Three days in a row of 40+ heat and society is falling apart! Srsly! Transport, electricity and the 'net have all had 'difficulties', and by 'difficulties' I mean severely disrupted train services due to buckling tracks; large portions of the state blacked out by an overloaded electricity grid; and my webz server falling over. [grump]
Lots of people are going to the beach, apparently.
... why? Don't they know how hot it is out there? Sheesh. Wouldn't do me any good - I don't need 30+ UV protection to stop the sunburn so much as spakfiller! I look at the images of people baking on the sands and I don't see healthsome frollicks, I see melanomas and skin like leather. [shudder]

~=o>

Egad, cubs go back to school on Monday! There's so much to do! Cos of course I've been putting it off all holidays cos there's been plenty of time. Oops. : )

~=o>

This article caught my eye: "Sexy swimmer denies Thorpe relationship". It amuses me that her surname is Beard. [snerk]

Cubs are sleeping over at a friend's place tonight. Not the first time they've been away from me but I'm really missing them this time. Eh well, they'll be home tomorrow and then their (boy) cousins will be staying over with us for a couple of nights.

~=o>
The cubs, their dad and I went to see Valkyrie this afternoon. It was quite good, gripping in places with believable performances, even from Mr Cruise. Amazingly, the cubs' father had no quibbles about the accuracy of uniforms, vehicles etc; one of his bugbears in historical fims. I did have a quibble however, about one of Stauffenberg's justifications for Hilter must be deded!!!1!!, but, after consulting with the resident military historian (cubs' father) we concluded that it could be within the realms of possibility, just not very likely. Anyway, I was kind of chuffed I picked it up.
Cubs' father and I did have a few reservations about taking the cubs to see this movie - it was the first non-comic/tv show 'M' rated movie they'd seen at the cinema. But it wasn't too graphic, or gruesome, and they enjoyed it, declaring it 'awesome!', though I suspect that was because of the explosions (and military hardware) rather than the emotional and political ramifications of Hitler's assasination. : )
What I really enjoyed though, was sitting with the cubs and their father afterwards discussing potential 'what ifs...' of European history. [grin] So cool...

~=o>
And, yay! I'm all safely re-enrolled for another year of study. Good news, too - all our workbooks this year are included in the 'materials fee'. Phew! That'll be about $300 I won't have to find...

Joules prodded me. "Don't you think it might be time for a blog update?"
Oops, well it has been a month...

~=o>

Right!

Xmas: very quiet. The cubs and I went with Mum and Soulsis et al, to a restaurant. Food was good, though the cubs and their (boy) cousins hardly ate anything of the set menu. Alas, they were too old for the 'kids' menu so couldn't have chicken nuggets and chips. [rolls eyes]

New Year: crowded. Niki, Soulsis and I took advantage of the free (therefore crowded) public transport to go in to (crowded) Melbourne for the free 'family-friendly' fireworks on the Yarra. Show only went for 15 minutes but it was fun. Been a long, long time since I've seen live fireworks...
Then we - plus the rest of the families - squeezed our way out of the (even more crowded) city and on to the (even more crowded trains) as the non-family party people tried to squeeze in. Won't be doing that again in a hurry.
Made it back to Niki's before midnight, though, so we toasted the new year in there.
Resolutions? A few.

School Holiday: ongoing but rapidly drawing to a close. Cubs and I have managed to get out and about a bit.
We went to the Melbourne Aquarium! Penguins! Fish! Happy Lutra!
We house sat for Niki. Cubs really enjoyed having a room each. And I finally got to see Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. It was so laughably awful! And very clever. I've been to Romford; I'm sure I don't remember there being a spooky moor... (And having watched the program I finally got to read Joules' fics. So funny, and so accurate! [snerk])
We went to Nana's for a few days. We had a ride on the Healesville Trolley, and a visit to the Blue Lotus Water Garden. Nice.
We've seen movies. Madagascar 2 (better than the first. I laughed.); Bolt 3D (excellent animation, ludicrous plot); and Igor (amusing, bordering on witty in parts but otherwise not that engaging).

Upcoming: busyish. I'm re-enrolling for the second (final) year of my degree course in a few days. Woot! I haz new stationery and a cool metallic Batman (not Dark Knight) contact with which to cover my student diary! I'm all set.
Also, I've promised Joules a slashy fic for her birthday in February... Better get on with that then, eh?

