Early Risers.

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

I see the Ozzies have been beaten at cricket by that very well known, world beating team from…..Afganistan…..🤣

 

BG

 

 

But didnt `England get beaten by the team `that got beaten by Afghanistan...?

 

Well played to them, a T20 match isn't really cricket in its purest form but I assume smaller countries will concentrate on the game format  that suits them best, whether its the 50 over game, a test series  or the slash and bash.

The US win against Pakistan seemed to generate a heap of interest in cricket over in the USA  if the news shows can be believed, but I doubt they'll  ever embrace the test match for example.

 

Edited June 23 by monkeysarefun

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Debs.]

51 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Your car is so clean and shiny. 
I think mine has some of that eBay “LOOK, PRO WEATHERED” effect.

Yes, the nice man at the dealership said that E.V's were always going to be so much cleaner! 🤭

[Barry O]

Thanks for all of the Anniversary wishes. We had a very nice meal accompanied by a nice bottle of Sardinian Red Wine.

 

Now I need a decent night's sleep..

 

Sleep well awl!

 

Baz

[Winslow Boy]

I thought land rovers were drug dealers favoured mode of transport. At least they are in Manutopea. Usually with blacked out windows. It's now getting so bad I even saw a drug deal going down in the local Aldi. No class at all.

[jjb1970]

I watched both of the new Dune movies again this weekend, they're superbly done. The first time I watched them I was disappointed with the omissions from the book and the simplification made to the story. For example, the spacing guild is largely absent, the Harkonen family politics largely lost, the Hawat sub-plot after the fall of the Atreides removed, the Emperor is pared down etc. And I thought the way Jessica was turned into a sort of Lady MacBeth type character a bit odd. However,  if taken on their own merits the two movies are remarkable pieces of work. Stunning cinematography, pacing which allows the story and characters time to breathe and excellent character development. In a time when I find most of the big ticket movie releases to be rather mediocre these show what movies can be. That said, I  still like the 1980's Lynch version which captured much more of the original movie despite being much shorter. And the book remains the real masterpiece IMO.

[Hroth]

3 hours ago, Andy Hayter said:

 

I assume a reference to captain Pugwash where  the characters have been renamed.

 

Roger the cabin boy was actually called Tom.

Likewise Master Bates was actually named Master Mate.

 

But good fun nevertheless

 

 

There was also the A.B. from Staines.  Allegedly...

 

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Your car is so clean and shiny. 
I think mine has some of that eBay “LOOK, PRO WEATHERED” effect.

 

Looks like the weathering Hornby applied to the K1 they sold me!

 

ION

 

All this talk of reneging car insurers is appalling.  They have a bad enough reputation over claims!  My insurance is due for renewal at the beginning of August, at the end of my first year with Aviva. Previously I had been with LV for many years but an egregrious price hike of over £250 for renewal last year caused me to "go and compare" and the selection of the cheapest coverage on comparable terms with an insurer I had actually heard of.  The premium was cheaper than that from LV a couple of years previously and similar to half a dozen unknown insurers below Aviva*.

 

I await this years renewal quote with trepidation, but if its not increased too much, I'll let them keep my business, otherwise I'll be back to the Tenor...

 

* Its sometimes difficult to separate Aviva and Arriva, I think I've got it right...

 

[Hroth]

10 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

I thought land rovers were drug dealers favoured mode of transport. At least they are in Manutopea. Usually with blacked out windows. It's now getting so bad I even saw a drug deal going down in the local Aldi. No class at all.

 

I thought the move to big Audis as "pool cars" was bad enough, I hadn't realised that pimped up Land/Range Rovers were becoming the crims tool of choice...

 

I expect its because they think they will have enough weight to bounce the rozzers cars out of the way when they get chased!

 

Edited June 24 by Hroth
Spelin at 2am sometimes becomes approximate...

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

And the book remains the real masterpiece IMO.

The new Dune movies are very good, and I liked the David Lynch version. It is a very difficult book to film. You seem to have softened in your assessment of the first movie - which I did enjoy more than your first impressions. I hadn't remembered the Byzantine politics of the galactic emperor (etc) being such a part of the first half of the narrative in the book - though it was essential to the end.

 

I felt the same way about Peter Jackson's effort with the Lord of the Rings - very difficult to film and I might criticize certain inventions in the second act in particular, but on the whole very satisfactory - particularly the directors cut - which to me is far superior (including scenes that were cut for the cinematic release).

 

We shan't discuss The Hobbit which did not benefit from extended extrapolation, though I will put myself through the extended edition for full version of "Far over the misty mountains cold" which, even abbreviated, was very well done.

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

The US win against Pakistan seemed to generate a heap of interest in cricket over in the USA  if the news shows can be believed, but I doubt they'll  ever embrace the test match for example.

Not a chance.

