Another one bites the dust.

Mutterings continued.

Well, that's The Tempest over with. A successful season by all accounts and a lot of fun. I've just got back from helping bump out the set, props, etc. Not that I did very much.

It's a public hol here in the West tomorrow, and I think I'll be spending it doing the housework, something I've neglected for the last couple of weeks or so. Time for all the props paraphernalia to go back into the spare bedroom until next time.

I was disappointed to read that Channel 2 won't be showing the Dr Who story "Wargames". Some kind of contractual/copyright problems I understand. Wargames is the first story in which Pat Troughton's son, David, appears with his dad. He made a couple of further appearances, most notably as King Peladon with Jon Pertwee.

I rang Foxtel yesterday to see about getting hooked up to this digital thingie. The man and his equipment will be around some time between 7am and 12 on the 24th of March.

Nicked from the The Mausoleum Club forum page - "Astonishing Blake's 7 DVD news!

Play.com have just emailed me to tell me that my Season 1 box set has been dispatched!

And they [I] said it would never be released!" Tempting, very tempting. At moment I'm waiting on B5 series 4 and Cadfael, series 1.

And we're back.

Mutterings continued.

Finally got the PC back on Thursday after waiting 8 days for it to be repaired. Apparently there was nothing wrong with it (they charged me $88 to tell me this) however it's acting decidedly flaky! And the CD burner they installed doesn't work so I'll have to take it back on Tuesday to see why my PC refuses to acknowledge its existence. I'm hoping it's something as simple as a loose connection however I keep getting Windows error reports saying that a driver is causing a problem but they can't tell me which one.

One of the funnier sights of the week - seeing Sean Astin being shoulder charged and bumped out of the way by John Reece-Davies at the SAG Awards.

Last night of Tempest tonight. We've had some good houses - Wed night was near to capacity and last night was pretty good too. We thought we were going to have to complete with a Christian rock band that was playing in the lecture theatre next door but they were true to their word that they would be done by 8pm.

The Aus$ is higher than the Canadian, so I ordered series 4 of Babylon 5 from DVDsoon at a cost of A$79 (give or take). Free postage too.

Some lunch time blogging - a week on.

Mutterings continued.

No, I haven't been celebrating (birthday or Tempest opening night), my computer bit the dust and has been in for repairs since Thursday morning. I just rang Arrow and they haven't even looked at it yet.

Opening night of The Tempest came and went in a clap of thunder, a few lightning bolts and a sudden downpour of rain. The smoke machines under the stage were in danger of floating away (along with the young chaps who operate them) and the stage turned into an ice rink. I suggested Tempest on Ice but noone took me up on it. At 7.30 we sent the audience home. And at 8 we were looking up at the stars in the clear sky wondering if we had been premature. There was still a bit of lightning about and the seats were full of water so it was a good thing we decided not to proceed.

We had a small but appreciative audience on Friday and a larger and even more appreciative audience (who clapped every exit) on Saturday. Quite a few school groups have booked for this week so it will be interesting to see how they react.

Back at work today, just a bit of catching up to do.

I've never seen any of the Austin Powers films so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Goldmember (Foxtel Movie 1 last night). It had some quite amusing moments, the best being the accidental hijacking of a Godzilla float in Tokyo by AP. "Ahhh! Godzilla!" screams one Japanese gentleman. "Due to international copyright laws, this is not in fact Godzilla." says another. "But we should run as it looks like Godzilla!" says the first. "Which it's not." replies the second to the camera. Kevin Spacey as Dr Evil and Danny DaVito as a psychotic Mini Me was also amusing.

Hippo birdie to me.

Mutterings continued.

Another year closer to 50. *sigh* A quiet day, sent off payment for a winning ebay bid, ate lots of things I shouldn't have, made an appointment to have my hair cut, slobbed about and generally enjoyed myself. No rehearsals tonight - woo hoo!

Tempest opens tomorrow night - 8pm, New Fortune theatre, UWA. Just over 2 hours, no interval, lots of eye candy.

Ow.

Mutterings continued.

One of the polls on the ITA website once asked if people had ever been hurt during a production - I responded that I injure myself every time. I still carry the damage I did to the bony bit on the right hand side of my clavicle (you know, the right angled bit that sticks out on either side of your throat, I'm sure there's a name for it) carrying heavy rifles back and forth for Hamlet. And I put my shoulder out hauling curtains for R and G are Dead. This morning my legs are full of bruises, my back hurts and I have a deepish cut on the index finger of my right hand. Actors have it easy!

We had the first full dress for Tempest last night, another tonight and tomorrow. Don't know what's happening on Monday, we're on standby. It's also my birthday (not so subtle hint). I was born on the same day as Levar "Geordi LaForge" Burton. Or rather, he was born on the same day as me, which also makes him 40-mumble.

Driving Miss Daisy

Mutterings continued.

I've spent the last three days driving round and round the suburbs and into town looking for shops that seem to have shut since the latest White Pages came out. Still, I guess it means I've seen things I wouldn't normally have seen, eg the paper merchants I went looking for in Subi now houses some really horrible art. And I now know what Memory Lane in Perth looks like and that Properganda in Belmont isn't open when you think it is.

