Greta Alison (Lily)

Olive Audrey

Alex Chloe (Jack)

Bess (Ella)

Haidee Elaine & Alyssa Rose (Lucas)

Iris Vita (Harriet, Phoebe)

Vivien Rosemary (Lily)

Helena Antoinette

Lauren & Honor ( Lucia)

Olive Elizabeth (George)

Elsie-May Ellen (Bailey, Ephraim & Marita)

Polly Frances

Aurelia Grace (Isabelle)

Portia Alice

Neve Jennifer (Rylee, Fletcher)

Penny Mary (Hamish, Felicity)

Sacha Tui

Kahlan Lillias (Hayden)

Maggie Iris Rosa (Ruby)

Freyah Lily (Tahlia)

Sabrina Mary

Elsie Olivia (Joel)

Milla Juno (Bodie)

Maeve Ellen (Cormac)

Sidney (Lennox & Munro)

Hugo John

Jasper Stan (Jonty & Tilly)

George Banjo (Hugo)

Tahere Hunter

Albie Murphy

Jack & Keygan (Thomas)

Wilhelm David

Josiah James

Jag Archie

Edward Montgomery (Benji & Samuel)

Wilfred Otis (Theo)

Deaths

Rosanna Jane, Adeline Anne, Sally Elizabeth, Grace Muriel, Margaret Winifred, Ruby Evelyn, Sylvia Winifred, Adele Mary, Violet Hope, Hazel Margaret, Beatrice Mary, Helen Adeline,

Hector Leslie, George Basil, Quentin Phillip, Henry Percival, Leo Charles, Archibald Ralph, Sydney Benjamin.

i know… we look a little formal. we’re not usually this formal. haha!

tonight’s the last SACHA training. if you have access to my twitter, you should know that i am feeling pretty nostalgic about it. it’s always sad to say goodbye, besides, these women are always on the same page as me and we meet every single week! it’s hard to find people who understands what you’re talking about, who gets the issues and are equally concerned as you are about these issues. one thing im happy about for sure is that i can finally start volunteering as a crisis support worker! first shift will be on Sunday. i actually shouldn’t have tweeted out the time slot that i was given! bad move. anyway, we’ll see how it goes. wish me luck!!

oh! and speaking of goodbyes, Tricia will be leaving Hamilton tomorrow. i will definitely miss her so much. i kinda always get myself attached emotionally to the exchange students, i don’t know why. Singaporeans on exchange definitely beat those many other white-washed Singaporeans that i know in being total Singaporeans. rhetorical i know. i mean what’s the point of holding a red Singaporean passport if really you just wanna talk like a freakin’ ang moh & have like ‘eh’ and ‘like’ in every little phrase/sentence. ah well, i just hate it when people don’t want to remember their roots! it’s retarded.

anyway if you read this Trish, Bon Voyage and all the best!

❤

ok, back to books!
xx

View Camille’s book here.

View Sacha Maric’s website here.

As many of you are no doubt already aware, i spent Hallowe’en weekend in seattle with jo-ann and trevor. The trip started off with a somewhat ill-fated trip to Tan Popo for all-you-can-eat sushi. The sushi and assorted Japanese foods were fantastic, my ill-fated remark refers rather to Trevor’s stomach and his need to share it’s relative fullness for the rest of the night via assorted grunts and groans which Jo-ann and I only put up with because we were both well-sauced by this point.

The next morning it was up and out (at least in theory) on our way to Seattle. Trevor and Jo-ann had rented a fantastic grey Prius for our little road trip south of the border and somewhat predictably I now want one – in all fairness so does Jo-ann. Anyway, the road trip was lovely and we soon arrived at the home of Cale and Sacha. Needless to say, drinking ensued. That night we were off to Showbox SoDo – which was a wicked venue, like a big old warehouse, making me feel very much like i was Kyra Sedgewick in the movie ‘Singles’ – to see The Airborne Toxic Event who were brilliant. We did shots of tequila and drank supercans of PBR all night and it was amazing. (BTW, my favourite song by The Airborne Toxic Event is Sometime Around Midnight – click to see the video)

The next day was largely a hangover day and we sort of hung around the house acclimatising to the surprising warmth of Seattle. Later Trevor and I ventured out to the supermarket unsupervised which proved somewhat disastrous as it was not unlike two Id’s who’d left their Ego at home. We came back with over $100 worth of beer, chips, and pop, and beer only costs (!) $10 a case in the states. Any man who can pass a bag of Lay’s Limon or a six-pack of Land Shark Lager is a stronger man than I.

That night we stayed in and watched some terrible hallowe’en fare. The best of the three movies we watched was called ‘Shrooms’ and it was about some supposed friends who flew from America to Ireland on holiday to take mushrooms. I say supposed friends because very early into the film we found ourselves wondering why people who hated eachother as much as this bunch did would waste a thousand-ish dollars flying across the atlantic to spend a holiday together. Furthermore, are there no drugs in America? Who flies to Ireland to take mushrooms? Is this some sort of trend I don’t know about? Is this what all the kids are doing these days? Needless to say all but one of the “friends” ended up dead and the killer, after getting away with all the murders, escaped, for some reason, into the forest. It actually wasn’t a terrible movie apart from these and maybe a few more plot holes. We also watched ‘Stan Helsing’ which was just plain fucked up.

