Happy Hogswatch

Well, it's finally here. 'Twas the Friday before Xmas and all through the town people were going "Oh b*llocks! I forgot to buy sprouts!" Not me though, partly cos I don't like sprouts and partly because I've tasked Annabel to get them. She's the one that likes sprouts anyway. As long as she remembers the parsnips I'll be happy. I have to go buy toothpaste, loo roll, deodorant, all that kind of stuff. What a time to run out! Cameron Toll here I come I guess. Bah. And humbug too.

I got my tree up last Friday, with the help of Naomi. Thank goodness she came round, I don't think I could have mustered the enthusiasm myself but the results do cheer me up (see rather blurry photo) I really wanted blue fairy lights but they're too expensive just now. I'll just have to wait a year or two until they're totally unhip and then I'll get myself some. The multi-coloured ones are pretty though (£1.99 from Edinburgh Bargain Stores. Viva la Bargain Store!) and I have pink baubles and tinsel so it's sufficiently Marjified.

In a little over 50 minutes I'll be clearing out of the office ne'er to return... until the 4th of January anyway. Hoorah! This is the first job I've ever had where you actually can't work between Xmas and New Year, they shut the whole Uni down and I love it. I'm looking forward to having nothing to do, except I will have things to do. Dang! The best laid plans of mice and Marj, as they say.

Well, I must say 2006 has been interesting. It started well, was going pretty fine and dandy up until the Autumn but, unfortunately, since then it's gone a bit pear shaped. I'm now waiting to see the back of 2006 now and am actually looking forward to dreary, horrible mid-January because it will be over and done and gone. There'll be a whole slew of new rubbish to deal with then but it'll be different rubbish so it should at least not be as boring. Hah, and if it all gets too much I can escape to fabulous Guildford to visit Zoe and Matthew. I get to all the exotic locations, me.

Right so. Let's get on with it. Katie's insisted we play the Xmas CD one more time before we leave so Noddy bloody Holder is telling me, as if I didn't know, it's Chriiiiisstmaaaaaaas!

Piss off Noddy.

My Magnificent Octopus!

I've just been reading "The Other Side of the Story" by Marian Keyes. I woke up early on Sunday and decided to stay in bed and read for a bit (you need a pure, unadulterated chick lit binge once in a while and it's not fattening so it must do you good...) Just over 28 hours and 452 pagers later I'm sure, in some way I can't quite define, that she's written the novel I was going to write. Or rather, she writes the novels I'd write if I ever got off my ass and did it. Dammit!!

This novel has 3 main characters and little bits of each of them seem uncomfortably familiar. Maybe this is the secret of Ms Keyes' success? Zoe read the book before me and said she identified with the "Aargh! No clean clothes to wear. Rummage in wardrobe. Find shirt with stains - Oh well, won't take off jacket all day" aspect of one of the characters. Who hasn't done that though? I think I like the ball-busting literary agent Jojo the most of the three, despite her being American, but that's possibly because she's a curvy redhead and has the best shoes. I have other reasons for identifying with her the most as well so I really hope it all turns out nice in the end. Of course it will! It looks like the kind of book where you're guaranteed a satisfactory ending and the qoutation on the jacket says the book will "... make you bubble up with happiness inside." Oh fingers crossed it all turns out well. If I don't bubble up with happiness I may demand my money back. Oh hang on, I nicked the book from the big pile in my boss' office. Dang!

You're doomed...

So, I'm not usually a superstitious person but just recently I've suspected that the universe has it in for me. I'm the sort of person that won't walk under ladders because I'm afraid some fat builder is going to fall on my head but I'm sure I've broken a mirror before with no noticeable downturn in fortune, I open umbrellas indoors and I quite often put shoes on the bed (and the table - I can't remember which one is bad). I heard a new one last week though. I got a 2007 calendar from the procurement office and thinking 'Oh, how handy!' I stuck it up in the office. May, my colleague, was horrified because apparently this is bad luck. I've never heard this particular one though and scoffed at her warnings. Moreover, 20 minutes later I used the thing to check a date and thus reasoned that if it was fulfilling its purpose in life then how could it possibly bring misfortune?

Well, since then I've had a catalogue of woe and am worried that this time I may have got myself well and truly cursed. Dang!

I woke up in the middle of another power cut on Saturday. It was annoying but no big deal to me at that point. I couldn't shower so couldn't possibly leave the house and go Xmas shopping. I was able to make coffee and a bacon sandwich though so it wasn't all bad. I settled down on the couch, under a duvet, and spent most of the afternoon reading. When the power came back on the boiler was f*cked though. I have to admit I wept bitter tears of frustration at this point. I'd only had the gas man out about 3 weeks previously to fix the damn thing at a cost of £80-odd pounds and didn't fancy calling him out again. I even went to far as taking the thing to bits to see if I could change the fuse in it. This was all to no avail, it was still not working. I was absolutely gutted and retreated, muttering, back under the duvet.

