Kevin Spacey is not fond of the Beeb at the moment. He thinks their reality shows where people vote for the next West End star are basically just drawn-out ad campaigns. Personally, I believe it has helped the West End enormously. For once, there are lots of British visitors to the musicals, not just foreigners. And we all know that musicals are the links between theatregoer rookies and dramatic theatre. Once they're hooked on a musical, they want to come back to see more, and eventually even the "fringe" theatres will benefit from this.

Kevin Spacey can just put his name on anything showing at "his" theatre (the Old Vic) and masses of people will pay through their noses for a seat there. His name is enough to sell out a complete run months in advance! But other productions can't just do that, and would need to be recognised in other ways. Having a reality show like this works, as it draws attention to the world of theatre as a whole. And so far the contestants have been judged by people who actually know what they're doing (and who have had a stake in the production as well--this is the first of the televised auditions where Lord Lloyd-Webber isn't actually producing the show.)

Let it be said that I like Kevin Spacey, though, I just disagree with him on this matter. But what do I know.

Labels: Lloyd-Webber, musicals, theatre, TV

Sometimes I have trouble staying alert. My brain sort of switches off in the middle of things, suddenly turning into a veggie state and making no sense whatsoever.

Just now I had been eating lunch and wanted to get rid of the bread crumb trail I had left on my desk. I meticulously tidied up with a tissue, then threw away said tissue and stared blankly at the crumbs in my hand for a second or so, pondering what to do with them. Naturally, the best thing to do was to switch off my brain, drop the crumbs on my shoes and get back to reading my book. Never mind the fact I am sitting literally half a metre away from the bin.

My classic "switching off moment" must have been a year ago or so when I was sitting in my room, watching something on my computer screen and holding a glass of water. As I had just taken a sip, something funny happened on the screen and I was left with the dilemma of trying to swallow the drink or spitting it back into the glass. Not being able to decide, I instinctively switched off my brain again and merely opened my mouth. So I was stuck with a wet pair of trousers. Idiot.

So although women are good at multitasking, sometimes we're crap at it, too.

In other news, I am growing particularly fond of two musicals these days; Camelot (which, incidentally, was on telly the other day, but I haven't seen it yet) and Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Yes, the project I started last summer where I decided it was time I got into Stephen Sondheim (or, rather, his music) is actually progressing smoothly! I wasn't taken in by Anyone Can Whistle, but Company is growing on me and I'm already very fond of Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (pre-Quast, btw, in case you were wondering, but mostly due to Nathan Lane, so still performer-focused at that point) and the aforementioned A Little Night Music.

Today, however, I have once again been listening to last year's Eurovision album and an old episode of Loveline (yes, it had Greg Proops in it.)

Labels: greg proops, music, musicals, personal, philip quast, time wasting

I have had such a productive day at work, I managed to listen to Buy Me Up TV and watch half a series of Whose Line is it Anyway? I would urge anyone in the UK or the ROI with access to Channel 4's On Demand service to watch episode 13 of the third series, because it will prolong your life. Get this: It is in fact an episode with Paul Merton and without Greg Proops and I'm still promoting it! That's how good it is. Of course, it does have Julian Clary in it.

I would also recommend this classic clip of an interview that Michael Parkinson did with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore some decades ago. Lots of double entendres and right out frisky comments there.

Labels: comedy, greg proops, julian clary, radio, TV, work

This week has been quite extraordinary, with Anthony Minghella, Arthur C. Clarke and Paul Scofield passing away.

I'll try and brighten things up a bit by wishing my special favourite William Hurt (once pictured as "the great white hope" on the front of Rolling Stone Magazine) a very happy birthday. 16 years of being a fan and counting.

Labels: film, literature, TV, william hurt

For some reason I have been watching these videos of dachshunds today:

Advanced exercise machine
Puppy (always a popular choice)

And to mark the five-year-anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, I am completely ignoring the whole thing and instead listen to Loveline with Adam Carolla, Dr. Drew and Greg Proops from the 20th of March 2003. Which, by the way, is hilarious.

Labels: animals, comedy, greg proops, radio, time wasting

Possibly one of the best children's series ever made - and look at all those co-producers, there's like 12 different countries' national broadcasting corporations involved in this! Wow.

A very popular BALLET with great music..."Mom is home"...it's the Soviet rock'n'roll wolf!

