Tim, you’re absolutely right and you don’t need to live in a foreign country to feel “the drift”. Moving out of the area or having children seems sufficient to reduce contact with your friends tenfold. It’s this feeling that made me start blogging and I suspect it’s the same with you.
When we met up at the pub I felt exactly as you described. Half the people there I hadn’t seen in 2007 but the instant rapport left me feeling almost elated. Or perhaps that was all the beer I was drinking. Anyway… whatever… good times!
I can’t believe it’s been four years since your wedding! In a blog-worthy tribute (and to follow up my previous post about photo sharing) I bring you a dozen photos of the day in question. Congratulations!
Thanks to the inestimable Mr Estall I got to see a preview of Danny Boyle’s new film Sunshine last night. Better still, before the screening there was an interview with the man himself. Danny Boyle, that is, not Mr Estall. It was a good interview and he took a wide range of questions from the audience. I thought he was very open, unpretentious — especially around practicalities such as marketing a film — funny and not a little self-deprecating. He hung around after the interview to talk to some of the folks in the audience and he even stayed when the film started to roll.
And the film? Well, in genre terms it’s a sci-fi thriller/actioner. It’s definitely towards the “harder” end of sci-fi, think 2001 or Alien. It’s got the confined feel of those films too and from the interview I picked up that this was a concious choice. In places I was worried that it was going to veer towards the mindless chase-me-chase-me-blood-and-gore of something like Event Horizon but thankfully these elements of the film are kept in proportion. It was only as we discussed the film afterwards that Mr Estall and I began to appreciate how clever and different the writing really is; some of this can easily pass you buy as you are pulled along by the compelling story.
The visuals are a treat and there are some striking stylistic choices made that raises this film above the norm. If you decide to see this intelligent action flick I’d recommend finding the biggest screen you can.
On the principle that it’s who you know not what you know, I’ve decided to get all connected up with people on LinkedIn. If you know me, work in IT and are already signed up at the aforementioned site, you can expect a nagging invitation from yours truly. Some of you non-signed-up people might get unlucky too.
Saturday 9th draws near, so here’s the rough plan for the Indithon. We will start each of the films on or about the following times:
Turn up when you can for as long as you can. Crash a film midway if you must, just ignore my scowls.
Fedoras and bullwhips optional, comedy names mandatory. The rules for the comedy names are as follows: Replace your own first name with an American state name. Bonus marks if it starts with the same letter as your first name or alliterates. I’ll be Arkansas Smith.
We’ll provide dinner, somehow. Bring your own booze and nibbles, e.g. bad dates.
Tiredness. I’m tired. I should probably be in bed. Why am I tired? I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps it’s because I now get to look after the children solo for a few hours at the weekend while Louise is at work. Or perhaps it’s the after effects of those cocktails last night. (Aside: I really don’t like Campari. At all. Way too bitter. I really want to take a test to see if I’m a supertaster; I certainly fit the profile.)
(Another aside: The wind started to pick up a few minutes ago and blew over some of our milk bottles, so Louise and I have had a fun time crawling under our cars with torch and broom. Not feeling so tired right now.)
We’re planning to go and see Casino Royale on Wednesday evening. Tim W seems to rate it; Mark less so. I’m still hoping to see The Prestige, given it’s relation to Batman Begins and Tim S’ recommendation. However, I don’t think our babysitter quota will stretch far enough. So, Tim, it’s not Borat but can I interest you in some Bond? (I was going to write Bondage there but I hear double entendres went out with Brosnan.)
Well blow me over, Mr Watkins has only taken the hint and got himself a blog! I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I was actually rather excited when I found out. Given his relative remoteness, I look forward to being able to keep in touch a bit better. And as he says, email seems so…. last year.
After I had been blogging for a while, I started to worry that when I met people who read the blog (yes, all two of them) there would be less for us to talk about; they would already know exactly what I was doing and thinking. As it turned out, blogs are the just the edited, sanitized, self-promotional highlights of your life, so you end up having more to talk about as the blog acts as a conversation starter. Sweet.
I’ve just noticed that the delightful Mr Moore has added a link on his blog pointing in this direction, so I should probably reciprocate. At least Tim won’t look quite so lonely in my somewhat sparse blogroll.
I know Pete from the FFL days and (strangely enough) will be seeing him on Saturday, when we and the other FFL survivors meet up at the Woking Beer Festival. Despite the immeasurably small chance of success, I’ll mention it here that I have a spare ticket (and I know of others that are available) so let me know if you want to come along!
Oh, and Pete, I think you are a real blogger. You crossed that line when you started blogging about blogging.
In a recent email conversation, Tim W asked me what I thought of the latest Zero 7 album, The Garden. Well, if ever there was some blog fodder…
As I mentioned recently, I’ve been listening to this album a lot and really like it, but to do a proper job I took the time to listen to the previous albums, Simple Things and When It Falls. I’ve stayed clear of other reviews on the web, so not to colour my take on things.
Personally, I think each album builds on the last, so my favourite now is The Garden. Simple Things is a good album in its own right, definitely leading the way in (for want of a better term I’ll call) chill out. It’s a wonderful mix of vocalists and soft, natural and (mostly) layed back sounds.
When It Falls, by comparison, feels more focused but still keeps all the winning elements. Consequently it has some genuinely beautiful, stand-out tracks like Home and Look Up, which is why I rate it higher.
Where When It Falls feels like a progression, The Garden is more of an evolution. From its opening bars, harder edged synths come in to play. I like this, however, as it acts as a great compliment to the normal palette of more fuzzy sounds. It’s also more energetic, again a good thing from my perspective. Sia Furler returns for a third time, so Zero 7 fans will still feel at home, but this album also sees Jose Gonzales on a number of tracks. You’ll know him from That Bravia Advert With All The Bouncy Balls. Top track: Seeing Things; seems simple at first but works into your head like you can’t believe.
So, my advice would be if you have one of the albums and like it, go pick up either of the others. Tim said that he liked Simple Things so much he was affraid of spoiling it if the other albums weren’t so good. I know that feeling. Tim, no need to worry.
Tim, the first rule of Film Club is that you don’t talk about Film Club.
Sorry, that was too easy. My list of Films I’m Embarresed To Admit I Haven’t Seen includes The Godfather and The Shining. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
Hmmm… these blog posts are getting a little incestuous. We need to expand our blogging circle line of friends. I reckon I can persuade Mr Watkins, unless someone else wants to volunteer?