A little later I had to emerge to get ready for dinner at the Duffs' house. I wasn't in the most sociable mood so was not particularly enthused about going, the alternative was sitting in a stone-cold flat feeling sorry for myself though so I thought I may as well inflict myself on my friends. That's what they're for after all. I thought I'd give the boiler one last try, in the hope that the fairies had fixed it. Well, blow me, they had done. The boiler came on when I turned the power on and when I put the heating on that glorious 'woof' sound of the pilot igniting filled my ears. I love that sound now, it's right up there with the pop of a cork coming out of a wine bottle for some of my favourite noises.

Now the hot water doesn't work though. Bah!

I went to the movies on Sunday and saw one of the worst films I've seen in a long time. Admittedly, it was a bit of a gamble but it could have been so bad it was good. No, The Covenant is a big pile of steaming doo-doo I'm afraid. The bad guy and the good guy both look the same and all the important plot is divulged by the 2 teenage girls while sitting about in their neglegiggles. I didn't think I had to pay attention to girls in their undies! What's the big idea of having them relate plot?? Nobody's going to listen! Pah!

When I got in on Sunday evening the bulb in the kitchen blew. I thought that taking down the calendar might negate the evil influence so I took it down as soon as I got into work on Monday. That didn't help though. I managed to break my coffee mug while washing up after lunch. Waily! I really liked that mug, it was big but elegant. Sigh. Things have been quite quiet the last couple of days though so maybe that was my final warning from the universe?

I bought a 2007 diary the other day and now I'm scared to put any entries in for next year in case this is bad luck too. Bah.

Bah Humbug!

Ugh. I came in to work on the 1st of December and May made us put up the Christmas decorations. There's a distinct lack of tinsel and glitter around my desk area by the way. The most Christmassy thing on my desk is a clementine, and I can't even be bothered eating that! Then she made us listen to Christmas songs today because it's Kirsty the temp's last day. I also had the misfortune to hear the new Cliff Richard song on the radio this morning. Waaargh! When will it all be over?? There's weeks of this still to go :o(

Bad Friend or Just Sneaky?

So, I bought Bruce Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman for his birthday (which is in 2 days) but I've started reading it. I'm trying really hard not to bend the spine. Does this make me a bad friend for giving him a sort of 2nd hand gift or a really good friend for buying him Neil Gaiman? I'm inclined to go with the 2nd one, and I'm sure Neil Gaiman would back me up!

(Addendum - having thought about it Mr Gaiman would probably say "Buy a second copy you cheapskate!" He does, after all, have all those cats to feed.)

Oh, it's so gooooooooooooood! I can't wait to see the movie version of Stardust :o)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/

Bloody Claire Daines and Sienna Miller though. Yeuch!!!

Hang on though... Adam Buxton?? Of Adam and Joe? Dexter Fletcher?? It get's curiouser and curiouser....

Beasties and Bogles and Things That Go Bump In The Night...

I've had a welcome return to the fantasy genre recently and I can't get enough of it! Seriously, I feel like I've run out of entertainment, despite having oodles of DVDs and books awaiting my attention.

It started with Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, the latest in the Discworld for kids series. Tiffany Aching (Granny Weatherwax JR) is back and so are the Nac Mac Feegle and this time they're in the Ramtop mountains so Granny and Nanny make an appearance too. Huzzah! Love it! Some people accuse Terry of just writing the same story again and again and again but I personally don't care, I love that story and it's the details that make them such a delight to read. I was reading it on my lunch break at work and chuckling so much my colleagues had to ask what was going on. For example (and I'm paraphrasing here so bear with me) "When it came to being odd, Mrs Treason took the cake. In fact she also took all the biscuits, the tea set, the tea spoons and old clothes you had lying around..." Or words to those effect. Love it!!

I almost spiraled into a Terry Pratchett binge but American Gods by Neil Gaiman came my way. Another brilliant read that I would thoroughly recommend. The old gods in America are in trouble. They'd been brought there by settlers in the new world and then for the most part abandoned and forgotten. The new gods (of technology, entertainment, etc.) want to pick a fight and a chap called Shadow gets stuck somewhere in the middle. Another cracking good yarn by Mr Gaiman. Apparently they're making a film out of Stardust, I do hope they don't screw it up. I'm apprehensive about the version of Hogfather that Sky are going to broadcast over Christmas: Susan never looked like that in my head!!

Fuelled by Pratchett and Gaiman I borrowed The 10th Kingdom on DVD from Kirsi. Man, I love that mini series too. Virginia and her father go through a magic mirror in Central Park and end up in the land of fairy tales, 200 years after the golden age of Cinderella, Snow White, Queen Riding Hood and Queen Gretel. They're on the run from Trolls (singing the BeeGees) and Rutger Hauer as a very, very scary huntsman. It's great and it's got totty in the form of Wolf (pictured). I defy any girly not to fall in love with that character! It's so good in fact that Kirsi has only lent me the DVDs for a week because she'll have a panic attack if she doesn't get to stroke and pet them regularly. I must get my own copy.

