Hee, the cubs and I are house-sitting for Niki; it's like a mini holiday!
She's got two net-capable 'puters - best thing ever according to the cubs cos they can both be online at the same time. Makes up for their not being allowed to bring the xbox. <g>
I've been outside to play with the dog. Jemma (Gemma?) is a real sweetie, very friendly, and not bouncy like a puppy so the cubs aren't scared into immobility when she's near. They're still not comfortable with her but we've got a few days... : )
It's been so hot though - and the cubs forgot to pack their toothpaste. <rolls eyes> I'd let them use mine but it's bicarb based. Can just imagine their faces...

Squee! One step closer to scary-fangrrldom. My Snape wand will be on its way before long. Mwahahahahahah... <bounce> Thanks for letting me know, Jayde.

Heh, the cubs and I spent the afternoon playing with their new digital camera. Well it's more of a webcam, really, that you can use to take stills. Quality's not that brilliant but it works - and the cubs had a wonderful time using the webcam function to watch themselves going nut. Then they mucked around with the photomanipulation things until I shooed them off to bed. <g>
I didn't think I was going to be able to install the drivers cos my CD ROM's been playing up but oddly enough today it was working fine for the first time in months. So not only did I get the camera software sorted out, I also reloaded the cross-stitch pattern maker. And I backed up all my work and I was able to access the disc and check it was all there. Woohoo!
While we're on the subject of things mysteriously fixing themselves, I wonder if the soundcard's working again? That'd be handy.

Dagnabbit, I don't like sweating for no good reason other than it's hot. Don't mind sweating due to exertion but when all you're doing is breathing... <sigh> Ah well, it's Summer, can't expect much else.

My xmas was nice and quiet up at Mum's. Restful, after a fashion cos aside from a quick trip to a local park with the cubs on Boxing day I didn't do anything, go anywhere or spend any money. The cubs had fun with their cousins on xmas day and there was enough food to nibble on all day so there were no 'I'm hungry...' wibbles. <g> Traffic was heavier than expected on the way there, though, almost peak-hour levels. We left my place a bit later than anticipated and so caught all the people-driving-to-their-xmas-lunch-traffic. Eh well. Mum and I have made an executive decision that next xmas we're going out for dinner - probably to the bistro at Healesville Sanctuary. Be nice not to have to cook or wash up for a change. : )

Mum gave me a set of cutlery with bamboo shaped handles, very cool, and wrapped in the most gorgeous linen teatowel covered in bright butterflies. Far too pretty to use as a teatowel - that'll be going on my wall. (I wonder what happened to the horsey teatowels I had in my bedroom at my parent's? Did I give them away? Can't remember...)
Unsurprisingly, the telly programming was pointless over the festivities so we watched a lot of DVDs. <pout> Though I forgot to bring my KoH. But I did finally get to see I Robot.
See? See? Asimov understood the danger!
Though... it wasn't that enthralling a movie, or as disturbing as I thought it might have been given how thingy I am about robots. (That's probly cos I knew they weren't real, while the latest Honda Robots featured on the news a few days ago - these ones were playing instruments - made me hiss. As for the kendo-bots... <growling>)

Also watched One Hour Photo which was a much more rewarding film, one of those that I find myself thinking about hours afterwards. In this case it was understanding, in hindsight, why the main character did/didn't do things. Fascinating, disturbing - Robin Williams is an underrated actor...

And saw another RW movie - The Birdcage. That was amusing. : ) I've never seen the original and I'd like to, knowing how American adaptations of French movies can suffer in translation.

I like going to visit my Mum - she cooks. <g> For dinner tonight the cubs devoured the quiche she made yesterday, and I've just polished off a big bowl of fragrant kedgeree.
Well I think smoked cod is fragrant - the cubs don't.