~=o>

Foodporn. Oh how I luvs it... Watched a particularly good one tonight. Kylie Kwong: My China [drool] All that fresh, fresh food... While watching it I formed the resolution that next year I'm going to try different cuisines at different restaurants at least once a month. (On my own. I enjoy food, I enjoy eating. I don't enjoy listening to the cubs whinge about what I'm eating. [rolls eyes] Philistines.)
As luck would have it, my college is very close to an area that - I'm sure - has more cafes and restaurants per square metre than anywhere else I can think of in Melbourne. : )

~=o>

So there I was, having a good time at my TAFE class' xmas party, anticipating the Kris Kringle, when I get a phone call from the cubs' year co-ordinator. Had my children spoken to me about going in to seperate classes next year?
[scowl] No, they had not - though I was completely unsurprised they hadn't. The question of whether or not they should be in the same class has been an issue every year of their schooling, generally with them vehemently resisting being separated.
Anyway, their teachers thought they could do with some 'individual development' but wanted them to talk it over with their dad and I before the class lists were finalised. Because the cubs had 'forgotten' to mention this when asked days ago, it meant we only had something like 2 hours to get back to the coordinator with the decision. Tch. However, when we pinned them down about it turned out they weren't that fussed this time. Go figure. I think they've realised that, yes, they do sometimes need time apart. And they'll be in the same maths class so that's not too bad I suppose. : )

Two days of steady rain and, oh bloody hell, there's a leak in the ceiling almost directly above my monitor. [scowl] The drips are falling just to the side...
Right, shifted the monitor over another few inches but I don't like the way the wet patch is spreading along the fault in the plaster as I watch. I hate having to contact the estate agent. I always get defensive, I always feel as if whatever's gone wrong is going to be viewed as my fault...

~=o>

On a cheerier note:
And so it came to pass that five of my subjects this year were graded, and lo, I did receive Distinctions in all. (Cue chorus: 'I am so smrt' etc.)
Admittedly one of those DI's just squeaked in - half a mark less and it would've been a Credit. (That was for Cataloguing. Given the results of the first 2 tests I worked out I'd have to do very well indeed on the last one to average a Distinction. I checked and I had done very well indeed. : )

~=o>

Trotted off to the cinema with a few of my classmates to see Baz Luhrman's Australia. It's not had good reviews but I really enjoyed it. 'Grand scale' and 'Sweeping epic' are not unjustified I feel.
It was very long and there were a couple of points where it could've ended and still been a good movie, but going through to the ending it had gave it a real depth. The movie's been described as 'superficial' but I think it's only superficially superficial. True, it's a simple story, told a hundred times before but at heart it's a fairytale. Not the twee, genuinely superficial pap that's served up under that heading nowadays but a Brothers Grimm type of fairytale. There's villains and heroes - archetypes, not stereotypes - myth and magic, revenge and justice. (There's this sort of fairytale element in all of our Baz's films. I love the way he creates that slightly twisted, slightly surreal sense of 'real' life. Marvellous. : )
Amidst all the horror, drama and romance 'Australia' was also genuinely funny, the humour reflecting a peculiarly Australian viewpoint. There's a deal of funny in there that other nationalities probably won't get. But that's okay, this is a film about and for us. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[happy dance!] Finished my first year of study! [happy dance!] Passed everything! [happy dance!] Most of the subjects were pass/fail but of the three that were graded I got Distinctions! I am so smart. S.M.R.T... : )
Still waiting for the results of the last exam - it was on Tuesday - but I'm pretty sure I've passed that. It wasn't as dastardly as we'd been expecting. (I honestly can't remember if that subject is graded or not but if it is I'll have cracked a credit.)

~=o>

Badger and Rocket's maths teacher has recommended them for the accelerated maths program next year! They're chuffed, their dad and I are chuffed. The only problem I can foresee is the cubs deciding it's too much like hard work and dropping out. : )
I think with encouragement they'll stick at it. They do like being told they're good at something.

~=o>

Heeheehee. We watched the new Wallace & Gromit program last night - A matter of loaf and death (formerly titled Trouble at 'mill, apparently). [snerk] Very funny, and there was an in-joke, just for me! Gromit's trying to get rid of a bomb, he goes to throw it out a window but there's ducks in a pond! At this point I squeaked, declaring: "There'll be nuns in the next shot!" And there was! 'Someday's you just can't get rid of a bomb!'

~=o>

And finally, a couple of quiz things nicked from blpaintchart.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take the test!

Yeah, I'd agree with that.

...and then there's this! Star Wars Personality Test.
Bwahahahahah! Short, round, incomprehensible to most... Yep, that sounds like me.


Your results:
You are R2-D2

R2-D2 66% C-3PO 66% Jar Jar Binks 62% Darth Vader 61% Boba Fett 61% Han Solo 59% Luke Skywalker 58% Jabba the Hutt 57% Princess Leia 56% Padme 56%

What you lack in height and communication skills, you make up for in industriousness, technical know-how and being there when others need you most.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)


Click here to take the "Which Star Wars character are you?" quiz...


