The News at TIM – Mid Week Musings (No: 31)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Musings, Uncategorized

We’ll come to this week’s Musings!

They Shall Not They Grow Old

I mentioned last week that I was off to the cinema to see the Peter Jackson documentary “They Shall Not Grow Old”, a documentary about the Great War timed to remind us of its conclusion 100 years ago this coming November.  The viewing I went to was the films premier and included live coverage of the red carpet entrance and interviews followed after the film with a live Q&A session with the man himself, Peter Jackson.  In short it was a great evening and the film itself is quite remarkable, as were the various insights provided by Peter during the Q&A.

Once I got rid of the image of Jackson looking remarkably like a Hobbit and focused on what he actually had to say it became apparent very quickly just what an incredible individual he is.  Inspired by his own family connections to the war he has produced an amazing film.

It was my intention to provide a more in depth review but the day after the film a BBC critic published his own account so I thought it would be easier to post a link to that instead (See below).  The only thing I found myself disagreeing with him on was the length of the film.  As a critic I guess he has to say something negative and if this is all he could come up with then it’s rather pathetic.  I can only conclude that he has prostate problems as personally, and from talking to one or two people afterwards, they could have bolted on another 3 or 4 hours and it wouldn’t have been too long as far as I am concerned.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45910189

Perhaps the thing to note is that the film is due for a more general release around the 11th November and according to the critic is scheduled to be shown on the BBC too.

Each to their own but I would urge anyone to see it.

Think I’m going to have to do a few more WW1 dioramas!

What Goes Around Comes Around! 

Money is generally behind everything and so it was when between the years of 1996 to 2005 when I worked at the HSBC Group Management Training College. One of many responsibilities that I had was to manage the training departments multi-million pound budget, something which was much easier said than done.

The biggest problem was the trainers themselves. A great bunch of people and without a doubt the most creative group of individuals that I have ever had the privilege to work with. The problem was that their creativity knew no bounds and they would not be constrained by costs. Although I admired many of their ideas I repeatedly found myself telling them what they couldn’t have and what they could.

It’s probably reasonable to assume that similar situations exist within modelling companies. A designer is sitting there somewhere with all manner of wonderful ideas floating around his/her head.  Unfortunately someone somewhere else in the company has a keen eye on a budget, how much a customer is willing to pay and therefore just how much can be invested in design and creativity.

And here I am now moaning from time to time about creativity being restricted by some arsehole who controls a budget!

This week TIM has been listening to …

… The B-52’s and Love Shack, the 12″ Remixed Extended Version.  Very fond memories of an office party decades ago … !

This week TIM has been watching …

Inspired by having been to see “They Shall Not Grow Old” I decided to watch “Blackadder Goes Forth”.  A classic series and just as funny every time I watch it.  If I had to pick a favorite episode then I’d have to go with “Private Plane” featuring Rik Mayall as Lord Flashheart, his character just cracks me up.  So, for a bit of nostalgia quite a few Flasheart quotes!

“All right men, let’s do-oo-oo it! The first thing to remember is: always treat your kite like you treat your women … get inside her five times a day and take her to heaven and back”.

“Hey! Any girl who wants to chain herself to *my* railings and suffer a jet movement gets *my* vote!”

Why do you have no underwear, Lord Flash?  “Because the pants haven’t been built yet that’ll take the job on!”

“Captain Darling? Funny name for a guy isn’t it? Last person I called darling was pregnant twenty seconds later”.

“Mind if I use your phone? If word gets out I’m missing, five hundred girls will kill themselves. And I wouldn’t want them on my conscience, not when they ought to be on my *face*! Hello? Cancel the state funeral, tell the king to stop blubbing, Flash is not dead! I simply ran out of juice! And before five hundred girls all go ‘oh, what’s the point in living any more?’ I’m talking about petrol! Woof! Send someone along to pick me up. General Melchett’s driver will do, she hangs round with a big knob so she’ll be used to a fellow like me. Woof!

No, not in half an hour you rubber desk-johnny! Send the bitch with the wheels right now or I’ll fly back home and give your wife something to hang her towels on!

Right! Let’s dig out your best booze and talk about me till the car comes!”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. Now I may be packing the kind of tackle that you’d normally expect to find swinging about between the hindlegs of a Grand National winner, but I’m not totally stupid. I’ve got the kind of feeling you’d rather we hadn’t come”.

“Just because I can give multiple orgasms to the furniture just by sitting on it, doesn’t mean that I’m not sick of this damn war: the blood, the noise, the endless poetry”.

