tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57625462011-08-01T20:26:46.319+02:00Rickbot's diaryA tantalising look into the mind of a killer.Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comBlogger1161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-18741705400664021052009-06-16T17:20:00.001+02:002009-06-16T17:20:26.543+02:00There is currently rather more action at the Rickbot Memory Project.Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-6907605630672218482007-05-16T11:21:00.001+02:002007-05-16T11:21:17.933+02:00Sigh.Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1155052709722497052006-08-08T17:58:00.000+02:002006-08-08T17:58:29.733+02:00Life note: Welcome to the Doll's House - 5 April 2005My bank statements read like the index of Zagat's. I really must bring my spending under control.In other news, Bots all made the mammoth trip down to the South London Theatre in order to see the play what Darien directed [not that he would - in just 16 months time - return the favour by attending my Film Festival, far more conveniently locatedRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1155051483014588312006-08-08T17:37:00.000+02:002006-08-08T17:38:03.036+02:00Weekend Report: 1-3 April 2005On Friday I met with Brock, Olivia, Terrie and Jacqui for a "few drinks" after work. This shortly became "missing the last train home", as my endless pursuit for the finest caipirhinia in London was foiled at every stroke – you know something is wrong when Arkansas and I can make better caipirhinias with a saucepan and an ash tray than a central London cocktail bar Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1155050688680161562006-08-08T17:24:00.000+02:002006-08-08T17:24:48.680+02:00Life note: The Oxbridge Boat Race - 27 March 2005Cambridge lost the boat race this year, but it seems only Terrie cared. She's still new to London, and so has some residual loyalty to her old university that long evaporated from us. For some reason, she also persuaded her mother she was in a brothel. After the boat race, all the Bots but Terrie and I vanished, so we spent a pleasant afternoon Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1155050469355156592006-08-08T17:20:00.000+02:002006-08-08T17:21:09.356+02:00Book review: The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michael Faber – 28 March 2005This 850 page novel looks horribly daunting at first, but by the end of it all you're longing for another 850. The story immerses you in the wonderfully detailed world of early Victorian England, without it ever feeling like an awkward history lesson. A long and winding plotline introduces scores of detailed characters,Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1155050440753196962006-08-08T17:18:00.000+02:002006-08-08T17:20:40.793+02:00Holiday diary: SNOWBOARDING 2005: APOCALYPSE PARK, AND WHAT CAME BEFORE – 20-26 March 2006Snowboarding in 2005 was pretty much the same as snowboarding in 2004, except I was much better at it. I won't therefore bore you with a day-by-day account of the experience (see last year for that). Here then are some randomly thematic memories...Getting there: fully forewarned from last year's horrific Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121697097878471012005-07-18T16:31:00.000+02:002005-07-18T16:31:37.896+02:00MARCH 2005 UPDATESo snowboarding rocked. Some most splendid fun. I will write it up in my diary soon!Also, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous is a far more entertaning movie than Woody Allen's latest, Miranda and Miranda, which pretty much sucks. Beers and a burger beats both.Finally, some people I never met won the boat race, and some other people I never met lost it. We cheered for one setRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121695081358586392005-07-18T15:57:00.000+02:002005-07-18T15:58:01.376+02:00FEBRUARY 2005 UPDATEWeekend report: South London Road Trip - 26-27 February 2005Last weekend was splendid fun. On the Friday night I had to work quite late, and so just went straight home and ate whatever I found in the fridge for dinner: in the fridge was most of a roast chicken. It tasted good.On Saturday morning Darien and I embarked on the road trip to end all road trips. London to Bangor wasRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121442797957889992005-07-15T17:53:00.000+02:002005-07-15T17:53:17.990+02:00JANUARY 2005 UPDATE
Life note: Evening with Darien, and sugar rush - 27 January 2005
My favourite joke from last night:
BOY: Darling, as a symbol of my love I've bought you this ring set with a diamond.
GIRL: Your grammar is appalling! That's a ring set with Anne Diamond.
