Yay for Friday! September 11, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in Supernatural, The Principessa Files.1 comment so far
I’m knackered! The return to the back to school routine is killing me! Princi, however, is as energised as an energiser bunny. Going back to school hasn’t slowed her down one little bit! Argh! I need some of her energy. Still, I’m hopeful that the transition from half days to full days on Monday might tire her out a little, although I’m not putting any chickens in baskets. At least Princi is loving being back at school, which is something to be happy about.
I had been planning to get started on the kidlit course this morning. Well, when I say started, I mean getting stuck in. I have done the first exercise, but that didn’t include any heavy reading. That I was going to do this morning. Until an ‘introductory’ thank you letter came back with Grandand after dropping Princi at school. As she is going to be starting P.E. lessons soon she needs some shorts. I had bought some shorts, but they resembled black football shorts. Yep, she’s not allowed to wear footie shorts. So I trawled the net for about an hour looking for some other shorts. (It didn’t help that my computer was running slower than a dead dog with no legs.) Most places only had football or cycling shorts and Princi’s size was sold out of those who actually stocked plain shorts, but finally I found a place that sold them. In the words of Princi: phewie! Then I had to get her some new plimsoles and wellie boots that are to be kept at school. But it’s all done now. Thankfully.
By the time I had finished it was nearly 11am. So, as I had scheduled time to watch the new episode of Supernatural (while I enjoyed it, it seemed a bit disjointed. But, I suppose, the series can build on it), there was no longer any time to open the books. Oops! Maybe Princi will go and bug Nanny for an hour or so later! I can live in hope!
Well, time to go and fill a bowl with some popcorn for a little popcorn Munchkin before she gnaws my ear off.
Day three. August 5, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in A215, Battlestar Galactica, End of A215, TV, reading.2 comments
I’ve just checked my student home page and it looks like it’s going to be sometime today. Oh god! I feel sick! I don’t think I want to know anymore!
OK, deep breath. Why does results day impart so much flutterby belly? I mean, it’s just a couple of words (or letters, possibly followed by asterisks) on a screen/piece of paper, yet everything in the world seems to hang in the balance of what’s recorded there. I suppose in some cases it can be life changing – university is a bit of a shock in the first few weeks, then the drinking kicks in and you forget the rest of it – but mostly it’s just a way of measuring yourself against everyone else. When is that ever a good thing?
(Checking results page… Nope still not updated. Eeks!)
It’s not so much life changing for me. Well, maybe it will be to my state of mind, proving that I am better than I give myself credit for, or maybe it will prove that I am what I think I am. Whichever, I need to get on with preparations for the next course to see if I can improve on my resluts there. After all, it’s important that I do get a distinction there as it weighs heavily in favour of achieving a first. I am hoping my poor brain is able to cope with that. That’s why I need to get a good result today, so it doesn’t destroy my meagre confidence. And there is the underlying cause of my flutterby belly.
And as for BSG; finished. Watched the last, long-winded episode last night. Most of the episode was good, but it really dragged in the middle. I really liked the very end, though. Very well done. Overall, it was a very good series. I will sit down and watch it through again at some point. But for now – no more series on DVD, I’ve got to do some reading. So back to Little Women it is.
(Checking student homepage. Still nowt.)
Day two. August 4, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in A215, Dollhouse, TV.2 comments
It’s day two of the wait for results. ‘Sometime before 7th August’ is so unfair! They should give a day when the results are out, rather than a vague ‘you know, it should be before this date’ carrot on stick suggestion. Grrr. Yep, I think you’ve guessed. No result released into the cyberwilds yet.
To pass the time, and while Princi is otherwise distracted, I have snatched a few moments to watch ‘Epitaph One’, the unaired episode of Dollhouse. Yes, I know, it’s naughty to watch things webwise, but I couldn’t wait till the Dollhouse boxset is delivered next month. What can I say? Wow! It was a proper Whedon fix. It’s set in post-apocolyptic Los Angeles and it has all the elements you’d expect from Joss Whedon et al. It is most definitely worth a watch and it has made me hungry to watch the second series – but I was going to do that anyway. I’m looking forward to seeing how the story arc develops to take the characters to the point where this episode starts.
Cheese and coffee. July 29, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in Battlestar Galactica, TV.1 comment so far
Well, I’m FTL driving my way through Battlestar. I’ll be starting disc five of season three later today, and so far I am enjoying it. I didn’t expect to say that. I had set myself up to hate it, but no. I can’t. There are some intriguing storylines, not least the Baltar/Caprica Six headfrak (see, I’m integrated now!) – what is going on there? – but the episode that has stuck with me is ‘The Farm’. That was a messed up episode! Oh, and the episodes where Leoben has Starbuck imprisoned on New Caprica and brings Kacey in, saying that she is their daughter. The end of those episodes was heartbreaking.
