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We saw Bruno tonight.
Huge rollercoaster - once again another movie where the balls of Sacha Baron Cohen at pulling off stunts where frankly it's amazing he gets out alive are demonstrated. It's hilarious - and had the entire cinema shreaking in hysterics and disbelief!
Like the last movie - it's vulgar, disgusting, and certainly not for anyone who is easily offended - I highly recommend it ;)
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Jul. 5th, 2009 @ 12:33 am
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Well, today Coli and I headed down to London to check out the Gay pride event!
Primarily, this consisted of a very long parade with rather a lot of different groups! Ranging from the obvious (Stonewall) to the not so obvious (Gay alien believers?). Lots of noise and generally allot of fun. We stood to watch the whole thing, and did our bit to add to the colour with a pride flag or two :) Elfasi turned up shortly after the parade started and stayed with us most of the day.
Later we headed over to Trafalga Square - lots going on there, big stage with various events. The avenue Q cast were on stage when we arrived, and throughout the day a variety of entertainment was happening. It was a bit packed so we headed over to Soho - which was also rather packed! Having been on our feet for most of the day we headed over to Bodean's for something to eat, before Elfasi split off.
We headed back to Trafalga Sq and stuck around for a while just soaking up the atmosphere. We didn't get the chance to head over to the meet, but we were probably not ever going to be able to spend much time there anyway.
Lots of fun ... not enough Bears :) |
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may attend the London fur meet and gay pride events in London this weekend. Not sure if I can stay over somewhere.... |
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Tomorrow is looking like the hottest day of the year so far - so, don't forget to claim for an ice cream on your expenses! In fact, why not got to the shops, buy some ice cream, and then send the receipt to your MP asking for your money back? Frankly, it's the least they could do!
At the weekend it was a scorcher too - and I was over in Sheffield for the NorthernFur meet. There were few faces there that I recognised, and even as the first Northern Meet I'd been to for 18 months - it was still probably a foregone conclusion, that I'd be out of the loop by now!
I did see a few people there I know, and indeed stayed the night at Furble's house, as did Frost (he didn't melt in the heat!).
We discussed the subject of the meets a little later on. It seems that the meets, and their repetitious nature largely seem to get a little 'samey' for people as time goes by. At first, it can be a novelty to 'strike out' into the world of furry, and find your feet, but it's clear that this can form an inherently immature environment. There's nothing wrong with that per se - but it's no surprise that eventually, people want more. They largely /get/ more by focussing on particular friendships and attending conventions where there is scope to take the whole furry thing 'further'. Still, there's something to be said for occasionally heading over to a furmeet to see what's happening.
Of course, this does pose one rather uncomfortable truth - and that is that it's now increasingly unlikely that I'll find a partner by simply carrying on as before, and that I may have to broaden my horizons and perhaps even look outside the furry community. It's either that or get a 'Pounced' account - does it work? |
| » Sheffield? |
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Idly pondering going to the Sheffield meet at the weekend, since I haven't been to a Northern meet in well over a year.
Might have to sort a place to stay though.....
Jun. 23rd, 2009 @ 11:28 pm
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| » Analog Britain |
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Well, the government have outlined 'the way forward' for the internet in the Digital Britain report.
One of the areas the report deals with of course, is piracy. The report is critical of piracy and deems it 'wrong'. Interestingly enough, it does also make an acknowledgement of sorts in one section by stating:
" A recent study in Scandinavia has shown that the biggest users of unlawful peer-to-peer material are also the biggest paid-for consumers of music. Where there are easy, affordable and lawful routes consumers will take them. "
In several areas it insists that the majority would prefer legal options - however, it makes little mention of fair use rights, and instead talks on how modernisation of fair use would be restricted by EU copyright. It never mentions DRM once - apart from in the glossary.
It also proposes legislation to tackle piracy, by way of allowing OFCOM to impose upon ISPs an order to limit, block and traffic shape internet connectivity. This goes beyond any voluntary arrangement in place with the internet safety watchdogs of today.
Put simply, the government wants to encourage legal media distribution, but it is not clear that they fully understand the frustrations of people who want to be able to use technology to gain access to digital media - but are facing ever increasing legal accusations as a result of doing so.
Personally, I think that anyone who in any way thinks they give a damn should write to their MP and encourage them that a far deeper investigation of fair use needs to be a part of any effort to 'crack down' on piracy, and that in this day and age people expect access to media quickly and easily - without obstacles like DRM.
