Book of the Year (non-fiction)
Between You and I: a little book of bad English - James Cochrane
“A cool, disdainfully precise A-Z of linguistic misuse”.
The absolute bible for those of us who abhor misplaced apostrophes, split infinitives and the use of “criteris” as a singular noun. Warning – you will find yourself shouting at this book joyfully as you realise what a kindred spirit the writer is – even if you are on the Tube.
Book of the Year (fiction)
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
On her way home from school, 14-year-old Susie Salmon is lured into a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. A moving exploration of loss, mourning and the after-life, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Song of the Year – Joint Award!
Hey Ya – Outkast (from Speakerboxxxx/The Love Below album)
I first heard this song when the video came on TV one night. I was so engrossed in the video, the song went right over my head. But it got played every hour on the radio in Australia when we were there for Christmas. My best memory is trying to dance to this tune cramped in the back seat of my sister’s car coming home one night in the scorching heat of Christmas Week. It’s so infectious, every time I hear it I still want to hand-jive!
Your Game – Will Young (from Friday’s Child album)
My mate Sue said she loved Will Young. I didn’t get it myself, until I heard this song. We spent a cold winter redecorating Orlando’s flat and listening to Kiss (the only radio station we could get for some reason). Again, this song was played hourly but it didn’t matter – I couldn’t get enough of it! I am not sure if it the gospel backing group or the funky music or Will’s own sweet voice, but this song uplifts me every time I hear it! Even if it is about walking away from somebody who hurt him…
Album of the Year
Speakerboxxxx/The Love Below – Outkast
What else could I have chosen? It gave us two out of my Top 3 songs of the year – Hey Ya (see above) and I Like The Way You Move. It was a weird choice for me but I was not disappointed by either album (there are two distinct albums in this, one by Andre 2000 and one by Big Boi). Lyrics are intelligent and funny. I love it!
Restaurant of the Year
La Guarida, Havana, Cuba
Up three long flights of poorly lighted stairs in an old beauty of a building is one of the most famous Havana’s paladars - La Guarida. It owes its renown in equal parts to the wonderful ambience, dependable cuisine, and the starring role it played in several scenes in the Cuban blockbuster film Fresa y Chocolate. The three small rooms of this converted apartment are decorated ornately with huge chandeliers and walls crowded with art. Signed celebrity photos shows you just what a desirable destination it is.
The food is good but not spectacular – La Guarida is more about the ambience, the location, the style and 1920s sophistication of such a place in Castros’ Cuba. Starters include gazpacho, rabbit lasagne, or their signature appetizer of eggplant caviar. Main courses are plentiful, with a good selection of fish, lamb, pork, chicken or rabbit, but you won’t find any beef as only government-owned establishments can serve it!Reservations are necessary as this tiny place gets booked out quickly.Go there!
Movie of the Year
Hero
Already the single most pirated movie of all time, this mythical story is a feast for the eyes and a wonderful concept. A tale of kings, assassins and heros, the tale is told from four different perspectives. Each perspective is depicted in a different dominant colour – white, red, blue, black and green. As the movie progresses you can’t help but analyse each story to decide which one you think is true. Whether you like martial arts movies or not this movie is such a visual spectacular it’s a must-see!
Move Scene of the Year
Will Smith in the shower – I, Robot
Well, let’s face it. Why would you go to the trouble of having your own website and website awards if you can’t completely manipulate both to include your own few moments of 2004 cinematic heaven!!!Mmmm Will Smith in the shower. We like a man who takes his nude scenes seriously enough to work for a body like that.If only I could have found a decent still photo to include here, but sadly nothing is available online. We will all have to wait for the DVD to come out, and then revel in how magnificent the pause button works…
Website of the Year – Joint Award
These two great sites are my current favourites.
www.bookcrossing.comConceived by software developer Ron Hornbaker, this great site encourages everyone to dust off those books you have on your shelves and release them into the wild for someone else to find and read. Each book released is logged on the website so that you can see how far they travel. Furthest travelled so far is a French book of poetry which has been found and passed on 95 times! Log on and perform a Random Act of BookCrossing Kindness (RABCK) today!
www.wearewhatwedo.org
Ever felt a quiver of social responsibility in the depth of your hedonistic soul, but was too damn lazy to do anything about it? Then this website is for you! Click on the link and find 50 quick and easy things to do. Most cost nothing, most take very little time, all make you feel great afterwards! I bet you will be surprised how many of these 50 things you do already – so think about one more you can add to your altruistic list!
