o2

yesterday i went to oxygen, which is a smoke-free bar on the headrow in leeds. wow, the lack of cigarette smell is really overpowering and strange, and as a result you can smell food and alcohol. i really hate the smell of smoke, and getting home and having to wash your clothes, even though you put them on clean a few hours before, because smoke has infused itself into the fibres. i guess i put up with it when i go out to pubs, but i really can't deal with it when i'm eating, so i think i will be going back to oxygen.  the food was pretty good, in an average, chain-pub kind of way.

i then crossed the road, and entered the cinema at the light, safe in knowledge that we would be saving minutes because gemma had ordered tickets online. the machines where you are supposed to collect the tickets are badly signed, and hidden under some stairs. they also did not accept my card; i knew the machines were at fault because i just paid for dinner about fifteen minutes previously. a sign advised me to contact a staff member. there were none, apart from the ones selling tickets, so i had to queue anyway. when i was eventually served, i asked for my £1.00 booking fee back. of course i was told i had to wait for a manager; we decided to write a letter instead because the film was about to start.

gemma and i have decided to try and see a film at the cinema every week for the rest of the year. it was my turn to choose this week, and i opted for the life aquatic with steve zissou,. i had heard good things about it, and i enjoyed the royal tenenbaums (also by wes anderson). it is a film that tells a nice story, at a gentle pace, so by the end you aren't really sure anything actually happened. the cast, especially bill murray, are great, and there are many small and delightful comedy moments, i guess i might even compare the sedate and laid-back humour with last of the summer wine, although the latter in fact comprises of about four jokes stretched out over a period of twenty-five years (i think). the wildlife discovered, and some of the events are a little unlikely. i thought that this was nice; it lent a fantastical air to the proceedings. i have heard reference to jacques coustau in some reviews, but i don't know much about his work; i was put in mind of jean painleve's films.

Comments

[tomsmumanddad]

you need to ask the oldies for info concerning jacques cousteau.
in the 50s and 60s his undersea programs on tv were some of the earliest wildlfe shows but particularly for underwater as he was the man who invented the aqualung so obviously he was the 1st to be able to film underwater. by todays standards they show their age but they were the originals just as hans and lotte haas or armand and michaela denis were the david attenborough or steve irwin of the day.

[tom smith]

*update* they sent me two free tickets. i win (unless i spend £6.20 on popcorn and pepsi).