not a photoblog

Despite what it may look like, this is not a photo blog. Though I will concede it looks like one.

I take my iPhone everywhere with me. It's my phone, my email checker, my interweb accesser, my main Twitter and Facebook device and a pretty decent gaming machine.

It also has a (admittedly not brilliant) camera which I tend to use a lot. A double click of the home button on the phone launches the camera and shots can be taken fairly swiftly. There are loads of great photography applications for the phone too, many of which are free. Most of the time I carry my DSLR too, but for quick shots or, like now, when my real camera is unavailable, it does the job.

So as long as there are things to take pictures of, and I have a camera with me, I'll take picture - and probably post them too. I might even write up what the picture is of and why I took it. Just so you have something to read, you know?

Timmy "Happy Snappy" Magic

floppy what?

aw chucks!

going nuts

escalating

just pigeon' about...

up the arsenal

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going somewhere I'd never been before and doing something I've not done in a while. I went to a football match.

 Actually I went to two.

 I made my first visit here

The Emirates stadium, home of the Arsenal
 
It's a nice ground with a great view if the games. Sadly 90 minutes of it was utter rubbish but a fun day out nonetheless!
 
Timmy 'Gooner for a day' Magic

a perfect saturday morning

As I write I am sat on the sofa watching Saturday Kitchen and the build up to the Ashes cricket - does a Saturday get any better?
 
I hope so - I'm off to the Emirates Cup later
 
Timmy "Culinary Cricket" Magic

the good old days

This week I have been back in Chelmsford. Through the bizarre and oft unpredictable way of the Army, my parents have been appointed to the corps there 5 or so years after they left. (Mum and Dad are church leaders, who have been in Ireland for a while and lived in Chelmsford before, while I did my A-levels.)

In time away, heaps of stuff changes. The toddlers of my time now make up the kids choir, the kids choir of the time now make up the university students and those who studied then, work now.

I have been able to rekindle relationships that were put on hold (rather than ended) when we moved away.

What struck me most, though, is the welcome I received. My parents were still on their way to move in when I was first invited to be part of a church group and before they have started work, have been re-immersed in all the goings on of church.

I can't help but wonder if this is what church should be...

I love my church here in London and am in no way in a rush to leave it, but boy, am I excited to be involved in the happenings at Chelmsford (albeit at a distance!)

(As an aside, they have a new hall recently opened, and I will blog about it, with photos in the next 10 days or so)

Timmy "Essex emigrant" Magic

the city i love

One of my online pals, Thomas Mathie (an online pal because I have never met him - I don't think) uses an excellent iPhone application that he recommended to me.

It is called ToyCamera costs £1.19 and allows the iPhone camera to take photos that are even awesomer than normal (in my opinion!).

Here is my Flickr set of photos taken on a long walk, a short walk, a bus ride and a train ride in London using the aforementioned app.

I love them and hope you do too...

Timmy "London Lover" Magic

a blog holiday (a blogiday?)

So... I moved house, got interweb access and stopped blogging!
I have no idea what caused or prompted my blog hiatus.

Facebook, Twitter, iPhones, work, Army, life and other such nonsense may have got in the way - I'm not sure

But this time, I'm back - hopefully

Timmy "Return of the Madge" Magic

album covers

HBW
Originally uploaded by dolpharius

One of the emails that has done the rounds recently has encouraged people to use the random generator on Wikipedia to generate an album cover.

To play, take a random article title from Wikipedia, the last four words from the last quote on Wikipedia's Random Quotations page and add the third picture from Flickr's Interesting photo page.

The article title is your band's name, the end of the random quote is the album title, and the random picture is your album cover.

Here is my contribution!

Same Mistakes, Only Sooner - Gualberto Villarroel

Timmy "Lovin' Gualberto!" Magic

magnetic tow technology

14 days ago (!) BMW announced details of their magnetic tow technology, detailed here.

BMW’s award-winning EfficientDynamics programme has been taken to the next level with the announcement of an innovative fuel and emissions saving system called Magnetic Tow Technology (MTT). In a bid to retain its World Green Car of the Year crown, BMW will launch MTT across its range today.

