127 Hours between a rock and James Franco.....

127 Hours is a brutal film, not because of the general arm-breaking section, but for the great and sensitive portrayal of a man losing the plot.

It charts the days he is without water and food and how his mind and body reacts to that.  James Franco's acting is superb in this film and really shows the world he is not just an absent-minded stoner.  He fills the screen without much need for anyone else.

The song choices are absolutely genius, mad, frenetic and strange, Lovely Day by Bill Withers will never sound the same again!

You have to admire Danny Boyle for his guts on this one.  This film isn't flash or in your face like Slumdog Millionaire is.  This film only needs a few gore shots and some great ariel shots of the desert and it wins you over.  A true testament to his directing style.

Many have complained that it was too silly and simplistic.  But that is the point.  It is just one man, on his own, slowly going mad until he realises he has to cut his own arm off in order to survive.

Mad probs to him, you have more balls than I do.

 

Have you turned it off and on again?

What is the need for IT support when you can fix the problem yourself? 
Not trying to be difficult, but just give me the administrator rights and I'll fix it myself.

That is all.

Fire Warden - MC Strikes while the Iron is hot....

I think I seriously am going to write a book on all of MC's stories but until then, another story for you.

The other day MC gets up from his desk, he looks sombre and sad.  Boss knows but he announces he is off to a funeral and we will see him tomorrow.  I had no idea, said my best wishes and he whips his coat on and he is off.

A few seconds later, he runs back in as he has forgotten his bag.  Off he does again...
Another short time later, he is back again saying he has forgotten his phone.  Seriously, if you stop rushing and think for a few seconds, you won't forget anything.  He is in a rush he says, he doesn't want to be late for the cremation.

Off he shoots out the door.

I see him early the next morning as we have a client meeting.  We talk for a bit about other stuff while we wait for the meeting to start.

Maybe a minute before the meeting starts, he tells us he has a great story about the cremation.  I know its going to be a bit wrong.

In his rush to get out the door yesterday, he hadn't noticed his fire marshal jacket inside his coat on the back of his chair.  He whipped it on so fast, no one noticed.  Until he gets to the cremation room.

He takes his coat off and the whole room erupts on laughter for 45 mins and delay the start of the cremation.

He is wearing a luminous yellow fire marshall jacket.

Only MC wears that to a cremation.  It can only happen to him!

Blue Valentine

In my infinite wisdom, I decided to watch 'Blue Valentine' alone.  This is definitely NOT a date movie.


The film is about a young couple who are are breaking point just 6 years into marriage.  They try to bring back the love in their life and try and remind themselves what it was that kept them together.


Inter-cutting past with present, you see how the start and how they end up but not what happens in the middle.  The young lovers are fiery, passionate and intoxicating.  You fall in love with them.  The cute nuances and looks, sometimes words are just not needed.


Their love is symbolized in a very simple song.  He says that couples pick 'their song' that are overplayed and commercialised there fore losing the meaning of the song and their love.  
The song he chooses for them is just divine.


http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=UvAQ2Q4zKro&vq=medium

Their present day relationship is strained, he lives to be her husband and she has fallen out of love with him.  This part of their life breaks my heart and brings me to tears in the cinema.  Maybe its because I too want/need a man that would do anything to be with me in the way Gosling's character does.


The acting is sublime, their relationship on screen mirrors real life so well.  It is good to see how relationships can crumble and fall when only one of you is fighting for it.  It isn't sugar coated, its just there for all to see.  And my how bleak it is.  
Love alone does not make a relationship.  It's a good start but you have to keep it alive.

Hope Springs Eternal

Donald Sutherland is doing a webchat on Empire online today and I thought I would take the chance to chat to him or ask him a question.

'Dear Donald, when you were shooting Revolution in 1985 in Kings Lynn, you went to my Dad's restauraunt (the Kismet) for dinner one night.  I, being only 6yrs old at the time, served you and took your order.  I was dressed in a mini tux.  Glad to be of service to you!  I hope you remember it.'

A few minutes later I get this reply.

'Hope Springs Eternal Shortround'.

Obviously I was being a bit optimisic that he would remember it, but nice to have a reply!

Articulate this.

