Nico's Journal

Bwahahaha! linda_joyce sent me this German vid which turned out to be an ad. For those who don't speak German, here's a quick and dirty translation from me which won't spoil the fun and will improve your enjoyment.:

"What're you doing there, Giesele? Man, the camera's already running. Come over here! C'mon! ... So, haha! Now just you wait, wait, lad! ... You'll see, lad. You won't go through here again. ... Ach, man, Giesele, not with the flowers again. Here, over here! Yes, yes. ... Ah, here he comes, here he comes, let me have the camera!"
[grabs camera from Giesele]
"Boy, boy boy... cool!"
[shocked look from Giesele]

German DIY speed-bump vid

At the end FWIW: You have a better DIY idea? Make it with Toom Builders' Market and win 5000 euros.

Regina Spektor was amazing last night. The stage was bare but for a grand piano. a couple of mike stands, and a guitar, but she filled it with her big, rich voice and her fabulous piano playing. We were in the fifth row and I had a great view of her hands on the keyboard (and could almost hear my old piano teacher telling me, "See? The professionals don't drop their wrists.").

( More about the concert )

The first episode of the Silly Wee Films web series Night Is Day is up on the series site. It's about a reluctant Glaswegian superhero called Jason Mackenzie, and the first ep is only 11 minutes long; check it out. labingi put me on to it, and when I commented saying I'd enjoyed it, one of the guys who made it, ecossefilmmaker, replied saying that they have a forum where you can discuss the series with the cast and crew, and a poll where you can vote for your favourite episode 1 character. Episode 2 should be out on either on the 9th or 16th of this month.

[Edit:] It looks as if you have to pay to see the rest.

It's December and it's said to be summer (it's still pretty cold out in that wind though) so it must be time for the B7 Advent Calendar. It's different this year; they're showing distorted pictures each day with the original a day later (is today's Egrorian?) There's also a Doctor Who Advent Calendar (thanks to mraltariel for the link) - sound warning.

After some nostalgia about the Shipping Forecast and the Goodnight Kiwi (the closedown sequence for TV2 which I adored and always watched till the end) on trixeleitz's LJ, here are some of my favourite commercials. Five of them are for Instant Kiwi, a scratchie, which was known for doing funny ads with expressive actors. I am extremely saddened that I can't find my favourite though: the truckie who drives a whole house over the widening gap in a lifting bridge: the editing and facial expressions are just superb.

Instant Kiwi: bungy fishing - the first one in the series, I think
Instant Kiwi: skeet shooting - I used to rewind and watch this one again
Instant Kiwi: romantic bike ride - not good quality video, but I hope you can see the expressions on the guy's face: so cute
Instant Kiwi: rubbish collection - silly and now illegal (they don't take garden waste) but once again it's the expressions
Instant Kiwi: exam room - the most recent one, and the only one which actually uses the product!
World Famous in NZ since ages ago - this one's still on TV: a blast from the fashion -disaster past of the 70s. L&P stands for Lemon and Paeroa, a soft drink, and their slogan is deliberately contradictory.

Discover the real reason Ecclestone quit Doctor Who in a Dead Ringers sketch on YouTube.

May contain traces of Star Trek and B7.

Ahhh hahahahaha!

OK, now I've stopped laughing--excellent start to the day--here, have a B7 video (link posted to the Lyst).

Blake's 7 vs Monty Python

Brilliant! And with a soupcon of Jarriere!

I hate winter. Especially when it's meant to be spring. However here are links to two fun on-line ads which almost distract me from the cold and the rain. [Edit] And the frelling leaking roof.

First up is an old favourite, the chain-reaction Honda Accord ad. You probably already know it: it uses parts of an Accord in a domino-effect chain reaction that used no CGI and took over 600 takes, but it's always worth another viewing.

I also love the Virgin one with the gay couple, one of whom I can't help but think looks rather like a hefty Blake. Awww.