UPDATE: They are back at the southbank in January.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/dance-performance/tickets/circus-klezmer-spain-50183

Our first trip to the International Mime Festival 2009 was not a success.
I will gloss over it all with the following equation:However, Circus Klezmer last night at the Purcell Rooms was great entertainment.
Set in a gypsy circus with acrobats, jugglers and clowns may sound twee, but the setting was more Carnivale than Billy Smart.



While waiting in the foyer, the cast wandered around performing small tricks for the pre-audience audience.
As we took our seats the violinist played on stage and the lead performer (clown and show director Adrian Schvarzstein) chivvied people along to their seats - including taking people's coats off their backs and manhandling them up the aisle. The klezmer band played from behind crates of vegetables and the two principles did some balancing with boxes and the like.

Then the trapeze artist arrived to join the troop and once she climbed above the stage and showed that swinging backwards and forwards is not all the trapeze is about - including the "almost fell to the floor" stunt in her act. She was of course a very fit athlete as were the physical stunts of the circus manager and his wife (I think that's their scripted relationship) whose arguments involved She running screaming and jumping at Him as he turned and caught her in a variety of uncomfortable looking positions - physical comedy not out of place in a Marx Brothers film ensued.

The three part juggling of the usual balls and skittles leads into an excellent session of shotglasses and bottles around the table - two getting "drunker" and one missing out every time. Audience participation ranged from the little pranks on the latecomers to one guy enlisted as the "romantic" lead in a triangle between the circus leads, and much more fun from the burlesque troop.

Actually talking of burlesque, the hapless Vecina's sexy chair-dancing a la Dietrich was tearjerkingly funny.
The band were excellent, trad. klezmer a perfect soundtrack of violin, drum, accordion and clarinet.
(Check that link for more photos.)

It was mostly spoken in spanish/gypsy and too fast to catch but meanings were always clear, and much of it required no words.
At the end, they thanked the audience in english, a classy act from classy performers. I hope they come back to London again soon, because I have a few people who I'd like to see the show with !

See for yourself

Today was a half-day for annual pre-Xmas get together in Notting Hill, and I was planning to walk there, but work was too hectic, and so I decided to "walk off the calories".

A fairly uneventful stroll, compared with previous days, but I determined to keep to the lower limit on account of a blister from yesterday's inappropriate footwear problem. So I headed south towards Sloane Square and home. As I passed the Royal Albert Hall, I saw a 360 bus, about to turn around and head for Pimlico, but I was barely halfway through the hour.

Continuing past the Natural History Museum, the skating rink looked decidedly seasonal,
and the temperature was starting to drop too.



Just as I was getting colder and tireder, I reached Sloane Square, and there was a 360 bus, bang on time.

Vital stats
Start 15:45
End 16:45
Distance 2.88 miles (total so far = 15.5 miles)
Non-stop Kensington stroll.

I went to see Cailtin Rose at Pure Groove, but she was poorly.
And so it occurred to me that I could do today's walk back to Paddington, along the canal which passes a short walk from Smithfield.

Unfortunately I failed to appreciate the distance, and then my dogged commitment (at this stage of the 100 Day hike) kicked in and I would not cease from mental fight.

So, yeah, I walked along the canal (except for tunnels at Islington - where you have to follow the blue blobs on the pavement - and Marylebone) for two hours.
Nothing remarkable to report after the gasometer at Kings Cross, really.
The zoo looked empty.




Vital stats
Start 13:49
End 15:55
Miles 6.31

Yeah, I used to work here.
Perhaps I should have chatted to the decorators and seen if there's anything of SGS remaining there, but with the two main pubs boarded up and not much to show of the old Livery Street, I moved on.

On the other hand, the Fox on Hurst Street has long been revamped, perhaps losing its charm in the process.
But I had a bag of those "pork" scratchings that appear to be made of sponge rather than pig rind.

Vital stats
Start 14:30
End 16:30
Two ten minute stops in Readers World and Nostalgia and Comics included.
Pint: Tetley.

Day 1.
As I was in Birmingham for a conference and stopping with my Mom, I selected a route along the canal - roughly towards Erdington, but as it happened, perfectly timed to get to Aston station for a train to Wylde Green.

