<rolling around laughing>
Okay, this was funny enough, but then go here and watch the special edition trailer for Two Towers. Oh my goodness, elves have never looked so... right. <smirk>
Thanks for the links, Gibbon!

Yay! Chestnuts are back in season! I love 'em with butter when they're still warm...

Cubs back at school today. Early morning. Tired now.

Dang, I think our DVD is broken. It makes this godsawful squealing when a disc is playing. Heh, it'd probly cost as much to buy a new one as fix the old but I loathe the idea of disposable tech. Maybe there's an electronics repairer we can sell it to for a few quid?

Cubs and I went to the Aquarium today. <happy sigh> It's still one of my favourite places to be. The baby leafy seadragons have grown noticeably - so cute! I want a tank of those when I'm unnecessarily wealthy. It's very restful watching them just drift around...
Cos it's the holidays there was face-painting for the kidlings there today. Most children chose from the available list - they want to be a puppy or a kitten, or a pirate, a witch, or Darth Maul. Most children. My cubs naturally wanted their own designs, which they drew for the bemused girl doing the duty. <g> Blue and orange jellyfishes on their cheeks...
The gift shop, alas, had run out of plush jelly fish but 2 new plush sharks were added to the cubs' collection and I got a purple squeaky puffer fish! Have to go back in a few weeks and get the pink and blue ones. I do so like having sets of things.

[smirk] Lutra's SP chara...



Interesting how we see ourselves, isn't it?

I-i-interesting day. The cubs' father developed chest pains yesterday so today he took himself off to the doctors while the cubs and I had lunch at Smorgys. I got a text message from him later in the afternoon saying that while the e.c.g. was clear he was being kept in overnight for observation.
Hm. Stress perhaps? Or decades of dining at the Golden Arches of Doom (and similar) catching up with him?
Anyway, he rang later again tonight to say all the obs were negative so he was coming home.
Heh, just spent the last 15 minutes listening to him try to remove the sticky disc contact things left behind from the e.c.g. without pulling out too much body hair...

Yay! Chapter 6 is finished! I'm one chapter ahead of my proposed schedule. Very pleased about that. : )
And there was a tickling [ping] this evening that could develop into a decent short. I've made notes, will let it simmer for the moment and see what happens.
Gods I love my imagination!

Was there something else?
Ah yes...
This make your own South Park character site is lots of fun. (Thanks for the link, Joules!) I think it's an updated version of the program that Okapi used to make the little Lutra portrait at the top of the page. Cubs had a ball with it, as well. Kept them amused for minutes...

And something else that came from Joules' blog:

C...Carbon You scored 31 Mass, 39 Electronegativity, 32 Metal, and 0 Radioactivity!

Nobody understands you... no, not even organic chemists. The social individualist. You like your attention... but not TOO MUCH attention. You are able to form incredibly close relationships with many individuals, but you don't really get along with preexisting groups. You value equality in relationships, and don't deal well with overly submissive or demanding people. Well, whatever... thanks for making life possible... oh, and cut the global warming out.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 30% on Mass You scored higher than 77% on Electroneg You scored higher than 15% on Metal You scored higher than 0% on Radioactivity

Link: The Which Chemical Element Am I Test written by effataigus on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Ooookaaay... : )

Heh, school holidays are almost over. Not been a bad couple of weeks - not entirely looking forward to going back to the grind again. Eh well, one does ones best...

I keep forgetting to say that Soulsis and two of her chicks came 'round for a visit last Sunday. We watched Short Circuit and Spaceballs, and later on Pirates of the Caribbean (hee, Orli...)
Soulsis arrived bearing gifts as well: a very cute little pink beaded chandelier, a string of clear quartz chips, and a lovely, pudgy blue ceramic fish. <bg>

The cubs, my mum and I went to see a movie today - you'll never guess which one.
Robots. Again. Probly just as well I quite like it but...
The Fat Albert Movie... <headdesk> Why??
At least it looks like they've not tried to base it in 'reality'.

This headline on a magazine cover caught my eye the other day:

"Princesses feud over father's death bed."

My initial thought was to wonder why anyone would want to fight for possession of something like that? : )

Hey, cool, Orli's in another 'historical' epic movie! Wonder if there was any gratuitous nudity in 11th century Europe? <smirk>

Ah, pop culture, you've got to love it. There was a Phillip K. Dick reference in a recent episode of My Life as a Teenage Robot. XJ9's mother/creator - when the 'droid wanted to experience dreaming - wondered in passing what it was androids dreamt of - Electric sheep? It's probly daft but I always feel clever, somehow, when I pick up an injoke. : )

"Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

Dang it, I wish I could remember where that quote came from - something the cubs were watching, I think. Atomic Betty? Danny Phantom?

