Outpourings

Friday, March 31, 2006

Feast time again

It's back. Enjoy...

Appetizer
Name 3 things that you think are strange.
Being emotionally closed is strange. I find it impossible to hide anything that I am thinking and don't understand when others hide stuff.
Dog ownership is strange if you think about it.
People (friends) who don't ring you back.

Soup
What was the last ceremony you attended?
Oh gosh. It was a memorial service. My Sister in Law who was 39 when she died, It was very tough.

Salad
What is one lesson you have learned in the past year?
That friends aren't always forever. And some differences are irreconcilable.

Main Course
Tell us about one of your childhood memories.
The sun is always shining when I remember my childhood and I am always in a big garden playing with toy cars or my big yellow dog. I don't have bad childhood memories. That’s lucky, I guess.

Dessert
If you could extend any of the four seasons to be twice as long as normal, which season would you want to lengthen?
Summer. That’s an obvious answer. More specifically I love May and June. When Summer is starting.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Monday Feast

I stole this from the Fairy, who stole it from someone else.

List ten things you want to say to people you know but you never will, for whatever reason. Don't say who they are. Use each person only once:

1. You are a good influence on me and what you say makes a lot of sense. I know you think you are looking out for our best interests but the advice you have been giving is wrong.

2. I hate the way I feel about you as much as you do because I know you're not worthy of it. You've treated me incredibly badly and then acted like its my fault.

3. I know I sometimes treat you without consideration. Remember that you are always important to me.

4. Its not a matter of meeting the right girl and its not up for negotiation.

5. Don't waste your youth and wake up when you're 40 and think, "I wish I'd made the most of my 20s!"

6. Every time I see you I am struck by how much you would get out of life if you REALLY put yourself first. Leave that place where you live and make the most of the connections you have elsewhere to make a positive new life for yourself.

7. I have so much admiration for the way you have built a brilliant life for yourself whilst still being the same person you were when I met you.

8. You're not a rubbish friend. The reason why you find certain friendships so difficult is because you pick the wrong people.

9. Gosh you're dull.

10. I don't know why but I feel really chuffed that you're in my life. There are several reasons why we shouldn't get on but we just do. Its cool.

And because my Blog was DOWN on Friday here are my feast choice things;


Appetizer
What job would you definitely not want to have?
I wouldn't really want to be a Customer Care Co-ordinator for a Diagnostics Firm. I think it would be really boring and tedious.


Soup
Oprah calls and wants you to appear on her show. What would that day's show be about?
Gayness I guess. It seems to be what most people associate with me. Knowing my luck, it would probably be about having to tell you're family you're actually straight after coming out about being gay.


Salad
Name 3 vegetables that you eat on a regular basis.
Spinach, Broccili, potatos. Living with vegatarians means I eat all sorts.

Main Course
If you were commissioned to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
Shithole - its accurate. (Talking about the town where I grew up there - not where I live now)

Dessert
If you had a personal assistant, what kind of tasks would you have them to do?
Vacuuming - I hate it. And throwing things away which I seem physically incapable of doing.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Things Unspoken

I stole this from the Fairy, who stole it from someone else.

List ten things you want to say to people you know but you never will, for whatever reason. Don't say who they are. Use each person only once:

1. You are a good influence on me and what you say makes a lot of sense. I know you think you are looking out for our best interests but the advice you have been giving is wrong.

2. I hate the way I feel about you as much as you do because I know you're not worthy of it. You've treated me incredibly badly and then acted like its my fault.

3. I know I sometimes treat you without consideration. Remember that you are always important to me.

4. Its not a matter of meeting the right girl and its not up for negotiation.

5. Don't waste your youth and wake up when you're 40 and think, "I wish I'd made the most of my 20s!"

6. Every time I see you I am struck by how much you would get out of life if you REALLY put yourself first. Leave that place where you live and make the most of the connections you have elsewhere to make a positive new life for yourself.

7. I have so much admiration for the way you have built a brilliant life for yourself whilst still being the same person you were when I met you.

8. You're not a rubbish friend. The reason why you find certain friendships so difficult is because you pick the wrong people.

9. Gosh you're dull.

10. You're way isn't necessarily the best way. Don't judge people because they don't agree with you..

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Competition

The Dancin Fairie has just got a book out of the library called Eleanor Rigby. It by Douglas Coupland who also wrote a book called Girlfriend in a Coma.

This set me thinking.

