Yearly Archives: 2004

The Hottest State

Ethan Hawke’s Hottest State is a tale of obsessive love set in New York (and Paris) when William (’20 sexy, confident’) meets Sarah and they embark on a relationship which really is roller-coaster like. Through it we explore William’s relationship with his mother, absent-father and with himself. It’s clever yet not distant, sensitive but not sentimental but, ironically given the title, left this reader a little cold. The Hottest State is entertaining and well-written but capturing that painful, gut-wrenching emotion that is obsessive first love must be hard for any novelist and Hawke doesn’t quite pull the reader in. As a reader you will observe William but you will not become emotionally attached and Sarah’s quirkiness – which initially seems endeering – eventually distances you from her leaving William’s obsessive feelings a mystery. Despite those reservations, Ethan Hawke’s first novel suggests a promising career as novelist.

On this day…

2005: Let’s Google Talk
2004: Get Yer Kit Off …
2003: Summer Music
2002: Around The World

Get Yer Kit Off …

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gary lucy in football kitI don’t watch much reality television but Digital Spy is telling me that Gary Lucy has signed up for The Match, an upcoming reality show which is set to start on Sky One in October. What fun. I will be tuning it – it makes owning a Sky dish all the more worthwhile. Maybe I should make Gary a future Man of the Moment.

On this day…

2005: Let’s Google Talk
2004: The Hottest State
2003: Summer Music
2002: Around The World

Oslo Again

In Oslo againTraveling again. It’s not that much fun but at least today I am heading off to Oslo, Norway, at a reasonable hour. I decided to take the Heathrow Express for once – it’s more expensive but it is fast to the airport. The whole procedure today was quick and I have arrived at a hotel I have never been to before and, right now, it’s very noisy outside. I hope they shut up before the night is out.

UPDATE 24th August: No, they didn’t shut up all night and the noise outside the hotel went on until about 4 in the morning so I am not very happy today!

On this day…

2002: Blog Silence
2002: 3am Eternal

Camp

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daniel letterle in campTo be honest, the reason I put Camp on the DVD list from LoveFilm is because Jase’s review last year sent me to the official site which made me think it looked cool. It was, I guess, a typical teenage rites of passage movie with an interesting twist as it is based at a summer camp based on mescal theatre. It’s fun and interesting – some great performances and some fantastic singing. It’ll not blow you away but it will make you laugh (and it may make you cry). Daniel Letterle as Vlad is, of course the heartthrob that we’d all love.

Oh, just go watch it. Laugh and sign then order the soundtrack (I just did!)

On this day…

2002: Old Friends
2002: Not About Me

Remember August

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And note to self: when this entry comes up in the ‘On This Day’ link it’s time to renew my membership to OutInTheUK which might be OutInTheUSA.com to you or OutInCanada if you are gay and in Canada. Everywhere else it is probably, erm, OutEverywhere. Are you a member? What’s your ID?

On this day…

2002: Fast Food Fact Frenzy (1)

Technology Gets The Better Of Me

So at Waterloo station an hour ago I got a call from my boss – there was a client on the telephone who needs an urgent email – can you help them tonight. On the train I used my Treo to check locations of wifi spots. Starbucks in Wimbledon is where I am sat writing mails to customers. It’s tacky and yet cool at the same time. It’s great and also an example of how technology takes over our lives. And it looks like it is about to rain!

On this day…

2005: Gay Music Stars Still Stir Headline Writers
2004: Another Chart
2004: Celebrity Justice?
2002: A Haddock is A Wet Fish

Another Chart

So, the new battle could really be for the digital download charts. I see Virgin Radio will launch a digital download top 20 before the BBC chart that I previously mentioned. I imagine this could really start encouraging more people to buy music in digital form. It could be quite an interesting few months.

On this day…

2005: Gay Music Stars Still Stir Headline Writers
2004: Technology Gets The Better Of Me
2004: Celebrity Justice?
2002: A Haddock is A Wet Fish

Celebrity Justice?

Is it right to have celebrities on a panel of jurors in a courtroom when a man is charged with murder? Oprah Winfrey thought she was too opinionated to serve on the jury but the lawyers said it was fine for her to serve. I wonder if anybody has looked at the psychological impact on the other jurors. Oprah is not just a jobbing actor you might have seen in the background on EastEnders. She’s a global star with a massive following, highly regarded in the field she is in and her opinions are reported worldwide. Surely, this means that people will listen to her. Does that make others on the jury more easily swayed. I am sure most of them would say ‘no’. I would say that her presence wouldn’t effect me – but I don’t think I’d be telling the truth.

On this day…

2005: Gay Music Stars Still Stir Headline Writers
2004: Technology Gets The Better Of Me
2004: Another Chart
2002: A Haddock is A Wet Fish

Madonna

my ticket to see madonna at earl's court

Madonna, Earl’s Court, 2004

So I went to see Madonna at Earls Court.

That statement does not make me a huge Madonna fan – although I am partial to many of her hits and, unlike some of my friends, I think American Life is a great album (then again I also like some of Blue’s material so who am I to judge musical tastes?) and she is most certainly a performer.

So, when commenting on a Madonna concert what should you say? Earls Court is a huge venue. For those of you who haven’t been you should be aware that it’s very stadium-like. We sat in the back left corner so it was like she was at the opposite goal post. And it’s in that context that you will understand why I didn’t think it was that good.

Madonna can put on a show. She is the undisputed queen of showmanship. And therein lies the problem. She performs a West End show of the variety that you need to be able to see. And she performs them at West End prices but to stadium-sized audiences. The audio is show-like and you doubt that she’s singing live the whole time – although I suspect a lot of it is live. It’s just very well produced and sounds like her CDs and, for me, that isn’t the point of going to see live music: somehow you need to believe that they are performing live. Add to that the fact that you can’t see the spectacular and you have a fun but, ultimately, a disappointing evening.

On this day…

2005: Run London – Here I Come
2003: Helsinki Re-Visited
2002: The **** Of All Snacks

Flash Floods

While trying to find a medal count for the olympics for my last post, I also followed some links at Wikipedia to their current affairs section where I came upon an interesting item about flash flooding relating to the floods in Cornwall. The advice “Turn Around Don’t Drown” is something we should all take on-board.

On this day…

2005: Boston Legal
2004: Should I Mention The Olympics?
2003: Great Yarmouth
2003: Stag
2002: In Short, Things Are Grim