Book review: THE ULTIMATE ACTUARIAL JOKE BOOK (John Lee)

John Lee, whose two books Actuarial Fairy Tales and Confessions of an Actuarial Tutor I have previously reviewed on my blog, continues with his streak of actuarial high jinx with his latest offering, The Ultimate Actuarial Joke Book. I was entertained greatly by those two creations, so I expected more comedy from this book, not least because it is, quite literally, compendium of jokes.

It certainly didn’t disappoint. The book features a wide variety of types of jokes formats, from zingy one-liners, jokes that follow classic ‘knock knock or ‘Doctor, Doctor’ formats, visual comedy in the form of memes, or gags that require more of a build-up before the punchline is delivered. By mixing the way the jokes are delivered, this means reading The Ultimate Actuarial Joke Book never gets stale, with the reader kept on their toes.

My 10 favourite films of 2018 [5-3]

Part 1 of the blog was here! As I've written longer mini-reviews for the top five this year, but don't intend on writing a full review of the first-placed film (like I did last year with Dunkirk #twinksonabeach), I'm going to divide coverage of the top 5 as a 3:2 split!

05. The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos made my personal top 5 of 2017 for his deliciously wicked take on the Greek tragedy, The Killing of the Sacred Deer, and he does the business again with another amoral morality tale, although of a very different flavour.

Oscar predictions, 2019

I did rather well last year, guessing every category bar the short film ones correctly. Let's see if I can match that form this year!

Best Picture: Green Book 

Emsy's Favourite Songs, 2k15 edition

It starts with Kanye West, ends with Kanye West, and has everything from Taylor Swift, One Direction and Nina Simone in the middle.

1. Homecoming (Kanye West ft. Chris Martin)
2. Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
3. Alison (Elvis Costello)
4. What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction)
5. Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles)
6. Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright)
7. Sinnerman (Nina Simone)
8. I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor Swift)
9. Sexy! No No No… (Girls Aloud)
10. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie (Joanna Newsom)
11. Off to the Races (Lana del Rey)
12. Fancy (Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX)
13. November Has Come (Gorillaz)
14. Samson (Regina Spektor)
15. Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits)
16. Run this Town (Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West)
17. Power (Kanye West)
18. Untouchable (Girls Aloud)
19. This is What Makes Us Girls (Lana del Rey)
20. Paper Planes (M.I.A.)
21. Talk Show Host (Radiohead)
22. Lullaby (Dixie Chicks)
23. All These Things that I've Done (The Killers)
24. Angie Baby (Helen Reddy)
25. 22 (Taylor Swift)
26. Wild Boys (Duran Duran)
27. Love the Way You Lie Part II (Rihanna ft. Eminem)
28. Head over Heels (Tears for Fears)
29. Boys Don't Cry (The Cure)
30. One Thing (One Direction)
31. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Queen)
32. Let it Go (Idina Menzel)
33. Problem (Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea)
34. Glory Box (Portishead)
35. Hey Stephen (Taylor Swift)
36. Empire State of Mind: Broken Down (Alicia Keys)
37. 2am (The Saturdays)
38. Adia (Sarah McLachlan)
39. Tiny Dancer (Elton John)
40. Baba O'Riley (The Who)
41. Wildwood Flower (June Carter Cash)
42. The Loving Kind (Girls Aloud)
43. California Dreamin' (The Mamas and the Papas)
44. Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis)
45. My Father's Gun (Elton John)
46. Riding in Cars with Boys (Lana del Rey)
47. Seasons of Love (Idina Menzel)
48. When She Loved Me (Sarah McLachlan)
49. Royals (Lorde)
50. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
51. Brandy Alexander (Feist)
52. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
53. Defying Gravity (Idina Menzel)
54. Love Affair (Regina Spektor)
55. Video Games (Lana del Rey)
56. I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea (Elvis Costello)
57. Dragon Queen (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
58. Under Pressure (Queen ft. David Bowie)
59. Brown Eyes (Lady Gaga)
60. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference (Todd Rundgren)
61. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
62. Underneath Your Clothes (Shakira)
63. Beneath Your Beautiful (Labrinth ft. Emile Sande)
64. Breathe (Taylor Swift)
65. Travelin' Soldier (Dixie Chicks)
66. Numb Encore (Jay Z ft. Linkin Park)
67. Lovely Head (Goldfrapp)
68. I Wish I Knew How it Feels to Be Free (Nina Simone)
69. Shout (Tears for Fears)
70. She (Elvis Costello)
71. Vincent (Don McLean)
72. Golden Slumbers (K.D. Lang)
73. Lullaby (The Cure)
74. Love will Tear us Apart (Joy Division)
75. All Along the Watchtower (Devlin ft. Ed Sheeran)
76. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)
77. Pennies in my Pocket (Emilio Estefan)
78. Jackson (Johnny and June Carter Cash)
79. Wonderwall (Oasis)
80. Airplanes part 2 (B.o.B, Hayley Williams & Eminem)
81. The Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen)
82. The River (Joni Mitchell)
83. Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)
84. Hey Mama (Kanye West)
85. Braille (Regina Spektor)
86. Back to Black (Amy Winehouse)
87. O Saya (A.R. Rahman ft. M.I.A)
88. Baby (Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris)
89. Chillin' (WALE ft. Lady Gaga)
90. Take a Bow (Rihanna)
91. About the Boy (Little Mix)
92. Work (Kelly Rowland)
93. Ignition (Remix) (R. Kelly)
94. Breathe Me (Sia)
95. Strict Machine (Goldfrapp)
96. Notorious (Duran Duran)
97. Too Young (Phoenix)
98. Call the Shots (Girls Aloud)
99. Shake it Off (Taylor Swift)
100. Gold Digger (Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx)

