The end of 2003

Mutterings continued.

and I think I'll be glad to see the back of it! Not the best of years but at least the family and I survived, despite some nasty scares. Love to Patrick for all he's had to endure this year.

So here I am, all alone on New Year's Eve. Again. All together now.....aaaahhhhh! Actually, I don't mind a bit as I'm not one for celebrating New Year's. NYE 1999 was good - we gathered at Rob's parents' place and waited for the planes hit by Y2K to fall out of the sky, but nothing happened. We had a Not The millennium party.

Given my advancing years and decreasing eyesight, I prefer not be out on the roads, in the dark, with the possibility that there may be the odd driver who's a tad over .05.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

"The BBC has unveiled Britain's 50 favourite sitcoms and is asking viewers to vote for their number one.

Old-timers such as Fawlty Towers and Only Fools And Horses are up against relative newcomers The Office and Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights." I've seen Phoenix Nights and it's very funny - it's about a seedy club in Yorkshire that runs bingo and talent nights for punters in flat caps.

If ever there was any doubt that Queens Honours have become completely devalued:

"England's World Cup-winning rugby team are the stars of the New Year Honours list, with awards for the whole squad.
There is a knighthood for team coach Clive Woodward, while captain Martin Johnson was made a CBE and man of the moment Jonny Wilkinson an OBE." Still, sporting-wise, I guess the poor Poms don't have very much else to celebrate (sorry Ashley ).

Well, that's it for 2003. Have a happy and safe new year, you lot, and see you in 2004.

The penultimate day of 2003.

Mutterings continued.

A very funny web site sent by Leece - Hunt the Haggis! The recipes, while genuine, are a hoot (s mon).

Nothing much of interest in the post today, just a cattledog from Spotlight, a good place for props materials. I've got Friday off so I think I feel a visit coming on - they're right next door to the Good Guys in Cannington, which is handy as I want to spend some money with them 'n all.

I've got a really expensive couple of weeks coming up - car rego is due, ditto phone bill (which now includes the mobile and cable!), passport has expired so I need to get a new one and I have to book and pay for the trip to the UK by the end of January.

From Ananova - "People considering a tandem skydive would trust cartoon character Homer Simpson over US President George Bush, according to research." Hmmm, so skydivers aren't a looney as I thought!

Mike Nesmith is 61 today! Good god!

1000!

Mutterings continued.

The counter on the blog is reading 1002. I wonder who was the reader who turned the counter over from 999 to 1000?

Goodies in the post - the fact that I paid for them doesn't make it any less exciting to get parcels in the post. My Dead Again DVD has arrived from Canada - it was sent the day after Pirates and LXG (there! I've said it!!) but arrived over a week later. Bloody Christmas mail! And a book on Richard III also turned up.

I've always believed that the monarchy should have stopped with Richard 3 as they all became much less interesting after him. And Richard's only in my good books because he (allegedly) tried to do in the rest of the royal family. Pity there were too many of them. 8-) Actually, I don't believe the Shakespearean spin on Richard at all and think the man just got bad press.

The receipt of Dead Again takes my Derek Jacobi DVD count to five (DA, One Clavdivs, Henry V, Gosford Park and Gladiator). Still in the lead is Ian McKellen with 6 (X Men 1 and 2, LOTR 1 and 2, Othello, Richard III), and Branagh's gone up to 4 (Henry V, DA, Loves Labours Lost, Harry Potter 2).

Brave me saved another spider (or it could have been the same one as last time) from the dreaded bathroom sink at work. It was a Daddy Long legs and therefore one of the tolerated 8 legs. Actually, the poor thing only had 6 legs so it wasn't really a spider.

Sadly, the Very Secret Diaries will no longer be written. They have in the past been the cause of much mirth and repetition of catch phrases - "Still the prettiest" and "Stupid orks" to name a couple.

The day after the day after Boxing Day.

Mutterings continued.

Thank the small gods the weather has cooled down! 30c at 3am is not nice!! I slept very badly on Boxing Day night and now the voices in my bedroom are back. On a brighter note, I rang my mate Ashley in the UK and we chatted for over an hour. The weather there was cold, grey, wet and miserable while here it was bright, hot, wet and miserable. Or was that just me?

I called into the travel agents at Garden City yesterday to see if there are any Early Bird deals going. For about $2200 (which includes airfares, taxes and $300 worth of land content) I can fly Perth/Singapore/London/Paris/Singapore/Perth. This is cheaper than the trip I booked in 2002 - I had to pay for the side trip to Rome (only $50). There are cheaper deals of course, however I'm a frequent flyer with Qantas and another trip will take me to about 110,000 points, which gets me a return flight to NY, LA, London, Paris or Frankfurt (conditions apply).

