The Blog of Lists

Noughtie Beauties

2009-12-30T18:19:00.008+00:00

With the end of the first decade of the 21st Century nigh there have not only been hundreds of list detailing 2009 but hunreds for the last ten years. There have been so many I haven't needed to compile any of my own. However, 2010 approaches and this is The Blog of Lists so I though I better start adding some.

For some reason this one caught my eye. Superdrug commisioned OnePoll to survey 3000 British women to come up with the top twenty most beautiful women of the "noughties". So here it is. It's not in any way sexiest or exploitative because only women were surveryed, oh no. And, to be frank, it's a pretty good list. A few wouldn't have passed muster for me and I'd have a different order but there are some very beautifuol women in this list.

The Most Beautiful Women of the Decade:

20 Charlize Theron

19. Holly Willoughby

2

18. Joanna Lumley

17. Eva Longria

16. Megan Fox

15. Kate Beckinsale

14. Nigella Lawson

13. Kelly Brook

12. Myleen Klass

11. Kate Winslet

10. Halle Berry

9. Liv Tyler

8. Boyonce Knowles

7. Keira Knightly

6. Scarlette Johansson

5. Cheryl Cole

4. Catherine Zeta Jones

3. Kylie Minogue

2. Jennifer Aniston

1. Angelina Jolie

50 Bands I've Seen Live

2009-08-19T12:15:00.002+01:00

I recently got sent a challenge on Facebook to name 50 bands or astists I've seen live. So always one for a challenge (especially when it involves a list) I wrote down the first 50 I thought of.

To maker it more tricky I tried to do it alphabetically and have two bands for each letter (that's why some aren't exactly my favourite acts!). I couldn't think of any for a couple of letters so some have more than two.

It showed just how much live music I've seen over the years, either at their own gigs or at festivals. This list is just the tip of the iceburg! How many can you list yourself?

1 Alabama 3
2 Airhead
3 Blur
4 Bjork
5 David Bowie
6 The Cure
7 Nick Cave (and the Badseeds)
8 Donovan
9 Dan Donnelly and friends
10 Ezio
11 Echo and the Bunnymen
12 Foo Fighters
13 Franz Ferdinand
14 Newton Faulkner
15 Goldfrapp
16 Gomez
17 Hot Chocolate
18 Inspiral Carpets
19 Jay-Z
20 Hobo Jones (and the Junkyard Dogs)
21 Kings of Leon
22 Kaiser Chiefs
23 The Killers
24 Leftfield
25 Lenny Kravitz
26 The Levellers
27 Paul McCartney
28 Manic Street Preachers
29 New Order
30 Orbital
31 Oasis
32 The Police
33 Pulp
34 Public Enemy
35 REM
36 The Raconteurs
37 Radiohead
38 Snow Patrol
39 Bruce Springsteen (and the E Street Band)
40 Squeeze
41 The Ting Tings
42 Travis
43 Underworld
44 The Verve
45 Velvet Underground
46 The Who
47 White Stripes
48 Yeah Yeah Yeahs
49 Neil Young
50 The Zutons

A pretty diverse list, I guess.

Guilty Pleasures - 5 things I love but maybe shouldn't

2009-08-18T14:12:00.012+01:00

Big Brother

Probably one of the guilty pleasures that most would be least likely to admit to liking, Channel 4's annual summer marathon on "reality" madness is one of those programmes you watch with the notion that maybe your life isn't quite as bad as you thought.

Britain's Got Talent and the X-Factor may get more viewers but they're only really any good in the auditions stages, watching people who think they have talent delude themselves. Big Brother is like that all the way through!

Originally quite an interesting social experient it's become more a freakshow of wannabe's and extroverts prepared to humiliate themsleves on national TV in the vain hope of winning a possible £100,000 prize or a mediochum on z-list fame. You always wonder what you woulod do in the situations the prisoners of the BB house are thrown into and which housemate you are most like (sadly probably a mixture of Marcus and Halfwit for me this year!). And gawp through your fingers in embarressment and wonder why they don't walk (or even why they applied in the first place).

It's compulsive and definately a fine arguement for the "dumbing down" of television but it's car crash TV at it's best, am I excused by the fact I usually turn over to Newsnight when it's finished?

Queen's Don't Stop Me Now

Bohemian Rhapsody gets all the plaudits and everyone knows the the words but Don't Stop Me Now is a thrilling, unashamadly upbeat belter of a sing-a-long. With lyrics so happy and upbeat it ahould have a warning label for diabetics Queen's 1979 hit always leaves me with a huge smile and a soar throat from "singing" along at the top of my voice.

It just edges out the whole of the Flash Gordon soundtrack! And I wouldn't even call myself a huge fan of Queen, I usually find them too overblown and overtly camp.

Double Deckers

If you asked someone to name a chocolate bar they'd probably say a Mars Bar or even a Dairy Milk. But my favourite chocolate indulgence is Cadbury's Double Decker. It's a proper hunk of a bar, not like many of these new variations on a theme which seem to be just a way of addind more air to the confectionary by making it a gimmicky shape or an "exotic" flavour.

The Double Decker is a solid bar of chocolate, nougat and crisping stuff, a thick bite of chewiness and a fulling lump of sugary goodness. You can keep your boring Twix and Wispa's, give me a Double Decker any day.
Though I'm also partial to a dark chocolate Bounty too.

