One of the best shows of all time!!

You know when you discover something that you'd totally forgotten about? Well i just have, and it's reminded me just how amazing TV can be.


Do you remember the UK series of Gladiators?? If you don't or don't know what it is, i'll safely say that you've missed probably the greatest show of the 90's, and some of the greatest TV ever to be made.

Now, how did i come about remembering this? Earlier, i was watching some crappy CBBC show, where "warriors" (10 year old kids) tried to beat eachother off platforms with "beaters", to knock their opponent into the water 10 centimetres below them. It sucked, coz they didn't wack each other like they should have, they poked and brushed. It was crap but good to take the piss out of, so i happily did.

But suddenly, a memory flashed across me. Of two platforms raised about 10m up. Then there was a full built gladiator in spandex, beating the crap out of a weedy (in comparison) member of the public, with a big chunky pole the size of themselves. One word, awesome.

So, some of you are probably thinking of what the hell i'm on about, loving a defunct TV show so much. I just like it, and after reminding myself of some of the games they played, i think it was one of the best things ever to happen to TV. Anyone remember Hang Tough? Where a gladiator & contender swung across the arena holding onto suspended hoops, met in the middle, then got fully stuck in with some mid air combat in order to win. Or Pendulum, where the gladiator chased the contender around a huge Pendulum swinging in mid air?? They did the sort of stuff that Health & Safety love to oppress these days (those people need slapped by the way, because they can't handle a few risks). Life needs a few risks.

Anyways, back to Gladiators. Anyone remeber the referee John Anderson? Or Wolf, the crazy long haired guy who always got the yellow/red cards? This was no normal "games" show. What i also like about it was the way it was also steeped in controversy. Affairs all over the place, some gladiators banned for doing steroids, presenter John Fashanu getting involved in court cases, and gladiators picking fights all over the place. It was hardcore, although in the end a load of fun, which entertained live audicences in Birmingham National Arena of 7000. Saturday night TV was awesome, and at it's peak the UK show had 14 million viewers - 25% of the UK population!

It's a pity it ain't here anymore, so for now i'll have to make do with Family Guy, Reno 911, Late with Jools Holland, and 24. Oh, and all the gladiators now do stuff like run gyms & coach olympic teams. Apparently it is still on Challenge TV at 9am on weekends, so someone can SkyPlus it for me. In the meantime, if you want some 90's TV ecstacy, go to:

http://www.gladiatorszone.co.uk

In short, it inspires me. I love it!!

P.S - The theme tune kicks ass

^^^^^^^6

Thanks for looking up my blog kade245felip. Yours is cool too. Let's stay in touch.

Anyways, i'm bound for Donegal tomorrow, where i will chill out my final days of the summer. Back to school next week, which sucks, but at least i can plan some fun things to do during it again.

Piano Dude

So what does everybody think about all this Piano Man stuff??? I agree with one guy who commented on the BBC website. Basically he asked if we'll ever know if this guy is a virtuoso or not. If he is, then he'd still be the Piano Man to him. I share his view on that one, although i don't know what the hell is going on with all this, cause the English media are weirdos. For some reason they are now saying that he could only play "one piano note". Surely anybody can play any note on the piano, regardless of whether they know the note names or not. What's going on?!

Stairway to Heaven vs Bohemian Rhapsody

This question was asked over a year ago. Which is better? Stairway or Bohemian? Well, after a long time i've made my decision........

....Stairway. Let's get this straight. Bohemian Rhapsody is a great song, and Freddie will remain one of the greatest musicians ever. But everybody knows it inside out, and to be honest, there are better Queen songs.
Stairway to Heaven is beautiful, always great to listen to, and whenever you play it a chroal sing-song resembling the preciseness and tuning of a football crowd won't break out over it. It is a masterpiece and a work of art. If you want to argue, go for it, but i ain't changing my mind over it. What'd i do without music??