 

Google suggests this was the squad:

Monank Patel (c),

Aaron Jones,

Andries Gous,

Corey Anderson,

Ali Khan,

Harmeet Singh,

Jessy Singh,

Milind Kumar,

Nisarg Patel,

Nitish Kumar,

Noshtush Kenjige,

Saurabh Nethralvakar,

Shadley Van Schalkwyk,

Steven Taylor,

Shayan Jahangir.

 

Notice anything?

 

South Asian Americans represent 1.9% of the population. Much better represented on the national cricket squad.

[monkeysarefun]

6 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Not a chance.

 

Google suggests this was the squad:

Monank Patel (c),

Aaron Jones,

Andries Gous,

Corey Anderson,

Ali Khan,

Harmeet Singh,

Jessy Singh,

Milind Kumar,

Nisarg Patel,

Nitish Kumar,

Noshtush Kenjige,

Saurabh Nethralvakar,

Shadley Van Schalkwyk,

Steven Taylor,

Shayan Jahangir.

 

Notice anything?

 

South Asian Americans represent 1.9% of the population. Much better represented on the national cricket squad.

 

Is Steven Taylor any relation to Mark...?🙂

 

Edited June 24 by monkeysarefun

[iL Dottore]

48 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Not a chance.

 

Google suggests this was the squad:

Monank Patel (c),

Aaron Jones,

Andries Gous,

Corey Anderson,

Ali Khan,

Harmeet Singh,

Jessy Singh,

Milind Kumar,

Nisarg Patel,

Nitish Kumar,

Noshtush Kenjige,

Saurabh Nethralvakar,

Shadley Van Schalkwyk,

Steven Taylor,

Shayan Jahangir.

 

Notice anything?

 

South Asian Americans represent 1.9% of the population. Much better represented on the national cricket squad.

That reminds me of one of those 50s/60s US war movies, where the Sergeant is motivating his troops before the big attack on the enemy, saying something like “Kowalski, Rossi, Singh, Smith, de Kuipers, LeClerc, Washington, Patel, Rothaus…. Pull yourselves together, goddammit, we’re Americans, we can do this [resounding cheers] Now let’s get those @#£&(*&”

[Ozexpatriate]

4 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

That reminds me of one of those 50s/60s US war movies,

The US continues to be a 'melting pot' as they say. It is a strength, not a liability.

[iL Dottore]

I’ve always thought that Dune and Lord of the Rings (and Gormenghast for that matter) to be almost unreadable, let alone filmable. Dune I did manage to finish, I got halfway through LotR before giving up and barely made it through 2 chapters of Gormenghast. Yet, somewhat contrarywise, I enjoyed Heinlein’s Stranger In A Strange Land, another “deep” novel of the fantasy-philosophical genre.
 

Some of Heinlein’s other work (such as Starship Troopers) have been turned into films, so why not Stranger In A Strange Land? I suspect that Heinlein’s rather unique take in the book on such institutions as religion, money, monogamy, and the fear of death has much to do with it. Especially the bits about sex, money and religion. 
 

I think that the challenge (problems?) with turning such dense, multilayered books into a film or TV series is deciding what to leave out and how best to recreate characters and situations that every reader will have pictured in their minds differently.

 

Having said that, a film version of  Stranger In A Strange Land could be fun - especially if it were true to the original - which would involve upsetting all the right people..

[polybear]

4 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

I thought the move to big Audis as "pool cars" was bad enough, I hadn't realised that pimped up Land/Range Rovers was becoming the crims tool of choice...

 

I expect its because they think they will have enough weight to bounce the rozzers cars out of the way when they get chased!

 

It’s probably cos’ they’re easy to nick….

[jamie92208]

On 23/06/2024 at 23:21, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

The US win against Pakistan seemed to generate a heap of interest in cricket over in the USA  if the news shows can be believed, but I doubt they'll  ever embrace the test match for example.

 

 

That will never happen if my experience in a hotel in Colorado is anything to go by.  Arriving one afternoon I asked to use the Internet.  To contact your wife sir, I was asked.  No to see how day three of the Test Match has gone (it was an Ashes series).  Her look had to be seen to be believed.  The concept of a five day game with play from 11.00.to 19.00 with lunch and tea breaks, was beyond her comprehension. 

. 

On 24/06/2024 at 00:36, Winslow Boy said:

I thought land rovers were drug dealers favoured mode of transport. At least they are in Manutopea. Usually with blacked out windows. It's now getting so bad I even saw a drug deal going down in the local Aldi. No class at all.

Seems good to me.  In South Kirkby, south of Pontefract the price of a wrap of heroin, was a 200g jar of nescafe. 

 

Jamie 

Edited June 25 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning to one and all from a sunny Charente. We are off to Physio this morning the to the Danglies for an appointment with Beth's diabetologue.  The weed patches need to be mown this afternoon. 

 

We finished watching an excellent drama on I player last night. Recommended by Rachel and Laura it was Lost boys and Fairies. It follows the course of a couple of gay men in Cardiff trying to become adoptive parents.  Excellently written and acted and very thought provoking.  We would never normally have watched it but are glad that we did. 