Dr Pepper

Like the Double Decker, Dr Pepper "fruit flavoured spakling drink" is overshadowed by the behemouth that is Coca Cola. But as a non coffee or tea drinker I get my caffeine (and far too much of my recommended daily sugar intake) from this little brother in the fizzy drinks market. I think I might be addicted but hey, what's the worst that can happen? (Don't answer that!)

Top Secret!

Probably my favourite "crap movie", Top Secret! is a spoof war/Elvis/Blue lagoon film from the gang that brough us the Airplane! and Naked Gun movies. Like those films it's a mismash of slapstick, visual and gag-a-second stupidness, with hundreds of quotable linesand Val Kilmer as a World War Two rock 'n' roll rock star thrown in.

It's daft, idiotic and, in my mind, one of the funniest films ever made. The characters are stereotypes (the group of French Resistant fighters are named things like Deja Vu, Chocoal Mousse and Latrine) and the jokes aren't the most sophiosticated at times ("What phoney dog poo?") but the overall effect is just as clever as Airplane! and a damn site betten than the modern spate of spoofs and American "comedies" like Scary Movie or Dude! Where's My Car?

Glastonbury 2009: The DeeDubya Awards

2009-06-30T13:43:00.009+01:00

I got back yesterday from yet another majestic Glastonbury Festival. This year I tented it for the first time in about 8 years (rather than going in my campervan) which meant spendingh a lot more time with friends and hearing many more acts from the main stage from our camp. It was a lot more chilled this year, with less band chasing. Having said that I saw some brilliant acts, had wonderful sing-a-longs, great laughs, drunken dances, glimpses of random acts of weird and wonderness and generally getting away from the humdrum of real life for six days.

So, as this is The Blog of Lists, here are my "awards" of this year's best and worsts, based on last year's categories:

:: Best act:
Blur
Runners up: Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave and the Badseeds

:: Most disappointing act
Enter Shikari (not big and not clever!)

:: Best sing-a-long:
The whole of the Blur set! Truely one of the best sets I have seen at Glastonbury. I knew every song and the crowd seemed to be dancing, jumping,pogo-ing and swaying along to ever track. This is a high!

Runners up: Keep On Rockin' in the Free World chorus: Neil Young

:: Best cover:
Neil Young: The Beatle's A Day in the Life

:: Best food:
Thai stir fried chilli duck with vegetables

Runner up: The various uses of batter mix, used by BiggerHalls on his camping stove for breakfast everyday!!!

Best surprise: Bruce Springsteen joining The Gaslight Anthem on stage in the John Peel tent a few hours before his headlning set "Brooce, Brooce Brooce!!!!"

Runners up: Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon retuning the favour for Bruce during Born To Run, Damon Albarn getting "emotional" after This is a Low. Wanting to see all three headliners and really enjoying all their sets.

:: Loved:
Thursday night, getting so drunk I gained the nickname JellyDeeDubya, singing VERY loudly to (randomly) Queen's Don't Stop Me Now and Lionel Richie's All Night Long and trying to get the queue for the cinema tent (who were going to see Ferris Bueler's Day Off to sing Twist and Shout (and failing!)

Runners up: the view of a sunny site from the highest point in the flag field, the company, the atmosphere

:: Hated:
The fact that once past security in the Shangri-La area you couldn't turn back, had to walk all the way along the old railway track, running the whole length at the side of the area, THEN through the whole of Shangri-La itself although we didn't want to go in there, ending up coming out a few feet from where we started, if only we could have turned right instead of left.

Runners up: the trek to where we camped, but worth it in the end (great view, in ear shot of the Pyramid Stage)

:: Best improvement to the site:
The general organisation seems very good this year

:: Worst "improvement" to the site:
The lack of the "new" campervan field on the west side of the site. A couple of friends drove to this area only to find it wasn't there and they weren't allowed to sleep in the carparks (which was there). Luckily they had a tent and went onto the main site. It was advertised in all the official documkentation and maps so how many people were left queueing for hours only to find they'd have to go back out and do the same all over again on the other side of the huge site?

:: Glastonbury moment:
Neil Young's four reprises of Keep on Rockin' in the Free World.

Just as you thought he'd finished, he kicked off again (and it didn't seem indulgent or wrong, the crowd couldn't get enough). On the third he had the thousands watch waving their hands from side to side and the sea of arms was amazing, hands already in the air from clapping the "end" of the song only for Neil to start waving with a rye smile on his facing. Superb.

Michael Eavis's top five Glastonbury festival moments

2009-06-23T20:33:00.004+01:00

Well, I'm off to Glastonbury Festival (again!) tomorrow so I thought I'd add a list of the festival's head honcho's favourite Glastonbury moments (as seen on the Guardian web site)

T Rex (1970)
'The sun was setting, everyone was watching, it was brilliant. It gave me the courage to carry on with the festival'

John Martyn (1979)
'He was in a good mood for a change. He was always drunk and slagging me off, we had quite a stormy relationship really. But on that occasion, at that moment in time, he was perfect'

The Smiths (1984)
'We had no fence around the Pyramid but it was the last year we could do that, because everybody climbed on stage and the band couldn't finish their set. I think they had a good time but Morrissey never admits to enjoying himself'

Oasis (1994)
'Not 1995 or any later, because they deteriorated with age, I think. But they were fantastic in 1994'

