You are privvy to a Great Becoming - I am the DJANGO!

Breakdown

2008-10-03T11:29:22Z

I'm going to be keeping my internet interaction to a minimum. I've not been doing so well lately and have trouble interacting with people or knowing how to deal with them. So, I probably won't be keeping up with people too much while I'm feeling this way.

I can't promise anything this year, but if anyone wants a Paris-mas card this year, then let me know below (comments are screened) or email me at: django24 @ yahoo.com (without the spaces) If you didn't get one last year or you've changed your address since last December then I'll need the new address. Once again, I'll remind everyone that although I appreciate the thought or gesture, I don't want anything to do with the December C word and consider it offensive to my beliefs and my experiences. Thank you to those who respected my wishes on that score last year. Similarily if anyone wants to send me a non C card, I'd appreciate if it wasn't made by the Paris hating scum at Hallmark as I wouldn't want them profiting in my name.

Fuck Your God
Fuck All Religion
Fuck Your Obama
Fuck The Haters
Fuck The World.

Paris Rocks Out!

2008-09-29T10:31:27Z

There's a brilliant interview with Paris and that other man in her life *cough* Benji*, talking about Repo: The Genetic Opera, horror movies and industrial music at: http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/13764 (ignoring the stupid obnoxious comments to the article that follow Paris everywhere on the internet of course - such people must lead such fulfilled and rewarding lives and must feel so adequate to the world!)

I fucking loved this interview :D Paris has mentioned liking horror movies before (including in Confessions Of An Heiress aka "The Good Book"), but it's good to hear her talking about them a little more. LOL, it's so cute where she mentions looking like Freddy Krueger in one scene and about Benji making her metal mixes. Actually, despite being quite a fan of various rock genres, I can't say I'm all that familiar with industrial. Looks like I have some catching up to do with Paris, lol!

* Well if I have to share her with someone I know there would be far worse choices and I'm always glad to see her happy.

The Daily Roundup

2008-09-28T23:35:50Z

Yes, it's The Daily Roundup, where your roving Djangstar comments on the world's current affairs while Mrs Django gets all the cracker crumbs on Django's side of the bed with flawless perfection:

Johhny Depp signs on for Pirates 4
I'm more interested to know if Keira will be signing on or not. I'm sure the idea of Captain Jack Sparow going off on his own adventure without the baggage of the previous trilogy holds some appeal to many (and I wasn't too keen on the last movie - although I've yet to watch it again for a second opinion), but I wonder if a Keira-less Pirates movie would hold any appeal at all for me. Shareen thinks I'm daft. Er.... She's not Mrs Django (despite having half of my DVDs)! As if she could ever be worth a trillion bucks! Fifty pence more like! OWWW!

"Johnny Depp playing Tonto would be like Brad Pitt playing Shaft"
*guffaw* I like that idea hee hee. Shareen thinks Johnny Depp would be dead fit as Tonto and they should definitely get David Tennant as The Lone Ranger - obsess much? Reminds me of my wish to see Paris in some blaxploitation remakes (well I think she should remake everything really - especially that decent idea for a proper Transformers movie I had a while back) - Shaft-ess?

Airwolf vs Blue Thunder
As a kid I actually preferred Blue Thunder. I particularly loved the episode with Richard Lynch as a villain called PVC(!) who had a score to settle with James Farentino. There was another one with radio controlled planes and a cute redhead called Aggie from Farentino's past who betrays him. I liked Airwolf too of course. Particularly the pilot with David Hemmings as the boo hiss baddie (and I fancied Gabrielle *sniff*). Apparently there was a fourth season of that show without Jan-Michael Vincent or Ernest Borgnine, but it's news to me and I certainly don't recall seeing it (although fan concensus is that I wouldn't be missing much). Mrs Django prefers private jets to helicopters.

Does noone else remember The Drac Pack?
Well, I certainly remember it. Fondly. My friends and I in primary school loved it. On the goodies team there was a vampire, a werewolf, a Frankenstein monster and Mummy Man. They were teenagers who changed into their hero/monster identities by doing a "Whack 'Em!" high five. Hee hee, we knew a kid called Jamie Howl and used to do the "Whack 'Em!" bit and the werewolf howl as we said his name. The baddies team featured a shape changing Vampira (my introduction to seductive vampire girls of that name) who fancied the vampire hero, a fly and Toad (a big favourite of ours). Ah, memory lane and innocence of childhood!

Best Metallica Album?
Now that is a tough one. I'd have to go for Ride The Lightning in the end, although Master Of Puppets and Metallica are also good. I don't have Kill 'Em All just yet and on getting a hold of And Justice For All for the first time in over a decade recently, I was disappointed by how unengaging the mix of the album was - still not bad but not quite reaching the heights of memory.

Chinese Democracy to be released on...
Not that I care or anything, but I'm old enough to remember the last time that rumour circulate *g*

Do Saint Etienne really need to release another best of?
No, but I don't have one already and this one is a boxset with accompanying DVD.

Favourite Movies
This one was a bit tough. Starting a list of favourite movies mostly in just any order you can remember and then adding new ones on as you go along is one thing. Trying to get them into some semblance of order or preference is another! I had a good honourable stab at it though (I've been using the same top five for years now anyway and my all time favourite movie has been unchanged since the mid 1990s). So without further ado, the slightly revised and re-ordered list (FREE MOVIE WALLPAPER for anyone who makes it to the bottom of the list):

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Carnival Of Souls (1962)
Videodrome (1983)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Django (1966)
Death Race 2000 (1975)
Excalibur (1981)
The Company Of Wolves (1984)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Metropolis (1927)
Il Grande Silenzio (1968)
The Harder They Come (1972)
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
Joan Of Arc: The Messenger (1999)
Girl Interrupted (1999)
Star Wars series (1977)
Black Christmas (1974)
The Fog (1980)
Halloween (1978)
Ring series(Japanese) (1998)
Resident Evil series (2002)
The Dreamers (2003)
Battle Royale (2000)
Casino Royale (2006)
V For Vendetta (2005)
Ed Wood (1994)
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Exotica (1994)
Spartacus (1960)
Blade Runner (1982)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Cul De Sac (1966)
The Big Doll House (1971)
Barbarella (1968)
The Howling (1981)
The Hole (2001)
Il Conformista (1970)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000)
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Deliverance (1972)
Heathers (1989)
Dirty Harry (1971)
The Masque Of The Red Death (1964)
Flash Gordon (1980)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Death Proof (2007)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Kill Bill (2003)
Suspiria (1977)
Night Of The Ghouls (1959)
Cry Baby (1990)
1984 (1984)
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

The Lurve Shack!

2008-09-27T11:38:40Z

I bought a fucking house :D

Yep, I finally decided it was time to find a home of my own. No more having to lug all my wordly possessions around with me and never having enough encumberance to pick up that very expensive axe that I'd love to own or pawn. Play Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV often enough with a reasonably cool head, a little looting of bodies here, clearing out a bandit lair or a goblin cavern there, a Fighter's Guild or Mage's Guild quest here and there and you tend to accumulate a fair amount of loot.

