gfunkera by Graeme Buckley
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G's Thought Of The Day... And here we go... Charlize Theron
A word from the boss...(Me, not God!)

Just a quick headbutt review of 2007 with the aim of passing a dull, cloudy lunchtime and also to look back on the 7th year of this millenium! It was a tumultuous time for our nation, the Facebook craze gave us all a reason to live! It showed the average person what the average person thinks about the average things! Gordon Brown stepped upto the plate to rule the UK with a iron fist; this Gordon Brown, not this Gordon Brown! The Spice Girls came back, Take That came back, Josh Brolin came back, my Dad hurt his back, and the domestication of the dog continued unabated...

You always start of a year feeling baaaaaaaaaaddddd! From complete mental and physical exhaustion after weeks of eating like you're planning for a famine and drinking like prohibition is about to hit! Those 2 small weeks are fantastic fun but for your body, its like Iwo Jima bitchslapping the Wild West leaving it reeling and in ruins. One word... consequences!



However, you chill January cold and relax it like Frankie suggests and you make new years resolutions in the form of drinking less and eating less and you forcefully stick to them for 4 weeks max. Come to think of it, January gets lied to more than the American public! My new years resolution of 1997 was to never make new years resolutions again and to my credit, I've stuck to that ever since! What skill! But like any superhero, you bounce back and hit it with true grit and 2007 gets beat down like the odd number it is!



Combine: Bath, London, music, booze, humvees, rollerboots and the 80's and you have yourself Katie and Kim's 80's rollerdisco party which went down in our countries capital. The night kicked-off with pre-drinks at Katie & Kim's pad in Bath which included plenty of mockery of people's attire and a swanky humvee limo down to London! Everything is going to jump at once! It was a like a mobile disco club complete with a lasershow all housed within a tank! Champagne flowed and so did the music with appearances from the likes of Huey Lewis, Michael Jackson and Dead Or Alive! The night was fantastic with bucket loads of flare, wristbands, aviators with shellsuits and was brilliantly filmed by moi with a kickass DVD to boot at the end of it all! Bravo!



Absolute madness!...Welcome to the house of fun!...Katie then took us around Bath in fine style and managed to squeeze in plenty of sights, sounds, gossip, history and humour! The nighttime was taken up by firstly; a fantastic meal in a local restaurant, followed by the tearing up of Bath's pubs! I'm not sure what we were drinking, but Mark wanted to see the smallest pub in Bath and with it came lashings of the local brews Dundledorfs and Bellringers!



One of the best places in England, without the smallest shadow of a doubt is York. Even though it spent most of this year under water, York is a great place for shopping and moving your living class up a notch with the addition of nice bars to rinse and one club to evisarate, York is a definite place to visit.



February was a boss month for films! I always thought January was a dumping ground for post-Christmas trash; box office cannon fodder if you will - but I was showered with good flicks all February and heres the pitch!

Smokin' Aces This is the ultimate popcorn film, probably appreciated more from the male perspective (cue guns, chainsaws, flares, neo-nazis, FBI, mob enforcers, etc!) A complete rampage of a movie!

Hot Fuzz Somerset and shotguns = A strange and hilarious mashup of a film! Nowhere near as great as Shaun Of The Dead but luckily it was a fantastic way of laughing off 2 hours!



Dave turns 21! Our kid emphatically managed to outdo and outclass any 21st Ive had the honour of shotgunning and I have had the pleasure of helping usher in a fair few! Dave decided to take on board a host of friends who quite simply rip shit up and catapult them into a foreign mashup of culture seeking frenzy! These are the guys you send in when you don't want anything left standing or breathing! So we tore apart Nottingham's nightlife and flew to Poland for a few days of sight-seeing/drinking/eating and spending sweet Fanny Adams! What a beautiful city! The city square is a sight itself, with a fantastic market, fancy bars, swanky restaurants and drop-dead gorgeous girls to drool at! The Salt Mines were something else - it was one of the world's oldest operating salt mines reaching down to a depth of 327 meters, and is over 300 km long. Also featured are beautifully carved chambers, chapels, an underground lake and exhibits on the history of salt mining. The mine is justly referred to as "the underground salt cathedral of Poland." Pure human skill and spirit at its best...



The hostel itself was awesome, the people were friendly and the first night was carnage! Especially for the birthday boy who peaked far too soon due to much Polish vodka and pole dancing attempts from himself and myself! "Shall I take my belt off now?" as Scott emphatically said as he gets in the 15% lager!



One question has preoccupied us lads for a while now. One huge quest of a question - is Jamie a pimp?



Have you ever noticed that people have their own style of carnival-funhouse-freakshow faces that they pull everytime a flash photo is taken? Well a particular face has emerged in various photos - the poor kid face! The bemused look, hunched shoulders, upward stare and the slight smile all point towards a poor kid look...



Daisy smashes into her 3's! The original madam of terror has hit her third year on this earth and has already managed to overtake me with her grammar and speech skills causing me to be confused and bewildered more than usual. "Daisy don't confuse Uncle G!" Congrats to the rents Martyn and Sarah for the construction of this clever young upstart! Disney are making a killing off me every May and December because Disney DVD's are not bargain bin material!