Another favourite French cartoon (Shagma/Spartakus) - and I am reading it will be released on DVD in Norway in a few months' time! Weeeee! Another clip from the series.

Rädda Joppe, död eller levande! - the fugliest kid and teddybear EVER, but I watched it because of the neighbour (Lennart R. Svensson, the reason for why I years later watched the rather silly soap Rederiet.)

ANYWAY...

Labels: personal, TV

This is a bit like my singing in "English"...when I was four and didn't even know "yes" and "no".

Labels: humour, linguistics, music, time wasting

Went to the Lauren Kennedy concert yesterday, at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Didn't know I was going to a stand-up show! She was very good, though. As I only know her from South Pacific at the NT in 2002--or rather the recording thereof--I didn't really know what to expect, but I was definitely highly pleased with the evening (and I would have been, even if Philip Quast hadn't been there to perform, that's how good it was.) We did stay a bit longer than necessary (read: an hour after the show), but hey, I wasn't going to work today anyway.

I think I need to buy Lauren's new CD now.

Earlier this weekend I got a new lamp (hooray, I can finally read in bed), a fabulous Shakespeare reading companion, a foot spa (badly needed) and a mobile phone, but shh, don't tell anyone. Unfortunately I did not receive my pillow within the time limit, so that means it will probably go back, as there's no one here to sign for it for the next week or so, and then there's Easter. Bastids for not keeping their promise.

Today I've spent most of the day watching through programmes we taped months ago, plus a couple of old episodes of the brilliant Boston Legal. A very lazy and relaxing day indeed!

Ooh, by the way. They were hinting at it in the new Free Time expansion pack, though, so no revolutionary news.

Labels: concert, gaming, literature, music, online shopping, personal, philip quast, TV

We went to see Monty Python's Spamalot yesterday. I've only been wanting to see it since I heard about their plans back in...2004? Earlier? Anyway, a very long time. I always thought that if you were lucky enough to get tickets, they would be crap, but we were in row P (stalls), at the very end of the row, and could see everything very clearly. Unfortunately we were placed right in front of The Loudest And Most Frequently Laughing Person In The Auditorium. I'm serious, that's the worst laugh I have ever heard. It was piercing, and we missed about a third of all the puns and songs because she was laughing so hard. Luckily I know the story back to front and back again, and have owned and listened to the CD for a couple of years (not continuously, obviously), but it's still annoying when you've booked tickets months in advance and been looking forward to seeing it for so long and then someone like that ruins much of the experience.

Anyway, I would definitely recommend the show, in case you don't trust all the other thousands out there who say the exact same thing. At the moment the winner of that Swedish talent show à la How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, Nina Söderquist, is playing The Lady of the Lake in the show and we were very impressed! I was worried it was going to be embarrassing for all of Scandinavia, but she wasn't even close to ABBA (which is a good thing, accent-wise). And Alan Dale (anyone having watched Neighbours, The O.C., 24, Lost, The West Wing and Ugly Betty will/should know who he is) is playing King Arthur at the moment. Let's just say he probably wasn't hired for his amazing dancing and singing skills, but he was entertaining to watch and there's always that added "star quality" which counts for quite a lot. Plus, the addition of an Australian always ups the ante in my view. ;-)

Looking through the programme (oh, and you MUST buy the souvenir programme, it's the best and most content-filled programme I have ever seen), I finally discovered the name of that guy I saw playing Miles Gloriosus on my second visit to the NT in 2004 to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. At the time I was too upset over the fact that I wasn't going to see Philip Quast playing that part ever again, and so never really noticed his name (Graham MacDuff, by the way; he plays Sir Dennis here in London at the moment.)

Brain attack: Whatever happened to Scooch, those plucky flight attendant wannabes we sent to Helsinki last year to represent us (dismally) in the Eurovision Song Contest? Hmmm... (yes, I am listening through all the songs from last year's contest and am increasingly impressed with the tunes--2007 was a good Eurosong year in my opinion, even though I didn't agree with the winning song.)

