As you can see it is more than just a paddling pool. Kara loved every minute of being there and we are definitely going to go back.
Till next time....
The Voice has spoken
Monday, 20 August 2012
Fun in the Sun at Wimbledon Park
Sunday we wanted to take Kara some place new and my lovely wife though of a paddling pool. So with the help of the all knowing Oracle that is Google we headed out to Wimbledon Park to see what it was like. To our great joy we found that the park was great and the paddling pool wasn't just any ordinary pool. With water jets galore it was a real treat for Kara, running over the water jets, hiding under domes of water all the children there were clearly loving being there. If you can get to it then I suggest you give it a try, your kids will never want to go any where else.
Batman, the strongest trilogy ever.
To celebrate our anniversary this year I took my lovely wife out for a pub lunch and then followed that up with a trip to the cinema to see The Dark Knight Rises, an excellent film that if you haven't seen then you should do so right away.
The Dark Knight Trilogy is, I have to say, the strongest trilogy of films ever made. Not the best but certainly the most rounded and consistently good.
I mean for me there will never be a trilogy like the original Star Wars trilogy. This is the best film trilogy ever made but (there's always a but) it is not without its flaws and all these flaws lie in the last chapter. Return of the Jedi is a film of four parts, three of which are fantastic and one that is utterly lame. The film starts with the rescue of Solo from Jabba's palace, excellent, just the start we wanted. Then You get the big fight between Vader and Luke accompanied by John Williams dramatic score, perfect. Accompanying this we have the Lando led assault on the Super Death Star, thrilling. But then we get the battle of Endor. A bunch of teddies take on the might of the Imperial army, lame, lame, lame. Just a bad idea for which Lucas will forever be mocked.
Another trilogy that fan boys are constantly poring love out for (not to mention the constant war of words between Star Wars fans and these fans) is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now don't get me wrong Fellowship was a great film as was Towers but lets not get giddy about Return of the King. This was the poorest film of the trilogy by a long shot with hardly anything to save it. I mean it was just 3 hours of fighting and the film had so many false endings you got the feeling it was never going to stop. But when the war was won by a bunch of ghosts it was over in the blink of an eye. This film was just a terrible end to the trilogy and because of this it takes third place in the top three trilogies.
Nolan's Batman trilogy though is consistently brilliant through all three parts and the end of Rises rounds the story arc of perfectly. There are no real flaws to be counted in Rises, a few moans to be had, the music being too loud in places and Banes dialogue being hard to understand here and there but other than that it was a solid film. Easily the second best trilogy ever made. Some people will disagree but that's what people do. Keeps life interesting.
The pub lunch was good too. A mixed grill with all the trimmings and my wife had chicken skewers with a spicy sauce. Excellent.
Till next time.....
The Voice has spoken.
The Dark Knight Trilogy is, I have to say, the strongest trilogy of films ever made. Not the best but certainly the most rounded and consistently good.
I mean for me there will never be a trilogy like the original Star Wars trilogy. This is the best film trilogy ever made but (there's always a but) it is not without its flaws and all these flaws lie in the last chapter. Return of the Jedi is a film of four parts, three of which are fantastic and one that is utterly lame. The film starts with the rescue of Solo from Jabba's palace, excellent, just the start we wanted. Then You get the big fight between Vader and Luke accompanied by John Williams dramatic score, perfect. Accompanying this we have the Lando led assault on the Super Death Star, thrilling. But then we get the battle of Endor. A bunch of teddies take on the might of the Imperial army, lame, lame, lame. Just a bad idea for which Lucas will forever be mocked.
Another trilogy that fan boys are constantly poring love out for (not to mention the constant war of words between Star Wars fans and these fans) is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now don't get me wrong Fellowship was a great film as was Towers but lets not get giddy about Return of the King. This was the poorest film of the trilogy by a long shot with hardly anything to save it. I mean it was just 3 hours of fighting and the film had so many false endings you got the feeling it was never going to stop. But when the war was won by a bunch of ghosts it was over in the blink of an eye. This film was just a terrible end to the trilogy and because of this it takes third place in the top three trilogies.