I noticed that I went under Livery Street where I used to work, and decided that'd be a good place to visit on my walk tomorrow.
As most of the canal walk was in darkness there's not much to see in the way of photos, but have a look at Flickr

I was amused to be stopped by a survey person and asked my views on the canal path ("more lights" "more clear signs").
And there was a lovely aroma of baking bread just before Aston.
Where possible, I'll be putting maps on google (see link below)

Vital statistics:

Start 16:30 (Broad Street, Birmingham)
End 18:00 (Station Road, Wylde Green)

71 mins walk
Train from Aston
10 mins walk.


http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=111760876906781352317.000479c42f17fae8f0939

www.hundreddays.net

There may be a few more posts here from me in the next three months.
I shall be joining in the "100 Days to make me a better person" thing launched by (among others) Josie Long ( http://twitter.com/josielong ) and Johnny Lynch aka The Pictish Trail. It is the following amount of simple:
http://www.twitter.com/hundredday

My objective is to walk for 60 mins once per day for the 100 Days.

Some of you folks already do things every day that you could modify slightly to join in.
There's a flickr group too !

I am off to Scotland's Fife this weekend for a Halloween event of fine musickery.

Meanwhile, from  apiphile or Maud via davebushe

List ten bands/artists you like in no special order, before reading under the cut

1 Camper Van Beethoven
2 Julian Cope
3 King Creosote
4 Manu Chao
5 The Essex Green
6 Patti Smith
7 Ian McNabb
8 Neko Case
9 Mahala Rai Banda
10 McCabe & Mrs Miller

It's not easy to compile such a list when your memory for those round things that used to make noise before the MP3 era.
Thus was the task set by Mr Dave Bushe of The V Hive made even more complicated by him asking for the best TEN albums of the last decade (final months of 2009 notwithstanding).

I've used wiki's very flawed list of albums released each year as a guide, but "anyone who knows me" will realise that the American AOR centred lists don't really help me much.

Under the cut is my full list, with an admission that the earlier years have more gaps (perhaps I'll fill those gaps in later).
What's your top ten ?

( Top records of the last 10 years  )

(sorry if the cut failed)

For various reasons, we could only make half of Frightfest this year (Sunday & Monday plus the opening film)
here is what I saw.

Dread stars a scouser playing an american and a psychopath.
It's quite a faithful remake of Clive Barker's story from Books of Blood, with the psychological intent about studying fears kept intact.
Once the "school project" of interviewing people about their fears breaks down there are some harrowing moments.
For me, it holds together psychologically which is important in a film about personal perceptions of fear.
I liked it.

Zombie Women of Satan
The least successful horror film I saw over the weekend but a fairly enjoyable comedy. Imagine if "Lesbian Vampire Killers" had a funnier script and cast but less budget on the half-naked chicks. The cast seem to be having fun. eg as three breast-bared ladies run towards our heroes, Pervo the Clown (for it is he) says "Look at the knockers on that!" and remains totally unfazed by the flesh-eating wenches throughout, because he likes looking at them. Seriously though, if this had been a comedy about the circus troupe with no attempt at Benny Hill Has Eyes horror, it'd have been funny. However, I am a keen on films made by people who are enjoying themselves (certainly more than films where people are indulging themselves), and there's nothing to dislike here.

Triangle
Melissa George (out of neighbours or something) does well as the central character in an "abandoned at sea and things go wrong" enigmatic film. The director and lead actress gave away a point which will no doubt be given away before anyone sees it, but if you can avoid finding out it will add to the mystery.
[spoiler]Melissa George plays several versions of herself, and she carries off the story of the one we are following very well.[/spoiler]
There's a couple of stunning shots, and it's not played for jumps.

Heartless
Dark fable set in the dystopian world of London's East End. Plot points reminded me of the story of Dorian Grey and Angel Heart, plus some very Barkeresque demons. But there was an air of pretention not helped by the producer's "Philip Ridley (director) has created a new genre of horror". No, this has all been done before, albeit not often as nicely.
Despite that the film was well shot, well written and the guy even wrote some songs (lyrically a bit obvious at times, but that creates an operatic feel). If I say there is a faustian pact, you will guess what that is the minute you see the central character. If I say the cockney Satan is a tad remeniscent of Hellblazer's The First of The Fallen ...
Over all, this was a decent film, if a little cliched in its view of the world.