I had an 'excuse me??' moment today. There was an ad for some Yu Gi Oh merchandise - dueling dragons, or something, that fired missiles at each other - but the tag line was 'so you can hit the sweet spot' every time!'
<snigger> Perhaps I read too much yaoi but isn't that a euphemism for the prostate gland?

Oh, oh, oh! Go here! Cacked myself laughing! (Link nicked from Joules' blog.)

Woohoo! 4 pages into chapter 6 and I had a brain-spang about an upcoming bit. Yeah!

Tch, oh for heaven's sake, my memory's turned to porridge - can't remember where this quiz came from...

You Are A Lime Tree

You are intelligent, hard working, and innately successful. You try to change what you can in life - and you accept what you can't change. Tough on the outside, you are actually soft and relenting. Jealous at times, you are extremely loyal and giving to those you love. You have many talents, but you don't have enough time to use them.

What is Your Celtic Horoscope?

Given that this is a seasonal thingy I wonder if the results would still be relevant for someone born in the Southern Hemisphere?

And Joules just gave me the link to this quiz...

I am: Cordwainer Smith (Paul M.A. Linebarger) This inimitably unique storyteller created a future with so many deep layers of history that all the world we know is practically lost in it.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Don't know him at all but his work sounds fascinating. Heck it sounds like something I'd write!

As with movie adaptations you never expect a TV serial to stay true to the original book but by golly I'd not realised just how thoroughly the Sharpe mythos has been tampered with. It's not a bad reworking, it holds true within itself, but the books are far more detailed, and involving.
Having said that I'd still like to get the DVDs - always keen to add to my Sean Bean collection of media, hee. There was someone on eBay selling the sets very cheaply... but they (the seller) have been suspended from trading. Dang. Just as it looked I might be able to afford a set. Oh well, one day.

Had another dream last night about preparing for a cruise 'home' - this is the second one in recent months. The bulk of the dream involved preparations, making sure everything of mine and the cubs was packed, working out when we'd have to leave to get to the ship on time, thinking about what sorts of supplies we'd need for the journey. It was too close to reality in that respect to be a 'fun' dream but I was definitely anticipating the journey and destination.

Yay! Chapter 5's finished!
Did a quick word-count and the total so far is just about 30,000. Not bad for 6 weeks work, eh?

Oh for goodness sake! It got to 33 degrees today, forecast 31 tomorrow. <grumblemutter> It's Autumn, temperatures are sposed to be dropping...
And I've got a mild cold <snuffle>. I feel entitled to whinge. : )

Monumentally annoyed.
The cubs' father's old, unpaid cable bill has turned up on mine. Grrrr... When he said he'd 'sorted' the outstanding amount (the arrears that ended with his losing the connection) I naively assumed that meant he'd paid the bloody thing off.
I shall have to have words.

You know, I really need some bookcases so I can bring my eclectic assortment of books out of storage. I realised today, on the way to the bus-stop, that probly the main reason my general/literary knowledge is better than average is because from a very young age I was browsing my parents' bookshelves. My cubs don't really have that option at the moment. They have their bookshelf in their bedroom, then there's only one other bookshelf available to them in the lounge-room and that's half-full of DVD's and photos. (There's one slim shelf in my bedroom but given the usual clutter in there even I can't access that without effort.) <grumble> I need space...

Not been paying an awful lot of attention to the whole Pope thing but one image in the media caught my attention: that of Dubya in the thick of it all looking extremely uncomfortable and out of place. It occured to me that given his religious background there's a good chance he was brought up being told that Catholicism was one fairy-step over from worship of the anti-christ.
No wonder he looked uneasy.

I've been working through my list of interesting typos etc. as new characters appear in SFSG, finding names for them all. I remarked to Joules that I was going to run out of names soon but today I found an excellent source to supplement the typos.
Ablyn - Gabie - Jonti - Rache - Taila - Keely - Mohi - Miriama...
These were all first names from Nickelodeon's daily 'Birthday Bop' list. Hee.
Ah, now there's a thought, I could always pay a visit to Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing. Some of the names listed there would be perfect in a sci-fi setting - much better than trying to foist them on a child in the here and now. <smirk>