PPIK Leeds - Pole Position Indoor Karting, pulled an absolute blinder for Ricks 25th birthday - endurance racing! This was just an awesome day! I now have new found respect for Formula 1 drivers as only a short stint in those karts is punishing because a day in those speed demons can strip two stones of weigth off of you! Anyways, after all the adrenaline had dissapated, we hit Leeds and descended upon Oceana for all the usual giggles! Achin' heads and achin' bodies all round!



Everyone and Everything! the most extensive words I could dig up to describe the photo album which embodies it! Every digital photo I have ever taken and liked, loathed, messed around with and edited is in this album - half a thousand of them! Have a goosey gander, you will probably exist somewhere within this album, if not - spend some more time with me!



In May we managed to clock up a few girls birthdays and decided to mesh them all into one huge dropkick of a nightout! Sarah, Cat, Nichola all shared a birthday slot together so we had a well deserved knees up in Baja which was pure silk in a glass! Baja has long been a haunt of Kristians, Daves and myself as it provides the guiltful tunes and booze that make your night worth while! Being able to text Top Gun phrases to the big screen is a huge advantage too! "Goose, do you see a trailer??"



The band Mogwai did an amazing song called 'We're No here' and that to me best describes the British summer of 2007 (or lack thereof!) 'Hell Is Round The Corner' from Portishead also desribes this lackluster summer: very little sun with the ever present burden of full tilt work! Thus, as pure Brits, every time the sun decided to shine, we took upon the newly created decking to capture the rays that have forgotten us for so long...



I don't know my arse from my earhole when it comes to holidays and I've hit the banana peel hard in the past so it was decided that we'd take off for sun, sand and sangria aplently in Cyprus! 35 to 40 degrees heat on average! Generally, I could withstand the heat the sun threw at me, but during mid-day it was sweltering and 5pm-7pm quickly became my favourite part of the day - still hot but manageable. Mark, Rachel, Cat, Sarah, Nichola and myself stayed in a lovely hotel in Panera which was 15 minutes walk from buzzin' Protaras and 15 mintues drive from the unhinged Ayia Napa. The holiday itself was the usual 'pool or beach by day and a meal with drinks by night.' Though the nights themselves did get somewhat more clumsy as the holiday went on! We gotta laugh a little or we'll cry a lot, As the holiday went on, we realised that Ayia Napa had to be done, and with that decision came a huge tiddal wave of severe of laughter and hangovers! All in all, as Mike Skinner says, a tow-all-riz-hull-of-a-'oliday!



All who went to Cyprus benefitted from a gfunk produced DVD as well!....



No mask, no cape, no problem!...July came the month of not just my birthday but some of the best films of the year: Die Hard 4.0, Transformers and The Simpsons Movie! Transformers though, wow! This represents everything that I love about films since my birth; the shear f*ckoffness of it all and the absolute balls to wall style of action which still appeals to me even at the age of 25! "Maybe you should grow up?" I hear you shout...nah...thats just how I roll!



So the wet and dismal summer continues to roll on and I still maintain a nice tan from holiday but still no sign of the English sun! But there's still nothing better than sitting outside the Angel in Baildon on a late sunny afternoon smashing down the reasonably priced ale whilst talking about Hollyoaks, cars and boobs! However, if theres very little sun and its not too cold, what does the British mentality stretch to? - that awesome word that summons out the shorts of hope and exposes those pale legs of experience! - BBQ! Ribs, rolls, ribena, rollos, ripped jeans, rent-less, right-on! The weather manages to hold out for just enough time to light the disposable barbeque, eat some cow and down some suds! But do you know what I really love about BBQs? It is when my gracious and always kind mates decide to leave lots of alcohol in my fridge because...
a) their too p*ssed to care,
b) they completely forget about it,
c) or they love me and are fully aware of my agreement with Chris Boardman that 'alcohol is part of a balanced diet!'



Sam and Jess: Everyone has mates that when people ask about them, you respond with 'they are the nicest people ever!' Well these two ARE the nicest people ever, more accurately, the nicest couple ever! I spent most of my university years with Sam & Jess and I was so happy for them when they got married! So I travelled down to the beautiful shores of Kent to see them both get hitched during the hot summer down there and what a fantastic wedding it was! Congrats to you both! Muzel Tov!



The Infoserve massive - loving your work is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot but for me its not true! Work bores me out of my tiny mind and makes me wanna confine myself to a small padded space with some sort of shackle/straight-jacket configuration, but I do love the peeps I work with! They alternate between cool human beings and downright awesome human beings (even when the fan hits the shit for a change!) Working with good lookings gals is also a bonus in my book!...



But when the shit does hit the fan, it hits hard and it hits fast. Early October, redunancies swept the company in the space of not even one day and we lost a lot of friends, new and old. Given a pretty smooth year, this must have been the longest and most painful week for me this year. Not only is your own job on the line, but good friends are too. At the end of the day, after all the meetings finished, I managed to survive but a lot did not. So we all decided to pile into Leeds for a reet royale rumble to cemisarate the loses. I have not been on a weeklong bender for a long time and it brought back a lot of memories or destroyed a lot of memories! Either way, after the mist cleared I was able to get back to work. Ive had a few beers now so I will quote Maximus - "I knew a man once who said death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back." Heres some of the great people we lost...