Couple of odd dreams recently. One was kind of scary - the school [?] I was associated with had problems with monsters. The end-of-year party finished prematurely with an announcement that there were still 2 nasty things roaming around the buildings. I was going to leave but I had to go back in, knowing full well that I was going to meet up with the horrors.
<giggling> One of which was 'Aragorn's Hat'. I was creeping about the darkened, deserted place, heading for wherever I was headed: I knew I'd come across the hat (dun dun DUN) when I saw a demented kitten slavering across the floor. I plucked the scrap of fur off of its head and it snarled at me - the fur, not the kitten - and I knew I couldn't let it touch me cos I'd end up being possessed. Instead, I stuck it on the other monster (who turned out to be a huge young, male - I'm not even going to begin to speculate about that). I did feel a little bit guilty about it but I knew it would distract him long enough for me to get away...
Oh, and at the 'party' I asked if I could have a piece of the delicious-looking sponge cake. I was refused, as I knew I would - I hadn't actually been invited and had no right to anything there - but it was suggested that if I'd like to make something to contribute to the gathering then I could have some cake...
Hm.
The other dream was very detailed as well. I stopped at a touristy-village place on the way to somewhere wild along a coast and discovered that a friend of mine had entered a design-a-perfume contest in my name. She'd given my suggestions to the company - lavender and lilac were part of the components - and I'd received a prize of some sort. As well as two fridge magnets and touristy placemats, there was a very nice brass bookmark which my friend snagged as 'payment'. I also got a sample bottle of 'my' perfume. Completely overriding the sweetness was an acrid, overpowering chemical smell, so strong it was impossible to open the bottle in an enclosed space for fear of being overwhelmed. Very odd.
And I haven't mentioned the violent man with a very big knife who slashed at me, cutting my jeans open across my buttocks but not breaking the skin. Not sure what that was about, either.

Hah, but after my nap (falling comatose from the heat) this afternoon, I now have a premise for the next bit of the LM/SS thing.
I do so love my subconscious.
But first - chapter 33 of SFSG.

<blearblear> It wasn't the cubs that woke me up this morning, it was their father. The cubs didn't bounce in at sparrow's fart, as is usual on xmas morn, cos they were too busy playing the LEGO Star Wars game on their new Xbox. <g> That was the big present from their dad. I've already told them it's not coming up to Nana's with us; there was a chorus of disappointment until I pointed out their cousins will be there as well... I for one don't think I could cope with the noise generated by five sprogs and an Xbox. 2 sprogs and an Xbox is bad enough: even with with 2 controllers they're finding opportunities to argue. : ) But mostly it's cooperative play, so I can't really complain.
I gave the cubs a little digital camera and a packet of plasticine. It only took them 2 seconds to make the connection. "Oh! We can make our own stop-motion animation!" <proud> That's my cubs...
And they got books on steam trains, and model trains, and Hornby, and a soccer ball and a rugby ball - which seem to have been forgotten. <rolls eyes>
But they're very chuffed and that's what it's all about, innit?

The cubs' father and I exchanged presents at midnight, which is our tradition. I gave him a good quality (archival) photo album and acid-free photo corners, and he gave me the Kingdom of Heaven DVD! Squeee! (And of course the Xbox doubles as a DVD player so I can actually watch the thing rather than just stare longingly at the cover! <bouncebounce>)
One of the cubs gave me a hand-painted, cat-shaped cushion he'd made in art. <giggling> He asked me if he could have something to wrap it in. I wanted to know how much wrapping he'd need and he picked up his brother's hand-painted cat-shaped cushion that's been lying around the lounge room for weeks and said 'About this much...'. <rolling around laughing> I'd kind of guessed what he was giving me anyway, based on hints he'd dropped but that was so unsubtle.

So, a good xmas morning all told. The lounge is scattered with discarded wrappings; pillowcases, sheets, teatowels and the bits of ribbon used to keep them closed - I don't use paper - and the cubs are still glued to their game. It'll be easier to give them a countdown I think ('thirty minutes 'til you have to stop playing and get ready') than try and get them to move at the last minute. Dang, but I'm going to need a nap later though. <g>
Anyway - Happy Solstice/Xmas etc... : )

Good grief: 10 p.m. xmas eve and the cubs are asleep. Probly doesn't hurt that the past few nights they've stayed up really late. <evil grin> That wasn't my plan, honest...
Mind you, before they went to bed they were bouncing off the walls with excitement. There's a huge present under the tree for them, from their dad. I know what it is.
And they've been warned not to just open every present there tomorrow morning cos not everything is for them. They have to read the labels first.
But, I've almost got everything done. Food's all ready, some of the presents are wrapped and I've thought about packing. Heh.

