Sunday, February 28, 2010
Ice Hockey Gold
It's all gone bonkers here (and I continually betray my heritage by calling it Ice Hockey, ha!).
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Birdsong
Caught By The River have posted a couple of mix tapes related to birds and they are both pretty great.
Here are some from the first collection by Martin Noble of British Sea Power.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wings - Arrow Through Me
More McCartney magic from the final Wings album, Back To The Egg.
Apparently Erykah Badu cleared a sample from this via Twitter fact fans.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Soldier Field
I have always been an inexplicable fan of the Bears of Chicago and though I loathe American Football, I always always look for their results despite myself.
And their, I cannot say our, stadium is amazing.
And now there is a book to have a butchers at... Soldier Field
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Kick Ass... Does.
From The To Watch Pile
"Before you ask, yes – the rather crude line you read above was exclaimed by the cute as a button 11 year old Mindy (AKA Hit Girl) you see above you. Shortly before she brutally massacres a room full of gangsters. I’m talking decapitations, limbs flying all over the shot.
It was, to be quite frank, fucking brilliant.
Yes it’s questionable that we should be take such enjoyment from the sight of such a young girl exclaiming the worst of all profanities and performing such acts of violence (and lets be honest, what comes out of her mouth is literally nothing compared to what she does with her feet and fists). And sure its kind of sad when you think that it wasn’t that long ago that you’d never in a million years hear ‘the c-word’ in a picture – I even blush at writing it here – but now it comes out of the mouth of a sweet 11 year old girl (actually played by 13 year old Chloë Moretz – not that it makes a difference). But hell this is a comic book movie, its OTT, it pushes the boundaries of believability, and actually – and I wasn’t even going to go here – but a reasonable number of 11 year old girls these days probably do say such things and worse. Hopefully, they don’t chop people up with ninja swords and shoot the crap out of people but like I say, we’re pushing the boundaries of believability here.
Lets be honest Hit Girl completely stole the show, and in my eyes is one of the most brilliantly enjoyable characters ever commited to celluloid. I’m almost 30 and I feel like I want to plaster my walls with Hit Girl posters. One way or another everyone is going to be talking about her. The Daily Mail will no doubt have a few things to say about her and I seriously worry about the movie’s potential in the more conservatively minded US of A because of her role, but maybe the world will surprise us all. One things for sure – everyone in the packed out Odeon Leicester Square screening I was in were going nuts for Hit Girl. She literally got about three ovations as the film progressed and many more belly laughs. Not because its cute to see a young girl swear and hurt people, but because she was a perfectly crafted, cool as a cucumber character. She was brilliantly written and, for such a young actress with such a demanding role, absolutley brilliantly performed. This was a truly career defining role and Moretz barely seems to break sweat, totally knocking it out of the park. I truly hope her career goes from strength to strength and doesn’t go tits up like so many child actors. Decent turns already in 500 Days Of Summer and Not Forgotten suggest that hopefully she’s got what it takes.
I don’t want to spend the whole time rabbiting on about Hit Girl and Chloë Moretz though. Aaron Johnson (Dave Lizewski / Kick Ass), Nicholas Cage (Damon Macready / Big Daddy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Chris D’Amico / Red Mist), Clarke Duke (Marty) all performed their roles near-perfectly. Nick Cage’s apparently ad-libbed Adam West take on Big Daddy was hilarious, and this was a role that almost made me forget Ghost Rider and that sickmaking moment when he exclaimed ‘Let’s Ride’ in the latter film.
On the subject of comic books, the fact that I haven’t even mentioned the original Mark Millar comic yet, surely says something of what high regard I hold this film in. Yes comic book adapatations are rarely great, but this one arguably even surpasses the comic. (Am I being to effusive enough with my praise here?) I think the fact that the film gestated roughly at the same time as the comic, and that the script for the film was written before the comic had even completed its initial run certainly helped. The film takes all the best bits of the comic – the nice post-modern touches and the harshly brilliant violence – and fleshes them out and basically runs wild them. So bowled over was I with the strength of the adaptation that I almost approached screenwriter Jane Goldman, who was sat behind me with husband Jonathan Ross and family, and gushed forth with praise. I managed to maintain my composure though.
Bottom line is I left the film completely overcome with childish glee. There are so many moments when you just want to pump your fists in the air and scream YES YES YES over and over. I spoke a lot recently of experiencing a similar sort of childish glee after seeing Avatar on 3D Imax – that kind of feeling that you just don’t get that often at the cinema as an adult. Imax Avatar was cinema as spectacle and I loved the cinematic experience of it all, but as so many people have commented the plotline of Avatar was nothing short of warmed up Disney. Kick-Ass on the other hand was the complete package – a lesson, if you will, in how all blockbusters really should be made. It had everything – the acting, the characters, the writing, the laughs, the action scenes (Jeeesus – the action scenes! We’re talking John Woo-esque mind blowing stuff here). Bare in mind also this was a pretty much independently funded film done outside the studio system – (lets be honest – no studio would have allowed Matthew Vaughn such freedom). Hopefully if this film is the success it truly deserves to be, it will give studios and producers a much needed kick up the ass when it comes to making event pictures. Making a blockbuster doesn’t necessarily have to mean leaving originality and any sense of tangible storyline at the door. Shock bloody horror!
