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Sunday, January 24th, 2010
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2:26 pm
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Your result for The Improved Book Character-Savvy Test... Better than better!You scored 71% Best Seller, 81% Classic and 96% Fantasy/Sci-Fi! 
You're on the right track. Try a little bit of everything. Variety is the spice of life, after all. And Best-Sellers are fun! Hollywood can't be that wrong! Take The Improved Book Character-Savvy Test at OkCupid
Obviously my classics are a bit rusty. I often get the Brontes confused....
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
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1:41 pm - I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
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| Monday, December 7th, 2009
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7:43 pm
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Am feeling not-playing-well-with-others at the moment, so rather than watch Twilight in order to not enjoy it, I'm watching Hancock and Unbreakable.
Although given some of the shit I've had to deal with over the last couple of years, werewolves and vampires seem like light relief.
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| Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
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12:34 pm - And a couple more- sorry, moar.
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12:21 pm - Some lolz for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) m31andy
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| Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
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1:53 pm - If crochet comes....
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.... can cross-stitch be far behind?
Alas, no.
My enthusiasm for crochet, in abeyance for two years, re-emerged triumphant this year. Since then I completed a hibernating project and completed two other jackets. With several projects on the go at a time, my addiction is unmistakable and my stash is increasing.
And then- I found a couple of cross-stitch kits. Just little things, neat small weekend projects.
http://www.dmc.com/majic/pageServer/1o010101hr/en_GB/index.html
I've made the Antique one for me and the Precious Metal one for m31andy. And I have realised, to my horror, that I enjoy cross-stitch. I used to do it a little bit when younger but it rather fell by the wayside.
But now it's back with a vengence
And so- a public health warning.
If you ever feel an urge to pick up a crochet hook or a pair of knitting needles to try it out, beware. It is addictive and results in myriad bags and boxes of random yarn (sometimes very random).
Worse yet, the addiction can mutate into other forms of craft work. I've already fallen victim to crochet, knitting and cross-stitch, and fear that soon weaving and spinning will make themselves manifest. It's too late for me, but save yourselves!
If, on the other hand, you are already addicted- see you at the next yarn sale......
current mood:  productive
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| Friday, July 10th, 2009
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8:46 pm - Countdown
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So. Nearly time for episode 5 of Torchwood: Children of Earth, and for once I would love there to be a nice big reset button pushed at some point.
I'll even accept the appearence of Tennant if we can get the recently deceased back.... :-(
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| Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
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8:27 pm - Did you know....
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That alternating watching 'Brass Eye' episodes and 'Horizon' documentaries on YouTube can be rather disconcerting?
Fr'instance, after a couple of 'Brass Eye' episodes, switching to 'How to kill a Human', in which Michael Portillo investigated the humanity or otherwise of various methods of execution didn't seem that different....
Um.
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
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1:25 pm - Update, update, update
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| Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
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11:56 am - I know I can be catty....
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.... but this is ridiculous.
Update on the mouse situation- there's more than one of the little blighters. Definitly field mice, though.
How do I know this? Well, I've seen the things scurrying around and they are definitly brown, not grey. Also- quick back story. I'm trying to grow tomatos in a long trough by the kitchen window. Also a pot of coriander, which I absolutely adore.
The little bastards have been burrowing into the soil in the tomatos and have stripped and eaten the coriander! I was not angry until this moment, but I'm flippin' furious now.
Yesterday, I spotted one of them diving into the tomato plant pot. So I picks it up, walks it outside, and agitate the soil until the sod leapt out in a panic and scarpered.
Then in the evening when m31andy was around, we see another one, which tried to hide under the knife block. I decide to try and catch it. I consider for a moment trying to grab it from its still position using a pair of tongs, but that's liable to hurt it and I don't want that.
Then it tries to make a move, and peeks out, staring at me, two tiny bright black eyes in a pointed face. It's obviously terrified, and I feel sorry for it- it's in the wrong environment for its nature, and it's unsurprising that it went for familiar things.
Still, it has to go, and I arm myself with the wok lid to trap it under, rather like trapping a spider to release outside.
At first it sprints off and tumbles into the sink- a good start- but it scrables out again (those things can really leap when inspired!) and legs it to hide behind the tomato trough.
This was my chance.
Still keeping a close eye on it, I ask Andy to pass me a pint glass. I hold that under the end of the worksurface at the end of the tunnel created between the window sill and the trough, and wave my hand around the other end of the tunnel.
WHOOSH! out dashes Lil'Jerry and falls into the glass. He then preceeds to leap up and down in an attempt to escape, but I tip him out of the window (ground floor, onto grass, he won't even notice it).
However, it's not over yet. There's still signs of digging in the tomatos and the recently displaced may try to return.
I have a glass standing by for a re-occurance.
I may yet go for the cheap cage option and take 'em up en mass to Dukes Meadows when I catch enough....
Turing has, as might be expected, been totally useless when it comes to mice. He has been observed watching the areas the mice frequent, but more in a puzzled than a useful way.
Daft kitten.
