The Refined Cowboy Blog - The Refined Cowboy - Writer For Hire

What Happened To Yeoman Janice Rand?

16/4/2019

One of the main cast members of Star Trek during its first season in 1966, actress Grace Lee Whitney had a promising future as the Enterprise's Yeoman Janice Rand, but after only 13 episodes she was gone. What happened to her? I read her autobiography The Longest Trek to find out...

Hesitation, Repetition and Deviation - A Lifetime of Laughter in Just a Minute

22/3/2019

With one host who has never missed a recording, celebrate almost 50 years of BBC Radio 4's Just A Minute.

As we draw a close to series 75 and 900 episodes, lets take a look at what makes the show such a hilarious success...

TRANSFORMERS: Battling Bots Cost A Lot

16/10/2018

Recently a car lease company took time out to break down the cost of all damage in the Transformers films and work out how much time is dedicated to action scenes. Interestingly, over the course of the entire franchise there is only a surprising amount of on-screen fighting.

The Future According To Film

20/9/2018

Sci-fi movies set in the future often ignite our imaginations with dreams of possibilities of advanced technology. One internet provider analysed the accuracy of 10 great sci-fi movies and examined how close they came to predicting the technological advances of the years they are set in.

THE HEATING BILL IS COMING: Game Of Thrones Castles

15/8/2018

With the Game of Thrones TV show nearly over, some energy boffins have taken the time and resources to work out how each of the major castles in the series could be powered, and how much it would cost.

POOR EYESIGHT PICTURES: MR Magooing Some Of Hollywood's Most Iconic Moments

3/1/2018

Few movie characters could get by in their most iconic scenes without their eyesight. In an attempt to show the world how important taking care of your eyesight really is, one company has created a series of comics with a humorous bent.

SAVED BY A SMARTPHONE: Superheroes Of The 21st Century

7/12/2017

Superhero movies are at the height of popularity at the moment, and one comics illustrator has made the suggestion that the capabilities of our smartphones are in some small way the equal of caped crusaders.

Comic Relief Special

22/11/2017

Friday witnessed Comic Relief raising their highest ever money total. In excess of £40 Million was collected, almost £3 million more than the last Red Nose Day. Many North Wales locals were involved in the fundraising.

A STORY OF STRAW: Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival Review

28/8/2017

On the final day of the two week event, Dee and Bryn experience the Kettlewell Scarecrow Trail, an annual scarecrow festival organised by the villagers of Kettlewell, Yorkshire. The festival includes a competition, a comical taste of village life and a bevvy of stars from film, TV and history. They even have a go at being scarecrows themselves. Did it end well? Read on to find out...

BIG DEAL: Michael Boddicker - Buckaroo Banzai End Theme

22/7/2016

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a film that defies convention. Among many of the strange treats it offers is an exciting and uplifting end sequence...