daveydave

This is the first time I have seen a film directed by Guillermo del Toro, it will certainly not be the last. The Devil's Backbone comes highly recommended, so that will be going on the to-hire list. This is a tale of a young girl growing up during the Spanish Civil war, her mother is widowed and now married to a brutal captain of the fascist regime. It is to the captain's base deep in the woods of northern Spain that the young girl, Ofelia, comes to live with her pregnant mother. Life there is grim and terrifying for such a young girl, but she has the labyrinth to which she can escape. She is told on her first visit that she is really a princess and must complete three tasks in order to return to her true parents and gain immortality. Moving between the world of war and the world of the labyrinth is handled beautifully by del Toro, both worlds are visually wonderful and the performances of the cast excellent. Civil war and fantasy do not sound like comfortable bedfellows, but t...

I've recently been getting re-familiarised with my guitar after a bit of a break. This is not an unusual happening, over the course of the last 28 years I've been playing, there have been long periods of dust gathering - but for now: I'm a guitarist again. I was just having a bit of a spring clean of my main guitar, a 16 year old Washburn Chicago Series KC90 and was pretty amazed how well it was shaping up - despite the fact I don't look after it very well. I bought it new with my first student grant cheque (as you do) when it was going cheap in a closing-down sale. I say cheap, these things were over £500 back in 1990 so even on sale I think I paid £350. It was expensive, yes, but the fact it's still in fine fettle (more than can be said for my playing) speaks volumes. If I remember rightly, the 90 was pretty much the top-spec Washburn at the time. It's made up of the following: Contoured ash body 24 jumbo-fret, flat rosewood fretboard Maple neck Black h...

Royal Shakespeare Company, starring Patrick Stewart. Newcastle Theatre Royal. This is the first time I have seen the RSC. I am a bit of a fan of live theatre, and indeed Shakespeare, so it was grand to see the big boys treading my local (recently enlarged) stage. I saw a production of The Tempest several years back, staged at Tynemouth Priory. Thoroughly enjoyable and atmospheric it was too. However, making the jump from a local, amateur group to professionals of RSC calibre was quite something to behold. The whole cast were excellent. The guy who played Ariel and the gal who played Miranda standing out in particular. There was, however, no doubt who the star of the show was. Patrick Stewart of Star Trek: The Next Generation and X-Men fame, showed just what an accomplished actor he is. A quite brilliant performance I thought. Perhaps those with more Shakey/RSC experience may disagree, but he certainly impressed me. It's performances such as this that make you want to go and see mo...

I've always been a fan of Bond - particularly the Connery years - but I hadn't really paid much attention to the later films. I think the last one I saw at the cinema was Tomorrow Never Dies maybe? Whichever one that starts at the Millennium Dome. Therefore... having heard very good things about the latest release and indeed Daniel Craig's portrayal of Bond, I was looking forward to seeing Casino Royale for myself. Due to the immense popularity, I couldn't get tickets last week, so I went yesterday. It did not disappoint. Bags of action, a little bit of lovin' and the right amount of humour (without going too cheesy) made for a rip-snorting 2 and a half hours of enjoyable escapism. It introduces the character of Bond, how he gained his double-0 status, and why he treats women the way he does. It does it all with a fair degree of style. The film is well produced, directed with the right pace all the way through and you could even forgive it a couple of places where ...

Another Russian film this one, only this time the acting was spot on. Telling the story of two young boys whose father turns up one day after a 12 year absence. Visually this is a very appealing film, showing stunning images of the Russian wilderness. It's quite a contrast: beautiful scenery that you should be happy to be surrounded by, mixed with trying to get on with a father you don't know, and who hasn't a clue how to cope with two young boys. The two young lads who play the sons put in great performances opposite the abrupt and not-a-little-unpleasant father. Sadly, the 15 year-old actor who played Andrey drowned shortly after the film was finished. The Return won a Golden Lion at Venice in 2003 along with 27 other awards, so it's pretty well though of by the experts . We never found exactly where the boys' father had been for the last 12 years, what he did or indeed, what was in the box. Worth a watch though.

Once again I've left it far too long, so this roundup is going to be of the did/did not like form, with very little useful information. Sorry about that. Ok, here we go: Ella Enchanted This is a film for kids, and girls at that. I really have no idea why I even thought about watching it. Anyway, the stop button was applied within 5 minutes. Leon Masterful. I absolutely loved this film. Well written, acted and directed. Elling The story of a couple of Norwegian guys who meet when living in a state institution. When they are released into the outside world they choose to life together and have to find their feet. A very worthwhile watch. Team America World Police Absolutely brilliant. It is, in parts, hilarious but obviously the main deal with this film is how it represents American foreign policy and attitudes. It is done so well it makes you cringe. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Sadly I can't remember the details but I remember enjoying it a great deal. Slightly bizzare...

