whatleydude

Spoiler free.

To say I’ve been a little bit excited about this film coming out would be perhaps somewhat of an understatement. I am a huge Ridley Scott fan and of the efforts he has made in the genre of science fiction, both films are in my all time top fifty*.

What with experimental Twitter campaigns and a whole bunch of different trailers (some perhaps giving away a bit too much for my liking) – excitement was at fever pitch. The question is: did it live up to the hype?

I think I can quite safely say, for me at least: Yes. It did.

However, Prometheus is not perfect. Not by any stretch. In fact, at one point in the film (after probably the most intense scene of 2012 to date) I let out an audible ‘WTF?’ when something pretty major just gets brushed to the side without question… Just, mental. But, as an immersive return trip to the shadowy world of the Weyland Corporation and everything around and therein, Prometheus wins.

We’ve been too long without a decent return trip to this universe of morally ambiguous androids and engineers. Admittedly, seeing the film in 3D at Britain’s biggest cinema (London’s BFI IMAX) definitely helped, but Scott’s hand and vision is clear throughout and we, the audience, benefit for it. Much has been lauded in the past about Ridley’s attention to detail, his penchant for creating actual things that exist in real time and space (as opposed to leaning too much on the sometimes clunky and too easy to spot CGI), and rightly so. Fans will be pleased to hear that, in Prometheus, that reputation continues unabashed.

Everything from the space suits (SUIT UP!) through to the choice of spatulas in the mess kitchen (no joke) has been thought through and it shows. That’s not to say that the film is CGI free, of course it can’t be, however, when employed, it too excels.

That’s the visuals taken care of, what of the cast?

Michael Fassbender is perfect casting as the ship’s resident android, David. Cold, quiet and utterly believable – it’s actually really hard to put a definition on what it is exactly that he does that nails the dead-behind-the-eyes, only-human-in-appearance robot. He’s part H.A.L., part Pinocchio and very, very well done. Good job.

Noomi Rapace, as the conflicted scientist and Ripley heir apparent, Dr Elizabeth Shaw, is also brilliant and shines here in her first (proper) English-speaking role. Shaw’s story-arc is probably the best and most interesting of all and, after one particularly harrowing scene, the entire theatre was on the edge of their collective seats – myself included – just waiting to see what she would do next. Arresting stuff.

Charlize Theron does well also, as does Idris Elba, but special mention must go to Brit-actor-playing-an-American number two, Rafe Spall. I had no idea he was in Prometheus so it was a pleasant surprise to see his face pop up out of cryo-sleep 15mins in. I’ve seen him in stuff before and I am a fan; his comedy grin helping him steal the short scenes that he appears in, wonderfully.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STORY, JAMES?

Well, yes. Quite.

The tagline ‘The search for our beginning could lead to our end’ is pretty spot on. There are obviously Alien elements throughout and, when the film closes, there is no doubt left as to where we came from and, maybe more importantly, where the eggs are laid for the Nostromo and her crew over the years ahead. Yes, there are a couple of gaping plot holes (and some really dumb ass character decisions), yes some of the scripting is on the clunky side but, oh my, there are some fantastic elements to Prometheus and I am bloody glad I saw it in the way I did.

In fact, I’m actually quite tempted to see it again.

And, while it doesn’t have the depth of suspense or the over-arching wrapper of horror/fear as its predecessor (as it will of course be forever continually compared against), Prometheus is a rather good sci-fi film and – faults aside – is one I would definitely recommend you go see.

Whatley out.

*I’m a filmy. I don’t do top tens or top fives. It’s top fifties all the way.

Arresting, harsh and, at times, harrowing. ILL MANORS is no easy watch.
But oh my God, is it worth it.

A spoiler-free review - 

The directorial debut of Ben Drew – aka Plan B – and featuring a cast of relative unknowns (many of whom were from the streets where ill Manors is set), this is a film with a message: your surroundings define who you are – but there is always a choice.

Stark, intimidating and dirty against such hopeful (yet faded) iconic landmarks of the future; first, the former Millenium Dome, once a sign of development and symbolic of the hopes of East London, left dying by the government (until the o2 conversion). Then second, the stadia of the forthcoming Olympics; again a herald of hope. Again, an uncertainty around what happens afterwards – the symbolism here will not be lost on many. London has never been more real, or more frightening.

