Blogbuster

Cook the Perfect Spaghetti Bolognaise

2007-04-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

500 grams spaghetti
500 grams minced beef
1 can plum tomatoes
½ tube tomato puree
1 jar of tomato pasta sauce (Dolmio, Ragu etc)
1 large onion
1 handful chopped green peppers
4 mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
½ chilli pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Take a large saucepan and cook the beef for 4-5 minutes until it turns brown. Drain off the fat and add onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring continuously.

Next, add the plum tomatoes, puree and pasta sauce and stir in evenly, and heat until the mixture bubbles. At this point, add the rest of the herbs and spices and stir well, remembering to stir every couple of minutes while cooking your spaghetti.

You are now ready to cook the pasta. Half fill another large saucepan with cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil on the hob. When the water boils, add the spaghetti and cook for 10-12 minutes, according to taste. Drain and serve with the sauce.

Enjoy!

The Two Faces of Mitchell & Webb Review

2007-01-24T05:07:00.000-08:00

It has been a bit of a busy couple of months, so my reviews have unfortunately been limited… Who am I kidding? I haven’t done any at all! To make it up to you, I wont be doing my regular movie review, as I’ve been given the opportunity to bring you a ‘live stand-up’ review. This stand-up happened to be one the best comedies that I have seen for a long time! I am talking about the Brighton leg of The Two Faces of Mitchell & Webb tour.

When I entered the theatre with a good friend of mine, we were instantly struck by a huge image of the two comedians, David Mitchell and Robert Webb illustrated through what looked to be a rather basic pen and ink drawing. The lights turned low and we were introduced to the duo as they entered from the right hand side of the stage. If you happened to be a fan of the show, you would soon begin to realise that the majority of the sketches were repeats of the recently aired series on BBC 2. Nonetheless the duo were as hilarious as ever, including some of my particular favourite sketches (I would have found the show to be nothing without them) including the all time favourites ‘Number Wang’, ‘Big Talk’ and the fantastically hilarious ‘The Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar’.

The sketch ‘Big Talk’ is a show like Question Time and presented by Robert Webb in the style of Jeremy Paxman, as the insane presenter in a bid to overcome the world’s issues with use of the boffins, (which included David Mitchell) supposedly three of the most brilliant minds around. The best thing about this sketch was that it has the potential to work in a ‘live’ environment, so that’s what they did. When Robert entered the audience, he began to have us throw questions at the boffins, and the audience obliged by asking a bizarre array of questions, the one that stuck in my mind was ‘In a fight between a muscle and a prawn, who would win?’.

Number Wang uses its element of confusion as the punch line for the sketch itself. Presented as a normal everyday run-of-the-mill game show, the contenders are asked to say a number, any number, and if by some unusual circumstance the number was correct, Robert would say ‘that’s number wang’, or negative circumstance ‘that’s not number wang’. This may sound strange and is one of those sketches you need to see to understand.

And now I had to save the best to last, my personal favourite ‘The Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar’, a delusional pair of homeless crazies believing their lives are of real significance, Robert Webb as ‘Sir Digby Chicken Caesar’ and David Mitchell as ‘Ginger’. It began as a pursuit from the back of the theatre with the theme tune in the background. That’s when I started laughing and literally didn’t stop until the sketch ended! The only disappointment was that the pair did not reappear for the rest of the show.

When it ended, I went to the pub with my friend to reminisce of the events of the show, which we both believed was absolutely fantastic. I personally think it was one of the best shows I have been privileged to witness. Nice one guys.

As an extra note, after we both departed the pub, I decided to go around the back of theatre to shorten the length of my journey home, and who should I meet around the back? None other than the two men themselves, Robert Webb and David Mitchell. WOW!! So me being me, I had to make their acquaintance!

I spoke to Robert first, and being a bit star struck, said the only two things I could think of was to tell him ‘Hi there I’m Marc, just wanted to say fantastic show, really enjoyed it and was just wondering when series 4 of Peep Show was coming out?’ He said either end of January or February this year (or maybe next year, I was somewhat amazed to be in this position so I may have misinterpreted his reply!), I shook his hand and left to go and talk to David, who was entertaining someone else at the time. I waited, eventually got his attention, and said ‘fantastic show loved every bit of it’ shook his hand and left. I instantly phoned my friend and told her what had just transpired, and was responded to with the answer ‘YOU LUCKY B*****D’, which I happened to agree with!