The fantasy fest was topped off with a trip to the cinema to see Pan's Labyrinth, the new film by Guillermo Del Torro (Blade II, Hellboy). This is about a young girl in Spain in the 1940's. Her and her mother have travelled to the countryside to stay with her new stepfather. He's a captain in Franco's army and they are trying to capture and stop the local Communist rebels. Parallel to the story of the rebels and the captain runs the story of Ofelia and the fairies. She meets a faun in the Labyrinth who tells her she's the long lost daughter of a king and she must complete 3 tasks to get back to her father's kingdom. It's dark and different and brilliant in the best tradition of grotesque European fairy tales. It's got a 15 certificate and Naomi, Emily and I all ended up with our hands over our eyes at various points. Just brilliant!!

Now I have to find more fantasy or I am going to go on that Pratchett binge... Where's my cow?!?

Yes, I See Your Movie Film

Bravo Borat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6153420.stm

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has defended his controversial creation Borat, saying he is a tool to reveal racism.

Baron Cohen dropped his alter ego for the first time since the Borat film was released, for an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

"The joke is not on Kazakhstan," he said. "I think the joke is on people who can believe that the Kazakhstan that I describe can exist."

The film has topped the box office for a second week in both the US and UK.

The film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, has a naive yet enthusiastic Kazakh reporter meeting with people across the United States.

Prejudice 'absurd'

It has upset some because of Borat's anti-semitic, sexist and racist comments. A pair of US students are suing the film studio, 20th Century Fox, claiming they were duped into appearing in the film.

But Cohen - a practising Jew - said the film ridiculed what people were prepared to believed about other cultures.

"Borat works essentially as a tool," the former Ali G star said.

"By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice, whether it's anti-Semitism or an acceptance of anti-Semitism."

He added: "I think part of the movie shows the absurdity of holding any form of racial prejudice, whether it's hatred of African-Americans or of Jews."

I've had a pretty quiet time this week, saw a few movies, hung out a bit and so forth. It's been a week for navel gazing really. I was at the funeral of my old English teacher and mother of one of my friends last Thursday. Pippa Donald was, by all accounts, one of the finest teachers you could ever hope to meet and it's just coming to me now how much that woman taught me, and not just about Shakespeare. She loved a laugh, had a wicked sense of humour and brooked no nonsense from anybody. She scared the bejesus out of me quite a lot, even after we'd left school, but she's one of the women I most admire. She was claimed prematurely by cancer but didn't let it get her down and didn't ask "Why me?" She just got on with it and was teaching right up until the October break. What an inspiration! Oh, and she introduced me to one of my favourite Shakespeare quotes, from As You Like It:

Audrey: I am not a slut, though thank the gods I am foul.
Touchstone: Well, praised be the gods for thy foulness! Sluttishness may come hereafter.

All in all it's been a bit of a strange time recently, there seems to have been all sorts going on with everybody. There's been a higher than usual instance of couples breaking up, couples getting engaged, pregnancies being announced, things breaking down and so forth. Bruce keeps muttering about sychronicity from some hippy dippy book he's reading so I'm starting to wonder if the universe is messing with us. I'm not sure what the creative forces could be trying to tell me because one of my coincidences was telling Zoe and Byron about Shark Attack 3: Megaladon (an extremely shite film that's so bad it's funny. Huge prehistoric sharks man!!) and the star of that film being on Jonathon Ross the next evening. Erk? What? Are the creative forces telling me to watch more pish movies??

Talking of pish movies I went to see The Prestige yesterday. On the face of it you can't really go wrong: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, David Bowie. Magicians. Rivalry. Glamorous assistants.... For the most part the film was quite watchable, despite Christian Bale's character being thoroughly unlikeable, but it just got really stupid at the end. I won't say anything more than that but the phrase "Oh come on! You're kidding! What??" just about sums my reaction to the end of the movie. It may be controvertial and people won't believe me but I'd say spend your money on Borat instead. I don't know about the ethics of making fun of Khazakstan (if you believe that portrayal is real then you are a fuckwit though and deserve to have the widdle taken out of you) but I laughed mightily throughout that film. Plus, how often do you get to see a naked fat man being chased through a convention of mortgage brokers? (I must track down a mortgage broker and ask them...)

