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A couple of days ago I was minded of trainspotting, and suddenly thought about S for the first time in ages. S was an old friend from when I lived in the North-East of England. I got to know him when I started at secondary school, at what it is fair to say was a rough comprehensive, even for the North-East. He was a bit of a misfit, and got picked on a lot. So was I. Think Milhouse and Bart. Well, more Milhouse and Milhouse.

S was bullied a lot more than I was, and I think after a while he built up a thicker skin than most. He decided to unreservedly like what he liked, no matter what anyone thought. He was quite inspirational about that, and in doing so he also did it with a good sense of humour, which I think was one of the reasons we got on so well.

His biggest passion in life was trainspotting. Every weekend was spent at the station. He took long trips around the country just to be on, and look at trains. And as a good friend he tried to get me into it. It just didn’t sit with me, for some reason I never got it. I think he had it as a passion from an early age, and that was the element I was missing. I think football had its place in my heart at that stage, and wasn’t about to be shifted. It certainly wasn’t a stigma thing (*points at wrestling blog*), it was just that it wasn’t for me.

S had a major accident when we were in second year. He was hit by a car when he ran out from behind a bus. This threw him in the air some distance. He landed on the windscreen of a second car, which his hands and head went through. He was then flung over the top of this car, onto the road, and did a short distance on the ground, picking up loads of gravel in his back. He broke loads of things. He also slashed both of his wrists going through the windscreen, and only lived due to a nurse coming off duty being on the bus he ran out from behind.

I went to visit him at the hospital a few days later with a mate. And we laughed at him. Not in a mocking way, in sheer shock. We barely said a word as he explained it all to us, unveiled each injury as he told the story of what had happened. We just couldn’t take it in that he was alive after it all, and the only emotion we had to offer was that. Very strange experience.

He took a long time to get over it, nearly a year out of school I think, not far off certainly. I visited when I could to his house, and we talked about the usual rubbish we normally did. I think I should have gone more, but when you’re young, you don’t think as much about such things.

One thing I do remember from this time was that S got into computers, and famously claimed at one point to have hacked the British Rail network computer and scheduled special train journeys of his own design. Impressive stuff, however I wasn’t convinced as he didn’t have a modem, and only had a ZX81. He would always make fantastical bizarre claims, some of which were made up, some of which weren’t, and it was hard to tell. Not in a bullshitter sort of way, more you were never quite sure when he was taking the piss, when he believed it, and when it was real. The running over was totally real, luckily that is the only time I have anyone ever injured that badly.

We stayed good mates until I moved away. Not long before I did, a new lad started at the school. He fell in with S and I, and we all got on well. After I had gone, they became best mates, and it was odd, it was almost as if he had been sent as a replacement. Anyway, he got much more into the trainspotting than I ever did, and they spent most weekends at the local station together. Until about six months later, when the new lad committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Didn’t know much about it, just heard it through the grapevine, but was all a bit of a shock. I stayed in touch with S for a year or so, and then we just gradually faded away, didn’t see each other, and stopped writing. Nothing happened to end it bar distance and general moving on.

Was just strange having all these memories triggered from the one word

and I was right:

Bloody love this track, I think I am going to have to make the effort and track down his albums. If you need to know more about him, have a look at This fan site

Well hello, back to blogging proper after that little interlude. Have returned from Devon, and have been back at work a couple of days. Should try and remember to write properly about a few things, but as a summary for now, in my flickr photos down there on the right are loads of pics from Paignton Zoo. We had a cracking meal at Abode in Exeter, and I now have to think about how you bake gnocchi, because that is what they appeared to do, and it was gorgeous. Had a very good trip, basically.

I am presently loving both Animal Crossing and We Love Katamari, the latter of which caused me to have some very strange dreams about rolling up everything around me. It is a must have game for the PS2, really have to write about that some more.

And I have a set of new stuff to find and listen to in terms of podcasting, as well as thinking about if I want to do more videoblogging (I may well). Finally, I have a couple of longer things about days gone past I have to write about, one of which is the mysterious post I mentioned a little while back. Will try and get caught up over the next week. I have lots to do at the moment, so little time in comparison. Well once I factor in being a lazy bastard that is.

This may help your firexfox memory leak

I’ve tested this, and I give it the thumbs up, does seem to make a difference on windows

Somewhat odd and halfway today.

On the upside:
-Day 2 of a 3 day week, then off to Devon for a few days visiting family, which will be good fun. That is a big upside actually.