So there was I, your humble narrator, clean off closing the Oblivion Gate outside Cheydinhal but having to report to the Count in his castle that his son got killed (I won't be missing him), when the option of asking the Count about buying a house came up. I thought about it and decided that I could quite afford to splurge out 15,000 gold coins on a modest little home in town. Had I not just saved the town from certain destruction after all (not really - the Oblivion Gate would have just stood there indefinitely until I got round to it or all gates get closed at the end of the main quest)? So why shouldn't I settle my things down there and become a local hero, nay legend?

Of course the place is largely unfurnished with just a table and a bed. Fully furnishing would be more expensive than the house itself, but I cobbled together enough to get some storage, so I can plonk down all my extra weapons/armour that I can't bear to part with, potions, alchemical herbs/plants etc and unused spell scrolls and go back for them whenever I want. And I have a place to jump around (improving acrobatics) and cast spells in, in private without getting funny looks from passers by ("That bloke's a nutter! OI! NUTTER!"). No more having to be wander around the nearest Fighters or Mages Guild for a free bed when I need to sleep to go up another level (although I wish there was a way to invite that chick in the Fighters Guild who sometimes runs around in her underwear at night to come over for a housewarming *g*).

In the meantime I can always make more money for myself by creating useless potions to advance my Alchemy skills, ransack lairs, get extra perks for a job well done or loot dead bodies and then sell them to trades goods stores. Why can't real life be this easy? *chuckle*

Where's Mr Muggles?

2008-09-23T20:12:44Z

This week I have mostly been playing Oblivion (The Elder Scrolls IV: Game Of The Year Edition) and looking at pictures of Marisa Miller on the internet. I'll send Sylar (or maybe just Ando) after anyone who tells Paris about this though - she hates me playing Oblivion when she's not around to be my backseat driver *g*

Doctor Who: Shining Darkness by Mark Michalowski 7/10
This one started out a little hard to get into. I would have liked a little more feel/history of the world the Doctor and Donna were on before one of them gets abruptly whisked from it. However, once the story gets going it gets to be quite good fun in places. I enjoyed the Jaftee and their attitudes towards religion. I loved the interplay between Crusher and Chuck on the interplanetary scrapyard. Mrs Django and I had a great time wondering how the characters would get out of this scrape or that and there's a nice but explosive twist at the end. Special shout out to the character of Mother. Hornier readers might be a bit disappointed that the supermodel robots barely feature and aren't real characters, but maybe Tricia Helfer demanded too much of a fee *g* All in all, it was good fun.

Anyone who hasn't seen the first two episodes of Heroes season three should stop reading now. No, not just because you'll get SPOILED but because you're clearly an inferior species to me :P

Well that was an interesting and exciting bag. No sooner is Nathan pronounced dead than he springs to life again. I hope he doesn't keep on with all his religious babble for the whole season though. Over his scenes I began to suspect that Linderman was a bit of a Number Six (no, not trapped in The Village *g*) and the chess scene confirmed it. Ali Larter really isn't fooling anyone that she doesn't look a bit like Ali Larter (it's not really me on that You Tube video either - just someone who looks like me, honest!) *g* Liked her Ice Queen routine and her oops reaction afterwards. Sylar coming after Claire was a bit unexpected so early on in the episode. Very horrorshow though, especially with all the doors closing and Claire hiding in the closet (ala Halloween). Just when I thought Hayden Panetierre was perhaps moving onto other things in her career (yeah, like singing!) when there's another odd little twist. She even has Sylar admiring her for it. I was glad that my favourite Carpet Friction Gal, Elle, didn't get killed (although it was a little too close for comfort!). She just got fired instead. Wonder what she'll do? Walk the Earth like Cain in Kung Fu? Try to have a normal girlie life and make newbie mistakes? Try to get back to or at the Company? Oh dear, future Peter just seems to be making everything worse! I liked the Arkham Asylum idea of dangerous supervillains getting free. Mrs Petrelli has really been doing her rounds hasn't she? The ending was a bit Star Wars though (just as long as Han shoots first *g*). LOL at Hiro playing around with the clock again and then getting spooked around Ando. Mohinder is a bit of a geek! And his crawling on the wall reminded me of Spider Man and Nightcrawler a bit. Of course, anyone who's read a comic could have predicted that his not completely tested injection would have unforseen side effects (ala The Fly). Wonder why HRG was locked up though? Thought he was back on the team? I suppose there'll be some flashback episode to fill the gaps in with that one. I loved the bit with Parkman and the not so talking turtle (I admit I fell for it too):D Eeek to waking up with a scorpion on your face though! LOL at Claire's birth mom just randomly conjuring fire in the palm of her hand - an obvious reminder to the audience in case they didn't remember her ability. There's already a big (if not completely explained) threat looming and these first two episodes certainly moved at a faster pace and packed a lot more in than the previous season managed in the average episode. I hope the quality keeps up! Look at me - it's turned me into a big babbling overly excitable kid again already!

Now You Know Who You Are Fighting!

2008-09-22T10:04:24Z

You are a
Social Liberal
(65% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(21% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

</center>

Djangsta-tainment Tonight!

2008-09-20T20:27:10Z

Dad Rock vs The White Shites!
The new alleged Bond theme song (I can't quite believe that it really is the new Bond theme song - come out from hiding Jeremy Beadle!) is causing something of an uproar and divide at the place formerly known as Outpost Gallifrey with the usual name calling and homo-superiority going on between camps that preferred You Know My Name to people who didn't like that and actually imagine there's some sort of song buried under Jack White and Alicia Keys' tuneless discordant cacophony (mediums who communicate with the souls of dead sailors can probably guess which camp I'm in already *g*). I've heard hearsay that the new alleged theme tune grows on you after several listens but life seems too short to put that to any kind of masochistic test at the moment. And if liking Chris Cornell's song far better and being greatly underwhelmed by the new track makes me a "dad" then I'll wear my dad badge with pride. I just hope I don't have to actually change any nappies in the process.

Anyway, that's led to a thought about Bond themes. In general, Bond themes aren't really the sort of music that I'd usually sit and listen to or go out of my way to hear anyway - just not my usual cup of tea. Most have been functional I suppose (my hatred of M****** is such that I've never even watched Brosnan's last outing never mind heard that song - I've heard far more of her other "songs" than I'd wish on my worst enemy already anyway). Not only is Casino Royale my all time favourite Bond movie and Daniel Craig my own personal Bond but You Know My Name gets my vote as the best Bond theme song ever. The other ones I liked best were Live And Let Die, The World Is Not Enough and A View To A Kill.

This Week's TV!

Enjoyed The Terminator TV show a bit more this week. John Connor attracting the interest of a cute blonde student and Cameron not seeming too keen on the idea was interesting. There was also some nice bit of action around a nuclear reactor. The pacing seemed to be improved this week.

Smallville was also surprisingly enjoyable. Last time the masked Justice League heroes appeared in an episode it tended to produce uncontrollable laughter in me (despite being able to take plenty of superhero movies seriously enough), but this time it seemed to work (possibly because the prepubescent hooded Flash wasn't around hacking into computers). I'm disappointed that they didn't ask Laura Vandervoort back again as I was quite fond of her (and she even said "That's Hot!" in an episode). The new girl is quite hot too but unfortunately she also looks too much like Black Canary out of her blonde wig and Lois with her new hairstyle, meaning it'll be easy to get them all confused with each other. Nice way of resolving the cliffhanger with Lex without Michael Rosenbaum actually appearing in the episode.