The unique system, developed in conjunction with NASA, works via a discreet unit located in the front valance that projects an enhanced magnetic beam 20 metres in front of the BMW. Once a suitable target car is located and the BMW is magnetically locked on behind it, the driver is then able to take his foot off the accelerator, turn off the engine and let the car in front do all the work. The towing car will not notice any change in manoeuvrability.

The BMW driver can unhook from the towing car at any time by depressing the clutch pedal to start the vehicle. This is the same method used to operate the existing Start Stop system. Drivers of automatic transmission BMWs need only move the lever into the ‘D’ position to continue on their way. Early research indicates that MTT could save as much as 30 per cent in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Gurus from BMW’s in-house driving etiquette guide suggest flashing the car in front and giving a friendly hand gesture to thank them for the free ride.

BMW’s Head of Innovation, Dr Noitt All, a specialist in Kinetic Ride And Propulsion, said: “BMW has always been a leader in the application of the very latest automotive technology. Up until now the EfficientDynamics programme has looked at ways of improving the performance of our own products, but we thought why burn your own fuel when you can burn someone else’s?”

The 56-year-old boffin promised more to come from his innovation workshop but in the meantime recommended people email his colleague uve.vollenvorit@bmw.co.uk to be kept abreast of further developments.

BMW have, over the past few years, brought out some belting April Fool's jokes, which can be found here.

Timmy "Temporarily Teased" Magic

i'm back - really!

So 5 weeks after moving into my new house, I finally have interweb access. It clicked on at some point today and I now have onlineness for my computers and consoles.

Not a huge amount has happened in the time I have been offline, apart from the whole moving house thing.

The house is still fairly tidy, has been vacuumed and dusted a few times and has room to swing a cat.

Timmy "Dulwich Dude" Magic

i'm still alive

I have moved house. I have no interweb. I'll be back later this week.

Timmy "New Housy" Magic

choco-lent

In a bid to give up something for Lent (and hopefully lose weight) I am giving up chocolate for Lent.
If you see me eating any, tell me off.
If you offer me any, expect to get a poke in the eye or your arm bitten off!

You have been warned!

I'm off to eat my last Nutella bagel for 6 weeks - boo hoo!

Timmy "Not even a single Decker" Magic

oscar night

Last night was Oscar night in America and for once, Greta Britain came out on top!

The full list of winners shows the dominance of Slumdog Millionaire, a British funded film by a British director made in a former British colony. It won eight gongs, including best picture and best director, considered the two biggest prizes in the industry.

Kate Winslet, the oft nominated actress, finally won her Academy Award for her brilliant performance in 'The Reader' (see here for a recent post on it), and claimed that she had practised her acceptance speech from the age of 8 with a shampoo bottle.

The last award of note has to be that of the best supporting actor, Heath Ledger. Ledger won for his excellent performance of the Joker, the villain from the latest installment of Batman, 'The Dark Knight'. He had finished filming his part a matter of weeks before his sudden and tragic death from a drugs overdose. It was not his last film, however, as scenes already shot combined with other actors playing his role, will feature in Terry Gilliam's upcoming film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Heath Ledger put in a fantastic performance, which was well worthy of only the second posthumous Oscar in Academy history.

Timmy "Oscars Out" Magic

25 things

I finally got tagged in one of the "25 things" notes on Facebook, so am blogging it now and it will arrive on Facebook soon...

1) At the moment, I have 13 bottles of contact lens solution by my sink and 6 in my locker at work

2) I am an officially recognized police response cyclist

3) I have never been to Spain

4) I am really untidy

5) There is nearly always a packet of Wrigley's Extra Spearmint gum in the right hand pocket of every pair of trousers I own

6) My parents hate jazz music but I, for some reason, love it

7) I spent a summer working in Panama in 2003

8) That same summer was the first time I went somewhere abroad and had to look on a map to see where it was

9) My DVD collection is vast and very quirky, featuring films as diverse as Spongebob Squarepants and Tsotsi

10) My cornet playing is sufficiently bad that I have been moved off the section in 2 separate brass bands

11) In my time as a police cyclist I have burst 7 tyres by crashing into stuff

12) I can generally make my bike do stuff that no-one else on the team can or tries to do

13) As a result of 12) I frequently fall off spectacularly

14) Mornings are a real struggle for me - they happen all the same, but I am not always awake/conscious/sociable when they do