But, my snupin's now posted over at Master and the Wolf. (Thanks, Joules for the help coding. : )

And I've also finished a Lucius drabble, less than 1000 words, that's threatening to become a short series. I swear I don't know where the plot bunnies hide. I can only assume my brain is riddled with burrows.
<shudder> Oh lovely, and now I've squicked myself! Moving right along...
I'll post the lot over at AFF when they're finished, I think. Perhaps I should start thinking about getting my own site? <g>

The cubs and I trooped down to our local shopping suburb (which, I heard on the news last night, is going to be extended. Good gods above, why? It's already the biggest one in Australia, apparently. More cars, more people, more pointless consuming... <shudder> Anyway...)
I was dreading the trip but it wasn't too crowded, though I did have to wait a good long time to pick up some laybys. I've got my horsies! (Clydesdale stallion, Lippizaner stallion, Falabella and riding pony!) And the cubs have a swag of stuff that was layby'ed in the middle of the year when they were interested in Star Wars. They're enjoying it all - having enormous fun shooting each other in the arse with foam darts from the Wookie Bow-caster. <g>

It's times like this I'm very glad I don't drive anymore. The roads are manic - people tearing about trying to get to the shops as quickly as possible so they can get a parking spot. <shakes head> Madness. Sure I have to plan my shopping trips carefully cos I'm limited to what I can physically carry home but I'm much less stressed than a lot of people I see around me.
I do enjoy teasing the drivers though, especially the ones that follow you through the carpark, when it looks like you're leaving, so they can nab your parking spot. Hah! The looks on their faces when they realise they've been crawling along after me in vain. <smirk> Bad Lutra. Eh, it's their own fault, if people will insist on trying to park 10 paces away from the entrance...

Yay! Finished the snupin, and coded it, though Joules found a few glitches which she fixed. Thank you! <hugs> I'll send that off sometime soon.
Chapter 32 is also finished and I think that means sfsg is over 160k words now. Blimey, never knew I had it in me. And now there's only one or two chapters and an epilogue to go. Probably won't have it finished by the end of the year as I'd planned, not with all the holiday stuff that's happening including a couple of days up at Mum's, but it's all downhill from here. : )
Then, in between the rewrite I'll see about clearing up some of the stuff that's been languishing for months: Cathouse Ellis for one, but there's also a short mpreg, Elga, and a couple of other fantasy-inspired shorts. The longer fantasy and HP inspired shorts can wait a while. <g>

Hey ho, the cubs and I will be cleaning the lounge room today. The state it's in at the moment there's a good chance Santa will trip over something and break his leg as he's delivering presents.

I know I've not been eating enough protein when I start craving bacon.

So, that's the end of the school year, eh? Doesn't feel real...
These last few days have been patchy, and they've flown past.
Yesterday I went along with the school to see a nativity puppet play in the nearby hall. The 'narrator' was a furry brown muppet wombat... thing called Robbie; the angel was properly androgynous (with beautiful plumage); but the best bit was the almost life-size camel with articulated legs and looooong eyelashes. The weirdest bit, however, was Mary's shining uterus. I'm not kidding! The Angel sez 'Oy, you're knocked up!' [paraphrased] and a light went on under her robe. Oookaaay...
There was audience participation as well - Robbie asked the children to hold up the stars they'd decorated to help the 3 kings find their way to Bethlehem... (Yes, most of the kids thought that was lame, too.)
There were some nice touches. A little bit of historical fact thrown in with the legend (myrrh is apparently good for getting rid of intestinal worms) and when Joseph and Mary 'decided to name the child Jesus' it was mentioned that they also quite liked Brian. <g>
The whole thing was cute and the different types of puppets were well done but it felt a little rushed and unfinished. With a bit more work, a bit more polish it could be quite good.

