What A Beautiful Sky This Evening... Summer Is Coming!

After a lovely evening we are now being treated by a soft and velvety sky with gorgeous emerald and sapphire tones.  I could stand here looking at this all night long...

Key Is Locked Out Of Chortle Nominees - Quite Rightly!

On Monday Chortle announce the winners of their 2010 awards (for 2009) and guess who doesn't make the list even once...  That's right, Perrier Award (erm, Edinburgh Comedy Award) Winner Tim Key.  At the awards highlight show he did not go down very well with the 750-strong crowd, although it was after midnight and his show is not suited to a big crowd.  That of course is irrelevant as the scandal from Edinburgh last year was the complete omission of the stunning Pajama Men and their show Last Stand To Reason.  Did they make a shortlist in the Chortle Awards?  No, they made two.  Best Sketch or Character Act (along with Idiots of Ants) and more importantly, Best Show!  

So who are my predictions for these awards?  Best Headliner will be Phil Nichol (sorry Andrew Lawrence), Best Sketch or Character Act will be Pajama Men (sorry Idiots of Ants), I'd be surprised if Tim Minchin won Best Music or Variety Act as his last show was the weakest of his three so far, Best Show has to be Pajama Men: Last Stand To Reason (although it's good Tom Wrigglesworth got a nod) and the Best DVD is another sure thing for 2008's best show (even though the If.com Eddie went to David O'Doherty) Rhod Gilbert's Award-Winning Mince Pie.  Let's see how do in a couple of days...
UPDATED:  Yes Rhod won Best DVD (no shock there) although The Pajama Men lost out to the two acts I said sorry to, Idiots of Ants (say their name quickly) as best sketch group (with Stefan in last year's show!) and Tom Wrigglesworth for Best Show.  Sarah Millican won Best Headliner which on the basis of last year's Edinburgh shows makes no sense.  However, a headliner on has about 30 minutes on stage and Phil is definitely appreciated over the full hour so she could be going down a treat.  Roll on Edinburgh Fringe 2010, only 20 weeks to go!

Oh-No! I Haven't Posted My St. Patrick's Day Cards... ):-|

A few years ago I was "bothered" when I received a "Happy Easter" card from my mother (although I appreciated the sentiment).  You send cards for birthdays, at a push Christmas and whatever Hallmark-Holiday you are rail-roaded into (e.g. Mother's Day, Valentine's Day...).
But seriously!  St. Patrick's Day cards?  This is shameless exploitation by card companies (I can't believe they have managed to shock me).  If you want to do something for someone so they have a "Happy St. Patrick's Day" then light a candle for them in church or help out a religious charity.  Please don't buy them a godless greeting card from the altar of capitalism...
[Wow, with this much lyrical venom I could be part Irish...  incidentally I am!]

Put Your Money Where My Mouth Is On Dave's Landslide!

This is your last chance!  Not Gordon Brown, I'm talking to you!  The poll trackers are putting Labour and Conservatives neck and neck, whilst all the media is whispering "hung parliament".  Utter rubbish!  Three months before the American elections last year and McCain and Obama were "neck and neck".  It always happens, the underdog creeps up well before the election as people shy away from the inevitable winner so far away from the election.  People are still in a wait-and-see, non-committal, not wanting to be seen as a die-hard Tory.

However the last straw was last night when Gordon said 'I will carry on without a majority' and 'if I lose I will remain Labour leader' (a position he was unelected to, he was anointed). Come polling day, they will duly go in and vote for "Call me" Dave Cameron and he'll start our new Government with a majority of at least 50 seats (so over 348 Conservative MPs).  You should still have good odds on this right now, so put your money where my mouth is on Dave's landslide!

Le Temps Détruit Tout? Or, Things, Can Only Get Better!

Yes the first part of this subject is a very powerful line that really moved me when I first read it*.  It translates as "Time Destroys Everything" and whilst it is not summarising the second law of thermodynamics, it is very true:  Things decay and everything ends.  However, thanks to superstar keyboardist and modest physics genius Brian Cox (no, not Hannibal Lecter, the younger one), we have the line from the D:Ream song (okay, he was an occasional keyboardist whilst at university and then went on to be a superstar physicist).  So which is true?  Well, lots of things decay over time but fortunately PhillG.com is not one of them!  A brand new theme with a great shot of Little Scotland, a nice slideshow of one of my Picasa Albums and, wait for it, all previous posts from Wordpress imported over to Blogger so the whole site is together again!  450 posts and counting over four and a half years!  Woo-hoo!  Now to end on a sad note, if you do want to depress yourself more than you were at the end of A Single Man or The Wrestler, rent Gaspar Noé's masterpiece, Irréversible and find out why Time Destroys Everything.

