The Sopranos

I'm ashamed to say that I've only really got into the Sopranos over the past month or so. I had seen one or two episodes out of sequence but I had never really appreciated the complexity of the series. The Godfather is one of my favourite films and I generally quite enjoy Mafia themed stuff. I don't watch much TV due to lack of time. I generally buy DVDs of TV shows and watch them at my own convenience. A lot of my friends do this now.

The Sopranos is one of the best.

The eponymous family is composed of Tony, the gangster; his long-suffering wife Carmella and their teenage children Meadow and AJ. The extended family of relatives and criminals fills out the supporting cast.

The star of the show is Tony. He is a classic anti-hero, very charismatic but extremely destructive. He seems to ruin the lives of everyone he meets. He sees himself as a good person but a lot of what he does is pure evil. I can't help liking the character but I know I shouldn't.

The show is quite funny. There are moments of pure slapstick comedy between the serious drama and violence. It is well filmed and the soundtrack is great.

This is one show you should see. I'm sure you know that already.

Check it out

Funky

Talladega nights - The ballad of Ricky Bobby

Down visiting friends in Coventry this weekend. Went to the cinema this evening to see the new Will Ferrell film. I liked it.

Will Ferrell plays a mentally challenged stock car driver who by dumb luck becomes the NASCAR champion, sponsored by Old Spice. John C Reilly is his Top Gun style buddy. Sacha Baron Cohen is his French nemesis. The film basically borrows the plot of Days of Thunder.

I didn't expect much from this film but I was laughing for most of its 110 minutes. Mostly, it's all toilet humour with potty mouth action from children to grandparents. I know that laughing at white trash caricatures isn't pollitically correct but it sure is fun. The soft rock sound track adds to the feel good vibe.

I'll be buying this on DVD (when it's cheap). Watch the end credits for funny fuck-ups.

fnkstr

stuff I did

I am very pissed off now cos I wrote a really cool post here and the fucking computer ate it or something. It's gone and I can't be fucked re-writing it.

Bastard computer.

Summary of post

Off work - good
Dentist - bad
Passport photos - I'm not photogenic but my old passport was cool
Dhakin - south indian restaurant in Merchant city, Glasgow - very good (but probably spelt different)
Barmaid in Rab Has, Merchant city, Glasgow - very attractive
Talking pish with mates - good fun

The real post was amazing. It was so well written that you would cry at the beauty of my lexical choice and the poetry of my sentence structures. Sadly, it's gone forever.

Funky

The last half decade

Five years ago I was very different and my world was very different.

Five years ago I was a student, starting the second year of my post-graduate course. I was living 300 miles away from home. I had just moved into a new rented student dive with two other blokes from my uni. I remember waking up late in the afternoon of September the 11th 2001 (I think it was a Tuesday) and not believing the news when I heard it. I decided that I didn't want to watch the footage from New York as I didn't want to watch thousands of people die. I'm glad I made that choice.

Five years ago I hadn't met a few people who have had a big impact on my life. It's hard to believe how much has happened to me in the past five years. I guess that it is one sixth of my time so far on this planet. It is reassuring to know that I'm still growing and still learning at the age of 29. I want to keep that going. I want to keep my curiosity and keep learning new stuff, keep pushing, until the day I die. Hopefully I'll have another sixty years or so.

I wonder if this website will still exist in 5 years. Will I have deleted it all? Will the internet still exist? Where will I live? Will I be married? Will I have kids? What will my job be?

Life is full of uncertainty. Sometimes it can be difficult, not knowing what will happen. Sometimes it can be the best feeling in the world.

Stay Loose

Peace and love

Phunkee

29 years and one day

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm now 29 years old. Next year I'll be 30. I've done a fair bit with my life so far but there is a lot more that I want to do.

I had a relaxing day yesterday. I'm on holiday this week and I've been staying with my parents. If I have time off in my flat I usually just end up thinking of work. I spent the day reading. In the evening I met a few friends and went to the dog racing at Shawfield stadium in Glasgow before going to a pub. I only won £15 on the dogs but it was still a good night.

I did something good today. I spoke to one of my friends that I hadn't been in touch with for about a year and arranged to meet up with her later in the week. I'm going back to visit Coventry for the first time since I left there in July 2005. I hope to catch up with some people I worked with and some old friends from uni.

I've been reading some good books lately. How mumbo-jumbo conquered the world by Francis Wheen is one. Another is The funnies by J. Robert Lennon. I'm nearly finished The call of the weird by Louis Theroux and I've been reading a couple of books about tortoises that my mum bought me for my birthday. I hope to read a lot over the next week because I never really get much time to read. I've also been working through series 2 of the sopranos on DVD (I know I'm well behind the times on that one).

I can't believe that I'm nearly 30 and I don't know where I'll be next year. The way jobs are in my trade now I could end up anywhere in Scotland or the north of England if I manage to get a job in my chosen area of interest. It would be nice to settle down somewhere long term but I guess I just have to wait and see what happens.

funky

Steve Irwin -RIP

I was sad to hear that Steve Irwin, TV crocodile hunter has died after being stung by a stingray.

He was entertaining, if maybe a bit nuts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5313078.stm

RIP