From Schubert to Shoes

Well, I had quite an eclectic weekend just past. It was started off with a trip to the RSNO Symphonies at Six at the Usher Hall. How highbrow! Well, good ol' 5pm.co.uk came through with another good offer and I thought "Why not?" I don't think it was a special offer actually but I would never have found out about the concert if 5pm hadn't emailed me so Bravo to them. The programme was supposed to be Brahms Symphony No. 1 followed by Schubert Fantasia D940 in F minor (piano duet) but there was a slight hitch... 12 of the orchestra were stuck on a train somewhere between Glasgow and Edinburgh. D'oh! Luckily they were on their way so we had the piano duet first, or movement for four hands as it was charmingly called. It's a very lovely piece of music in my opinion and Louise and I were quite taken with the French dude (Frank Braley) who accompanied the conductor (Stephane Deneve). Bruce was less impressed, though I suspect this is because he was jealous of his crown of foppish French hair ;oP

Then the rest of the orchestra had turned up and they could get on with the Brahms. Huzzah! There we were, enjoying the symphony and I happened to notice one of the violinists on the right hand side ducking out of a door. I don't know if it's coincidence or not but a few moments later the fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate the building. Blimey! More bad luck. Well, not for me actually because I needed to see a man about a dog and took the opportunity to nip into the Trav bar. They did finish the concert after that, but about half the audience had beggared off in the interim. Needless to say the audience got one of the biggest rounds of applause I've ever heard at the end - mostly I think for managing to get to the end of the concert. Again, bravo to them and I'll definitely be back for their next Symphony at Six in December. That is supposed to be an Elgar cello concerto, Nielsen Symphony No. 4 and Bach solo cello suite no 3 in C major. Ooh! Can't wait!

After the symphony we met up with Craig and headed to Phenecia for dinner. Oh burpalicious my friends! Love that place! We had hummus and pitta to start and then I had the sunshine chicken. Yum yum yum yum yum. After dinner, as an antidote to all that highbrow culture stuff, a bit of Russ Mayer was the order of the day. I picked up a copy of 'Up' a few months ago for cheap in Fopp and we thought we'd give that a go. My goodness me! I perhaps should have read the back more carefully, but I doubt that would have helped. Nowhere on the box did it mention that the film starts with Hitler being sodomised by a bloke dressed as a pilgrim father. Then Mr Hitler gets eaten by a pirhana fish. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Got to love it! That's the start of a big tits and shagging and nonsense fest in the best traditions of Mr Mayer. It was ace!

On Saturday I finally gave in to the little voice inside me that's been telling me to put a bit more in the dressing up box. I was in Cameron Toll and before I knew it I was in New Look and at the till with my ruby slippers (see picture). Oh man! They are fantastic. I love them! They were quite cheap and, once I pick up a pair of stripey tights, I'm sorted for any future fancy dress parties I may be invited to. I can definitely justify the purchase that way ;o) They are just wonderful though and I will probably wear them out to a few Xmas nights out. I want to wear them to work just now though! Sigh.

Saturday evening was my old boss' fireworks do down at Bankton House. There was a huge bonfire, Crombie's sausages aplenty, mulled cider and a spectacular (for somebody's back garden anyway) fireworks display with accompanying music. Apparently Yvette's husband had been on a fireworks safety course this year, so that was reassuring. I'm not sure exactly what that means but one would hope it means you get access to bigger fireworks! The display was great though and the smell of bonfire only stayed in my hair for about 2 days afterwards. The mulled cider caught up with me on Sunday though and most of the day was spent in the company of Buffy and the Scooby gang. I'm on season 3 at the moment and I'm getting quite impatient as my Angel box set arrived last week and I'm itching to start watching those. I'm going to try and do it properly though and maybe watch it in tandem with season 4 of Buffy. Or I may just go 'Feck it!' and run off on a big Angel binge. Watch this space....

Kicks Andrew Lloyd Webber's Ass!

So Halloween eh? Spookiness abounds and trickle treaters run around trying to get something for nothing (Humph! They were guisers in my day. Earn your sweeties!) . I had no spooky plans for Tuesday until a pair of tickets for a showing of the 1925 silent movie version of The Phantom of the Opera came my way. The film was being shown in the Usher Hall with full organ accompaniment.

Now, I've never seen the ALW version on the stage (Icky! Ptooey!) but I did see the dreadful movie version of that the other year and I've read Masquerade by Terry Pratchett so I am familiar with the story. Somehow this version made more sense though, because it was pointed out that the Phantom was in fact an insane escaped criminal called Erik. Aaaaah! Now the motive becomes clear - he's a flipping loony. Trying to make the Phantom a sympathetic character is a big mistake in my opinion. Psychotic evil git - I can buy that. Christine was still an idiot though and her boyfriend was called Raoul. I just kept thinking "Heeeey laydeeez!"

http://www.oh-yeah.co.uk/

If you're not familiar with that one check out the web site. Raoul can dance like panther!!

Anyway, back to the Phantom...

I'm not sure how tongue-in-cheek the movie was when it was first released but there was more chuckling in the aisles that screaming. I suppose this could be because the silent movie genre has been around long enough to seem cheesy now. Apart from that it was still very enjoyable. Good ol' Lon Chaney (pictured) was suitably spooky but for the first part of the movie the Phantom was just shown in silouhette. It seemed like Christine was being coached by Orson Welles!

Right, I'm off to laugh at Raoul dancing like a panther... or maybe he will dive for me :o)

Something For The Weekend?

