Quote Of The Day

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)"

Friday, July 31, 2009

All My Little Words - 8-bit version...

A song originally performed by The Magnetic Fields, from their glorious album 69 Love Songs. This version is played on a classic Game Boy using LSDJ software. Marvellous.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Overweight People Live Longer...

Cheerful news for those whose Body Mass Index (BMI) falls into the "overweight" - you will probably live longer than a person whose BMI is "ideal". Boffins in Canada and America (OK, the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research) revealed the new findings following a study of over 11,000 Canadians covering the last 12 years.

"It's not surprising that extreme underweight and extreme obesity increase the risk of dying, but it is surprising that carrying a little extra weight may give people a longevity advantage," said David Feeny, PhD, one of the study's authors.

My BMI is 23.55. What's yours?

What is lamb, hogget and mutton?

OK, this came up in a pub quiz we did last year. And knowing what hogget was won us the cash. So just in case you find yourself in a similar position...

Lamb is the meat from the ovine ('sheep' to you and me) that is less than one year old. It has a mild flavour and low in internal and external fat. Requires short cooking times.

Hogget is the meat from the ovine that is one to two years old. It has a more intense flavour than lamb, low to medium in internal and external fat. Requires longer cooking times than lamb and more suited to roasting, stewing and braising.

Mutton is the meat from the ovine that is more than two years old. It has a very strong flavour, is high in internal and external fat. Requires extended cooking times and more suited to curing, 2nd class roasting (slow and low heat), stewing and braising.

So, now you know my little lambs.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Bristol, Bath and Mary Wilson...

Darren, Rachel, Stu and I had a fabulous weekend away last weekend. We went to Bristol and Bath. In Bristol we met up with Hudd and Chris for lunch at Browns. Sadly the queue for the Banksy was just way too long (three hours). Then we took the train over to Bath in the afternoon to see Mary Wilson of The Supremes introduce a showing of Dreamgirls at the Little Theatre. In the evening we went out for posh nosh at the Gold Brickhouse and then sampled what Bristolian night life had to offer; Bristol Bear Bar and ladies in rubber seemed to be the order of the day night.



On the Sunday we partook of the waters at the rather fabulous Thermae Bath Spa and then went to see Paul Gambaccini in conversation with Mary Wilson at the Bath Assembly Rooms.

All in all, a great weekend away. More snaps here.

Friday, July 24, 2009

G’day Vader…

Star Wars the TV series has started filming – should be out next year. Set between Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope George Lucas has described it as “Deadwood meets The Sopranos in space”. It’s been written by the Aussie guys behind Love My Way and The Secret Life Of Us.

Wiiiiii…

Wii Sport Resort is out today so I've got the day off and have got up early to go and queue at Game to buy it along with the super sensitive Wii MotionPlus. Yippie!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Watchmoan…

Watchmen is out on DVD this week. Yawn.

Moon vs Sun...

Took this as I was passing the Screen On The Green earlier today. Made me smile.

Herne Hill...

On Sunday we went over to see Jude, Gavin and their super new baby Benjy. We also popped across the road to Brockwell Park to go to the Lambeth Country Fair; sheep shearing, owls, goats, cows, food, stalls, bands and (best of all) a funny vegetable competition. Fab day out. More snaps here.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Andrew's Birthday Drinks...

On Saturday Stu and I were out helping the birthday celebrate his birthday. First stop the Duke of Wellington in Soho. Then on to the new Profile bar. And finally Duckie. All great fun and Andrew, Tim and DL were all in fine fettle. You can see more snaps here.

We are also planning a good old fashioned pub crawl in the near future. As many gay bars as we can manage in one night.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Barnet 2 - 2 Arsenal...

Paul and I went to the first friendly of the season at Barnet FC on Saturday. It's an annual event and always a good laugh. We even got to watch the cricket. The Underhill ground itself is on a wonderful slope... so it was all downhill in the second half (fnah).

More snaps here.

Monday, July 20, 2009

What Wrong With Angry?...

On Friday Andy, Kev, Stu and I went to the Kings Head in Islington's glamorous Upper Street to see What Wrong With Angry?

The story is about an 'out' sixteen year old school boy who while cottaging one day hooks up with the head boy at the school. However the course of true love doesn't run smooth.

The play was written in 1992 when the Age of Consent for gays was five years older than heterosexuals, and Section 28 prohibited schools and local authorities from depicting homosexual relationships as an acceptable view of family life.