Radiohead (1997)
'I really wanted them to play again in 2008 but I got mixed up with the dates and they couldn't do it. I just think their performance that night, particularly of the song No Surprises, was very, very moving'

10 singing footballers

2009-06-08T21:57:00.005+01:00

On this day in 793 Vikings raided Britain at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Newcastle. Today's list is about footballers who have, successfully or not, contributed their vocal "talents" to music:

Paul Gascoigne and Lindisfarne - Fog on the Tyne: Former England and Tottenham boozy football genius joins the old Geordie folksters on this god-awful charity single.
Kevin Keegan - Head Over Heels In Love: Another Geordie, only managed to reach number 33 in the British charts in 1979, though "It Ain't Easy" was a huge hit in Germany.
Andrew Cole - Outstanding: Big Kev managed better than this rubbish R'n'B effort by the former Manchester United striker, which only got to number 69 in 1999.
Michael Essien and Didier Drogba - Skin: The Chelsea stars get together and release an anti-racism benefit single
Morten Gamst Pedersen : The Blackburn player is in a boy band The Players in his native Norway.
Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle - Diamond Lights: The England and Tottenham stars missed a trick here, going under the name of Glenn and Chris with this tame slice of electro-pop
Terry Venable - What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?: Played for England, managed England, co-wrote a TV series (Hazell) and crooned. El Tel had it all.
Carlos Tevez - The Manchester United (?) favourite is the front man for an Argentinian shanty town music band, Piola Vago.
England 1982 World Cup Squad - This Time (We'll Get It Right): they didn't get it right, not the whole album or terrible tunes nor did they get past the first round in the World Cup.

Rock that isn't actually rock.

2009-06-06T21:03:00.004+01:00

Today is the anniversary of the day that Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" hit the top of the Billboard charts, in 1955. It is considered the song that really popularised the genre of Rock and Roll and led the way to the wide variety of pop and rock we enjoy today.

So, today's list is about "rock", or rather things that call themselves rock but are not made of stone!

Seaside Rock - long, hard candy, usually pink and with lettering through the whole length, down the middle, usually of the name of the seaside resort from which it was purchased.
Rock - slang term for cocaine or crack cocaine
Rock music - heavily amplified form of popular music, usually incorporating electric guitar
On the rocks (1) - in or into a state of disaster or ruin
The Rock (actor) - Nickname of Dwayne Johnson - former WWE wrestler turned actor and star of The Mummy spin-off "The Scorpion King
The Rock (movie) - action movie starring Nic Cage and Sean Connery
To rock (graphic arts) - to roughen the surface of (a copperplate) with a rocker preparatory to scraping a mezzotint
Rock Hudson (actor) - grizzly jawed actor (died 1985)
On the rocks (2) - a (normally alcoholic) drink with ice
Northern Rock - building society bailed out by the British government which signalled the start of the current "credit crunch"
To rock (verb) - to move or sway back and forth
To get ones rocks off (slang) - to have an orgasm, to enjoy oneself thoroughly.
Rocky - Oscar winning film starring and written by Silvester Stallone about a boxer called, er, Rocky Balboa.

St George, the roman patron saint of England

2009-04-23T19:26:00.004+01:00

Happy St George's day. Yep, St George, dragon slayer and patron saint of England is widely believed to have been a roman soldier. He is also patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, and Russia.

My first list for a while are people believed to be from one place but actually from somewhere else:

Russell Crowe, famous "Australian" actor was born in New Zealand.
Mel Gibson, also a famous "Australian" actor was born in New York, USA
Nichole Kidman, "Australian" actress, was, like Barak Obama, born in Hawaii (although if you believe some scurriolous web sites, Obama was born in Kenya - which is untrue)
and Olivia Newton John was born in Cambridge, England
Erroll Flynn WAS born in Australia though
Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister was born in Edinburgh, Scotland
Freddie Mercury, lead singer of British rock institution Queen, was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Cliff Richard, housewives' favourite singer, was born in India as was comedian, Spike Milligan
Natalie Portman, "American" actress was actually born in Jerusalem, Israel
Keanu Reeves , actor,was born in Beirut, Lebanon
Emily Watson, the quintessentially "English" actress of Harry Potter fame was born in Paris
Charlize Theron, "American" actress, is actually South African
Donald Sutherland (actor born in Canada)'s son Kiefer (star of 24) was born in London, England
Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City actress, was born in Widnes, England
JJR Tolein, "British" writer, was actually South African
Dominic Monaghan. "British" actor and Hobbit, was born in Berlin, Germany
Joe Strummer, from The Clash was born in Ankara, Turkey
Alessandro Del Piero, "Italian" World Cup winning footballer was born in Elgin, Scotland
Adolf Hitler, as everyone knows, was Austrian not German
Mother Theresa, altruistic "Indian" saint was born in Macedonia
Yves Saint Laurent, "French" fashion designer was born in Algeria
Joanna Lumley, posh "British" actress was born in India.
Eric Liddell, "Scottish" athlete who refused to run on the Sabbath, was born in China

... I could go on.

Spring Equinox

2009-03-20T13:22:00.004+00:00

Spring has sprung!

Today is the Spring Equinox, when the sun rises exactly in the east and sets precisely west and lasts for 12 hours, exactly half a day.

