVsYrrFF5EZs8n7KaeYyAbUsDYbnWIR9nAczQgP-dpwuGPRJ7dM6b8_op632Ob5CpaUQanZaw5K0psWAI1eRhFeBkkVyoDVdnRMLJ18J8PXZbXnRrDnPdw6FKzWbY7lBd-iDtFwHl6ViMefVVjb/s320/9133km002-L.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8ercbZ9kx6W_Q9IyJbbqM9DbDezmIC0IfIhxP6msDJOPtMc9R7i3X9YKBWVsCsOka5C2KiGI88RdBjly77V9RGhxNKE8XIPpAyLv6siv354IFbXNhUefPRT9c4XUfae2m6AfNcuLCl85dvqvmGaGy1Phgq7rHMBWkSsKiB9yY_sCm0nVVNu4sis-/s4682/9780241420294.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4682" data-original-width="3052" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8ercbZ9kx6W_Q9IyJbbqM9DbDezmIC0IfIhxP6msDJOPtMc9R7i3X9YKBWVsCsOka5C2KiGI88RdBjly77V9RGhxNKE8XIPpAyLv6siv354IFbXNhUefPRT9c4XUfae2m6AfNcuLCl85dvqvmGaGy1Phgq7rHMBWkSsKiB9yY_sCm0nVVNu4sis-/s320/9780241420294.jpeg" width="209" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywPn3CQVAK7jcYGXWeefoJhN6B8e90ymz-CwrOIv2QDHycCFn0lTsBVnthR32ipCncbzZ_WXzQINUrG0iAzM5km7UzFGkdIjM6RgOBkrNfm9GuWpaz1587lGdTQx3bOTda7X42zMU3Bqz6MoiUVCqeyVZ8FIjaKoh0d50ry8t0FWvRFhjr2zpJ2x3/s400/large_9781408802472.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjywPn3CQVAK7jcYGXWeefoJhN6B8e90ymz-CwrOIv2QDHycCFn0lTsBVnthR32ipCncbzZ_WXzQINUrG0iAzM5km7UzFGkdIjM6RgOBkrNfm9GuWpaz1587lGdTQx3bOTda7X42zMU3Bqz6MoiUVCqeyVZ8FIjaKoh0d50ry8t0FWvRFhjr2zpJ2x3/s320/large_9781408802472.jpeg" width="209" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7cjCWdbg4ilAOfSxleTDlu-gsn3T5Eb5bL25EvNZ4tMmYaPoZAcoy3QrQ2quoob6yLnDM5ubjKhax5_9eqgvV6EhqeTQ1BCTvqGvjat0x_IPW0EtV9ZJKtFTSwPw2iXOADuhlr67vKoGtyRW1CS53vfxS0TVmToitlkNOHdV8u1HixKg1tD4ebt7/s500/timesarrow.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7cjCWdbg4ilAOfSxleTDlu-gsn3T5Eb5bL25EvNZ4tMmYaPoZAcoy3QrQ2quoob6yLnDM5ubjKhax5_9eqgvV6EhqeTQ1BCTvqGvjat0x_IPW0EtV9ZJKtFTSwPw2iXOADuhlr67vKoGtyRW1CS53vfxS0TVmToitlkNOHdV8u1HixKg1tD4ebt7/s320/timesarrow.jpeg" width="209" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxK4Gp6mvcFMO3ykr11FXSwZkEyPW83Nf0-qqkPSiJ2ezCi8DjrUxRHGoDuiNcqzBTHg1EqwR9D8ioqm65gbnh73XKQ51VIt-gk2JBal4fBCOfZaCQrsL4xu6tp6KBW1IijH8Bn_8dwe7iOB-oDgeKwpE_rOy8X5ysSheJJ92_p2QeRy_Ys6SLmjN9/s499/watchmen_absolut.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxK4Gp6mvcFMO3ykr11FXSwZkEyPW83Nf0-qqkPSiJ2ezCi8DjrUxRHGoDuiNcqzBTHg1EqwR9D8ioqm65gbnh73XKQ51VIt-gk2JBal4fBCOfZaCQrsL4xu6tp6KBW1IijH8Bn_8dwe7iOB-oDgeKwpE_rOy8X5ysSheJJ92_p2QeRy_Ys6SLmjN9/s320/watchmen_absolut.webp" width="216" /></a></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I might buy something new, or borrow a book. I may opt for something I've never got round to reading but always wanted to. I might even buy a trilogy or collection. I do like a good biography and might need to spend an afternoon browsing in an actual bookshop.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyN7sMoiKnpCdaTgcOHb3wBrqW1UT535TbyndF6-9Q2GEWpOE1klqVdd4VaV1039XW6nX42XQ7LxXmTwic9EfDsFNYAHuL1e2ayiC5zriZN8tJfTf4trcR8FXlIe2anFOsjZdoWOgMTKVoU6iAv6QsoZ8cDDfMlQeioqOreaoWI52UbnYqxYmeynE/s1864/the-count-of-monte-cristo-penguin-classics.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1864" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyN7sMoiKnpCdaTgcOHb3wBrqW1UT535TbyndF6-9Q2GEWpOE1klqVdd4VaV1039XW6nX42XQ7LxXmTwic9EfDsFNYAHuL1e2ayiC5zriZN8tJfTf4trcR8FXlIe2anFOsjZdoWOgMTKVoU6iAv6QsoZ8cDDfMlQeioqOreaoWI52UbnYqxYmeynE/s320/the-count-of-monte-cristo-penguin-classics.jpeg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRkNeu7gmi2Xku5V4bKL1qhUgZy0WDtWoA2Sy44SGA7TgplHPCHhMUIyMNha8lxKgMSPeKZ6Pz26ep9HXqtFvvI0jeVhMhfmZ3AHU0ORGcJ52gXI9LQYgBQe3TM8F0I6poS8tHyYeRkUp6eSYfwb1S1IpHwRmJecp9Ojmgz0c_Up6ypVqU0VDfdE_/s475/310612._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRkNeu7gmi2Xku5V4bKL1qhUgZy0WDtWoA2Sy44SGA7TgplHPCHhMUIyMNha8lxKgMSPeKZ6Pz26ep9HXqtFvvI0jeVhMhfmZ3AHU0ORGcJ52gXI9LQYgBQe3TM8F0I6poS8tHyYeRkUp6eSYfwb1S1IpHwRmJecp9Ojmgz0c_Up6ypVqU0VDfdE_/s320/310612._SY475_.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNF57cl2HpqwbOf58gipU6G0JuVjoI05XoM5MaEJ9O_pNtuxCQtlRbb5g2d2EYB1Ah0SvCPkaP9J-D50E2SDBluaFX4c3OIe2185sWTUa7qDXN-ogUYInVLO0Gdd9qDANAPgXWdhilAO_GUvEXgh0jUrxwu-omcYWC5ZrIAkT7bLgQgUTnuaR5DMXb/s500/513XpOgZtiL.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNF57cl2HpqwbOf58gipU6G0JuVjoI05XoM5MaEJ9O_pNtuxCQtlRbb5g2d2EYB1Ah0SvCPkaP9J-D50E2SDBluaFX4c3OIe2185sWTUa7qDXN-ogUYInVLO0Gdd9qDANAPgXWdhilAO_GUvEXgh0jUrxwu-omcYWC5ZrIAkT7bLgQgUTnuaR5DMXb/s320/513XpOgZtiL.jpeg" width="214" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXY9HY0uM1xJuuqQbg4JFp8dQXhYheUEPPlCxDSPnd9cB5BEneX60IhjYWzRGOM590xO0zJUvOSB2e9L6KQNV1BtfH_H4CjKASJC-MLs_G7N6dmcpoyRKT7giA8KPZWx427zdJ6BTlwZbTw0dWEM5iJiY74neTfNWiykG7uMhaOTC_9WH6oTZEDRc/s1662/cover_frankenstein.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1662" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXY9HY0uM1xJuuqQbg4JFp8dQXhYheUEPPlCxDSPnd9cB5BEneX60IhjYWzRGOM590xO0zJUvOSB2e9L6KQNV1BtfH_H4CjKASJC-MLs_G7N6dmcpoyRKT7giA8KPZWx427zdJ6BTlwZbTw0dWEM5iJiY74neTfNWiykG7uMhaOTC_9WH6oTZEDRc/s320/cover_frankenstein.gif" width="193" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One thing I do know, is that when I lay down in the warm Mediterranean sun and open a book I will be transported to another place, the stresses and worries of recent times will be temporarily lifted and I will feel relaxed, at rest and very happy. That, dear reader, is the joy of books</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7Ox3ErvS4M3R2RTAkEQTDTLNSzKQFZ4WdKZZU1G30SI6YDjct7rz4mDVD52mOHwGJX3rSxBcnFrI2ep570217kf-XjtHbIuIcqUmcyVEo9-v5XVvQKdSD-zx9D9VN2p7wB6E_61a5R_Fmuc5743_iv7lxvJ8gPjf4WkNEcwsNWUAkThRyiJiXvM8/s1373/Burgess_Meredith_The_Twilight_Zone_1961.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1373" data-original-width="1032" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7Ox3ErvS4M3R2RTAkEQTDTLNSzKQFZ4WdKZZU1G30SI6YDjct7rz4mDVD52mOHwGJX3rSxBcnFrI2ep570217kf-XjtHbIuIcqUmcyVEo9-v5XVvQKdSD-zx9D9VN2p7wB6E_61a5R_Fmuc5743_iv7lxvJ8gPjf4WkNEcwsNWUAkThRyiJiXvM8/w301-h400/Burgess_Meredith_The_Twilight_Zone_1961.jpeg" width="301" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-20178763401406278722022-07-04T15:08:00.000+01:002022-07-04T15:08:35.285+01:00TIM SALE<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXXK2z1Io2MtBykz7I02MDh7QEgV5vvpIqF4LFss8xais7PRNElWTRt1VISYNBv0A-2Pv1FYizpu4hRf8lmoDWhRXCilqoaY86mvH1zVQtJYSn-5OTzMPDsVgDIlvmfYfeKhHBhEIRHl_b4CnnAIxAAduDBaCwslamBC9UjJE1SajwYKolsFCe4uO/s600/17Sale3-articleLarge.