Bigal

First single from the album.

Boss is back, and it's immediately reminded me why I loved it so much in the first season.

at that point Bane's main focus was on Batman, so it made sense that the bomb-focus was elsewhere. adding backstory doesn't need to effect the future, because it can change everything you've just seen. one extra piece of information near the end of a show/film/book can completely change perceptions and feelings on what you've just witnessed.

You're right, I can definitely see that, and I can see how it casts Bane in a completely different light, too. I'd never really looked at in terms of Bane being more focused on Batman than his previous objective, and that makes a lot of sense. To me, though, it was all kind of overshadowed by a plot twist that felt pretty forced and un-necessary, and relied an awful lot on the audience caring about the motivations of a character who, I felt, we hadn't been given nearly enough reason to care about.

Giving a character the motivation of 'love' right at the end of his life could work if he wasn't trying to blow up a city for...wait, what was his actual reason? Just Ra Al Ghul's destiny?

Oh God, this. One scene in which I actually laughed out loud was when Talia said "his only crime was to love", or something equally asinine. He's murdered thousands, crashed a plane, been a notorious mercenary for (presumably) some years, has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of citizens of Gotham, has caused billions of dollars worth of property damage, illegally obtained a nuclear bomb, forced a prison break, and is holding what is presumably one of the largest city's in the country hostage, plus whatever he did to get him thrown into the "hell" prison in the first place. HIS ONLY CRIME WAS LOVE! IT'S SOCIETY'S CRIME, NOT BANE'S!

Everyone's motivation in this thing was all out of wack.

While I think you're basically fair in your criticisms, that line wasn't a reference to Bane's actions in Gotham - she was telling Batman that Bane was exiled from the League when loving her was his only crime i.e. the only reason Ra's could possibly have to exile him.

I assumed the Robin thing was just a cheeky wink at the audience, not a suggestion that he was meant to be Robin in any way.

Bane was fantastic, btw.

I thought the film was fantastic. Took a while to get going, but from about an hour in I thought it was bloody marvellous.

You're right about the Latin influences - apparently a few members of Los Lobos played on some tracks. There's apparently also a fourteen minute song about the Titanic.

Louie was awesome last night. Such a great show.

I've been watching Oz, and just started season three. It's bloody gripping.

On to episode 6 of Carnivale, after finishing off The Shield on Tuesday (fucking awesome, by the way). I'm not even sure if I like it, but I can't seem to stop watching it.

EASTERN BRACKET

1) Community vs. 16) One Tree Hill (Mainly down to the fact that I have only seen the latter, and it was fucking awful)

8) Only Fools and Horses vs. 9) The West Wing (Love Only Fools, but West Wing is my favourite TV show ever)

5) How I Met Your Mother vs. 12) Peep Show (No contest)

4) The Office (U.S.) vs. 13) Columbo

6) Blackadder vs. 11) Eastbound & Down

3) The Walking Dead vs. 14) The Tick (Animated Series)

7) The Shield vs. 10) Frasier (This was the toughest. Literally finished The Shield today, and it's wonderful, but Frasier came very close)

2) Seinfeld vs. 15) Star Trek: The Next Generation ("What is the deal with Star Trek: The Next Generation?)

You guys all seriously need to check out Boss.

I insist you listen to AC/DC's Back In Black and Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, which were both in the earlier edition I have. Oh, and Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, if it's there.

Boss is one hell of a show. Absolutely loving it.

Suit all the time, both on match day and in training.

Just finished Stewart Lee's "How I Escaped My Certain Fate", which is basically annotated printings of three of his one-man shows. I loved it, but I can't imagine anybody who doesn't do stand-up finding it terribly interesting.

Started "Nixonland" today, which is a book about the U.S. from 1964-1972. Only about 50 pages in, but it's really well written so far, and I'm very much enjoying it.

Thought she was very talented, and I think it's a shame that she's dead. I'm not going to suggest that she doesn't bear the responsibility for what happened to her, but that doesn't mean that it isn't sad that it happened. I think it's sad when anybody's demons take over their life to such an extent, so why should it be any different with Amy Winehouse?

RIP.

Thanks to an emulator, I'm now playing FFIX for the first time (Well, at least properly. I had the game for a day or two once, but only got to the end of the Petrified Forest). Really enjoying it, but I find the battle system a bit weird. I mean, everybody seems a bit useless. Garnet's the worst of all, but with Zidane all I seem to be doing is attacking, and my MP runs out very quickly with the others.

Maybe I'm missing something?

It's probably hard to look past A Night At The Opera, but I personally think A Day At The Races is better.

Next choice:

Motorhead

Oh Mercy, with a very honorable mention to Slow Train Coming

Next artist: AC/DC

Skinny blonde one.

Which character's are they playing? I want names to justify this name dropping (on a small scale I'll grant you).

Plus you should be watching because it has SEAN BEAN in it

I'm not 100% sure, although one of them did tell me he appears in Episode 2 as the character "Raper #2".

And there's the other one on the right.

I really should watch this, if only because a couple of guys I know are extras in it.

I actually READ metalhammer. And it is a horrible, horrible magazine. We get all the music magazines at work so I read them on my lunch break. I will read Metalhammer after I've read NME, Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock, Kerrang and Mixmag. I'll even read Q before I read Metalhammer. A horrible horrible horrible magazine.

People who pay to read Metalhammer are stupid. People who choose to read Metalhammer like Airbourne.

I like Airbourne, but I don't like Metalhammer

It was Jimmy's ex. He thought she was having an affair with the photographer, but she's actually sleeping with the photographer's wife. I didn't recognise the other guy. Think he's something to do with the New York mafia though.

Episode 7 of Boardwalk Empire bothers me. Every week the only complaint I've had is that they seem to be obsessed with showing tits on the level of a 13 year old boy who just discovered porn. Now all of a sudden in episode seven they insist on introducing a bunch of new or increasing the visibility of rarely used characters and I don't understand what the character's motivations are because they seem to have just been thrust into it.

I know what you mean. I didn't even recognise some of the characters that returned in the episode. That said, it's still one of my favourite shows at the minute. I think it really is fantastically done.