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Crawling through technology, life and love Contact me: hotmail gmail home 
Listening: 
Playing: Donkey Kong Jet Racing - Wii iTuning: Podcasts - Russell Brand, Chris Moyles and Mark Kermode Reading: The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas Bits and Bobs: Wish List Gerry's Lyrics Pop Quiz Minipops Quiz Sites I like: Marc Almond Top 40 Singles News IMdb The Register Hacks Sainsbury's Recent GBlogs Arsenal FC Some blogs I enjoy: bboyblues2000 bitful blogadoon brainsluice chig groc minkered scally sparky troubled diva Books recently read: I Never Knew That About London - Christopher Winn The Arsenal Miscellany - Adam Gold Young Hearts Run Free: The Real Story of the 1970s - Dave Haslam Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs Veronika Decides To Die - Paulo Coelho Time Out Guide - Amsterdam Lillian's Story - Kate Grenville The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins Schott's Original Miscellany - Ben Schott Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling A Gay History Of Britain - Matt Cook Time Out Guide to Madrid Time Out Guide to New York Kingdom Come - J. G. Ballard The Hours - Michael Cunningham Mutants - Aramand Marie Leroi A Young Man's Passage - Julian Clary Growing Pains - Billie Piper The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Wild Swans - Jung Chang Highbury: The Story of Arsenal N.5 - Jon Spurling Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins - Rupert Everett Affinity - Sarah Waters Lighthousekeeping - Jeanette Winterson Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini Of Human Bondage - W Somerset Maugham Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Lucky Man - Michael J Fox Labyrinth - Kate Mosse Fingersmith - Sarah Waters The Night Watch - Sarah Waters The Pedant's Revolt - Andrea Barham The Republic Of Trees - Sam Taylor Written On tbe Body - Jeanette Winterson Untold Stories - Alan Bennett The Plot Against America - Philip Roth Read All About It - Max Clifford The Folding Star - Alan Hollinghurst Thursbitch - Alan Garner Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris Staying Alive - Matt Beaumont The Bookseller Of Kabul - Asne Seierstad Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince - J K Rowling A Short History Of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Count Karlstein - Philip Pullman The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood The Spell - Alan Hollinghurst The Double Life Of Daniel Glick - Maurice Caldera The Smoking Diaries - Simon Gray Straight- Boy George Digital Fortress - Dan Brown Deception Point - Dan Brown The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith Angels and Demons - Dan Brown Sydney - Time Out Guide Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood Eleanor Rigby - Douglas Coupland The Scarecrow and His Servant - Philip Pullman Tha Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky Planet Simpson - Chris Turner The Line Of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst Barcelona - Time Out Guide The Closed Circle - Jonathan Coe The Clerkenwell Tales - Peter Ackroyd Copenhagen - TimeOut Guide The Butterfly Tattoo - Philip Pullman The Broken Bridge - Philip Pullman In Search of the Pleasure Palace - Marc Almond Brick Lane - Monica Ali Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre Last Exit To Brooklyn - Hubert Selby Jr You Shall Know Our Velocity - Dave Eggers Touching The Void - Joe Simpson Life Of Pi - Yann Martel Istanbul - Time Out Guide Millennium People - J G Ballard The Duchess Who Wouldn't Sit Down - Jesse Browner Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami Our Man In Havana - Graham Greene The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman Doran - Will Self Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides the book, the film, the t-shirt - matt beaumont High Society - Ben Elton Man And Wife - Tony Parsons I Was A Rat - Philip Pullman Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix - J R Rowling Great Apes - Will Self Barrel Fever - David Sedaris Round Ireland With A Fridge - Tony Hawkes Close Range - Annie Proux The Third Way - Anthony Giddens dot.con - John Cassidy The Salmon of Doubt - Douglas Adams One Hit Wonderland - Tony Hawkes The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen The Cloud Sketcher - Richard Rayner Keane: the Autobiography - Roy Keane A Wasteland of Strangers - Bill Pronzini The English - Jeremy Paxman How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Toby Young Dead Famous - Ben Elton The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman (again) The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman (again) Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman (again) The Bear and The Dragon - Tom Clancy 101 Reykjavik - Hallgrimur Helgason Forward The Foundation - Isaac Asimov Carter Beats The Devil - Glen David Gold The Tin Princess - Philip Pullman Atonement - Ian McEwan The Tiger In The Well - Philip Pullman The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe Generation X - Douglas Copeland Perfume - Patrick Suskind All Families Are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland The Shadow In The North - Phillip Pullman No Logon - Naomi Klein The Dirt - Motley Crue Miss Wyoming - Douglas Coupland The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman The Ruby in the Smoke - Phillip Pullman The Sandman - Miles Gibson Blood and Gold: The Vampire Marius - Anne Rice The Actrocity Exhibition - J G Ballard Shameless - Paul Burston Sing Out! - Boze Hadleigh Brilliant Orange - David Winner New Boy - William Sutcliffe London - Peter Ackroyd Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon One For My Baby - Tony Parsons How To Be Good - Nick Hornby White Teeth - Zadie Smith Lust - Geoff Ryman Tulip Fever - Deborah Moggach Dead Souls - Ian Rankin The House Of Sleep - Jonathan Coe A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers What a carve up! - Jonathan Coe The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck Heartwood - James Lee Burke Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson Man and Boy - Tony Parsons The Map Of Love - Ahdaf Soueif e - Matt Beaumont The e Before Christmas - Matt Beaumont  