Dead Snow
I was not in the mood for the character development and suspense parts of this (11am on Sunday morning) but the hackneyed horror nerd and comedian chaps were quickly subverted and did not mar a shlocky horror of zombie WW2 nazis in the snow. Top use of entrails in any film this weekend.

Night of the Demons
A remake done with affection for the gruesome original and a healthy splash of humour. In the Q&A, likable director Adam Gierasch said he'd only agreed to the film if he could show some demon anal, and he was not disappointed. It's one of those teen horror sex comedies, so what do you expect?
The punky soundtrack does the trick, and if you don't go expecting too much you'll have as much fun as you can have without screaming.

Case 39
I hoped this would be like last year's Strangers, a big star vehicle that overcame that, but my dislike for the films of Renee Zellwegger remains. To be fair to her, she was unfairly pitted against a demonic young girl who outacted her by staring cutely. This is not something I believe RZ is capable of. The central plot of a social worker who fosters a young girl after her parents abuse her is so full of holes of unprofessional behaviour that I will not recommend it unless you really really like the lead actress.

Descent Part 2
Continues the story quite well, not as claustrophobic but splatterings of gore and a fair bit of suspense. The rescue party find our escaped heroine and somehow decide to secretly have a small group enter the caves via a mineshaft. That conceit aside it's a worthy successor (and Neil Marshall was in attendance, so I hope he won't mind me saying I prefer his original).
Oh for the gore fans: In one escape scene we have some top use of one of those hammers that potholers have.

House of the Devil
Shot in retro style, including the opening titles and credits, and replicates the thrillers of the early 80s very well, even down to the finale. This was my favourite film of the festival, because it dances around the conventions of the lone girl in spooky house genre without resorting to the obvious, and when the pay off comes it's grotesque in the sense of the Dennis Wheatley adaptations of days gone by.
Ti West has garnered some criticism (not least from the movie's original producers) for making this too slow to develop, but I think that works much better when you try and count the times he could have done something familiar to speed up the quick scares.
I could have watched this film even if nothing happened in the final act !

Here are some items from the claims of my local MP, Mark Field.
I would like to say that he has not been singled out for ridicule by the press, and I don't have a quibble with office, travel and even PR company claims (I think our MPs should be given a fixed rate for these expenses anyway).

The home ownership scams are where some MPs have been well out of order. Ask anyone who has looked into trying to get assistance to buy a home in London, let alone having the moat cleaned. However, I feel we should all look at these documents closely before the next election. Then contact our MPs to ask for an explanation of anything that has been hidden, or (as in the case of these examples) seems odd.

I suggest we all post these and encourage others to do the same.

Check out this website: mpsallowances.parliament.uk for information on your own MP.

And for more info www.theyworkforyou.com/mps/

Some of you will have a lot more to complain about, I am merely scratching the surface of the silly ones.
Oh and highlighting the more serious issue of blacking out these receipts. Can you see any rhyme or reason to some of these black blocks?





That last one really makes me smile !

(taken from the livejournals of friends who have done this.

1. You can ONLY answer 'Yes' or 'No'.

2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks.

