Skypeing...

Joules: [shakes head] I wasn't imagining it - even Ken and Kai can see it. I have an Arcane streak developing in my hair - bizarrely in exactly the same place as his. 'course, his is blond and dyed while mine is silver and natural, but still...
Lutra: ROFLMAO!
[shrugs helplessly] Although... it's quite cute akshully.
Now that's what I call channelling!
[headdesk] Should I mention it on the blog or wait 'til I can get a decent photo?
Mention it, then post a pic later.
Or I could quote this convo.
[g] or that!

What makes it worse - or better, depending on your point of view - is that when it's short (for me that is, shoulder-length and layered as opposed to knee-length as it was before I had Ken chop it) and brushed back from my face, my hair looks somewhat like his too, being thick and wavy... [sigh]

So that's half the article written. I have to dive into town tomorrow for Yule shopping and a new loo-seat - yes, the hinges have gone on the lid yet again, damned cheap and badly-made Chinese rubbish. That's the third one in a year. Going to try Gardiner Haskins, see if they have something decent. And I shall have another look for something for Ken.

[bg] My first online interview is now posted over at Vampchix.

Was a lot less stressful than my first radio one...

Brain gone AWOL. I must have done something today but I can't think what it was...

Hate days like that...

Oh - yes. I recorded the whole of Tin Man on DVD while I was working - it's a series I like, but not enough to want to fork out for.

First MLC Murder She Wrote is on tomorrow at 1pm.

Time. Need TIME. Need it NOW.

T.A.R.D.I.S. Clones. Immortality. Even a 60-hour day would do.

Fun day with parents - took mum through to Keynsham to investigate the charity shops, where I found the Who Dares Wins DVD to replace my video copy (which has gone home with the folks as they've never seen it and think they'll enjoy it).

Also, received fantastic email from Swamp Thing fan with absolutely masses of info, links, Youtube clips, etc. etc. and I promise I will get back to you tomorrow, if you're reading this...

Watched Fell asleep to the George Clooney version of Solaris - pretty but about as laboured as the original Russian version but not as good - as it's sort of about phantoms. And now I have to get back to the Swamp Thing fic - it's all taking too long and I am limited by how fast I can type. Not to mention that I now have some client site stuff waiting to be done as well as the Imbolc article...

Well, we've put up a few decorations and the tree, though less than previous years and none out in my room: my snowflakes are hanging from the hall and landing ceilings for a change. It looks festive enough for us, and Kai has his colour-changing fibre-optic tree making pretties in his room. It'll do.

I'm taking it easy this Yule, not even setting the table properly for dinner this year. Admittedly it would be tricky, given I have half the greenhouse contents on top of it and all Kai's railway rolling stock under it and nowhere else to put it all... So we shall eat from the little TV tables instead.

Working on the fourth Swamp Thing fic instalment. I'm really enjoying this, it feels like ages since I've written any fanfic and getting the teeth into both the charas and the background is such fun. (Yes, I know I have the Imbolc article to do: I'm making notes as I write the fic and will tackle it on Monday.) It does mean that Lutra's gift-fic is unlikely to be done by Yule, I'm afraid, but I need to reacquaint myself with both the subtler nuances of Torchwood (had first season on in background while fic-writing this afternoon) and remind myself of the intricacies of Being Human (which is now on its way from amazon, half as a business expense as Ken also needs it for research purposes). I takes pride in my work, I does.

Back to Arcane and Graham...

Bah humbug...

There was a time I really enjoyed wrapping presents - now it's just a chore. I must be getting old or summat...

Quite a successful day's shopping though: got the last of the things I went for for the folks to take back with them tomorrow, stocked up the freezer with the party packs for Boxing Day, and found a copy of Chapter 27 to add to my MLC collection. Now I just need Silk Hope, Separate Lives and Beethoven's 4th and I'll have all the films!

Picked the last of the cherry tomatoes from the greenhouse. Homegrown tomatoes in December, whatever next!

[spooks] and True Blood tonight (missed them on Wednesday because of Under the Greenwood Tree) then back to the loom...

It has been a bemusing and interesting sort of day...

First thing that happened was a friendly email from an original Swamp Thing (TV Series) fan arriving in my inbox. This is someone whose writing I rather like, so I was, naturally, thoroughly chuffed.

Then I finished the review of Under the Greenwood Tree. It's a bit shorter than Cider with Rosie: it was first night, and I believe the nerves were running a little rampant!

And my latest LoveFilm rental arrived, Biggles, which I wanted to see because it has Daniel Flynn as Ginger. Daniel Flynn is the English seiyuu for Benten, Narsus, Brahma et al whose voice just makes me melt, and I was intrigued as to what he looked like. (Not bad, is the answer.) As for the film - it's enjoyable nonsense, all terribly terribly toodle-pip and what ho! 1917 British, a very silly but fun time-travel yarn. Released in 1986 and ye gods it shows, with a soundtrack including Ian Anderson and Deep Purple. One to pick up if I ever see it going cheap anywhere, but not one to try to order.

... back to the loom...

Well that was hectic. The parents are coming up for a pre-Yule visit on Saturday and I suddenly realised I hadn't finished getting mum's presents - so it was a manic dash into town, where I ended up also picking up something for Ken (who is an absolute nightmare to buy for) and a tin of medium red fast-fermenting home wine (because I'm pissed off with having to spend £1.99 on a tiny bottle of cooking wine every time I want to add it to my cooking - which is most of the time...) And some cards. And some strawberry pocky and provisions from the Chinese supermarket.

Then this evening Ken and I went to the St Luke's Players amdram performance of Thomas Hardy's Under the Greenwood Tree (regular readers may remember that I went to their performance of Cider with Rosie earlier this year). I'm about to write the review...