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| Saturday, May 16th, 2009
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9:44 pm - What I did on my holidays Part 2
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| Monday, May 4th, 2009
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5:21 pm - What I Did On My Holiday- Part 1
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| Friday, April 24th, 2009
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8:35 pm
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So earlier today I was in a mood bad enough to kill someone, and my bitch circuits were going into overload.
Then I realised that I hadn't taken my meds this morning and promptly took them.
An hour or so later I cheered up.
Fuck.
On the bright side, the kitchen and bathroom are clean... I seem to be using housework as a substitute for venting.
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
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10:00 am
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I think I've been overdoing it with regards to watching Stargate:SG1. Shouting at the television is one thing, hitting pause on the DVD so you can continue to berate the characters is another.
But seriously, what sort of Mickey Mouse operation is Hammond running? If your survey team is late calling in from a planet the other side of the universe, you don't wait 48 hours to work out what's happened! If they're 48 minutes late you should be on it!
Dear Gods....
The other thing I'm watching a lot of at the moment is Yes Minister (both that and Stargate courtesy of m31andy). I'm still convinced that it's a documentary. Although I do find myself wondering why Bernard is considered to be a 'high flyer' given his apparent naivete regarding the basic working of the Civil Service. Unless that's the point- he's risen up in the ranks very quickly so hasn't got so many of the rules under his belt as yet.
Oh, and in 'Equal Opportunities' Bernard referes to female Whitehall Mandarins as 'Whitehall Satsumas'. He gets Looked at.
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
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8:53 pm - Pass the cheese....
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Okay, I'm a wuss.
Thing is, it rather appears that there's a mouse in the flat. That isn't what I'm wussing about, it's what to do about it that's being the question.
'Get rid of it' is the simple but unhelpful answer, and 'But you've got a cat, haven't you?' indicates a fundamental unawareness of my feline situation.
I have a Turing, who in a number of particulars is rather less cat-like than my two Jack Russels were. Admittedly they set the bar rather high, but any self-respecting cat should be able to reach that bar and walk along it.
As far as mighty hunters go, the hellfield isn't even a Nimrod....
So I'll have to Deal with the invader. And the thing is, I don't really want to. See, the mouse hasn't done anything to me- or indeed to anyone else! Which is also a consideration...
And while as a meat-eater I'm not adverse to dead animals as such, the idea of killing something just because it's there really doesn't appeal.
It's not threatening me, it's not eating my food, it's not even leaving any droppings visible! All I know of it is the vague scratches under the window and one light-brown blur.
So- no lethal traps. I have a couple of live-catch traps, but what do I do with it afterwards? Letting it go out in the wild would be tantamount to killing it, and if I'm going to be a musicide (which sounds as if I'm not keeping up with my guitar practice, hem hem) I'd rather do it honestly.
Could always keep it as a pet....
current mood:  pensive
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(13 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, April 4th, 2009
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7:31 pm - Meme.....
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From sollersuk via m31andy
- Cuvalwen can clean her ears with her tongue,
which is over thirty-nine inches long. - A cuvalwenometer is used to
measure cuvalwen. - Cuvalwen is the world's largest
rodent! - Americans discard enough cuvalwen to rebuild their entire
commercial air fleet every 3 months! - If your ear itches, this means
that someone is talking about cuvalwen! - More than one million stray
dogs and half a million stray cats live in cuvalwen. - Cuvalwen was
banned from Finland because of not wearing pants. - Cuvalwen was
originally green, and actually contained cocaine. - Cuvalwen will
always turn right when leaving a cave! - Ninety-six percent of all
candles sold are purchased by cuvalwen.
#1 would be nice, for reasons other than ear hygiene, #7 is only a rumour, #8 only happened once and #10 might actually be factually true.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, March 23rd, 2009
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12:55 pm
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After an early summer over the weekend, it's back to rather more March-like weather outside. But you can tell that it's Spring and not Autumn because of all the green leaves and white blossoms being shaken under the grey skies.
I had my counseling assessment last Thursday, which was... okay, I guess. The assessor reckons that they will be able to find someone suitable, but I might be a bit of a problem thanks to the amount I already know about psychology. Being able to identify CBT as Cognative Behavioral Therapy is one thing, it was when I referred to one person as having played 'Look How Hard I've Tried' and the other as playing 'Now Look what You Made Me Do' the assessor blinked slightly and frantically scribbled something on his pad.
Hope they find someone soon though. I was hoping that being honest with myself would negate the need for therapy- but instead I think honesty is just a pre-requisit.
It's being a strange and variable time for a lot of people I know- one of them's totally loved up, and another's found his fledgling relationship to be on the rocks thanks to a shit-stirring acquaintance. The Beloved Object has taken the stirrer's word about something, it seems, without bothering to find out for herself. Very frustrating.