The cubs and I went to the Melbourne International Flower Show today. Or rather, I went and dragged them along with me. : ) Eh, wasn't too bad, they didn't get too bored and in fact found some of the exhibits fascinating, being genuinely intrigued to see 'art' made with organic elements. It helped that we were able to track down the source of free balloons amongst the too-many-to-count booths so the cubs went away happy.
I knew I should've brought my camera though. The first thing we saw in the exhibition hall was 2 huge flamingos made from pink carnations! Tch. Ah well.
Got away with only buying the cubs one icecream each - we brought all our food and drink - but I probly would've spent more if I'd gone on my own and had a proper chance to browse. There was lots of very cool stuff on offer including some gorgeous orchids, Joules, but on closer inspection they were either made of plastic or modelling clay.
A fun day, but I'm tired now and it's supposed to be hot again tomorrow. Tch. 'Unseasonal heat'. No, really? <grump>

I've got some potatoes at the moment that are no good for boiling - they break apart - but they make the best roast taters. : ) Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. <licks lips> Bet they'd make decent baked potatoes, as well. Hm, maybe tomorrow night...

Ah, I keep forgetting to post these links to a couple of interesting blog/lj thingies:
Diamond Geezer's entry on the 4th April about the decline of British television is very funny (today's is a bit of a giggle as well), and Erestor's entry on the 3rd of April is a thoughtful, rather soothing little piece about death... not to mention her ongoing links to pictures of 'nekkid/textile-free french rugby players'. Hee.

<sigh> The cubs' father has written a book, a <shudder> Romance novel to be precise and I've agreed to edit for him. Fortunately there's no issues with his spelling, grammar or punctuation but... I don't like Romances.
Why did I agree? Cos I'm egotistical enough to believe that with my input there's a better chance it'll sell, which would be good I have to admit.
But... I don't like Romances...
What I've read so far seems to be no more or less contrived or lame than any published Romance I've read (when you're desperate enough, you'll read anything) so that'd have to be points in his favour and to be honest, I've read much, much worse.

Soulsis lent me her DVD copy of 'Final Fantasy' a week or so ago and at last I got round to watching it.
Yes, I can acknowledge the technical mastery of the CGI but no matter how realistic the main chara's hair is (and it is, though interestingly no one else in the movie has anything close. It's all short-back-and-sides, or missing, or slicked-down for every one else!) it's no substitute for a half-arsed plot.
I don't know the FF games at all but was this movie taken from one of the game plots? It seems to suffer from the same problems a 20 part series has when it's cut down to a 90 minute film. Interesting premise overall but the treatment of it was slap-dash, requiring great bouts of suspension of disbelief without adequate explanations to back those up.
But that's not what really bothered me. On some levels I could appreciate how life-like the characters were, their body movements were convincing enough most of the time and a lot of thought had obviously been put into skin, hair etc but for all that the characters were terribly wooden. There was very little movement in their faces which unfortunately lead to minimal expressions. For instance, when the main 'villain' realises he's stuffed up, his voice (James Wood) is full of anguish and disbelief but his face displays not much more than mild annoyance.
Quibbles aside I'm glad I saw it, and will probly happily watch it again when the cubs aren't being distracting...

Heh, the little Haadri birthday-smut Joules wrote for me has filled out to a five-part mini epic. : ) Not that I'm complaining, oh not at all. Lots of lovely lemon...

Hm. At the Museum on Sunday I had the opportunity to measure how tall I am. 160 cm - 5'3". I could've sworn I was 5'6". Perhaps I've shrunk? Or have I just got it wrong all these years.
Heh, well, at 5'7" I'll be literally looking up to Joules, then...
The cubs, however, are 140 cm tall. Eeek!

I'm a lazy person, I admit that. By 'lazy' I mean I'll happy ignore boring yet necessary tasks in favour of stuff I want to do. (But then, isn't 'lazy' one of those subjective terms, like 'selfish'. I had a relative who was disappointed in me cos I was 'selfish'. I was very upset, until it dawned on me I was only 'selfish' cos I didn't put them first all the time. Humph. But am I really lazy? When there's the need, or desire, I can work as hard and tirelessly as anyone [no guarantee about not whinging, though.] Perhaps the sort of people who might consider me 'lazy' could be those who work themselves into the ground carrying out duties/obligations/jobs that they don't enjoy simply cos they feel they should - which creates bitterness and resentment towards those who appear to be slacking off... I digress - where was I? Ah yes...) Every so often the consequences of my laziness comes back to bite me on the bum. Like this morning. I knew I should've done some washing yesterday but I couldn't be bothered, so I paid for it by having to spend extra time rummaging through the laundry pile, getting stressed, trying to find something not too obviously grotty for the cubs to wear. Heh.
Needless to say I did a load of washing this evening when we got home...

