Category Archives: Hobbies

Pablo Cheesecake’s Wall of Sound(tracks) – Episode One

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Hello, looks like I’ve remembered once again that I have a personal blog.* Who knows what nonsense lies ahead of us?… well, I mean I do but then I’m writing this post so I don’t think that counts.

Nearly twelve months have passed us by since my last post. In that time there’s been a constant miasma of shitty politics (Britain is well and truly fucked innit), terrible world events (humanity appears well and truly fucked dunnit**) and not nearly enough chocolate.

To combat this hugely disappointing turn of events I have decided to make one of my many, many obsessions into a new hobby.

Some of you will know I read quite a lot. I waffle about all manner of bookish stuff over on The Eloquent Page. When I’m not reading I tend to be consuming all manner of other entertainments. TV, console games, and films fill my free time more so than just about anything else. One of the things I love about these various distractions is the music that is associated with them all.

Music is a constant in my life, there are always sounds on in the background whenever I am doing anything. Of late, probably since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been listening almost exclusively to soundtracks. Over the years I’ve been picking them up fairly regularly but I hadn’t realised quite how all-consuming this preoccupation has become. I started tallying everything up on a spreadsheet (I do love a good spreadsheet) and it turns out I’ve managed to accumulate around 400 hundred of the buggers.

So what is required for a soundtrack to earn a place in the Cheesecake Hall of Fame? It’s pretty easy really. I have to hear it and like it. Simples. What with living in the future and having access to 21st tech like Spotify finding new favourites is no problem at all.

I tend to go through phases where certain soundtracks get heavy rotation, usually just after I’ve discovered them. For example, currently, Crimes of the Future by Howard Shore is making my ears very happy. I’m not a huge fan of David Cronenberg‘s films but the soundtrack is something else entirely. Its a fantastic mix of electronic and classic tracks that blend together creating something quite extraordinary. Having listened to The Lord of the Rings soundtracks, also by Shore, many times in the past this new work was revelatory. Modern yet also timeless in a single stroke. Masterful stuff indeed.

Crimes

The other thing my soundtrack obsession allows me to do is seek out those musical oddities that make life worth living for. David Arnold‘s Bond homage album Shaken and Stirred is a perfect example. Where else could you discover David McAlmont channelling his inner Shirley Bassey?

Shaken

Or perhaps the album of Alpine-flavoured yodelling from Alexandre Desplat that accompanies The Grand Budapest Hotel. Weird as all Hell but awesome nonetheless.

Grand

One of the best things about soundtracks is even crappy tv, games or films can still have a cracking score.

Arthur

Dont believe me? Check out King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. The Guy Ritchie movie is not great by any stretch of the imagination. The soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton however is an absolute gem. X-men: Dark Phoenix is another good example. The film is incomprehensible nonsense but the Hans Zimmer (yes, that Hans Zimmer) soundtrack is magnificent.

Phoenix

I’ll round out this music-related waffle with a recommendation. Seeing as it’s Halloween tomorrow I’d suggest checking out the soundtrack to Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities. There are eight episodes in season one and, as it’s an anthology show, every episode has a different composer on soundtrack duties.

Cabinet

My intention is to try an post about my new hobby regularly (once a month maybe?) but I’ve made such extravagant claims before. Anyway. Feel free to recommend any favourites you might have, old or new it doesn’t matter. I’d be over the moon if it leads me to something I’ve never listened to before.

Till next time, stay frosty people.

*Fuck knows why I even continue to pay for the hosting. It can’t be terribly cost-effective can it? One post a year?

**I’m less upset about that than I should be if I am entirely honest. We’ve had our chance and we’ve screwed it. Time to move on world.

Back Once Again Like A Renegade Cheesecake

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First A Few Ground Rules

I made the decision during the recent winter break that I was going to write more personal blogs. I didn’t update this site at all in 2017 and it seems I shame to leave it idle.

For the uninformed amongst you the rules here at pablocheesecake.co.uk are ridiculously simple

  • Don’t expect everything to be perfect. This is stream of consciousness stuff and life is to short to worry about punctuation and whatnot on a personal blog.
  • There will be swears. If you are looking for something more genteel I suggest looking elsewhere. You may wish to have a gander at my book review site The Eloquent Page (it’s a lot more sedate and I don’t say fuck there half as much as I do here).
  • Anything goes. I write about whatever I feel like. No topic is verboten.

Got it? Good. Now on with the show…

A Hirsute Man in Search of a Hobby

My other half is a bit of a fiend when it comes to all hobbies practical. She is a baker, a confectioner, a sculptor. She has turned her hand to archery, painting and writing and always manages to make it look effortless. I was bemoaning the fact that with the exception of casual gaming, watching television and films, the odd book review or fifty I don’t have any real hobbies. This Christmas* herself decided it was high time this situation was remedied so she bought me a Make Your Own Halloumi kit and a Grow Your Own Bonsai.

I decided to focus on the bonsai first (expect a cheese related blog post at some point in the future – Ed.) Based on the advertisement for said product, and my reaction, I can only conclude this is the ideal present for me. Time will tell.

Hmmm, I look more terrified than happy don’t I? (Yes, I do know my beard needs a trim. Thanks for noticing)

I have begun the planting process and even gone so far as purchasing some additional equipment so I can do the job right but it will still be a while before I see any results. When it comes to bonsai cultivation I rather suspect that is part of the charm. It is a contemplative undertaking. That works for me, I do enjoy a good think.

A Little Bit of Politics

Brace yourselves…

Over the last couple of years I’ve found myself getting more and more opinionated when it comes to the political climate in our little country. Lets be perfectly honest, 2017 was an EPIC clusterfuck. The Conservative government continues to be an ill-informed, shambolic group of self-serving fuckwits promoting greed and ignorance at every turn. Bo Jo offends everyone he comes into contact with. David Davis is incompetent. Jacob Rees-Mogg is all about Dickensian values and Theresa May can barely string a coherent sentence together. Brexit continues to be the biggest mistake we have collectively made as a country for decades. Right now there are idiots crowing about the colour of our fucking passports. Does the colour of a passport matter? Really? Look around, the NHS (arguably our country’s greatest achievement) is disappearing before our eyes, people are living in poverty or on the streets, the economy is already suffering. It’s all ok though because your average Leaver gets to banging on about reclaiming their sovereignty. You know, that sovereignty that we never fucking lost in the first place. I’d love to see the government admit they have made a costly mistake and we take a step back from the precipice. I fully appreciate however that this will never happen. We’re long since passed the point of no return. Undoing this fuck up is going to take a generation.

Meanwhile in America a failed businessman continues to fail an entire country while antagonising everyone he can on a daily basis. Sad.

Its all a bit fucked isn’t it. I’m not clever enough to know what the answer is but I do think a fundamental paradigm shift is required. We need to change the way we view ourselves and others.

In all honesty who knows what 2018 is going to bring politically? This time next year I’ll likely be updating this blog on a slate tablet whilst relaxing in my makeshift nuclear bunker. Perhaps its time to rewatch Threads?

Apologies for whanging on about politics but it is really starting to grind me down and I needed to get it off my chest.

Wow, that last section got a bit heavy didn’t it? I was going to write more but I think I need to go have a lie down in a darkened room. Who knew blogging could be so bloomin’ mentally taxing? 

Till next time Internet Chums

Adios Amigos

*Back at Christmas 2016 my other half bought me make your own haggis kit. I’m Scottish and I’ve eaten haggis before, and liked it, so making my own sounded like a challenge that was worthy of my attention. It was great fun, if somewhat messy, and the results were extremely tasty.