I have just read that The Goonies, the ultimate childrens' adventure film, is to be re-made....into a cartoon series......What a load of tosh that'll be....this after I read that The Famous Five is also to be re-made with a middle-aged cast who reunite to solve a crime....er New Tricks anyone.
For heavens sake how many more classics have to be maimed before TPTB know to leave well alone.
In other news.....what's that noise? that would be the sound of shredding paperwork as I have finally handed in 'the' dissertation...hoorah! I had a Belgium Bun to celebrate, yay me.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Chocolate Rain
Not sure whether this has been around a while, but it's just a vid I bumped into surfing on YouTube...It's a little repetative and alot random...but, I kinda like it.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Update to My Big List of 'To Do' Stuff
The list will probably balloon to Biblical proportions as I intend to keep adding, due to my addled brains' immensely imaginative (no matter how improbable) process . Who knows, hopefully I will be able to cross some off eventually too.
16. Visit a Cadbury chocolate factory (singing the Oompa Loompa song.....optional)
17. Walk the South Downs way
18. Learn a language...Japanese or Italian
19. Take part in an Archaeological dig
20. Scuba dive a shipwreck in the Caribbean (and find a hoard of golden treasure)
21. See Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in London
22. Write a bloody good pub quiz
23. Take part in a scavenger hunt
24. Eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, everyday
25. Learn life saving skills
26. Experience weightlessness
27. Sing either 'Believe it or Not' or 'Maybe Tomorrow' at a Karaoke (theme tunes to The Greatest American Hero & The Littlest Hobo for the uneducated....and Josh)
28. Take singing lessons (preferably before No. 27)
29. Learn to tap dance, line dance, urban dance and body pop (also preferably before No 27 if I'm going to perform it might as well be memorable)
30. Swim with wild dolphins (again)
31. Write up my travel diaries with pictures
32. Learn to play piano or trumpet
To Be Continued......
P.S I had a dream and decided that the 'list' will now be referred to as my 'Jim'll List', adding and (hopefully) carrying out a Jim'll/Jim'll's/Jim'lls'/the odd Jim/ a 'J' day (will have to work on the terminology) as often as possible.
16. Visit a Cadbury chocolate factory (singing the Oompa Loompa song.....optional)
17. Walk the South Downs way
18. Learn a language...Japanese or Italian
19. Take part in an Archaeological dig
20. Scuba dive a shipwreck in the Caribbean (and find a hoard of golden treasure)
21. See Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in London
22. Write a bloody good pub quiz
23. Take part in a scavenger hunt
24. Eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, everyday
25. Learn life saving skills
26. Experience weightlessness
27. Sing either 'Believe it or Not' or 'Maybe Tomorrow' at a Karaoke (theme tunes to The Greatest American Hero & The Littlest Hobo for the uneducated....and Josh)
28. Take singing lessons (preferably before No. 27)
29. Learn to tap dance, line dance, urban dance and body pop (also preferably before No 27 if I'm going to perform it might as well be memorable)
30. Swim with wild dolphins (again)
31. Write up my travel diaries with pictures
32. Learn to play piano or trumpet
To Be Continued......
P.S I had a dream and decided that the 'list' will now be referred to as my 'Jim'll List', adding and (hopefully) carrying out a Jim'll/Jim'll's/Jim'lls'/the odd Jim/ a 'J' day (will have to work on the terminology) as often as possible.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
My To Do LIst
So, there I was watching an all time classic episode of Doctor Who, Doomsday....Daleks & Cybermen the ultimate 'ever-so-slightly' scary ensemble and a top episode which leaves me with a lump in my throat by the end, top musical score, top writing, top ending....but I digress....
So,like I said, there I was watching Doctor Who and I got to thinking...time and space travel...how cool would that be, that's something I'd like to do if and when it's possible...I mean where would you want to go and what would you want to do if you could do absolutely anything?
Then I figured, before I become the ultimate time traveller, there is still quite a bit I'd like to do/see round here first. So I thought I start making a list...so, in no particular order, a sample.
1. Go Tornado chasing
2. Climb a tree on a regular basis
3. Write a fantasy/sci fi book
4. Write a fantasy/sci fi script.
5. Milk a Cow
6. Live in Australia
7. Stand up on a surf board.
8. Take an adventure holiday and do all the activities at least once no matter how scary
9. Work in Film/TV as a researcher
10. Take part in a conservation project somewhere in the world, ie other than the UK
11. Ride a horse
12. Take up rock climbing
13. Watch sunrise from the top of Kingley Vale
14. Live on a desert Island and build a working Swiss Family Robinson style tree house
15. Read a book a week
To Be Continued.....
So,like I said, there I was watching Doctor Who and I got to thinking...time and space travel...how cool would that be, that's something I'd like to do if and when it's possible...I mean where would you want to go and what would you want to do if you could do absolutely anything?