At the final school assembly today we had a reprise of grade 1/2T's 'Shake your tail feather' and we said goodbye to some of the staff, including 2 of the cubs' teachers. That was a little sad, admittedly, but then it was all over and we could go home.
I'm not sure when the next year starts - end of January? 'spose I'd better find out.

I've spent a lot of time standing around waiting for buses this year and I've noticed something. Most of the cars on the road are grey or silver. Next most popular colour seems to be white but a lot of those are utes or transit vans. Reds come next, followed by blues, blacks and greens with yellow being the least popular. Of course, this is only what I've observed in my area, there could very well be a nexus of favoured yellow vehicles elsewhere.

I don't often remember physical sensations in my dreams but I did last night. In a couple of instances I was standing at the door of a room then took a few steps inside and noticed a lovely drop in temperature. However, that could have been because it was hot last night and my window was open to catch the breeze.

(<sigh> And KittenKong has just demonstrated her displeasure with my ignoring her calls for food by trying to climb the xmas tree. Again. Tch, talk about attention seeking behaviour from the children.)

Chapter 32 is almost finished (woohoo!).
And Joules is toying with the idea of a third installment of her Cyber City Oedo 808 AU. Hee. : )
My Snupin's just about ready to post and I've been thinking about a SS/LM for Joules (no promises, though). Following the nomenclature of Snarry and Snupin, would that be a Snucious?

And finally, if a lycanthrope is a were-wolf, would a wolf-skin coat be a wear-creature...?

Squee! I got a parcel yesterday! A t'riffic Snarry card, and story (ook! Is there going to be a sequel? <wink>) and a Snape keyring!
Thanks, Rakina!

Oh dear, it looks like the DVD player has died a final death after limping gamely on for several months. The Polar Express killed it.
Dammit, and I haven't watched my new DVD yet. <grumble> Ah well, could be worse.

Hippos go pink in the sunshine. Not cos they get sunburnt, but because their skin produces a substance - that's pink - to protect them from the sun. Isn't that interesting? Every now and again the documentary channels will surprise me.

Oh bollocks. It's very difficult trying to research costume details when the character wears nothing but black. Between the monitor, my eyes and the quality of pics posted I can only get a vague impression. <melodramatic sigh> I'll have to go and see GoF again, and sit down the front. Or drag out the DVDs...
Bugger.
These things are sent to try us...

Ahah! The mystery of the mysterious bags of bread has been solved!
Last Friday, while the cubs were out with their father and I was napping, two carrier bags of loafs and rolls appeared - mysteriously - on my doorstep. Not one to look gift food in the mouth I brought it inside and we happily munched on the contents over the weekend. But I did wonder where it came from.
Yesterday afternoon I was woken up from a nap to find Niki on my doorstep with another bag of rolls, and soup. <g> She works as a meals-on-wheels coordinator nearby and apparently every Friday the centre is donated bags and bags of leftover bread and rolls. Yay for the generous public and free bread! : )

After languishing for a week Chapter 31 is finished and 32's started. This one will cover the final Event that sparks the final story arc. I think I can make it believable. If not, then I might be in a spot of trouble. It has to be believable or the whole thing falls in a heap!
Nope, I'll worry about that when I get there.

Oooh! I want one! Snowglobe and Argonaths? Perfect!

Nicked from Onna:

Er...


You taste like sushi. Yes, you're a bit fishy, but
if handled by the right person, you become a
delicacy. People with expert hands bring out
the best in you and your smooth texture leaves
tongues very happy.


How do you taste?
brought to you by Quizilla

Mmmm... sushi...
(Was the pic taken in a German sushi bar? [translated - poorly] "Well, ultimate! Now... an..." Ah never mind, just look at the food!)

