WeatherGirl’s Station

Well the technical crew that slaves away keeping WeatherGirl’s Station in fine fettle, has installed a plug-in that should make life in this tiny corner of the blogsphere a little bit easier.

Comments now feature SecureImage, a CAPTCHA program that helps differentiate between humans and bots. Thanksgiving proved a thankless time for dealing with Station comment spam. My oh my were the spammers busy. My in-box was groaning under the barrage of ringtones, tamiflu, and poker ads. The technical crew got a whiney earful, which proved just the right amount of incentive to do the buggers in.

For now I’ll be leaving moderation on but if Station spam is curtailed I might be tempted to let comments go live immediately. Time will tell. Grateful thanks go to the Station’s technical lackey.

Current temperature 36F/2C

So all of you out there who voted for George Bush because he was a “good christian“, how are you liking your guy now? Clearly electing government officials because they profess a particular flavour of faith is no guarantee of a government acting with moral rectitude.

Personally I’d rather have a Bill-Clinton-type, whose personal life is a mite chaotic, than a George-Bush-type who has made torture, tax relief for the rich and connected, and anti-intellectualism, American family values.

When next you vote send those, who wave their religious book of choice around and profess moral superiority, packing. Perhaps it’s time for the next American Revolution when those with courage stand up and defend the US Constitution and Bill of Rights against the onslaught of those who would tear it up in favour of their personal beliefs about right and wrong.

Just a thought.

Current temperature 34F/1C

Fun. Yes it’s a piece of fluff but it’s fun fluff. I like Reese Witherspoon as a comedienne and she’s good here. Mark Ruffalo doesn’t really float my boat as a romantic hero but he doesn’t do too badly in this movie. Probably better as a rental rather than a night out at the cinema.

Current temperature 14F/-10C

Taut. We’re not big scary movie fans but this one cranked the tension without being too gruesome. I didn’t buy the whole “based on a true story” side of things but certainly it kept me entertained for the full run time. Yet another great Tom Wilkinson performance!

Current temperature 16F/-9C

One of the greatest footballers ever died today. George Best was one of the finest players ever to grace the world of football. A later addition to the Busby Babes and hero of all who call Old Traford home, who will ever forget the talent that this man had? Even today those highlight reels still manage to thrill.

Defeated by alcoholism, there will still only ever be one Georgie Best. RIP.

Current temperature 18F/-8C

Disappointing. Huge potential, unrealised. Some stunning visuals and a couple of stand out performances, especially Jonathan Pryce, but it was missing that je ne sai quoi that would make it a successful and satisfying movie.

Current temperature 37F/3C

Stunningly beautiful. This movie makes brilliant use of the film format. The visuals are just stunning and I like the fact that it is set in a variety of African locations where we see lots and lots of Africans. (Too often western movies set in Africa seem to consist of nothing but animals and a few guides for the white people.) The plot is rather formulaic but I did enjoy the main leads none the less. Watching Ralph Fiennes character breakdown and mourn for his wife was just heart wrenching.

Well worth a visit to the cinema.

Current temperature 37F/3C

The third performing arts event. A spectacular extravaganza! Wow. The skill of the musicians was incredible. That, combined with their great showmanship, made for a stunning experience. Who’d have thought that Baroque music could be so thrilling!

Current temperature 37F/3C

The second performing arts event was the Arena Dances troupe. Dance is not as popular as other performance art here in Morris and as expected the auditorium was not completely filled. A shame really as the dance groups that come to Morris are almost always excellent.

The evening was a performance of two halfs. The first half was the more interesting with the music and dance blending perfectly to communicate an emotionally rich experience. The second half seemed less cohesive, more a demonstration of the dancer’s athletic finesse than the telling of a story. Regardless I enjoyed the whole performance and would recommend you check out these dancers if you have the opportunity.

Current temperature 37F/3C (no snow yet!)

Well … there were periods of tension and I enjoyed seeing the ‘backroom’ parts of the aircraft. Ultimately this movie didn’t quite hang together completely satisfactory. Jodie Foster’s character was hard to connect with despite what had happened to her. At the end I would have liked to see more acknowledgement between Foster and the arab passenger for her mistaken accusation.

On the positive side Sean Bean got to be a good guy in an American movie. W00t! Will wonders ever cease?

Current temperature 37F/3C