Neil's Slightly Random Wiblog

…I have been having one of those days today where you can add up a list of numbers 5 times and get five different amounts each time! Everytime I cashed up my till I seemed to gain money (nice trick, the manager asked me if I could also turn water into wine). Hopefully tomorrow I will wake up and will have regained my power of maths.

Managed to get out on a run yesterday 5 miles in about 40 minutes – but was totally worn out and still feel stiff today. I need to get to the stage I can run that and not feel this bad!

Other things this weekend… went our for a lovely birthday meal at The Trout in Bickleigh with my parents… got up early to watch the excellent first Grand Prix of the season (and am winning the fantasy F! league so far)… played on the Wii with friends… and slept!

1.It’s a bit windy.

2.Went to see the Spanish film The Orphanage yesterday morning (a free preview for members) at the Picturehouse. Although I appreciate that it is the directors first major film, and also it’s not my normal genre of film I enjoy, I didn’t really like it that much. It is a creepy “supernatural” tale and seems to fall into all the usual clichés (spooky children, spooky dolls, an unbelieving husband…) and the plot was just a bit obvious. It reminded me of The Others, but without being as good.

3.My birthday weekend is nearly over, I booked today off work (as I could not have Friday off), so today is officially my last celebration day – Well I am 30, surely a 4 day birthday is allowed?

4.It is still a bit windy out there.

5.Last night in Russ’ “cinema” in his shed we watched Atonement. From the trailers I thought it looked awful, so had avoided it up to now – but I was totally wrong, it is actually really really good. The long tracking shot on the beach is every bit as astonishing as everyone says it is, and even Keira Knightley can’t ruin the film (although she gives it her best shot). From not wanting to see it I now look forward to watching it for a second time!

6.The new Formula One season starts this weekend, it has just dawned on me. Ivonne is really going to appreciate me getting up in the middle of the night to watch the first race…

7.I went a bit film mad yesterday and managed to fit in the Italian classic The Bicycle Thieves, a beautifully told but bleak tale of a man who gets his bike stolen. It may not sound much, but the film raises the importance of the bike to him and his family so high that it is in fact devastating seeing his search for the lost bike, and how it affects his relationship with his son. Storytelling at its best.

8.It is still very, very windy.

…well thats it, the last of my twenties behind me, I am offically 30 (or 30.004 as my Google homepage real age indicator reminds me).

Am now recovering from the party last night, thanks to those who squeezed in our flat, and thanks to Joe for letting me win at Wii bowling.

…sorry for the delay in entries, it was partly because of the Wibsite being down, and partly me being lazy.

I will try and make up for it now by writing about 10 interestingish things that have happened since last writing.

1. We have been watching a lot of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a series based around the production of an American comedy series. We are really enjoying it, but I understand that the ratings were awful and it is unlikely that any more will be made. Typical.

2. I have had a dry tickly cough, I need some dry tickly cough syrup, but have not got around to buying any yet so am just constantly coughing in a dry tickly way.

3. We went to see My Blueberry Nights with Jude Law and Norah Jones. Law was awful, Jones was bearable. It felt like a film made by an art student experimenting with ideas but with no real idea how to fit them together. Hard to believe this is the directors 8th film.

4. Had the most stressful day at work so far since working at the bank. The day centred around a lost piece of identification, and involved trips to a dodgy house, the post office and in a round about way involved the police at the end. Happily things were resolved, and a few lessons have been learned…

5. Finally got to see There will be Blood, was very impressed with it, and can see why critics like Mark Kermode say it “redefines cinema” and other such hyperbole. It really is hard to know what to make of it, as you simply can’t compare it to anything else. It is a simple story to follow, but the way it is told is extraordinary. This film is either a future classic, or will vanish without trace.

6. In my pile of books I have got around to reading fellow wiblogger Steve Tomkins biography of William Wilberforce. I bought it before Greenbelt last year, so this year I won’t have the embarrassment of telling him I have bought his book, but not yet read it!

7. We have a Wii! We bought it as an early birthday present to ourselves yesterday. We are really enjoying it, but even after 2 days our right arms are aching so badly…

8. I went to see the Futureheads last week, they were really good (and great support band too), but I do feel I am too old fir that kind of gig. I can appreciate the good songs, the tightness of the performance and the energy of the band… but I just can’t let myself go anymore, it just does not feel right!

9. Peep Lane Challenge. Last Friday (Leap day) 8 or 9 of us ran up Peep Lane in Exeter. No real reason, but see the Facebook group Here (if you are on Facebook).

10. It is my birthday tomorrow and will no longer be twenty-something