I want to see more of Scotland, Portmerion of course, and spend more time in London as I've only done bits of the Brit and Science Museums and none of the V and A.

Boxing Day

Mutterings continued.

Well, that's Christmas over and done with for another year. I bought enough presents, the nieces were happy with what I'd got them and we had a good day. Lovely to see the girls and their partners.

Bloody hot out on the road, but.

Today has been spent doing the washing, emptying out cupboards, ok, cupboard, and nothing much else.

Christine posted a funny superhero story on her blog. I wrote this for her Palaver page and have nicked it back to fill up some space here.

"Superheroes.

The scene: a very untidy office in a Government agency, somewhere south of the river. A figure is sitting in the dark in front of a flickering monitor, surrounded on all sides by stationery catalogues, grant applications, and research proposals. Multi-skilled as she is, our heroine is managing to not finish any of the projects she's currently working on and the endless stream of people at her door telling her that the printers/fax machines/photocopiers don't work, isn't helping.

A figure in green looms in the doorway, tentatively knocks and says, "The printer downstairs isn't working. It's saying something about a face up tray...."

"Right!" explodes our heroine. She pushes past the unfortunate in green and stomps down the stairs. As she does so she removes her glasses, looses her hair, whirls around a couple of times, walks giddily into a wall and reveals the Superperson costume beneath her clothes.

"My god!" gasp her fellow office workers who have come to have a look at why the printer isn't working for them either. "It's Expected to Know Everything About Everything Woman!"

ETKEAE Woman's hand goes to her holster and she pulls out a very nasty looking laser pistol. She takes careful aim and reduces the recalcitrant printer to a pile of smoking rubble. She turns to the co-worker who did such a good job of being the straw that broke the proverbial and does the same to him. Her fellow workers all take one step back.

They hear her muttering as she walks back up the stairs but nobody is game to ask her what she said."

Any similarity to persons living or dead, or sitting not a hundred miles from this computer, is purely coincidental.

The Google ad at the top of the page is currently reading, "This blank space is brought to you by Google." Thank you, Google, I've always wanted a blank space of my very own.

Xmas eve

Mutterings continued.

I'm off to Leece and Rob's tonight to eat takeaway and exchange pressies and the picking the folks up tomorrow to go to my bro and sis-in-law's. I'm looking forward to seeing my nieces - they're two very cool chicks.

This was sent to me from a cat mailing list I belong to.

Wrapping Presents (With a Cat)

Clear large space on table for wrapping present.
Go to wardrobe and collect bag in which present is contained, and close door.
Open door and remove cat from wardrobe.
Go to cupboard and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper.
Go back and remove cat from cupboard.
Go to drawer and collect transparent sticky tape, ribbons, scissors, labels, etc.
Lay out present and wrapping materials on table, to enable wrapping strategy to be formed.
Go back to drawer to get string, remove cat that has been in the drawer since last visit, and collect string.
Remove present from bag.
Remove cat from bag.
Open box to check present, remove cat from box, replace present.
Lay out paper to enable cutting to size.
Cut the paper to size, trying to keep the cutting line straight.
Throw away first sheet because cat tried to chase the scissors and tore paper.
Cut second sheet of paper to size by putting cat in the bag the present came out of.
Place present on cut-to-size paper.
Lift up edges of paper to seal in present, wonder why edges now don't reach, and find cat between present and paper. Remove cat and retry.
Place object on paper, to hold in place, while cutting transparent sticky tape.
Spend next 20 minutes carefully trying to remove transparent sticky tape from cat with pair of nail scissors.
Seal paper down with transparent sticky tape, making corners as neat as possible.
Look for roll of ribbon; chase cat down hall and retrieve ribbon.
Try to wrap present with ribbon in a two-directional turn.
Re-roll up ribbon and remove paper that is now torn, due to cat's enthusiasm in chasing ribbon end.
Repeat steps 12-22 until down to last sheet of paper.
Decide to skip steps 12-16 in order to save time and reduce risk of losing last sheet of paper. Retrieve old cardboard box that you know is right size for sheet of paper.
Put present in box, and tie down with string.
Remove string, open box and remove cat.
Put all packing materials in bag with present and head for lockable room.
Once inside room, lock door and start to re-lay out packing materials.
Remove cat from box, unlock door, put cat outside door, close door and re-lock.
Lay out last sheet of paper. (Admittedly this is difficult in the small area of the toilet, but try your best!)
Seal box, wrap with paper and start repairs by very carefully sealing down tears with transparent sticky tape. Now tie up with ribbon and decorate with bows to hide worst affected areas.
Label, then sit back and admire your handiwork, congratulating yourself on making good of a bad job.
Unlock door, and go to kitchen to make drink and feed cat.
Spend next 15 minutes looking for cat, before coming to obvious conclusion.
Unwrap present, untie box and remove cat.
Retrieve all discarded sheets of wrapping paper, feed cat and retire to lockable room for last attempt, making certain you are alone and the door is locked.
At time of handing over present, smile sweetly at receiver's face, as they try and hide their contempt at being handed such a badly wrapped present.
Swear to yourself that next year, you will get the store to wrap the darn thing for you.
Smile smugly, knowing that the recipient could have received a cat!
Author Unknown

Every present I ever wrap comes complete with cat hair in the sticky tape. The colour of the hair depends upon who played with the roll last.

