Clearly there are too many people sympathetic to Christians in Cambridge, because some enlightened church leaders have found a novel way to diminish the number.
Sigh. I think I know people who attended at least one of those churches as undergraduates, but they’d probably find it as laughable as I do. Mind you, we should probably face facts and rename Christmas to Big Winter Self-Fest, but that’s another argument …
After some careful thought, I’ve just got a refund on my MP3-CD copy of the first two Hitchhiker series. It’s a shame, because I hadn’t actually listened to them all, and haven’t actually (somewhat shamefully) listened to them ever before, but the damn thing had pops and clicks on the recording, so it wasn’t very enjoyable anyway.
And the shop I returned it to didn’t have the CD versions, so I couldn’t replace it straight away with something that might work. Instead I’m listening to La Bohème, which while all very good wasn’t actually written by Douglas Adams.
I have, over the last few days, watched a number of films. They all seemed to contain people who have since gone on to be rather well known indeed, although for one of them this was no surprise because he was always a prolific bugger when it came to small roles.
Pump Up The Volume is great fun, even more so than I remembered. It’s kind of like Heathers, with fewer jokes, and if you prefer Samantha Mathis over Winona Ryder (which is a difficult call) then you’ll probably like it. Is has the afore-hinted Seth Green in a minor role; he also turns up in things like the pilot of The X Files, a film about skateboarders that I can’t remember the name of, and as an FBI geek in Enemy of the State.
Last night, I watched Candyman, which I’d never actually seen before. It’s got Xander Berkeley in it, who has gone on to be in 24 amongst other things; but more interestingly it has Kasi Lemmons, who had previously been in Vampire’s Kiss – check out the poster. It’s Nic Cage looking scared!
While we’re talking about Candyman, Urban Legend is of course fairly straightforwardly derivative of it in some ways, and today it’s Tara Reid’s birthday.
Dare I join them all together? Urban Legend stars Alicia Witt, who was in Four Rooms with Jennifer Beals, also in Vampire’s Kiss. Christian Slater has been in the West Wing, as has Michael O’Neill, also in 24.
IMDb is way too much fun. It’s like an encyclopedia on acid.
We should all thank John Kerry for being prepared to lose. Bravo.
Incidentally, to anyone worried about the spectre of a perpetual Bush, don’t forget that the President of the United States is term limited. Unlike members of the Supreme Court, some of whom are likely to be replaced in Bush’s second term.
Distressing as the American election was (congratulations Mr Bush, bad luck Iran), I have had problems closer to home.
I have lost my kazoo. People who have seen me perform will know what a vital weapon this is in my comic arsenal – without it, my act will be sadly depleted. I can’t imagine that anyone would have any reason for stealing it, unless someone is deliberately trying to sabotage my career.
If anyone has seen it, please let me know. It’s pink.
Also, my landlord is taking his house apart and there are builders everywhere. For a glorious moment this morning I thought that one of them was singing the Salve Regina, but it turned out to be “So here it is merry Christmas” – how am I supposed to cope with waking up to such a thing?
“Bush is a wartime President,” said a smug American commentator on Newsnight yesterday evening. “No wartime President has ever lost an election.”
Perhaps it hadn’t crossed his mind that, by declaring “war” on something as nebulous as terrorism, Bush has started a war that will never end. He will, in effect, always be a wartime President. Is it his plan to remain President forever?
Oh no, I forgot – that’s Tony Blair.
Earlier, they were consistently one electoral college vote ahead for Bush compared to the other charts – now they’re five. Given both they and C-SPAN are using AP, I can’t see how this works. The numbers don’t even add up in some places – BBC was quoting more votes for Bush in New Hampshire, from fewer precincts, than C-SPAN. Weird …
Seems to have settled down a little now, though. Hmm.
Just got back from the Footlights Virgin Smoker (as expected – some very promising performers, some very promising writers, some very surreal ideas, and some utter rubbish), which managed to contain no jokes about the US elections at all. Not one, unless somehow I missed them. I feel cheated.
I also missed the virtual reality helicopter landing on Peter Snow (as reported by Guardian Unlimited), and am close to my threshold of tolerance for the phrase “too close to call”. The TV is downstairs, the web is upstairs – and the web, of course, has more details. The BBC hasn’t yet mentioned, for instance, that no states have been officially called yet – just called by the networks. Although then they’d waste Peter Snow for the first few hours, which would be awful.
I have four different maps open – LA Times, BBC News and C-SPAN are pretty much tracking the same data, it seems, but the Guardian’s, although lacking in any calls whatsoever, has the best interface, and gives juicy infobits like how rich the state is.
We’re gonna be up all night with these – it’s gonna be fun.
Stumbled across “Ban This Filth” last night, on Channel 4: pensioners finding filthy things in the media and showing clips so we know just how filthy they are. Whoever commissioned this should get a medal, because it’s absolutely hilarious.
It is a delight for the Uncertainty Division to announce that its highly important and very prestigious Patron, the Reverend Ian Thompson, has officially been appointed Dean of King’s College Cambridge. That means he is now Very Very Important indeed.
One anonymous acquaintance of mine assures me “we shall never hear the end of this.”
Much as we shall miss Ian’s rooms in Selwyn, we look forward to future rehearsals in King’s College Chapel.
Talk To Rex 