That so many of us are suffering from sleep deprivation may be something of a myth; just because you can sleep all day doesn’t mean you should. Way back in 1894 the British Medical Journal was reporting that the; ‘hurry and excitement of modern life is held to be responsible for much of the insomnia of which we hear… The pity of it is that so many people are… obliged to lead a life of anxiety and high tension.’

At the risk of extrapolating too much from personal anecdote, I’ve noticed that I often feel more energetic and more content when I’m burning the candle at both ends. I enjoy my sleep… but I enjoy it better upon going to bed tired. And I could easily lie in bed for a day… but I’d feel listless afterwards.

It seems the idea of that we all need at least eight hours is the result of a plot by evil pharmaceutical companies desperate to flog sleeping potions… so stay awake and work, work, work!

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The Village Prostitute Who Threw Herself in the Pond may not have romped home to another glorious victory (although we have enjoyed plenty), but Monday night did see us walk away with the usual bottle of beer, a copy of Naked Lunch and… horror of horrors… a Boddington’s Extra Cold promotional T-shirt.

I’m no fan of Boddington’s and didn’t think the brewery closure a great blow to real ale or Manchester. But I do find the idea of Boddington’s Extra Cold abhorrent. It’s okay for Guinness, as Arthur Guinness was a technologist. The more manufactured the stout, the truer it is to Arthur’s vision. But that’s not the case with formerly real ales like Boddington’s. Real ale is to lager what red wine is to white. It should be served around room temperature. If you want something cold, grab yourself a pilsner.

Anyway. The Boddington’s Extra Cold T-shirt is on sale here at eBay along with lots more Boddington’s Extra Cold memorabilia and collectables. Happy bidding!

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This Blockbuster reader offer is no longer available. Why not try the market leader, LOVEFiLM?
I go to the cinema a little too much to be really into DVD rental, but I still count the large Blockbuster on our doorstep as a significant local amenity, adding much to the area. So it was disappointing to go in the other day and find the place significantly thinned out. They seem more interested in selling films than renting them and it looks like games is where it’s at.

The culprit will be online DVD rental, something Blockbuster’s obviously got into itself. And their deal is pretty good: unlimited DVD rental from £9.99 per month. And there’s a free two week trial. And postage is free both ways. (Offers and prices correct at time of writing.)

It’s pretty simple. Create a list of DVDs you want to rent and they’ll start sending them out to you. There are options to hold on to one, three or five DVDs at a time. Send them back whenever you feel like it and, when you do, they’ll send another DVD from your list. Blockbuster claim the fastest turnaround in the business, as verified by a mystery shopper survey by Tango Communications, and this month they got a Web User Gold Award.

I still prefer the spontaneity of popping out to video shop but, until movie downloads really take off, online DVD rental is the place to be.

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At it’s height the Jerry Springer Show was must see TV. But conscientious viewers might have felt a little pang as they squirmed at the inarticulate freaks on screen, just as the fictionalised Jerry Springer we meet here does. This is a show for these viewers. If you enjoyed marvelling at how low the trailer trash could go, you’ll enjoy watching it opera style too.

‘I’ve been seeing someone else,’ the fat man sings to his fiancée. ‘She’s your best friend.’ And so the fiancée hits back at her (now ex) friend; ‘you’re a whore, you’re a slag,’ et cetera.

But the Jerry Springer Show was never this tame. I remember a late night edition about a man who’d flushed his penis down the toilet. Nevertheless, it is both funny and fun, ‘Jerry, Jerry… Jerry, Jerry,’ we gently sang along. Springer occasionally breaks off to do battle with his conscience – isn’t it all a bit exploitative? – and this makes for the first half which climaxes (don’t think this is a spoiler) with his being shot.

Poor dying Jerry Springer must now answer for his sins. The devil wants him for a TV special so he can resolve his arguments with God (‘But I don’t do conflict resolution,’ pleads Springer). In this bizarre death dream good and evil are not black and white and everyone – Jesus and God included – has their issues. But this is not a heavy critique of Christianity; it’s a light critique of trash TV. Judeo-Christian mythology merely frames Jerry Springer’s interior debate.
Related: Jerry Springer: the Opera protester

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This was the intimidating figure who greeted us as we left the matinee performance of Jerry Springer: the Opera this afternoon. We prefer matinees as you can go for a meal after; today was the Ox, which the Independent rates the country’s best gastropub. And very good it was too. The opera was also good, but more on that later.

The protesters’ big mistake was to picket the theatre at the end of the show: too late. A woman who might have been this guy’s mother followed us up the road and asked what we thought of the show: ‘Very good.’

‘Would you like to know what we think?’ she asked, rather ineptly. ‘No, not really,’ Katharine replied. We politely stifled our giggles.
Addendum: It’s worth recording that the first night saw a counter demonstration that outnumbered the Christians (who I feel are pretty misguided; Jerry chooses God in the end, what more do you want?).
Related: Jerry Springer: the Opera review
This posted via mobile via Flickr and so not so closely proofread. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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A gripping portrait of a false friendship, the irony of Capote is that its subject’s ego renders him as cold as the killers he writes about. Truman Capote is cruel to Perry, abuses his trust, mocks his dreams and yet remains a sympathetic character thanks to his obvious genius and genuine wit.
A solid 9 out 10.
Director:: Bennett Miller……Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman……Catherine Keener……Clifton Collins Jr
Good Night, and Good Luck……Transamerica

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One thing that strikes you about New York is how familiar it feels; there’s nothing remotely foreign about the place. New York feels a lot like home and you kick yourself for taking so long to visit.

The downside to that is — skyscrapers aside perhaps — it doesn’t strike you in awe… until you visit the Statue of Liberty, here pictured from a ferry docked at Ellis Island. She doesn’t seem as big as she should be and she’s not as solid as she seems. But she’s lost none of her symbolism.
This posted via mobile via Flickr and so not so closely proofread. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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The Statue of Liberty is here too, although it’s just a smudge on the right. This is the view of the Empire State Building from the top of the Rockefeller Center.

We bought keyrings and were asked if we wanted them in seperate bags. We were happy with one bag, so they put that bag inside the other we were owed; New Yorkers like to put bags in bags.

And the guard’s name was Richard Wanka.
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This is our first view on foot of New York, taken outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal looking down 42nd Street, past Times Square and toward the Chrysler Building (a ghostly presence here).

We arrived yesterday without our luggage, which (obviously without our knowledge) left Manchester a little before us because it was travelling KLM via Amsterdam, rather than Continental direct. Such is the sometimes bizarre economics of the airline industry. More on this later.
This posted via mobile via Flickr and so not so closely proofread. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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Regional news may be terribly pedestrian, but I like to know what’s happening close to home, so there’s nothing more annoying (okay, there’s plenty more annoying, but you know where I’m coming from) than being told to retune to analogue. Aunty Beeb has even set up a helpline and webpages.

All this so we can have the Commonwealth Games on BBC One. There’s no reason the games couldn’t go on BBC Two. This shoddy treatment of regional news does nothing for the credibility of the digital changeover.
This posted via mobile via Flickr and so not so closely proofread. Click the pic to see it large (there’s an ‘all-sizes’ tab for really large).

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