On a lighter note, I was priviledged to just about witness the last stitches of the last square of m31andy's counterpane- which was so a blogging moment! I'm thinking of getting some T-shirts printed up for the forthcoming Tour.
current mood:  impressed
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
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5:59 pm
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I didn't think about Jade Goody much, and when I did I generally thought that she was appaulingly ignorant, which is more a reflection on her education than on her, and more on the vulgar side than the classy. Although I've also noticed that the upper and working classes tend to be quite similar in some ways in terms of behaviour and even speech (pronouncing the 'g' at the end of the present participle is more of a middle-class thing, and I know for a fact that Prince Andrew glottle-stops), and when it comes to being vulgar- well, some of language at the Crabby Old Bats meetups can turn the air blue. It's maybe more polysyllabic, but it can be pretty damn crude.
She was also an interesting object lesson in how the media works- at first on Big Brother most of the tabloids, IIRC, were dead set against her and reported on her accordingly. Then they realised that most of the viewers actually liked her and they did a sharp about-face. Net result- even though she didn't win, she made a career out of it (what happened to the person who did win? Anyone know?).
So- ignorant, sure, but not necesseraly stupid. Although I do hope that someone filled her in as to the location of East Anglia....
Celebrity Big Brother was NOT her finest moment. It's hard to judge such things properly without knowing the full story- and we're back to The Media again- tabloids like nice, simple stories with clearly defined heros and villains. Viewers only saw part of what was happening in the house, I didn't see any of it, but it's entirely possible that both sides were at fault. Celebrities have big egos, it's part of the job description. Small wonder that sometimes they rub up against each other the wrong way.
And then she got cancer. The worst thing about it from my perspective was how happy some people were about it- but then again, in the early days of the diagnosis I think it was rather assumed that she'd get over it.
Then it became apparent that she wouldn't.
Dear gods, some people were still happy. At a guess, none of those people had ever seen someone die of cancer.
And still she remained in the spotlight- which some thought vulgar. She was open about it- she was doing it to make money for her children's futures. I can't argue with that- and I'm pretty sure that if various papers and magazines had offered my father large sums of money to cover his death, he'd have gone for it for the same reason.
There were complaints still from those who did know people who had died or were dying from cancer- that she should stop complaining and get on with it. I don't recall any accounts of her complaining apart from expressing that she didn't want to die- fair enough, really- and as for 'getting on with it'- get on with what? Dying? Not something she could really avoid...
My theory is that she made the middle classes uncomfortable. Dying so publically is very in-your-face. It reminds people of their own mortality. Happily, not everyone was so head-in-the-sand and the number of smear tests done has increased markedly.
And now it's all over, and she's dead.
And the worst thing about it, from the perspective of someone with no personal connection to her at all- is that some people are, in defiance of all human feeling, still happy about it.
current mood:  sympathetic
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 12th, 2009
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5:09 pm - Cross my palm with- beer!
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In 1738, according to records from the Old Bailey, a woman yclept Honour Penery was accused of theft, and it was said that she was aided in this by another woman who was apparently her girlfriend. The pair had claimed to be apprentices of Sir Isaac Newton’s, in Turnham Green- this would have been quite a feat since he had died some ten years previously- and used the trappings of divination systems to rob their mark. The judge did not appear impressed by protestations of innocence, and ‘transported for life’ was the sentence he gave.
Whether or not they did actually live in that bit of West London isn’t clear, but they have acquired the soubriquet ‘The Lesbian Cunning Women of Turnham Green’- which to be honest sounds as if it could be a Robert Rankin book.
Some two hundred and seventy years later, and a bit down the road from Turnham Green (in Stamford Brook, to be exact), two other lesbian cunning women were also going equipped with divinatory objects, but in a far more socially acceptable way.
For yesterday was the first Psychic Night at the Black Lion pub! The manager Chris had spotted m31andy and myself playing around with her mini tarot cards and had the idea, he got together a number of other readers who are or have been studying it professionally, and lo and behold it not only got off the ground but absolutely flew!
I had been mildly worried about how many people would turn up to be read- I had an image of 8 or so readers sitting in an otherwise empty room, but instead there were positive queues! The basic principle was that this would be more like practice, and people would give a donation of whatever they thought the reading was worth. This can work very well, and did.
There are now plans for this to be a regular event, about every 4 weeks- m31and won’t be at all of them of course, if she’s needed to tech support the MWNN, but I’m planning on repeating the experience.
I also have to say that m31andy looked absolutely fantastic- black velvet and corset. She’s always gorgeous, it’s just that last night was something else again.
Me, I was tottering around on much higher heels than I would normally consider walking in- it was only the proximity of the Black Lion (there’s a reason why I generally refer to it as ‘next door’) that made it viable. Plus a charity shop find in the shape of a black lacy crocheted dress with an underslip- and I may be over doing the crochet a bit as I found myself examining it closely in an attempt to work out the pattern.
So did m31andy though, so if I am going overboard with it at least I’ll have company….
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| Thursday, February 26th, 2009
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8:00 am - Pig's tail
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My turn to be in work early today- Hellfiend has a Vet's appointment this evening so I'm in early to leave early.
Still, it means that I get to put my iPod on, and I've just introduced the few who are also in this early to Voltaire's 'Zombie Prostitute'!
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