Then I figured, before I become the ultimate time traveller, there is still quite a bit I'd like to do/see round here first. So I thought I start making a list...so, in no particular order, a sample.
1. Go Tornado chasing
2. Climb a tree on a regular basis
3. Write a fantasy/sci fi book
4. Write a fantasy/sci fi script.
5. Milk a Cow
6. Live in Australia
7. Stand up on a surf board.
8. Take an adventure holiday and do all the activities at least once no matter how scary
9. Work in Film/TV as a researcher
10. Take part in a conservation project somewhere in the world, ie other than the UK
11. Ride a horse
12. Take up rock climbing
13. Watch sunrise from the top of Kingley Vale
14. Live on a desert Island and build a working Swiss Family Robinson style tree house
15. Read a book a week
To Be Continued.....
Monday, August 20, 2007
Arctic Expedition: Top Gear Style
Just been watching Top Gear: Polar Special during which team 'Oafish Buffoons' (now there's a term which I should use more often) attempt to travel across the Arctic in a big red 4x4 using sat nav...yes driving to the North Pole...only Clarkson and May would come up with that.
In competition with Richard 'The Hamster' Hammond, taking the traditional dog sled approach, the idea is to see who gets there first and, more to the point, who doesn't get eaten by Polar bears/fall through the ice/ turn into a presenter Popsicle etc, etc
Mightily hearty entertainment is most certainly was....you've got tough cars, utterly amazing scenery, endurance and the kind of trials and tribulations which could only present themselves via the Bean esque Top Gear Team, such as the most tedious game of eye spy ever....eye spy with my little eye something beginning with 'S'.....Snow.....and when fixing a crevasse bridge in below freezing conditions it's probably not the best idea to put a metal nut between your lips for safe keeping Mr Clarkson.
In competition with Richard 'The Hamster' Hammond, taking the traditional dog sled approach, the idea is to see who gets there first and, more to the point, who doesn't get eaten by Polar bears/fall through the ice/ turn into a presenter Popsicle etc, etc
Mightily hearty entertainment is most certainly was....you've got tough cars, utterly amazing scenery, endurance and the kind of trials and tribulations which could only present themselves via the Bean esque Top Gear Team, such as the most tedious game of eye spy ever....eye spy with my little eye something beginning with 'S'.....Snow.....and when fixing a crevasse bridge in below freezing conditions it's probably not the best idea to put a metal nut between your lips for safe keeping Mr Clarkson.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Ruth and Jeeves - 4 week old kittens
Yup I know I'm getting cute kitty'd out, but i don't care...maybe if the rents would get another one I wouldn't have to fill up my blog with other peoples' adaorable balls of fluff
Monday, August 13, 2007
Perseid Meteor Shower 2007
So, what were you doing between 10.30pm and 3am last night....laying on a dew ridden grassy hill being dive bombed by bats whilst staring skyward watching for pieces of rock desintergrate at great speed in the earths atmosphere?....no....just me then.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Family Fun Day
Well I had oodles of fun earlier today...er....make that yesterday.
Chloe had invited me to a family fun day which had been organised by her work place...I was to be her 'child' for the afternoon. It was all very jolly; ham sarnies, fruit, pastry bites, cubed cheese, cheese straws, Pom Bear crisps, skips and the most delectable chocolate iced cup cakes (of which I had several...I'm hoping the plum and handful of grapes I also had will counteract them).
For entertainment there was music via dodgy single speaker, Frisbee, footie and flailing on the knock off balance beam...and also bouncing, balancing and bloody awful (on my part) agility on various inflatables.
The favourite of mine, which was very Chegger's Plays Pop (with a little less pop and, thankfully, a lot less Cheggers) was the inflatable assault course. Things like this were just not around in my deprived 80's childhood and so I flung myself (quite literally) into the fray.
You start with a hole which I dived through only to get stuck between the based of that and the small hill which you have to dive over...my dive over was more a belly flop....landing very ungainly at the base of the taller hill.....most unladylike climbing with aid of a knotted rope grants me the top vantage point and slide down the canvas....a tumble through a second hole smashes my face into the side of the 'tunnel'....I dive though the tunnel and land in a very undignified and flailing lump on the bouncy finish, shortly followed by an uncontrollable bouncy roll off the safe zone and onto hard grass.
After the humiliation, twisted limbs, possible flashing of knickers and a canvas burn in a place you would really rather not have one, a six year old sails through said course with the ease and agility of a Olympic gymnast. (only to take a nasty tumble over a leg which spasmed at the exact moment he happened to walk past after his commendable performance.)
My inner moppet not one to be out done by an actual moppet, I persevered, gaining less in speed, but more in style...by the end of five hours, with a twisted ankle, rope burn and a very bad hair day, I was exiting the tunnel with a near perfect commando roll.
