A break for the border

What ho!Sorry if I've been neglecting this blog of late, its been quite hard to get online since I've been working in broomhill, for a start, all the computers are shitted up, and also I tend to take my cue from the folks who already work there, and none of them spend time mucking around on the tinternet for their own amusement. They didn't at Hillsborough either, but they do spend a lot of time slacking off and dodging work, so I didn't feel so bad about it. Anyways, the library itself's fine, so are my colleagues, but the customers there are for the most part, a shower of tools. They are civil as long as you serve them as a butler might, but as soon as they learn you're not actually there to spoon feed them any and every curiosity they may harbour, the overpriviledged streak comes to the fore and they storm out of the building muttering about how they're going to stop paying their council tax or some such bullshit. There are those who believe that the internet is killing off the skill of real research, and the discovery of facts within context, rather than having them glibly defined by a two-minute google. To the good people of broomhill even this expenditure of time is too much for their fragile social schedules to bear, and if I can’t tell them, they can’t be bothered knowing. Shitheels.Onto merrier things, I really must tell you all about 'Cowboy Bebop'. Apologies if you've already seen it (I'm sure Gareth at least has heard of it), but I recently picked up a copy of the TV series (not the movie) of eBay for a tenner (Chinese imports, you see, not the exorbitant reg.2 versions) thinking that it sounded pretty good, and I had a hankering for some Anime anyways. It is simply marvellous. We finished watching the final 2-part episode last night and though I didn't actually cry, it was a near thing. Not that the ending was sad (nor am I saying it wasn't- you'll have to watch it and find out), nor even that it was over, just that it had, over its 26 episode run, totally won me over. Straight in to my top 5 TV shows ever without a doubt (see addendum). It had everything from superb music (a lot of jazz, which I would never have dreamed of listening to otherwise), some of the best animation I've seen, and fight sequences that put not just live action shows to shame, but whole swathes of anime too, to overarching lovestories and fantastic bite-size adventurettes. I'll stop now, I'm in danger of overselling it, but track it down if you can, it may take a few episodes to win you over, but it will. As Gill says: "Why are the Japanese so cool?"On the other end of the joy spectrum we have a sequel to 'My Big Fat Stupid Ugly British Bird' aka Bridget Jones' Diary (Tagline: Women... Duh!) in the offing. I only mention this because I was walking down Abbydale road yesterday only to be confronted by the poster for it in the middle of the pavement on one of those flyboards (For those who haven’t seen it yet just imagine Zellwegger's head looking suitably clueless/obnoxious and you're probably not far away from the truth) and was overjoyed to see some genius had drawn a hairy phallus in her mouth, complete with balls! I chuckled the rest of the way home. But later in the evening something clicked into place- I tried to imagine the sort of mentality of those who deface public places in such a way, and kept coming up with a picture of Gareth. Then I remembered that Gareth is never without a pen, usually a big fat black permanent one... Please feel free to take this opportunity, Gareth, to come clean and confess to why you actually spend so much time wandering the streets of Omagh on your own, pen at the ready. No one will judge, I for one will have more respect for you than I currently have.
Until again,
Aido 'I live sweat' potato.


Addendum: 9 other shows that probably are in my top 5 somewhere. (along with about 50 others)
Buffy (every season except 6)
X-files (seasons 1-3)
Twin Peaks
Spaced
Vids
Bad Girls
CSI (before Grissom went all smart-ass)
Northern Exposure (Before someone removed all the content, replacing all the actors and sets with sweating sacks of animal offal and hoped no-one would notice)
The Word (only kidding)