LEGO Gherkin, extended weekend, back crunch and Star Wars machete order

Walked round the back of The Gherkin at lunch time today to be confronted by a wonderful piece of art. Yes folks, next to The Gherkin we have a LEGO Gherkin!

Being a LEGO snob I reckon it could have been made better but it was still fun to see!

Five o'clock was a magickal moment as I am now off until Tuesday, oh yes it extended weekend and holitags time!

It was back to the osteopath tonight. I have had a rough week with some of the pain coming back so I was kind of dreading being pulled about. I explained what had been going on and he wasted no time in cracking, popping and manipulating. Things did ease a little and he said that I should be OK by tomorrow afternoon. It was a full on ouch by the time I got home. This is NOT going to interfere with us going away to Tribal Dreams though, that is happening no matter what!

After dinner I shuddered and reluctantly accepted Toni's desire to watch Star Wars in machete order. In short, you skip Episode I (The Phantom Menace) and watch the rest as follows:
IV A New Hope
V The Empire Strikes Back
II Attack Of The Clones
III Revenge Of The Sith
VI Return Of The Jedi

I don't agree with a lot of it but if you care to look at the reasoning behind this you can check it out here:
www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order

So did machete order work for me? It was an interesting experiment but I guess I am too much of a purist. I could see what this was supposed to achieve but it didn't feel right for me. I like the films in the order they were meant to be shown.  I guess knowing all the films inside out and back to front probably doesn't help when attempting to do this as the strands are already connected on the story arcs. The recommendation is to get a newbie to watch them in this order which I guess would make more sense as everything will be new to them. For me there are too many things in The Phantom Menace that DO make sense and ARE too important to just take it out of the equation altogether.

If you have a spare day (or ten hours plus) in your calendar then give it a go and see what you think!

Bad back, grrrrr

Well today was not so good on the back front. Seems I spoke too soon the other night! I woke up in a lot of pain and had to take a day off sick. Making friends with co-codamol was not my idea of fun! It did settle down eventually though but it was a day of taking it easy.

Back is doing well

It was back to the osteopath today for another twisting and crunching session. He was really impressed with how I am responding to the treatment so far. He hadn't expected me to get so much movement so quickly and my posture is really improving.

Latest estimation is that I should be done in around three to four more sessions which is great news.I was a little slack on doing my exercises last week (and got a slap on the wrist) so I guess I had better make sure that I do them before my next session!

Saying that, it all a bit ouchy now following on from my manhandling although I suspect it will be fine in the morning :)

A WTF day, osteopath, Marvel updates and The Strain

This was my day today. Not much to say about it other than this:

After work I had a good session at the osteopath. We are out of phase one which is pain management and on to phase two which is the recovery part. As such I was manipulated and pulled about far more vigourously than previous sessions. I was a little bit stiff and achy but is's all good. The osteopath estimates another five (ish) sessions and hopefully I will be done. Fingers crossed!

Some of this is a bit late but I never got round to commenting on it but there have been a few new updates in the Marvel Universe of late. First up is the announcement that the next comic book Captain America will be Sam "The Falcon" Wilson, an African America. I haven't seen much grumbling about this but I am sure that there will be plenty of people upset that Captain America is no longer white although this isn't actually the first time that he has been black. Basically the current Captain America, Steve Rogers, finds he has lost his extraordinary strength and hands over the CA mantle to his friend. Personally I like this, it's actually no big deal in reality.

In more ground breaking, and fan boy upsetting, territory came the announcement that the latest incarnation of Thor will be female. We aren't getting the usual cop out of them creating a Lady Thor. This is THE Thor. There have been some pretty extreme reactions to this news but I like the diversity that Marvel are embracing and the fact that they are prepared to push limits. Thor is about to be deemed unworthy for reasons yet to be revealed. Subsequently, it would appear, a worthy lady will take up the ancient hammer and fight for cosmic justice. For those of you that are quaking with rage at this thought, here is an inscription from Thor's hammer which was publish in What If? Volume 2 #66 back in October 1994:

...and here she is:

In less revolutionary news, Iron Man gets a new suit but is still Tony Stark as Marvel announce Superior Iron Man.

All of these character will be joining Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, The Winter Soldier, Deathlok, Medusa, Angela and Inferno for what will become the Avengers Now comic strand. 