Kissed any one of your LiveJournal friends? — Yes
Been arrested? — No
Kissed someone you didn't like? — No
Slept in until 5 PM? — Yes
Fallen asleep at work/school? — Yes
Held a snake? — Yes
Ran a red light? — No
Been suspended from school? — No
Experienced love at first sight? — No
Totaled your car in an accident? — No
Been fired from a job? — Yes
Fired somebody? — No
Sung karaoke? — Yes
Pointed a gun at someone? — No
Did something you told yourself you wouldn't? — Yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? — Yes
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — Yes
Kissed in the rain? — Yes
Had a close brush with death (your own)? — No
Saw someone die? — Yes
Played Spin-the-Bottle? — Yes
Smoked a cigar? — No
Sat on a rooftop? — Yes
Smuggled something into another country? — No
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? — Yes
Broken a bone? — Yes
Skipped school? — Yes
Eaten a bug? — Yes
Sleepwalked? — No
Walked on a moonlit beach? — Yes
Ridden a motorcycle? — Yes
Dumped someone? — Yes
Forgotten your anniversary? — No
Lied to avoid a ticket? — No
Ridden in a helicopter? — No
Shaved your head? — Yes
Blacked out from drinking? — Yes
Played a prank on someone? — Yes
Hit a home run? — No
Felt like killing someone? — No
Cross-dressed? — No
Been falling-down drunk? — No
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? — Yes
Eaten snake? — No
Marched/Protested? — Yes
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? — No
Puked on an amusement ride? — No
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? — Yes
Been in a band? — No
Knitted? — No
Been on TV? — Yes
Shot a gun? — No
Skinny-dipped? — Yes
Given someone stitches? — Yes
Eaten a whole habenero pepper? — Yes
Ridden a surfboard? — No
Drunk straight from a liquor bottle? — Yes
Had surgery? — Yes
Streaked? No
Been taken by ambulance to a hospital? — Yes
Tripped on mushrooms? — No
Passed out when NOT drinking? — Yes
Peed on a bush? — Yes
Donated Blood? — No
Grabbed electric fence? — No
Eaten alligator meat? — No
Eaten cheesecake? — Yes
Eaten your kids' Halloween candy? — No
Killed an animal when not hunting? — No
Peed your pants in public? — Yes
Snuck into a movie without paying? — No
Written graffiti? — Yes
Still love someone you shouldn't? — No
Think about the future? — Yes
Been in handcuffs? — No
Believe in love? — Yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? — Yes

(I voted at 7:20 am)

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -5.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.38

During the latter half of the Sixties, my Dad and I lived at my Grandparents' house in Warstock, Birmingham.
It was rumoured that the name came from the fact that a soldier was buried at the back of the Warstock pub, but this was the sort of "rumour" that schoolboys invent during the Summer holidays while they explore the wastelands behind buildings, buffering railways, or alongside canals. Warstock is mostly corporation houses built in between The Wars, as my Grandad would have said. They'd lived there since the estate had been opened, on Arlington Road, and most of the family of four lads and one girl lived within walking distance - so we cousins knew each other very well.

Throughout the Seventies, I would spend most of my time back with "Granny & Gramps" as we grew up to call them, and with Aunty Ann, Uncle Pete and my cousins Pete & Dave. I guess I was a cuckoo in their nest from a very early age, but a cuckoo made very welcome. Once, perhaps ten years later when the three of us were teenagers, we stayed with our grandparents so we could get up in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower - I think it was the Perseids - and we were treated to one of the best displays in years. If you've never watched one of these astronomical firework displays, I recommend that you do so. You might begin to understand why July 1969 was so compelling.
It was the time of the first Moon landing.

I was six years old, and we'd been living there long enough for me to have my own room decorated in Thunderbirds wallpaper. One Christmas morning around that time, I dreamt that I awoke to find a Tracey Island model, OO scale, equipped with all the Thunderbird vehicles. Someone who worked for Blue Peter years later had a similar dream, but then we probably all had it. Except that neighbour who had all the Action Men kits, real hair, gripping hands, moving eyes ... he probably dreamed of ponies.

So, I went to bed one night, in that room with flying machines on the wall or suspended in Airfix, and a poster of George Best intended to instill me with a love of good football rather than Manchester United. As I remembered it, I had no idea why my Dad was waking me up in the middle of the night, but I must have been watching the landing before bed time, so I am probably recalling the half-asleep confusion that you get when woken from a deep sleep. However, I can remember going down the corporation standard staircase into the living room where a yellow vinyl three piece suite faced a television with a "wood-effect" shutter.
And I can remember that shutter being drawn back to reveal images of two men inside a spaceship that looked nothing like the uncluttered formica cubicles of Gerry Anderson's early work. Actually it was rather like Thunderbird 5 with legs, wasn't it? It was time for them to leave the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and walk on the Moon.

Now, there is plenty of evidence of this event, yet some people don't believe it happened. Isn't it funny how faith works? Even if the grainy footage beamed around the world could have been faked well enough to fool everyone, it was something remarkable. I am not going to pretend I remember anything more than being "there", as most of the detail we know has been refreshed in my mind again and again.