Nolan's Batman trilogy though is consistently brilliant through all three parts and the end of Rises rounds the story arc of perfectly. There are no real flaws to be counted in Rises, a few moans to be had, the music being too loud in places and Banes dialogue being hard to understand here and there but other than that it was a solid film. Easily the second best trilogy ever made. Some people will disagree but that's what people do. Keeps life interesting.
The pub lunch was good too. A mixed grill with all the trimmings and my wife had chicken skewers with a spicy sauce. Excellent.
Till next time.....
The Voice has spoken.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
An Olympics Retrospective
So now that the Olympics are over I think it's time to look at the show as a whole and see what we can take from it.
The opening ceremony.
This was a great example of British showmanship at it's best. From start to finish it was a show of all the things that make Great Britain great (and theres not much of that these days) All except the text show, that kind of lost me in its meaning, after all what the hell has teens texting got to do with British culture? But the rest of the show was a true spectacle. Rowan Atkinson doing his comic best as part of the orchestra, the celebration of British music and to cap it off what can be more British than James Bond with the Queen. A moment to make any British Citizen proud. As long as your not one of those left wing, hard done by idiots that thinks we should get rid of the Royal Family. After all they cost us so much money (around 70p each per year) and give nothing back (apart from a huge industry in Royal merchandising, endless tourists and countless business' and trade both to the capital and the country) But hey what do they give us?!?!?!
The sports
For the most part the examples set by the competitors was on the highest level seen in the Olympics yet. All the medal winners truly deserved their medals...... Or did they? It stunned me that on a handful of occasions the people who came fourth threw so much of a tantrum and complained directly to the judges that they were then moved up the table into the third and the original third then became forth. During the hand full of events I watched I saw this happen twice. If I remember correctly it was the Chinese the first time and the Americans the second. I mean come on, these guys came 1st and 2nd in the medal table by quite a bit, didn't they have enough medals without throwing their teddies out of the cot in order to win more, thus depriving other competitors of their chance. In the American example it was a Romanian Gymnast who lost out on Bronze even though the American (even after being re-scored) only managed to equal the Romanians score. And yet the Romanian girl received nothing while the American got Bronze. Oh the irony, the schools constantly tell our kids that its the taking part that's important not the winning and yet there they were, professional athletes live on TV throwing a tantrum, laying on the floor kicking and screaming, spitting out their dummies until somebody took pity on them and gave them a medal depriving the more mature and deserving athletes of their moment in the spotlight. Is this really what we want to show our children, if at first you don't succeed then don't bother trying again just throw a tantrum until you get what you want. And lets not mention the badminton fiasco. Pathetic!
The Closing Ceremony
Well, what do you say about that. A showcase of the best Britain has to offer part 2?????
I don't think so. To start with they played the first handful of songs twice! Britain has produced billions of songs over the last few decades and yet they thought it was fitting to play half a dozen twice rather than get a few extra to play?! Then the real show started, or should I say the real disappointment started.
George Michael kicked things off brilliantly with a rendition of one of his best only to be followed by a piss poor song that nobody had ever heard before. Who thought that was a good idea? Could it get worse?
HELL YES!
Did we get Kate Bush live for the first time in years? No we got some people prancing around to a Kate Bush song. Did they manage to get Bowie out of retirement? No they got a bunch of vein, drug taking anorexic models to prance about on stage to a Bowie classic. Could this thing possibly get worse?
HELL YES!!
Russell Brand, I mean bloody Russell Brand singing a song from Willy Wonka, please the movie is a classic the song was sung originally by the brilliant Gene Wilder and it is and always will be a family favourite. Why let this guy ruin all those happy memories. Then they let him slaughter the Beatles. Could it get worse?