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXXK2z1Io2MtBykz7I02MDh7QEgV5vvpIqF4LFss8xais7PRNElWTRt1VISYNBv0A-2Pv1FYizpu4hRf8lmoDWhRXCilqoaY86mvH1zVQtJYSn-5OTzMPDsVgDIlvmfYfeKhHBhEIRHl_b4CnnAIxAAduDBaCwslamBC9UjJE1SajwYKolsFCe4uO/w640-h478/17Sale3-articleLarge.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Tim Sale, the noted Comic Book artist died last month at the age of 66. The thing about Sale's style is that, in an age of conformity in illustrating comics his draughtsmanship was clearly identifiable as his. Sales' work on Batman is as defining of the character as anyone's and he was jointly responsible (with Jeph Loeb) for my favourite Batman story, the complex and highly original The Long Halloween.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sale also provided the artwork for the revolutionary NBC series Heroes along with work in the Independent Comics world as well as the mainstream. I'm not going to say much more about Sale. I'm going to let his art speak for itself.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">RIP Tim.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnIV26SKu_R3x53PgmJOCdEXLapwUdMhzp3YIcAeZPId-yyo67ubpErbgGB25ghwPzPYmVPV5bAUtmA_4iVpDGsFbgaGh1D7uhmrUKzW0riKMkB3wKr1deJ59rkRMFSHJgn6_WMD9_elYs3wgh3g0qLqRla26jafPV8cbxoCHBabYhH55pLHbm9q7/s1920/BMLH_CTWWIR_DLX_CASE_6230fb4b33a5c5.29605897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnIV26SKu_R3x53PgmJOCdEXLapwUdMhzp3YIcAeZPId-yyo67ubpErbgGB25ghwPzPYmVPV5bAUtmA_4iVpDGsFbgaGh1D7uhmrUKzW0riKMkB3wKr1deJ59rkRMFSHJgn6_WMD9_elYs3wgh3g0qLqRla26jafPV8cbxoCHBabYhH55pLHbm9q7/w640-h360/BMLH_CTWWIR_DLX_CASE_6230fb4b33a5c5.29605897.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8t6pXqni3-Y8g1_THUON_Sznmd9zvsp_MK7UV7zGxZTk649FxpGxiMSYsg4gA7OpdBGaUFPL80nGzbevoPd2ZGEU4R_LwLLPEKq6Lzh3GxS0m5gb4hYlvxMFCRHgveYzVuPgTSJ-Ojm1dFUY9ygIvB2JxTVd0bzlSBHWCQ-Y7Ku8UmGAuQwmZm7X/s640/c1dde55016p61.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8t6pXqni3-Y8g1_THUON_Sznmd9zvsp_MK7UV7zGxZTk649FxpGxiMSYsg4gA7OpdBGaUFPL80nGzbevoPd2ZGEU4R_LwLLPEKq6Lzh3GxS0m5gb4hYlvxMFCRHgveYzVuPgTSJ-Ojm1dFUY9ygIvB2JxTVd0bzlSBHWCQ-Y7Ku8UmGAuQwmZm7X/w640-h480/c1dde55016p61.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6wKh0hVgvbMHQnBcGtARveoxKuHMHBAJm8lhFbJ3QPAGv5u8vf_bHlAt18KD_isPjSYoYmaeplEs99QLwYCdZuUIvHsbjNQf2fWYpoGHTq73qut24MAMxZuhY7ACkizm2WuPzYfE5FfPEiGGVdwRuo4oJz_GY64uAnWl9RRttVHBCuur3oNlBaKn/s1200/DdOHa3ZVMAANJHr.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="790" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6wKh0hVgvbMHQnBcGtARveoxKuHMHBAJm8lhFbJ3QPAGv5u8vf_bHlAt18KD_isPjSYoYmaeplEs99QLwYCdZuUIvHsbjNQf2fWYpoGHTq73qut24MAMxZuhY7ACkizm2WuPzYfE5FfPEiGGVdwRuo4oJz_GY64uAnWl9RRttVHBCuur3oNlBaKn/w264-h400/DdOHa3ZVMAANJHr.jpeg" width="264" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9cp-D4MlrmD3gDpO9FBc08CIdKoYHczKHH88HBxd8RpZYuoko_D2N4sFR7XyAXg2O8yLQ-zqF2v1VqtQg-kViM6_beZ5vNLp93JokqaUBKuQjpHJdAFZVzi-eNycqYqEsPWQN076AecOEfYYnBp7nAkotm9ORci9hghHLhc2I8ok-X-cYPG8e_ka/s1200/Spider-Man-Blue-featured.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9cp-D4MlrmD3gDpO9FBc08CIdKoYHczKHH88HBxd8RpZYuoko_D2N4sFR7XyAXg2O8yLQ-zqF2v1VqtQg-kViM6_beZ5vNLp93JokqaUBKuQjpHJdAFZVzi-eNycqYqEsPWQN076AecOEfYYnBp7nAkotm9ORci9hghHLhc2I8ok-X-cYPG8e_ka/w640-h480/Spider-Man-Blue-featured.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8HhPNt3O_0sM6SxOrIvADqzB2VilW0k_7x5T8g7XW-hpbYqZqClTP_y_ovwNPRc1rF3IitmtoavXannz3jvfkO3uIl1xOdr_AlyZK9XYAh53qm-jbd-2-skbidX7DCkvyw1aavVBTSSUjZfR2w04IelkrLo70jmkUBx_RFbQfcem66EU7-3ihWHl/s1200/tim-sale-the-long-halloween-artist-in-batman-has-died-at-the-age-of-66.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8HhPNt3O_0sM6SxOrIvADqzB2VilW0k_7x5T8g7XW-hpbYqZqClTP_y_ovwNPRc1rF3IitmtoavXannz3jvfkO3uIl1xOdr_AlyZK9XYAh53qm-jbd-2-skbidX7DCkvyw1aavVBTSSUjZfR2w04IelkrLo70jmkUBx_RFbQfcem66EU7-3ihWHl/w400-h225/tim-sale-the-long-halloween-artist-in-batman-has-died-at-the-age-of-66.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-35575683098136425952022-06-08T16:04:00.003+01:002022-06-08T16:04:50.866+01:00NEVER MIND, IT'S BOLLOCKS<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHuG8YBwTUrWtsN2SFD6-5aDr8qwT5WIIKVftHQwZ4KHUfTcJq51rzVOjCffqWXDcaYt7Xsdz7pBATM7d-fXVRHfEFYosRYe3XXJRohbS96G1NnwT_KJcAiWGuNULdDs952FhPvUVfkq6yrknRqBFKYaNZgUTNIhlnUjqAZnCFP_2LJbHyhZ68QKz/s352/snoy.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHuG8YBwTUrWtsN2SFD6-5aDr8qwT5WIIKVftHQwZ4KHUfTcJq51rzVOjCffqWXDcaYt7Xsdz7pBATM7d-fXVRHfEFYosRYe3XXJRohbS96G1NnwT_KJcAiWGuNULdDs952FhPvUVfkq6yrknRqBFKYaNZgUTNIhlnUjqAZnCFP_2LJbHyhZ68QKz/w284-h400/snoy.gif" width="284" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Where to begin with director Danny Boyle's Pistol on Disney+, it's hard to know as there are so many faults with it. Nice middle class chaps with excruciating cockney accents make up the main body of actors which is not to detract from the helium ingested Kenneth Williams vocal acrobatics of Thomas Brodie-Sangster's</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> Malcolm McLaren. One is reminded of the Black Adder The Third thespians when viewing the portrayal of the erstwhile svengali in full flow. </span></p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">I don't recall Pamela Rooke aka Jordan, being as posh as the portrayal of her seen here, nor was Siouxsie a shrinking violet as seen lurking in the background. As for the parents of Steve 'Jonesy' Jones (the main protagonist on whose biography this shambes is based), they are portrayed as a stereotypical abusive relationship couple you might see opening the door to their flat on the Jasmine Allen Estate to an investigating officer from Sun Hill nick.