After yesterday's Spamalot I realised it's been a long time since I last saw any Monty Python films. There was a time when I watched them every few weeks, then down to every few months, and now perhaps once every three years! Of course, I know them extremely well, since I not only watched them repeatedly when I was in my teens, but used to listen to them on my cassette player (great way to learn English, by the way.) Still, I must admit I had forgotten quite a few funny things about Monty Python and the Holy Grail and am "afraid" I shall have to re-watch it again in the very near future. Will probably also have to deal with the current influx of Marcello Mastroianni films into my collection (thanks, Aug!) during my next few days off. Better not make any plans; I'll just end up staring at the wall for three days instead.

Edit: OK, it seems Alan Dale may be a New Zealander. Still an antipodean, though.

Labels: comedy, film, Monty Python, music, musicals, philip quast, theatre, TV

...maybe more of this would change your mind.

By the by, if you're at all interested in who won (and wore) what at the Oliviers, please visit the excellent blog The Alternate.

Labels: humour, sport, theatre, time wasting

I was just listening to an episode of Whose Line is It Anyway (the original radio series) from 1988, and in one game they were going to be a discussion panel, portraying different kinds of personalities. I found it very funny when Clive Anderson asked Stephen Fry: "Stephen, could you be a manic depressive?"

More info here.

Labels: comedy, radio, time wasting

A very typical situation in a call centre (Smack the Pony)
A reminder of common courtesy when swimming (Smack the Pony)
There are degrees to how annoying flatmates can be (Smack the Pony)

When you discover that some men aren't bastards (Man Stroke Woman)
When men fall ill (Man Stroke Woman)

Numberwang - quite possibly the best gameshow EVER (That Mitchell and Webb Look)
Nümberwang - for our German friends (That Mitchell and Webb Look)

Who Wants to be a Markionaire? (Improvised "German" gameshow) (Whose Line is it Anyway, US)

And to end on a Norwegian note:

How the smoking ban has changed us (smoking is, according to these girls, not very sexy) (Melonas)

Labels: comedy, greg proops, Norway, time wasting, TV

...then, as a bare minimum, you should not go on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Gotta love Bill Bailey, though.

And one of my favourites from The Green Screen Show: The Racetrack (one syllable words) - mostly because of the horse, actually. (Remember, they are in front of a green screen, and the animations are added long after.)

Labels: comedy, time wasting, TV

I bet our security guards here at work are looking forward to next week, which is the most dangerous week of the year in this industry. We will all be on high alert, in case of bomb threats etc. (or "bomb treats", which some cock managed to type in a memo to every employee here earlier in the week) - wonder if that was in their job description when they applied?

Well, the Buy Me Up TV show was actually better than expected (meaning it had much more Greg Proops in it than anticipated), and so I am a very happy bunny.

Labels: greg proops, personal, radio, work

Well, the final curtain is tomorrow night, but I don't care, since I don't have tickets for tomorrow's show. Instead, I chose to celebrate my birthday in the company of these wonderful performers tonight, and what a night it was! I was much more positively inclined towards Douglas Hodge this time (but still too much focused on Spencer Stafford (chances are I won't see him in anything else anytime soon)) and the "new" Jacqueline was a treat (as I really couldn't stand the previous one (and no, I don't care what others think about Tara Hugo.) My flatmate really enjoyed the show (as I expected her to, of course--she also has a bias towards Philip Quast just because of me (and the fact that he genuinely knows how to sing.)) Too bad it's the last time I'll see this wonderful show in a while, unless they actually get a West End transfer. Still, I've seen the musical 14 times on stage--I think that should do for a bit.

Well, back to work tomorrow. These past three days have just flown by for some reason. I would recommend people listen to BBC Radio 2 tomorrow between 1 and 2 pm GMT; Clive Anderson's chat show (actually a repeat from Thursday, I think) is back, and Eamonn Holmes has a new comedy show about those frightful shopping networks.

And tonight Bluey died. He was the sole surviving rubbery item (not a sexual innuendo) from last year's birthday where my flatmate had filled my room with balloons. I decided today was the right time to kill him. I felt a sting as I did so, but realised I must draw the line somewhere and cannot go on feeling sentimental about absolutely everything. It's just a balloon, for god's sake.

With that, I bid you a good night. May the god of dreams smile upon you.