It really is hard for me to be so effusive with my praise. Those who know me, will know I’m a tough marker and a tough man to please when it come to cinema. But as joyous, thrill-riding, shit-kicking, smiling from ear to ear cinema goes Kick-Ass well… kicks ass. Kicks every kind of ass. Everywhere. Ever.
And if you need any more convincing – about a third of the way through the movie, in one of the comic book store scenes you can see in the backround a lanky dude wearing a backback lumbering along the pavement outside the window of the store. And that my friends, is your humble writer, and how proud I am to be part of such a fantastic film (albeit quite possibly the smallest part ever). This time next year…"
Very jealous. I really want to see this film.
"Before you ask, yes – the rather crude line you read above was exclaimed by the cute as a button 11 year old Mindy (AKA Hit Girl) you see above you. Shortly before she brutally massacres a room full of gangsters. I’m talking decapitations, limbs flying all over the shot.
It was, to be quite frank, fucking brilliant.
Yes it’s questionable that we should be take such enjoyment from the sight of such a young girl exclaiming the worst of all profanities and performing such acts of violence (and lets be honest, what comes out of her mouth is literally nothing compared to what she does with her feet and fists). And sure its kind of sad when you think that it wasn’t that long ago that you’d never in a million years hear ‘the c-word’ in a picture – I even blush at writing it here – but now it comes out of the mouth of a sweet 11 year old girl (actually played by 13 year old Chloë Moretz – not that it makes a difference). But hell this is a comic book movie, its OTT, it pushes the boundaries of believability, and actually – and I wasn’t even going to go here – but a reasonable number of 11 year old girls these days probably do say such things and worse. Hopefully, they don’t chop people up with ninja swords and shoot the crap out of people but like I say, we’re pushing the boundaries of believability here.
Lets be honest Hit Girl completely stole the show, and in my eyes is one of the most brilliantly enjoyable characters ever commited to celluloid. I’m almost 30 and I feel like I want to plaster my walls with Hit Girl posters. One way or another everyone is going to be talking about her. The Daily Mail will no doubt have a few things to say about her and I seriously worry about the movie’s potential in the more conservatively minded US of A because of her role, but maybe the world will surprise us all. One things for sure – everyone in the packed out Odeon Leicester Square screening I was in were going nuts for Hit Girl. She literally got about three ovations as the film progressed and many more belly laughs. Not because its cute to see a young girl swear and hurt people, but because she was a perfectly crafted, cool as a cucumber character. She was brilliantly written and, for such a young actress with such a demanding role, absolutley brilliantly performed. This was a truly career defining role and Moretz barely seems to break sweat, totally knocking it out of the park. I truly hope her career goes from strength to strength and doesn’t go tits up like so many child actors. Decent turns already in 500 Days Of Summer and Not Forgotten suggest that hopefully she’s got what it takes.
I don’t want to spend the whole time rabbiting on about Hit Girl and Chloë Moretz though. Aaron Johnson (Dave Lizewski / Kick Ass), Nicholas Cage (Damon Macready / Big Daddy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Chris D’Amico / Red Mist), Clarke Duke (Marty) all performed their roles near-perfectly. Nick Cage’s apparently ad-libbed Adam West take on Big Daddy was hilarious, and this was a role that almost made me forget Ghost Rider and that sickmaking moment when he exclaimed ‘Let’s Ride’ in the latter film.
On the subject of comic books, the fact that I haven’t even mentioned the original Mark Millar comic yet, surely says something of what high regard I hold this film in. Yes comic book adapatations are rarely great, but this one arguably even surpasses the comic. (Am I being to effusive enough with my praise here?) I think the fact that the film gestated roughly at the same time as the comic, and that the script for the film was written before the comic had even completed its initial run certainly helped. The film takes all the best bits of the comic – the nice post-modern touches and the harshly brilliant violence – and fleshes them out and basically runs wild them. So bowled over was I with the strength of the adaptation that I almost approached screenwriter Jane Goldman, who was sat behind me with husband Jonathan Ross and family, and gushed forth with praise. I managed to maintain my composure though.
