Bob & Omar

Just a few words for a couple of righteous friends / ex-work colleagues who recently passed away.

Omar Jama. I started out in TV pretty much the same time as Omar. Most of the time I worked with him he was a sound engineer, though, ambitious chancer that he was, he went on to much greater things. Member of the 1991 Madrid Seven, when we drew straws to trash a hotel room, Omar got the short one & never complained. He will be sorely missed.

Bob Ando. A great director with whom I worked with on & off at Middle Eastern Broadcasting for years. Master of bridging the awkward English/Arabic divide whilst half cut, Bob was a true old-schooler with the confidence to stay on one camera for more than three seconds.
I learned a lot from Bob, he once asked me over talkback: 'Is 30 seconds long enough to get that 40-piece band off stage...and their chairs? Because it was Bob, I said yes.
I worked my very first audience show with Bob, and, as I was fairly petrified, had the good sense to get me drunk beforehand. Just prior to addressing them he whispered 'Don't go to pieces or anything' in my ear. Thanks for that, Bob.

Bob & Omar...RIP.

Merry Christmas From Octopus 99

Top 10 Sword & Stab Films

#01 : The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad (1974).

#02 : Demetrius And The Gladiators (1954).

#03 : 300 (2006).

#04 : The Long Ships (1964).

#05 : Troy (2004).

#06 : The 300 Spartans (1962).

#07 : Conan The Barbarian (1982).

#08 : Jason And The Argonauts (1963).

#09 : Gladiator (2000).

#10 : Up Pompeii (1971).

Crikey, it's harder than you think coming up with ten Sword & Stab films. It would have been 'Sword & Sandals', but I spotted shoes in at least a couple of these timeless epics.

Tell me all the titles and win a Sack Of Christmas Shit.

Airfix 1:72 Astronauts

Oooo Yeah.

The Whizzer

Good to see The Whizzer back in comics.

This Just Don't Need A Title

Eat Mud

Birthday Prezzes

Got some great stuff from Kek, Mrs Zero & Davider. Thanks all...El Dorado is just Genius - Mitchum's a fucking great drunk, and I love the totally misleading Race With The Devil cover.

Molly Zero

In an alternate universe it seems Molly & I got married.

Magazine - The Light Pours Out Of Me

Howard Devoto : My favourite singer/lyricist ever.

Airfix Nazis

Fucking Genius #2

Fucking Genius

Oh, yeah.

Ice Bird Spiral - 'Swineville'

May thanks to Kek for this.
The fact that it's an Asda cd somehow makes it all the more potent.
I won't attempt a review - suffice to say I listened to it whilst filling in my tax return - so if I go to prison you'll all know why.
Deep Genius.

Underwater Fluff #02

Ancient Britons

Current retro obsession is Airfix H0/00 scale figures. One must have a hobby.

Die Hard 4.0

Fucking Fabulous.

Jar Of Monsters

Underwater Fluff #01

The Big Country - composer Jerome Moross

Following an earlier phone conversation I felt this needed to be seen...More from Jerome Moss at a later date.

Books For Sale

Currently listing a shed load of westerns on Ebay, including a pile of Oliver Stange's Sudden books and some superb early '60s Zane Grey paperbacks. Not to mention Breed, 70's pc hero.