-Loving the Animal Crossing. I think that needs a review soon, but unsurprisingly, it is a very good thing

On the downside:
-Left ankle hurting a lot last night for no good reason. My body is all out of wack with the back issue, and I think being cold and walking oddly may have hurt it. Fine today, but was a bit sore last night. Still, get to see the docs about it soon now.

-Have something difficult to write on here. It isn’t that it is highly personal really, that it is emotionally difficult to write about this thing, it is just literally hard to write. I’ve had the post in my head for a week, and I can’t quite put it together yet. I’m just finding it annoying, and it may well be when I am on holiday I will sit down and do it, clear it out of my system. I hate to be all precious, but I do have a slightly fractuous author side to me, and I won’t rest until I get this done.

I ran out of podcasts to listen to on the way home, so I had to move onto this weird old thing I used to listen to called music. Kraftwerk in particular, which was very relaxing as I walked home. I drifted off a little, my mind turning to my selection of films that I have to get round to watching again.

I am a lazy film viewer. My to watch shelf is well, pretty much a shelf. Lots of good intentions and all that, but just don’t seem to get around to it always.

Part of the problem with this is that it forces further down the list things I have seen one or more times before, and this was what I was pondering today, the less popular films from my list. What follows are some of the highlights:

Freddie Got Fingered

I’ve probably lost half the people reading this immediately. To the majority of people Tom Green is an terrible comedian, and even worse filmmaker. I see him as Cartman grown up and slimmed down, with a fucking huge dose of some things he should have left alone at college, and a terrifying set of issues with his parents. I have never found him easy to watch, but then why should everything be easy?

Okay, I’m not going to labour this one too long, but you should give this film a go because 1) Rip Torn is in it. Artie from the Larry Sanders show. As his dad. 2) It has got a cute charm (honest) in the Jerry Lewis, Adam Sandler feelgood mode. Sort of. 3) It is screamingly funny. IF you like South Park and suchlike when it is on the very edge of taste.

Subway

This is a great eighties French film set in the Paris Metro. I’ve got it on video tape, and only watched it once, as it is dubbed so badly it is almost unwatchable. I saw it on TV first of all, with subtitles and it was great. It has occured to me recently that the DVD version might have the subtitles restored, so I can watch it again.

It just has a fantastic sense of French eighties cool, Christophe Lambert with shocking white punk hair, dudes skating and playing funk bass, and a whole literally underground subculture. Well overdue another viewing.

Hudson Hawk

Again, a very maligned film. And I can’t necessarily defend it. The film is a battlefield between Bruce Willis and Michael Lehmann (the director of Heathers, a great little movie). it was rumoured that there was something like 147 script rewrites, and it looks like it. I believe myself every good idea is from Lehmann and every bad from Willis. There are some wonderful ideas in there.

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

Okay, this is probably the hardest sell of the lot, and I’ve picked a couple of notorious stinkers there. This film is just absolutely barking, and paints Steve Irwin as quite barking too. I found it utterly hilarious, and I just need to see it once more in my lifetime to believe it was actually that funny. I may however have been drunk at the time.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

This truely is in a different league to the other films. I love them all, but this film is genuinely one of the best there is for me. Wu Tang Clan member making the soundtrack – check. Samurai philosophy – check. French guy selling ice cream – check. Ancient and useless Mafia guys – check. Forrest Whittaker being stunning – check. It is just designed to appeal to every part of me, also having many elements of French cinema that I love (and should be far more knowledgable about). It is great, but not many people seem to have heard of it.

So those are the underloved films that I love. What about you?

I’m trying not to geek out too much on here these days, at some stage I will sort out my proper geek blogging, and put such stuff on there. It only seems fair, I have already deprived you lucky people of my wrestling thoughts at

Anyways, this is a very sensible set of points to remember about the overall aims of trying to blog, what you should think of. Tips for Pro Bloggers

I agree with them that I should maybe think about clearing up the clutter on the right hand side a bit. I might have to follow their advice there. Maybe have a junk page for putting various things on, a bit like a virtual shoving things under the bed.

Well we have a slightly new look here, thanks to my friend B, who has very kindly helped me come up with a new logo. I need to tinker with things a little more, host all the images here for speed, and get some other little bits sorted. I’m very happy with it, tell me what you think!

We used to get a burnt out car a week round this bit of Oxford, this seems a little old skool. Bonus points for trying to crash it through the underpass though