Allergic Reaction to this Video

There must be some dust in the air as my eyes are welling up!

Thank you. Welcome home.
Posted by 9NEWS (KUSA) on Wednesday, 31 December 2014

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Bonding With Bond

Recently I have had a lot of time on my hands in the evenings. After crowdsourcing for data there were quite a few movies to watch.

The Hobbit trilogy was visually stunning, but plot-wise boring. Guardians of the Galaxy was fun, as was Spy. Glorious Basterds was odd, as was Edge of Tomorrow. Surprisingly for me, as they are such behemoths, were Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, specifically.

And now there is another in the pipeline:



With 5 million views in the last 2 days I think there might be a few others out there who are looking forward to it as well!


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The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Comes in From The Cold!

Being a child of the '70's I remember the original Man From UNCLE. It was a bit staid after watching my real uncle in 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' but the truth is, that era really was very interesting, and chilling.

When there really was an obvious threat of nuclear attack the world's superpowers were definitely professional, determined and capable and that is what made UNCLE such a believable story. Today? I don't think the urgency or desperation can be understood as well.

Fast cars, loud guns and action sequences are always going to be hits at the box offices so I guess we'll hear good things about the film.

Personally? I like the chic aspect to the chaps from UNCLE - very James Bond...



Oh, and the original had Ducky from NCIS in it - always a crowd pleaser!

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Furry Parodies of TV Shows

The Children's Television Workshop are really on the cutting edge of popular shows. Sit down, call the kids in to watch - and enjoy:

Game of Thrones



House of Cards



Star Wars



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Whilst The Cats Away

The family is out of town for a few weeks, so I get to watch what I want on TV.

I've finished the Hobbit trilogy, this season of Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush and am now going to Netflix to watch a few documentaries.

Whilst on Netflix I'll be watching my beloved Longmire. It truly is an epic TV show. Epic scenery, epic storylines and just blinking epic!

So epic is Longmire that after it was cancelled by A&E that Netflix picked it up. Thats a whole other story though!

Another TV show I will be looking out for is new, and is Heroes Reborn, here's a sneak peek;



It looks very 'interesting' to say the least.

The future looks good - for my tv viewing at least!

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Nothing New Under The Sun

You know how you always wanted to play chess with really, really big pieces? Well the Russians got there first.

Yes, they used real soldiers too.

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Thanks to Vintage Everyday

Latest Star Wars Clip

I'll just leave this here for you...



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New Tech & Hi-Tech

There is a lot of new technology out there, and a few awesome ways of being part of the new hi-tech wave.

Personally I am proud to wear my Kickstarter based Pebble Watch, and at home I have a Sensibo set Ruche Shelving and AllBe1 tags for my kids' school bags (and my car keys!).

Some projects I find very interesting are AllBe1, Sensibo and Zolo on Indiegogo.

AllBe1 - RFID tags that look like keywing fobs so you can surreptitiously track different items.

Sensibo - start your air con remotely. 20 minutes from home my kids tell me to start the air con. And yes, it is the peak of summer here so it is awesome.

Zolo - tough cases for the phone. Simple, sleek and effective.




And theres more!

On Kickstarter there seems to be a much wider range of products, from board games to 3D Printing printers. Persoanlly? I find Phree, Pebble Watch (mark II) and the utterly awesome Ruche Shelving to be ones to follow.

<

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Newcomers in Music

Much has been made of the new music scene emerging in the USA today; there is too much pornography in the videos, too much swearing in the lyrics and,basically, 'kids today...'.

Personally I think it is awesome that no-one pays attention to what the old fuddy-duddys say! On the other hand, I like my swearing to be limited and based on thumbs and hammers meeting, not an every day occurrence!

Here is Kaya Stewart's single, Try It Out:



Greg Holden's Boys In The Street




Awesome, eh?

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Dario Franchitti - Why I Quit Racing

I'm a big racing fan. Any sport where there is serious risk every time you go out there, that's what I love. IndyCar is dangerous, in the same way as Formula 1, MotoGP and other sports where you reach speeds over 100 km/h on the warm-up lap!

One of the biggest stars in the motorsports world has definitely been Dario Franchitti. The IndyCar Series Champion in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 he also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2007, 2010 and 2012. This guy knows how to race. This guy knows how to win too.

So why did he quit getting into a car back in 2013? After a massive crash he was told by doctors that he should just walk away from it.

