c4countdown

JimBentley

I have to just mention that I've never had a dream related to Countdown - or any of the people I've met through Countdown - in any way. I find this a bit odd, because a lot of my dreams are just re-hashes of stuff that has happened to me but with details slightly changed. A few years back, I was hav...

JimBentley

I went to university but I don't have a degree. It's a very long and convoluted story of a slow-motion fuck-up. I'm going to have a go at writing it all down, as it's quite an entertaining story, but not one for tonight. Maybe tomorrow. [edit] Started to do this and got sidetracked into a story abou...

JimBentley

Porn films are excellent for this sort of thing, there's some genuine creativity in some of the titles. All of these are real: Gulp Fiction The Bone Ranger Oklahomo! School of Cock Porn on the 4th of July King Dong Fill Bill The Long Ranger And slightly cheating: Saturday Night Beaver Night Of The G...

JimBentley

I think he has a thing about cheats. He was berating John Higgins at the snooker this year (I believe he was once found guilty of throwing games ). There was quite a lot of this online during the World Championships last month, but wasn't it just one the News of the World's entrapments by "fake she...

JimBentley

Quite surprised at some of the names mentioned here. Tom Hargreaves is still very much around; I don't think I've met him in person since the very first COLIN but we've been friends on Facebook for a while and by all accounts is having a good time. Kirk, obviously is a superstar darts caller and can...

JimBentley

I'm more interested in the more historic names - Harvey Freeman, Allan Saldanha, for example. Harvey Freeman was always a bit of an enigma, wasn't he? Nobody seems to know anything much about him at all. I've tried in the past to find out about his life outside of Countdown and have always turned u...

JimBentley

I thought Clarkson hadn't been too bad as host, but that howler with the ibex question was unforgivable. As examples of What Not To Do As A Quiz Show Host go, saying (exact words) "I'm not even going to look at the screen" before confidently telling the contestant they've got the answer right must ...

JimBentley

Lots of my faves were given the boot last night- FYR Macedonia, Switzerland (in particular whom I voted for several times as she delivered a great performance with a great song, and plus they have been underrated for a few years now) and also sad that Azerbaijan and Belgium did not pass. Most shock...

JimBentley

I knew that Avicii was ill but his death today was a bit shocking. He becomes the latest high-profile member of the 27 club, probably the best-known since Amy Winehouse.

(edit: I definitely read earlier that he was 27, but it turns out he was actually 28. Still tragically young).

JimBentley

Cake have done some very decent covers. Everyone knows I Will Survive (I recall Gloria Gaynor described it as her least favourite cover as they done a swear in it) but there are two others on Fashion Nugget that I prefer - Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps is brilliant (and in a way hard to compare to the ...

JimBentley

What are those tripod thingies with camera thingies with people in fluorescent jacket thingies manning them? Seems to be some sort of survey equipment but what is it used for? They've had them manned every morning for about a month next to a road I pass on my commute and I'm too scared to ask one o...

JimBentley

Yes, Marc is completely correct here, it's all down to the sense of balance. Walking on anything other than solid (unyielding) ground triggers the body to compensate (balance reflex). Walking on a beach with soft sand is similar. When walking on anything other than a solid surface, it's a natural re...

JimBentley

I don't know why the 2018 thread is even running, this is where the action is. Latest standings: 1. Mark Deeks - 263 points - 4 hits 2. Sean D - 256 points - 4 hits 3. James Laverty - 224 points - 4 hits 4. Jim Bentley - 203 points - 3 hits 5. Thomas Carey - 162 points - 3 hits 6. Gavin Chipper - 12...

JimBentley

Recently we busted through 11.22.63 which had your typical Stephen King plotholes in it but we still enjoyed and was pretty easy to watch, fairly exciting and tense etc. I can't believe that I haven't watched this yet, as I''m a Stephen King fan (mainly his books, but a lot of the film and TV adapt...

JimBentley

At the risk of derailing this thread slightly, at the same time our family car was one of these, a Volkswagen Variant: http://www.fahnn.co.uk/images/vwv.jpg I only mention it because they seem to be completely forgotten now. I remember when my mum once completely demolished part of the garden wall w...