Jun. 16th, 2009 @ 09:21 pm
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| » Weapon of mass distraction |
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Inquiry announced, and surprise surprise – it’s going to be in private, and won’t report until after the next general election. Pretty bad really – an inquiry is not a court case or trial, but it’s there to get to the truth, and the truth about the Iraq war has been pretty muddy from the start. People don’t trust the evidence that was used to justify the war – and given that we now know there were no weapons of mass destruction, the basic question is this: was our government supplied with dodgy intelligence information, or did they indeed ‘sex up’ the document because the American government (previous administration) wanted an ally? Of course, it’s entirely possible that it’s a bit of both, or that our intelligence information was somehow tampered with – either way, any outcome of this inquiry that absolves everyone of blame cannot be anything other than more lies. The people involved in this are either complicit, incompetent, or a bit of both – in which case we the people who are supposed to establish our own government through democratic processes, have a right to know – and a private inquiry may well deprive us of that right, The next time this country gets involved in a military conflict (as I’m sure we will at some stage) – the people need to be able to know and trust, that those in power making the decisions are doing so from a position of integrity (or at least more integrity than the current lot), and that the intelligence services informing them (that we have no democratic influence over) are also operating from a position of integrity, and are using competently acquired and accurate information. Whilst it may be pretty damning, right now the only way for at least some trust to be restored would be to hold a public inquiry where those responsible for the decisions that led to our joining the war, actually stand up and take responsibility.
Jun. 15th, 2009 @ 04:46 pm
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| » Coping with addiction |
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The first step will be admitting he has a problem! ( Read more... )
Jun. 13th, 2009 @ 05:13 pm
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| » Saturday |
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Looks like a LondonFurs trip for me tomorrow :)
Jun. 12th, 2009 @ 11:26 pm
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| » Eurofurence transport plans |
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Looking at doing a fly-drive plan again. Anyone interested in sharing a hire car during the 'drive' part of the journey? (I'm planning to be there for the extra day both before and after the con).
Jun. 11th, 2009 @ 10:41 pm
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| » BNP MEP, F-OFF |
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It's hardly shocking that we find ourselves with two BNP MEPs - many protest votes have gone to them in the past at these sort of elections (read: elections people feel don't matter), and with a collapse of the Labour vote, their share of the vote "looked" bigger and gained them their two MEPs - and alas their leader Nick Griffin is among them, now entitled to a salary that I'm sure might have made many people think twice about voting for them had they known.
Clearly, disillusionment with Labour has hit that party hard this time around, but I can't say I feel in any way sorry for them, they've been complacent in their positions of power for some time now, and their continuing answers to the media that the message we've apparently sent to them is one of " hey fellas, just get on with the job *wink*" only serves to remind everyone just how complacent they are.
The expenses scandal didn't really help either - it's not particularly grand on the scale of corruption (lets hear it for the Telegraph..... anyone? Ok then), but it's still a pretty basic point that we (the people who pay them) should know how much they (the MPs we put in charge) are being paid. Surely this whole mess would have been avoided if there had been full public transparency from "day one" ?
We can only hope that this mess sends a strong message to the mainstream parties that they need to get their act together - however, it's unlikely that they will interpret it as anything other than a warning that they need to spend more dodgy cash on their campaigns, and carry on doing what they were doing before ... only more so.
The real despair though is not what the political parties are doing or not doing, its how clear it is just how little some people really understand about politics, and how it's all so much about personalities and PR, and not issues and policies. Don't get me wrong - I'm no political megabrain - but I think it's important to take an interest, and dig past some of the PR.
Thankfully though, this latest 'attack of politics' may now finally be over - even Nick Robinson, the BBC's political correspondent, appeared to be rather hoping it will be the case when reporting on the 10PM news tonight. The anchor agreed, as I think will most people - maybe we can have something else 'top of the news' for a while.
Jun. 8th, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
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| » Voting done |
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Well, I went out and voted for 'Jury Team' in the end. I was taken with the syndicate independent concept, and as there were no other independents on the listing, I gave them the benefit of my 'X'
Long time to wait until all the results are in, but local council elections will come first - Gordon is unlikely to come out looking good after all this of course, but you can bet that there will be lots of phrases like 'we didn't do as badly as expected' or 'we have to get on with the job in hand' etc efc
Also, most overused phrase of the moment: "A plague on all your houses" :)
Jun. 4th, 2009 @ 09:38 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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Hot sunny weather.
It really isn't the weather for being single.
Jun. 2nd, 2009 @ 11:54 pm
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| » Home for the Secretary |
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She's going
Lets not forget though, that typically you'll either get another minister promoted into her place, or some other MP with a very good record of towing the party line and being a good boy / girl. I'm not holding out much hope for 'big changes' - for that we need a change of government (the sooner the better).
On the theme of politics, I'm torn between voting Lib Dem or Libertas on Thursday's Euro Elections. I shall most definitely NOT be voting for any 'get of of Europe' party - as I don't believe that's wise. Europe needs reform yes - but the idea of it all is still very sound to me indeed (and yes, that includes the Euro).