Hole In The Wall - My curiousity to this new afternoon gameshow (where "celebrities" try to fit through a shape on a moving wall before being pushed into the water behind them) was aroused by posts on The O.G.. Some people were blasting it as the worst or most moronic show ever before it had even aired. Others thought it looke fun. Well I watched it for myself and... Oh dear! I really should get far more drunk before I attempt this sort of thing. To be fair it's probably no more moronic or worse than plenty of other similar shows that I'm also not the target audience for. It might be worth a look if you're really bored and desperate (or just have a thing for cheesy TV) but be warned that half hours of your life don't grow on trees and there are no refunds. Don't ask me who the alleged celebrities were. Whatever happened to the days when team captains were Una Stubbs and Lionel Blair?

I had low expectations but surprisingly I fairly enjoyed BBC's Merlin. It had a much better debut episode than Robin Hood. Morgana was nice to look at and the young Merlin was a likable enough character. Eve Myles guest starred as a disguised witch and had a singing scene towards the end which was very dreamlike, eerie and captivating. Would have preferred this series to have a different name though and have different names for prominient characters. After all, there's nothing wrong with having a bullying prat of a nobleman be a rival to the young wizard, but does the contemptible bully really have to be Arthur of the Britons?!?! Not the way to treat a cherished hero of legend, methinks (no matter how the character will inevitably change over time). Entertaining enough lite fantasy so far, but don't watch if you can't stand to see your favourite versions of the Arthur/Merlin legend tampered with as this one changes enough to be almost a different story entirely.

Django's Big Gay Album Closet! Step Inside!

2008-09-17T11:46:19Z

According to this list I have 17 of the 100 Gayest Albums Of All Time:

David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
The Smiths - The Smiths
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual
The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico
Lou Reed - Transformer
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow
Blondie - Parallel Lines
Patti Smith - Horses
Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville
Patti Smith - Easter
Nirvana - Nevermind
T.Rex - Electric Warrior
Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside

Think you can beat my score?

Got a lift to the jobcentre today. However it really annoys me what a right wing reactionary dinosaur bigot my father can be when he's moaning to people. If I'm likely to blame the government, New Labour, beauracracy or politicians then he's likely to point the finger squarely at foriegners and immigrants. Must be the influence of all that country music and right wing reactionary newspapers. The country music in his car would have made for a good drinking game though, based on how many times the guy said "Thank you!" before, after or during a song!

In happy amazing life altering news, I discovered some new flavours of Pringles :D I picked up a Sizzling Sausage (an exclusive flavour) and Peking Duck With Hoi Sin Sauce. What's more there seemed to be a whole store full of flavours and styles. I may not ever have a get rich quick scheme pop into my head. I may never get the woman I love to so much as notice I exist. But the one ambition I can strive to fulfill is to try ever flavour and style of Pringle before I die. At last I have a goal in my life.

View Poll: Ashes To Ashes

That's Hot Woman, You're To Blame!

2008-09-15T19:56:28Z

Other notable appearances on The Equalizer season one so far include: Burt Young (Paulie from the Rocky movies), Lori Cardille (from George Romero's Day Of The Dead, here getting a sexy death scene that I remembered from the original airing), Alberta Watson from 24 looking like Sean Young when she was younger and Christine Baranski from Cybill looking a bit like Maiwenn Le Besco. Loved the bit where Edward Woodward hated getting called "Pop" by his son during a besieged weekend in the woods.

Doctor Who: The War Machines - This is a pretty fab 'n' groovy story. The war machines aren't quite as big as I imagined but they do get their fair share of the action (although never en mass). It's no wonder that Polly would later get crabs after her in the series after talking to Ben the sailor in a nightclub, lol! I've never seen a story with Dodo in it before but in this one I couldn't see what all the fuss was about against her. She's only in about half the story though and then conveniently taken away (at least the Doctor was going to wait on her though and didn't kick her out like he later would with Mel). This was an enjoyable story all round and William Hartnell did very well in it. Nice to see Scaraman from The Pyramids Of Mars in an earlier appearance on the show (and still getting taken over by outside forces!). I imagine that this story would have been a lot shorter though, had Zoe been around to get annoyed with the computer (or even if Number Six was around to ask it "why?") *g*

I forgot how scary The Nightmare Man could be in Heroes season two. Here is a man that could make Paris think that I've gotten married to Angelina Jolie instead so that she'll marry someone else too! Or he could make me think that Paris has gone on TV and told the world that she thinks I'm a creep and she wants to remove me from her MySpace friends! Such a scary power. He must be stopped! Elle's still my favourite thing about season two (besides how HRG dealt with his boss at Copy Kingdom - that always has me punching the air and with a reasonable shout out to Cheerleader Debbie who's cute when she's drunk). David Anders is good as Samurai Sark of course and Sylar rocks (even if he did kill off another one of my girls from the show when the original actress left)!

And now some gorgeous Paris pic spam:

And from Repo: The Genetic Opera:

Of course the irony of Paris dressing as Marie Antoinette isn't lost on me, considering that the hatred that a lot of people have had against both of them has been every bit as unjustified, misdirected and inhumanely rabid (not to mention that both have been lied about by the press and gossip mongers of their time).

Son Of The G.C.

2008-09-14T09:36:32Z

Met my friend Stephen at The G.C. for the first time in a year. Stuart wasn't able to join us this time. We went to the pub formerly known as the Rock Garden (I can never remember what it's called now but as it still has the same decor I don't know why it needed a name change in the first place). There was a sexy blonde barmaid there but I noticed that the stuffed bear is no longer wearing a Ramones t-shirt and I'm sure it used to.

Stephen really made me grind my teeth with his comment about as a Labour supporter he was disappointed about how they were doing at the moment. Well if they're doing badly then I'm not disappointed. I should have had the copy of Socialist Worker I bought later on in the day, so that I could have shown him that if Labour doesn't actually eat babies then they certainly don't stop far enough from it to claim bragging rights! It's appalling that there are people out there who still think voting for them is being Socialist or left wing in any way (they were smart bastards for keeping the name - I'll give them that!). As with Bush's administration, any time that lot have a chance to do some good for people... They turn around and do the opposite instead.

After our meeting, I wandered around for a bit. I went to the Grants Arms which used to be one of the pubs I used to visit in Glasgow when I lived in East Kilbride. I got one of those meatball sandwiches from Subway. And I bought the following DVDs:

The Equalizer season one
Heroes season two
Doctor Who - The War Machines

I also gave a couple of pounds each to someone collecting for the disabled and to a beggar in the street, before anyone drags me off to the guillotine for the filthy bourgoise I am. Alas getting drunk really doesn't do my complexion any good and my skin was practically screaming the next morning.

So far I'm enjoying watching The Equalizer again in so long. I remembered bits of the first two episodes from when my family was decanted out to high flats while our Shawlands flat was getting fixed up for dry rot and the like. I'm sure the gorgeous girl in the black evening dress in the second episode for a couple of seconds was Ashley Laurence (just a couple of years before Hellraiser) but she's not listed in the episode credits or on IMDB, but I'd swear to it anyway. Lori Petty also makes an appearance in the fourth episode, which I remembered for featuring Adam Ant as a villain. Adam plays his part very John Lydon-ishly I thought. I'm pretty sure that on UK TV they showed this episode a little later than the fourth episode though, as we were back in Shawlands when I remember seeing it. I love Edward Woodward (he's also brilliant in Callan and The Wicker Man, don't remember much about it but he also had a Murder She Wrote type series too I'm sure).