Bottom line is I left the film completely overcome with childish glee. There are so many moments when you just want to pump your fists in the air and scream YES YES YES over and over. I spoke a lot recently of experiencing a similar sort of childish glee after seeing Avatar on 3D Imax – that kind of feeling that you just don’t get that often at the cinema as an adult. Imax Avatar was cinema as spectacle and I loved the cinematic experience of it all, but as so many people have commented the plotline of Avatar was nothing short of warmed up Disney. Kick-Ass on the other hand was the complete package – a lesson, if you will, in how all blockbusters really should be made. It had everything – the acting, the characters, the writing, the laughs, the action scenes (Jeeesus – the action scenes! We’re talking John Woo-esque mind blowing stuff here). Bare in mind also this was a pretty much independently funded film done outside the studio system – (lets be honest – no studio would have allowed Matthew Vaughn such freedom). Hopefully if this film is the success it truly deserves to be, it will give studios and producers a much needed kick up the ass when it comes to making event pictures. Making a blockbuster doesn’t necessarily have to mean leaving originality and any sense of tangible storyline at the door. Shock bloody horror!
It really is hard for me to be so effusive with my praise. Those who know me, will know I’m a tough marker and a tough man to please when it come to cinema. But as joyous, thrill-riding, shit-kicking, smiling from ear to ear cinema goes Kick-Ass well… kicks ass. Kicks every kind of ass. Everywhere. Ever.
And if you need any more convincing – about a third of the way through the movie, in one of the comic book store scenes you can see in the backround a lanky dude wearing a backback lumbering along the pavement outside the window of the store. And that my friends, is your humble writer, and how proud I am to be part of such a fantastic film (albeit quite possibly the smallest part ever). This time next year…"
Very jealous. I really want to see this film.
ABBA - Gimme Gimme Gimme (LoudEfied) REposted
ABBA - Gimme Gimme Gimme (LoudEfied)
Just a terrific version of the 'dancable classic'.
Slowed down and a bit scary.
This is the bit in the film when the straight lace cop is moving through some seedy club downtown, the wrongside of the tracks. He can see a whole wide world of vice splayed out in front of him. Despite his upbringing thinks to himself 'ou, why not' and ends up getting buggered by two hardcore irons, while sniffing a load of chaz off some girls famoir. Writes itself.
Film out next year!
(Reposted because I just remembered how much I love this version)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Vancouver 2010 Olympics
Plenty is being written in all medias about the Olympics; is it shit? Is it great? Is it worse than fox hunting? Is it better than sliced, multi-grain, fairtrade, whole-wheat mutherphuckin' bread?
I certainly refuse to venture my uneducated opinion on the matter.
While walking around downtown and Gastown there is an an exciting energy at the moment. And that energy is coming from all sides - those who are pro, those who say it is a waste, those who are wearing the colours, those who have just come for a butchers, the international crowd and those who it will affect.
All are pitching in in some manner and that makes things interesting for everyone here. Short or long term.
Welcome world.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Creed Bratton
pic from NBC
"I'm not offended by homosexuality. In the 60's I made love to many, many women. Often outdoors, in the mud and the rain... and it's possible a man slipped in. [shrugs] There'd be no way of knowing."
Tie Etiquette
From the Drakes of London website:
"We tend to agree with the maxim that men of style are never too fashionable, that idiosyncrasy always plays its part in stylish dress. And yet there are unspoken rules that a gentleman ignores at his own peril. Not exactly an arcane code, but there are unwary subtleties of dress. The smaller points of wearing a tie makes a good case for adhering to a certain form.
1. There are really only two knots worth considering: the four-in-hand and half-Windsor; and only the four-in-hand for knit ties. Other knots are novelties.
2. The self-loop at the back of the large blade, sometimes called a “keeper” but often merely the makers label, needn’t actually be used in fact to hold the smaller blade, better not to, for a freer, more stylish note.
3. The blade ends should ideally reach the top of the trouser waistband and should match up in length. Not as easy as it looks to the uninitiated.
4. A small dimple at the base of the knot shows a certain je ne sais quoi of finesse.
5. With tie bars, as with mens’ jewellery generally, anything other than tasteful discretion can be hazardous, and probably should be avoided.
6. A tie should always be untied carefully after wearing. As Miss Adelaide says in Guys and Dolls, “We are civilized people. We do not have to conduct ourselves like a slob.”
7. Fabric ties (silk, wool, cashmere, cotton) should be rolled after wearing and then hung; knit ties should be rolled and never hung.
8. A four-in-hand or half-Windsor knot should just fill the tie space at the collar button and be taut enough to arch out from the collar a bit; the mid-section of the tie should be completely hidden under the collar at the back.
9. Bow ties should never look perfectly tied. Ceaseless practice usually suffices to produce the precise look of subtle imperfection.
10. The proper length for a bow tie is achieved when the ends sit within the edges of the collar. This necessitates buying bow ties with sized graduated bands or with an adjustable slider."
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
♥ American Optical Sunglasses
Hugely gaylordy, disgustingly American and absolutely brilliant. Such a contradiction.
I love these sunglasses.
Monday, February 01, 2010
McGregor Heritage Socks
For 2 years I have been a very dedicated 'crazy sock' man. But since seeing these socks on a trip to the excellent Mr Lee's General Store & Haberdashery a month or so ago, I have decided to review my solely crazy sock life and open it up to the simple delights of the sober, plain sock as well.
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