If you had to write your autobiography and it had to have a song title, which song would you pick? I'll give a prize for the best one.

Walking the Line

Last night I went to the movies with the Dancin Fairy. We went to see the Johny Cash Biopic, Walk the Line, and it was marvellous. What is it about films this year? That was the fifth one I've seen and its the fourth one that I didn't just like, I LOVED!!!! (the others are Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Goodnight and Good luck)

Go and see it!

Friday, March 10, 2006

Birthdays

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how intuitive do you think you are?
8. Someone walsk through the door and I can tell if they are ina bad mood or not. I can tell if there is something going on, if someone is pissed off with me and if someone is sad. Maybe that isn't intuition. But I think it is!

Soup
What is your favorite kind of gum?
I thought that said "GUN" then. I thought, "is this Friday Feast thing American?" but on closer inspection I see that it says gum. Well, there's something about Doublemint isn't there. The creamy taste, the "strip" nature of it. The way you can tear it in hald and share it - "great to chew, even better to share" - what a line! When I was thirteen I used to buy a packet of it a day and I'd give most of it to a girl called Sarah who I had a crush on. She'd take the Chud and smile but would she go out with me? Would she hell!!!!! This must have upset me greatly as I never pursued another woman after that.

Salad
Name a CD you own that you would never get rid of.
Tough one. There isn't one. That’s sad, isn't it! I just can't get enthused about CDs! But if I was pushed, I'd say it was ABBA Gold.

Main Course
When was the last time you said something you didn't mean?
Last night. Someone said to me "What's wrong?" and I said "Nothing!" when there was something quite badly wrong and I just wanted to scream and shout! But there you go! Manners before Morals.

Dessert
What is the sum of the numbers in your birthdate? (Example: 3 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 9 = 31)
This is the most bizarre one of these I've ever seen. The answer is 22.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

New Catchphrase

My latest catchphrase is "That simply isn't true!" with particular emphasis on the isn't.

Use it in a sentence today!

Monday, March 06, 2006

Monday Off!

Well, it's the start of another week and I find myself able to Blog at some significant length today as opposed to the hurried posts at lunchtimes at work.
So why am I not at work? Well, I thought I'd take a day out to do nothing. No real reason but I think we all need a day like that from time to time. Especially as the weekends tend to fill up very quickly.

So it was the Oscars last night. And...er...I'm struck by how very dull all the reports about them have been. Philip Seymour Hoffman...yawn...Reese Witherspoon...yawn...Rachel Wiesz...(She's British so we should all be really pleased, apparently, but thats according to the BBC and don't even get me started)...yawn...and Surprise Surprise, Brokeback Mountain didn't win Best Film. I wasn't suprised - its got a gay theme. And Hollywood doesn't like gay people (see how many openly gay actors there are - well apart from Tom (W)Hanks playing an AIDS victim). So is anyone bothered? Please tell me you are!

And now I come to something I havn't spoken about here before. On February 15th this year a 39 year old mother of one died of a brain tumour. Yesterday was her memorial service in a little village church just outside Brighton. The church was jam packed with her friends and family and the service was very moving. Her name was Kelly. She was my Brother's wife and she was one of the most inspirational people I have ever met.

During the service, her friend Sharon, read out a letter from her. It must have been bizarre to plan your own funeral but Kelly's letter was perfect. It was very moving - when she spoke about the love she had for her husband and her four year old son, - but it was also in a strange way uplifting. She was someone who faced such terrible illness but remained positive and even to her last days her thoughts were for those she was leaving behind. She said she'd stopped asking "Why me?" but had started instead to ask "Why not me?" - there was no anger there, just sorrow that it was over so soon and sadness that she wouldn't see her son grow up. Even when she was well she was someone who you admired because she was always busy and she always said what she thought - she kept this too, right up to the end.

I think wherever she is she will be pleased at the way we said goodbye.

So spare a thought for Kelly today. And spare a thought too for Thomas, her son and John, her husband.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Meal

Appetizer
How many pillows and blankets do you sleep with?
A double duvet and three pillows. That’s apparently really bad for you. Oh well.


Soup
What are you currently "addicted" to?
Garlic mushrooms. And fags (the kind you smoke). I tend to get addicted to people but don't have any major ones at the mo!

Salad
If you could make a small change to your current routine or schedule that would make you just a little bit happier, what would it be?
Ahhhhh. There's a question. Without getting too personal, I would sleep less. Time in the morning is at such a premium and if you rush too much it can put you in a bad day for the whole day! Perhaps I should start at 9 instead of 8.30. That would help.