Enjoying watching Heroes season two again too, but I don't expect I'll be anymore interested (ie not at all) in the stories of the twins or bland Monica this time out. Looking forward to Carpet Friction Gal (aka Elle) making her debut. Mmmm and it's good to see the gorgeous but evil cheerleader captain again. Too bad they completey did nothing of worth with Ali Larter's character in the second season.

Frolic In Brine - Goblins Be Thine!

2008-09-07T21:01:54Z

A recent discussion at the Bronze Beta had me thinking about my old contributions to the online horror fanzine Horror Wood (sadly now defunct with the death of it's editor/owner). I was happy to contribute and am still proud to have done so. And yet, I don't think I ever really felt that the articles that got published were really my voice or much reflection of me, beyond being about movies that I liked to some extent. I tried adopting what I saw as the jokey in-house style, trying for a light playful tone and forcing jokes wherever I could (probably ripping off people more talented at the particular style), which just wasn't really me ("You're telling me!" - Edgar Allan Poe). Not to mention that the fanzine and it's percieved readership seemed to have a black and white view that old = good while new or young = suck (contrary to one letter writer's views on people who went to see the Scream movies, I wasn't a teenager, I hadn't heard of Britney Spears when the first two movies came out and I had actually seen Dario Argento's Suspiria, so wrap it round ye!).

Incidentally, before my first published article, my first contribution to Horror Wood was in the letters page, concerning an article about wax museum movies. Little did I know that such a location would play a part in me discovering the girl of my dreams further down the line.

Funnily enough, I think the article I'm probably proudest of was the first one that I ever sent in. Being about the Japanese Ring movies and the Hollywood remake, it was rejected for it's way too modern subject matter (not that that stopped an article about Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer appearing later on - surely a film also outwith their pre-1980s preferences?). But that was the one that I wrote more in my own straight forward non-jokey style without attempting to cater to a percieved audience or in-house style (although I had fantasised about getting made the resident Asian horror expert before it's rejection).

And in the interests of nostalgia, I present that article here (and if imagining that it's really called "Penetrating Django's Ring" gives you a naughty chuckle then be my guest *g*):

THE "RING" CYCLE
JAPANESE HAUNTING IN THE USA
BY SCOTT MURRAY

I first heard of "Ring" (or "Ringu" as some fans call it in order to avoid confusion with the US remake) when I read the description of it in my tv magazine. It sounded vaguely interesting to me because it sounded similar to David Cronenberg's "Videodrome", one of my all time favourite movies (I'd also seen another Japanese film previously, "Bodyhammer: Tetsuo 2" with an obvious Cronenberg influence). I knew nothing, before viewing the film, of the supposed hype which the film's lazy detractors always accuse it's fans of falling for. Imagine my delight, when this Japanese horror turned out to be, not a derivative clone of a classic horror movie, but a true horror classic in it's own right.

The story concerns a single mother reporter, Reiko Asakawa (played by Nanako Matsushima) who is investigating the latest popular urban myth (a video tape that causes all who see it to die horribly of unknown cause seven days later). The investigation soon takes a more personal turn for Reiko when she finds reason to believe it may be connected to the recent puzzling death of her neice Tomoko.

Reiko's search for answers takes her to the cabin resort where Tomoko and three friends (also all dead of sudden unexplainable causes) stayed a night. There she views the unmarked videotape and it's bizarre disconnected images for herself.

Shaken by the experience and beginning to believe that the story may be all too true, Reiko enlists the aid of her estranged partner Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada) who asks her to show him the tape. Time is now running out for both of them and takes a more urgent twist when their young son Yoichi (Rikiya Otaka) watches the tape, claiming that his dead cousin Tomoko directed him to. The quest to solve the mystery of the tape leads to Oshima Island and a long dead psychic named Shizuko Yamamura (Masako). There are many twists and turns to the puzzle before it all
begins to piece together.

The cursed video footage is genuinely eerie and there is a creepy feeling of dread to the whole film. "Ring" rewards repeat viewing and retains a fascinating atmosphere. There seems to always be something new to discover and much to analyse. There are many great scenes. The opening sequence with two teens alone in a house, discussing the urban legend and teasing each other, can be seen as a nod to American horror movies like "Scream". There's a grim finding in a well which leads to a beautifully poignant moment where a girl's skull almost appears to cry the gloop off of it. As it has so many others, the infamous scary finale really did scare the hell out of me and gave me the creeps for days afterward. Not many
horror films actually scare me as an adult. The "Halloween" series, "The Fog", "Black Christmas", "Carnival Of Souls" and "The Shining" all have their moments or scenes. Along with Robert Wise's "The Haunting", this film has to be the scariest film I've seen.

"Ring" was made in Japan in 1998. Directed by Hideo Nakata, the screenplay by Hiroshi Takahashi was adapted from a novel by Koji Suzuki (Japan's answer to Stephen King). Made for just 1.2 million dollars, it went on to smash records in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan and has won awards at international festivals. The malevolent presence of the supernatural Sadako
(Rie Inou and Chihiro Shirai) made the character as popular in Japan as Freddy Krueger was in the US and UK during the 1980s.

"Ring 2" followed the same year with the same director and screenwriter, but this time deviating from the source novel's literary sequel ("Rasen" based on this book was filmed earlier but despite "Ring"'s success, audiences ignored it). Many of the original cast also
return for the sequel which focuses on Ryuji's student (there's quite a few hints of romantic involvement) Mai Takano (Miki Takana who played the same role in "Rasen"). Mai joins up with reporter Okazaki (Yuurej Yanagi) to track down his missing colleague Reiko. Simultaneously Detective Omuta (Kenjiro Ishimaru) is investigating events from the first film. A scientist,
Dr Kawajiri (Fumiyo Kohinata) becomes involved and believes he can remove the negative energy that the cursed videotape induces in those even marginally exposed to it.

While a decent enough sequel, "Ring 2" is a disappointment in that it tries to weave too many threads and characters and ultimately gets muddled and incoherent towards the end. Another disappointment is that it lacks any one big scare or standout sequence to match the first film's finale. One thing that "Ring 2" scores in, is it's series of little scares. There is still a creepy atmosphere (just without the payoff of the first film). The scene with Shizuko combing her hair, gliding across the floor and peering round the corner with an eerie expression, is a genuinely chilling moment. There's also an effective sequence, where a survivor from the first film sets off the hospital television and the other patients start to
panic, at the sight of the infamous well. The confusing ending also gives us a tense scene of the return of Sadako climbing the well in pursuit of Mai and Yoichi.

The continuation of style, situations and characters from the first film, prevents this from being an unrelated sequel, but it tends to ask new questions and then provide no answers. A certain hint of ambiguity is introduced to the story of Sadako, who was convincingly
malevolent in "Ring". The more sympathetic view of Sadako is successfully followed up in "Ring 0: Birthday".

