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These are good ads...

Somewhere in the depths of my mums house I have a vinyl copy of Win's "Uh! Tears Baby". Its the one album from my youth that I'm most desperate to find in MP3 form. I'll have to get someone with a USB turntable to rip it for me. But until then I'll have to make do with this, it was used in a McEwan's Lager ad BITD...

This sums up everything that is great about being a drummer!

Its that time of year when you flex your wallet and clear away the cloud of moths that emerge. Its also a time when you say to yourself "What shall I get for my poker mad partner/friend/relative?". Well here's a quick round up of what I think you could get...

• Well, if you've got to get something slightly more flamboyant than a pair of poker slippers and you're ready to splash out some serious cash, why not try this poker table. It's a proper ten person, padded edged and felted table perfect for fleecing the fish.


• You could pick up a set of 11.5g chips to give that home game a better casino feel. Great for a four player game. However if you prefer your chips with the values on them, then you should check out these chipsets.


• However if the poker player in your life is a total couch-potato then this TV Poker console is for you. For up to six players so your sofa is going to need to be quite big.


• Should they be more the type to sit parked in front of the PC (or Mac) then this is the option for you. World Class Poker has a whole range of poker games to suit. World Series of Poker: Tournament Champions is for those who own a Playstation. It would be remiss for me to not plug WPT's own offering for the Xbox. Happy keyboard/console bashing!


• For those looking for something that won't break the bank then you should take a look at a card shuffler. Great for nervous live players who hate to shuffle cards in front of their friends. No-one likes to fumble a deck in front of their friends.


• Here's another reasonable offering. Chipsets usually come with a cheap plastic dealer button (if you're lucky). So if you want to give your home game a bit more finesse but without spending heaps then take a look at these Dealer and Blind buttons. Alternatively take a look at these card protectors, for stopping any over zealous dealers from mucking your aces.


• Heading back to the sofa, all good poker players know you need to study to get an advantage over the rest of the table. Watching some Poker DVDs are a good way to get your head in the groove, just remember that they tend to show edited highlights. Many new players come unstuck by trying to emulate Gus Hansen by raising with rags.


• The best way to learn though is probably the most unglamourous. Yes, you guessed it, get those training manuals out and get grafting. Perfect for the poker player who is constantly having to top up their bankroll. Learn something before you hit the felt. These are the books you must get: Harrington on Hold 'em, Doyle Brunson's Super System II, and Caro's Book of Poker Tells.


• Here's a gift for the budding Marcel Luske in your life: cufflinks. Now you can really feel like you're in Casino Royale.


• Finally, for the ultimate cheesetastic poker gift this Christmas, you need Poker Nights CD and DVD. The DVD is a "How to..." guide, whilst the CD has some stomping Poker themed musical delights. Such classics as "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers and "Big Spender" by Shirley Bassey could be yours. However anything that has James Brown, Kool and the Gang and Urge Overkill on it can't be bad, can it?

Well, that wraps up my poker gift guide. Happy hunting on the tables over Christmas!

This is a great rant! Its not mine - I don't come from Texas. However it is a pet hate of mine where food producers sneakily downsize their products hoping you won't notice. They usually continue to charge the same price too. The rant I am refering to is of "Devoted Customer Upset Jimmy Dean Downsized Sausage 16oz To 12oz But Charges Same Price". Priceless - let it set the interweb alight! I'm not going to pass comment on the families size or of stereotypes of Texas dwellers, that just isn't relative, I just like his style. Now who wants a "Randy Taylor" t-shirt?

Outstanding!

Played in a very wrong key. Please note her amusing use of the trumpet as a laser gun in her "dance routine". Pffft!

Lifted from the Popbitch newsletter, this has to be one of the best blogs ever! This is what the internet was created for. Running from Camera is...

The rules are simple: I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can.

Then you need to get some of this...

Ah, the power of the internet. I love that you can read about happenings all over the world and then caste judgement over them. The story that I'm linking to is a great escape from the jaws of a shark. Whilst I'm pleased to hear that the victim managed to evade a spiky end, I'm a bit ROFL about the way its been reported. For instance I love the fact that the people in the water had discussed previously what to do should they ever be shark attacked.

"We've talked about it a lot, " Glen said. "The policy is if it goes for you, then you go for it."

Did they happen to discuss this in a boardroom? Policy? Fek that. I hate the way business speak is invading every day speech. The bonus to this piece of journalistic delight is the final quote.

Freakonomics has an interesting post about trying to marry into money. If the lady looking for rich love interest is for real then you have to admire her honesty. Then you realise that she's a divorce waiting to happen and all her potential suitors probably can smell that a mile off. I think she might need to go back to the drawing board and get hitched to a plumber, after all they're all minting it these days ;)

Brazilian keeper Dida shows just how pathetic some players in football can be...

Don't get me wrong - I love football. I just hate divers! Here's another of Brazil's finest...

I simply can't get enough. Natasha Kaplinsky recalled by Mattell. Well done NewsBiscuit!