And in the next couple of months we're going to get reminded some more, as the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing of Apollo 11 is upon us. I'm going to watch the documentaries, read some of the books about the astronauts, yes, I'll also read my hardcover collection of the Astronauts In Trouble series of graphic novels (see below) and on July 4th I am going with my Dad to see Buzz Aldrin speak at the Southbank.

It's that time again.
I've done this without watching the semi-finals. I boycott them because they are fixed. Or wrong. And the ones I like the most often get eliminated here.

1st Semi-final
I was predisposed to want Gipsy.CZ to win for the Czech republic but the Eminem joke falls a bit flat (they are a much better folk/rap fusion than this).

Finland is a genuine contender. Banging house with a eurobeat. The old people will hate it though.

Despite being named after a Levellers song, Belarus have apparently not got past Whitesnake in the history of rock.

Bulgaria seem to have got Bronski Beat. It would have been acceptable in the eighties.

Oh, Belgium have Shaking Stevens (or is that Shakin' ?) and this is quite poor.

For one horrible moment I though Armenia had booked The Cheeky Girls, but this duo are alright. I would say this could be a hit if everyone who used to go to Spain goes to Armenia on holiday this year. It's a very good pop song with a bit of ethnic thrown in.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have borrowed Coldplay's costumes. Their song is not annoying. Nor is it memorable. Has a nice middle eight though that's not really a song is it? Ladies, this one's for you.

Macedonia begins with a promising power pop riff but the verse mianders off into Chesney Hawkes territory.

Malta. Why do you vote for us? Why do you have a song like ours? But less pompous?

That European outpost Israel bring us some fairly standard pop balladry. Nothing to write home about, but not intolerable.

Montenegro have covered "Summer Night City" the camera man on their video needs to shoot one version for the boystown and one for the boys.

Sweden. Begins with a horrible suggestion that they are trying to compete with our entry - faux operatics with a disco beat.
Ah well. Rather dull. Make the coffee when this is on.

Iceland's country classic pomp suggests that their radio listeners are unaware of their musical contribution to the world.
Quite possibly the dullest song in the world. But not the crappest.


Andorra seem to have remembered it is a song contest not a Eurodisco dance contest (as my Grandma used to say).
Musically somewhat like Avril Lavigne covering Strawberry Switchblade.

The Portugal song has its moments but is a bit too much like that "Umbrella" song with bits of Eurovision surgically added.

And Turkey's Shakira impersonator is better than all the others.

I save Romania's until last on the basis of the title and the picture of the lady that sings it.
This was a mistake. It is about as Balkan as Atomic Kitten.
Ah well.

2nd Semi-final

A highlight but not for winning is Serbia's traditional song, but sung by one of the Hair Bear Bunch who seems to have stolen the voice of Laibach. Actually it could be him in a wig. Oh wait, it's the musical bits from that Fast Show foreign TV skit. This makes me smile. And that's what Wogan missed.

Latvia have cloned Bruce Dickinson and distilled the entire "hair metal" genre into one song.

Azebaijan's duo have a much more endearing Shakira thing going on, and still manage a bit of an ethnic intro.

Albania ... remember when ABBA went completely Giorgio Moroder on us ? I am contemplating a formulaic response from some of the Eastern Europeans: E = mc(2) where e = ethnic intro, m = madonnaesque power disco, c = chorus hook, and the end result is a square.

Greece go for the Western Eurovision's gay/female axis quite well although looks are no replacement for a decent voice, they seem to have reworked Andrew Lloyd Weber's pompous shite (please, oh European allies, do not let us down, give Royaume Uni another nul point so we can get the Morrissey song we were promised next year!).

Cyprus on the other hand have a noce young lady singing a sort of "What if Bat for Lashes were aimed at Radio 2 listeners thing" that reminds me of someone. video link for purposes of visual evidence.

O Hungary, what have you done? Starts like Juno Reactor but quickly descends into Shalamar covering Rick Astley.

Spain is D.U.L.L. pop. They are one of the countries that get a bye into the final. Which is a shame.

Convinced that Spain's song is dull, Croatia have done a better spanish song, which is still dull, but not as bad.

Ditto Denmark, although I only got as far as Ronan Keatingalike Brinck singing "You made it so easy ..."

Dear Slovakia, it's not ballads this year. Sorry for any misunderstanding. Also, is that Juliette Lewis playing your singer?
I fell asleep listening to the first verse.

