Paws for thought... (bad pun but you'll see why)

The wife and I have had several chats over the years about maybe getting a dog but always decided the time wasn't right.

Now, when you consider that when we got together I had 2 cats and she had 3, it's clear that we are "pet people". We've lost most of our herd over the years and are left with just the one now, a proper madam called Dot. So named as on the day that I bought her and sat her in my hand, she was just like a little black dot.

While we were out for a walk a few weeks ago we had the chat again, the difference this time is that the chat about getting a dog hasn't stopped. We're still talking about it now, everyday.

So now comes the real decision making part of the process... What kind of dog do we get? We had a couple of dogs around when I was growing up, my nan had a few Golden Retrievers and we had a couple of real mutts. The wife also grew up around dogs and has a thing for Whippets. So, were both we aware of what it means to take care of a dog. Also, now that both of the boys are in school, the element of not being able to dash off on holiday whenever we felt like it because of a pet, is no longer an issue, these things having to be planned out months in advance.

I've been giving it some real hard thought and have decided that I'd like to go for a German Shepherd and I think I've just about talked the wife into it now too...

In preparation, never one to make a big decision lightly or without doing some background work, I've gotten a loan of a book on German Shepherds from a mate at work. Now, I'm not a quick reader but in my hour worth of breaks at work today, I've already read almost half of the book and can't now see myself wanting anything other than a German Shepherd.

Time now I think to look into were we can get our hands on one... Fingers crossed we'll have a little chap/chapess like this one running around the house soon...



Later...

sfsuave

Listen up!

Living up to the assertion made famous by Arnie... Here I am again.

Way back in the distant past (30th Dec 2010), I mentioned that I was a music fan so thought I'd pop back and flesh that statement out a little.

My music tastes are somewhat eclectic, although I'd describe most of my favourite artists as Punk. Now, when I say punk, I don't mean your 1977 style punk. I was only 4yrs old back then so most of the late 70's punk bands are lost on me.

Back to that eclectic thing. Just how eclectic are your music tastes I hear no-one ask. Well, one way to illustrate it would be to give a run down on what I've listened to today. In as close to the actual running order as I can recall, we've had:

On iTunes

• The Beatles, both the Revolver and Rubber Soul albums
• Heart, the Bad Animals album plus Barracuda (which I may have listened to 20 times in the last few days) and a few other tracks, mostly from the 1985 self titled album
• Nick Drake, the Five Leaves Left and Pink Moon albums
• Nine Inch Nails, most of the Pretty Hate Machine album
• The Misfits, Project 1950 (I skipped track 8 and didn't listen to 10) and Last Caress from the Static Age album
• The Hanson Brothers, most of the Gross Misconduct album (My Girlfriend's a Robot twice)

On the radio in the kitchen (the wife had it tuned to Absolute 80's)

• Culture Club, Church of the Poisoned Mind
• Kiss, Crazy Nights 

Back on iTunes

• Nik Kershaw, The Riddle (a hangover from hearing the 80's stuff in the kitchen)
• No Use For A Name, both the Feel Good Album of the Year and Hard Rock Bottom albums
• Cee Lo Green, F*ck You - from The Lady Killer
• Marlena Shaw - California Soul (as I type this)

Eclectic enough for you? 

Anyway, I'm off to listen to a bit of Deep Purple, think I'll go for Fireball!

Laters...

sf suave

P.S. I neglected to mention that this was while I spent 5hrs fixing the cluster f*ck that was my father-in-law's PC...

This is Ska...

Just found this video below over at Dangerous Minds and wanted to share...

The dance lesson is genius.

Enjoy!

sf suave

One more reason to stay indoors on a grey January Bank Holiday...

Hello again blogworld!

Just a quick post regarding this afternoon's activity...

With tomorrow being "back to school" day for the boys, the wife asked me to take them for a haircut today. The barber is close by but I wasn't sure they would be open - today being a bank holiday - so I went to check before taking them out in the cold.

Initially, it was closed, so I went home.

The wife then decided she was going to go into town for a few things and called me to say that the barber was now open (she had taken little one with her). So, I wrapped up big one and off we went.

No real drama, other than the owner's father popping in and trying to unsuccessfully scrounge some money for beer and cigarettes (he says he has a drink problem but hasn't yet been declared an alcoholic!). First son all sorted so we head home.