In your face cocky little g....insert appropriate description on comment page.
Chloe had invited me to a family fun day which had been organised by her work place...I was to be her 'child' for the afternoon. It was all very jolly; ham sarnies, fruit, pastry bites, cubed cheese, cheese straws, Pom Bear crisps, skips and the most delectable chocolate iced cup cakes (of which I had several...I'm hoping the plum and handful of grapes I also had will counteract them).
For entertainment there was music via dodgy single speaker, Frisbee, footie and flailing on the knock off balance beam...and also bouncing, balancing and bloody awful (on my part) agility on various inflatables.
The favourite of mine, which was very Chegger's Plays Pop (with a little less pop and, thankfully, a lot less Cheggers) was the inflatable assault course. Things like this were just not around in my deprived 80's childhood and so I flung myself (quite literally) into the fray.
You start with a hole which I dived through only to get stuck between the based of that and the small hill which you have to dive over...my dive over was more a belly flop....landing very ungainly at the base of the taller hill.....most unladylike climbing with aid of a knotted rope grants me the top vantage point and slide down the canvas....a tumble through a second hole smashes my face into the side of the 'tunnel'....I dive though the tunnel and land in a very undignified and flailing lump on the bouncy finish, shortly followed by an uncontrollable bouncy roll off the safe zone and onto hard grass.
After the humiliation, twisted limbs, possible flashing of knickers and a canvas burn in a place you would really rather not have one, a six year old sails through said course with the ease and agility of a Olympic gymnast. (only to take a nasty tumble over a leg which spasmed at the exact moment he happened to walk past after his commendable performance.)
My inner moppet not one to be out done by an actual moppet, I persevered, gaining less in speed, but more in style...by the end of five hours, with a twisted ankle, rope burn and a very bad hair day, I was exiting the tunnel with a near perfect commando roll.
In your face cocky little g....insert appropriate description on comment page.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Things That Go Bump
It is widely known that I am definitely a nocturnal person. I enjoy the absolute peace and quiet associated with the twilight hours and can ponder the meaning of life to my hearts content without possibility of interruption...apart from perhaps the laboured breathing/snorting/foghorn like sound emanating from my fathers nostrils and throat across the hall, around a corner and through two closed doors.
So it was that last night I had enjoyed immensely the film Mirrormask...a wonderfully visual fantasy adventure which mixes some great British talent with Jim Henson productions. Followed by a little light reading; Torchwood: Border Prince and starting for the second time Wilbur Smith's Warlock.
In retrospect the three pieces of dark chocolate Toblerone had been a mistake, even though ingested at 9:30pm it was still making my heart race after 1am (yes, I know I'm turning into my mother). Still I settled into a fantasy inspired dreamy sleep shortly after curled up hugging Barnaby the bear and Bertie the duck.
It is not unusual for me to be disturbed by the local wildlife outside, especially in the summer month (s) and I will often watch the foxes playing underneath my window. So at 3am (ish) and upon hearing a scratching sound I sat up and searched the area outside for the little scamps. I was surprised at not being able to locate the critters, instead I searched for hedgehog, mice or even a rabbit has been known in the area.....nothing, so I gave up and settle back to sleep. My head had just hit the pillow when the scratching sound came through again. Frustrated I was determined to find the cause, keeping still I listened intently and realised that the sound was coming from inside my room.
Being the brave and inquisitive soul that I am I switched on my lamp and the light fell upon the biggest, hairiest and most grotesque looking spider I have ever seen, having more than a little trouble walking across the coving on the far side of my room. Now I'm not aracnophobic, but this huge creature stilled and I became convinced it was eyeing me (times...god knows how many) up for a midnight snack.
At this point I did what any person in my position would do...I called upon good old dad to eradicate the problem. He sent 'Arnie' on a white water themed holiday and for the next hour I continued with my Wilbur Smith adventure, just in case any siblings, children or extending family came looking for revenge.
Below, for those who dare, is an actual size pic of what dared into my room, so big that I had mistaken the sound it made for a fox!
So it was that last night I had enjoyed immensely the film Mirrormask...a wonderfully visual fantasy adventure which mixes some great British talent with Jim Henson productions. Followed by a little light reading; Torchwood: Border Prince and starting for the second time Wilbur Smith's Warlock.
In retrospect the three pieces of dark chocolate Toblerone had been a mistake, even though ingested at 9:30pm it was still making my heart race after 1am (yes, I know I'm turning into my mother). Still I settled into a fantasy inspired dreamy sleep shortly after curled up hugging Barnaby the bear and Bertie the duck.
It is not unusual for me to be disturbed by the local wildlife outside, especially in the summer month (s) and I will often watch the foxes playing underneath my window. So at 3am (ish) and upon hearing a scratching sound I sat up and searched the area outside for the little scamps. I was surprised at not being able to locate the critters, instead I searched for hedgehog, mice or even a rabbit has been known in the area.....nothing, so I gave up and settle back to sleep. My head had just hit the pillow when the scratching sound came through again. Frustrated I was determined to find the cause, keeping still I listened intently and realised that the sound was coming from inside my room.