Every year, the family dons the clobber of exercise and sheds the clobber of work and sets their sails for Centre Parcs where all the family convene for a week of exercise and compete in the Stella Consumption Olympics! After a few mates holidays this year, I decided to save my loot for an family holiday abroad during the tail end of October. So all campers descended upon Nerja which resides on the scenic southern shores of sunny Spain. To home your time senses, this was the week which included England loosing to Oz at rugby and Hamilton failing to lift the F1 world championship trophy. England prevails! Disregard this and take aboard the fact that we stayed in the most awesome castle-style villa ever, visited the Alhambra castle, swam in the Costa and were delightfully served for a week in a fantastic coastal town.



(Geek alert!) Nick, Djenan, Steve, Tim & myself got a rare chance to hear John Williams music being played by a live full orchestra during the Leeds Film Festival. This special event was held at the Leeds Town Hall and the full Leeds Symphony Orchestra was present to belt out the old school classics and new emsemble themes including; Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Munich, ET, Superman, AI, Harry Potter, etc. We were seated right behind the orchestra where we could feel the trumpets kill the marches and the massive steel drums smash our organs to bits! Top treat for someone like me who loves music and has thrived off Spielberg films all of his life which goes hand-in-hand with John Williams body of work.



Its in a mans blood to love speed...whether he denies it or embraces it more tightly than Big brother participants do the media, but men do love to watch and hear things go wroom!!! Kristian, his dad Brian and myself trundled down to Donington Park for the Renault World Series of exhibitions and races. The highlight being a F1 car flinging itself round the track with pure muscle and grit mixed with racing technology at its very best! Now I can add this to my power list next to a seeing a space shuttle take off in Florida!



Mark finally took the house plunge and sorted himself out with a fantastic new terraced house in Bingley (right over the wall from his parents!) To celebrate Mark's new pad - we decided to warm it up in proper British fashion! Even though at the time Marks furniture consisted of just a smelly couch and a DIY makeshift table, a reet royle rumble was had! Congratulations kid!...



Quote from Djenan - "Some people have a diary; I'm starting a photo diary. I'm calling it Project:365. A picture a day for 365 days."  Djenan's year is either short or he's lazy - 194 photos! Note to Djenan buddy - make it a weekly photo diary mate! Good lad...



Rob goes away, comes back, goes away again, comes back and then goes away again. Stu comes back then goes away again only to come back. Ben goes away, comes back, goes away, only to come back and go away again. Can't people just stay still?



Congratulations are due to Tim & Jo as they are set to wed next year! May they one day bring the world to its knees!



Ive always knocked iPods, mainly because of their low storage capabilities coupled with a large price tag. However, I decided to give the iPod Classic a goosey gander due to its 20gb video and music storage, sleek looks and the 150 bar price mark which makes more sense than the recent generations offerings. Check out below for this years mintest tunes that have been horsing their way through my iPod and into my moated brain!



Meg: still cantering her way through life! Many believe she still looks like a pup which is probably due to the vast quantities of attention she gets from us scrubs and the older rents which odviously has had a good effect on her!



DJ Shadow (real name Josh Davis): Known as the godfather of instrumental hip-hop, has proven himself with groundbreaking, genre-defining solo output on such respected labels as Solesides and Mo' Wax. Although Shadow's earlier works, especially Endtroducing, are known for their innovation in genres such as hip-hop, ambient, and trip-hop, his latest album, The Outsider, had several tracks dedicated to the 'Hyphy' sound. How can anyone be bad though with track titles like: Midnight in a Perfect World, Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt, Best Foot Forward, What Does Your Soul Look Like? and Giving Up The Ghost. Anyways, I caught a set in Leeds mid-year and it was superb! I am still a bigger fan of his older albums but he still knows how to bring the funk!



2008! What to look forward to? Well its already only a slight way in and I am back to brassic already! This new flat business doesn't half enjoy taking my wallet to school! If I were Tax, I would be constantly loosing sight of my offspring; council, road, car, income, etc! At least I get to reside within a lovely pad in Guiseley, dead close to Leeds via the train station and only a stones throw away from our kid Meg!


