Alfredo Garcia

I’ve been waiting for this film to come out for ages since I saw it on terrestrial telly years ago. Finally its come out on dvd uncut for the first time and when it dropped through my letterbox I had to watch it immediately. If any film should be remade by Tarrantino or Rodriguez its this movie, it’s begging for it. The film was made back in 1974 by Sam Peckinpah and stars the much underrated Warren Oates as ‘Bennie’ and the gorgeous Isela Vega as his occasional squeeze / girlfriend ‘Elita’.

The plot is simple, a Mexican landowner has put a bounty of one million dollars on the head of a guy named ‘Alfredo Garcia’ who has got jiggy with his daughter and left her pregnant. Every man and is dog is out looking for Alfredo to get the bounty. Two American hoods walk into a bar and bump into Bennie that plays the Piano there, they show him Alfredo's photo and so begins Bennie's tequila fuelled trek across Mexico with Elita. It turns out Alfredo is a bit of a lad and has recently slept with Elita too, Elita it seems does a bit on the side for extra cash when the fancy takes her, Bennie knows this and so she is instrumental in his quest to find Alfredo Garcia. Bennie and Elita’s trip isn’t a conventional one, things go wrong, people get killed, more tequila gets drunk. It’s a dark gritty road trip of a movie with a far from happy ending. You identify with Bennie because he’s one of those ‘down on his luck guys’ hoping for a big break. When all seems to be going right for Bennie it suddenly goes wrong and he loses it. Okay, the film is sort of tame by today’s standards but it has a charm that’s compelling to watch. To learn more click here

Kraftwerk

At the weekend I managed to get my grubby hobbit mitts on the new Kraftwerk live cd called ‘Minimum-Maximum’. I’ve loved Kraftwerk since my late teens and it would seem after a couple of days of quick market research of friends and work associates that most people have heard of them but sadly not much material by them. Kraftwerk are a German band that’s been around since the early 1970’s that use experimental sounds, synths and keyboards to create songs – basically they’ve always been way ahead of their time. Even their early stuff such as Autobahn still sounds very fresh and modern and never out of place. I guess my fave Kraftwerk item would be a 12” version of ‘Neon light’s’ that is on white vinyl and if you hold it under the lights then play it in the dark it glows. Today Kraftwerk are still going strong and occasionally do a few gigs, their main haunt over here seems to be the Brixton academy. From the bits I’ve seen of them live their gigs look something special albeit surreal, something worth seeing that’s for sure. Its hard to know how to describe Kraftwerk to the uninitiated at times, Electronica, Synth, Robotica etc but I guess they are unique in their own right. If you try Kraftwerk and like them then look out for Tangerine Dream too, another German band very much like them who’ve done things from porn backing music to film soundtracks.

Ugly fashion town

Friday I went into town after work to pick up my monthly geek magazine. First port of call was the bank to get some money out, problem was that most of the speed banks were out of order or draped in blanket of human sick, after finding one that worked and waiting ten minutes behind a pensioner that used about five cards in the speed bank I poddled on (yes hobbits poddle). Sauntering across the market place I pass several chav’s on the way to the post office to que up and cash their giro, each chav has a girlfriend with two runny nosed kids in a double buggy playing with flick knives, the girlfriend’s muse and fondle large hoop earrings as plan on spending their hard earned giro. As I intake the morning air I feel I’m in a people watching mood. I pass the town hall and wonder why we have elected the same MP for years when evidently he does very little, his rival in the recent election was keen to point out his lack of appearances in parliament and high expenses claims, evidently the people of my town don’t learn. As I walk into the shopping centre that was built in the early seventies and robbed the town of a few streets and lots of character I notice its beginning to look a bit jaded now.

I have to draw upon self discipline to pass HMV and Game as the sale signs reach out to caress my interest and lure me into retail heaven. I collect my mag from Smiths and head for home, mission successful, lets get out of this flea pit. It’s 9am and a chav passes me with a can of stella, my body clock tells me its really night time with doing a week of nights and I feel like beer briefly, perhaps he’s had a rough night on the rob.

Weaving my way up to the bus station I bump into Ray the busker, despite living in my town he always has a cheerful disposition and greets me with a sardonic smile, I envy his optimism. Years ago Ray played his guitar in a local Italian restaurant and would strum away Jethro Tull or the Stones to me as I made drunken requests or got pasta down my shirt whilst leering at a doxie with cleavage. I pass the time of day with Ray who is just setting up, well dropping his hat on the floor for loose change. As usual he asks me the same questions and I give him the same answers, a nice simple none thinking series of verbal transactions and gesticulations occur, as he hasn’t started playing I don’t leave him my usual quid.

Climbing the stairwell to the bus station an ambuscade of more chav’s happens, how identical they all look with their baseball hats. Wearily I reach the top of the stairs and regard the floor of the bus station, a myriad mosaic of cigarette ends, a pigeon decides to challenge me for some personal space, he looks a bit of a desperado so I concede and move around him. As I view the beautiful vista of the bus station a song comes to mind as people pass me ‘Ugly fashion town’ by a band called ‘Salad’. I grin to myself as I wait for the bus and an old lady smiles at me thinking I’m just as mad as the rest of them, maybe I am. I gaze at some flats opposite the bus station and ponder on who’d actually want to live there?

