Vorsprung durch technik

We were on the train back from Brighton the other week. It was packed with people returning to London after a day out and the like. Our day out had been nice. The weather was warm and sunny, perhaps the end of the summer [as I type this, thunder rumbles outside and the rain drums on the skylights very soothingly].

I had bought small jars of quince jam and tapenade from BBC employees moonlighting as artisan small jar fillers behind a market stall in Brighton town centre. Tasty fusion food was consumed, several ales were downed with girlfriend's sister, her bloke and their growing v fast child [well, not that fast - he stuck to the milk...]

Back on the train we're ankle deep in Sunday Papers, sharing them with fellow train-goers. Opposite me is this guy Brooks Buford - it says 'Brooks Buford - straight outta rehab' on his T-shirt, and not being an MTVEurope watcher I have no idea that he's a rapper/presenter/whatever... Kind of a post-Vice Eminem, yah?

I'm tickled by the fact that he has a tattoo of Ludwig Van on one arm and Van Gogh on the other [I'm wearing a pair of Vans as well, but mine are trainers.] He also has 'Epiphania' tattooed on a forefinger, possibly in tribute to Peter André, which you can see in the pic below.














I noticed all this detail because as he was tooling about on his handheld gaming device, a new Nintendo DS, this younger looking guy who's standing up next to the doors leans over and says 'Are you playing Super Mario?' and the next thing I'm watching Vic...

...who is an Interactive Media Design student at Bournemouth Uni, trounce Brooks via Bluetooth. It's a transatlantic not face to face face off, and it's massively entertaining.

So Brooks gets whopped 2-0, then Vic had to get off the train with his nice girlfriend Vicki [also a student, at Bath]... He took time to point out to Brooks a gaming tip that if you grab the stars, you get further [although I could just be making that up in an attempt at establishing the hitherto elusive cultural significance analogy this little event suggested.]

Brooks seemed nice as well, and not nearly as surly as his web lair pics might suggest. He was affable in defeat - he just rolled with it. The quince jam is very tasty, by the way.