[Camera pulls back]
Second favourite joke from last night:
Dear Jim'll Fix It,
Please can you fix it for me to go up Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121438105949753912005-07-15T16:34:00.000+02:002005-07-15T16:35:05.956+02:00Late December 2004 updateLife note: Christmas and New Year 2004A splendid Christmas was had with my family in Edinburgh, drinking gin to excess, politely avoiding screaming matches between children and wondering in idle minutes whether any of Deepa, Fergal, Kirsty or Luke was dead. According to virtually everyone, dying in a tsunami in Asia during her own wedding was 'just the type of thing' Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121437050000169912005-07-15T16:17:00.000+02:002005-07-15T16:17:30.066+02:00Holiday report: Kenya: the Reader's Digest version - 3-18 December 2004
Hey - it turns out Kenya really rocks. Within a week it felt like we'd been there a month. Among the funs:
1. I found a warthog in the bar, and a monkey in the restaurant
2. A crocodile ate a goat's head during the soup course
3. Years of doing the jumping dance finally paid off when I defeated all five masai warriors in Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121425603240789072005-07-15T13:06:00.000+02:002005-07-15T13:07:51.066+02:00Early December 2004 updateArkanqueer night - 2 December 2004A vast crowd of us headed to Seamus' house last night to watch Arkansas's debut on the internationally acclaimed Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. It seems gayers aren't really the best dating advisers as they had to resort to recruiting our red blooded and manly friend in order to dish out decent dating advice. I forget what Arkansas saidRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121421870609444492005-07-15T12:04:00.000+02:002005-07-15T12:08:31.320+02:00NOVEMBER 2004 UPDATELife note: Weekend report, 28 November 2004I had four days of concentrated, creative work to get done this weekend - here are the distractions I came up with instead:1. Drinking two bottles of wine and a quarter of a bottle of port with bots.2. Getting high on chloroquine, and thus stumbling around Forest Hill giggling incessantly to myself and falling over (to be repeated Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1121354804081170402005-07-14T17:26:00.000+02:002005-07-14T17:26:44.110+02:00OCTOBER 2004: UPDATE
Movie review: Shark Tale, 28 October 2004
Arkansas and I went to see Shark Tale last night. Although entertaining, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for the characters to be fish. I mean, it was essentially an adult comedy mob movie where the only concession to the kids was the fact that instead of having Will Smith as the lead character, they had a fish with a Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1119887977690857772005-06-27T17:57:00.000+02:002005-06-27T18:18:53.593+02:00SEPTEMBER 2004: UPDATE28 September 2004 - ipod funWell, I've finished editing M's book. In the end it was simple: I just arranged an absurdly soon meeting at which I'd have to hand over the final edit, and sure enough the universe warped itself around me to ensure I met the deadline. I'm pleased with the end result, and even more pleased with the fact it's all finished.To celebrate I bought a Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1119876846020065012005-06-27T14:52:00.000+02:002005-06-27T14:54:06.033+02:00UPDATE: AUGUST 2004 As the end of June approaches, one's thoughts naturally turn to August of the previous year; so here is an update of what I did in that month:27-30 August 2004: Edinburgh Festival FunSpim, David Starkey and I boarded an early morning BMI flight to Edinburgh, and the resulting August bank holiday weekend was a mere blur:1. a girl's breasts so startled spim, we had to leave the Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1105536774426141002005-01-12T14:22:00.000+01:002005-12-02T10:33:52.643+01:00Holiday report: Trip to New York, July 2004In a prompt and timely fashion, here is my New York travel journal. As ever, it is over-long and not entirely amusing, since its primary function is to entertain my decrepit 80-year old self.SATURDAY - 24 July : London/ManhattanWe had to queue forever at Heathrow, but any worries that we might not get to enjoy a quick drink before boarding the plane soonRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1105536041553429062005-01-12T14:20:00.000+01:002005-12-02T10:32:58.403+01:00Guest Life Note: Darien's account of our American vacationDarien put together the following Lexicon upon our return. I reproduce it here since my 80 year old self probably won't have access to the LiveJournal archives from his retirement village. It is a splendid account of our holiday:The Bots Take Manhattan: LEXICONAll-America City, an. According to big signs on Interstate 90, Albany and Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1091789855884833002004-08-06T12:57:00.000+02:002004-08-06T12:59:15.023+02:00Well, I want to write up my splendid trip to the US now, but I see my diary is hopelessly out of date. Here is a quick updater to get things moving:
Tongs picnic - 22 July 2004
Eager for a picnic together before I flew off to the states, the Tongs met up in St James Park with bags full of shopping and plenty of cider and wine. The very moment we laid out this vast feast the sky began to darken Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1090582192912913382004-07-23T13:29:00.000+02:002004-07-23T13:29:52.913+02:0010 June 2004 - Bye Jarv
Seamus and I went along to a party to celebrate Jarv leaving London forever. Good riddance to the old boot. We'd already passed a happy half hour drinking beer in the Roadhouse, so after we'd tucked into good quantity of champagne we decided to play it safe and call it a night. It was early, we weren't too drunk, and we had better adventures to see to in the morning.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1088070615131588822004-06-24T11:50:00.000+02:002004-06-24T11:50:15.130+02:00I've been secretly hoarding diary updates. Here's the first batch!
Life note: Cold - 24 May 2004
The heating is broken in my office at the moment - it broke about a month ago, and since they plan to pull the building down later in the year they simply haven't bothered to fix it. This means I'm sitting chilled to the bone, fingers white at the tips, peering out at people swanning around in the Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1084417927201298492004-05-13T05:04:00.000+02:002004-05-13T13:16:33.960+02:00Art again: Cecil Beaton Take II
I finally made it to the NPG’s Cecil Beaton exhibition, this time with free entry and champagne. It transpires he did some really cool portraits of 1930s stage stars but then, as cinema took off, became an increasingly bland artist, reaching his nadir with Hollywood portraits in the 1970s (for example, a rather tragically comical portrait of Barbara Streisand, herRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1083938148271933482004-05-07T15:55:00.000+02:002004-05-07T15:59:01.763+02:00Life note: Embolina's return - 29 April 2004
We all met in at the splendid Grape Street Wine Bar to welcome Emily home from her jaunt in the states (or rather, to welcome Emily back on a jaunt from her home in the states). Unfortunately, Emily didn't turn up until way after nine, so we spent the evening quietly sampling cheeses, testing the wines and grazing on meze. By the time Emily turned up Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1083938062533317292004-05-07T15:54:00.000+02:002004-05-07T15:57:36.043+02:00Life note: Southwark Tavern Pub Quiz - 27 April 2004
A glorious week of uninterrupted sunshine was broken by torrential rain, and everyone turned up for the Southwark Tavern pub quiz in drenched summer clothes. Darien brought tAbi, whilst Seamus found a Kelly to bring along. Both were excellent company, which was fortunate as we couldn't hear a word the question-master was saying. Somehow "a fewRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1083937457379894932004-05-07T15:44:00.000+02:002004-05-13T13:16:08.483+02:00Life note: Splendid weekend - 23 April 2004
This weekend was more splendid than most, almost certainly assisted by the sun which has been pumping raw happiness into the air for the past four or five days now.
