Dollhouse

Just watched episode 1 of season 2 of Dollhouse, one of a couple that I missed. Has there ever been a darker tv series? It is presented lightly with lots of explosions and surface glamour, it could almost be the heist of the week show that Fox probably thought they were buying. But it is dark, dark, dark. Every episode shows nice people struggling with moral dilemmas and failing utterly, while subjecting other people to unimaginable but all too believable abuse. Eliza Dushku is terrific as the lead character, but like so many of Joss Wheedon's shows this is an ensemble piece. Overall the guy who plays Victor is incredible - playing a huge range of roles and being totally believable in all of them. To be watched.

An odd sense of achievement

A while ago I had to change my i-tunes library from the PC to external hard drives. In doing so I ended up resetting the play status of a lot of songs. Coupled with quite a lot of ripping from CDs, I ended up with over 2100 songs marked as unplayed. Following a quite dedicated programme of only playing "unplayed" songs, I have got that down to below 500. (Which is still about 50 albums worth). It has been enjoyable, but not always as easy as you might expect. Crossing the broad steppes of Radiohead took forever, no matter how brilliant they are. The mountain range of Kristin Hersh and 50ft wave were full of highs and lows. The slough of Leonard Cohen takes self confidence. Still to come are the fields of Joy Division.

It gives me a rather odd sense of achievement.

Vote, vote, vote

Today is likely to be a big change in the country. Obviously. It is election day. The signs are not good nationally and although I have some hopes locally, the reality is that the damage has probably been done and we will be lumbered with our incombent MP for another term. Which is depressing.

The best we can hope for is a hung parliament with "call me Dave" denied an absolute majority. Which is a shocking performance on his part. In the teeth of a once in a century recession he has failed to make the case for the Conservative party. And his call for change failed to consider that people could also change to the Liberal Democrats... oops.

limping to the end

A tame and lacklustre end to a terrible season. The Europa cup would have been some return, but we didn't deserve it. Good luck to Fulham - hope they can do it and Roy Hodgson gets the recognition he deserves. The rumour is we are looking at him to replace Rafa.
To be honest I fear a firesale before Hicks and Gillette sell up - cashing in on Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano might net them £100m, and would it change the value of the club? Their strategy has failed though - now we cannot finish in the top 4 and are out of the European Champions League, will we ever regain that position? Will we now slip down to take the traditional Spurs role - pretty good, may win a cup, but can't attract or keep the strongest players and so cannot crack the top 4? It is an ominous thought.

Still there is a perverse pleasure in our feeble performance almost certainly denying the Premiership to Man Utd. But that is a pathetic way to go.

Sleeping with a Bear

The Breadcrumbs identified something that was missing in our lives. They recognised that Mrs Breadcrumb and I share a room and a bed, which is obviously nice and fun, but oddly we did not have any cuddly toys in bed with us. Everyone needs a toy to cuddle. So they gave us a bear to share in bed. And oddly enough they were right.

busy busy busy

Which makes a change.
Phrase of the week: Context is for the weak.

Meanwhile, 2 good wins in a row but Man utd on Sunday. Oh well. Roll on next year.

Sutcliffe

I have a personal connection to the Yorkshire Ripper case. His last victim, Jackie Hill, lived in the same group of flats, and at the time of her murder I was probably less than 50m away.
The debate over whether he should be allowed to appeal for parole seems based on the idea that he would eventually get out. The subsequent furor over James Venables raises the pressure even higher.

I always felt that the Ripper trial was something that was done to please the public. He was judged sane to stand trial, but my definition of sanity does not encompass what he did. However we tried him as a sane man, and decided that he was insane later. With that background he is entitled to ask for a parole hearing. Justice should be seen to be blind in these things. He should be allowed his hearing - and never, ever let out. This is surely a case where life must mean life. But even monsters are entitled to a due legal process.

that's more like it

A one goal home victory over Roumanian opposition at Anfield. We are clearly on the path to glory. (What is the emoticon for sarcasm again?)

no reason

Bob Mould
Sunspots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsKrkqCUacI

The 4 Horse riders of the Recession Apocalypse

Fear, Panic, Debt and Robert Peston.

As they used to say in the war, "it's being so cheerful that keeps me going".

Thucydides

I think that 2009 was so rubbish I have been driven to delve into history. Anyway, I seem to be reading history books at the moment (Andrew Marr Making of Modern Britain, The Perfect Thing, History of the Pelopenesian War).
Thing about Thucydides is, apart from the fact that all that killing becomes strangely undifferentiated and samey after a while, is that people have not changed in two and a half thousand years. I paraphrase but one of the Athenian debates about how to treat a rebelious colony had a speaker saying "if a man does a patriotic act everyone says he only did it for his own benefit". Sounds very familiar in these times, when no politician is portrayed as anything but venal and self interested.

Plus ca change, as the French say.

2010

The year we make contact. According to Arthur C. Clarke.
Well hopefully it will be better than this year, which has been a disaster the like of which I cannot remember. Annus Horribilis is what the Queen called one year - oh, boy, this was it for so many of us.

Here's to next year.

Ouch!

When Saturday Comes have nailed Liverpool's problems. Truth hurts. "We just need another 9 good players". Indeed.

The glamour of travel

That will be the bit when I slept for 90 minutes on the marble floor of the zone between gate check in and the water bottle removing security station at Schipol airport. Ah, yes. That glamour.

The future is already here

It is just unevenly distributed - William Gibson

Dubai skyline 2009

Up

I almost cried. Up is the funniest and saddest film I have seen in ages. Mrs Breadcrumb cried - the breadcrumbs laughed, and didn't really notice the aching poignancy. Plus, talking dogs.

Strongly recommended.

And a reminder of my increasing age ("time travel one day at a time") is the increasing length of time I have to spend in the bathroom getting ready for the day- teeth, floss, shave, moisturise, anti-net shampoo, foot powder, verucca salt. It all takes time!

3 down

The defeat at Chelsea killed off the season for the mighty Reds.
Last season I gave up all hope in April. This year in September. Cruel times.

This is personally a year not to remember. No money, no work, no titles for my team, hard times at work for Mrs Breadcrumb.

Enduring is the hardest. And being blunt soccer is just soccer.

2016

Hard to believe that it is more than 4 years since London won the right to stage the 2012 Olympics. What a thrill it was, coupled with a certain Schadenfreude at the French disappointment. London 2012 made a great pitch - pointing out the UK is such as young country, and that London is one of the great international cities. Maybe only New York has that same And now less than 3 years until the Games themselves.

not getting my hopes up

Just in case they may begin to rise after 4 successive victories, Man Utd beating City 4-3 with a goal from Michael Owen is a reminder that realistically our chance was last season. I shall not be becoming optimistic. Oh no, not me.

Happy Eid to everyone.

TS Elliot was wrong

April is not the cruellest month - August is.
One match down, a loss to Spurs, and already the season is over for the Mighty Reds. I'm not joking. That is it. We will never catch up.

So, here's to the 2010/1 season.