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Friday, September 29, 2006
Nazis Invade the West End...Not long ago I went to see the Mel Brooks musical The Producers at the Thursday, September 28, 2006
Cabaret... Last night Stuart, Roger, Kevin and I went to the Lyric Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue to see Cabaret. And what a show! It's laugh out loud funny, sexy and chic."Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome, im Kabaret, au cabaret, to cabaret!" Kander and Ebb's remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a dark and sexually charged haven of decadence, its extraordinary and morally ambiguous inhabitants determined to keep up appearances as the real world - the world outside the comfortable sanctuary of the cabaret - prepares for the nightmarish chaos of war. It says here. Anna Maxwell Martin plays Sally Bowles - you may remember her from His Dark Materials at the National or from Dr Who last year. James Dreyfus (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme) plays the Emcee and Sheila Hancock plays Fraulein Schneider. And despite not being brilliant singers they manage admirably and act their little socks off. The dancing troupe are Bob Fosse standard and convey the throbbing sexuality of the Kit Kat Club to a tee. And I mustn't ignore a certain stand out facet of the production. Something that would have people reaching for their opera glasses (should we have them). The nudity. Full-frontal men and women - and oh boy are those boys well hung! Don't get me wrong. It wasn't gratuitous in any way. All in the best possible taste. And in fact used rather poignantly at the end. So my advice is: Go see. Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Lost Season Two Finale...**No spoilers** When I got back from the footie last night I watched the Lost season two finale double-header. I've been watching the entire series two and was rather more impressed than season one. It was a bit of a slow start for the first half a dozen episodes but soon picked up with some fabby back stories. The finale was suitable enigmatic without being quite as frustrating at the season one finale which left me shouting at the telly. Arsenal 2-0 FC Porto...It was a fine way to celebrate my birthday at the Emirates Stadium last night. A 50th European goal by Henry and a good win for the Gunners put us in command of Champions League Group G. On a more sartorial note I was sporting some rather dapper reversible millinery that Paul had bought me which attracted some admiring, not to say envious, glances and whistles from Block 125. Either that or they were taking the piss. Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The Forty-Five Club......Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to me-e Happy Birthday to me! I share a birthday with a number of 'famous' people. Many of whom I have never heard of. But the ones that always stick in my mind are generally from the world of entertainment: Linda Hamilton, Julie London, George Gershwin, T S Eliot, Winnie Mandela (er, OK, not really in the 'entertainment' camp - more tyre-burning perhaps), Anne Robinson and Will Self (who was born on the exact same day I was). Closer to my heart though are two particular people who I greatly admire and who I am proud to say I was born on the same day as them both. And they are Bryan Ferry (I have always been a big Roxy Music fan) and the ever youthful Olivia Newton-John. Hopelessly devoted to them both. Marva Whitney...Last night Stuart, Darren and I went to see soul legend Marva Whitney at the Jazz Cafe in London's glitzy Camden. She was shit. Monday, September 25, 2006
Bent...On Saturday night Stu and I went to see the delicious Alan Cumming in Bent at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall. It was a great production, brilliantly acted and very moving. Set in Nazi Germany in the 1930s it tells the story of how a gay Berliner party animal gets arrested for simply being gay and is sent to a concentration camp. It's a harrowing tale of what people will do to survive under appalling circumstances although it's not a story without it's humour. Well worth enduring the heat in the theatre. Saturday, September 23, 2006
Arsenal 3-0 Sheffield United...Thank God for that. A home win in our new stadium at last and still a game in hand. Paul and I had a great time on Saturday finding a pub we're happy with before and after the game and a few new friends to chat to. Friday, September 22, 2006
All Metal Gearing...I've been lusting after something for months. Something that will give me hours of fun in the privacy of my own home. And today I've finally given in to temptation. It's my day off so I'm going up to the seedier part of Holloway Road to make my purchase. I'm looking forward to a day of heavy duty hammering and screwing. DIY Porn... Thursday, September 21, 2006
