As with all bloggers, I'm going through a demotivated phase at the moment, largely prompted by the recent spat at home over what I should or should not include with a large dollop of too much work in the office...time to tell myself to 'Get over it'.
Big Brother is currently in Cyprus visiting Grandma in Cyprus. He'll be her for her birthday in a week's time which makes him Good Son. I'll no doubt be late with my card, which will make me (once again) Bad Brother. It's a heavy burden to bear. Or is it bare? I never know.
Last Friday evening we went to The Barbican to see Calvary. I used to go to the cinema every Sunday when I lived around the corner, so I know it better than most. But it's still a maze to me, and I was pretty nearly flummoxed when someone asked me to point them in the direction of the tube station. I did point in a as the crow flies sort of way, but told them to get regular new directions in order to actually reach their destination. Back to Calvary, especially as no one appreciated my joke about a film about men on horses. We've seen a lot of good films this year, and I think this may be the best of the bunch. It has a pretty verbally brutish start, and in your heart of hearts you know how it's going to end. The title somewhat gives it away. But the acting, the scenery and the characterisation are beyond compare and the whole thing is gripping from start to finish. Ignore the reviewers who call this a black comedy...it absolutely is not. Don't be fooled by the cast including comedians, they're not there to make you laugh. There may be some dark humour in it, but then it wouldn't have any realism if it didn't. We've spent hours and hours talking about it afterwards...so much so that I suspect the DVD will be ordered when it's available. Certainly one not to miss.
We watched two other films on Blu-Ray over the weekend. Well one and a half. Tom Cruise in Oblivion and TED. I'm not a Cruise fan at all, but I enjoyed Minority Report and live in hope that he will repeat that little triumph. Oblivion is not that triumph. I suspect it is the fault of the Hollywood system that insists that all and every sci-fi film is big budget, big production values, tiny, tiny attention to script or plot. It looked good, and the storyline was terrific, but the whole thing was derivative and soulless with a truly awful script. TED the talking teddy bear came highly recommended, but we struggled through half of it before deciding that it was never going to be either funny or clever.
Other than our film endeavours, we went to The Cat's Mother's uncle's 80th at Formans...a truly superb restaurant that sits opposite the Olympic Stadium. It was a lovely family do, and gorgeous food to boot. The rest of the weekend was spent pottering in or out of the garden and it kinda felt that's how the bank holiday needed to be spent.
I have a new app on my phone which is quite a pleasant thing to have. It aggregates all your social media feeds and then tells you what you were up to a year ago, two years ago, three and four years ago. I rather like being reminded as it lets me know all the lovely things that have been going on in my life. It's called Timehop, but is obviously useless if you don't have a blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter account... Four years ago, it tells me, the latest text on my phone said "Found whole nest of ants in the jam pot" Yuk. Gross. Am pleased they avoided the marmalade and Marmite. I've yet to discover who I was sending it to or who it came from...
The other app that I like is the one that lets me control the heating. We can switch it on or off as we need, for example if we're away it's good to have the place warmed through by the time we're home. There are a whole load of apps I see that are just beyond my comprehension. The kettle that's controlled by an app. Yes you can switch it on from the sitting room...although no one has explained how you fill it up, or pour it into your tea mug when the damn thing has boiled. How about the washing machine controlled by an app. Please let me know how you can remotely load it with clothes and liquid and then unload it at the end of the cycle. Or the app controlled shower. Or the app controlled bath. Really, really, really? I am nearly going to forgive the app controlled toothbrush (I said nearly). I do have a brush that sends a signal to a little display on the shelf above the sink...it tells me when I've spent the right amount of time on each section of teeth. Strangely it does work and I'm more thorough. The latest version though uses an app on your phone. My only comment is good idea until your phone falls into the sink under the running water or gets splashed when your splash your face afterwards..