Unlike Poland whose balladeer is a vocoder with a fit bird operating it. That's all. At the bits that Celine Dion would ruin with high shrieks she is restrained.

Dear Lithuania, it's not Freddie Mercury year either. twee and not in a good way. Still, Louis Walsh would have this song pointlessly divided between five boys called something like "Boyancy". Not my thing, but I am sure people who like this sort of thing will wonder what the fuck the Van Halen guitar is doing in the background.

Norway seem to believe it is 1976, but their folkier leanings make for decent listening between the adequate singing. Disgruntled by refereeing conspiracy theories, the Chelsea fans have apparently started a campaign for this to get nil points. On that basis alone we should vote for it.

Switzerland's U2 tribute is surprisingly listenable apart from the lyrics. I love that descending bass riff. And the Cure one later in the song. Maybe it's Simple Minds at their best rather than U2. If he was singing "I am sad because that girl in the school canteen ignored me and I want to take her to see Placebo" the kids'd lap this up.

Estonia is fairly good AND they score with the FBQ (fit bird quotient)

Ireland's lovely tribute to The GoGos is great. BUT WHO IS PLAYING KEYBOARDS ?!

Netherlands actually seem to have Father Ted, Father Dougal and Father Jack singing a dreadful "things in the world are bad" song.

Moldova do a very nice cultural exchange, even though it's nothing special this pisses over the bland europop and Americanisation Bollocks. But if Terry Wogan were still here he'd just take the piss. I expect Graham Norton will do the same but I have a vain hope he will not be as bad. Students of Eurovision will note the "La lal la" chorus at the end.

Svetlana Loboda is DIRTY! This will probably be my favourite by the time I have watched them all. Manages to combine all the best bits about Eurovision with a top bit of
Balkan Beatbox style mixed with Madonna-esque visuals, and the required dodgy lyric. Yes sir, Ukraine boogie !


You have to hand it to the country that gave David Hasselhoff a musical career, they do the American stuff better than anyone else in this year's contest. Another one that would deserve a chart position in the right circumstances, not least for referencing Ricky Martin and Cab Calloway.

France have some sort of French Portishead thing going on. I would not climb over it to get to 3/4 of this year's entries, but suspect it will fair badly among those who think Eurovision is all about Eurotrash. This reminds me that French sounds quite sexy when they are not doing pop. I quite like this chanteuse.

Andrew Lloyd Weber can fuck off. Did I say that ?
I cannot do better than Karen's comment about this song: "It sounds like one of those songs he puts in his shows when he's got nothing between the good songs". If this gets more than Ireland and Malta's points I will be unpleasantly surprised.

What of Russia? Why, they have translated "My Lovely Horse" of course.

Have I missed someone? Serves them right for making it all too complicated.
I see the voting has finished so half of my faves will be out already.

Change of plans, so this is by way of apology to Jen & Carl (see them next week anyway)

A spiffy cover of a superb band by the splendid Miserable Rich.

Listen to my station on Blip.fm!

Sorry Kar'
I can't be doing any more 25 tagging things on Facebook.

Here are the rules - post this list on your profile (in Notes) replacing my answers with yours.
Tag some people to do the same thing.
If I tagged YOU, it's because I want to know more about YOU!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

I have never quite received an acceptable answer to this question.
There are several Adrian Johns around the place though, so someone did it.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
The other day.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Some letters annoy me. n, o/a and i for a start.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Does that very nice goose ham that Karen brings from the posh shops count?

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
I don't believe in them.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
It depends who that other person is. Are they cool ?

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
No, I don't use sarcasm. :rollingeyes:

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Golden Nuggets.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Mostly.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Rum & Raisin

13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
How far away they are.

14. RED OR PINK?
Red.

15. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My lack of vavavoom.

16. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Spartak.

17. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
No. I want no-one to complete it.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
No shoes, blue sock, black trahsis.

19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The end of a programme I watched last night. But musically I was listening to The Future Sound of London earlier today.

20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Dark Blue.

21. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Cinnamon.

22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Dawn.

23. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes I do.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Football.

25. HAIR COLOR?
I just had it shaved for the winter.

26. EYE COLOR?
Grey.

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No.

