Apparently this is selling really well. I think it is issue 1 of a comic series. Or maybe not. I don't see how you can do a biography in 26 pages.

But still, here it is:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orbit-Rush-Todd-Matthy/dp/1962404978/

Dreadful news this morning.

Heart-breaking after appearing to be on the road to recovery although I knew he was still undergoing treatment even whilst filming the current series "Hairy Bikers Go West".

We watched episode 3 last night (Lancashire), and I think it is going to be really difficult to watch the remaining episodes.

I am not ashamed to admit that I have shed a tear or two this morning and it was such a shock.

I am sure that there will be an outpouring of love and well-wishes for Dave's family, and of course his long, long-time best friend and collaborator, Si King.

You will be sorely missed Dave.

R.I.P.

Just booked my favourite seat for the first showing at my local Imax. Midday March 1st.

Sorted.

I was intrigued until I started looking at prices to buy all the bits. The Raspberry Pi Pico is only £4, but the custom boards and faceplates don't half push the price up. Well over 100 sovs I think, and that is without shipping to the uk and import taxes.

Still - good work 

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/build-your-own-handheld-zx-spectrum-with-raspberry-pi-pico/

https://www.gutenberg.org/

If you are unaware of this resource, it is a famous repository of free ebooks.

I had a sudden urge to revisit some of my early science fiction discoveries, and I was delighted to find E. E. 'Doc' Smith's The Skylark Of Space on Project Gutenberg, converted from the original 3 part serialisation in pulp magazine Amazing Stories from August, September and October 1928, complete with illustations.

Whilst I have owned the more modern paperback editions from the 1970's, I cannot remember them having pictures, apart from the gorgeous cover art by Chris Foss, but that is another topic perhaps.

Anyhoo - Kindle has supported epubs since some time in 2022 (otherwise I wouldn't have one), and here is a pic of my free (legally free) copy:



Volumes 2 and 3 of the Skylark series (Skylark 3, and Skylark Of Valeron) are also available, but not the concluding volume, Skylark DuQuesne. I think this is due to the final work being published in 1965 and probably still in copyright.

It remains to be seen whether the book engrosses me like it did when I was a pup. I doubt it somehow, but we will see.

I'm a bit late to the party I know, but I have only just recently acquired this.

I worked my way (with a bit of skipping!) through the first set last night, and it was a bit of a struggle in parts for a number of reasons.

But, there was a genuine highlight watching Ben Mink perform Losing It with them. That was quite special.

Will continue on to the 2nd set, and encore and extras at some point. Still hard to think that the Professor is no longer with us.

Although they didn't know it at the time, wasn't this the final performance on stage of Rush? The 2nd night in Toronto?

If so, that is kind of spooky in a way.

Launched recently, I thought I would see if he was doing a tour and indeed he is although nowhere near to me. I will settle for putting the book on my Christmas list 

Ticket, including a copy of the book: £41.50.

Without said book, a mere £28.50.

How much is a ticket for Geddy's evening? And Ade is a national treasure (well he is to me anyway).

Here are the venues and dates for "An Evening With Adrian Edmondson" if anyone is interested.

17 Oct 2023
19:30
BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY HALL

19 Oct 2023
19:30
TYNE THEATRE AND OPERA HOUSE, NEWCASTLE
SOLD OUT

21 Oct 2023
19:30
HARROGATE CONVENTION CENTRE

26 Oct 2023
19:30
BRIGHTON DOME

30 Oct 2023
19:30
HALL FOR CORNWALL

Wasn't sure where to put this, but some might be interested.

To buy this game for PC is currently £49.99 on either the Steam or Epic stores. However, if you are an Amazon Prime member - one of the perks is "Prime Gaming".

Similar to Microsoft Game Pass in a way, although smaller scale - there is (I think) a monthly changing set of full games and add-ons available for free. And once you have bagged them, they are yours forever (also similar to Epic's weekly free games which I've had quite a few of).

I've also had quite a few arcade games (Metal Slug and so on) from Prime Gaming. Worth taking a look if you are an Amazon Prime member.

Oh yes be warned - Ghostwire: Tokyo is a 24+ Gb download to your PC. This does include the free add-on "Spider's Thread" too.

Hmm . . . with the delay for Dune part 2, I was looking forward to this new sci-fi epic. The trailers had seriously captured my attention.

I think I went in with too high expectations as I came away slightly deflated. I don't think the cinema being so cold helped my mood as I was shivering towards the end - top tip to self - more layers next time! Maybe I will enjoy it more with a re-watch in a warmer environment.

It is indeed epic, and has some incredible cinematography . The performance of Madeleine Yuna Voyles in the central  role of young simulant Alphie (Alpha Omega) is quite remarkable, and she had me nearly in tears a couple of times. The central war with AI theme is of course very much of the moment, although set in the future, complete with ray guns and anti-gravity vehicles. 

James Cameron I am sure (if he watches this) be captivated (as I was) by some of the military technology portrayed here - in particular, the huge tanks (as seen in the trailers), and the walking bombs.

The huge tanks actually put me in mind of some of Chris Foss's science fiction book cover artwork from the 70's, in a good way.

There are oodles of influences on show here - Blade Runner is a very obvious one, on both the visual front, and conceptually.

Ooh did I mention Allison Janney's turn as Colonel Howell? She was having a ball with this and great to watch.

In summary then, there is plenty to admire here, and I did enjoy it a lot - just not as much as I was expecting.