One of the film's assets for me was Kyoko Fukada as Kanae, a young student who makes the mistake of trusting Okazaki to keep his word. Kanae is a sweet young girl and seems undeserving of the fate that Okazaki gets her into by shamefully manipulating her and then lying repeatedly until it is too late. The scene where Okazaki then tries to conveniently erase his guilt, along with the footage of Kanae, backfires
on him and provides one of the film's scariest (but most confusing) scenes. Later there is a certain poetic justice when Kanae appears, giggling and smiling, behind the reporter in the hospital.

Ultimately much of the satisfaction to be had from "Ring 2" comes from the groundwork and impact of the original film. However it's a decent, if flawed, effort and still proves to be fascinating and creepy in places. Just needed a bit more overall coherency.

"Ring 0: Birthday" (2000) was this time directed by Norio Tsuruta and has a screenplay by the writer of the original source novel, Koji Suzuki himself. Though the film opens in the present day, it isn't long before we're taken back 30 years earlier to a reporter, Shoko Miyaji (Yoshiko Tanaka), who is searching for the whereabouts of Dr Ikuma (Daisuke Ban) and his daughter Sadako. We catch up with Sadako (Yukie Nakama) not quite managing to fit in with a Tokyo based acting troupe but beginning to get favourably noticed by sound man Toyama (Seiichi Tanabe). Interestingly to horror fans, the play being rehearsed is actually an adaption of the Georges Franju film "La Yeux Sans Visage" (Eyes Without A Face) and
we see some familiar scenes being rehearsed from this movie.

After the disappointment of a still decent "Ring 2", "Ring 0: Birthday" is a return to form. Yukie Nakama does a wonderful job of portraying the tragic final days of Sadako's attempt at a normal life. The sweet, innocent side of her was never suspected when I first glimpsed the malevolent presence of Sadako in the first instalment. Yukie is very moving in her portrayal
and evokes sympathy and empathy for the character. Similarily Daisuke Ban opens up the character of Dr Ikuma from the glimpses we've seen in previous instalments. Here we see a tortured soul who genuinely loves Sadako as a daughter, but can't escape from the knowledge of how dangerous she is, and the steps he may have to take to prevent her harming others.

Despite the main love story and drama of Sadako's attempt at a normal life, there are still plenty of creepy moments and supernatural happenings. The scenes with the school teacher, relating her experiences of teaching a young Sadako, are genuinely intriguing and eerie. Indeed the story of the kids swimming in the sea and Sadako's prediction of their fate, is truly gripping despite nothing actually being shown. The exciting scenes in the woods and cabin show how deadly Sadako can be when her evil side has control. The weird appearance and way of walking from "Ring" is seen again here and there's some great bone-snapping moments when Sadako hunts down her final prey. These scenes and the conclusion, give "Ring 0:
Birthday" the standout sequences that "Ring 2" never quite managed to sustain from the original
film.

Some of the plot points do bear a resemblance to "Carrie" and "The Sixth Sense" but the film handles them in a different way. The story, although slow paced is always enthralling (a hallmark of the "Ring" series to date) and it seems poor Sadako never really had a chance from what awaited her. Aligned against her are: an inability to control the dark powers of
her alter ego, a creepy director (Takeshi Wakamatsu) who learns her secret and wants to use her, a reporter with a grudge and a suspicious, unfriendly acting troupe who never seem to have made any real attempt at welcoming the shy, withdrawn girl into their fold. Mob paranoia and fear contribute to Sadako's fate and make her the malevolent presence she is today. As the film reaches it's conclusion, you can't help but wish that things could end differently for the unfortunate lovers but anyone who's seen the previous instalments knows that there is only one place this prequel can end. The last few minutes of the film are heartbreaking and the end credits song is beautiful and haunting.

Don't expect too many answers here though. "Ring 0: Birthday" maintains the mystery and
ambiguity of the first two films and once again, imagination is a required element from the viewer. Whether it's a poignant, doomed love story, another part of the "Ring" puzzle or an eerie and haunting Japanese ghost story, "Ring 0: Birthday" is a winner on every level.

In 2002 of course, Western audiences got their own particular brand of "Ring" pie when the US version "The Ring", directed by Gore Verbinksi and with a script by Ehren Kruger, was released.
Here, Naomi Watts (from David Lynch masterpiece "Mulholland Drive") plays Rachel Keller, a young single mother and reporter who begins to investigate the mysterious death of her neice Katie (Amber Tamblyn). The American version gives more focus to the lead female character as an independent woman and develops her not always perfect juggling of career and motherhood.

As a fan of the original, I was pleased (in February 2003, the film's UK release) to see that "The Ring" for the most part complements the original cycle of films and stands as one of the best American horror pictures of recent years. At first I thought the film had already blown it in the first scene. The two girls' discussion of the "cursed video" urban legend, which sets up the film's premise seems sped up pacing wise. This opening scene smacks more of a bad "Scream" clone rather than Hideo Nakata's homage. However, after a clumsy first couple of minutes, it became clear to me in the rest of the opening sequence, that this film was capable of serving up it's own scares.

The pace is more urgent in this version, as the first few days of the curse fly by. Events and characters play out differently to the original and much of the revelations come in the last couple of days, rather than spread out as a puzzle. Such is the tension (a combination of Verbinski's direction and Naomi Watts' brilliant performance) that I almost completely
forgot, that something in what we're led to believe, about Rachel's uncovering of the curse and impending doom, is a red herring.

The film retains the dreary, rainy grey look of "Ring". The music and sound effects also recall the original and there are teasing nods to scenes from both "Ring 2" and "Ring 0: Birthday" for the fans. One of the strengths of "The Ring" though, is that it can both complement and differentiate from the Japanese cycle to stand on it's own right. Sometimes
I was unsure of what would play out in the story and how it would play out. If you're comfortably familiar with the original, there's still some surprises in store. Brian ("Manhunter") Cox's character, for example is an amalgamation of two characters from "Ring" and
the protagonist's mother (Shannon Cochran) is written differently from Shizuko. Shockingly so in one crucial scene. There's also a real heart-in-your-throat scene on a barge, which is completely new and very effective. Another main difference is that Rachel's ex-partner, Noah (Martin Henderson), initially seems oafish and gets properly involved in Rachel's investigation, of the cursed tape, much later than in the Japanese version. The film also concentrates more on building a family link between characters, making their fates more emotionally important to the viewer.

Now to some reservations in the film. The backstory of Samara (Daveigh Chase) and the curse doesn't play out as effectively, as Sadako's story in the original and seems half sketched in comparison. Unfortunately the scary finale gets a bit overblown and more sped up at the expense of subtlety and building tension (although it must have worked well enough on audience members who hadn't seen the original going by the nervous giggles afterwards).

Much of the "The Ring"'s success can be credited to atmospheric cinematography, tight intelligent scripting and Naomi Watts' solid performance and well fleshed out heroine. The film topped both the US and UK box office and has probably made a lot more people aware of the original cult horror that it's based on. Overall if you're a fan of horror, that dares to be creative and genuinely scary, I'd recommend exploring the mystery surrounding the cursed videotape for yourself. Also be sure to check out the exhaustively researched website
"Ringworld" for any further information at: http://www.theringworld.com

"Preacher Man!"

