Mal's Eye View

You can find me...

2008-08-20T23:20:00.004+01:00

Here... malseyeview.blog.co.uk

I've found one! (I think...)

2008-08-20T22:17:00.001+01:00

I'm going to set up a UK based blog and see how it goes.

I'll stick up a link in a bit once it's ready.

I Don't Like This Blog.

2008-08-20T22:02:00.002+01:00

I like the words, just not the layout and colours. It's really not me.

I'm going to try and find another place to host this.

Our Survey Says..!

2008-08-19T22:45:00.002+01:00

I'm told it was a faulty train.

A single faulty train on platform 9.
A single faulty train that I was sitting on.
A single faulty train, parked firmly on a platform, not blocking any other vehicle from moving or journey from beginning that managed to delay all other trains by 30 minutes.

We are not amused/convinced/impressed [delete as necessary]

Utter incompetence!

2008-08-19T18:35:00.001+01:00

I was sitting on a train due to leave at 18.21. At 18.25 they cancel it with no warning, no apology, no reason and no replacement train. This is typical of the pathetic excuse of a company that is First Great Western. I have now boarded another train that is going to be delayed for an unspecified length of time. The reason? First Great Western can't give me one... I'd get sacked if this was my job.

Best Man

2008-08-17T20:13:00.002+01:00

Aye, that's me.

The guy who was my Best Man has asked me to be his. Of course I accepted - he did such a stirling job for me that it is the least I could do to try and match it. That, and it's big of him to finally admit it.

Anyway... I am flattered and honoured. I just hope I can help make his wedding as special as ours was.

Please place any speech tips on the back of a postcard, send it to the usual address etc etc.

Make up your bloody mind!

2008-08-15T19:21:00.001+01:00

Fail.

See? Posers.

2008-08-15T13:03:00.001+01:00

London Lunchtime

2008-08-15T12:58:00.001+01:00

This is Green Park. It's amazing what you can observe... There's a guy to my right smoking weed, a couple of posers shadowboxing, Piccadilly traffic rumbling by, dogs doing their thing, joggers, poser joggers... Only in London...

Hypnobirthing 2: The Revenge

2008-08-14T19:46:00.002+01:00

Our hypnobirthing course came to an end on Sunday. I'm pretty confident that using it when Mrs Mal goes into labour will only be a good thing. Even if drugs are required in the end, I'm sure that her first experience of childbirth will be significantly smoother than some others.

Still, should it not work, then we are definitely going to keep on with hypnosis in the rest of our lives. It can help with relaxation, stress relief, building confidence (and maybe even add a bit of extra spice the bedroom...). There are no doubt all sorts of scripts and mp3s online that we can explore. Interesting times.

In other news...

- Mrs Mal is in the process of creating a nursery.
-I'm pissed off that nobody recognises Gary Oldman's contribution to The Dark Knight
- Watchmen is the best graphic novel I've ever read
- My beloved Aston Villa are 3-1 up at half time in the Uefa Cup.
- Family holiday went well and I saw the Roselyn Chapel (probably spelt it wrong too)
- I really want to gig again.
- The most recent gig we had was last night.
- I think should go and hit the drums and cure myself of the itch.

Green and Pleasant Land

2008-08-06T17:44:00.001+01:00

Keilder Water

2008-08-06T10:14:00.001+01:00

Ladies and Gentlemen!

2008-08-03T23:44:00.001+01:00

I give you the biggest bifta I have ever seen! (Actually it's a narwhale tusk, but hey...)

Buddy on Tour

2008-08-02T14:07:00.001+01:00

Telford services. Oh yeah! Living the dream!

Holiday Time!

2008-07-31T22:46:00.002+01:00

24 hours and I still can't remember what I was going to post yesterday. Oh well...

I'm going on holiday tomorrow, so interweb access will be pretty much non-existant. Expect a few pictures from my phone to pop up every now and then. God knows why I'm announcing it to a reader base that is a single person, and that person is coming on holiday with me.

Presumably this is the onset of madness. Splendid. I will be an insane super-villian by the end of the year.

I was going to post something today...

2008-07-30T22:46:00.001+01:00

I just can't remember what. No doubt it'll come to me later.

I'm Going to Burn in Hell

2008-07-27T10:30:00.002+01:00

I'm a Catholic. I'm also a very naughty boy.

Just like these people...

The Dark Knight

2008-07-26T21:38:00.002+01:00

Mrs Mal and I went to see the new Batman film this morning (yes, it is perfectly acceptable to see a film before lunchtime...).

All the press has been about Heath Ledger and how awesome his turn as The Joker is. I have to say I agree. Christopher Nolan (the director) has described the villian as a force of nature, and I struggle to find a better description. His eyes breed insanity, the little ticks and mannerisms show a level of dedication to a character so often missed in the comic book genre and the way he shuffles about before unleashing a surprising level of agilty further adds to the unpredictability of the man. He'll get nominated for an oscar, but will he win? Hard to say, there are plenty more films to come out this year with plenty more performances to judge. RIP Heath - you done good.