Marvel also announce five new film dates through until 2019 (marked with * below). No word yet as to what the titles will be. Here's the latest run down of titles and proposed dates (some of which may or may not happen):

31/07/2014 - Guardians Of The Galaxy

06/03/2015 - Fantastic Four 

01/05/2015 - Avengers: Age Of Ultron

15/07/2015 - Ant-Man

06/05/2016 - Captain America 3

26/05/2016 - X-Men: Apocalypse

10/06/2016 - Amazing Spider-Man 3

08/07/2016 - Doctor Strange

03/03/2017 - Wolverine 3

14/07/2017 - Fantastic Four 2

28/07/2017* - TBC

03/11/2017* - TBC

06/07/2018* - TBC

02/11/2018* - TBC

03/05/2019* - TBC

After a catch up on the latest episode of True Blood we stayed in vampire mode. Next up was the first episode of new vampire horror drama The Strain. A plane lands at John F. Kennedy International Airport with the lights off and doors sealed. Epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team are sent to investigate. On board they find two hundred corpses and four survivors. The situation deteriorates when the bodies begin disappearing from morgues. Goodweather and a small group of helpers find themselves battling to protect not only their own loved ones, but the entire city, from an ancient threat to humanity.

The Strain is an interesting take on the old vampire myth There are some really stupid plot holes and the script can be a bit rough around the edges but that doesn't spoil the fun! If you like vampires or something with a horror edge then The Strain is definitely worth checking out.

Osteopath, William Shakespeare's Star Wars, movie and TV updates and Germany storm to World Cup final!

I'm pleased to report that my back hasn't be hitting me with loads of pain of late.The osteopath sessions have definitely been helping. Had a session tonight and he manipulated me a lot harder than he had done in the past which left me feeling a little bit sore.

I've just taken delivery of the last part of a book trilogy that I have been collecting. I've been waiting for them all to be published before I started reading them so now I can. Here's a video of the final part:


There was sad news this week as Kevin Smith has revealed that Clerks 3 will be delayed as he doesn't have a backer for it. Clerks 2 cost $5M to make and took $24M at the box office so I would have thought that asking for $6M to make Clerks 3 with that sort of return would have been a no brainer. Sadly The Weinstein Company were happy to distribute the movie but weren't prepared to finance this one. I have no doubt that Kevin Smith will get the money from somewhere and then The Weinstein Company might end up kicking themselves for passing it up.

Guardians Of The Galaxy might not be for everyone but I can't wait until 1st August when it is release so I can go and see it. Marvel's films of late have set the bar pretty high and I suspect that Guardians isn't going to let us down.They released an extended look trailer this week which just has me getting excited.


October 7th see the release of CWs new TV series The Flash. I posted a teaser a while back but now we have a very exciting looking Behind The Scenes Pilot trailer.


We received more Star Wars Episode VII news and rumours this week. The latest cast announcements are that both Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen are now on board for filming. Clarke is a relatively unknown actress and Andersen is a parkour expert. Next is the rumour that the Forest Of Dean may well be being used as a location for filming of Episode VII. The one thing that "could" lend this story some credence is that it was the BBC that came across a huge film crew that have set up camp at Puzzlewood. No confirmation has been received on this yet. Here's the BBC news report with a brief segment on Anderson plus a report from Puzzlewood.


"The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition. We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film," said producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.


I had completely forgotten about the Brazil v Germany World Cup semi final until I got a text from mum. I turned on the TV with the game 24 minutes in and Germany leading 3 - 0 only for them to get another two and head into the second half leading 5 - 0. Totally unbelievable although I was delighted! Quiet start to the second half until Germany made it 6 - 0 at 69 minutes. A beautiful finish put Germany 7 - 0 up at 78 minutes. Some sloppy play at the end gave Brazil a consolation goal at 90 minutes. The game ended 7 - 1 with Germany storming into the World Cup final where they will face either Holland or Argentina.

Interesting day, osteopath, Kevin Smith cries, Phineas & Ferb Star Wars trailer

Well it was an interesting day at work today. Mr Cock Up was on the rampage with some astonishing revelations coming out of the woodwork. Some people are clearly in the wrong job. Ho hum LOL

Visited the osteopath on the way home and he was impressed with how things are going already. Still some hard yards to go through but I was very happy. I was bent, pulled, stretched and squashed again but didn't feel quite as ouchy afterwards as I had done last week. I've been given some light stretching exercises to start doing now too. So that's three sessions down, number four is the same time next week!

Kevin Smith has taken a trip to London to see JJ Abrams and visit the set of Star Wars Episode VII.Now this is a man whose judgement I would trust implicitly regarding anything related to Star Wars. This is what he had to say on Twitter and Instagram:

Visited JJ and his EP VII set. I signed the NDA so all I can share are this old Bantha-Tracks subscriber's tears and snotty nose of joy. The Force is WITH this movie. Holy Sith...

I couldn't get the embed code to work so here is the picture of Mr Smith shedding a tear from Instagram, HOLY SITH INDEED!!:

Twitter:

Visited JJ and his EP VII set. I signed the NDA so all I can share are this old Bantha-Tracks… http://t.co/LVY9yzlAeM
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) June 30, 2014

Disney have just released the Phineas & Ferb Star Wars trailer for their Out Of This World weekend. Phineas & Ferb Star Wars is scheduled to be shown on Saturday 26th July.