Not a bad weekend as far as weekends go. It was looking a bit dodgy at the beginning though. I'd had a pish day at work, my plans for Friday evening had fallen through, my heating was broken, my landline was jiggered and the smoke alarm started beebing for a new battery. Oh Lordy! I had no step ladder to get up there and the tried and tested method of bashing it with a golfing umbrella just seemed to be making it worse. I had to flee the flat and luckily I got the offer of a safe haven with heat and pizza and, as it turned out, Tenacious D. Whooopee! What more could a girl ask for? After having sampled some of their adventures (esp. the one with the shite worshipping cult who grow huge potatoes!) I'm even more looking forward to the Tenacious D movie. Hoorah!

On Saturday I bought myself a stepladder in order to tackle the smoke alarm. No more beepy little bastard. Great. Now I just need to remember to buy a replacement battery. Worry not though, it's also connected to the mains so if I burn the toast I'll still be disturbing the neighbours. Excellent.

The highlight of the weekend was The Divine Comedy at the Liquid Rooms on Sunday evening. Loooooove The Divine Comedy! Barbara and I got in just in time to see the end of the support band and got a good spot on the balcony for the bulk of the gig. He played a few from the new album, which I'd heard for the first time just before we left the flat. 'Lady of a Certain Age' is particularly fine. He also played a lot of the old favourites too. Not the Father Ted theme tune but they did do 'Something For The Weekend' and it was fabulous.

Barbara made me hang around afterwards to try and get Neil Hannon's autograph because she's met him before and kissed him after a gig about 10 years ago. Well, it was peeing with rain and for the longest time it seemed to be only me and Barbara hanging about outside. Then a nice young man who'd apparently driven over the Forth Road Bridge joined us to wait. Finally, after about 45 minutes, we spied Mr Hannon lugging an equipment case onto the tour bus. Oh joy! We were just about to leave. We scuttled over and said hello and I have to say he was absolutely charming. Barbara got another kiss but was quite jealous because she got one on the cheek and I got one on the lips. Yeeeep! Silly I know but I had a big grin on my face for about half an hour afterwards. He's a lovely chap and was very gracious to the 5 eejits who had hung about in the rain to talk to him (a drunk girl and her boyfriend turned up too). What a lovely bloke, though a little on the short side. Oh well, pobody's nerfect!

Hello Buffy My Old Friend....

It's good to see you kicking ass again.....

This weekend I rediscovered my love of Buffy... and Angel... and Spike. Mmm, Spike! (Any excuse for a pic!) My beautiful Buffy DVD box set has finally come back to me after being on loan for about 2 years and it caught my eye on Saturday while I was contemplating what to have with my coffee and square sausage roll. Needless to say, that was Saturday afternoon gone! I'm planning to work my way through seasons 1 to 7 and watch all the extras and the episodes with commentaries. That should keep me busy until Christmas and by then I might have got the Angel box set and that'd keep me out of mischief until Spring. Hoorah! Joss Whedon-licious baby!

Coincidentally I also came back to Jackie Chan and Kung Fu movies this weekend, oh how I love all things butt-kicky! I was Craig sitting on Saturday evening (while Louise made risotto and played Scrabble with Zoe. Pah!) and we watched Drunken Master. Ho ho ho, the dubbing on my copy is priceless. It adds a whole extra dimension of silliness. I really hope he didn't go home and start fighting the cat though!

After Drunken Master we had a crack at Shogun Assassin, which I've had lying around for ages and have never got round to watching. It's pretty darn good too. One of those movies where the blood shed is just Itchy & Scratchy comical. I was thoroughly enjoying it until the disc started going a bit dodgy. Gah! It was so dodgy that I completely missed the big set piece at the end where the Shogun Assasin slices and dices his way through what is left of the Shogun's ninjas. Double gah! I got a teaser of what I missed from the trailer but I'm going to have to catch up with it properly at some point.

That set me up nicely for the double bill at the Cameo on Sunday afternoon though - Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2. Quentin Tarantino has always said that they were 2 parts of one movie so when I got the chance to see them both on the big screen, for the measly sum of £5 no less, I was delighted. I still think Kill Bill 1 is one of the frickin' coolest things I've ever seen in my life. Everything from the butt-kicking to the sets to the soundtrack just oozes cool. Volume 2 is a lot slower compared to that so I can see how some people would be disappointed but I'm too easily pleased to moan about that too much. The final showdown between the Bride and Bill was nicely understated I thought. Not what you were expecting at all. Bravo Quentin!

Then Sci-Fi Sunday came about. Haggis, neeps, tatties and Battlestar Galactica. Nice! Kirsi and I only have 2 episodes of season 2 left to watch and hot dang! It's exciting stuff! I have to wait 2 weeks to find out what happens though cos I'm off to see The Divine Comedy at the Liquid Rooms next Sunday. Yay, but at the same time, phooey!

Learn Something New Every Day....

Montezuma's Revenge

Meaning

The diarrhea (also spelled diarrhoea) that is suffered by tourists when travelling to foreign parts, in this case Mexico.