15) I have lived in 13 houses and move into a new one in a few weeks

16) I have a serious problem not eating Double Deckers

17) Aged 9 and 10 I was the undefeated champion of 'Un Dau Tri', a game to help learning Welsh. Sometimes even Welsh people couldn't beat me

18) After school I went to university to study Scandinavian Studies - and I use the Old Norse I learned here daily

19) When talking to people, I don't need to look at them to listen - it freaks some people out

20) I love being on my own

21) I do judo through work and have somehow been invited take part in the Police Championships this year

22) The first time I wore my contact lenses to work, I poked myself in the eye trying to puch my glasses up

23) The first time I wore glasses, my teacher asked me who I had taken them from

24) I love to photograph completely bizare things

25) I have a stuffed cow called Moses who lives in my camera bag

Timmy "All 25'd out" Magic

true atheism - or is it?

I was listening to a podcast featuring Stephen Fry at a Q&A session at the Apple Store the other day and he was asked a question that set me thinking.

"Do you have to be careful what you say about religion?" - to which the answer was yes and no.

You have to be careful of what you say because the more militant extremes of religion judge you harshly and will tell it as they see it. Bear in mind, of course, that Fry is not only an atheist but also a homosexual.

You don't have to be careful, in that his understanding seems to be that he is happy with other people's religion if they are happy with his non-religion. This, I think, sums up my feelings on the subject. If you can put up with the fact that I don't smoke/drink/do drugs, I can put up with the fact that you do! I like to think I'm a non-judgy Christian.

Fry also mentioned the slightly over-the-top attitude of possibly the world's most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins. This reminded me of his well reported support of the Atheist Bus Campaign. Then I had another thought - look at the wording of the advertisement.

"Probably" no God? Probably? That doesn't sound like atheism to me! It sounds like Dawkins doesn't know (yet).

Dawkins stated that he preferred the wording "There is almost certainly no God" for the advert, but again the point stands - "almost certainly". Almost? What does that mean?

I'm almost finished = I haven't started yet
I'm almost dressed = I'll be another 20 minutes
I almost forgot you birthday = I forgot and was reminded by something/one

If you are going to make outlandish statements about faith, at least do it with some conviction. I could open up a big can of worms about creationism, evolution, the Big Bang Theory and other such science/religion debates, but won't.

All I can say is that I know there possibly is a God and I'm fairly sure I love Jesus.

Timmy "Convicted Christian" Magic

curry, rice, naan, drink, tea bag

Today is Wednesday, which for the staff at Marylebone Police Station means one thing. It's curry day. I enjoy a curry, really I do, as I love spicy food, and although the curry can be hit or miss, it is generally pretty good.

Today was a simple beef curry with rice. What could go wrong with that?

Evidently lots. I tucked into a freshly microwaved and cooked onto the plate curry, which was at temperatures not amiss in the centre of a nuclear reactor. I munched on a bit of "so overcooked it was solid" rice and decided to stir my curry, to mix up the sauce and to try and allow some of the volcanic heat to escape.

That was when I saw it. A tea bag. At least, i think it was a tea bag. It certainly looked like a tea bag. So I poked it a bit and it broke, spilling a little of its contents. I took a gentle wander towards the serving hatch and attracted the attention of the cook who told me it was a "herbal bag" (which I reckon you could normally arrest someone for the possession of). I have never in my 8 or so years of eating curries come across a herbal bag. In fact, I didn't know such a thing existed.

My curry didn't actually taste of tea, but I'm still not convinced that the cook wasn't trying to cover up her blunder and confuse me with culinary terms that I, as a man, just wouldn't understand.

Timmy "Tea in his lunch" Magic

a whirlwind few weeks

So, after the craziness of being up and down England, I came back to London where further craziness ensued.

Monday was back to work day, or it would have been had it not snowed. Lots. Pictures by my own fair hand (and a couple that weren't) are here.

Tuesday was work, and was mainly spent a) fielding calls about kids throwing snowballs, b) avoiding kids throwing snowballs and c) throwing snowballs at kids. I joke - but these guys weren't!

Wednesday was the day I found out I had passed my day 1 to be a police officer! Just the medical to come next week.

Thursday was obviously uneventful - I can't remember what happened apart from the fact I went to Songsters (awful eh?)

Friday was another day curtailed by snow. Work, then food, then home. Snore.