  1. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - You Look Great When Im Fucked Up
  2. Bob Dylan - Ain't Talkin
  3. Govt Mule - Far Away
  4. Roots Manuva - Witness 1 Hope
  5. Portishead ft. Tricky - Hell Is Round The Corner
  6. Spiritualised - Do It All Over Again
  7. UNKLE - Price You Pay
  8. Ludacris ft. Sum 41 - Get Back
  9. Prodigy - First Warning
  10. Spiderbait - Black Betty
  11. Dropkick Murphys - Shipping Up To Boston
  12. Delirium - Silence (Europhoric Chillout Mix)
  13. Faithless - Crazy English Summer
  14. Massive Attack - Prayer For England
  15. Doves - There Goes The Fear (UNKLE Mix)
  16. DJ Shadow - Giving Up The Ghost
  17. DJ Krush ft. Esthero - Final Home
  18. Aphex Twin - Polynominal-C
  19. Cinematic Orchestra ft. Roots Manuva - All Things To All Men
  20. John Cale - Big White Crowd
  21. Orbital - Funny Break One Is Enough
  22. Shuggie Otis - Ah Uh Mi Hed
  1. The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
  2. 3:10 To Yuma
  3. Blade Runner: Final Cut
  4. Smokin' Aces
  5. The Departed
  6. Transformers
  7. The Good Shepherd
  8. Die Hard 4.0 (Uncut)
  9. Hot Fuzz
  10. Shoot 'Em Up

Best Films Discovered This Year...

  1. Children Of Men
  2. The Insider
  3. Sergio Leone's Western Trilogy
  4. Touch Of Evil
  5. V For Vendetta
  6. The Breakfast Club
  7. Downfall
  8. Syriana
  9. 1941
  10. Chopper



Hottest Girls Of 2007

  1. Megan Fox
  2. Gemma Atkinson
  3. Mary Elizabeth Winstead
  4. Elisha Cuthbert
  5. Lindsay Lohan
  6. Natalie Portman
  7. Olga Kurylenko
  8. Anne Hathaway
  9. Emilie de Ravin
  10. Amanda Bynes

While your mind is now filled with mint tunes, awesome films and glorious girls, I will now bow out and get myself back to Top Gear. As there is no room for a cool closing line, I will let a sentiment that means a lot to you ride right here...


Mark's warming of his house!
Location: Eldwick
Marks house is a bit empty. It has a couch, a makeshift DIY table, a bed and a TV. Fanatastic excuse to douse the walls with the vibes you can only get with a house-heating/warming/scoulding! There was wine, there was beer, there was pringles, there will be hangovers!

Hope the house is suitably warmed for you Mark!


Click here for the photos...

Blade Runner: The Final Cut
30th November 2007
Location: The York Picturehouse
Me and Jordan managed (through painful searching) to find a cinema, other than London, that was playing the Final Cut of Blade Runner. It is a very hard screening to find because it is a digital print and only a handful of places in the USofA and the UK are screening it.

After smashing through rush hour traffic and finally getting our arses groundside, up-started one of the best new-noir, dystopian, painfully beautiful splashes of modern art/science fiction to hit me in my stoopid face - ever! Seeing this thing on the big screen with its strikingly sharp picture and atmospherically clear sound was such a treat! Shame people either overlook or don't care about this film as much as it fully deserves.

John Williams @ The Leeds Town Hall

Location: Leeds Town Hall
(Geek alert!) For years of growing up there are a lot of things that you love and that you never forget because they are always present. I love Spielberg films, especially the music of John Williams which Spielberg always employs.

Nick Bardsley, Djenan Kozsic, Steve Ashworth, Tim Yates & myself got a rare chance to hear his music being played in front of a live full orchestra. This special event was held for the Leeds Film Festival at the Town Hall and a full symphonic orchestra was present to belt out the old school classics and new emsembles including; Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Munich, ET, Superman, AI, Harry Potter, etc.

One word - awesome! We were seated right behind the orchestra and we could feel the trumpets kill the marches and the massive steel drums smash our organs to bits! Top treat!

Nerja, Spain!
9th November 2007

Location: Nerja, Spain
Nothing like a family holiday in southern Spain for a week. Great weather, fantastic villa, beautiful beaches and scenery! Being situated right next to the San Miguel factory is a hidden bonus (hiccup!) I managed to fully consume 3 bond novels, few crates of San Miguel and a weeks worth of Steak! Nerja is a really pretty town on the southern coast of Spain, not far from Malaga etc. Definetely worth a weeks sightseeing, drinking and sunbathing!



Click here to see the photos...

Film: Citizen Kane @ Hyde Park Cinema
3rd October 2007

Citizen Kane (1941)
Director: Orson Welles
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane

Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" is widely considered to be the greatest film to ever come out of Hollywood. The film is basically about a group of reporters who are trying to decipher the last word ever spoken by Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper tycoon: "Rosebud." The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane's life for the masses, and then from there, we are shown flashbacks from Kane's life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man's rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the "top of the world."

Making what is widely regarded as the best film ever, making it when you're only in your 20's, being ridiculed and black-listed by William Randolph Hearst, being hated in Hollywood, being the voice of Optimus Prime, gaining a lot of weight and dying before you're truely appreciated: Orson Welles.

Having a beer, eating a Subway, watching this film at the old-school Hyde Park Cinema with Djenan: priceless.


Is Jamie Robinson a Pimp? Part 3 // Is Graeme Buckley Mad? Part 1
15th September

Jamie Robinson isn't doing much to discredit his pimp status of late.

As mates, we had to spend all Saturday afternoon, pimpin' ... I mean cruising around Yorkshire, dropping off numerous Muppet's tasks and tring to find people we used to go to school with to show off our Charlie Big Bananas status. Blacked out windows, fully electric, shit-of-shovel etc all included! But I still prefer the nuts in throat Honda, or the balls stuck to the wall Skoda Fabia!


