I'm away for the summer!

Well, actually that's a lie.

However my internet presence is moving from the blog for a little while, maybe longer.

The best place to find me is now http://twitter.com/danbrusca but you will still be able to view posts just like those on this blog if you go to http://danbrusca.tumblr.com.

Today's movie recommendations

Freeview
2200 The Bourne Identity (ITV2)
2300 The Bourne Identity (ITV2+1)
0020 Miami Vice (ITV2)
0120 Miami Vice (ITV2+1)

Sky Movies
0700 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Adventure)
0750 Jurassic Park (Sky Modern Greats)
0955 Juno (Sky Comedy)
1000 Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (Sky Modern Greats)
1015 Revolutionary Road (Sky Drama/Romance)
1030 No Country For Old Men (Sky Indie)
1145 Juno (Sky Comedy)
1250 The Firm (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1550 Iron Man (Sky Showcase)
1700 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Adventure)
1750 Jurassic Park (Sky Modern Greats)
1820 Being John Malkovich (Sky Indie)
2000 Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (Sky Modern Greats)
2145 Revolutionary Road (Sky Drama/Romance)
2315 The Firm (Sky Crime/Thriller)
2325 The Baader Meinhof Complex (Sky Indie)
2340 Iron Man (Sky Showcase)
0220 Dead Man Walking (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 13th April
Claudia Tyson - 83
Dan Brusca - 71
Peter Zyss - 69
Points from CAMEL, CROONER, NOVENAS, LOITERED, WAISTED, PERGOLA, GRAZED and ABUSING.

CSI Miami: Dispo Day - 4/5

FlashForward: Queen Sacrifice - 4/5

Mad Men: The Grown-Ups - 3/5

The Good Wife: Painkiller - 3/5

Breaston sunset

Today's random photo is a view from my bedroom window in Breaston, Derbyshire, in January 2005.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Today's movie recommendations

Freeview
2100 Collateral (Film4)
2315 You, The Living (Film4)

Sky
1930 X2 (Syfy)
2030 X2 (Syfy+1)
2200 Collateral (Film4+1)
0015 You, The Living (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0900 Gone Baby Gone (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1240 The Dark Knight (Sky Action/Adventure)
1705 Gone Baby Gone (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1735 There Will Be Blood (Sky Indie)
2100 The Dark Knight (Sky Action/Adventure)
2340 Born On The Fourth Of July (Sky Modern Greats)
0005 Rambo (Sky Showcase)
0215 The Cottage (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0335 The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 12th April
Dan Brusca - 83
Peter Zyss - 76
Ned Walker - 65
Points from INTRUDE, MOULDER, STRAPS, NERVIER, NATTERED, PIANO, PAVES, BADDIES, GOINGS and TIDAL.

House: Private Lives - 4/5

Doctor Who: The Beast Below - 4/5

Law & Order Special Victims Unit: Wanderlust - 2/5

Fringe: Peter - 2/5

In Treatment: Sophie, Week 8 - 4/5

London Eye

Today's random photo is of a rainy day at the top of the London Eye in December 2006.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Today's movie recommendations

Terrestrial
2300 Straw Dogs (Five)

Freeview
2100 Enemy At The Gates (Film4)
2200 Payback (Five USA)
2300 Children Of Men (ITV4)

Sky
2200 Enemy At The Gates (Film4+1)
2300 Payback (Five USA+1)
0000 Children Of Men (ITV4+1)

Sky Movies
1005 Air Force One (Sky Showcase)
1205 Alien 3 (Sky Modern Greats)
1300 RocknRolla (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1315 Cloverfield (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1335 Once (Sky Indie)
1420 The Rock (Sky Action/Adventure)
1620 The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Modern Greats)
1640 Batman Forever (Sky Action/Adventure)
1845 Executive Decision (Sky Action/Adventure)
2100 The Rock (Sky Action/Adventure)
2100 Cloverfield (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2100 RocknRolla (Sky Crime/Thriller)
2200 Alien 3 (Sky Modern Greats)
0000 The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (Sky Drama/Romance)
0005 Con Air (Sky Modern Greats)
0350 The Hunt For Red October (Sky Showcase)

Watched yesterday

Film 2338
Kick-Ass - 4/5
A most entertaining, original and fresh-feeling film, though not quite as amazing as critical opinion suggests.

Lost: The Package - 3/5

Law & Order: Indifference - 2/5

The Sarah Silverman Program: Humanitarian Of The Year - 3/5

24: Day 8, 5am-6am - 3/5

You've Been Framed! - 4/5

Snow dog

Today's random photo is of my dog, Zac, in the snow near Breaston in Derbyshire, February 2007.

Click the photo for a 1200x1600 version.