On Friday I briefly went shopping with Darien and Brock (very briefly: I asked Darien if I should buy a camera, he said no, and then we all went to eat noodles) and then on to the Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1082715953457291852004-04-23T12:25:00.000+02:002004-04-23T12:42:10.390+02:00Book review: Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
Dan told me he hated this book when he lent it to me. I think it splendid, and one of the best books about war I've ever read (although this is a small category, comprising only The Origins of the Second World War by AJP Taylor, The Nuer by E E Evans-Pritchard and Rommel? Gunner Who? by Spike Millegan).
Vonnegut's World War 2 is not populatedRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1082712122702032782004-04-23T11:22:00.000+02:002004-04-23T12:42:23.983+02:00Movie review: Kill Bill - Volume 2
Warning: this review contains spoilers, though they won't spoil the movie as much as Tarantino has.
I was really looking forward to this movie. Volume 1 was a glorious mix of memorable characters, stunning soundtrack, fast plot, sudden anime cartoons and - best of all - endless amounts of utterly ridiculus kung-fu. Nothing mentally challenging, more mentally Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1082711377889430332004-04-23T11:09:00.000+02:002004-04-23T11:12:37.826+02:00Holding note: Absurd
So one day I may come back and put in here all the fun things I've done this past month - being vommitted on, going to the School Disco, seeing the Mountain Goats, finding the most civilised way of watching the Oxbridge boat race, rolling eggs down Giant's Bum, rupturing a gazeebo and so forth - however it's begining to look frankly unlikely, and so I'm just going to get on Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1081348427171410392004-04-07T16:33:00.000+02:002004-04-07T16:36:43.653+02:00Vacation report: Snowboarding in Valmorel
About a month ago now I went on holiday to Valmorel, in the French Alps, to learn if I like snowboarding. This is the pleasing result:
Saturday 6 March 2004: Ferg, Deepa, Melissa and I flew to Lyon, whereupon we took a bus up into the mountains to Valmorel. I had somehow got it into my head the journey would take about five hours and we'd arrive in Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1080747173501650742004-03-31T17:32:00.000+02:002004-03-31T17:37:20.840+02:00Yet another update: The end of February, this time
In an endless bid to document my life for the future me, here is the end of February:
28 February 2004: Jongleurs fun
Spim came round for lunch in the afternoon and we enjoyed lots of wine and big bowls of mussels. Although we talked at great length, we also drank at equal length, and so I don't really recall what we talked about. What I do Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077541845733840592004-02-23T14:10:00.000+01:002004-02-23T14:12:45.793+01:00Life note: Cecil Beaton
Art, puns and talons
In my annual concession to the arts I met Dan on Saturday afternoon to visit the National Portrait Gallery's Cecil Beaton exhibition. I gather Cecil Beaton was a photographer sometime in the 20th century, however I don't know for sure as the queue was far too long and it was eight quid to get in, whilst the Gerald Scarfe exhibition had no queue and Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120793314287222004-02-18T17:13:00.003+01:002004-02-18T17:16:52.966+01:00Gig review: Ju Ju Babies, et al - 14 February 2004
Abi has recently fallen in with tit-rock electro-trash novelty band the Ju Ju Babies, and so we resolved to go check them out at the Metro Club last Saturday. Abi introduced us to the improbably named Sylvia Lick-Wish and Reverend Jeremiah Hobb, both of whom seemed utterly ordinary to look at, and we settled down for drinks whilst dismal Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120816787861852004-02-18T17:13:00.002+01:002004-02-18T17:15:31.903+01:00Update: Yeah, so
Yeah, so this "regular diary writing" thing really isn't working out too well. So here’s what I've been up to for the past month, spat onto the internet in one giant gob.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120805253791342004-02-18T17:13:00.001+01:002004-02-18T17:15:20.373+01:00Life note: a battery of birthdays
Last Sunday's plan to celebrate Luke's birthday with a swift drink and a spot of dinner evaporated on the discovery Luke couldn't make it, and the pub we'd chanced to meet in was doing karaoke. Thus, six through eight o'clock was spent drinking and waiting for Luke, whilst eight o'clock through eleven thirty was spent drinking our way through endless bottles of Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120783105675272004-02-18T17:13:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:14:58.216+01:00DIY note: Tiling - 14 February 2004
Arriving home late in the morning on Saturday, I resolved to put up the last four tiles in my kitchen, after which it would all be complete. I gathered together the tools and adhesive, wiped down the wall, and within just two hours had ripped out my kitchen floor and deposited it outside on the front steps.
When it comes to DIY, I find it hard to focus.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120750640700782004-02-18T17:12:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:14:25.763+01:00Life note: Baby dinner - 13 February 2004
I went to a dinner party at Viara and Andy's house on Friday. In the old days, the four of us would have drunk far too much wine, sung Elvis songs until 4am, and then collapsed into our beds, spending the following morning recovering from our hangovers with coffee and croissants in the garden.
