I’ve been updating my old laptop after not using it for a couple of months and one program that told me it had a new version was the excellent GOM player, my choice of media player under Windows. Happily I clicked on “yes please, download the update” and sat back.
Down it came, install started, answered the usual questions and then hit a new screen. Do I want the Ask Toolbar? And to change my default search engine to Ask? And to have my homepage set to Ask?
Well, no. I don’t. I also don’t like the fact that agreeing to the license is the same choice as agreeing to have the Ask toolbar installed. Of course, by now you’ve downloaded and installed the software so you’ve overwritten your old version. So unless you have the install file for that, you’re screwed.
Only you’re not. Fortunately there’s an “out” although whether by accident or design, I don’t know. I simply unchecked all the boxes and hit “Cancel” which – to my surprise – didn’t roll back the install. Instead, it opened Internet Explorer (itself strange as it’s not my default browser) on the download page for the Russian version of GOM.
And that was it.
So very, very bad form from GOM. A warning that the license has changed and toolbars are going to be enforced should be mentioned before download / install. Alternatively, there should be an option not to install the toolbar while still using the software/ Many other programs manage this, so GOM should as well.
It’s still my preferred media player, but only as long as I can skip around it installing bloody search bars. Mind you, if it only installs it on IE – which seems the case – I could almost put up with it on the basis that I never use IE anyway.
I managed to catch six films in three days this week. I had my reasons. Partly being away for a while meant that I missed a good few releases. Also, I’ve been paying £13.50 a month for a “all you can watch” card which isn’t valid in Vietnam so I had to play catch-up. OK, in the order I saw them:
G-Force (3D)
Nothing to do with Battle of the Planets (I believe that’s being given a separate movie makeover), this is a story about guinea pigs. And a mole. A fly, some cockroaches, a hamster/ferret and three mice also feature. Oh, and a few humans.
Yes, it’s a kid’s film, but a good one with more than decent CGI on the starring rodents. The vocal talent isn’t to be sniffed at, either, though Steve Buscemi completely steals the show with one of the secondary characters.
The plot is simple enough for the youngsters to follow with a wealth of film references for the adults to spot and smirk at. It’s simple, fun and enjoyable – and the 3D is very well done making it worth the extra that’s charged for it.
The Final Destination (3D)
First off, I like the title. The fact that it was obviously going to be the last in the series was one of the draws for me, along with the fact that it was in 3D. I think the first one was the only one I saw at the cinema, the second and third were DVDs. It’s worth seeing at the cinema for the 3D, definitely.
If you’ve seen the earlier films, you know what to expect. A horrible accident (this time at a speedway track) after which someone “wakes up”, freaks out and leaves before it actually happens. The film then follows the now-survivors as death stalks them and kills them in imaginative ways. This is no different to the earlier films. At all. It doesn’t even try. But why mess with what’s worked so well up till now?
The opening credits are fantastic – I loved the “x-ray” view of random accidental killings. Great to see some work going into the credits as they’re so often just a dull segment while you wait for the film to kick in.
Of course, the reason everyone watches these films is for the deaths. There are plenty, it’s fairly gory and a good half of them will make you laugh (or groan) due to the tasteless nature or the bad jokes surrounding them. Also, keep an eye out for some subtle in-jokes in the background. There’s a bus floating around with “108” painted on it – the flight number from the first film. I’m sure that’s not a coincidence.
Randomly, the best bit of 3D is a sticking plaster floating in the swimming pool about halfway through.
If you enjoyed the others in the series, this is a fitting end.
Aliens in the Attic
Yeah, another kids’ film and another that’s not too bad. Decent effects, some good dialogue and a handful of child actors you don’t want to throttle.
Plot-in-a-nutshell: a family goes on holiday to a remote house and the kids discover that a diminutive alien race have decided to use it as a starting point to conquer the earth. It’s up to them to save the planet.
The reason for adults not getting involved is simple and clever and puts the kids at the forefront of the film. There’s a ton of great slapstick including a wonderful kung-fu sequence with a granny. All very silly, but very amusing.