Friday, July 17, 2009

The Daily Telegraph In Rape Controversy...

I love Ben Goldacre. I really do. Here is an example of his work, a recent article on The Daily Telegraph spreading misinformation and lies about rape.

The Telegraph printed a correction:
Owing to an editing error, our report “Women who dress provocatively more likely to be raped, claim scientists” (June 23) wrongly stated that research presented at the recent BPS conference by Sophia Shaw found that women who drink alcohol are more likely to be raped. In fact, the research found the opposite. We apologise for our error.

Blood Boil #2...

Two things get my goat. Being ripped off and being ripped off.

I go my home EDF electricity bill this week. £1380.06 for a three month period. Surely some mistake?

Electricity bill. Surely some mistake?

Blood Boil #1..

Two things get my goat. Being ripped off and being ripped off.

I have two telly boxes from Virgin Media. I get the first one, a V+ box (PVR, HD etc.), for free as part of the XL deal and am being charged £15 a month for the other non-V+ one. Only when I checked their web site it turns out I'm being overcharged for that 2nd box. Grrr!

My solution? I've got them to upgrade my 2nd box to be a V+ box too. So I'll have two. The total rental cost will only be just £5 a month. Saving me £10 a month (for much better kit)! Ha!

Virgin media box ripoff. Thanks for over-charging me!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Jason Eisener's Treevenge Short Film...

The Christmas trees fight back. Warning: get's pretty gory towards the end.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Insomnia...

Gosh, it's good to be back home but boy did those twenty-five hour days of sunlight play havoc with my body clock. I'm not quite sure which way is up today.

Chatting to many Icelandic people over this weekend just gone they say that they have got used to having all daylight in the height of summer and all darkness in the mid-winter. And I guess that must be true because even in the five short long days we were in Reykjavik both Stu and I had adjusted so much that we were genuinely surprised to see darkness when we got back to the UK on Monday night.

Still, lovely though it was, I think if I lived in Iceland's latitude I'd be manic all summer from not being able to sleep and super-depressed all winter wondering where the light had gone.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Iceland...

It's been an amazing stay here in the land of the midnight sun. Everybody has been so kind.

Not least Sasi who has not only leant us his car to travel around, given us his advice and help at every turn but also intoduced us to his lovely friends who have welcomed us with outstretched arms.

In particular there was Petur who has cooked for us, driven us to many an Icelandic beauty spot (nice Land-Rover Sport by the way) and lent us everything from fleeces to swimming keks. What a star. Our camping trip on Saturday night deserves particular mention. Sasi, Petur, Stu and I drove into the remote but stunning Icelandic landscape to meet up with about one hundred other people to celebrate JonThaw's (spelling?) birthday. We pitched out voluminous tent, we barbecued, we drank, we built a massive bonfire and we sang songs. Oh and we laughed. All night. It was quite magical. I will never forget it. We felt like we belonged.

Sure Iceland has a lot to offer the visitor; mountains, rivers, glaciers, geysers, lava fields and hot springs. But it was the people that we met that was truly the revelation and the wonder. Everyone was so kind to us. And if this was typical Icelandic generously then it is indeed a country blessed.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Reykjavik 101...

Sunset/sunrise, 3am dawn, yoghurt not milk, Mrs Madrigal's coffee
shop, Russian made water Goddess with the shifty gear shift, how do we
get out of this place?, Selfoss, KFC, hot thrusting geysers, Geysir,
hot thrusting geezers, lava fields, tumultuous waterfalls, Gullfloss,
mountain roads, dirt tracks, Pingvellir, glaciers, mountains, Euro
tectonic plate meets US tectonic plate with an unholy gash, dust,
desolation, scrub land, corrugated iron houses, over-worldly beauty.

And we're not been here twenty-four hours yet!

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Iceland Bound...

We are off to Reykjavik later today for five very long days and four very short nights. Not that we were planning on getting much shut-eye anyway. What with our packed itinerary and the world famous Reykjavik runtur. Can't wait!