Just read this article ; a most entertaining read, unless you happened to live in this kid's neighbourhood. It outlines levels of ingenuity that amaze as well as endanger. One thing's for sure, there was never a proficiency badge in Atomic Energy when I was in the scouts.

Turned into a bit of a mess didn't it. From my reading of the situation, the Pakistan team wanted to make a small protest following the accusation of ball-tampering, which seems fair enough to me. However, the umpire wasn't going to put up with it and so we end up with the bails coming off signaling the end of the match. It seems to me that the umpire could have done a much better job of sorting this out by talking with the Pakistani team about why they didn't take the field after tea. Listening to Mr Boycott on Channel 5, it looks as though there is some history between this umpire and Pakistan though, which really puts a big cloud over the game of cricket in general. The ICC needs to get to the bottom of this quickly. Anyway, the bails are off so there is no point in playing the final day tomorrow. However, it seems that the players wanted to play today and I'm sure the crowd wanted to watch cricket, so why not have a friendly one day match tomorrow. With a different ...

A few events on the horizon for you. First off, Newcastle Mela . This festival of all things Punjabi, Pakistani, Bengali and Hindi is in its 14th year. I've never yet managed to go but it's supposed to be a very enjoyable event. Sunday 27th and Bank Holiday Monday 28th of August 2006 in Exhibition Park. If you are interested in European produce then why not have a look at the North Tyneside Continental Market in September. It will be at North Shields on the 1st, Wallsend on the 2nd and Whitley Bay on the 3rd. For more information see the TyneTown website or ring 0191 200 5733. Also in September are the Heritage Open Days. They run from Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th. A large number of historical buildings are open to the public as well as a number of guided tours and walks. Well worth a look as a lot of these places are not normally open to the public plus it's all free. There are apparently 181 properties and activities this year across the whole Tyne and Wear area. Further ...

As it's been a while since I mentioned ways of getting away from (and indeed coming to) Newcastle, I thought I'd have a look at what new scheduled flights are available. Jet2 have added to their list of destinations with flights to Chambery over the winter (for you winter sports types) and 2 flights a week to Krakow in Poland. I flew with them in July on their Menorca route and it was a very good service (apart from a delayed departure from Newcastle.) Aer Lingus are back in the game at Newcastle with cheap daily flights to Dublin from 29th October 2006. This is in direct competition with Ryanair . Eastern Airways have added services to Cardiff and Inverness.

Who? You might well ask. Oswald was king of Northumbria during the early 7th century. He was king when the Northumbrians defeated the Britons at the Battle of Heavenfield in 635. This comprehensive victory over the pagan Britons resulted in the reunification of Northumbria and led to an the era of greatness for the kingdom. By 638, Oswald was secure at home and looking towards expansion. Bede suggests that the king was recognised as Bretwalda or overlord of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Obviously, power breeds jealousy and King Penda of Mercia gathered a large force of Mercians and Welsh to bring an end to Oswald's reign. The armies clashed in 642 at Maserfield (now Oswestry or Oswald's Tree) in Shropshire and Oswald was killed on the 5th of August. Oswald was hacked to pieces by the victors. The story goes that his body was taken from the battle field on a gold cloth which became soaked with the king's blood - so giving rise the flag that you should see at the top of this po...

I know I've mentioned unsporting behaviour by a certain Monsieur Henry in an earlier post - and I certainly stand by that - but I have to say I am absolutely delighted to see Portugal dumped out of these finals by France. You could jump to the conclusion that this is simply because they beat England in the quarter finals, but I can assure you this is not the case. I am happy to admit defeat when we are fairly outplayed - see earlier post covering the England v Sri Lanka cricket international . There are actually two reasons I go for France over Portugal. Firstly, when he's on form, I just love watching Zidane: he's a wonderful player, sickeningly skillful and a joy to behold. Secondly, and probably the main reason I am so happy to see Portugal lose, is the manner in which they play. What was heartening however, was hearing the crowds reaction to certain players. I'm not usually a fan of such behaviour, but I think we have the situation where the fans have seen quite en...