The G-ASH Cup! A Week Of Ricochet!

Who wins? You decide. Only joking!...
Steve and G :: Ricochet :: 5 days :: 5 games :: 1 winner!

What does the winner recieve?...
• A weeks chauffering to and from the gym.
• Being known as 'The Master' and being addressed as this.
• The winner gets to keep the G-ASH Cup - a troll nailed to a wooden boat.

Current score...
3 - 1 to Steve :: so he wins. Nooooo!

To be fair, the last set was at 1 - 1 and I was winning the third set 6 - 0. When the time ran out it was 9 - 8 to Steve.
I was narked off to say the least...

So Steve wins the G-ASH Cup and gets to be chauffeured to and from the gym all next week and will be addressed as 'Master' for a week as well.


Donington Park - Renault World Series!
9th September 2007

*photo courtesy of Nick Bardsley :: Playtoy Motorpsort | Website | Flickr


Location: Donington Park (nr. Nottingham)
Kristian, his dad Brian and myself trundled down to Donington Park for the Renault World Series of exhibitions and races. Little did we know that it would take us 6 hours to get there (usual 1/2 hour) and 2 hours return journey!

Knackering! But we did catch a few races, an old-skool Renault museum and a few test laps of their F1 car -which made the trip worth while!

Click here to see the photos...


BBQ Time!
3rd August 2007

Location: My garden, My house, Baildon, West Yorkshire, England, Earth.
Ribs, rolls, ribena, rollos, ripped jeans, rent-less, right-on!

Nowt like a BBQ in erm...August! The weather held out for just enough time to light the disposable bar-b, eat some cow and down some suds!

Do you know what I really love about BBQ’s? Is when my gracious and always kind mates decide to leave lots of alcohol in my fridge because: -
(a) their too p*ssed to care.
(b) they forget.
(c) they love me and are fully aware of my only vice!

Anyways, enjoy the pics!
Click here to see the photos...


Cyprus!
4th July 2007

Location: Panera, Protaras, Ayia Napa
Cyprus is a hot place! 35 to 40 degrees on average, ouch! I managed to avoid any sunburn by copious amounts of high factor suncream - which when applied liberally, made me look like the Joker! To my credit though, by the end of the holiday I had come down to a respectable low factor, mainly due to the fact that I did want it seem like I had only been in the sun for 15 minutes! Travel Nightmare: Falling asleep as soon as you board, waking up 2 hours later; you're still in Manchester having not taken off yet and you have a 4 hour flight ahead, ahhhhhhh!!!!!

We (Mark, Rachel, Cat, Sarah, Nichola and myself) stayed in a lovely hotel in Panera, 15 minutes walk away from buzzin' Protaras and 15 mintues drive from Ayia Napa. The holiday itself was a usual 'pool by day and a meal/drinks by night' affair. Though the nights themselves did get more 'messy' as the holiday went on! Generally, I could stand the heat but during mid-day, it was sweltering! My favourite part of the day was around 5pm-7pm when it was still hot but manageable (plus the fact that this was beer o'clock!)

Panera was a nice place, quiet(ish) so we found ourselves in Protaras most nights. Good food, lots of drink, awesome chat! Ayia Napa had to be done which resulted in a severe wave of laughter and hangovers! All in all, a total result of a holiday!

Click here to see the photos...


Film: Die Hard 4.0 / Live Free Or Die Hard
18th July 2007

Die Hard 4.0 / Live Free Or Die Hard (2007)
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maqqie Q, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

When a criminal plot is in place to take down the entire computer and technological structure that supports the economy of the United States (and the world), it's up to a decidedly "old school" hero, police detective John McClane, to take down the conspiracy, aided by a young hacker. No mask, no cape, no problem.

I never understood why film companies go from an award winning, money making 18 rated trilogy such as Die Hard and decide to recycle the sequels into family friendly viewing. This film would make as much money if it was an 18 as it would a PG due to the hardcore fans who will of been over the age of 18 if they liked Die Hard anyway! It just seems like all action films nowadays have to be accessible to youngsters and leaves 15-18 certificates uncatered for (though thanks must go to Hot Fuzz and Smokin' Aces for that slot!)

Rant over...this was a great 15 rated film though, no idea why it couldn't be a 12 as the action was strong but weak if you follow me! Bruce plays McClane well as always and the 10 odd years from vengeance shows but is played out well by Willis. The film, like the previous three, pitches Willis in the first half of the film with mostly a "what's going on?" facade. With the later half employing the "lets do it!" signature! In short: action great, acting alright, stunts awesome, plot stupid, do we care?...no, this is a great film! Yippie Ka Yay!


Film: The Good Shepherd
2nd July 2007

The Good Shepherd (2006)
Director: Robert De Niro
Starring: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Michael Gambon, Robert De Niro, William Hurt

Edward Wilson believed in America, and he would sacrifice everything he loved to protect it. Thats the premise of The Good Shepard which through the use of flashbacks, tells the story of Edward Wilson and his involvement in the birth of the CIA. Wilson is laconic and self-contained after the suicide of his father and he uses this to orchestrate covert operations for the US of A, like the Bay Of Pigs (and we all know how that turned out!)

