disturbedchinchilla

great product let down by a useless remote, 29 April 2013

After umming and ahhing for a good few months, we finally decided to bin the Sky box and invest in this Freesat recorder. Free HD tv, no more monthly subscriptions, no more paying for a zillion channels we don't really watch: what could possibly go wrong?

It has to be said that at first we were very impressed. The picture quality (through an HDMI cable) is astounding - the user interface is a little clunky compared to Sky, but it only takes a few minutes to get your head around it. But then...

The remote control was designed by Satan (or one of his little helpers)!!!!

Firstly, it became apparent that it would only work if you were sitting bolt in front of… Read more

the stranger in the mirror..., 21 Jan 2013

It's rare to come across a writer who is truly sui generis, but Aickman certainly comes close. True, some of these stories follow well-worn genre conventions; 'Pages from a young girl's diary' could be read as a straightforward Bram stoker period pastiche. However, scratch the surface and Aickman yields unsettling rewards; 'Cold hand in Mine' reads like a series of allegories - but the author deliberately refuses to enlighten us as to what lessons we are supposed to learn.
Since Aickman described his own work as 'strange tales' it's tempting to pigeonhole him with Lovecraft, Blackwood and Machen as another proponent of Weird Fiction. Aickman seems to me to be an altogether subtler and… Read more

one for the fans I think..., 31 Dec 2012

It has to be said that Hook's revisionist take on the Joy Division story is refreshing. Don't be misled by the typically moribund image on the cover - this is basically Hooky and the boys go mad across Europe. All the purported sturm and drang of the Ian Curtis story is brought down to earth with the sound of pint glasses thumping on bars. And then there's the fights. And the pranks played on other bands (showers of maggots anyone?).

It feels a little mean-spirited to criticize something that is so obviously heart-felt and genuine, but it does ramble on a bit, and yes, while it is touching to see Curtis transformed from the rain-coated doom-monger of legend into a human being… Read more