Despite the best efforts of Blatter and his FIFA cronies to turn football into a dull, no-contact sport, I am happy to report that the beautiful game is alive and well. Much has been made of play-acting and bad sportsmanship over the course of these finals, Henry's face-cluthing display against Spain being a prime example. However, the game tonight was played, by both sides, with passion and commitment. There was no rolling around on the floor for no good reason, diving head-first into the penalty area if breathed on, and so on. Instead, we had handshakes and a quite fantastic spirit about the game. The result? A truly remarkable game of football. Easily the best 120 minutes I have seen during this year's World Cup finals. Both teams were an absolute credit to the game and their countries. I have to say the brilliant performance of the Mexican referee played a part in this. He let a number of firm but fair challenges go throughout the game that free-kicks would have been awarde...

I am a bit of a fan of Japanese films as you may have noticed. This most certainly includes the animated variety. Ghost in the Shell is 11 years old now, but what a fine Anime. Exploring the question of what make us human, this is an interesting and most enjoyable film. Set only 23 or so years in the future, we see a world inhabited by cyborgs: humans who have had varying amounts of their bodies replaced by machinery. Human spirit/soul, call it what you will, living in a mechanical box - the ghost in the shell - at what stage do we stop being human? This film follows a character who has become mainly machine, and a piece of software that now has human form. The questions of humanity come to the fore. What happens when you die? How do you produce offspring that are not simply carbon copies, but different from the parents - how to be more human. A fascinating watch.

(or motorbike for that matter) and get away with it. Just read an interesting article on the BBC website . Apparently some theives made off with this young chap's moped. The police refused to make chase because the theives weren't wearing helmets. The logic being that if there was an accident and the thieves injured themselves, they'd sue the police. So it would seem the more laws you break the more likely you are to get away with it. If I went out on my motorbike without a helmet on I'd quite rightly get stopped. If I went out and pinched a bike but foolishly wore my helmet, I'd get arrested. Break both laws however, and I'd be fine. Personally, if there is an accident and the theives get mashed up a bit, I don't much care. Involving innocent bystanders is a different matter of course, but just to let people go for fear of being sued is ridiculous. Firstly, it's just another example of the law abiding types getting no useful support from the police and...

On a recent trip to London, a friend and I spent a very enjoyable evening at Sadler's Well Theatre watching some Kabuki. Kabuki is a peculiarly Japanese theatre tradition, where all the parts are played by men. It is an arresting sight, hugely colourful and massively skillful. The story is played out by the many tiny details of posture, costume and music as much as the dialogue. Most of the subtleties were well beyond my grasp, but this did not spoil what was a truly fabulous experience We were fortunate in having two of the best known Kabuki actors gracing the stage, and tickets very close to the front. It's quite difficult to explain Kabuki unless you have some knowledge of Japanese traditional arts - being highly stylised, it is a very different experience to anything you'd expect to see in the West. Basically though, you have a small number of actors on stage, as well as the musicians. There isn't much in the way of dialogue, and what there is is not exactly deliver...

While most of the nation's sports fans are focused on events in Germany, other national teams are also playing their respective games. Yesterday I was at Durham CCC's Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street to watch the third in a series of one day internationals against Sri Lanka. This is the second time I've seen an England ODI at the Riverside, the first being a couple of years ago against New Zealand. We were soundly beaten then and were even more so yesterday. I know the squad is short of key players and I know Steve Harmison is only just getting back after injury, but this was an awful performance. Ian Bell put in a handy 77, but did it at a very leisurly pace - it took him over 100 balls to get there. In comparison, Sri Lanka's Jayawardene piled on 126no from 127 balls. On the plus side, it was a good day out and a great atmosphere. We also saw some fabulous cricket, it's just a shame it was pretty much all from the Sri Lankans. Look out for them in next year...

Right, this is going to be a long post, so grab yourself a cold one. Those of you who persevere with this blog may have read a post back in November about the search for my ancestors. You may recall that I was having a spot of bother with my great-great-great-great-grandfather. A couple of weeks ago I was in London for the weekend - one of the main reasons being to visit the National Archives at Kew and browse the mariner records for the mid 19th century. The plan was to go in there, find one William Miller of South Shields in the master mariner lists and that would be job done. Well, obviously it wasn't that easy. The list of masters wasn't yielding anything useful, so I had to trawl through the standard seamen indexes and found 16 William Millers from South Shields. After some further work I managed to get this list down to 5, any of which could have been the man I was after. I was stuck. Anyway, that was the Saturday and I was in London until the train left on Monday afterno...

I'm not one of those rabid Eurovision fanatics, but I do find it quite an entertaining couple of hours once a year. However, this year is special and I urge you all to witness the wonderment that is Finland's entry . Not your typical Eurovision fare by any stretch and I'm delighted to see they made it through the semi-final stage. They will be gracing a TV near you on Saturday: there is a God after all.