Matt Damon plays the role with minimal acting, ie, a nod and a shift of a gaze is about as much as yet will get from Jason Bourne! Robert De Niro pops up in places, Jolie plays Damon's alcoholic wife and the rest of the cast flitter in and out of the screen story.

Overall, I really enjoyed being swept up in the world of deception and operations, but at 3 hours, this is a hard runtime and is noticeable on your arse! I can see some people slating this 'minimal film' but that is the way Edward and the film are, and that too me was enough to keep me entertained.


Film: Wedding Daze
27th June 2007

Wedding Daze (2007)
Director: Michael Ian Smith
Starring: Jason Biggs, Isla Fisher

My first thought was "this looks like another American Pie film!" Also, the films advertising doesn't even attempt to persuade us otherwise. So Dave and myself took a boring Tuesday eve out to see if this flick would turn out as advertised.

After the first 15 minutes of back bending American cringyness had flown by, it turned into a kooky, random, offhand comedy, which I enjoyed immensely! If you can deal with strange occurrences, random characters, then you will enjoy this!


Soapbox Race!
27th May 2007

Location: Baildon
Our local engineer, David Hird will be racing his soapbox derby racer in the Baildon derby this Sunday! Well, our local Angel landlord Tony will be racing this amazing vehicle!

So come support your local landlord, God knows you owe him after ranting drunken stuff at him all weekend (with Tony it kinda works both ways!)


Rick's 25th - Go Karting & Oceana!
12th May 2007

Location: PPIK & Oceana, Leeds
Lucy (Rick's girlfriend) pulled an absolute blinder by secretly organising a day at ppik - Pole Position Indoor Karting! Top lass! This was an awesome day! I have new found respect for Formula 1 drivers as time in those karts is punishing!

After all the adrenaline had flowed out of us, we hit Leeds and descended upon Oceana for the usual giggles!

Achin' heads and achin' bodies all round!

Click here for the photos...


Is Jamie A Pimp? Part 2...

22nd April 2007


Sunshine and the poor kid face!

The sun has got his lad out...hip hip hip hooray! The English sun comes out and what do the English do? Nothing! Sweet FA! The Egyptians built pyramids, the English do f*@k all! Brilliant!

Ikley Park
gets hammered, the Angel Pub takings go up, my garden gets trampled and the decking is actually used for the greatest purpose - being sat on!

Its also mandatory to go out for a meal and a quencher or two in Guiseley...

I must say that I never have good nights out in Guiseley, but the ventrue to Bar "Confusion" Fusion made for a good crack! It must of been good because poor faces (see below) were rampant and I managed the 5 and a half mile run home! Cushty!

"The Poor Kid Face"
Have you ever noticed that people have their own style of face that they pull everytime a photo is taken? Well a particular face has emerged in various photos - the poor kid face! The bemused look, hunched shoulders and upward stare makes you think "poor child" but the slight smile gives off a warm feeling!

Click here for an example...


Is Jamie A Pimp?
30th March 2007

Our resident and (former) lad-out land speed record holder Jamie Robinson managed a great feat just the other day! Whilst in the lakes, he spotted a rather nifty Aston and like the rest of us, decided to boost it! After a simple back window smash/hot-wire job, our J was off!

However, as his Aston skillfully negotiated a hill jump, Jamie was faced with an impenetrable line of police cars! The only decision available was to apply full handbrake and with a mighty screech and a fearsome skid, the Aston faced the army of cops, all waiting to take the sunshine away from this particular sunshine!

The local fuzz managed to get a snapshot of the Aston and its occupier, who upon seeing the camera cheekily smiled and uttered the words....

"Alright lads! No muff too tough, ay?!"


Dave's 21st!
28th February 2007

Location: Krakow, Poland
In honour of Dave hitting 21, we decided to hit Krakow in Poland! It was actually a suggestion of Kristian's and Dave famously gathered up a not too shabby crowd of 15 of us to participate in the sight-seeing/drinking/eating routine! After an expensive night out in Nottingham and a couple of hours sleep, we flew over to the ridiculously cheap and attractive Krakow.

What a beautiful city! The city square is a sight itself, with a fantastic market, fancy bars, swanky restaurants and drop-dead gorgeous girls to drool at! The hostel was awesome, the people were friendly and the first night was carnage! Especially for the birthday boy who peaked too soon!

The Salt Mines were something else and the rest of the hol was spent with the same sight-seeing/drinking/eating routine! Needless to say, we hammered it and we are all feeling it today! Cheers Dave, all the best!

Click here to see the photos...

Few choice quotes:
"Ere, Phil, watch these Englanders sh*t themselves!" - A Polish security guard as he reaches for his gun!

"Shall I take my belt off now?" - G, as Scott gets in the 15% lager!

"Is that it? Wicked!" - Vicky, as she gets in loads of Tequila and asks how much!

"6 weeks. If I had a good labourer. Weather permitting." - Scott's answer when asked how long to build Krakow.