JimBentley

I used to love Boney M in 1978 (especially Brown Girl in the Ring), but this is half memory, half post hoc filling in. The first #1 I'm sure I remember is Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick from Jan 1979, just after I'd turned 2. I certainly loved Pink Floyd's decade-ending #1 too. Coincidentally, the f...

JimBentley

1. Mark Deeks - 263 points - 4 hits 2. Sean D - 256 points - 4 hits 3. James Laverty - 224 points - 4 hits 4. Jim Bentley - 203 points - 3 hits 5. Gavin Chipper - 126 points - 2 hits 6. Thomas Carey - 109 points - 2 hits 7. Andy McGurn - 80 points - 2 hits 8. Marc Meakin - 56 points - 1 hit 9. Ben W...

JimBentley

Much more than unlikely than a single week at number one is that One Dance by Drake was number one for 15 consecutive weeks in 2016, which is just one fewer than the consecutive record held by Bryan Adams's (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. It's not just that I think fairly unmemorable; I also nev...

JimBentley

How meta would it be if it the phrase "cold squeezing" actually ended up in the dictionary as a legitimate phrase and it's origin came from a website whose object is essentially obsessing about what gets to be included in the dictionary? I want to encourage as many people as possible to continue to...

JimBentley

Why is there such a concept as "supermodel"? Of all the jobs that exist, model must be right down near the bottom of the list when it comes to the potential to be super at it. I'd be more likely to call a dustman super. It's just money, isn't it? A "supermodel" is a model who makes tens or hundreds...

JimBentley

I did just have a big lunch of loads of soup and some bread, so I'll let you know what difference it makes later on when I've had a poo. If anybody else wants to update their weights after poos, that'd be cool. Also when do you weigh the least, is it first thing in the morning? I know this is suppo...

JimBentley

I've got that on cassette single (I've got all the KLF singles in the same format, in fact). Bet there's nobody else here who can say that. ...are those tapes worth loads? I saw something on the YouTube comments about them deleting all their back catalogue from UK sale when they retired. Unfortunat...

JimBentley

Actually, at the top there, can I see that it's got two USB ports? Maybe it truly is multipurose after all. Aren't they just buttons? They are, the one on the left toggles between kgs and lbs and the one on the right is a tare (reset to zero) button. Honestly, as shoddy cheap (about £3 including de...

JimBentley

I'm somewhere between 11 stone (70kg) and 11 stone 7 pounds (73kg), depending on how much I've been eating and drinking. I've been down to about 9 stone at one point (but I did look a bit skeletal and unwell at that point) and up to about 13 stone (when I was really drinking a lot). I think I'm abou...

JimBentley

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 20, 2018 9:50 am
Speaking of last trains, I'll give you this free - it's better than anything you'll get from wasters like Bieber or Swift nowadays.

I've got that on cassette single (I've got all the KLF singles in the same format, in fact). Bet there's nobody else here who can say that.

JimBentley

Been thinking about this a bit more - and although I'm a bit out of touch with current goings-on - I don't think this'll be done anytime soon. I was holding off commenting on this until Zarte had finished his run, because if anyone was going to do it with the current dictionary, my money would have ...

JimBentley

I really didn't envisage me posting again on this topic so soon, but Jim Bowen makes it two for today: current updated standings: 1. Mark Deeks - 263 points - 4 hits 2. Sean D - 256 points - 4 hits 3. James Laverty - 224 points - 4 hits 4. Jim Bentley - 203 points - 3 hits 5. Thomas Carey - 109 poin...

JimBentley

Finally Gavin gets one! Surprising, as I thought his list was pretty good (except Cher, who is now mainly made of plastic and will probably never die). Current standings: 1. Mark Deeks - 263 points - 4 hits 2. Sean D - 256 points - 4 hits 3. Jim Bentley - 203 points - 3 hits 4. James Laverty - 159 p...

JimBentley

But what do you do if someone has a condition and genuinely takes medication for it and not because of any performance-enhancing effects, but then gets an advantage anyway? This is still unfair in my book, which is why I don't think medical exemptions should exist at all - allow everyone or no-one ...