If there were any doubts over the rise of the money set in Newcastle I think yesterday squashed them. I saw not one but three Aston Martin DB9s in town yesterday. Not the same one thrice either. I'd gone out for a walk at lunch and while heading back to the office passed a brand new, black convertible DB9, top down, parked up and abandoned - rather brave I thought. While I was casting my gaze over that, a silver coupe drove by. Then, walking down to the car park after work, I saw a black coupe. This is an exceptional, but not altogether unique catch. I've noticed, over the last year or so, a steady increase in the number of flash wheels driving around the north - particularly Astons, Range Rovers and Bentley Continentals. We're certainly no match for the South-East, but there sure is some money up here these days.

A brief follow up to my previous post on Alan Shearer . I watched his Testimonial match last night (surely the first decent thing aired on ITV4!) and I've got to be honest, I was welling. A very emotional event. I was one of the thousands who turned up on a wet lunchtime in July 1996 to welcome Shearer home, and I still can't quite believe that we won't see Alan in the Newcastle number 9 next season. I'd like to add huge thanks to Celtic Football Club for coming o'er the border and giving us a very enjoyable game. Especially playing along at the end to allow Shearer, who I'm sure would have much preferred to play the whole game, to score the winning penalty. Yes it was an orchestrated end to the game, but it showed a huge level of sportsmanship and really was a credit to that team. Slainte.

At the risk of being labelled a racist, national front-supporting nazi by the über-PC idiots: Happy St George's Day. Not just to the good folk of England, but also the citizens of the following countries, regions and cities where St George is also patron saint: Georgia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa, Istanbul, Moscow and Venice. I'm not a jingoistic flag-waver by any stretch of the imagination, but I do find it wierd that we English types seem to celebrate St Patrick's Day and even Australia Day more than our own patron saint. Shame really. Have yourself a nice warm ale and a bag of chips. External links: BBC: St George's Day Royal Society of St George

I haven't been a season ticket holder as St. James for some years now, but I felt I must say something about Shearer and his retirement from the game. I was there, outside the Leazes end 10 years ago, when Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle United. I had a very extended lunch and endured what seemed like hours of that idiot Alan Robson telling me what I should sing, just to see Shearer lift his arms to the sky that first time in black and white. Last week, at the Wear-Tyne derby, we saw that action one last time. It is such a sad way for Shearer to finish his career, limping off 3 games early after tearing a ligament in his knee. If there was any justice he would have been scoring a hatrick against Chelsea on the last day of this season. Sadly it's not to be. Shearer has been a fantastic asset to Newcastle and England, a fabulous sportsman and almost impossible to replace. All the best Alan, in whatever you do in your retirement - it's been an absolute pleasure watching you.

Those of you who keep an eye on this blog may have noticed a couple of posts on clay pigeon shooting. In order to keep a reasonable level of focus on this new interest of mine, I've started a dedicated blog: Breaking Clays . There isn't much there at the minute but, as I progress and learn more about the sport and the equipment, that is where I will post my thoughts and findings.

A Japanese film based on a comic I believe (aren't they all) The story revolves around a group of 10 kids who have been brought up and trained to serve one purpose: assassination. The central character, Azumi, is the only girl in the group. Once the scene of early life and the training has been set, we quickly move on to the real task in hand. The group leave their mountain retreat, where they have been living in splendid isolation learning their craft, out into the outside world to await their orders. Many battles ensue leading, naturally, to a big final fight. And boy it's a big one. This film is not all about killing, however. Loyalty, betrayal and the questioning of your destiny all come out over the course of the 2 hours. Azumi is full of quality acting, breathtaking martial arts and wonderfully interesting characters: this is a gem of a film. Quality moment: Azumi dispatches an arrow heading directly for her forehead with one swift application of her sword - the arrow is ...

For those of you who trot off to Europe on your hols and are used to dropping by your local Post Office for an E111 form: they are no more. The humble E111 has now been replaced by the European Health Insurance Card. They are free and easy to get online by pointing your browser at the online EHIC application form . I applied for one on Wednesday night and it arrived this morning (Saturday) which seems like a pretty speedy turnaround time if you ask me. The EHIC does the same thing as the old E111 - that is, allows you to claim health services throughout European Economic Area countries and Switzerland. Very handy. It only covers treatment that becomes medically necessary during your visit to that country - so no free boob jobs. You should also get proper travel insurance too - particularly those of you who love zipping down mountains on planks of wood. Further information is available on the FAQ page . This information is only valid for UK residents, not including Channel Islands or Is...