Drew, who not only *wrote and produced*, also provides the soundtrack to our journey into the East End of London; narrating the back story of each and every lost soul we meet along the way. And what a journey it is.

The stories told throughout Manors are multiple; twisting and turning, entwined and continual. They swing in and out of their own timelines as each new character enters our view and, slowly but surely, we find out their past – with our poetic narrator in tow – before the car crash of the present day slams back into vision. Messing with perspective, showing the same scene from multiple, time-varying points of view, Manors is smart and surprising. There’s darkness in (nearly) everyone and, as the madness grows, and the tension-wrought second act comes to a close, you wonder where Manors will take its residents next.

Think GO. Think Eyes Wide Shut. Think Pulp Fiction. Think Requiem for a Dream. Think Ben Drew. This is a man of a generation: telling the story of a lost generation. And he tells it incredibly, frighteningly well. Both in displaying the raw underbelly of what lies East of our capital city as well as in the deftness of his craft.

This is his debut. His first time.

I was lucky enough to catch Ben speak, so eloquently, at the Tedx Observer a while back. He was engaging and open about the causes of London’s riots last summer and, watching Ill Manors, you begin to see what he was getting at. Run down city streets, limited resources to inspire the youth of today and gang culture everywhere – the message here is clear: our kids need saving.

Manors is not without its faults, admittedly, but most can be shrugged off as the mistakes of the yet-to-be-honed technical skills of a film-making newbie. In a summer of mental movie blockbusters, Ill Manors is like a cold bucket of water over the head. Refreshing, cold, awakening.

See this film.

And Ben, if you’re reading… Please, make more.

Plan B goes on general release in the UK on June 6th, 2012.

Let’s get this straight – I am a geek.

Wolverine #90 got me into comic books and since that fateful day in 1995 I have dipped in and out of the comic book universe as I saw fit. In fact, tracing it back further still, growing up watching Christopher Reeve save the world as Superman influenced my life with and love of the superhero genre, definitely. But we’ll come back to him later.

Back at the turn of the millennium, Bryan Singer, whose directorial arrival was heralded by the sublime Usual Suspects, was tasked with bringing the world’s most unluckiest superheroes to the big screen.

To be fair to the guy, he didn’t do a bad job. Generally considered to be more of a taster of things to come, the first X-Men film definitely proved the concept, and when X-Men 2 (X2) arrived, we finally saw Singer’s vision fully coloured in before our eyes; Wolverine cut-loose, cameos-a-plenty and of course, that epic epic Nightcrawler opener.

Excellent stuff.

Since then though, with the X-Men at least, we have not been so lucky. X3: The Last Stand was frankly, terrible. A rushed schedule (largely in part to a last minute director change) not helping much and what with Mr Singer departing to work on [the extremely underrated] Superman Returns, the wheel was left unchecked and the series lost its course.

The less said about X:Men Origins: Wolverine the better.

Which brings us to First Class.

A few years ago the ‘Origins’ moniker was attached to a number of X-Projects (with Wolverine getting the first stab, so to speak) and First Class was one of them. When the news broke that the film was going ahead, it was promising to say the least.

First off, irrespective of takings (both X3 and XO:W both broke $200m at the box office) the studio knew they had to do something to prevent yet another bad X-film being made. This is a good sign. Second?  Singer was back. This time taking a writer/producer credit and – in a match that seems to be made in geek heaven – Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn (fresh from their own successes on the fantastic comic book adap, Kick-Ass), stepped into the roles of screenplay and director respectively.

The Gods were smiling.

But then, reports of a rushed production started appearing, followed by a poorly received above the line campaign and, to top it all off, every time a set pic was leaked, the ‘fans’ heaped scorn upon a franchise that was already fighting an uphill battle. Not cool.

When then trailer finally dropped, people did not know what to expect –

“Hang on, this actually looks quite good…”

Four months later, tickets were purchased and with much trepidation, we entered the cinema. Set in 1962, just before and during the Cuban missile crisis, First Class riffs on its 60s backdrop perfectly. With retro black lines drawn across the inevitable training montage scenes as well as a very suave, almost Austin Powers-like, Charles Xavier – brought to life by my second favourite actor in this film (I have a top three), James McAvoy. The time of the piece is set perfectly and trust me, it works.