(What?! Jar Jar Binks was more or less next! Um...)

Glancing through the local paper yesterday I saw an article about an amateur theatre group's all-female cast production of Julius Caesar. Even better it was being performed just down the road in the recently completed, super snazzy Drama complex at the cubs' high school. So this afternoon I left my children to their own devices and went to get some culture.
Wow, I'm impressed. It was definitely an amateur production, with all the variables of talent that can encompass, but nevertheless it was a fabulous adaptation. Set in the 'modern era' it made good, stylish use of multi-media with mock-ups of CNN style reporting and news-breaks to link the scenes. Antony's 'friends, Romans...' speech was treated as a live broadcast fed through to the large screen at the back of the stage. (Interestingly I found myself naturally gravitating to that rather than the real live actress standing only a few metres away.) Likewise, we viewed Cassius' suicide (and monologue) as a video blog. Very effective.
Sets were well structured, simple and versatile, and the costumes were a sometimes ironic reflection of the characters.
The all-female cast made for a very different dynamic in parts, too. There were some uncomfortable stirrings from the audience during the poignant scene between Brutus and her 'partner' Portia. (I'd expected something similar with Caesar/Calpurnia but in this instance Calpurnia had become Caesar's daughter.)
I enjoy Shakespeare and I especially like non-traditional interpretations. (My love of AU's touches everything! : ) This version was beautifully done, I was engrossed and I'm very glad I made the effort to see it.

I broke my tooth on some Turkish Delight.

... All right, to be absolutely accurate, I broke my tooth on an almond in the TD.
Didn't hurt, just another bit chipped off an already damaged/de-fillinged tooth.

~=o>

[happy dance] I haz the Dr Horrible soundtrack!
Doesn't make a lot of sense without the visuals but the Cubs love the Bad Horse Chorus.

Bad Horse, Bad Horse
Bad Horse, Bad Horse
He rides across the nation, the thoroughbred of sin
He got the application that you just sent in
It needs evaluation, so let the games begin
A heinous crime, a show of force
(a murder would be nice of course)

Bad Horse, Bad Horse
Bad Horse, he’s bad
The evil league of evil is watching so beware
The grade that you receive’ll be your last, we swear
So make the bad horse gleeful, or he’ll make you his mare
You’re saddled up; there’s no recourse
It’s “hi-yo, silver!”
Signed: Bad Horse.

(Music by Jed Whedon and Joss Whedon
Lyrics by Joss Whedon)

Itunes now has the show available to d/l but as I don't have a DVD burner there's not much point getting it. I'll just hang around waiting for the store release.

I've got a craving, a twitchy, skin tingly hunger that's making me restless. I know this feeling. Ooh dear, it's obsession.
Torchwood.
Sure the show's flawed - plot holes, melodrama and bwuh...? moments abound - but damn, I don't care. More. More.
I really hope there's some good fanfic out there or I'm going to explode. (Joules has already supplied me with a site to browse but I'm holding off until I've finished season 2... and some homework. Curse this streak of responsibility!)
~=o>

Earlier, in the kitchen.

Me, to Badger, regarding blemishes: Hey, let me squeeze your nose!
Badger: Nooo!
Me, advancing predatorily: Yeees!
Badger, pointing at the kitchen window: Look! A cat distraction!
Me, turning to watch KittenKong pick her way over the sink: Eh?
Badger, running away cackling: Flee! Leg it!
Me: [pause, laughing] Just cos I fell for that doesn't make you clever!

Ah, it's a fun household... : )

(Well, damn, it looks like the draft versions of posts aren't saved indefinitely. Pooh. Eh well, let's see if I can remember what I'd noted...)

I've read about 50 books so far this year.
~=o>

Schools holidays were fun. As well as Wall-E and Clone Wars the Cubs and I saw Mummy 3. Mr Fraser has certainly matured nicely but the film itself was disappointing. Cubs loved it though.
~=o>

