THE CAMEL COUNTRY CLUB

Oliver Stone in LA drugs arrest

Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone has been arrested for drink driving and possession of drugs.
Police said the 58-year-old film-maker was arrested on Friday night at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard, in Beverly Hills, California.
See the rest of the story here …

Mall bans shoppers' hooded tops

Hooded tops, baseball caps and swearing have been outlawed at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. The retail and leisure complex is bringing in a zero-tolerance approach to intimidating conduct.


Click here for the rest of the story…

A WARTS ‘N ALL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ORDINARY GUY

1000 WORDS ON…MY VIRGINITY


Written : October 4, 2004

I opened an eyelid halfway to what may still have been morning. My partner under the covers coughed and turned over beside me.
I had time for one quick scout left and right before my eyeballs’ motion alerted the rest of my head that the punishment for consuming the guts of two bottles of Jack Daniels was long overdue. I then had time for a quick groan of pain before my bladder caught the relay of the same message.

Luckily my memory banks were activated before I felt the necessity to resolve the conflict between my desire to move towards the bathroom and my desire to stay perfectly still. Thanks to them, despite my numerous aches, pains and imminent needs, I managed a broad, beaming smile. My joy got my adrenaline pumping enough to get myself standing, release a gaping yawn, and focus on the immediate task ahead. Though I wasn’t yet quite sure exactly how it transpired, I knew it had somehow…

OK, I’ve been to it, and it was great, filling in all the blanks that needed to be filled, tying up all the loose ends that needed to be tied.

I don’t think it has been out long enough for spoilers, so I won’t give any.

My only bitch was the special effects. As much as I loved Lord Of The Rings, in the last instalment at the wedding ceremony when they first cut to the four hobbits I actually said out loud, “They’re SO not there!” and it led me to wonder why bother including that shot when they couldn’t make it look realistic. The same goes for several parts of RotS, especially the heads of the clones. It was CGI at its worst IMHO. The multiple Agent Smith thing worked in The Matrix because his suit was black. With the clones, they wear white, and even the one that was doing the talking was CGI. Eh, surely you can use the real actor there, guys!!! That’s pretty much my only beef. I know it sounds kinda picky and kinda nerdy, but it just didn't look right.

I'm still gonna go again …

Try saying THAT heading ten times fast!!!!


Here’s my answers to Jim’s meme as requested…I will do my Episode III review shortly…

1. What was the last movie you went to see? Revenge of the Sith last night.

2. What is your all-time favorite movie and why? Did you see it at the theater, or was it a video/DVD? I am going to ignore Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and The Matrix and such as much as I enjoyed them because they were all expected to be successes. Instead I am going to nominate LA Confidential, which I saw on video, and for which I had no excpectations whatsoever, and was gripped right to the very end.

3. What movie stands out in your mind as the one which made you cry the most? Funnily enough, Cry Freedom. I’m kind of a human rights buff largely due to seeing it. Reading about apartheid was one thing, but seeing it acted out brought it to a whole new level. Most tearful moments were the scenes at Biko’s funeral, with tens of thousands of people of all races singing what went on to be…

When you ask a Dubliner his opinion on something, more often than not he will want to first size you up for your own stance before he replies. His first words may very well be something like “Ah, sure ya know yerself!!!”

I thought this would make a fitting title for my recently launched blog for rants on Ireland-specific issues, and I may as well give it a plug here. Every day I hear something in the local news which makes me want to climb on my soapbox, and I feel this ABOPATOS blog is more for my creative side and thus a series of forceful and possibly controversial speils wouldn’t really fit in. Feel free to drop by, if you're lucky there may be a pint or two in it for ya.

from Vertigo 2005 tour

What a picture. Trust me; it makes for a stunning wallpaper. This sums up Bono’s rapport with his fans. Could that be anything but a look of pure sincerity on his face. To me, it does not say “I’m a super-rich rock star and you’re not ya sad bastard” like the way so many prima donnas act these days. His face instead says, “I’m a super-rich rock star thanks to fans just like you. Thank you.”

Bring on their gig in Croke Park on June 24. It's going to be quite a day, I can't wait, though I guess I gotta. There really is no better place to see them than Dublin – sorry, rest of the world!!!

On a different musical note, I heard the new Oasis single “Lyla” [Yes, Clapton fans, that’s “Layla” with only one “a”] for the first time last night – I think it’s gonna grow on me, could be this summer’s anthem. You can have a listen by playing around with this cool player thingy from their website. +++++++++++++++ Also in music news, I just found this story on Irish TV netwo…

A WARTS ‘N ALL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ORDINARY GUY 

1000 WORDS ON…LIVE AID

Written: December 14, 2004 [The latest version of the song that started the Live Aid phenomenon, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, by the European music stars of today, is at number one in the UK charts today]
“GIVE US YOUR FUCKIN MONEY!!!!”
The date was July 13th, 1985.

It was a day when the Western Civilization woke up and realized they could actually make a difference and see the human race as something worth living for.

It was a day when a load of larger than life egos got together and shared a couple of stages to give the world a powerful message.

It was a day when so much money was raised it made me wonder if it was the lack of money that was really the problem.