Coming in third in the aforementioned trio of awesome, comes Kevin Bacon as the nefarious Sebastian Shaw. Hell-bent on world domination through a hitler-esque survival of the fittest, Bacon excels here. Fans of the books will understand that physically, in build at least, the two aren’t exactly similar however, with a combination of sheer stage screen presence and the film’s iteration of Shaw’s mutant power, this is swiftly forgotten – Kevin Bacon is Sebastian Shaw.

In at number one, our star of the show, Erik Lensherr – aka – Magneto.

Brought to life magnificently by Michael Fassbender. The vengeful intensity that he brings to Magneto’s early years is completely believeable and, once his solo mission of revenge comes to the end of its first chapter, you understand completely why people are already calling Fassbender out as the next James Bond. Seriously.

The rest? Mystique and Beast (who share a number of interesting moments together) are noteworthy as is The White Queen, Emma Frost. However, the others are fairly forgettable. Perhaps it’s only Banshee’s Irish charm that keeps him from fading from my memory… Additionally, whilst Riptide manages to get through the film without uttering a single word, the award for most criminally under-used character goes to Azazel.

In comic book lore, Azazel is the father of X2’s Nightcrawler and, colouration aside, shares a similar look and power of his future son. It’s just a shame then that his [slightly russian?] origin was not explored further. But hey, there’s always future films – right?

Let’s be clear; X-Men: First Class is by far and away the best X-Men film to date. Given that X2 set the standard pretty high, this is praise indeed – especially for a franchise that was close to coming to an end.

Finally, don’t try and worry yourself about the time line too much; if you work under the assumption that Singer ‘did a Superman’ and ignored the third and fourth films in the series, then they kind of plug in together nicely. You learn how and why Mystique is the way she is, why Magneto is the way he is and – crucially – what happens after a young Erik Lensherr is spotted bending gates in a Nazi concentration camp.

In closing; if you’re a geek (and can forgive a bit liberty thievery here and there), you’ll get a kick out of this. If you’re not, it’s still a bloody good, almost caper-esque, action flick.
I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t leave the cinema completely blown away but now, a few days on from seeing the film, it has definitely grown on me.

Go see it.

As the first post for 2011, a film review isn’t a bad way to kick things off. By now I would expect that a fair number of you have already seen this film (and if you haven’t – the end of this review will tell you do so immediately), so I’m happy to put my thoughts down.

Similarly to The Social Network, I was quite lucky to see this film quite a bit before general release; having been able to attend both the London and LA Premieres as well as attend a special private screening (with an introduction from the director and co-producer) a short while thereafter. Three times I’ve seen it now and, if you asked me if I wanted to see it again – I’d say yes.

Here’s why -

Tron: Legacy is not an action film.
Tron: Legacy is (probably) not the film you’re expecting it to be.
Tron: Legacy is not the next Matrix (or Avatar for that matter).

Tron: Legacy is in fact a beautiful piece of work that has the potential to be criminally overlooked as its reviewers label it too simple and too over-reliant on flash special effects/under-used 3D. This is wrong. Very wrong indeed.

The allegory of celebrating life and creation over that of man-made technology and machines has never been more clear and telling. The Father/Son/Clu three-way relationship that is placed at the heart of the piece is, when it finally plays its hand, probably one of the most powerful moments in the entire film.

Believe everything you read and you’ll go in thinking that the story is in fact the weakest part of the whole; “Sam goes into the Grid to find his Dad. 3D awesomeness ensues. Light cycles etc… Finale, the end.” is quite possibly the laziest way to look at this work. The second time I saw it, not only did I end up picking up several parts that I missed the first time ’round – Clu/Flynn’s similar sounding rousing speeches to the crowds being one example (and this happened again on the third viewing too), but I also came away with a  much deeper understanding of the film’s key message; the creation of life is the most beautiful and imperfect forms of perfection that man can ever strive for. Ignore it at your peril.

See it. Look harder at what the film’s trying to tell you and let it flow through you.
You’ll see.

What else can I cover off here?

The cast are great; Olivia Wilde in particular shines as she casts a sense of wonder and amazement across all that she surveys with a strength and beauty that I haven’t seen in anyone since Samantha Morton’s killer turn as Minority Report’s life-deprived pre-cog, Agatha. Michael Sheen, channelling Ziggy Stardust, only really shines when he’s forced to tone down the camp delivery (later scenes scenes with Clu proving better than his openers with Daft Punk) and show the face behind the mask.