2008-09-06T11:42:02Z

LOL, on watching Death Proof again last night, I did a double take when I thought I saw Kim Kardashian listed in the thanks part of the credits. I couldn't help wondering if it was because of the part where Jungle Julia gets accused of having a big ass *guffaw* Turns out it was a different name though. My overactive imagination!*

View Poll: #2283

*And now I'm probably going to have a gang of angry Kim Kardashian fans chasing me in a car and wanting to beat me up ;)

"Liberation For Women - That's What I Preach!"

2008-09-03T20:53:54Z

I had no idea that Joe Strummer (like Lord Byron) had Scottish roots on his mother's side. "'I've been a terrible Scotsman, but I'm going to be better,' Joe said to his cousin Alasdair Gillies at the wedding of their cousin George in Bonar Bridge, three weeks before he died." - Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography Of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz.

Apparently Wanted posters featuring Angelina Jolie have been banned in the UK for glamourising violence. Yes, if you have a action movie with lots of gunplay and starring Angelina Jolie, you should have a poster of her dressed as an old woman and quietly sipping tea, shouldn't you? *headdesk* Frakin' uptight idiots!

Haven't been a regular or even a occassional poster at the Bronze Beta for a few years now, but I've been popping in this week, getting into a discussion about Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot (pretty much the extent of my vampire novel knowledge, besides Dracula and Interview With The Vampire (I got given that one for free)) and Western movies.

I had no idea until I watched The Catherine Tate Show series two again, that gingers were such a victimised group in society. Well, if she can't get into one of the ginger shelters, I'd be happy to let Shirley Manson find refuge with me. I'm a giver by nature (and that applies if Angelina is traumatised at the poster ban and needs a friendly shoulder too) *g*

The Cute Report

2008-09-01T21:27:06Z

I just love this cute photo:

It's from when National Lampoon's magazine spoofed National Geographic with Paris (aka Mrs Django aka 'Er Indoors *g*) on the cover and in a photoshoot.

100 Essential Facts About Django In One Handy Post: (free to subscribers)

Once he started yesterday, he couldn't help watching series one of The Catherine Tate Show until he'd finished. Now he wants to run around hitting people on the shoulder and shouting "Last Hit!"

He told Elric that he should have killed Yrkoon when he had the flippin' chance, but did Elric listen? And where has it gotten him?

Just as he decided to also start reading Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography Of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz, the winds began amassing a army of dust to blow in his eyes at any given moment.

On watching Krull in the afternoon, he seriously contemplated jumping into the TV and risking the fiery flames and destruction to snatch the Glaive, just in case Paris would like it as a present (and for throwing at people).

He feels a little better at his previous failed attempts to learn French, on learning that Angelina Jolie has been trying to learn it for two years and apparently still hasn't mastered it either.

He even puts melted cheese slice on his microwavable hot dog!

He even puts Worcestshire Sauce in microwave meals with gravy!

He gets nervous when he sees Shareen holding a fork.

His biographer can't count either.

Happy Edie Sedgwick Day

2008-08-30T09:40:39Z

Happy Birthday to abinormal!

Happy Edie Sedgwick Day (a long standing tradition, as created by unholyquatrain)!

Recently finished reading Darkly Devoted Dexter, the second of the Dexter books. As I said before, it proved much better in writing and storytelling than the first book. However, it had some of the same problems in the conclusion. Once again, writer Jeff Lindsay seems to have just gotten bored or realised he was near his page count limit and just rushed a very quick conclusion. In some ways it's just a role reversal of the first book's conclusion. The little epilogue doesn't even give you an update on the major characters of the book and what's happening to them. I still enjoyed the book enough overall though and would recommend it to Dexter fans over the first book (which was told far better on TV). There were a couple of similarities to season two of the TV show (the Keith Carradine character type that Debs dates, Doakes' surveillance of Dexter) and the book but the plot was completely different.

Now I'm reading Michael Moorcock's Elric Of Melnibone (volume eight of the omnibuses), which features the earliest chronological and the very first written story among it's contents. Apart from having a copy of his The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, this is my first attempt to read anything by Michael Moorcock, after some posts about his opinions on Tolkien at Doctor Who Forum got me curious. I'm enjoying the first story of the book so far.

I've also got the first three Doctor Who novels with Donna on order, because Donna rules (even Shareen says so)!

In other literary news, I couldn't help noticing the description of a silly TV programme in my listings magazine, in which a so called "professor" hunts for the resting place of... wait for it.... the final resting place of the great ark of the covenant! A professor!?!? *headdesk* I really despair sometimes. Maybe if that Rowlins chick (sp?) ever kills off Harry Potter, there'll be some "professor" hunting for his final resting place too. Maybe they can prove that Django & Paris of Time HQ really met Jack Bauer while they're at it *chuckle* 'Course that last bit really did happen :P And no, Paris didn't dump Django afterwards like Shareen would like you to believe *BIFF* *BAP* A professor! *shakes head* Of course I've always wanted to excuvate the remains of the real Gotham City, lol!

First giro payment isn't in my account, which means I'll probably have to phone the incompetent wankers up on Monday!

Happy Paris Hilton Day

2008-08-29T10:08:54Z

Happy Paris Hilton Day to everyone :D

(as declared by the Mayor of Las Vegas in 2006)

Early Happy Birthday to abinormal :D

In the downside of Paris news, I have to be honest to the fact that I'm completely underwhelmed and in dread of Paris's new reality show. I'll be hoping for the best but I have to admit it just doesn't look like the kind of show I would dream of watching if Paris wasn't involved and onscreen (and the fact that it'll probably focus more on contestants means that non Paris parts will be a chore to sit through). The sneak peek just comes across as a trashy reality show in the mould of Big Brother, Survivor, all that drek and I'm afraid that it'll just put out the wrong image of Paris (the wrong ideas about her being bitchy, selfish, shallow, manipulative, etc) and give ammo to her critics. It lacks the sweetness, charm, good nature and humour that completely won me over within minutes of my first Simple Life episode. I just don't think it's playing to Paris's strengths. She's always been sweet and charming, the whole looking to be shocking and outrageous stuff usually got left to Nicole Richie. I hope Paris knows what she's doing and the show turns out more interesting than the sneak peek suggests. In the meantime at least I have another bottle of Paris Hilton For Men fragrance to get through and some Paris projects (Repo: The Genetic Opera in film and her next music album) that should be more up my street.

Yesterday, thanks to Amazon, I had a double bill of Conan The Destroyer and Hawk The Slayer :D Let the good times roll! Unfortunately, my chances of a fantasy triple bill were scrambled because someone at Amazon's Jersey merchant doesn't know the difference between a DVD of Krull and some computer peripheral (my best guess: a memory card of some sort) in a small plain white box *headdesk* Still, this gave me the chance to finally see Roman Polanski's The Tenant instead.

Conan The Destroyer can't match the power of the first film, but it's still an entertaining enough fantasy adventure co-starring The Wonder Years' Olivia D'Abo, General Zod's bitch Sarah Douglas and Tracey Walters of Repo Man fame ("you'll find one in every car").

Hawk The Slayer has an all star cast. Jack Palance wears half a Darth Vader helmet as the villain. Jack's ghostly dad from Lost is the sword wielding hero and there's appearances from The Rocky Horror Show's Patricia Quinn and Clockwork Orange stars Patrick Magee and Warren "Dim" Clarke. This movie was a staple of my 80s childhood on video and TV and is still an entertaining fantasy adventure, if you overlook it's flaws.