Last weekend of the hols Soulsis, Niki and I road-tripped (road trip! road trip!) down to Port Fairy. Took us 6 and a half hours to get there but only 4 hours to get back. That was probly cos we came a different, very boring, way home. Nothing to see, no point stopping anywhere except for 20 mins for lunch. Unlike the trip down... 20 minute stop just outside of Geelong for coffee, to fortify us for the gruelling journey through that godsforsaken bottleneck town; 40 minutes in Winchelsea for lunch (smoked trout! Fish caught by Soulsis' chicks, hot smoked by Niki!); then an hour in Camperdown trawling the excellent op shop and bakery.
N, S and I (commonly referred to as The Faeries) shared a cabin in a caravan park. Pete and Alarice were also onsite, along with Waz and Matt. Sam and Al stayed in a B&B a little distance away as they couldn't bring their dogs into the park.
Port Fairy's a lovely little place. We walked a lot, ate well (very well), and socialised. 'twas a lovely, relaxing weekend - and Alarice introduced me to Dr Horrible's sing-a-long blog!. Joss Whedon = fecking jenius : ) (at the link, read the Master Plan, and the Captain Hammer comic!)
Aaargh! Wantswantswants! Eagerly, eagerly waiting for the DVD - the 3 part series was only released for a few day's on Whedon's site, as an experiment - and in the meantime I'm going to buy the soundtrack through itunes. [happy bounce]
~=o>

Egad, I've got so much homework to do. Erk.
~=o>

It's the Meccano Club's Annual Exhibition tomorrow. Might let the cubs' father take them to that. I have far too much homework to do! Mwhahah...
~=o>

(Oh, I ate something evil during the weekend away. From the Time & Tide Gallery Cafe, called a Meringue Stack. Big blob of icecream sandwiched between two big meringues, with cream and raspberry sauce. [drooool] Sugar coma on a plate! Pics when I finally get them off my camera...
~=o>

... I'll witter about Torchwood later. I'm sure that'll be thrilling. : )

The voice of my internal monologue is influenced by what I've been hearing/watching/reading. Currently - because of Torchwood - it's got a Welsh accent. : ) Quite pleasant, really...

~=o>
The season IV finale of Dr Who screened over the weekend. It wasn't the most 'bwuh...?' episode I've ever seen.

Arroogah!
Arroogah!
Spoilers!



[eyebrow] So the Doctor can choose not to regenerate, eh? Nice dodge, that, and now Rose has a Doctor of her very own, one who's human enough to say what she wants to hear. That's so sweet I might be ill.
Dalek Kahn: oh, come on! I knew what he was getting at straight away! 'The darkness is coming...' You might've wanted to ask a few more questions there, Davros. Der.
Why Donna? I liked her. (Though I did giggle at Jack's reaction to three doctors.)
And... ripped off! No Jack/Ianto reunion scene? [pout]

~=o>
After watching something like Wall-E - with it's moral lessons about overconsumption and globalisation - it felt so eerie and wrong to be walking around a major shopping centre. I couldn't bring myself to buy anything...

~=o>
Odd dream the other night. I decided to participate in a leisure centre's fun ride-obstacle course. First: bikes inside the centre. Second: it took place at 1am, cos the earlier sessions were fully booked, apparently. Third: there was talk of the ride going through the 'ice room', a tricky part of the course.
So anyway, I hopped on my bike (I think, I don't actually remember there being much bikeyness) but very quickly got lost! Found myself outside of the centre, on a beach, where I kicked around quite happily until the dawn broke. At that point I decided I'd better see if I could find the rest of the group so trooped off into town, up the narrow, cobbled streets, and eventually found some of my fellow fun riders in a coffee shop having breakfast. They told me how much fun it'd been and I was determined - nervous and excited - to join in properly next time.

~=o>
The auto-focus on my camera phone works by laser. Fish don't like it...

~=o>
And now a website of note:
Cake Wrecks. Hysterical! Thanks for passing this one on, GoodTwin!

Last term break I only managed to tick one thing on my 'to do' list. These hols we're not even a week in and I've already ticked off three and a half things! Go me. : )

~=o>
Cubs and I went to the Melbourne Aquarium today. (Eeee! Jellyfish! Eeee! Cuddlefish!) [happy sigh] Such a relaxing place, and a good opportunity to get to know my new (phone)camera. Nifty wee thing.
I didn't get a photo of this unfortunately, but during the feeding time in the big tank one of the divers had a manta ray nomming on her head! Was very funny.

~=o>
A couple of days ago the cubs and I went to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Again. All CGI, the background and detailing were superb but I found the characters at times moved like middling quality video games. A little distracting but not overly so, acceptable as they weren't aiming for realism.
The eyes though, were luminous. Beautifully done.