Anyway thanks for reading and having me drivel on. If you ever get the chance to see these two comedy geniuses, don’t hesitate, you won’t be disappointed!

Pony Boy Reviews

The Departed Review

2006-10-30T08:50:00.000-08:00

Compelling, violent but overall fantastic and in my opinion the best Scorcese film ever released. Usually in a cinematic environment I generally feel that if the film is not in the least bit gripping, I find myself looking at my watch waiting for it to end, but with this film I was looking at my watch hoping it wouldn’t end. Characterisation was brilliant, screenplay was air-tight, and visual effects were pulled off perfectly (for instance gunshot victims were made incredibly realistic ergo more disturbing). In regards to the music score, I have never heard the ‘Rolling Stones’ used so perfectly in a film, it gave the film an atmosphere which was projected on to you from the very beginning.

The film displays two storylines from either side of the tracks, a bent cop and an undercover cop. Without giving too much away, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) is a mob boss and Mr French (Ray Winstone) is his right hand man. Right from the start, the two make a fantastic entrance with the killing of a couple of unknowns, Nicholson portraying the most vindictive, callous attitude I have seen him display since ‘The Shining’. Costello manages to take Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) under his wing, as a child, and Sullivan grows up with the understanding that crime pays. Out of his respect for Costello, Sullivan joins the cops in order to assist him.

Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a man who grew up on the streets with only the peerage of street gangsters and chooses to fight against the only life he ever knew by joining the cops. Through doing this he is given the opportunity to infiltrate Costello’s organisation. The story takes you on a ride of action and suspense that is so vivid I never thought was possible to capture on film – until now! When suspicion arises on both sides, you are witness to the most perfectly executed (excuse the pun) gun battles and to scenes of an extreme and excessive nature.

The film is not without the charms of some other particularly famous actors such as Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg and the delightful appearance of Martin Sheen, without whom this film would not have been the same. The younger actors in DiCaprio, Damon and Wahlberg fitted in perfectly here and The Departed will hopefully open up more opportunities for them to act within the gangster related film genre.

In conclusion from start to finish the twists turns and retribution were carried out to sheer perfection, everything you have come to expect from a Martin Scorcese film plus more.

Ponyboy Cinematic Review of the Month - credit to Marc Blakey

Clerks 2 Review

2006-10-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

When I stepped up and asked for a ticket to see this film, I believed that since this was a sequel, it was going to be difficult to give the original the credit that it fully deserves. How wrong was I, the humour is indisputably fulsome but very funny, in fact a statement by Kevin Smith in ‘The Guardian’ website interview could say it all in a nutshell ‘it was back to basics: bestiality, vomiting and really bad language’

The Film

After working at the same convenience store for over a decade, Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are struck with disaster and find themselves having to locate to new ‘minimum wage’ jobs. With no real ambition in life their only option is to join the ‘Moobys’, a fast food restaurant with a typical abusive, geeky and inpatient clientele (similar to their last job).

Here you have Becky (Rosario Dawson), the boss, a ‘down to earth’ kind of girl who sees this job as nothing more than what it actually is. There is ‘Elias’ an uncorrupted Christian geek with some very naïve and unusual views on sex. Then there’s the return of ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ who always apply an aspect of glamour in a recalcitrant and comical way.

I found this film to be less loquacious than the first Clerks: maybe this was to do with the huge difference between the environments of a convenience store and a burger bar, which meant not having to oblige the viewers in extra, unneeded dialogue. Clerks 2 does a very good job as a sequel to live up to its predecessor - the characterisation was perfect, misunderstandings within the story were a little obvious but incredibly funny all the same. Bad language is used productively and eloquently, as well as bestiality references (but as far as this film is concerned ‘inter-species erotica’).

