Since I'm having difficulties concentrating on anything these days, it's quite a miracle that I've been able to enjoy three days of listening to lots of music and even watching a couple of films.

Went to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street yesterday, and it was very well made. Unfortunately I felt it was slightly too long, but I have a feeling this was because I saw the stage version three times in July and have heard three different (but not that different) recordings quite a few times since then. Loved the gloom; very fitting and very Tim Burton. I think they made a very good choice when picking him to be the director. Timothy Spall was excellent, as per usual, and so was Alan Rickman. Really liked all the actors in this one, to be honest. Johnny Depp has grown on me (very slowly) over the past few years, and although Helena Bonham-Carter seems to be rather weird in real life, she was spot on for the part of Mrs. Lovett.

Today I finally watched Spun, after it's been sitting on my shelf, still in its shrink-wrapped form, for at least three quarters of a year. Mickey Rourke was really cool in this film, and Brittany Murphy was as brilliant as ever. Liked the filming as much as I enjoyed the cinematography in Requiem for a Dream.

Got a few CD's this week; The Best Country Album Ever (which apparently I had won in a survey I took many moons ago), Rock Against Bush Vol. 2 (with lots of Californian punk rock), some comedy album with lots of old and newish gems, and In Sorte Diaboli by Dimmu Borgir. Needed to know what the fuss about their latest album was. Think I need to hear it a few more times, because I didn't think it was better than my favourite album of theirs, Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, but some albums have a tendency to grow on me (like Superfamily's Back in Paris, which I remember telling Cato was very uneven the first few times I heard it, but has now become a dear favourite.)

So, anyway, I've been very good these past few days and have actually sat down just to listen to a lot of music. Thanks to Last.fm, that most diabolical site, one band or singer has taken me to another, then to yet another and so forth, so I have listened through a lot of songs I had even forgotten I had. I have listened to some comedy as well, mostly Grrreg, but that's just because I am getting fed up of the seemingly endless repeats of the UK version of Whose Line on Dave, and I am sort of saving the episodes available on 4oD.

Ooh, by the way, I remember seeing the poster at my local cinema last week, but I forgot to mention the fact that I am hopeful regarding the film version of the excellent, comedic teenage angst book Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging. I have deliberately not read anything about the film, so I just wish I am not being lured into a false sense of security here.

Well, time to go to bed, I feel. Bit too early, but I am planning on watching the news (and possibly Newsnight) in bed, so that will take at least 30 minutes.

Have fun, everyoink!

Labels: Alan Rickman, comedy, film, greg proops, literature, music, musicals, TV

Hi. It's me again. This is going to be a Greg Proops-free post.

...darn.

Oh, poo. Anyway. I discovered the other day that it's quite amazing what kind of things you remember. My flatmate (whose birthday we're going to celebrate at the local Indian restaurant tonight) is having dance lessons at drama school and thinks it's great fun. Such fun that she feels she has to practice at home, and of course that means I will have to be her partner. I am ecstatic that they're actually being taught ballroom dancing as well as more modern dances, so I join in on the waltz and cha-cha and so forth. (Well, I did. Once.) I must say I am surprised at what my body remembers from the ten years I did ballroom dancing myself, especially considering it's been 16 years since I quit. I remembered half of our old waltz routine, even! It was just there as soon as I took one step.

I've wanted to taking dance classes since...well, almost since I quit, really, but the problem is that it's difficult to find a proper dance studio where they do actual ballroom dancing, and when you finally do, you really should come with a partner, so you won't end up dancing with someone different each time or, even worse, the TEACHER. Alright, so it's easier to dance with the teacher, but it also means that you have to know what you're doing, since all the others will be looking at you. Yes, been there, done that, many times. Wouldn't recommend it if you're easily embarrassed!

Labels: greg proops, personal

Woke up this morning to fog and cold weather. Suddenly my change from wearing a huge parka to a much more spring-oriented jacket earlier in the week wasn't very clever after all. I was freezing my fingers and butt off on my way to work, but it definitely upped my tempo and got me here in record time...

...only to find that we still have almost nothing to do, so I'm struggling with keeping myself occupied with other stuff than YouTube. Unfortunately, this led me to installing the Channel 4 On Demand service instead, which is EVEN WORSE than YouTube as they have whole episodes of Whose Line that I've never seen (and hopefully not as edited as the ones currently showing on Dave.)

I need a break. And I really, REALLY should stop drinking six-seven cups of coffee every day just because I'm bored.

In related news, Il Greggo has wriggled his way up my charts in record time, now sharing the ninth place with Barenaked Ladies. At least Erasure still rule. Phew!

Labels: comedy, greg proops, music, personal, time wasting, TV, work

Moving People and Two-line Vocabulary are two of my favourite WLIIA games, and here are a few of the best I've seen:

Raptors on the loose (2 Line)
Operation on a mob boss (2 Line)
Head Feeder (2 Line)
Three outlaws in a shack (2 Line)
Fitting (Moving)
Tonto and the Lone Ranger (Moving)

Overheard on my way down to the tube platform the other day, two Americans:

She: "I hate stairs."
He: "What?"
She: "I said, I hate stairs."
He: "Really?"

How I wish he would only have asked her why, but no, it seems in his world it would be plausible to actually hate stairs, even though they are usually essential to ones mobility. I was fascinated by this extraordinary creature.

Heard later in the day, now actually on the tube:

Mum: "Say thank you to the man."
Kid: "Thank you, man!"

(Of course, this is probably something every parent has heard before, but I still think it's funny.)

Labels: comedy, humour, time wasting, TV

For anyone who actually clicked on the spork link the other day, here's the second part.

Labels: greg proops, humour, time wasting

This explains why my favourite has always been Hermione:

Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Hermione Granger You are Hermione. You are academic, intelligent, and reasonable. On top of this, you are highly concerned with justice, scorn the small-minded prejudices of others and work hard to defend the under dog. Many times you may find that your heart and mind are constantly at war with each other. Hermione Granger 88% Neville Longbottom 84% Severus Snape 78% Remus Lupin 75% Bellatrix Lestrange 72% Luna Lovegood 72% Draco Malfoy 69% Albus Dumbledore 66% Harry Potter 56% Percy Weasley 56% Ron Weasley 53% Oliver Wood 50% Lord Voldemort 47% Sirius Black 47%

Labels: personal, tests, time wasting

Although I have listened to at least three times this number since I opened my profile on last.fm, the 13000th song scrobbled on that site was...drumroll...please... This Time by Melanie C.