JimBentley

Some interesting stuff today about Bradley Wiggins and his asthma medication. I do wonder what cheating in a sport has got to do with MPs though. Haven't they got their actual job to do? Also, if a medication for some illness does have performance-enhancing effects generally, then it should be avai...

JimBentley

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑
Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:42 pm
Blakey

Bit late with that one! He died in 2015, unless he was resurrected and has died again, of course.

JimBentley

OK, as per the other thread, it's the all-new Deathwatch 2017 Unlimited! Turns out I had missed a couple of deaths from last year, oddly enough both picked by Sean D. (Gord Downie and Jalal Talabani) - sorry Sean. Current standings: 1. Mark Deeks - 263 points - 4 hits 2. Sean D - 256 points - 4 hits...

JimBentley

Looking at this year's odds, it's pretty prohibitive in all the major categories due to there being an overwhelming favourite in almost all of them. Best Actor: Gary Oldman is 1/33, everyone else pretty much whatever price you want; Best Actress: Frances McDormand is 1/16, with Saoirse Ronan the onl...

JimBentley

So no rollover then ? Sure, I can continue the 2017 version without a cutoff. Until everyone's choices have died, or until I've died, whichever comes first. I'll have to check to see if I've missed any deaths from these first couple of months, though (don't think I have but you never know). I'll po...

JimBentley

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑
Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:51 pm
Who picked Billy Graham then ?

Sean D. had him last year. "One year out!" as Ken Bruce would say.

JimBentley

My tip for the best film Oscar is the Shape of Water, a truly stunning film. I'm guessing you've already heard about the allegations of plagiarism that have been levelled against "The Shape Of Water", Marc? What do you think? http://hollywoodnerd.com/did-the-shape-of-water-plagiarize-the-paul-zinde...

JimBentley

I wish I could remember my dreams in detail, but I never do. It's frustrating because often I'll wake up after a really exciting dream and remember bits of it in great detail, but a couple of seconds later, it's gone. I might remember the gist of it, like certain concepts that were involved, but as ...

JimBentley

Re. my last insanely long message, it was indeed the original Ted that I was thinking of, as I watched Ted 2 last night and it was nowhere near as good. There's no way I'd have been affected emotionally by that in any way, no matter how many drugs I'd taken. It was far too obvious in its attempts to...

JimBentley

I don't really like following recipes, I just can't be bothered with all that faff. I might read a recipe to get the basic gist of it, if it's something I've never made before, but that's about as far as it goes. Sometimes it's fun to try new things but to be honest, I tend to fall back on stuff tha...

JimBentley

I really enjoyed this. New thread, drugs you've been taking lately? Why, thank-you! To be honest though, I'm not sure such a thread would be such a good idea. It's OK for old farts like me to go on about such stuff, because I don't really care who knows, but I'm not sure that this sort of "full dis...

JimBentley

Watched "Ted" earlier on Channel 4 (actually Channel 4+1, I got in too late to catch the start on normal C4). Now, I've seen it before and remember enjoying it a lot (of which more later), but I was never sure how much of that was because it was any good, or funny, or whatever. I'm pretty sure I mai...

JimBentley

The best song won this evening..... I agree, although I'm a bit biased as I stuck a few quid on SuRie as soon as I saw how her odds were plummeting. I've never seen anything quite like it betting-wise. The heavy favourite before anyone sang (Asanda) went from 1/2 to 8/11 to evens while she was sing...

JimBentley

I know it's a few years old now, but I saw What We Do In The Shadows a few weeks ago and it was joyous. One of the funniest films I've ever seen, everything about it is pitch-perfect.

JimBentley

Also, while we're talking about Carol, have I posted this before? If I haven't, that's pretty remiss of me. http://www.fahnn.co.uk/images/Carol.jpg I don't think this was one of her commercial opportunities, I think they just used her picture without consent, which makes it funnier. Oh, and don't tr...

JimBentley

This doesn't really fit here, but doesn't exactly deserve a new topic ("possibly not obvious things you've just found out"). I've always detested the smell of melted cheese, especially melted Parmesan cheese. I thought it smelled like vomit and would only eat it under duress. It was pretty much the ...

