bookmark_borderStop the bus

Hang on!

It’s March. MARCH!! How the chuff did that sneak up on me?? That means Mother’s Day, father-in-laws birthday and.. er.. some other ‘family’ things that Louise will remember. Anyway I have a complaint to make:

I want an extra day.

We had one last year, why can’t we have one this year as well? In fact why can’t we just add a day to the year EVERY year? What’s to stop us? WHO will stop us?? Well apart from the Catholic church of course, but let’s be honest here. What power do they have these days? The days of the Inquisition are long gone even if it would seem that a large portion of the aforementioned church are still living their days with that mindset. I digress, this isn’t supposed to be an anti-Catholic rant.

In fact as we didn’t adopt this calendar until 1752 aren’t we owed .. er .. 639,480 days. Can we get a petition together, maybe start a campaign? I’m sure we can find a politician to give it some backing, just tell him that for each day he gains back, he’ll get a vote.

March.

Blimey.

bookmark_borderMillion Dollar Baby

Movie info from IMDB
Movie reviews from Metacritic

Other than knowing WHO starred in this movie, and that it had won awards and is nominated for some Oscars, we were a bit in the dark as to the story. Is it really just about a female boxer, the good ole American rags to riches story? Yes it is.

But it’s also so much more than that. The pace of the movie drags you in, and the three lead roles are all played to perfection, even if they are all cliched to a degree; the haggard gym owner set in his ways and haunted by his past, the ex-boxer janitor who is wiser than he should be, and the white trash girl who won’t give in. The script is light, and the direction is handled well, allowing the actors to act without too many constraints and yet none of them overplay things. The last third of the movie is nicely setup, and the emotive issues are handled wonderfully.

Not a movie for everyone, but if you enjoy the craft of movie making – wonderful lighting and production, character development and interplay, first class direction – then you’ll enjoy this. Whilst this movie using boxing as it crutch, it’s the characters that make it and make it so much more than a simple sporting movie. Highly recommended.

bookmark_borderAsia Quake

Still awake. Still processing the news. The horror doesn’t wane. I didn’t mention it before because surely everyone is aware, everyone is thinking the same thoughts. Three days on, numbers rising, still only fleeting moments of comprehension. It’s so safe and warm in my house, surrounded by Christmas gifts, material items. So easy to put this news aside and just keep score. 40,000, 50,000, 60,000. As one reporter said, the numbers overwhelm, easier to focus on the father holding his dead daughter, the mother who lost four generations of her family in an instant.

Aid organisations are being co-ordinated through the U.N., so I don’t think it matters hugely WHO you give to, but if you want to help, here are a few starting points:

Cafod
Care International
International Federation of the Red Cross
Medecins Sans Frontieres
Oxfam
Save The Children
Unicef
World Vision

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog has much, much more information should you require it.

bookmark_borderCategorical

So I’ve upgraded to WordPress 1.2.2. Pretty smooth. I bet you never even noticed. Right?

Anyway, part of my redesign thoughts include making better use of some of the WordPress features. I’m still not overly bothered about using their comment feature, especially as HaloScan will be getting some new features in the New Year. However the category feature intrigues me, mainly because it’s a completely new thing to remember when posting. No categories in Blogger so it was pretty much a case of typing up my usual nonsense and pressing Post.

Ideally what I need is to be prompted to choose a category or two, every time I post. Alas the WordPress Plugins Database doesn’t have anything like that. I wonder how hard it would be to code one? Hmm a little holiday project maybe.

Mind you I’ll be working on a Wiki for HaloScan, as well as a little site redesign so I’d better not promise too much. After all I’ve got three bottles of Southern Comfort to get through. And all that food… crap movies on TV. Oh yes I’ll be busy busy busy.

UPDATE: Ohh and need to get trackbacks working properly – I’m getting emails saying that people have pinged a post but no way to see WHO has!

bookmark_borderAt last

Middle Lane Morons.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!

Why? Is there something wrong with the left-hand lane? I’ve heard a few excuses for this, but the usual seems to be a ‘comfort zone’ thing. The middle lane driver prefers driving there as there is plenty of room round them and they can overtook some cars without having to switch lanes.

If you don’t have enough confidence to overtake on a motorway I would suggest that you shouldn’t be driving on it in the first place. Of course as the majority of drivers took their lessons many years ago, it would be before the introduction of motoroway lessons. Another argument for regular testing?

And for future reference, when I deliberately pull into the left-hand lane, then swerve over into the outside lane (missing your rear bump but close enough to worry you) and then swerve back across your nose (again close but not dangerously so) all the way back to the left-hand lane again I’m trying to make a point! Pull-the-feck-over!

Listening to: Coldplay – Daylight

Come ON dammit…
They say a watched pot never boils.. ehh hang on.. WHO says that? Ohh never mind… a watched pot never boils and a watched clock appears to start going backwards. Almost 3pm and it’s been a struggle to stay awake this long. All I want to do is go home and lie in a dark room somewhere. Yes the cupboard under the stairs would do, as long as no-one wants to talk to me or needs me to be coherent in any way, form, or fashion.

Ohhh and finally downloaded Mozilla. The tabbed interface is growing on me, might be a keeper.