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The characters of Sid and Nancy are given far too much screen time in which to tell their parasitic and lamebrained story. Both actors struggle to bring any depth to the roles; which when you think about the vapidity of the toxic twosome is some achievement.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Which brings us to Anson Boon's John Lydon/Johnny Rotten. What can you say about his performance that hasn't already been said about Rik Mayall's in Drop Dead Fred?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Toby Wallace has neither the charisma or the screen presence to play the lead character and the other cast members playing musicians and assorted famous faces are pretty bland in truth. Broadly speaking, Talulah Riley does an impression of Vivienne Westwood rather than a performance (broadly being apropos)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The only actor to come out of this with any credibility is as a young Chrissie Hynde. It probably helps that she did not have to try and conjure up an American accent, but she is very good</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Danny Boyle is a talented and accomplished director but on Pistol he has seriously misfired. He's firing blanks on this one and no amount of bleary eyed nostalgia can redeem this six part series. How he managed to get this so wrong is a genuine mystery. What might have been a show on a par with Anton Corbjin's excellent Control turns out to be simply CaRRy oN pUnKiNG</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-74929336878256929742022-05-01T13:02:00.002+01:002022-05-01T13:02:30.404+01:00HOUSE OF GUCCI-SHOWGIRLS MEETS VALLEY OF THE DOLLS<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr93DtohD-WZGKV-4JLIqUMfFjES2Slq19nuTxBFeqKR0uZCg0NXa9Y5L2QAxYo-WOkpmVRWCFgQtoWIAqdRINmlemQ4SpgoH_d0l0FeEprlZwxaynM5tBrp6lX5asSAe5iU_JnEUrHXgAX6oh-41trRIgtLDmwqiQ3qpMyb6iZgbN_fZpsKydiB3M/s1456/https___bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com_public_images_059674cc-edd1-4045-9ec5-a5f75474d05d_2361x1301.webp" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1456" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr93DtohD-WZGKV-4JLIqUMfFjES2Slq19nuTxBFeqKR0uZCg0NXa9Y5L2QAxYo-WOkpmVRWCFgQtoWIAqdRINmlemQ4SpgoH_d0l0FeEprlZwxaynM5tBrp6lX5asSAe5iU_JnEUrHXgAX6oh-41trRIgtLDmwqiQ3qpMyb6iZgbN_fZpsKydiB3M/w640-h352/https___bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com_public_images_059674cc-edd1-4045-9ec5-a5f75474d05d_2361x1301.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">House Of Gucci is to Showgirls what Showgirls was to Valley Of The Dolls. It’s awful, hypnotically awful. It does for the fashion industry what Cats did for the feline community. That it was directed by Ridley Scott goes to show that the gods have feet of clay. For the first ten minutes I thought I was watching a Mel Brooks' spoof.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Adam Driver’s performance is that of a somnambulist trying to avoid bumping into the furniture. Jared Leto’s character has the gravitas of an Adam West era Batman Villain, with a wardrobe to match. Jeremy Irons comes across as an ex SS General who escaped to Paraguay in 1945. As for Al Pacino, it would seem he was asked to reprise his role in Dick Tracy, only broader. Which brings me to Lady Gaga; her status as a gay icon can only be enhanced by a performance so full of kitsch that it belongs in a John Waters film from the 70s, her dialogue would not be out of place in Mommie Dearest.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Any critique has to address the accents. They are uniformly as excruciating as Dick Van Dyke’s cockney in Mary Poppins.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The soundtrack, consisting of mostly Donna Summer, bludgeons home the era in which the film is set and the attempts to show a world of glamour and style are cack handed and as subtle as a Bernard Manning joke. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So terrible is the whole enterprise that I wouldn’t be surprised if it were used as a method of torture on suspected members of Islamic State.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirngtBPdhDKz_W837u1hncLi77dUhuh7B_yWOGlCU4A76OZCgk6HRhQUve4LTRvjInYRfQBgCgVO88bPLhqMyh7H0039bYNMTi0tfwR5YAWF81bpwine28Y0hW0jrQlpDaIX7Cfbk5wCYEe1tWs507qt1i7k_b2Ukoph_IWe9y0PXxstFsswFXSw6b/s1499/1200x0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1499" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirngtBPdhDKz_W837u1hncLi77dUhuh7B_yWOGlCU4A76OZCgk6HRhQUve4LTRvjInYRfQBgCgVO88bPLhqMyh7H0039bYNMTi0tfwR5YAWF81bpwine28Y0hW0jrQlpDaIX7Cfbk5wCYEe1tWs507qt1i7k_b2Ukoph_IWe9y0PXxstFsswFXSw6b/w320-h400/1200x0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #201f1e; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, "system-ui", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-73396585436757287492022-04-29T11:50:00.001+01:002022-04-29T11:50:35.830+01:00FOR FOLK'S SAKE<p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN5ZLAl00Wqe-_OHMZe1FItCkgdBt1I1-0KqzDRtw2_F52TsM7UmhZxtdPZudL3zLulqYgyqFMu5KpDlRBdg0ZLbx1L9Jyd2MoKgLva5Gvzqdh4FuVizMKRgEqlGwu0e1l72nR1goNId4tNoCQu5bquSF2Dsan2atycDXaJ0xgWMd52b1MzkJHb7W/s790/00a7ed8a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="790" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN5ZLAl00Wqe-_OHMZe1FItCkgdBt1I1-0KqzDRtw2_F52TsM7UmhZxtdPZudL3zLulqYgyqFMu5KpDlRBdg0ZLbx1L9Jyd2MoKgLva5Gvzqdh4FuVizMKRgEqlGwu0e1l72nR1goNId4tNoCQu5bquSF2Dsan2atycDXaJ0xgWMd52b1MzkJHb7W/w640-h360/00a7ed8a.gif" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Folk horror, UK Folk horror in particular, is everywhere. The latest episode of Inside Number 9 gave us the straw mask/crown and cult like villagers dispatching the outsider, as first placed in our consciousness by The Wicker Man.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We've had In The Earth, Midsommar, Kill List, and a variety of other versions of the perils of paganism, with Alex Garland's Men coming shortly. There's been The VVitch and BBC's the Witchfinder, not to mention Radiohead's clever video for Burn The Witch and a plethora of references to the bygone age of Catweazle, Children Of The Stones and seventies village mysteries. But what's the fascination?