Saturday was the opening day of the Six Nations, which I managed to miss because I was viewing flats to ret and out with the Songsters in Beckenham. Poor judgement there I think.

Sunday was Army as usual.

Monday is now. It's 1pm ish and I'm at home in my PJs - what a life!

Timmy "Whizzing Weeks" Magic

up and down, up and down

In the past 7 days I have travelled around about 586 miles. That's an average of 3.42 mph since Thursday, even when I was asleep.

On Friday I went to Center Parcs with a gang from Nottingham William Booth Memorial Halls (just imagine the size of those epaulets)for a weekend of fun and games, and the customary relaxation. A fair amount of time was spent by all trying to decide what to do and then, unable to come to a decision, swimming.

Monday evening saw the return trip from Notts to London, a Burger King at London Gateway and sleeping

Tuesday was mainly spent on a train to Manchester, a brief visit to Dave's drum shop and a trip to see my Granddad.

Wednesday was the funeral of my mum's younger brother, Andrew, who died peacefully two weeks ago. It was a sad occasion that few people were expecting to be present at but a nice tribute to the life of a man who has experienced his fair sahre of difficulty in life.

I headed back to London after the service and dinner and arrived back in London for pizza at House 1.

Hopefully I can relax for a few more days before it's back to work on Monday.

Timmy "Tired Traveller" Magic

melburnian mates

Today my best buddy Becca flew of to Oz for the next (to be decided) weeks.
It will be odd to have my wingwoman (is that the word?) on the other side of the world and offset by 12 hours or so but she is keeping England updated on her travel blog.

Give it a quick read if you get the chance!

Timmy "Buddyless Bloke" Magic

the getaway

I refer not to the series of Playstation games involving driving around a very realistic London, or the 1982 Chris de Burgh album, but to the fact that I am sat at Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest.

I have had a reasonable hectic few weeks, with work stuff, house stuff and other bits going on. It has been great to escape the cold, wet, smoggy London for a couple of days and get away to cold, wet, fresh-aired Nottinghamshire.

I have indulged in a bit of swimming, badminton, Wii, Playstation, Starbucks, eating, drinking and general slobbing out.

It's been fab!

Timmy "Lazy daze" Magic

president obama

In about 18 hours time we will have a new US president. A new leader of the free world.

CNN are documenting the historic moment when Barack Obama takes the oath of office via their website.

They are asking people there to take 3 photos of the moment and send them into the site. They will then use Microsoft's technology to stich them together into one huge photo so you can get a perspective from anywhere in the locale.

Timmy "Barackly Blogging" Magic

i am magic and only vaguely remember why

The BBC News Magazine had a feature this week on nicknames and how people had acquired theirs, all brought about by Prince Charles calling his friend Kolin Dhillon (presumably a post-imperial immigrant from India - his name is Colin Dillon after all) 'Sooty'. It has been said that this is a term of endearment and no offence is meant or taken by its use.

It made me wonder why I am Timmy Magic, exactly where it came from, and why it has lasted from my Chelmsford days until now (about 7 years), despite the fact I rarely see people from Chelmsford.

The fact remains, of course, that I like the name and not only use it frequently in the blogosphere and real life, but also encourage others to do so. The name has seen a number of variations but has stayed put until now. Hopefully it will last for another 7 years and even on past that!

After all, who wouldn't want a magic boyfriend, husband or father?

Timmy "Nice Nickname" Magic

sundance film festival

Just a quick one! 9 of the best short films from the Sundance Film Festival are available to download via iTunes.

Timmy "Flm - now that's a short film" Magic

grumpy old git

Another blog I have been reading recently is called Grumpy Old Git. It is written by a guy called Andy Greig and whose blog I came across via a few other people.

The first few posts are a bit banal, the traditional "I have a blog post" and general observations on life. Then Andy got an osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumour, and the tone of the blog changed a bit. The air turned a little blue, as may happen when you find out about your cancer, and the following posts document the ups and downs of his diagnosis and treatment.

This blog doesn't deserve to be in the blogroll on the right hand side, along with "photos of my cat at Christmas" and "what to do while bored in Basingstoke", it's far too touching, open, honest and real for that.

But it does deserve a read!

