10 things... I Don't Get

I tweeted the other night that I don't "get" Celebrity Juice (there was a special edition on the TV as part of Sport Relief) and it set me thinking about other aspects of popular culture and modern life which I don't get. Here are a few. Specifically, here are 10...

1. Celebrity Juice. Keith Lemon, Holly Willoughby, Fearne Cotton. I don't get it, I don't get them. And vice-versa.

2. T4. I get the concept of Yoof/Hangover TV but have never understood why it's called T4.

3. Alex Salmond. In particular, Alex Salmond's popularity in Scotland - For all his politic cunning and nous, I have never found him an attractive personality.

4. Oasis. OK, they hardly qualify as part of either popular culture or modern life anymore but I could never understand how people could prefer them to Blur and other "Britpop" acts. And in my head it's still the 90's!

5. Period Dramas. With a few honourable exceptions - Gosford Park and Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day spring to mind.

6. Nandos. I've been twice but really struggle with the concept, described to me by someone once as "like a Gastro-pub in reverse."

7. Why 10 O'Clock Live was recommissioned in the same format rather than being re-thought and shortened.

8. The AVIVA Paul Whitehouse ads. How they think they do the brand justice, I'll never know.

9.  Embarrassing Bodies. Why, why why would you want to watch it? Why? Just, why?

10. Dickens. And I can say this with more certainty now that I've finally read A Christmas Carol. A good friend still thinks I should try Tale of Two Cities at least.

You can see other 10 things lists, here.

Andrew

10 things... Worst Films

I reviewed The Artist here yesterday. Whilst I was at the cinema to see it I also saw a trailer for the re-release of Titanic. That was the inspiration for this post - 10 of the worst films I have seen, in no particular order:

1. Titanic. Near, far, wherever you are, just sink/die already. Over-hyped and over-long with an over-blown theme song.

2. Top Gun. I managed twenty minutes of this before then bf asked if I'd prefer Top Gear instead. There was only one answer to that question.

3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Switched off after 30 or so minutes. Should have asked the Livingston Blockbusters for a refund.

4. The Legend of Zorro. A friend (she knows who she is) wanted to see this ahead of Corpse Bride. I've not spoken to her since...

5a. The Matrix Reloaded. It's all about the Benjamin's.

5b. The Matrix Revolutions. I had to look the title to that one up, it was so forgettable.

6. Fantastic Four. Despite some nice scenes with Chris Evans, I'd have felt severely cheated if it weren't for my UGC/Cineworld pass I had at the time.

7. The Phantom Menace. Another film getting a 3D re-release. One long special effect without any substance or plot to speak of.

8. Austin Powers in Goldmember. The law of diminishing returns in action.

9. The Holiday. A prime example of why I don't really do RomComs - too much Rom and not enough Com.

10. Confessions of a Shopaholic. Forced into cinema by sudden rainstorm, limited choice (and a date who really wanted to see it) forced me into this. I don't really do Chick Flicks and this must be one of the best/worst examples of its kind.

All those and I didn't even get to mention Sex and the City...

Andrew

10 things... Election Special

Following on from previous 10 things... postings, this one focuses on policies I would like to see implemented. Some of them are party-political, some of them are personal, some short-term priorites, others long-term aspirations:

1. A form of proportional representation introduced
2. A local income tax to replace Council Tax
3. An elected second chamber
4. An English Parliament within a federal UK, or at least the introduction of rules forbidding MPs from voting on legislation which does not apply in their constituencies. e.g. an English Grand Committee
   
5. A simplifed tax system including a raised personal allowance and capital gains tax at rates consistant with income tax
6. The introduction of index-linking for Inheritance Tax thresholds and the Annual and Lifetime Allowances for pensions
7. The UK meeting the UN target of 0.7% of GDP to be spent on overseas aid
8. The introduction of an ongoing scrappage scheme aimed at increasing sales of "greener" vehicles
9. Extensive reform of the European Union which places more emphasis on the Parliament and removes power from the commission
   
10. The establishment of a British Republic

I'm sure there could have been many others and while most of these are close to my heart, it's not necessarily a "top 10"!


Andrew

10 things... I love

A while back I posted this which I intended to be the start of a series. Unfortunately, I kinda forgot about it and only rediscovered it when looking back over my 100 (count 'em) postings so far.

Having done 10 things... about me, here are 10 things... I love.

1. Texas and Sharleen Spiteri - from buying Southside on vinyl in early 1990, they have remained firm favourites.
2. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings - the books, the films, the radio adaptations.
3. My iPod Shuffle - Modest and unassuming, it does the job!
4. Digital Spy - Meets all my entertainment news needs.
5. Blogging - The process of writing... and getting feedback from friends.
6. Salvador Dali - The first artist featured in my virtual gallery.
7. Architecture - Which I promise to blog more about in future.
8. Iain Banks - Probably my favourite author.
9. Handel's Messiah - A glorious and uplifting work.
10. Rocky Horror Picture Show - Well I had to choose something to contrast with Handel! Also uplifting, if rather less glorious!


Andrew

10 things...

Inspired by my friend Stephen's series of posts listing "100 facts" about himself, I thought I'd do something similar. Here are, therefore, 10 random facts about me. Some are trivial, some less so, but they might add some flesh to the bones in the profile to your right.

1. I can't think of 100 facts about me - indeed, I find it difficult to talk about myself at all!
2. I think I'm allergic to crab meat.
3. I once did a parachute jump for charity.
4. I have been blogging for 5 months today.
5. I love architecture, and took classes in architectural appreciation at Edinburgh Uni.
6. My favourite artist is probably Dali.
7. Until I left home at 17, all the houses I had lived in where within 1 mile of each other.
8. If I had the money, I would open a restaurant.
9. I once applied for Big Brother.
10. I had a giant poster of Kylie on my bedroom wall as a kid.

So there you have it - an eclectic mix of facts with no discernible logic or reason. Make of it what you will - and pray I don't decide to do a follow up post! Andrew