...you were ordered to leave your home by your government, moved to some place 800 miles away that you've never been before, and told you could never return? Pretty upset I'll bet, annoyed even. So here's a question: who do you reckon did this to a community 35 years ago. China, perhaps? North Korea? Guess again. The community in question are the Chagos islanders and the government responsible is the British Government. During the late 60's the British Government leased the island of Diego Garcia to the Americans for use as an airbase. Diego Garcia was part of the Crown Colony of Mauritius at the time. The people living on the islands to the north of Diego Garcia were served eviction orders and moved. Some ended up dumped in Mauritius or the Seychelles, others resettled in the UK. They have never been allowed to return, until last week. And then only for a short visit. Diego Garcia is now part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, one of 13 remaining territories belong...

After an entertaining shooting lesson last week, I went back for more... So, today was shooting lesson number two. Last week my instructor started me off shooting one clay at a time before moving on to report pairs (second clay launched on hearing the first shot.) Today it was straight on to pairs, so your 25 booms go by pretty sharpish. We moved on to the second stage today: starting with the gun down from the shoulder. Shout pull, watch for the clay, gun into the shoulder, track and bang. I only missed 4 today, so I was well pleased. I've got to say, Jack is an excellent instructor and has got me comfortable with the shotgun very quickly. His words to me on leaving the range were basically, you've got the basics, get a gun and practice. Next stop: a gun case.

I watched this film again the other night, even though I didn't really enjoy it when I saw it at the cinema after its release last year. The script is poor, the acting highly questionable in places and Orlando Bloom is totally wrong for the lead part. The reasons I decided to watch it again were twofold: the look of the thing and the performance of Ghassan Massoud as Saladin. Totally believable in the role and projecting an on-screen presence that Bloom and others can only dream about. This guy seems a very fine actor indeed. I'm hoping to track down some of his other performances. His latest film appears to be Valley of the Wolves: Iraq.

It's less than 24 hours after installing the new visitors tool, and I have a message from the other side of the world. Hello to Ivan in Brazil, thanks for your visit. His blog is in Portugese but why not drop by: Ivan Goulart - Professor e Pedagogo

Those hawk-eyed readers out there may have noticed a new addition to the righthand panel of this blog. Nestling comfortably between my flickr preview and the Google adverts lies a nifty little gadget that shows where visitors to this blog are from. Looks a bit sad and lonely at present, as it can't take into account those who visited before the thing was activated. However, it should be interesting to see who actually wanders into this blog other than the 5 or 6 UK-based people who I know keep half an eye on it. You can get this thing from NeoWorx

You may be wondering what the hell that title is all about. Well, it kind of starts with the Commonwealth Games (see earlier post ) and the shooting in particular. You know when you see something on the telly and you go, "yeah, that looks good." Or, "done that before, was fun." And then you change channels, buttocks remaining firmly glued to the sofa. Well I got that sort of feeling while watching the men's skeet shoot, but this time I did something. I reached for the internet and then the phone. That's a rather round about way of saying I went clay pigeon shooting on Sunday. Most enjoyable it was too. It's been a couple of years since I last handled a shotgun, but I think I smashed about half of the clays - so that's not too bad. I think I have a taste for it now, so I'm booked in for another lesson next week. It'll be gun certificates and so forth before you know it. You know how these things take hold...

So, I see Apple has folded and released a way to limit the volume of your iPod - other than the volume control. (Ref: BBC ) In my opinion, any gormless idiot who doesn't check volume levels before sticking headphone in his/her ears, or is incapable of figuring out that loud music direct to the ears probably doesn't do them any good, deserves to go deaf. From the BBC: "John Kiel Patterson, of Louisiana, is suing Apple in the US District Court in San Jose, California. He says his iPod is capable of generating more than 115 decibels, a dangerous noise level, and is not safe for prolonged use." Free advice: don't turn it up full blast you moron. I have a 100W guitar amp that is capable of far more that 115db, but I don't intend suing Laney if I turn it up too far and damage my hearing (or the brickwork of my house for that matter.) My car is capable of being driven into a wall at 80mph (just) - should I sue Suzuki if I get seriously injured doing it? Using my dril...