Timmy "Respecting Grumpy Gits" Magic

super dvd shops

I am assuming, dear readers, that you are doing just that - reading
I also feel it is safe to assume, therefore, that you have realised I like films, be they in the cinema or on DVD.

Because of this, I have been following the news to see which shops, more specifically which entertainment shops, have been struggling.

Woolworths went under, taking Entertainment UK with it.
The collapse of EUK meant that Zavvi, the new name for Virgin Megastores since the management buy-out, had nowhere to buy their stock from.
Zavvi stopped honouring gift cards and vouchers, wouldn't sell any further vouchers, stopped selling phone top up and iTunes cards and knocked 10% off the price of almost everything.
Zavvi then knocked a further 10% off their stock.
Zavvi closed some stores, and then today announced that they were going to close some more.
HMV, in my opinion a better music/DVD store, bought 14 stores from Zavvi, saving jobs and expanding their network of shops.

So in the time that I have been in London (about 5 1/2 years) Piccadilly will have seen its 3 music shops (HMV, Virgin and Tower Records) reduced to just one, HMV, following mergers, collapses and buy-outs.

Both a sad day and a happy day for entertainment fans everywhere (but especially places with an HMV and without a Zavvi)

Timmy "DVD Discounts" Magic

new blogger

You may have noticed on the left hand side there is a list of blogger friends of mine.
The newest addition is Johnny Laird

I honestly have no idea how I know Johnny. We seem to know a lot of the same people, visit the same blogs, care about the same things and I imagine we would get on well if we spent time together. I am not sure if I have ever met him in real life, except possibly in passing at Roots sometime(?).

What is certain is that his blog makes for an insightful read into many things Army related, church related, Jesus related or generally living related.

Timmy "Virtually Friendly" Magic

a foggy day in london town

Today has been foggy in London, which reminded me of the Gershwin song, which is playing as I write this (Michael Bublé and Rufus Wainwright versions).

As I got the bus home from work, I thought I would take some photos of the view from Vauxhall Bridge. This view, as I often tell people, makes me fall in love with London a little bit more each time I see it. But it was foggy, so I ended up just taking pictures of the bus seat, stop button, windows, walls and grab rails.

Not very interesting at all - maybe next time the photos will be good!

Timmy "Mist Defied" Magic

movies about reading and vergangenheitsbewältigung

Back in the good old days of A-level German in Chelmsford, I read a book, in German, called Der Vorleser. It was my set text for the second year of my studies, and incidentally, on the reading list for university.

Flash forward 6 years and find me, sitting in a West End cinema (Cineworld Haymarket in case you wondered) watching the film adaptation of this book, The Reader starring Ralph Fiennes*, Kate Winslet and the new talent, David Kross.

David Kross is a German actor who, to quote the New York Times, had to learn English aged 15 for the part, all the while with Kate Winslet writhing naked on top of him. He puts in a great performance as the young hero.

As has been alluded to, Kate Winslet is naked for a good chunk of the film (at least the first hour) but really shines as she portrays her character over the course of 30 years or so.

"Vergangenheitsbewältigung", for those who don't speak German or take an interest in post-war German history, is an odd concept. The word doesn't really have an English translation but means "coming to terms with the past" and conveys the feelings, emotions and actions taken by Germans born since the early 20th century. It is the process of dealing with the masses of homosexuals, Jews, gypsies and mentally ill people who were killed in concentration camps. The regret felt for the actions taken by an egocentric dictator during the 30s and 40s. I know of German people who were born up to 40 years after the end of the Second World War who are ashamed, embarrassed even, by what their country did during that war.

The film brings the concept, and a great story to the big screen and to the wider world. It is easy to look back on the atrocities and condemn them without giving a thought to how the people who did it, and the following generations of that nation, feel.

Incidentally Bernhard Schlink, the book's author, requested that the film be made in English, not German. This not only allows the film to go global a little easier - after all who watches German films - but also to allow these very German post-genocidal issues to strike a chord with other people. Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Iraq, Iraq, Somalia - all places where people have been uprooted and mistreated because of who they are, where they live and what they believe.

* Ralph Fiennes, spelled "Ralph" but pronounced "Rafe" - I never understood why!

Timmy "Still thinking about the past" Magic

happy new year

There's not much more to say!
Hope all you readers out there in blogland have a great 2009

Timmy Magic