I went into the cubs' school today to spend a few hours inputting a fuge pile of books into the library database. The cubs' came with me, grimbling about their having to go into school on the holidays. I explained that they weren't going to School, just to school, to have fun while I worked. : )
Eh, it was fine. They divided their time between reading quietly in the room I was working, or tearing off outside to have fun with Penny and Sarah, who'd come along to do some gardening.
And later in the afternoon we met their father at the cinema to go and see Robots again. My first impressions were confirmed - it's a light, clever, fun little movie who's plot is just a bit too pat for my satisfaction but that's very enjoyable nonetheless. This time though I got the chance to really appreciate just how well the musical soundtrack meshed with the action. (But as I found out later that all the really good songs aren't on the official CD. Tch, typical.) The cubs loved Robots all over again, and there's a very good chance we'll be seeing it next week as well. No problem there for me. : )

LOLOL! One of my cubs made a funny! Watching the news today about the continuing saga of the dead Pope, some talking-head on-screen made some comment about 'filling his shoes'. S piped up and said he could fill the Pope's shoes... with butter! <proudsmirk> That's my boy!

Yay! Congratulations Sue and GoodTwin for your excellent (and well deserved!) results in this year's Cowley awards. Always good to see great writing acknowledged. : )

Cubs and I had a fun day at the Museum. The Dino exhibition was great - even if I wasn't given much opportunity to savour it - and standing next to those effing big skeletons was marvellous. All too easy to imagine what it would've been like living in their midst. Hm, I'm sure I can work some megafauna into SFSG somewhere...

Getting home we just missed the bus but I was stuffed if I was going to hang around and wait 50 minutes for a 5 minute bus-ride so I cajoled the cubs into walking. Not only did we make it up the long, steep hill with only one rest in the middle, we also got our fish'n'chips and arrived home before the bus would've picked us up from the original stop. Hah! Very proud of us, I am. : )
My feet hurt a bit though, not enough to consider aspirin so I can live with it.

Right. Quizzes nicked from The Zone:

You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life. “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” “It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.” --Jean-Paul Sartre “It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.” --Blaise Pascal More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Existentialism 75% Hedonism 70% Justice (Fairness) 65% Utilitarianism 50% Strong Egoism 45% Kantianism 35% Apathy 30% Divine Command 20% Nihilism 10% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Dragon. You are the Dragon. You store a lot of knowledge about everything. You are generally one who is good with personal growth and can regenerate yourself after a bad experience. Dragon 83% Eagle 83% Salmon 83% Bear 75% Dog 75% Deer 75% Fox 67% Stag 67% Horse 58% Crow 50% Ram 50% Wolf 42% Bull 42% Snake 33% Which animal totem best suits you? created with QuizFarm.com

So... an existentialist - bordering on hedonist - dragon, eh? Sounds about right...

This one came from Okapi's lj:

You Are Strawberry Pocky

Your attitude: fresh and sweet Comforting, yet quirky ... quietly hyper You always see both sides to everything

What Flavor Pocky Are You?

"Quirky... quietly hyper..." <smirk> Moi?

(And Onna has on her blog a very funny "Letter to my pets". : )

Okay, so here we are at the beginning of another fortnight of holidays. Personal goals? Finish chapter 5, clean my room, make some clothes for myself.
The cubs and I are going to the Museum tomorrow to see the Chinese Dinosaur exhibition before it closes (better remember to check ticket prices online before we go - and bus timetables).

Bit annoyed with the cubs, actually. They saw these Aquapets on the telly and as so often happens, what they see is what they want. We nipped into a toy store after school, just so they could have a look. The shop only had 2 and they were discounted, and I'd just got paid (you can see where this is leading) so in a moment of weakness I offered to get them one if they could agree to share it.
They opened the box the moment we stepped out of the store, not surprising, but 2 minutes later there was tears as they realised the thing was interactive ie: you can't just play with it, you've got to look after it or it will grizzle at you.
<rolls eyes> Can't wait to see them with kids of their own. "Make it stop crying! Turn it off! Take the batteries out!" <sigh>
They wanted to take the thing back to the shop and I lost my temper at them. Long story short I made them grub through the rubbish bin to find the thing's instruction manual they'd thrown away without looking at, worked out how to send the critter to 'sleep', then claimed the thing for myself.
His name's Fanga and he's kind of cute. There's a sense of accomplishment when you finally work out what it is he wants to make him happy. His little 'happy dance' is good to see...

The cubs' father and I had our interview with S's teacher the other day. The first thing she said was how different he was without his brother around, the second was how imaginative he is...
This cub's also doing well and his teacher is pleased with his progress. Like his brother his reading level is way above average and he's finding the class work interesting. I'm so glad: last year was a horrible year for them both, brought about mainly by a teacher who scared them and who didn't, apparently, believe in giving encouragment to anyone who wasn't keeping up. He's gone now.

