OK, the Vietnam war was made up of bigger issues (and I may have taken sock-liberty by suggesting the above statement). But many other things really were sock-afflicted. And what is it specifically about the socks which does it? That’s easy. Imagine getting out of bed and stubbing your toe / treading on lego / smacking your head against a wall etc. Now imagine you reach for your socks and, instead of getting your favourite pair, you pick up the socks you hate but don’t dare throw out because it just seems criminal. And you try to push them on. Doing this standing-up is too much to reasonably handle at 7am, so you sit down. But the stress induced by the terrible anti-foot inner of the socks prevents this from happening easily. The more you pull, the more the blood beats in your forehead! Be aware, people, that socks lie at the heart of any debate or argument. The sooner we learn to deal with this, the sooner we can make the world a better place and the sooner my saucony running shoes will actually feel right again!

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You know that the world-wide-web has got everywhere when even the child on the bus, a child barely old enough to hold his own head up and have hair, I should say, points rudely at your not-quite-new mobile phone and says to his mummy, “Mummy, what is that?” And the Mummy looks at you with embarrassment—not for herself, but for you—and winces. “Oh, that’s just a man with a non internet phone, darling,: she says, turning away from you as if you’d just wet your pants. “Don’t worry yourself about it!”.

Aside from producing leagues of small rude children and even ruder mothers, I feel the web is a good thing; as does, thankfully, leading energy-savvy firm Enigin. Hit the link and see what I’m on about.

What they’re on about in this post is something that warms the heart of every child under twelve and tortures the mind of any person old enough to remember Sonic The Hedgehog and the man with a bald head and tight trousers in The Crystal Maze. Communication is the key, and even though the web has been around for what seems like an age, it’s incredible how many web-sites exist which are missing crucially important information; things like an About Us page, Contact Us button and even warm and humble welcoming.

As is discussed at the post, if you want your business to grow wings and fly—as opposed to drag its wings through the mucky river of poorly-put together rubbish web-sites—you need to get these things right to attract potential clients, as well as keep existing clients happy to fly with you.

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Do you remember when you were at nursery school and you had to become a tree or a fish or somesuch? Well it was fun and some of the kids got a little bit overexcited! All drama schools have improvisation (impro) classes for their students. Things hadn’t changed much - it was still trees and fish and the like but it was all a bit more precise - cuttlefish/shark/squid/oak tree/willow etc.

However with the ever growing film industry impro started to take a back seat. Everything was scripted and directed and there appeared to be less and less opportunity for the actors to “express”themselves. It started with black and white silent movies. Then when colour and sound came in less was required of the actor. However as time went by the actor had to grow more into their role and we began seeing better and better true to life performances. The “method”system came and for those performances, for the most part, with the right acting practitioner, we could see the parts being lived.

In recent years however we have witnessed the return of actors needing to improvise and the source of this reinvention is, surprisingly, technology. This year’s big hit movie has been Avatar, which has been made totally using CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). One could be forgivien for thinking that this means that the actor has less to do and therefore less skill is required. However, if you think about it the opposite is true. The actors are all wired up so that their movements can be noted by the computer - not just limb movement but facial as well - ie - emotion. The actor does not have another to work off, to react to. They are working against a green screen that the computer then fills in. The skill the actor is required to have to do this convincingly is of the highest order and the only way to acheve it is to be a good, if not brilliant, improvisor!

So back to basics actor - grow into a birch tree (not an oak - there is a difference!).

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Now, if you’ve seen the aforementioned The Incredible Hulk you’ll know that poor old Hulk had a right old hard time of it, to say the least. He was mentally and physically a tortured individual, got angry—and was the subject of rage in general—more than my old maths teacher used to when I just couldn’t get the sum right even after ten attempts and the whole class was anxiously waiting to continue: so that’s saying something–I can’t imagine he’d be chomping at the bit to do all that again. (Oh, and by the way: I’m not trying to say that I had such a hard time as the Hulk, because that’s pushing it, but I am saying that maybe it’d be better if someone else took over. We wouldn’t want the Hulk loosing his magic touch and ruining all his past good work, would we?)

If I had to guess, I would guess that this opinion is the fault of none less than James Bond: I just got sick of watching the same character over and over again. I don’t want that same weariness to happen to one of my favourite genres; that would be so very sad!

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I have spent several years of my life being stalked by an Italian plumber. He was there when I had an old black and white Gameboy and again after I bought an SP Advance. And, as if that were not enough, he re-emerged when I got my Nintendo 64. Mario has starred in many of the very best games that I’ve owned.

But my favourite one of all was ‘Mario Kart 64’. What a truly brilliant game! The single player option was good, but when you played it with your friends it really came to life. I must have spent hours on end racing around tracks, firing bombs, turbo-ing along straights and leaving trails of bananas for my foes. When Nintendo came up with the idea for this, they really hit onto a winner.

The friends and enemies of Mario were all right there in the game. I don’t know why it was, but I always felt a strange affinity with Yoshi; a kind of weird and mysterious connection. Either that or I just found him irresistibly cute. If you think about it, then it’s difficult to be a small green dinosaur without being a bit on the winsome side.

There is a ‘Mario Kart’ game on the Wii console now. I have never had a go on it, but I am sure it’s very good; although I’m not quite sure if Nintendo could actually improve on the N64 version. How could it possibly have been any better? When it comes to cutesy, colourful and cartoony games, Nintendo win hands down!

One last thing I really need to inform you all about the most bizarre art exhibition that I went to in Bristol over the weekend, it was fundamentally a white hall with loads of shutters in it. Very overpowering!

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When I found this page I filled in the questions carefully and honestly. It did not take long for me to be given wise advice about employment… Within a few seconds I was informed that I was artistic, almost certainly gay and that I would die from some form of VD. Walnut Smoothie ten recommended that I consider a career in prostitution.

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I have never had the privilege of taking part in a karaoke competition but I can imagine that it’s a really good laugh. I have just been sitting here wondering if I could rope a load of family and friends into having a go at it sometime. I’m all for making myself look like a right idiot and a lot of the time I manage to do it with only the minimal amount of effort…

Wow, I could be a natural!

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Britain is getting fairly desperate for some decent comedy. Since the ‘golden years’, our country seems to have wandered into a bit of a ‘laughter famine’. I get really excited about groups that don’t just crack a load of jokes about hair loss treatments! Blog pages like this can help us to find out about some really talented people that we would not hear about in other places.

Why don’t you look up ‘Shrimp Rocket’ on the internet? I am certainly going to.

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When you leave your home to work, you are there for one reason…to work. You are able to stay focused. Your home on the other hand, is more personal to you. It is very easy to lose your focus on your “job” and get involved with other things around you in your home. The best way to avoid distractions while working from home is by scheduling your work time. I set aside 4 to 5 hours each morning strictly for work and stick with it. That is my time to work and I do not deviate from it. This is what has actually allowed me to be successful at working from home.
One of the things I have been working on recently is I have been moderating at a beauty forum. This is great work, I get to chat about things I love and enjoy plus I get some really good beauty tips.

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So how do you find the good from the bad? Well with so many groups and troups out there, this has become more and more difficult. Price is a fair one, but reputation is the failsafe methos. Talk to friends, get recomendations, ask the interent!

As the London scene explodes though, there is so much good stuff out there at cut throat entrances prices, it is enough to make you able to give up you television entirely!

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