28. FAVORITE FOODS?
Curry.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
I don't care much for scary movies with happy endings.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Tropic Thunder. Fun but hardly Ben Stiller's best. Hollywood over-valuing itself, I guess.

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Grey.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER?
It's a tee-shirt that I bought in Canada, so both,

33. HUGS OR KISSES?
It depends.

34. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Paul Weller.

35. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
No-one.

36. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW
Charlie Brooker "Screen Burn"

37. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
No mouse pad.

38. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Tropic Thunder.

39. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
Music.

40. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
The Beatles

41. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
San Francisco

42. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
No.

43. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Solihull, Warwickshire

44. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
No-one's

• 17:10 @DeeClayton Well spotted! I was using Twitterberry for a spell there. It's not great l, but I haven't had your problems x #
• 17:11 @Matchstick67 Nothing wrong with Twitterfon, I just prefer Tweetie ... #
• 17:16 @dogsbodyorg Wayhey! #
• 17:16 @Glinner Mm loving Tweetdeck too. But for iPhone Tweetie's for me x #
• 17:46 @StrictlyDancer I fear it's inevitable, Deborah ... #
• 17:54 @Pumpkin68 Rowan in Oliver! till July, pumpkin x #
• 17:55 @DanHedley Havent yet! Might give it a bash x #
• 17:56 @matildazq Whispering during T&I!? Sacrilege ... #
• 17:58 @catester Haha! Yes, some took 'Consider Yourself At Home' a touch literally ... #
• 18:00 @Gingasue "Less"? "Fewer", surely? LOL. Followed. #
• 18:05 @Gingasue Aaw! We'z orl humang, innit LOL x #
• 18:06 @tradingnothing Dimly ... #
• 18:08 RT "my iPhone displaying PDF of boarding card has successfully beeped & allowed me through security at Manchester airport." (via @slmorgan) #
• 18:10 @Peardrops Muahaha *evil cackle* #
• 18:15 @JeSuisAndy Hm. Tell her I'm on a diet at the moment - but as soon as I fall off the wagon those choc digestives are MINE. Tx #
• 18:15 @AsIntended Guilty #
• 18:17 @looby_loo Possibly your being "mother to 4 dogs" held you back for a while. Forgiven you your tweeness now ;-) #
• 18:19 @Chasaveen Blimey! Naked flames? Can't think. #
• 18:21 @sirraHkereD !sdrawkcab er'uoy #
• 18:22 @Eurobin Leide, die Nummer weiß ich nicht - Viele Leute hoffentlich! #
• 18:24 @mnemosynedream You're never too old to dance naked. Mnemosyne my favourite goddess. Mother of the Muses according to Hesiod, I believe x #
• 18:24 @gracefulstalker Whoa there! Steady, Tiger ... #
• 18:25 @BallinAlex English, French, History of Art, Ancient History .... #
• 18:27 @helsbells9 Can never answer that.. The obvious: Jesus, Hitler, Oscar, Christopher Biggins and Jeremy Bentham. But everyone picks them... #
• 20:01 @MontyRules Baaaaaaah #
• 20:02 @hsthst Slight nod to Mike, as requested x #
• 20:03 @gavinmunn hahaha! #
• 20:12 @93josh this could get out of control, but *nod* ... #
• 20:13 Phil Taylor looking human! Could be a great match #
• 20:26 @Dazza09 Hm. What are the odds against that? #
• 20:27 @myexitmusic Ah, but Colin has the moobs #
• 20:28 @Nichollz iPod, I must confess... #
• 20:29 @miriamfry You shouldn't worry, no. He should though x #
• 20:34 @Sampsonian "Vice President of Twitter", eh? Well that's one way of looking at it. It would be rude to overtake Obama's mighty 220k though x #
• 20:35 @calomi nod n foll x #
• 20:35 @sallyann14 Sally??? #
• 20:36 @rcpl20 nod z #
• 20:36 @theleftstuff Mine too! #
• 20:37 @hjwebb wink (this has to stop) #
• 20:37 @stonelaughter appreciated ... #
• 20:40 @regalclothing They're fine thanks. Still spelling me name with a "ph" LOL #