Garrett Hedlund is believable as Flynn Jnr – his father’s drawl pouring out gently as if his own, lending nicely to the DNA of both the film’s history as well as that of his own make up. There’s also a sweet cameo from Cillian Murphy (potential for more in future instalments?) hanging out as Dillinger Jnr and of course, finally, there’s Jeff.

He’s almost perfect and probably, unlike Michael Sheen, at his best in his earlier scenes where he’s tasked with conveying this gifted, lost soul who’s been trapped on the grid, away form his family, his life – coming to terms with his fate, for all these years. It’s steeped in pathos and reeks of an actor at the top of his game, delivering loss, pain and sorrow in mere glances to his surroundings.

What definitely didn’t work for me was the the rather large nod to His Dudeness, The Big Lebowksi.

When Flynn says to his Son “You’re messin’ with my Zen thing man.” it comes across as both clunky and entirely unnecessary. I don’t know why or how the director left it in, it drops you back into the real world of ‘Oh, I’m watching Jeff Bridges here. He’s The Dude remember?’ and totally out of sync with the rest of the film. I would probably say that that is my only gripe with the entire picture actually. I mean, even Jeff’s other turn as a CGI’d ageless version of himself, Clu, is better than this knowing wink; rubbery chin aside (in places), Clu proves to be breathtaking and, in certain areas, mind-blowing. The Dude is not welcome here.

So what about the 3D then? Is it worth paying that little bit extra to see it in this format? I’ve spoken with a couple of folk about this issue and I guess it depends on what it is you go in expecting. 3D in the traditional sense is that you go in, throw on your plastic specs and then, for the rest of the movie, things are thrown out of the screen – into your eyes – with enough vigour to make you start moving your hands around in front of your face (just in case you can actually touch them).

Modern day 3D not so much. 3D today is a lot about depth and making you believe that you’re actually in the picture you’re experiencing. Avatar achieved this (so much so that, post-Pandora, many Avatar viewers experienced depression after discovering that the world they experienced was in fact only fictitious and was not actually a viable choice for their next holiday adventure) and Tron: Legacy does the same – with the 3D effect adding a sharp and enticing sheen to an already futuristic vision. To my mind at least, it works.

Finally, one simply cannot put pen to paper when talking about Tron: Legacy without mentioning the frickin’ awesome soundtrack.

Yes I moaned that Daft Punk’s appearance in the film is slightly fudged and, under Michael Sheen’s stewardship, seemed shoehorned at best. But that’s just talking about their appearance. If you look past that, that car crash of a cameo, and look for their presence in the film then – from the moment the lights go down – the soundtrack hits you like a cricket bat to the face.

It is nothing short of superb. 2010 was an awesome year for OSTs with Scott Pilgrim and The Social Network putting forward awesome contributions but, for sheer electrifying amazement, Tron: Legacy nabs the number one spot. If you use Spotify, then listen to it right now. If not, then go buy it/download it… It is nothing short of awesome.

In closing, Tron: Legacy is a beautiful, beautiful film. If you’re going to see it, see it big and see it loud (the IMAX offers probably the best experience in this case).

Until next time.

This post needs some introduction. Around 8mins worth to be precise…

That was Batman: Dead End. A fan film released (I would like to think at least in part) in response to Joel Schumacher’s two Batman ‘interpretations’ of the late 90s; Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. If you can take a moment and throw your mind back to before Heath Ledger, before Christian Bale… all the way back to Burton.

What Schumacher did to Bob Kane’s source material was nothing short of horrific and, at a time when the series was at its darkest (and not in a good way), Sandy Collora turned ’round and delivered Dead End to prove that if George Clooney wasn’t about to step up, he was.

Fast forward seven years and Sandy gets a go at his own full-length feature; Hunter Prey.

— image via Film School Rejects

While not given the largest of releases, I was lucky enough to catch Hunter Prey at the Science Fiction Film Festival and, a few things aside, I wasn’t disappointed.

First off, I went in fully expecting it to be crap. I mean really crap. Proper B moviesville. But in the BEST of ways. I’m a sucker for certain genres you see and bad sci-fi is up there with werewolf flicks and Fincher. Alright, Fincher isn’t a genre, but you get the idea.