Being the brave and inquisitive soul that I am I switched on my lamp and the light fell upon the biggest, hairiest and most grotesque looking spider I have ever seen, having more than a little trouble walking across the coving on the far side of my room. Now I'm not aracnophobic, but this huge creature stilled and I became convinced it was eyeing me (times...god knows how many) up for a midnight snack.
At this point I did what any person in my position would do...I called upon good old dad to eradicate the problem. He sent 'Arnie' on a white water themed holiday and for the next hour I continued with my Wilbur Smith adventure, just in case any siblings, children or extending family came looking for revenge.
Below, for those who dare, is an actual size pic of what dared into my room, so big that I had mistaken the sound it made for a fox!
Heeby Jeebes Alert......
(MOTHER DON'T LOOK)
And this sucker was still floating around the bowl the next morning...
Monday, August 06, 2007
FYI I Heart the New Forest
This is where I was supposed to go on my Birthday, but because I'm fussy I wanted a cloudless day and not a chance of rain. So We went on Saturday instead. OK, so we sat in two huge traffic jams on the way, but such is life.
The rents and I stopped at the Owl and Otter centre ( http://www.ottersandowls.co.uk/ ) first, which should really be renamed Owl, Otter and Miscellaneous Animals Centre due to the facts that's there's all sorts of things there to keep you amused. The otters were cute and splish splashing around to their hearts content, the owls were sleeping mostly (well they are night birds), but there was also a lovely area full of deer which were happily roaming around the whole enclosure with not a care for the humanoid invaders, except for the odd sniff of curiosity/disgust.
I found myself on a mission at this point as it was clear these animals were as tame as tame and I wanted to pet one before leaving. They did have a 'not human admittance' area but one little charmer was close enough to the fence to obliged my fancy and so, along with cats, dogs, rabbits, Kangaroos, Dusky dolphins and Killer Whales, I can add them to my 'have petted' check list.
We stopped for lunch in a lovely little area of woodland with the pre-prepared picnic/three course meal, which mother had sorted which was all very civilised, complete with proper plates, knives and forks and salt and pepper shakers, bless my mother. I refused the chair which father had bought along and choose to 'rough' it on a nearby log (it is the woods after all).
We took a couple of walks to burn off the eats, mother choosing to sit out the latter one, which as usual dad and I took a couple of wrong turns and walked further than we meant to. Before returning to the car, after taking an hour for a 20 minute walk (and this with a map) I saw a wild deer, while fathers was seemingly fascinated with a tall tree and missed it.
I was reasonably pooped when we returned home, after another couple of traffic jams (damn these people getting in my way, and was asleep by 10.30pm. (anyone can tell you that this is virtually unheard of).
Below is a mixture of the best of photos from Saturday's excursion:
Friday, August 03, 2007
Mmmmm
Further to my earlier entry about my birthday activities, I thought I would share a pic of my rather delectable chocolate cake. Made with the help of Betty Crocker and mum's own secret recipe (circa 1906) chocolate fudge sauce......Mmmmm.
Before: 
Before:
After:
Look good for a 28 year old don't I?
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Happy Birthday to Me
Another year, another birthday, another stack of dvd's...which should keep me quiet till at least the next two...maybe three days...and a half.
On the return home I undid all the good calorie burning, muscle toning and heart pumping healthy stuff by eating a slice of my very unhealthy but, oh so, delectable rich chocolaty and home-made (well out of packet) birthday cake....yum!
Fortunately it wasn't all about sitting on my arse since the weather had improved greatly over the last few days it was decided that myself and the rents would spend the day in the New Forest...walking, making friends with the roaming ponies, the usual Enid Bylton esque lark which I enjoy. This was in theory a good plan..walks had been organised, picnic had been prepared...we were good to go. Then we watched the weather forecast last night...sun had been Mon, Tues and Wed and would continue Fri, Sat & Sun, but in the grand tradition of 'stomp on Emma's fun' day Thurs was to be rain for a good portion of the day.....Bah humbug.
After some deliberation it was decided that the New Forest should be skipped today....I hate the rain...instead dad and I decided a shorter and more local walk was to be the order of the day.
With the picnic pre-prepared, and a little research, we wandered to Slindon and a lovely little track along fields, through woods (in which we saw the back end of three deer), dodged some sheep, climbed a hill and, on a personal note, got stung by a stinging nettle. In no particular order see pics:
On the return home I undid all the good calorie burning, muscle toning and heart pumping healthy stuff by eating a slice of my very unhealthy but, oh so, delectable rich chocolaty and home-made (well out of packet) birthday cake....yum!
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