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April 19, 2003
Seven Days, And Thats All You Wrote?
Hello, again - no, I haven't died, just been having one of those busy weeks where nothing happens! Busy at work, surviving what is known as a 'supervision session', along with a meeting, seeing an average of 7 people a day, and collapsing on my bed at night. Man, I gotta do something about this.
The oddest thing this week is how many people seem to be interested in my love life - people I go to visit ask 'are you married' and comment on how good I look (yeah, believe me, I have a far worse view of how I look than anyone else) and how all I have to do is push myself forward a bit... The scary thing is, I go to help them, not the other way around... it must be 'cos Spring is in the air... or perhaps the Cult of Me is starting up again (an odd but widespread group who as questions about me like the one above, and often seem to know me... though I've never met them in my life... and somehow they manage to cover for me when things go wrong - the CoM is sometimes a blessing, but often a curse - expect more on this in the future...)
And it seems to be rubbing off onto friends too.
Ah well - this week has been glorious weatherwise, and even today, while the weather is certainly not as warm as Thursday, it's still nice... though the forecast has said it might snow in the Pennines! Nick and Doof are up in the Lakes (seperately) today, so let's hope it (rains cats and dogs) stays fine for them!
Not much else to say today, except to note that if you watch the promo video to 'Owner Of A Broken Heart' by YES, you might see where the Wochowski brothers got the idea from... it is from the early '80's. but so similar in many ways, especially the end...
Posted by Badgers at 01:13 PM | Comments (2)
April 13, 2003
'His Dark Materials' Trilogy, Philip Pullman (Point)
Now, I don't read much fantasy as I prefer hard SF, gothic horror, etc, but I had read reviews, though I only got the books a short time ago (in a 3 for 2 offer at Waterstones) as I was at a loose end book-wise. I thought they might be a good read. How wrong I was. 'Good' hardly describes them, or the incredible imagination behind them...
Comprising the three novels Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, the His Dark Materials trilogy has won awards and plaudits almost everywhere. Coming out at the same time as the early Harry Potter novels, it was also designed as a fantasy for young people, but with an edge that even Prisoner of Azkaban lacked. People die, people that you come to care about, and often messily. It's that kind of world, or worlds, as it turns out.
The first book (Northern Lights) is set in a world similar to our own, but with differences - people have daemons in the form of animals that are an extension of themelves, and the Church is all powerful, and the mystery of Dust sparks a trail of horror, betrayal and a grand quest. Fantasy sits comfortably with the familiar, and you find yourself drawn into the adventures of a young girl, Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon before you know it. The story focuses exclusively on Lyra in this book, and her quest to find her friend Roger after he disappears from Jordan College in Oxford, supposedly taken by the ''. This quest takes her from Oxford to the sub-arctic wastes, and we meet Lords, Gyptians, Witches, and a race of evolved bears along the way... and at no point do you think it strange. If there is a problem, it is that once the book grabs you (somewhere in the first chapter, I assure you!) you find yourself pulled along on a headlong flight, and occasionally you want to stay a little longer, until the end rises up and has you reaching for the next volume...
By contrast, The Subtle Knife begins in our world, opening out to follow other charcters, including Will, a young boy from our Oxford who has been involved for longer than he knows - the first meeting between the daemonless Will and Lyra is priceless, and from here the story begins it's headlong plunge, first with the exploration of Cittagazze, and then the flight into other worlds... each beautiful and deadly.
The Amber Spyglass rounds off the trilogy by going even further, and sparking a war in which the end is far from certain, and the two children are are the very heart. And an ending that will hurt, I promise!
More for young adults than young children due to the betrayal, violence, horror and complexity, this should not be missed by any fantasy reader, young or old. Well written, engaging, and with characters that stand out from the page, this is a classic, and worth a place on any bookshelf!
A positive 5/5 for each and every book - stunning.
I know that after the success of Harry Potter as movies, the trilogy is likely to be made sooner or later, but considering the dumbing down and changes made to make that series acceptable (Azkaban will be neutered, or else get a 15 rating as a film), I doubt it would be anything but a disaster. I can see much vanishing or being made nicer, with the horror toned down so that it's no longer chilling - when it happens, Pullman doesn't flinch away or hide it, as death is not a nice thing for any character, even once in death's domain, in this series - and even the key theme of adolescence jiggered with. True, The Lord Of The Rings seems to be coming through well, but unless Peter Jackson can be pursuaded to make another great fantasy trilogy in one lump (the events happen over a few weeks, so any aging or voices dropping would be a little too obvious), it will not come close to working. I suppose Hallmark could possibly make a stab at it, as a big miniseries (and Miranda Richardson playing Mrs Coulter would work)... The best thing would be to wait, and hope that it remains on the page, as to dilute the power of this trilogy would be unforgivable.
Posted by Badgers at 05:35 PM | Comments (0)
Deep Breathing Exercises...
Well, I blame James. he has a way of saying stuff and having it happen, or go wrong... readers of his blog may notice his mention of cosmetic surgery on Camille (my 206)... well, yesterday when my parents came back from walking the dogs, they let me know I had a dent in my car. Not the one I got diving out of the way of an oncoming truck in Worsthorne, but a new one. At the other side. I don't know how it got there, but my guess is Clitheroe on Thursday as I've had another prang there in Ayu - I parked by the Sorting Office and a white car managed to come out of the car park opposite and scrape down the side of the car while I was grabbing lunch (not as bad as the scrape that wrote her off, though). It looks like a bumper hit the front wing of Cammy, so she is not so happy as she was... it should be easily fixable, but it makes me so mad... Ah well - I'll update her profile on the cars page with photos later this week...
