Love Actually (2003)

What a sweet, sweet movie from the writer of such classics like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and more.
The main theme of Love Actually is that love is actually all around us despite all the negative vibes lately (wars, terrorism, natural catastrophes). We follow a group of people in their search for love.
There is the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who falls in love with one of his staff. At first he is confused because of this but later he succumbs to love.
Funniest character is definitely the old rocker Billy Mack (Bill Nighy). He is determined to get a #1 with his song “xmas is around…” despite admitting how crap it is.
All these characters have seemingly one thing common, which is the search for love. Later it turns out that all character are somehow related
Of all the character, I could relate the most with Jamie (Colin Firth). He falls in love with a Portuguese woman (Sienna Guillory Lucia Moniz) without speaking a word with each other. Later he learns to speak Portuguese in evening class just to be able to ask her father for her hand. His charming words include the phrase: “I would like you to inhabit England with me”.
All in all a feel-good movie that I am looking forward to seeing again.
“When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love.”

Mr Bush is coming to London

Well, I happen to work a couple of blocks away from the American embassy here in London.
We were notified last week that the area might get busy with demonstrations and that it will have increased security checks this week. Today during lunch hour I saw the first indications of this.
There are a lot of police constables walking around in the streets and certain shop keepers were busy boarding up their windows (!).
I did bring my digital camera with me today in case some juicy snap opportunities arise. I doubt getting any glimpses of the president though since his administration has made a lot effort in order to confuse people and to stop them from getting close to the president.
There are reports that “Bush decoys” will be moving around in the area. Also, reportably anti-Bush demonstrators are confined to demonstrate some distance away from Bush so that he can’t hear them nor see their signs.
Pro-Bush demonstrators, on the other hand, are able to wave their flags right in front of him. It’s called crowd control and “demonstration zones”.

I like bubbles

bubbles.gif … and bubbles like me. Especially the ones in the Jacuzzi at the gym.
Funny, it would be enough just to use the steam room and Jacuzzi and feel like you’ve been to the gym and have had a healthy workout.
Anyways, the weekend is here and I am ready to submerge my self into it. It has been a hard week at work with finishing a project to be delivered during the next week.

You know you work in a posh area when…

… these cars are parked outside your office window and in the garage below you.
First you have your SUVs; Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, Lexus LX and Mercedes. Normally quite a head turner but not so much in this hood. The Humvee H2 LUX is still a head turner though. Do you REALLY need a £30k army Jeep to drive around Mayfair?
Not as many Jaguars as I would have expected. Just the occasional X and S-type.
From the sports cars family, the Porsche Boxster and Ferrari are most popular. A yellow Lamborghini visited on one rare occasion.
The most majestic of all the cars are the Rolls Roys. Always chauffeur driven and with a yawning business man in the back. Does he realise he is riding a state of the art hand made very rare piece of machinery? I guess not because if I was riding an RR my eyes would be wide open and a large grin would have been stuck on my face.
My favorite are the Bentleys. They usually come in black or dark grey. The convertible Bentley in the company garage is a high-scorer.
Then of course we have my Ridgeback that does not quite blend in with the cars in the garage but that severs me faithfully. Also, while my ass is getting smaller when using it, the other’s asses are just getting larger when riding their large vehicles.
Does this make me jealous? Not really, I just enjoy walking in the street and rubbing up against the cars; maybe I’m just not the jealous type.
And sorry for not including any photos. Last time a blogger did that, it got him fired. It was blamed on breach of security but was it really? Maybe it was because it was a photo of a bunch of Apple G5s being carried into the bowels of Microsoft.

Maggie Jones’s – London

This has to be one of London’s better kept secrets, hidden in a tiny side street off Kensington Church St.
When I saw the sign I imagined a small American diner and wasn’t very impressed with Pedro’s suggestion.
I was well surprised to see that inside was a three floor mansion with a very rustic and charming decor; intimate booths in the basement for a romantic first date and a lower and first floor with various sized tables, booths and a banquette table (seats 16).
The menu is a meat feast. While there are classics like filets, saddle of lamb and rump stakes, there is also a lot of game. Choose between rabbit, ostrich, duck and venison.
My Scottish fillet with a rich mushroom sauce was just fantastic. The beef was tender like butter and the dish had a cozy home made feeling to it. Probably the best meat I have had in London during the last 3 years. The deserts are massive and include classics like apple crumble pie and bread and butter pudding.
A main dish is around £15, deserts are £4.50 and there is a set three course menu for £23 if you are hungry.
Maggie Jones’s has an interesting concept for serving wine. It comes in large 1.5l jars and keeps coming until you are ready to pay the bill. You pay only for what you drink
6 Old Court Place, London, W8 4PL (Map)
Nearest Tube Station: High Street Kensington
Tel: 02079376462

How to fix a PlayStation 2

So I did give it a stab, trying to fix my PlayStation 2 after the earlier mishap.
It started badly, I couldn’t even open up the ps. This article about adjusting the ps2 laser came very handy. It showed both how to open the ps2 up and how to open up the DVD-rom.
All it took was unscrewing some 18 screws, readjusting the DVD tray and putting all back (in correct order). When I turned on the PS2 next time, that happy Team Soho log greeted me and The Getaway was loaded 25 seconds later.

inside ps2

And that… is how it’s done!
Update 28/01/04
The comments are now closed. Please post any new questions in the forum.

Matrix: Revolutions

Well this was a bit pants. The kick ass action did not manage to salvage a questionable script.
It feels as if there never was a script or even a story for all three parts of Matrix. It feels as if there was a fantastic idea and great script for the first part. When it turned out to be a success, a rather rushed script was put together for the two sequels.
One noticeable thing in the Revolutions is that most of the movie is set out side of Matrix, i.e. in the real world. This is in contrast to the first Matrix were most of the action was inside the Matrix.
Still, the conclusion of the Matrix trilogy just has to be seen. Everyone has to make up their own mind because 4 years ago the Watchowski brothers started something revolutionary with the original Matrix.

End of an era

I was in the middle of completing level 6 on The Getaway, you know the one where you are supposed to lure the Triads to the Yorkies.
Well, Ginger decided to make a dash for her toy but got tangled up in the controller cord and pulled down my PS2 from a shelf. It landed with a magnificent crash, Ginger jumped 1 feet up in the air and I was presented with psychedelic patterns on the TV.
Needless to say, the PS2 is not working; the DVD-Rom is not opening. I will probably stab at it this weekend with a screw driver but my hopes are low. Another one bites the dust I guess.
In other news I got my first comment spam on some old posts. It’s a bittersweet experience; I hate all forms of spam but I have been feeling left out until now.
Update
Comments have been closed, please use the Ps2 forum to post your questions!