Speaking of rolls...as you may have realised, I live in East London (the PRIDE of London...until I move somewhere else). It is interesting to find out what kind of populace I apparently belong to, as when I go to the station in the morning I find that the largest ad on my way there is one for Rizla. When I take the tube from East to West London it sort of goes from Hello! Magazine posters to ads about the newest production at the Royal Opera House. Mind you, I noticed that on the poster for Charlie Wilson's War on Earl's Court station today, Tom Hanks's lips had suddenly gained a bright red colour over night. So I guess you get the rubble everywhere, not just in my neighbourhood.

He looked good in that make-up, actually.

Labels: music, personal

Well, the things I find on the net, that is.

Apparently, Neeraj needs both "summer training" and a girlfriend, and YOU can help him!

And then some funny comments and photos (of course, you may have seen some of these before.)

Finally, in case you were wondering, it's hip to knit. The only time I have been that hip, was when I tried to quit smoking some years ago.

Labels: humour, time wasting

Relations to Dr. No uncertain.

Started the day by waking up. I like to start my days that way. It's 6:40, I'm thinking "who turned on the radio", then contemplating hitting the snooze for a minute, before turning on the telly instead to watch the CBS News which I taped an hour earlier. The radio is still blaring in the background. Well, perhaps not blaring as much as humming quietly along.

Twenty minutes later I am up-to-date on the current situation in the US and join the BBC newsroom crew for a couple of minutes before battling through the cold air all the way (a whopping two metres or so) to my bathroom. Yes, that is indeed one of the few upsides of our flat; we have a bathroom each. Nice. This also prevents the usual tension which occurs when two naturally lazy people start rowing over whose turn it is to clean the bath, as we now just don't do it and are happy with that. :p

Anyway, more mundane activities later, including my version of standing, sitting, bending, AKA trying to get a seat on the tube, I arrive at work fifteen minutes before I have to be logged in and ready for verbal abuse from desperate (and often sad) losers (in all senses of the word, by the way). I copy 2 GB worth of music onto my work station. I am looking at a looong day with almost nothing to do (for a change) and come armed to the teeth.

Thanks to Aug I finally found an easy way to download and keep YouTube videos (although the program itself keeps giving me error messages, but ignoring them works like a charm), so I'm afraid I spent yet another evening watching nothing but Greg Proops videos both on the telly and online (or rather offline, after a while), completely forgetting both the Russell Brand and the Jonathan Ross shows. Tsk, tsk. Luckily, these days, when the controllers have to fill 24 hours worth of slots every day, programmes tend to be repeated.

So, anyway, here I am, at work with a teeny weeny bit of my music collection brought with me, keeping an eye on the phone just in case someone with no social life needs my help understanding something which is already covered in our Help and FAQ sections. I know, they are the basis of my payslip, but after having worked in customer services for a number of years it still hasn't ceased to amaze me how many dumbasses there are out there.

For the record, I am really GOOD at my job, since I am professional (how annoying, Girls Aloud's Biology has started making me smirk) and don't actually sound off at the customers in any way (except for when they say outright that I am stupid...I'm afraid that makes me tick, but in the two cases this has occured, I've made them apologise to me, haha--imagine someone raising their eyebrow at you, saying a very calm "exCUSE me?"; you would realise your error too)--and that's why I vent here. :-)

I actually stopped by to link to this story, though. No point in reading it if you don't know the Harry Potter universe.

OK, discussion: Pro-lifers, would they consider it murder if someone who has had several miscarriages yet continues to become pregnant (and lose the foetuses)?

Labels: computers, current affairs, greg proops, music, personal, technology, work

Watching Djokovic vs. Federer in the Australian Open (hey, I work in the sports business, and FOR ONCE the ones in charge of the nearby telly aren't watching cricket or horse racing, so I enjoy watching tennis when I can), Federer just lost (hahahaaaaah!) and things are finally becoming interesting in the world of tennis. Federer actually isn't unbeatable! Wonderful.

There are other competitions heating up as well, but those are on a more personal level. My harem of future husbands has expanded to three (previously mentioned Dale Winton and Julian Clary are just silly candidates, of course, and don't count towards the total), so they will all have to fight harder for my attention. Dennis tried creeping up the field again yesterday as I investigated my flatmate's brand new MFP and scanned a few newspaper clippings etc., but I'm afraid he is not yet a match for Philip, who is currently struggling even though he is appearing on stage in London in my fave musical and therefore VERY approachable; struggling because of That Other Bucket Midge (I should NOT have looked at that video this morning) who has, annoyingly enough, taken over my teeny weeny world with what seems to be absolutely no effort whatsoever, just by being so bloody charming. Bastard.

The trouble with those "admiration videos" put on YouTube by drooling teenaged girls (or, more often than not, by perfectly normal (although slightly bored) housewives and business women), is that they choose these songs that will then forever be connected to the person in question. For instance, I have three such videos among my favourites (the one with Philip Quast is different as he is ACTUALLY a singer, so they've just put one of his own tracks on there): One is for Whose Line in general and features Perfect/Exceeder, Mason vs. Princess Superstar, a song I already love. Then today's newly added Greg Proops drooling video features Biology by...uhmmm...is it Sugababes or Girls Aloud? I always forget. Anyway, I love that song as well. But then, THEN you have the video which I have dubbed my Marton Csokas fave video, but which also features other actors apparently in the same league as him, and the track on this particular video is Flawless by George Michael, which I originally thought was incredibly boring, but which now always makes me think of Marton. And Jason Isaacs. Hmm.