Blake's 7 news from the Mausoleum Club -

" Play, Choices Direct and Amazon are saying that the Blake's 7 Season 1 box set will now be released on 01 March 2003.

Given the ride so far, they might as well have said 1 April, if you see what I mean. "

Two sleeps

Mutterings continued.

Here's my contribution to the festive season. I haven't put my tree up this year so this will have to do.



Important seasonal news:

"Christmas puzzle cracked

Scientists have come up with a formula for "the perfect Christmas cracker pull".

Keeping a firm, two-handed grip spreads the force around the cracker and prevents it from tearing at your end, according to experts from research organisation QinetiQ.

Tilting your end of the cracker downwards at an incline angle during the pull is also said to maximise your chances of winning its contents.

After stringent laboratory tests, a team from QinetiQ's human sciences division concluded that the perfect pulling technique depended on seven key factors.

In addition to grip strategy and incline angle, they found that a steady and controlled pull was necessary to maximise "peak force".

But using too much "twisting force" should be avoided as this increases the strain on the shoulder of the cracker, making it more likely to rip in your opponent's favour.

The remaining factors that should be taken into account are the distance to the centre of gravity of the cracker, the length of the cracker and the quality and density of materials used to construct the cracker.

The Christmas cracker was invented by Victorian baker Tom Smith in 1847."

But what happens if you both attempt to pull the cracker in the same way? Nobody wins? Both people win?? Hurray for scientists! "Bugger trying to find a cure for the common cold, let's work out how to win more Christmas cracker tat!"

We're gonna make you a star.

Mutterings continued.

It's Tamu the rhino's first birthday today and she's going to be on the news. Channel Ten came out and took some great footage, according to our PR person, of her having a mud bath and eating her "cake".

Meditations on Mission:Impossible. I wonder if American audiences at the time realised just how close to the truth some of the episodes were. In a number of eps it was made very apparent that this American government controlled governments; assassinated, or caused the assassination of, unfriendly leaders and rigged elections. Given the naivete of the American audience at the time I'm sure the stories would have been seen as just that - stories, and not the actual activities of the CIA.

Martin Landau, underrated actor. By me, anyway. Scene at the end of one of the M:I eps - Rollin has become infected with a nasty bacteria, Dr Sulu, on leave from the Enterprise, has to give him a shot of something but doesn't have a syringe. The ever inventive Barney rakes through Cinnamon's handbag (women obviously didn't use feminine hygiene products in the 60's as no little 'mousies' fell out when Barney upended the bag) and lights upon an atomiser perfume bottle. He sharpens the plastic end of the atomiser, hands it to Dr Sulu who sucks up a dose of anti-bug juice. Now, your typical butch secret agent would manfully thrust his arm out and watch as the pointy plastic was jammed into a vein. Not Rollin - he did what any normal person would do. He screwed up his eyes, turned away and jumped when the plastic went in. Far more realistic.

I received an email from Ash in Yorkshire today - it's snowing where she is! She doesn't think it will last until Xmas unfortunately. I rang her a couple of Boxing Days ago and while I was dissolving into a puddle of sweat she described the snow falling on the robin sitting on the fence she could see from her kitchen.

The music in my head.

Mutterings continued.

I'm sitting here with the theme from The Prisoner bouncing around in my noggin. Arr! but it's insidious. We watched one of the extras on the final Prisoner disk last night - an American doco from 1990 that did absolutely nothing to shed any light on what the series was really all about. Was Number 6 John Drake - Danger Man? Yes he was. No he wasn't. Etc.

Saturday Night's Alright

Mutterings continued.

but not for fighting.

I got the last of the Xmas shopping done today. At least I think I have. I always worry that I haven't bought enough or I've forgotten someone. Mum said that my Bro and Sis-in-law said that we shouldn't buy pressies for the adults this year, just the kids (the kids being 20 and 23 years of age!!). I'm terrified that I'm going to show up on Xmas day and discover that they didn't really mean it.

Being an early riser has its advantages, especially when it comes to going shopping and finding a decent parking space. Or any parking space at all. I got everything done by 9.30amish and felt so superior as I drove out and watched all those driving in looking for somewhere to park.