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Maybe we have all had our fill of slashers, cannibals, zombies, werewolves, cyborgs, viruses and vampires and are looking closer to home to give our fear glands a workout.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What Folk horror gives us is a taste of that innate fear of being an outsider, of not belonging. It speaks of the unspeakable hiding behind the mundane. In American life there is the 'behind the picket fence' syndrome, but in the UK there is a feeling that there are more sinister goings on out there in the forests and woods of little England than dogging and dog fighting. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Our scandinavian friends have their fair share of pagan rites and rituals and share an appreciation of the changing of the season, dancing round a totem and tales of sacrifice and witchery. But, perhaps the puritans of early America are our nearest counterparts and their dark doings in the forests and woods of New England have real resonance. Great examples are The VVitch and American Horror Story: Roanoak.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This Century, that's getting on a bit now, may be for Folk Horror what the 40s were for Film Noir. There are many strange and ambiguous tales being told on the small and big screen and if you've not dipped a toe into these waters I would recommend the following as a glimpse into the past, present and future of Pagan Horror, this is a chronological list to set you on your way into the underbelly of the beast.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Häxan (1922)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Night Of The Demon (1957)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Black Sunday (1960)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Witches (1966)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Witchfinder General (1968)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Blood On Satan's Claw (1971)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Wicker Man (1973) </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Shout (1978)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Eyes Of Fire (1983)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Tilbury (1987)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Lair Of The White Worm (1988)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Blair Witch Project (1999)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Wendigo (2001)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Reaping (2007)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Wake Wood (2009)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Kill List (2011)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A Field In England (2013)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The VVitch (2013)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Ritual (2017)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Border (2018)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Apostle (2018)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">American Horror Story : Roanoak (2019)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In The Earth (2021)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Lamb (2021)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Men (2022)</span></li></ol><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>*There are also a plethora of Asian Folk Horror Movies. More about them on a future post</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-16855833159744029552022-04-12T15:08:00.000+01:002022-04-12T15:08:34.716+01:00CRASH! BANG! WALLOP! WHAT A MOVIE!<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJ9tDohS2f-t2CmjwdlhZ_CHYNuhTbcwTkRKaIXhWGBorRFFJI2YI78eEKEKkg9YJ_NUH1D1AUR9i-wrHYVlfhxcLL9pGuTkxS-LroumKLYElULgULEt75TeDtTeZYVHdzkUxTrNpgAwLMxNwWi_BeYh033aMmQaV6vThUIKxEV7N05vGGGEyGFp5/s540/tumblr_47b00296c04249e81b8cf0e55a26df6e_0494164e_540.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="540" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJ9tDohS2f-t2CmjwdlhZ_CHYNuhTbcwTkRKaIXhWGBorRFFJI2YI78eEKEKkg9YJ_NUH1D1AUR9i-wrHYVlfhxcLL9pGuTkxS-LroumKLYElULgULEt75TeDtTeZYVHdzkUxTrNpgAwLMxNwWi_BeYh033aMmQaV6vThUIKxEV7N05vGGGEyGFp5/w640-h266/tumblr_47b00296c04249e81b8cf0e55a26df6e_0494164e_540.webp" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A plate of haute cuisine served with a fine wine in opulent surroundings is never really a bad thing. Nor is a classic novel, a life affirming piece of music or an example of art at it's finest, but sometimes one wants a big fat burger. That, in cinematic terms is what Michael Bay's Ambulance is.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Bay, for many years now has been the king of bombast over content, the go to guy for big bangs and fast frills. With Ambulance he has managed to blend high concept 90's action with Tarantinoesque pop culture references. The star of the movie Jake Gyllenhaal is in the top three Hollywood actors this century and has shown his ability in films like Zodiac, Nightcrawler and Prisoners and in this role he plays it perfectly as an anti-hero turned, out and out bad guy. His presence and energy literally drive the film as does his co-star Yahya Abdil-Mateen II. They make a great yin and yang partnership.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSm3pqVPzYaMuHSmSz_7RAiDnG-E3yIcfkz6vLslqsNVXNojOVehLcVI3hU9fQhMgEeoc0jsxZD-PsOKy28yB1S-Mk2rDakR5-Ddjy15XA6H-b-bc4u7HtcDNY2CF70hQ1oPmJ5LiRfI0POSSPSzCbYo_huw-H84Op4zIBD_4dL7Vtzy55Lx7sNeY/s540/tumblr_967ea5716f79754997d9b128946f68d0_d2ca88d5_540.