Here's a list of other names the Spring Equinox is known as:

Spring Meridian
Prime Meridian
First point of Aries Meridian
Pisces Meridian
March Meridian
Vernal Meridian
Midnight Meridian

Saint Piran's Day and a list of other Patron Saints

2009-03-05T22:08:00.003+00:00

St Piran is the Patron Saint of Cornwall (and tin miners) and March 5th is St Piran's Day.

As a Cornishman I thought I would make the day and my first list for a while with a list of 20 other Patron Saints (and what they're patrons of):

St Adjutor - Swimmers
St Agatha - Nurses, volcanoes and bell makers
St Albinus of Angers -against pirate attack
At Anthony - Pig herders and gravediggers
St Apollonia - Dentists and toothache
St Bartholomew - Plasterers
St Blaise - Veterinarians, wool combers, town criers and weavers
St Dismas - Undertakers, thieves
St Fiacre - Cab drivers and haemorrhoids (it's all that sitting down!)
St George Scouts and England
St Hippolytus - Prison Officers
St Isidore of Seville - computer scientists, computer programmers, computer technicians, computer users, schoolchildren, students
St Joseph of Cupertino - Air travelers, aviators, astronauts, test takers
St Jude - Lost causes
St Martin of Porres - Hairdressers
St Michael - Police officers
St Natalia of Nicomedia - plague, epilepsy
St Saint Pio of Pietrelcina - Stress relief and New year blues
St Symphorian - syphilis, eye troubles
St Vitus - Comedians and dancers

Hiatus

2009-02-03T12:14:00.001+00:00

Due to the lack of internet access the Blog of Lists is on hold for a while.
It will return shortly.

In the meantime, if you have any ideas for lists, please add a comment and I may use the in future lists.

DeeDubya

Junk Food

2009-01-13T20:06:00.005+00:00

Keep Britain Tidy has done a survey that reveals that 25% of British streets are littered with fast food packaging, up from 16% in 2002. This is a terrible state of affairs, not only is the country getting fat from eating the rubbish inside but they're not even responsible with the rubbish left over.

The worst offenders by brand:

McDonald's 29%
Unbranded litter 21%
Greggs 18%
KFC 8%
Subway/Branded coffee shops 5%

Keep Britain Tidy have called for the food outlets to do more to prevent the amount of litter but I think the responsibilty is just as much that of the customer. USE A BIN! It's not difficult.

Kate's Golden Globes

2009-01-12T19:46:00.004+00:00

At last, Kate Winslet has won not just one, but two Golden Globe awards (after being nominated five times previously). This sets her up for a good chance of winning her first Oscar.

It reminds me of her parody of herself in Ricky Gervais' Extras where she says the only reason she's doing the role as a nun saving Jews from the Nazi's is because it's the kind of role that gets the awards. It's ironic that she won a Globe for playing an ex-Nazi prison officer. Maybe that's what made her chose the role.

Congratulations to Slumdog Millionaire too, I must see that, along with The Wrestler. I must also mention the late Heath Ledger too, he must win the Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker.

So the Golden Globes is the first big ceremony of the awards season. Here are the winners:

MOTION PICTURES:

Picture, Drama: "Slumdog Millionaire."
Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Vicky Christina Barcelona."
Actor, Drama: Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."
Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road."
Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Colin Farrell, "In Bruges."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky."
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight."
Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, "The Reader."
Foreign Language Film: "Waltz With Bashir."
Animated Film: "Wall-E."
Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire."
Original Score: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire."
Original Song: "The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), - The Wrestler."

TELEVISION:

Series, Drama: "Mad Men."
Actor, Drama: Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment."
Actress, Drama: Anna Paquin, "True Blood."
Series, Musical or Comedy: "30 Rock."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, "30 Rock."
Miniseries or Movie: "John Adams."
Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney, "John Adams."
Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Paul Giammatti, "John Adams."
Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Dern, "Recount."
Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams."
Cecil B. DeMille Award: Steven Spielberg

Big Moon

2008-12-12T20:41:00.003+00:00

Tonight's full moon will look the biggest it has done for 15 years, if only you could see it through the thick cloud covering the country! With the elipical orit around the Earth the moon is at it's closest orbit for a decade and a half and will appear bigger and brighter than normal.

Here is a list of other notable moons:

Sun Myung Moon: The Korean founder and leader of the world-wide Unification Church and of the larger Unification Movement, otherwise known as "the Moonies".
The Moon of Gomrath: The follow up to the children's book The Weidstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. Set in the Manchester United footballer's favourite place to live, Alderley Edge. I wonder if Beckham had probelms with Svarts?
Keith Moon: crazy drummer with the legendary rock band The Who, considered by many to be the best drummer ever.
Moonstruck: Oscar winning 1987 film staring plastic warbler, Cher.
Ganymede: One of Jupiter's 62 moons and the largest moon in the solar system, with a diameter of 3,280 miles, even larger than either of the planets Mercury.
The Dark Side of the Moon: massive selling 1973 album by Pink Floyd, thought by some to fity almost exactly to the visuals of the film The Wizard of Oz, if started at the right time.

The last classic feudal state.

2008-12-10T19:11:00.008+00:00

The last bastion of feudalism in the Western world finally succumbed to voting for it's first Democratic government today. The Channel Island of Sark's government was, for half a millennium, a group of landowners. The smallest of the Channel Islands (actually a series of small islands occupying approximately two square miles), was split into 40 Tennants, original bestowed as a fiefdom by Elizabeth I in 1565. Helier De Carteret became it's first Seigneur.