Well, I was going to write a longer post, but I’ve just had a call from my occupational therapist. She is coming around later. Yeah, thanks for the warning.
Was K.I.T.T. a Cylon Transformer? July 16, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in TV.2 comments
Just a random thought, but with their ‘whir-whir’ red LED eyes it made me wonder. Anyway…
Recently I have been OD’ing on sci-fi. I have worked my way through Firefly/Serenity – very good - and yesterday I embarked on the Battlestar Galactica (BSG) journey. I’m not sure why I’ve avoided watching Firefly for so long, I suppose I was in an ‘out of love’ phase with sci-fi then. Oh, and it started hot on the heels of the demise of Buffy, so maybe I was also Whedon-ed out! I’ll admit one of the reasons I have taken the time out to watch it was that Adam Baldwin was part of the cast. His characters (I’m including Casey in Chuck here, too) always make me laugh and he didn’t fail to raise a giggle as Jayne Cobb. Apart from that, I enjoyed the series and the film immensely. It definitely warrants a second run through just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
And then we have BSG. I know why I’d been putting this one off. The original BSG was a part of my childhood and I didn’t want it spoiled. But with all things sci-fi, I knew my brother would be hounding me to watch it (he did) and I’d eventually cave in. So cave in I have. I spent yesterday evening watching the mini-series and the first four episodes of season 1. Hmmm. So far I’m not convinced, but I’ve got about another 22 discs to be persuaded! I’m not over-impressed with the new Starbuck, or Number 6. The new Apollo seems to be a bit of blah and I can’t help thinking of holey cheese when I hear his name – Lee Adama/Leerdammer. It was good to see the old Apollo in the third episode though. Does Dirk Benedict ever make a guest appearance? I do like the reinvention of the Cylons, although it’s all a bit Terminator for me. But the design for the Cylon centurians is fab! Much more sinister and scary. And I like that the Galactica isn’t internet friendly and just a little technologically impaired! So at least there’s something. I am hoping that the characters that are grating on my nerves will grow on me, but we’ll find out as I watch more.
Well, off to watch cartoons with Princi now. And maybe an episode of Angel later.
Updated! June 17, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in TV.6 comments
Yay! My iPhone is now fully updated with OS 3.0. It was a fight, a lot of tussling with restores, reboots, updating drivers and other things, oh and the internet taking a break during the re-activation, but it’s done. And I’m loving the new features it’s given me.
I can now send and receive picture messages via MMS. That was something I really missed when I upgraded to the iPhone.
I can cut, copy and paste. Yay! Makes all the difference with texting, let me tell you.
There is a search function. Not got round to using that yet, but I’m sure it will come in useful.
There are other new features, but they are the ones that are most important to me. Oh, and the fact I can now turn the phone on its side to have the larger keyboard whilst typing texts and emails. It’s all good.
And with that, my brain is fried. I’ll continue iPhone investigating tomorrow. Now I shall relax and continue watching Dollhouse.
TV just isn’t the same anymore. May 13, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in BtVS, Mindless rambling that you could do without!, Supernatural, TV.add a comment
[I apologise in advance for this rambling post, but I had to get it off my mind!]
OK, the post title is a sweeping statement, but it’s how I feel. A good thing, I suppose, seeing as I want to spend time writing and studying. But really, I seem to have lost a lot of the psychological attachment I used to share with the gogglebox in the corner. (Well, that is when Doctor Who isn’t concerned, but that’s a link back to childhood and something I share with Princi.)
I was thinking about this earlier while getting Princi off to sleep. There’s not much else to do but ponder insignificant things while playing Queens of the Stone Age to get your daughter off to sleep (she asked for it, before you say anything). I think I may have mentioned the obsessive compulsive nature of my viewing habits regarding a certain programme called Supernatural recently. While I have enjoyed zoning out in front of the computer (bigger screen than the portable DVD player by half), I find that I cannot remember much of any of the episodes. I can remember an outtake fully, because it made me laugh (see below). But the rest? Meh! Gone.
Now shows like Buffy/Angel, Star Trek: TNG, X-Files, they had me captivated. I’d cue the video recorder every week, despite avidly watching the show, just so I could have mega video fests when the mood took. And now, looking at that little list, I realise that I began watching X-Files in the second series and Buffy in the third series – and boy, did I fight ever wanting to watch that programme! I was of the school of thought that protested against films being remade into series, claiming that the series could in no way compare to the film. Was I wrong! I had the biggest psychological attachment to Buffy – I could not miss an episode, and I even had a friend record it for me while I was away at university. I can remember the exact episode that reeled me in. It was the first episode of season 3, ‘Anne‘. It was just one line that hooked me, spoken by the bad guy near the end of the episode:
You’ve got guts. I think I’d like to slice you open and play with them.