I read this article by Michael Johnson the other day: his thoughts on the Commonwealth Games that have just finished in Melbourne. MJ could only talk of substandard competitors and the requirement of if you're going to prove you're the best, you have to compete against the best. It's a pretty poor attitude: best or nothing. No mention of people turning up and giving their all. Those people who don't get the millions in sponsorship required to be full-time, professional sportsmen or women, but rather have to train after work or at weekends. Real dedication in my eyes. There's no mention of sportsmanship or the joy of taking part or of pulling on the colours of your country. So what if someone was a second off world-best pace? They trained to the best of their abilities, turned up in Melbourne and said "hey I'm here and this is what I can do." Good on them I say and long may the Commonweath Games continue. No, the Commonwealth Games are not the World Ch...

Here are 2 quotes for you: "The Prophet Muhammad has said several times that those who convert from Islam should be killed if they refuse to come back" "Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, kindness and integrity." Opposite ends of the scale aren't they. Showing the moderates from the radicals? Sadly not, both quotes are from the same man from the same interview. Looks contradictory until you read the sentence which follows the kindness and integrity bit, "That is why we have told him if he regrets what he did, then we will forgive him" So, basically, it's do as we say or you're in for it. That doesn't quite balance with the tolerance motif. The man who said this stuff is one Ansarullah Mawlafizada, judge in charge of the trial against Abdul Rahman, who converted to Christianity 16 years ago. Unless he converts back to Islam, under the interpretation of Islamic Sharia law on which Afghanistan's constitution is based, he could be se...

eBay is a real godsend at times - it helps you get rid of stuff you don't want anymore without throwing it in the bin. It helps you find stuff you want to buy on the cheap. It also shows that some people just can't control themselves when they are losing an auction. The urge to win seems to completely block out common sense. I've just been watching an auction for an in-car sat nav system (Navman 320.) The buyer has said ok to paying a total of £185 for this particular one. Why's he done that then - you can pick up a brand new one for £150!

I thought I'd do a couple of posts on the state of car design these days. First up: Ford's extensive PAG portfolio. For those of you who don't know, Ford owns a fair number of car makes both stateside and in Europe. The PAG encompasses it's European possessions: Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. To my mind PAG, on the whole, has proved fairly successful in recent years - Aston and Land Rover are now knee-deep in currency. The major exception is of course, Jaguar, which has not produced a decent design (apart from the old XK) for some time. I'll reserve judgment on the new XK until I've seen it in the flesh, but up to now I'm not hugely impressed with the exterior. Jaguars were clean, sweeping designs that made you yearn for one. The current crop are fussy and incoherent and in the case of the S-Type: fat-arsed. Aston Martin and Land Rover have been very successful financially, and aesthetically - but I begin to fear for the future. Aston appears to...

A depressing - though I suspect fairly accurate - portrayal of American government and corporate activities in the Middle-East. A slow-paced and very well produced tale of corporate greed, corruption and interference in the internal affairs of Arab nations revolving around the black stuff. An excellent film, but it does nothing for your sense of wellbeing as a westerner in the modern world. Given the current diplomatic situation with Iran, this film feels almost like a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

The Jimny is now almost 2 years old and the time has come to ship it off and get something different. The thing is, pinning down something I really fancy is proving remarkably tricky. I think I'm settled on an Alfa but good examples for sensible money are elusive. I haven't even brought myself to drive anything yet. I've looked at 3 156s this weekend and none of them impressed. One was close (Y reg 2.4JTD) but had nasty Kevved-up tinted windows. I would have been embarrassed to drive it - and that's coming from a guy with a Jimny! I saw a decent 166 2.5 V6 yesterday, perfect service history (important for Italians) but no leather. That may seem petty but I do have to think about selling it on. Plus, it wouldn't fit in the garage. Nice car though. I may have to take it for a spin round the block - just to see.

My recent trip to the US was the first time I had ever flown with British Airways further then Heathrow. I must be honest, I doubt I'll be doing it again by choice. They managed to lose my bags both ways and the trans-atlantic leg was uncomfortable for my 6'1" frame (although the food and in-flight entertainment were both good) Why did I have to fly via Heathrow just because I needed to go to the US? When is my local airport going to become a proper international! I've half a mind to do something about that myself but I don't have the £20 million required! And the runway isn't long enough...

Been a while hasn't it... Right then, I'm back in the UK again after 12 days in the US. 4 days in Long Beach, CA for work, 5 days in Omaha visiting my cousin, 1 day in LA because I missed my flight and 2 days travelling. Phew. So, I'll skip over the work bit and move swiftly on to Nebraska. My cousin has been living in the states for 10 years or so, I don't get to see him that often. At the start of February he moved lock, stock, wife and daughter from San Diego up to Omaha. It seemed sensible to pay a visit while I was stateside. I've never been to Nebraska before, so I was interested to see what this mid-western state was like. I must say, I came away with a really positive feeling about Omaha. The folks up there were real nice, there was none of that Californian pretension. Nice place, I'm looking forward to going back when it's warmer. Don't know if they had arranged it special, but it was cold up there. Watching the Weather Channel on cable gave for...

