2007. Before I go on about the year ahead, allow me to inform you of a couple of significances of 2007:

The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire exactly 200 years ago.

If you multiply 9 by 223, you get 2007. 223 is the number of mountains higher than 2000 ft in the US State of Vermont.

If you keep your 2007 diary, you can use it again in 2018 as the days of the week are exactly the same. If you still have a 2001 diary, you can use it this year in the same manner.

God Save The King was first sung 400 years ago in 1607 (although it wasn't adopted as our National Anthem until 1745).

The great John Wayne and Sir Laurence Olivier were born 100 years ago.


You learn something new every day, even useless facts.


So, after a year of personal ups and downs, what can I look forward to this year?

Well first off, I may have a quandary regarding my career. This month I am eligible for promotion although the results of the promotion board aren't released until the first Friday in February. Not a big problem, however, if I am successful, I will have to leave my current assignment, there is no vacancy for a Sergeant Major where I am, meaning this brilliant assignment that only comes once a lifetime could be cut short from 3 years to less than 1!

However, if I do not get selected for promotion, it is no biggie - there's always next year and it means I stay where I am for the time being.

Now that I've bored you with that, lets take a look at the big issues of 07, it is after all, the 30th anniversary of Woody Allen's Annie Hall, Richard Attenborough's epic A Bridge Too Far and Joseph Velasco's Ninja Vs Bruce Lee!

Other commitments will not permit me to attend either Celebration IV or Celebration Europe, so I'm counting on some of you out there to keep me updated with reviews and pics. I promise to do the same regarding Eurovision, which may not mean a lot to non-Europeans, but its cheesiness, bad songs, bad presenters and bad outfits make it essential viewing.

What has this got to do with me? Well, last year's winners Lordi (scary aint they?) hail from Finland, so naturally the Finns are holding this year's tournament, and I have my tickets already. I'll flip a coin on the night to decide whether I storm the stage and have my five minutes of fame!

Watch the news on or around the 12th May to see who wins and to see if I do a 'Jarvis Cocker' and interrupt proceedings. The UK hasn't won since Katrina and the Waves in 1997, whereas Ireland won 4 times in the 90s. Ireland's Dana won it in 1970 - I understand Dana is huge in the US nowadays?

Anyway, sticking with music, I'm not looking forward to much CD-wise, apart from Velvet Revolver's second album Libertad in the spring. I believe the Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys are back in the studios, so I'll have to wait and see what 2007 brings musically.

I could do with seeing some concerts this year, as I neglected my concert-going duties in 06, but Finland seems to be off the musical radar... only Pink and Iron Maiden of notable worth visited the Finns last year, indeed, even Dolly Parton's March concert in Helsinki has been cancelled due to lack of interest.

So what about the movies? What films could I think about going to see this year? Here's a list of some of the expected big hitters:

Sunshine - I'm a Danny Boyle fan so I may give this one a go.

Lucky You - I'm new to poker, but am getting the buzz from it, so I might go and see this especially as it stars Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I hated the 90s films, loved the cartoons, so maybe Warner Brothers may make a success of this franchise, although to do the whole film in CGI makes it sound like an animated film or a computer game, which may put some people off. The moves in the trailer look good though. Prepare for a toy onslaught.

Spiderman 3. Venom. Nuff said.

Shrek The Third. Could it be as successful as one and two? Dunno, but it's always gonna be worth watching. Timberlake cast as a spoilt prince? Hmmmm.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It'll never win any awards, but who cares? Casting Keith Richards as Sparrow's pop is a stroke of genius. Apparently the final instalment.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I think it's time for Flame Off. Big on effects, small on story. I'll probably go and see it though, the Surfer looks cooler than the Torch, which I didn't think would be possible. Here's the teaser.

Evan Almighty. Morgan Freeman returns as God, this time with orders for Steve Carell to build an ark. The trailer I saw at Eragon last week was way funny, hopefully not all the gags are used up in that.

Live Free or Die Hard. Yippie-kiy-yay...mother f....

Transformers. Yet another comic and toy franchise gets the blockbuster treatment. I'm curious as to how it'll look, so I'll go and see it, and Michael Bay and Spielberg shouldn't disappoint.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Something wicked this way comes. Will newcomer scouser director David Yates pull it off with his first movie? Of course he will, but don't expect to take the young kids.

The Bourne Ultimatum. I want to watch this, but I need to see the Bourne Supremacy first.

American Gangster. Ridley Scott, Steven Zaillian, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, set in 1970s Harlem. It's got aclaim written all over it.

His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. Phillip Pullman's fantasy trilogy gets the New Line Cinema treatment. Expect big things from Brit newcomer youngster Dakota Blue Richards as the orphan Lyra, who beat 10,000 other hopefuls at the auditons.

AVP2. Worth a watch I suppose.

So that's the films I'm hoping to see this year. Lets take a quick look at what I'll definitely not waste my money on...

Fanboys. I'm not much for this type of movie (never could see my way through to the end of Clerks or Jay and Bob Strikes Back) but the plot sounds amusing (Four guys and their galpal plan a cross-country trip in order to steal a print of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace from Skywalker Ranch so they're dying friend can see it before its world premiere) I'll give it a miss though.

The Dark is Rising. A boy's life is turned upside down when he learns that he is the last of a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the dark. ~yawn~


Are you all still awake? There's just time to talk about sport. Liverpool will probably not win the Premiership title, but there's still the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League to contest for. Now Steven Gerrard has been awarded the MBE, he's guaranteed at least one award this year!

There's the cricket and rubgy union world cup's later this year. I'll not bother with the former, even I can't get patriotic for cricket, but can England defend their crown as current rugby union world champions?

Of course not, but I'll happily put money on them handing the title over to Ireland, who are second favourites, behind New Zealand.

If you're into betting, you'd do well to put money on Britain's Andy Murray winning a major open this year. It's unlikely he'll win Wimbledon, but my money's on any of the clay courts, his favourite playing surface, most likely the French.

And the last word on sport, I plan on doing a couple of marathons this year, the Helsinki one in August and the New York one in November. Some people may not call it sport, and they may be right, but I'll be doing them for charity so I'll be asking for sponsors. And if I'm accepted into the NY one, Brooklooineghost had better stock the fridge up with beer!


In other matters, I will continue to blog, bans permitting. I'm past the 70% mark in terms of blog space left, so I need a cunning plan to allow me to carry on. I'm not fond of opening any other blogging accounts anywhere else, but I may have to succumb. Anyway, I hope to forge new friendships and improve on the ones I've already made here on this very site.

And that's about it. I hope you didn't doze off and that you made it to the end. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Stooge's jokes, rivet-head's wit, Brook's charm, JP's infectious enthusiasm, JediMelindaWolf's kindness, Ami's bravery (more slaps, no doubt), Granny-Wan's cynicism, jkthunder's lists, hansgirl's squees, Deej's tours, GAWJ's struggles with morality and many more interesting, fun and friendly blogs from too many bloggers to mention here, but you know who you are.

Happy New Year to everyone, long live the Blogs and those within - You'll Never Walk Alone.

Oh, I almost forgot. There'll be some Star Wars comics, books and games coming out. I may partake in some of that too.