Although The Queen is still sovereign, Sark has its own court, is not a member of the EU and has no income tax or national health service. As of today the people of Sark (population 600, electorate 474) go to the polls to fully elect its "Chief Pleas", or parliament, for the first time.

Year in which countries became democracies:

2006 - Uganda
2002 - Kenya
1999 - Nigeria
1998 - Indonesia
1994 - South Africa, Malawi
1990 - Yemen, Taiwan
1985 - Brazil
1983 - Argentina
1978 - Spain
1969 - UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) as may people in Northern Ireland were denied the vote before then
1945 - Italy
1944 - Iceland
1921 - Sweden
1949 - India
1913 - USA (tricky one, but considered to be in 1913 with the passing of the 17th amendments)
1901 - Denmark
5th Century BC - Athenian Greece

Tribute to Oliver Postgate

2008-12-09T20:08:00.005+00:00

The genius that was Oliver Postgate died today.

Anyone my age or older will know the creator of some of the best loved children's television programmes ever made, Bagpuss and The Clangers being favourites of mine. In this Nintendo age Postgate's programmes were a very different affairs to the fast edit, flashy efforts of today. His career in television started in the 1950's, working for both the BBC and ITV. They mainly were made in a barn by Smallfilms, the company he set up with Peter Firmin.

His shows were a lot gentler and story based than that of modern programmes. Here's a list of his work, which he not only created but often directed, produced, voiced and even physically made the characters and sets:

Pinny's House (1986) (producer, director)
Tottie: The Story of a Dolls' House (1984) (director, voiceover)
Noggin the Nog colour version (1979) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
Ivor the Engine colour version (1975) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
Bagpuss (1974) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
The Clangers (1969) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
Little Laura (1968) (producer)
Pogles' Wood (1965) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
The Seal of Neptune (1963) (creator)
The Pingwings (1961) (writer, director, voiceover)
Noggin the Nog (1959) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
Ivor the Engine (1958) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)

21 Popular Movie Characters and how many times they've been portrayed

2008-12-08T18:36:00.006+00:00

Hitler: more popular than Elvis

There was a Robin Hood film on TV today. It got me wondering how many times he's been portrayed in film and which characters had been played more. So I checked it out and here's my list of enduringly iconic film characters and how many times they have appeared (according to the Internet Movie Database).

Interestingly by portaying God (the winner here) they are breaking one of the Ten Commandments!

299 God
241 Jesus Christ
211 Sherlock Holmes
230 Adolf Hitler
195 Count Dracula
157 Elvis Presley
93 Winston Churchill
88 Robin Hood
81 Frankenstein's Monster
78 Julius Caesar
75 Tarzan
71 Ebenezer Scrooge
68 Zorro
67 Queen Elizabeth II
63 Cleopatra
60 Queen Elizabeth I
51 King Henry VIII
43 James Bond
43 William Shakespeare
42 Dr. Fu Manchu
23 Hercule Poirot

These characters are ones I have thought of off the top of my head, can you think of any more popular ones?

Which Beatles album cover did Stuart Sutcliffe appear on?

2008-12-07T19:20:00.003+00:00

Now there's a pub quiz question if I ever saw one. Stuart Sutcliffe was an early member of The Beatles who left before they hit the big time. Yet he still appeared on the iconic cover of the band's 1967 album cover, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

It's difficult to imagine how utterly different not only the music but also the cover of this album was at the time of release: it was the first gatefold sleeve ever and also the first to print the lyrics for the songs. In this age of cd's and downloads the role of the album cover has diminished to some extent but Sgt Pepper will always stand out as a classic, a work of art in itself packaging one of the most influential records ever.

But all the people depicted (as life sized cardboard cutouts or waxwork figures), who are they? My first list in a long time is a list of people shown on the collage created by influential Pop Artist Peter Blake (it even won a Grammy for the artwork).

Sri Yukestawar Giri (guru)
Aleister Crowley (occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, drug experimenter and yogi)
Mae West (actress)
Karlheinz Stockhausen (composer)
W.C. Fields (actor/comedian)
Carl Gustav Jung (psychologist)
Edgar Allen Poe (writer)
Fred Astaire (actor)
Richard Merkin (artist)
Das Varga Girl (by Artist Alberto Vargas)
Leo Gorcey (actor) - painted out because he demanded a fee!
Huntz Hall (actor)
Simon Rodia (architect)
Bob Dylan (singer/songwriter)
Aubrey Beardsley (illustrator)
Sir Robert Peel (politician and creator of the police force)
Aldous Huxley (writer)
Dylan Thomas (poet)
Terry Southern (writer)
Dion (di Mucci) (singer)
Tony Curtis (actor)
Wallace Berman (actor)
Tommy Handley (comedian)
Marilyn Monroe (actress)
William Burroughs (ariter)
Sri Mahavatara Babaji (guru)
Stan Laurel (actor/comedian)
Richard Lindner (writer)
Oliver Hardy (actor/comedian)
Karl Marx (philosopher/Socialist)
H.G. Wells (writer)
Sri Paramahansa Yoganandu (guru)
Stuart Sutcliff (artist and former Beatle)
Max Miller (music hall comedian)
Marlon Brando (actor)
Tom Mix (actor)
Oscar Wilde (writer)
Tyrone Power (actor)
Larry Bell (artist)
Dr. David Livingstone (missionary/explorer)
Johnny Weismuller (swimmer and Tarzan!)
Stephen Crane (writer)
Issy Bonn (comedian)
Sir George Bernhard Shaw (writer)
H.C. Westermann (sculptor)
Albert Stubbins (footballer)
Sri Lahiri Mahasaya (guru)
Lewis Carroll (writer)
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)
Sonny Listen (boxer)
Wax model of George Harrison
Wax model of John Lennon
Wax model of Ringo Starr
Wax model of Paul McCartney
Shirley Temple (actress)
Albert Einstein (physicist)
John Lennon (holding a french horn)
Ringo Starr (holding a trumpet)
Paul McCartney (holding a cor anglais)
George Harrison (holding a flute)
Bobby Breen (singer)
Marlene Dietrich (actress)
Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi (Indian political and spiritual leader) - painted out by request of EMI as they feared it would offend record buyers in India.
Diana Dors (actress)

