Stuff & Nonsense
ITEM: Life is pretty good, on the whole. Nothing much to complain about, and if I did complain I'd be a stone cold idiot. I'm healthy (apart from my bum knee and arthritic shoulder), I'm not poor, I'm loved, I have friends, and I have lots and lots of stuff to watch, read and listen to.
So, yeah, sorry and all that... but I'm pretty happy on the whole
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ITEM: Sometimes you get surprised by things. Actually, it happens quite a lot. That's the human capacity for assumption and comfort, I guess. Anyhow, I never thought I'd like Benidorm, an ITV sitcom of all things, but it was really very funny. The premise was a bit Duty Free for those of you that remember that far back (although you can buy it on DVD, for fuck's sake!), in that some English people go on holiday to Spain and hilarity ensues. But unlike the "Robert!", "Linda!", "Amy!" of DF, the set-ups were wider and occasionally surreal. Steve Pemberton from League Of Gentlemen looked for all the world like he'd been doing broad sitcom humour all his life, and he was well supported by an ensemble cast that also featured Martin Weedon from Nathan Barley and Johnny Vegas. You can probably still find it on UKNova or other torrent sites. And you should.
Surprise number 2 came at Urban Tiger, Northampton's premier (only) pole-dancing club. I'd never been to one before, despite having a healthy interest in naked females, so it was a surprise to find that I didn't really enjoy it. It just seemed, well, sleazy and boring. But not good sleazy. That may have been the biggest problem - Urban Tiger tries to be upmarket and without the sordidity and filth of what I imagined most skin joints to be, it was just sterile. The girls on stage looked disinterested, and were too thin for the most part. You also had to dodge those same thin girls desperate for you to pay them money for a private dance, and keep an eye out for the bouncers checking that you were behaving yourself. It was like a cross between a school trip and a Jehovah's Witness gauntlet, with added nudity of course. And I may be wrong, but I doubt that "China" and "Peaches" were these girls real names. Meh, too much to complain about, which goes against the grain, but I can honestly say that an slightly overweight girl dancing in Chicago's afterward was far more sexy than anything that Urban Tiger had to offer. Horses for courses, I suppose.
A couple of the boys I was with stayed in after we left and I saw one the next day. I asked him how long he'd stayed and he said that not long after we'd left he'd gone to the casino, where he'd won some money and bumped into an old friend. They then drove to Luton to a massage parlour where he get the works for £80.
Different worlds.
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ITEM: So they killed him. The greatest American hero, despite what William Katt would have you believe. I'm kind of a little bit upset, and disappointed, because he's a magnificent character and the Brubaker run had been awesome. I don't know where they're going with it, but I hope it's not too long. Although the thought of Frank Castle picking up the mask for a while is tantalising.
Yeah I'm a geek.
RIP.
Woohoo!
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ITEM: Music is still amazing. The new Wilco album arrived in my ears today and it's GLORIOUS. But it's by no means alone - just today I've heard great albums by Goldenboy, Autokat, LowStars, and Mr Hudson & The Library. They join some great stuff for what's looking like an amazing year already for music, with awesome albums from Cold War Kids, The Fray and Willy Mason already coming in my ears. I just need to get out and see some of these people live. I missed The Hold Steady through a mixture of circumstance and laziness, and Cold War Kids has sold out. I'm going to try and get to Midlake next month, but you know how that can be. Still, I did see The Bluetones, and they were great, even if I only went by accident. Man, I HEART aural pleasure.
Almost as much as a wank.
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ITEM: I saw some wrasslin' and it was mostly bad. Flippy, floppy Ring Of Honor crap, but with some tiny highlights. Those being, in no particular order:
Samoa Joe kicking Nigel McGuiness's face off
Samoa Joe cutting a great farewell promo
Samoa Joe making me feel like I'm in great shape
Some Japanese guys defeating enemies of wrestling and MAKING ME EXCITED
Skanky British women in the ring who I WOULD.
Colt Cabana. Period.
And that's it, pretty much everything else was crappy. Here is an exchange with Lanto Calrissian about the women's match on the card:
Me: Who's the heel here?
LC: They're both faces.
Me: That's retarded.
LC: Yeah, but that's how they're booked in Shimmer. They usually wouldn't fight each other.
Me: So why are they here?
LC: To showcase Shimmer.
Me: They're pretty crappy.
LC: In Shimmer they don't work this style.
Me: So why aren't they working Shimmer-style?
LC: This is a ROH show - they're working ROH-style.