And today I finally sent off the pressies to my friend in Yorkshire that have been sitting in the back room waiting to be dispatched for several months. I know she and Mam2 won't get them in time and I'm feeling very guilty at not being more organised - especially as hers to me arrived this week and all the parcels are done up beautifully. I did however send mail order gifts from Lush UK and the RSC so at least they've got something.

Two things that puzzled me today. 1. With the amount of hair my cats shed on the curtains, furniture, me, etc, how is it they're not bald?? 2. Why do Australia Post shops only have one entrance, so that people coming in have to fight their way through the queues of people trying to pay and get out?

"A Belgian man was charged with speeding at 1,154mph in his Citroen car." Woah!!

"The third Harry Potter film will be shown on large-scale Imax screens as well as normal cinemas when it is released next summer." Leece saw a preview of the film the other day and said it looked very good indeed; dark and atmospheric. She saw the Looney Tunes movie and agreed with Grant W that it was a very cool film.

I hope dinner turns out ok tonight - I've made chilled zucchini and pea soup with mint pesto and chicken noodle stirfry.

That's another week gone.

Mutterings continued.

It's been a little hectic this week - moving furniture, moving the parents, attending production meetings...

I got up close and personal with 3 of the rhinos today. Tamu, the bub, is 1 year old next week and I took some photos of her for the newsletter. Lord she's grown! From 75kg at birth to 650kg! And still growing. I got to scratch Memphis and Tamu's mum, Sabie as well.

Was watching one of the dvds that arrived this week last night (I still haven't named it for fear of having scorn heaped upon my head). It has an audio commentary by the director and some of the actors and is pretty funny to listen to, especially Jason Flemyng and Tony Curran's description of meeting Sean Connery for the first time. They were saying that he would take them out to dinner and pay for every meal, refusing to allow anybody else to pay. Not the tight-arse he's reported to be, perhaps?

Fingers crossed for Beagle 2 and Mars Express - "Mars mission reaches crucial stage

Beagle 2, the British spacecraft heading for Mars to search for life, is reaching a make-or-break stage in its mission.

The tiny disc-shaped probe has to separate successfully from its Mars Express mothership."

One of the more exciting things that happened on this day: "1863 Linoleum was patented by Frederick Walton of London."

I read an article the other day which stated that Elijah Wood's LOTR colleagues are annoyed that he showed his Fellowship tattoo on an interview show. Ian McKellen showed off his on Parkinson a few months ago - I guess they didn't see it!

Leece and Rob are coming for dinner tomorrow. No more Prisoner! What shall we do?? We do have MST3K and Neverwhere to keep us going.

Icky weather

Mutterings continued.

Overcast, humid but no rain.

A friend at work attended the preview of ROTK last night - she gave it a rave review.

Keith Richards is 60 today - damn he looks older!

On the First Day of Xmas

Mutterings continued.

I wrote this last year and inflicted it on the staff at work. Now it's your turn.

On the first day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
A Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the second day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the third day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the fourth day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the fifth day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Five Fresh…water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the sixth day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Thiix Thpur-thighed tortoithe
Five Fresh….water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the Seventh day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Seven Silvery gibbon
Thix Thpur-thighed tortoithe
Five Fresh….water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree


On the eight day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Eight Eclectus parrots
Seven Silvery gibbons
Thix Thpur-thighed tortoithe
Five Fresh….water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the ninth day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Nine Noisy Scrub birds
Eight Eclectus parrots
Seven Silvery gibbons
Thix Thpur-thighed tortoithe
Five Fresh….water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the tenth day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Ten Tassie Devils
Nine Noisy Scrub birds
Eight Eclectus parrots
Seven Silvery gibbons
Thix Thpur-thighed tortoithe
Five Fresh….water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Eleven Eight-lined Grunters
Ten Tassie Devils
Nine Noisy Scrub birds
Eight Eclectus parrots
Seven Silvery gibbons
Thix Thpur-thighed tortoithe
Five Fresh….water….crocs…..
Four Francois monkeys
Three Thorny Devils
Two Swampy turtles
And a Flying Fox in a fake tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas
A keeper gave to me
Twelve Tyler’s Tree Frogs…….


…and it was at this point that officers from CALM and AQIS arrived to have a few quiet words.

Quick lunchtime blog

Mutterings continued.

as I may not have time tonight. I have a Tempest production meeting. Or is that a tempestuous production meeting?

I made the mistake of visiting the Mausoleum Club and someone has posted that the Raffles series has been released on DVD. Oh no! One of my all time favourite series from 70's and they had to bloody release them and make me spend money. Sigh. More hard-earned heading to Canada. I've checked my account at DVDsoon and it seems that Dead Again was shipped the day after Pirates and The Other One (not its real name), so I'm hoping it will arrive today.