The definitions, and differences, between Mary Sue's and self-insertions is something I keep coming back to in my own mind, trying for clarification. There was a discussion about it recently on the Prosfanfic list and with Sue's permission I'll quote a snippet of one of her posts that says it all, really.

"...I often hear the terms MS and author insertion used indiscriminately.
The two are not the same, in my opinion. MS is, as we've said, a poorly written character by dint of being too good to be true.. Author insertion seems to me, to be more a way of drawing on life's experiences so as to make your characters more believable."

Yeah, what she said! <g>

Here's an interesting word:
intagliated - carved on the surface. (Oxford Concise: 1974)

Oooh! Just found out that UK TV over here will be running the Sharpe's Rifles series! YAY! I've wanted to see these again for ages! (Still can't get the DVDs in Aus - not without a credit card anyway.)
Oh dear <tongue in cheek> They'll be screening at the same time as The Bill - whichever shall I choose?
<snort> Like there's a contest...? I've missed the past few eps of that and I'm not in any hurry to catch up...

Meh.
I do have a list of things to mention, just couldn't be arsed right now. I've been languishing in the late-season heat and I'm too full of home-made mushroom lasagne to move. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. : )

Tee hee hee...
(Link nicked from Blue Witch's blog.)

We still had Soulsis' car for today so I drove the cubs to school. Ah, luxury. Got there ridiculously early so we spent half an hour at the playground. The cubs ran around for a while and I played on the swings. Hee. The playground near the school really is an equal opportunity fun-time place. Not only does it have ramps for wheelchair access it's got sensible swings. By 'sensible' I mean it uses wide-ish rubber straps for the seats rather than those hard little plastic monstrosities which can only fit the little bottoms of children, not the huge bottoms of their obese parents.
I love swinging. I love going as high as I can then relaxing and closing my eyes so I lose my sense of where I am in relation to the world. <happy sigh> And I can do it on these swings, even though they creak. So I swing, trusting that they've been stress-tested for a greater weight than mine. : )

For the past little while, writing wise, I've only been concentrating on one thing and it's been great. Focusing my attention in one place rather than the shotgun approach I usually have has let me really build on the worldframe and it's fascinating to see what's developing.
Finished chapter 4, by the way...

Parent-teacher interviews this week. Had one today - the other is tomorrow. M's teacher is very pleased with him, academically. She's a little worried about his social skills but she's making the effort in class to focus on 'friendship building' and 'working together'. She also mentioned more than once his amazing imagination and how enthusiastic he can get over certain subjects. Can't remember exactly what else she said but the cub's father and I got the impression we're raising an A1 geek. <bg> Just like his parents. Something to be proud of.
I suspect the other cub's interview will go along similar lines.

Holidays at the end of the week. As always the cubs and I have been discussing the sort of things we'd like to do. A visit to the Museum and Aquarium, most likely. Perhaps a day at the Adventure Playground in St Kilda. A movie or two, maybe an 'adventure' on a bus - just hopping on one and seeing where it goes. Ooh, we could take a trip out to Willimastown to the maritime museum there. <g>
And of course there's always the opportunity to stay home and sleep in.

Food:

Umm...: It's the tail-end of the annual orgy of chocolate, aside from 1/4 of a cantaloupe this evening what do you think I've been munching on all day?
I wonder if there's been any scientific studies into chocolate's ability to suppress appetite? Hmm...

Back home from Man-on-a-stick weekend with Mum. Had a good, relaxed time - it went very quickly though. Cubs didn't gribble too much either, which is always a good thing.
We took a ride on the Healesville Trolley on Saturday. Perfect weather for it as well. Fine, sunny but not hot with a cool wind. I saw an eagle! I love it out there, close to the hills: the sky is just beautiful, it fills your vision. At the moment it's still that deep, rich Summer blue, and photographs just can't do it justice.
Had a happy browse around the (tiny), local, organic farmers market. Picked up a packet of home-made prunes and a bunch of fresh, biodynamic beetroot. (Wash the beets but don't peel them, boil until soft, let cool a little then rub off the skins. Cut up into bite-sized pieces and serve with sea salt, vinegar and sour cream. <drool> One of my favourite Winter recipes.) Spent the rest of the afternoon getting help from Mum organising my quilt. Thanks to her it's now pinned along one edge and down the centreline - enough for me to continue with it at home. Hee. : )

On Sunday after a visit from the Easter Bilby the cubs and I left Nana in peace for a little while in the morning while we wandered off to the local market. Wasn't all that interesting, unfortunately, but the cubs had fun at the park. The day passed gently, and later in the afternoon the cubs and I went to the park again. (It is possible for children to max-out on chocolate, by the way...)