The next day it was time for some sightseeing in downtown Seattle starting with Pike Place Market. We stopped in for a Starbucks, Jo-ann had a thing for the fishermen, and Trevor, for some reason, drank a Hangtown Mary which included a raw oyster dangling nausea-inducingly from a cocktail pick. Later, despite protest from Jo-ann, we ascended the Space Needle which was actually properly amazing. It’s not right in the downtown core so you have a view of that, Puget Sound, and the whole surrounding area. Also, you can walk outside right the way around which is really cool; we had a drink up there and all loved it.

Later, we all kitted up and proceeded to get our drink on. After some initial indecision Sacha decided on Dorothy over Lederhosen, Cale topped his outfit up with a mustache, and I affixed my Cher wig and slipped into my poncho. Upon leaving the house Trevor was already quite drunk, rather foreshadowing the events that later transpired, but at this point each of us were blissfully unaware of anyone’s drunkenness but our own.

After arriving at Showbox at the Market – again, amazing – we got stamps on our wrists and proceeded to enjoy the party-time sounds of Seattle’s very own Cool-Ade. It was a brilliant party and then all of a sudden Cale came up to the rest of us and said that Trevor had been kicked out for being too drunk. After some initial disappointment Cale hatched the rather masterful plan of re-dressing Trevor in some extra bits and pieces, including my poncho and wig (I was also wearing a fantastic psychedelic shirt). So Cale painstakingly removes the Fred Flintstone costume from the now balance-challenged Trevor and replaces it with the wig and poncho. Only after he is fully re-dressed does Trevor point out the big black X that is drawn over the entry stamp on his wrist, precluding him from returning at all.

After a fall in the parking lot and the poncho moving again from Trevor, back to me, and then to Sacha, we’re now on our way home and out of downtown Seattle having only arrived an hour previous. All is going swimmingly again until we’re speeding down the freeway and Trevor decides to open his door to vomit. Only we’re going 65 MPH. And he’s not wearing his seatbelt. So a bit of shitstorm unleashes in the car and Jo-ann and I are trying to hold onto Trevor as his relieves his turbulent stomach onto the busy road (and a little bit onto the car door).

Now, just as we’re trying to find our way back onto the freeway after diverging in order to let Trevor finish up what do we see but A LANDSHARK BILLBOARD! Realizing that this is indeed a stupendous moment Sacha pulls the car to a hault and Cale and I dance a jig beneath it as Jo-ann tries capture the moment on film rather unsuccessfully.

Upon arriving home Trevor headed straight for bed and despite thinking it was a good idea to drug him awake – we failed – the night died down after that. Needless to say Trevor woke up with the mater and pater of all hangovers and we hit the road home.

En route we stopped to get Jack In The Box which was BRILLIANT, Jo-ann decided she needed to try every flavour of vitamin water, and Trevor usurped a coat that I liked at the outlet mall for his own – coatstealer. Finally, the next day we had lunch at the Black Frog before Jo-ann and Trevor had to head back to their real lives in the Big Onion. It was a fabulous trip.

A few things I learned:
1. Trevor’s new nickname is Captain Obvious as he has an uncanny ability for vocalising the obvious.
2. Showbox is fantastic. Go there if you’re in Seattle.
3. Ditto, the Space Needle, it’s surprisingly good.
4. Avoid Trinity night club at all costs. It was aweful and an event transpired as confusing as it was angering.
5. I am quite good at the playing the drums in Rock Band.
6. Do not show Trevor a coat you like at an outlet mall.
7. Lay’s Limon are amazing. (Why do we not have them in Canada?)
8. Jo-ann and I are quite good at swaying a la Sonny and Cher, or at least we seemed to be after a few drinks.
9. Bluto may be the best name ever in the history of horror films.
10. Do not go to Ireland to take shrooms.

To go alongside our Christmas Eve Signal rave here’s the mix CD to hopefully get you all to come along, have a bit of a bop, throw some gun fingers and maybe just maybe eat a mince pie. Maybe.