~=o>
Sooo, last episode of current season Dr Who next week. Last week's episode was... interesting.
Do I need to warn for spoilers?
Anyway, Captain Jack's [le sigh] freak-out made me blink, as did Sarah-Jane's reaction (and since when has she had a son? Have I missed something?) though thinking about it later I wondered if those - to me - overreactions were a way of communicating to the jaded audience (us) that OMG! THERE'S SOME SERIOUS DOO-DOO GOING DOWN!!!1!
Meh, whatever. I've really enjoyed all these recent seasons of DW but the last eps are always a bit dodgy, a fault which has carried over to Torchwood's first season at least.
Ah yes, Torchwood. [purrr] I indulged myself horribly and forked out for the Season 1 box set. Really good to watch it again from the beginning, catching all those little nuances and clues. Finally got 'round to watching the few eps I'd missed when it screened here (cos the buggering TV station changed the broadcast time, without warning, from a reasonable 9.30 pm to midnight - on a different day! It was a few weeks before I discovered that, no, the show hadn't been dropped, just hidden. [grump]) and disturbing my children by squeeing over the rare, too rare, Jack/Ianto bits.
And now I want more! I'm not sure if Season 2 even screened anywhere here but the box set is coming out in [counting on fingers] 9 sleeps. Not that I'm counting the hours or anything, heavens no, that'd just be sad. : )

~=o>
Aaaand the cubs and I are off to see Wall E again tomorrow. Very glad I bought a discount book of children's movie tickets - that saves us $4 a ticket...

Prepping material for tie-dying is really boring.

~=o>
Aww, I'm listening to Badger work with his brother on his D&D character sheet prior to running a game. [sigh] They grow up so fast...

~=o>
We went en famille to see Wall-E after the P/T thingy. Nothing extraordinary about the animation but the story was very strong. The opening 10 minutes was sad and disturbing.
Oh, and the accompanying short was very funny and clever.

~=o>
I didn't want to talk to anybody yesterday evening so instead of getting up after a nap I stayed in bed and read for hours. Finished the book. : )

~=o>
[shakes head] Warhammer miniatures. I haz some. Please don't read anything in to this, I only wanted the pretty horsies. Squillions of years ago - when I had leisure time and before my eyesight started going... actually this is probably why my eyesight went - I used to paint fantasy miniatures. Strangely enough most of my collection were horses. Loved the barding.

~=o>

(Squid emoticon nicked from someone over at Snarry Games.)

(What? Another post? But it's been less than a week!)

[blink] I haz downloaded a computer version of Pass the Pigs to my 'phone. I've even played it a couple of times. Not sure what's come over me...
Here it comes again!
O-oh, I've been released -
*cough* Moving right along...

End of term. Huzzah! 'bout bloody time. This one's been a trial.
I got 92% on a particularly nasty test, though, so that was good.
Plus on the way home tonight I stopped in at an op shop and found a plastic dish shaped like Chinese cabbage! Quite pleased about that. :)

Later, while cooking dinner, I discovered that one of the fuses had blown. How did I discover the fault? Well, the microwave wouldn't work so my first thought was that that antique had finally failed, but no, neither the toaster nor the toasted sandwich maker - all hanging off the same outlet - were working as well. Perhaps there was a problem with the power board? No, plugging the things individually into the socket didn't help either so I concluded it must've been the plug...
Then I noticed a suspicious lack of noise from the fridge.
Uh oh.
Yup, a fuse had gone, but the cubs' father fixed it, even though that meant my modem sulked for about an hour after being subjected to an outage. [sigh] But that was my fault for not unplugging it first so I'm not going to whinge too much.

My 'phonekoi is called Twinkles.

Cubs had interim reports this week. Mostly positive and encouraging, but there's a few 'needs attention's that will be addressed. Parent/teacher night tomorrow. Oh joy.

Finally got to see the ep of Dr Who where chav girl Rose returns as the harbinger of Dooooom. I asked Joules afterwards if Billie Piper had always had that overbite and lishp.
I did squee a bit to see Captain Jack will be in next week's episode. Okay, it was more than a bit of a squee...

See, this is what happens when you don't watch commercial telly. Something odd on a poster prompts you to scamper over to google to find out what the hell is going on.
Oookay...

It's quiet. Too quiet. The sort of quiet that makes you think 'Lazy cow. Never bothers to update...' : )
And goodness, look, it's been almost a term since my last post.
Oops.

In short:
~I haz a new phone cos my lovely pink one was dying. The new one is black [pout] but haz a nifty animated koi wallpaper.
~The cubs got a phone for their birthday - then they lost it. The phone, not their birthday. That'd just be silly!
~In study: at first I just could not get my head 'round M$ Excel but I think I know enough now to pass the exam.
~I've been doing work experience at a real library. That's been neat.
~I've started knitting a jumper, gods help me.
~Saw Hell Boy II today with the cubs and their father. My sympathies were firmly with the vampire elfie.
~Snupin Santa is coming up! I haz begun work on my sekrit prompt. Mwahahah.
Anything else?
~Ah yes. Driving without a rear-vision mirror is actually quite relaxing as you don't notice the drivers trying to monster you from behind. : ) Tra la la...