Obligatory eighties pop Youtube link...

Most notable for the appearance of esteemed TV scientist Dr. Magnus Pyke. Watch out for those elbows!

This is a great tale of how Fleet Street used to be...

Just watching Undercover Mum on ITV (which is a bit of a shock). Interestingly, they are showing footage of an investigation they made of the beef sold in the local Bath Wetherspoons. Apparently (and allegedly, for you legal beagles) they are selling something slightly more exotic than the customers might think. There is less Mooo for your GBP and more Zebu. Zebu is a tropical version of cattle whose meat isn't quite as palatable as domestic british beef. So what this pub chain is doing is selling interbred cattle products to the masses without disclosing its origins. I wonder how many other chains are doing this?

Its great to hear that, after much pressure from web-based chocolate lovers, Cadbury is bringing back the mighty Wispa.

Ian of Spinneyhead has set up a site in memory of his old friend, Andy. The site is called bot-crossing and its aim is to redistribute Andy's robot toys - mainly transformers by the looks of it. There have been quite a few left on the streets of the North, carefully tagged with instructions to go to the blog should you find them. So if you're in Manchester (or thereabouts) keep those magpie eyes peeled!

Andy died in May of 2007, leaving behind a huge collection of Transformers and GI Joes. Rather than throwing them all away we felt they should be used in as constructive a way as possible.

Find out more here...

The world has officially imploded! HMV have bought out Fopp, retaining only six of its stores in the UK. Hello to overpriced CDs and DVDs. Amazon and CDWow must be rejoicing at the news. And they wonder why there is a slump in sales.

There are some things in life that you are slightly embarassed to admit to, but still like whatever anybody says. Hall and Oates are one of mine...

Can somebody please take Kate Nash out to a tea and buns stall in a little known hamlet of East Anglia and leave her there please? That way she'll get confused amongst the bric-a-brac stalls and forget to bother the charts ever again. Could someone also take little Lily to an equally mundane destination at the opposite end of the country? Trust me it would really be doing the country a favour. Now I just need some mindbleech to rid me of all this o-ver pro-nun-see-ay-shun, but I cahn't.

There's an unbelievable picture of a billboard advert for Grimsby College here. A sign happens to get in the way of one of the letters and gives the ad a completely different message. Must be seen (unless you are offended by the c word).

...brought to you by Ambre Solaire.

Ms Kaplinsky's career summed up in one image! Her talents are to be extended to a new 60 second bulletin.

According to Lieutenant Walter Haut's affadavit, released after his death, states that the Roswell aliens were real!

Latest shocking story on the Beeb is Catherine Tate to be Doctor Who's new companion. Catherine Tate is little short of awful. I can't believe that they've spent the last three years making Dr Who a brilliant Saturday night staple just to p*ss it all up the wall like this.

Baggage handler John Smeaton turned up on several news channels over the weekend. He was on the spot when terrorists attacked Glasgow airport. Seeing the driver of the jeep attacking the police, John decided to wade in. His retelling of the events on BBC 24 were astonishing - and, amidst the horror, extremely refreshing. Somone has set up a site to pay honour to the guy, good on him.

When I first joined the team of WPT Poker mag I didn't really know a thing about poker. I still don't really (who can say they know everything about poker?) but this book has helped me along the way. It's called Poker: Insider Tips from the Co-host of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" by Phil Gordon. It doesn't really show you how to play poker the way other ABC titles do, it does something else. It attempts to get your brain thinking like a poker player and, whilst doing that, it also gives you a lot of history of the game. This book really got me hooked and there aren't many "teach yourself..." books that can do that for me.

Its not often that you'll see a poker hand like this...

We were robbed! I was totally gutted by last nights result. No, don't get me wrong, I know we lost and I accept that, BUT... Am I the only person alive that watched the repeats of the first Anzaghi goal and thought that it was a handball? He clearly raises his arm as the ball strikes him and deflects into the goal. Had this been seen the result could have been very different. Oh well, hindsight huh. Best sit tight and hope Rafa spends his bankroll wisely this summer.

Not that I'm a regular reader of the Daily Mail, but this story caught my attention. Yes, you have to read through the Daily Mails usual outraged spin on the story, but what remains leaves you still shaking your head in disbelief. The fact that councils are so tied up bureaucracy today, that everyday people just going about a seemingly innocuous task get landed with a huge cleanup bill, is rather sad. Personally, I'd just shovel the sand back anyway. Or, if pressed, I'd hire a wind machine and blow it back. Failing that, get a flatbed truck piled with the sand, drive it round to your council representative and blow it onto their drive.

Customer service quality control at its finest: "Everyone gets served in under 10 minutes". Someone probably got a pay rise for implementing this business strategy.

Weep tears of joy as music is played the way it should.

Weep tears of sorrow for the state of music today.

Who in their right mind puts Tracy Chapman on in the office? That's the way to motivate the troops.

Ace on a stick (with a black velevt background).

Absolutely the best thing ever, until the next one.