However, Viara was this time moments from giving birth (theRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120656251463342004-02-18T17:10:00.002+01:002004-02-18T17:12:51.403+01:00Life note: Niece’s birthday - 9 February 2004
I called up my three year old niece to wish her a happy birthday - she said “Thank you uncle Rick for book.” When I tried to respond, I found she’d hung up.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120627602480792004-02-18T17:10:00.001+01:002004-02-18T17:12:22.746+01:00Life note: Green Man - 5 February 2004
I was abducted by aliens on the way to the Green Man, where I was supposed to meet Darien, Emily and Ralex for drinks. These aliens conducted a series of invasive biological experiments on my body, wiped my memory, and dumped me in my bed when they had finished.
At least I assume this is what happened, from what little I can remember of the evening.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120607963016142004-02-18T17:10:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:12:03.123+01:00Movie review: Lost in Translation - 1 February 2004
Everyone I have spoken to has nothing but good things to say about this movie, however the three of us who saw it together absolutely hated it. Perhaps scientists were piping in ultrasonic sounds to measure the effect this has on human perception, or else perhaps the two or three bottles of wine we’d had had effected our judgment. Anyway, Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120552391266292004-02-18T17:09:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:11:07.590+01:00Pantomime Review: Aladdin - 30 January 2004
Having looked forward to attending the PWC pantomime for around four months, it was a disappointment to find myself horribly ill and sent home from work. Still, it takes more than that to keep me from my destiny, and I hauled myself from my sick bed and travelled into Central London, horrifying the commuters with my hacking cough and seemingly endless Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120347163570152004-02-18T17:05:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:09:36.903+01:00Life note: Novels - 28 January 2004-02-18
Met for drinks and dinner with old university friend M, who is presented here as initial thanks to the effectiveness of Google. M is writing a new kids book which sounds absolutely awesome, so as we worked our way through bottles of wine, sashimi and miso soup he explained in fabulous detail the characters, plot and kick-ass ending.
I remember Zadie Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077120231316216162004-02-18T17:03:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:07:29.326+01:00Movie Review: Big Fish - 27 January 2004
Big Fish falls between two rather widely placed stools: as a series of quirky, surreal stories about witches and giants, it wasn’t sufficiently original or engaging to inspire me; and as a drama about the failed relationship between a man and his son, it wasn’t sufficiently human to make me care. Like many Burton movies, it's a triumph of visual imagery Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1077119753490874292004-02-18T16:55:00.000+01:002004-02-18T17:31:57.153+01:00Life note: Saving Private Spimcoot - 23-26 February
I’m afraid I may have written this adventure up in rather more detail than was necessary. However, it’s something I’m keen for my 81 year old self to remember:
Day 1… The Journey South
There's a bit in the movie Road Trip where Seann William Scott squarks "Guys! I thought we were going on a road trip?! Instead we're just doing loads of drivingRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1074518126218671532004-01-19T14:15:00.000+01:002004-02-18T12:08:54.293+01:00Life note: Drinking rules
On Saturday I forgot the old rule, "beer before wine: fine; guinness followed by white wine, red wine, white wine, bourbon: queer," so Sunday was spent sleeping. And to think I'd been planning on a detox day!
The whole of Saturday was unpredictable, in fact: the plan to go to a house warming party in Wellwyn Garden City metamorphasised into dinner in St Albans, changedRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1073912912289653672004-01-12T14:08:00.000+01:002004-02-18T12:06:09.043+01:00Life report: Christmas, New Year, the Whole Shebang
At the weekend I stumbled across my diary from 1997, which describes the year in amusing detail, from being lost in a blizzard on a Welsh mountain top at the stike of midnight, to my trip to the US selling books door-to-door, to my subsequent return to England and crippling poverty, to living in Westminster and struggling to find a job.
I Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1073658092290078722004-01-09T15:21:00.000+01:002004-01-09T15:36:49.810+01:00Movie Review: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
I really, really, really wanted to like this movie, but didn't. Written by Andy Kaufman (like what Adaptation and Being John Malkovich were), produced by Drew Barrymore (like Donnie Darko and Charlie's Angels were), and starring Sam Rockwell (like what Lawn Dogs and Matchstick Men were), how could it fail!? Oh, perhaps because it was directed by Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1073655483159816842004-01-09T14:38:00.000+01:002004-01-09T15:38:38.686+01:00Movie review: Stuck On You
Most of the reviews I have seen on film either embrace the surreal toilet humour of the Farelly brothers and declare it a triumph, or criticise the lack of taste in making siamese twins the focus of a comedy and declare it a tragedy. I take an approach about halfway through: I figure it would be a good idea to explore the humour of siamese twins, but point out that theRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1073654757118250942004-01-09T14:25:00.000+01:002004-01-09T14:28:56.670+01:00Life note: Growing up
I took another step[1] towards being a grown-up today, and got myself a pension scheme. Urgh. I wouldn't have bothered at all, if it weren't for the fact that Seamus has one, and I can't bear to be more irresponsible than that reprobate.