For the benifits of those without Broadcast Subs:

Target Entertainment has inked a multi-region broadcast deal with Nickelodeon for pre-school series Fifi and the Flowertots and bolstered its sales team with former Steadfast and Zodiak staff.

The first 52 x 10-minute series of the Chapman Entertainment-produced show has been licensed for broadcast on the children’s channel in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and New Zealand.

It marks the first time the animated series, which airs on Channel 5 in the UK, will be seen in some key territories, including Spain. The deal was brokered by sales manager Cecilie Olsen.

Target Entertainment, which was bought by Metrodome Distribution last August, has also hired two new senior sales executives.

Imrun Islam has responsibility for Spain and Portugal, Eastern Mediterranean, Africa and Benelux. She was most recently sales executive at Steadfast International.

Kanwal Hayer will oversee Russia and CIS, the Middle East, Israel and Asia. He was previously sales exec at Zodiak Entertainment.

Fame is calling me!

Argh!  I am in Broadcast this month.  Okay, its a small article but its a start.  It means my hard work is paying off finally.

Target inks Nickelodeon deal and hires new executives.

Exploits of a Man-Child

I have decided to write some words on a colleague of mine. Man-Child or MC as I will call him is hilarious.

The stories this man tells me of his bad habits as a husband not only astound me but I can't stop laughing at them.


An example of is nuttiness below:


Picture the scene, just before Christmas 2010.  MC, in his infinite wisdom decides to take all the new clothes his wife has still with tags on out of their wardrobe, wraps them up and puts them under the tree.  Good joke you say.  No, they are the ONLY presents he was for his wife.  He hasn't had time to actually buy any for her.

She sees that he has bought her loads of presents so she goes out, makes a huge effort and buys him tonnes of pressies and sticks them under the tree.

Now, the honest man/hubby would fess up and say he was playing a joke on her but seeing she has made so much effort, he would go and buys some lovely presents.


No.  Not MC.  He carries on with the joke right up to the day when they are opening their presents in front of each other.  She opens one, thinks he knows her well as he bought something exactly like something she has already.  He opens all of his happy as Larry and loving them.  She opens another and susses the joke is up.  Angry and severely pissed off, he is marched to the shops on Boxing Day to buy her some proper gifts, no sale items.


He doesn't.  He goes out on the piss with his mates.


This man is too funny.  How does he get away with it?  There are many more stories like this!

James Van Der Memes

My new favourite website*

www.jamesvandermemes.com    

Dawson's Creek lovers will appreciate this. 

Faeces-Gate rears its turtle head.

Now, I know the story is disgusting enough.  Poo left in washing machine for 2 days shocka!

But it gets worse.  It’s now the 5^th January, and it STILL HASN’T BEEN CLEANED UP!!!!

I only got a call today from the building management saying that they will get someone out to us TOMORROW.

At this point, the poo will have been in that machine for 6 DAYS!!!  If we all get sick because if this, I will kill someone.

Faeces-Gate

Only 2 days into the New Year, I have the worst experience.


I live in an eco-friendly building, we have a shared wash room with washers and dryers for all residents to use.  Its to small and there aren't enough washers/dryers for everyone and very often we have to queue to use them.


I decided to do a bit of washing before work starts on the 4th, and because I had the time to do so.


I go down to the wash room in the basement with my trolley of clothes and all my washing tablets, gels, powders and the like.


I open the first machine door to find a giant shit in the bowl.  Not only that, when I take a closer look as I can't believe my eyes to see 2 giant shits. Now, someone either took 2 shits in the machine, or 2 people did it into one machine.
It stinks.  The smell wafts above my head and lingers long after I slam the door shut.


This is beyond foul and disgusting and revolting.  I have never in my lifetime experienced such nastiness.  We all share that room, included the shitting offenders.  Why ruin something you also use?


I wrote a sign and placed it on the machine before taping it shut.  I made many complaints to the building management as well as security teams, all of whom said they could not help with the issue.


Why the fuck do I even pay service charge if no one is willing to sort this shit out!!!

NYE 2010

I never do anything on New Years Eve.  I always find it a waste of time.  Blame millennium night for that one.


Most NYE nights have been me sitting indoors with the Manc and drinking my special coffee's till midnight, going up to the roof and watching the fireworks and then off to bed shortly after.  It is another day after all.


