dean_r

Did you know: When I travelled to Crufts, I travelled on a train that stopped at Coventry. It was a grey day.

I forgot to mention that I went to Crufts, didn't I? Jamie's aunt Lois came over from New York just to go to Birmingham and see it, and offered us both the chance to travel along and enjoy the event.

To give you an idea of how it was, imagine a very large green airport hangar with a very strong doggy smell, and you've got the gist of it. We stayed in a lavish-yet-average hotel minutes away from the event. It was the first hotel I've slept in for ten years or so, and as a result I felt very confused and common, with the maids and the bar and the fancy menu in the extravagant dining area. I had to sleep on the floor for the one night I stayed, due to a room mix-up. But I did eat a fabulous hamburger there, though it reminded me of one of my personality flaws. When I travel, I generally keep to basic foods that I know I'll like; being ill away from home is not what I consider a fun trip. This is possibly why I don't travel much: I struggle to get away from familiarity.

I need to make some musical CDs to be able to play in the shop, for the dance music annoys. Today I bought in Daft Punk's Discovery and played the first four tracks over and over again, due to me setting the randomise settings incorrectly. It was actually quite a nice thing to happen, as the album goes downhill a little after those songs.

TO START: I've seen Constantine, The Machinist and Robots recently.

Constantine had an awful script that pretty effects couldn't salvage. There's not enough development in characters, making plot twists confusing rather than shocking. If you saw it a second time, it might make more sense, but I don't see why the film company deserves your money twice.

The Machinist had some of the most beautiful cinematography I've seen in a while, and alongside the aura of madness, I was reminded of Hitchcock films - that is, if they were bastardised for the modern day and the subtlety of them shunned. It wasn't a bad film, but the target audience who'd see it have probably seen several similar-minded films before, making it feel unoriginal and far from provocative, as I feel it tries to be.

Robots was full of incredible animation but plagued with a mediocre storyline produced badly. This film is overloaded with pop culture references and will age horribly, and I will be glad when it is long forgotten.</b>

I also went to the theatre! I saw The Woman In White. I'm not one for these 'singing-talking' stage shows, and when the show started with a scene akin to this, I was already expecting the worst. However, the reason I went was because Astrid and Trudi told me the potentially ostentatious Michael Ball was to perform in it, and when he arrived on-stage, he was the highlight of the show. His singing and acting was vastly superior to anyone else that was on the stage. He was blessed with being asked to portray a portly slimy character and oozed around the stage when need be. It was still a shame that it was a bland show past his character, though. It was very much forgettable, especially with my memory.

I am reminded of the beauty of Vib-Ribbon after seeing a recent Beck video. It's a shame I don't have the game any more, but then the game was more of an experience for me. I saw it, I took in what it did and adored its charm, and that was all I could do with it. Vivid memories are all I need with that game.

Lastly: I have to go through DVDs to capture moments from them. Video, audio, both - some things need to be up here so I can allow people to see some interesting British things. You have been warned, though I'll most likely forget/get too lazy. These things include the Mr. Lizard sketch. I will try to work on this for your benefit tomorrow amongst screwing over the big corporation with our small independent store, and will end up getting distracted by the Cillit Bang remix or somesuch.