Can't help myself getting annoyed at pretty much everything. However, when I calm down, I enjoy...
Music, going to gigs, buying too many CDs.
Reading books, you remember, it used to be big in the olden days.
Art, museums, interesting places.
Watching good TV/films, especially old black and white films, cuddled up on the sofa with my partner, preferably with a nice cup of tea. However, I also stay up late watching bad TV/films by myself, and I wish I didn't do so much of that. I hate reality TV and never watch it. Anything with the word "celebrity" in the title isn't worth bothering with, the word has lost all meaning. I'm going to watch less TV and read more books from now on. Well, that's the intention.
Food...mmm, food! Food good!
Science, all sorts, I can't get enough. I recommend New Scientist Magazine if you're into science as well.
I spend far too much time on myspace. There are worse things you can do with your time. I also do quite a lot of those too.
I'd like to meet:
I've already met her.
Music:
Clearlake are my favourite band. Their songs really hit a chord with me. "Winterlight" and "Jumblesailing" being the two best songs ever written. Hold the front page though, have you heard "Intervention" by Arcade Fire? How fantastic a track is that? I almost cry every time I hear it. My new favourite song. It's on "Neon Bible".
The best piece of music ever written would have to be "Gnossienne No.#1" by Erik Satie.
I love the Bristol music scene. So many excellent, world class bands, most of which the world hasn't heard of, yet. Forget trip hop and all that stuff, it's guitars baby! From a really strong acoustic scene to screaming metal bands and everything in between, Bristol has it all, and it's mostly of an incredibly high standard. Start by checking out Misophone, Babel, Venus Bogardus, Countryside, The Cedar, Turbowolf, Ulysses and Fortune Drive, then work your way round to the others. You wont be disappointed.
Movies:
I love films, all kinds, but if I had to pick, I'd choose anything by Jim Jarmusch, the Coen Brothers and pretty much any film noir.
I never want to sit through "AI" again, that's 3 hours of my life I'll never get back. I didn't make the same mistake with "Water World" though. Now let's get this straight, it's a world of water and you find a man who can breath under the water. Do you
A. count your self lucky to have such a useful man amongst your number or
B. try and kill him?
Guess which one they chose?
Then, a young girl falls into the water and her mother shouts "She can't swim!" WHAT? It's a whole world of water and your daughter "can't swim"? You've got to be shitting me!?! F**k knows what the rest of the film was like, that's the point at which I stopped watching.
Television:
Because of moving house and starting a new job, I don't have as much time for TV as I used to. However, when I was watching lots of telly, I liked...
The new version of Battlestar Galactica, it's excellent, I can't praise it enough. Stargate's SG1 & Atlantis. Life On Mars. CSI. Arrested Development made me laugh a lot. As did The Mighty Boosh, That Mitchell & Webb Look and Harry Hill's TV Burp.
I've been watching King Of The Hill again on cable, such a great show. Bobby rules!
Bilko is still the best sit-com with The Simpsons & Porridge after that.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is excellent.
The best news I reckon is provided by Channel 4, with Jon Snow & Krishnan Guru-Murthy being about the most trust worthy people in the country. Only Newsnight comes close to it.
Without a doubt, Daniel Corbett is the best weather man ever. It's a joy to watch him give a forecast. Informative and expressive, he manages to tell us the science behind the weather without sounding geeky and at the same time explain what it means on a personal level. His use of language is spot on too. Dan is the man! Mind you, I don't mind if it's the slightly goth weather girl Elizabeth Saary instead of Dan. But for slightly different reasons.
Recenly bought "Apollo 13" and "From The Earth To The Moon" on DVD. Brilliant!
"Working Lunch" is a fine example of really good TV. It's a show about money and finance and could be really dry and dull. Instead, it's highly watchable, entertaining and informative. It's presenters and presentation style is right on the money (sorry). I just wish I had some to invest in something.
Anything with Ray Mears or Kathy Sykes, but for slightly different reasons. And Dr Iain Stewart's "Journeys..." series have all been excellent.
However, you really out to check out "Earth Story" with Aubrey Manning. Simply brilliant. It explains everything you could want to know about how the earth formed, how they know how old it is, tectonic plates, the works. Another underated TV masterpiece. I got this on DVD for my birthday and am looking forward to watching the entire series all in one day.
Someone should make that creationist twat John MacKay watch it. He thinks every word in the bible is true and that the world is less than 6,000 years old. This man is a dangerous lune who is giving talks in schools saying evolution is rubbish. I saw him on BBC News 24's "Hard Talk" programme. Interviewer Gavin Estler didn't give him much of a hard time and even shook his hand at the end of the interview. Come on, there are literally mountains of evidence for the age of the earth being in the region of 4 billion years old and as much again for evolution, yet none of it was presented on this programme to counter what MacKay was saying. Hard Talk, I don't think so Mr Estler. Yes Mackay may be eloquent and charming but aparently so was Hitler.
Books:
I'm making an effort to read more of the classics. In the last couple of years I've read Melville's "Moby Dick" and Homers "Odyssey". I started reading "Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson" but I've put it down somewhere and can't find it. I'd really recommend "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference"by Malcolm Gladwell, such a good book.
Still can't find my copy of "The Life Of Samuel Johnson" so I'm now reading Dickens "The Pickwick Papers". First Dickens book I've tried reading. Liking what I've read so far. I've got Simon Callow's voice in my head reading it to me.
In 2006 I read Darwin's "The Origin Of Species". I'm so glad I've read it, I learnt things about natural selection and evolution I wasn't aware of before. We all think we know and understand the fact of evolution but there's more to it than you might think. Obviously, we understand more about how it all works now than even Darwin did when he wrote it, so I'm tempted to get a book that updates it all with the latest scientific understanding of the subject. I'd recommend "The Origin Of Species" to anyone, although creationists and believers in the supernatural might find some of the long words and rational concepts a bit difficult. For the rest of us, it's more accessible than you might imagine. And by the way, it's not a theory, IT'S A FACT!
For something a little lighter I also read "Scarecrow" by Matthew Reilly. Like the other books of his I've read you can't say it's well written but it's a fantastic action book and the very definition of a page turner. Good boys own stuff and great fun.
However, for an even bigger body count, I'd recommend "The Kraken Wakes" the 1953 story by John Wyndham. I couldn't put this one down and loved it. I'm not normally a quick reader but I whiped through this one. The "kraken" of the title are a bit triffid like in many ways and there are other similarities to that book but sufficiently different and defo worth a read. A ripping yarn indeed.
Heroes:
There are a lot of heroes at the National Secular Society. You might consider joining them and becoming a hero yourself. You can find out all you need to about them at www.secularism.org.uk and there's a link to their myspace site in my top friends.
A hero for all time is my partner. She is attractive, intelligent and funny, and she puts up with me and all my rubbish, and I'm very much in love with her, even after all this time together.
