Freelance writer specializing in comedy and the geekier end of the pop culture spectrum.
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My Top 10 Films of 2008
Here's my somewhat ridiculously overdue Top Ten Films of 2008, the disappointing sequel to Top Ten Films of 2007. To make up for my tardiness, each one comes with a lovingly hand-crafted haiku summary. I thought the haiku was an original touch, until I realised that sites like this have been doing this sort of thing for ages.Never mind, eh?10. Hellboy 2: The Golden ArmyStateside GuillermoBut Hellboy goes to UlsterRed Right Hand, indeed...9. The OrphanageTwisty Spanish yarnWith a very sad middleBehold the sack mask!(Thanks to Clare for that one!)8. Burn After ReadingCoen's strike againDumb idiots hatch dumb plotIt's sadistic fun!7. [...]
The Stand Down Margaret
The funniest thing I read today appeared in an article about 80s Anti-Thatch pop in this month's Uncut: It's 1980, and The Beat are scheduled to play "Stand Down Margaret" on the early evening kids' TV show, Cheggers Plays Pop. "We had to get the song on by stealth," laughs lead singer Dave Wakeling. "Our genial old Jamaican saxophonist, Saxa, explained to presenter Keith Chegwin that The Stand Down Margaret was an old Caribbean dance. 'Come now, Cheggers,' he was saying. 'Let me show you how to dance The Stand Down Margaret...' and he invents some ridiculous little dance routine. [...]
11-11-11: Crown and Cushion, Perry Barr
Le 11 novembre 2008 Clare et moi avons passé plusieurs heures circumnavigating la ville de Birmingham sur l'autobus du numéro 11. C'était idée de limites de Jon Bounds de 'Birmingham: n'est pas Merde.' We're still on the number 11 bus, we're still in Perry Barr and we're now passing the Crown and Cushion pub. There's been a Crown and Cushion standing at the corner of Wellington Road and Birchfield Road for as long as I remember, although it hasn't always been this Crown and Cushion.The current incumbent is a fairly modern-looking, functional affair that, by my somewhat unreliable estimation, was [...]
We’ve been rather busy this evening.
'Nuff said.

