I found the Aus Post distribution centre in Bentley where a parcel was waiting for me. It's on John Delaeter drive, which I'm assuming was named after Prof Delaeter who taught me Astronomy at WAIT. Lovely man. I was the only one in the class who passionately wanted to be there; everybody else was doing Radiology and thought it was a good skive to get Elective points up. Apparently the Como PO is overcrowded with parcels and can't take any more so big parcels (as mine was, goodie goodie) have to be picked up at Bentley.

I shifted all the furniture around in the flat last night and managed to drop a metal futon base on my big toes, knock over a pedestal fan and send send several empty tins crashing to the floor. Lord knows what the neighbours thought was going on.

The Mailman Cometh

Mutterings continued.

A few exciting items in the post today. There was a parcel on the doorstep from DVDsoon which contained 2 of the 3 items I ordered. Funnily enough, Dead Again, the one I'd had an email about advising that it had been sent, wasn't one of them. A posscard from Leece, a Chrimbo card from Huddersfield and a yellow and red card from Aust Post advising that there's a parcel waiting for me at the Bentley mail centre. Why Bentley, I have no idea as I live in Como and there are two post offices much closer!

I've just read on the Prisoner newsgroup that Alexis Kanner who played Number 48 died on the weekend. Sad news - he was only 61. According to IMDB the last thing he appeared in was a badly received filmed version of Asimov's Nightfall in the 80's.

I'm supposed to be doing a major rearrangement of furniture in the main and second bedrooms to accommodate the stuff I'm getting from my parents, but now that Pirates of the Carbohydrate has arrived I'm thinking I may get distracted.... oooh, there's an audio commentary by Johnny Depp....

ROTC

Mutterings continued.

I have in my possession a ticket to the 5.30pm screening of ROTK in the Gold Cinema on Jan 3. Yippeee. Thank you to the Wonderful Leece who, after sitting on hold for over 30 minutes, went down to Innaloo and bought the tickets.

JMS's take on seeing Return of the King (from the r.a.s.t.b5.m. newsgroup):

".... "The Return of the King" is magnificent on every level. There are times
you feel you're looking at some forgotten history come to life, the imagery is
almost painfully beautiful at times, breathtaking and awe-inspiring other
times. I remember sitting there, thinking there are some things one feels
priviliged to have lived long enough to have seen. This is one of them. It's
brave, heroic, tragic, moving, funny, inspiring and wistful all at the same
time.

So for those who were hoping for the best...your hopes will be realized. It's
just freaking magnificent."


My folks are moving in a seniors' village in Armadale - fully furnished units (tv, microwave, toaster, etc, etc), 3 meals a day, that sort of thing. Which means that they have to find homes for all their possessions. Where am I going to put it all???!!! A lot of it is going to St Vinnies (there's a lovely Scots lady who lives in the units near them who works as a vollie for St Vinnies and they're giving a lot to her) but there's stuff they've had for years that has a lot of sentimental value that they just can't find space for now. Ah well, I'm using to living out of boxes so a few more won't make much difference. A few months back I inherited the family rolling pin - it used to belong to Mam's mam and is about 70 years old.

Anybody else getting spam offering to sell you flu jabs? The stuff is probably made from the same ingredients used in the viagra tabs they're trying to flog.

Is it the first day of Christmas?

Mutterings continued.

Leece and Rob came over for dinner and DVDs last night. I made Moroccan Lamb on pitta and Greek vegetable salad. A bit of a UN of a meal as the Moroccan Lamb (which wasn't lamb at all but beef as I couldn't get lamb mince) has Italian parsley and Australian meat in it. Very tasty, even if I do say so myself. And then Rob made a desert of icecream, hot espresso coffee, tiramasu sauce and shaved chocolate. It was like an iced coffee only sooooo much better.

And we watched the final ep of The Prisoner. I'm so glad it cleared everything up and made sense of the series. Not. Paaaaatriiiiickkkk!! What does it alllll meeeeeeen?? Has he become Number 1? Is London part of the village as well??

We also watched the MST3K ep "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", starring Raul Julia. Now, he was brilliant in "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" but this was something else. It was made by a public access tv channel in New York and had some very cheesy sub-Dr Who special effects. In places it was Tron meets the LSD flashback in 2001.

I've just done a spellcheck on the above and it's come up with some interesting suggestions. For 'icecream' = isochronal and 'Spiderwoman'= subterranean. Isochronal??

Magpie chorus

Mutterings continued.

I have a family of magpies outside my back door. One is in the tree making that lovely warbling sound and two are on the ground. One is obviously a poor half-starved young 'un as it keeps following the other around going, "Feeeeeed meeeeeee!" in magpie. Of course, it's the same size as the other adult.