<grumble> In the FotCR (Feast of the Cash Register - thank you, Blue Witch : ) I find my shopping centre swarming with mutoids (<g> thanks, Joules) tottering under their loads of plastic bags. (Plastic bags. Come on, people, it's not like there isn't a source of readily available reusable alternatives in every other shop if you haven't the wits to bring your own.) It's very annoying - but it'll be over soon.

A cub needed an alternate word so he headed straight for the Thesaurus without prompting... So proud. <g> And he's recently been browsing through the dictionary, just because.

Despite having read some amazing poetry over the years, pieces that have moved and/or inspired me (notably, Joules' [damn your eyes!] Pavane for Panthers, in the poetry section on her site) I've never thought much about making my own attempts. This is partly because what's sublime for one person is another's pretentious twaddle and I'm not convinced my efforts won't land squarely in the latter. Plus, I don't understand poetry, not really, and understanding something goes a long way to making a successful attempt. I get haikus, and I've written a few that could be interpreted as mildly clever, but there's not many of the other forms I can get to grips with. The cubs learnt about Acrostic poems this year and they look like fun. That's when you start each line using a letter of the poem's 'word'.
An example:

Sex god of Slytherin,
Never nice.
Albus trusted him, but did he
Pay the price?
Evil or not?

<g> Give me a break, that took me all of five minutes! But you get the idea.
I did play about with poetry when I was in high school, but never in anything approaching a serious manner.

The Saga of the Little White Dog.

Once upon a time,
just the other day,
a little white dog
went out in the fields to play.

He romped and he scampered
amongst the long tall grass,
until a farmer thought he was a snake
and shot him up the arse.

Boom boom. : )
Or this one that I never got 'round to finishing:

Ode to a pickled onion.

Oh, you round smooth globe,
so tart and full of life...

Yes, I was taking the mick and going by the 'style', this was penned about the time we were studying the English Romantics; Keats, Shelley - that lot. ("There's nothing romantic about swanning around Italy in a big shirt trying to get laid!" Black Adder: season 3, Ink and Incapability. <giggling> So funny! Where was I...? There was a point to this. Ah yes...)
So, poetry. I saw a book yesterday that could be useful in my quest to master different forms of literary expression. Stephen Fry's The Ode less traveled: Unlocking the poet within. I like his work and just reading the blurbs had me snickering out loud in the shop. Can't afford it right now but I'll keep an eye open for when it's on special. (There's no point getting it from the library cos it looks like a keeper and there's nothing more frustrating than wanting to keep a library book. : ) And who knows, one day I may inflict my musings on the world and they won't look like they've been written by an unhappy adolescent. <smirk>

And finally - just checking... Hah!

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

[edit: I've just noticed it says 'harkworking. Must've been written by a Gryffindor... <snerk>]

Right, while the horror is still fresh in my mind... The school xmas concert.
However, either I'm mellowing or it actually wasn't that bad. Yes there were some bits that made me wince while freezing a polite smile on my face but other than that...
The highlights: 1/2 T dressed up as Blues Brothers doing 'Shake your tail feathers' (I'd bet with the cubs' father that they were going to do 'Minnie the Moocher' but Tailfeathers is slightly more appropriate for 6-8 year olds, I guess); our school brass band - of which Penny's daughter is a member - tootling us a few tunes (they've come a looooong way since they started learning their instruments at the start of the year!); and the combined preps,1&2 singing Silent Night in German.
One cub's grade performed with their recorders, then did a little dance; the other cub's grade sang 'War is Over', which wasn't too bad except for the squeaky and/or flat 'chorus' in the background doing the 'war is over, if you want it' bit. <g>
See, it wasn't too bad, it didn't seem to go for that long and we were spared having to sing carols this year. I've attended worse.

I got a parcel from Onna! <squeebounce> Thank you!

Erk, only 6 school days left...

I've done little else but sleep the past few days. Could be my immune system's fighting something off, could've been because it's hot, or it could've been because I went into shock after cleaning my room on Saturday. : )
Yes, I cleaned my room. Sort of. I finally got 'round to putting together one of the metal shelving units Mum had lobbed my way and stuffed it full of material and other crafty bits that've been lying around for months. I'm still surrounded by piles of stuff, but my bed's clear again and now I have a whole extra square metre of floor space. Yay me.