Certain scenes to look out for are the ‘Lord of the Rings/Star Wars trilogy argument’ and ‘the pickle f***er’ both of which will leave you either completely disgusted or laughing your backside off. Despite the humorous side, there is also emotional side to the proceedings - those familiar with the original Clerks will know of the relationship between Dante and Randal, and this becomes more apparent and of no surprise to the viewer within the final moments of the film.

All in all it is a film that is primarily for those not easily offended because it can be very direct and up front about certain issues. Easily one of Kevin Smith’s best. My advice is to not waste anymore time reading reviews - go and see it! Who knows - you might even find it educational. Enjoy!

Ponyboy Cinematic Review of the Month - credit to Marc Blakey

Survive Style 5 + Review

2006-09-27T09:24:00.001-07:00

Now here is an interesting piece of entertainment! I came across this film after seeing an amusing looking clip from Jonathan Ross’s Japanorama on BBC 3. Imagine Vinne Jones playing his usual tough man role in a cool Japanese film with crazy cartoon style characters and a severely twisted and imaginative plot, mix it all together, add a few squirts of blood and you have Survive Style 5 +!

The film features amongst others:

A man who repeatedly murders his wife, only for her to continually reappear in his house after every killing.

A woman who imagines some of the most bizarre and humorous adverts ever created

A man who is left to live as a chicken after the man who hypnotised him is murdered onstage.

A group of weird and eccentric thieves with a penchant for playing cards.

A psychotic hit man (played by Jones) and his sidekick who will kill anyone for the right price.

Throughout the film, the characters paths cross and the storyline slowly unfolds with insane genius. In one scene a woman attacks her husband using her arms as missiles; in another, a couple of friends drink water through their head after removing their toupees! Somehow it all begins to make sense as the film progresses, but unlike so many movies it’s impossible to predict what will happen next.

I would recommend this film to anyone who likes their films out of the ordinary. An amusing and enjoyable way to pass the time. Highly recommended!

Create a Successful Website

2006-09-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

From humble beginnings, Johan De Silva has turned his web design project into a critically acclaimed movie review website. I caught up with Johan to discuss his success.

Q. What made you decide to produce a movie website?

A group of friends wanted to raise awareness of movies and not just popular movies in the press but also cult and independent. Many of them already worked in the industry and a few were simply starting out. We wanted to review good films and also meet and get an insight into the creators and actors.

Q. How does your site differ from other sites?

We give more detailed reviews written by clever and humorous editors and backed up with related interviews from directors and the cast as well as interviews and trailers. We also keep our navigation as simple as humanly possible.

Q. How long did it take before your site became a success?

We didn’t have much of a budget to start with. Our PR model was simple; we put back any revenues straight into promotion. We made noise about our Future Movies and developed relationships with other websites swapping news information. It took at least two years to begin to get the recognition Future Movies deserves including a positive comments in the press and a spot on ITV’s Web Review by Jason Bradbury.

Q. What films would you recommend from the past couple of years?

Everyone has individual tastes and if I had to generalise I would have to say “Whale Rider” is a mighty fine movie which I enjoyed immensely and would appeal to a wide demographic. It’s a New Zealand made film based around one girls struggle to be accepted in the native religion of Kiwi’s. My personal tastes would point to film’s based around real events such as in the Brazilian gangster film City of God or clever films like “Memento” but you can’t please everyone be it a too complex story line or having to read subtitles.

Q. What tips would you give to someone who wants to start their own website?

You have to find the correct niche; have something different yet something interesting that people want to know about.

It is important to develop relationships within other websites loosely related to your niche especially content sites.

It is important to keep up with technology but at the end of the day it is your content is what really matters. The web is still new and opportunities are arising so create something engaging and be prepared to spend some money wisely looking at return on investment (ROI).

Be patient because Search Engines like Google prefer established sites over new sites.

You also can’t do everything yourself. If you need editors like I did then get the best you can get and reward them. You will become friends but know where to draw the line on performance from the beginning.

Visit Future Movies to see what all the fuss is about.

Weight Loss Winner

2006-09-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY MADE IT… Stepping onto my scales yesterday I was surprised to see my target weight of 12.5 stone (175 lbs) staring back at me from the dial of my scales – one week ahead of schedule of the September 19^th deadline!