Speaking of my flatmate's scanner, I found my cherished Playbills from May 2002 and scanned them. So, just to prove that YES, I actually went to New York to see Alan Rickman on stage (and is he still in my harem of future husbands? Is he fuck), and YES, I actually got their autographs, here they are in all their glory:

Private Lives Playbill (signed by the whole cast; Lindsay Duncan, Emma Fielding, Alan Rickman and Adam Godley) and, for good measure, the Noises Off Playbill, signed by (let's see if I can remember) Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince, Patti LuPone and Robin Weigert. I'm still frustrated about the fact that I didn't get T.R. Knight's (he was in a hurry) and especially Katie Finneran's (I didn't dare ask, for some bizarre reason, when she actually LOOKED STRAIGHT AT ME with a "any more fans around?" kind of look in her eyes) autographs, but then again I'd already made enough of a fool of myself during that trip...and I'm never going to let myself live that one down, apparently.

My YouTube playlists (random link.)

In other news, and this time it really IS news, I heard this morning that "my" presidential candidate, Dennis K. Kucinich, has given up the race against the other twats Democratic candidates. So now I'll have to choose between the three heads of the monster. Reports like this naturally make me very skeptical, so I'll have to take a close look at the way their campaigns are going.

Labels: Alan Rickman, comedy, current affairs, dennis storhøi, greg proops, jason isaacs, marton csokas, music, musicals, philip quast, sport, theatre, TV

Maybe I'm in a bad mood today (I didn't think I was), but I just didn't find today's Wulff Morgenthaler to be any kind of fun. People who know me are very well aware of the fact that I can joke about anything, but at the same time it has to be funny. If it's just vicious, for instance, I don't deem it to be humour. So for some reason the above strip was just...not funny. Informative, yes; funny, no.

I was very pleasantly surprised yesterday when I got home at around eight to find a couple of "new" episodes of Whose Line (UK) waiting for me. Yes, I have unfortunately reached the point where it's more unusual to find any episodes I didn't already have. Of course, this makes the so-called "new" episodes even more welcome. OK, so I had seen yesterday's episodes before, but that doesn't really count. One of them contains one of my absolute favourite bits (and quotes); Steve Frost and Greg Proops sharing a prison cell; it's hilarious. Perhaps I can find it on YouTube somewhere...

OK, I didn't, but I found some other clips:

A particularly frustrating Party Quirks game for Tony Slattery (UK)
Press Conference 1 (US)
Press Conference 2 (US)
Film dubbing (UK)
Superheroes (US) - one of the best
Newscasters (US) - the perfect couple

In other news (this is rapidly turning into my most used expression, and it's a contradiction, as there hardly ever follows or indeed precedes any real news), I got my bathroom lighting back in working order last night, after having lived without since the Neighbours' Leaking Bathroom incident just before Christmas. I can finally see my bath! Unfortunately this also means I can see how long ago it was I last cleaned it.

I may also have managed to reduce the amount of taxes I have to pay to Norway. I seriously don't understand why I have to pay them anything, since I get absolutely NOTHING back (I don't get any pension points anymore), unless they count the immense privilege of being allowed to carry a Norwegian passport. If anyone wonders, this is one of the many reasons for Norway's immense wealth. Calling the tax office people was a good move, as I got answers to some other questions I've had for a few years. So now I feel educated and rejuvenated! I even slept rather well last night, after three consecutive almost sleepless nights.

Ooh, and for anyone out there who enjoys a good romp of toilet humour (and I know you all do, just admit it), this coming weekend will feature "nothing but Bottom" on Dave (the channel). You have to watch it or Eddie Elizabeth Hitler will come and fart in your face.

Just because he can.

OK, I honestly don't know what it is about Bottom that makes me laugh hysterically. It's not really the kind of humour I would normally fall for. But then I look at my favourites and they are rather diverse, so I suppose Bottom fits the bill. FYI, I actually loved that series before I became a fan of Rik Mayall's. And I quote it from time to time. "Half past eight and all's crap" is a favourite, for instance, and can be used in any context. The top favourite, however, is screaming "Gas man! Gas man!" followed by a rather more quiet "Do you have anyone who looks after you?" - and I am pretty sure that's not very funny at all to anyone who hasn't seen that particular episode.

Then again, random quoting is da bomb. If only I wasn't so white middle class I would probably even know what that actually meant.

Going to the Improvathon on Saturday night I met some of my flatmate's drama school classmates and one of them asked me what I do for a living. "I'm a...err..." (always a good start when you desperately try to sound cool while describing your rather mundane job) (I quickly gave up on that project) "...a helpdesk operator. It's boring." / "So what do you REALLY wanna do?" That's a proper artist, that. Finally someone who looks beyond the exterior. Usually people just say "oh, well, that sounds...interesting." Do they think I am some sort of a git who thinks it falls to their lot to spend their days trying to reason with ungrateful punters? Do they really think that I consider myself to be worth nothing more than this? Wankers.

Yes, I enjoy using the vast English profanity vocabulary. At work I sit there swearing in Norwegian (or Dutch; whatever is more fitting in that particular situation--with Dutch there is more saliva involved) more or less because then people around me wouldn't know what I was saying. Sometimes uttering "oh, poo" simply isn't enough when you deal with borderline idiots on a daily basis.

Labels: comedy, greg proops, humour, linguistics, Norway, personal, rik mayall, time wasting, TV

...to post my own opinion in my own words, so I'll let someone else do it for me. Ten points for anyone spotting how I came upon that blog entry.

I guess I could mention how awful it is that Heath Ledger has been found dead in his NYC flat, but I won't make a big deal out of it. I'll just turn nasty.

Labels: current affairs, film, greg proops

It would be interesting to find out what's so captivating about the song "alla som inte dansar är våldtäktsmän" by Swedish group Maskinen, but I guess I'll never find out.

Well, I just woke up from a daze after having witnessed former Norwegian PM Kjell Magne Bondevik (dubbed Shawl Manger Bondevick by Jeremy Paxman) talking about his mental illness on Newsnight yesterday evening. At least he wasn't as bad as current PM Jens Stoltenberg when it comes to speaking English.

Another day gone by waiting for the degenerates at CityLink. Guess it just wasn't meant to be, my seeing Charlie Wilson's War, at the cinema. Or to bring out the bins.

