Robmcminn.uk
Robmcminn.uk
McMinn and Cheese – For a long time I used to get up early
For a long time I used to get up early
For a long time I used to get up early
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I mentioned in a post the other day that (after nearly 9 years of use) my Kalkhoff ebike’s battery was perhaps showing signs of age and loss of capacity. Since I’ve owned the bike, it has offered me around 42 miles of range on the highest level of assistance. If I wanted to seriously eke […]
9.3.2025 14:58Salt and batteryI wrote once before about the bonkers pharmacy situation in France, but a trip down town this morning to pick up a prescription focused my mind again. How can it be possible for a pharmacy business to be in financial difficulty? Especially in the UK, with its ageing population; and especially in this town, which […]
8.3.2025 10:38Farmer’s! See!?<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>There's a load of old master techniques which still work and I'm often frustrated when I see the chance to use them being missed by the DoP.</p>
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<li>Single key light/minimal fill</li>
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<li>Hihgh contrast lighting/Chiaroscuro</li>
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<li>Hard light and sharp shadows</li>
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<li>Backlighting (silhouettes and Mystery Lighting)</li>
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<li>Low angle /Underlighting</li>
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<li>Practical In-scene lighting (Diegetic)</li>
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<li>Fog and smoke diffused light</li>
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<li>Eye lighting (femme fatale glow)</li>
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<li>Dutch angles with shadows</li>
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<li>Venetian blind effect.</li>
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<p>A few modern examples where it works:</p>
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<p> <strong>Cyberpunk Noir:</strong> <em>Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix</em></p>
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<p>
<strong>Surreal Noir:</strong> <em>Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway</em></p>
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<strong>Psychological Noir:</strong> <em>Black Swan, Memento, Se7en</em></p>
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<strong>Action Noir:</strong> <em>John Wick, Drive, Collateral</em></p>
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<strong>Crime Noir:</strong> <em>Heat, No Country for Old Men, Gone Girl</em></p>
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<p><em>And some where it really failed and we suffered the black Smudge.</em></p>
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<p><em>Wolf Hall unlit. no use of practical lighting</em></p>
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<p><em>Alien vs Predator : Requiem - yep it was a requiem</em></p>
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<p><em>Game of Thrones - The long Night - says it all</em></p>
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<p><em>The Batman : only see the action via the gunfire flashes.</em></p>
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<p><em>Weirdly, I'm struck by Moonlighting which paid a homage to noir and did it cornily right.</em></p>
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<p>See, you struck a chord.</p>
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While I’ve been on Prime (for Reacher), I’ve dipped into a couple of other things. Like this, for example, Cross, based on the character created by James Patterson (or should that be “James Patterson™”?). Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) is a DC Metro police detective with a PhD in psychology. I watched one episode. I don’t […]
5.3.2025 16:43Cross (Amazon Prime): don’t botherAt the start of today’s bike ride (my third in this nice spell of weather), I was feeling so good that I was all prepared to make statements about how the rowing machine over the winter had kept up a base level of fitness that would hold me in good stead over the cycling season. […]
4.3.2025 14:29Slow on the uptakeI went for a walk, starting off (showing willing) with The Word podcast. Blackadder and his Baldrick were talking about Exile on Main Street with reference to Lester Bangs’ negative review from 1972, but rather than listening to David Hepworth being especially overbearing, I decided to listen to the album instead. A few words with […]
3.3.2025 14:40A shot of salvationSo we come to my 15th book of 2025, and a slightly puzzling one, since when I reviewed the author’s first book (as an audiobook) I implied I was unlikely to bother with any more. But Netgalley, offering the next in the series as an ARC, also made available this second in the series FOC, […]
1.3.2025 08:54Death in a Lonely Place by Stig AbellI was listening to John Siracusa on the ATP podcast this morning talking about the Apple TV app. I should clarify here that there’s the Apple TV hardware box, then there’s the Apple TV+ streaming service. And there’s the Apple TV app, which supposedly offers a way to keep track of everything you’re watching through […]
28.2.2025 12:42TV Watch WatchHere’s a puzzle. My doctor, operating (as always) remotely, sent me a message asking me to take blood pressure readings every day for a week. Of course, I forgot for the first two days, but I started yesterday and remembered today, so that’s something. The puzzle is the way my first reading is always worryingly […]
27.2.2025 13:33HyperMy OH being back at work after February half-term has reminded me that it was at more or less exactly this time in 2020 that the pandemic really began. It was on that half-term holiday (popular for skiing holidays) that a lot of people came back with the new virus. I did myself, although I […]
25.2.2025 12:07It were five years agoIt would be a mistake to approach a book like this as if it was another one along the lines of On the Cusp. That book, and the others in Kynaston’s series, are written by a historian, with a historian’s treatment of sources and a historian’s sense of letting the material speak for itself. This […]
23.2.2025 16:451965: The Year Modern Britain was Born by Christopher Bray… liked this!