A good back day, good work day, Falling Skies and Orange Is The New Black

It was a good back day today. There was a little stiffness but no real pain which was great. I'm not expecting every day to be like this yet but it was a welcome change. I have a lot more movement in my neck today as a result of some of my stretching which was great. The only downside was a pain in my shoulder that I was having although I don't think this is related LOL.

Work was good too. It was a slow start for the two team Agile process but the initial vibes seem to be good. Lots of things going on and I'm being kept busy and involved with processes and decisions which is pleasing for me :)

Tonight we watched the first episode of Falling Skies season four. It was a promising start to the new season with lots of changes coming in from the start to give the show a different pace and more things to think about it. Looking forward to seeing how this one develops.

We finished up the final two episodes of Orange Is The New Black season one. It's so good. Can't wait to crack on with season two although we'll ended up being incredibly frustrated as season three doesn't air until June 2015!

Osteopath visit and Edge Of Tomorrow

Today I went for my first proper treatment at the Eltham Osteopathy Clinic. I was manipulated, folded up, twisted and stretched but it felt good overall. I'm looking at somewhere between five and ten weekly treatments before I am better. First part is dealing with the pain, second part is working on the repair. There's a long way to go but I'm feeling positive about the whole thing.

Toni and I went to Cineworld in Bexleyheath to see the new Tom Cruise sci-fi movie Edge Of Tomorrow. It was actually pretty good. The 3D was bearable too and wasn't overused for all the fast action scenes. It was a good story. An officer finds himself caught in a time loop in a war with an alien race. His skills increase as he faces the same brutal combat scenarios, and his union with a Special Forces warrior gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy. I won't give any spoilers but the ending was a disappointment. The film actually had a logical end which would have been perfect. Unfortunately Hollywood rules expect certain things so they tacked a bit on the end to appease the masses that actually made no sense at all. Don't be put off by this though. It's a great little film and definitely worth going to see. I'm no fan of Tom Cruise but I enjoyed him in this.

WFH and just as well

Today was a WFH day which was just as well as my back was not playing ball. There was lots of little stabbing pains across my back for most of the day. Managed to avoid taking any painkillers as I don't want to rely on them but I was aware that things were not right. Am hoping that a good night of rest will settle things down again before I see the osteopath tomorrow (when I will also be getting my long term treatment plan). Fingers crossed!

Back to work, back survives and True Blood

It was back to work today after having Thursday and Friday off as holiday (even though we ended up not going away). My back was very stiff but not too painful. My first task was to make sure that my workstation was set up properly to avoid it causing me any additional back problems. Most of it was OK and a couple of adjustments later and I was good to go. Everything was done at a much slower pace and painkillers did get invoked at one point just to take the edge off of things.

I got to announce the splitting of our development team into two teams to make it more compatible with Agile best practices. Will be interesting to see how this one develops and if the change makes things better or worse. On paper it should improve things. Time will tell.

The back survived the day thankfully and I made it back home without incident.

Mum went out for dinner with friends so we ordered in an Indian from Rishta (ironically where mum had gone LOL). We watched the first episode of True Blood season seven which has just started up again. It's the final season and started strongly. Like all good shows should be, we were frustrated to have to wait a whole week for the next episode.

Off to see the osteopath

Much to my disgust I agreed to go to see an osteopath today. I guess it was the admitting that there was a problem that needed treatment that was the hard bit. Can't say I regret going as it was a real eye opener. Seems like my back is in a really bad way. I had a scan while I was there.

This is what a normal persons scan should look like:

This is what my scan looks like. Red stuff is bad:

My back is in a bad way but the good news is that it can be improved. I have a curvature of the spine which causes some issues and a terrible posture which just makes everything worse. I will be undergoing a whole load of treatment sessions to improve things. I was given some rough treatment to kick things off which did loosen me up a bit. My next appointment is next Wednesday. More to come in this sorry little saga....

Cancelled trip and taking it easy

So despite my vain hopes the old back was not better today. The pain was still there but the walking issues thankfully hadn't come back.

We made the call to cancel going away which was a really tough decision to make, even if it was the right one. I wasn't very happy about having to do this but hey ho. I gave mum a quick call to let her know that we weren't going away as she was supposed to be coming down to Pam sit. She threw sciatica into the mix as a possible answer to my back problem which was added to trapped nerve and disc issues.

The rest of the day was just spent taking it easy in the hope that I might stop feeling pain.

Strange things happened to my back

Strange things happened at work this afternoon. Got up to make a cup of tea and found that it was really difficult to walk and I was getting shooting pains in the base of my spine. This went after a while and I could walk a bit further but then the pain would come back a minute or two later.It would subside when I say back down but then flared up again when I started to walk, It seemed to get worse as the day went on and getting home again was most uncomfortable.

Once I was home the walking issues seemed to subside but the pain was still there. There was nothing obvious that I had done which made the whole thing even stranger. 

Tomorrow we are going away camping for a few days so I was hopeful that it would all be fine in the morning.