Labels: comedy, musicals, personal, philip quast, radio

...that my loo currently smells of toilet paper. Let me explain. Around here there's a fair chance your local corner shop is run by someone from either Pakistan or Poland. The one downstairs is "under new management" (meaning one of the guys who used to just hang around in there now spends his days hanging around behind the till instead) and after a few months with almost no stock, they recently refilled the shelves...with exactly the same items the previous owner used to sell. On my way home earlier this week I remembered I needed loo paper and since going back to the local supermarket needed to much effort on my part, I decided to pay the local shop a visit. They had about five different types, all made by a company in Birmingham (a little clue there) and every single one having some kind of fragrance. I prefer having some sort of standalone Ambi-Pur thing in there myself, instead of having both my loo and my bum having the same kind of dubious floral odour.

Speaking of bum, I have waded through the first series of Whose Line (UK) at last, and must point out that there is a vast difference between the first and the second series. The second looks much better and everyone seems much more at ease with the subjects and games (including the host, Clive Anderson, which helps.) Tony Slattery went rather quickly from being a slightly shy and polite first-time guest to a naughty and loud semi-regular, which was a bit of a disappointment (as a fan, I so want him to play nicely), and Greg Proops's first bumbling attempts were just cute. I am also slightly depressed about the fact that around the time this went out on air the first time, they were as old as I am now.

Speaking of which, my birthday is coming up, and I am celebrating this last day of my glorious twenties by watching Shark and Whose Line (and, later on, Ashes to Ashes), drinking water (I bought myself a Brita jug ("Fjord", naturally) so that we may start enjoying our own tap water), waiting for the bloody postman again (the Amazon Prime thing doesn't really work when Royal Mail "do a City Link" and claim they've tried delivering our parcels, grr!) and generally looking forward to the next week or so (going to see three shows) (different shows, even!)

I am really starting to enjoy The Big Bang Theory, so with my usual luck, I am anticipating it to fall flat on its nose and be dragged out of the TV schedule any time soon, just like with The Class (what were they thinking, cancelling that show?)

Yesterday I went shopping downtown. I don't enjoy shopping anymore because I have very little money to shop for, so I had a plan ready and was looking forward to a couple of hours in central London. However, it was rather on the chilly side of the scale, so I didn't really feel like walking around aimlessly. I did, though, for a while, and it took exactly five and a half seconds for one of those annoying people who work for some charity and want your money (I call them "The Direct Debit Folks") to grab hold of me. I am usually very strict and manage to say (in a ever so slightly more foreign accent than my usual one) that unfortunately I can't help out since I don't have an English bank account (the real reason is I'm already supporting a few charities and I quite frankly can't risk having more Direct Debits on my account because I may not be able to afford it every month), but this time I must have been in an extremely good mood (probably because I'd just hand-picked half a kilo of sweets from "that sweets shop" at the Trocadero) and eventually ended up both supporting the Samaritans and preventing the influx of one wanna-be ski tourist into Norway ("it's too expensive, don't go there".) Lucky me. At least I think they do great and important work, so that's fine by me.

I watched Senator Hillary Clinton on The Daily Show the other day, which was fun. Of course, the follow-up the next day was even funnier. And, speaking of Jon Stewart, I finally got to see the Oscars earlier in the week. It's weird, but every year, when I don't watch the show live, I am completely stressed out and threaten everyone around me with murdering them in their sleep if they so much as hint at who won what, before I can see the show for myself. I avoid all news shows and anything remotely related to film and entertainment on the web until I've watched the programme. This year, however, I said "sod it" to the whole thing and ended up not just forgetting it had been shown, but also completely avoiding any information (apart from Best Actor in a Leading Role) about the awards without any effort. Amazing. Still, I don't regretting previous years' panicky mood. After all, that was the one day a year when I could threaten my boss with hitting and kicking him where he would think I was only joking.

To end on a lighter note: Everyone must run out and buy the Spamalot CD! You have to hear The Song That Goes Like This.

Labels: award shows, comedy, current affairs, film, greg proops, personal, technology, TV

Some scrobbling milestones. Must say I think Kosheen's newest album, Damage, is very good.

Labels: music

I finally gave in and signed up for Amazon Prime for GBP 49 a year, just because I am fed up of wasting so much time waiting for the postman every time I order something online. At least with this I know which day it'll arrive. Plus, these days Amazon is starting to have better prices than old favourite Play.com--and they have many more products to choose from--so I think it's worth it.

First DVD bought with the new scheme: Broken News. I already recorded it when it was shown on telly, but that was because I was afraid it would never be released on DVD. Also, the brilliant Hippies will be released next week. Nice.