No sooner do we get home but the wife arrives back from town, with little one very excited about a trip to the barber... So... Off I go again.

This time was different.

Little one was babbling away, as he does, while we waited, and what a wait. Not a very long wait, so why mention it, I hear you ask...  Well...

The kid (18ish?) in the chair, did not look happy with his lot. To be fair, he had one of the most ridiculous haircuts I've seen  in a long time (prior to the cut) and was barking orders at Ahmed (the barber) to leave this bit long, make that bit shorter, no, don't touch that bit! The wheels came off when he asked Ahmed to take "just a little bit" off the top. Ahmed inquired politely about how much "just a little bit" meant, only to be told "You know, just a little bit!" Not the clearest instruction I'm sure you'll agree. You will play a part in what is to follow...

So, a little came off and BANG so did the roof of the shop. The kid literally jumps from the chair and starts screaming that this was "NOT WHAT I WANTED!" Many a huffy expletive later, interspersed with me explaining that there were kids in the shop so the language wasn't appropriate and,  if he didn't want it that short then maybe a clearer definition of "a little bit" may have been in order, the kid retakes his seat demanding, "You may as well cut the rest that short now!"

A few moments of relative silence pass, but more drama was to follow at the conclusion of the cut.

The kid, now sporting a bad haircut (not Ahmed's fault, he'd simply made the best of  what had to work with) and a face which could've tripped him up, stands up to pay. Ahmed, recognising that he had an unhappy patron, kindly declines to accept payment and explains that this one is free and, if the kid wants to come back in a few weeks, the next cut is too.

Now, this was apparently a red rag to a bull and BANG, the roof is removed once more. We have money thrown around the shop, more expletives, more of me explaining that if this performance didn't stop he and I would be having a "quiet word" outside, and Ahmed doing his very best to calm the kid, me and two other dads who were also less than happy with the behaviour. Once everyone is re-seated, the up-shot was, Ahmed puts the cash back in the kids hand and ushers him from the shop.

Ahmed, now looking as white as a ghost, excuses himself for a few minutes and steps out to take the air. He can now be seen on the phone having a very animated conversation, through the window, which appears to end satisfactorily, and he steps back in. He then advises us that having spoken with the boss he will be closing early today (once he's seen to everyone waiting) and will not be working a Bank Holiday again.

Little one is next up, he behaves very well while sitting for his cut, a job well done by Ahmed, we pay, leave and head home (lollipop in hand).

Denby's can be found at 2 Cleveland Road in Sunderland. To arrange an appointment at this barber shop simply call 0191 565 9244.


One more reason to stay indoors on a grey January Bank Holiday...

That is all...

sf suave

The last few days

Just to prove my wife wrong, here I am back with my second blog entry.

I've spent most of the last few days watching movies. I've tweeted about them all already so I'll let my tweets give you a quick overview...

sfsuave Deggzie 

Just watched The Fighter. Felt a bit like watching Rockstar at times (maybe because Marky Mark always plays Marky Mark?) Enjoyed it anyway tho.

sfsuave Deggzie 

The Coen Brothers did not disappoint. True Grit was excellent. Bridges and Damon were great as usual, Hailee Steinfeld was outstanding...

sfsuave Deggzie 

Now watching True Grit and, if I'm still awake, will round out the day with The Fighter or Tron Legacy...

sfsuave Deggzie 

The Social Network = pretty good, finally a documentary called Small Town Gay Bar = not as good as a @MMFlint doc but still pretty good...

sfsuave Deggzie 

Spent most of the last 2 days watching movies, we've had Scott Pilgrim = Awesome - Knight and Day = a different word starting with A...

31/12/2010

Of all the movies I've watched today, I'd have to say the Scott Pilgrim Vs The World was the one I enjoyed most. I'm a fan of Edgar Wright already from the movies he's made with Simon Pegg i.e. Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead. The move to Hollywood seems to have worked well for him and I look forward to seeing more from him. I'd score the movie 9/10.

 

Least favourite from the bunch would have to be Knight and Day. The movie looked good but was little more than eye candy. The story was a bit naff but it was propped up well enough with action sequences and stunts to make it just about worth watching. This was struggles, but just about gets, to 5/10.