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="540" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSm3pqVPzYaMuHSmSz_7RAiDnG-E3yIcfkz6vLslqsNVXNojOVehLcVI3hU9fQhMgEeoc0jsxZD-PsOKy28yB1S-Mk2rDakR5-Ddjy15XA6H-b-bc4u7HtcDNY2CF70hQ1oPmJ5LiRfI0POSSPSzCbYo_huw-H84Op4zIBD_4dL7Vtzy55Lx7sNeY/w400-h217/tumblr_967ea5716f79754997d9b128946f68d0_d2ca88d5_540.webp" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The pace of the film is exhilarating, the action given great velocity due to absurdly audacious drone camera work. Is it a guilty pleasure? In a way yes, but that detracts from it's quality. As a heist movie it works well as there is real jeopardy for the leading characters, as a buddy movie it also works as the inter dynamics of the two leads works well. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKwVq2gJpUjN8hWS90rLD4oA2K4ot9U8FTI_Z83T2gJ11YjfChyyuimpBVEaSTS0HlqtYzXL1dI-9mfYogbpXuSW4KV66MF-MiFU3EllVmvuWXfOQVS3zVdzThODcFzKSMPrZnnzch40H5ONJZInyAZEPpNmXwEhOKKBnaeVtgQ0CYLlQpF4l3sDZ/s540/tumblr_3f7fbec05929a1c278e0fe08320be4f6_c9b61ab3_540.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="540" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKwVq2gJpUjN8hWS90rLD4oA2K4ot9U8FTI_Z83T2gJ11YjfChyyuimpBVEaSTS0HlqtYzXL1dI-9mfYogbpXuSW4KV66MF-MiFU3EllVmvuWXfOQVS3zVdzThODcFzKSMPrZnnzch40H5ONJZInyAZEPpNmXwEhOKKBnaeVtgQ0CYLlQpF4l3sDZ/w400-h217/tumblr_3f7fbec05929a1c278e0fe08320be4f6_c9b61ab3_540.webp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The concept is executed perfectly and with great pizzazz. It's cousins are The Rock, Speed and Con Air, in fact The Rock is referenced by one of the characters.</span></p></span><p></p></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I have seen several movies of real quality this year, Licorice Pizza, Titane, Belfast, Red Rocket, Boiling Point, The Worst Person In The World, all of which I would have to say were 'better' films than Ambulance, but I can honestly say that (so far) Ambulance is my favourite of 2022.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Why not take a ride while it's still on the big screen? After all who doesn't occasionally fancy a nice big juicy burger?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh088G479zi03Bx_IhXe6DfSn-30s_MbUXH_nDSBgz-Scvybr3g2kUwgfncrspW47-hmEj8LLvbi_wJW7c_D99ll6LuACX3vh5hn0LvwBTdjWBdFim8TK3YV9mEvzhiKW5jDB47WeQKCyNSKXoI7HSgtzHclEXY4Gu1UDi3HWz-1iVbtuvwSDWo78_a/s600/tumblr_c8f9dfaddd04631331364b278f3acef3_c703e15e_640.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="600" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh088G479zi03Bx_IhXe6DfSn-30s_MbUXH_nDSBgz-Scvybr3g2kUwgfncrspW47-hmEj8LLvbi_wJW7c_D99ll6LuACX3vh5hn0LvwBTdjWBdFim8TK3YV9mEvzhiKW5jDB47WeQKCyNSKXoI7HSgtzHclEXY4Gu1UDi3HWz-1iVbtuvwSDWo78_a/w400-h216/tumblr_c8f9dfaddd04631331364b278f3acef3_c703e15e_640.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-76080263505789748762022-04-03T15:16:00.002+01:002022-04-04T11:53:51.061+01:00BANDS OF FUTURES PAST<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpTNiM9m1SSf783Ogn86N44Jp6Lr2_8Y3e36MOIu5vQkYtvbW5Vxncj03ED5yPf5-yCWFXqLTKT5yFpNndaUxlUzDkfZEiWqDt1FLu6lakBlv3_g7EDVtiw2Pp_A80OW9SQyOSvxdAJEEdVJqCQEX5pn7ZWBihaCmEi1WZwwX8906dmled69-XGap/s618/po_london_lyce801.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="618" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpTNiM9m1SSf783Ogn86N44Jp6Lr2_8Y3e36MOIu5vQkYtvbW5Vxncj03ED5yPf5-yCWFXqLTKT5yFpNndaUxlUzDkfZEiWqDt1FLu6lakBlv3_g7EDVtiw2Pp_A80OW9SQyOSvxdAJEEdVJqCQEX5pn7ZWBihaCmEi1WZwwX8906dmled69-XGap/w640-h458/po_london_lyce801.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JcK1BQqWGjA" width="320" youtube-src-id="JcK1BQqWGjA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Manicured Noise, Blurt, Delta Five, Section 25, Quando Quango,Spizz, Monochrome Set, 23 Skidoo, Rema Rema, Rubella Ballet, Television Personalities, Lydia Lunch, Snatch, Marine Girls, Josef K, Dolly Mixture, Mod-ettes, Mass, The Soft Boys, Richard Strange, Fad Gadget, LiLiPUT, Au Pairs, In Camera, Young Marble Giants, Clock DVA, DAF, Modern English, The Raincoats, Kleenex these are just some of the support bands that flourished in that glorious era at the start of the 80's when concert going was almost a nightly event. The venues were large. small, obscure, well known and downright bizarre. The main acts were very much a part of what people called Post-Punk and there was a general feeling of experimentation and possibilities.A visit to see Joy Division, Gang Of Four, Magazine, The Fall, Killing Joke, Wire, The Pop Group and the like inevitably meant there was an opportunity to see different support acts all over London and beyond.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fWAj9Uhr70I" width="320" youtube-src-id="fWAj9Uhr70I"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEird09lsDC1Y0ny61zttd4Js4SALgFaBrbyV95xnZ6T-7nntHsj3dKp9qUQhJkTh7htHy6J6it32sZs5sZxDEWrwL6f_vmVcfbtDh8Zw42MywfIyjs-ZV91D-VFIp2kWIYdrMNT4Gq4hVvpsmaFsy3nWKrqHpQqFZnd7QqtgeWsLjEDLDwXLf9DHmA4/s237/mag.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="213" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEird09lsDC1Y0ny61zttd4Js4SALgFaBrbyV95xnZ6T-7nntHsj3dKp9qUQhJkTh7htHy6J6it32sZs5sZxDEWrwL6f_vmVcfbtDh8Zw42MywfIyjs-ZV91D-VFIp2kWIYdrMNT4Gq4hVvpsmaFsy3nWKrqHpQqFZnd7QqtgeWsLjEDLDwXLf9DHmA4/w359-h400/mag.webp" width="359" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The music created sounded like the sound of the future, it had complexity, light and shade and a Funk influence soon wound its way in. </span></div></span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Looking back on those glory days, it's remarkable how affordable it all was. Getting there was cheap as chips, ticket prices were very very reasonable and refreshments at the venues took into account that none of us had a lot of money.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What it felt like was not so much as a movement but a load of bands emerging with a bit of musical aspiration, a load of bands that had their own little niche. And on top of that we also had the wonderful Two Tone bands who gave us something extraordinary and unifying.