Yay, school holidays! Finally!
I've actually been off for a week already but as I was doing something every day, and still having to get up early to make sure the cubs got to school on time, I didn't really consider this week of no classes a 'holiday'.
As for the exams? I'm certain I've passed everything but after a post mortem discussion with my class mates about the Cataloguing one it looks like I've lost even more points than I originally thought. Dang.

Cubs' birthday next week. They're looking forward to it. Apparently they've been wanting to 13 for a long time... :)

Some links from Penny.

Tee hee hee

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Venerable Lady Amanda the Waspish of Walk upon Water Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Oh noes!

My Fortune Cookie told me: Flee at once, all is discovered. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Soooo, what's been happening in the days since I last updated?

Just finished the second last week of term. Chock full of revision, it was, freaking us out preparing us for the flippin' seven exams next week. Sheesh. I expect I'll pass everything but I'm not counting on top marks.
Some of my classmates need a little bit of help with a few subjects so I've been tutoring as well. :) Quite aside from the modest amount of cash I earn (I didn't ask for it, they insisted on paying!), it's fun and an excellent way to do my own revision. Wouldn't want to be an actual teacher though, gods no.

Computer woes. My USB hub driver thingy has chucked a spaz and now won't recognise any USB device. [grump] Can't use my only-recently-installed printer (nooooo! I luvs mah printa! Lucky I'd already done all that stuff for school, eh?) but worse, I can't download pics from my phone! Fortunately I managed to find the plug-in charger so I'm at least able to juice up my wee pink beastie, but no pics? [pout] That, if anything, will/should get me off my sizeable arse to fix the problem - which could be as simple as reinstalling the hub's drivers...
Hah! Simple? Have to remember how to find out what hardware my 'puter's carrying so I can go and hunt down the appropriate software on the 'net. [sigh] It's not easy - I've had a look (a half-arsed look, admittedly, but it was at the end of a long day and I was brain!porridge. Couldn't find anything that stated clearly what was what. Am I looking in the right place? Criminy, I don't know!) Eh, well...

Possible spoilers of films what I've recently seen...

-

-

-

-

-

Only two, but there's not been a lot I've wanted to see in the past few months. Mind you, the stuff coming up...

So, yes.
Ironman. Great cast, a not implausible storyline - if you're a fan of the 'Supers' genre (pick me! pick me!). Excellent graphics too, which could only help with the believability, but, meh, wasn't overly impressed ultimately. Didn't dislike the film, but I did find myself getting a bit restless if not actually bored. Not one I'll make the effort to see again.

Today Soulsis and I took the hordlings to see Indiana Jones 4. I'd been anticipating this movie but was mildly disappointed. (Much the same feeling I had with the IJ's 2&3, incidentally). It was well cast, for the most part, and there were some fabulous, thought provoking snippets that really affected me, but overall...? Fun, very flash, in-jokes aplenty, but not a lot of substance.

The pre-show trailers, however, were intriguing...
Australia. [giggling] Baz Luhrman directed this one - does that mean we can expect the Outback dust to turn in to sparklies at some point?
The Dark Knight. It's a Batman movie, it's already got my vote, but as I was nearly in tears watching the trailer (oh, Heath, Heath...) hate to think what state I'll be in during the actual movie.
And finally... The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Eeeee!


I've got a nomination for one of my HP AU slash fics! Like Minds for the 2007 Snupin Santa exchange. (Please note, story is M/M, NWS, NC 17, and all that other good stuff.) Knew nothing about it until blpaintchart pointed me in the right direction. [grin]

(I'll see about getting on with the '5 films' list next time I update. Let's see, what were the proposed categories? 5 favourite animated films - 5 favourite obscure films - 5 guilty pleasures - 5 most influential - 5 favourite kids' flicks - 5 'oh gods, that's x hours I'll never get back' - 5 daftest - 5 most insulting - 5 wtf? sequels - 5 musicals - 5 foreign language - (and an extra one from Joules!) 5 oddball/original.
Anyone think of anything else...? :)

... I'm sure I had something else to mention...