Standing Room are going to the studio next Monday to record hopefully a 5 or 6 track Demo Album. I'm actually looking forward to it. It's costing us, so we're going to have to sell the CD's, but don't worry guys, we're going easy on the wallets. Expect around £4/£5 for a 6 track CD.
And i promise you, if all goes well, we'll have a good sounding CD. I know we sound crap live & all that, but of the songs we're recording, everyone has only heard 2 - the other 4 are under wraps, and they are good, i promise that. I'd describe it as high energy, interesting rock music with some damn awesome guitar solos along the way. If you don't like it, tough, but it is quite interesting.

On the subject of interesting, i've seen and talked to some pretty interesting people so far this week. Bethany from Limerick was in Belfast came up today, and it was great seeing her. To think she wasn't going to talk while down there was just weird...but i rekon many would agree she's come to be great fun. And that she looks way older than she really is.
The others are from that classy city called Dublin, and basically it's a couple of the swimmers again, from one of the relay teams i was timing. I discovered tonight that they have good taste - Led Zep & Thin Lizzy, Oh yea......

So anyways, welcome home anybody who's just got back, good to have you home. Everybody else, keep having a chillaxed summer......


P.S. - Get off Jamie's blog, you weirdo advertisers.

Here we are!!!

We made it a good one. We sure did. The previous week has rocked greatly, i've had fun, i've learnt, i've made new friends, and i've drunk some "Megamass 2000" which Hanz & Franz gave me. You do not want to know what was blended up in that drink....
But yes, it was great fun. Having the Limerickans staying with us was a good idea, cause they were all up for a laugh and all up to help. Plenty of photos and stories, memorable and downright funny moments, i can say this year's trip was definatley on par with last year's, if not a bit better (:.
Thanks to y'all who were down there, you know it was great fun, and that was one of the best weeks of the summer!

It's weird being home, and now i have a pretty much free week. SRO are going into the studio this time next week. We went & visited today, it's a homemade studio, and the guy who runs it is really cool. Also, if you want to see some stunning live music, get "Live at the Budokan" by Dream Theatre. It is unbelievable.

So that's what i've done so far today. I'm waiting for tiredness to kick in, cause i only got a nice small amount of sleep last night, but it's summer, so i dont care!! Free pizza & free bowling tonight, looking forward to it.


Also, joewp04hclando, you can take your damn advertising and go home. I don't care about money lending! I'm not even 18 and if you learnt how to read you'd see that i live on that green island where leprachons roam and where everbody lives in big fancy castles, or so some people think. And we don't use dollars, and i'm glad we don't, because from what Americans told me in NC, dollars suck. Don't mess with my blog, or i'll get Hanz & Franz to personally crush you with their buttocks.

Here we go

Lately i've been spending a lot of my time up at the pool, watching, turn judging, timekeeping & whatnot. It's been fun though, i just like it up there, and i don't know why. It's just the way swimming is, and i rekon the majority of people who do swim keep it up because they just like the galas, the atmosphere, the good craic, the people, and the general friendliness. In all the swimming i've seen there has always been competitiveness, but never hate. Everybody is good friends, and maybe that's why i like it, cause i know a few good fun ones from down south. But anyways, i'll get back into it in like September/Oct, and try to get pretty good again.

Right, Limerick in two days time, and if it anything like last year it's going to be one hell of a trip. I have the feeling that it certainly is going to be one hell of a trip, i don't know why, but i'm so hoping so. Here's some of the random stuff i'm looking forward to:

• Many, many games of Asshole
• Learner Drivers
• Plenty of yellow cars, and not as many red vans (:
  
• The Limerick beats blasting down the entrance hall
• The Windowsill
• The kids club & extreme, which hopefully will be even more than last year
• The Limerickans
• Abrakababra
• Getting the hair dyed
• Limerick Olympic swimming pool
• The road trips
• Random afternoon trips
  

Let's make it a good one. If i don't blog before i go, have a good week....