Found this on Mal's blog . Bit of a giggle if you're into motors... I'm a Mazda RX-8! You're sporty, yet practical, and you have a style of your own. You like to have fun, and you like to bring friends along for the ride, but when it comes time for everyday chores, you're willing to do your part. Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Finally got round to setting up a flickr account. Not a huge amount on there so far - just the photos I took one very busy lunchtime when the Millennium Bridge was being lowered into place. Photos as they stand available here

I must be honest, I have some concerns over the Google/China situation, although overall I think it's best that Google is in there rather than not - at least it should be fairly honest about what it's not letting you look at. The main point of this post is not political, however. Basically I, like many folks I know, have spent many happy hours on Google Maps and Google Earth. To no real end you understand... just to have a look around. Now however, I have a mission. In a couple of weeks I'm going to visit my cousin who has just (and by just, I mean today) moved to Omaha. Thanks to Google, I have seen his new apartment from above, I know where the local bars and restaurants are and, as this is the US, I have driving directions to the nearest gun shop - of which there are 10 within 7 miles of his house! Never ceases to amaze me does Google.

Last week I bought a compressor/sustainer pedal off eBay. It's the first thing I've bought for my guitar for some time. Having connected it up at home and switched everything on, imagine how surprising it was to hear German voices coming through my headphones. I'm guessing that the particular configuration of cables turned my rig into a long-wave receiver. On a similar note, I pulled the battery out of the bike today as it's run a little flat (bike taking some coaxing into life.) I hooked it up to the charger and switched on. Nice popping noise and blue smoke from the charger. I may be wrong, but I suspect something's not right there...

Since joining LOVEFiLM in September I've have sat through 26 films. That doesn't include those that I have seen at the flicks. So, naturally, I'm not going to post individual reviews every single film. I will however post a round-up every now and again (much as I did in November .) Here's number 2... Wimbledon Very much from the Four Weddings, Notting Hill, Love Actually tree except Hugh Grant wasn't in it. Required no thought or anything. A nice, happy film with the usual smatterings of Brit-wit. I enjoyed. The Body A question: what is an actor with the abilities of Derek Jacobi doing skulking around in a heap like this? I liked the idea behind this film (modern-day Israeli archeologist discovers body of crucified man from 1st Century AD) It just wasn't very well executed (no pun intended) The English language has many flaws, particularly its chosen representation on the written page, but what it does have are many excellent descriptive words that I could apply...

The life of the late Johnny Cash in 2 and a bit hours. I would never call myself a big fan of the Man in Black, but I knew enough about him to be interested in this film. The trailers looked promising and the end result certainly did not disappoint. A very strong performance from the whole cast. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were excellent in the lead roles. The film was well paced, covered the ups and downs of Cash's life well and I certainly came away with a real feel for the man. Many, many great parts, but I particularly liked the coverage of the early tours when you see the likes of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis sharing the bill. So many big names hanging around together, before they really made it.

Newcastle Airport has an ever increasing number of scheduled, year-round flights. As I've made use of them myself I thought I'd produce a handy list here. When I eventually get round to sorting out a proper web page I'll keep an up to date list there. Until that time, this blog will have to do. There are several airlines running scheduled services out of Newcastle: easyJet is by far the largest presence and will get you to Alicante, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Bristol, Budapest, Faro, Geneva, Ibiza, Stanstead, Malaga, Nice, Palma, Paris (CdG), Prague and Rome. The other big name, Ryanair flys to Dublin, Milan and Oslo. Eastern Airways covers Aberdeen, Birmingham, Isle of Man, London City and Southampton. Jet2 has recently arrived on the field and will happily take you as far as Amsterdam, Bergan, Cork, Mahon (Menorca), Murcia and Pisa. flybe serves Belfast City, Exeter, Jersey and Southampton. British Airways handles Heathrow and Gatwick and through them the rest of t...

It's almost 6 years since I returned to working in the city centre. For all that time, with one or two exceptions, I've used public transport to commute. Initially driving to my local Metro station and using the train but after poor service and strikes I moved to the bus. Now I find myself seriously contemplating driving into work. Some background to perhaps explain what a big shift this is for me... I have been propelling myself around Tyneside by public transport since I first decided to get the Metro to school when I was about 9. I've always gone to work by bus or Metro apart from a 2 year period when I worked in Durham and then the Team Valley. When I travel long distance it is usually by train. So I'm a big fan of public transport. However, the service is starting to grind me down. I'm sick of being glared at or ignored by miserable drivers, I'm fed up of being thrown around by those same drivers who don't understand the concept that brake and throttle ...