01. Signal Christmas Eve @ Fez Club Cambridge (Advert)
02. Princess Nyah – Big Boys (DJ C Special)
03. MJ Cole ft. Digga – Gotta Have It (Ill Blu Remix)
04. Alicia Keys – Diary (Metric Moses Refix)
05. Don Haffer  ft. Wayne McNeish – I Apologize
06. Pyper ft. Sacha – Boomerangs (Funky Mix)
07. N.B. Funky – Riddim Box (Hard House Banton Remix)
08. TS7 ft. Teresa – End With Goodnight
09. Donae’O – Watching Her Move (Ill Blu Mix)
10. Skepta ft. Jay Sean – Lush (Fuzzy Logik Mix)
11. Delerious ft. Phoebe – High Off Your Love (DJ C Dub)
12. Undisputed – Basstonez
13. Stush – We Nuh Run
14. Altered Natives Vs. Busy Signal – Da Style Deh (Smutlee Blend)
15. Scorcher ft. Liam Francis – Lipsin’ Ting
16. Wiley ft. The England 10 – She Likes To (Remix)
17. Signal Christmas Eve @ Fez Club Cambridge (Advert)
18. Princess Nyah – Frontline (Lil’ Dave Special)
19. Illmana ft. Stush – Ready Fi Di War
20. Lady Chann – Killa Soundbwoy Fast (Lil’ Dave Special)
21. Geeneus ft. Ms. Dynamite – Get Low
22. Maxwell D – Champagne Dance (09 Funky Mix)
23. Roll Deep ft. Kerry Louise – Show Me What U Got
24. Donae’O – Because I’m Strong
25. Uche – Get Low
26. Princess Nyah – Hooligans
27. H”Two”O ft. Zoe – Pink Love (Ill Blu Remix)
28. Todz & Beatz ft. Chocolate Doll – Cutie (Lil‘ Dave Special)
29. Major Not£$ ft. mellody – Friend Of Mine (Lil’ Dave Dub)
30. Digital Dubstar Ft. Miss Fire – Can’t Say No (Lil’ Dave Dub)
31. Sweet Boy Candy – Pull Away (Lil’ Dave Dub)
32. Wiley ft. Emeli Sande – Never Be Your Woman
33. Maxsta ft. Kerry Louise – The Reason

Download from our Radio Signal site (click the link below please). Bless. The older Signal mixes are up there too if you missed them.

www.radiosignal.co.uk

Catch us standing out in the parr that is the Cambridge weather with CD copies from next week.

If any other blog-ey people would like to blog it on their err… blog, then please do so or maybe you could err “tweet” it for us on your twitter. If you do we can exchange Christmas gifts or something.

As a bonus have another video of Nyah. We love her… we really do.

The following blog post is an edited version of a piece I wrote just before the release of Brüno last July and just after stepping down as a teacher from the private Christian school I worked at during the ‘08-’09 school year. I’ll be posting the piece, which was originally entitled “Real Men Aren’t Gay: Homophobia, Sexism & the Current State of Masculinities,” over the next several days in multiple parts (it’s kind of long).

(Very important disclaimer: I’m not suggesting you run to the video store to rent this movie!)

Part 1:

It’s crude. It’s graphic. It’s beyond politically incorrect. And it’s bound to make just about anyone extremely uncomfortable. Yet, Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s most recent movie, due out on DVD later this week, may be one of the most important movies of the year.

Frankly, I don’t even find Brüno that funny. On a strictly comedic level, he doesn’t hold a candle to Cohen’s other two characters, Borat and (still my favorite) Ali G. But to evaluate Cohen’s work strictly in terms of its comedic value is to overlook its deeper agenda.

Sure, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was arguably the funniest movie of 2006, but the film’s real strength was in its ability to expose the latent bigotries of American public life. And Brüno’s no exception: Behind all of its offensive humor, the film succeeds in exposing the deep-seated hatred for homosexuals in this country.

Having worked as a teacher at a Christian high school, an environment in which otherwise concealed hate is often embraced, if not lauded, I am inclined to say that of all the latent forms of hatred that live on in this country, none are as widespread and vitriolic as that currently harbored for homosexuals.

While Cohen doesn’t exactly “prove” this to be the case with Brüno—though I think he comes close—he goes beyond a simple illustration or a mere confirmation of hatred, and it’s this move which accounts for the true genius of his movie and his comedy in general.

Though perhaps capable of alarming us on some visceral level, simple illustrations and confirmations of hate leave the more important question of why we hate in the first place completely unanswered and often present hate as a whimsical emotion altogether devoid of meaning. But whether our hate is for homosexuals, Muslims, Americans or ponies, it always carries meaning, and Cohen, it seems to me, understands this (the nature of hate) as well as anyone in Hollywood today…

Alguns nomes como os de Luana Piovani, Dado Dolabella, Chitãozinho, Preta Gil, Carolina Dieckmann, a família Camargo toda, entre outros, são proibidos de ser sequer citados nos programas da RedeTV!. Agora, a lista ganha mais um: o de Sasha Meneghel, filha da apresentadora Xuxa.

Segundo a Folha online, a 10ª Câmara Cível do Tribunal de Justiça do Rio manteve decisão que proibiu a RedeTV! de fazer qualquer referência à Sasha, 11 anos, em seus programas de televisão, no site da empresa ou em qualquer outro meio.

A RedeTV! será multada em R$ 5 mil, cada vez que descumprir a medida.

O processo foi movido por Xuxa, depois que Sasha foi satirizada pelos integrantes do Pânico na TV, em setembro deste ano. A brincadeira foi em cima do fato de Sasha ter escrito a palavra cena (com s), no Twitter.

A decisão da justiça se baseou na violação do direito à honra e à imagem da menina que, além de ser menor de idade, foi submetida à execração pública.

Procurada, a assessoria da RedeTV! explicou que a emissora não comenta assuntos sob júdice

Bouche bée.

Justiça proíbe RedeTV! de falar sobre Sasha

A ação foi ajuizada por Sasha, representada no processo pela mãe, depois que ela se tornou alvo de sátiras dos integrantes do “Pânico na TV”, em setembro desse ano. O motivo da brincadeira teria sido o fato de Sasha ter escrito uma palavra de forma errada no Twitter.