Here are the daylight hours for the next few days:
Date 09th July 2009 Sunrise 03:24 Sunset 23:40 Day Length 20h 15m 32s
Date 10th July 2009 Sunrise 03:27 Sunset 23:37 Day Length 20h 10m 23s
Date 11th July 2009 Sunrise 03:30 Sunset 23:35 Day Length 20h 05m 06s
Date 12th July 2009 Sunrise 03:33 Sunset 23:32 Day Length 19h 59m 41s

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

11 Time Lords A-Leaping...

The BBC will unite every incarnation of Doctor Who for a one-off Children in Need special in November - with new Time Lord Matt Smith making his debut alongside William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

Viewers will see the Time Lords regenerating and emerging one by one from the Tardis, each with their own quirky opening line. David Tennant is the central character in the episode. He’s trying to hunt down some special time travel apparatus.

In case you're wondering just how Hartnell, Pertwee and Troughton will be offering their assistance, a source at the BBC explained: “The actors who are no longer with us, William, Jon and Patrick, will make special cameo appearances, with footage from original shows being flashed up on screen."

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Gay Shame 2009...

We had a fantastic gay shame this year as you can probably see from this montage. The costumes held out (mostly), the shows were fun (mostly) and we got a chance to take over the Brixton Academy (mostly). We'll have to do something different next year though! Here are some more pix.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Gay Pride 2009...

We had a fantastic gay pride this year as you can probably see from this montage. The weather held out (mostly), the parade was fun (mostly) and we got a chance to take over the streets (mostly). Maybe next year the stewards could be a little bit less dictatorial though! Here are some more pix.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Gay Shame ... now with Saint Etienne!

This Saturday it's Gay Pride. And the must-do event is, as ever, Gay Shame. This year it's at the Brixton Academy and the theme is: Gay Shame ... Goes Girly (A Festival of Femininity)

He's the info:

A pro-femme funfair for post-gay chicks and chaps An arty farty party for the clitterati… and a nightclub packed with things to do!

35 side shows - 3500 patrons - 150 artistes

Designed by Robin Whitmore - Hostessed by Miss Amy Lamé
DJs Readers Wifes / Guest DJs Unskinny Bop

With Saint Etienne on the main stage

Tickets: £15 in advance.
www.ticketweb.co.uk 08444 77 2000
Small booking fee online or by phone.
For no booking fee, buy tickets in person in advance from The Retro Bar, 2 George Court, WC2.
Very Limited amount of tickets on the door.
This event will sell out.
Please come early.

Decorate a cake - Multi-Task - Be Hysterical - Paint a gentle watercolour of a front bottom - Get Arrested by the Femme Police – Embroider a Tapestry - Have a Backstreet Abortion - Be a Fashion Model – Be a stereotype - Test your Feminine Qualities - Have your nipples cast in chocolate - Visit the Womyn’s ‘Safe Space’ and worship the Sacred Goddess C**t
Do some low paid factory work - Get wasted at the Hen Party
Duck away from the Yummy Mummys - Put your lipstick traces everywhere
Model naked with your sisters - Show us what’s in your handbag – Hoover
Have a boob job - Smell Mummys Perfume - Breastfeed - Give birth - Arrange Flowers – Clean Toilets – Have a bedbath - Have a Facinator made - Buy some Jam from the Womens Institute
Enjoy Musicals - Watch your weight
But most of all …Go shopping.

The last ever Gay Shame is an indoor po-mo-homo-lesbo playground full of interactive art and alternative ideas.

It is a creative rebellion against the banalities of the mainstream Gay Pride festival and a satire on the commercialisation of our community.

After last year’s comic condemnation of masculinity
comes this summer’s celebration of femininity.

Calling all butches of both genders: stop being hard and let down your guard.

So dress up, enter the entertainment emporium,
collect your currency of green shield stamps
and spend them in our glamorous ersatz department store.

Ladies are powerful consumers!

The Sideshows

Russell Harris & Janine Harrington
The Welcoming Party

Bird La Bird
The Femme Police

Wrench & Franks
Department X

Too Many Divas
The WI Tent

Sue Frumin & Clare Morgan
Fanny's Fancies

Completely Naked
Feminine Tableux Vivants

Tom Mcleod & Susannah Hart
Ten Classic Breasts

Miss High Leg Kick and Steve Nice
The Enchanted Forest - Miss High Leg Kick's Hair Removal Clinic

