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Long lunch
So, here I am, sat with the family, having lunch in a French restaurant. It was worth driving through the torrential rain yesterday.
QotD: My Intro to the Big Screen
What was the first movie you remember seeing in a movie theater?
Question submitted by mainmor.
It was Bambi.
And yes, I remember crying when his Mum was killed.
I also vividly remember seeing Star Wars when I was 6. My little brother fell asleep during the film, only waking up when the Death Star was blown up.
Mum, on the other hand, was slightly bored, and never really understood my obsession with buying every single Star Wars figure I could, right through until my mid-teens.
Ah, happy days.
Not There Yet
I should be in the house in the picture above tonight, but thanks to having our flights cancelled from under us, I'm not.
In 24 hours, I should be there. I've got a ride in the chunnel and a long drive ahead of me, but I'm looking forward to the break. Not sure how much internet access I'll have, so I'll see you all soon…
The Snip
I've not had a lot of luck with haircuts of late. The place I'd been going for half a decade closed down earlier the year, the place I tried in Lewisham gave me a military scalp and the first place I tried in Soho was keener on giving me champagne than a decent cut.
Then, finally, I found somewhere decent, a greek chap in a side street. Hurrah!
And then I was seconded to Sutton. Boo!
After two months without a cut, I crumbled and went for a trim in Sutton. It was the cheapest haircut I'd had in about three years and I'm rather pleased with it.
What do you think?
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
At 3.30pm today, I am due to be taking off for Poitiers.
This will not be happening.
The flight was cancelled, thanks to the current situation, and I've spent much of the evening sorting out an alternative.
I'll now be driving Lorna and Mum onto a train at 11am on Sunday, and we'll head to France through the channel tunnel.
Hurrah!
One day, I'll fly away
So, I'm due to fly to France on Saturday.
Ah ha. Ha ha. Ha.
Ha.
I wonder how much the ferries cost.
QotD: Reality TV Star
If you could be on any reality TV show, which one would you pick and why?
I wouldn't. I really, really wouldn't.
QotD: Desktop Show and Tell
What is your current computer desktop image? Let's see it!
I like my desktop images fairly plain and uncluttered. I often have Apple's own images up, which meet that standard fairly nicely. Right now, though, I have a couple of my own photos. On the iBook (top) I have a details of a rock seen while walking in South Devon with Lorna Tinworth, Rev Stan and Mosh.
On the iMac I have a slightly abstract view of the London Eye, grabbed while walking along the Embankment one afternoon, on the way back from a meeting somewhere or another. I like them both because they work as images when on full display, but don't distract the eye when the poke out from behind an application.
Weekend Movies
I got the chance to watch a couple of movies over the weekend. Jarhead, directed by Sam Mendes, was a distinctly average movie. Some great acting and brilliant photography failed to conceal a movie that was essentially empty of real meaning.
It's only when you watch the special features that you get a feeling of what went wrong. Usually when I watch deleted scenes, I can see why the scenes were deleted. Here, all I could see was a far better movie than the one I watched. And Mendes' narration made it clear that he was a book whose power lay in the psychology of what the marines went though, in which the key element was lost in the transition to screen. Shame.
Memoirs of a Geisha was a far better film: visually stunning, beautifully acted and compelling viewing. Some slight elements of "westernising" the story grated a little, but that's just a nitpick. This was a film a genuine didn't want to end. Bearing in mind that I never got much beyond the first 100 pages of the book, that's quite a compliment.
QotD: Can you hear me now?
What's your cell phone's ringtone? What made you pick it?
It's one of the deafult Nokia ones that came with the phone. It sounds much like an old vinyl LP being put on a truntable, played for a bit and then "scratched" off.
I really like the mix of old and new technology it represents.
Sir Bob entertains
My friend alan is here on Vox. He's a musician who plays in Bob Geldof's band. He's posted a couple of YouTube videos of performances on his blog lately, but they don't seem to be fully "integrated". I just wanted to see if I could make it work:
Alan, feel free to ask me "how?" ;-)
QotD: You've got to blog!
If you could get someone in your life to start a blog, who would it be and why?
All three people I'd really like to get blogging are already signed up to Vox - they're just not using it yet:
My wife, Lorna, my Mum and a good mate, Andy.
Lorna has a lot of strong opinions that could do with an outlet elsewhere, I'd like to see more of my Mum's photography online and Andy's a great writer that needs to get the blogging habit…
QotD: Your fantasy restaurant
If you could open any sort of restaurant, what would it be like?
I have a small, quiet desire to run a food-led country pub. My time on Publican nearly killed that desire, but not quite.
I'd like somewhere on the edge of a country village, with a nice mix of local trade and passing trade. Somewhere not unlike the Huntsman & Hounds, in fact.
QotD: I wish I could...
Play any instrument or speak any language, which do you choose?
Question submitted by cruftbox.vox.com.
Honest answer: if I really wanted to learn a language or instrument, I would have done so. And I haven't.
QotD: Back where I'm from...
Soda? Cola? Pop? What do you say? Any other regional words that set you apart?
Question submitted by Gladys.
"Coke" or "fizzy drinks" or, more recently, "that evil gut-rotting bilge which I can't drink because it inflicts evil bathroom torment on me".
TMI?
QotD: It's hot in here...
What's the most extreme weather you've been in? A memorable storm? Heat wave? Or something else?
Some years ago - maybe 18 - I was walking with schoolfriends in the Caingorms in Scotland. We were serveral miles out of Aviemore when we were caught in a whiteout while travelling over a mountain pass. We literally couldn't see our hands in front of our faces, the snow was so thick. We formed a train, with each of us holding the rucksack of the person in front, and moved in small circles until we found a bothy we knew was nearby to shelter in. We spent an hour or so there, waiting for the storm to pass.
A frightening, but exhilarating experience.