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S0JCoMYpiA0" width="320" youtube-src-id="S0JCoMYpiA0"></iframe></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwA05Qfa8Nye5XjgXJSH7aEvEDHknwzCFXyfj72JBkSP3y0HGdSR0OJXWNt4WjtQ4Vh8JemuikHtgRS-rzjf2PANkLeZMLdzQdqdYpY2S9O5nsDCUSfP_TT9QRl4qEhNTsuQo3cKfxQlF6V5giJLZ6EIcn3SyQw375A1CsLQlYZ4nWBXJ0fhpQlWQ/s500/1a37b1606cb8c0e23d6a3c8da7d327c8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="500" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwA05Qfa8Nye5XjgXJSH7aEvEDHknwzCFXyfj72JBkSP3y0HGdSR0OJXWNt4WjtQ4Vh8JemuikHtgRS-rzjf2PANkLeZMLdzQdqdYpY2S9O5nsDCUSfP_TT9QRl4qEhNTsuQo3cKfxQlF6V5giJLZ6EIcn3SyQw375A1CsLQlYZ4nWBXJ0fhpQlWQ/s320/1a37b1606cb8c0e23d6a3c8da7d327c8.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Many, viewed that era as a bit po-faced but anyone who saw the likes of Spizz Oil/Energi/etc, Blurt or Television Personalities will tell you that there was a lot of good old fashioned fun at these gigs.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The recorded evidence of this period has given us some amazing albums and singles but they don't capture the vibrancy of that era, the buzz of seeing so many new bands and of course the performances. These bands could play, and those that were still learning their craft would give the audience something to think about. That, for want of a better word, Post-Punk period was fantastic. It felt like the future, now!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sEVROLHqI2A" width="320" youtube-src-id="sEVROLHqI2A"></iframe></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5AoBc4FKyhZ3HIW7x9yPqrmnE6pEQlc8aIF7CZuBz3ThixWsckat9F6VNlHKdUGEGtZx_Agv2tbmx4MEyxJJNhaxL8jgVCC1FmGBn3CjnIhOs_Rc0vDwRCu4j4FTzghM1IC4fTqyVYshtnTQas9At3-bhF4TPQLaoFoBc4vet33jNNOfGKFFQRYl/s403/po_london_ulu802.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="403" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5AoBc4FKyhZ3HIW7x9yPqrmnE6pEQlc8aIF7CZuBz3ThixWsckat9F6VNlHKdUGEGtZx_Agv2tbmx4MEyxJJNhaxL8jgVCC1FmGBn3CjnIhOs_Rc0vDwRCu4j4FTzghM1IC4fTqyVYshtnTQas9At3-bhF4TPQLaoFoBc4vet33jNNOfGKFFQRYl/w400-h305/po_london_ulu802.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-83231020205778788482022-01-03T15:01:00.003+00:002022-01-05T11:15:42.305+00:00THE NEXT CHAPTER<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnWR_YwRADckl32qC-eUAw3mF0q1liNvVhGKgVBzJLM3La4Y9bUOoek8OHRXj9Kepu7FiWgATbL2jgdaq2j1zKvpruFryuJL9E47EA2JurlvCyku2o1wnQehNFK6eghMwkLq4FEWUmRD-IuGiGI1wuIO5ipNdMVcIjAbQOcG-RNjhRAiVauDCe3f4Y=s900" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="900" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnWR_YwRADckl32qC-eUAw3mF0q1liNvVhGKgVBzJLM3La4Y9bUOoek8OHRXj9Kepu7FiWgATbL2jgdaq2j1zKvpruFryuJL9E47EA2JurlvCyku2o1wnQehNFK6eghMwkLq4FEWUmRD-IuGiGI1wuIO5ipNdMVcIjAbQOcG-RNjhRAiVauDCe3f4Y=w640-h485" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">You can't write about popular culture without being effected by what is going on in the world, popular culture does not exist in a vacuum therefore the ongoing pandemic looms large in any thoughts and ideas based on experience of popular culture.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The year just gone; Covid II, was as unrelentingly challenging as it's predecessor, Covid: The Awakening, albeit in slightly differing ways.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">How can I write about the movies I saw, exhibitions I went to, TV I watched, Music I heard, things that I read and other "stuff" without that writing being through the Covid prism? That's the challenge I suppose. Despite my best efforts; travelling outside of rush hour, masking up, getting vaccinated etc, I tested positive on Christmas morning, with full symptoms for good luck. Ho Ho Oh No! Therefore I saw out the last of 2021 and the start of 2022 in bed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I believe that everyone is entitled to an opinion, even the hard of thinking, but to those who say that Covid is not real, let me tell you, it is and it's bloody awful having it! feeling unwell at any time of the year is not good but having worked extremely hard, keeping my business afloat, all year, I was looking forward to this period. Time to take it easy, a trip to the coast booked and the opportunity to relax, see friends and generally enjoy some down time then Whack! Covid intervened like the unwelcome gatecrasher it is.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">One thing being isolated and confined to bed does for you is give you time to reflect, time to take stock, time to remember.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Amidst life during war time we all need to be entertained, pleased, thrilled, made happy, made sad and generally experience the light and shade of popular culture and 2021 gave us these variances.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Being at home meant opportunities to experience some great TV; The Serpent, True Story, Help, I Am Victoria, Squid Game, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Vigil, Behind Her Eyes, Marcella, Clickbait, Brand New Cherry Flavour, Black Summer, American Horror Stories, American Horror Story, What If..., Ted Lasso, Wandavision, Love, Death & Robots are all examples of the diversity on offer.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Trips to the cinema, for me, where great experiences. Just to be able to visit a half empty cinema and immerse myself in another world felt like a luxury. My movie going highlights would have to be In The Earth, Dune, Lamb, Another Round, Surge, The Little Things, Old, Censor, No Time To Die, Invincible, The Lost Daughter. I also saw Blade Runner in 70mm with my nephew (His first time seeing it) which was a great experience. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Streaming services gave me the opportunity to see a variety of films. Black Bear (My film of he year) Promising Young Woman, The Green Knight, The Last Duel, Army Of The Dead, Coda, Spiral and many more too numerous to mention. I think it's fair to say that there were gems if you dug deep enough.