Today the four of us went out to the Patchwork Teahouse's new premises. Bigger... more stuff... Overspent a bit on some lovely material, oops, but the delicious lemon-meringue tart and walk along the river alleviated any stress. <happy sigh>

The cubs enjoyed their weekend but were happy to come home. I was a little less enthusiastic though my home-comings usually involve unpacking and washing and putting things away... <g>
I had the use of Soulsis' car this weekend which was brilliant. Didn't have to worry about only taking what we could carry on the train, and it gave Mum the opportunity to load me up with stuff she'd otherwise have to bring with her next time she visited.

'k, food this weekend. My meals tend to be more regular when I'm with Mum...

Breakfasts: bacon and eggs X 2, bacon and tomato.
Lunches: Salami and brie, salads and today a sandwich with left-over roast pork. Yum!
Dinners: Kedjeree [sic], roast chicken bits and salad, roast pork and veggies.
Snacks: Cakes, and lollies, and chocolates, oh my! <eg>

Tch, almost forgot. Came home to find the cubs' father had given me a new monitor. The old one was getting very dodgy, even at maximum brightness/contrast the textured background of Joules' blog only looked black.
It wasn't an entirely self-less act though. The cubs' father basically swapped our monitors over because his machine's only good for reading email at the moment, and (with my permission) he uses my 'puter to play games...
It's the thought that counts, isn't it?

The cubs have been looking forward to seeing the film 'Robots' ever since we saw a preview of it months ago. It opened in Australia today, so this afternoon after school the cubs and I went to see it. I was more impressed than I thought I would be. Sure the plot's a little sparse but the worldframe has been realised brilliantly. There's obviously been a lot of thought put into the translation of our world to a mechanical one. It's all a bit wacky but it makes sense within itself and the themes of greed and idealism weren't hard to transfer.
I have to say that this is one of the rare movies where the special effects actually enhance a weak plot rather than simply try to make up for it. There are a couple of fabulous action sequences where it really felt like I was in the thick of it all. Lots of fun!
'Robots' is full of pop-culture references, ie: it nicks things from all over the place. Some of the bits are cleverly used - the 'Two Towers' reference made me giggle - and were picked to appeal to a wide demographic. For instance, I almost didn't catch the Brittney reference but the 'Singing in the Rain' one was easy-peasy. : )
The voice talent was well-chosen, I think. I recognised Robin Williams (of course, his role has been heavily promoted) and picked out Mel Brooks easily enough. I couldn't work out who the male lead was, though his voice seemed familiar. It was Eye-candy McDrooly with a US accent. <g> End credits are useful things. RW might be slowing down as he ages, his characterisation lacked a little of that manic, slightly irritating patter, but even so I laughed out loud at some of it.
I think the cubs would've loved this movie even without the ample amount of fart jokes and toilet humour. I wouldn't mind seeing it at the cinema again - it'll be one of those films that will lose a lot of impact and detail on the small screen.

Watching the previews before the feature can be fun - it's nice to know what's coming up. There's another 'Ice Age' on the way, apparently, and the more snippets I see of the third Star Wars movie the more I think I might find something in it to appeal to me. But I really am getting tired of the remakes.
Someone has ritually slaughtered a goat in the Holy Rodent Empire's movie graveyard and resurrected the rotting corpse of Herbie, the love bug. <head in hands> Oh for gods' sake - what next? 'Pete's Dragon'? 'The computer wore tennis shoes'? And surely by now the software has advanced enough for someone to attempt to rethink 'Tron'. <sarcastic grump> It doesn't help that I saw in a magazine today that Gerry Anderson's 'Captain Scarlet' is being remade with CGI. (I'll reserve judgement, but I'm not sure I wholly approve. In the tradition of 'updating' an old idea they've fiddled with some of the characters. Lt. Green is now female - though an interestingly curvy one...)
Tch, this isn't progress, it's using the excuse of 'better nostalgia through technology' to avoid having to expend the effort to think up anything new. But then, isn't it easier to sell old stuff prettied up to the complacent lowest common denominator than something that might just possibly give them a new outlook?
Okay... </cynical rant> : )

Food:

Morning: Even with being left a couple of days to ripen the bananas were still uninspiring.
Later: Organic porridge.
Afternoon tea with Penny: Fresh coffee, Southcape Camembert with organic crispbreads, not particularly interesting 'sweet dip' made from dates, cream cheese and vanilla, and a couple of slices of Penny's yummy chocolate cake.
Dinner: Good few handfuls of potato chips at the cinema; chicken thigh fillets marinated in a basil/sun-dried tomatoe mix (on special at the supermarket - nice but I won't be rushing to eat the other pack in the freezer) with fresh cucumber; cup of tea and the rest of the grapes.