Man of the Year
My Dad
Who else could I have picked but the man who has been there from the start?
Follow this link to find out why Ben Doyle Senior is my Man of the Year!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Monday, December 13, 2004
Traffic and Culture
The State Opening of Parliament may look good on the Six O'Clock News, with snippets of the Queen in her carriage, and Black Rod banging on the door of the Commons, but if you happen to work nearby it is a real nightmare. I got caught in the traffic that morning - I counted more than 10 ambassadors en route in their diplomatic Mercedes - and it took me almost three hours to do the 13 mile trip to work. Remind me next year to take the day off...
The rest of the day really made up for it though. Sue and I met after work on a crowded Shaftesbury Avenue, and went to see famous Latin American novelist Carlos Fuentes being interviewed in the Gielgud Theatre. It was part of the Orange Word festival, which brings famous writers to London each year for discussion and interview. Check out www.orangeword.co.uk.
He was fascinating to listen to - an erudite, philosopical, charming old-world gentleman who had interesting opinions on everything from world literature to world politics, from Mexican history to the art of writing.
Afterwards we had a drink in a great over-the-top cocktail bar on the edge of Soho which was all pink glitter and gothic art. Dinner was eaten in Chinatown, at the Wong Kei where the waiters are all rude to you (they only smile at me!). Then we wandered past Piccadilly Circus and spent an hour or two browsing the books in the big Waterstones which is open till 10pm.
When we got kicked out at closing time we headed back towards Green Park tube at a leisurely pace, passing the Ritz with all its Tinseltown lighting, and Fortum and Mason's Christmas window display. I know it is supposed to be worth a visit every year to see their windows, but this year I thought the baroque-looking smiling and grimacing faces framing the tableaux were a bit scary really!
Home through the (thankfully light) night-time traffic, with Tony Blackburn on Jazz FM playing the Stylistics, Dionne Warwick and other great classic soul. After such an inauspicious start it turned out to be a great day to live in London!
The rest of the day really made up for it though. Sue and I met after work on a crowded Shaftesbury Avenue, and went to see famous Latin American novelist Carlos Fuentes being interviewed in the Gielgud Theatre. It was part of the Orange Word festival, which brings famous writers to London each year for discussion and interview. Check out www.orangeword.co.uk.
He was fascinating to listen to - an erudite, philosopical, charming old-world gentleman who had interesting opinions on everything from world literature to world politics, from Mexican history to the art of writing.
Afterwards we had a drink in a great over-the-top cocktail bar on the edge of Soho which was all pink glitter and gothic art. Dinner was eaten in Chinatown, at the Wong Kei where the waiters are all rude to you (they only smile at me!). Then we wandered past Piccadilly Circus and spent an hour or two browsing the books in the big Waterstones which is open till 10pm.
When we got kicked out at closing time we headed back towards Green Park tube at a leisurely pace, passing the Ritz with all its Tinseltown lighting, and Fortum and Mason's Christmas window display. I know it is supposed to be worth a visit every year to see their windows, but this year I thought the baroque-looking smiling and grimacing faces framing the tableaux were a bit scary really!
Home through the (thankfully light) night-time traffic, with Tony Blackburn on Jazz FM playing the Stylistics, Dionne Warwick and other great classic soul. After such an inauspicious start it turned out to be a great day to live in London!
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Change The World in Five Minutes
How have you helped your planet or your fellow man today? Check out the links below for instant ways to change the world!
Come on - you've got 5 minutes to spare don't you? It needn't even cost you money!!!
What you can do TODAY
Instant Inspiration - www.wearewhatwedo.orgS
hare your old books - www.bookcrossing.com
Improve your manners - www.ehow.com
Help cure cancer - www.cancerresearchuk.org
Register for Organ Donation
UK - www.uktransplant.org.uk I
reland - www.ika.ie/irishdonornetwork/
Australia - www.organdonors.com.au/
Give Blood
UK - www.blood.co.uk
Ireland - www.ibts.ie
Australia - www.giveblood.redcross.org.au
Come on - you've got 5 minutes to spare don't you? It needn't even cost you money!!!
