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graf1771

graf1771

Gender: Male
Born: July 21, 1976
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Last Sign in: November 14, 2007
Member Since: April 6, 2006
URL: http://www.mystrands.com/graf1771
Watch the graf1771 Channel on MyStrands.TV

Profile Views: 11493
Playcounts: 32K
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Journal

recruitment websites

~ January 30, 2007 at 17:43 (Views: 31 )

It's been a while since I last used this as an advert for my own things, so I've got a couple of new websites to show:

CK Science

and

CK Clinical

These are sites for two recruitment companies based in the UK specialising in the scientific, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Got to be worth a quick plug - I've been working on them for ages!



Life on Mars

~ January 23, 2007 at 16:19 (Views: 44 )

I've just started watching this on DVD and, to my surprise, it's really good! I know it's won lots of awards and things but even so - it's a British drama in a sort of US style and it's done very well - a bit of humour, great music (in case you couldn't tell from the title), good acting, well filmed.

Life on Mars

This is the track listing for episode one:

Life On Mars by David Bowie
Stairway To The Stars by Blue Oyster Cult
I'm So Free by Lou Reed
Baba O'Riley by The Who
Rat Rat Blue by Deep Purple
Fireball by Deep Purple
White Room by Cream

and episode two:

Live And Let Die by Wings
No One Came by Deep Purple
Drum Song by Willie Lindo & The Charmers Band
Saga Of The Aging Orphan by Thin Lizzy
Lazy by Deep Purple
One Of These Days by Pink Floyd
Dream Land by The Upsetters

I can't think of a tv series that has a better soundtrack, unless you absolutely hate 1970s rock of course!

Here's a brief outline of the plot from Wikipedia:

The format of the series mixes time travel with police drama, with the central character being modern-day policeman Sam Tyler (played by John Simm), who after being hit by a car in 2006 finds himself back in 1973. There, he is working for Manchester and Salford Police CID under DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister). Over the course of the series, Tyler faces various culture clashes, most frequently regarding differences in approaches to policing between him and his colleagues. The series also features a strong ambiguity concerning Tyler's predicament: it is unclear whether he really has travelled back in time, is in a coma in 2006 and imagining his experiences, or is really from 1973 and mentally unstable.



Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis

~ January 4, 2007 at 14:29 (Views: 156 )

Well, this seems to be the popular type of thing to post... it's a great song - worth a listen.



lyrics:

Well you must be a girl with shoes like that
she said you know me well
I seen you and little Steven and Joanna
Round the back of my hotel oh yeah

Someone said you was asking after me
But I know you best as a blagger
I said tell me your name is it sweet?
She said my boy it’s dagger oh yeah

I was good she was hot
Stealin' everything she got
I was bold she was over the worst of it
Gave me gear thank you dear bring yer sister over here
Let her dance with me just for the hell of it

Well you must be a boy with bones like that
She said you got me wrong
I would’ve sold them to you
If I could’ve just have kept the last of my clothes on
Call me up take me down with you
When you go I could be your regular belle
And I’ll dance for little Steven and Joanna
Round the back of my hotel oh yeah

I was good she was hot
Stealin' everything she got
I was bold she was over the worst of it
Gave me gear thank you dear bring yer sister over here
Let her dance with me just for the hell of it

Chelsea Chelsea I believe that when your dancing
Slowly sucking your sleeve
That all the boys get lonely after you leave
And it’s one for the Dagger and another for the one you believe

Chelsea Chelsea I believe that when your dancing
Slowly sucking your sleeve
That all the boys get lonely after you leave
And it’s one for the Dagger and another for the one you believe


I was going to add in a clip from the Goonies - the opening opening with the Fratellis escape and police chase would have been appropriate. But I couldn't find it on YouTube!



Gomez

~ January 3, 2007 at 12:51 (Views: 26 )

How come Gomez are so good? A bunch of mates get together in 1996 to play a gig, didn't even have a name... From wikipedia:

The genesis of Gomez was the meeting of four friends from Southport. Guitarist and vocalist Ian Ball and drummer Olly Peacock had previously played together in a local heavy metal band called Severed. They joined with guitarist / vocalist / keyboardist Tom Gray and bassist Paul Blackburn. Ian Ball met vocalist / guitarist Ben Ottewell from Matlock Bath in Derbyshire at Sheffield University, where they were both studying.

The band played their first gig together in late 1996 in Leeds without a formal name. The band left a sign out for a friend of theirs whose surname was Gomez to indicate that it was the site of their first gig. People saw the sign and assumed that the band's name was Gomez - the name stuck.

The band started recording four-track demos in a garage in Southport soon after. A bidding war erupted when they sent the demos to recording labels, with the band finally signing with Virgin Records' subsidiary, Hut, in 1997.



Every time I listen to their old albums - or find a new album, I always love their music. If you've not heard anything by them, you're missing out.