Me: So if they're not working Shimmer-style, why can't they forget that they're both faces and one play heel?
LC: I. Don't. Know.
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ITEM: Man, I'm really geeky today.
So, yeah, sorry and all that... but I'm pretty happy on the whole
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM: Sometimes you get surprised by things. Actually, it happens quite a lot. That's the human capacity for assumption and comfort, I guess. Anyhow, I never thought I'd like Benidorm, an ITV sitcom of all things, but it was really very funny. The premise was a bit Duty Free for those of you that remember that far back (although you can buy it on DVD, for fuck's sake!), in that some English people go on holiday to Spain and hilarity ensues. But unlike the "Robert!", "Linda!", "Amy!" of DF, the set-ups were wider and occasionally surreal. Steve Pemberton from League Of Gentlemen looked for all the world like he'd been doing broad sitcom humour all his life, and he was well supported by an ensemble cast that also featured Martin Weedon from Nathan Barley and Johnny Vegas. You can probably still find it on UKNova or other torrent sites. And you should.
Surprise number 2 came at Urban Tiger, Northampton's premier (only) pole-dancing club. I'd never been to one before, despite having a healthy interest in naked females, so it was a surprise to find that I didn't really enjoy it. It just seemed, well, sleazy and boring. But not good sleazy. That may have been the biggest problem - Urban Tiger tries to be upmarket and without the sordidity and filth of what I imagined most skin joints to be, it was just sterile. The girls on stage looked disinterested, and were too thin for the most part. You also had to dodge those same thin girls desperate for you to pay them money for a private dance, and keep an eye out for the bouncers checking that you were behaving yourself. It was like a cross between a school trip and a Jehovah's Witness gauntlet, with added nudity of course. And I may be wrong, but I doubt that "China" and "Peaches" were these girls real names. Meh, too much to complain about, which goes against the grain, but I can honestly say that an slightly overweight girl dancing in Chicago's afterward was far more sexy than anything that Urban Tiger had to offer. Horses for courses, I suppose.
A couple of the boys I was with stayed in after we left and I saw one the next day. I asked him how long he'd stayed and he said that not long after we'd left he'd gone to the casino, where he'd won some money and bumped into an old friend. They then drove to Luton to a massage parlour where he get the works for £80.
Different worlds.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM: So they killed him. The greatest American hero, despite what William Katt would have you believe. I'm kind of a little bit upset, and disappointed, because he's a magnificent character and the Brubaker run had been awesome. I don't know where they're going with it, but I hope it's not too long. Although the thought of Frank Castle picking up the mask for a while is tantalising.
Yeah I'm a geek.
RIP.
Woohoo!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM: Music is still amazing. The new Wilco album arrived in my ears today and it's GLORIOUS. But it's by no means alone - just today I've heard great albums by Goldenboy, Autokat, LowStars, and Mr Hudson & The Library. They join some great stuff for what's looking like an amazing year already for music, with awesome albums from Cold War Kids, The Fray and Willy Mason already coming in my ears. I just need to get out and see some of these people live. I missed The Hold Steady through a mixture of circumstance and laziness, and Cold War Kids has sold out. I'm going to try and get to Midlake next month, but you know how that can be. Still, I did see The Bluetones, and they were great, even if I only went by accident. Man, I HEART aural pleasure.
Almost as much as a wank.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM: I saw some wrasslin' and it was mostly bad. Flippy, floppy Ring Of Honor crap, but with some tiny highlights. Those being, in no particular order:
Samoa Joe kicking Nigel McGuiness's face off
Samoa Joe cutting a great farewell promo
Samoa Joe making me feel like I'm in great shape
Some Japanese guys defeating enemies of wrestling and MAKING ME EXCITED
Skanky British women in the ring who I WOULD.
Colt Cabana. Period.
And that's it, pretty much everything else was crappy. Here is an exchange with Lanto Calrissian about the women's match on the card:
Me: Who's the heel here?
LC: They're both faces.
Me: That's retarded.
LC: Yeah, but that's how they're booked in Shimmer. They usually wouldn't fight each other.
Me: So why are they here?
LC: To showcase Shimmer.
Me: They're pretty crappy.
LC: In Shimmer they don't work this style.
Me: So why aren't they working Shimmer-style?
LC: This is a ROH show - they're working ROH-style.
Me: So if they're not working Shimmer-style, why can't they forget that they're both faces and one play heel?
LC: I. Don't. Know.
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ITEM: Man, I'm really geeky today.