Album Review: TAKE ME HOME (One Direction)

The dreamy boy band’s second album had a difficult job, having to follow up to last year’s Up All Night, which featured the massively popular One Thing, Gotta Be You, and especially What Makes You Beautiful which was one of the tunes selected to be sung in the Olympics closing ceremony. The sequel, however, more than lives up to billing, The Godfather Part II of albums, if you will. 

There isn’t a song on it that stands out quite as much as What Makes You Beautiful did, but the overall quality is much greater.

The opening track, Live While We’re Young, an ode to living for the moment and YOLO-ing it up, is the closest to being the WMYB of the album, filled with up-tempo beats and cheeky one liners (“and if you get together, get together, don’t let the pictures leave your phone.”) Even the chorus, “let’s go crazy crazy crazy ‘til we see the sun”, you can imagine singing in a manner identical to the chorus to WMYB, and Zayn delivers some powerhouse at the refrain of “And giiiiiiirl, you and I, we’re about to make some memories tonight”; Mr Malik, in my opinion, is the one who has come the furthest, vocally, between the first and second albums.

Emma's favourite song list, 2011.

It’s a yearly thing that I do – list my top 100 songs, and then see how much the list has changed. So, here we go for the 2011 edition!

(side note – unlike my taste in films and rather more like my taste in footballers, my taste in music is atrocious. R&B and girlband choons lamenting love are pretty much my life’s calling. But I like what I like, and I ain’t gonna front about it! So learn to deal.jpg :p)

01. Homecoming (Kanye West ft. Chris Martin)
02. Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
03. Angie Baby (Helen Reddy)
04. Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles)
05. Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright)
06. Alison (Elvis Costello)
07. Sinnerman (Nina Simone)
08. Sexy! No No No… (Girls Aloud)
09. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie (Joanna Newsom)
10. Paper Planes (M.I.A.)
11. November Has Come (Gorillaz)
12. Samson (Regina Spektor)
13. Adia (Sarah McLachlan)
14. Run this Town (Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West)
15. Power (Kanye West)
16. Untouchable (Girls Aloud)
17. Talk Show Host (Radiohead)
18. Lullaby (Dixie Chicks)
19. All These Things that I've Done (The Killers)
20. Love the Way You Lie Part II (Rihanna ft. Eminem)
21. Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits)
22. Head over Heels (Tears for Fears)
23. Boys Don't Cry (The Cure)
24. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Queen)
25. Defying Gravity (Idina Menzel)