Blue Moon Rising on Liquid Skin by Gomez

Whippin' Piccadilly on Bring It On by Gomez

We Haven't Turned Around on Liquid Skin by Gomez

Get Myself Arrested on Bring It On by Gomez

I could keep on adding links - it's all good!



So that was Christmas...

~ December 27, 2006 at 15:53 (Views: 75 )

I hope everyone had a good holiday and looking forward to the anti-climatical New Years Eve parties...

I'm off to a friend's house for James Bond / movies and casino themed fun: cocktails, tuxedos and roulette. I have no idea what my costume will be, suggestions thankfully received!

On the movies note, here are my 3 big movies of next year:

1. Grindhouse: Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez direct back-to-back full length horror movies in one package. Even the posters look amazing!





Grindhouse teaser trailer

2. Transformers: The classic comic book, cartoon series and 80s toys (well, they're the only ones that count) is updated, and so far looks pretty good. It just depends if Michael Bay can destroy it as he has managed to destroy plenty of other films!

Transformers Movie, trailer and other stuff



3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: Not sure if I need to say any more on this one... Sequel to 2006's biggest film and shot simultaneously, can it fail to be great? Hopefully not!



A Charlie Brown / Scrubs Christmas Treat

~ December 20, 2006 at 22:32 (Views: 112 )

I first saw this a couple of weeks ago but for some reason didn't post it... It's a Charlie Brown Christmas, overdubbed by the cast of Scrubs. And it's really good!





Almost Christmas time...

~ December 20, 2006 at 12:05 (Views: 110 )

Well, it's been two weeks since I last posted - I've been quite busy with work and general Christmas related activities, so it's all good.

Everything's getting a bit hectic, making changes to websites, parties to go to and copious amounts of alcohol to contend with! So I've decide that I need to chill out with some Simon & Garfunkel, surprisingly seasonal without being too eurgh and jingle bells-y.

I have found a brilliant site for all those "Lost" fans out there:

Lost sound effects, I'm certainly going to have the best ringtone in 2007 :-)



Now, my Christmas List:

Dear Santa, I've been a good boy this year, worked hard and been nice to everyone! So I would like a Nintendo Wii, A big HDTV, an Audi S8 or R8 I'm not too bothered, a new house, world peace and, of course, a supermodel girlfriend.



Short Circuit

~ December 6, 2006 at 11:53 (Views: 33 )

Possibly the oddest news I've heard all week... There's a potential remake to "Short Circuit" in the works.

This seems like a completely pointless remake, after all, the original has everything you expect from an 80s family film - cute girl (Ally Sheedy), a robot, a white man white make-up to look Indian and Steve Guttenberg.

I think I even saw this one at the cinema when it was first released in 1986. At the age of ten this was definitely one of my favourite films alongside The Goonies, Back to the Future and Ghostbusters (still in my top ten, but maybe for different reasons).

Some quotes from IMDB:

This film is wonderfully life-affirming through the character of robot Jonny 5 (the scene where he realises what it means to be alive through crushing a grass hopper is beautifully portrayed), Ally Sheedy brings a bucket load of positive energy to the character of the naive but loving Stephanie, and to top it all there is a subtle but powerful comment on American militarism. There is a real emphasis on quality screen writing here which only comes through on a small ratio of films. The characters could easily have become 2 dimensional stereotypes, but instead given some interesting dialogue and motives (science, military etc). Yes it is cheesy, and I think many people label it as a cheap and tacky 80's movie, but having watched it again recently I think history may well judge it a minor classic.



This film was originally conceived as a dark high-tech thriller. Number 5 was originally intended to be the villain of the picture: an out-of-control, heavily-armed military robot that had escaped from the lab that had developed him. After several script revisions, the darker elements were toned down and the film became a high-tech comedy.



Sammy Davis Jr

~ November 29, 2006 at 11:33 (Views: 111 )

Definitely my favourite member of the Rat Pack, great singer, entertainer and funny - being in the Cannonball Run (see previous post) also helps anyone to increase in my estimation!

Anyway, I was doing one of those YouTube trawls and found this:



There are another three of these clips from the Bruce Forsyth show on there, and they're all great. Despite my reservations of Bruce Forsyth this goes to show that he was actually pretty good in the 70s...



Heroes

~ November 27, 2006 at 23:54 (Views: 13 )

OK, well it's not on TV here in the UK yet but I'd been reading a couple of blogs that featured this programme and, well, it's really good!

I've watched up to episode 9, 10 is on TV tonight sometime - I'll be getting a copy this week, and I'm hooked. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out the official website here.

One of the best things is the artist character and the great manga-esque pictures:





It's sort of a cross between Lost, 24 and X-Men which should tell you how much fun it is to watch, it also has a bit of blood and guts - just enough to keep you on your toes. Also the inclusion of a few cute women (the men I'm not so sure about) guarantees my continued viewing...

The one odd thing is the jump from the pilot to episode 2 - is it just me or did that guy cut his hand off to get the heroin? and it's suddenly returned in episode 2? strange!



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