Something captured. March 29, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in A215, F1, Navigating the Sea of Despondency, Neil Gaiman, TV, writing.add a comment
I really don’t know what it is about Instructions by Neil Gaiman, but I love it. Princi and I listened to the audio version last night (from the Fragile Things audiobook), and still it mesmerises me. It nestles into spaces inhabited by the Muse and they play Connect 4. I am glad that it does that, as one line in Instructions captured my imagination last night and I started scribbling down plans for another poem. How I managed to jump from Instructions to the fkrp gene is a leap of synaptic acrobatics (although it does have something to do with LGMD), I can tell you!
As for my recent obsessive-compulsive behaviour… Well, I’m done with Kyle XY now. I really enjoyed it, but I am slightly miffed that it was cancelled half way through the third series. A real shame, it was just about to get really interesting. But at least the completion (on a cliffhanger, how wrong is that?) of the series has freed my brain from the need to watch it to the end! Now I have to make sure I don’t get sucked in by any other TV until I finish this OU course. Otherwise I’m stuffed!
Oh, and Yay! for Jenson Button. It’s good to see him winning in the F1 again.
What a day! November 3, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in A215, F1, OU, tennis, writing.Tags: writing
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Yay! for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga! He won his maiden Masters title by beating David Nalbandian in Paris. It was a fantastic match, and both players played some great tennis. But by winning it means that Tsonga has quallied for the year end championships at Shanghai. As much as I’d like tosee Tsonga win that, I will be cheering on Andy Murray. And from one fantastic sporting event to another…
Yay! for Lewis Hamilton! F1 World champ 2008. Absolutely made up, I am. And what a race! I was screaming at the TV when Sebastian Vettel overtook him on about the third lap from the end. Watching with my head in my hands, I was urging him to pass Vettel, just to get the fifth placing he needed to get the championship. Oh. My. Gosh! As they were coming round for the final few turns of the last lap and he still hadn’t overtaken Vettel, and Massa had already crossed the finish line in first place, I thought that was it. Until the confusion of Glock. Timo Glock, I love you! If it hadn’t have been for Glock not changing his tyres, I don’t think Hamilton would have won. Glock could not get enough grip to maintain his placing, so slipped down into sixth place, pushing Hamilton up to fifth. And I could breathe again! I think my eyes nearly dried out, they were so wide as I stared at the TV for that last lap! *Squeal* Chuffed to little mintballs, unlike Massa, whom I do feel sorry for, but not that much!
And onto non-sports related stuff. I started one of the exercises in the BRB yesterday, and I’m quite interested now to see where it leads me. The exercise concerned writing a passage about a character who owned certain things. I have to say, the idea that came to mind was completely out of left field, but I am intrigued by it. I think I may work some more on it today, and I may start putting things down for the rejected TMA01 story too. That one looked interesting as well. And then, if I have time, I might even finish the new BPB post. We’ll see how things go.
Get out of my dreams! November 2, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in Dreams, F1, blogs.3 comments
I would like to know what my subconscious was trying to tell me last night after having a dream where I returned to Bradford Uni and then met Wil Wheaton at a comic convention. Hmmm? What problem was the brain trying to work out?
I am wondering if I should have a go at a NaBloWriMo this month as I’m not brave enough to do NaNoWriMo. What is NaBloWriMo? National blog writing month, meaning that I write a blog entry every day of November. Well, we’ll see how it goes. Two days done, twenty-eight to go!
Anyhoos, the plan for today:
- Do a couple of activities out of the BRB
- Research brown hair dye (sounds strange, but I have reasons)
- Sort out Princi’s schooliform
- Watch the Brazilian F1
- Maybe go and eat something…
Samhain November 1, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in F1, Films, Halloween.1 comment so far
Well, for Halloween, it was a fairly quiet night. Only one bunch of kids knocked on the door to trick or treat. It was the first year that no eggs were thrown at the houses in the Green. (It sounds almost idyllic that, the houses in the Green. It’s not, I assure you.) All in all, a relatively ordinary night. *Phew*
I decided, as it was supposed to be a scary night, to watch a horror film. I clicked onto Filmflex and had a look through the new releases. Two films took my attention; Skinwalkers (a werewolfy one) and Shutter (a remake of a Thai film). I was in the mood for werewolves, so I clicked on Skinwalkers. What a mistake! A truly awful film! It was so cliched, the plot revolving around a prophecy coming to fruition under a blood moon and two warring factions of wolfies – those who felt cursed and those who felt gifted. Blah blah blah. And the wolfy make-up… So bad! They tried to make the werewolves far too humanoid, they looked like poor representations of werewolves. I can’t believe I sat through the whole film, an hour and a half I’ll never get back! But, I’d paid for the film so I had to sit it out. Just like the Bore Witch. But Skinwalkers was no where near as bad as the Bore Witch. Dagnamit, maybe I should have dug out Del Toro’s The Devils Backbone. I’m not usually scared by horror films, but the only time I’ve tried to watch The Devil’s Backbone I had to turn it off because it was freaking me out! No idea why. Ah well.