I watched the first episode of Raffles last night - I'd forgotten how funny it was. Ah, memories. I used to smoke Sullivans cigs, available only from Sharps in Barrack St, just like Raffles did. They came in a lovely Moroccan leather looking box and were really expensive. Not the kind of thing I would normally spend my Tertiary Allowance on but what the hell.

I also used to smoke Black Russians - they look cool but have a gold paper filter which doesn't feel right. Too slippery.

A propos of nothing: "Dr Robert Atkins, who pioneered the low-carbohydrate diet that bears his name, was clinically obese when he died, according to a pathology report. "

Hols.

Mutterings continued.

A busy day, and an expensive one buying props.

It smells like rain but I don't think it will, unfortunately.

News from the Grammys:

"A handful of honors went to three artists who died last year: Johnny Cash, who was honored with director Mark Romanek for best short-form video for "Hurt"; Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, won best traditional folk album for "Wildwood Flower" and best female country vocal performance for the song "Keep on the Sunny Side."

Warren Zevon, who passed away in September, won contemporary folk album for his swan song, "The Wind," and best rock vocal performance for "Disorder in the House," a duet with Bruce Springsteen.

Weird Al Yankovic won best comedy album for his record "Poodle Hat." Eugene Levy and Michael McKean won best song written for a motion picture for the title tune from "A Mighty Wind." "

Blake's 7 DVD - Some screen grabs. Speaking of DVDs, the Raffles disks have arrived from Canada. I haven't had a chance to look at them yet.

It's raining - weeee!!! Oh, I think it's stopped. Hmm, must be raining in the city as Bondy's tower is obscured. A piece of ancient history - I learned to drink in the Ladies' Bar of the Palace Hotel, a lovely piece of architecture that was gutted and had a symbol of the 80's thrust through the middle of it.

On hols.

Mutterings continued.

I was all set to knock off at my usual time when I remembered that I hadn't typed up the minutes from a meeting I'd attended yesterday. And as they would be needed while I was away I figured I'd better do them.

Icky start to the day - I put some sultana bran and muesli in a bowl and poured on the milk, only the milk didn't so much 'pour' as 'glugged'. Not nice.

Bruce Beresford has some interesting things to say about "Our" Nicole and others - Bulletin article.

I've just been looking at an airline comparison chart and one of the criteria is "Fatal events 1970-2000 per million flights (less is better). Er, yes, I suppose it is. For Aeroflot they don't have a number, just 'high'.

One more sleep

Mutterings continued.

and I'm on hols for a couple of weeks. Still have a heap of props to get/make but the Wonderful Pat Stroud has been really helpful in tracking down the trickier items.

Blackstar is advertising the Blake's 7 series 1 set, release date 1 March, for 38 quid. '1 Robot, 2 Flat Feet and a blooper' sounds intriguing. Blackstar has a sale on - 13 quid for Red Dwarf series 4 (approx A$31). I haven't bought series 3 yet!

The Empire Awards - ROTK Best film, Johnny Depp Best Actor (I know there are those who won't agree with that. 8-D ), Ride of the Rohirrim Best Scene, Andy Serkis Best British Actor, MC Bill Bailey Best line "Hello, I'm Bill Bailey, the spawn of a hobbit's one night stand with Michael Bolton."

Nice drop of rain.

Mutterings continued.

Not. 39C and not a cloud in the sky.

The Adventures of Cheery Littlebottom - based on the Terry Pratchett character. Pterry came up with best description of a baby orangutan I've ever heard - a surprised coconut. Another of my favourites - "The Librarian’s face rose into view like an early-morning coconut."

The flat inspection went off ok, as far as I can tell. It looks as though the cats didn't embarrass me by throwing up on the carpet, as is their wont.

A bit of lunch time blogging.

Mutterings continued.

I've just eaten a huge bowl of noodles and half a banana and now I want a nap.

Germaine Greer - her Female Eunuch changed my life. I don't always agree with what she has to say, but her dissertation on the latest bunch of "twittering has-beens" in I'm a D Grade Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, is a real hoot! "My nightmare would be having to endure the twittering of a bunch of has-beens and wannabes, interested only in themselves and how they come across." Love it!

Hot!

Mutterings continued.

The air con at work was more or less working today - it was certainly better inside than out.

New from Despair Labs - BitterSweets. Mmm..."You-Call-This-Lime?" flavour.....

The Ian McKellen interview is up on the Classic FM web site.

And from the sublime to the gorblimey - the official Van Helsing website.

I can see for miles and miles...

Mutterings continued.

Or at least, I can finally see the floor in the second bedroom. When my parents moved to a smaller place they gave me a lot of stuff and I just shoved it in the second room and hoped for the best. The landlord's inspection on Tuesday was just the impetus I needed to finally tidy the damn room up.

I caught the end of that scary movie with Nicole Kidman and kids in a haunted house - I didn't realise Eric Sykes was in it. I used to enjoy 'Sykes' with Hattie Jacques and Richard Wattis - one episode I particularly remember had Hattie and Eric lost in a pea souper fog. They walked for miles getting more and more lost only to discover they'd never actually left the house. The DVD of the series is now available - a review.

Margaret Throsbie is interviewing Ian McKellen tomorrow morning. Hopefully the audio will be up on the Classic FM website soon thereafter.

Apparently I'm not single, I'm a Quirkyalone. It's American, of course.