The Gaffer

I finished Lynch's audiobook recently and it really hammers home how put on the act is. She's a complete dork. Totally lovable - of course - but forever showing vulnerability and almost naive in lots of ways. There's nothing wrong with just playing a character obviously, but unless it's a real gimmick gimmick, then all the best ones tend to come from real life somewhere as that old cliche goes. In retrospect that bloody shot of her is them desperately looking for the moment in it. There's no doubt it's a money angle and a great shot, but it was being talked about like Austin at WrestleMania 13 at the time. Behave! In the few years since then, she's had the odd angle where she's just slipped back to being a goofy sort of underdog, straightforward babyface and it works so much better because it's clearly her true story.

This has been a hilarious read. The weirdest thing still though is using a SMA tin for nails, @gmoney! It's clearly for loose change. I'm sure we all had childhood misconceptions about movie magic, but the first one that jumped out at me was I thought Stars In Their Eyes didn't have a cut when the person went into those big smoky doors, they re-opened immediately and they were whoever they were impersonating. I genuinely thought as soon as the door closed, about a hundred pairs of hands on all sides just immediately gave them the makeover like a fucking Looney Tune bit and that it was all done in two seconds flat.

I remember the intrigue over Cena's crowd reaction being the main point of interest for many. This was when the backlash was at its absolute height, where it felt like it could/would actually work and we'd all - clever us - force Vince to admit this Cena fella just wasn't money and go and put the title on Carlito or something. But yeah, poor WrestleMania. It's full of the company's attempts at re-creating 'Attitude' as well. Foley vastly overrates his match with Edge. It's way too self consciously trying to be 'my best match' for me to genuinely get lost in it. He used it as an excuse to write vol. three of his memoirs!

Not as bad as the magazine covers, but Fully Loaded 98 was my personal low point of asking my mum to go up to the counter with something: Just brutal.

It's petty, it's small minded, it's not silverware, but it's still very very funny that the most narrative-phobic club on the planet won the title and were the second biggest story of the day again. That's my shitty two cents as a plastique fantastique half-interested follower of this TV entertainment show. I'm delighted Aston Villa finished in the top four. Those are the breakthroughs I love seeing.

Aye, next February or thereabouts. Got to say, everyone throughout the process was sound as a pound and it appears as ethically well made as it comes across on TV. The interview was a total blur but I recall saying "I wouldn't say no to a witch".

Filmed the sit down 1 on 1 VT bit for First Dates Ireland today. Looking forward to being discussed here next February hopefully. No, I didn't do a Purple Aki sign. The reference doesn't travel.

No way, it travelled! I came in here to post this. These are the kids from a music workshop/outreach/community centre type deal in the set of estates I grew up in on the Northside of Cork. The sound of my people, right here.

Whitney almost gave birth in the back of a taco van the other night on EastEnders, until Bianca showed up with a brick and bottle of wine to break her out of it. The power is back.

Which you find a way to bring up in almost every thread I click into. One trope I can't wait to see buried.

The Finnish entry appears to be what happens when you're conceived to the Ding Dong Song.

Jesus...we might win.

Going for a workout and sleep on the bus sounds lovely. Wrestling's brilliant nowadays and a lot of the big stars in it seem like really nice people. I'll take that any day over the ye olde tales of psychologically repressed, drug addicted man babies. Not only is the industry better off - still shit, but better off - but if you really do miss it there's quite literally an entire boring supplementary industry out there where you can listen to any number of these old farts talk about that funny time they knocked back a half litre of Jack and trashed the rental car.

Alright fine I'll try it again.

Pay no notice. People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people.

Ah okay, didn't know that! I'm not implying it was intentional choice to get such a sponser in this year to make a political point, just for clarity, more suggesting that the presence of such a sponser could influence certain decisions. Anyway, I'll be tuning in as per annual weird tradition with my mum and sis!

Bambie Thug - Ireland's first real shot at getting a high placing in years - has caused a bit of a minor Satanic Panic with our far-right gobshite freedom fighters who mentally project themselves onto Cú Chulainn over here. It's been immensely satisfying watching the exact people who bemoan offence culture throwing a strop because somebody with spooky makeup is doing the Eurovision for us this year. So I mean yeah, in musical terms it's totally My First Marilyn Manson, but in Eurovision terms? Ireland are sending a non-binary witch from the back arse of Cork and I'm here for it. Just a shame it's happening against the backdrop of the Israel controversy. I get that this is the daftest thing ever and it should be taken apolitically, but that's not really how it goes, is it? The competition's frequently had political undercurrents. The competition this year is sponsored by an Israeli company. I wonder how that could play into the votes. I tend to take it on good faith that the hardcore audience for this thing just go for the most ambitious/quirky tunes but I'm sure some people will vote based on sentiment on the conflict. In the bookies odds we're just ahead of Israel as probably the most overwhelmingly pro-Palestine country in the EU so there's some intrigue there.

This is a killer riff:

It's peak Rockstar "We make movies". Absolute slog of a game. Can totally see why people would have it as one of their favourites ever but it wasn't for me.

Man, this is some sore thumb cynicism. They wanted to go, paid to go, and appeared to have a lovely time.

My dad WhatsApped me "Ipswitch in the prem now with their Pro Evo unlicensed team crest".

Unhinged crowds, excess swearing, overbooked main events and the evangelicals are on the gas. The boom is back.

People's watches in the arena received a warning about prolonged exposure to the volume in the building. Beautiful. I noticed Generic Crowd Cheer #1 is indeed accented, also. It's a bit of a yeUAHa!