Para o magistrado, houve a violação do direito à honra e à imagem da menina, que, além de ser menor de idade, foi submetida à execração pública. “As imagens chocam o telespectador pelo teor totalmente inadequado da informação, sendo certo que se distanciam da liberdade de expressão”, afirmou.

Em seu voto, o desembargador ainda classifica como grotescas as cenas exibidas pela emissora, onde dois comediantes, um vestido como Sasha e o outro caracterizado como sua mãe, abordavam pessoas dentro de um shopping fazendo comentários inadequados.

Segundo a decisão, a RedeTV! será multada em R$ 5.000 cada vez que descumprir a medida.

We have to see that she was super nice and we are surprised she stayed for that long. Paula Abdul just up and went. The scene was deleted because the movie premiered right after Michael Jackson’s death.

I’ve appreciated Sacha Baron Cohen since Borat came out in 2006. So, not that long I guess. I’ve heard of him before, but then I just thought he’s another silly guy doing a white rapper character. When Ali G appeared on that Madonna video I didn’t quite get it. But then he became a world wide star with Borat, and just from his talk shows interviews I could tell the guy’s a genius. I really appreciate how he’s staying in character and can always think fast and say the right thing on the spot. He was extra funny to me since some of Borat’s characteristics were taken from an Israeli character from the 90s (“wa wa wee wa” for instance) which SBC can deny as much as he likes but it makes sense considering he visits his Israeli family every once in a while. He also spook the language when he was supposed to be speaking Kazakh, which made it hilarious since the sentences were irrelevant or  relevant with funny cuss words and weird accent.

Borat of course was recently replaced with Bruno, a totally different character that yet again showed his devotion to one character and great improvisation skills. I knew this movie is going to be much more graphic than Borat, so I quickly realized it’s going to be somewhat uncomfortable to watch it in the cinema. The waiting was hard, and I finally got my hands on the dvd version. It surely is VERY graphic and VERY porn-like. And for that, it was much fun watching it by myself and laughing from the college-humor jokes. However. I was scared for Sacha’s life several times in the film and if you’re reading this and haven’t watched the movie yet.. *spoiler alert!*

Angry angry mobs everywhere. When I saw him in Meah Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem, I thought he’ll get himself beaten up. That’s where the extremely religious fanatics live, and they’re not at all nice to gays, arabs, women who show skin other than face, men who show too much skin, people with cameras and pretty much most people in general. I saw on some board someone who didn’t understand why they were chasing him. Well they’re just insane! And somehow he managed to escape! Good for him. Of course I feared for his life when he hanged out with our neighborly arabs. ‘Cuz really, how often do you hear about gay-friendly arabs? After the movie came out it was said that that guy he interviewed in Lebanon was threating him. Really not a good idea to make fun of a terrorist, Sacha. That was a scary scene to watch.

One of the scariest parts was with the haunting rednecks. Bruno was speaking about the stars and hot men, and then there was a long, looong silence. And he actually stayed and slept in a tent near them! They could have cut off his dick while he was sleeping or something!

The final Straight Dave sequence was so alarming! First, for the existence of such ignorant people. Second, for their violent behavior. Well yeah, him kissing that guy on the ring and stripping and all (LOL) was maybe too much for that kind of event, but how stupid do they need to be to not realize it’s a joke?! Why would they go on with it, if you’re throwing chairs at them. If the net wasn’t there, there had to be an ugly lynch.

In conclusion, along with the very funny parts, the very disgusting parts, the very mind blowing parts (that parent would let their kid dress up as a nazi and push a jewish kid towards the incinerator, really?!) some other parts of the movie just made me hold my breath and wish no one will break SBC’s body parts. He should be making many more ridiculous characters and act all method while building them up! But just, be careful Sacha.

I think this story will turn into a very funny movie one day. I’m willing to bet my bank’s money on it. Here’s how it got reported on the news:

“The FBI in Denver is on the lookout for a serial bank robber dubbed the ‘Shaggy Bandit’ for his resemblance to cartoon canine Scooby-Doo’s human sidekick…According to the FBI, the Shaggy Bandit enters a bank, approaches a teller and demands money. He displays a backpack and generally gets the money (!) and is out the door before any customers even know what is happening.”

He generally gets the money?? Just by asking? Never mind that demanding money from your bank, technically speaking, isn’t a robbery. I thought the point of calling it a robbery is that it is forced. The guy enters the bank, doesn’t carry a weapon nor does he display one. He demands money as in “Scooby-Doo me your money” or who knows what the magic words are, and just like that he gets it!?

J u s t – l i k e – t h a t? Awesome!

Some people might wonder if this is possible. It’s true our government spent billions to bail out the banks. With so much money sitting around in the vaults, this guy might be showing us the fastest way to get it back into the economy.

It wouldn’t surprise me if our banks are so flooded with taxpayers’ money and so confused what to do with it, they are simply giving it away.

This guy is either too brilliant or working for Sacha Cohen on Borat’s sequel and why not? a book called “How to ask your bank to give you money and generally get it..’