Tom the junkie passes me, he’s a black guy in his late forties I guess, his pock marked face and gaunt appearance evident for all to see, he sees an old friend who obviously doesn’t want to see him, he blames his stagger and lurching on bad ankles but I know its more likely his last smack hit starting to wear off. He was probably a vigorous man once, I wonder to myself what went wrong and begin to empathise but avoid his gaze so he doesn’t talk to me.

The bus journey home is fairly quick we pass boarded shops but as we pass the night club there’s a sign that says ‘coming soon, Max and Paddy’s road to nowhere’. Smiling to myself I think that’s exactly right, if they came to my town, they be on a road to just that – nowhere.

Good Girls or Bad Girls?

This is a blog really for the boys and their feedback but no doubt some of the female bloggers will feel inclined to comment (*cough* Serendipity). I was just wondering what type of women us fella’s seem to attract? Do some of you attract ‘bad girls’ or do some of you attract the angelic girl next do type? More interestingly what sort of girls do you like? Miss Whiplash or Miss ‘butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth’?

As for me I seem to attract bad type, ironically ones that I know are ultimately bad for me for some reason or another and the angelic mothering type scare me, perhaps I want a fusion of both?

Do opposites attract? Do we like danger and excitement in the opposite sex or do we need to feel safe? I’m looking forward to the feedback on this one!

But seriously folks ...

Seriously folks and in response to the ‘congruent’ blogs ‘typically English’ reserved comments can I just say I am not going to go all deep and meaningful on you all. I only said I may put a bit more of myself into it, so please do not fear because;

· I’m not going to tell you about the time my rocking horse died

· my liking for bondage and domination

· alleged mob connections

· seedy encounters in the far east

· trips to sex shops in London with Pat to buy love balls for my ex

· my passion for Jaffa cakes

· or my tryst with a page 3 model

· drinking sessions with Alex Higgins and the late great Oliver Reed

· and the time Tv Celeb Robbie Coltrane told me to F*ck off on Oxford Street

So fear not people I shall be keeping my blog more to the lighter side and this in turn will keep you all thinking I am a normal cute hobbit with an inoffensive nature.

Congruence

There’s one word used a lot in psychotherapy and that’s ‘Congruence or Congruent’. If you look it up in a dictionary its meaning comes mainly across as a mathematical term but in counselling it means - and I think this best explains it;

"Congruence," a fancy word derived from the Latin congruere, meaning to meet together or to agree. Some psychotherapists or writers simply call it "genuineness."

So basically it’s about being genuine and honest. My point being to all this is that I’ve read a lot of blogs that are very Congruent, people disclosing all sorts of feelings and views in a genuine and open way and my blog just contains things like film comments and television stuff. I sit and read random blogs and admire people for what they type, I don’t always agree with it but I have respect for their upfront views and the way they share core feelings with everyone. Blogs are probably quite therapeutic for some of us, the way we can disclose things and get them off our chest.

In my early days of doing counselling my tutor said to me ‘Jay I hear where you’ve been at the weekend or what you’ve done but never anything about how you actually feel’. I guess she was right in that statement and it some respects it applies to this blog. So the deal is this, having read other ‘congruent’ blogs and if I feel the need I’ll put a bit more of myself into the odd blog, not that I feel peer pressured by my observations of other blogs but basically because now and again I just might want too.

Sin City is awesome !

I saw Sin City at the cinema last night and I have to say it really is amazing. Dark, Brooding, great acting and a visually stunning. Mickey Rourke’s tale as ‘Marv’ was my fave segment of the movie but then again I really enjoyed every bit of it, class actors and nobody hogging roles. Rodriguez is a film making genius, though not quite Tarantino standard yet, I’m really looking forward to more of his stuff – though I’ve always liked Desperado and Dusk till Dawn. Sin City really is awesome – do yourself a favour folks and go see it.

http://www.sincitythemovie.com/

Plump

I work in an office where people constantly convey their preferences for the opposite sex - tall, stocky, blonde, brunette, busty, handsome, fit, sultry, seductive and the list goes on. Now I can’t lie and say I don’t have preferences too but I like to think of myself as being open minded about the opposite sex. I did a blog a while back about a woman at college who although not being blessed with great looks had a fab personality. I guess I like someone who is comfortable with themselves who projects their personality instead of image and ego. I seem to get drawn to witty plain Jane’s or female geeks with a hint of shyness but make me giggle with their mannerisms. I don’t really go on physical looks like most fella’s do, I’ve been in those smokey pub conversations where blokes analyse women coming into the place, lets face it women do the same – we all draw conclusions on somebody before we know anything about them. If I’m being honest I tend to go for curvy types but then again you can get slim women that are shapely just as much as pear shaped women. At the end of the day all shapes and sizes of women have their merits. I’m as guilty as other people for judging a person on the way the look initially but in future I’m going to try and imagine their personality too, its gotta be more fun than just regarding their bra size etc but one thing will always remain the same for me… I’m a sucker for a nice big bum!