[bemused] Had an email this afternoon from the editor of Soul and Spirit magazine asking me to write next year's Imbolg article for them. [grin] Nice to be wanted. Of course, it has to be quite different from this year's.

They want it by the 11th of December. I shall ponder...

Cambria in flower (smells gorgeous), second cambria flower spike below it, phalaenopsis flower spike in foreground. The last flower of the new little phal is still hanging on...




Cambria. Would look better with a dark background...




... and Tyjer helping to change our bedding...



This camera is definitely ailing. It's eating batteries like there's no tomorrow, and half the time the telescopic function won't work. Going to need a new one pretty soon.

Taken from outside the kitchen window. Beautiful sight. (Gamma adjusted slightly to show markings.)

[bemused] I made a typo a couple of weeks ago on Skype, typing 'fun' as 'fy=un', and in a moment of insanity told Lutra that if she could work out the formula, for which this is the proof, I'd write her a fic. Any fandom she wants, any plot or plot elements she wants...

Yesterday evening she came back with the formula:

f(full moon) X y(yoik) = u(undead) X n(night blooms)

Which looks good to me - and in context of the fic challenge makes perfect sense:

"Hehehehe. Being Human X Torchwood (after all, Bristol isn't far from Cardiff...)
George in danger; Jack/Ianto (what a surprise); pre-slash George/Mitchell, and Annie makes coffee..."

[blink] Uh, OK...

It probably explains why I dreamed last night that I was wandering around a seaside town (Brighton? Bournemouth?) with John Barrowman dressed as Captain Jack. Which was great fun! There's no deadline for the fic, fortunately, but I shall try to have it finished for Yule if possible.

Ken got halfway through putting the cover on Kai's downie before Tyjer decided to help...
I now have two sweet peppers and one bell pepper plants sitting on my table, in from the greenhouse in the hope they'll survive the winter. Be a good head start on the growing season if they do (even better if the five sweet peppers still on them develop fully...) And I've planted another five lettuce seeds in the trough in the greenhouse to see if they grow. The variety is supposed to be cold-resistant and is very tasty: it would be nice to have homegrown lettuce over the winter.

[big happy grin] Got the guitar, £69 at Cash Converter - a Squier by Fender Stratocaster. It's had a knock at some point - there's a small chip in the paint at the back - but it doesn't affect the sound and it was partly why it was so cheap. The Squier website price list brings up a 404 page, but other places are selling them for just under 200 quid.

The sound is amazing, so much richer and mellower than the Freecycled one, and Reverb were able to fit a tremolo arm for us.

Kai is absolutely over the moon.

(Sprog also announced he needed a capo, which I said I'd buy for him before I found out the price. [wince] All Reverb had was a Shubb at £20...) Unfortunately Cash Converter didn't have the sort of amp he wants (one with effects) but he still has Yule money left so we can search out the right sort later. He's going to keep the old guitar, as a spare so that friends won't need to bring one with them when they come round to jam.

Heh. I need a bigger house.

Ken's taken him into town to the Odeon (doncha just love all day bus tickets?) to see Paranormal Activity this evening, while I get some writing done. Although I could indulge in a little MLC first...

Ken said we should see if there was anything to watch on FilmFlex...

It's amazing how many of the choices we already have. But nestling in the 'special' folder (for 99p) was Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus.

[headdesk] Oh, it's bad. But now we've satisfied the curiosity we'll never have to watch it again. Although I missed a lot of it because I fell asleep - it was that bad. Eh well.

[g] The Charmed ep is fun! And it recorded just fine (and the DVD-RW discs work OK too) but I have identified a bit of a... problem is probably too strong a word. Irritating quirk? That comes closer. Playback is perfect on the DVD recorder, but not on our DVD player, which plays at 4:3 regardless and has done something extremely odd to the aspect ratio for the disc I've just done, stretching the image out sideways just enough to be really annoying. It means I can really only playback my own recorded DVDs on the recorder - which is OK as long as the thing lasts, but still a pain in the backside. Next time I shall buy a Panasonic player and see if that fixes the problem.

Mind you, maybe next time I'll be able to afford something a little more expensive and better quality!

Planning to take Kai shopping with his Yule money tomorrow. He wants a new guitar: fitting the tremolo arm on the old Freecycled one has bowed the bridge slightly and the strings keep slackening off. It's still playable, but it is rather old. He could also do with a decent amp. So we're off to the Cash Converter: I've seen what look like decent guitars there from £59, and since the grandparents have been exceptionally generous this year, we might be able to get both guitar and amp...

[BG] Got it working. Though the configuration is a bit different from the diagram in the booklet, mainly because it shows it set up for a satellite connection and of course we have cable. Plus it's shunted all our previous channel selections around, but every piece of new kit we get does that, so we're used to it by now. However, it works, we've got the basic controls sorted, and tried recording (on highest quality) and it's great. Currently recording Ghost Whisperer so we can find out how to finalise the DVD when the recording's done.

And there's a page at the back of the booklet that explains how to connect it to record from VCR to DVD, so looks like we're all set!

So - many thanks GoodTwin, but hopefully I won't have to ask you to transfer things for me any more! (I also won't be looking for Charmed season 2 for me, but will keep an eye out for it for you, Sue.)

The instructions do seem to indicate that the DVD-RW discs should work just fine, so I'll give them a try tomorrow and see. I suppose it might just have been a few people with faulty recorders having problems with them...


This is my settee. This is where I'm supposed to sit. It's a two-seater settee. This is my settee usurped by Very Large Cat...

... I've just bought a DVD recorder...

I mean, I've just walked over to Curry's, bought one of these on special for £149.99, and carried it back...