From Monday to Friday for the last couple of weeks, my daily food intake has consisted of a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a piece of fruit for lunch and a smallish size dinner, allowing myself to be decadent at the weekend. Who says you can’t enjoy yourself on a diet?

Because I have cut down what was an unhealthy intake of sugars and other carbohydrates I have found that my energy levels are more stable and I no longer crave after chocolate - a big problem of mine!

Another change (apart from the slowly loosening jeans) is that I feel I have gained a great sense of control over myself. Where once I would eat whatever I liked, whenever I liked, I now tend to think a bit more (but not obsessively) about the consequences of my food habits. For someone so unhealthy that can only be a good thing.

I can honestly say that this challenge was mentally one of the most difficult experiences of my life as I enjoy a good burger more than anyone, but it was also a great test of my will power, and I really feel that I have achieved what for me was the impossible!

To read about my original challenge see My Weight Loss.

Chimichanga Review

2006-09-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

My review of restaurants took me, my wife Michiko and a friend, Marc, to Chimichanga Brighton Marina Village. Stepping inside, the first thing noticeable is the inviting atmosphere. The décor is modern with a definite Mexican theme, without being decadent or tacky as so often can be the case with this type of restaurant.

We were seated promptly and politely and having asked for wine and tap water we were presented with a huge jug – more than enough for three people. From the food menu I selected the orange and honey glazed chicken, my wife chose the rib-eye steak and my friend had the Mexican style chicken and chorizo pasta.

The wait for the food took enough time to have a decent conversation, but not too long that we became restless, during which we were able to soak up some of the atmosphere. When the food did come it was well presented – mine was sizzling on a skillet, Michiko’s was served on a wooden board and Marc’s in a Mexican style bowl and every dish was delicious.

Having sampled and enjoyed all three dishes I will go for the steak on my next visit – it was one of the best tasting steaks I have tried since sampling Kobe Beef in Japan and cooked to perfection, being still rare in the middle.

We considered the price to be very good value for money, with the meal for three coming to about 45 pounds including a tip. The only gripe we had about the whole experience was that it took longer than expected to pay for our bill at the end of the meal, but to fair to the waiting staff, it was busy and they were doing their best. In conclusion, Chimichanga comes highly recommended although you would be well advised to book on busy Friday and Saturday evenings.

Le Grand Voyage Review

2006-09-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

Recently, I watched a film called Le Grand Voyage which I had picked at random from the local video store – it turned out to be an interesting and thought provoking road movie about a father and son.

The father (Mohamed Majd) is deeply religious and insists that his agnostic son Reda (Nicolas Cazalé) accompany him from France on a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, a journey that is essential for all people of the Muslim faith who are able, at least once during their lifetime.

The storyline is fairly simple but I found myself captivated by the on-screen relationship between father and son; both with entirely different views of the world but brought together by their goal – Mecca. As the two travel over differing terrains through the European mainland, all the way to Middle East, the viewer is shown the contrasting ways of life in neighbouring countries.

Along the way, the pair meet a couple of interesting characters – firstly the spooky elderly woman who appears from nowhere and who travels in their car without speaking, and later, a Turkish man who befriends them and shows them the sights and sounds of Istanbul.

Towards the end, the film manages to convey the great sense of unity of the thousands of people arriving in Mecca from all over the world, with striking cinematography and some real footage. The acting is excellent throughout and at times very moving, and challenges the negative preconceptions that many people have of the Muslim faith.

One of the best films I have seen in the last couple of years.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen Review

2006-08-29T04:42:00.000-07:00

Continuing my reviews of eating establishments, I visited Gourmet Burger Kitchen Gardner Street Brighton, who focus on nothing but burgers and fries!

Upon arrival with a friend I noted the fresh, modern interior and informal atmosphere of the restaurant. The ordering system worked much like that of a pub, with each table having a number and once a selection had been made from the menu, the order was placed at the counter and the food was brought to the table when it was ready.

