Snakes on a Plane

Yes - a real movie. To quote Samuel L. Jackson

"They had already changed the title when I got to Canada to start shooting. I let it go for a while. Then one day all the producers were standing there, and I'm saying, "So are you seriously going to leave this name like this?" And they're going, "Yeah, we don't want to give too much away to the audience." I'm like, "Yeah you do. That's the way you get them in here. Nobody wants to see Pacific Air Flight 121. People want to see Snakes on a Plane." When I picked up the script and I saw the title, I didn't even read it and I said, "I want to do it." You know, before I opened the first page, Snakes on a Plane. If this is what I think it is, I want to be in this. I want to be on a plane full of poisonous snakes. And I want to see other people on a plane full of poisonous snakes. You say Snakes on a Plane, people who don't like snakes are intrigued. The people who don't like to fly are intrigued. The people who don't like both are totally terrified now. People who just like seeing mayhem are ready for that. They want to see, you know, people enclosed in a big tin tube getting attacked by poisonous snakes. Come on! What could be more exciting than that, you know? What do you do? What do you do until the plane lands? Come on, Snakes on a Plane, that's the title."

Finnish monster metal set to invade Eurovision

Pinched from Crikey.

The countdown has started to the world's kitschiest songfest, the Eurovision Song Contest. Finland has participated in 40 Eurovision songfests, with a record eight last positions. Some countries are notorious for voting low against countries who have slighted them, but when was the last time Finland insulted anyone? These are well-deserved bona fide last positions. (To get an idea of the competition you may be interested in this gem – a Finnish music video from the 1980s).

But things are different this year. The Finns have nothing to lose, and have broken with tradition in how to select the Finnish entry. Usually, YLE (the Finnish national broadcaster and Eurovision delegate) appoints a panel of experts who choose the entry from groups nominated by Finnish record labels. This year, YLE invited the public to vote by SMS and phone in from the groups nominated by Finnish record labels. And the result? Well, it's not ABBA.

The Finns voted for Lordi, a heavy metal band from north of the Arctic Circle – they got a whopping 42% of the popular vote. The Eurovision website notes with understatement that "hard rock is a genre seldom associated with Eurovision".

"What we want to bring out from Finland at Eurovision is the winter darkness of kaamos, the cold, reindeer meat and blood pancakes", says the band. Lordi perform in elaborate monster costumes, masks, make-up and long black fingernails – they look like a cross between orks, vikings, Freddie Kruger and Kiss.

Last week, the US International Herald Tribune reported the story on the front page: "Monster Band has Finns fretting over face it shows". The article suggested that the Finnish public's choice reflected the Finns' low self esteem. The Finnish MEP Alexander Stubbs is quoted as saying that Lordi could embarass Finland when it takes the EU presidency in July 2006.

The IHT story was then reported in the national daily Helsingin Sanomat. It is hard to tell whether the painfully self-conscious Finns are fretting about Lordi being selected or fretting about the IHT reporting that they are fretting about Lordi being selected.

What will Terry Wogan make of Lordi? Finland may still come last. But it will go out with a bang.

Photo's from London - Part 03

IMG_1024, originally uploaded by JamesA.

The final set from my trip to London.

Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing

Damn, piece of crap, bugger, stupid bloody ... it goes on like this.

Bloody Heat Sinks

Why is it, when installing a CPU and Heat Sink that the CPU is bloody easy and the heat sink is a freakin' ordeal?

Why does it need to feel like you are about to break the motherboard in two before the bastard finally clicks in?

Photo's From London - Part 02

IMG_0932, originally uploaded by JamesA.

This time from Lords.

Citation

Legal Assignments. Why does it always seem to take longer to ensure all
your citations and references are correct than it does to actually write
the bloody thing..

Me and My Shadow, Pt. 1

My Boring Ass Life » Me and My Shadow, Pt. 1

As people who know me realise, I'm a pretty big fan of Kevin Smith and his movies (except for the Bennifer disaster). This is the first in a series of posts about some of the troubles he's had keeping his on-screen partner on the straight and narrow. Pretty sad reading.

I would have though that was obvious...

 

Photo's From London - Part 01

IMG_0877, originally uploaded by JamesA.

Some more pictures (for those who care) can be found here.

Fair call?

 

For Nick

Wired News: The Pirate Bay: Here to Stay?

You can never have enough Vikings

Interesting...

Places I visited

Tickets (and the like) from a few of the places I visited.