As well as the known "famous" people the collage also includes:
a wax hairdressers' dummy, Legionnaire from the Order of the Buffalos, The Petty Girl (by Artist George Petty), a cloth Grandmother Figure of Jann Haworth, a cloth figure of Shirley Temple by Jann Haworth, a Mexican candlestick, a television set, a stone figure of a girl, a statue from John Lennon's house, a trophy, a four-armed Indian doll, a drumskin designed by Joe Ephgrave, a hookah water tobacco pipe, a velvet snake, a Japanese stone figurine, a stone figure of Disney's Snow White, a garden gnome and a tuba! A guitar and the word "Beatles" are made of flowers.

Have I missed anything/anyone out?

It's been a while!

2008-12-07T19:11:00.002+00:00

It's been a long time since I posted. There have been lots of things going on in my personal life and then for some reason Blogger blocked me from posting (probably for not contributing for a while!). But I'm back and better start with the lists again!

So, if you read, please comment on any list that you like, inspires you or even if you have a list of your own you would like me to create.

Comments keep Bloggers blogging!

Review: The Dark Knight - believe the hype No Spoilers

2008-07-24T20:09:00.013+01:00

I was lucky enough to go and see a preview of Christopher Nolan's latest Batman film last night, The Dark Knight (it opens in the UK tomorrow). There has been so much buzz about this film that, surely, it could live up to the high expectations: I think it exceeded them.

This is The Godfather of superhero films. The Hamlet. To even call it a superhero film seems to cheapen it - it is more a film about crime and corruption, like some of the great, gritty, dirty, intelligent movies of the seventies. Or the tussle between De Niro and Pacino in Heat. The twists and turns of The Usual Suspects. Yes, I'm naming a number of my favourite ever movies, It really is that good. I have to see it again to fully understand it's intelligent complexities. Thankfully there was very little CGI, which is another thing that makes it believable, though some are obviously far fetched, sequences are give a realism rarely seen in an action movie, let alone a superhero movie.

Yes, it's about a billionaire playboy with a tortured past who dons a rubber suit to act vigilante in a decaying city. Yes, it's main villain is the "Clown Prince of Crime", the psychotic war painted Joker. But it is the first film that lifts their motivations from that of the comic book characters. Bruce Wayne himself questions what the hell he is doing, wanting to pass the mantle of Gotham City's saviour over to idealistic District Attorney, Harvey Dent (a brilliant Aaron Eckhardt) It is as much Dent's film, who's character arc from incorruptible golden boy to the hideous Two Face, is not only believable, but totally understandable and tragic.

The way Nolan handles the film (he was also co-writer) is noting short of brilliant. I'm not going to give any spoilers other than what is already common knowledge, in this review but his introduction of the Joker is unforgettable. His reason for his madness and truly petrifying look is brilliant. He is no longer a camp, wise-cracking cartoon, he is one of the most frightening, convincing and dangerous movie villains of all time.

Much talk has been about Heath Ledger's performance, especially after his untimely death in January. Premature calls for an Oscar nomination have turned out to be justified, his crazy, twitching, (but honest and charasmatic, just like the character) almost lizard like performance as the personification if chaos is nothing short of immense. But it's not just Ledger's show. Christian Bale's Batman ying to the Joker's yang had to stand up to the performance and is brilliantly played, his anguish, conflicted loyalties and even jealousies as both Batman and Bruce Wayne flesh out a character that in the past just seemed like a moody teenager with a troubled past.

Roles that could have been consigned to bit parts in a lesser movie were integral and weighted perfectly. Gary Oldman's Captain (Commisioner) Gordon is the perfect foil to Batman's bending of the law for the greater good. A major part of the plot rather than the character who Batman saves the day for, Gordon is a fully fleshed out character.

The realism of the story is helped by two more supporting characters, Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and tech specialist and Wayne's right hand businessman Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman). A problem I always had was (despite being a billionaire) Bruce Wayne could create all his gadgetry without detection (even this is handled as a major plot twist). Batman couldn't be a one man team, Alfred and Fox make this possible. Taking over from lightweight Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Maggie Gyllenhaal has a tough job as the only main female role but brings out subtleties in lover Dent and ex-flame Wayne (she knows he's Batman).

