My Bank Holiday

I put an excalamtion mark at the end of the post title to make this seem a lot more interesting than it probably has been: basically Bank Holidays are always the same. You've got football on the telly, rubbish TV programmes, the weather's terrible and everyone thinks that it's a good idea to rush to the seaside because, er, that's what you do on a Bank Holiday.

Well, it's been pretty much the same for me. Today was the seaside day, and even though I didn't see much of the beach (because it's absolutely freezing cold out there) I did get my mitts on fish and chips:



Well it's actually a fish cake, which is why it's so round! I have to say that these paticular variety of fish and chips are very delicious - it's a good job that I don't live nearer to where these are made otherwise I'd be the size of a house! I had ice cream too, but I'll have you know that I was good and only opted for a small tub: I'm not the pig I may seem to be!

In other Bank Holiday news, I was so desperate for a game that takes longer than 10 hours to complete (including min-games, collectibles, side-quests and all the rest of it) that I resorted to getting my ancient Nintendo 64 working again:



I decided to start with Donkey Kong, since it's a game I haven't played for ages - I think this game actually holds the record for the amount of collectible items in a single game (including bananas, golden bananas, fairies, battle crowns, blueprints, banana medals, boss keys, oranges, ammunition crates, two special tokens, banana coins, headphones and camera film. That's quite a long list!) Also on the cards to play is the first two Banjo-Kazooie games (Banjo-Tooie is hilarious and also takes an age to complete 100%) and Zelda: Majora's Mask, for me the most criminally underrated in the franchise.

So other than this and blogging it's been a pretty mundane Bank Holiday really. I'll sign off with Beck's "Youthless" a song that's been on repeat for me over the weekend and also has a very simple yet oddly ingenious video:

It Could've Worked On Me!

Ah, Pot Noodles! Admittedly, I haven't had one in so many years and probably with good reason - the rice curry ones are a bit vile really and the only flavour I like is the beef ones. Oh, the sweet chili or sweet and sour ones are nice too but my stomach has shrunk dramatically over the years (completely natural! It just sort of happened as time went on and my eyes shrunk simultaneously) and I was no longer able to eat a full pot. So that's why I don't eat them any more.

At least, until now. Okay, this isn't really going to make me buy a Pot Noodle but hey, it's so hilarious that I would buy a sympathy pot, put it in the cupboard and think of the odd parodies every time I stared at it.

Curious yet? Well, peeps living in the UK might not have seen this advert either. There's actually two of them but they never get shown - while watching the third X-Men on Film4 the other week it was never off but since then (and since I've said to everyone "Have you seen that Pot Noodle advert?!") it hasn't been shown! Okay just the once on LFC TV but it's not exactly overwhelmingly commercial is it?

Well now I'm going to subject you all to the kebab advert! It's very Flight Of The Conchords:

On the subject of the Conchords, they're back tomorrow on Beeb 4! The songs have supposedly gone off the boil but from the clips, I'm not so sure! Here's a clip from their first series, their Pet Shop Boys parody "Inner City Pressure":



I do love a good late-night post. They always end up being the best!

Trick Or Treat

Well I've noticed it's been two whole weeks since I last posted here - that's pretty awful isn't it? First of all I have to say - how come it was the 28th yesterday and now today it's the 31st!? Have I completely lost track of all the dates and everything!? No wonder my pumpkin looks so angry, I bet he's lost in the tardis too... it was bad enough when the clocks went back and I kept losing track of the time (NOT helped by other people who kept getting the time wrong as well)...

So anyway, it's Halloween - when I lock the doors at night. People living the UK will probably understand when I say that it's annoying having a bunch of chavs* turn up at your door dressed as, er, chavs* and singing that awful "Sky is blue" song. It's not good. Whatever happened to little kids putting a bedsheet with two holes over their heads and asking elderly women for candy? I'm lying, some people still do that and other, sadder people decorate their house in all manner of creepy paraphernalia. Never floated my boat personally!

But for today I will be playing "Halloween" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Although, when I think about it just about anything from their "Juju" album would be appropriate (erm, apart from "Arabian Nights" and "Monitor" I think). Not that I need an excuse to bang that brilliant gothic masterpiece on mind you...

Coincidentally**, it's Bonfire Night next week and little old me will be busy with sparklers and Damp Squibs***. More on that next week though.

*Chavs = a derogatory term used to describe rather arrogant people who constantly wear shellsuits and a lot of "bling" on any visible part of skin - Burberry is a must, as is swearing in any available public space. They also have a very annoying tendency to tuck their tracksuit bottoms into their socks
**Coincidentally = speaking of "Juju" and songs that go with Halloween, another Siouxsie song from the album (at least the restored edition) can be used to soundtrack Bonfire Night - "Fireworks" - which is why I started talking about it
***Damp Squibs = a daft term that my mum and I developed years ago to describe fireworks that promise a lot but then end up giving out the weakest of displays, such as those ones that shoot into the air with a massive squeal and then give a little pop with no lights. Makes you think either: "what a waste of money" or "I don't know why I bother". But it's funny!

Music Meets... Video Games

Okay so a few months ago I published a short post about Quentin Tarantino being inspired by Kate Bush to direct Kill Bill because the lyrics of "The Wedding List" are so similar to the storyline of his cult bloodfest. Of course, it was a fat chance but fun!

So now I've come to you with another little musical mash-up: readers of Jamjarsuperstar will know that I've recently purchased "A Kiss in the Dreamhouse" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. If you examine that cover, near to where the images of Siouxsie Sioux's backing band are placed there is clearly the symbol of the Triforce, a recurring divine object in the Legend of Zelda series. Did Shigeru Miyamoto and his colleagues stumble upon this symbol on this album cover?

Coincidence? You decide...

Am I Really That Threatening?

You've probably already gathered that I tend to use the bus to get around and try not to use the car too much (it's my eco-conscience). Since I don't get on the bus with anyone else - generally - I tend to put my i-Pod on and take in some of the sights on the way to wherever I'm going.

Buses are becoming a bit of a meeting-zone for the elderly and young mothers with their screaming kids, most of whom are little whining boys, who seem to always know someone else on the bus. And then there are just other people who are like me and don't know anyone else so they hide away until their stop comes.

It seems like wherever I go, no-one wants to sit next to me. People would rather stand than sit next to me on the bus. Even the bus drivers give me funny looks sometimes. I'm at a loss as to why people find me so scary. Is it the way I dress (which isn't really that threatening at all - are coloured tights and brogues a put-off?) or the fact that I do just sit there and listen to my music (as Babooshka nicely put it, tunes such as Arcade Fire tend to fend off the scary people so it can't be a bad thing)? Please, someone else has to have this semi-dilemma. I'm not really that bothered that no-one sits next to me, my problem is in the fact that they seem to have an aversion to me, like I'm a bad rash. Or perhaps the bus just isn't my type of place. No-one cool or vaguely like me gets on.

Still, it's better than having a swearing chav sit beside me blasting rubbish rave.