As he says himself:

It wasn’t some big dramatic scene. I wasn’t devastated or anything. Besides, my sole focus was on getting better. I just wanted to be able to live my life normally again.

An awesome chap. Not too many people can be that cold and calculating. He'd been racing since the early 80's and, as he states in a recent interview, his parents remortgaged the house to get him through his first year in karting.

Jackie Stewart was key in helping him further his career, and Dario recollects his first meeting with Jackie:

"He was brilliant though. He put me at ease completely. We were doing a Christmas quiz, all the team, and one of the questions was about Stirling Moss. Jackie opened his suit pocket, pulled out his phone, flipped it down [and called Stirling] to double-check the answer. I thought to myself: 'Wow. This is the big time. Holy smokes.'" 

I can only hope that future drivers can be as magnanimous and gentlemanly as Dario.

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An Eclectic Music Mix

I'm not some 'gangsta' who wears his baseball cap back-to-front, nor do I know the different hand signals that the 'youf of today' show each other.

I do, however, know what music I like, and to complicate matters, not only do I like Elvis, Jonny Cash, Pomplamoose and Robbie Williams, but also Katy Perry, The Streets and One Republic.

An eclectic mix to say the least!

I recently heard again a great artist who is not as well known as those listed above;

Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip.

No, I do not know why he is called that. I do know that he is a talented young man who has the ability to go far, and change many lives.

This is one of his hits from 2009;



Then there's this little beauty from 2008:



So, whats the difference in his music to all others? He seems to be honest, he seems to know what he is talking about, he seems to be talking to the world as a whole - and that's where he got me.

Oh, and YouTube in it's brilliance guided me to also watch this video, which I also liked a lot;




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Snooker Isn't Boring

Snooker is a funny old game. Unlike footballers or IronMen, you really don't need to be at the peak of fitness or cardiologically super. You just need to be able to use a stick to hit one ball against another.

Except, as with so many sports, an elegance and law of warfare has evolved in the sport.

If you don't know what 'Snooker' is, here are the basics:

A cue sport played on a baize covered table measuring  11 ft 81⁄2 in × 5 ft 10 in (3569 mm x 1778 mm), commonly referred to as 12 × 6 ft.

The game is played using a cue and 22 snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different colours: yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7).

The red balls are initially placed in a triangular formation, and the other coloured balls on marked positions on the table known as "spots".

The balls are then potted in order of points, one red, one colour, one red, another colour ball and so on.

Invented in India by British Army officers, it is popular in many of the English-speaking and Commonwealth countries, with top professional players attaining multi-million-pound career earnings from the game. The premier tournament in snooker is the World Championship, held annually in Sheffield, England.

The real beauty of the game can be seen here in this awesome video that had me clapping, gasping and smiling.

Enjoy!



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Turtle, E, Vince, Drama and Ari are back

You think I'm kidding? The TV show hat was pretty good no whas a movie coming out.

Entourage is back baby!!

Admittedly, it might be because none of the actors here have been in anything noteworthy since the show ended, but hey, maybe they've been in theatre. Or opera. Or advertisements. I just never saw them....



And here's another trailer for your delectation and delight:



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Video of Exhausted Soldier Who Refuses to Give Up Goes Viral

Its the end of a tough 12 mile road march. The finish line is in site but your legs just can't take you that last 100 feet.

There is a lot at stake. You've passed the other sections of the Expert Field Medical Badge; the written tests, the day and night land navigation courses, triage of casualties, perform basic first aid as well as more complex medical evacuation tasks. Then there are the Warrior Skills Tasks and the Communication Tasks.

The washout rate is 81% which puts fire in your guts to get it done. But it also allows that doubt to creep in and say that it ain't no big deal if you quit.

But you don't.




And thats what makes you different from the rest, and allows you to wear that badge with honor.


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Monty and Python Are Back

George, Ringo and Mike are back in a weekly sitcom all about 2 love-torn lovers who.... wait, wait, wait, wait

Terry, Micheal, John, Eric and the other Terry are reuniting to do a live stage performance of some of their best skits.

'Monty Python Live' was their previous stage show that ran in the The O₂ in London in July 2014, of which, the DVD is dedicated to Robin Williams.

So what can we expect of the troupe who hit the headlines in the 60's and 70's with their cutting edge humour and funny walks?