The cubs' father cut their hair. It's a serviceable cut, gone are the anime bangs, but... they've both got tails. <g> Their cousins have got/have had (I can't remember!) tails so my two decided that they wanted them too. Very cute, and I've not heard any stories about teasing at school so they might want to keep them for a while.

Odd sort of dream yesterday afternoon when I passed out on the couch. I was hearing a snippet of music over and over again. I knew it was coming from a DVD so I tried to find the player and switch it off. Instead of just the one player there was a whole series of the things and I had no choice but to check every bloody one. Meanwhile, Alarice had turned up with a couple of her friends, as well as Soulsis and her chicks, so there I was trying to turn off the noise while getting food and drink organised for everyone. Alarice had brought a big crate of juicy, cold oranges - so juicy it only took one to fill up a 2 litre jug. Mmmm... She noticed my growing frustration and tried to help by pulling out the plugs. I told her to stop cos the cubs' father was using the computer (another one, not mine) in the room and if she'd pulled the wrong one he would've lost everything he'd been working on.
I had a rat, too, a lovely agouti brown male - and I decided to put the piggle in with him for company. I checked on them a little bit later but the cage had been ripped open and the rat had escaped...
I woke up to find that it had been the looped menu music of a DVD I'd been listening to, and that I had 2 minutes to get out of the house in time to catch the bus to go and pick the cubs up. <sigh> Couldn't shake the feeling I was still in dream sleep all afternoon and predictably fell asleep again when I got home. Fortunately the cubs are happy to make nachos for themselves for dinner when I'm useless.

A not work-safe link from Thicketty. Playwitch <smirksmirk> Now I know where some of the more interesting HP icons have come from...

Hands up all the fangrrls in the room. (Me! Me! Pick me!)
I saw Goblet of Fire again today! <boing> Enjoyed it just as much as the first time and picked up some more details, like how pretty Cho's ball gown is and how tactile a headmaster Kakaroff seems to be. Seriously, he's always petting Viktor, stroking him, and he had his hands on Neville at one point. Not inappropriately as such, I just thought it was odd.
I like the Durmstrang dress uniform - those capes flare out beautifully when the boys are dancing.
Oh oh oh! And there's a priceless look between Harry and Snape when it's revealed it wasn't the Golden Trio nicking stuff from the storeroom. Made me giggle.
The unintentionally funniest line in the movie has to go to McGonagall though, when it's obliquely suggested Harry be used as bait.

"He's a boy! Not a piece of meat!"

Oh, I beg to differ, Minerva. How often has sweet Harry been offered up on the alter of fandom? <evil smirk>

Nicked from Rakina:


You are Draco! Draco Malfoy. You are the
embodiment of a good Slytherin (good
Slytherins? Oxymoron, anyone?) in so many
ways. And you are a Malfoy. You think you
were a Slytherin before Slytherin was a
Slytherin, don't you?


Which Slytherin Are YOU?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ummm... <scratches head> Not quite sure what I was expecting...

The cubs and I had a great time after school today. First we picked up one of their laybys - always a good thing - then we tried out a new icecream place! Mmmm, lovely stuff, smooth and creamy. We all had a 'big cup' with 3 flavours. Mine were strawberry (not bad), coffee (excellent) and blood orange (YUM). The cubs between them had vanilla, mint, chocolate and licorice. They both declared this the best icecream ever! <g> I had a taste of the licorice and have to admit I was impressed. Usually licorice icecream tastes like licorice flavoured vanilla but this actually tasted like licorice. Nummy! I'll have some of that next time though I'm not in a hurry to go back. Icecream is something I only fancy every now and again - the cubs will eat it anytime, thanks, Mum! - but it's good to know there's some good quality stuff handy when I do.
Anyway, continuing the gastronomic tour of the shopping centre we tasted some wonderful ham from one of the delis. Really, really nice - really, really expensive - but so much better than the plastic crap the supermarkets sell. Getting the ham for xmas is usually my job but I don't think I'd want to share this! : )
After we'd all rhapsodised about the pickled pig for a bit we tripped off to a lolly shop to get a present for someone. Naturally, being surrounded by all the sweet stuff the cubs started making noises about getting something else. Fortunately they were able to understood the concept that it's a waste of excellent food to follow it with stuff that's not quite so good. And they were still so full of icecream they weren't actually that hungry anymore. <g>