Still, I'm not all that responsible, since I have no idea whether it's a good pension scheme or not: I was initially pleased to see I Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1072178482442102072003-12-23T12:21:00.000+01:002003-12-23T12:22:20.606+01:00Movie review: Freaky Friday
I have always been a big fan of the original (1976) Freaky Friday, the grand-daddy of the 1980s rash of body-swap movies, but only on seeing the sequel did I realise how dated it had become. The child in the original (Jodie Foster) is faced with no more daunting a task when she becomes her own mother than attending to the housework and making sure the dinner is on theRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071839900934582722003-12-19T14:18:00.000+01:002003-12-19T14:25:29.543+01:00Movie review: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The third installment of LotR is twice as good as the second episode, but only three quarters as good as the first. The plot is too complex to summarise here[1], but a number of points deserve mention:
1. The second-to-biggest baddy, the demon Witch-King, declares that "No man can kill me!" Very boastful indeed for a guy who seconds later liesRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071838222654520172003-12-19T13:50:00.000+01:002003-12-19T13:53:05.466+01:00Dream report: First World War Aeroplane Fun
I was a First World War pilot, doing reconnaissance I guess, and flying all over the place. There was a very exciting mission that took us across the Alps, however something went very wrong and the plane tumbled out of the sky and crashed into the snow. I was initially very worried, since we were in the middle of nowhere and it was very cold, however aRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071588715322694882003-12-16T16:31:00.000+01:002003-12-16T16:42:19.233+01:00Life note: Vicious cycle
I'm currently at stage 2 of the Vicious Caffeine Cycle:
1. Sleep badly.
2. Resort to a late afternoon coffee to get through the day.
3. High on caffeine, return to "1".
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071501387871048652003-12-15T16:16:00.000+01:002003-12-15T16:17:18.233+01:00Radio note: Radio 4
I didn't sleep last Friday night, so instead got to hear seven hours of the World Service on Radio 4. I am familiar with Radio 4 closing at the end of the evening with "God Save the Queen", but was surprised to find how it begins:
1. The announcer says good morning, and tells an anecdote about "a black hairy pig the size of a goat".
2. Without comment, we hear Rule Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071493921345242172003-12-15T14:12:00.000+01:002003-12-15T14:12:51.686+01:00Life note: Rickmas lunch
Ten of my favourite bots came round for a special pirate-themed Christmas lunch on Saturday. Preprandial cocktails and pretzels were cancelled since I'd forgotten to do anything about them, and the potential nonexistence of a main course was averted by the swift cancelling of bathing, hoovering and getting dressed. We ate and drank from 2pm until midnight, with the Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071489693308179612003-12-15T13:01:00.000+01:002003-12-15T13:02:23.750+01:00Life note: Pop quiz
Q. What do Cornelius Dixon, Humberton Costello, Harriet Castle, Cleo Slade, Sun Bowling and Denver Hollis all have in common?
A. They all emailed me last week thinking I want to spend money making my penis larger. However, they are mistaken.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1071229709802468102003-12-12T12:48:00.000+01:002003-12-12T12:49:16.623+01:00Life note: Engagement fun
Ted announced his engagement to Lydia last Monday, just three weeks after it was announced he and Emily had split up. This is fast work. As noted below, I have no idea if Lydia is a nice person or not - thanks to the vagaries of cachaca, vodka and madeira - however Ted seems quite fond of her, so it seems to be a good thing.
If, upon graduation, I had been asked to Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070896056822935332003-12-08T16:07:00.000+01:002003-12-08T16:08:39.500+01:00Film review: Paying It Forward
I saw this on TV last night, and it is notable only for its ending. It concerns a young nine year old boy, Trevor, who lives with a hopelessly alcoholic mother and an abusive father. Trevor seeks to improve a world that 'sucks' by doing three good deeds for strangers, and telling each of those to go out into the world and do three more good deeds. And so good deedsRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070895637090586042003-12-08T16:00:00.000+01:002003-12-08T16:01:20.746+01:00Market report: Sunday at Spitalfields
Chugging along on the number 8 bus from Bow, Abi and I passed Spitalfields market. I randomly suggested hopping out to have a look around, and what I thought would be a brief jaunt ended up as the whole afternoon there. I managed to get a sizeable chunk of my Christmas shopping out of the way and ate some good old-fashioned Indian food, whilst Abi Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070894952239221432003-12-08T15:49:00.000+01:002003-12-09T12:57:21.860+01:00Life note: Alex's birthday
I went round to Alex's birthday party early on Saturday, to help Olivia mix up some caipirinha in advance, with which we would greet people as they arrived. Unfortunately, not only did we mix up the cocktail, but we also drank it all before the others arrived. Cachaca is extremely potent stuff, and so for me the remainder of the evening is a long meaningless blur, Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070545187428063182003-12-04T14:39:00.000+01:002003-12-04T14:56:38.623+01:00Plot summary: Love Actually
Colin Firth goes to Andrew Lincoln's mate's wedding to play the trumpet, where Lincoln is apparently in love with said mate's new wife, although all he gets in the end is a kiss for his trouble, and he spends most of his time operating a gallery, where Alan Rickman dances with some tarty woman with a strange mouth, much to Emma Thompson's annoyance. When Firth gets Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070542463753048832003-12-04T13:54:00.000+01:002003-12-04T13:58:56.496+01:00Festival Review: The South London Film Festival
Attentive readers will recall my Set Report of 29 September. It seems that in the intervening months Sabrina has found time to finish up and edit together a rough cut just in time to win "Best New Film" at the South London Film Festival.
Winning "Best Movie" at the South London Film Festival may sound like a big deal, but it didn't really do Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070286091003540042003-12-01T14:41:00.000+01:002003-12-01T15:06:12.140+01:00Holiday report: Palermo, Sicily
I spent five days in Palermo, Sicily, last week with Seamus, Lani and Darien. Palermo has a distinct character, being primarily the collapsed ruins of a more prosperous 19th century town, now inhabited by stray dogs and strewn with rubble and trash. The overall feel is downtown Baghdad without the long-haul flight.
