Escapism in all its many forms, in particular: doodling, becoming obsessive about things/people, and daydreaming. Other things include talking in bad Spanish to people who won't understand anyway, planning holidays which will most likely never happen, inventing drinking games which will most likely never get played, and people watching.
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My new favourite animal, the Tiktaalic it's the missing link between fish and amphibeans. Yet another blow to Intelligent Design...
JK Rowling, now she'd be a cool person to sit and have a cup of cocoa with... if you could avoid being crushed by the hoards of 11 year olds. But apart from the Harry-Potter-no-life-osity, I would say John Lennon (who wouldn't), Leviticus (so I could force feed him shelfish... sorry in-joke), Also the one and only Dylan Morran. (Who is incidentaly taking his stand up to York this May!!!) Cue random image....
Claim to Fame:The one reaonsably famous person I did meet was Bill Nighey (Not counting the time I saw Bruce Forsyth shopping in the 'World Cinema' section of HMV, it makes an interesting story if you happen to know anything about the world cinema section...) Anyway I served mr Nighey in my we olde bookshope which was all very thrilling! Though I guess it would've been cool to have said more than '11.99 please' and 'would you like a bag for that?'. Oh on the topic my dad once dumped a load of frozen pizza bases into Zoe Wanamaker's shopping trolley in Waitrose, though I guess that's more a reflected glory style situation!
I guess my taste is rather eclectic but generaly anything indie, rocky, 80's, beatles-esque e.t.c, with a nice chorus, clever lyrics and something you can tap your feet to. Generaly I have been told I like whiney music and after looking through my collection (which contains a fair few Travis, Muse and Aqualung albums) I am inclined to agree.
Favourite Film: Amelie, though I have watched it far too much recently.
Other Notable Films: Being John Malkovitch, Harold and Maude, American Beauty, Empire of the Sun, Minority Report, The Messenger, Edward Scissorhands and the Witches. Generaly I like clever stuff (verging on pretencious/art-house) anything with some poignant images, memorable dialogue, and normaly some kind of gimicky effect. (As for the Witches... ask Alex...)
Favourite Scene From a Film: When the character in Empire of the Sun comes accross a huge dump full of all the abandoned furniture and goods left by the fleeing British. At dawn he sees a sudden burst of light reflecting off all the chandelers and exspensive dining tables which just turns out to be the afterglow of the atom bomb at Nagasaki. He thinks it's 'God taking a photograph'.
Moment that Makes Me Cry: The scene in Schindlers List when you see the little girl in the red dress (the only colour used in the whole film) lying in an open grave.
Most Overated Film: Shaun of the Dead, I love Spaced, I love the actors, but I found the film painfully mediochre. Also Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I loved Being John Malkovich but this just didn't do it for me.
I'm a big fan of Lost and Six Feet Under at the moment, also Spooks is rather good fun. Spaced, Black Books, and any other surrealist brit-comedy is always good.
Prepare for a lot of blabber: Ghostwritten by David Mitchell is to date the best book I have ever read, the way everyone in his stories end up bumping into each other is great for someone obsessed by the whole idea of coincidences and degrees of separation like myself. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman is also a great great book, I read it first when I was 13 but for teenage fiction its extremely boundary breaking, gay angels, children killing God, Wonderful stuff!! The Timetraveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is also an ace find, quirky as hell but clever, I like it when I know an author thinks the same way I do. Angels in America is not strictly a book (being a play and all) but it's brilliant enough to worm itself into this list, I've never seen/read anything so quotable, intelligent, and yet totaly off its head! Finaly (promise) Gormenghast, it took me an age to actualy read this properly but it really is fantastic, twisted and depressing but the characters are absolutley wonderful.
Ian Mckellen, Tom Robinson, and Lance Armstrong.