Overall score, 4 out of 5. Maybe 4.5 in a warm room!

Full disclosure: I didn't see this in the Imax!

Series 6 kicks off tonight at 9 on BBC 2.

We do not have the slightest interest in fishing, but we do love this delightful series.

Who'd have thought it would have gone on this long - I guess we are not the only ones who appreciate it.

Highly recommended.

And away . . . . .

I caught this, this afternoon before it's run finished in our cinema.

I had been drawn in by the cinematography, the 'pastel' look of the trailer and I was not disappointed. The film is beautiful. And weird.

As to a review - well I mostly had a grin throughout, but I'm not sure I kept up with some of the interchanging perspectives and asides going on. Some terrific performances on offer here too - and sharp dialogue.

If you are a Wes Anderson afficionado, then I am sure you will lap this up and ask for more. For the first half I was completely enthralled, but a little of the magic started to wear off as the film got nearer to its climax.

Tickets for Sian and I booked for the opening afternoon at the IMAX (next Monday, July 10th) 

So I caught this today, and whilst it was a very enjoyable film, I am a bit confused.

It is set in 1994, before the events of the first film in the franchise.

In this film, we are introduced to the Maximals (the Beasts of the title) and the Terrorcons, and also a supreme-badass being called "Unicron".

I don't think that any of these are then mentioned in any of the other films (which are all set later than 1994). I think I need to do a little digging around to see if there are any theories about this.

But back to the film itself, and as I say, it was very enjoyable, if all a bit predictable. There were some neat new touches though, and hints at the end of more to come from at least one of the human characters.

Booked for later today at my local IMAX.

It has been a long, long time since I have attended Day 1 of a film release - but when I checked, the auditorium had loads of places free - so hopefully I will not be too bothered by other people.

My views will follow, but surely (please!) it has to be better than the Crystal Skulls. I'm looking forward to seeing Phoebe Waller-Bridge on the big screen.

Time will tell.

Hopefully spoiler free views below

4/5

2 word headline review: Emotional rollercoaster.

Funny, violent, brutal, disturbing.

Couple of acting notes . . .

Will Poulter (who I have liked since seeing him as young cousin Eustace in Voyage Of The Dawn Treader) is having so much fun here as Warlock. I hope we get to see more of him in future Marvel outings somehow.

Chukwudi Iwuji as the "mad scientist with a God complex" chews up the scenery big time, but the role demands it, and he is sooooo good at it.

Fantastic.

Be warned that this is NOT entertainment for all the family though. This is a 12A and features some very disturbing scenes and subject matter. Disturbing enough for me, so how a 12 year old would handle some of Rocket's back story I'm not sure. I don't think that is a spoiler - there are heavy hints in the trailers.

Just a word of caution there folks.

I see that James Gunn's Suicide Squad is now available on Prime Video. I might do a private viewing of that sometime as I didn't see it in the cinema.

Just spotted this on the Anderson shop - just in case any of you cycling types are tempted!

Be aware it is £109.99. Mind you I don't know how that stacks up with similar items.

Anyhoo . . .

https://shop.gerryanderson.com/products/captain-scarlet-cycling-tops-official-licensed-product

I wasn't sure where to put this - possibly Movies etc., and I apologise if someone has already posted somewhere else.

I was very saddened when I awoke this morning to the news that Paul O'Grady had passed away peacefully at the age of 67.

Regardless of whatever he did prior (I certainly didn't appreciate his drag days!), I will always love him for the work he did with animals, most notably on TV with For The Love Of Dogs promoting Battersea Dogs Home (and other animals too of course).

Not often does the death of a celebrity affect me, but his does, and my warmest condolences to his family and friends, and all he worked with.

You will be missed Paul.

My first must-see film of the year.

I don't think I have the words to express my delight in seeing this so sorry if I ramble a bit.

If you don't like the John Wick series, then this won't win you over. If you (like me) do, then this is the biggest and baddest yet.

Also be warned - it is nearly 3 hours. I had to take a pee about half way through during a quiet moment.

No spoilers from me - although I will point out that there IS a tantalising post-credits scene.

New star of the show (apart from Keanu Reeves of course) has to be Donnie Yen, who perhaps to my shame I was previously unaware of. He is just a joy to watch. And talk about a scene-stealer 

There are many set piece highlights as you would by now be expecting from the franchise, but top of these for me are the German disco club scene in Berlin, and the overhead-long-takes scene in the derelict house in Paris. My mind is still boggling as to how they accomplished this. Stunning. Almost like a top-down twin-stick shooting game (and I've played a few of those  ).

BEAUTIFULLY shot - this film amongst everything else is serious eye candy. Real life doesn't look this good - or maybe I just don't have the eye to see it.

Outrageously good entertainment and this team keep pushing the boundaries. Will there be a John Wick 5? I kind of hope not, but if there is, I will of course go and see it. I do believe that the film has done spectacularly well on its opening weekend, so Lionsgate the studio will probably be keen to milk this cash cow as much as they can. 

Speaking of which, now bring on The Continental prequel series - set in 1970's New York. Rumoured for a September release this year I think.

This was new to me.

I'm planning on catching this tomorrow at the cinema. With the timings I have available - it was either that, or Plane and I haven't seen anything by Speilberg for quite a while now, and this is kind of based on his childhood and the birth of his drive to make films, so I am very interested.

For a while in my early cinema-going days, he could do no wrong.