What you can do TODAY
Instant Inspiration - www.wearewhatwedo.orgS
hare your old books - www.bookcrossing.com
Improve your manners - www.ehow.com
Help cure cancer - www.cancerresearchuk.org
Register for Organ Donation
UK - www.uktransplant.org.uk I
reland - www.ika.ie/irishdonornetwork/
Australia - www.organdonors.com.au/
Give Blood
UK - www.blood.co.uk
Ireland - www.ibts.ie
Australia - www.giveblood.redcross.org.au
Monday, September 20, 2004
The Chieftains in Concert
What a night. The Chieftains played the London Palladium and Orlando and I were there to see it.
We started the evening in a meat-eater’s paradise called Bodeans BBQ in Poland Street, Soho. Bodean’s is a American-diner-type please and they pretty much only serve up huge slabs of meat! There is a diner downstairs too. Let me tell you, we will never be able to get Orlando out of this place. Excellent food!
Then on to the Palladium to see a fantastic evening of Irish music. The Chieftains are probably the best-known and best-loved traditional Irish musicians.
The Chieftains were joined on stage by a lady taking the late Derek Bell’s place on keyboard and Irish harp, and also by a cellist and a fiddler.
Minutes into the performance another young lean-limbed bloke wandered onto the stage and gave the most amazing high-energy step-dance performance. He was joined half-way through by his borther, the second fiddler on the stage. These young men are the Polanski brothers from Ottawa, Canada and they almost stole the show.
The Chieftains had the place eating out of their hands immediately, but the highlight of the night for me was when the inimitable Paddy Maloney stepped up to the front with his tin whistle. There was total silence in the auditorium as the melancholy notes of Mna na hEireann rang out. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck and I held my breath till the last note. Magical.
In typical style, they had lots of guests helping them along – a young Irish singer and a local London girl on the fiddle; Fergus from Glasgow on the Scottish pipes, and the lead singer from the Fleadh Cowboys.The Polanski boys were also joined by Cara Butler, a champion Irish dancer from Long Island, New York (must be Jean Butler’s sister, she of Riverdance fame).
They sang tracks from their Long Black Veil and Santiago albums. The origin of "Santiago" dates back to 1984 after a Chieftains performance in the seaport of Vigo, in the Galicia region of Spain. It was there that they first heard Carlos Núñez, who, says Moloney, "literally became the seventh member of The Chieftains" on their world tours. Núñez was replaced last night by the Fleadh Cowboys guy, and the 2 or 3 tracks played were an amazing blend of Irish and Spanish traditions.
All in all, an evening of great fun and music and dance. These guys are in the their 42nd year together, so go see them when you can – they won’t last forever!
We started the evening in a meat-eater’s paradise called Bodeans BBQ in Poland Street, Soho. Bodean’s is a American-diner-type please and they pretty much only serve up huge slabs of meat! There is a diner downstairs too. Let me tell you, we will never be able to get Orlando out of this place. Excellent food!
Then on to the Palladium to see a fantastic evening of Irish music. The Chieftains are probably the best-known and best-loved traditional Irish musicians.
The Chieftains were joined on stage by a lady taking the late Derek Bell’s place on keyboard and Irish harp, and also by a cellist and a fiddler.
Minutes into the performance another young lean-limbed bloke wandered onto the stage and gave the most amazing high-energy step-dance performance. He was joined half-way through by his borther, the second fiddler on the stage. These young men are the Polanski brothers from Ottawa, Canada and they almost stole the show.
The Chieftains had the place eating out of their hands immediately, but the highlight of the night for me was when the inimitable Paddy Maloney stepped up to the front with his tin whistle. There was total silence in the auditorium as the melancholy notes of Mna na hEireann rang out. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck and I held my breath till the last note. Magical.
In typical style, they had lots of guests helping them along – a young Irish singer and a local London girl on the fiddle; Fergus from Glasgow on the Scottish pipes, and the lead singer from the Fleadh Cowboys.The Polanski boys were also joined by Cara Butler, a champion Irish dancer from Long Island, New York (must be Jean Butler’s sister, she of Riverdance fame).
They sang tracks from their Long Black Veil and Santiago albums. The origin of "Santiago" dates back to 1984 after a Chieftains performance in the seaport of Vigo, in the Galicia region of Spain. It was there that they first heard Carlos Núñez, who, says Moloney, "literally became the seventh member of The Chieftains" on their world tours. Núñez was replaced last night by the Fleadh Cowboys guy, and the 2 or 3 tracks played were an amazing blend of Irish and Spanish traditions.
All in all, an evening of great fun and music and dance. These guys are in the their 42nd year together, so go see them when you can – they won’t last forever!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