At least I got to tape another episode of Whose Line with Greg that I didn't already have (strangely enough, since I've seen that particular episode at least twice before), so the day wasn't a complete waste.

Labels: film, greg proops, music, Norway, personal, time wasting

I am currently listening through my songs. Since I switched from WinAmp to Windows Media Player (blame Nullsoft for not offering a working version of WinAmp for my Vista x64 OS, and now it's too late), I have to rate all my tunes so that I know/remember which ones I like best. I think it may take some time, considering I have more than 21K of them. Ouch.

Anyway, at present only a handful of songs have got five out of five stars, and Back to Paradise by .38 Special is one of them. I first heard it on the soundtrack for that brilliant/dumb film Revenge of the Nerds II, thought it was great and it's stuck with me ever since.

Other songs with five stars are Lady Madonna (The Beatles), Celebrity (Barenaked Ladies), We are All on Drugs (Weezer), and of course Sometimes (Erasure). I am currently listening to Miles Davis but have drunk way too much coffee today to be in the right mood for a five-star-rating for his Kind of Blue album.

Finally got to listen to a couple of interviews with Proopdog just now, after hoarding them all week. I spent the entire day waiting for the fucking morons working for CityLink, and they never turned up. This is the third time for this delivery that they've claimed to have tried to deliver the item when in fact they couldn't possibly have been anywhere near our doorbell. This is not the first time this is happening. In fact, it's the fourth time since we moved here that they have LIED about trying to deliver the item because they couldn't be arsed to scrape together their two semi-working particles of grey matter and try to get the simple intercom whatchamacallit system functioning.

From now on I am officially boycotting any company refusing to use other delivery companies (which could prove tricky, but I have already stopped using favourites dabs.com because of this, and the principle is most important to me). CityLink can go screw themselves. If they could ever figure out how to do it, of course, but trust them to mess that up too.

The parcel wasn't even for me! Grr...

In other news, I managed to trawl through heaps of episode guides for Whose Line is it Anyway? today in order to catalogue those I had taped. Must keep track, otherwise I will end up having lots of duplicates on my PVR's hard drive. And not to worry, I am of course only keeping them until the DVD's are out...sometime next century or summat. (Fingers crossed that by then I won't care, haha!)

(A quick trip to Play.com shows me the gift vouchers I bought for a couple of people on the 24th of December weren't delivered until the 26th! I do apologise. They said they would be delivered straight away. Bastids.)

Well, the episode of Mock the Week from 2006 featuring The Proopsmeister is on Dave in about an hour (sometimes I am lucky), so I'd better go and prepare. Uhmm...doing what, exactly, I don't know. Certainly not having another cup of coffee! I'll be bouncing off the walls if I do. Hmm...pizza, perhaps? Left over from yesterday. There's nothing like cold pizza. Except for hot pizza. And other food that I like.

Labels: comedy, computers, erasure, food, greg proops, music, online shopping, personal, TV

I'd love to see Colin and Brad on stage one day, but until then, I'll have to make do with this, which is funny enough.

Labels: comedy, time wasting, TV

Not Dennis Storhøi this time, but the previously mentioned Dennis J. Kucinich, currently trying to become the Democrats' candidate in the US presidential election this year. Seems we agree on very many political issues. Oh, and Viggo Mortensen endorses his campaign, so I must be backing the correct candidate, right? ;-)

Labels: current affairs, dennis storhøi

1. Get out of bed at 10:30. Keep in mind you went to an improvathon the night before and caught hour 28 of an improvised soap opera.
2. Watch the CBS News from last night.
3. Catch half an episode of Whose Line is it Anyway, before you realise you cannot escape doing the dishes.
4. Actually do the dishes. Listen to Capital Radio.
5. Watch two episodes of Whose Line US which you haven't seen before. Be slightly annoyed that Greg Proops isn't in any of them.
6. Try to fix the internet connection on your desktop computer.
7. Rip your hair out in sheer frustration.
8. Fix the internet connection on your desktop computer, losing the internet connection on your laptop computer at the same time.
9. Do an online survey about top 20 songs.
10. Go to the cinema and watch Alvin and the Chipmunks together with a lot of noisy kids. At least the ticket was free.
11. Be surprised at all the people out shopping on a Sunday afternoon.
12. Stop by the hairdresser's to book an appointment.
13. Have your hair cut.
14. Go back home to put away the clothes from last weekend's washing.
15. Listen to Weezer and that crap first album of P!nk's.
16. Order a pizza.
17. Sit down with your flatmate to watch Peter Cook: A Posthumourous Tribute, making up for the Greg Proops deficit from earlier in the day. ("It is so nice of me to be here tonight.")
18. Watch the second episode of the brilliant Lark Rise to Candleford. Be very happy for Julia Sawalha finally having a major part in a BBC drama.
19. Listen to the slightly better second album of P!nk's.
20. Make a list of all the things you've done today and pretend it's a self-help guide.

Labels: comedy, film, greg proops, lists, music, personal, TV

Having a blog search gadget on my Google homepage which constantly updates with any blogs mentioning certain people or events can lead to some very "interesting" revelations. Now, I've always found the world of fan fiction (or fanfic or FF, all depending on how deeply into the whole thing you are) to be somewhat...alien to me. And, quite frankly, rather creepy. I've also never understood the blatant hypocrisy of homophobes revelling in slash FF (boy on boy action).

I am going to be mentally scarred for life because of the visit I made earlier today via a seemingly innocent link to something Whose Line related. Seriously, people, those stories are embarrassing to read. I mean, some are very well-written, but for crying out loud, WHY would you want to experiment with...oh, never mind. I just wouldn't like to share my imaginary world in that way, but for a lot of people that seems to be a release of some sort (don't go there.)

If you're a celebrity of some sort, don't ever...and I cannot stress this enough...don't you EVER visit any fanfic site searching for your own name. You will immediately feel the urge to hire a horde of bodyguards. Oh, and some good lawyers.