 

Next up was David Fincher’s The Social Network, the story of the formation of Facebook. It was a pretty good movie overall, maybe a little over-long. I thought Jesse Eisenberg was good, if not quite as good as he had been in Zombieland. The biggest surprise for me was Justin Timberlake, who was way better than I expected. 7/10 for this one.

 

I followed up these movies was a documentary called Small Town Gay Bar. A View Askew production directed well by Malcolm Ingram. On a quick side note, I’m big fan of View Askew daddy Kevin Smith and really look forward to seeing his new flick Red State when its released later this year (debuts at Sundance on my birthday). The standout moments in the doc were the segments with Fred Phelps, proving once more that bigotry is alive and well in the heart of the US. 6/10.

01/01/2011

Just the two movies last night and I kicked off with a belter, The Coen Brothers True Grit. Outstanding performances all round here. Not for a moment during this movie did I even contemplate looking away, this might not sound like much but, as I watch most things on one PC monitor while browsing or playing cards on the other, it’s quite an achievement. I loved every moment of this film and if I were voting it’d defo get a best picture Oscar nod from me. 9.5/10

I’m not sure if its due to the fact that I loved True Grit so much, that I didn’t enjoy Christian Bale and Mark Wahlburg in The Fighter, as much as I expected to. Christian Bale played the junkie older brother role extremely well but Mark Wahlberg always seems to play the same part. I tweeted that it felt like watching Rockstar at times and I thinks that’s down to the fact that it felt like I was watching the same character, just in a different story. Melissa Leo was also great as the pushy mother, always claiming to love her kids equally while clearly favouring her eldest. 8/10 here but could easily have been more with a more convincing lead than Marky Mark.

Ok, that’ll do it for today I think. I’ve got Tron and Stone lined up to watch at the moment, will comment on them if I get around to watching them tonight (unlikely tho as Sunday is NFL day and the Fifth Ashes test starts tonight too!!)

sf suave

I figured I'd join in...

So, my first effort at blogging starts here.

I'll answer the most obvious question now, before anyone (if they ever read this) asks...

The title. It was intended as a put down by the friend of a girl I was trying, and failing miserably, to chat up when I was 17 and very drunk. The "S" is for "so" and the "F", well, that would be a rude word.

I thought about it the next day and decided that it was so funny that I'd take it and own it. I'm not suave now and never have been but amongst other things, it gives me a name to hide behind on-line. Plus, it still makes me smile when I remember the reactions of my friends when the line was delivered - a priceless moment.

I've not really decided at this point exactly what I'm gonna blog about yet, although I figure I'll work it out once I get rolling.

I think I'll likely get around to mentioning the things that occupy my time (aside from the family), those being Movies, Music, Sports, Video Games, TV and Reading.

I'll kick off with reading I guess as I got a bunch of new books from the wife for Christmas.

I've been a Neil Gaiman fan for the longest time, so I was over the moon to get 3 Sandman graphic novels this year.

I first read the Sandman stories back in the early 90's (92/93) and they're ultimately what got me hooked on comic books again. I had read 2000 AD a lot in my early teens but got into "real" novels at around 16 (89) and spent years catching up on the classics I had spent so long avoiding while I was at school.

I'm only half way through Preludes and Nocturns at the moment, so I'll offer my opinions (for what they're worth) once I've finished at least volume 1.

I know that not a lot of the people who love to read, read comic books. To those who are not fans of comics, I ask - WHY? The stories are equally as compelling as "regular" novels and some of the art is far better than the tat on display in some galleries nowadays.

The people I know that aren't comic book fans fall, roughly, into two groups. 1) Those who, incorrectly, assume comics are for kids and 2) Those who've not read a comic book since they were kids.

Group 2 tend to be just waiting to be re-introduced to comics that are more age appropriate. I've hooked at least 3 or 4 guys at work by simply pointing out the amount of movies they love that originated as comics. With Group 1 its more difficult. Its not as easy as pointing out that comics are not all about Spiderman and like (although I have read some great Spidey strips over the years) or that there are comic books out there covering just about as many topics as print novels. I'll save that rant for another time tho...

I'm going to sign off now as I've realised that I didn't put as much thought into this as I probably should have. Does it come across like I've just sprayed random words rather than coherent thoughts?

Ok, I'll be back...

sf suave