The Tenant is one of those movies I've been meaning to see for years but was previously prevented in the video age due to the video being out of print, etc. The exploration of a tenant's decreasing mental state was less solitary than I expected. There's much more interaction with other characters and a domestic feel to much of the early movie. LOL at the scene where Roman Polanski and Isabelle Adjani make out in the cinema while watching Enter The Dragon and it's juxtaposition when they both find themselves in the same church. The film has elements of both Rosemary's Baby and particularly Repulsion along the way, although it's probably a bit too confused in intent or meaning to truly rival either. I was also reminded of David Lynch's Eraserhead in places (the grotesquerie that lies behind social awkwardness as black comedy and horror), but even moreso I couldn't help thinking of some parts of the movie as being an Anti-Amelie of sorts (an amiable helpful young man becomes increasingly ostracised for his efforts). An interesting film and some of it's Repulsion style sequences (like when the hands come through the window or when Roman imagines himself/the previous tenant being strangled) are pretty creepy.

P is for Passion! A is for Ass! R is for Revolution! I is for Individuality! S is for Score!

2008-08-24T19:25:10Z

Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list ten things you LOVE that begin with that letter. Afterward, post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own

omarandjohnny gave me the letter "P", so without further ado....

Paris Hilton - The most beautiful girl in the world*, my deity, my religion and the closest I have to happiness or a reason to live in the world. P is also for "Paris" the album by Paris Hilton, which is now one of my top ten favourite albums and for "Princess", "Pretty" and "Perfect" which all sum up my love from afar.

Punk Rock - The greatest music explosion and genre of music ever! A perfect expression of what it is to be an individual and a perfect expression of passion, unrest and the urge for change.

Plastic Letters - The second Blondie album and my all time favourite album for all those times I just couldn't stop playing it on my personal stereo/personal CD player over the years. Also, Blondie's punkiest and rawest album.

The Prisoner - One of the most original, challenging, surreal, important and inventive TV shows of all time, starring and from the mind of Patrick McGoohan. It's first episode has to be one of the greatest mini-movies of all time and is a masterpiece of storytelling and editing. A perfect companion to Orwell's "1984" for the small screen and like that novel, a work that never loses it's timely message.

Public Image Limited (aka PiL) - One of my all time favourite bands (John Lydon's first band wasn't so bad either *g*). Also, their songs "Public Image" and "Poptones" are among my favourite songs. One of the best and most inventive post punk bands, along with Joy Division and Bauhaus.

Patricia Morrison - Bass player for a time with both Sisters Of Mercy (although Andrew Eldritch refuses to give her the credit and royalties for it) and later in her husband Dave Vanian's band The Damned. An early goth.

The Proles - Because hope lies with them *g* They're bound to rise up and smash Big Brother and The Party any moment..... now? Or maybe... now?

Phantom Of The Opera - The book is pretty poor in my opinion but nothing that the more successful TV, movie and stage adaptions couldn't fix. I like the romantic version as much as Andrew Lloyd Webber or anyone else, but I'm particularly impressed with the Lon Chaney silent movie where Erik is portrayed more as a gleeful, taunting, predatory, possessive, maniacal and ruthless stalker.

Passion - An episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Because that look on Giles' face when he finds the body just says it all.

Paris, Texas - Harry Dean Stanton confesses his sins to Natassja Kinski (named by her mad dad Klaus after a character from Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" don't ya know!). Referenced in the Deborah Harry song "I Want That Man".

The Pegasus - A battlestar with a lot of history and a legendary commanding officer, in whatever version you prefer.

Plan 9 From Outer Space - An entertaining and fun movie which overcomes any minor flaws that fussy viewers always pick up on. Far from the worst movie ever made, it's actually a lot more watchable than quite a few dull movies I've been subjected to. To say nothing of how iconic it all is.

Polyester - Because for shame, I've still never seen Pink Flamingoes (hunted for it in Glasgow several times and was going to order the video from Amazon only for it to be unavailable!). One of my favourite John Waters movies, featuring Stiv Bators and Tab Hunter along with the Dreamlanders regulars. Hilariously funny and I still remember watching it with my mum and being surprised she knew what a foot fetishist was.

Pam Grier - From sexy kickass exploitation action babe to supporting role in "The L Word".

Yes, that was more than ten but with my best sad puppy dog look, I'm sure you'll forgive me ;)

* And here's some photos to prove it:

Sorry, but anyone who doesn't think Paris is the most beautiful girl in the world has to be lying through their teeth!

And here's a smaller version of my current desktop wallpaper:

"Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedooooooooooooooooooom!"

2008-08-22T18:40:34Z

Congratulations to Gwen Stefani on her second child (she even looks so fucking hot when she's pregnant - big beer bellies are sexy on a girl *g*) :)

Today was the second year anniversary of Paris's debut album being released in America. Appropriately enough it's also my long awaited day of freedom. My last day of servitude to the Scottish Training Foundation. I have an appointment with the jobcentre on Monday and it's back to regular signing on and being able to occupy my days as I see fit. It was nice to see a few of the old faces that I started out with, a sort of school reunion. Had a talk with fellow reprobate John about punk and the Playstation 3 for the last time (until I run into him in a games shop in Irvine I suppose). Those of us that had been to Expo Scotland had a good laugh telling some of the new recruits for next week about some of our experiences. Last day at the work placement was yesterday. No early finish alas. Typical that I get piles of work on my last couple of days (I also had my one and only visit to Lochwinnoch village - escorting Polish Yani to and from a nurse's appointment at the doctor's surgery). Anyway, as Elton John once said "I'm still standing!"

The first of two Paris For President t-shirts I ordered from EBay arrived yesterday. It's tight but I can wear it. I always support my girl (and Benji gets all the credit *g*). Latest Doctor Who magazine came this week too, but I've still got about half the previous issue to read as Expo Scotland and the Playstation 3 have been cutting into my time the last month.

A poor girl had an epilepsy fit on the train home, earlier in the week. The train had to wait at Saltcoats until the ambulance turned up. It was in my carriage and the girl's pitiful frightened moans afterwards were distressing to hear. One of the girls watching over her was a dead ringer for Mischa Barton. She got off at the same train station as me, but needless to say, it wasn't the right time to say "Welcome to The W.K. bitch!" (or see if she responded to being called Marissa, lol!).

Had an unsettling dream early in the week (before the train incident for those who believe in that sort of thing). It was supposed to be an X Files episode. It was in a hospital I think. There were two women in the dining room. One of them apparently had a history of being sensitive or allergic to the paranormal. The other woman was meant to be a nurse. Around the nurse, the other woman started having a violent coughing fit to the point where she was having difficulty breathing. The nurse at first pretended to help her, but it became apparent that she was simply making sure the woman died (she was an alien in human disguise or something, thus bringing on the woman's allergic reaction). The unsettling thing, apart from the poor woman dying, was seeing it all from a first person camera view as she was sliding down the nurse's body (the nurse had pretended to get the woman a glass of water while propping her up at first).

It's a good feeling to walk free again. The fascists didn't break Paris and they didn't break me!