On other stuff, I'm very happy with I.T. Ep 01 - the opening is done (bar some nice lightning and sounds), and I'm into the animation itself... expect me to be gibbering by the end of the month!!! I think plans for Alton Towers are almost sorted (we just have to pick a time when Doof can't come along, so as to save him the problem of thinking up an excuse), and I've just posted my first review (to keep Jamius happy, and to stop him hogging the page!).
Ah well - off to Nick's today to play Freelancer and see if they want any easter eggs... they may all be 30+ but they still get eggs... I'm trying to ween them off if possible... chocolate - yeech!
Posted by Badgers at 06:11 AM | Comments (2)
April 08, 2003
Bo-o-ring!
But I tell you this, if I ever get my job straight, I'm quitting to move on - it's just a pain at the moment... like so many other jobs, it'd be far better without all the dealing with people... sigh.
Ah well, what is going on then? Apart from gorgeous weather, of course. And the US tanks opening up on journalists (I heard no sniper fire on the footage I've seen).
Well, I'm just about to start on the 3rd novel in the No1 Detectives... series - Expect a review of this series (and when I get round to it, the His Dark Materials trilogy) in the Reviews section... I can't believe Jamius got the first book review... he'll be telling you all to be reading a certain Brian Lumley series next... but then I'll just point you to HP Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Bram Stoker, Mary Woostencroft Shelley, the fantastic MR James.... all that and I've added pics to Jamius' reviews to brighten things up!
Talking of starting... I've begun the art for the next I.T. episode... the opening should be fun... especially for those who enjoyed the rope over at the Rogue Noid site!
Posted by Badgers at 05:39 PM | Comments (2)
April 04, 2003
Spoons.
Specifically, Marks & Spencer plastic spoons.
A year or two ago, there were nice plastic spoons at M&S, situated by the sandwiches and desserts, but they had a tendancy to snap if put under pressure, say, by a Lemon Cheesecake. This was fine, though, as anyone with sense had a decent metal spoon to eat a M&S Lemon Cheescake, as they are rather solid.
Then, the spoon changes suddenly into a different form - perhaps not as good to eat the Lemon Cheescake with, but far stronger than the last spoon. These spoons had strength and could stand up to the Lemon Cheesecake, but could get a bit messy if cream or something got into the handle part. But despite this little problem, all was well with the world.
Then, while I've been off sick and unable to eat any Lemon Cheescake, the spoons changed again. Into something that is in effect, a teaspoon. Now, plastic teaspoons don't have to be strong, so these are not too bad, if a bit bendy, with a trifle, but fail the Lemon Cheesecake test badly - they can barely scrape the little lemon rind-y bits off the top, never mind stand up to the rigors of being forced through lemon flavoured cottage cheese into solid digestive biscuit at the base!
Just a word to the wise, then - take a decent spoon to eat your Lemon Cheescake from Marks & Spencers. Its a small investment, but it pays great dividends... in othe words, you can eat the bloody Lemon Cheescake!
UPDATE!!! Well, the web is a mighty thing, or somesuch, though this probably had nothing to do with the rant...! Today (8.4.03) I went in and lo and behold, the stronger spoons had made a comeback! The world is safe for Lemon Cheesecake lovers everyehere!
UPDATE 2!!! Sadly, the bendy teaspoons have returned to M&S - it seems the decent ones were just stock clearance! Looks like I'm stuck with the Strawberry Trifles! (23.5.03)
Posted by Badgers at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)
Nothing Important Happened Today
Well, April arrived, didn't it? Beautiful sunny weather all through March then on the 1st of April, here come the showers. Well, torrential downpours, to be honest! Still, the rain has gone away now, and the past few days have been nice, and even hot when the sun has been out... summer can only be just around the corner!!! And I like summer - you see such nice things...
So, what have I been doing? Apart from working my rear off at work? Well, I finished Episode 00 last night and got it online at roguenoid.com and at Newgrounds, where it seems to have gone down pretty well - I even made the front page, and have lots of good reviews... there are a lot of mad people out there wanting to see more I.T., so why not! I must admit, I didn't expect that at all - 2.60 out of 5.00 at the most, but 3.60 plus? I have to make the first real episode good now... bugger!
Ah well - I go off to Manchester tomorrow for the day, hopefully coming back with lots of books - it's time got get more Patrick O'Brien and No1 Ladies Detective Agencys I think! I tell ya, being off sick means you read even more than usual!
One think to look out for - I'll be adding the reviews section I have been secretly planning over the weekend - Me, Jamius, and possibly even Doof and Nick, will be able to review things... pretty much anything, really, from books to movies, from the local tandoori to that nightclub over there... so it could get interesting... I think reviews of the US version of Freelancer are likely from one person!!! And I've added a little rant about something that has annoyed me, now I've started eating again...
TTFN!
Posted by Badgers at 05:48 PM | Comments (1)
April 01, 2003
Jamius Has A Plan.
Well, after some fun on Freelancer again this weekend, Jamius has come up with a plan. Y'see, He is going to get a broadband connection soon, and that will leave Nick alone on his slow dial-up connection. Now, what he wants Nick to get it for is simple - he wants Nick to run the Freelancer server we use at weekends online so we can play it from home too.
Personally, I think he'll be bloody lucky if he can convince him to join us... there's more likelyhood of Doof joining us on a night out, should we ever have another this side of my wake (at which point I will of course be staying in unless I feel peckish for some brains)! Ah well.
A quick question before I go to finsih off I.T. Episode 00... what is it with all these signs going up in the local area with "POLICE WARNING! Security marked stones in this area" on them? Are there Ogri wandering the moors looking for fresh blood? Or have I just been watching too much Tom Baker-era Doctor Who?
Posted by Badgers at 04:10 PM | Comments (1)