 

Jamie

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Warm and sunny start to the day here and it should stay that way.  17°C rising to 27°C.

Today's main excitement would seem to be awaiting the delivery of one parcel from Sheffield and the collection of another to go elsewhere so I can't go anywhere until that's happened, not that I was planning to anyway.  The Boss is off out to visit an old friend for a couple of hours this morning so I better not go down to The Shed in case I miss the postie etc.  It has been suggested that I might like to drive The Shark while I'm waiting.  I'm not that enthusiastic but I suppose it would earn some Brownie points and my stash is getting a bit low.

Tea has been taken upstairs to Herself and She is on the move.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

[BoD]

Morning all.

 

Up and abluted and off to give a couple or three small test tubes of blood.  I suppose the best I can hope for is that the results don’t end up on the dark web.

 

Stay cool.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is a rather pleasant morning. I think we are in the yellow warning area for high temperatures, but I think we will manage to cope. I have to go and collect my new spectacles at 10 o’clock. I am not sure what else is happening today. 
We went to Enfield yesterday. MiL was a bit upset when we arrived as she had been struggling remembering how to do something. Her memory seemed much worse than it was a couple of weeks ago. She was better after we had lunch with her. 
Tony

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

This week will be a "mainly meetings" week. It will also include a trip to Stockport ( at a cricket club which has loads of teams but can't provide a tea.. disgraceful!) As well as a bit of muddling. 

 

Enjoyed the meal last night so will have a very light breakfast.

 

Time to get a wriggle on.. TTFN

Baz

[Debs.]

19 minutes ago, BoD said:

Morning all.

 

Up and abluted and off to give a couple or three small test tubes of blood.  I suppose the best I can hope for is that the results don’t end up on the dark web.

 

Stay cool.

Hope it gets a good grade; not the C- (a bit of a clot!) like mine.🙃

[jjb1970]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The new Dune movies are very good, and I liked the David Lynch version. It is a very difficult book to film. You seem to have softened in your assessment of the first movie - which I did enjoy more than your first impressions. I hadn't remembered the Byzantine politics of the galactic emperor (etc) being such a part of the first half of the narrative in the book - though it was essential to the end.

 

I felt the same way about Peter Jackson's effort with the Lord of the Rings - very difficult to film and I might criticize certain inventions in the second act in particular, but on the whole very satisfactory - particularly the directors cut - which to me is far superior (including scenes that were cut for the cinematic release).

 

We shan't discuss The Hobbit which did not benefit from extended extrapolation, though I will put myself through the extended edition for full version of "Far over the misty mountains cold" which, even abbreviated, was very well done.

 

Indeed, on second viewing I just enjoyed the movies in their own right without thinking about discrepancies from the book, on those terms they are brilliant pieces of film making. And in fairness much more faithful adaptations of the books than many movies and TV shows which are adapted from famous books. Overall they did capture the spirit of the book well, albeit with significant simplification (which is almost unavoidable given just what a complex story it is in the book).

 

One aspect I thought the new movies did a lot better than the Lynch film was the changing relationship between Paul and Stilgar as he becomes a messianic figure. I thought Stilgar in the new movies was superbly casted and acted. I thought the Duke and Halleck worked better in the new movie too, though I prefered Hawat in the older movie, I thought Paul was good in both. I thought the weakest bit was Jessica, Francesca Annis nailed it in the older movie I thought.

 

An quirky detail of both is the thing with hairlessness. In the first movie the Bene Geserit sisters were bald, in the newer movie the Harkonens are bald. I thought the cinematography and visuals were superbly done in both, the Lynch version now looks dated compared to what modern CGI and effects can achieve but its vision and design still stand up remarkably well.

 

There was a pretty good mini-series too.

[Winslow Boy]

15 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

This week will be a "mainly meetings" week. It will also include a trip to Stockport ( at a cricket club which has loads of teams but can't provide a tea.. disgraceful!) As well as a bit of muddling. 

 

Enjoyed the meal last night so will have a very light breakfast.

 

Time to get a wriggle on.. TTFN

Baz

Your forgetting what area Stockport is in young Baz. They don't menial things like lunches there they have staff for that.

[polybear]

6 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

I thought the move to big Audis as "pool cars" was bad enough, I hadn't realised that pimped up Land/Range Rovers was becoming the crims tool of choice...

 

 
A friend was driving home one night when she started to suspect she was being followed - something about the (unmarked) car made her suspect it was the Plod.  She wasn’t wrong - as soon as she was home and out of the car there were several plain clothes plod in front of her; another unmarked car arrived soon after.  It seems the she was driving (a Merc hire car, whilst her own was being fixed after an accident) was favoured by “Chemists” - and that was their only reason for following her.  Must’ve been a quiet night…..

 

They soon realised they were onto a loser and went on their way.

Edited June 24 by polybear