Yearly Archives: 2003

In Mark Owen’s Time

Mark Owen’s new album is out today and thanks to the postal strike in London I will be waiting for my copy from Amazon! Looking at the stats, I see that Mark is still one of the top related search items for this site. His Man of the Moment page is the most commented page on the the whole site. Mark is clearly back on the PR bandwagon, he told the Mirror on Friday that he “has dumped his girlfriend of two years and is back on his own again” [Mirror]. I was quite interested to read that the new single, Alone Without You, is produced by Gary Clark, once of Scottish popsters Danny Wilson [Source]. When the album arrives, I’ll tell you what I think!

On this day…

2004: Reading The TV News Headlines
2002: Give Us Our Daily Blog

Return of the King

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I’ve decided to re-read The Return of the King in advance of the movie coming out at the end of the year. It is, of course, a fantastic tale of the battles of men and the quest to destroy the ring. I had forgotten the multiple endings – which will be interesting to see in the film – and I had also forgotten that a large part of the final tale (as released in separate book form) are the appendices. I have never been able to read any of the appendices. Does that mean I haven’t read the trilogy properly?

UPDATE: My review of the film has also been posted. I did enjoy it but I am not sure if I was disappointed or not.

On this day…

2004: Forgotten Projects?
2002: Donnie Darko

Halloween

Well, I bought some sweets from the local shops and waited for the trick-or-treaters. Despite the abundance of small children running around the neighbourhood in fright-masks and cloaks (and an alarmingly high number of mothers with push-chairs wearing big pointy witch-hats) nobody knocked. I am not sure if I am annoyed or relived. We had a guest tonight and so didn’t really want to be disturbed but not one knock. Perhaps I frighten the locals!

On this day…

No other posts on this day.

The gay team

I am not sure how I missed this list of high profile gays or, as The Observer put it, a list of “20 of the most influential UK-based gays and lesbians working in a range of professions”, but I am glad it’s online. I am not sure that I agree with this list as the most influential gay or lesbians in the UK but, nonetheless, it’s an interesting article.

It’s a very worthy list and I am sure that everybody on it deserves a place but I can’t help feeling that Graham Norton or Brian Dowling – who might be too overtly camp for many gay people – should be on that list. They have provided a very public face for gay men over the past couple of years. The effect of a daily talk show hosted by a gay man can not be overlooked.

On this day…

2004: The Producers

Side Bar Dermot

Sadly, it’s time to lose the Dermot Watch link in the navigation bar of this site. I left it there after Big Brother had ended but now I guess it is time to think of something else to put there. Of course, if you really want to read more about Dermot O’Leary then you should check out the Man of the Moment section.

Oh, and did you know that Dermot OÂ’Leary was born in Colchester on 24 May 1973. After gaining a BA in Media and Television with a minor in Politics at Middlesex University he worked as a TV runner before going on to do the warm-up for Channel 4’s Light Lunch [Source: BBC]

On this day…

2005: Gay Life Is More Fun: Official
2004: A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To The Forum
2003: Queer Eye?
2002: The World May Not Revolve Around Me

Queer Eye?

OK, so I now know that the US version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy starts in the UK on Living TV on 6th November, the certainly been a lot of talk about it in the US so I await it’s start with great anticipation.

On this day…

2005: Gay Life Is More Fun: Official
2004: A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To The Forum
2003: Side Bar Dermot
2002: The World May Not Revolve Around Me

Effect Xmas

Recently I may have professed that I knew the difference between affect and effect and it is confirmed for me today online at Common Errors in English. I did not think that Xmas was a way of removing the Christ from Christmas but more of a lazy person’s way of avoiding writing letters. Turns out, I was wrong and the X is an abbreviation of the Greek for Christ [Source]. Just goes to show that I know nothing.

On this day…

2005: I Am In Oslo
2005: Audience Up
2004: links for 2004-10-27

Phones and PDAs

I have spent the last few days trying to decide if I should update my ‘phone with Orange and today I have decided against. I have been contemplating upgrading my phone to one of those ‘phones that is both PDA and ‘phone. I am hoping this would stop me carrying multiple devices around with me and, also, ensure that I was in sync across all the things I use to try and organise my life. Sadly, I have decided there isn’t a device for me.

The Orange SPV seems to get me a lot of the way but the ‘phone hasn’t had the greatest reviews and, to be honest, if I was going to pay that much money I think I would like either Bluetooth or a camera built it (apparently, the next version will have both of these things). It also features a MP3 player that will, of course, play WMA format. I won’t get started on music formats – I am sure there is a whole post there.

Now the Treo 600 also interests me. It is a combined PDA and phone and will be able to utilise most of the palm-related software that I have already installed and use on my trusty Palm Vx. The Real One Mobile that you could use on the Treo doesn’t play WMA files which means that I would have to re-encode most of my music and, as I am not that much of an audiophile, I’d rather have the disc space.

Now, neither of these devices does all I need or want and I am not going to spend that much money yet. My Nokia 7650 tries to sync contacts and a diary but doesn’t do it very well. I looked at the Sony Ericsson T610 but it doesn’t seem to be much of a leap on from the Nokia I have.

So, what’s my wish list? A Palm-powered device which is also a ‘phone and decent MP3 player. If I had the money it would also be Bluetooth and WiFi enabled. One day, somebody will make it, I’ll have the money and we’ll meet in a shop on Oxford Street.

Oh, and if you have tips on getting the Nokia 7650 to sync well (not just sync, but sync well) with the Outlook I use in the office, then please let me know.

On this day…

2004: links for 2004-10-26
2002: Go Out

The Quiet American

Thanks to the joy of dvdsontap, I have just watched Michael Caine in The Quiet American, the adaption of Graham Greene’s novel about an American spy, Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser).

Pyle is a US agent who is backing an anti-communist force in Vietnam and befriends British journalist Thomas Fowler (Caine) before ending up part of a love triange with local Vietnamese girl, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen).

Caine was superb as the Siagon-based reporter – an understated performance that steals the show. The movie is well produced and the atmosphere of the Far-East brilliantly portrayed. I would never have gone to the movies to see this but I am so glad that I added it to the DVD list.

On this day…

2002: Let’s (Not) Go Out

CD or not to CD?

I’ve just been out and bought Erasure’s Hits collection. Now, I own all the original albums so I am not entirely sure why I went and bought it. Still, I now own the CD so it can sit on the shelf alongside all the others and I will pride myself that my Erasure album collection is complete.

Phil Gyford posted an interesting question about CDs and what would happen if they were all stolen. I have ripped a good number of my CDs but I would miss the originals if I didn’t have them. There appears more value in holding an original CD case with the lyrics, photographs and the notes. I would have to try and replace a good number of them because I would miss them. A little like software, it’s good to have all the originals just in case something happens.

On this day…

2004: Billy Connolly
2002: Community of UK Webloggers