HELL YES!
Annie Lennox, not bad but not great (should have got the Eurythmics back together) singing a song that could barely be heard because the sound was so bad. Jessie J singing god knows how many times (was this girl getting paid by the song or something) Madness, they gave it a shot but Suggs can not sing any more. They sounded flatter than an ironed out piece of paper. The only thing that sounded worse was Ray Davis who sounded just awful. They obviously didn't give him enough time to recover from the shock of being raised from the dead. Could it get any worse?
HELL YES!
Then they thought they would really put on a display of the best British bands out there with One Direction. COME ON. A bloody manufactured, pop product thrust upon the world by Cowell. They're just a glorified bunch of Karaoke singers who didn't even win the X-Factor. And then they were followed by the bloody Spice Girls. Another example of the Great British Pop machine. You get more talent in your average school nativity.
All I can say is thank God for Muse and The Who (among a handful of others).
All in all a complete nightmare. Such a shame.
But I'm sure we have all gained a hero or two from the Olympics be it a swimmer, runner, gymnast or any other athlete from the great many sports that were represented. Me personally, my hero is Boris. The newly gained national treasure that is the London Mayor. Boris for PM. What a legend.
Till next time.....
The Voice has spoken.
The opening ceremony.
This was a great example of British showmanship at it's best. From start to finish it was a show of all the things that make Great Britain great (and theres not much of that these days) All except the text show, that kind of lost me in its meaning, after all what the hell has teens texting got to do with British culture? But the rest of the show was a true spectacle. Rowan Atkinson doing his comic best as part of the orchestra, the celebration of British music and to cap it off what can be more British than James Bond with the Queen. A moment to make any British Citizen proud. As long as your not one of those left wing, hard done by idiots that thinks we should get rid of the Royal Family. After all they cost us so much money (around 70p each per year) and give nothing back (apart from a huge industry in Royal merchandising, endless tourists and countless business' and trade both to the capital and the country) But hey what do they give us?!?!?!
The sports
For the most part the examples set by the competitors was on the highest level seen in the Olympics yet. All the medal winners truly deserved their medals...... Or did they? It stunned me that on a handful of occasions the people who came fourth threw so much of a tantrum and complained directly to the judges that they were then moved up the table into the third and the original third then became forth. During the hand full of events I watched I saw this happen twice. If I remember correctly it was the Chinese the first time and the Americans the second. I mean come on, these guys came 1st and 2nd in the medal table by quite a bit, didn't they have enough medals without throwing their teddies out of the cot in order to win more, thus depriving other competitors of their chance. In the American example it was a Romanian Gymnast who lost out on Bronze even though the American (even after being re-scored) only managed to equal the Romanians score. And yet the Romanian girl received nothing while the American got Bronze. Oh the irony, the schools constantly tell our kids that its the taking part that's important not the winning and yet there they were, professional athletes live on TV throwing a tantrum, laying on the floor kicking and screaming, spitting out their dummies until somebody took pity on them and gave them a medal depriving the more mature and deserving athletes of their moment in the spotlight. Is this really what we want to show our children, if at first you don't succeed then don't bother trying again just throw a tantrum until you get what you want. And lets not mention the badminton fiasco. Pathetic!
The Closing Ceremony
Well, what do you say about that. A showcase of the best Britain has to offer part 2?????
I don't think so. To start with they played the first handful of songs twice! Britain has produced billions of songs over the last few decades and yet they thought it was fitting to play half a dozen twice rather than get a few extra to play?! Then the real show started, or should I say the real disappointment started.
George Michael kicked things off brilliantly with a rendition of one of his best only to be followed by a piss poor song that nobody had ever heard before. Who thought that was a good idea? Could it get worse?
HELL YES!
Did we get Kate Bush live for the first time in years? No we got some people prancing around to a Kate Bush song. Did they manage to get Bowie out of retirement? No they got a bunch of vein, drug taking anorexic models to prance about on stage to a Bowie classic. Could this thing possibly get worse?