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">An exhibition here, a gig there and the odd trip to the football was a reminder of what London has to offer, and it is with this spirit I plan to face up to 2022. I can't have another year waiting for the bombs to fall. I can't have another year listening to Lord Haw Haw and his ilk. What I can have, is the belief that when you're going through hell its imperative to keep going and you know what? Popular culture helps. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-16838090437686460842021-08-20T12:29:00.002+01:002021-08-20T12:29:38.897+01:00A SANDAL STAMPING ON A HUMAN FACE-FOREVER<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PAp4P4B2h51SXxIYY4Yt6YA8icbqQbhD927IO56gWbE9Nqu-SpiCLbwx4uRyB2pXtk_4GfCnZQ4GFWkhqxzOz-qufhQcxqLNzGy_ZdYB8OWFUmHU3nlCRgHhqka2gQiivssh7H_GHh4/s1200/1_Taliban-take-control-of-a-theme-park-in-Kabul-on-dodgems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PAp4P4B2h51SXxIYY4Yt6YA8icbqQbhD927IO56gWbE9Nqu-SpiCLbwx4uRyB2pXtk_4GfCnZQ4GFWkhqxzOz-qufhQcxqLNzGy_ZdYB8OWFUmHU3nlCRgHhqka2gQiivssh7H_GHh4/w640-h336/1_Taliban-take-control-of-a-theme-park-in-Kabul-on-dodgems.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Terrorism and politics are a bit like two tribute Elvis acts, one covers his Rock n Roll Black Leather look and one does the Vegas years, both badly. once the costume and the makeup is taken off the real person stands alone.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They both seem to be about imposing an ideology, religious or political that not everyone will agree with but once in power you're stuck with it and if you raise a voice in protest you face the consequences.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Of course I'm not equating a democratically elected party with a philosophy that involves blowing people up, but there are other more subtle means with which to impose group will. and when power is taken by force dissent is not an option</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Which brings me to events in Afghanistan, which, while complex and undoubtably very serious, have bought out some of the very best humorous responses I have seen in a long while.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As Mel Brooks famously said: ""Rhetoric does not get you anywhere, because Hitler and Mussolini are just as good at rhetoric. But if you can bring these people down with comedy, they stand no chance."</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Alan Partridge and The Office Quote sites have made entertaining reading as the bubble of Taliban pomposity has been pricked to hilarious effect. This may mean threats of fatwas but if freedom of speech is something that any group are against, ripping the piss out of them is a valid, nay compulsory response.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I am not making light of events that have a real detrimental effect on a population but rather drawing breath as the issues are complex and far reaching in terms of global responsibilities.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Chris Morris' 2010 film Four Lions managed the balancing act of satire, laughs and a view of Islamic fundamentalism that entertained and provoked though and some of the pictures of the victorious Taliban enjoying their victory could be out takes from that film </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thank God, Allah or whoever, for humour</span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-5042885654410680912021-08-03T10:16:00.001+01:002021-08-03T10:16:29.108+01:00I DON'T WANT TO GO TO CHELSEA<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXRPsUW5tOt9KBsuXMWXJSs45LA_7SWo9j0xjSh9oFepXKXe4x_j18ah5kotF9jeZLuBiogq3yyOwjC6d77-xilrFQ81b4YjTkOU16da3Ew28T8oihIMjLzC1cNO6W8BVUhUyPx4jEYI/s1453/1200px-Narcissus-Caravaggio_%25281594-96%2529_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXRPsUW5tOt9KBsuXMWXJSs45LA_7SWo9j0xjSh9oFepXKXe4x_j18ah5kotF9jeZLuBiogq3yyOwjC6d77-xilrFQ81b4YjTkOU16da3Ew28T8oihIMjLzC1cNO6W8BVUhUyPx4jEYI/w528-h640/1200px-Narcissus-Caravaggio_%25281594-96%2529_edited.jpg" width="528" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For reasons I wont go into, I had cause to visit a bar/restaurant in Chelsea on Sunday. Iv'e never been much of a fan of this area, even back in the seventies and eighties it had lost much of its swinging sixties sheen and had started to become a tourist trap. The influx of new money and cliche had further eroded the area. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What I saw on Sunday pretty much cemented the reasons I have not been down that way for a very long time. I</span><span style="font-family: arial;">t felt like another planet; a planet of the preening narcissist.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They were all there, the tight trousered sock-less loafers brigade, resplendent in snug t-shirts emblazoned with huge Dolce & Gabbana logos, their bodies doused to the point of consumption in </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Eau Sauvage by Dior (a fragrance that when applied subtly is rather nice).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The ripped (tight of course) jeans and baseball caps on backwards entourage were there too, faces moisturised to infant like smoothness. Silver foxes? yes they were strutting their stuff; shirts open to the naval, deck shoes and linen shorts draped over tanned skin.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As for the women, fake nails, fake eye lashes, fake breasts, precision eyebrows, pouts, designer clutches, and tantastic tannage; yes the stereotype was in full effect.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Naturally one shouldn't judge on appearance only but its very easy to judge when you add the content of conversation, being as how they were all talking so loudly.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Clearly, being seen in what are considered to be the right places is nothing new but this felt like a competitive arena, a gladiatorial setting where money talks and conspicuous consumption walks. "I've got loads of money" that's the mantra.