Origin

Montezuma was Emperor of Mexico, 1502-20.

The sickness, more formally called "traveller's diarrhea", is usually caused by drinking unsterilised water or eating spicy food that visitors aren't accustomed to. It is a bacteriological illness, always uncomfortable, and occasionally serious. Most cases are caused by the enterotoxigenic E. coli bacterium.

The 'revenge' element of the phrase alludes to countries that were previously colonized by stronger countries and are now, in this small way, getting their own back.

Names for it vary depending on the part of the world concerned. These usually have comic names, which reflect the embarrassment felt by the sufferer and the amusement in the lucky non-sufferers. Montezuma's Revenge is also known as the Gringo Gallop and the Aztec Two-step.

Those unlucky enough to suffer from it in Asia will hear it called Ghandi's Revenge, Gyppy Tummy, Delhi Belly, the Rangoon Runs, Tokyo Trots etc.

"Gyppy Tummy" goes back to at least the Second World War, but "Montezuma's Revenge" isn't particularly old. The earliest citation of it in print is from the Washington Post, Jan 1960:

"‘Wasn't there anything you didn't like?’ and they admit that, like most Americans, they suffered a three-day gastric upset described by a variety of names, names like the Gringo Gallop and Montezuma's Revenge.

Or for the geeks out there:

Montezuma's Revenge is one of first platform games, an action game combining treasure hunting, multiple rooms, and puzzle solving.

I thought a picture of that was a safer bet!!

Choccie choc chocolate!

So what have I been up to recently? Not very much to be honest, sorry to disappoint. The baptism of fire in the new job and the cold weather have increased my desire to hibernate to almost ridiculous proportions. Bears have got the right idea, they sleep through the winter and intentionally make their asses fat. A fat ass on a bear is a very desirable thing. And they poop in the woods. I'm not sure what that has to do with things but I got to mention poop :o)

Ooh, apparently it's chocolate week this week. Hoorah! Get scoffing. You can now get dark chocolate Kitkats (Nestle. Boo! Why do they make the tasty stuff?) and dark chocolate flakes now. Mind you, Cadbury's can give you food poisoning now can't it? Best just stick to the Green & Black's dark chocolate with whole cherries. Yumsle!

http://www.chocolate-week.co.uk/

Here's a nice bit of trivia from the site:

1519 is probably the most crucial moment in the history of chocolate when HERNAN CORTES - Spanish explorer and one of Columbus' ambassadors met Montezuma in Tenochtitlan the capital of. Montezuma was the flamboyant Aztec Emperor. His name has become immortalised for the vast quantities of foaming 'xoco latl' he used to drink before visiting his harem of wives - this started the legend of chocolate and sex! Chocolate was Montezuma's Viagra!

Hoorah! So what's Montezuma's revenge then? Not something pleasant I do believe. Must go and Goooogle it.

I saw the future.... and it was shite!

Hiya folks

Man, I had a bad day yesterday. One of those quietly trying to weep in the toilet but everyone notices the puffy eyes days. Sigh. I hate those. It's because the last few weeks in the new job have been so mental and almost overwhelming. I hate not knowing what I'm doing and there seems to have been an awful lot of stuff to do that I don't know how to do... if you get what I mean. It's certainly been a baptism of fire in the new job anyway. The couple of days I had off with Andy were blissful but when I got back to the office there was so much to do and it all had to be done NOW NOW NOW. Waily! No wonder I had a bit of a wobbly moment!

Sigh. Good ol' Ewen (who's been groomed and no longer looks like Peter Jackson, boo!) took me out for a pint after work and we had a good ol' bitch about the whole thing though. Then I took meself home and parked under the duvet for movie viewing. I had been speaking to Ewen about Brazil and my hankering to watch it again earlier so it seemed the logical choice.

Now, some of you may know I watched Brazil when I was about 16 and it blew my brain. Scared the bejesus out of me as well, and I wasn't quite sure why. I think it's because I glimpsed my future and it wasn't pretty. Not that I'd run around being an idiot and chasing some piece of skirt but the whole administrative cock-up aspect to the film was somehow familiar. I've felt like the one that puts in the little extra effort to get something done and look where it gets you - strapped to a chair and being tortured! Yikes! It's the whole 'computer says no' culture that seems to have grown up in the world today. Aaaaargh! Perhaps administration has been an invention of the Devil to hamper humanity? There's something in that....

Oh, just don't get me started on the state of the world today. I don't feel like foaming at the mouth at the minute.

Well, I think I'm off to see the Ron Mueck exhibition this evening. Art and cocktails, how civilised! That'll cheer me up :o)

New road signs released by Highways Agency

Gotta love the nonsense! The Uni's been keeping me stupidly busy with rotten work but these did make me chuckle. Irish Andy's been visiting as well so I've been kept busy with rolling joints, making cups of tea and... other such taxing activities ;0)

We managed to plough through the whole of season 1 of Lost so now I'm wondering if I can squeeze in another viewing of season 2 before the excitement of season 3 starting on American TV. Oh it's so brilliantly crazy! Can't wait!!