Today's movie recommendations

Terrestrial
1820 The Mask Of Zorro (Five)
2100 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Five)
0130 Ju-On: The Grudge (Channel 4)

Freeview
1530 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (ITV2)
1630 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (ITV2+1)
2100 The Devil Wears Prada (Film4)
0230 Ju-On: The Grudge (Channel 4+1)

Sky
2100 The Matrix (Watch)
2200 The Matrix (Watch+1)
2200 Blown Away (Sci Fi)
2200 The Devil Wears Prada (Film4+1)
2300 Blown Away (Sci Fi+1)

Sky Movies
1005 Jaws (Sky Modern Greats)
1200 Pretty Woman (Sky Drama/Romance)
1415 Gone Baby Gone (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1550 Being John Malkovich (Sky Indie)
1750 Jaws (Sky Modern Greats)
1830 Das Boot (Sky Indie)
2100 Watchmen (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2100 Hannibal (Sky Crime/Thriller)
2200 Wall Street (Sky Modern Greats)
0100 Cape Fear (Sky Crime/Thriller)
0135 The Usual Suspects (Sky Indie)
0215 Dead Man Walking (Sky Modern Greats)
0225 In Bruges (Sky Comedy)
0250 The Silence Of The Lambs (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0310 Hannibal (Sky Crime/Thriller)

I'd also like to make a special mention for Irma Vep on Sky Arts 2 at 10pm. The film's a 3/5 but Maggie Cheung is stunning!

Watched yesterday

Peep Show: Local Zero - 4/5

Look Around You: Module 2: Water - 4/5

Criminal Minds: The Boogeyman - 3/5

Heat - 5/5
One of my favourite films and one I have seen many, many times though not for several years. Looking at it now, it's just as good as ever. So many iconic scenes and how's this for a cast? - Rober De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman, Hank Azaria, Danny Trejo, Henry Rollins, Tone Loc and Xander Berkeley!

Santa Monica

Today's random photo is of the beach at Santa Monica, as seen from the pier, on 21st October 2010.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Today's movie recommendations

Terrestrial
1720 The Aviator (BBC Two)
0105 Solaris (Channel 4)

Freeview
1230 The Poseidon Adventure (More4)
2100 Control (Film4)
0205 Solaris (Channel 4+1)

Sky
1330 The Poseidon Adventure (More4+1)
2100 Apocalypse Now (TCM)
2150 The Matrix (Watch)
2200 Control (Film4+1)
2250 The Matrix (Watch+1)

Sky Movies
1000 Jurassic Park (Sky Modern Greats)
1015 Iron Man (Sky Action/Adventure)
1045 Valkyrie (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1150 AI: Artificial Intelligence (Sky Sci-Fi-Horror)
1230 No Country For Old Men (Sky Indie)
1250 Changeling (Sky Crime/Thriller)
1415 The Dark Knight (Sky Action/Adventure)
1430 Twilight (Sky Showcase)
1440 Juno (Sky Indie)
1640 Unbreakable (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1650 Air Force One (Sky Action/Adventure)
1750 Jurassic Park (Sky Modern Greats)
2000 Cast Away (Sky Drama/Romance)
2000 Twilight (Sky Showcase)
2100 Iron Man (Sky Action/Adventure)
2100 Valkyrie (Sky Crime/Thriller)
2200 The Baader Meinhof Complex (Sky Indie)
2305 Changeling (Sky Crime/Thriller)
0030 No Country For Old Men (Sky Indie)
0155 Lenny (Sky Modern Greats)
0315 Killer: A Journal Of Murder (Sky Crime/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 8th April
Peter Zyss - 65
Brian Kuhl - 60
Dan Brusca - 37
A woeful performance, only scoring in five of the fifteen rounds, my word-points coming from SEXUAL, COMPOSED, PANTIES and MOVIES.

Countdown: 9th April
Peter Zyss - 55
Dan Brusca - 49
Andrew Pullan - 38
Points from MILLED, COMIC, CLIMBER, FASTEN, STOOGE, NATTERS, WINTER and DEPOSE.

Friday Night Lights: Who's Your Daddy? - 4/5

In Treatment: Alex, Week 8 - 4/5

Hung: A Dick And A Dream or Fight The Honey - 4/5

Sons Of Anarchy: The Sleep Of Babies - 4/5

Outtake TV - 4/5

The Good Wife: Infamy - 4/5

In Regent's Park

Today's random photo was taken in Regent's Park, London, in June 2007.

Click the photo for a 1200c1600 version.

Why the Tories' tax break for married couples is wrong

The Conservatives have revealed a proposal to give a tax break of £150 per annum to the lowest-earning third of married couples. I can understand why a government might want to make a statement about the importance of marriage (and civil partnerships), but this proposal is a daft way of doing it.

First off, at £150 it's not exactly much of a statement, is it? It's like recognising the importance of your wedding anniversary by buying your wife a bunch of flowers from a garage.

But let's look deeper. When people talk about recognising the importance of marriage, isn't what they really mean the importance of creating stable environments in which to raise children?

If that's true, then why not target help more directly by increasing child benefit and extending it to expectant mothers, giving further help in paying for childcare and so on? After all, there's no reason at all to give a tax break to childless couples or couples whose children have grown up and left home. As Alex Barker in the FT points out, a third of the beneficiaries of this proposal are pensioners.

As a non-married taxpayer, I could support that because I see the value to society of raising children. I fail to see why I should help subsidise couples simply because they're married and for no other reason.

