On The Scene - With Ted Levine!

Don't Say "Who?"
Alright, you can say "Who?", although this means I have to educate you.  Ted's biggest role is probably as "Buffalo Bill" in "The Silence of the Lambs"; an iconic role, you might say, being cast as a monstrous murderer, and possibly something difficult to move away from.

"Come in and meat my dress ..."

     Well, he managed that in "Monk", playing the jolly and avuncular police captain:

Splendid 'tash, Ted

     And he even got to be a hero, playing Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard in "From the Earth to the Moon"

One of the Mercury Seven

     So, there you go, a brief Intro about old Ted.

"The 100"
Not strictly true any longer as they were down to 81 and that was before the big blast at the end - I reckon Season Two will be re-dubbed "The 54".  Also, if you are one of the cast of extras and get to speak a line - you are guaranteed to be dead within minutes.  Truly a redshirt moment.

But then again, what do I know?

Today's Coincidence
Heavily into "One Bullet Away", where the Marines of 1/1 Bravo Company have been sent to Base Rhino, because it has an airstrip.  Barely there, to be honest, but better than nothing.
     Whilst checking out the traffic outside to see how bad the jam was - roadworks on the A57 doncha know - what did I see?

This!

     Rather worried, I got back into the book.

Ah, The Foobs Are Back
As ever, it's a puzzle to Conrad as to how these chumps come up with the Suggested Posts that they do.  This below is a case in point:

"Transform your morning cup of coffee into something even cooler"

 "Top it up with a quart of gin!"

     First of all, I begin my mornings with ice cream*, stale bread and a cup of Marmite, not a coffee, and secondly, I like my coffee HOT, not cold, not cool, not cooler.
     Are we clear on that?
     Good. Now let me address the second lot of nonsense being pimped by the Foobs:

You what?

     "We are thrilled to announce the launch of MemSQL4"
     Are you?  Are you indeed!  Apart from sounding like an echo of Empire**, Conrad has no idea what the hell this thing is, and even less interest in finding out.  Begone, memsahib!

Conrad's Plutonium-Powered Prandial Powers
I just thought I'd share this with you***:

Toasted black pudding sandwich

     Now, the black pudding had been frozen, then left to thaw and then just left in the fridge for a few days.  Then I'd grilled it, put it in a toasted sandwich, decided to leave it, put it under a plate in the kitchen for four days and then ate it last night.
     Delicious, and I am still here to tell the tale today.

"Ambush"
Conrad, as inevitable as rain in summer, pondered at the bus stop this morning, standing next to a bush.
     "Where does the word "Ambush" come from?" I mused.
     Well well, apparently from Old French, and the term "Embuscher", meaning "To place in a wood", which has been corrupted to "Ambush".

It seemed fitting

"Pixels"
Hmmm.  Conrad saw a trailer for this and was not impressed.  Continuing to not be impressed, he saw a bus poster advertising it, and wondered why Adam Sandler keeps getting work.
     Curious about this, I did a little digging on IMDb and discovered, to my profound shock, that he has a Fine Arts Degree.  Not only that, he's an alumni of "Saturday Night Live" and has been exceedingly prolific in films.  Conrad has, so far, not seen any of his, which will probably continue to hold true for the near future.

!Terrifying!  Deadly!  Awesome!"^

     Why does he keep getting work?  Well, "Pixels" has just been released.  On a budget of $88 million, a tidy chunk of change indeed, it's made back $47 million already in the USA alone.  The rule of thumb for a film's profits is that they make back overseas what they make in the USA, so this one might have legs and a tidy profit in future.

Oooh, Oooh, Conrad Is Excited!
No, not because he finally managed to microminiaturise a nuclear warhead that will fit into a salt cellar - a musical collaboration.
     I take it you know who Jean Michelle Jarre is, talented French electronics player who kicked off with "Oxygene" a long time ago.  Very sinister cover, you know.
     You may not be familiar with John Carpenter, who, after starting off with a science-fiction movie to generate capital ("Dark Star") has gone on to make some of the most frightening documentaries ever, even if they are controversial for having re-enactments present.

The two musoes together

     Still lesser known is the fact that John is a talented and accomplished musician.
     And now they've gotten together to make music especially for Conrad!




* I'm worried, you know.  I've emptied the freezer of Strawberry Cornetto's at work.
** I'm thinking "Memsahib"
*** Not literally.  I will fight for my food.
^ Who are they kidding!