 

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36 thoughts on “The News at TIM – Mid Week Musings (No: 31)”

  1. I’m definitely going to see the film. Sounds great! I can imagine you dancing around your living room to Love Shack and getting busted by your long suffering wife haha. I bloody love Blackadder and Goes Fourth is my favourite in the series. The final scenes always choke me up and agreed Lord Flasheart is an absolute crack up. Rik Mayall went too soon. Did you ever watch Bottom? Brilliant.

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    1. Yea I’m quite the dancer! 😉 I reckon my daughter will wait to get married until I’m gone for fear of me hitting the dance floor and embarrassing her. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the film, I notice in my comments that Pete went too and said it was very good so that’s two recommendations. Bottom was great and so was The Young Ones. I think Rik was marmite/vegimite, you love him or hate him. I love him and agree, he went too soon. School boy humour at its very best!

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  2. Oh and FYI my wedding day was the 11th of November (eleventh month) 2011. We were going to get married at 11am but it was Remembrance Day of course and we wanted to have our tw minutes of silence. We got married at precisely 1:11pm instead. One of my groomsmen also brought Poppy’s for us all to wear. 👍🏽

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      1. I bet, in reality, you’re a really mushy, romantic, slightly irritating, loving husband. You just pull the wool over our eyes. Our wedding was planned to the T but it was simple (on the beach), quirky and romantic. The only flower was my wife’s single red rose. To this day it’s the best wedding I’ve ever been to haha

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      2. I wouldn’t say I was irritating, SWMBO would but I wouldn’t 😉. Sounds lkke a lovely wedding mate, in comparison ours was shit, seriously, not joking. Happily married but the wedding wasn’t a great day. Mother in law from hell! You mentioned a 15 year old daughter, first marriage or did you tie the knot later? Just me being nosey, ignore if you like. I wanted to renew our vowels in Vegas but the wife thought it would be tacky. Was even going to have an Elvis impersonator too. Maybe next time!

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      3. Long story but I’ve been married 17 times, one of those times was to an assassin called Blue Devil. Haha. One day we will share a beer or 12 and I’ll tell you my life story. No assassins but it’s certainly a story hehe.

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      8. 11 has been a prominent number in my life. I’m not into numerology or anything, well I do like a little voodoo though. I’ve lived at number 11 for three different houses. I was born on the 11th of Jan 1979 and my best mate and band mate was born on exactly the same day but here in Oz. That’s why we called the band what we did 😉😊🤘🏼

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      12. I’m very open minded. It’s funny because I’ve always considered myself open minded until I met a chap who asked why I’m closed minded to religion? I just punched him and asked where is his God now? Haha. Nah but the first bit is true. I don’t believe in God in the sense that there’s a white bearded dude in the sky controlling everything but something is going on. I do have some ideas on the whole thing but, again, that’ll be for when we trying to match each other pint for pint hehe.

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  3. I saw the Peter Jackson film too at the cinema. I thought it was really great- I agree with you it could have easily carried more run time. I hope that the 100 hours of footage that he said he had fettled sees the light of day soon too.

    I loved Blackadder too. Private Plane is up there with General Hospital for me.

    Loved Rik Mayall- Bottom and Young Ones were classics.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

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    1. Glad you saw it Pete, it was good. If I remember rightly he said that they had already improved much of the black and white footage to a high end digital standard so maybe there will be more to come in the fullness of time. As for Blackadder and Rik Mayell, couldn’t agree more mate.

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  4. Great post and definitely a film to go and see. When I was a kid I remember being in the kitchen making a cuppa when my dad suddenly shouted quick there’s my dad – he was watching the BBC WW1 documentary on the TV. Sadly by time I got there the image had shifted. Unfortunate the days before rewind TV. So whether it was or not is pretty much up in the air. I must bop around the kitchen and embarrass my Kids to Love Shack 🤣

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    1. I’m sure you will enjoy it, well worth checking out. Interesting story about your dad. One of the things Jackson said in the Q&A was he hoped families might come forward after recognising people in the film. He was keen to know more about them so a lot more might crawl out of the woodwork in due course. As for Love Shack, it’s a dads dancing classic, let me know if you are short of any embarrassing moves!😉

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  7. Well, for once, I don’t have a lot to add. I imagine I would like to watch that documentary though. My Wife might like it too. Though she mostly likes the action in War movies, and maybe not so much the talkie-talkie parts. Willing to give it a shot either way.

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      1. I would much rather watch that, than listen to the B-52’s. Haha! Don’t know why, but that band has always grated on my nerves. I think Love Shack probably got overplayed on MTV/radio at the time.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Gotta see that. WWI was hell for the soldier, and the veterans of that conflict should be remembered. I have known veterans of that war and every one since.

    Hope that comes to the US soon.

    As for B-52’s, I’m partial to “Rock Lobster”. IRO THIS IS WHAT I HEAR WHEN I SEE THE PRODUCTS OF YOUR GENIUS

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