Hee, I got my copy of the Hello, Tarot in the mail today. It was an eBay thing - a colour-in tarot based on Hello Kitty. So cute! I don't think it's close to official Sanrio merchandise, though, there's no trademarks to be seen, anywhere, but kudos to the artist who had the idea in the first place.
And speaking of knock-offs, I found some 'DBZ' stickers today. Why do I think they're not official? In one of them Vegeta was wearing a fuschia-coloured body-suit, and in another, purple. <smirk> Going to have to get a set, just for the snigger value...

I've been giving (probably too much) thought to the phenomenon of stupid grrrl/boi-blog talk and reached the conclusion that perhaps these people are writing like they speak - which is scary enough - but then, I write as I speak. Or rather, as I speak in my head: what comes out of my mouth is generally gibberish but in my head I'm very eloquent.
...
Tch, that thought had been going somewhere when I started but buggered if I can remember now. Meh, it feels like it's been a long week.
Heh, I think I'll give up trying to make sense and just leave this post with an enigmatic ending...

Can't remember much of what my dream was about last night but I recall looking at a display of Viking 'action-figures' while cautioning myself against squealing at how cute they were, not when the real thing was standing beside me and I couldn't be sure he'd take it the right way. Heh.
And being handed Ned Flanders' stash of the polaroids he'd taken of people's arses (mine included) then being really upset to learn he'd died in the battle.
Um...

Oh pooh, the FotR boxed set I was bidding on is already significantly over my maximum bid with one day left to go of the auction. For a moment there I actually thought I was going to win it. Oh well - there'll be others to bid on. Those Argonath will be mine! Mwaahahahahaha!
But waiting for me in the mail this morning was my very own DVD copy of Cyber City Oedo! <boingboing> The only thing better than birthday presents is belated birthday presents! <g> Thanks, Joules, and thanks, Onna for being the medium through which the anime goodness was able to reach me. : )

Hm, seeing as Easter is at the end of this week I don't think I can reasonably expect to have Chapter 4 finished by then, so I'll aim to have it finished by the end of next week. Which, incidentally, is the end of the first school term (gah!). Then I think I'll try to finish at least one more chapter over the holidays. I don't think that'll be an impossible goal.

Food:

Morning: <hand to forehead> Too stressed to eat.
Later: Cup of coffee, large mixed sushi pack (mmm... sushi...), small iced coffee, orange juice.
Dinner: warmed-up left over rice with a sauce made from organic tinned tomatoes simmered with organic sea salt, garlic and pepper, then the remaining baby spinach leaves stirred in at the last moment so they're soft, and served with a handful of chopped goat's milk fetta sprinkled over the top. Yum!
And, alas, the box of chocolates is no more...

Nicked from Joules' blog...


You are white-headed. You are lucky and optimistic.
People like you, and your accepting. nature.
You are very popular, mature, and irresistable.


What is your inner anime hair color?
brought to you by Quizilla

I can be irresistable when I've a mind to, but I usually find it's too much like hard work to maintain. Not worth the effort any more, people can take me as they find me.. : )

My next door neighbour pulled me up on my way home today to ask if my cat was all right. There's a fox about, apparently - which would explain the twitchy, slinking-about big-eyed behaviour KittenKong displayed a couple of nights ago.

Cub was home sick again but I think he'll be fine to go to school tomorrow. His cough's subsided and he's got his energy back (also read: bouncing off the walls).
Some disturbing news from Penny though: as her daughter was bicycling home a man pulled up beside her and asked her to get in his car...
<snarling> Not in MY leafy-green suburbs, prick.
Fortunately she's a smart lass and bolted straight home. Yes, the police were informed, and yes, they responded quickly and with due sensitivity.
<bristling> Grrr... This is a real concern, I know how many of our children walk home unsupervised...

On a lighter note, I had to snigger at something in the pre-school programming my cub was watching this afternoon. It was a song about how "Woof, bark bark, arf!" in dog-talk means "I want to dance the doggy-polka with you."
I couldn't laugh out loud cos then my cub would've wanted to know what I was laughing about and I really didn't relish trying to explain the hentai thoughts that careened unbidden into my mind when I heard that line.
And this was on top of the recent ad we saw for a Superman - Justice League figure that has 'cape-blowing action' (I can't remember the tag exactly but that'll suffice) which looks kind of cool when the figure is 'flying' but not when he's standing upright. Then it just looks like he's done a massive fart. <snerk> My cubs and I had a good laugh over that one.