They seem very chummy, considering how long it has been since they appeared together last:



Sadly the Today Show seem to have no clue what they have in store when they have 5 Pythons in one room.



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New Music Evolving

My big thing recently, apart from the family and work, of course, is music at work.

I sit in an awesome office with some of the nicest chaps on the planet, but sometimes I just need to crawl into my own headspace and think.

YouTube is an upcoming platform for music (but I digress)  as is SoundCloud and Grooveshark. Facebook is one of the more unusual places I've gotten latched onto a new singer, and in this instance at least, I am very happy I did. as it led on to another talent and then another!

My first surprise was when Garbage (left), a band I have always loved, posted a video on facebook of Kawehi covering one of their classics. I had to listen and was impressed:



After I had listened to it a few times I let it play in the background and then it led to another awesome artiste, KHS:



So whats next?

I'll keep you updated, unless, of course you have some music for me to listen to! Post it in the comments...

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There's A New Kid In Town

Monty Python, Benny Hill, The Two Ronnies and Tommy Cooper are all great British comedy acts. Today we have international super stars such as Ricky Gervais, Eddy Izzard and of course, Craig Ferguson.

Yes, I am a big Craig Ferguson fan-boy. His books are amazing. His 'to-camera' pieces are heartfelt and awesome in their logic, and he seems to be just a nice man! So when it was announced that he was going to stand down from his nightly I felt very sorry for whomsoever was going to fill his shoes.

Let me get this straight right now, Craig is exceptionally talented, and it's not just me who thinks so Robin Williams, of blessed memory, thought he was astounding too


Who to choose? So much talent out there!

The key person must be an up and coming comedian who has guts, can be funny in person, yet can lead a team of writers, producers and the audience, into a funny place, and stay there every night of the week.

There are not many people out there who could do that: Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. These are people who have already proved themselves in one way and another, so they're not hungry any more. And even if they are hungry Jon Stewart is in need of a replacement soon!

The network turned to the UK and found a very funny, very young man, who, it seems, is highly capable:




It looks to me that Tom Hanks likes him too.

This James Corden is a keeper!


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SkyMall is dead. Long live Skymall

To misquote the late, great, Mark Twain "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated". 

Happily this isn't in connection to me, but about the beloved and adored, if not respected, SkyMall catalogue.

Whenever I have gotten onto an internal flight in the beautiful US of A, I have always searched for the SkyMall catalogue. It fills me with wonder at the ludicrousness of the items in it. 

Do you want a Bigfoot garden ornament? They have it.

Or a glow in the dark toilet seat? They have it.

Whats that? I didn't quite hear you. You want a Bigfoot garden ornament for Christmas? They have it.

In light of all of the above, do you know anyone who would appreciate, let alone pay for, an Armadillo Beverage Holder? Well, they've got that too.

Thanks SkyMall. 

http://www.skymall.com/

You rock. 

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Star Wars or Star Trek?

'And yea, for the internet was created. Thusly the Geeks and the Nerds did celebrate. And they asked, forsooth, one timeless question; Star Wars or Star Trek?'

Its the age-old question that still needs answering! So where can we get answers? We can go to Wikipedia, the place where all answers are stored, with the page 'Comparison of Star Trek and Star Wars', or if the World's Encyclopedia doesn't give you the answer, we can go to Business Insider, and their article about why supremacy goes to Star Wars.

Still not satisfied? Gizmodo.com has a great article about the different warring abilities of each side. I think the real answer is actually in each of us, and that is where Science Fiction wins!

Some awesome fan fiction video footage that sheds a visual light on the argument:



Personally, I'm off to read MHI another time, its may not be Star Wars or Star Trek related, but it is awesomeness in print.


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Hi-Tech and Not So Hi-Tech

A wearable defensive exoskeleton is the stuff of science fiction in some of our greatest stories. These garments are as varied as Batman's cape, King Arthur's armour and Iron Man's... well, whatever it is he wears.

So why can't our brave soldiers have such awesomeness when they go into battle? Now they can:



And then we have the sad demise of Radio Shack. A store I frequented even though I have never lived in America!

John Oliver, a fellow Brit, has an interesting view on how the fall of such a great company has been taken by the American media. NSFW!!



And then, after all this technology, a man flies from up on high and lands without a parachute. Exceptionally low-tech...



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