So, this weekend it is the end of the F1 season, with Lewis Hamilton on the verge of being the youngest champion in F1 history (until the next one comes along). We all know he only needs to finish 5th to do it, but what’s the betting that someone will take him out just so Massa can win? I’d love to see Hamilton win the championship, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to be a fair race. We shall see…
Graveyard surprise. October 20, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in Andy Murray wins Masters, F1, Neil Gaiman, Sports.add a comment
Hmmm. But a good hmmm. Answered the door to the postie this morning only for him to hand over an Amazon box. Oooh, I thought, I’ve not ordered anything recently, wonder what it could be. Suspiciously, I opened the box, and there, in all it’s glory, was the special edition of Gaiman’s Graveyard Book. Yay! It was no wonder I hadn’t been expecting anything though, as the book isn’t due to be released until 31st October. Ah well, but yay none the less!
As for weekend sporty things… Yay! For Andy Murray, who wrapped up his second Masters series win this year, with a straight sets win over Gilles Simon. Well done that man! And a yay for Lewis Hamilton, who scored a win at the Shanghai GP. Ferrari still managed some underhandedness – disguised as tactical racing – by allowing Massa to overtake Raikkonen, gifting him second place. How is that racing? Grrr. It’s interesting reading what other drivers think of Hamilton, but while I can appreciate what they are saying why are they not having a go at others, like Massa or Raikkonen, who also drive like that? After all, was it not Raikkonen who pushed Hamilton off the track at Belgium in September, resulting in the ‘advantage kerfuffle’? I don’t know, they need to look at all drivers with the same critical eye. And not just that, but it’s only Hamilton’s second season in F1, whereas Raikkonen and Massa have been racing at that level for at least the last six years. What does that say about them and their driving?
Anyway, enough of my ranting! Time to get back to the story.
Brrrrrr…. September 8, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in Conversations with Principessa, F1, The Principessa Files, tennis.add a comment
Pebble! Yes, I know, some explanation necessary. Nanny was trying to teach Principessa to say rock the other day.
- Nanny: Rrrrrrrrrock.
- Princi: Brrrrrrrrr-wock.
- Nanny: No, rrrrrrrrrock. Put your tongue behind your teeth.
- Princi: Brrrrrrrr-wock.
A little later, Principessa went to see Nanny again to give her one of the her stones.
- Princi: There you go Nanny. Brrrrrrrrr-pebble.
That still makes me laugh. She’s a funny Monkey.
On sports news… Woohoo! Andy Murray is in the final of the US Open. He shall be playing Roger Federer tonight, though I doubt I will be awake to bite fingernails ‘watching’ him. (No Sky, virtual scoreboards on the computer.) But I am hopeful of good news in the morning!
As for Formula 1. Well, grrrr. After a fantastic race, the last three laps being the best part of the race, it became all a bit dreary. Lewis Hamilton won the race, but because of an incident with Kimi Raikkonen on the last three laps, or there abouts, Hamilton was stripped of the win and docked 25 seconds. This put him into third place. Now, this is what happened. Lewis attempted to overtake Kimi, but Kimi blocked Lewis, pusing him off the track. Travelling along the inside of the chicane, Lewis overtook Kimi as he corrected himself but, following the rules, he gave the advantage back to Kimi before attempting to overtake ligitmitly, therefore no unfair advantage was gained. He managed to overtake Kimi in the next corner, but Kimi once again overtook Lewis. Unfortunately for Kimi, a little while later he spun the car, crashing into the track wall. It was due to these events that, two hours later, Lewis’s victory was revoked and given to Filipe Massa instead. So, once again, Ferrari are awarded the win. It makes me wonder what the FIA (does that stand for Ferrari Intercompitition Assistance?) has against McLaren. Ho hum. Think it’s time to stop watching F1. Just as it is time to stop watching anything with the term ‘Eurovision’ prefixing the title. It’s all just a load of political bull.
Jumping off the soapbox now.
And House is on, so I can’t be bothered linking everything…. Yes, lazy day today.
Resuming normal service. August 26, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in F1, Olympics, Sports, US Open, tennis.add a comment
It’s been a while, but I am back to my sports blogging. Yes, I know. Olympics. Only the biggest sporting event in the world every four years and I failed to blog. I didn’t feel it necessary as it was on almost 24/7, and if you wanted to know about what was happening you would have watched for yourself! But, I am proud at how team GB fared. Especially in the cycling and sailing. And the swimming. But the Olympics are done and dusted so no blogging about them here.
No, I am back to tennis. Fresh of the heels of Olympic tennis we are now at the US Open at Flushing Meadows. The Brits have only two players in the competition, Andy Murray and Anne Keothavong. But, boo hiss, I cannot watch the matches. No. Eurosport do not have the license to show them. Only Sky does. I don’t have Sky. Bugger! At least the good news is that both players are through to the second round. Yay! Very happy. I will just have to put up with watching the virtual scoreboards on the computer during their matches.