This year was no exception.  The plan was the same, this time with my Aussie mate Indiana Jones.  Not his real name mind.


We get the food and drinks in to settle in for the night.  My friend T-dog has just moved into the neighbourhood recently so I decide to give her a call and see what she is up to.


She wants to meet up and go dancing.  All of which I and the others hate doing on NYE.  We agree to go for a nice dinner in the local Thai restaurant, which is fabulous.  Nothing like a good Green Curry with prawns and some fab corn cakes.  We part ways and T-Dog goes off to boogie in Chiswick while we go back to my flat for some more drinks, fireworks and who knows what else.


Midnight comes and we head to the roof.  The New Year is a ablaze with colour and light, sparkling like diamonds.  Pretty little Chinese lanterns dot the night sky as they float around the fireworks.


As much as I love fireworks, there is only so much you can see from my roof, so we head back below to the flat and get some music on.  Manc is not feeling well so departs at about 1am.  Indiana and me stay up, searching for music on Spotify, chatting about old times and asking why ever listened to so much crap when we were young.


Nickelback – How You Remind Me - LP Mix  This is for you Indie.


I finally gave up at about 4am.  I am getting too old for this shit.


1.1.11  Happy New Years day all.

Come Dine with Me Christmas - Islam/Ahmed/Rashid Style

Christmas Day 2010 was interesting.  4 Starters, 4 Main courses and 4 Desserts.  Madness I hear you all say, and madness it was.

We normally do something different on Christmas Day as the parents are usually in Bangladesh, so we hijack their home for a 3 day sleep over and food-fest.  This year as the parents were here for the first time in a few years, we (the children) thought we should make sure Mum doesn't have to go anywhere near the kitchen and do the cooking ourselves.  The rub being that it is Come Dine with Me style.

My 2 older sisters, my little sis and bro and myself.  Me and little sis are a team as we are not married, go figure.  2 older siblings are individual teams, little bro and his wife are a team also.  This was going to be a very long day.

The few weeks before we finalised our menu.

Starter - Pigs in Blankets

Main - Jerk Chicken and a Mango chutney with roast Potatoes and Parsnips

Dessert - Profiteroles.

Christmas morning me and little sis were up at 9am to prep and cook.  Due to the fact that both little sis and bro and wife live at the parent's place, we were going to have to share the kitchen.  As they don't ever get up before midday, we got the short straw.

Cooking was fast, efficient and well... punctual.  We were done by 12.15pm, I was impressed.

Mango Salsa Before....

Mango Salsa After.....

Jerk Chickens

Profiteroles

And after...

Bro and sis get in and are there for hours.  And hours and hours.  We didn't start eating until 5pm!


Let the carnage begin!

We all eat 4 starters, take a rest afterwards.  We were starving at this point, so rushing each course was going to be a bad idea.

Starters done, Mains come along and the queue is long too.....

We eat roast duck, jerk chickens, lamb tagine, and Paneer tikka.  What a belly full and we have not even looked at dessert yet!

Nice to see mum's plates are going to good use ;)

Then comes my favourite part of the menu, the desserts.  Me and little sis make fresh profiteroles, older sis makes gorgeous falooda....

Second oldest sis makes Clementine tarts....

Little Bro and Wife make Black forest Cheesecake and Banoffee Pie

At this point, I must add that al my pics go a bit weird as I am so full of food that I am unable to focus, function and even move.

After all the eating is done, we get to scoring.  My lovely nephew Fahim has been filming the whole event from the prep the night before right up to the presentation and eating.  The scoring is done in secret and in one of the bedrooms so no one knows who has scored what.  We had to make it fair and honest!

The scoring done, we come downstairs and show the hilarious results on the parent's TV.  Just like the real show, there was bitchiness, cat fights and snooping.  A bit of cooking, and much hilarity.  The best and worst experience ever!  A good little bit of the Islam family clan's history to be cherished forever.

Me and little sis are second, and the 3 other teams are all joint first.  So we lost.  But only by 1 point, so I do feel like it was a triumph none the less.

Labi, my oldest niece made a great certificate for us all to cherish.  Unfortunately the pic is not letting me upload but will try another time!

The best prize of all was spending time with the family in a fun and exciting way.  Christmas day will never be the same again.