HELL YES!!
Russell Brand, I mean bloody Russell Brand singing a song from Willy Wonka, please the movie is a classic the song was sung originally by the brilliant Gene Wilder and it is and always will be a family favourite. Why let this guy ruin all those happy memories. Then they let him slaughter the Beatles. Could it get worse?
HELL YES!
Annie Lennox, not bad but not great (should have got the Eurythmics back together) singing a song that could barely be heard because the sound was so bad. Jessie J singing god knows how many times (was this girl getting paid by the song or something) Madness, they gave it a shot but Suggs can not sing any more. They sounded flatter than an ironed out piece of paper. The only thing that sounded worse was Ray Davis who sounded just awful. They obviously didn't give him enough time to recover from the shock of being raised from the dead. Could it get any worse?
HELL YES!
Then they thought they would really put on a display of the best British bands out there with One Direction. COME ON. A bloody manufactured, pop product thrust upon the world by Cowell. They're just a glorified bunch of Karaoke singers who didn't even win the X-Factor. And then they were followed by the bloody Spice Girls. Another example of the Great British Pop machine. You get more talent in your average school nativity.
All I can say is thank God for Muse and The Who (among a handful of others).
All in all a complete nightmare. Such a shame.
But I'm sure we have all gained a hero or two from the Olympics be it a swimmer, runner, gymnast or any other athlete from the great many sports that were represented. Me personally, my hero is Boris. The newly gained national treasure that is the London Mayor. Boris for PM. What a legend.
Till next time.....
The Voice has spoken.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Chilling By The Tower
On a trip round town recently I grabbed this shot of the steps by the Tower Of London. A few touches in CS5 to rid it of an annoying Crane in the background and its a clean casual shot of people chilling by the tower.
Till next time....
The Voice has spoken
Monday, 13 August 2012
Go Ahead Punk Make My Day
There we were, fresh from nursery and through the door by a fist full of seconds when Kara spotted her bubble gun on the window ledge, the next thing she goes all Clint Eastwood on the balcony. She even holds the gun sideways as is the trend in Hollywood these days.
Check it out.
Check it out.
I know what your thinking, did I fire 6 bubbles or only 5?
Go on punk, make my day.
So there you have it, gangsta bubbles.
Till next time....
The Voice has spoken.
Sunday, 12 August 2012
London And The Olympics 2012
So as all the world and I'm sure a few aliens know all things sporty have been going on here in the big smoke and it's been quite a success according to those in the know. But I'm not going to bother you with sporty things because apart from the sports the Olympics have changed the look of London too. So with my trustee camera in hand I headed out to see what I could see.
First off Canary Wharf has been given a make over of the floating kind. Like this one...
First off Canary Wharf has been given a make over of the floating kind. Like this one...
If the good ship Stad Amsterdam doesn't do it for you then how about this one....
This one was parked just around he corner from the Amsterdam but was completely out done by the Germans next door.....
This was a floating hotel brought all the way from Germany to be used as a hotel for many of the visiting Germans.
Not really that fancy is it so how about these couple of private boats?!
So as you can see Canary Wharf became a bit of a ship yard during the Olympics but these weren't the only changes to London as I'm sure you can imagine.
Even the Mayors building got in on the act
The white figures are a light show of olympic activities from running to diving. It really is quite a thing to watch. And then finally you have this guy and his mate scattered all over the place...
So there you have it, a glimpse into the Olympic face of London.
just to round it off, heres the flag flying proud.
Till next time....
The Voice has spoken.
Monday, 6 August 2012
Music for the Homeward Bound 1
Well hello there,
On my way home from work today I came upon the idea to speak about the music I've been listening to recently. You see as any of you who have read my past posts will know I have used my time commuting to read a great deal of books. However, over the last few weeks I have opted instead to just listen to music on my trustee iPhone. Given that I have an extensive, ever growing, library of music I transferred a few of my favourite albums along with a collection of new stuff.