E-2 Hawkeye

Today's random photo is of an E-2 Hawkeye aboard the USS Midway, San Diego, 8th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 7th April
Peter Zyss - 87
Daniel Stevanato - 79
Dan Brusca - 74
Points from WEAPON, DEVIANTS, PORCINE, REJOICE, UNSTATED, CLAMPED, GATORS and MOUND.

In Treatment: Laura, Week 8 - 4/5

Shameless: The Gypsy & The Hobo - 4/5

Submarine gubbins

Today's random photo is of various gubbins aboard the former Soviet submarine B-39, San Diego, 8th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 6th April
Dan Brusca - 91
Peter Zyss - 68
Hamish Ewan - 55
Points from SPORTIER, ENTRAILS, DOLING, SALUTERS, COMPOSED, BUTTONED, SARDINE, QUOTE and AMORAL.

FlashForward: Better Angels - 4/5
The episode I watched yesterday was actually 'Blowback'.

Duncan Bannatyne's Seaside Rescue - 2/5

Fringe: Jacksonville - 4/5

Please remove your hat

Today's random photo is the entrance to the medical section of the USS Midway, San Diego, 8th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1200x1600 version.

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 5th April
Dan Brusca - 88
Peter Zyss - 77
Steve Tamplin - 77
Points from CORDIAL, PATIENT, TROLLIES, DAUBED, GRAZES, TINGLED, THINKER and the conundrum, ANARCHIST.

Oz: The Truth And Nothing But... - 4/5

You've Been Framed! - 4/5

Film 2337
Choke - 3/5

FlashForward: Better Angels - 2/5

At the Luxor

Today's random photo is the view from one of my windows at the Luxor, Las Vegas on 13th October 2009. This view overlooks McCarran Airport.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Watched yesterday

Frasier: Halloween - 4/5
Liking Ros' boots and miniskirt, oh yes...

Lost: Ab Aeterno - 4/5

House: 5 To 9 - 5/5

Shameless - 3/5

Sons of Anarchy: Capybara - 4/5

Star of India

Today's random photo is the mainsail and rigging aboars the Star of India, San Diego, 8th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Watched yesterday

Homicide: Life On The Street: Gone For Goode - 4/5

Las Vegas: Like A Virgin - 3/5

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour - 4/5
A promising start for the Moffatt/Smith iteration of the series. Matt Smith is a natural in the role and Karen Gillan should prove to be a feisty companion (loved her seamed stockings too). New Doctor episodes are always tricky because there's there's always a degree of exposition required to set up the relationship with the new companion, but Moffatt's approach was genius. The putative storyline about 'Prisoner Zero' was actually a little weak and had a few oh-so convenient cop-outs, but it ably served the purposes of establishing characters and setting up long-term story and character arcs. Moffat's script showed some sharp wit too. The preview trailer for the rest of the series held much interest, not least appearances by Bill Nighy, Helen Baxendale (I think) and a Dalek in army colours. There's much to look forward to.

Have I Got A Bit More News For You - 4/5

The Good Wife: Lifeguard - 3/5

USS Midway

Today's random photo was taken on the gangway of the USS Midway in San Diego, 8th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1200x1600 version.

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 2nd April
Peter Zyss - 87
Barry Watson - 79
Dan Brusca - 61
Points from TARRIES, RADIANT, CLIENT, MONITOR and PANACHE.

From The Earth To The Moon: We Interrupt This Program - 2/5
This episode centered on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. It's a difficult thing to tackle because the film Apollo 13 is pretty much the definitive telling of those events and anyone watching this series is likely to have already seen that. The writers opted to tell the story from the POV of the journalists covering it. An original approach, but a really dull one.

Law & Order Special Victims Unit: Hysteria - 4/5

You've Been Framed! - 4/5

Fringe: The Bishop Revival - 4/5

Mad Men: The Color Blue - 4/5

In Treatment: Gina, Week 7 - 2/5

The Great Ridge

Today's random photo is of part of the northern slope of the Great Ridge, near Mam Tor in Derbyshire. It was taken in October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version and count the sheep!

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 1st April
Barry Watson - 95
Dan Brusca - 66
Rodney Carbery - 65
Points from GLORIES, MATADOR, SUNNED, TROUP, BEAVERS and DUTIES.

CSI NY: Bad Beat - 4/5

FlashForward: Kairos - 3/5

What Katie Did Next - 4/5

Question Time - 4/5
David Milliband and Simon Schama next Wednesday.

Snake

Today's random photo is a snake at San Diego Zoo, 9th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1600x1200 version.

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 31st March
Barry Watson - 79
Dave Wilkinson - 66
Dan Brusca - 34
I didn't perform badly, but I was outclassed on this occasion. My points came from JUNIPER, RANDIER, STRIVE, DOZIEST and MANGLED.

Durham County: What Lies Beneath - 4/5

The Sarah Silverman Program: Officer Jay - 4/5

Mad Men: Wee Small Hours - 4/5

FlashForward: Buddha In The Ruins - 3/5
I always suspected they would oen up the prospect of a second blackout as a means of continuing the story.

Pressure gauge

Today's random photo is a pressure gauge aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, 8th October 2009.

Click the photo for a 1200x1600 version.