A Legend Has Passed

One of Hollywoods greats, Tony Curtis, has passed away aged 85 years old. The Oscar nominated actor had appeared in over 140 films. A sad day indeed for family, friends and his legion of fans. I must admit I was never a huge fan and I have only now discovered that he is the father of Jaime Lee Curtis, but obviously I have heard of the man. Who could not?


Hollywood Heart throb: Tony Curtis

Some of his films included Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe (1959) Spartacus (1960) Goodbye Charlie (1964) and B movie spoof Lobster Man From Mars (1989).
Its strange how a persons death can provoke interest in him/her for surely I will not be the only one who will be checking out Tony Curtis' dvds for what will be in the most part the first time.
Save a barstool for me in that great vineyard in the sky Mr Curtis. At 85 you have run the kind of innings that will be almost impossible foe me. Bravo!

The Not So Great Farmville Trick

By now everyone is on Facebook. Or at least those webbed up to the internet are. (Save the worriers about privacy but even those are slowly coming around to the idea of 'social networking'.) And as such applications and games have also become popular among users. The one most widely used must be Farmville, where players can become digital farmers and grow plants/vegetables, feed animals and live the 'life' of Old MacDonald. (Remember the childrens tune?)
I used to be a fan of it myself and still plant a few green tea seeds whenever I feel Titchmarshy but a darker side to the game has cropped up (pun intended.) It used to be you had a choice whether to part with real cash or not to buy 'special' things and only the truly dedicated ever did. I had a lapse of sanity once and paid a very real £3 for a Christmas snow globe. *slaps wrists*
But now it seems the makers of Farmville (and other games like Frontierville and Cafe World) have upped the ante in attempting to get you to splash your cash by making some objectives impossible to complete without tapping up your credit card. Take buildings for example; you generally need 8 nails, 8 hammers and 8 anything else to build your barn/tavern/brothel (guess which is fake) and you can ask Facebook friends who are neighbours on your farm to send these to you for free. But after having recieved some freebies from your chums those hammers and nails become less and less available thus forcing you spend REAL poundage to acquire a completed barn. And we all know how tempting it is to keep up with the Joneses, even if your 'land' exists only on a computer screen.
Its happened to me when my friends were constructing something and I attempt to gift them paint or a wooden board only to have the paint and boards disappear from my gift list, rendering my help useless. Its very frustrating and a good example of how success can breed greed. I have given up on completing these quests as all they are is an excuse to wangle more dosh out of us.
Not only that the makers of such Facebook games take our personal information from our profiles and who knows where that intel lands up. I for one have been getting an increase in SPAM since adding these games. Time for a clean up methinks. My computer would thank me for this kind act because invariably logging into my virtual farm or cafe results in a programme crash, making me shut everything down.
Sad too because initially I enjoyed tending to my land and animals.

The Only Footballer I Have Time For.....

is David Beckham. As a whole I find football an awful sport, played by pampered, soft mummies boys and watched by thugs and morons. (I concede they're not ALL like that but they do have more than their fair share.) But as a man, I like David Beckham and it angers me to see what looks like people who are lined up to do him and his family great harm.
In recent news we have the story of some Bosnian prostitute (her name escapes me and I wouldn't do her the honour of naming her if I did remember it) who claims to have slept with the L.A. Galaxy footballer with another harlot. Now most sensible people will know this story to be utter garbage and its just another way for some fame hungry fool to have a few minutes in the spotlight, regardless of the hurt it causes to the Beckhams. But are people THAT desperate for fame to want to risk splitting up decent families?
I have nothing but admiration for David Beckham and the obvious love he has for his wife and sons. Are people so jealous of a successful, good looking young man that they feel the need to try and wreck his happiness? Also the guy is a wonderful role model to youngsters who ought to be respected. Not once has he been pictured rolling out of a nightclub at 5am, or been accused of drug taking or wife beating. (Like others in his profession.)
Of course this isn't the first time people have tried to cash in on the Beckhams fame or accuse them of some wrongdoing. Its like it doesn't matter how good a family man you are, there will always be spiteful and greedy losers who try to ruin everything. But the whores and lowlifes won't hang around forever because scum has no substance and is generally washed away by decency.

Ryder Cup 2010 - A First For Wales

Sporting history will be made on friday, 1st October, when the Ryder Cup will be played out in Wales. At the Celtic Manor in Newport to be exact. Europe, captained by Colin Montgomerie, will take on the might of the Americans who have Corey Pavin at their helm.
For golf fans (and what sensible person isn't a fan?) this is a wonderful event which in the past has had some pretty fine matches. Who can forget The Battle of Brookline in 1999 where Europe were leading against the US until the Americans fought back and pulled off a 14 1/2 win over our 13 1/2? Or Europe's stunning victory at Ireland's K Club in 2006 where Europe trampled all over the Americans, beating them 18 1/2 over their 9 1/2?

All behind Monty's boys!

The American team have just arrived at Cardiff. (Hope they remembered to pack umbrellas.) I know Wales will not let them down, and we shall be gracious hosts to our guests come victory or defeat. Yes the battle lines will be drawn on the greens and fairways but off course things will be different. And to illustrate this, tonight (Sept 29) at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff there is going to be a 'Ryder Cup Welcome to Wales' Concert that is expected to attract over 30,000 fans and feature our two most famous Katherines - Katherine Jenkins and Catherine Zeta Jones. A welcome in the hillsides indeed!
Come on Wales and Europe, dangos eich ysbrid i enill! (Show your spirit and win!)