A beaming red disco ball guided us towards Lucy’s flat where the second of our five dinner parties was due to take place…
Starter: Surprising Tart.
Main: Lamb Stew made with beef, served with ciabatta and feta.
Dessert: Eaton Mess with pomegranate.
The Skippy Course: Extra Crunchy Skippy.
Conversation topics included:
Thrush, candida albicans, jessica albicans, the Jessica Alba staring contest video, whether the internet exists (yes), Gordon Ramsay, Charles Kennedy, the quick, pop tarts, and Super Chunks dog food (made with 4% beef, 3% ash, various animal derived products, products “of vegetable origin” and 78% “moisture”.)
The standard remains high and everyone was well fed with good food! At no point did we feel the need to break open the Super Chunks.
We were all worried when Lucy mentioned that she had to pick up the “equipment” for the night’s entertainment. It turned out to be perfectly innocent when she produced a PlayStation 2 and Singstar. Awesome. Thanks Lucy!
Let’s start at the top. When you’re up at the top of The Empire State Building, you just can’t help but feel how incredible man’s achievements really are. Especially when they are incredibly successful in charging you the incredible price of $20 for the privilege. But petty cynicism aside, the view from The Empire State Building at night is truly one of the most beautiful sites on the planet and no one in their right mind would miss an opportunity to see it…
And lest we forget, the view from the Brooklyn Bridge at night is equally as beautiful.
It was at this point in our journey that the inevitable clashing of egos (Burrows vs. Johnston) would reach its climax. Let it be known that Burr threatened to push Michael off the Brooklyn Bridge. Fact. If that had actually happened, I think I would be writing an entirely different blog post altogether.
Other fun things we did included watching some genuinely really funny live sketch comedy at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, visiting Wall Street, Central Park, Times Square, the restaurant out of Seinfeld, getting a New York Slice, other giant foods, Chinatown (where Burr was disappointed that his Cantonese style roast chckn had no sauce even though it is never served with sauce), Nintendo World, Macy’s and the Apple Store.
(Equally apt titles for this blog might also have been Mikey fucking hates England or Mikey fucking hates Warrington or even Mikey fucking hates the M62.)
Mikey finishes early at 2pm and decides to use his old favourite, the autobahn. There is a mile long queue of stationary traffic at his junction, forcing him to use the next exit on the M62 to loop back.
The next exit is for East Warrington 13 miles away… 30 mile round trip for a 4 mile journey… Sigh.
23 days until Mikey gets to leave Manchester for Xmas.
One week ago a friend of mine brought up the topic of Heroes in coversation. Despite being a huge X-Men fan, ashamedly I had to admit I had never followed the show. As a result of my own obstinance I had dismissed it as a cheap imitation of X-Men. In fact when people brought it up, I would become smug and condescending (not dissimilar to how I am anyway). I had become a scoffer…
So on Sunday night I downloaded Season 1 and in between time at the hospital and reading I have squeezed it out until tonight. What did I think? Is it is a cheap immitation?
Yes. So much is wrong with it. The cast of Hollyoaks could have provided a better showcase of acting ability. The prominent theme of prejudice was toilsome and boring. The intro to each episode was mildly reminiscent of the Goosebumps tv series. (That is not an invitation to become nostalgic about how great the Goosebumps books were. Just like Transformers, they were actually shit. We just remember them being better.) The main character is a total drip. Actually, so are a lot of them. So why watch it?
1. Hiro Nakamura
2. Ando Masahashi
3. Lines like “Claire, drag your fanny out of bed!”
4. Christopher Eccleston
5. “To be continued”
6. Time travel.
7. Watching a tasty little blonde cheerleader run around in the hot Texas sun.
Unfortunately the finale is a predictable Fantastic Four-esque showdown between good guy Peter Petrelli and bad guy Sylar, followed by a total gayfest wherein Peter and another dude tell each other they love each other. If that doesn’t get you hooked.