Amazingly, I think the best film I saw this week. Imagine School of Rock without Jack Black (not necessarily a bad thing). This is a very well written film with some incredibly good performances from the young cast. The “battle of the bands” central theme is simply a pole to hang a selection of coming-of-age stories from and, to a large extent, is forgotten about until the film’s climax.
Plot-in-a-nutshell: A young guy and his mother move to a new town where he struggles to make friends at school. He falls in with an ex-cheerleader and a goth, starts to manage a band and they enter a huge local competition opposite the utter favourites. Don’t expect an obvious ending…
I seriously can’t recommend this film highly enough. Kids will love the simpler side of the plot with the character conflict, a bit of slapstick not much) and the utterly kick-ass soundtrack. Adults will appreciate how well-filmed it is, the depth of the characters, the fact that Lisa Kudrow is genuinely excellent as the single mother… and the utterly kick-ass soundtrack.
This film hasn’t done well at the box office and one reason may be that it’s just not been hyped enough. Had it been “Disney’s Bandslam” then it would likely have been a launching pad for a fortune in merchandising with an advertising campaign to match. It would also have been bland, boring, banal and not worth your money. More likely High School Musical: Bandslam instead of a deep, incisive, clever, witty, hugely entertaining piece of cinema.
Oh, and a delightful cameo right at the end.
See it. Please, just go and see it. Give it the recognition it deserves.
The Time Traveller’s Wife
OK, I know this screams “chick flick” with a hint of sci-fi just to trick the guys into seeing it, but it’s a really good film.
Plot-in-a-nutshell: a man with a genetic disorder hops around in time against his will. He meets a young girl in his travels and – eventually – meets her in “real life” and they marry. You could guess that from the title…
Time travel films are always going to be a bit weird and open to paradoxical issues. However, the scripting (and I assume original novel) on this one are very tight indeed. The science part of the story is minimal – he travels. He doesn’t know why and nobody can ever explain it. It just happens, it’s a mystery. Perfect. No technobabble.
What’s important is the character development. On the whole, the film follows the central character but sometimes leaves us with those he befriends as he vanishes for undetermined periods. We get to see the effect his “leaping” has on himself and those around him.
This is a lovely film. A great story, beautifully told and very well acted by all involved. Although a little lengthy, it never drags. Yes, it’s really a chick flick but I still enjoyed it a hell of a lot. Pack tissues though – you’ll need them. Girls, that is!
Funny People
The last film of the blitz and I think the longest. It certainly seemed it. Thing is, it’s not very funny and I don’t recognise most of the people in it – even though a lot appear as themselves. I guess it helps if you know a lot of American stand-ups and sitcom actors.
Plot-in-a-nutshell: a famous comedian discovers he’s got some form of leukaemia and takes on another fledgling comedian to keep him company, write his jokes and the like while he undergoes therapy.
The stand-up sections are painful. They’re simply just not funny. Even the ones fronted by Adam Sandler playing his “famous” character are just lame. I’d be cringing and asking for my money back if I’d paid to get in to those clubs.
None of the characters are really likeable. The acting’s stilted and drags the film down in places. The two child actors are painful to watch. It’s too long. The story goes nowhere and just… ends.
Sandler can act, there’s no doubt about it. This flm proves it, but one way it does that is to show him doing his “silly” act as part of the central character. And it’s awful. You have Sandler, the talented actor, playing Sandler the annoying git with the stupid voices around which his earlier career was founded.
I’d heard great things about this film, but they’re wrong. Just don’t bother. Go and see Bandslam a second time instead.
A few weeks back I posted a link to my Google Calendar with the Newcastle United fixtures on. I had to do this as Google removed the “search” option so it was impossible to find any useful calendars.
They’ve not reintroduced this, but they have added a new slew of “Interesting Calendars” (their words) which include fixture details for a ton of football (sorry, “soccer”) teams as well as a plethora of other sports. As a bonus, you can watch the scores update in real-time-ish as the match progresses via the details on your calendar.
To get to them, look down the bottom left of your Google Calendar screen for “Other Calendars” and click on “Add” at the bottom of the list. Then just navigate through the categories to find the club and competition you want.
I would note a couple of things, however. And these are the reasons I’m keeping my calendar online and updated as well. The first is that there are no TV details for the games. This is understandable as mine’s geared at UK users whereas Google’s far more international. The second is that it looks like you have to subscribe to three or four calendars for each team if you want to follow their league, league cup and European fixtures as well. Why not one calendar for all fixtures regardless of competition?