Zoinks!

Can you imagine Sacha Cohen playing the Shaggy-Bandit when this whole thing becomes a movie?

This is a heck of a story. I bet my money this will become a great movie. I ‘m so sure about it, I will go raise my bank’s money to prove it.

Now where did I leave my hat, sunglasses and backpack again?

http://www.thinkaloo.com

It’s two years since my last trip to London and this time my agenda was to primarily just hang out and meet up with old and new friends. I had timed this trip to coincide with friend Chris (who lives an hour or so away from me in southern California and) who would also be in London for part of her trip in the UK.

Fortunately, just four days after booking my flight I suddenly had a new purpose for my trip…the announcement that my favorite actor John Simm would be on stage in a new play in the West End! That’s great! I was so very fortunate to see him two years before in Elling and after his beautiful performance I vowed never to miss any opportunity to see him on stage…and the next time would also be more than once!

But first, no trip to London is complete without meeting up with Denzylle who I’ve known for about ten years now. On Monday, Denzylle and I had the opportunity to join Chris and her friend Tony for their day planned full of splendid activities, which included:

The Darkest Victorian London Walking Tour and a visit to

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret

Spiral stairwell entrance-Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret

Operating Theatre

Scale in the Herb Garret

After a short pub crawl we end up at the The Anchor

Denzylle, Chris, Shelley, Tony at The Anchor Pub

By then it was about time for the four of us to see John Simm in “Speaking in Tongues” at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

John Simm in 'Speaking in Tongues' at The Duke of York's Theatre

I really enjoyed this play during its preview run. The split screen scenes with the synchronized scripts are incredibly interwoven and the timing is unbelievable work. John’s 2nd role is my fav of his two. Story is mainly on relationships, communication and trust, with great suspense scenes, a missing woman and some funny lines to ease things a bit here and there.

After the performance we met John at the stage door exit for a group pic!

Shelley, John Simm, Chris at the Duke of York's Theatre

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of my passions is that I am a lifelong horse-lover and learned to ride as an adult. In addition to my day job, I spent 10 years of concentrated schooling at a few equestrian centers on hunters-jumpers, attended a handful of clinics given by professionals and inevitably, in order to offset my lesson and clinic expenses, worked part-time for a number of years at my last trainer’s barn. Unfortunately even supplementing my riding lessons wasn’t enough…it’s all very expensive and I had to give up riding for about the last 10 years now.

BUT there’s nothing like a vacation to pull out all the stops and do the things we love to do the most! So, I arranged for a 1-hour private guided hack/lesson at Wimbledon Village Stables. And that’s when I also experienced my first London Tube “Service has been Suspended” announcement while I was at the station ready to leave!!! Arrghhh! Service suspended at Putney Bridge?! Take a bus from there? LOL well by the time I tried to make other arrangements on the fly, I simply took the Tube as far as I could… and it seemed service was resumed because I made it all the way to Wimbledon and had a great ride out in the parklands.

Wimbledon Village Stables

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On previous trips I stayed in hotels in central London, but this time I tried the Docklands area and not only added the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) to my repertoire of London transport options, but also added new areas of sight-seeing which included the following:

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Royal Park Rose Garden

Greenwich Park Groundskeeper

The National Maritime Museum & Royal Observatory

National Maritime Museum

Royal Observatory Greenwich

Prime Meridian Of The World - between East & West Hemispheres

Prime Meridian Of The World - Standing in both East & West Hemispheres!

Canary Wharf

1 Canada Square - Canary Wharf

1 Canada Square - Canary Wharf

West India Docks, near Canary Wharf

Museum of London Docklands

Museum of London Docklands, West India Docks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But hang on!! What’s with all the sight-seeing? I thought I was supposed to be meeting up with Old and New friends!!! I was thrilled to be able to join up again with Chris and Tony to meet briefly with writer, producer and director, Sacha Bennett for a quick coffee. Due to work commitment last Oct 2008, I had missed attending the London premiere of Sacha’s first feature film,  Tu£sday. Now, having seen both gorgeous films (also his award-winning short “Devilwood“), I cannot wait for more of his work! Sacha has a number of potential projects lined up…so hopefully the wait won’t be a long one!

Sacha Bennett, Shelley - The Breakfast Club, London

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later in the week I also met up again with Denzylle for the popular early evening Jack the Ripper Walking Tour!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday I travelled to Houghton Regis to meet up with friend, David. The last time we met was all of 10 minutes at Piccadilly Circus! I blame the London Tube strike back then for my being late!

Well this time we certainly made a day of it! A Thousand Heartfelt Thanks to David’s lovely wife Kerrie for a perfect start in the morning by letting me ride her beautiful horse, Gemma, for a quick hack in the arena and then out in the surrounding lands.

A morning hack on Gemma (Wildmoor Gemini) - Thanks Kerrie!

Kerrie then let me borrow [or is that good riddance? ] her husband for the rest of the day. David and I took a drive over to Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk for a brewery tour at the Greene King Visitor Centre.