Hm. I was going to snicker about the use of a particular spell in a couple of HP fanfics but after checking the Lexicon I find it isn't a bit of mangled fanon, as I thought. The spell is Ennervate which is 'used to revive a person hit by a Stunner'. There's a note in the entry which says: "Some versions list this spell as "Enervate," which changes the etymology quite a bit. In fact, if the word was really Enervate, the Latin origins would have exactly the opposite meaning from what it means as Ennervate." Indeed. Guess which spelling I found in the fanfics? Either way it's a silly word to use for a reviving spell.
However, here's something else I found. ''saline stained eyes...'. Guess what that was describing? : )

(It's interesting what Blogger's spell-check sometimes throws up...

icecream - isochronal.
xmas - smash.
stunner - stoner.
fanon - famine.
fanfics - benefice.

Isochronal apparently means 'happening or appearing at regular intervals'. An interesting word in relation to icecream, yes? And fanon-famine? I think there's something in that for all of us... <eg> )

<smirk>

Sturgeon!
The mermen in GoF were modeled on sturgeon!
Hah! I knew it was a big, ugly, prickly fish. Pike are too smooth and sticklebacks are just wee little things...

I finally got 'round to reading The Davinci Code...
I've read worse.
But honestly, I got so impatient with it. What? Another bloody twist? Gods above this thing could've finished 100 pages ago!
I don't have much patience with puzzles, ciphers and anagrams, they make my brain hurt but the ones peppering this - <wrinkles nose> - blockbuster were hardly challenging. I got the clues so often the whole thing became a series of anti-climaxes. And all I can say is that my general knowledge must be pretty damn good if so many people were astonished and amazed by the story. <sigh> I'm glad I read it though, it helped make Da Kath & Kim Code that much funnier...

One of my cubs has been talking about getting a watch for a while now. He's decided he wants a pocket-watch cos 'they're more elegant'. <g> He's got a little bit of money left, we'll see what we can find.

I had a couple of hours to myself so I sat down and watched Boogie Nights again. It's not a comfortable movie, rather sad actually, but damn I'm impressed with the way the contemporary pop/disco tracks were used. One word, in one line of lyric, perfectly synchronised with a moment in the movie to add a layer of depth and meaning. Fantastic.

I picked up the first volume of Gungrave cos it looked interesting in the previews.
Let's see:
Enigmatic bishie with angsty back-story? Check.
Shadowy corporation protagonist? Check.
Wide-eyed bishojou with some sort of connection to the bishie? Check.
Not the most original story admittedly but the animation's quite good, with the occasional moment of brilliance. It's a series I wouldn't mind following but there's no urgency, it's not one of those 'Gnnnh! I have to see the rest of it now!' things. : )

Tee hee hee. More fanfic nonsense...
First of all - songfic is generally a bad idea. I have absolutely no problem with an author being inspired by a piece of music - happens to me a lot - but it irks me when the lyrics are inserted into the text. Really annoying, it breaks the flow of the narrative. One person's 'highly significant' addition is another's (mine) teeth-grinding aggravation. Put the entire thing at the end of the piece, properly credited of course, but not in dribs and drabs throughout, please. (Okay, and now I'm wracking my brain, trying to remember if anyone I know writes/had written songfic. Heh.)