Main Course
Which adjective do you find yourself using often?
"How awful!" is a current favourite phrase. Another is "How Wonderful!" The two are pronounced very slowly and drawn out…"Hoowwwwwwwwww awwwwwwwwwwful!" The advantage of this is that you can start…"Howwwwwwwwww…!" and run the "w" sound into the next word. This way you can keep the suspense going as to whether you are going to say "awful" or "wonderful". It comes from a story my Dad told me. In the 60s the model Twiggy was in a trendy night club in London. In the same club was Princess Margaret, who as you probably know was a bit of a party girl back then. After being there a while Twiggy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned round to find Princess Margaret there. The Princess, a little bit inebriated, said "Is your name Twiggy?". "Yes it is!" responded Twiggs. Princess Margaret looked slightly disgusted and, turning around, said "How awful!" What a woman!

Dessert
Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker?
Not personally. Well, my friend Smith is a hitch-hiker and I've picked him up but not in the traditional "standing at the side of the road" type way. When we were 11 our school went on a trip to North Wales. We were staying on the coast in Criccieth and every night after dinner we'd go to a wonderful beach called Black Rock Sands. Once, on the way back to the Hotel, our randy deputy-head, let's call him Keith, saw too foreign young ladies at the side of the road and banged on the brakes of the coach. Imagine the 11 year old boys sat on the back seats of the bus with these two attractive foreign ladies up front! Giggling all round.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Jokes

After a few days of serious discussion I have decided to revert to attempting humour. So, thanks to Leonie here's few jokes;

On a golf tour in Ireland, Tiger Woods drives his BMW into a petrolstation in a remote part of the Irish countryside.The attendant at the pump greets him in a typical Irish manner,completely unaware of who the golfing pro is:"Top of the mornin' to ye, sir" says the attendant.Tiger nods a quick "Hello" and asks the attendant to fill her up. Ashe takes out his wallet to pay, two golf tees fall out of his pocketonto the ground."What are dey den, son?" asks the attendant."They're called tees" replies Tiger."Well, what on earth are dey for?" inquires the Irishman."They are for resting my balls on when I'm driving", says Tiger."Jaysus", says the Irishman, "Dem boys at BMW tink of everything!" .____________

Five Englishmen in an Audi Quattro arrived at an Irish bordercheckpoint.Paddy the officer stops them and tells them: "It is illegal to put 5people in a Quattro, Quattro means four" "Quattro is just the name of theautomobile," the Englishman retorts disbelievingly. "Look at the papers:this car is designed to carry five persons.""You can't pull that one on me," replies Paddy "Quattro means four.You have five people in your car and you are therefore breaking thelaw."The Englishmen replies angrily, "You idiot! Call your supervisorover I want to speak to someone with more intelligence!""Sorry," says Paddy, "Murphy is busy with 2 guys in a Fiat Uno." _____

Sean walks into a bar and asks for a beer. After drinking it, helooks in his shirt pocket and asks for another beer. After drinkingthat one, he looks in his shirt pocket again and asks for another beer.This happens about another seven times before the bartender asks him,"Why do you keep looking in your pocket?"The man replies, "I have a picture of my wife in there. When shelooks good enough, I'll go home."

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

F*ck music - we've got a debate on our hands.

It seems that Paul and his fantastic posts have stimulated some debate.

Anna, has come back with a great argument which raises some brilliant points.

I'd like to answer her by asking three questions;
1) How do you define a "blockbuster"?
2) Can you name a good "blockbuster"?
3) Is there any excuse for spending $200 million dollars on a movie as futile and pointless as Titanic?

I'm not saying that movies like Spiderman are not entertaining. I'm saying that we shouldn't be ashamed because we do not have the financial power to produce them ourselves. Also, the pointless comedies that the Brits make are these bland romantic comedies like Keeping Mum and to a point, Notting Hill. These films are trite, patronising and make the wide ranging talent that we could potentially show off, look second rate.

Gritty and hard-hitting films always have a point and it's not the complacent point of Brit Flicks or Hollywood. Films like Dirty Pretty Things and Wonderland are true "art" but they are not obvious "issue" movies. The points are often subtle and this is why I love them.

I sometimes feel that you Yankophiles out there dismiss a lot of British culture purely because its British. Shoot me down, please if you wish, but I think we have good reason to be proud.