Spartacus: Gladiator Bootcamp

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It was yesterday when I walked past the Spartan training on the seafront, that I wondered what the training for Spartacus (now in it’s final season) might have been like?

Apparently I’m not the only one to wonder.

It was gone midnight after I had consumed a variety of Spartacus training special features including  Bodybuilder.com’s “Spartacus: War Of The Damned Arm Workout“, 4 circuits to a Gladiator body and all three “Gladiator Bootcamp” films.

The actors had to undergo gruelling sessions of fight and fitness training, four hours a day, five days a week. For some actors needing to bulk up, they had custom “hypertrophy” sessions to build those massive arms, and startling six packs. With over half a million views the latest bootcamp film has highlights such as:

aden jeffries in home and away

“Closer each day…”

  • Spartacus actor Liam McIntyre with a nerdy frindge
  • Ladies man Gannicus exercises wearing a Seventies’ yellow towelling headband
  • Crassus‘  Rocky impression
  • Lovable Agron in a silly dance with Naevia.
  • Bad guy Caeser sports a confusing hip hop backwards-cap (cruelly reminding us of his background as an actor in Home and Away)
  • And finally Crixus gets a cute kiss on the neck from Spartacus.

I like this one too. Fabulous stunt choreography in this show.

The Oatmeal and The House Fire

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The Oatmeal was always a funny, geeky comic but then it started telling longer, often more personal stories in these large, slightly meandering, giant panels displayed vertically, like the story of Tesla.

I love how the unusual format adds to the storytelling. I never know quite where he is going, the size of the panels lends a kind of comedy timing, and unpredictability as I have to scroll and scroll, and it’s often a bizarre multifaceted mix; silly, thoughtful and charming. Here’s a great one about his house burning down.

Everyone too, has known a pet like Domino…

domino the cat - the oatmeal

The head and the heart – Lost in my mind

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Any song that begins with such charming WooHoo’s wins my vote. I’m also a sucker for men with beards, playing acoustic guitar, in moody, snowy forests, with colourful scarves and bobble hats. It’s a niche fetish.

I’m a bit late to this party, Subpop’s Head and the Heart released this single in 2010. I don’t know much more about them, other than the comments in Youtube tell me “Look mittens.. a hipster!”.

Goodies for bunny

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Bunny has an upper respiratory infection, or ‘snuffles’ as it is known. His eyes water and he sneezes repeatedly. He won’t die from it, but it flares up from time to time. I took him to the vets for a check up. When I asked the vet if it’s because I left him alone for Christmas, the vet replied quick-as-a-flash “Yes, This is YOUR FAULT”. He didn’t pause for a beat for effect and then laugh as I was hoping. He meant it.

So, I went to the pet shop to stock up on things that might bring bunny cheer, and thereby encourage his immune system to fight back.

I also like to visit the pet shop to look at the young bunnies for sale. A large brown lionhead, that looked like a muppet, was sprawled in a cardboard tube yawning. I cooed at it but it ignored me. As I moved away a woman and a young boy stepped up in my place to consider the lionhead. “..It’ll poo everywhere and you’ll have to clean it up.” she warned. After a thoughtful pause the boy offered, “No, you will”. She sighed and thought better than to respond.

At the far end of the shop a tall lanky man marched past me but turned and issued a warm greeting, as if we were familiar. I liked the look of him. His spiky beard fell across his face at odd angles, like confused iron filings. He was collecting bags of brightly coloured aquarium gravel from a van outside, and stacking them underneath a glass tank displaying assorted aquatic plants for sale.

As he passed the cashier, an unusually bashful and giggly young man also bearded, he playfully chastised him for failing to complete even a week of New Year resolutions. The cashier laughed and rolled his eyes in an exaggerated cartoony fashion.

I wondered if they were unlikely lovers, or at the very least if some flirting were occuring.

Baf of bunny shoppingI smiled at the cashier and begun to unload my basket selection of ‘breakfast biscuits’, chew toys, throw logs, wicker balls and herbal suplements

As the cashier filled the bag with toy after toy I suddently I felt the need to justify my lavish purchases and by way of excuse explained “I forgot to buy him anything for Christmas, and he’s not had anything special for months. I’m hoping this makes up for it.”. The cashier smiled and made a sympathetic face but as the re-stocking man walked behind me he chuckled lightly and whispered with false gravity “How do you sleep at night?”

Things I do when I have too much time on my hands

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Ahoy, and seasonal greetings to you, blog chums. It’s a Saturday and I find myself at my office, whimsically fiddling with my computers. I have had more than enough of holidays by now. What’s left? Another movie, another chocolate, another sweet and sticky mulled apple cider?

I can’t take any more. So, instead of wandering the streets, or making endless OCD systems for backing up my data, I thought I’d say Hi to you, and share my list of Things I Do When I Have Too Much Time On My Hands.
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Wildebeest short, from the Filminute festival

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Watched some of the international one minute shortlisted entries from the Filminute festival.  It’s interesting that after a few less than gripping ones, it becomes difficult to not abandon a disappointing film after the first 20 seconds. The good films are the ones where I’m not checking the duration, or as in the animation below where I was fully engaged for the whole 60 seconds.

Charming characters conveyed in a subtle style with no dialog, great comedy timing and satisfying in 60 seconds. Great work by Ant Blades of BirdBox studios. You can vote for him here.