The film even takes Batman out of Gotham, expanding the notion that the web of greed and corruption extends far beyond the streets, jails and loonies in Arkham Asylum. With Dent's passion for the same outcome as Batman and Gordon - of cleaning up the streets -overshadowed by the Joker's reign of chaos, the outcome is almost inevitable. Can their plans really succeed when they have a conscience and what they are fighting has none?

It's very difficult to write a review without giving away any of the delights of this film. It has it's brilliant action scenes but what stayed with me was the personal battles, the crime thriller plotting. Forget everything you expect from a superhero film, The Dark Knight has rewritten the rule book. The comic book movies can now be taken seriously.

A posthumous Oscar for Ledger? Absolutely, but also for best film, best director and best screenplay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post was a slight deviation from the normal list formula of this blog but I couldn't let the event pass without mentioning it. So here's a quick Dark Knight related list:

:: Today the film smashed the box office record after reaching the $200m (£100m) mark worldwide in just five days (former record was held by three movies, Spider-Man 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, which passed the mark in eight days).

:: Taken more than $203m around the globe.

:: In less than a week it has made number 84 on the all time 100 blockbusters list

:: Already taken more than the last Batman movie, Batman Begins

:: Biggest US box office opening day ever ($67m)

:: Biggest opening weekend ever ($158m).

:: Set a weekend box-office record for IMAX venues with $6.2 mil. Previous record Spider-Man 3.

:: Record midnight showings with $18.5 million. Former record Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

Mercury Music Prize nominations 2008

2008-07-22T23:39:00.003+01:00

On the day I finally got round to buying last year's winner Klaxon's Myths of the Near Future (in the HMV sale) this year's nominations for the Mercury Music Prize have been announced. With Amy Winehouse overlooked last year maybe one of the five female solo artists will scoop the prize. For the first time Coldplay haven't had their album nominated and The Ting Tings - a very "Marmite" band (I happen to love both) - have also missed out. It'll also be interesting to see Radiohead win it with their unique (at the time) way they released it, by passing the record industry - see here.

Considered to to one of the top awards in the British music calendar, the Mercury's always prompt discussion. Not owning any of the albums (I've been so slack this year, it's all been about live music)I can't comment on the list's possible winners, but here it is:

:: Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
:: Radiohead - In Rainbows
:: British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
:: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
:: Burial - Untrue
:: Estelle - Shine
:: Adele - 19
:: Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
:: Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - The Bairns
:: Neon Neon - Stainless Style
:: Portico Quartet - Knee-deep in the North Sea
:: The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

The Greatest Comic Book Movie Adaptions

2008-07-18T23:39:00.005+01:00

With the release of the trailer to one of the best comic books (graphic novels) ever written, Alan Moore's Watchmen and the imminent UK release of the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight - which is getting rave reviews in the States - (both of which I'm very excited about, I thought I would compile a list of the best films based on comics and graphic novels.

As a medium that almost apes the storyboard process of film making it's surprising that movies based on them didn't really take off until Christopher Reeve donned Superman's pants and, er, took off in 1978. With the advent of CGI and better technology, the superhero film has become become a lot more respected and quality has soared. As have comics themselves.

Of course, comics and graphic novels aren't just about lycra-clan vigilantes, as the following list shows. The list was compiled by taking the best scores of these movies from the excellent Internet Movie Database. All movies are voted for by members and an average (based on numbers of votes) is calculated.

The top comic book movies (according to IMDB):

The Dark Knight average score 9.3
Batman Begins 8.3
The Snowman 8.2
V for Vendetta 8.1
Iron Man 8.1
Hellboy II 8.0
When the Wind Blows 7.9
300 7.9
Spiderman 2 7.8
X-Men 2 7.8
Ghost in the Shell 7.8
Akira 7.7
Ghost World 7.7
Road to Pedition 7.7
A History of Violence 7.6
Batman (1989) 7.6
X-Men 7.4
Spiderman 7.4
Wanted 7.4
Superman 7.3

You can see the new trailer, released today, for Watchmen by clicking here

Glastonbury: the DeeDubya Awards

2008-07-14T21:58:00.008+01:00

This is my "greatest" list of this year's Glastonbury festival. What impressed me at this year, my awards if you like:

:: Best act:
The Swell Season
Runners up The Verve, The Raconteurs, Crowded House

:: Most disappointing act
Vampire Weekend

:: Best sing-a-long:
The Drugs Don't Work: The Verve
Runners up: She's So Lovely: Scouting for Girls, Weather With You: Crowded House

:: Best cover:
Newton Faulker: Massive Attack's Teardrop
Runners up: The Feeling: Aha's Take On Me

:: Best food:
Glastonbury Rugby Club Chili Wrap
Runners up: Welsh meat and gravy oggie, buffalo burger

:: Best fancy dress:
Officer's Tiger
Runners up: Bus and G's Smurfs

:: Best flag spotted:
A tiny pennant on a huge stick that read "flag"
Runners up: "I slept with Chris Moyles"

:: Loved:
The weather
Runners up: the company, the atmosphere

:: Hated:
Having to leave
Runners up: the bit of rain we had (meaning we missed The Levellers)

:: Best improvement to the site:
The bigger John Peel Stage with screens outside

:: Worst "improvement" to the site:
No speakers ouside the John Peel tent so you couldn't hear what was on screen