With Seamus and Darien on board, the focus of Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1070282663951521062003-12-01T13:44:00.000+01:002003-12-01T15:11:58.483+01:00Diary note:Oh, heck.
Oh heck, I see I haven't added to my diary for about a month. I do have several excuses, but since they all involve tiny cats with giant heads sitting on my face you will clearly see them for the lies they are. This is a shame since I've done lots of amusing things I've been keen to share, like the time a man got angry with a phone on the underground, or the time a tiny cat Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883348718637342003-11-03T19:15:00.005+01:002003-11-09T01:39:59.470+01:00Life note: Epping Forest
The Tongs had glorious fun in Epping Forest on Sunday. Tossing survial knowledge into the wind we parked the car by the forest and ran at random through the trees making monkey noises. Within one hour we were utterly lost and one hour from sundown.
Staggering in blind directions through the forest we found an old tree that had fallen over and been caught, balancing Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883355927159382003-11-03T19:15:00.004+01:002003-11-03T19:15:54.530+01:00Life note: Skateboarding
Fergal and I were practising our skateboarding moves yesterday. We are both good at very different sk8er trix - e.g. Ferg is simply a whizz at 'coat coasting' (gliding down a flat pavement, holding onto my arm for balance and propulsion) whilst I chose to take greater risks and have mastered the 'triple-flip elbow hop' (skateboard goes three times faster than Rickbot; Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883339759358552003-11-03T19:15:00.003+01:002003-11-03T19:15:38.373+01:00Life note: Halloween
I went up to Cambridge for a Spooky Halloween Party in Luke's rooms on Friday. It began with two mannish women who sat in a corner and refused to employ more than one word to answer my questions. Abi and I then drank lots of cheap dark rum to pass the time, and Abi taught me all about modern music. The mannish women conspired to steal my entire box of mini-cheddars. Rio Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883332288342842003-11-03T19:15:00.002+01:002003-11-03T19:15:30.906+01:00Life note: The ravens
Birds have evolved a special way of eating snails - they capture them in their beaks, fly very high, and then drop the poor creatures over rocks so their shells shatter and the birds can eat the delicious meaty pay load.
It seems Darwin has been working extra hard on the evolution of birds in the past hundred years, since this morning I was walking down Chancery Lane and Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883310259194292003-11-03T19:15:00.001+01:002003-11-03T19:15:08.876+01:00Shorts review: Small Stories
After cockroach dinner fun, we went to see a series of short films by fledgling directors at the London Film Festival. This is a fun way to watch movies because it doesn't matter if you get bored, another one will be on in ten minutes. I would guess the common theme of these movies was childhood, or growing up, or something about Irish baby beaters - here are my Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883303348461582003-11-03T19:15:00.000+01:002003-11-03T19:15:01.970+01:00Life note: Italian roaches
Last Tuesday I met up with Deepa and Fergal to go to the cinema, and we sought a spot to eat beforehand. Although this was not officially Ferg's slap up birthday meal, it was still a meal on his birthday and so we thought we should go somewhere nice. We ended up in the arse-end of Waterloo. I began to suspect the restaurant we found ourselves sitting in was more cordonRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1067883289292724152003-11-03T19:14:00.000+01:002003-11-03T19:14:47.906+01:00Life notes:Music man
After spending half an hour in Bar 38 trying to persuade Toph to give up his job and become a professional musician, on the grounds he is very good and halfway there already, I got very drunk, took the wrong train home, and two hours later found myself somewhere in the bowels of Kent.
It having been the last train that night, I caught a taxi back to London with a woman who Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066914776051833972003-10-23T15:12:00.000+02:002003-10-23T15:15:01.010+02:00Movie review: Finding Nemo
The start of Finding Nemo is like some barbarian epic: Marlin is sitting around, enjoying life as a clown fish, when his family are attacked and his wife and two hundred children are slaughtered. Only one child remains: the weak and feeble Nemo. If this were a barbarian epic, Nemo would grow into a great warrior - trained by his father Marlin-sensei, and set out in theRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066908930810214802003-10-23T13:35:00.000+02:002003-10-23T13:35:30.603+02:00Historical note: Space weapons
How gloriously futuristic the distant past sounds. Trawling through some press articles from 1984 I came across one reporting that Mikhail Gorbachev was visiting London to warn the govenment not to construct "space weapons". Mr Gorbachev warned that if the Prime Minister did not ban such gunships in outer space the USSR would further pursue nuclear armament.
SpaceRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066841945024130742003-10-22T18:59:00.000+02:002003-10-22T18:59:04.340+02:00Book review: The Art of Falling Apart
I only read this book because it was written by a friend of a friend, and I'm curious to know what friends of friends write about (drugs, rock music and murder, it turns out).
The book follows the story of Dystopia - a band populated by drug-abusing, self-obsessed, over the top rock god cliches. We follow their success from the early days touring the UK in Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066648678491578382003-10-20T13:17:00.000+02:002003-10-20T14:32:59.036+02:00Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1
An Uma-centric series of outlandishly fun kung-fu stories. Tarantino cuts between scenes with no regard for time or location, enabling him to focus on the action and ignore anything mundane. Uma just finished stabbing a woman? Fine, Tarantino thinks to himself, chewing directorially on a celery stalk, Let's cut back two weeks and see her kill some other people.
TheRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066648212878923712003-10-20T13:10:00.000+02:002003-10-20T13:14:51.323+02:00Concert review: Tom Paxton with Cathy & Marcy
In 1999, Tim, Jay and I went to see folk legend Tom Paxton play his guitar at the Cafe Royal, and the experience was so awful we made a pledge never to see the man again.
It remains a mystery of nature that mental wounds can heal so thoroughly that within just four years the three of us found ourselves again in the presence of Mr Paxton, with Phil Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066400840448122382003-10-17T16:27:00.000+02:002003-10-17T16:27:20.216+02:00News note: Waterloo
The EU has complained that the first word the French see as they step off the Eurostar in England is "WATERLOO", a name synonymous with British victory over the French.
The BBC news had a vox pop with a French man, who remarked "It disgusting! It remind me every day of my nation's failure. It not like you take the Eurostar to France and see... and see... the... the name of Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066399363933407382003-10-17T16:02:00.000+02:002003-10-17T16:02:44.046+02:00Book review: Frozen Assets
"PG Wodehouse pulls it off again"[1] may sound like an unusually literate subject line from the Hotmail junk filter, however this is indeed what PGW has done. Or did do, in the 1960s... Cor lummee, whilst everyone else was having the sexual revolution, PGW was writing about the trials and tribulations of boxer dogs, glamorous secretaries and Parisian ambassadors. God Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066398520571623022003-10-17T15:48:00.000+02:002003-10-17T15:48:40.026+02:00Movie review: Lawn Dogs
I'm beginning to suspect I identify well with misanthropic outsiders, as this is developing as the common theme in movies I really enjoy. Lawn Dogs especially so - a bored and friendless ten year old befriends a bored and friendless twenty one year old. They get on well, steal some chickens, and then he runs over a dog and gets beaten to shit by the girl's father. I'm Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066321331690772392003-10-16T18:22:00.000+02:002003-10-16T18:22:11.533+02:00Book review: Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code
Badly written narrative is mixed with awkward dialogue, and the result peppered with very poor jokes. Result: the Eternity Code slips neatly into the rest of the Artemis Fowl series. Whenever I start reading these books I wonder why on earth I bother, but then the plot takes over and - oh Boy - the writer's strong on plot. I guess he had to be good atRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066313270047251102003-10-16T16:07:00.000+02:002003-10-16T16:07:50.090+02:00Film review: Spellbound
In 1999, documentary makers followed eight 11-13 year olds as they prepared for and then attended the National US Spelling Bee (I suspect, or at least hope, Spelling Bees are a purely American phenomenon). Although I would have baulked at the idea of watching a Spelling Bee on ESPN, watching a documentary about a Spelling Bee being on ESPN was fascinating.
The film Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066300113098100222003-10-16T12:28:00.000+02:002003-10-16T12:28:32.840+02:00Advert rant: Roy Scheider's bigger boat
Okay, so the "Noir" in "Film Noir" refers to the darkness of the characters and plot and has nothing to do with being in black and white. I don't recall the violins screeching and the camera zooming towards David Lynch when the idea of shooting Blue Velvet in "Film Couleur" was first put on the table. One might also wonder how come LA Confidential, Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066056831728681932003-10-13T16:53:00.000+02:002003-10-13T16:53:51.936+02:00Movie review: Assassins
I wouldn't normally mention a movie I just happened to catch on Channel Five, however 'Assassins' is different. Back in the old days, when my job was so slow I'd go for months without any work, I used to entertain myself by reading movie scripts on the internet. This is how, within one week, I developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the first three seasons of Buffy the Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066048765144199432003-10-13T14:39:00.000+02:002003-10-13T14:39:24.913+02:00Life note: Mela 2003
When I was seventeen my dad drove me to Cambridge University for my entrace interviews. He had taken the day off work on the pretext of going to an exhibition in Birmingham, and so around lunchtime we stopped off to visit the Birmingham International Air Conditioning (and Associated Engineered Units) Exhibition 1993. We spent an hour traipsing around stalls piled high with Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066047238307399702003-10-13T14:13:00.000+02:002003-10-13T14:13:58.340+02:00Historical note: Belgium and monkeys
As I discovered to my cost on Saturday evening, it is a truth rarely acknowledged that Belgian bar tenders despise the mating call of the macaque monkey.
They also seem to hate people breaking ash trays, moving chairs and ordering more beer.
It is notable that the Germans invaded Belgium not to control it, but as a sneaky means of getting into France. It isRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1066046762013099802003-10-13T14:06:00.000+02:002003-10-13T14:06:02.126+02:00Life note: South London: an epic journey
On Saturday morning I cycled to West Penge to buy a new door. The journey to West Penge takes about fifteen minutes, which explains why after forty five minutes I began to suspect I was lost. I should also have suspected my brakes were broken, given they hung limp and in several pieces, however it was not until I was charging down a hill that this thoughtRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065690513290548072003-10-09T11:08:00.000+02:002003-10-17T15:49:10.823+02:00Movie review: Matchstick Men
I went to see Matchstick Men because it was the only film showing at the 2.99 cinema in Peckham, and I didn't want to go home because there is nothing to do there but eat french toast. Otherwise it would probably have passed me straight by since there has been absolutely no hype or even word of mouth about this movie.
