Month: November 2002

  • Horizon: Homeopathy

    BBC2 has just shown a most entertaining Horizon on homeopathy. It investigated the claims made by homeopathy; claims that have absolutely no scientific basis as we currently understand it. A few months ago I read the fascinating book, Voodoo Science by Robert Park which goes through many scientific “debunks” of modern times. But he also…

  • Lord of the Rings: Extended Version

    Thanks to Geoff, I now have a copy of the Extended Version of Fellowship of the Rings. Of course the first thing I had to do was look for my name on the fanclub. Yes – I spent good money on joining the official fan club as a charter member, and my year’s subscription bought…

  • Digital Switchover

    I see that Tessa Jowell is claiming that the digital switchover is likely to be in 2010. I just can’t see that. While many homes are now “digital”, they only have one receiver which means additional TVs and videos are not. There are also vast tracts of the country that are simply not covered by…

  • Die Another Day

    Oh dear. I really wanted to enjoy this. I really love Bond films. I’m a fan. But there are some major problems with this film. First of all, let me say that director Lee Tamahori has done a couple of interesting things here. Bond is captured and tortured through an opening credit sequence that does…

  • The Heart of Me

    This was the closing film at the London Film Festival, and I must admit that I’m at little disappointed with it. Based on a novel by Rosamond Lehmann, The Echoing Grove, the film tells the story of Rickie Masters (Paul Bettany), his wife Madelaine (Olivia Williams), and in particular her sister Dinah (Helena Bonham Carter).…

  • David Blaine

    I’m lucky that I work in London, since I have most things available to me – that includes books signings. David Blaine is in London to promote his new book, and I must admit that I do find books on magicians fascinating, particularly if they include some history and maybe a little bit of explanation.…

  • Small Site Amends

    Yup. Some more site tweaks now sees my last five books and films handily available to read. All thanks to the FilterCategories plugin.

  • Cheap(ish) PDAs

    It’s taken a while, but finally Dell has released their $199 and $299 Pocket PCs to the market. Just a couple of minor riders – the prices require you to mail in for a $50 rebate (they bank on you not mailing in), and secondly they won’t reach Europe until February/March next year. And can…

  • Online Ticket Purchasing

    Finally Arsenal get around to allowing you to purchase tickets online! Of course you have to pay �5 each for the privelidge for the rest of the year. Sellers market anyone? Other industries manage to save money by selling online, and not having telephone operators. Nothing like paying to beta-test their system. Still, if it…

  • Far From Heaven

    Every year the London Film Festival has a surprise film, and this was the second time I’ve been to it. It always sells out, and the simple thing is that you don’t know what you’re going to see. It will be a different film to the rest of the festival, a preview of something forthcoming.…

  • New BBC Channels

    Well the BBC have announced that BBC Three is launching on February 9 next year. I really do hope that they change tack a bit from the current BBC Choice. “Tack” is the right word. The quote from Stuart Murphy on the BBC News website story is encouraging, but we’ll have to wait and see.…

  • Stylesheets

    Still haven’t got this site’s look sorted yet. I printed out all of the Webmonkey tutorial but there’s a bit more to it than just knowing how it works. Will persevere.