26. Glory Box (Portishead)
27. Hey Stephen (Taylor Swift)
28. Empire State of Mind: Broken Down (Alicia Keys)
29. 2am (The Saturdays)
30. Fix Up Look Sharp (Dizzee Rascal)
31. Tiny Dancer (Elton John)
32. Baba O'Riley (The Who)
33. Wildwood Flower (June Carter Cash)
34. My Love (Sia)
35. The Loving Kind (Girls Aloud)
36. California Dreamin' (The Mamas and the Papas)
37. Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis)
38. My Father's Gun (Elton John)
39. Seasons of Love (Idina Menzel)
40. What’s My Name? (Rihanna)
41. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
42. Brandy Alexander (Feist)
43. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
44. Love Affair (Regina Spektor)
45. I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea (Elvis Costello)
46. Dragon Queen (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
47. Under Pressure (Queen ft David Bowie)
48. Brown Eyes (Lady Gaga)
49. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference (Todd Rundgren)
50. Clothes Off! (Gym Class Heroes)

51. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
52. Underneath Your Clothes (Shakira)
53. Breathe (Taylor Swift)
54. Travelin' Soldier (Dixie Chicks)
55. Jesus Walks (Kanye West)
56. Numb Encore (Jay Z ft. Linkin Park)
57. Lovely Head (Goldfrapp)
58. I Wish I Knew How it Feels to Be Free (Nina Simone)
59. Shout (Tears for Fears)
60. She (Elvis Costello)
61. Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz)
62. Vincent (Don McLean)
63. Love will Tear us Apart (Joy Division)
64. Lullaby (The Cure)
65. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)
66. Sunshowers (M.I.A.)
67. Pennies in my Pocket (Emilio Estefan)
68. Jackson (Johnny and June Carter Cash)
69. Dream on (Aerosmith)
70. Wonderwall (Oasis)
71. Make You Feel My Love (Adele)
72. Airplanes part 2 (B.o.B, Hayley Williams & Eminem)
73. The Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen)
74. Teenage Dream (Katy Perry)
75. Momentum (Aimee Mann)

76. The River (Joni Mitchell)
77. Golden Slumbers (K.D. Lang)
78. Hey Mama (Kanye West)
79. Braille (Regina Spektor)
80. Back to Black (Amy Winehouse)
81. O Saya (A.R. Rahman ft. M.I.A)
82. Bossy (Kelis)

83. Chillin' (WALE ft Lady Gaga)
84. Take a Bow (Rihanna)
85. Lean on Me (Bill Withers)
86. Ignition (Remix) (R. Kelly)
87. The Call (Regina Spektor)
88. Machine Gun (Portishead)
89. Twentyfourseven (Artful Dodger)
90. Strict Machine (Goldfrapp)
91. Motivation (Kelly Rowland ft. Lil’ Wayne)
92. Too Young (Phoenix)
93. The Next Messiah (Jenny Lewis)
94. You've got the Dirtee Love (Florence and the Machine ft Dizzee Rascal)
95. No More (3LW)
96. Feel Good inc (Gorillaz)
97. We Will Rock You (Queen)
98. Like I Love You (Justin Timberlake)
99. Call the Shots (Girls Aloud)
100. Forget You (Cee Lo Green)

By artist:
Kanye: 6
Girls Aloud: 4
Rihanna: 4
The Beatles: 3
Queen: 3
Gorillaz: 3
Elvis Costello: 3

Every year, the list must be done.

2009's and 2008's, if you're interested. A bit of a bizarre list, I'm afraid, an ecclectic mix of modern RnB/hip-hop and old-school choons. Anything that tickles my fancy, really, and a lot of things tickle my fancy, so.

