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‘Cause People Say We Monkee Around
In the Comments section, Piers Beckley wrote of his old electronic typewriter: “I loved it, because it meant I didn’t have to tippex or retype when I miskeyed… Finally got rid of it a couple of years ago after I realised I hadn’t plugged it in for more than a decade and was never going…
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The Way the Future Is
I still like a book. I haven’t been won over to e-reading yet but I’ve no doubt the day will come when I will, just as I retired my typewriter, my super 8 movie camera, and my Olympus stills camera when it became self-evident that I was sticking with them for the wrong reasons. Stay…
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Johnny Hollywood, the Commentary
You may be curious as to why I appear to have a habit of interviewing myself, so the previous post could benefit from some explanation. The first Johnny Hollywood entry came about as a result of a freelance journalist contacting me through my publisher to request an interview for a well-known magazine. I said okay,…
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Bitch-slapped Bimbos and Silent Engineers (2)
Monday’s Chimera screening had a satisfying turnout and the evening ran smoothly, with great atmosphere. There was an audience flyer which included the entirety of a long Time Out review from 1991 that I hadn’t seen before (Fliss Coombes and Naomi Phillipson, handling publicity for Zenith and Anglia respectively, had sent me all the cuttings…
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In Shatner’s Footsteps
I finally made it to the Batcave. My third attempt. The Satnav was still insisting on directing me up closed roads through Griffith Park. This time, I made a hand-drawn map from Google instead. On the Canyon Road approach there was no signage and in the park itself no trail maps or any information at…
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Please Touch
So there we were, at the Getty Villa. It’s quite a place. Situated on the Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Monica and Malibu, it’s like the little-brother museum to the spectacular Getty Center. The Getty Center’s further inland, on a hilltop overlooking the Sepulveda Pass, and looking like Tony Stark’s place in the Iron Man…
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Arise, Sir Hood
Congratulations to Sir Patrick Stewart, knighted today. He used the occasion to give credit to the English teacher who opened his eyes to literature and first encouraged him to perform. It’s no surprise; many a career in the arts can be traced back to the influence of a charismatic and inspiring figure in the classroom.…
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Chimera at the BFI
Here’s some news… on Monday July 5th as part of the Future Human season, my 1990 miniseries Chimera is getting a screening at the BFI South Bank. A while back I was asked if I’d say a few words before it, but that’s now expanded to become a Q&A with me and director Lawrence Gordon…
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The Simpsons and Me
If you read my ‘back in LA‘ post a couple of weeks ago you’ll know that while walking in one of the city’s State Parks I was met by two Golden Retrievers, dripping wet and happy to share, closely followed by anxious family. And if you read on into the comments section you’ll know that’s…
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Bryan Talbot, Fantasycon GoH
It’s thanks to my old friend Bryan Talbot that I could legitimately put ‘model’ on my CV, if I were so inclined… back when he was living in Preston and creating The Tale of One Bad Rat, Bryan pressed my entire family into service to help with the photoreference for some of the frames. That’s…