Alastair Cook

What colour, Danny?

eowyn wrote:What colour, Danny?

Black. The reason I got it was because I went to a Mighty Boosh party, dressed as Johnny Two Hats. I looked (even more of) a twat in normal clothes and a bowler hat.

The gayl polish not the bowler......

I bet you looked tasty in a bowler though.

eowyn wrote:The gayl polish not the bowler......

I bet you looked tasty in a bowler though.

No, not really. I looked like a prick. In a bowler hat. With no shoes on. And big eyes.

I had gayl polish on, incidentally, a metallic mid-blue. Sexay.

Did it have glittery bits in as well? I like glittery bits.

Brass Monkey wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Brown's not a wasted talent. He is a farkin genius.


Is this forum playing "spot the geigh" though?

I regret being fackettiyuss now! (As usual ...)

Oooh, Derren Brown does loads of programmes that're really great - he's not a wasted talent.

Yeah? Well, I decree that not trying to chop his way up the female celeb ladder as a wasted talent - with his persuasive powers.

If you can outline a reason why it's not, I'm open to hearing it.

Okay - you arsed for it.

Though I can't follow the syntax or sense in what I've bolded above, Danny.

Brown's book is a great read about prediction, "mind-reading", the history of hypnotism, suprstition, etc. ... and about patterns of thinking generally. He is quite prepared to demistify the frauds too (see Penn & Teller). Which I like.

I think his programmes are not bad merely for being popular (in a cultic way). If that is part of what you were claiming. Are you imposing a quality standard in inverse ratio to size of audience now? (I didn't understand what you were on about, to be honest).

I find them interesting on various levels. That multitude of levels (and perspectives) is the key point of interst. How does he do it? is only one level. How do people give themselves away? is another. Why do we think predictably? and Can we change that? two more. Why do we so often stick to ideas and stereotypes? Why do people follow fashions so slavishly? Why are so many people so gullible, chasing imagined shadows? are three more perspectives. Hwo much is cut and edited to fake it? is yet another.

He made himself unpopular by repeating essentially the same stage show over two years, aparently. I could fully imagine the dissatisfaction of the punters. I would imagine that it rather his agent's (promoters') dishonesty rather than his, however, professionally shifty as he is.

I don't say I would LIKE the guy personally if I knew him. Probably not. Obsessively manipulative, if open about that. But then, TV programmes I actually enjoy (e.g. Dragons' Den) often feature slightly or very unpleasant people doing their questionable stuff. Carcrash element (though I am not a rubberneck in actual physical accidents, and hate that as I fundamentally abhor unjustifiable violence generally.) Bastardness at work. But the drama is good in spite of that, almost enhanced by that. I hate Weakest Link, Apprentice, etc - the true CULTURAL BRUTALISATION Programmes. But Dragons' Den is full of good and bad ideas, twists and turns, hopes, unpredictable human drama and innovation. And you ask yourself ... woudl that invention work? Woudl it catch on?

Brown's programmes are a bit like that.

Not necessarily the Racing Prediction one that was last up (this year). That was relatively weak, based too much on a single idea.

Have you actually seen any of the programmes? ...

The best Derren Brown "special" was Messiah, when he went around America performing "miracles" for religious fraudsters.

The Russian Roulette one was good. Surprisingly few Russians involved though.

Or roulette wheels.

I'm sure if he were here Danny would say, aye but the current Aussie mob are drossmongering cockmunchers.

Actually I read today that Alastair Cook is half Welsh. Must've been that holding him back all these years.

He'd also probably mention that what was fair comment two years doesn't automatically carry on for ever more, in a medium where people have the opportunity to improve or decline.

Dello wrote:He'd also probably mention that what was fair comment two years doesn't automatically carry on for ever more, in a medium where people have the opportunity to improve or decline.

That's very true of course. Anyone who offers opinions on a player is likely to be tripped up sooner or later. It's interesting though because selectors have the same problem as everyone else and there must be hundreds of careers that never took off for want of that one last chance.

The thing is, Cook's game was in horrible shape in the lead up to the first Test. I don't see how anyone could have backed him to have a storming series.

Chances are he'll look pretty clueless once again outside off-stump if the ball starts moving.

But what he has shown, aside from amazing determination and focus, is that if you put him on a flattie against a mediocre attack, he will cash in until the cows come home. Two hundreds in Bangladesh, two hundreds so far in Oz.

Good times.

JKLever wrote:I'm sure if he were here Danny would say, aye but the current Aussie mob are drossmongering cockmunchers.

Actually I read today that Alastair Cook is half Welsh. Must've been that holding him back all these years.

Oh lever, you and your jibes.

The non-Welsh half seems to have kept him going for a few years, despite the eyeliner and nibbling outside the off stump.

Great thread, but no predictions from you on it, Vilks.

lardbucket wrote:The non-Welsh half seems to have kept him going for a few years, despite the eyeliner and nibbling outside the off stump.

Great thread, but no predictions from you on it, Vilks.

Is there a way to search through my posts from 2008? I can only seem to find the last 385 posts I've made.

I don't know, don't think so ... you'll probably have to go back to threads from that period, will only be a dozen pages or so.

lardbucket wrote:I don't know, don't think so ... you'll probably have to go back to threads from that period, will only be a dozen pages or so.

Maybe another night, time for bed now.

It's here somewhere and it's not going anywhere .

The last time Alastair Cook missed a Test...

Tony Blair was Prime Minister
George W. Bush was President
Sven-Goran Eriksson was England football manager
Arctic Monkeys had just released their first album...

Even Instant Mascara ditched the make up to become Instant Karma.

His new hair cut is doing wonders.

Like a Samson in reverse.

As for Cook himself, his current form in the slips and with the bat writes the obituary to his career. He joins a legion of players who kept playing too long.

lardbucket wrote:The non-Welsh half seems to have kept him going for a few years, despite the eyeliner and nibbling outside the off stump.

Great thread, but no predictions from you on it, Vilks.

I see the lard man has done his customary "have a rest on a "round" number" routine before heading off on sabbatical. This time it's 33,333.