DVD night: The Odd Couple

Friday night's viewing from our Amazon DVD rental account was this old classic:

It was one of Lorna's choices, even though she has absolutely no idea what made her chose it. (Her question of "why did you pick this?" is up there with "Who sent you that?", as she pointed at a postcard she'd sent me less than a week before...)

Whatever the reason, I was looking forward to it. The Odd Couple is regarded as a comedy classic, and it lurked somewhere in my brain as a "movie to see".

And you can see why the movie (and the play it is really obviously adapted from) has been so popular. The performances are really excellent. Matthau starts off as disgusting and unlovable, but wins your sympathy as the feel goes on. Lemmon charts the reverse journey. The supporting cast are good, even the ghastly Pigeon sisters from London, and the film, while wearing its stage roots on its sleeve, makes a reasonable transition to celluloid.

But, nearly 40 years on, the whole concept has lost its bite. Men leaving together just doesn't seem so strange any more, and the obsessed housewife role adopted by Jack Lemmon's character seems an oddly-conceived and slightly offensive mix of female, gay man and OCD sufferer stereotype.

There's some moments of real wit in the dialogue and the relationship between the two main leads is often compelling. But, in the end, the societal mores being explored in the movie are becoming so alien to us today that it just doesn't have the power it did in the 60s.


Get a UK Mac

Over in the US, Apple has been running the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads for a year or so. Some of them are painfully funny. Now, Apple UK has remade some of them, and added a few new ones, with Mitchell & Webb in the lead roles.


I actually thing they work a little better than the US ones, because the PC isn't a hell of a lot more likeable than the Mac, as is the case with the originals.

Up the Junction

Quick pub visit after moving duty


Commenting Geeky Fun

Thanks to a discussion in the office yesterday, and a little bit of research, you can now sign-in to comment on my main blog using either your Vox blog address or your Livejournal username. Cool!

Piers and Karl might like to note that this is OpenID in action.



Blog Me Once, Blog Me Twice

Here's a little experiment. I hope it will solve a little problem.

You see, my number of blogs has been proliferating rather stupidly of late, but it's settled down to this Vox blog and One Man & His Blog as my main two. And I'm pretty happy with that set-up. I love Vox and find it a pleasure to use.

But I really don't want to lose touch with my Livejournal friends, either.

Now, I though the problem had been solved when Vox added the ability to cross-post to Livejournal. But, no. All that got posted was a nasty little extract that was nothing more than an advert for the content on Vox. Not very fair on my LJ flist.

However, as of today's Vox release, I should be able to post the whole shooting match across onto Livejournal, even as I post to Vox. Will it work? I hope so.


Traffic. Again

Spent too much time like this over the last week



QotD: Take That, Writer's Block!

How do you beat writer's block? 
Submitted by marvel is my pen name.

Generally, I find I need three things:

  1. A pressing deadline
  2. Too much coffee
  3. Sleep deprivation

Together, they do the job beautifully.


Vox Hunt: Rocked My World

Audio: Show us cover art or share a track from the first band or solo artist you flipped for.
Submitted by Red Pen.

So 80s it hurts… I was in my late teens by the time I really woke up to music, and it was T'Pau that caught my ear first.

Life on Mars series two is on its way...

Life on Mars meets Camberwick Green

 And that's a great piece of viral video…

Traffic terrible

But the views make up for it


The snow doth fall...


Girl with a one track deal

While killing time before a meeting, I spotted this. A reminder of where popular blogs can lead


At least the living room looks good


David, Pat and Lorna

At the Shaftesbury today


This is our kitchen right now

Things are getting a bit strange as we decorate the bedroom.


Silent Star Wars

Silent Star Wars


Storm Damage

Signs down in Sutton


QotD: Your Cheatin' Heart

Have you ever been cheated on? Ever cheated? 
Submitted by Joe

Technically, I've never been cheated on (that I'm aware of at least). However, I did have two girlfriends take up with someone else within a very short period of breaking up with me, and in both cases, I'm pretty sure things were in motion before the break-up.

Me? I've always been a very good boy. Never even come close to cheating on a girl.


Vox Hunt: It Better Be Good

What's the first image that comes up when you Google your name?

Well, it's me. It's the pic that was taken for my editor's comment in the late, lamented GRID magazine.