Marketing Angle: Irish People Like To Drink!

It may not be the most original angle, but it is the angle that Wetherspoons are going with for their bar in London Heathrow Terminal One! It is also the last bar before New York and Edinburgh and Warsaw (ignoring those 'toy' bars during the flight) but clearly the believe this fear marketing will only work on the Irish! But it did work on me... :)

Who Is The Talented Arty-One In My Family?

As a kid (yes, I am now a goat), my brother and I used to love watching "scary" movies although they were usually cheap tacky nonsense.  We did like the original Fright Night (the sequel was hopeless) and in fact used the closing line and theme in a "video" that some of my school friends would be shocked to know still exists!  Anyway, it seems Fright Night is being "re-envisioned" or "re-imagined" or whatever term is the most popular for "we can't be bothered taking chances any more so we'll just re-make old films".  And the news that came out yesterday, is that they now have a director attached, a certain Craig Gillespie!  WTF?!  At least I can take solace in the fact that when you Google me the first couple of pages are all me baby!  [And yes, I sometimes Google myself when I'm feeling lonely, doesn't everyone..?]

Wow! Wonderus Alice Already Usurps Avatar

At the very end of 2009 a massive deal was made about the first full-3D live-action movie, Avatar.  It's a decent romp but the 3D and graphical effects contribute a lot to making it enjoyable.  Now barely 3 months later, the genius of Tim Burton brings a full 3D film to life with much better effects and imagination (think seriously heavy trip), plus previously absent things like a script and reasonable acting.  To quote Stephen Colbert (talking 'Empire State of Mind' as the new king compared to the previous top dog 'New York, New York'), "you can take that thing [Avatar] and throw it in the trash".  Avatar is not a great movie by any means.  It is entertaining primarily due to its stunning visuals and unique technology.  It has been truly bested on all levels by Alice In Wonderland.  The only tiny issue is a personal one, as near the beginning of the film other characters question 'who is Alice?' and I kept having a non-PG lyric running through my head...  Anyway, it is stunning and why Disney would want this be released on DVD in 12 weeks and so prevent it being on the big screen (and not in Odeons!) for less than the normal 17 week run is baffling, it would not be as much of a must-see in normal 2D (although still probably a little bit better than 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus').

Sky 3D Football Is Better Than Being There!

What was I thinking?  At the end of January I read a leak of the 9 pubs across the UK that were going to show the Man Utd - Arsenal game on Sunday afternoon in 3D, complete with polarising glasses.  I did have an appointment I had to keep and, guessing that it could be duff information, I opted not to go.  Damn.  It turns out it was Belushi's on Market Street that showed the game, apparently on one 42" LG 3D TV.  Anyway, that was then and it completely went out of my mind, even despite recent talk that Sky are launching their 3D channel this Autumn (yep, I know it says April there but the advert I'm getting on to said Autumn).  So, whilst waiting for Alice In Wonderland to start, Sky run (what I believe to be their first 3D adverts) showing Everton in 3D and OMG!  It was incredible!  Better than being in the stands (not that I've ever been to Goodison) as you are so close to the action and as the ball was lofted into the penalty area you became so much more aware of the opportunity as if you had crossed it yourself!  Forget sports in HD, 3D is the only way to go!  Now the only question is can I justify £6,000 for a 42" TV...? :(

Baileys Gold Is New Cream Of Cream Liqueurs

Last night I got to try the "new" Baileys Gold version of the classic Irish Cream.  It was exclusively sold in airports for a trial period last year and I have to say it is actually quite nice and an improvement on the original.  Each of the different 'premium' flavours in it stand out and it has a far more complex taste that the 'classic' edition.  This could signify Diaego concentrating on the classic elements of Baileys, rather than experimenting with awful variations that just don't work, such as with Mint Chocolate and Crème Caramel.
Let's hope this doesn't become another Malibu Lime (where it tests really well and is a great product but gets discontinued!).  On that subject ... Bring Back Malibu Lime!