On the way I noticed a bizarre traffic speed control device…which entails installing a physical barrier steadfastly in the one direction lane of traffic, thereby forcing cars to slow down or ultimately stop in order to move out into the opposite lane of oncoming traffic in order to get around the barrier. The hell?!?

"Give Way To Oncoming Vehicles" - Thanks, since there's a sign on a pole blocking my lane!!

Anyway, I digress!! Back to the Brewery Tour!! Here’s a great pic of David (aka R.S. )

David - Greene King Brewery, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Greene King Brewery tour - Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Greene King Brewery tour - Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Greene King Brewery tour - Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Beer Tasting Room, Greene King Brewery tour - Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

David, Shelley - Greene King Brewery

See more Brewery Pics in this album on Facebook

After the tour and beer tasting we were in need of a walk around town…

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

…before getting in the car to head to our final destination, Harlow, Essex and…

THE DOGS at Harlow Stadium!!!

Harlow Stadium - Greyhound Racing

I love going to the racetrack to bet on the ponies but I had never been to a greyhound track!! I was really looking forward to this experience and indeed it was!

Harlow Greyhound Racetrack

My fav bet in horse racing is an “Exacta Box” so I went with the same type of bet, “Reverse Forecast” for the dogs. I only need to pick the two dogs that I think will come in first and second or vice versa. This is actually 2 bets in one so my £1 wager cost £2 per race…steep I know! lol So, I was thrilled when one of my bets paid off!! I can’t remember how much I won exactly…about £15, I think? David won on one of his bets as well.

And They're OFF! Harlow Greyhound Racetrack

It’s still hard to pick winners even with only 6 dogs in every race. Horse racing has at least 2 times the number, you’d think dogs would be easier to get lucky!

Here’s a vid of the start of one of the races (plus the dogs at full speed as they head towards the finish!)

Thanks again to David and Kerrie for such a fantastic day! David, I think next time it’s the Cheese Rolling event for us, then?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, and while it may be my last full day in London, it’s certainly not the least of times, to finally meet NEW friends, plus one more chance after to see John Simm on stage!

Roy, Shelley - The Salisbury, London

Tracy, Shelley - The Salisbury, London

Cath, Yvonne, Shelley - Duke of York's, London

I also met new friend Leigh Ann but our pic together (also with Tracy plus another)…while absolutely hysterical…is still under review by the zany police!! LOL

See more Pics from my One Week in London in this photo album on Facebook

It’s hard to leave after such a wonderful week meeting wonderful friends, traveling the Tube, Bus, DLR, National Rail, seeing London again and the beautiful surrounding areas of England. But the only thing that saw me through my sadness in leaving was that my vacation holiday was only half over! Hey! Now that’s not too shabby! Early the next morning I was on my way to Heathrow Airport and Berlin, Germany!!

(See “One Week in Berlin” Blog)

Depuis que je suis dans mon nouvel appart’ au bord de la promenade des anglais, je me suis remis à la lecture par magie (le calme de la French Riviera aurait-il des effets positifs sur ma concentration littéraire ?).

Bref. En dix jours tout au plus, lecture de trois bouquins qui est un record pour le lecteur médiocre que je suis.

#1 Mes illusions donnent sur la cour, Sacha Sperling

Bouquin que j’ai connu en regardant une émission littéraire sur la 5, où l’auteur était présent accompagné de ses parents spirituels Nothomb et Beigbeder. Premier roman pour un garçon de 18 piges, c’est bon, voire très bon. J’aimerais tant avoir entre mes mains son second roman.
Il était une fois un jeune homme de 14 piges qui cherche ce qu’il est dans ce bas monde et essaie de découvrir qui il est vraiment au travers de la drogue et de la sexualité.
J’aime bien les histoires d’ado qui se cherchent, qui essaient de trouver un sens à leur vie, comme j’ai essayé de le faire et que j’essaie toujours de faire à l’heure actuelle.

Sacha Sperling, le jeune homme qui porte des Nike.

#2 Le voyage d’hiver, Amélie Nothomb

Mon deuxième bouquin lu de Nothomb après le Robert des noms propres. Ce que j’aime chez Nothomb, c’est la finesse de ces romans, court voire pas assez court.
Il était une fois un type travaillant pour EDF qui se prend d’amour pour une fille écrivain qui n’en est pas un. Il va jouer les terroristes pour lui prouver son amour.
Les personnages principaux portent toujours des noms venus d’ailleurs, et on se demande même comment ont-ils pu survivre à la cour de récré avec un nom pareil !

#3 Mon père est femme de ménage, Saphia Azzeddine

Un joli visage qui ne manque pas de charme, elle m’a plu chez Denisot. Surtout quand elle dit que Michael est devenu Jackson à cause de ce que lui à fait subir son père : son génie vient de son enfance malheureuse. S’il avait eu des parents “normaux”, ne serait-il jamais devenu King of Pop.
Il était une fois Paul, 14 ans, qui a honte du travail qu’exerce son père c’est-à-dire femme de ménage. Mais il se rend compte que son père n’est pas si honteux que cela et qu’il vaut mille fois mieux que les autres papas du monde.
Un livre simple, qui ne se prend pas la tête.

Pretty girl.