Dancing In The Streets...Last night I took Stu to see Dancing In The Streets at the Playhouse Theatre in London glitzy West End. We'd been meaning to do to the show, now in it's "2nd sensational year", for a while and it lived up to all our expectations. It was slick, energetic and thoroughly modest in it's aspirations. It simply had a cast of a dozen singers taking it in turns to dress up and sing Motown classics (Marvelettes, Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Temptations etc.) A sort of Stars In Your Motown Eyes. We clapped. We sang. We were dancing in the seats. Great fun. Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Ta-Dah...Loving the new Scissor Sisters album Ta-dah. I might even go as far as to say it's better than their first album. Oh and by the way, there is a limited edition of Ta-Dah with an extra second CD called Ta-Dah! [Limited Edition] (love that extra "!") that's worth getting. (And just to be confusing the import version of the album also has that extra "!" too so make sure you get the limited edition with the extra CD) Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Cork: In Pictures...Full set of picture can be seen by clicking here. Alternatively a slideshow can be seen here. To see bigger version of any of the pictures below just click on them.         Monday, September 18, 2006
Cork...This weekend Stuart took me away to Cork as a surprise. Friday night check-in at Stansted is horrendous at the best of times. But the massive queues at check-in, Ryanair wanting to charge us for our hand luggage and the massive queues at security conspired to make it a fresh Hell. Luckily we meet up with the delightful Judith and Gavin who were also coming away with us so we had a shoulder to cry on. Life being such that it is our flight was delayed anyway so we had a crafty pint to steady our nerves. The flight was a manual one to the inevitable 'crash landing' at Cork put me in a foul mood. Luckily by the time Helen had picked us up I was as right as rain. Helen was as charming as Stuart had said she would be and she chatted away as she drove us to Clodagh and Colin where they made us feel very welcome. Clodagh was quite the Irish beauty and had prepared eats and we all ate pizza and stayed up to the early morning drinking, laughing and listening to stories. Saturday came and Clodagh had planned surfing lessons for us. We donned wet suits, grabbed our boards and headed for the surprisingly un-icy Atlantic ocean. And what fun it was? We laughed and surfed and tried to stand up. Stu was quite the star getting vertical three or four times. Even I managed a wobbly erection or two. Exhausted but happy we headed home to shower and then off to The Ivory Tower for a five course four hour banquet. Yummy food but boy was I knackered by the end of it. Sunday was bright and sunny and we seven set off for Blarney. Stone kissing being the order of the day we actually had a lot of fun climbing Blarney castle and seeing the Oirish theme pack that was Blarney Castle grounds. Druids Cave anyone? Witches Kitchen perhaps? A few beers and sandwiches later we were ready for the airport. We said our fond farewells, got my key chain confiscated by security bitch from Hell and got on our flight happy, sated and smiling. It had been a fantastic weekend. Full of generosity, laughter and kindness. A big thank you to Clodagh, Colin, Helen, Judith and Gavin for making it so special and me feel so welcome. And thank you Stu for asking me. Friday, September 15, 2006
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Tickling But Were Afraid to Ask...[This entry is dedicated to Stuart] Have you ever been tickled? Most probably the answer is 'yes'. As every child knows, tickling is the act of touching a part of the body so as to cause involuntary laughter. Belive it or not the subject of tickling has intrigued philosophers since antiquity. Even those old blokes Plato and Aristotle speculated about tickling and its purpose. "Tickle" incidentally is derived from the Old English word tinclian meaning "to touch lightly". Missus. None other than Charles Darwin was the first scientist to seriously analyse this most peculiar human behaviour. In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) Darwin described in detail the involuntary spasms tickling triggers in babies, children, adults, and non-human primates. He concluded that tickling was an ingredient in forming and keeping social bonds. Such bonding occurs through stimulating each other to laugh and feel merry. This is particularly true for parents and children. And me and the boyfriend. Darwin noted that the key to success in tickling is that "the precise point to be tickled must not be known" to the person being tickled. Thus, it is surprise rather than tactile pressure that is a key ingredient in tickling. Oh, how very true, Charles. Subsequent laboratory experiments have found that in people who are extremely suggestible, the threat of being tickled without laying a finger on them is enough to induce hysterics. This is as effective with adults as with children and provides a clue to the fact that tickling is not merely a physical sensation as Darwin theorised. Apart from Darwin's social bond theory for the importance of tickling, there is a simpler theory. The sensation felt when being tickled is similar to the one felt when insects crawl on the body. The tickle response may be a protective warning device against the stings and bites of harmful insects. Interesting facts: * It is unknown why certain areas of the body are more ticklish than others. * Men and women are just as "ticklish". But a few studies suggest that, if either, men may be slightly more ticklish than women. * You cannot tickle yourself. If you try, you will not succeed since there is no surprise or lack of control in the stimulation. But a few studies dispute this as well. * 85 per cent of adults in some way or another enjoy being tickled, tickling others, or watching others being tickled. * Tickling was used as a torture by the ancient Romans. * Tickling is used in sexual fetishism where it is known as "tickle torture". * Research by Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in London found that robotic arms used to tickle people are just as effective as human arms. * Research by Dr D S Bennett of the Integrative Treatment Centres in Denver established that the tickling response is well established by four months of age. * Research headed by Dr M Blagrove from the University of Wales in Swansea shows that the normal tickling response may be absent in those with schizophrenia. Thursday, September 14, 2006