Great article on 'nerds' in the Guardian -

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1104848,00.html I don't mind being an all-round geek.

I received an email from Allposters today advising me that the poster I was interested in was back in stock. What poster?? I'd completely forgotten that I'd asked them to let me know when a particular poster is available again. Hope it arrives in time for Xmas.

Foxtel is showing the original Mission:Impossible episodes - from BEFORE Mr Phelps! Damn, they're good. TV1 screened some of the later episodes after Martin Landau and Barbara Bain left and Leonard Nimoy had joined and they weren't very good at all.

There's a young lass posting to the ITA website who has the most appalling spelling and I'm trying very hard not to respond. I don't know if she's reached the age of 13 and simply can't spell or if she's done it to be clever. "me" is spelt "mi" and most of the most basic words are misspelled. It's half txt talk, half illiteracy.

It's Friday tomorrow. Again!

Mutterings continued.

Had a lovely evening in Scarb last night with TUS*. The grilled fish and salad was very nice, as was the company.

Leece, Rob and I have been terminally affected by Noises Off - every time anything moves or goes missing, there's a chorus of "Was there! Now.....goooooorn!" Thank you Leah!!

Speaking of Leece, the wonderful person has booked our tickets for Return of the King at Cinema Gold. Woo hoo! It's not until Sat. 3rd but we can wait. Just. I think ROTK def. has to be experienced in a Gold cinema. I was gloating to one of the women at work and she said, "Would it be sheer bastardry on my part to say that I'm seeing it next Wednesday?" We agreed that it would.

The MegaHugiGigaPlex at Innaloo is holding a LOTR marathon - all 3 movies - on Dec. 28 from 9pm. Given ROTK is 3 hours 20, I think that means you'd be staggering out at 7 the next morning. Tempting.....

I saw an amusing car rego plate on the way home tonight - it was on a blue Holden of some description, EK, PQ, whatever, that had been done up and it read "Nice eh". Yes, it was.

I received an email from dvdsoon.com saying that my order has been shipped. Yes, I've been spending more of my hard-earned in Canada. I've got Pirates of the Carbohydrates, Dead Again and......... something else that I'm almost too afraid to talk about in front of Some People heading this way. Pirates was CAN$26, which is roughly A$27. Free postage too. The RRP for the DVD when released in March is $36.

From Ananova:

Abusive notes found inside Christmas crackers

A group of partygoers has found abusive notes inside Christmas crackers with "fat b*****ds" and other insults written on them.

Pranksters had removed the usual jokes in the crackers and replaced them with the insults.

The incident is said to have ruined a Christmas party for 40 Workington council staff at Hunwith Hill Hotel in Cockermouth, Cumbria.

A woman in her 50s was one of several workers who got the "fat b*****ds" note, while others got a note reading: "You've not won anything so f*** off."

A third note mocked the sex lives of the recipients' mothers. One of the council workers said: "It put the mockers on the whole night. The abuse was beyond the pale."

The partygoers complained to the hotel, which put them in touch with the firm which supplied the crackers - Thompson Medd, of Bishop Auckland, County Durham."

Oh dear, that's just awful. Tee hee, BWAHAHAHAH. Sorry.

*The Usual Suspects.

A quick blog

Mutterings continued.

as this was too good not to share......

From the "Just when you thought things couldn't get any sillier" files, comes this:

"AFTER 30 years of "daylight saving" - moving the clocks forward in the spring and then back again in the autumn - there is still an Abolish Daylight Saving Committee in New South Wales, Australia.

Added to the usual claims of such campaigns - for example, that the extra hour of daylight in the evening in summer fades the curtains - is a new one from ADSC spokeswoman Judith Hall, of Gunnedah, who told the Sydney Morning Herald: "No man has the right to choose the time of the rising and setting of the sun, only God."

Reader John McCallum, who told us about this, is surprised Hall doesn't explain why God doesn't simply exercise this choice. When people insist on moving their clocks forward, He should just move the sunrise forward and thwart them that way. " From the New Scientist. Ms Hall was probably perplexed at the gales of laughter that, one hopes, greeted her comments.

Poss the Brave (go me!!)

Mutterings continued.

I am arachnophobic. On an arachnophobic scale, I'm at the 'freezing with fear, toes and fingers curled under, brain ceasing to function' end of the spectrum. Today, however, I saved a spider! Admittedly it was a daddy long legs, which more resemble gnats with very long legs than your average Huntsperson, but it's a spider nonetheless (and extremely venomous, to boot. Or in this case, 8 boots. It's just that their fangs are too wussy to do any damage.) and I saved it. It was stuck in the wash basin in the loo at work so I lifted it out and put it back on the wall. It was last seen in the upper most corner of the room.