It was a day when I realized the irrelevence of the word “charity”, which suggests the condescending offering of crumbs from our table, when events like this should happen more out of a sense of duty to ensure that everyone can claim their rightful plac…

No matter how much I want to be good I have to be bad
No matter how much I want to stay sane I have to go mad
No matter how much I want to tell the truth I know I have to lie
No matter how much I want to stay alive one day I have to die

Sorry if I depress ya
Sorry if I annoy ya
With all this talk of death despair
Pain and paranoia

But when reality
Gets the better of me
Darkness is all that I can see

No matter how loud I’m screamin
I can’t shout down these demons in my soul
They’re out of control
Demons in my soul

No matter how much I want to be normal I have to be odd
No matter how much I’d rather play human I have to play God
No matter how hard I try to save money I always lose interest
No matter how much I want to stay faithful I must have a mistress

Sorry if I offend ya
Sorry I have to warn ya
About all this talk of sex evil
Hate and California

But then reality
Gets the better of me
With darkness as far as I can see

No matter how loud I’m screamin
I can’t shout down these demons in my soul
They’re out of cont…

Is a night sky like this one far, far away???
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
courtesy of the Reuters Oddly Enough files…
The U.S. government does not want billboards in space.
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed on Thursday to amend its regulations to ensure that it can enforce a law that prohibits "obtrusive" advertising in zero gravity.
"Objects placed in orbit, if large enough, could be seen by people around the world for long periods of time," the FAA said in a regulatory filing.
Currently, the FAA lacks the authority to enforce the existing law.
For instance, outsized billboards deployed by a space company into low Earth orbit could appear as large as the moon and be seen without a telescope, the FAA said. Big and bright advertisements might hinder astronomers.
"Large advertisements could destroy the darkness of the night sky," regulators said. +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Could they? Really? Ya think? Good to know there’s committee meetings out there going …

I was reminded of this story by the following piece by Chuck over at “Burst Transmission”, though he actually posted it on KBB’s “What Middle America Thinks”. They are both excellent thought-provoking blogs, as my post goes to show.
Fidelitas
Of all personality traits, I value loyalty the most.

I will admit that I make certain caveats to my value of loyalty. My loyalty to someone ends to a great extent as soon as I feel that person has not been loyal to me.

I don't tell secrets people expect me to keep - especially those most damaging to a person's life. I expected to be treated the same.

I expect my friends not to publicly side with others in arguments. Friends will surely disagree from time to time, but true friends stand together in public and handle their differences in private.

I have more thoughts on this, but for now I'll pass the subject to the readers. What constitutes and doesn't constitute loyalty for you?
You can’t spend 12 years going out with/married to someone …

LONDON (Reuters) -

Britain's Sun tabloid published another picture on Saturday of Saddam Hussein in prison [in his underwear] and robustly defended its decision to print such images despite Pentagon claims it may have violated the Geneva Conventions.

Oh my good Lord! Breached the Geneva Conventions have they? So the Bush administration considers that to be a crime now, does it? Please...

I know it has been said several times already, but I'll say it anyway cos it's funny....now at LAST we know where Saddam was keeping his WMD...

A while ago I made fun of a particular TV show, “Everybody Loves Raymond”. Living in Europe as I do, I can imagine many Americans reading that piece would assume I was having a swipe at all things red white and blue and would no doubt jump to its defence. In reality, there are several TV offerings from across the pond I enjoy, with “The West Wing”, “The Sopranos” and “Six Feet Under” being among my perennial favourites.

Even so, I feel compelled to berate some European television fare to even the score, and tonight’s “Eurovision Song Contest” (ESC), a glorified talent show comprising around 40 or so nations across the continent, gives me the perfect opportunity to do so.

This annual event is under the stewardship of an organization known as “The European Broadcasting Union” (EBU). Casual observers from the USA would be forgiven for thinking this was our equivalent of ABC or NBC, but in reality, it is far from it. It is actually a blanket body representing each country’s state-funded tel…

A WARTS ‘N ALL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ORDINARY GUY

1000 WORDS ON…INSOMNIA QUESTIONS
Written: December 5, 2004

1. Why do we call it “common sense” if so many people don’t seem to have it?
2. We were once absolutely convinced that the world was flat – what else that we take for granted is complete crap?
3. If the author didn’t really care whether or not Jimmy cracked corn, then why did he write a song about it?
4. Does the fridge light really stay switched off when the door gets closed?
5. What is it that makes us want to touch a plate in a restaurant immediately after we’ve been told it’s very hot?
6. If someone did find a cure for the common cold, would companies that make remedies prevent them from sharing it with the world?
7. Which is more believable – that the universe carries on for ever or that there exists an end to it?
8. If the very word “nation” implies the presence of borders and thus the existence of divisions between different groups of people, how can …

It’s been about 28 years, so I think I can wait one more week to see “Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” after all the people who had the wherewithal (not to mention the profound lack of shame) to book their seats for the opening screenings months in advance.

I just wish I hadn’t read in the paper that Anakin becomes Darth Vader, I hate it when the ending gets spoiled, apologies if I have done so for you.

No doubt I will be posting a review in due course.

I doubt Tony Blair would have been too pleased with the prospect of George Galloway facing him across the House of Commons floor. What does surprise me, however, is that he has pulled the remarkably transparent stunt of calling on his buddy in The White House to have the prominent anti-war campaigner publicly accused of profiting financially from the Saddam Hussein regime, a claim that has already been successfully challenged in the British courts following a full libel case against The Daily Telegraph.

Galloway rose to the challenge yesterday and faced the US Senate Committee hearing, in an exercise he compared to Daniel entering the lion’s den. As with that story, the lions were silenced, but in this case it was the British MP’s defiance and profound eloquence that kept the predators at bay.

Here are some of the quotes from George Galloway as he confronted his accusers on a US Senate sub-committee.

· "I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither …