Frequently Asked Questions

If you need to know something about me, this site, or what I get up to, this is the place. There isn't too much order here - it's really just a random collection of things you might want to know.

 

About This Site

 

I've been doing this site since 9 August 2001 now, and oddly enough I haven't got bored of it yet. It started out as a lowly Tripod site called Whiggles.da.ru (da.ru because that was the URL of the redirect service I used - gotta love those free Russian domain names). For some time the site then became known as Whiggles.tk, before finally getting to play with the big boys by becoming Whiggles.com on 4 May 2005. As of version 3.00, and until December 21 2003, I was kindly hosted for free by my friend Graham who actually paid for a domain name. Lyris and I did the same eventually, and thus we gave G back the web space we had stolen from him, and Land Of Whimsy was born!

Normally, I do the layout and coding for my web site myself, but from June 21st 2005 to September 17th 2006, I moved to Blogger.com, which provides pre-designed templates for web logs. On September 17th 2006, however, I moved back to designing my own layouts for the ninth major redesign of the site (or eighth, if you don't count the Blogger version).

As of the site's tenth redesign, I abandoned the "Whiggles.com" moniker and relaunched it as Land of Whimsy, finally officially inheriting the name of the domain where the content is hosted. The site is now in its second incarnation as Land of Whimsy, and the "Whiggles" subdomain has now been dropped for everything except archived content.

For graphics, I use Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 (Student and Teacher Edition), with HTML editing done by hand in a neat little freeware program called Notepad++. For my news posting, I use a professional (but free!) publishing platform called Movable Type, which I believe offers the best trade-off between ease of use and flexibility.

A lot of what I do with the site, such as maintaining a DVD database and reviews, along with general design quirks, is achieved with the help of a handful of useful Movable Type plugins. The significant ones are:

  • Paged Archives: Alden Bates' plugin allows me to paginate my category and monthly archives to keep the general size of each page from getting too unwieldy.
     
  • Custom Fields: Although, as of Movable Type version 4, this plugin has actually been integrated into Movable Type proper in its Professional incarnation, Arvind Satyanarayan deserves a great degree of kudos for developing this plugin, which gives users the much-requested ability to create any fields of their choosing beyond the traditional "title", "date" and "entry" options that come as standard with blogging software. The DVD and review sections wouldn't have been possible without his hard work.

To view the site, you basically need any XHTML 1.0 Transitional compatible browser and a minimum resolution of 1024x768. The site looks as it should in properly compliant browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari. The current incarnation of Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 8, also renders the page correctly, which is a turn-up for the books. Older versions of these browsers, particularly Internet Explorer, are likely to have trouble rendering certain aspects of the site properly.

 

Other questions

 

How can I contact you?

whiggles[at]ntlworld[dot]com - don't bother looking for an AIM or MSN name, because I don't use either of these.

What computer/modem/ISP/etc. do you use?

I have two systems.

Main rig

The first, the one I use on a regular basis, resides downstairs and is the more powerful of the two.

Lean, mean typing machine

My other system, which usually resides in my bedroom, is a laptop - an ASUS UL30/X32A, to be precise. Individially, the specs boil down to something like this:

  • Processor: Intel Pentium SU2300 ULV (1.2GHz)
  • Memory: 3 GB DDRIII 1066 SDRAM
  • Video card: Embedded Intel GMA X4500MHD
  • Hard drive: Western Digital WD2500BEKT, 250 GB, 7,200 RPM (SATA)
  • Display: 13.3" 1366x768 LED
  • Sound card: SRS Premium Sound
  • Wireless Network: WLAN 802.11 BGN

This is augmented with the following accessories:

  • Display: 24" Samsung SM2443NW 1920x1200 widescreen LCD
  • Mouse: Razer DiamondBack Mouse Plasma
  • Keyboard: Logitech Deluxe Access Keyboard

I have a 10 Mbps cable Internet connection provided by Virgin Media.

Notable software:

  • Operating system: Main PC: Windows 7 Professional (64-bit edition); Laptop: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit edition)
  • Web browser: Google Chrome
  • Email: Mozilla Thunderbird
  • Others: Adobe Photoshop CS3 (graphics), Notepad++ (text editing), FileZilla (FTP), Cyberlink PowerDVD 9.0 Ultra (DVD/Blu-ray playback), PowerDVD 8.0 ultra (HD DVD playback), OpenOffice 3 (word processing), Windows Media Center (TV recording)

What films and TV shows do you like?

I'm probably best off directing you to my My Movies page on IMDB. That should give you some idea of my tastes, although the list should not be considered complete by any stretch of the imagination.

Favourite directors?

I like just about everything from Dario Argento, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Alfred Hitchcock and John Kricfalusi. I also like some of the work of Mario Bava, Luc Besson, David Cronenberg, Lucio Fulci, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Krzystof Kieslowski, David Lynch, Roman Polanski, Ridley Scott and Quentin Tarantino, although with them I'm considerably more selective.

Favourite music?

I'm not really a music-type person, in that I don't actively seek out new material. If I hear a song or a piece that I like, then I'll probably look into some of the composer or performer's other work, but I don't have a huge library of CDs or anything. The ones I tend to keep coming back to are The Corrs, Jerry Goldsmith, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Ennio Morricone, Heather Nova, Howard Shore, Jeremy Soule and Hans Zimmer, although lately I've also been listening to some material by Angelo Badalamenti, Kate Bush, James Horner, Amy MacDonald, Tara MacLean, Michael Suby, Sandi Thom and Sinéad O'Connor.

What system do you use to watch movies?

I'm lucky in that my brother is considerably more knowledgeable than me when it comes to the technical aspects of such endeavours. As such, broadly speaking, he provides the hardware and I provide the discs. His current setup is:

  • Projector: JVC DLA-HD750 (DLA-RS20 in North America)
  • Screen: 123" Da-lite Cinema Vision Perm-Wall
  • Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR875
  • Front left and right speakers: Monitor Audio Silver RS6
  • Centre speaker: Monitor Audio Silver RS-LCR
  • Rear left and right speakers: Monitor Audio Bronze BRFX
  • Subwoofer: MJ Acoustics Pro 50

For Blu-ray discs, we tend to use my Region A Playstation 3 (20 GB version) or, for Region B titles, my UK Panasonic DMP-BD35, and for DVDs my brother's Oppo DV-980H.

 

Links

The web is an excellent source for complete crap, but there are some good sites out there too. Here are some of my favourites.

Blogs

 

Giallo Fever - http://giallo-fever.blogspot.com
Like me, Keith is researching a PhD on the giallo. His blog is filled with insightful observations about these films.

John K. Stuff - http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com
Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi's blog, filled with opinion, history lessons and fabulous works of art.

Moody Movies - http://moodymovies.blogspot.com
Count Fosco is a fellow giallo fan, but his site covers other subjects too, most of them movie-related.

DVD Trash - http://dvdtrash.blogspot.com
Nick lives just down the road from me, and, as it happens, is also a big fan of Italian genre cinema. Visit his blog for opinions, news and DVD fun.

Gallowmere - http://www.gallowmere.com
The home of the elusive author Todd S. Gallows.

Lyris Lite - http://www.lyris-lite.net
This be my brother. Check out his brothel of news, rants and replacement covers for DVDs and games.

On the Other Side - http://baron-scarpia.livejournal.com
I got to know Baron Scarpia through the Dark Discussion message board. The Baron has proven himself to be an extremely astute film connoisseur whose opinions are always worth reading. His journal contains many examples of his fine work.

Twenty Sided - http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale
There aren't a massive number of bloggers who write about computer games in as insightful and intelligent a fashion as Shamus Young, whose site is the perfect antidote to the mindless Xbox Live crowd.

 

Cartoons, Animation and Illustration

 

Andrew's Anal Retentive Attention to Detail - http://www.comicartoon.50megs.com
Very interesting cartoon reviews, organized by director.

The Big Cartoon Database - http://www.bcdb.com
The animation-centric equivalent of the Internet Movie Database. Many titles have detailed production notes. I've been unable to access it for the past year, but other people seem to be having no problems, so I assume it's my stupid ISP.

Cartoon Brew - http://www.cartoonbrew.com
Run by Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi, this is a great source for the latest news about cartoons past, present and future.

Disney Lies - http://www.disneylies.com
There's some very funny stuff here, including some great reviews of various films and DVD releases, and some very witty thinly-veiled comments about Disney management. Well worth a look.

 

Censorship

 

The British Board of Film Censors - http://www.bbfc.co.uk
A useful database for DVDs that have been censored in the UK, and advice as to which versions are uncut. This list isn't complete, but most major titles are listed here.

MediaWatchWatch - http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk
A site set up to counter the filth spread by MediaWatch, the right-wing Christian pressure group founded by the notorious Mary Whitehouse.

The Melon Farmers - http://www.melonfarmers.co.uk
The Melon Farmers is a massive and very comprehensive resource for all things censorship. Pertaining mostly to UK audiences, it also has a reasonable amount of information on international censorship affairs.

OfWatch - http://www.ofwatch.org.uk
A web site dedicated to regulating the British television regulator, OfCom.

 

DVD, HDM, Film and TV

 

Bjoern's Place - http://www.videophile.info
One of the best sites for the discussion of DVDs and many of the little-known problems they suffer from. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated for ages, so I assume the author has abandoned it.

Dark Dreams - http://www.dark-dreams.co.uk
The absolute best source for info relating to Dario Argento and his films. Includes reviews, galleries, interviews and loads more.

Dave's Trailer Page - http://www.davestrailerpage.co.uk
Precisely what it says on the label, this is a great source for links to trailers for all the latest movies.

DVD-Basen - http://www.dvd-basen.dk/uk/home.php3
A great database for DVD reviews.

DVD Beaver - http://www.dvdbeaver.com
This site reviews obscure DVD titles and provides visual comparisons of different releases of the same film.

DVD Price Check - http://www.dvdpricecheck.co.uk
Very useful site that lets you find the cheapest place to buy a DVD.

High-Def Digest - http://www.highdefdigest.com
This site is primarily useful for news on both HD DVD and Blu-ray releases. It's considerably less reliable as a buying guide, given the ropey standard of the technical reviews.

Hundland.org HD Screencaps - http://www.hundland.org/hd
A site with direct screen captures of worldwide HD releases. The focus is on rarer titles, but mainstream ones are also covered.

Inside the Madness of Andrzej Zulawski - http://www.andrzej-zulawski.com
An excellent, exhaustive and almost daunting resource on the films of obscure Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski.

The Internet Movie Database - http://www.imdb.com
Okay, sometimes it can be about as reliable as screwing in a swimming pool to avoid getting knocked up, but this is still the ultimate resource for movies, TV and DVD, as well as actors and production staff.

KinoCite - http://www.kinocite.co.uk
Great site for film reviews, largely of the obscure and European variety.

KinoEye - http://www.kinoeye.org
Intelligent dissection and analysis of some of the more obscure European films. Includes excellent articles on all the films of Dario Argento, as well as a large number of other works. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated since November 2004.

PriceDevil - http://www.pricedevil.co.uk
A very useful price comparison site for not only DVD and BD releases but also books, music, computer and video games, and a variety of other products that make our modern world more fun.

 

Message Boards

 

Dark Discussion - http://www.dark-dreams.co.uk/dd_forum/index.php
A superb discussion board for Dario Argento fans.

The DVD Forums - http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums
This site is mostly of use to UK residents. You can discuss DVD and cinema releases, review films, search for computing and console technical support, auction and bid DVDs, and many more home entertainment related whimsies. A huge place with a large number of posters, posting is fairly frequent, but of course also increases the bullshit and flame wars. Bottom line, if you're looking for a small, friendly community where everyone knows everyone else, this isn't the place for you.

AV Maniacs Forum - http://www.avmaniacs.com/forums
A great movie-focused forum with a horror bent.

AV Science Forum - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb
In my opinion, the best place for discussing home theatre and the technical side of DVD and BD.

Mobius Home Video Forums - http://s8.invisionfree.com/MHVF
The rules on this forum can seem stiflingly strict, but the discussion, which caters to most genres of film, is informative and mature.

 

Other

 

Epinions - http://www.epinions.com
A good source of reviews for just about everything. Check here before you buy!

Security Task Manager - http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager
Cool program that lets you monitor your system for dodgy programs. Even if you don't want the program itself, their "Known Processes" page is a great list of known Windows processes, where people can rate them in terms of danger and explain what purpose they serve.

Urban Legends Reference Page - http://www.snopes.com
Just about every single urban legend under the sun.

 

Online Stores

 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com, http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.fr, etc.
Come on, surely you've heard of these guys. Shady puritanical listing practices aside, this lot are absolutely great for fast, reliable purchases with an excellent returns policy, and even some enticing deals if you look hard enough. They didn't become number 1 for nothing.

CD Japan - http://www.cdjapan.co.jp
Good source for Japanese DVDs and music. The cheapest shipping option takes approximately a week to reach the UK, so their claim of 4-6 weeks is a little inaccurate (good thing too, as shipping can be expensive, especially for the faster options). Remember to select "gift" to avoid any customs woes.

Chillblast - http://www.chillblast.co.uk
Excellent PC hardware supplier. Their prices might be a little higher than some of the two-bit flea-market suppliers like Overclockers UK, but their customer service is second to none. Highly recommended.

DVD Pacific - http://www.dvdpacific.com
Still my favourite source for US DVD and Blu-ray releases.

DVD World USA - http://www.dvdworldusa.com
A little on the pricey side, but due to the current exchange rate a good choice for US DVD and BD box sets, or indeed regular titles that would go over the customs limit. Customs charges are pre-paid, and they often ship titles ahead of the official street dates.

Kustom PCs - http://www.kustompcs.co.uk
Ayr (Scotland) based PC hardware supplier. Excellent customer service, friendly staff and good shipping times. The web site is a little clunky but other than that it's all good.

Movie Grooves - http://www.moviegrooves.com
Friendly and fast-shipping UK-based supplier of obscure music titles. Stocks a lot of Ennio Morricone and giallo scores.

MovieTyme - http://www.movietyme.com
Reasonably priced R1 DVD store, though not as cheap as DVD Pacific. They sell lots of stuff like Video Nasties and hard-core porn that is generally hard to get in the UK. All their packages are, in their words, "inconspicuous". They often ship DVDs before their actual release date.

Play - http://www.play.com
Professional and reliable store for buying R2 DVDs, music and games.

YesAsia - http://www.yesasia.com
Great place to buy Asian paraphernalia, including DVDs, CDs and electronics. Good prices, and customs charges are pre-paid.

 

Religion

 

Bible Trash - http://www.bibletrash.com
This excellent site debunks the various myths of The Bible by revealing just how stupid they are, and goes some way towards explaining just why people end up believing in such rubbish.

Debate Unlimited - http://www.mwillett.org
Covering not just religious lunacy but also all sorts of other life-related issues, Martin Willett's site contains more articles than you could shake a stick at and is filled to the brim with fantastic put-downs of religious mania (the mailbag section is a delight).

The Jack T. Chick Parody Archives - http://www.weirdcrap.com/chick
Remember Chick Publications? This is a hilarious and entirely accurate parody of these "comics", complete with the requisite terrible art.

Landover Baptist - http://www.landoverbaptist.org
Landover Baptist is a hilarious site taking the piss out of the Christian nutters.

Scottish Atheist Council - http://www.scottishatheistcouncil.org.uk
Linked here simply for containing one of the funniest responses I've ever seen to a tiring question: "Q: Are you Anti-Religious?" "A: Yes."

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible - http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/index.html
An intelligent analysis of The Bible, pointing out all the (many) inconsistencies and (much) nonsense.

The White House - http://whitehouse.org
God knows how they managed to get this URL. From the makers of Landover Baptist, this site takes the piss out of George W. Bush and all the other neo-con pirates that have infested the White House. George Washington would be proud!

 

Fake Whimsy

From time to time, I like to replace my title page with a fake site, usually on April Fool's Day and on other important dates around the year. Here you can find an archive of all my mischief.

The Daily Wail

The Daily Wail

The Daily Wail stands up for Britain's ever-diminishing moral values and a staunch belief in Conservative (capital C) politics. In this thrilling time capsule, the Wail renews its campaign against vegetable porn and politicians who inhabit the same public houses as paedophiles. Oh, and there's a shock new exposé into the latest murder simulators available for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

 

The Criterion Collection

The Criterion Collection

The Criterion Collection is an exclusive boutique label dedicated to bringing dedicated (and wealthy) cinéastes obscure (and expensive) titles from around the world, supplemented by trendy, minimalist packaging and exhaustive bonus features. A range of new prestigious and highly sought-after titles were recently added to the collection, including the masterful social satire Problem Child, the tragic melodrama Crossroads: A Britney Spears Tale, and Manos: The Hands of Fate, unanimously considered the finest horror film ever created.

 

The Pretentious Entertainers

The Pretentious Entertainers

The global phenomenon that is The Pretentious Entertainers cannot be overstated. With sales of their second album, Dying Feathers, already in double figures, the Entertainers have truly become a part of the zeitgeist. Join Rodriguez Esperanto (CEO, lead vocals, guitars), Raymond "Duke" Ferrera (lead creative pioneer, drums, backing vocals) and Clint Barbarella (bass guitar, accoustic whistle, backing vocals) as these musical scientists take the world by storm and redefine song.

 

The Society of Cutting Up Movies

The Society of Cutting Up Movies

The oldest and some would say best of the fake sites, the Society of Cutting Up Movies is a project Lyris and I began back in 2002. It actually emerged as a result of an extremely boring English Literature lecture, which I used to write a press release for a ficticious organization somewhat transparently based on the BBFC. These days the BBFC are relatively (note the word "relatively") lenient in terms of state censorship, so the SCUM is beginning to look a little outrageous, but the potency of its message (i.e. that gay bricklayers from Liverpool need to be protected from Video Nasties™) still remains. Praise the Lord!

 

Will Darcey Pictures

Will Darcey Pictures

The peddlers of the lowest common denominator in TV entertainment and cheap knock-off sequels to classic cartoons have launched their new web site! Marvel at the latest news on Pinocchio 3D, discover what happens in a very special episode of General Hospital commemorating the show's 60th anniversary, whoop for joy as you read about the exclusive special features on Quentin Tarantino's upcoming presentation of the little-seen cult classic Citizen Kane, and find out just what Goofy is playing on his iPod this week.

 
Introduction

This section is for stuff that doesn't really belong anywhere - questions you might have, links to fun sites, and so on.

Other