Denzil, Denzil, Denzil.... such a talent, what a waste. This film had - somewhere hidden deep, deep inside - a decent story. To be fair, the acting staff did a good job, Denzil was canny as were the two female leads. But Oh My God! What appalling direction, scripting, production, etc... That's two and a quarter hours of my life I'm never getting back. You know, I don't mind watching a crap film every now and then, but it pains me to see such a hash made of what could have been a good one. I know I'm usually "don't take my word for it" but, honestly, don't believe the 7.5 IMDb rating: this is toss. Unless you are very, very bored, give this a wide berth.

I'll chop this one into two parts: childhood and the rest. The editing in the early stages of the film felt choppy, leaving me at a loss as to what was going on. Although Suzuka Ohgo did a great job of portraying the young Chiyo. Once we move a few years forward, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh put in fine performances as you would expect, and Li Gong played a convincingly bitchy Hatsumomo. The scene setting was fine, interior sets and town scenes looked bang on. Ultimately, I suppose, I just never really got round to caring that much about the characters. Whether that was down to the material they were working with or poor direction I'm not so sure. Perhaps an original screenplay would have worked better? It's a shame, I'd been looking forward to this one. But hey, don't take my word for it...

Slow paced Korean number, this one. Atmospheric and very scenic. It follows the life of a man, from childhood to middle age, as he lives and studies with his Buddhist master on a floating temple. It shows how his life goes awry after a young woman arrives and how he gets back on the straight and narrow. As with all excellent films this has a bit of everything including some very Asian humour - retrieving a stray boat by the use of a chicken, and writing calligraphy using a cat - and, of course, a dose of tragedy. Nicely illustrates how life has a habit of repeating itself as hinted at in the title. So, Korean cinema isn't always action and horror. This is a film well worth seeing if you fancy something a little slower.

What a cracking film. I could rattle on about how well it's shot, how fitting the soundtrack is and how well acted, but I won't. The important point about this film is the lives it portrays: how men who are trained to kill and then left with nothing to do react to their circumstances. It's very funny in places, does not hold back from the bleak realities of war and, for good measure, throws in little hints of the differences between what US forces had to deal with during the 1990 conflict, and their predecessors in Vietnam. Ah yes, the British influence of director Sam Mendes popped up too. There was a scene covering a friendly fire incident only this time it was A-10s hitting USMC rather than UK troops. Quote of the film: during a typical GI-style shower scene. "Hey look, a cock, but smaller." I darn near soiled myself. Go see.

In preparation for trips away over the next few months, I thought Id see if I could post to my blog from the mobile. As I cant access the blogger site through WAP, I'm trying email. Now lets see if it works...

To tie-in with the Asian Invasion season on BBC 4, all dates on this blog will be in Japanese until the end of the month. Not a good enough reason? Well then, you can call it a learning experience. Assuming your PC has the necessary fonts that is...

Over the last 6 months or so I've seen 3 films by Hayao Miyazaki and not one has disappointed. I haven't mentioned the fabulous 'Howl's Moving Castle' before, but the simply amazing 'Spirited Away' does appear elsewhere in this blog. Tonight, I finally got around to watching an earlier work: Kiki's Delivery Service. Despite being 16 years old, the Miyazaki trademarks are all there. The characters are just wonderful; beautifully thought out and produced. The meticulous attention to detail makes the people you see on the screen seem so very real, and as a result you become emotionally involved with them for the duration of the film. And, perhaps, a little bit after too. This is, as ever with Miyazaki, film making at its very, very best. Wonderful.

Technology, eh? Very handy at times. And then sometimes it's nice to do stuff just because you can. So this evening I tried to open this blog on my mobile phone using WAP - just to see what happened. Now WAP is not the fastest medium in the world, and my phone sure did struggle - but to its credit, it worked! The obvious next step was to see if I could edit/publish a blog post using the mobile. Result: out of memory. Ah well, I'd got further than I'd expected. So why on earth was I messing around in the world of WAP? Well, I remembered earlier today that I actually have a WAP site, courtesy of O2: here if you're interested. It contains nothing very much, but I thought it might be worth trying to keep it up to date in the future. Not so much a New Year's resolution as a we'll see how it goes type of thing. Oh yes, happy New Year!