Fluff

In our house I am the one who usually does the hoovering... an intensely boring task. What I find bizarre is why thick lumps of fluff and dust miraculously appear within moments of finishing... and always, always, ALWAYS... under the coffee table!

Rant over.

Pub Quiz Annoyance...

We took part in our local pub quiz the other day - along with my father-in-law and his missus. A cross between Bingo and Blockbusters, we ended up in a tie break situation on the first game. Unfortunately we lost to a smart alec git with an irritating smirk on his face. The same git kept going up and in the end won two out of the four games. Prizes were selected randomly and much to my amusement the smart arse won a single bottle of wine (to share between his team) and the booby prize of a £5 voucher for use in the pub restaurant (something which you could pick up off of the table you were sitting at).

Tough luck smart alec git... bet you're not smirking now!

Rant over.

The End of Time

Of course the one time I most definitely wanted the Sky+ box to work - the b*st*rd thing fails... I swear to God at times there is a conspiracy against me to do the most basic of things that I really want to do... or in this case see. So... I ended up watching Part 2 of Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer. I loved the end of Part 1 where it was revealed that the Timelords were going to return and being led by Timothy Dalton no less. Part 2 featured some brilliant acting by David Tennant, Bernard Cribbens and John Simm and it was largely these three that held it all together. The plot as usual was a bit iffey but I loved it! The last 20 minutes or so dragged a bit and to be honest I was a little bit disappointed with the 10th Doctor's regeneration sequence (It wasn't as good as Ecclestone's!) It was a great idea to neatly draw a line under the Russell T Davis era and therefore give a clean slate for the new Moffat era. Long live The Doctor!!

Rating: 8.5/10

Avatar

Apparently Avatar cost $300 million to make, 12 years to put together (most of that time inventing the technology to shoot it) and nearly 3 hours to watch... and do you know what. I wasn't that impressed. Don't get me wrong, the effects are truly amazing and I particularly liked the military vehicles etc. However the story was simplistic and the characters were unsympathetic. Why is Sam Worthington given great jobs? First of all we see him in Terminator Salvation, then this film and then early 2010 he is in Clash of The Titans... and do you know what? HE IS SH*T. He cannot act for toffee. Honestly I could do better. The actress that plays the love interest and the bloke who plays the baddie colonel are far superior actors.

All in all a great disappointment and to my mind James Cameron's weakest film. I think he got stuck up his own arse with all the technology to make it and forgot about entertainment, writing and acting.

Rating: 6/10.

PS. The 3D glasses gave me a headache too!

"Desperate Kerry sells mum's home"

"Financial mess Kerry Katona has managed to solve her housing problem.The troubled ex-Atomic Kitten has discovered that, by selling her mother's home, she can keep her own £1.2 million mansion.Having fallen behind with her £4,000-a-month mortgage payments, Kerry has formulated a plan to sell mum Sue's £130,000 two-bed terrace in order to cover the arrears.A friend told the Daily Star: "Kerry was in a right state as she thought she would end up homeless. She has no money left and all that she has got is paying off her debts."She spoke to the mortgage lender and they told her if she can pay off the arrears within three months, and keep her monthly payments up to date, they will let her keep the house."Kerry's mum is reportedly (and understandably) said to be "horrified and upset" by the prospect of homelessness.The source added: "She feels terrible kicking her mum out but she has herself and her four kids to think of. They've had to come first."As Sue has no income she can easily get a council house but it would be harder for a former millionairess like Kerry to explain why she would need a free home."But, apart from allegedly squandering £1m on shiny new cars for layabout husband Mark and popping out for beer and kebabs on a regular basis, how has Kerry managed to get into such a mess?The pal continued: "Kerry claims she didn't even know she'd fallen behind with her mortgage as she never bothers to check her bankstatements."Or open her post, presumably." - AOL website

UNBELIEVABLE!!! Can't really say anymore than that... UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Rant over.

Do you watch Poirot?

I asked a few people at work the other day if they ever watched Agatha Christie's Poirot... and no one had. In fact I don't think I have ever watched a full episode. So my question is - Does anyone watch Poirot?

Weird.

Secret Santa Smash Up!

Being the stingey bloke I am - I opted out of this years Secret Santa... and as Chris had a day off when the presents were being given out, I was given the task of opening his gift. This turned out to be a big mistake as after I had removed the wrapping paper and opened the box one of the items (a coffee mug) fell out the bottom and smashed on the floor! Bad luck Chris...

Feeling grumpy 'is good for you'

"In a bad mood? Don't worry - according to research, it's good for you.
An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.
In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.
While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.
'Eeyore days'
The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain "promotes information processing strategies".
Negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world
Professor Joe Forgas
He asked volunteers to watch different films and dwell on positive or negative events in their life, designed to put them in either a good or bad mood.
Next he asked them to take part in a series of tasks, including judging the truth of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events.
Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly - they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.
Professor Forgas said: "Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world."
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style".
His earlier work shows the weather has a similar impact on us - wet, dreary days sharpened memory, while bright sunny spells make people forgetful." -- BBC News website

I knew it! I knew it!!... This being happy sh*t is b*ll*cks!!!

Don't you love this wonderful weather?...

I just wanted to say "Thanks mate!" to the bloke who pushed my car in the snow this evening. Whoever you are... you're a gent!

Roundabouts

Have you ever approached a roundabout at a distance and noticed that no one is crossing the junction? Have you ever thought - "That's good... maybe I will get to the junction and not have to come to a complete halt". Do these thoughts continue to pass through your mind all the time you are approaching said roundabout? Not a soul about. Then... you finally get to the roundabout and 58,932 cars appear from the right - completely out of nowhere!!!

Rant over.