Jun. 2nd, 2009 @ 11:05 pm
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| » Summer fun |
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It's been the nicest weather for some time, and we (Colifox and I) decided to make the most of it (but in a relaxed sort of way after the full on party that was Confuzzled last weekkend!) so invited Twll & Cosmo over to stay, and have a BBQ with us on Saturday. We probably had a little too much food, but it always seems the way at BBQs! Good fun, food, drink and company though! Later we went to see Star Trek together. Had already seen it, but wanted to go watch if at the Imax. It was good to see it on the giant screen, although there were a few scenes that suggested it was never really intended to be shown in the Imax format. Didn't detract from the experience though. Twll & Cosmo stayed the night, and then today we spontaneously decided to go to the beach. We took some time to figure out where, and settled on the idea of meeting up with MattLion and Rez in Weston-Super-Mare. It was a great day of just messing about on the beach being silly, enjoying the sunshine, eating ice cream, relaxing and just taking it easy. It ended with a nice meal of fish n chips., and an agreement that we didn't want to go home! Must do more of this. Oh, we all bought sandles and Twittered everything into being a *con :) Good times!
May. 31st, 2009 @ 09:08 pm
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| » Assimilated |
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Well, the inevitable is happening. My bank (Alliance & Leicester) will be rebranded along with Abbey and Bradford & Bingley into 'Santander'. To be honest, I don't really care about the name - so long as I get the same services. I've tended to shy away from banking with the bigger banks like Barclays and HSBC, as they want to charge me money for the services I've enjoyed for free for nearly a decade.
My fear is that as I now /am/ with a big bank, that services I've been getting will be repositioned into accounts I'd have to pay for in order to continue the same service. Time will tell, and it could be that any attempts at unifying the product line will be a long way off - but nevertheless I'll be looking closely at alternatives should the need arise.
May. 27th, 2009 @ 11:53 pm
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| » Confuzzled II |
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And another long Confuzzled convention weekend is over!
Once again the YHA let us take over their Youth Hostel in Manchester, and as with last year there was a great atmosphere in the place; there's nothing like taking over completely to help set the right mood and generate that 'convention feel' that lets everyone let their hair (or fur) down!
This time around the Confuzzled staff had allowed more people to register, allowing 'attending only' members to register too, so more people could come and see what all the fuss was about! The 'fuss' this year revolved around the usual combination of socialising, events, art, fursuiting, dancing and plenty of silliness! As a Sponsor I was loaded up with merchandise from the word go - certainly a warm welcome to be given cake!
The Jewel in the crown of the events schedule was the PawPet show, directed by Utlah. I have to say, I had everything crossed for the guys involved - doing this sort of thing for the first time is a big ask, but they pulled it off with what really was a triumph. Considering those guys started literally from scratch, it was an amazing achievement, and a testament to the hard work they all put in preparing and practising in the months leading up to the big night. The tough part is going to be bettering themselves next year ;)
The Fursuit parade was moved this year to a later slot - which was much better for me, as once again the previous night had been a late one - but this year's later start meant I was fully ready to involve myself with that, making for our moment of public entertainment glory :)
The art auction was also fun, even if the bidding war I was threatened with didn't really materialise!! - although there was a bit of a moment there when competing with Furble for a piece by Frost! In the end though I didn't go home empty handed, walking away with a large print of the Con-book cover art. I'm considering having it properly framed. Some of the money from my bid went to Charity - which is nice to know.
The dances were also brilliant. Swolf served up a whopping slab of Cheese on Saturday night which was just yummed up! Then on Sunday night I fursuited up for the three visiting DJ's. Kenai's music kept me on the dance floor far longer than was sensible! Had to take a /long/ break after that! Missed most of TabbieFox's dance alas, but made it out to enjoy a little of BBFs dance!
Any criticisms? Well, Whilst the PawPet show was fantastic, it had become a 'bet the con' event - with nothing else really happening on Saturday night. Not everyone could get in to see the show, and indeed some people may not have wanted too. I'm informed that some people outside the show felt at a loose end. There's nothing worse than having attendees feeling that way. They may have socialising open to them - but part of the 'soul' of a convention is the excitement that rumbles on the whole time, with events and activities - people should be going places and doing things - when they stop to socialise it should be with the knowledge that there's more to do, and more going on.
To a certain extent how long you can stretch a gap in the schedule depends on the environment and venue - but it can still all come down to programming.
Next year's venue may make a big difference. One thing that wasn't really possible as an 'alternative' (for anyone finding themselves in that 'loose end' scenario) was the possibility of having a room party. With small hostel rooms, a true room party isn't really do-able. Next year may well be different. With many furs attending Confuzzled having not been to other conventions abroad, I wonder if the concept of holding a good room party will be a skill that will have to be acquired :)
However, I'm not laying down any accusations of major problems - the convention is only in it's second year. and given how rapidly they've built up from nothing, a few teething problems are to be expected - they're learning, and continuing to learn all the time. I think that if they all stick at it, that Confuzzled will get better and better with each passing year, and with a fantastic looking new venue already lined up for 2010, I think we've all go a lot to look forward to in the future.
MORE!
May. 25th, 2009 @ 10:31 pm
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| » Confuzzled 2009 |
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A most meritorious venture
More later.
May. 25th, 2009 @ 07:40 pm
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| » Avenue Q |
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Can I draw everyone’s attention to THIS :)
May. 21st, 2009 @ 05:21 pm
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