Yet, to have missed this film would have been a Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065534403522909432003-10-07T15:46:00.000+02:002003-10-07T15:46:43.040+02:00Book review: Less Than Zero
I'm working my way through Bret Easton Ellis' novels with some trepidation: The Rules of Attraction was one of the funniest books I read this year, but American Psycho was - as is indisputable fact - complete shite. Sadly, Less Than Zero pretty much makes the score two to one against Easton Ellis.
To his credit, Easton Ellis wrote this in 1984 when he was just 23 Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065444389056439852003-10-06T14:46:00.000+02:002003-10-06T14:46:28.580+02:00Joke thing: Metaphors
There is a joke mail going around at the moment claiming to be "metaphors from real GCSE essays". My favourites are:
o Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
o Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the centre
o He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
o John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065444117217779342003-10-06T14:41:00.000+02:002003-10-06T14:41:56.800+02:00Life note: Mad house
I am increasingly concerned that the house they are building at the end of my road - now three storeys high - continues to have no actual doors or doorways, nor any actual stairs, nor any room for stairs. I can only imagine the builders are either very absent minded, or are relying on teleportation technology being developed in the forthcoming months.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065437008357192292003-10-06T12:43:00.002+02:002003-10-06T12:43:27.890+02:00Life note: Winter blues
All summer it has been my morning habit to sweep into the office, pull open all the ventian blinds, and let the sun stream into the office. Today the process was abandoned half way through when I realised the sky was the same bland, grey colour as the blinds. What-ho, winter time!
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065436996457096232003-10-06T12:43:00.001+02:002003-10-06T12:43:15.983+02:00Movie review: Bright Young Things
I've never been so frigidly bored in my entire life. Wonderful movie. Absolutely bloody.
What? Oh so. Stephen Fry populates his 1930s world with characters so convincing I can't imagine any of the actors being any other way (and yet the absurdly fey and polished Miles was also the devilish and dirty Lucian in Underworld). The plot sprawls elegantly like some Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065436980172387052003-10-06T12:43:00.000+02:002003-10-06T12:42:59.703+02:00Urinal update
Today I met the mystery woman who picks the pubic hairs out of the urinal and arranges the wee-tablets symmetrically around the drain (see my poignant September 11th edit). She is a large and jovial lady. I entered the toilet and she was there, bent on her knees, scrubbing the urinal. I apologised and made to leave. "No, no!" she insisted, "use it, please". Despite her insistence IRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065436938371516112003-10-06T12:42:00.000+02:002003-10-06T12:42:17.906+02:00Life note: Mass media
The internet has made celebrities out of us all - on Friday I got stupidly drunk, and ended up being slightly rude to a waitress (I maintain justifiably so). By the next morning at least three friends had written the event up in their on-line diaries, and by Saturday evening word was out among everyone else. Having forgotten most of what happened in a haze of white wine, I Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065178841445676632003-10-03T13:00:00.000+02:002003-10-03T13:06:37.670+02:00Film review: Underworld
The Peckham Premiere cinema now charges just £2.99 for any movie at any time. This, coupled with my need to find entertainment other than drinking during my detox week, explains why I ended up seeing 'Underworld', despite bad word of mouth.
Underworld is essentially 'Romeo & Juliet' with vampires and werewolves - although academics familiar with both tales will note Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065174822512511162003-10-03T11:53:00.000+02:002003-10-03T11:53:42.693+02:00Life note: Mandy Ho!
Mandy Ho!, Emily's friend from Texas, came out for a meal with us all last night, so Emily decided to surprise her by arranging to have a birthday cake brought out at the end of the meal, during which we would raucously sing 'Happy Birthday'. The surprise was compounded by the fact that it was not Mandy Ho!'s birthday, nor did it seem her birthday was especially soon.
When Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065172714664372132003-10-03T11:18:00.000+02:002003-10-03T11:18:34.610+02:00Life note: Train journey
My train sat outside the station for twenty minutes this morning, without explanation. After about fifteen minutes, the tannoy whined into life.
"Hello?" the driver's voice said, meekly.
Everyone in the carriage chimed in "HELLO!"
There was a pause from the driver. "Hello." he said, decisively.
Five minutes later the train started moving.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065172307921079252003-10-03T11:11:00.000+02:002003-10-03T11:11:47.943+02:00Film review: Bubble Boy
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend your life in a germ free hermetically-sealed dome, with only two ultra-christian parents for company, and flimsy habitrail tunnels for exercise? No, nor me. But, according to this film, if you did, it would probably turn out to be one big fun adventure, full of laughs, and with a gloriously happy ending.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065007550573284202003-10-01T13:25:00.000+02:002003-10-28T16:54:46.820+01:00Life note: Zoltan
My gym bag went to Budapest, on Sunday morning. My big rucksack went to Zimbabwe last year, and my satchel pack has been travelling to and from Cambridge for months now. Jesus - my luggage is better travelled than I am.
Rick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5762546.post-1065007397073979272003-10-01T13:23:00.000+02:002003-10-01T13:24:26.320+02:00Book review: Hey Nostradamus!
The book begins with one of the those massacres which are so popular in American schools, and ends with an elderly father discovering redemption through the abandonment of god. Somewhere along the line we meet a gay chatshow giraffe, a psychic who gets her messages from a crib sheet, a school friend blugeoned to death in Vegas, and a Russian mobster called Yorgo.
IRick Bothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09754983389203055815noreply@blogger.com