Hmmm….What were they planning to do? The great present robbery?
Whilst I’m on a bad pun roll, here’s my favourite very bad Christmas joke that always pops into my head when I’m wandering around cake aisles:
Man is walking out of a supermarket when he feels a tap on the shoulder.
SECURITY GUARD
Is that cake stollen sir?
MAN
No I just paid for it.
Tuesday night was another first to cross off my invisible list. I saw my first full length dance production and loved every minute of it. I’d never seen the film but armed with a quick read of the synopsis on IMDB, felt brave enough to venture far north and brave both branches of the Northern Line to EC1R.
It is a truly magical and quirky show. The performances are entrancing, the set and costumes a delight and there are moments of great humour in there. One of the funniest scenes is where one of the mothers tries to seduce Edward into giving her a trim in the downstairs department while her husband mows the lawn in the background. The scene’s climax involves a washing machine and had the entire audience in stitches. If you can get tickets, I’d wholeheartedly recommend it.
The only disappointment of the evening was the lack of 5-way scissors at the souvenir stall. A missed merchandising opportunity I think and after all ’tis the present wrapping season where they would save so much time.
Oh and one more thing…as we left the fantastic Sadler’s Wells Theatre, my friend Lynn stuck her nose in her scarf and said “Oh no, I think I’ve done the perfume thing again”.
The ‘perfume thing’ is a reference to another theatre performance we went to many months ago. I think it may have been ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ but we couldn’t be sure. What we did remember was the Duke of Kent was sitting in the row in front because we both thought it was an unexpected choice for a Duke’s night out. Anyway, Lynn spent the entire interval and second act trying to find out who was wearing the wonderful perfume she could smell. She asked the lady on her left (no it wasn’t her) and she asked the lady in front (who shaked her head). The Duke escaped questioning on this occasion and was left to chortle undisturbed.
When we left the theatre, Lynn started laughing hysterically. I mean the show was funny but not so hilarious to bring a forty-something woman to her knees in a theatre foyer. When she’d stopped laughing enough to actually force some words out, she dropped the bombshell: “Oh Tin Tin, I think it’s me!”
This weekend, I’ve been on a voyage of discovery into the fascinating world of online atheism. What got me started down this rabbit hole was stumbling upon some great YouTube clips from a weekly cable TV show in Austin TX called The Atheist Experience:
The Best Caller Ever
Man Came From a Monkey
Why Don’t We See Real Miracles Today?
Parts of these clips come a little close to making fun out of a caller for their lack of education (which leaves a sour taste in the mouth) but to be fair I don’t think that’s their intention at all. I watched an entire “call in” show from start to finish and these guys are incredibly smart, generous with their knowledge and patient with callers. I learnt a lot.
Then there’s the individual YouTubers who are starting some fantastic debates:
Why I am an Atheist
It’s Tough Being an Atheist
My Dad Confronts Me About Atheism, Again
Child Dies Because Parents are Idiots
Going off on a tangent for a second, how fortunate are we to be living in these amazing times? Complete strangers can come together and discuss this important (and very much taboo) subject. That is the one of the most exciting things about the internet for me.
There are also some fantastic websites out there such as God is Imaginary which has some superb videos.
Finally just for entertainment, have a look at this page:
Caring for the Animals on the Ark
Here’s one of my favourite quotes:
Studies of nonmechanized animal care indicate that eight people could have fed and watered 16,000 creatures. The key is to avoid unnecessary walking around. As the old adage says, “Don’t work harder, work smarter.”
This animated feature has been getting rave reviews and after seeing the film yesterday, I can see why. Waltz With Bashir is a fascinating documentary about Ari Folman (Director), piecing together his memories of the 1982 Lebanon War.
The movie is visually stunning and captivated me from start to end. Mixing photorealistic and illustrated elements in the same frame is an interesting style that jarred with me at first but somehow it works. The shocking ending is absolute genius and leaves us in no doubt about the inhumanity of war.