No, I haven't bought it so I can record the MLC ep of Charmed tomorrow (although it will be handy for that!) It looks as though Ken may have another project on the way, and will need to record a considerable amount of research material - and since we can't get the VCR to record any more it seemed a sensible move. With a bit of luck I'll be able to transfer some of the taped stuff too, some Muse and No Doubt, weathergens and quarxx, odd bits and pieces I've taped over the years and want to keep. That is, assuming the connections all marry up properly. (I'm leaving that to K&K - instructions don't like me...)

[headdesk] And I also picked up a spindle of TDK DVD-RW discs, and I've just read in the amazon forum that they don't work on this machine. Bugger it. Will have to nip out and buy a spindle of DVD-Rs tomorrow...

Will also need to rearrange the TV stand. The new machine is region 2: apparently it's possible to get a gizmo that will unlock it to region 1 as well, but that's no help to me and my Chinese, Japanese and Korean DVDs, so we'll have to have both in operation and buy a three way switch... Actually, no, the two way one will do: once I've transferred the stuff I want we'll only use the VCR on rare occasions.

Kai arrived home saying he, the B and N sprogs, and an L sprog I don't know, are going to be playing Green Day's song Good Riddance - Time of Your Life for their part in the school's Yule performance, Kai and L on guitar, B on bass, and N on keyboards. Well, it's not absolutely confirmed yet, but they've been learning it in preparation.

[bemused] Apparently this is MLC's favourite song.

Synchronicity. I love it.

In other news, we're all feeling quite a bit better, even if Kai says he's aching all over but not badly enough to want to lie down and do nothing. I suspect he may actually have a very (very) mild dose of 'flu.

Trapped: Buried Alive arrived today. I took a couple of hours off to watch it. Dreadful special effects at the end aside, it's not that bad - quite an enjoyable disaster film. And the MLC episode of Charmed is on Living on Friday, so I shall be watching that. Unfortunately I have no way of recording it though, and I'm not sure I like Charmed enough to want to fork out for the whole season just for one ep. Perhaps I should watch a few more and see if it grabs...


Later edit: the only Green Day album I know is American Idiot - an old favourite. So I watched Time of Your Life on YouTube...

Heh. I'll stick with Muse.

Well, so far so good - no sore throat, which may mean I've stopped it in its tracks. Fingers crossed anyway.

Poor Kai's not having much fun though. He's feeling rough, and he has mock exams all this week, poor sprog...

[sigh] Well, Ken feels a little better today, but now I'm fighting it off. And Kai has dreadful sniffles, but since I have never been able to persuade him to actually blow his nose that's not too surprising.

Will carry on with the First Defence. Even if it doesn't completely stop it developing, it'll help alleviate the worst of the symptoms...

Ken has either a particularly nasty cold or the 'flu - woke up feeling absolutely dreadful and has spent the day prostrate on the settee. (Even rang to say he won't be able to make it into court on Monday, and that's unheard of.) Hopefully it's just the normal variety, but I shall keep an eye on it anyway: his immune system is compromised with the Hep C.

Watched my latest LoveFilm rental this afternoon - the first DVD of the Broken Saints series. Or rather, we watched the first two 'chapters' and the first few minutes of the third before giving up. It's pretty enough I suppose, but having the words both spoken and appear on the screen as if in a comic drove me mad. And I couldn't bring myself to like or care about any of the characters.

Ken likened it to Vogon poetry. I won't be renting any more.

Back to the loom...

Heh. Lutra has suggested that I make the following - ongoing, probably eternal - comment...

When the posts on this blog are a bit sparse, or consist of LOLCats or personal photos...

It's probably because I'm wrangling universes in the background.

Friday night Skypeing...

Lutra (reading from the new Swamp Thing intro on WaveWrights): 'making all but the first few guides inaccessible from the main page. Except for me, because I'm a genius... ' ROFLMAO!
Joules: [smirk]

Joules in Haloscan comments: [shudder] But I have a pathological hatred of socks...
... especially on otherwise bare legs...

ROFLMAO!

Lutra in Haloscan comments: Oh well, I s'pose ebil geniuses have to have quirks, to balance out the ebil geniousnessness.

ROFLMAO!!!
[smirk] sidekicks know these sorts of things.

Joules: [smug smirk]
At least it's a relatively harmless quirk. I've not been known to fly into homicidal rages and bludgeon wearers of such monstrosities to death.

So far, anyway.

LOL!

Lutra: ... I'm sure we can all be grateful for that.

Sidekick, eh? [eyebrow] That would make you the Graham figure....
[fuge g] I've been the Graham equivalent in many scenarios.
... this is true.
ack no - if I start treating you like Graham throw a fish at me.
[beg] oh don't worry, I'll stamp my foot and threaten to get out the pom poms. Or just laugh.
[eyebrow] I see....
I have obviously lost some influence somewhere along the way. I shall have to devise something new to terrify you with...
oh, I quiver... [smirk] What's the point in terrifying me, anyway? I'm no fun when I'm terrified : )
... damn. Foiled again....
[carefully not smirking]
[glower] I can always go back to threatening to not let you read my fics as I write them, you know...
eep! [big eyes] I'llbegood!
[smug smirk] And the balance is restored....

o.O ... why is John Barrowman prancing around without his trousers...?

Oh, sorry, Children in Need, when otherwise fairly sensible people do very silly things to raise money... of course...

I don't think I'll put in a offer for his shorts though.

Interview is now emailed off: I'll post a link when it's online. Planning to start work on Heart next week!

Oh, and my other cambria also has a flower spike. Must be the time of year...

X-posted to the Updates Blog:

The new Swamp Thing index page is now uploaded - find it here.