Perusing through the menu I had difficulties in making a decision, with a large selection of beef, chicken, lamb, venison and vegetarian burgers available with every topping imaginable. In the end I chose the avocado and bacon beef burger and my friend went for the pesto burger. Having witnessed the size of what other people in the restaurant were eating, we decided to share a portion of fries!

When the burgers were placed before us by a friendly waiter I was staggered! They must have measured about fifteen centimetres (six inches) tall and were held together with a cocktail stick and packed with the usual toppings plus in mine, the more unusual avocado.

The taste of my burger was even better than its appearance – all the ingredients were fresh and appetising and the flavour of the avocado worked really well with the bacon. Unlike McDonalds or Burger King where burgers the thickness of a slice of ham are cooked until the flavour disappears, the meat at in my gourmet burger was thick and perfectly grilled - still slightly rare in the middle. There was so much of it that I really struggled to finish. I would suggest that though delicious, the fries are only necessary for those with a phenomenal appetite.

The price of the meal for two people came to around twenty quid, which sounds a lot as we were eating something usually sold cheaply to the masses. But these were not ordinary burgers – they were something a whole lot better – perhaps the word burger shouldn’t be used to describe something so tasty. Most people wouldn’t think twice about spending 20-30 quid each on a ‘proper’ meal so in my opinion Gourmet Burger Kitchen represents great value for money. Will I be going back? Certainly and soon.

Sushi Garden Review

2006-08-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

As someone who thinks that food is one of life’s great privileges and a lifetime local resident, I have eaten out in a large number of restaurants in Brighton and surrounding Sussex. My aim is slowly build up a comprehensive guide of the best (and worst) places to eat.

This week I visited the Sushi Garden Preston Street Brighton with my wife, Michiko, and was immediately disappointed to find out I’d just missed out on the 4.99 special lunch menu which runs from 12-3pm (the time was 3:10).

Although this was my first visit I immediately recognised the evocative smell of fresh sushi that I had often encountered in Japan. The surroundings were pleasant with Japanese styling, and the waitresses even wore kimonos for an authentic feel.

Looking through the menu, I decided to opt for the beef yaki soba - Japanese style noodles fried with beef and vegetables in a light sauce. Michiko went for the bento box which included mixed vegetable & seafood tempura, four different types of sushi, rice and miso soup plus the usual accompanying pickles and sauces.

My food was very tasty, if a little sweet and the texture was good. What I tried of Michiko’s bento box was even better, with an almost perfect crunch to the tempura and well formed sushi. I also thought the service was very good as food came quickly, the waitresses were polite, looked like they didn’t hate their job and were not overbearing.

After we’d finished, the waitress brought us sliced orange along with the mandatory mints, which I thought was a nice touch and very refreshing. The price was reasonable with the total coming in at under thirty pounds including service. Would I go again? Definitely, but next time I’ll make sure I’m there before three!

V-Festival 2006 Review

2006-08-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

The basic idea is that the festival is spread over two sites – one in Weston Park, Stafford the other in Hylands Park, Chelmsford and bands playing at one site on Saturday will play at the other on Sunday and vice versa.

This was my third visit to the V-Festival in Chelmsford having been previously in 2002 and 2003, but my first time camping and the omens did not look good, with the weather forecasts predicting rain throughout the weekend. Upon arrival with Ian, a close friend, my fears were realised, with the ground sodden with water and slippery mud everywhere. A gruelling walk from the blue car park to the red campsite didn’t help, but once the tent was pitched I managed begin to get into the festival mood. That was until I realised that it was going to cost a tenner just to find out what time the bands were playing (the organisers had cunningly omitted the line-up times from the official website) – last time it was a fiver!

Having decided to play it by ear I walked over to the Channel 4 stage, and there before me were – shock horror – Kula Shaker! What were they doing here? Had I entered a time warp and gone back ten years? No, I was not hallucinating; I really was witnessing a band that I thought had died a death years ago. Anyway, having gritted my teeth through a few songs it was off to the main stage. On came the Magic Numbers who were every bit as good as I had remembered from the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

Next came Bloc Party, one of the highlights of the festival, who played an excellent energy charged set that really got the crowd going. The only minus point was the soaking I got from the cups of beer that flew through the air whenever the crowd got excited. I walked away happy with beer encrusted hair.