And I've come across a thread in the Snupins that made me blink. It's the premise that Lupin's wolf form is female. <rolls eyes> It's not widely used, from what I can see, and the explanation is... well... hm... Apparently, if you're born to lycans (don't ask me, I'm just quoting!) your wolf form will have the same gender as you. (And I don't know why but the idea that it's a wolf form, distinct from the human, irritates me. There's a flaw in the reasoning somewhere, I'm sure, I just can't pinpoint it.) But if you're male and bitten by a female lycan, you'll be female at that time of the month. <snigger>
I give up, I just don't get it. It's not the silliest bit of fanon I've read but it's up there in the top ten.

<grumble> I want to go and see Goblet of Fire on my own again while I still can - ie: before the school holidays - but with the cubs coughing and snargling enough to stay home I keep having to put it off. Oh well, the film'll probly be on for a few weeks yet.

<languish> It's hot. But at least the xmas tree's up and decorated now, strangled with tinsel. : ) That's my boys...

Goblet of Fire opened today and I was at the first session. <silly grin> I enjoyed it, a lot. True, there were minor characters and plot bits that had been cut or shifted about, and a lot of nuances were trampled in the stampede to get the story told in under 3 hours but it followed the book more closely than Prisoner of Azkaban did and that was bonus points as far as I was concerned. It probably helped if you'd read the book, though - there were points I would've said 'WTF?' if I hadn't known beforehand what was going on. But overall I was impressed. The story more or less hung together in a logical sequence and the darker feel of the book wasn't played down. It's a more grown-up movie from a more grown-up book. I'll be going to see it again; probly next TA Tuesday.
Anyway, here follows a random list of noted points in no particular order. Sorry if it's a bit spoilery but I don't think I'm giving away anything pivotal.

I want that tent! And - ooooh! - pavilions!

Visual effects were superb and didn't detract or distract from the plot. Industrial Light and Magic was involved again, I see...

The World Cup sequence was fabulous but there wasn't nearly enough of it.

And it goes without saying there wasn't enough Snape! What there was though was nicely played. He and McGonagall get some of the best lines. <g>

The mermen looked like they were modeled on pike! Or am I thinking of sticklebacks? Anyway, I enjoyed that sequence, too...

Pooh. We didn't get to meet Charlie Weasley. On the DVD perhaps?

The entrances of the Durmstrang boys and the Beaubaton filles made me roll my eyes. Show-offs, the lot of 'em, though the striking sparks on the flagstones was better than bloody bluebirds!

There was a lot of the Weasley Twins. This is a good thing.

Yay, Neville! He's not in Gryffindor by accident.

Draco looks good in a suit, and his father, well, he looks good in anything, let's be honest. The incredible bouncing ferret was very funny. <smirk>

Is it just me, or is Hogwarts getting bigger? I'm sure there were more buildings this time. And is it customary for the prefects to bathe together? That bath is huge! I know Scotland is a wee bit wetter than Australia but I couldn't help wincing at the amount of water used...

Ah yes, the soon-to-be-infamous bath scene. I sniggered through a lot of that. Poor Harry, the bubbles don't last for long...

Now, Daniel Radcliffe is an attractive boy up close but from a distance it looks like the lower half of his face is too small for the top half, not helped by the Bay City Rollers bouffant. And, alas, he's not the best actor in the ensemble, which is a shame cos he does give it his best, that's obvious, but he's not a patch on the far more natural and charismatic Rupert Grint. Pretty versus talent? I know who'd I rather watch. (Snape, Snape, Snape...)

I love the Durmstrang ship. I like sailing vessels (magical or otherwise) about as much as I like pavilions.

... I'm sure there was something else I was going to mention.
Ah yes.
25 minutes of commercials and previews before the movie started. Tch. Including one weird car ad where 2 black bulls, a diving man in black pants and a black car all converge at the intersection of what looks suspiciously like an enormous black crucifix stretched out along the floor. I don't pretend to understand advertising wanks any more.
But, did get to see a preview for the new King Kong movie. Looks better than I thought - it's got dinosaurs! I might go and see that now.

Chapter 30's finished and there's possibly only another 4 chapters to go. I'm teetering on the edge of the final Event... : )