Well, that was fun! The plot is even lamer the second time around, but the re-imagining of the characters is brilliant - even Ken thought so. And the gag reel is very funny...

Sequel due 2011 according to the IMDb...

Mond... Thursday shopping. Well, a morning of client site stuff first, then over to Tesco to dump the recyclables and pick up a few things. Problem is, the 'few things' always turns into a full load...

But Tesco had the Star Trek reboot for £9, so I picked one up. Ken says we've seen it on FlimFlex - Kai and I are sure we haven't. We'll see who's right after dinner.

The Vampires interview is almost ready to go, and I've expanded on the blurb on the WaveWrights page. Tonight I want to get the Swamp Thing: TV Series index page created with all the links. That'll be fun!



Later edit: Kai and I were right - Ken was thinking of Generations, which we sort of had on in the background when it was shown on TV a while back.

My copy of American Gothic arrived this afternoon, and I took an hour and a half off to watch it...

Hm. I've never been an aficionado of the slasher genre (note, that's slashER, not slash). I've seen a few - Friday 13th, a couple of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House of Wax, and about half an hour of Devil's Rejects before turning over in disgust - simply because I feel it's important to at least try all different film genres, but they really aren't my thing.

I bought American Gothic (1987) cheaply from play.com as part of my MLC collection, not expecting to enjoy it very much. But actually, poor IMDb rating aside, it's not at all bad. Far less gore and far more implied nastiness than more modern slasher films. Of course, as soon as it started I just knew MLC would be the first to die ('cos I'm lucky like that...[disgruntled sigh]. Actually, he ends up injured or dead - and often both - in most things he's in (that I've seen, anyway). As I commented to Lutra on Skype, in quite a few of Hugh Jackman's films he (Jackman) seems to end up with the woman he loves dead in his arms, often because he's killed her, and in his films MLC seems to die doing something heroic. Well, OK, not in Arcane's case... Is this some sort of weird typecasting?) and thereafter spends the rest of the film hanging around as a dead body, which is hardly a happy result. The ending was oddly satisfactory, though, and really quite different from most such films, I think. It's an 18, but Kai can cope with it (childe likes gore and grue) so we'll make time to watch it all together.

Now I'm just waiting for Trapped: Buried Alive to reach me from amazon.

This year's cambria flowers. Beautiful...

[grump] Was so knackered last night I decided I'd close down at 12.30 and get a decent night's sleep. Checked my backwards clock at 12.15 and thought I'd just have time to reach a natural break in the piece of fic I was working on...

When I next looked up the clock read 12.17. 'Funny', I thought, 'could have sworn I've been longer than a couple of minutes...' I think most people reading this will know by now that my relationship with Time is not of the most stable - bloody tenuous, in fact. So I carried on... only realising when I looked at my computer clock at 2.45 that in fact my backwards clock had stopped (dead battery). [sigh] Problem with it is that it still ticks and the second hand flicks when the battery is nearly dead, so it's not at all obvious that the clock has stopped.

So bang went my early night, and I had to get up early, so no lie-in either.

Tired now...

Took Kai to see 2012 today... Two hours of massive global destruction - great fun! One to pick up when the price is low, but it really needs to be seen on the big screen to get the best effect. Then again, I've always wanted a home cinema...

Usefully busy day, shopping and writing. Weather horrible though.

Dark City on shortly: Kai's staying up to watch it this time. It's one I haven't managed to pick up yet, and I really must...

And of course the lie-in didn't happen...

It's cold, and wet, and Tyjer is nagging me something awful to bring the sun back. He's a very vocal, very expressive cat - manages to get his message across better than any other cat that's owned me...

[growl] Tried on the new shoes. Or rather, I tried to try them. Wide fitting? I can't even get the bloody things on.

They haven't acknowledged my email yet, either. But at least there's a return paid slip in with the shoes.

Will just have to stick with Oxendales I suppose.

Dentist fine. Well, she checked my teeth, then took x-rays and said she'd see me in six months to discuss possible future treatment - which means I've had more bone loss around my gums, dammit.

Afterwards it was another dive into Pink Planet DVDs, where I picked up The Day the Earth Stood Still (the Keanu Reeves one, so we have both versions), Titanic - [sigh] I've bought the whole film just for five minutes of Chief Officer Wilde. Not obsessive, just dedicated, you see - and made it up to the '4 for £10' offer with Billy Elliot and Minority Report. I think I've now bought everything PPD has to offer us, and will need to wait a few months before I go back in, to allow them to get some new stock!

Didn't buy paint though. We've made an executive decision that it's now too cold and damp to make painting truly viable (not to mention that I haven't managed to find quite the right colours yet) so the redecorating is now being left until next spring.

[bemused and chuffed] Had an email from the US publisher of Vampires, saying that it's selling nicely and would I be prepared to do an online interview for VampChix? Damn right I would! I've been sent the questions they want to ask, and will be working on that over the weekend. And I ought to get the Heart section of the Haadri site in better shape before it goes live, too.

Planning to have a lie-in tomorrow morning (and now having said it, what do you bet it doesn't happen?)

Later!

[growl] One of those days...

I recently saw a TV ad for Hotter Shoes and thought, that looks interesting, and they sell extra-wide fittings, so I requested a catalogue, which arrived with the usual 10% off introductory discount (and free P&P). I laid it to one side until I had a few minutes to sit and browse - which somehow never happened, and a week later an enthusiastic circular arrived offering me 15% off (plus free P&P). Ooh, I thought, I really must check them out. And I still couldn't find the time. Then on Friday (I think it was) another one arrived offering 20% discount and free P&P. At this point I decided I'd better make the time...