In other news, I got my copy of Hairspray yesterday and straight away tricked my flatmate into watching it with me. Well, I asked her, she said yes. It IS better on the big screen and even better on stage, but it was still very funny and the music is still catchy, so I am happy overall.

I also received a tip from a friend about adding their (as in her and a few other friends) LJ's to my Google homepage, which was great! Now I can finally keep up to date on their comings and goings as I haven't been very active doing so for a couple of years. I also remembered I actually have a LiveJournal of my own, only I haven't posted anything there and I think I only opened it so that I could access a few restricted LJ's back in the day.

We seem to be going to some improv event kinda thing tonight, and have been told to have a few drinks first. I am sloshing my way into alcoholism here. But hey, I have the next three days off to recuperate.

Labels: comedy, film, greg proops, literature, musicals, personal, technology

I had 50 daily cartoons from the guys at Wulff Morgenthaler that I hadn't checked yet, so here come my four favourites of the lot:

How the US Elections may end
Athletics are dangerous
Free housekeeper
The return of the Beaver (probably only funny to those who know the WM Beaver)

Labels: humour, time wasting

I'm beginning to believe I really made a good choice when I bought the PS3 back in May/June. We bloody rock.

And speaking of rock, I've started listening to Bruce Dickinson on Fridays. Yes, that is Bruce Dickinson as in Iron Maiden (the band with possibly the coolest album cover art ever). Lots of great music. Just thought you'd like to know.

Labels: film, gaming, music, radio

...and we could actually BELIEVE these candidates when they outlined their visions and views on goddamn everything, I would apparently agree the following percentage with the politicians in question:

88% Dennis Kucinich
87% Mike Gravel
83% John Edwards
83% Barack Obama
81% Hillary Clinton
76% Chris Dodd
75% Bill Richardson
74% Joe Biden
40% Rudy Giuliani
29% John McCain
24% Mitt Romney
23% Mike Huckabee
20% Tom Tancredo
19% Ron Paul
11% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

I'd better go and read up on who on earth these people are, now. By the by, am I the only one still confused, after decades of being indoctrinated with the right wing versus the left wing and the blue parties versus the red here in Europe, when they see that the Republicans are red and the Democrats blue? Tut, tut.

Labels: current affairs, personal

Written yesterday:

I clearly have too many films. Last weekend they were showing Two Rode Together on UKTV History, and being a Jimmy Stewart fan (sort of), I really wanted to tape it. But my recent Greg Proops obsession got in the way, as I couldn't be sure that the concurrent episodes of Whose Line is it Anyway were old ones.

They turned out to be. They showed the film twice during the weekend, both times I didn't tape "just in case" and both times it was a complete waste of time.

Today I realised I already own Two Rode Together on DVD. I remember a time in the distant past when I actually remembered which films I already had. Of course, having recently acquired film number one thousand, this is starting to be a bit tricky.

I guess I should mention today's plane crash landing on Heathrow. For now, I commend the pilot and the crew. Amazing that they managed to get away with hardly a scratch on any of the people on board. But I am holding back as I am now old enough to have learnt how these things work. To begin with, we're all in awe of the bravery of the people involved, and everything is just positive, but then some bored journalist somewhere starts investigating, and that's when we find out all the dirt and the conspiracy theorists come creeping out of the woodwork. It's all very depressing.

Speaking of which, now that the US elections begin to interest even those of us not living over there, this year is going to be filled with slandering and backstabbing and insinuations. And once again I am going to be shaking my head in disbelief over the fact that not every vote counts in that "most democratic of nations". It must be down-putting to know that if you live in an area where you don't agree with the majority, you basically don't count. It's like the antiquated notion that children should be seen, not heard.

Considering the system is more or less the same over here, I am to a certain degree NOT looking forward to (possibly) be able to vote here at some point in the future. Still, as I'm an optimist (which would surprise a lot of people), I have to believe that every vote counts. Because, as you know, if you don't vote, you might as well just shut the fuck up. You really shouldn't be complaining about "the system" if you haven't even cared enough to drag your fat arse down to the voting booth. You miserable little sod.

That rant over, I really, really wish my internet connection at home had worked tonight (I am still hoping for the best, but it's rapidly nearing my bedtime and the network adapter icon continues to show that annoying yellow exclamation mark pointing out the already well-known fact that yes, we have no bananas)--I was looking forward to downloading a couple of interviews I found during my lunch hour earlier today so that I could listen to them on my mp3 player tomorrow. Seems like I am stuck with recordings of old BBC radio shows instead.

Labels: comedy, current affairs, film, greg proops, personal, TV

That is such a stupid expression. So, naturally, I have to use it as a headline.

Just popping by during my very precious lunch to send you straight to hell these nice articles on The Most Reliable News Site on the Net:

Troop Morale Boosted by Surprise Visit from First Dog
Failure Now an Option
Leader: I Got What America Needs Right Here

Labels: humour, time wasting

I put together a playlist for my mp3 player yesterday before going to bed, so that I would have something to listen to on my way to and from work. The playlist was basically the two Greg Proops CD's that awaited me as I returned from work yesterday, plus the two latest Mash Up Mixes (2006 and 2007) by Ministry of Sound. The result was of course "Proopsnmash", which sounds like a slightly kinky dish. ANYHOO, the CD's (from two live shows) were brilliant and this resulted in my guffawing on the train, causing some people to stare, but I guarantee you that at that very moment I was extending my life span while they were shortening theirs.

If it is worth it, only time will show.

I also noticed earlier today that lately my blog has attracted people looking for Paul Merton. They must have been so disappointed when they came in here only to find my slagging off Mr. Merton as much as possible. What annoys me the most about him, is that he is rather funny, but I don't want to like him after the Angus Deayton incident. For supposedly having very strict views on drug abuse, I have a rather adaptable limit when it comes to my favourites using drugs. Hmmm... Well, Saturday's Thank God You're Here wasn't too bad, and Fern Britton was really funny and proficient at taking the lead and running away with it, haha! Merton himself wasn't too bad (I keep telling myself perhaps 20 years of improv has in fact helped, because he was absolutely crap in Whose Line is it Anyway?--seeing him and Tony Slattery is just cringing. Merton not playing along (seemingly having no imagination at all and nitpicking at everything) and Slattery giggling his way through everything. I feel the others' pain and am quite embarrassed on everyone's behalf. Sometimes the North Americans look like they're thinking "Must remember killing my agent after this." It's like they can't believe the carnage unfolding in front of them.