Oh, and they’ve mis-spelled “Darllington” (sic) in the League Trophy section. Note that this is the Trophy and not the League Cup. They’re different and there doesn’t appear to be a listing for League Cup fixtures. Unless they’re included with the main team fixtures – in which case why not do the same with the League Trophy ones? [I just checked – they’re not. Google doesn’t list our fixture at Peterborough on the 22nd of September]
So, 75% for effort to Google. But I still think they’d have been better just replacing the ability to search for useful calendars. The work would be done for them – and better – by fans of the sports in question. Mind you, I bet the American sports are far better organised especially as, with the NFL at least, there’s only one competition.
Scared yet? Let me get specific. I’ve managed to wangle my way onto a course in Secondary Education with Computing at Strathclyde University, hopefully resulting in a PGDE. I applied late and went for interview a couple of months ago. I didn’t make the grade for the highly-contested last two places, but I was persistent. When I got back to the UK this week, I contacted them again and asked if there had been any drop-outs or no-shows.
I guess there was.
Today I got a call asking me if I could start on Monday. This will be two full weeks into the educational calendar so I’ll have a lot to catch up on. At present my biggest concern is finding somewhere to live. The commute from Perth, where I’m staying with the folks, isn’t too long of a day but it’s far too expensive in the long term. Chances are I’ll end up staying with family for a couple of weeks.
The nature of the course (few weeks at uni, few weeks at a school, repeat) means that I won’t necessarily be based around Glasgow for the entire duration of the course. Not helpful when trying to organise a rental agreement. I guess I’ll find out!
However, what I can say is that I’m really looking forward to it. OK, so it knocks my travelling on the head for a while but perhaps that’s a good thing. Given that I should get the course for nothing having been “resident” in Scotland for over three years, and that I can get a full student loan to top up my dwindling savings I could even come out of it a little better off than I went in.
It’s a new challenge and something I’m really excited about doing. Career prospects aren’t too bad at the end, either – I’ll still have all my IT history as well as a new qualification. I may even go on to do a PGDE in Primary Education at some point and cover all the bases. See how this one goes first, though.
So expect a few posts about the course, being a mature student, life in Glasgow and more film reviews as the next few months progress. Don’t worry, I will update the travel blog from time to time and I intend to go abroad during the holidays as long as I can afford it.
I was just rattling this off to @driahades on Twitter and thought I might as well pop it on here to show exactly how lazy a “cook” I am. It’s cheap and very customisable depending on taste and ingredient availability.
small microwaveable square bowl, preferably just smaller than a slice of toast
salt
pepper, ketchup, HP sauce, sliced ham, cheese… anything else you’d like to mix with the egg
Prepare the extra ingredients first – chop up ham into small pieces, grate cheese finely, hack away at a green pepper until it’s in tiny chunks… whatever you plan to add, get it done now.
Crack the eggs into a mixing jug. Sprinkle some salt in and then whisk like hell. You want to get a lot of air mixed in there.
Pop the toast on. Ideally you want to have the toast popping up just before the eggs finish in the next step. Adjust timing to your toasty preferences and the equipment you have.
Add the extra ingredients to the egg and whisk like mad again. Pour the resultant goo into the microwaveable bowl. Shove it in the microwave on “high” for about 3 mins. As it cooks it’ll rise up like some kind of yellowy sponge monster. It’s done when there’s little or no liquid egg left at the bottom, but don’t overcook.
Hopefully your toast will eject before the egg’s done. Spread some sauce (your choice) on each slice to taste. I go for HP.
When the egg’s done, whip it out and run a knife under it to separate it from the dish. Drop it onto one slice of toast, put the other on the top (sauce sides “inside” – duh) and squish. Hold it for a few seconds and the egg will grip the toast and hold the sandwich together as it cools.
Eat and enjoy. Note how, if it’s done right, the scrambled egg doesn’t fall out of the toast the way it would do it you made the sandwich up off a plate. Neater and tidier! And less washing.
As ever, please feel free to comment with any ideas you have for extra ingredients of anything.
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