I ordered a pair of these - in black of course. Rather more than I usually pay for shoes, but I really like the zig-zag strap, and they sound terrific.

So I'm sitting working today, when the doorbell goes. Before I've even had a chance to get up off my seat, I hear the letterbox being knocked - and broken off again - then immediately afterwards someone hammering loudly on the door. Not at all happy by now - do people seriously think I stand behind the door just waiting for them to make their presence known? - I opened the door to find the courier with the parcel, grinning down at the letterbox lying on the ground. I pointed out that the bell works and it is completely unnecessary to break the letterbox, and why didn't he wait and give me a chance to answer the door. At which he shoved the parcel into my hands and stormed off before I signed for it, shouting 'Don't bother saying thanks for the parcel' or words to that effect over his shoulder.

So the first thing I did was come back in, sit back down, find out how to complain and email the company to let them know about their courier's attitude. Will let you know how that works out.

The shoes are really lovely, but I can't try them on at the moment because my foot - the one I broke dancing barefoot to Into the Valley at a uni disco - is too swollen. Will leave it 'til the morning. I really hope they're comfortable. The company's selection is great, and finding comfortable shoes has been a nightmare for years.

Next week's [spooks] is on later - will probably stay up for that. Have to be up early, though, dentist first thing tomorrow.

I've had Muse's City of Delusion stuck in my head recently - hardly a nuisance as it's a crackin' song - so I looked up the lyrics...

Stay away from me
Build a fortress
And shield your beliefs
Touch the divine
As we fall in line

Can I believe
When I don't trust
All your theories
Turn to dust
I choose to hide
From the All Seeing Eye

Destroy this City of Delusion
Break these walls down
I will avenge
And justify my reasons
With your blood

You'll not rest
Or settle for less
Until you guzzle
And squander what’s left
Do not deny
That you live and let die

Destroy this City of Delusion
And break these walls down
I will avenge
And justify my reasons
With your blood

Um, yes. Strong stuff, that...

Mond... Tuesday shopping at Tesco early. Really because I wanted to check out the phones: ours are now a bit old and the batteries are playing up. Tesco do two decent PAYG WAP2 compatible mobiles (one's an LG, the other a Samsung) with camera (actually, it's hard to find a mobile without a camera these days) for under £25, which is all we want to have to pay - not Nokia, unfortunately, which would be my preference: the nearest Nokia is more expensive and comes with the ST communicator-style flip screen, which I don't want.

Other than that it's been the standard busy day.

Cat taking up the whole settee...

[headdesk] I remember the important thing I'd forgotten - Sue's birthday. Only it's not so much that I forgot it, more like I have it firmly entrenched in my memory that it's the 28th of November, instead of October. Sorry Sue. Hope it was a good one. There'll be a package on its way to you very soon...

Cambria flower spike on the right, white/green phalaenopsis flower spike on the left. I put the red-leaved orchid (can't remember the blasted name...) in the bathroom, and it has two flower spikes (photo didn't come out properly, too much light coming through the window. Will try again later). Must be the right time of year for orchid flowers or something...











And these are dragonfruit seedlings. I doubt I'll ever be able to get them big enough to flower, let alone fruit, but they're kind of cute anyway. Soft and fluffy cacti..

Kai's had a busy weekend. After the G sprog came home with him on Friday, he was invited over there on Saturday, which I gather was quite fun, and then today the B sprog came here for an hour of music and Aliens. Consecutively, not concurrently. I got the Monday shopping done, so I can have a long uninterrupted stretch of work tomorrow.

Assuming I feel OK that is. Kai's brought something home again, and I'm fighting it off...

[sigh] This is what happens when I channel Arcane while skyping...

Lutra: Ooh! The new ST movie's on dvd! Excellent! (I fancy a bit of Bones/Spock...)
Joules: [blink] um, yes, I told you that a week ago...
Did you? Sorry for not paying attention, tch.
[THWAP] PAY ATTENTION!
[YIP!] ow!! >: (
If you aren't going to listen to the answers, don't ask me the questions!
But how do I know if you've told me the answer if I can't remember?!
Develop that memory!
I have a phenomenal memory! Just a bit selective in times of stress. And with names. I can never remember names...
[rolls eyes] ... Odd - I've never felt the SLIGHTEST inclination to write any Trek fic... Though Bones/Spock.... mmm, that's a tasty combo
purrr... [g] You've written plenty of other stuff.
There is that. I tend to like the smaller fandoms anyway. Also more fun trying the more unusual things. Will prob ask for a new section on FFN for these fics....
[g] Yerrss...
[smirk]
Why go swimming in the muck generated by the bog ignorant masses when you can dip into something more refined? : )
That's a nice way to put it!
ta : ) It's appropriate, I think.
Snooch... snooch?
Isn't that a cartoon cat?
Yes - 2 Lumps... [glares at fingerieals] going to trade yo lot in for bionics if you don;t get with the programmed
LOLOL! but what if the programming goes wrong? What if the nanites go wild?
Nanites Go Wild - the newest, hottest show on MTV!!!
ROFL!
Then they strangle me and the world loses my awesome talent forever!! Bwahahaahaha! ... Hang on - that's not funny!
Noooooooo! I'll get the nanite-b-gone spray!
ROFLMAO!
[g] Every luddite should have a can
Um, yers.... [inches away slowly...]
[smirksmirk]

Lutra on Skype, re Swamp Thing first fic Broken:

QOCT. Not just a random string of letters!

For anyone that doesn't know, it stands for Queen of Casual Torture, a title I acquired waaaaaay back in the early days of fic writing. If I remember aright, it was later upgraded to Empress of Casual Torture, but that doesn't have quite the same euphonic ring to it...

Kai asked to watch The Fountain... It remains the most beautiful and intense film I have ever seen.