"Roy. Just call me Roy." - Rory, when Polish girls can't pronounce his name.


Nottingham!
28th February 2007

This was the big night before Poland...I am only posting that we went out because this was such an expensive night compared to the complete joke spending of Poland!

Without blinking you've sunk £20 in England and you're not even blurry!

Spending £20 in Poland though, well, that will get you for a slap up meal and an ATD'er (All Tw*tting Dayer!)

Rant over!


Action Galore!
19th February 2007

I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing three absolutely wicked films recently. Children Of Men, Smokin' Aces and Hot Fuzz.

Children Of Men: Destitute, bleak and visually stunning, this film is a complete mind bend! The camera work is second to none and the acting is top notch.

Smokin' Aces: This is the ultimate popcorn film, probably appreciated more from the male perspective (cue guns, chainsaws, flares, neo-nazis, FBI, mob enforcers, etc!) Pays for a repeat viewing! A complete rampage of a movie!

Hot Fuzz: Somerset + Shotguns = A strange/hilarious/mashup of a film! I totally did not know what I was letting myself in for, luckily I was in for a fantastic way of laughing off 2 hours!


York The Sequel...
10th February 2007

Location: York
Too hungover to type...

Start

York :: Sam's Birthday :: Friends :: Cake :: Champagne :: Bars :: Club :: Home

Roll Credits


Click here to see the photos...


Weekend in Bath! Or...Barth!...
27th January 2007
Location: Bath, Somerset
After the complete 'balls to wall/lips to floor' night of Bath > Limo > London > Limo > Bath, the remnants of the cast hit Bath for a day of sight seeing and culinary quests! I managed to sink a pint with breakfast which sorted me out no end (call them eye-openers or levelers if you will!)

Katie then took us around Bath in fine style and managed to squeeze in plenty of sights, sounds, gossip, history and humour!

The nighttime was taken up by firstly, a fantastic meal in a local restaurant. Followed by sampling a Saturday night out and around Bath. To be fair, we didn't really sample Bath, we kinda tore it apart! I'm not sure what we were drinking, but Mark wanted to see the smallest pub in Bath and smash down some Dundledorfs and Bellringers?! I went along with it as always!!

Click here to see the photos...

Katie & Kim's 80's Rollerdisco Party...
26th January 2007
Location: London
Combine: Bath, London, music, booze, humvees, rollerboots and the 80's and you have yourself our Friday night! Mark Holmes, Ben Wolfenden and myself ventured down to Bath for Katie and Kim's 80's rollerdisco party which went down in London. The night kicked-off with pre-drinks at their pad in Bath which included plenty of mockery of people's attire! We then caught a swanky humvee limo down to London! It was a like a mobile club/lasershow housed in a tank!

Champagne flowed and so did the music from the likes of Huey Lewis, Michael Jackson and Dead Or Alive! Mega!

The rollerdisco club was situated just near Kings Cross and for some reason, there is a lack of photos and memories from the place itself as 2 hours of drinking in Bath, 2 hours of drinking in the limo had pretty much ravaged the entire squad! Oh well...the night was fantastic with bucket loads of flare, wristbands, aviators and shellsuits!

Click here to see the photos...

Sod detox! A bit of new years action!
3rd January 2007
Location: Pizza Express & The Cresent, Ilkley
Detox sucks my ass! Why the hell have I devoted myself to not drinking during the whole of January when I fully well know that it will last 3 weeks -and it did! Anyway, my name's Paul and it's between y'all! The Infoserve squad and the Baildon/Guiseley massive decided to go for a "mid week/back at work/exams are foreboding" type meal at Pizza Express in Ilkley proceeded by a few sherberts at the Cresent.

G didn't drink because he's a good boy! But the rest did, and my god did they sink a few!

Ben Wolfenden got the shit ripped for his cowboy boots, Nick Bardsley looked wasted even though he wasn't, Phil Howell made a brief y'alright and we all had a cowboy time!

Click here to see the photos...

Christmas Dinner @ Ross & Caroline's
23rd December 2006
Location: Rodley, Leeds
Ross Moyers and Caroline Thorpe again pulled out all the stops to produce an excellent Christmas meal on the eve before the eve. Everybody else chipped in apart from the lucky few of us who just needed to turn up and eat! :p

The meal was absolutely superb and it was great to have Stuart Henry back with us from the USofA, along with James Munt and Rob Bell. The usual crowd were also present, though Chris Boardman was not allowed to play drinking games (good news for our livers!) Anyways, after a hearty meal, 99% of the crew piled into Leeds (again, hopefully for longer than an hour) apart from mysen who stayed behind to housesit and watch Jaws and Speed! Wahay!

So again, thanks to all those who helped prepare an awesome event! Happy Christmas to all and cheers all the best for 2007!

Click here to see the photos...

Ross & Caroline's Housewarming!
2nd December 2006
Location: Rodley, Leeds
After 2 years of dating, our very own Ross Moyers and Caroline Thorpe decided to move out of their respective homes and move into a beautiful pad in the middle of the quaint village of Rodley.

