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Dale’s Movie Theater Nightmare and Silly Oscars Stuff
Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 4:09PM From the British movie rating system to grilling bacon and playing electronic guitars, Dale Smurthwaite at Smurfin’ the Web enjoys life’s simplest pleasures by not wasting time and space.
I welcomed this asset of my Mighty Minion Bureau to let us in on some tidbits that we may not know about him. So today, here he is, giving it to us straight – including ways to shorten the Oscars, an unexpected effect of male menopause and how he rocks out to Symphony X.
Madlab Post: What’s the deal with you and Smurfs?
Dale at Smurfin’ the Web: Haha. Well Basically I've had that (nickname) since I was a kid. My surname is "Smurthwaite" and people always mispronounce it as "Smurfwaite," hence the nickname Smurf. It’s stuck since I was knee high and so it will continue =)
If you were in charge of the Oscars, what would you do to shorten the event and keeping television viewers from turning the channel or falling asleep?
Well, with an average time of 3½ hours, there isn’t much difference between this and the Super Bowl. Viewing figures have been up for the last 4 years. I don’t actually get to watch the awards themselves due to the time differences, but I suppose if I were to try and cut the time, I would miss out some of the silly stuff like selfies and pizza deliveries. How much time did that actually waste? I think an opening number and then just get on with it. The BAFTAS are much shorter, with not too many less categories.
What happened to your CD and DVD collection?
I only have a handful of CDs and DVDs nowadays. I now have everything digital, apart from the few CDs and DVDs that I just could not sell, such as the entire “Farscape” collection on DVD and the “Lord of the Rings” extended DVDs. I had to face the reality that physical copies were just so space consuming and eventually had to go.
What is the worst movie theater experience you ever had?
Probably when I went to see “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” The reels were played out of order. That -- on top of the fact that the film itself was absolute garbage, it wasn't a good day.
Photo by John Lennard aka yakmooseCan you share any tips on how to make the perfect Bacon butty?
Lovely, I do like a good one. Right, grill your bacon until it is just turning crispy; not too crispy though -- I don't want it breaking off in shards. Butter your bread and insert the bacon. Spread some ketchup on there -- a nice even spread, not too much and top off with some thin slices of cheddar cheese and simply enjoy.
How many guitars do you own?
I only own 1 guitar; a lovely Ibanez EDR which is made of Lucite rather than wood. I would guess that this is my favourite one as it’s the only one I own ;-)
What artists/songs are on your playlist right now?
I have an 8GB iPod Nano. I use it for the car only and my current playlist consists of around 400 songs, including everything from Michael Jackson - Bryan Adams, Escala - Symphony X and 80s cheese - Dio. Theres also some Eurovision stuff on there as well. The contest is in 2 months; look out for my blog series.
What are your thoughts about the British movie rating system?
If we are talking about film age certificates -- I think the whole system is wrong, or maybe I just got old and out of touch. I don’t agree that copious amounts of swearing are allowed in PG13 movies. When I was a kid, you had "U", "PG" "15" and "18".
How has fatherhood impacted your life, views and/or experiences?
Fatherhood is the best thing that has happened to me. As someone who never really wanted kids, to now have 2 is great. Yes, there are bad times with naughtiness, etc., but on the whole, my eldest Xander is a great boy with a very vivid imagination and like his parents, a love for movies and not just the kids Disney stuff -- he appreciates great work like “The Lord of the Rings”, “Labyrinth” and “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.”
Personally, I think I cry at more films and television now more than ever now that I have children. Maybe it’s the male menopause, but I watched “Saving Mr. Banks” and was blubbing. Bring on April!
If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out Dale's cinematic Theme for April and while you're at it, go visit wife Lady Kell who is doing the A-to-Z Challenge with a super specialized theme about one of the best Sci-Fi television shows ever made, at Kincavel Korner!
Reader Comments (13)
"Bacon butty"? Holy shoot....why have I never heard of this delicacy before? Excuse me, but I'm off to the kitchen to whip one up! :-)
Lovely write-up. I hope some of you can come visit my little blog during April and beyond if you like it ;-) Thanks Nicole.
Always glad to learn more about my minion brothers from another mother.
LuAnn Braley
AJ's Hooligans @AtoZChallenge
Back Porchervations
I really enjoyed the Q&A. And I must agree that having kiddos can really be such a wonder. You never know the joy they bring until you've got one or two of your own.
Parenthood does make us more emotional. Looking forward to your cinematic journey in April. I'll bring the popcorn and other snacks as my theme is food. mm. mm. mm.
Bacon Butty. I have to try that. I have all my movie themed A to Z friends in a book mark, so I don't miss a thing. I am so looking forward to A to Z this year. Since my post are done, I will have more time to visit.
hahha now you are Papa Smurf! Nice to meet you and I appreciate a different perspective on the stupid moving ratings.
Thanks for the mention - much appreciated! :)
As for bacon butties, I like my bacon almost burnt to a crisp, lashings of real butter on both slices of bread (it MUST be butter, NOT margerine or spreadable butter wannabes!), and just a few dots of brown sauce to finish - HP sauce for preference.
Looking forward to the A-Z challenge starting tomorrow! :)
Herman,
From what I've gathered, it's among the best kept secrets that when it comes to bacon, British folks do it best! So we're in the same boat because if it wasn't for reading Dale's blog, I'd still be clueless about the Bacon Butty, lol.
Dale,
It's a pleasure to feature you here and you know I'll be on over to tally up those must-see movies this month ;)
LuAnn,
Oh you are indeed one of the best minion siblings ever! Thanks for paying a visit to check out Dale's spotlight.
Angela,
I can only imagine the amount of joy that children bring. I'd reckon that one would be a handful. Then again....Twins are always the coolest ;)
Mary Aalgaard,
It's a wonder if there's something inside us that switches after becoming parents. I think it's a good thing and I'm up for those "other" snacks you're bringing along. Bring on the food! Thanks for swinging by my blog today and reading about Dale.
Sydney,
Yes let's make 2014 the year of the Bacon Butty, in the states! I'm not sure about the ketchup but he had me at bacon and cheese, so I'll be grilling it up sooner than later. I wonder if the ketchup can be substituted with sauce. Hmm :) You're on a roll with your posts all done. I still have to fill in some paragraphs on most of them and figure out topics for like four remaining letters. Oh the pressure!
Pammy Pam,
I like you're thinking...Papa Smurf is fitting indeed. Different perspectives are what makes life richer and the world more interesting. Thanks for checking out these tidbits about Dale.
Kell,
The pleasure was all mine to add Mama Smurf into the mix here :) I like bacon the same way too and I'll likely refuse to eat it unless it's VERY well done and crispy. I've gotten away from butter over the years but will surely have to try a bacon butty with some HP sauce and cheese. Mmm Mmm good! It's great to have you join the thousands of us from all over the world who are doing the challenge this year! Thank you for visiting.
What a great history of a nickname. That Bacon Butty sandwich sounds strange at first, but anything with bacon is wonderful.
I didn't know you follow Eurosong, dear :) Who is your fave this year? Methinks it will be the saddest year in recent time. We're not competing this year, and the only song I like this year is from Sweden.
Well, DEZMOND, I'll answer for Nicole as in America they dont really get what its all about, I fancy Romania's chances this year and where the bookmakers are getting Armenia to be favourite to win I dont know, its not particularly good, but I will be starting my reviews of Euro entries in the next few days, please check out my blog Smurfin' The Web for that. Hope to see you there and we can discuss more.
Dale.
@Dale
I don't like Armenia's song either. They are supported by that lobby of theirs and they will probably get 12 points from all of the Russian countries as usually. Kinda like when Azerbaijan won a few years ago and Russia too. In recent years it's been either them or someone from the Scandinavian block. It's just sad.