Cruel

What is wrong with everyone???

Crazy frog comes to entertain us all and then I find pictures like this !

Shocking. Just as well there is a follow up single coming out soon!

Quotes of the week

Jonny Vegas (18 Stone of idiot)

'They are building a 24 hour Casino in Blackpool to rival Las Vegas - it shuts at half eleven'

Dave Spikey (8 out of 10 cats and Phoenix nights)

'Tesco are now doing funerals - brings a whole new meaning to shop till you drop'

Taking the Sith

Ok I'm a bit late with this but...

I’ll be honest and say I was a little bit disappointed with the latest Star Wars offering from Mr Lucas. It’s been a boy to man (well hobbit) journey with the Star Wars films for me, from the awe inspiring first film in 1977 to the latest mainly computer generated flick. It really had a disjointed and shoe horned feel for me and wasn’t really the film I was hoping for. Sure it had it’s moments, Yoda is always fab and ironically one of the better actors but most of the movie didn’t work for me. You hardly see the wookies (though I’m sure I saw Pat at one point!). There was just no character building or time spent on any planets to build up an atmosphere, unlike the first three films. Lastly, it was just far too easy for Anakin to turn to the dark side and ultimately Mr Vader. Remember in Empire Strikes back when you saw the AT-AT walkers loom on the horizon and march across the snow, you thought wow, those buggers are massive or you saw an Imperial star destroyer crawl across the screen and your jaw dropped? Revenge of the Sith has literally thousands of ships on screen at the beginning! Seemingly I am not alone as regards my thoughts to the movie, check out the links below.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=episode3

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=150

Oh yes, I have the first ever Star Wars comic somewhere, any offers?

Big Bro, week one verdict

Big Bro 6 has been on our screens for a week, here’s the hobbit’s view so far…

I think the first week has proved interesting, both in and out of the BB house. Out of the house I’ve read the press with interest and also the psychologist’s conclusions. I’m not sure about the guy who was spouting off about office psychology on BBLB and relating it to people in the BB house, he just seemed to be clutching at straws as he tried to pair clips with theories – it didn’t really work.

I read Jim Shelley’s comments in the Mirror with interest ‘and who wouldn’t want to watch them? People watching is one of the most natural human instincts going. This Big Brothers genius: its gossip writ large’. And he goes on to add ‘ This- you could argue – is the youth of Britain today under a microscope. It’s also Britain’s future. Surely that’s got to be worth Studying’ I have to agree Jim.

As for in the house, my views and looking at it from a transactional analysis / behaviour slant we have all kinds of characters. Craig who is up for eviction is demonstrating the I-, U- (I’m not ok, you’re not ok) behaviour, he’s using indirect aggression and the ‘martyrdoms my way of life’ approach with is whinging and sobbing – he has to go!

We have Science who is assertive in a positive kind of way a classic I+, U+ (I’m ok, you’re ok) and then in contrast we have Maxwell who is exhibiting signs of direct aggression – I+, U- (I’m ok, you’re not ok). Mary accused Roberto of ‘playing a game but in my opinion Mary is playing a bigger game, though saying this I do like her to an extent. Where Roberto is trying to be more amiable within the group Mary is more outspoken and openly hostile, again direct aggression I+, U-. Mary is also a classic switcher in the fact she has anger bouts that often outweigh the event and being upset on cue but then again most in the house seem able to do that! There’s a fair few in the house who are ‘Assassins’ stirring up trouble, building alliances with people they are denouncing in private and alternating between dangerously plausible concoctions of truth and lies. Kemal, Makosi, Sam and Craig are excellent Assassin types though I think Makosi is fab, a real asset to the show and damn sexy with it. All in all I like them all for various reasons, except Craig who deserves total obscurity when he leaves, I don’t even think the gay community will vote for him as he’s basically characterless and ‘mardy’ as us northerners say. Oddly enough, Tory boy Derek makes me smile, his joy at not being nominated came across as very congruent instead of the usual ‘I’m cool with stuff’ quotes like the other house mates seem to portray themselves. (reminds me of my perfidious ex!). The women seem to be more game players than the blokes, though Maxwell likes to be heard, Sam and Saskia are typical ‘Clams’ in the fact they are trying to be mysterious and play deliberately stupid in some situations though this visually comes across as non communicative stance and thus non offensive to the viewers at large but their game plan is obvious to see. Maxwell berated Kemal for bathing in a dustbin of warm water saying he was ‘doing it for the camera’ yet Maxwell in being openly critical was seeking audience attention himself. So, its all games, transactions and high jinks in the house – I’m enjoying it immensely and so are the press even though they love to criticise it, it gives them a job after all!

http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/