Anyways, the couple in question threw us a housewarming party which was awesome. To be honest, it was one of the heaviest nights I have had in a while! The wine/shots/low-carb beer (Jamie!) was free-flowing and after the lads re-inacted Through The Keyhole (For Gays), we headed out to Leeds - for an hour! After bringing the rowdyness to Revolution for what felt like 30 mins, we ended up back at Ross and Carolines, almost completely sparko! Two things: firstly, Mark, sorry I couldn't fit you in the pic above mate and second; there will also be DVD of the night on offer soon! But beware, its a lot more risky than the BBQ DVD (more language and general obscenity)!

Click here to see the photos...

York!
4th October 2006
Location: York, Orgasmic Café Bar
Me and the Bardmaster General (Nick Bardsley) decided to travel to York to join my sister Rachel Buckley on her uni 21st. Rachel shared this event with a couple of her mates birthdays and hired out the top floor of the riverside bar Orgasmic. Which was nice. We then moved onto to Ha Ha's, then a bar which name I cannot remember. I think that was the theme of the weekend - I Can Not Remember! Anyways, fun times and hangovers were had by all, cheers girlz! Happy birthday Rach!

Click here to see the photos...

Post Hangover/Pre Drunk
29/30th October 2006
Location: Baildon & Shipley
Still suffering from insomnia after the indy sesh, the original plan of going down to Silverstone & Brandshatch with Jamie had been stacked. Therefore, we decided to go on the lash in Costa Del Baildon. The night started at Fizz (Poretti...oh dear!) then onto Sub Bar and ending at Chéz Buckley! Cast of: Mark, Ross, Caz, Ruth, Rob and myself.

The next day, we all felt like prize chumps, so a walk across Shipley Glen ending at the Old Glen House was set in motion. Only trouble is, two pubs, seven hours and eight Guinness later, the hangover was postponed until the day after. Herein lies the hangover...ouch!

Click here to see the photos...

Indiana Jones Marathon!
27th October 2006
Location: Hyde Park Cinema, Hyde Park
If anyone asks you if you would like to sit in a cinema for 7 hours to watch a movie marathon of all three Indiana Jones films, you would probably say "no!" "Why don't you watch the DVD's you muppet?!" Well, Djenan Kozic and myself thought differently and got ourselves to the Hyde Park Picturehouse on Friday night for the visual feast of The Indiana Jones Trilogy - all the films back-to-back!

Herein lies the problem, the films started at 11pm and we wouldn't get out of there till gone 6am! Needless to say, the cinema was packed, the red bull flowed and my arse went numb! Its taken three days to get my sleeping pattern back on track!

Rachel's 21st/Anita's 21st/Kristian's 25th
2nd September 2006
Location: Est Est Est and Tiger Tiger, Leeds
To celebrate Rachel Buckley, Anita Mudd 21st and Kristian Hammond 25th birthdays, we booked a large table for 15 off us at Est Est Est in the centre of Leeds. Great wine! The food however I felt it was a bit flat, with having 6 rounds of smallish meals like rocket and cheese! There was an abundance of pizza however, and Kristian managed to sell one to some drunk dudes and Dave gave some away to the homeless! So everyone benefitted! Even the restaurant owners who managed to pull £400 off us!

The night then progressed to Ha Ha's on Millenium Square, then finally onto Tiger Tiger. The rest is a mesh of blur but im sure it was great! Happy birthday guys and gals!

Click here to see the photos...

DTM & Ginetta
30th June 2006
Location: Brandhatch Racing Circuit, Kent
During the blazing hot sun of June, Jamie Robinson offered the chance to join him down at the racing circuit Brandshatch in Kent for a race meeting. This long weekend was a busy one, with German Touring Cars (DTM), Formula 3, Historic Cars and Ginetta (which is what Jamie races.)

Jamie's company TeamLNT, who own Ginetta, wanted Jamie to race their orange Ginetta. The meeting consisted of qualifying and two races (and a lot of Stella Artois)! Jamie qualified and finished 5th in both races! I had a lot of stella, Aidy chatted gumph all weekend, Steve did the cooking and Paul fell ill with jungle fever! Struth! Top weekendin'...

Click here to see the photos...

Zero 7!
01st June 2006
Location: Leeds Metropolitan University
Zero7
@ Leeds Met! Awesome! This is a band I thought I would never get to see, mostly due to my lack of looking! Our kid Djenan Kozic comes through a blinder and finds out that Zero7 would be playing their new album, 'The Garden' at the old met on the 1st of June. Not only that, but the album's collaborator José González would also be there! So Djenan, Ciaran Carmichael, Tim Mather and myself toddled along to Leeds Met to see them in action.

The supporting act called Fink were also outstanding!

Click here to see the photos...

Vortex Action!
19th February 2006

Location: Baildon Moor
It was a long time since Tim Mather and myself stretched our throwing arms so we took the Nerf Vortex onto the moor and really gave it some proper Yorkshire throwing! Such an awesome kids toy, which you can pick up for less than a tenner!

A downer on the day occured when we got mugged by a dog called Wellington! Another unforeseen downer was the condition of my throwing arm the day after!

Click here to see the photos...


Peter Sellers