The Woman In Black...Last night Stuart and I went to see The Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre. The show has been running for 18 years and is billed at 'nerve-shedding'. Well, I wouldn't quite go that far but it is good fun. In an Edgar Alan Poe kind of a way. The play is a two-hander (mostly) that tells the story of a certain Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, who is ordered by his firm's senior partner to travel up from London to attend a funeral and then sort out all the papers of the recently deceased Alice Drablow. We have an isolated location, tragic secrets, ghostly figures, uneasy locals and a big deserted house. All the elements of Gothic horror really. We weren't rally scared by any of it but the production was fun and the effects... well.. effective. Now if only those two girls sitting behind us hadn't kept screaming so loudly at every plot twist or vocalising their internal voices quite so loudly, "Don't go in there!" "Oh My God! Oh My God!" and then laughing nervously we might have enjoyed it more. So was the play 'nerve-shedding'? No. But as Bart Simpson would say, maybe people were easier to scare back then. Brain Teaser Answers...1. 5 2. What goes up, must come down. Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Best Actor Biog Ever...A check on IMDB shows Ann Sellors only ever appeared in one film. But if you saw the film then you'll remember her. I wonder why she quit - guess she was afraid of getting typecast. Brain Teasers...1. If 5 cats can catch 5 rats in 5 minutes, how many cats do you need to catch 100 rats in 100 minutes? 2. What is represented by these letters? S M E U O S G T T C A O H M W E Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Mr Bruver... Orville ...I have no idea if this story is actually true - but I so hope it is... "A mate of mine worked for a stage rigging, company - one of his main jobs was looking after aerial safety on Gladiators. In between series he was sent to work at a holiday camp for Keith Harris. The act was supposed to start with him on stage talking to an unseen Orville. The green duck would be whingeing about not being able to fly and would launch into the madly annoying 'I wish I could fly' song which plagued the charts in the 80s. At the climax Orville would be released from the back of the auditorium on a wire to 'fly' over the kids' heads. The job was easy money but Harris turned out to be a complete and utter twat who pissed everyone off. My mate decided to take revenge and one night packed Orville full of stage explosives and a detonator. Half way down the wire cue a loud bang, a shower of green feathers, a room full of traumatised kids and an apoplectic Harris. My mate got fired on the spot, but it was so worth it." Monday, September 11, 2006
Volver...I'm a bit of a late comer to Pedro Almodóvar films having only seen a couple of his earlier ones - before a few days ago that is. On Friday afternoon Guy and I went to see Volver at the Curzon. Fab film. Go see. And on Saturday night Stu and I stayed in and watched Bad Education on DVD - great film too. I just wonder why I've been such a slow coach to get into his films. I've recently bought myself a Pedro Almodóvar box set and so still have Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, Live Flesh, All About My Mother and Talk To Her to look forward to. Saturday, September 09, 2006
Arsenal 1-1 Middlesborough......They had just one shot on goal and made it count. We had 25 shots on goal and only made one count. Arg! I went with my brother, Simon, to the game and it was a nice brotherly bonding session all the same. But what a lame start to the season. 17th! Friday, September 08, 2006
Throat...Last night Ian treated me to a trip to the Bloomsbury Theatre to see the last night of Throat. It was sort of circus, physical theatre, cabaret and dance combined in a witty way. Actor John Paul Zaccarini, suspended above the stage, preens, poses, uses light, flour and water, and moves from vulnerable to cocksure. Great fun. And we had a good old catch up afterwards which was equally fun. Windows Vista 'Upgrade' Options...Below are the upgrade options for current Windows users wanting to install Windows Vista when it becomes readily available next year. And frankly they're crap. Far too many yellow dots and not enough green. So most people will be expected to backup all their data and applications, do a fresh install on Vista and then reinstall/restore everything? People just won't bother. Don't fumble the ball you idiots! Comes across like a Labour Party leadership contest.  Thursday, September 07, 2006
Ibiza 2006: the pictures...I got back from Ibiza last night. Great time had by all. As you will be able to see from the collection of pictures - some of which have been censored!    < -5 BoyLOGS +5 ? > < webloggers > < # Blogging Brits ? >
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