Keane followed Bloc Party but there was something lacking from the performance which I couldn’t quite put my finger on. They were good, but not great. I later found out that sadly, their lead singer, Tom Chaplin had cancelled the rest of the touring commitments as he was about to enter rehab for drink and drug abuse. I wish him all the best for a full recovery.

After Keane a rest was needed as we were fast approaching Radiohead time, and main reason for attending the festival. Having returned to the main stage early to ensure a good viewing position I had high hopes. They did not disappoint. Radiohead played what I would describe as their ‘greatest hits’ with the best from each of their albums from The Bends right through to Hail to the Thief. They finished with a superb rendition of Creep from their debut album, Pablo Honey. Thom Yorke was in fine voice and the band played with plenty of emotion; the crowd becoming more excited with every passing song. The visuals were also incredible with a backdrop similar in appearance to shattered glass showing the band from a multitude of angles.

I walked to my tent on the Saturday with a great feeling of satisfaction as I had already seen the band I came for and knew that I could have gone home now and it still would have been fantastic value for money – but I had another day to enjoy. Neither the huge queue to re-enter campsite or the bone dry chicken nuggets and fries or even the torrential downpour could darken my mood.

After managing a couple of hours sleep in my sleeping bag I awoke to what looked like a third-world refugee camp, with bleary-eyed festival goers emerging from their tightly packed tents under grey skies. After consuming a coffee and a poorly constructed hotdog I returned to the land of the living and went back to the festival arena. Would the Sunday be as good as the Saturday?

The first music of the day was courtesy of Richard Hawley, who played a very chilled out set, harking back to the past which I think even my dad would have enjoyed. Then came Hard-Fi, who were good for the songs that I knew, but I couldn’t appreciate them fully as I’m not a big fan. Later in the day I saw Paul Weller, who threw back the years with some classic tracks from Wild Wood and even an old one from The Jam, A Town Called Malice.

As evening set in, I watched the Beautiful South in the JJB Arena (basically a huge circus tent) who sounded great, and who really got the crowd going. Although they are not one of my favourite bands, their enthusiastic performance was one the highlights of the whole festival. After this came The Charlatans, who I love and have long wanted to see live – they were slightly disappointing, but not for the quality the music but for their selection of tracks. They should have played more of their early, and in my opinion, better tracks. I did not hear a single song from their self titled album, which is a personal favourite.

Another person who suffered from poor track selection was the uncompromising Morrissey, who headlined the Sunday. I felt that as he was playing a festival, he should have played more of his more well-known songs, and perhaps a few more tracks from his days in The Smiths. As it was, the majority of the tracks played were from his new album and not well known by large sections of the crowd. However, Morrissey’s onstage wit and persona more than made up for the disappointing unfamiliarity of the music, and the song performances were right on-key.

I returned home utterly exhausted, almost unable to move from all the walking and standing of the previous two days, but strangely I felt mentally refreshed as if the cobwebs of boredom and dullness experienced in day-to-day life had been blown away. Would I return next year? If the line-up is as strong as V2006, definitely.

Hypnosis Helps Out

2006-08-18T05:32:00.000-07:00

Hypnotherapist Andrew Stratton explains the ins and outs of hypnotherapy and how it can help to maximise your life and rid you of old unwanted behaviours...

What is trance? It's something you experience all the time and is a totally natural state. Typical examples are when you're absorbed in a film or when you get that sense of flow while doing something active or creative.

How does hynotherapy work? Often, if we're directly told to change in a certain way, it can seem like a big challenge. By putting someone into trance, they will be more likely to accept helpful suggestions at a subconcious level and so easily adopt more helpful patterns of behaviour.

What problems can it solve? Just about anything. If you think you beed a psychological shift in perspective, then hypnosis can help. Most commonly, people use it to stop smoking, but it's popular to use it to overcome phobias and reduce anxiety. It's even possible to change things deep in the subconcious mind and cure eczema or lower blood pressure.