Bottom line, Hunter Prey is pretty damn good. Yes there are a few timing issues (the film could do with some tighter edits) and some of the scripting is hilarious but – and this is a massive BUT – to call this film bad sci-fi would be both hugely unfair and actually, just plain wrong; what Sandy has achieved in this film is nothing short of awesome.

The opening gambit – ship carrying alien prisoner crashes on strange planet, said prisoner escapes in the carnage, survivors head out to hunt it down, cat-and-mouse ensues - is not too dissimilar to another great sci-fi B movie, Pitch Black. However, what our alien prisoner is capable of is much, much different to anything Riddick could ever and would ever do.

I could say more, but to do so would reveal a key plotting device/twist which I would go nuts about if anyone told me. So there we’ll leave it.

Personally? I love bad low-budget sci-fi and I loved Hunter Prey. Like I said, there are some low points (it’s too long), some high points (great plot) and some bloody fantastic points (the character designs are nothing short of spectacular).

My verdict?

If you’ve got eight quid to spare, then pick it up. It’s not perfect, not by any stretch, but if anything I’ve said above chimes with you, then you shouldn’t let this pass you by.

It’s been a few months sine I’ve seen it now and it definitely needs revisiting…

Finally, if you liked the Batman fan flick that kicked this off – then you should check out City of Scars. Not a Collara pic, but still pretty damn good.

Whatley out.

I started writing this post nearly three weeks ago, way back when November was coming to a close and I’d just about made it to the end of National Vlog Post Month (NaVloPoMo). If you missed the explanation at the start of it all, then apologies – the general gist was to upload a new video every day, for the entire month of November. Consider this a review, if you will.

Final score? 28/30

Not bad for my first attempt, wouldn’t you say?

The two that I missed were Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd respectively. The former was my birthday and, while I did actually manage to record and upload a video in time, the quality was so frickin’ bad – I’m refusing to put it up. The latter however, was the day after my birthday and, given that the party guests only started to leave around 7ish on Sunday morning, I think I can let this one pass.

Either way, two other videos were made for the weekend in question and, if the creators don’t mind, I think I’ll submit them as entries for those days. Guest entries if you will. First, my NaVloPoMo partner in crime, Benny Crime, with his ‘Happy Birthday Whatleydude‘ entry and second, creator of all things NaVloPoMo, Rupert Howe, for this awesome ‘Whatley’s evil twin‘ video.

While Benny’s is suitably bonkers, Rupert’s definitely needs some explanation, but you’ll have to wait for another day for that I’m afraid…

In the meantime one upshot from making video every day for a month is the enforced, creative experimentation of it all.

Much has happened over the past couple of months and there is much to catch up on.

The ‘Tales from my Moleskine‘ series is only halfway through (so expect something from there to appear here next), there is a lot of random video content I still want to throw together and of course, there’s just a crap load of normal life stuff I want to share.

So watch this space, I’ll be back soon…

“Changed for good, my output has.
To what end, remains to be seen…”

Last week I received a Nokia N96 on loan from the those lovely folk at Nokia WOM World.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago:

…whenever I do have something mobile-related to say, I use my platform over on Mobile Industry Review (MIR), formerly – and now incorporating – SMS Text News, to get the message out…

So if Mobile is your thing, or if you’re just curious about Nokia’s new flagship handset, why not jump over and read my thoughts…

Your comments are as always, very welcome.

Lots of love,

Me.

September 10th, 2008.
08:24

One year, to the day that I started my employment with a little company called SpinVox and… Wow, what a journey it has been so far…

The view you see before you is the view that I have right now, as I type this post from the departure lounge of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 1, (looks familiar huh?). As you know some time ago I got ‘the call‘ and lo and thusly I am on my way to Finland.

But we’ll come back to that…

What I want to talk about, if you’ll indulge me for a moment, is the amazing journey that I’ve been over the past year. Personally, professionally and of course geographically.

Working backwards, I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever been so well travelled, (although quite how you can be less travelled I don’t know – heh), with my work so far taking me to such places Barcelona (beautiful) San Francisco – twice (one of my favourite places in the world and a potential base for me the future for certain), Las Vegas (ugh)… and, as we speak, Helsinki.