A good day for food:

Breakfast: Orange juice and grapes.
Lunch: (yes, 3 distinct meals today) More orange juice, sliced cucumber and blue cheese on organic wafers. (The cheese was 'Tasmanian Heritage - True Blue' which is basically a mildly 'blued' camembert. Very smooth, but more salty than tangy.)
Dinner: Grilled chicken sliced into a salad comprising baby spinach leaves, goat's milk fetta and black olives. Mmmm...
We'll overlook the half-eaten box of Cadbury's Favourite Chocolates selection hidden in my bedroom...

I was interested to discover that all of the cheese sold in Australia has to be made from pasteurised milk. Even the imported stuff can't come from raw milk. This is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to going to Europe so I can taste some of these other cheeses. Apparently the range of flavours from raw milk products has a much wider variety. Yum! Oh, I could so easily become a cheese geek...

(Added bit:)
Gah. I'm glad the cubs are at an age that when they feel sick I can give them a container secure in the knowledge that they'll have the sense to use it. Makes it so much easier to cope with them being ill when I don't have to clean them up and change their clothes and bedlinen every time...

<girly squeal!> I've just seen a 'behind the scenes' snippety thing on Foxtel for 'The Chronicles of Riddick'! Hee. Karl Urban...
And remaining on the fan-girly theme - I saw a couple of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' figures in a games shop today: Captain Barbarossa and Will Turner. Which means there should be a Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth - (oh, bloody hell, what was her name?) figures out there too. Cool! They weren't bad representations, either, they actually looked like the actors which seems to be a rarity in the action-figure market.
I'm tempted, I admit, I know this shop has lay-by...
Nah, best to leave it 'til after Easter at least.


(Edit:)
Ahah! Found it - Elizabeth Swann! <g> I'll be able to sleep now...

Cub-logic: It's not being rude if the person isn't there to hear...
<eyebrow> Riiiight...

Hey guess what? We won 2nd prize in the school's Easter raffle! A Big bundle of chocolatey goodness came home with us today. Mmmm... This is the first time we've won anything in any of the innumerable fund-raising raffles, and there was much rejoicing. : )

One of my cubs was home sick today. He had to come with us to get his brother to school cos there was no-one awake to keep an eye on him. Poor thing, he was visibly drooping by the time we got home. He had a very quiet day, didn't say or move much - a sure sign he wasn't feeling 100%.

Eheh. Had a brain-spang this afternoon about chapter 4 after Joules mentioned it could do with expanding in parts. Ended up with a page or so of notes to include for the revision. Hee, I love that surge of creative energy...

Food:

Morning: Disappointingly tasteless banana, quite nice apple (they're coming back into season so are finally worth eating again), cup of tea, couple of slices of bread and butter.
Evening: not terribly hungry. A few lolly bananas, cup of coffee, some home-made chicken nuggets (cut breast meat into little pieces, coat in egg/milk mix, roll in breadcrumbs then fry) that the cubs didn't want to finish. Little bit of rice. I've got a piece of grilled chicken waiting for me but I'm still not hungry enough to want to eat despite the yummy baby spinach I bought today to have with it.

Blog-browsing is like gambling, you keep hitting the 'next blog' button in the hope that the next one that pops up will be worth it.
There's an awful lot of company-blogs out there that just list goods or services - boooooring! - and an ungodly amount of what appears to be blogs from students that are nigh incomprehensible.
Here's an example of one I found. (I'm not including the URL cos I don't want to inflict it on anyone else.)

"aussie unis
went to the uni fair these two daes.. mi dad went w mi too.. upon mi invitation of course.. got tonnes of info booklets onli to realise tt i actualli i suddenly dun feel like going.. haha.. okae call mi fickle.. haha.. ah well.. i guess im the kind i juz haf a sudden craze for sth.. then when i haf enuff of it.. i'll move on.. ahha.. ah well but so far i still haven haf enuff of cute guys! haha.. coz in the first place nth has quenched mi thirst for it yet.. nth gd enufff.. haha..

aniwae im realli realli vvv grateful n touched by mi dad.. im realli.. speechless.. he din even scold mi or watever abt mi fone.. he juz said tt he'l get for mi the same one.. *sigh* i feel so bad!! somebody slap mi!!!!!

Slap you? Bloody knock some sense into you, you... gibbering moron.
Ok, to be fair I suspect that English isn't this person's first language, but still...
The blog had a tag-box - I almost left this message:

"I was just browsing random blogs and found this one. I'm sorry... are you an English speaker? I can't tell... No offense but those insane phonetics are hurting my brain."

I decided against it - it would've been a needlessly vindictive act, done purely as a response to my pissed-off-ness with not being able to read what half these bloggers were saying. I make no apologies for my being an English-language snob... : )