[bemused] Ever since I opted for a google homepage (hence being required to sign in) I've found that half the time I try to login to blogger I get an error message saying cookies aren't enabled and to do that first. Which is a complete nonsense, of course. Refreshing usually sorts it out and takes me straight to my dashboard, but it is annoying.

Grumpy cat is grumpy. Yet again mum has made it rain in between the sunny spells, and he doesn't like the rain. He also had his first encounter with a squirrel today. Well, sort of. It spotted him and raced off: he just saw its tail disappearing, and leapt up onto the fence to try to take a closer look, by which time it had gone. (And I tempted him in with a rattle of his beef flavoured Dreamies, as I'd prefer it if he didn't start haring off down the lane at the flick of a tail...)

[sigh] I know Lutra and I joke about me being thorough, not obsessive, but sometimes I wonder about myself. The Arcane Knowledge website (which is no longer being updated as the owner is no longer with us) has an episode guide with detailed synopses of some (though not all) of the Swamp Thing eps with a generous sprinkling of screencaps (with some seriously funny captions underneath them). However, the code on several of the pages of the site is corrupt, making the text below it inaccessible, and the epguide is one of them: it ends with the link to Birthmarks, which is the first ep of Season 2.

Now, I'm not too bothered about Seasons 1 & 2, as I have those coming at Yule, but Shout! have only brought out the first 25 eps of Season 3 (which I also have coming) and there is no guarantee that they will ever release the final 25. It is, after all, an old and small fandom. This means I may never get to see those episodes - and that is HUGELY frustrating. I do like to have complete series' of my obsessions. So I wondered... is there any way I can find those episode summaries on the site, even without the links, so that at least I can read about them? I can't access the root directory (well, I might be able to if I was to dedicate enough time and energy to the problem, neither of which I have), but is there another way? And in fact, by playing around with the titles of the eps, I was able to find The Lesser of Two Evils and The Return of LaRoche, two episodes I've never seen but really want to. (Also found Jury of his Fears and Easy Prey, but those two are on the DVDs.) There are several others I'd really like to find, but I'm a bit hampered by not knowing which episodes weren't detailed... Still, it's a fun puzzle, and very satisfying when it's successful.

It also took me several hours last night when I had planned to write fic, but there you go.

Better get on with something sensible now. I can go back to hunting later...


Later edit: and a fiddly, awkward google search turned up the last couple. Such a pity she could never finish them - they're fun!

Should perhaps explain - Google only picks up three of the synopses. No idea why. So trying to find them the usual way doesn't work!

K&K enjoyed the fireworks. Tyjer didn't - we had a thoroughly frit kit. He spent the first half an hour close to me, jumping every time a bang went off, then took himself upstairs and curled up in his safe corner at the top of the stairs, the only place in the house where he can only see one small window. Of course, it's Friday and the whole blasted rigmarole is going on again - but he's much more relaxed tonight, dozing on our bed.

Busy day, and the G sprog arrived back from school with Kai and they dived straight in to the jamming session, taking the keyboard through from my room and bringing the amp down from the bedroom (but not the bass. G brought his acoustic guitar with him). They practised for a good hour and a half - not bad for a Friday evening after a heavy school week. Heh, 14 and they sound really professional. Mind you, they're learning by playing Muse songs (and rather well at that), so I'm not overly surprised...

[spooks] ep two is on at 9 on Beeb 3 - the taster looked very good, so we're going to settle down with that shortly. Then I'm taking a night off: busy day tomorrow, much of it in town.

[beg] Time to try a little Swamp Thing fanfic, perhaps...

Shopping. Ur doin' it rite, akshully...

Sandy Park Rd butcher then Sainsbug (for spagbol doin's: I think the G sprog is coming over to jam with Kai tomorrow evening) and back to drop everything off before tanking up the road for the 10.20 558 bus to Broadwalk. Only he was absent his ticket machine, so we all got a free ride.

Charged along to the dentist to make appointments - Kai and I were supposed to have gone during his autumn holiday but in a rare but extended bout of lack-of-organisation I never quite managed to get around to making them. So I go next Thursday morning, and Kai on Jan 7th at 4.30, which means a frantic rush up there as soon as he gets back from school. [sigh] Must do better next time.

Back via charity shops (nowt doing today) and then into Pink Planet DVDs. All very satisfactory. Caught the 11.30 bus back down and got in at 11.45.

So, we now have Chain Reaction (did I mention Keanu Reeves is a guilty pleasure?), The Running Man (a classic, which Kai has wanted to see for a while. Yes it's an 18, but he can cope with it), A Few Good Men (not quite sure why I like it so much, as I cannot abide Jack Nicholson and have no time for Tom Cruise, but it's a crackin' film), V for Vendetta, A Scanner Darkly (never seen it but it sounds interesting), Bloodrayne (yes, well, I know it's probably absolutely dreadful but it was very cheap and I feel I should see it to complete my vampire education. That's my story and I'm sticking with it) - and Legend of the Mummy. This has the second lowest score I've ever seen on the IMDb, and the comments made it sound truly dire, but it has Mark Lindsay Chapman in it, and since I'm on a MLC kick at the moment I though I'd give it a try...

All I can say is that the people who've commented don't seem to understand the film at all. It's not exactly great, but it's nowhere near as bad as painted, and the ending is beautifully surreal and really quite chilling. It has to be admitted that some of the acting leaves a bit to be desired, and some of the plot elements are a little shaky, but on the whole I rather enjoyed it, certainly enough to want to watch it more than once. And the tasty Mr Chapman is pretty good as the dour, suspicious, embittered head of security...