Gary Oldman though? He done better.

Throughout the film you only see Jim Gordon and it wasn't until I mentioned to Mrs Mal that Gary Oldman was in the film did she a. ask for confirmation he was in it and b. which character he played. Oldman has the ability to vanish into his parts and this was no exception. I'm no film critic but if you -really- want to see an acting masterclass, have a look at Gary Oldman in this film. Good cop, family man, victim and hero. He won't get nominated for squat, but by God does he deserve to.

It's arguably the best comic book movie yet (certainly up there with X-Men 2, Daredevil and A History of Violence). I would offer an argument that it's also one of the best crime dramas in recent years, I found myself being reminded of Michael Mann's Heat throughout.

If you get a chance to, see this film.

Nothing is Safe!

2008-07-23T19:42:00.001+01:00

The price to use the toilets at Paddington Station has been hit by the UK's crazy inflation.

It has gone from 20p to 30p - a 50% rise. Scandal, I tell you.

Bonding with Baby

2008-07-22T21:22:00.002+01:00

I'm supposed to be talking to Mal Jr while he's swimming around in Mrs Mal's lady bits, playing him music, shining a torch or tapping out War and Peace using Morse Code on my good lady's stomach.

Problem is, I'm not that sort of person.

I love my wife and I love my unborn child but I'm not going to talk at a stomach. In the meantime, I'll do my best to make life as comfortable for her as possible.

Poor bugger's going to have me talking at him for the rest of his life. Reckon he should enjoy the silence while he has the chance.

Yes, that is the time.

2008-07-17T19:56:00.001+01:00

And yes, I'm still at work...

Glasvegas

2008-07-15T21:41:00.003+01:00

Nope. Don't get them. At all. I think it's something to do with their drummer. She frustrates me.

Anyway...

The digital world is up in arms. Viacom have insisted that Google release details of every one who has ever used You Tube and what they have watched. Even though the American courts have ruled that the data and IP addresses are to be made anonymous, it is a whopping infringement of privacy.

Surely that by being in possession of my viewing habits (anonymous or not), Viacom are in breach of my personal copyright. I did not give them consent to have my data, yet they are free to trade it among their employees, who in turn could share it with their peers, who can then transfer it to their peers...hmm...peer to peer. Isn't that what the whole fracas is about (in a manner of speaking)?

I am fortunate enough to earn enough that if I want a song, I can pay the 89p and download it. There are those who aren't in my position. Hell, ten years ago I couldn't have afforded to download anything.

The free sharing of music, films and games is not going to destroy the industry. Over-paid, over-hyped, mass marketed dross will do that with or without file sharers. Something that seems lost on the moguls who insist on ramming repetitive, meaningless, forgettable songs down my ears while I am forced to watch a remake of a film from two decades ago because Hollywood has lost its originality.

Perhaps when the powers that be decide to stop catering to the lowest common denominator there might be a reason for folks to pay for a product that is (shock! horror!) actually worth paying for.

Every bloody day...

2008-07-15T07:51:00.001+01:00

I can't remember the last time I sat down on the train to work. I think it was three weeks ago.

Duck Vader

2008-07-13T19:15:00.001+01:00

He guards this blog. You have been warned.

Bloody Hell, I Needed That!

2008-07-10T23:21:00.004+01:00

I've just come back from the studio having hit a full drum kit for the first time in a month and I feel great! It is one of the best feelings on earth to be able to make music, especially with J (lead guitar and vocals) and Sexy Mutha (bass), both are scarily talented musicians.

Turns out that Sexy Mutha also has a blog. You can read it here

Freebirthing

2008-07-10T19:22:00.003+01:00

Imagine, if you will, that the various methods/techniques of giving birth (that I am aware of) could be placed on a scale of meat-eating...

21st century birthing (the-smacked-off-your-tits-on-every-drug-in-the-hospital method) is your average, omnivorous diet with lashings of sweet sweet cooked flesh. That is what the majority choose.

Hypnobirthing in a hospital is a Vegetarian who loves the carrot, but flirts with the seductive joys of fish when the occasion arises.

Hypnobirthing at home is the Vegetarian happily in a monogamous relationship with the carrot.

Homebirthing is the Vegan willing to bend the rules and grab a glass of milk if their life depended on it.

Freebirthing is the militant Vegan who imposes their will on yours because every other method is evil. Man.

You can tell then, that having had a day to reflect on things, I'm very firmly of the opinion that Freebirthing is bad mojo.