• 20:41 @RoseWilkes Overweening arrogance about sums it up x #
• 20:42 @SonniesEdge Coo! *bows down* #
• 20:43 No, he's powering ahead now. What a tosser of the tungsten he is #
• 20:44 @bnlv Well I guess Steelers, but can't pretend it's my sport ... #
• 20:44 @sadieislove Had commitment to Kingdom x #
• 20:45 @aaroncorby Fraid so lol #
• 20:46 @hjwebb "Moobs"="Man boobs" I'm sorry to have to relate - #
• 20:49 @marrdave you've expressed it exactly #
• 20:50 @NovaWildstar Huglet #
• 20:52 @pwns *shakes hand* #
• 20:53 @rmh90 What ho, Rhiannon #
• 20:54 @SnoopySnoop Grrrrr. *nod*. I feel like the Churchill "oh yes" bulldog #
• 20:55 @SmegSlayer itv 4 #
• 20:57 @ElementsofStyle have to confess a digiprojector is one piece of kit I don't have #
• 20:57 @olivercross A marmoset #
• 20:58 @camtia Happy Birthday, Karen #
• 20:59 @Aleece_Naomi Lpst count, but hi #
• 21:00 @StephenFryLover Aaw ... #
• 21:00 @BallinAlex Yoohoo #
• 21:55 @online_mum Certainly twitter is a verb: see Keats Ode To Autumn last line thereof ... #
• 21:55 @Youngy1uk No, got it ok #
• 21:58 It's a white world out there. Off to bed now. At least snow fallig doesn't keep one awake. N-night all x #
• 07:56 Coo! Brings out the child in one this much snow, doesn't it. Should be able to get to the Apple Store though. Can walk if nothing else. #
• 07:59 @DiabloPaulo Not purchasing anything this time! Doing a talk there this evening. #
• 09:23 @aggronaut I know! I posted it a couple of weeks ago. Staggering, isn't it? #
• 09:24 Well: time to walk to a sound studio (laying down a new kind of podcast thingy). Will wrap up warm and hope the sound engineer made it x #
• 09:33 Just called the studio. No one in yet. Think I'll hold back. #
• 09:34 Finally, finally, finally I can announce the results of the #L Competition to celebrate 50K followers. Can't believe it's doubled in a week! #
• 09:34 Competition results here: tinyurl.com/compfry #
• 09:37 @scottjones1978 :( Sorryn old thing. Don't take it badly. #
• 09:38 @arnoldvsputnik Yes I could record it at home, but I'm then doing a BBC radio thing in the same studio, so a one stop shop seemed indicated #
• 09:41 tinyurl.com/compfry But prizes will be announced later after consultations with the winners..... #
• 09:47 Just heard. Studio in full go mode. What pros they are #
• 10:20 @mamamariaT None of the above. Time is elastic x #
• 12:37 Apple Event in Regent Street is off. Tentative attempt to rearrange for tomorrow but aware that forecast not good. Will keep you posted x #
• 13:18 Will podcast a version of what I would have said at Apple, just in case tomorrow is cancelled too. Just done 6 more audios so voice going! x #
• 13:19 @93josh Actually won't be in London at all for those dates. #
• 13:21 @angelawhalley here's your reply. Read tinyurl.com/frytwitter and try and understand why I simply can't always reply tho I do try ... #
• 13:23 @hedgemint Never got into WOW - fear that I'd be instantly addicted x #
• 13:27 @philhughes85 Bah! Read tinyurl.com/frytwitter ;-) #
• 13:27 @MikeSouthon Lawks, Mike, your guess a good as mine! #
• 13:29 Blast my old pants, what's the matter with me? Meant tinyurl.com/frytweet Apologies all round x #
• 13:45 Holy ARSE. Thank you all xxxxx #
• 13:47 @amellioh Hi there Hayley! You are my 100,000th follower! And I'm proud to be your first. Welcome to Twitter xxx #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

budgie_uk continues his Fast Fiction challenges, which he now has collected in an olde fashioned "book".

His latest output is my own suggested "The Racket They Made" in which he was to use the word "forlorn" (spot the clue !)

http://budgie-uk.livejournal.com/1000875.html is where you can find that story.
http://budgie-uk.livejournal.com/864686.html for the instructions and intro to the Fast Fiction challenge
http://www.lulu.com/content/5591057 is where you can buy the book.


( And another thing (spoiler for story behind this cut!) )