Just finished listening to Seymour the Fractal Cat from 1996. Reminded me a bit of The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In addition to the perfectly cast Greg Proops, there was a very nice surprise of hearing Peter Serafinowicz in a few roles as well. And it made me want to explore writing for radio (an idea with which I have toyed for many years.)

Labels: comedy, greg proops, online shopping, peter serafinowicz, radio, TV

On my way home from work yesterday I went the usual way through the local slums in the semi-darkness (hey, East London isn't dangerous at night, is it? It's been at least 24 hours since the last murder!) and as I turned around the corner I saw a big cat moving towards me on the pavement. As it clearly decided to avoid me and turned right into the street, I realised this was no ordinary cat. In fact, it wasn't even feline; it was an urban fox. Well, I assume it was urban, unless it was just visiting family and had taken a wrong turn somewhere. I felt I had to stop and watch this phenomenon (and immediately worried about it being run over by a car, but then remembered it probably knows how to read traffic better than I ever will) before moving on after it disappeared out of sight.

This morning I was almost attacked by a squirrel. Well, it just sat there looking at me from the top of a fence in the park where it resides, but I bet it could have turned very vicious if it wanted to.

In between these two encounters, I made my way home in time for the aforementioned Ant and Dec's Saturday Takeaway. My plan was to play a bit of The Sims 2 after that, but by the time the programme ended, I was too hungry to ignore my rumbling tummy and naturally, since I am unable to eat without watching something on telly, ended up watching an episode of Alias. By the time it ended, we switched to BBC1 to watch the first episode of the second series of Love Soup with the brilliant Tamsin Greig in it, and after that I felt like watching an episode of Whose Line for some reason. We both sat down to watch the Peter Cook episode for the first time, after which we were so embarrassed we had to watch another episode just to start believing in the human race again. Naturally, having seen two episodes in row, we were on a roll and immediately put on another one, this time with Jonathan Pryce (looking like a mid-1990s Mike Rutherford.) And since there were two episodes with him on that particular disc, we couldn't stop after just one. By the time that one ended, there was only one episode left on the disc, and it would have been mean to leave it there unwatched, so at around midnight we were finally done with the first disc. Oh, my.

At least I slept most of the night and I got a seat on both tube trains this morning (hardly happens during the week), so that was a nice start to a new day.

Labels: comedy, gaming, personal, tamsin greig, TV

I got both the brand new expansion pack (Free Time) for The Sims 2 and last month's The Sims Castaway Stories in the post yesterday (serves me right for not wanting to pay extra to have them delivered separately) and immediately forgot all about watching the previous day's lovely item in the post, Whose Line is it Anyway, just so that I could finally proceed with my über-talented Sim family from a few expansion packs ago and get them some hobbies and stuff. The game is now starting to look like a proper life simulation (it only took three and a half years and seven expansion packs, haha) with almost too many choices, which is great. I have a tendency to try out everything with my first sim in any expansion pack, so I get bored easily and ditch the sim (family) for a new one...which I usually end up playing quite similarly, even though I was planning something else. But now it's just too huge. I wish this had been the initial release back in September 2004.

Castaway Stories I only tried for about 20 minutes before heading for my bed. Don't really see the point in my trying to sleep last night, really, because it was so windy I spent most of the night lying there picturing our sitting room windows to come smashing against my bedroom wall. I have a feeling I'll sleep very easily tonight (unless the wind increases in force, of course.)

So, rhetorical question: How much of a boozer am I for wanting to try this?

By the way, they should really release Drew Carey's Green Screen Show on DVD. And commission a few more series. Or make a UK version. I volunteer to be a regular (no idea why, since I'm not an actor.)

I bought a couple of tickets for events at the South Bank Centre earlier today, so I have a couple of things lined up every month until July, which is nice. Not too expensive, I found out, so I thought I could treat myself. Nice mixture of plays, concerts and musicals.

Anyway, I haven't been reading any Charlie Brooker today, so I have to do that now. Have a wonderful Saturday evening! I am, believe it or not, going to ditch tonight's UK Eurovision Finals for Ant & Dec's Saturday Takeaway! I know, first the Oscars, now Eurosong...what is going on here?!

Labels: comedy, gaming, greg proops, literature, music, TV