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Chelsea was once known as a place of young rebellion, a place where the individual would strut their stuff, it's now a platform for conformity, a conformity of very thin cultural merit, </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What I gleaned from my Sunday excursion is that Chelsea feels a bit like a time warp, a vortex that takes you back to the era of Spend, Spend , Spend but with different clobber.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XvRQDsH0Yho" width="320" youtube-src-id="XvRQDsH0Yho"></iframe></div><p></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-7266502271123854662021-06-01T15:23:00.000+01:002021-06-01T15:23:29.774+01:00NO IDEA<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0b/78/63/0b786373b37430d471ef5b689d0244cc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="390" height="640" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0b/78/63/0b786373b37430d471ef5b689d0244cc.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">They can dry up can't they? Ideas and that. Probably why I'm not a full time, slash, professional writer. </span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I was going to write something about Santander bikes as they seem to have been appropriated by</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Ne'er Do Wells and other assorted undesirables. I wanted to articulate how the mode of transport for Boris' masses is now the go to vehicle for the criminal minded; they are obviously now easy to steal and what's a bit of theft in the pursuit of money for drugs?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I was thinking of writing about the reawakening of Pubs. Now that (almost) normal service has been resumed Pubs seem to be pretty busy, however Pub staff are struggling to get their groove back, which makes the quenching of thirsts somewhat tricky. I'm sure that customer service will adapt to this return to full pubs; after all our culture is a Pub culture.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I might have written about the good stuff that is available on our small and not so small screens. Circumstances have led me to having acquired Disney + and AppleTV+ for a substantial trial period, which, added to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sky, iPlayer and terrestrial output provides an overkill of content. Within this mass choice scenario I am really enjoying Trying on AppleTV+, which is a charming tale of a youngish couple in Camden looking to adopt; its got a lot of heart. I would also recommend Easy on Netflix which is a set of self contained stories about relationships; interesting and varied content. Its also great to see Inside No. 9 back and back to its best, it really is a superb series. Amazon has The Boys if you didn't see it on it's initial release. its a great reinvention of superheroes that is loyally adapted from original source material and, in response, Netflix has Jupiter's Legacy which also reinterprets the superhero genre.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I guess I might have some ideas soon, which will be good, as it will mean I can put together a post that might be of interest. Being back at work and focused on that doesn't leave a lot of head space with which to conjure the next piece of </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">scintilating prose but you never know, I might see something that gives me inspiration. i'm sure you are waiting with bated breath dear reader.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1924721821207235575.post-23315744970010985112021-05-14T11:48:00.001+01:002021-05-14T11:48:36.395+01:00"Discover the best versions of yourself through the power of sweat"<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/jimjoneslslslslsls_465_339_int.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="465" height="467" src="https://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/jimjoneslslslslsls_465_339_int.jpg" width="640" /></a><i>"You Got This!</i></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>PELOTON</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">pel-o-ton |\, pe-le-tan , ‘pe-la-tan\</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Definition of peloton</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">:the main body of riders in a bicycle race</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The word 'peloton' has been hijacked. Hijacked by (to quote Alan Partridge) narcissistic sports pimps bellowing motivational sound bites from HD TV screens into the loft apartments and converted basements of overachievers throughout the western world. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Peloton experience promises to "empower you to be the best version of yourself" and it will help you to "sweat with the best" or "move to the music". The Peloton family, that's what they call themselves, tell the world that they "Operate with bias for action" and did you know that millions of members use their platform to connect, bond, inspire and grow stronger together? Sounds a bit like a cult if you ask me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I can almost see Peloton family members loitering at the online version of train station entrances handing out virtual leaflets and going door to electronic door on a Sunday, with the mantra "have you heard about the Peloton family?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't get me wrong, getting fit and healthy is a good thing (of course it is) but is there really a need to worship at the alter of the Jonestownesque bike/screen cathedral? If you are a member of the Peloton family, fair play to you, but I would be cautious if a Peloton sports drink is developed; think before you drink.</span></span></p><div><br /></div>wellyousaythathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11221557421994809493noreply@blogger.com0