It made me laugh so much that I had to tune in every week after that. And so grew my Buffy addiction. So, although I have hungrily consumed Supernatural via a quick DVD fix, it pales in comparison to that excitement of watching Buffy. But I wonder now, was that because I was part of such a large social circle with Buffy? It was a shared experience: my friends watched it, we joined an online Buffy forum, there were special meets (called Nos nights) every month in London to watch two or three of the new episodes that were yet to be aired in the UK. It was a huge Buffy lovefest. Even now, I’ll still watch an episode of Buffy now if it happens to be on while I’m flicking through the channels in a moment of boredom or assignment avoidance.
Watching Supernatural has been a solitary experience (apart from three episodes I watched with my sis the other day). Just something to do to pass the time, or to avoid writing stuff for the OU course. I may have wanted to get to the next episode to see what would happen next, but the show hasn’t had as much of an impact on me. I have favourite episodes of Buffy, but I don’t for Supernatural. Likewise, there are episodes of Buffy I could do without watching again, but I can’t say that for Supernatural. I can’t remember them to pass a solid judgement on them!
Is this forgetfulness due to TV shows becoming so bland and/or repetitive that things just don’t seem to stick, or that there are so many programmes bartering for viewers that they end up run of the mill productions that people couldn’t care less for? Maybe it’s just that I want to be writing these stories rather than watching other peeps take on them? Or it could just be that I’m no longer enthralled with the TV as I was when I was younger? After all, priorities change and all that. Whatever it is, I hope that I find something that sparks my interest again, something that I can get excited about (and that doesn’t get cancelled in the middle of a season). I need a way to escape other than books – besides, it’s so much easier to fall asleep during a TV programme than in the middle of a book!
Of chairs and stairs. May 5, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in Stannah209, Supernatural, TV.add a comment
Well, I’ve been stuck upstairs for the best part of a week now, since Skidaddles back went all askew. But tonight, feeling stir crazy (or should that be stair crazy?), I decided to venture downstairs with the plan of calling Gaz-bro to give us a boost at the top of the stairs. That went according to plan. Unfortunately, Stannah-209 didn’t want to play ball. I could have clawed my way up the stairs quicker, and as that is an impossibility – balance works backwards, and three stairs up I’d fall back down like a narcoleptic goat. The stairlift would only travel for two seconds at a time, and then I needed to restart the motor. It took for ever! So, that means I’m definitely stuck upstairs for the foreseeable future.
Hmph. Stuck upstairs and nowt to do. Well, nowt apart from the writing of ECA commentary. I have totally OCD’d out on Supernatural. Three series in just over a week. Have no idea how I managed that. To stop me going completely mad – I thought I could wait for the ‘Complete’ boxset to be released, but noooo! – I have ordered the first half of series 4. That means I’m going to go nuts waiting to see what happens when I’m all watched out there, as the second half doesn’t go on release until September. That is plain cruel! But meh! What can you do? I was so not expecting to submerge myself in the series like this.
Anyhoos, 20 past midnight. I can hear the creakies in the radiator trying to get out to play. Time to turn the computer off, switch out the light, and let the darkness out to play. Night night.
And today we shall celebrate… April 12, 2009
Posted by phoenixaeon in Doctor Who, Films, Guitar Hero on Tour, TV.2 comments
Chocolate, in it’s various guises. Eggs, bunnies, bars. Yum! Princi is busy eating a golden bunny. When she has gone to the seaside (the Horseshoe Pass plan has been put to pasture) then I shall open the egg Grandand bought for me. Yay! NOMNOMNOMNOM!
Grrr. I forgot to record the second part of the new Red Dwarf. Bum nuggets! I wouldn’t mind, but my sis reminded me earlier in the day. You’d have thought I’d have had the forward thinking to set the V+ box, but no. I was far too jacked in to Guitar Hero (addicted to bass, atm). Stupid, stupid me!
As for new Doctor Who… I need to watch it again. Princi decided it was a good time to make up a skat song. Every time the TV’s volume increased, so did Princi’s. Why, then, has she not got a mute button? Most unfair! At least I recorded Doctor Who. What I did see and hear of it was good though, and Lee Evans really did steal the show. He was fantastic.
Oh, and Monsters vs. Aliens… Brilliant! I loved it! Well, the parts I was allowed to watch, anyway. The sci-fi films paraodies were fab. The best line in the film made my sis and I nearly pee ourselves, and our laugh could be heard all over the packed out cinema screen. I really don’t understand why no-one else laughed, at least half of the audience were adults. The line? When Ginormica is beating up the evil alien, the alien says something and finishes the sentence with ‘…by Hawkins chair!’ Fabulous. Or if you’re Princi, fablious!
Well, time to get Princi dressed for her day out with Nanny and Grandand.
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.