I'm off to Scarbrough tonight for dins with the usual suspects and it should be a nice night for it. I think grilled fish and salad is the order of the day. Or evening.

It seems that the BBC has finally confirmed the release date for series 1 of Blake's 7 DVD - January 26. RRP is 50 quid and the set contains the following:

# Commentary tracks on the following 3 episodes:- Space Fall - with Michael Keating (Vila), Sally Knyvette (Jenna) & David Maloney (Producer) Seek-Locate-Destroy - with Stephen Greif (Travis), Michael Keating (Vila) & Jacqueline Pearce (Servalan) Project Avalon - with Stephen Greif, Sally Knyvette & Jacqueline Pearce
# 2 Out-takes, a missing scene, 1 Robot, 2 Flat Feet & a blooper
# Blue Peter - Lesley Judd makes a Liberator Teleport Bracelet
# 9 Character Introductions: BLAKE, JENNA, AVON, CALLY, VILA, GAN, ZEN, TRAVIS, SERVALAN
# Trailer for Series 2
# Easter Eggs


Commentary from Paul Darrow would be interesting.

Still surrounded by debris

Mutterings continued.

Happy Birthday Judi Dench. She's 69!

Gus is currently sitting in the kitchen staring up at the ceiling - I believe it's called 'waiting for the mother ship to land'. The last time she did this a couple of the pictures on the wall fell off - I'm not sure if she did it telepathically or was watching the poltergoose that inhabits my flat do it.

"German scientists have found the secret to shedding the pounds could be as simple as drinking more water.

A study by Berlin's Charite University found that people who drank the recommended two litres of water per day burnt off an average extra 150 calories per day." It's all the trekking back and forwards to the loo.

Lord what a mess!

Mutterings continued.

Word to the wise - never start rearranging the furniture in your flat at 9pm on a Sunday. You don't finish the job and you come home to a place that looks as though it's been done over by the Tactical Response Squad. And you get cats whining because every inch of sleeping space has been taken up by books, vids, posters, etc.

From Ananova:

"JRR Tolkien's great grandson is to appear in the next instalment of the blockbuster Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Royd Tolkien, 34, took the part of a Gondorian Ranger in the new film adaptation of his famous relative's stories after director Peter Jackson invited him to join the cast.

Mr Tolkien said: "I was just blown away when Peter Jackson came up with the idea of putting a Tolkien into the film and to be a Gondorian Ranger is a huge privilege." " I wonder if the rest of the Tolkien family are still talking to him.

And speaking of Tolkien, the National Geographic special, Beyond the Lord of the Rings, is on this Wed. on the Nat Geo channel.

Sunday, surrounded by debris

Mutterings continued.

Bought the new telly yesterday. Got a good deal and a lot of help with delivery from a couple of chaps at the Good Guys in Cannington - thanks Kim and Darren. I unpacked it and had a play after the panto last night - I can actually watch films with subtitles and not have them obscure the picture! Now I have to buy a new bookcase to put it on as I'm worried that the old bookcase may not be strong enough to hold it. And I need to find a new hold for the portable - anybody wanna buy a fairly new 34cm telly?

Saw Old Mother Hubbard at the Hayman last night. It was a lot of fun, well acted, sung, etc. The little boys sitting next to me really got into it - I guess they would have been about 8 or 9 so it was lovely to see that not all kids have been ruined by the telly or computer games.

I bought the Weird Al video clips DVD on Thursday night - $26 at Target. Bargain! Another disk to add to the collection of things I'll eventually get around to seeing - like Withnail and I, the docos on TTT:SE, etc.

Cos I've Got Friday On My Mind....

Mutterings continued.

Another week has flown by. Seems like only this morning it was Monday and the start of another working week. I must have been having an awful lot of fun judging by the way time has flown.

Tasty thunderstorm this afternoon - thunder, huge drops of rain and now the sky has cleared and it's blue overhead. I saw a couple of bedraggled pink and grey galahs sitting on a light pole on Labouchere Rd on the way home.

I saw the "John Edwards is a Douche" episode of South Park last night. Just brilliant! And a very good explanation of how so-called psychic readings are done. Pity poor Kenny's soul ended up a pot roast.

Vale David Hemmings - he was only 62.

There's an interview with Neil Gaiman at scifi.com - http://www.scifi.com/sfw/current/interview.html Mostly he's talking about Douglas Adams. Two icons for the price of one!

Thursday Just Won't Go

Mutterings continued.

Had a great time at the Greek Taverna last night. We started with the dip platter - white stuff, pink goo and hummus, dolmades, Greek bread and fetta and then I had the bbq platter - chicken wings, yummy snossages and lamb cutlets and salad. I resisted desert but could have been tempted by the sorbet with liqueur in it.

Leece got a very, very cool pen set for her b/d. We were all deeply jealous and offered to look after it for her. Oddly, she refused our offers.

