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

Should I Mention The Olympics?

Purely for my own reference: Wikipedia’s Athens Medal Count. There is something compelling about watching gymnastics, sailing and boxing and I would only ever do that at the olympics. I even found myself watching synchronised diving last night. Why?

On this day…

2005: Boston Legal
2004: Flash Floods
2003: Great Yarmouth
2003: Stag
2002: In Short, Things Are Grim

Email At Work

If you read any of what I write you will be aware that I don’t talk about work a great deal. This is supposed to be an outlet separate from anything to do with my working life but today I wanted to solicit you opinion on a trend I am seeing emerging through work.

Like all companies, on an almost daily basis we deal with new customers, prospects or organisations relating to our business. Often we will have meetings and presentations and start to build – what we hope will be – a good business relationship. Like most people who meet others in their sphere of work I hand out business cards to new contacts.

Three or four times in the past month I have found that – a few days after meeting somebody new – my email address will be subscribed to their company mailshot/newsletter etc. I know this is a reaction to the new rules on spam in the UK where there has to be some kind of business relationship before you can receive arbitrary messages from a company but I don’t like the trend. When you’re on the lookout for new business it’s a little hard to say ‘stop this’. Perhaps we should start doing something similar.

On this day…

2005: Hits Out Of Hell
2002: Yesterday was Ben Affleck’s Birthday

Kill Bill (Volume 1)

Kill Bill Volume 1When you finally start to understand the plot of Kill Bill (Volume I) you will see that Uma Thurman wakes from a coma and is determined to seek revenge on those (namely Bill and his crew) who put her there. For me, Quentin Tarantino usually means more violence than I am prepared to stomach but in Kill Bill (Volume I) it’s almost comic book (the blood spewing from the severed arms will – sadly – amuse me for quite a while). The acting is excellent (Uma is brilliant and was Lucy Liu). The staging of the fight sequences is unlike anything I have ever seen before and, although I am still trying to figure some of it out, I am pleased I rented it and not a little disappointed that I didn’t see it in the cinema.

I wasn’t expecting to like it, but I loved it.

On this day…

2005: Lost
2003: Disappointing Frustrating
2002: On The Town