Category Archives: Life Rants Updates 2004

Entertainment Trivia

After last night’s disappointment on the football field regular readers will be pleased to hear the ITV is bringing back Popstars to make our lives better. This time, according to Digital Spy, the show will look to create the UK’s next musical male-female duet. To make it even more depressing the same source also reports that ITV are planning an ITV3 – presumably so we can have Popstars on ITV1; Popstars Xtra on ITV2 and an additional behind-the-scenes-of-the-behind-the-scenes show on ITV3.

While I was reading the excellent Digital Spy I had cause to update the Man of the Moment entry for Colin and Matt.

On this day…

2005: Stories And Rumours
2004: Why Would You Be Interested?
2003: Shameless

We Wuz Robbed

michael owen on the pitchWhat an entirely nail biting match that was and how very, very depressing. I imagine most of the country was watching as Michael Owen scored for us in two and a half minutes. I made the tube and the train which were – I am certain – much quieter than they normally would be at 7pm. I just made it into the house just in time for the start and for Owen’s goal and was watching all way through to Helder Postiga’s equaliser after 83 minutes for Portugal. So everything went to extra time and we all had to watch for another 30 minutes. Thank goodness for Frank Lampard who kept us in it at the end of the second half of extra-time but who on earth would want to sit and watch those penalties? [match summary]

Despite the result, it’s games like this that make me enjoy the game of football!

On this day…

2005: Blimey! It’s Early!
2004: Come on Eng-er-land
2003: Turn Off That Alarm

Come on Eng-er-land

There have been football songs on the radio all day (it’s simply the worst music you can listen to) and there is an excitement outside. Everywhere you go there are English flags which is really quite pleasing to see. Now, all we have to do is win!

Thousands of England fans are gathering in Lisbon ahead of tonight’s crunch Euro 2004 quarter-final against hosts Portugal.

[Sky News]

The only other thing of interest I can come up with is that, apparently, “Simon Le Bon himself has heaped praise on boyband Phixx’s cover version of the 1984 Duran Duran smash hit Wild Boys” [source]. And even I don’t think that’s interesting.

So I’ll leave it at that and go and watch the match.

On this day…

2005: Blimey! It’s Early!
2004: We Wuz Robbed
2003: Turn Off That Alarm

A Little Update

In case you’re searching for an update on this: well, OK so the extra storage is great. The fact they haven’t replied to any of my messages sucks. I am a paying customer 😉

Oh, and I didn’t get to see the England game in a pub as I was on public transport. The trains were empty. It was very strange.

And finally, proof that digital downloads can be good for the music industry.

Second, going digital broadens your musical taste, he says. “With iTunes [Music Store], you can sample loads of stuff. A lot of people have said it has opened their ears to new music they wouldn’t have otherwise listened to,” he says.

On this day…

2005: Nightlfe
2005: Summertime In London
2003: Formula One 2003 Race Calendar
2003: London’s Secret Railway
2002: Rod Stewart plays Glastonbury
2002: Paris in the Summer

Two Years Ago

Today is the first day that the ‘On This Day’ link has two years back which has me slightly excited! One of the original reasons for starting the regular updating of this site was to serve as a personal memory archive. I have always loved flicking through old diaries and address books – this somehow brings that function into the new millennia.

Last year I was at Shrewsbury Carnival. A carnival is one of those things that you remember as being a great deal of fun when you were a child but doesn’t always work when you are an adult. Of course I was just be grumpy about it last year.

In 2002 I seem to have seen Spiderman around this time which has me admitting I can’t wait for the next one. I have some film-loving friends who hated the first one (I think it was too dark for them) but I loved it and can’t wait to be sat in the cinema again.

This day in 2002 was also the day of possibly the most memorable link I have ever posted on this site. New Scientist asked: ‘Does beheading hurt? And, if so, for how long is the severed head aware of its plight?’. Of course with recent events abroad it’s a little more topical and less far-fetched but, nonetheless, it remains the one of the links that have appeared here that I haven’t forgotten. Every time New Scientist change their site I go back and fix that link.

If you happened to look at yesterday’s entry you would have seen the link to the ‘On This Day’ for 14 June 2003. All I can say to those that mailed me – I will still not tell you which one I am. Gym buddy has, however, assured me my arse is a lot less flabby now.

On this day…

2004: Yahoo Extra Storage
2003: Shrewsbury Carnival 2003 Mobile Pics
2002: Spiderman and Death by De-Capitation

Cameraphone Backlash

BBC News has an article on camera ‘phones and a backlash against them. I read it and the main thing that stuck out to me was the fact that I have both the phones pictured and I don’t think either of them are good at taking photos. Sad isn’t it?

Meanwhile they also have an excellent article on the use of weblogging tools as learning aids for school children which I think raises some very interesting ideas for the use of software in education.

Meanwhile, MediaPost links to an item that suggests bloggers are “older and wealthier than what’s portrayed by their stereotype” [source]. I think we all wish we were wealthier but to be told I am older than other people thing is alarming!

On this day…

2004: Personal Information Management
2004: Already It’s Mid June
2003: Show Me Your Bottom
2003: I Capture the Castle

Already It’s Mid June

It doesn’t feel like last week since I wrote anything here but it is. Given that May was possibly the most prolific month on Listen To Musak I think I am subconsciously giving myself a day or two off. The weather has been wonderful for the past couple of weeks and I’ve been extra busy in the office so there has been little time to get into the writing spirit.

Interestingly, the vote is in for the Mayor (Ken is back) and the local council elections. The results of the European elections were announced last night and it seems like the new countries didn’t get a very high turnout – which seems odd given their recent arrival into the community. It also seems that a good number of people in the UK wanted to get the message across that they are not happy with plans to take us further into Europe. I think this is sad and wonder if it’s only a shot across Blair’s bow in the mid-term or a sign of something more powerful. The two main parties all lost and I watch with interest what their reactions to the recent votes are going to be. Turnout in the UK was up – which was certainly one good thing to come out of last Thursday’s poll.

Of course the main news pushing Europe to the middle pages is last night’s football defeat at the hands of France when it looked so certain that we had the game in the bag. Even I could tell there was some silly mistakes in injury time. And then I wake up this morning to see Ralf Schumacher was disqualified from yesterday’s Canadian Grand Prix resulting in a podium place for Jenson Button. And then we beat New Zealand at Cricket. I could almost take an interest in a summer of sport.

On this day…

2004: Personal Information Management
2004: Cameraphone Backlash
2003: Show Me Your Bottom
2003: I Capture the Castle

Missed It Yesterday

Just re-read yesterday’s post about The Day After Tomorrow and the link to Ian Holm’s page at the IMDB. I see he work born on the same day (admittedly, different year) as I was. Which, in turn, made me look who else they say was born on that day. Turns out it also lists those who died on 12th September which is quite a depressing way to start a new week.

On this day…

No other posts on this day.

Whitsun 2004

So, today is both Memorial Day in the US and the Whitsun bank holiday in the UK. Apparently, Whit Sunday commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the disciples (source). I see the cheese rollers of Gloucestershire have been at it again. That must really rank as one of the oddest of the British customs. Honestly, people roll cheese down a hill in the name of sport.

I am having a quiet bank holiday before returning to work tomorrow.

On this day…

2006: links for 2006-05-31