Well, that was an interesting switch in my media player; from a ballad from Which Witch? to The Real Thing by 2 Unlimited. Ahh, the memories. I usually had to watch music videos on the Swedish TV channels because the Norwegian ones were just embarrassing.

It's that time again, bed time. Just have to watch another episode of WLIIA UK, from 1993; of all the episodes they showed today this was the only one I hadn't seen (in a while). Then I can erase it afterwards and make room for more repeats tomorrow. Toodles!

Labels: comedy, greg proops, music, musicals, TV

This was actually quite funny:



Vigilance, people!

Labels: humour, time wasting

May the 5th 1992 I watched Kiss of the Spider Woman on telly and became a fan of William Hurt's. I've never seen the film since, and it's been impossible to find it anywhere. By chance I saw part of an ad in between programmes yesterday; the sound was turned down but I got the jist of it: The Guardian were going to attach a copy of the film to each copy of their newspaper today. I could hardly believe my (sudden) luck.

OK, "luck" is maybe not the right word as I've been looking for the film for nearly 16 years, but still...one tends to forget the bad times.

I've spent yet another day watching WLIIA and am almost done with the ones from the US season 1 not featuring Greg Proops. Saving the best for last.

Oh, and (another) one of my many future husbands is back on telly in a couple of hours.

Well, you lovely people, you--remember to watch Thank God You're Here on ITV tonight! Please note that if it turns out to be crap...hmm...blame it on Paul Merton! I know I usually do.

Labels: comedy, film, greg proops, TV, william hurt

...although it is very tempting, at least for a short while. Like, two days. Which is as long as I can do without London these days.

By the way, my hair looks almost like his in the picture linked to above, simply because it should have been cut long before Christmas. I guess I should have taken the hint when I went to the hairdresser's downstairs to book an appointment for my flatmate and the hairdresser said "Anything else?" / "No, thanks, that'll be all." / "Are you sure?"

So today I bought a different type of wax than the one I sometimes use. And my hair looks terrible whatever I do, so I'm ONCE AGAIN desperately considering becoming a skinhead. Not to worry, this notion comes creeping up on me every time I've been lingering too long outside the hairdresser's without actually entering, and it hasn't amounted to anything yet in the last ten years that the idea has reared its ugly head.

*puts on some old Bee Gees instead*

Think it's about time I watched some of my unseen Daniel Auteuil films, by the way. Some of them I've had for a year or so. Shame on me.

In other (Norwegian) news, Lommemannen ("The Pocket Man") seems to have been caught after more than 30 years of molesting boys, which is good news indeed. And since he is defended by notorious lawyer Tor Erling Staff, he must be guilty. I seriously don't understand why people would let themselves be "defended" by that guy. It's always a sign of extreme guilt. If anyone had ANY sympathy for you before you were arrested, it vanished when your defence lawyer was presented to the press. For f's sake, Staff managed to say live on telly (I actually tuned in to the webcast of tonight's news on NRK) that being molested couldn't possibly have harmed these under-age boys much. Just because he was molested himself (and let's face it, he is one freaky character), he seems to think everyone will have the reaction he had.

The only other news I'm managing to follow these days is the presidential election in the US, for some reason. Probably because it's more exciting and important than ever. For being the world's third largest country they certainly have too much power over the rest of us! Truthfully, when did you last hear anything from the second largest country, Canada, about invading nations they didn't like and imposing their political beliefs on everyone?

OK, I must admit I have always had a VERY soft spot for Canada. And Australia. And New Zealand. And I was obsessed with India for a while when I was about 12. Hmm...I think I can see a pattern forming in the periphery...

I've also had some extremely good news about a favourite film of mine today, but am too afraid to jinx it and will let you know tomorrow (heh, as if you'd be interested.)

Anyway, very happy to see La cage aux folles being featured in tonight's Newsnight Review (thanks to the PQ Board for the heads-up, AS PER USUAL) (loved the fact that they played quite a bit of one of the songs featuring Quast (have a look!)) and that they chose to show the Bill Bailey: Part Troll show again on Channel 4. His take on the intro music to the BBC News is a classic in its own right.

Well, guys, I don't want to go to bed, but I think I may have to. I see Madness (one of my favourite groups since I saw them perform House of Fun on The Young Ones the first time I saw that series back in the summer of 1998) (i.e. 16 years after it aired. Duh) is one of the guests on Jonathan Ross tomorrow. Maybe I'll tune in. Once upon a time I taped every show (and yes, I do regret not having catalogued each episode, meaning I now have to listen through 14 CD's and DVD's to find out who his guests were...although I am pretty sure I have no one "interesting" in there, if you know what I mean *s*), but I haven't done that since I moved here, really. Never listened to all the shows, anyway, so found it easy to just NOT restart recording the show once we finally got our internet connection up and running over here.

Phew.

Remember, everyone: 2,000 hamsters can't be wrong.

Labels: comedy, current affairs, daniel auteuil, film, greg proops, music, musicals, personal, philip quast, radio, rik mayall, theatre

First things first: La cage aux folles (it's in French, hence the lower-case...just work with me here) FINALLY opened the other day, after six weeks of previews, basically. Seems like the reviews are mostly positive. Since I can't be bothered to link to them all and this is my favourite board, I will send you to this thread for reviews, should you want to read any.

Unfortunately I almost forgot all about it on the day, and I see I missed the newspaper reviews entirely just because I was exhausted after work. Three days of chaos at work, not exactly helped by the frustratingly slow system and the fact that I was the only one there from my team. I also missed the reviews due to my refusing to accept copies of free papers around the capital. Darn. Still, it's a principle. Wasting the forests on gossip is just horrendous behaviour and morals.

