Ceud Mìle Fàilte

Photography Nature Technology Food
Movies Music Politics

and life in the Highlands.

Fàilte

Thank you for dropping-by, I hope you enjoy your visit. The main content is to be found in the blog where I discuss everything and anything but topics including photography, nature, technology, food, movies, music and politics make regular appearances.

I commonly write reviews of movies (or films, if you prefer). Some movie reviews are short, others will be discussed in more detail. The scope covered will be mainly mainstream English language movies from the 1930s until the present day.

About me

My name is Iain MacDonald and I live in the Highlands of Scotland (although I have lived elsewhere in the past). I am a big fan of Free & Open Source Software which I use both professionally and at home.

Computing and technology tend to infuse themselves into my other interests, as once you learn some skills in one area it is convenient to use them to solve problems in other spheres.

When not tinkering with computers, I am likely to be found repairing things because living in the countryside you learn to be resourceful.

Of course, man doesn't live by SSH tunnels and kerosene vapour burners alone so food, as a subject, makes regular appearances too. Did I mention I used to work in hospitality?

Latest Life articles

My most recent ramblings.

  • Eurovision

    I'd like to apologise, publicly. The poor woman went for some peace and quiet, and what did she get? Two eejits rolling-up in a campervan, blaring out the Eurovision song contest. [Read more...]

  • Feeling sheepish

    I went for a walk along a forestry style track, yesterday. Ahead of me was a ewe, with two lambs. The ewe felt nervous about my approach, and started to trot away from me. The lambs were, of course, following her closely. However, the sheep didn't trot away uphill or ... [Read more...]

  • Regatta Hydrafort Matt Jacket

    I needed to buy a waterproof jacket for use when working. I also have a Gore-Tex jacket from Craghoppers, which is excellent, but I didn't want to ruin that jacket by using it for working every day. I have a few other Regatta products which are well made, so, for ... [Read more...]

  • Highland Life and the Coronavirus

    It is quite extraordinary, I've never experienced anything like it. We are now a couple of weeks away from Easter, which is normally the time when the summer tourist season starts. The roads would see increased traffic, and the tourist hotspots would start to be busy. Not this year. [Read more...]

  • New Manual Coffee Grinder

    I was without my vintage wooden Zassenhaus, so I rushed out and bought a new manual coffee grinder. The one I got is from Maison & White, and it is amazingly good. It is adjustable from very fine to coarse. Grinding is done with ceramic burrs, and the rest of ... [Read more...]

Click here to view the whole Life section.

My latest Mastodon posts

Mastodon is a microblogging app that is part of the decentralised web known as The Fediverse. See this article for more details.

Fitheach (@fitheach@mstdn.io)

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 00:22:27 +0000

[Karate chop]
[light comes on]

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 13:11:51 +0000

Story and filming location:

osm.org/go/e6eh5V-?m=&node=103

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 13:05:45 +0000

I'm going to write a screenplay for John Wick: Chapter 5 - Homecoming.

The Keanu Reeves character will return to his ancestral, and eponymous, home, in Caithness, Scotland. He will trade a gold coin for a few nights at the MacKay's Hotel (just like The Continental).

While in Wick, John converts to drinking Old Pulteney, instead of his previously regular bourbon.

Outside the town, John's dog chases a flock of sheep, a farmer fires at it. John takes revenge, chaos ensues.

Media enclosure type (image/jpeg)

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 22:36:58 +0000

In case you might be interested, the link:

naviorganics.uk/

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 21:57:17 +0000

I'm halfway through watching Avatar (2009).

Now, I understand why the company in Acharacle is called Na'vi Organics.

Sat, 19 Jun 2021 10:19:32 +0000

The character's name Elvis has no significance, and there is no music included in the film from the most famous bearer of that name. When discovering his name Anabelle exclaims "Really?", as one might in real life.

The movie does use some music, including "Via con me" by Paolo Conte. The song fits well with the film scene.

Anyone know what the Conte song is about? I'm particularly perplexed by the inclusion of "chips, chips".