There of course being no rest for the wicked, straight after this trip I’m headed out to New York then onto Las Vegas once again and by the looks of things Frankfurt too before the year is out.

I used to mock my friends when they used to get the work trips abroad, accusing them of ‘going on a jolly’ and basically being a bunch of work-shy sun-seekers. But guys, if you’re reading this, I take it back. I now know… It’s relentless! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it – wouldn’t change it for the world in fact. But jeeez… talk about taking it out of you! This time round I’ve prepared. Both physically and mentally.

Bring. It. On.

Which dovetails nicely back into the professional part of my journey. So, as I said, one year ago I joined SpinVox. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for whatever they had to throw at me.
Having initially secured the interview after being told by a recruitment agent that I was ‘definitely a SpinVox person’ I was taken onboard to apply some ‘Digital Native’ thinking, if you will, to an already rock solid proposition…

Six weeks later I was on a flight to San Francisco after launching Social Networks through SpinVox.

Awesome.

I’ll never forget rocking up to my first CTIA in torn jeans, flip flops and my now trademark MASSIVE white sunglasses adorned across my brow and being told almost immediately:

“Oh, you’re ‘The Web Guy’. You’ve got the look for sure.”

HA!

You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve since smartened up my act somewhat (although the Sunny Gs remain) and I’m now ‘The Social Media Guy’.
Which kind of, in a sense, further demonstrates the journey: Starting with Social Networks through SpinVox, then getting Big Talk (the SpinVox Blog) off the ground, working on and around the digital propositions…
All of which meant that in February of this year I was part of the team that flew out to Barcelona to represent the big SV at Mobile World Congress (MWC – previously known as 3GSM).

This is when my entire world changed.

Suddenly, almost overnight, there was this paradigm shift in how I saw the industry around me… and it was changing. Mobile is my first love and always will be, but in Barcelona the power of Social Media and what it actually means really hit home.

Walking the floor at MWC, finally meeting some of the big names in blogging face to face… Shall I list them?

…

…

Nah. If you’re reading this and I shook your hand in Barcelona, then I’m talking about You

I was saying; Meeting you guys and gals face to face made me understand the enormous sense of community that lives and breathes in this new world of ours… and the enormity doesn’t just stop there either, it also applies to the immense importance that we place on this community as well.

We, you, me, them, us… We are right here, right now. Carving out and pioneering a new digital age for our children to grow up into. What you think and say about this whole space will define how the rest of the world interacts with their digital media for the next 10-20yrs, if not more.

Social Media ‘happened’ (for me at least) this year; I’m going to be able to look back and say ‘Yep, I was there’ …well, you were there too. It’s happening Right Now.

And listen, without getting ranty, understand this – what I said up there – is paramount to any and every business today. It really is.

Arriving back from Spain after the conference finished, with the support of my boss, I got to work on a Social Media Strategy doc that, with the help from the team, would define how SV as a business and as a brand would operate in this space… and so far, it’s playing out nicely.

So yeah, we’ll see on that one shall we?

Building that thing up and playing it out through the year as we have has been an awesome experience. Learnings on the way of course – some things took a while, some things took off straight away and some things you just can’t predict..

Hence the journey I guess. But I tell you one thing, in this job I don’t think I have ever been happier.

And in fear of being a complete link-monkey, ‘not ever being happier’ leads me quite perfectly into the “Personally” part of this little trilogy.

A few of you reading this may follow me on Twitter or even chat to me on Jaiku, in which case you know that most of the time I am of quite a cheery disposition and I take pride in the fact that I truly enjoy life to the fullest. Now I’m not big on sharing personal stuff online.
Not at all.

Gotta keep something back, y’know?

But anyway – the fact of the matter is, right now, for the first time in a long time I am happy.
Truly and utterly.

And I love it.

Thanks to you guys, for all of your kind words, support and just general awesomeness over the past year.
I’m looking forward to the next one with immense relish and I’m rubbing my hands with glee…

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Bring. It. On.

Thanks for reading…

Oh yeah – and there was that small matter of being in Finland.
Guess it’ll have to wait until my next post, (tomorrow – promise).

P.S. It’s taken me all day to get this post up, I’m now in Helsinki and a very happy Whatley indeed.

September 10th, 2008.
20:49