:: Glastonbury moment:
Arm in arm with friends singing Hallelujah with Leonard Cohen on stage, the sun going down over the Pyramid Stage, turning around and see tens of thousands of people in the field doing the same, smiles on faces. THAT'S why I go to Glastonbury.
Runner up: The Swell Season playing their Oscar winning song, Falling Slowly, The fingertip Mexican wave towards the stage, orchestrated by Neil Finn of Crowded House

Glastonbury Festival - The Greatest

2008-07-06T13:17:00.009+01:00

Well it's over for another year but the memories will last a long time. Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts 2008, the world's greatest festival, was a triumph, after the nay-sayers predicted doom. After a few years mud baths (especially 2005 mega-downpour and 2007 quagmire) and the controversial top billing of a rap artist for the first time (Jay-Z) the media were predicting that after the boom years of the 00's, Glastonbury was starting to show it's age, it's popularity waning (tickets didn't completely sell out until the Friday of the festival, when they usually sell in hours). Luckily, they pulled it out of the bag, the weather (more or less) smiled on Worthy farm and the atmosphere, bands and general all round organisation proved why it's the grandaddy.

After the last two washouts it was Sally's last chance and she said she wouldn't go again if it was wet. Apart from a bit of rain Thursday night/Friday morning the weather was glorious and she now knows what all the fuss is about. Any sludge soon dried up and it was easier to get round that before. I've been going since 1993 and she never believed what it was like dry but we managed to see more bands at more stages than ever: List number one, I saw bands on the Pyramind, Other, Jazz World, John Peel, Park, Avalon, Leftfield, Fire and Dance and Acoustic Stages).

Meeting up with loads of mates from our internet forum at the Cider Bus on Wednesday night and outside the Leftfield tent (fancy dress! photos here LINK) on Thursday prolongs the festival which the media would have you think starts with the main stages on Friday.

Ok, this is the Blog of Lists so on with the business at hand. Although Glastonbury is so much more than the music (it has comedy, cabaret, theatre etc) the music is the main draw for me. Nothing better than lying in a field in the sun, beer in hand listening to a wide variety of brilliant music. So, deep breath here's a list of bands that I saw/heard the whole or majority of their sets in order:

(from outside the Leftfield tent whilst having our fancy dress party! Married to the Sea, The Daisy Riots, he Seal Cub Clubbing Club, Elle S'Appelle, The Rascals, The Pie Tasters, The King Blues, The Slackers)
Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs
Vampire Weekend
Alabama 3
The Ting Tings
Fun Lovin' Criminals
Franz Ferdinand (unbilled set)
Seasick Steve
Crowded House
The Wombats
The Raconteurs
The Swell Season
Jay-Z
Carnival Collective
Dan Donnelly and Friends
Newton Faulkner
Jack Penate
Scouting for Girls
Goldfrapp
Leonard Cohen
The Verve

Also part sets of the following acts (either beginning after another act, the end, waiting for the next act or just wondering past on a journey elsewhere):

The Feeling. Jimmy Cliff, The Gossip, Martha Wainwright, Joan Armatrading, James Blunt, Will Young, Glenn Tilbrook and the Fluffers, Neil Diamond,plus random unknown acts on smaller stages like the bandstand, the fire show and a great Australian reggae duo in the Tiny Tea Tent!

See the next post for my "best of"s of the festival.
View my photo's here LINK

Rubbish Design

2008-06-20T19:38:00.009+01:00

The online product reviewing web sire Reevoo has published the results of a poll to show the most useless British products, and quite frankly, it makes you wonder if these companies have a quality control department or do any product testing. They be producing chocolate teapots and rubber ladders next. It proves it's always worth reading the reviews before any purchases too.

Possibly the worst piece of design Ive ever had was a bicycle with a type of welding on the front pillar that meant it kept shearing away, leaving a inicycle and a pair of handlebars in my hands (and usually a scab on my chin).

What's the worst designed thing you have ever owned? Let's name and shame them!

The Bosch KGU30605 fridge (above), which had an egg tray that could only hold five eggs, despite the fact that most eggs are sold in boxes of six. Despite this, the fridge was highly popular when it went on sale.

The Zanussi ZWF14581 washing machine - Which only had one temperature setting: 60 degrees Celsius, resulting in it washing synthetics 20 degrees above the correct temperature.

LG 37LF66 television - A television set which had no on/off button, meaning that you had to pull out the plug in order to turn the set off.

Easy Store large slide - A toy slide which was coloured a bright yellow colour, which attracted lots of insects towards it.

Kenwood DW12CFE dishwasher - A dishwasher which if used to wash full sized dinner plates meant the top rack couldn't be used becuase the spinner won't spin.

LM Tech battery powered heated gloves - These gloves did not get hot enough to warm your fingers.

Carlton CTD1W table top dishwasher - A type of dishwasher which could not wash standard mugs because they would not fit into it.

Elba C96DF 90 gas oven - An oven where the knobs also heated up when the grill was on.

Hotpoint RLA21 4.6 Cu.ft. larder fridge - A fridge that did not have a light in it which meant you needed a torch so you could what was in the back.

Uni Media 22/1 IDTVDVD 22" HD ready digital television - This TV had a picture adjustment box which appears in the middle of the screen. It was so big, you could not see the screen, therefore making it impossible to adjust the picture.