I had difficulty getting all the junk mail out of my letterbox this afternoon. I thought the local rag must have been in there somewhere, but no, it was all cattledogs. I'm in the market for a bigger telly as I'm fed up of not being able to read the subtitles on my 34". *sigh* I'll be needing a magnifying glass to read the labels on things, next.

News from Ananova:

"Residents of a Suffolk seaside resort are up in arms over reports that members of The Darkness may be planning to move in. Jennifer Hursell, the clerk of the town council, said: "People come to Southwold for a quiet time. They don't come to play their electric guitars on the beach. The whole thing is nonsense." Not unless they want to get electrocuted, of course.

"Boyzone's Shane says he's found God" He was down the back of the sofa with a biro, a 2p piece and an empty crisp packet.

Happy birthday, Ronnie Corbett. And Pamela Stephenson, who's 53. Blimey!

Wednesday Just Won't Go

Mutterings continued.

Out to dinner with Leece and Rob and Steveg and Maureen tonight. L and M have the audacity to have birthdays on the very same day so we're off to eat Greek food in town and celebrate.

My credit union has issued me with new hole in the wall cards and changed the PI numbers on them. I have to find a branch which has a PI number changing machine and change them back to what they were. Most annoying. The letter accompanying the new PI numbers stated that, if I want to change the numbers, I can ring them up. I did this only to told about that I couldn't unless I took them to the aforementioned machine.

Exciting stuff from Ananova (well, I find it exciting):

"Iron Age chariot found near the M1

An Iron Age chariot from about 500 BC has been discovered by engineers working on the new A1 motorway in West Yorkshire.

The site at Darrington, near Pontefract, is said to hold articles of great significance.

In what seems to be a burial chamber, there are the remains of a man aged about 40 and the bones of 250 cattle, as well as the chariot, reports the BBC.

It is thought the cattle could have formed part of a huge funeral feast.

Archaeologists say the chariot appears to have been placed in the pit intact.

Nineteen other chariots have been found buried in Britain, but these have all been near the east coast with none as far west as this discovery.

The finds will shed new light on the tribes that lived in the north of England 2,500 years ago."

Come on Tuesday I Feel Better

Mutterings continued.

Well, the world premiere of Return of the King seems to have gone off ok. The odd one or two (some very odd) fans turned out to watch the slebs go by on the red carpet. There are a couple of reviews on Ain't It Cool News by some lucky bastards who have obviously seen it before the rest of us.

One of the exercises in last night's French class was to ask how many whatevers there were in a certain country and to respond appropriately. Partner and I ended up counting the number of people, sheep and hobbits in New Zealand. The sheep outnumbered the others, of course.

"An Australian lawn bowls team may have beaten the record for the longest game with a 57-hour marathon." There really are things more boring than watching paint dry.

"Johnny Rotten is among the names reportedly being lined up to appear in the new series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!" AKA Whining Around Australia.

"Britain's only modern martial art is be taught in the UK for the first time next year.

Defendo will be taught at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds where actors will perform demonstrations of wartime combat techniques." DEFENDO?? What kind of a name is that for a martial art? Ecky Thump isn't being taught as it's an ancient Lancastrian martial art.

Blue Monday (not really)

Mutterings continued.

The owners and managing agents of the unit my parents rent are starting to make things difficult for them. Mum's 81 and has lung and heart problems and Dad isn't much better, and the last thing they need is for an estate agent and the owners of the place they've called home for four years to walk in, examine every room, nook and cranny, while getting into little huddles and whispering and then leave without saying a word. The place is getting beyond them, they realise this, but the owners and the agent refused to say anything to them when they were asked directly if there was a problem. The answer from the agent was, "I'll send you a letter."

It's terribly worrying for them and of course I'm worrying about them being worried. Or at least I was. They've found somewhere else already that's cheaper, better, and where they'll be looked after - all meals, emergency alarms, caretakers on site.

Great night last night - Leece, Rob, lovely food, the penultimate Prisoner and MST3K! The Mstie was Space Mutiny, a very, very,very sub-Battlestar Galactica. Lousy plot, no continuity and second hand uniforms for the crew (the Lorne Greene lookalike captain wore shiny muu-muus and most of the female crew wore very little at all). "Ah, wall mounted keyboards! This must be the future." And this is the plot, such as it is, taken from IMDB. "A starship that looks a lot like, but has nothing to do with, the Battlestar Galactica, finds itself embroiled in crisis when the Enforcers (the ship's security crew) attempt to take over the vessel. This they do by Saran-wrapping their enemies and chasing each other around on floor polishers. Fortunately, the crew are aided by a coven of priestesses endowed with mental powers, who distract the Enforcers by dancing suggestively."