JimBentley

It's so genuinely weird to read stuff about Countdown that's written by people who grew up with Vorderman. In the few episodes I've seen with her in, she is *absolutely unbearable*, yet there's a whole generation that sees her as a presenting icon. Crazy. I am somebody who grew up with Carol and pa...

JimBentley

Or the last week in September if you work in retail When I first started working in wholesale (1999), it wasn't unusual to start ordering Xmas stuff in June or July, as it took about 8-10 weeks for containers of Xmas-related tat to arrive from the Far East. This would bring them into the country fo...

JimBentley

No-one's mentioned the Young brothers? It is a bit of a coincidence them dying within a month of one another but it's not a connection I'd expect most people to make. Malcolm I would perhaps expected to have got a comment on here, what with AC/DC and that, but George? Not so much. I knew who he was...

JimBentley

Apparently it's at least partly based on which robots are ready when. Which is why some episodes end up more heavily loaded with top robots, as they actually know what they're doing. Wouldn't that only make sense if the loaded heat was the first of the series? Also, I got the feeling that they were...

JimBentley

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑
Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:12 pm
Charles Manson and Jana Novotna.

I was amazed nobody had Manson, I could have sworn someone did. But they didn't.

Anyway, we're entering the Zone of Death (aka December) soon and I'm expecting movement on the leaderboard. This thing is not yet over.

JimBentley

And it's a shame that Jeremy Corbyn has decided to react in the same way as all the other sheep. Couldn't agree more, it was disappointing. I kind of understand why though, this gets it out of the way quicker than him having to then do a bunch of follow-ups explaining why, which would then all be e...

JimBentley

And now Hugh Hefner; standings @ 28/09/17:

1. Mark Deeks: 263
2. Jim Bentley: 203
3. James Laverty: 159
4. Thomas Carey: 109
5. Andy McGurn: 80
6. Marc Meakin: 56
7. Ben Wilson: 53
8. Euan Slatter: 28

JimBentley

James Laverty wrote: ↑
Wed Sep 20, 2017 3:29 pm
Jake Lamotta died today. Another one for Deeks....

He's running away with it!

@ 21/09/17:

1. Mark Deeks: 263
2. James Laverty: 159
3. Jim Bentley: 135
4. Andy McGurn: 80
5. Marc Meakin: 56
6. Thomas Carey: 55
7. Euan Slatter: 28
8. Ben Wilson: 24

JimBentley

The noise made when clicking your fingers is the sound of the finger hitting your palm not the finger and thumb rubbing together. Yes, I love this one! I never used to be able to click my fingers until I figured this out. Nowadays of course, my finger-snaps are much sought-after by all the top popu...

JimBentley

Sorry for the delay, only just got around to updating this. With the death of Brucey, some movement has occurred on the leaderboard: 1. Mark Deeks: 213 2. James Laverty: 159 3. Jim Bentley: 135 4. Andy McGurn: 80 5. Marc Meakin: 56 6. Thomas Carey: 55 7. Euan Slatter: 28 8. Ben Wilson: 24 It's hotti...

JimBentley

I don't mean to state the obvious but the strategy has already been formulated: TLDR: practise. WJS (What Jono Said) is the market leader in this area. This strategy has highly customisable performance metrics in all measured capacities and is thought to be the most useful generalised approach. Hist...

JimBentley

Genuinely sad that Chester from Linkin Park has died Blimey Marc, you're full of surprises! Never had you down as a Linkin Park fan. Random music fact: they wanted to be called Lincoln Park, but www.lincolnpark.com was taken, so they changed it to Linkin Park. I can't pretend that I ever liked his ...

JimBentley

JimBentley

I think Federer's two grand slam titles this year make his claim for greatest ever stronger than it was before. As I alluded to before, Nadal had generally had the better of him in grand slam finals, so winning the Australian Open against Nadal definitely makes a difference. And Nadal is still play...

JimBentley

Then we have good old Carl Williams, who narrowly lost to Graeme Cole in the final. I don't know if this is just me misremembering things, but I have this recollection of Carl Williams actually being on apterous shortly after those finals were broadcast. He didn't play any games as far as I know bu...

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