1. Angie Baby (Helen Reddy)
2. Homecoming (Kanye West ft. Chris Martin)
3. Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
4. Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles)
5. Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright)
6. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie (Joanna Newsom)
7. Alison (Elvis Costello)
8. Paper Planes (M.I.A.)
9. November Has Come (Gorillaz)
10. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Queen)
11. Sinnerman (Nina Simone)
12. Run this Town (Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West)
13. Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits)
14. Happy Hour (Cheryl Cole)

15. Samson (Regina Spektor)
16. Adia (Sarah McLachlan)
17. Empire State of Mind: Broken Down (Alicia Keys)
18. Boys Don't Cry (The Cure)
19. Talk Show Host (Radiohead)
20. Defying Gravity (Idina Menzel)
21. Glory Box (Portishead)
22. Head over Heels (Tears for Fears)
23. Hey Stephen (Taylor Swift)
24. Fix Up Look Sharp (Dizzee Rascal)
25. Lullaby (Dixie Chicks)
26. Tiny Dancer (Elton John)
27. Baba O'Riley (The Who)
28. Wildwood Flower (June Carter Cash)
29. My Love (Sia)
30. California Dreamin' (The Mamas and the Papas)
31. Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis)
32. My Father's Gun (Elton John)
33. Seasons of Love (Idina Menzel)
34. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
35. All These Things that I've Done (The Killers)
36. Brandy Alexander (Feist)
37. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
38. Love Affair (Regina Spektor)
39. I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea (Elvis Costello)
40. Dragon Queen (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
41. Under Pressure (Queen ft David Bowie)
42. Brown Eyes (Lady Gaga)
43. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference (Todd Rundgren)
44. Clothes Off! (Gym Class Heroes)
45. Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
46. Underneath Your Clothes (Shakira)
47. Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
48. Breathe (Taylor Swift)
49. Travelin' Soldier (Dixie Chicks)
50. Jesus Walks (Kanye West)
51. Numb Encore (Jay Z ft. Linkin Park)
52. Lovely Head (Goldfrapp)
53. I Wish I Knew How it Feels to Be Free (Nina Simone)
54. Shout (Tears for Fears)
55. She (Elvis Costello)
56. Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz)
57. Vincent (Don McLean)
58. Love will Tear us Apart (Joy Division)
59. Lullaby (The Cure)
60. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)
61. Redemption Song (Bob Marley)
62. Sunshowers (M.I.A.)
63. Pennies in my Pocket (Emilio Estefan)
64. Jackson (Johnny and June Carter Cash)
65. Dream on (Aerosmith)
66. Wonderwall (Oasis)
67. Sexy! No No No... (Girls Aloud)
68. Don't Stop Me Now (Queen)
69. Friday I'm in Love (The Cure)
70. Make You Feel My Love (Adele)
71. Airplanes part 2 (B.o.B, Hayley Williams & Eminem)
72. The Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen)
73. Can't Speak French (Girls Aloud)
74. Momentum (Aimee Mann)
75. The River (Joni Mitchell)
76. Golden Slumbers (K.D. Lang)
77. Hey Mama (Kanye West)
78. Braille (Regina Spektor)
79. Back to Black (Amy Winehouse)
80. Dance wiv Me (Dizzee Rascal ft Calvin Harris)
81. On to the Next One (Jay-Z)
82. O Saya (A.R. Rahman ft. M.I.A)
83. Fix Me Up (Girls Aloud)
84. Bossy (Kelis)
85. Chillin' (WALE ft Lady Gaga)
86. Remedy (Little Boots)
87. Lean on Me (Bill Withers)
88. Ignition (Remix) (R. Kelly)
89. The Call (Regina Spektor)
90. Machine Gun (Portishead)
91. Twentyfourseven (Artful Dodger)
92. The Way I Are (Timbaland)
93. Strict Machine (Goldfrapp)
94. Too Young (Phoenix)
95. The Next Messiah (Jenny Lewis)
96. Heartbreaker (Will.i.am ft Cheryl Cole)
97. You've got the Dirtee Love (Florence and the Machine ft Dizzee Rascal)
98. Born Free (M.I.A.)
99. No More (3LW)
100. Feel Goold inc (Gorillaz)