Sam nie wiem czemu, ale każdy film Sachy Barona Cohena kompletnie mnie rozkłada na łopatki. Poziom humoru serwowany przez brytyjskiego komika w skeczach nie jest może zbyt wysoki i inteligentny, nie mniej obnaża on ludzkie słabości w nowoczesnym świecie. Niezwykle udana satyra na amerykańską ignorancję i konserwatyzm ukazana w Boracie przełożyła się na kolejny odcinek z cyklu “z kamerą w Ameryce”. Tym razem Cohen udaje austriackiego geja, który poszukuje sławy.

Cohenowi po raz kolejny udaje się widza rozśmieszyć. Pozornie dowcipy sprowadzają się do pokazania dziwnych przyzwyczajeń i zachowania homoseksualistów. Z drugiej strony jest to decyzja w pełni słuszna, albowiem Brüno to wypisz wymaluj typowy gej, zakorzeniony w głowach mało rozgarniętych ludzi. Lśniące ciuchy, farbowane włosy, zadbana cera, cienki (ale bez przesady) głos to cechy charakterystyczne dla wyobrażenia szarego Kowalskiego o przedstawicielu homoseksualnej społeczności.

Schemat fabularny pozostał niezmieniony. Początek filmu ukazuje żywot bohatera w ojczyźnie, jego środowisko i najbliższe osoby. Koniec końców ląduje on w Stanach Zjednoczonych i rozpoczyna przygodę jakiej nie powstydziłby się sam Forrest Gump. Brüno tak naprawdę stoi od razu na straconej pozycji bo jego skądinąd gejowski gust nie może wpasować się w społecznościową szarzyznę, która często prezentuje kontrowersyjny stosunek do osoby o odmiennej orientacji seksualnej. Przykładowo w takiej Alabamie homofobia jest na porządku dziennym, a dzielny Austriak postanawia zawitać i tam. Te aspekty Cohen przedstawił dość oszczędnie w stosunku do Borata. Więcej tu zwykłego rechotania się z rzeczywistości, aniżeli wyniesionych z seansu mądrości. W rezultacie finał całej historii jest dość rozczarowujący i banalny.

Na nowym filmie Cohena można się jednak bardzo dobrze zabawić. Kilka scen konkretnie rozrusza mięśnie brzuchów fanów twórczości Brytyjczyka i doprowadzi do łez (tych pozytywnych). Reszta, nie do końca przekonana do jego stylu może spokojnie odpuścić Brüno, albowiem nie jest to nic innego jak kolejny Borat ubrany w nowe szaty.

3/10  ***

Bruno is a 2009 muckomentary movie which was released  by Universal pictures on 10 July 2009 (USA). The movie stars Sacha Baron Cohen and Gustaf Hammarsten.This film is the third based on characters from Da Ali G Show, following Ali G Indahouse and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

• Plot Summary:

Bruno (Cohen)  is an austrian gay fashion reporter who hosts his own fashion show. But when at one occasion he is disgraced in front of the fan base, he decides to go to Los Angeles in search of fame with his gay assistant Lutz (Hammarsten). There in Los Angelos he tries everything, from making TV shows to adopting a black child in order to gain fame but in the end only Lutz believes in his greatness. Bruno is vain and breakups with Lutz. He tries to become straight and starts various activities like hunting and going to swingers parties but he is a failure everywhere. At last he tries the WWF and becomes famous under the alias “Straight Dave”. In the ring he tries to fight his former assistant Lutz. But during the fight there love for each other is rekindled and they start making love in the WWF ring. The movie ends with Lutz and Bruno married and living happily ever after.

• Review:

Why you should watch this movie:

Dont really know what to write here. It has its funny scenes  but its not for everyone. The reactions vary. Some call it piece of trash but others call it absolutly hilarious. It is a foolish mistake of critics to try to find out everything in every movie (direction , acting , scene selection, choreography bla bla bla ). Some movies are written with only one purpose in mind, ” to provide some moments of laughter to the audience”. Their aim is simple and straight forward and I am sad for Cohen because his movie did not  achieve  that purpose completely. He tried to be funny but xcept for the few funny scenes the movie was a failure. For the people who wish to see this movie I have only these words of advice ..” Assume nothing and expect anything”.

Why you shouldnot watch this movie:

Brüno is not a film for the faint-hearted. One requires a fair knowledge of the sexual world, as well as a strong stomach, to be able to both understand a fair deal of the film’s jokes, as well as be able to sit through them. There are a lot of scenes involving shots of genetalia, both male and female. You can enjoy some scenes of the movie , but for me most of the movie made me fall asleep. Borat was good, but this movie was a fail.  Borat had ’some’ mature humour as well but this movie just lowered the bar and made the standards so low i couldnt believe my eyes. I mean how did Cohen considered “flashing a d*** on the screen for more than 30 seconds as funny”?? All the real funny scenes in the movie can be seen in the trailer. Rest there is nothing much to see. There is no purpose watso ever in the movie. A gay guy who is looking for fame travels around the world  *boring*   and flashes genitals from time to time and cracks racist jokes  just to make the bore moments funny. This sucks.