There's a firework display up at Broadwalk tonight - K&K are considering going (not me, I've managed to pull a muscle or summat in my foot while I was out and walking hurts right now. It should be OK by tomorrow though, I hope). We'll see what the weather is like after dinner. Which I'd better start making. Nuked chicken with veged couscous. Nicely warming for a chilly night.

Laters!

Six hours. A little more normal.

Started getting the greenhouse sorted for the winter in between writing. Have brought in and repotted three pepinos (still hoping they might fruit next year) and have split the dozens of dragonfruit seedlings into three pots (and managed to get spines in my palm in the process. I know they're a cactus, but the spines felt soft when I was handling them...)

So, [spooks]... what season are we up to now? Hm...

Shopping tomorrow, butcher and Broadwalk.

[even more bemused...] Four hours sleep again. I mean, I don't mind, if it keeps up that would give me twenty hours to get stuff done - except that by the seventeenth I'm flagging a bit...

Eh well, let's see what happens tonight.

Slightly alarming, earlier. Sainsbug have their watermelons on special (£2.49 instead of £3.49) at the moment. I haven't had watermelon in years, and apparently it's particularly beneficial for cholesterol levels and the heart, so I treated us to one to share. Well, for Ken and I to share anyway - Kai's not fond of melon. But as I went to cut it, it split open with a crunching sound. Cue me stepping back sharpish, imagining an alien leaping out. Are watermelons supposed to do that?

Anyway - Ken picked up a Galia melon on the way home, and I made us a melon mix for dessert. Absolutely delicious. Though I did wonder why Ken had covered his with skooshy cream. Until he confessed he doesn't really like melon... [sigh] He eats it 'cause it's good for him, I'm the only person in the family who likes them. Heh. More for me!

Have now had (not nearly enough of) an Arcane fix, and the DVDs are safely hidden away til Yule. I am soooo tempted to write some fanfic, just for fun and a rest and a change of pace. There's so little of it around...

Later edit: I have the distinct and uneasy feeling I've forgotten something important - but I don't have a clue what it is...

[bemused] Well that was a day, that was...

Just could not sleep properly last night, kept waking up every hour or so. So got up at 6.30, out the house by 7 to do the week's Sainsbug shop, back again by 7.45, exercised, leapt in a shower, then got a wash started all before Ken left for Court for the day. Settled down to work: doorbell rang. Was amazon delivering the book Ken ordered, Holy Wells of Bath and Bristol Region (Monuments in the Landscape), so now he can give the borrowed copy back to the person he borrowed it from. Settled back down to write, and shortly thereafter came thud. Thud. thudthudTHUD through the letterbox.

Ooooh, shiny!

Well, one of the parcels was, in silver packaging. But yes, it was the SWAMP THING boxed sets (and No Heroics) finally arriving. Along with £14.50 worth of Tesco reward vouchers (YAY! Free Money! well, kinda...) and another package from all-your-music, which turned out to be a copy of the Dennis Wilson Forever DVD - which I hadn't ordered, haven't paid for, and don't want - with a Swamp Thing packing slip. [extra bemused] I think someone got their packing a bit mixed up... Have emailed to ask what I should do with it.

But before I started celebrating I opened the packages, opened the boxes, and opened the cases. And all the DVDs were there, and they all seem to be correct. (So I played Mist Demeanour - which is better than I remember and had me laughing aloud: Arcane is just brilliant in that ep - and The Handyman which is interesting and amusing in equal measure). If Kai ever finishes his salmon steak and vegetable couscous we're going to watch the first (couple of?) eps in order. Well, I do need to check that the discs are OK, don't I, after all the hassle I've had with them!

Laters!

Skype:

Lutra: So very cat, that : ) See, a dog wouldn't try to mess up the quantums and stuff
Joules: Oh ye gods no! It would try to lick them.
LOLOL!

[Extremely Big Delighted Grin]. Always gratifying when someone likes your work. That has absolutely made my week...

Happy Samhain!

[grin] I's finished. PC second edition is ready to go to the printer.

Only they don't work weekends, so it'll go on Monday. Which means I can have another day to read it through and see if there's anything I still need to change (which there might be after the blindingly obvious insight that hit me as I was waking up this morning, clearing up something that's been bothering me forever. No, not going to say what as it's more than likely everyone else realised it right away: I should have, and have been kicking myself all day because I didn't...)

I'm pleased with the second edition. It's much better than the first. I've bought the Wolverine DVD to celebrate.

I'd just settled down to write this morning when Kim rang, and this afternoon she drove us out to Congresbury to Cadbury Garden Centre. Picked up packets of T&H early dwarf beans, sweetcorn (a supersweet variety supposedly very reliable for English gardens: planning to try growing just a small patch next year. I love sweetcorn and bloody Tesco no longer stock their organic frozen kernels, so we haven't had any in over six months), and green manure to replenish the veg patch and hopefully help combat the weeds. Wonderful afternoon, with huge catch up chat.

[sigh] Kai is currently watching the Most Haunted Live Hallowe'en Special (eight 'til midnight). Gods I hate that programme... so I have Muse blasting through the headphones as I make the last of the PC revisions.

No post. How can you get withdrawal symptoms from the lack of something you don't yet have?

Finally got to see the Dr Who ep Planet of the Dead. Wasn't impressed, but since I haven't forgiven Davies for Children of Earth I didn't expect to be. Irritating heroine (again) and it's all too easy, isn't it? Bus out of fuel? Oh, let's cannibalise the anti-gravity drive from the crashed spaceship, that'll do the trick...

Ken thinks I'm being too hard, it's a kids' romp after all, but honestly, after outstanding classics like Blink and Midnight in the Library/Forest of the Dead it came across as tedious.

Nice flying rays though.

Ploughing on.