My iPhone has a real mix of artists on it, a collection of great music. When I say music I mean MUSIC. Not the mass produced, manufactured, mass marketed mindless crap that the charts are full of. I mean music. Guitars, drums, bass, synthesisers, artists playing and singing music that they themselves wrote. Not some plastic glorified karaoke singer with an army of talent behind them fuelling the cash machine. Real talent, real musicians, real music. Some of it loud I grant you but still, raw talent. With shuffle engaged I now present you with a glimpse of the soundtrack to my journey home.
Tenacious D
A great comedy rock band featuring movie star Jack Black and his pal Kyle Glass they are one of the, if not THE, funiest bands out there. With sometimes vulgar, sometimes lewd sometimes controversial but always funny lyrics their songs always manage to raise a laugh. At the same time though musically they are brilliant with some real catchy tunes. Having released three albums now the one I was treated to on the way home was their third.
'Rize of the Fenix'
This is a fun little album by the future kings of the world 'The D'. While not on the level of their 1st self titled album it is just as good as 'The Pick of Destiny.' The songs include numbers such as 'Low Hanging Fruit,' 'Death Starr' and 'Throw Down' among the usual spoken interludes such as 'Flutes and Trombones' (this always makes me laugh)
Tonights song- 'To Be the Best.'
Twisted Sister
One of the greatest bands of the 80s rock scene, Twisted Sister were put on the rise to power and fame by the very people here in blighty. I was introduced to them by one of my older brothers, if I remember rightly it was the song 'You Cant Stop Rock and Roll' that first set me off down the road toward being an SMF (the title given to Sister fans by the group themselves) I wont tell you what it stands for.
'Love is for Suckers'
This is the fifth and final album by Sister released way back during their original run. They have since released 'A Twisted Christmas' I haven't listened to this so I cant comment upon its content. This album however I am very familiar with. Even though it doesn't have the anger and raw power of their 3rd and best album 'Stay Hungry; it is still a very good album and worthy of entry into anyones collection. With great songs like 'Wake Up The Sleeping Giant', 'One Bad Habit' and the title track 'Love Is For Suckers' it is a great listen. PLAY LOUD.
Tonights song - Tonight (not a cover of the Bowie song)
Sunna
A British band from 2000 these guys only managed one album in their original form the brilliant and poorly over looked 'One Minute Science' A few remaining members have released 2 more albums since 2009s 'Two Minute Terror' and 2011s 'After The Third Pin' (I'm sensing a pattern here) Unfortunately having managed to get the 3rd album it is no where near as good as the first.
'One Minute Science'
As mentioned above this is the first and by far best album. An album that one day hopefully will be considered a lost gem. With a mix of power and emotion this album demands repeated listening from the very first time. Songs like 'Power Struggle' (featured on the Hollow Man soundtrack) and 'I'm Not Trading' are great heavy and powerful songs while others like 'I Miss' and 'One Conditioning' are emotional and haunting. BRILLIANT.
Tonights song - Too Much
Well I think thats enough music for you to be looking up if you haven't already got it, but if you look up only one thing from this post make it Sunna.
Till next time......
The Voice has spoken
On my way home from work today I came upon the idea to speak about the music I've been listening to recently. You see as any of you who have read my past posts will know I have used my time commuting to read a great deal of books. However, over the last few weeks I have opted instead to just listen to music on my trustee iPhone. Given that I have an extensive, ever growing, library of music I transferred a few of my favourite albums along with a collection of new stuff.
My iPhone has a real mix of artists on it, a collection of great music. When I say music I mean MUSIC. Not the mass produced, manufactured, mass marketed mindless crap that the charts are full of. I mean music. Guitars, drums, bass, synthesisers, artists playing and singing music that they themselves wrote. Not some plastic glorified karaoke singer with an army of talent behind them fuelling the cash machine. Real talent, real musicians, real music. Some of it loud I grant you but still, raw talent. With shuffle engaged I now present you with a glimpse of the soundtrack to my journey home.
