She’s the bomb!

For those that don’t know, on June the 12th I became the proud daddy of a baby girl - Daisy May Oliver. The last few weeks have been spent frantically trying to balance baby, work, pets, home, and anything else you care to think of, so not surprisingly blog posts have taken a backseat.

Ahhhhh yes, the blog.

I’m actually thinking about either ditching, or at least changing the focus of my current blog. To date this site has largely been made up of random wibbles, and I’ve already toyed with the idea of canning it once. But that would be a little extreme. So the blog will stay, but with more of a focus on what I actually spend most of my working life doing - writing, commissioning, and editing.

Hopefully it’ll be of use to some people, and if it’s not, then there’s a decent archive of flotsam and jetsam to trawl through!

Indy’s back!

Fans of the Indiana Jones series have been anticipating The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with giddy excitement, and a considerable slice of fear. Would the movie totally miss the mark, have an awful script, and rely too heavily on CGI effects and en vogue directional techniques? And could we cope if another beloved 80s franchise was horrifically re-imagined?Thankfully, any fears that fans may have had can now be cast into the snake pit; Indy’s back, and he’s better than ever! (Well, better than he was in Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade, anyway.)

Both Lucas and Spielberg have stayed true to the original Indy movies, eschewing CGI in favour of live action, and ensuring consistency between all four films. What this also means is that - at times - things get a little rough around the edges. But that’s great! As for the plot, I won’t give away too much, but the Reds have replaced the Nazis, Shia LaBeouf can do no wrong as Indy’s sidekick, there are some great reveals and nods to past installments, and the opening scene proves that Harrison Ford can still mix it up (even if he doesn’t move quite so fast as he used to).

As with all the Indiana Jones films, you need to leave your disbelief at the door - because the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull plot is, quite frankly, insane - but watching this movie is like returning to an old haunt, only to find that your favourite beer is still on tap, the same songs are playing on the jukebox, and pickled eggs are still on the snack roster.

In short, if you love Indiana Jones, then you’ll be grinning from start to finish, and humming that tune for days to come!

Valentino Rossi was on stunning form yesterday, as he won the Le Mans MotoGP, bagged his 90th victory, and joined Angel Nieto in joint second place for the most career victories (with only Giacomo Agostini ahead of him, on 122).

Viewed by many as the greatest rider of all time, Rossi was back to his best, and clearly felt comfortable with his bike set up. All the talk of Rossi’s so-called risky decision to go with Bridgestone tyres was forgotten, as Rossi gave a Le Mans masterclass.

This was Rossi’s first back-to-back victory since 2006, and he was clearly delighted with the result. But the delight came with a healthy dose of relief. (Rossi has always had a massive respect for the sport, and those that went before him, so it was no surprise that he wanted to mark his 90th victory in a special way. However, no one expected Rossi to stop on his victory lap, and have Angel Nieto ride him back to the paddock - sporting a set of commemorative leathers.)

“I had quite a lot of pressure because Angel was waiting with the special leathers to join me on the bike, so I really needed to win,” Rossi told the BBC.

The title race is now on a knife-edge, and it would be a brave man to bet against Rossi. Whether he’s the greatest will probably never be agreed upon, but one thing’s for sure: he’s back!

World championship standings:

1 V Rossi (It) 97 pts
2 D Pedrosa (Sp) 94
= J Lorenzo (Sp) 94
4 C Stoner (Aus) 56
5 C Edwards (US) 47
6 L Capirossi (It) 42
7 N Hayden (USA) 37
8 A Dovizioso (It) 36
9 J Toseland (GB) 33
10 S Nakano (Jpn) 28