Nicked from Blpaintchart:

Empire magazines 100 top films. Bold what you've seen; italic[sic - it's late] the ones you haven't got 'round to yet. Notes as appropriate. :)



1. Star Wars (at the cinema on its first release no less...)
2. Jaws (nope, far too scary)
3. The Empire Strikes Back (see 1.)
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Goodfellas (was this the one with Ray Liotta?)
6. Pulp Fiction
7. The Godfather (well, sort of. It was on tv one night)
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Schindler's List
10. Titanic (Yes, I saw this. Once.)
11. The Usual Suspects (I guessed the twist early!)
12. Citizen Kane
13. The Godfather Part II (no, I'd lost interest by this point)
14. Aliens
15. Blade Runner (made more sense than the book, let me tell you)
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (see 1. and 3.)
17. Casablanca
18. Gone With the Wind (avoiding)
19. The Sound of Music (hey, I make my clothes out of old curtains, too!)
20. It's A Wonderful Life (stupid, sappy, saccarine, sentimental)
21. Reservoir Dogs
22. Apocalypse Now
23. 2001: A Space Odyssey
24. LA Confidential
25. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
26. The Silence of the Lambs (I watched it through my fingers...)
27. Return of the Jedi (see 1. and 3.)
28. Leon
29. Braveheart (I'm astonished I managed to sit through this, at 8 months pregnant with twins, and didn't need to go to the loo)
30. Seven
31. Die Hard (Yippy kai-ay, motherfucker.)
32. North by Northwest (Once, a looooong time ago)
33. The Truman Show (interesting concept)
34. Taxi Driver (fell asleep during this)
35. Jurassic Park (I cried cos the dinosaurs weren't real)
36. Alien (see 1. etc)
37. Psycho
38. Raging Bull
39. Some Like It Hot
40. Lawrence of Arabia (one of my favourites! Go, subtext!)
41. The Good the bad and the ugly
42. Rear Window (is it just me or is James Stuart overrated as an actor?)
43. E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial ([sigh] see 1. not that impressed)
44. The Deer Hunter
45. Terminator 2
46. The Terminator (the best one!)
47. Fargo
48. Cabaret (squee! another favourite!)
49. Face/Off (enjoyed this, though scoffed at the 'science')
50. Speed (mmm... Keanu...)
51. The Matrix (can't say I have seen this, not really)
52. Singin' in the Rain ('I'm worth more than Kevlin Coolidge... Put together!')
53. The Exorcist
54. Ben Hur ([smirk])
55. Trainspotting (eye-candy McDrooly)
56. Forrest Gump (life is like a box of chocolates. Looked good on the shelf but you just wish you hadn't paid cash for them...)
57. Dr Strangelove
58. Zulu
59. Vertigo
60. The Wild Bunch
61. Once Upon a Time in the West
62. The Italian Job (the original version, of course)
63. The Shining (another one I watched through my fingers)
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
65. The English Patient
66. Heat
67. The Wizard of Oz
68. A Clockwork Orange
69. Grease
70. Platoon
71. Stand By Me
72. Back to the Future
73. Withnail and I
74. JFK (loved Kevin Bacon in this)
75. The Seven Samurai (can't remember if I've seen this...)
76. Get Carter (the original, of course)
77. The Third Man
78. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
79. Armaggedon
80. Chinatown
81. Goldfinger
82. The Untouchables
83. Once Upon a Time in America
84. True Romance (who compiled this list, on what basis?)
85. Unforgiven
86. Scarface
87. The Blues Brothers (in the cinema, with audience participation)
88. The Graduate
89. When Harry Met Sally (what a waste of time)
90. Dances With Wolves
91. Spartacus ([smirk] I like gladiator movies)
92. Toy Story
93. Cinema Paradiso
93. Life is Beautiful
95. Grosse Point Blank
96. Annie Hall (went to see this as an excursion in High School. All I remember is the lobster...)
97. Dead Poets Society
98. Good Will Hunting
99. 12 Angry Men
100. Easy Rider

Not a particularly satisfying list, is it? How about a different approach? 5 favourite animated films - 5 favourite obscure films - 5 guilty pleasures - 5 most influential - 5 favourite kids' flicks - 5 'oh gods, that's x amount of time I'll never get back'? [grin]

One of the reasons I'm studying full-time is our previous government's attitude to single parents claiming financial assistance, that is, you are of no value unless you're a: working, b: looking for work, or c: studying with the intent to increase your chances of finding work.
Bastards.
Part of my 'contractual agreement', the premise upon which I can continue to receive a generous [snort] stipend, is that I have to study at least 30 hours a fortnight. Easily done, I'm clearing 40 most fortnights - and having fun with it - but, when I first signed the agreement I was told I couldn't accrue hours. 30 hours a fortnight was the target. End of discussion. This bothered me somewhat cos what do I do during holidays? Was I expected to go back to looking for work again? Or make up the hours with approved voluntary work?
Anyway, scurried off yesterday to the place of joy and happiness that is the Centrelink office to hand in the first load of documentation that proved I'd been keeping my end of the bargain for the past 3 months. The client officer I spoke to was lovely, camp as a jamboree, and very helpful. Apparently the hours are accrued, so I didn't need to worry about holidays, plus, and this was the kicker, I was only 8 hours off my six monthly target. [headdesk] I could, in theory, only go to classes for another week, then slack off for the rest of the time of the contract. Not that I'm going to, naturally, as I said, I'm having far too much fun...