Colour Test

2008-08-22T05:24:54Z

I took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Seeks an affectionate relationship, offering fulfi..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

What's Eating Gilbert's Djangster?

2008-08-17T09:25:12Z

If you think I've missed your birthday, you need to go back a post earlier :P

Lists compiled from my recent visits to the Doctor Who Forum:

Most Recent Movies Watched:

The Dark Knight 8/10
I enjoyed this one overall and was gripped throughout. There were some surprises that I wasn't expecting. I was a bit underwhelmed by the finale(s) though and probably prefer Batman Begins overall.
The Hottie & The Nottie 6/10 (10/10 for Paris Hilton of course)
An average romantic comedy but one designed to make me very very happy.
Blade Runner 10/10
One of those movies that is pretty soothing for the soul when I'm depressed. What is it to be human?
Girl Interrupted 10/10
Another movie that soothes me when I'm depressed. By turns poignant and hilarious. This was my first proper encounter with Angelina Jolie and I've been a fan ever since for her powerhouse performance.
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End 6/10
Not bad horror sequel that goes more for action and gore than the atmosphere and cranking up the tension of the original. The girl from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake seems to be doing a very good Ali Larter impersonation (and one girl made me think she was Blair from Gossip Girl for a moment). Henry Rollins is definitely channelling Hawk from The Simple Life Goes To Camp, lol!
Once Upon A Time In The West 10/10
One of the greatest movies ever and a true epic that I never get tired of. It's perfect, full of fantastic scenes that are mini-masterpieces of cinema in their own right and the theme of civilisation driving out the ancient race of gunslingers resonates with my own out of time and place feelings.

Favourite Movies Of The 90s (in no particular order)

Cry Baby
Ed Wood
Joan Of Arc: The Messenger
Girl Interrupted
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Quick And The Dead
Desperado
From Dusk Till Dawn
Panther
The Crow
The Doors
Starship Troopers
Basic Instinct
Silence Of The Lambs
Copland
Last Of The Mohicans
Braveheart
Serial Mom
The Limey
Mars Attacks!

Crushes Of The 70s, 80s & 90s

The girl who played Hayley in Metal Mickey (apparently I'm showing my age with that one *g*)
Ornella Muti (Flash Gordon)
Catherine Bach (The Dukes Of Hazard)
Caroline Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me, etc)
Jane Badler (V)
Samantha Fox (page 3)
Maria Whitaker (page 3)
Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare On Elm Street)
Sarah Patterson (The Company Of Wolves - bearing in mind I was a teenager at the time myself)
Anneka Rice (always being on TV and in TV magazines)
Barbara Carrera (Never Say Never Again)
The teenage daughter in A.L.F.
Tracy-Louise Ward (C.A.T.S. Eyes)
Kim Cattrall (Police Academy, Big Trouble In Little China, etc)
Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks)
Deborah Harry (started listening to her music and fancying her in the 90s in a both then and now way for years to come)

django @ 2008-08-16T19:38:00

2008-08-16T18:38:36Z

Early Happy Birthday to:

sensoriaseventy & harleen :D

The Happy Meme

2008-08-13T07:37:52Z

Pick 10 people and give them the "you make my day" award in no particular order. If you're picked, you are charged with picking 10 of your own (unless you've already done it).

Paris Hilton
Jessy Pants (unholyquatrain)
glow_boy (LiveJournal)
crescentmuse (LiveJournal)
omarandjohnny
shellydkitty
Me Mate Shareen
creamsicklesky)
Emma May (formerly of LiveJournal)
deborak/trepkos

Oh, and best thing about BBC's Robin Hood, Lucy Griffiths could make me happy by adding me back on MySpace (if you're listening, Lucy: Promise that I only bite on request and I'll be nicer to you than Gisburne was) ;)

Sitting Here In Placement

2008-08-08T12:04:14Z

Another video clip of "Repo: The Genetic Opera" featuring Paris as Amber Sweet:

http://www.parishiltonsite.net/mark-it-up-clip-released/#comments

I can sympathise with Amber's brother in this clip. Paris has me by the balls too (albeit in a good way) ;)*

* Something I'm sure regular readers could attest to in court *g*

In other news, I'm enjoying the second "Dexter" book much more than the second. It's better written and feels like it has less padding so far. The first book ultimately compared poorly with the TV series that it inspired and didn't really go anywhere (The Ice Truck Killer of the series was a completely uninteresting non-entity in the book even when he eventually made an appearance and the less said about the ending... still the more time I'm spending on it than the author!). The second book so far only shares two elements with the second season - Doakes' persistence and the Keith Carradine FBI character that Debs finds so cute. Loved Dexter's introduction to beer!

Paris To The Rescue.... Again :D

2008-08-06T17:22:34Z

Paris must have known how depressed I was after dealing with the Scottish Training Foundation dickheads for my "jobsearch and review" yesterday. Whenever I get depressed it always seems to be Paris that cheers me up. And what a wonderful surprise awaited me this morning :D

http://www.parishiltonsite.net/screw-obama-mccain-vote-for-paris-hilton/#comments

"Paris For President" has long been a slogan of mine, but even a rabid obsessive fan like me wasn't expecting something as wonderful a putdown to the McCain and Obama twats as this video. It's a masterstroke. A work of genius. It's a perfect example of the charm, humour and indominatable spirit that I love about this girl.

Thank you, Paris *SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH*

In other Paris news... Last week I registered on EBay UK and got a Paris keyring and mousemat. Also got the UK version of The Hottie And The Nottie DVD, which alas doesn't include the cast commentary that was listed for the region one release. The movie's pretty much your average romantic comedy and is charming and amusing in places but is unlikely to make a big impression on anyone not into the genre. The Nottie also gets the meatier role of the female leads, but Paris is still up to the material of being The Hottie and gets some memorable scenes and always looks her gorgeous best throughout. John Hughes/Brat Pack fans may recognise elements of Some Kind Of Wonderful in the plot development (in the way that Elisha Cuthbert's The Girl Next Door was a mixture of Risky Business and Something Wild). With Paris jogging on the beach, wearing bikinis and even in a wedding dress, no DVD shelf should be complete without this one.

In less appealing news, Amazon UK are now moving to abolishing cheque orders completely, which is an extraordinarily elitist move to people without credit cards (I use 3V vouchers but there's a 200 pound limit on them and you can't combine them). "Let's stop some people from being able to order from us" never strikes me as the best business move!

django @ 2008-07-31T09:30:00

2008-07-31T08:36:40Z

Saturday will be the second year anniversary of my mother's passing. Part of me will always feel like I'm trapped in some unreal dream, waiting to wake up into the real world where I can still go downstairs in my house and find her in the living room or the kitchen and life will be normal. Life's never felt completely real since.

That cunt Barack Obama has recently said of Paris "I've never even met the woman". Funny, that's never stopped the cunt from taking judgemental potshots at her in public, seeming to be an expert on her or being proud of brainwashing his kids to be so judgemental and harsh towards someone they don't even know (and that has never actually wronged or hurt anyone).

Meanwhile, I'm stuck at another day at the work placement, doing fuck all because they're not actually looking for any admin work to be done and won't just send me home or back to STF. The people themselves aren't bad, but I'd much rather be bored or doing nothing closer to home. Occassionally answering the phone is about all that I've been doing this week.