3.2.2025 20:40Comment on Type Thief – out now by S. John Ross… liked this!
3.2.2025 17:54Comment on Type Thief – out now by kcǃI find the older I get the less I sleep. Maybe I eventually sleep
25.1.2025 03:29Comment on Perchance to doze by myallaboutyou… liked this!
22.1.2025 20:05Comment on Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell (audiobook) by Yjeva :tinoflag:In reply to <a href="https://robmcminn.uk/2025/01/14/slimming-world-kitchen-the-first-five-meals/#comment-1423">RFM</a>. <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They are generally simple, ranging from 10 minutes (optimistic) to a typical 30-45 minutes, or about 1 hour or longer for slow cooker recipes. One side of the card displays the ingredients, while the other side presents the process. It's all online as well, usually comprising about 8-10 steps. We use the cards. Occasionally, there will be something dubious, and we adapt freely.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Results have more 'depth' of flavour than any processed meal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a link to their recipe page:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/recipes" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/recipes</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>have a browse...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
14.1.2025 10:48Comment on Slimming World Kitchen – the first five meals by rashbre<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Interesting! What would you say about the complexity/fiddliness of the recipes?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
14.1.2025 10:16Comment on Slimming World Kitchen – the first five meals by RFM<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>More a 'For what it's worth'. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've subscribed to Gousto for about 10 years—ever since they began delivering outside London. It's a similar deal to the one you describe, and we've seen it evolve from sending out potatoes wrapped in 'field' and vegetables wrapped in sheep's wool to what they offer now. It's always reliable, and we have four to five meals a week, from a very varied selection of options. The meals we choose are usually for two or four people, with two being the primary choice. There is seldom any waste, and we really notice that compared with a Tesco shop for food items. The non Gousto-days we may dine out of get some things from the Farm shop, or hit the Barbecue.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They do offer 'low-cal' meals (often Joe Wicks recipes), but we provide the full range, which includes curries, pasta, meat, fish, British, Italian, French, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and vegetarian options, as well as a few 'extra cost' choices for fancier items.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aside from a few 'tofu disasters' and similar issues, I can honestly say the meals are thoroughly dependable, easy and interesting. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of hacks we apply are to leave out some of the 'powders' that contain most of the chemicals, which we can easily substitute with proper herbs and spices. Additionally, we usually divide the meals into three serving portions, so there's almost always something interesting in the fridge for an 'insta-meal'. Of course, smaller portions mean lower calories, which is a win-win, and it’s hardly noticeable that there's less in a portion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just sayin'</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KR Ed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
14.1.2025 10:05Comment on Slimming World Kitchen – the first five meals by rashbre<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great recommendation - thanks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
3.1.2025 11:35Comment on Austerity Britain – part 1 (A World to Build) by David Kynaston by rashbre<!-- wp:paragraph --> well said and long may it continue <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
18.12.2024 18:17Comment on The blog farther by rashbre