Happily Imperfect‎‎ July 2003

Boot this

Posted on July 7, 2003

The burning question: To rip or not to rip: “If bootlegging acts as a safety valve to keep software prices sensible, might that not be such a bad thing after all? “

From the music CD point of view, I doubt I would download MP3s if CDs or tracks were cheaper and easier to buy, and considering CDs have, as the article points out, been overpriced since the 80s, I have little sympathy as the record labels start to suffer slightly (and don’t gimme none of that.. but what about the artist.. crap – the labels are only concerned about their major artists and I’m sure some of them could stand to lose a few million here or there…)

I got art

Posted on July 7, 2003

Flickering bulb that was piece of art is mistakenly repaired (via Pete).

I got this. I mean, when I saw it the first time it took me a few minutes but I knew it was meant to mean something… then it clicked.

Who said watching movies was bad for you? (err.. no-one?)

Why Amnesty?

Posted on July 6, 2003

When I decided I would take part in this year’s Blogathon I spent some time deciding which charity I would support. Do I help fight illness, protect children, help the starving, protect abused animals? How do you choose one charity over another? By it’s very definition, charity relies on goodwill and generosity, so by choosing one charity over others are you somehow implying ill will? Of course not but such is the nature of the beast.

I looked at various charities (you can add self preferences), and kept coming back to one thing. All the other charities that I know of, and found out about where specific and obvious. Cancer is a horrible thing, I know enough about it to know that. Children in Africa dying of starvation is awful, malnutritioned animals abused by their owners is heinous, and the list goes on.

Why Amnesty? Because they cover the uncovered stories, and highlight the atrocities that don’t receive news coverage. That’s about it really. They highlight the stories you don’t hear and every time I visit their website or hear about them in the press I agree.

For more information about Amnesty international, I suggest a quick trip through their history from 1961 to the present day.

Shopping

Posted on July 6, 2003

We seem to have spent most of the weekend (and most of our monthly budget) shopping. We’ve not ‘been away’ on holiday for several years and our wardrobes were in dire need of updating with some ‘holiday’ clothes, so we hit the shops yesterday at 9:15 a.m. and got home around 3pm.

Back out the door 30 minutes later for a “Odd beer and wine” evening at a friends house. Old Engine Oil, Sheepshagger and several eastern europe beers were quaffed resulting in a slightly thick head the next morning (and you don’t even wanna know about the other end!).

Today, our niece’s birthday (Happy Birthday Megan!), a quick visit to my parents who are in the midst of interrogating my Gran as they continue to try and complete the family tree, and then home to sort out the bags and bags of shopping we dumped in the spare bedroom when we got home the day before.

And all the while I’m thinking how I’ll tackle the Blogathon. A separate ‘blog’ probably, with a few themes, … still thinking …

BLOGATHON 2003

Posted on July 4, 2003

OK, that’s it, I’ve signed up. I have joined the madness and will be blogging every half hour for a 24 hour period starting at 2pm on Saturday the 26th of July.

I will be donating whatever I raise to Amnesty International, so get your hand in your pocket and …

Sponsor me for Blogathon 2003!

I am hoping to come up with a few ideas to make it a bit more interesting, otherwise I’ll end up saying… “I’ve been blogging for 16 hours. I’m tired.” But more on that later.

I’ve never done anything like this before, and coupled with the 26 things project it should be a busy old time over the next couple of weeks.

Bruce Almighty

Posted on July 4, 2003

Bruce Almighty

Jim Carrey, now there’s a ‘wacky’ guy. And, well I guess that kinda sums up this movie. Carrey is manic, over the top and must be a directors nightmare. The supporting cast play off him well, including a ‘non-Rachel’ Jennifer Aniston, and Morgan Freeman as God (which I think he would be pretty good at). A lot of clever jokes, standard puns and gags make up the bulk of the movie, but the show piece scene features Steven Carell (Carrey’s nemesis in the film) struggling to read the news bulletin. Hilarious.

Overall pretty funny, but once again ‘Hollywood’ makes sure we understand the point being made throughout the movie by spoon feeding us the ‘moral behind the story’ at the end. Despite that it’s well worth a giggle.