In other sports news… How miffed am I about the European GP at Valencia? The whole pit lane incident with Felipe Massa? The ‘unsafe release’ when he nearly drove into Adrian Sutil? He got away with a 10,000 euros fine. You just know that if that had been a McLaren driver that they would have had at least a drive through or a ten place penalty, have points docked from the constructors championship AND be given a monetary fine. I am just a little bit peeved. Grrrr!
So, that’s the weekend sports review. Today, I shall mostly be writing an essay (I suspect). Especially as the glass walls trapping the essay in the recesses of my mind are now being broken down and essay like sentences are starting to seep from the cracks. Off now to scribble.
"He needed that like a thrid armpit!" July 21, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in F1, Golf, Moto GP.add a comment
Just one of the fantastic commentary quotes that made me laugh out loud whilst watching the MotoGP last night. Well, I’d put in the work watching the qualies the night before, so I thought I might as well watch the actual race. And my oh my! What a RACE!
The first few laps consisted of Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in an absolute dogfight for first place. They completely blasted away at the front and didn’t let anyone else get a look in. It was hair-raising, breathtaking stuff!
The jostle for the lead ended up with Rossi taking the front, but Stoner was always on his back wheel. Until eight laps to the finish line. Stoner attempted to overtake Rossi but Rossi pushed him wide. Stoner slowed just enough not to take them both out, but had to lay off the breaks to stop himself crashing, only to drive into the gravel and mini-crash anyway. He was still far enough in front of third place man Chris Vermeulen to stay in second place after he picked the bike back up and rode back onto the track. It was Rossi’s first win at Laguna Seca. And James Toseland didn’t do too bad, getting 9th place.
I’ve not ever enjoyed a race as much as I enjoyed this one. I think the commentators also helped though, because when I wasn’t on the edge of my seat I was crying with laughter. All in all, a damn good night!
The good news came in the form of F1 though, as Lewis Hamliton won the German Grand Prix. That means he leads the championship, four points ahead of Felipe Massa and seven points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.
Yep, I’ve a weekend of sports, I even watched Padraig Harrington win at Royal Birkdale, and I don’t watch golf!
Wimbledon, Men’s Final. Silverstone. Journey’s End. July 7, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in British Grand Prix, Doctor Who, F1, Silverstone, Wimbledon, tennis.add a comment
(Picture from www.wimbledon.org/)
Back to back they faced each other, drew their rackets and aced each other!
Rafa won! That was a fantastic final, full of excitement. I thought it was over in the third set. Rafa had taken the first two sets, 6-4, 6-4, and he was 4-5 in the third. He was playing just a notch better than Roger, so I thought he would break Roger and go onto win. But – dun dun duuuuun – rain delay! The third set went to a tie breaker. Roger turned on the tennis magic to win the breaker 7-5. The fourth set, littered with championship points for Rafa, also went to a tie breaker, again won by Roger, 10-8. At two sets all, 2 games all and 40-40, another rain delay. After about 30 minutes they resumed play.
After a really tough battle royale, Rafa took the fifth set 9-7. I think at the end of it all, after climbing to celebrate with his family, then taking a jolly jaunt over to the Royal Box, Rafa was a bit shell-shocked. But, I think, the better player won.
(Picture from www.bbc.co.uk/sport)
Yay! Louis Hamilton did go on to win at Silverstone. From a starting position of fourth, he jumped to second spot from the starting line, then overtook Heikki Kovalainen on the fourth or fifth lap, and led for the remainder of the race. ‘Twas an incredibly interesting race in wet conditions.
(Screencap from time-and-space)
Now. Doctor Who. Journey’s End. Not sure if I enjoyed it, or if I was a little disappointed. It had the making of a great episode, it wrapped up all loose ends, but it seemed a little too convenient. However, there were some fantastic components. The threefold man idea was complete genius. It also provided a reason for Donna’s repeated comment ‘I’m only a temp. Catherine Tate completely out-acted David Tennant, and I’d go so far as to say she was amazing. She nailed the quick talking explaining Doctor trait perfectly, though Tennant mimicked her quite well too. Dalek Caan, what a twist! Davros, too, was brilliant. Unfortunately, the cameos from everyone else seemed to fall by the wayside, seeming all pretty pointless.
I do have more to say, but I wont, for fear of spoiling it for peeps yet to watch it. All that’s left to say is – there’s a Doctor-shaped hole in Saturday evenings that needs to be filled!
Wimbledon, Ladies Finals Day. July 5, 2008
Posted by phoenixaeon in F1, Wimbledon, tennis.add a comment
So I really should talk about the Ladies final, but I think this needs to be said first.
(Pictures from www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html)
Laura Robson won the junior Wimbledon title! She played such a good game. She beat the Thai 3rd seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. I really hope she can keep up this level of tennis and break onto the WTA tour with a vengeance!
In the Ladies final, Venus triumphed over Serena to win her 5th Wimbledon title. I didn’t watch the match, I was too busy shouting ‘Laura, Laura, Laura,’ at the TV with Principessa! Venus won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
So, Men’s final day tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’ll be watching as the F1 race is on at the same time. And as it’s the British Grand Prix, I think that might need watching. Let’s hope Louis Hamilton can win at Silverstone.