It's Mother's Day this weekend. :) Unlike primary schools, high schools don't provide their students with the opportunity to shop for gifts. This is not a bad thing - the cubs have given me some very... interesting items over the years, bought from the MD stalls. :)
This year all I've asked for is Turkish delight, and I think the cubs' father was out yesterday getting it. Mwahahah.

Soulsis sent me this '50 things about you' thingy... :) Prepare to be completely unsurprised.


1. Do you like blue cheese? – Yeah!

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? – No, but I'm quite happy to eat the results. Oh wait. Heroin. I read that as herrings. Perhaps I should put my glasses on…?

3. Do you own a gun? - Pfft. No.

4. Wax or Shave your body parts? – What? That's got something to do with personal aesthetics, hasn't it?

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? - Nah.

6. Real or fake nails? – Real. Such as they are.

7. Favourite Christmas song? – Nothing. At. All. Unless perhaps it's from the Southpark Xmas special.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? - Mmm… tea…

9. Can you do push ups? – [eyebrow] To what end?

10. What's your favourite piece of jewellery? – On me, or someone else?

11. Favourite hobby? – Doing stuff! Yeah, like with my hands and stuff. And writing.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? – Advanced Dynamic Delirium? Absolutely.

13. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? – I hate nothing about myself.

14. Middle Name? - [rolls eyes] Jane.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. – sushi, homework, is the cubs' father going to be back sometime soon so I can borrow his car?

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. – tea, coffee, ginger cordial.

17. Current worry right now? – Will I have to take the bus to the gallery this afternoon? If so, can I be bothered convincing the cubs to come with me?

18. Current hate right now? – Hate is such a strong word, but I'd have to say I hate the fucking twats in government and industry who are trying to sell the idea that Nuclear Power is a clean, safe alternative. @##$%&!!! [incoherent with rage] Going to have a lie down now...

19. Favourite place to be? – in my head. Hours of fun.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? – In calico shopping bags. Piece by piece.

21. Like to go? - (Not sure about this one. Soulsis, was the 'Wee wee?' bit part of the question, or your answer? Either way my answer would be that there's nothing so overrated as a bad meal, or underrated as a good shit.)

22. Name three people who will complete this? – Chart, perhaps, cos I'll smile winsomely.

23. Do you own slippers? – Hell, yes! Just been given the coolest pair by Soulsis! Red felted Jester slippers!


24. What colour shirt are you wearing? - Green

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? – Not if they're polyester.

26. Can you whistle? – I'm not Roger Whittaker, but, yep.

27. Favourite colour? – To wear: green, purple, pink, some shades of blue. To look at: add orange and yellow to the list.

28. Would you be a pirate? – [wrinkles nose] Not a real one.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? – Having too much fun thinking to sing.

30. Favourite girl's name? - Ceinwein.

31. Favourite boy's name? - Toby.

32. What's in your pocket right now? - Astonishingly, I'm not wearing anything with pockets. If I was, there'd probly be a hanky.

33. Last thing that made you laugh?– Something my children said.

33. Best bed sheets as a kid? – Two sets! Purple and orange cotton flannel with huge sunny flowers. It was the 70's.

35. Do you love where you live? - In a broad sense - Australia - yes, in a narrow this-is-my-house sense, no.

36. How many TV's do you have in your house? – [blink] I have no idea. At least 2.

37. Who is your loudest friend? - Clothes or volume?

38. How many pets do you have? – 1 cat, and a myriad of characters who live in my head and tell me their stories in great length and detail. At least they don't cost anything to feed.

39. Does someone have a crush on you? – ... was this written by a 13 year old? No, the spelling's too good.

40. What is your favourite book? - I can't possibly answer that - there's too many! Most influential book, however, would be Seuss' The Lorax

41. What is your favourite candy lolly? – Hard jubes, Turkish delight, Darrell Lea jelly beans.

42. Favourite Sports Team? – What is this 'sport' of which you speak?

43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? - Does that mean Midnight? Why not just say 'midnight'? No need to confuse the issue with AMs and PMs. Sheesh.

44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? - What a bizarre dream…

45. Worst habit? - Procrastinating.

46. Do you play an instrument? – [smirk] Er, no.

47. How long does it take you to get to work? – College in this case - 40 mins. Ish.

48. Plans for the weekend? – Computer, internet, homework, shopping, laundry, art gallery.

49. If you could eat anything in the world right this second? – Rare steak, with chips and fried mushrooms.

50. Do you like the person who sent this to you? - YES! [huggles]