  Bottom line:

To give the film a good review insinuates that direction, screenplay, cinematography, art direction, ensemble acting, and essentially every other technical aspect of film-making can be ignored, neglected, and as long as the film makes you laugh it is then great.  But Bruno lacks everything. Its disgusting  humor does not make up for its lack of substance,and thats why I have given it a pathetic 3/10.

Download Section:

 To download the movie wallpapers click on the link below:

http://wallpapers99.com/Bruno.htm

To download the OST please click below:

http://www.filestube.com/be730671348f7ca803e9,g/Bruno-Soundtrack.html

To download the movie via torrent click below:

http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Bruno-2009-DVDRip-XviD-MAX/435829f3d9dac491f0dce466fbac085013d3063bf932

~!~…xxcritic…~!~

Talk about not dreaming, my last actual dream was August 25th. I thought my dream machine was broken.

This morning however,  I had a dream that I owned a loft above Universal Citywalk. In real life, I can’t stand Citywalk, it rubs every part of me the wrong way. But my loft was certainly fancy, a lot of black and white and floor to ceiling windows, it was a penthouse, I did enjoy it there.

I was bar hoping by the large neon gorilla with Sacha and Alissa. We watched the tourists fall out of bars, do lines off their friend’s backs, fight, mostly boys, mostly in red shirts.

There was an odd pause in the flow of the evening, Alissa disappeared. We found her near the port-a-potties, phone in hand.

“I have a dinner meeting at _____ restaurant at the pier.” This was stated in a matter of fact like tone.

I said, “That’s stupid, they don’t serve vegetarian food there.”

I woke up annoyed.

Aside from the usual.

Ivan, Ambrose, Roman, Evan, Sean, Elwyn, Darius,

Alystair, Wyatt, Emilio, Hannes, Nikhil, Sacha.

Melissa Anna, Danika, Tyra-Lee, Harlee, Azaria,

Maxima, Livia, Dottie, Medina, Katrina, Elsa,

Thea, Jackie Anne, Tory.

Maia & Riley. Lydia, Elias & Lucas.

Sam & Molly. Johannes & Amelia.

Eliana. Caitlin & Carrie (t)

Joshua. Blake & Evelyn.

Phoebe, Sophie & Chali.

Benjamin. Emma. Ella.

Turner & Jack.

Sacha, Thomas & Ben.

George & Madison.

Lachlan & Zachary.

Georgia & Max.

Tyler & Gemma.

William. Cameron.

Hannah & Josh.

Elijah & Patrick.

Nicholas & Mikayla.

Chloe & Nicholas.

Caleb, Jade & Thomas.

Miller & Tyler.

Ben & Olivia.

OI GENTE!

DEPOIS QUE FALARAM UM MONTE DE COISAS HORRÍVEIS PRA MIM E PRA MINHA FILHA LINDA RESOLVI DESISTIR DO TWITTER. ENTÃO EU RESOLVI COMEÇAR A POSTAR AQUI NO SEM CONSENSO PORQUE É UM BLOG TODO COSMOPOLITA E ME ACEITA DO JEITINHO QUE EU SOU.

ENTÃO VOU FALAR AS NOVIDADES, EU TO GRAVANDO UM FILME CHAMADO XUXA E O MISTÉRIO DO FEIURINHA (NÃO ME PERGUNTEM POR QUE FEIURINHA, FALEM COM O PEDRO BANDEIRA) E A HISTÓRIA É MAIS OU MENOS ESSA:

EU CONHEÇO UM MENINO CHAMADO FEIURINHA E RESOLVO MOSTRAR PRA ELE COMO SOU MACIA.

BRIMKS, ESSE AÍ JÁ É ANTIGO RS. AI BONS TEMPOS…

ENTÃO NÃO VOU FALAR MAIS SOBRE O FILME PORQUE PODE ESTRAGAR A SURPRESA NÉ? MAS A SASHA MINHA FILHA LINDA VAI ESTAR NELE, CONTRACENAR COM A COBRA E TUDO.

FALANDO NA SASHA VOCÊS TINHAM QUE VER QUE HORROR NÓS PASSAMOS. PEDI PRA MINHA FILHA LINDA USAR O TWITTER PRA FALAR COM OS MEUS FÃS MARAVILHOSOS E COMEÇARAM A FALAR ABSURDOS PRA ELA SÓ PORQUE ELA COMETEU UM ERRINHO DE NADA NUMA PALAVRA.

“tenho q ir vou fazer uma SENA com a cobra” .

GENTE PELO AMOR DE DEUS, ONDE ESTÁ A ÉTICA DE VCS? ONDE ESTÁ A MORAL?

ISSO É INVEJA, ATÉ KARLA MINHA DERMATOLOGISTA CONCORDOU. MAS QUE VCS FAÇAM BOM APROVEITO DO PORTUGUES SERTINHO DE VCS MINHA FILHA FOI AFALBETIZADA EM INGLÊS.

PRA TERMINAR COM BASTANTE ENERGIA POSITIVA VEJAM ESSE VÍDEO QUE UM FAN MUITO LINDO FEZ PRA MIM

BJNHOS BJNHOS TCHAL TCHAL