Tenacious D
A great comedy rock band featuring movie star Jack Black and his pal Kyle Glass they are one of the, if not THE, funiest bands out there. With sometimes vulgar, sometimes lewd sometimes controversial but always funny lyrics their songs always manage to raise a laugh. At the same time though musically they are brilliant with some real catchy tunes. Having released three albums now the one I was treated to on the way home was their third.
'Rize of the Fenix'
This is a fun little album by the future kings of the world 'The D'. While not on the level of their 1st self titled album it is just as good as 'The Pick of Destiny.' The songs include numbers such as 'Low Hanging Fruit,' 'Death Starr' and 'Throw Down' among the usual spoken interludes such as 'Flutes and Trombones' (this always makes me laugh)
Tonights song- 'To Be the Best.'
Twisted Sister
One of the greatest bands of the 80s rock scene, Twisted Sister were put on the rise to power and fame by the very people here in blighty. I was introduced to them by one of my older brothers, if I remember rightly it was the song 'You Cant Stop Rock and Roll' that first set me off down the road toward being an SMF (the title given to Sister fans by the group themselves) I wont tell you what it stands for.
'Love is for Suckers'
This is the fifth and final album by Sister released way back during their original run. They have since released 'A Twisted Christmas' I haven't listened to this so I cant comment upon its content. This album however I am very familiar with. Even though it doesn't have the anger and raw power of their 3rd and best album 'Stay Hungry; it is still a very good album and worthy of entry into anyones collection. With great songs like 'Wake Up The Sleeping Giant', 'One Bad Habit' and the title track 'Love Is For Suckers' it is a great listen. PLAY LOUD.
Tonights song - Tonight (not a cover of the Bowie song)
Sunna
A British band from 2000 these guys only managed one album in their original form the brilliant and poorly over looked 'One Minute Science' A few remaining members have released 2 more albums since 2009s 'Two Minute Terror' and 2011s 'After The Third Pin' (I'm sensing a pattern here) Unfortunately having managed to get the 3rd album it is no where near as good as the first.
'One Minute Science'
As mentioned above this is the first and by far best album. An album that one day hopefully will be considered a lost gem. With a mix of power and emotion this album demands repeated listening from the very first time. Songs like 'Power Struggle' (featured on the Hollow Man soundtrack) and 'I'm Not Trading' are great heavy and powerful songs while others like 'I Miss' and 'One Conditioning' are emotional and haunting. BRILLIANT.
Tonights song - Too Much
Well I think thats enough music for you to be looking up if you haven't already got it, but if you look up only one thing from this post make it Sunna.
Till next time......
The Voice has spoken
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Swan Lake (Tooting)
Now then fine peeps.
On this weeks thrill ride of a post (?!?!?!) I will reveal to you a fine photo that I shot today at Tooting Common. As some of you will know this is a regular haunt for me and my family. Last weeks pictures of Boogie were taken in the park there and this weeks shot is from the pond. Using my Canon 70-300 IS USM lens I was able to get up close and personal with one of the swans that live on the water there.
I took many shots but this one is my favourite as it is a nice close up with just the right amount of background blur.
As usual I welcome any comments you may have, good or bad.
On this weeks thrill ride of a post (?!?!?!) I will reveal to you a fine photo that I shot today at Tooting Common. As some of you will know this is a regular haunt for me and my family. Last weeks pictures of Boogie were taken in the park there and this weeks shot is from the pond. Using my Canon 70-300 IS USM lens I was able to get up close and personal with one of the swans that live on the water there.
I took many shots but this one is my favourite as it is a nice close up with just the right amount of background blur.
As usual I welcome any comments you may have, good or bad.
I welcome your judgement.
Till next time.....
The Voice has spoken.
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