Hm. The revisions are proving rather more extensive than I'd originally planned, with some quite large wasteful segments coming out and substantial new elements being written in. It's much better now, although there is the risk I won't be finished by the date I promised myself. Well, if so, it's not going to cause insuperable problems, and I'd much rather make sure I'm completely happy with it before it goes to print.

On the TV front, we're only at episode 5 of Flashforward and I'm already finding it forgettable. Moonlight has too much resonance with Blood Ties, which I have and really like, for me to truly enjoy it. Warehouse 13 is still hugely enjoyable (I don't understand all the negative reviews at IMDb - it's quirky and fun, with great characters). True Blood, however, is proving itself quite a winner. I read the first book of the Sookie Stackhouse series, on which the first season is based, while writing Vampires (I need to rework that blurb, Ken wrote it and it's incomplete), and ended up giving it away as I didn't really enjoy it. But the TV series is great - even Ken is staying up to watch it (but not Kai. It's a truly adult series, even the introductory sequence!)

And I found No Heroics for half price on amazon, so that's been ordered too. I discovered it by accident earlier in the year and loved it. It's a 15, to my surprise given some of the humour, so I think Kai will be OK with it.

[grumble] But the Swamp Thing TV series' haven't arrived yet, and we now have another load of postal strikes on the way. Yes, I know I can't have them 'til Yule, but it's been agreed I can watch one (or more likely two) eps before they get wrapped up.

Which presents me with a problem. There are 49 half-hour episodes in the two boxed sets - given that K&K are going to be watching too how the hell do I choose which ones to see? The first one, The Emerald Heart, which introduces all the characters but isn't terribly flattering (or typical) of Arcane? A Jury of His Fears, which I remember as being hysterically funny? Mist Demeanour which has delicious glimpses of an almost naked Arcane (yeah, well, OK, perhaps that's one for me to watch alone...)? Walk a Mile in my Shoots, the bodyswap episode? (And yes, the series' are peppered with awful punning titles.) The terribly sad Tatania, or the completely manic Mirador's Brain? Oh decisions, decisions...

[sigh] Well, can't do anything until they get here, so it's back to Heart for now...

Tired. I shall be glad when this is done. Then I can redecorate the bathroom, paint the front door, and make a proper start on Heart...

"Where did today go??" (came the plaintive wail)

So bad it's awesome...



Or direct to the Youtube clip if preferred.

[sigh] And JAT is down...

Lots and lots of PC. And Return of Swamp Thing arrived this morning: we watched it after dinner. And yes, it's a much more fun film than the first, daft, silly and cheesy.

All-your-music have now confirmed posting Volumes 1 and 2 of the TV series...

Just back from watching District 9 at the Showcase.

... bloody hell...

It is one of the best - if not THE best - films I've ever seen. I cannot remember the last time I spent a film on the edge of my seat and hands gripping the armrests until they hurt. I was crying at the end. And I couldn't predict what was going to happen next, or guess the ending, and that doesn't happen often these days. It starts in such an unassuming way and then the emotional intensity just builds and builds. It's densely layered, horribly realistic, sickeningly violent (but not gratuitously so, unlike that utter crap Saw 3 I suffered through 20 minutes of last night before switching off the TV in disgust), and it makes absolutely no compromises. I came out of the cinema shaking.

An obvious must-have, though perhaps not one to watch very often...

Skype, earlier:

Lutra: What is it with you and psychos? : )
Joules: um - dunno... s'pose I can't be one in real life so I'll be one vicariously.

I worry myself sometimes.

... aaaaand I've just had an email to say that the seller of the Swamp Thing Vol 1 DVD set has refunded the full amount (incl postage)! Good fast service that.

Have ordered a replacement from all-your-music.

[blear] The orthodontist appointment was at 8.50 this morning. I asked Ken to wake me up at 7 (I never hear the alarm unless I'm already awake, which is a bit self-defeating really...), which he did, but then discovered that he'd set the radio alarm wrongly and it was actually six am... Even though I went back to sleep for an hour, it wasn't exactly deep or restful, so I'm a bit tired now, after getting to bed at 2.30...

But the appointment went well: the teeth are going nicely into shape. The new ortho has recommended that he have the lower teeth done too, to avoid problems later in life, and since at the moment it would be covered by the current treatment (i.e. it would be free under the NHS) I think we'll go for it. Kai's not too dischuffed about the idea. So when we go back next time (during Yule holidays) we'll start that ball rolling.

Then it was back to Broadmead to make an appointment for him to have a routine eye-test - but they were so quiet we were able to go straight up. Results pretty much as expected, Kai's vision is almost perfect, and they don't want to see him now for two years.

Over to Reverb, where we picked up a stand for the bass, a couple of leads, a couple more of Kai's favourite plectrums, and a tremolo arm. And I found out that the best amp for Kai is going to cost £67 (although it does do absolutely everything) so that is going to have to wait. His little retro amp will do for now.

K&K are off down to Arnos Manor Hotel shortly, to get a few more photos for the book Ken's written about the Hotel's ghosts. I may very well have a nap, because at the moment the brain feels quite dead and I'm not accomplishing anything very useful...

We have finally installed and multi-region-programmed the new DVD player (bought from amazon back in April!) It's great. Now have to take the old one to the local WEEE place (it's in St George's and not easy to get to without a car, of course). Going to try to get someone on LETs...

Kai's orthodontist appointment tomorrow morning. Afterwards we're taking his electric guitar to Reverb to see if they can fit the tremolo arm, and he needs a stand for his bass guitar too. And I'll price up amps. And leads...

I swear he's planning to hibernate for the winter...

Monday Tuesday shopping. In the rain. [sigh]

Still no reply from seller...