Will I be made to cluck like a chicken? Only if you want to! You're completely in control when being hypnotised and if something happens you don't agree with, alarm bells will sound and your concious mind will be alerted.

Top tips for Self-hypnosis

Scan your body

It can be quite nice to spend a few moments noticing the sensations from your feet on the floor right up to the top of your head. You can imagine stepping into a warm bath or simply having each muscle gently soothed. Another fun thing to do is move your awareness up your back, around your head and face, back down the front of your body, around the soles of your feet and then keep circling around like this.

Special place

With each out breath you take, imagine going down some steps or a lift towards a relaxing place. Many people choose a beach, but it can be anywhere that makes you feel really calm. Use all your senses to build up a complete impression of this safe place. Once you're able to calm down to a comfortable level, you might like to visualise a healing object floating towards you, feeling its powers all the more asd it gets closer. Finally, take hold of this object and allow your body to feel invigorated and alive.

For more information and free downloads, visit Andrew's website: Change in Mind

All About the Music

2006-08-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

While tuning the radio for the football results one day I came across some French voices. This would not normally be unusual because being on the south coast as we often pick up crackly long range radio from over the water. What was strange about this was that it was coming through crystal clear on the FM channel. I later found out that it was being broadcast illegally from the home of a local man.

The story goes that upon travelling to France on holiday and falling in love this radio station (called FIP), he decided to share his love of the channel by downloading a stream from the internet and sharing it over the airwaves for the local population to enjoy! What a kind man…

So what is special about FIP? Well, apart from having no adverts and the only the occasional interruption from the French speaking newsreaders there is none of the inane chat that seems to ruin many British stations. The selection of music FIP plays is wide and often eclectic – imagine listening to the theme tune to Chariots of Fire, followed by some obscure world music, followed by a track from Nirvana! Difficult to imagine, but somehow it all seems to fit together and it works!

Throughout the day, the FIP listener is bombarded with a range that is so diverse it would be impossible to become bored! Importantly, for listeners looking for originality, I don’t recall ever hearing the same song played twice – a lesson that UK stations could certainly learn from.

If you would like listen to this station, you can do so over the internet. You will need a player to decode the stream – I’ve found Winamp works well – the software can be downloaded at www.winamp.com and once this is downloaded, if you go to file, play URL and paste in:- http://ogg.tv-radio.fr:1441/encoderfip.ogg you should soon be able to form your own opinion about FIP.

Au revoir.

Casino Advice

2006-08-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

There are new casinos opening up all of the time – both brick & mortar and online, with the industry worth billions every year. People will spend money they can’t afford to lose on roulette, blackjack, poker and the like; chasing a dream that for most will never happen. Why do they do it? The answer is simple – greed and the thought of easy money.

So how can you make money from a casino? The answer is simple – either buy shares in a casino company or open your own one!

Useful Free Tools

2006-08-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

As you will probably be aware, finding exactly what you want on the internet can often be a time-consuming and frustrating process. There are so many thousands of programmes out there that it difficult to know what’s good from what’s bad – the only way to know is to test the programs yourself and discover which ones work for you.

My aim is to cut through to the heart of the problem and provide you with the best the web has to offer. And more importantly, all of the programs I recommend are free to download and run. Here are my recommendations:

Spybot Search and Destroy – Spyware Removal

http://www.safer-networking.org/

Zone Alarm – Firewall

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

Avast – Virus Killer

http://www.avast.com/

Cole 2K – Video and Audio Codecs

http://www.cole2k.net/

ExtractNow – File decompression software

http://www.extractnow.com/

Firefox – Internet browser

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India

2006-08-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Last year I travelled to Goa in India and found that my view of the world changed forever…

I found the experience of travelling in a country lacking so many of the creature comforts that we take for granted in the West to be very liberating. I quickly found I could buy whatever I wanted and do anything I could think of without having to worry about money. For example, a delicious meal including a drink would cost no more than the equivalent of £2.50 in rupees, motorbike hire was £2 a day and fresh fruit could be bought for a few pennies.