In my prudish opinion, of course. ;-)

Yet, despite being exhausted after work, I've kept up with my Whose Line watching. It's all very annoying. I got the first US season in the post yesterday and am trying to steer away from the episodes with The Proopster in them. My PVR is 33% full of episodes thanks to both Five US and Dave showing the two versions every single day.

It will pass, it will pass. (Maybe chanting that will help.)

In other news, I was asked if I was "enough old" to buy wine at the local Morrisons today.

I am 29.

I flashed her my Norwegian debit card (which is in no way proof of age over here, but it was all I had) and she probably took a good look at my white hair sprouting all over the place lately and decided she wouldn't be fired if she let me buy a couple of bottles of wine...and some rum and Bailey's. Hmm.

Maybe if I stopped drinking my hair wouldn't turn white so rapidly. Then again, where's the fun in that? Besides, I am turning 30 in a few weeks and need to drown my sorrows, after all. ;-)

There are two things I feel I have to mention:

1. The new expansion pack for The Sims 2 seems pretty cool. Then again, so was the last expansion pack, which I played constantly for 12 hours when I first got it, then put it away for no good reason other than that I had played through all the coolest parts. Electronic Arts certainly know how to make money!

2. I have very, VERY high hopes for Thank God You're Here. I know I've mentioned it not long ago, but I just have to go down that lane again. You're probably thinking "ok, she's definitely gone overboard with this improv kinda thing", but the thing is I've been a fan of improv for more than 15 years. Why on earth do you think I become overly excited about any new comedy starring Anders Hatlo and Johannes Joner? When they (read: usually Anders) forget their lines, the improv is amazing. I remember watching Minus Manus or something equivalent on NRK or...uhmmm...we probably only had NRK of the Norwegian channels back then, coming to think of it.

Not forgetting my first real memory of Tony Slattery and Mike McShane is from them performing in their own improv show in the early nineties. It's kind of embarrassing watching the old episodes of WLIIA now, when Tony seems to think he is supposed to be the star and that the North Americans are merely guest actors there to humour him. Sometimes it's even cringing watching his futile attempts at humour. If I wanted purely lavatorial comedy, I'd watch a couple of hours of the brilliant series Bottom. And I do, from time to time (after all, I'm supposed to be a huge Rik Mayall fan). Still, I have a soft spot for Mr. Slattery. I have an issue with getting rid of my old favourites, and he's among the earliest ones (I have a looong list, believe me! *checking the list* 135 people in total, actually. My, my.)

Well, a few minutes to tonight's "new" episodes of WLIIA, so I'd better post this and get offline. My last post mentioning Greg Proops got me quite a few hits through Google's blog search engine for no particular reason, so I feel I must apologise to the poor sods who visited just to find my ramblings and droolings.

But I won't.

Labels: anders hatlo, comedy, gaming, greg proops, lists, musicals, Norway, personal, philip quast, rik mayall, theatre, TV, work

Seems I don't really know myself very well after all. Apparently this "Greg Proops phase" isn't even close to being short-lived. In fact, it has more or less taken over my life. It's the fastest-growing obsession I've had since Alan Rickman back in 2001. To put it into perspective for those who know me: I got a new game five days ago and haven't even unpacked it yet. Worse, still: I have almost forgotten that I lost out on seeing Philip Quast on stage again, in my favourite musical, last Wednesday due to my tube station being closed because of some emergency.

Yes, it's THAT bad.

I spend six hours every day watching old clips (because there are no new ones) and whole episodes of both versions of Whose Line is it Anyway?. Some of the episodes I have already seen four times!

I draw the line at buying Bob the Builder DVD's. (Yep, he provides the voice in the US version, I think it is (since Neil Morrissey is the UK one.))

He'd better not make a public appearance in England soon. My wallet can't take it. Among other things.

Speaking of which, I now know what to spend my hard-earned winnings from last week on; the electricity bill came the other day. But at least I saved 117 pounds earlier today. I thought my PDA had said goodbye after only two months usage. None of the suggestions on their FAQ site helped. I was going "duh, of course I've tried this and that, what do you think I am; stupid?" None of the soft, warm or hard resets helped, it was just dead. One of the suggestions was to make a hard reset with the charger plugged in. I'd already tried the charger before, so didn't think it would do me any good, but it was the only thing left, and so I plugged it in, turned around and started writing my rather harsh email to their support (once I could finally FIND their support hidden away in some link cul-de-sac). As they asked for the serial number, I turned back to the PDA to find it, and lo and behold the screen had lit up and was awaiting my command. Uhmm...

So I guess the investment in the PDA itself and all the software for it wasn't a complete waste. Must look out for battery-drenching applications, though.

I also invested in my first DAB radio the other day, and I love it! I've set it to record all sorts of things and I can finally listen to BBC 6Music without having to waste energy etc. on turning on both my telly and Freeview decoder! I am in love (with my radio as well.) Also, it records programmes and has a built-in programme guide. And to top it off, Radio 4 will be featuring The Prince by Machiavelli, read by Peter Firth, all week. Oh, glee.

Also, to explain this new obsession further: I got hold of an imported version of Holocaust, a mini-series I've wanted to see for about ten years, since my mum said it was the first thing she saw with James Woods in it and which made her loathe him (reading about the plot, I don't really see why, but I must have misunderstood something.) It has been impossible to find anywhere, though, so how legal the version I bought is (although it looks ok), I don't know. So anyway, I got it around the same time as the previously mentioned game and still haven't started watching it. The Proopster and his minions have somehow got hold of my mind. And EV, don't mention your old theories about me! ("Another one???" :D ) *plays some Pet Shop Boys to get back to her normal self*

Went to see The History Boys at the Wyndham's Theatre last week and found it entertaining (but slightly too long). Fun to see Desmond Barrit again, especially since his role was very different (duh!) from the only other part I've seen him do on stage (which was the protagonist in the brilliant NT production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 2004.) I liked the efficiency of the set design and the use of projection screens to bind the scenes together. (I know, I'm not exactly known for my elaborate and critical reviews, so just shut up - other sites and newspapers out there do that.)