Roy Kerr
Up Miss Ella Vator

The Sartorial Eventists
Millinery Miss Fits

Howard Hardiman
The Beauty Factory

Nicholas Immaculate
Woman's Work @ The Beauty Factory

Scottee
Abortive Tapestry

Miho Kuramata & Kate Street
Female Stereotypes

Charlie Pulford & Joanna Neary
World of Lipstick

Dr T.Estosterone & Dr S.Punk & Nurse Olgasmic
100% Femme

Ryan Styles
Milk Bar

Thom Shaw & Ryan Ormonde
Eau de Maman

Tim Spooner
Immaculate Childbirth

Lucille Power
Mummy's Little Helper

The Bears
The Care Bears' Girly, Sissy-Play Party

Mitch & Parry
Mitchelino and Parriola - Chocolatier

Timberlina & Hilda Eusébio
Emotional Couture

Brian Lobel
Georgia's O

Lois Weaver
Hitchcock Handbags

Johanna Linsley
House of Hysteria

The Actionettes
Adventures in Ladyland

Hewlett & Eaton
Barbara and Yogashwara's Safe Space

H. Plewis
The Hen Party

Rachel Davies
Yummy Mummys

Sheila Ghelani
Nurse Knows Best

H. Plewis
Breast Feeding

Matthew Robbins
Dolls House Cinema

Jonny Woo
The Misadventures of Wonder Woman

Andrew Humphrey
Tupperware Party

The Muffia
The Makeover

Co-Starring The Stylinquents, Zpark, Neal Medlyn, Dickie Beau, La John Joseph, Russella, Eirini Kartsaki, Olga Raciborska, Geneva Foster Gluck, Harriot Plewis, Francesca Millican-Slater, Heather Long, Claire Nolan, Kris Woods, Louise Mothersole, Jo Palmer, Annabel Lee, Derya Ekinc, James Woods, Sally Marie, Polly Nash, Deborah Penny, Alice Martin, Benjamin Sebastian, Lottie Leedham, Tom Brooks, Tamsin Hull, Lynne Verrall, Kate Rigden, Rosie Cooper, Diana Hill, Elodie Escarmelle, James Gorrett, Lizzie Sells, Louise Tanoto, Liz Watkins, Jinn, Am Elemara, Katy Pearce & Gemma William, Joan Dairy Queen, Nicola Singh, Season Butler, Alun Davies, Johanna Schuster-Craig, Nurse Katherina Radeva, Nurse Jiva Parthipan, Nurse Natasha Davis, Nurse Chloe Dechery, Nurse Hannah Crosson & Nurse Victoria Firth, Officer Mademoiselle Jolie Rouge, Officer Deni Francis, Officer Joy Kahumbu, Officer Rooshka, Officer Ronx and others to be confirmed.

Dress code: radical femmes, first ladies, femme doms, fairies, WI’s, debutantes, dandies, birds, brides, blowzabellas, quentins, spinsters, sissies, suffragettes …and their butch brethren.

Further info 020 7737 4043

Streetwise Safety: police presence at tube and outside venue and changing facilities at venue if needed.

Funded by Arts Council England.

Supported by Diva, The Pink Paper, Gay Times and Metropolitan Police.

Muscle March WiiWare...

This is why I play video games; muscle men, polar bears and hyper-mania.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Torchwood: Asylum / Golden Age / The Dead Line

As a precursor to Torchwood hitting our screens next week there are to be three forty-five minute Torchwood radio plays broadcast this week on BBC Radio Four. They will be broadcast at 2:15pm (the Afternoon Play slot)) and then available for download for seven days after the broadcast.

These three episodes are considered “canon” and will bring the series’ backstory up to date before the première Children of Earth.

Torchwood: Asylum
2.15-3.00pm, Wednesday 1 July 2009
When PC Andy arrests a teenager for shoplifting, he thinks it is going to be a routine case. Then he sees the weapon she is carrying and decides to call in the Torchwood team.
By Anita Sullivan.

Torchwood: Golden Age
2.15-3.00pm, Thursday 2 July 2009
The Torchwood team are led to Delhi on the trail of a dangerous energy field.
By James Goss.

Torchwood: The Dead Line
2.15-3.00pm, Friday 3 July 2009
When a Cardiff hospital is inundated with patients who have fallen into coma – like trances, Torchwood move in to investigate.
By Phil Ford.

Torchwood: Children Of Earth...

All next week at 9pm on BBC One and BBC HD we will have the pleasure of seeing the Torchwood team (Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones) return for a brand-new adventure in Torchwood: Children Of Earth, a new five-part series.