The scenery in Goa was fantastic – with palm trees and beautiful sandy beaches a short motorbike ride from my hotel. The colours were amazing with women often wearing garish clothes shown off by the bright sunshine. It would not be unusual to see a painted elephant parading around the town or a herd of goats to walk into the road while riding in a rickshaw.

One thing that really struck me about India was the poverty. Upon travelling to Karnataka (the state adjacent to Goa) by train, I was greeted by large numbers of beggars. The most upsetting thing was that many of them were children. It made me realise that whatever problems I faced in England, they were so insignificant in comparison. I don’t think anyone can understand the meaning of poverty until it stares them in the face in such a way, but I was glad for the experience as I believe it made me a stronger person.

One of my happiest memories was of a beach in the Northern part of Goa which I found by chance on motorbike. It was stunningly beautiful, almost completely deserted apart from a couple of beach cafés, and I spent the afternoon with my wife and a good friend reading, sipping on a soft drink and occasionally staring out to sea. Bliss. Whenever I am feeling stressed I just need to think of that place and it will bring calm…

Up the Albion

2006-08-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve been a keen supporter of Brighton & Hove Albion since I was taken to my first match by my dad at the age of eight. We Lost. For some reason I decided to go again and eventually I became a fan for better or worse (usually worse!).

I’ve seen some very bad, bad, average and sometimes even some good games in my time - notably the 1-0 win over Bristol City at the Millennium Stadium for the Division 2 play-off final which was certainly a day to remember – if only for the atmosphere!

So how will the Albion fare this season? Well, hopefully better than the last – I only went to three games and all ended in defeat with some appalling defending and lacklustre displays in attack. On the upside we are doing much better this time around – we are undefeated as I speak and showed great promise in defeating a Gillingham team that boasted a defender with World Cup experience (albeit Trinidad and Tobago)!

Good old Sussex by the sea…

My Weight Loss

2006-08-15T04:20:00.000-07:00

Since making a stupid agreement in March this year I immediately started to worry. Why? Because I had agreed to reduce my weight from 14 stone to 12.5 stone by the date of my wedding anniversary (19^th September). Failure would mean I would have to donate to charity the amount that a mug would have spent in same period if they were to pay monthly gym membership (£270).

Now for any normal person, this would seem like an easy task – simply watch what you eat and exercise three times a week. The problem is I’m not normal! I am Mr Lazy and the thought of exercise and cutting out my beloved fast food sent shivers down my spine…

Around the start of August, panic had set in – I was only just under 13.5 stone and the end date was fast approaching… there was only one thing to do – liposuction – damn, it costs more than the bet I’d lose. Then I had a thought…

All the advice out there tells us that we should consume 2500 calories a day if we are an average man and 2000 if we are a woman. Then I thought: ‘what is an average man or woman?’ I’m guessing this average person exercises 3 times a week and probably leads a healthy and active lifestyle. What do I do? I drive to work each morning, sit in front of a PC for 8 hours and then go back home and watch whatever happens to be on TV. Add to this the odd greasy takeaway and the occasional beer (or two!) and you have my life.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that I need nothing like 2500 calories to maintain my lifestyle and weight – more like 1500. So that’s where I’d been going wrong all these years! Armed with this new knowledge I decided to make a change – if I was to reduce my food intake to 1000 calories a day, my body would start to eat into my fat to maintain itself.

I decided the best way to reduce my calorie intake was not to go on one of those calorie controlled diet where the food tastes like crap and is unsatisfying – instead, I would simply either not eat lunch or dinner. It’s easy when you get used to it – you eat a healthy breakfast (I recommend a bowl of your favourite cereal) and just skip one of the other two ‘mandatory’ meals a day. In addition to this I drank plenty of water to keep the body hydrated and this also tricks the stomach into thinking it’s full. If the hunger became too great I would allow myself a piece of fruit.

The good thing about this ‘special’ diet is that at weekends it’s possible to revert back to normal eating habits including fast food (just don’t take the piss!). I started my regime a little over 2 weeks ago and have lost almost half a stone, and all I needed was a little will power! If I keep going at this rate I’ll easily win the bet and be able to stick two fingers up to my mates…

For an alternative view on things see Johan's Blog