More soon. Hopefully these fecking students will be all settled in and stop bothering me soon. Little barstewards!! Gah.

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream....

Hello fans

I hope you all had a good weekend. There was a bank holiday here in sunny Scotland so I had a nice looooong weekend. Huzzah! And what did I do with my weekend? For the most part I slept and slept and slept and then slept some more. I haven't been feeling particularly sleep deprived but I guess I must have needed it. I do love my bed though. Mmmm! There's nowhere finer than my cosy beddy-byes. Love it! I love pulling the duvet back up over my ear and muttering "Just another 5 minutes, honest..."

In a salute to the wonder of snuggly beds here are some bed/sleep facts for you. Enjoy :o)

The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.

Certain types of eye movements during REM sleep correspond to specific movements in dreams, suggesting at least part of the dreaming process is analagous to watching a film

Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock

Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.

From http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm

When the Pilgrims arrived in the Western hemisphere, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That's where the phrase, "goodnight, sleep tight" came from. This was also the origin of the "daybed" which didn't have ropes that needed tightening. Rather than having to retighten a bed after a nap, people slept on "daybeds" if they needed to doze.

The Great Bed of Ware is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It originally measured 18 feet six inches wide by 12 feet long and was elaborately carved and canopied. And could accommodate 68 people.

Louis XIV was fond of remaining in bed. He often held court in the royal bedroom. He owned 413 beds and displayed a special liking for the ultra spacious and ostentatious variety.

Baps, Bloomers and Bahrain

It's been absolutely chucking it down today so, despite working only 5 minutes away from my flat, I decided not to go home for lunch today. I got a big roll from the DHT shop and read the Metro in the office. After I'd finished the Metro I decided to have a bit of a scrint on the tinterweb and decided to see what Wikpedia had to say about Bahrain.

Mostly it was things about the history and the geography and the economy, all the usual stuff. The Politics section was quite interesting as well, and the partucular passage that caught my eye was this one:

"The opening up of politics has seen big gains for both Shīˤa and Sunnī Islamists in elections, which has given them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies. This has meant that what are termed "morality issues" have moved further up the political agenda with parties launching campaigns to impose bans on female mannequins displaying lingerie in shop windows, sorcery and the hanging of underwear on washing lines."

I know politicians usually don't like to air their dirty laundry in public but surely putting a ban on clean laundry as well is taking it a bit too far???

"Seeya Idiots!" - Lady Nat Nat is Offski

Last night was Lady Natale of Glegcairn's (I think that's her official title, her mum bought her it) last evening in Edinburgh so we had a few wee drinkie-poos to wish her well.

Natnat's off to Saudi to work for Aramco and earn ooodles and oooodles of cash, tax free. Lucky minx! Saudi isn't everyone's ideal destination but Nat's very lucky to have her mum living not far away in Bahrain so if she gets a craving for a bacon sandwich or a beer or a bikini she can nip over and see dear old mama. Don't let her mother hear me calling her that though - she's not old in any way, shape or form and I'd love to go and visit so I'll say she's a fine looking woman who must regularly be mistaken for Nat's sister ;o)

I'm going to miss dear Nat but she's only going to be on the end of a telephone or an email and we used to have such a giggle IM-ing each other at BT I'm sure we'll pick up with that again once she's settled in. Then I'll go and visit, I hear the shopping in Bahrain is great. Mmm, shoooooes! And I'm definitely insisting on being taken to Fuddruckers, or at least Fudds to Go. Heh heh heh.

See a picture of the beauteous Nat here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggermadbabe/183232260/in/set-72157594180411971/

The above statement will make sense then!

More Fecking Festival

Oh God! Will it ever end?? Bored now by the way. Will all these feckers just LEAVE now please?

Like the fecker that ruined my morning. I'm not the best in the morning, I usually don't like talking to people I know until I've had my first coffee, so complete strangers talking to me before that point is most unsettling. I'd just got off the bus (I hate busses) at Elm Row and some bloody twit asked me if I knew the way to Amarillo. Excuse me? I'm wearing a suit jacket and a scowl. Do I look like I bloody well know the way to fecking Amarillo??? I didn't actually tell them to f*ck off but that was the subtext of my reply. Jesus!

And the film festival has started this week as well. Whoopee! I only just found out that my Cineworld pass entitles me to half price tickets but I fear it is too late. I don't want to leave my flat until September.

I did see a good film on Wednesday but it was nothing to do with the Festival. The new M. Knight Shallamallamadingdong movie - Lady in the Water. It's not a 'horror' like his other films, more like a fairy tale, but there are still plenty of bits that make you jump. I read the review of it in Heat magazine (Don't ask. I'm ashamed of myself!) and was gobsmacked that they had to qualify that it was a fairy tale in the review. It said something along the lines of "If you're willing to accept that monsters could exist then you'll like this movie." Oh my God! Why do they have to qualify the willing suspension of disbelief aspect? I despair sometimes. It's a film about a lady that lives in a swimming pool for Bob's sake.