I watched a TV show last night about women who choose to have their baby without any pain relief, medical attention or even a midwife on standby. Now, I'm all for women who know their own bodies and want to give birth in the way that is most comfortable for them, but I am also naturally cautious. None of the women seemed to consider that they might hemorrhage, that the placenta might be blocking the exit or other complications that could require (dare I say it!) a Caesarean. In the ten minutes it would take an ambulance to get there, their baby and possibly themselves, would be dead.

It's not so much stupid, as just plain irresponsible.

Have your birth as you want, have no pain relief if that's your ideal, have your partner be the one who delivers it at home, but for christ's sake - just have a midwife or someone who knows what they are doing in the next room or behind a closed door, or something.

Please.

Max Mosley

2008-07-08T22:16:00.003+01:00

My God. Why is this story getting press coverage?

What he does behind closed doors is his business. Headline news it is not.

I don't care about what he spends his money on, I don't care about his kinks and I don't care what the News of The World thinks - this is not a story 'in the public interest'. Kindly stop bombarding me with it, dear national press.

Gracias.

You know you've arrived when...

2008-07-07T14:31:00.001+01:00

We are staying overnight in a fancy hotel for our anniversary. They have upgraded us to a suite that is arranged over two floors and is bigger than our house! Rock and roll.

Not as bad as I was expecting.

2008-07-06T19:13:00.001+01:00

Turns out it's a course though, so it's going to be done over a few weeks. I'll use the time to make up my mind properly rather than post a knee-jerk reaction after this afternoon.

Hypnobirthing

2008-07-06T11:00:00.002+01:00

Today, dear reader(s), I am to attend a Hypnobirthing course. I have no idea what to expect.

Curiouser and curiouser

Seriously...

2008-07-04T22:27:00.001+01:00

...do you not have anything BETTER to do?!?

Learn to play the real thing!

It's Not What You Know...

2008-07-04T20:43:00.002+01:00

I love my job. I love buildings and I love numbers and I'm in a role where I can combine the two.

What I hate about the industry is the old boy network that surrounds it. There was an example of it today that really wound me up.

"...and my son would make a excellent addition to any valuation team."

Bah. I know people who qualified years ago who still can't value. Your opinion of your son's ability fresh out of university will not sway me.

Bad luck, Pal.

Accomplished

2008-07-03T20:01:00.001+01:00

Had a good day at work today, feels like I got lots of stuff done.

I am strangely proud of myself.

Andy Bloody Murray

2008-06-30T22:42:00.001+01:00

Gives me the Henmans... but he did win. Bonus.

Told you it was expensive!

2008-06-29T15:10:00.001+01:00

Just bought a cotbed. £110. On sale.

When you combine that with the pushchair, we've hit the £550 mark!

My bank manager must be rubbing his hands with glee...

Boys and their toys.

2008-06-28T16:57:00.001+01:00

My mobile says that this will appear on the blog. If that's the case and the photo does turn up... Meet Buddy.

Daddy's Coming

2008-06-28T15:11:00.001+01:00

The point of starting this blog was to talk about my thoughts on impending fatherhood. Truth be told, there are only two real things on my mind.

Six months in and I'm worried about Mrs Mal and the cost of the whole thing.

I worry for her health, for her sanity once she starts maternity leave and if she'll make it through the whole ordeal. Mal Jr isn't inside me kicking around so I don't have that bond with him and probably won't bond until he comes screaming into the world.

The cost is well...'king expensive. Pushchairs, cots, courses, clothes and everything you don't have but really need for a baby racks up quicker than a 20-20 score.

The latest craze to engulf Chateau Mal...

2008-06-27T21:28:00.001+01:00

...is blogging.

Right, time to get started

2008-06-26T20:40:00.002+01:00

I'm Mal.

Married to Mrs Mal, will be a father to Mal Jr. when he arrives in October and Food-Giver-in-Chief to our dog, Buddy.

I am a surveyor, not an estate agent, a surveyor (there is a difference - surveyors aren't bastards). My home these days is Reading and I work in London, making the trek every day. Last lil' tidbit...I play drums in a rock and roll band, you won't have heard of us but I like to think there is a bit of promise there.

You have to try stuff to love it, and thus I am attempting a blog for the first time. Can't be sure how long it'll keep going or how often I'll post. Hell, I'll be impressed if anyone other than Mrs. Mal reads it.

Still, there is some motivation behind my sudden entry into the blogging world. We are expecting Mal Jr. later this year and while trying to work out exactly why the free London evening papers give so much attention to Lindsey Lohan it occured that typing out my experiences in the coming months might be a good thing. We'll see. Knowing me I'll probably go off-piste for the majority of the posts and lose all track of the original intentions.

C'est la vie.

This is much more complicated than I first thought...

2008-06-26T20:09:00.000+01:00

Do templates really matter? Apparently so.

Setting this blog up comes across as being all about the look rather than the content - bling bling motherfucks!

I'll write something later once I've filled in all the pre-requisite forms and associated razzle-dazzle.