I have gone around...well, sat in my office chair...all day, humming the tune of (get this) Cliff Richard's song from 1980 (I think): Wired for Sound. Quirky music video (he is rollerskating around with some people wearing spandex and Walkmans), but I like the rhythms. However, going around all day with that tune in my head was driving me slightly mad. YouTube was the solution during my lunch break, but Cliff crept back into my head afterwards.

Yesterday, though, the tune of the day was Mera Meti Mera by Antique.

Ooh, just remembered I have to mention: The Beeb have made the right choice in buying Damages from FX in the US, and I hope that every right-thinking Brit started watching it yesterday! ;-) I liked it a lot and would definitely recommend it. It's like everything Murder One aspired to be, and then some, but never even came (Glenn) close to.

My god, that must have been the lousiest pun ever. I clearly have not learnt a thing from watching (too) much Whose Line is it Anyway? and I hang my head in shame. At least for a couple of seconds, before I turn on the telly again to watch...no, not WLIIA, but Lenny Henry (or rather the "funny clips" RadioTimes claims he will be showing.)

Speaking of comedians I don't really like anymore...I have high hopes for the UK version of Thank God You're Here, which is filming these days. Even if Paul Merton is hosting it. I have seen a few episodes of the Australian original plus all the episodes of the US one (which unfortunately only lasted for seven episodes) and think the premise is very funny indeed.

Labels: comedy, gaming, greg proops, music, musicals, personal, peter firth, philip quast, radio, technology, theatre, TV

Seriously, I promise you you will prolong your life by watching these clips:

Songs of the Beekeeper (about 6 mins)

Irish Drinking Song (Wrong name in bed) (a little more than a minute)

*) WLIIA=Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Labels: comedy, humour, time wasting, TV

Post no. 700!!!

I must admit I had forgotten all about my annual Favourite Things of the Year That Went thing until this morning, so here it is, after just mentioning that, reading through a few of my old posts, I actually remarked upon my planned move to England 15 months before it happened (see post of 15 Feb 2004), but of course no one noticed, haha!

I am also going through a short-lived Greg Proops phase. I know it's short-lived so I am not going to give him his own label (unless "The Proopster" could possibly be a label...hmm...). Anyway, to the list!

This year's list's categories are blatantly ripped off from all the three lists before it, and rightly so! Some may have been added, some may have been lost in the post (I am using Royal Mail, after all).

My Top Favourites of 2007

Coolest Villain of the year
Ralph Fiennes for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (see also the list from 2005)

Best Steve Carell Film of the year
Evan Almighty, and that wasn't very good, even.

Best Hank Azaria Film of the year
Run, Fat Boy, Run

Indie Album of the year
The Go! Team: Proof of Youth

Musical Album of the year
Original Soundtrack: Hairspray

Most Surprisingly Good Album of the year
Melanie C: This Time

Album of the year
Erasure: Light at the End of the World

Funniest New Series
The Armstrong & Miller Show, BBC (UK)

Strangest Series Cancellation of the year
The Class, Warner Bros. (US)

Most Disappointing Comedy Series of the year
The Omid Djalili Show, BBC (UK)

Favourite Comedy Series Characters of the year
The WWII RAF pilots from The Armstrong & Miller Show, BBC (UK)

Favourite Comedy Series Sketch of the year
See above.

Best End to a Series
The Vicar of Dibley, BBC (UK)

Most Anticipated Film of the year
Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World's End

British Film of the year
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Most Anticipated Game of the year
Crysis

Most Disappointing Game of the year
Assassin's Creed

Most Surprisingly Good Game of the year
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Best PC Game of the year
Two Worlds

Best Console Game of the year
Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

Best Handheld Game of the year
Final Fantasy IV (GBA) (I only have my trusty PDA and GBA, ok?)

Best Game of the year
Two Worlds

Best World Premiere of the year
The stage version of Breaking the Waves, Oslo Nye Teater (Centraltheatret)

Best Stage Revival of the year
Arsenic and Old Lace, Oslo Nye Teater (Hovedscenen)

Best Norwegian Stage Production of the year
Fiddler on the Roof, Oslo Nye Teater (Hovedscenen)

Best Play or Musical of the year
La cage aux folles, Menier Chocolate Factory (surprised?)

Would Have Most Wanted to See
Evita just once more

Most Anticipated Book of the year/decade/century
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Most Annoying Yet Strangely Catchy Song of the year
Timbaland: Apologize

Worst Idea of the year
My trying to get a job in sales

Best Moment of the year
29 November, when I first saw my two favourites suddenly combined: La cage aux folles and Philip Quast

Labels: anders hatlo, comedy, dennis storhøi, erasure, evita, film, gaming, geoffrey rush, greg proops, lists, Lloyd-Webber, musicals, Norway, personal, philip quast, ralph fiennes, theatre, TV, work

It all started with a link to something related to the long-awaited (but never-arriving) game Spore. I found a link to a video on YouTube showing Robin Williams playing around with the game and this video was linked to his appearance on Whose Line is it Anyway - Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Then I found a link to one of the classics with Colin Mochrie. All hilarious. Actually, if you have the time, you should probably have a look at all the clips you can find from Whose Line is it Anyway. Otherwise I may have to come around and slap you silly.

Oh, by the way. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I watched telly and ate cheese and drank wine all night, so by half ten I was so drowsy I wanted to go to bed, but managed to hold on for the next two hours to see the fireworks etc. It's still fun to see the Southbank fireworks from my window and on the telly at the same time. Instead of watching any of the celebratory programmes on the Beeb and ITV, I opted for Five's Best ever 80's movies and had a jolly old time. I also watched last night's Mastermind simply because it was going to feature Peter Serafinowicz. A slightly freaky thing happened, though. On my way home from work, I thought "wouldn't it be fun if his chosen subject would turn out to be Monty Python?" - and lo and behold, so it was! OK, perhaps not TOO far a stretch for someone most widely known for their own crazy comedy, but still!

Hope everyone had a nice celebration yesterday and are able to walk upright today! I'm having a fairly quiet day at work, myself, looking forward to a few days off work.

Labels: comedy, film, gaming, personal, peter serafinowicz, TV