Gah!

Ho hum. The Festival will be over soon and hopefully I can stop being so tetchy.

Despite my tetchiness I scored free tickets to a show last night - A comedy guitar trio called Ole (see picture). They were excellent. Absolutely excellent guitar players who throw slapstick, special effects and juggling into their act. Check out the clip of them I found online:

http://tvtotal.prosieben.de/components/videoplayer/0576/0576-00-04-wm_midband.html

They are brilliant. I may look out for them next year.

Well, that's enough for just now. TFI Friday by the way. The weather outside is horrible, it's misty and rainy so I think an evening in with Mr DVD player is in order. Mmm. It seems ridiculous to be wrapped in a duvet on your couch in August but I think it may come to that. Ah nice....

Overheard Festival Conversations No. 23
“He said he’d sucked off a horse….”

Unfortunately, that was the conversation I was involved in and the person that overheard it was the poor chap collecting glasses at the Udderbelly. Ok, I’ll explain... eventually ;oP

It’s begun again. Overnight the city of Edinburgh has gone mad. Sometime between me going home from work and venturing out again on Friday night a load of loonies snuck into town. I was idly looking out of my kitchen window while doing the dishes and noted the passing of, among others, a tall, skinny, scraggly-bearded man toting a six-foot long brass wind instrument and a lady wearing 3 hats. I wonder how many other kitchen windows in how many other cities you can hope to see such a sight from?

Well, they do say “When in Rome…” and having studied the Roman Empire at University I know that when the Romans came to town everyone flipping well did what the Romans did then too. So, with that spirit in mind, Emily and I had our annual day of Festival Fun. Hoorah!

As per usual we started our day with a bit of culture, caffeine and croissants courtesy of Shakespeare For Breakfast with their production of Taming of the Shrew: The Panto. The clue is in the name. Highbrow this aint by the way! They take one main Shakespeare play, throw in a few other Shakespearean characters, chuck in a bit of popular culture, jiggle it around and shoogle until very, very silly indeed. And you get a cup of coffee and a croissant thrown in. Bonus! I was very jealous of Petrucio’s outrrrrrageeowse Italian accent and pleasantly surprised that they managed to get a joke about fisting in at 10:30 in the morning. Good on them!

After trekking down to Princes Street and picking up a yummy and healthsome salad box from Henderson’s (my, how virtuous. Cancels out all the cider I had later – honest!) we ventured £3 on the Exeter University production of Twelfth Night. I’m happy to report that it was well worth £3 of anybody’s money. The lassie playing Mariah was very annoying and Olivia looked a bit too much like Buffy (she didn’t kick anyone’s butts. Boo! Rubbish!) but the rest of the cast did very well. Sir Toby Belch and Andrew Aguecheek were marvellous drunks and Malvolio was splendidly pompous and disturbing. And this production was only an hour long. Whoopee! I couldn’t have taken much more of that Mariah actually. It seemed a fitting punishment for Sir Toby to end up married to her, and for her to be married to him in the end. Hooray for Shakespeare!

Can you tell I was having a good day? Too! Many! Exclamation! Marks! Somebody! Stop! Me!!!!!

A pint of cider in the sun later and we’d taken a chance on a show that was starting at the right time in the right place. These chaps apparently wrote for Radio 4 and Dead Ringers so it seemed like a fairly safe bet, and guess what? They were. Laurence and Gus: Next in Line is sort of kind of based on the idea that everyone in the world is in a queue and the stories move from one person to the next in a sort of “comedy relay.” That’s the words from the flyer, not mine by the way. It was a very entertaining show which made me chuckle, guffaw, snort, titter and sigh. Marvelous.

Well, we were having a very good day and it got even better when we managed to score 2 for 1 tickets to see The Caesar Twins. I’ve had this show recommended to me by a couple of people so I was really looking forward to seeing it. Emily and I nipped back to my flat for a dinner of bread, cheese, antipasto, grapes and olives. Yummy yum yum yum is all I have to say about that. Then it was back to The Pleasance to check out these acrobatic twins with the strange looking poster that reminds me of that bit in Barbarella when she’s puffing away on “Essence of Man.” Hmm, not sure what to expect here…

Oh My God! This show was amazing! Sorry, the exclamation marks are back but, believe me, they are needed here. I still can’t quite believe how much I enjoyed that show. I could have watched those guys for hours! Their show consists of acrobatics, amazing contortions, music, video clips, humour and a big see-through bath full of water. It was all fantastic but some of the highlights were the upside down bicycle, the shadow play, live Tekken and their female companion doing a contortionist routine that still has my mind boggling!

I definitely had 2 absolute favourite bits of the show though. The first one involved one of the twins wearing a flowing white costume with a nifty harness that allowed him to spin through all degrees while suspended from the ceiling on both sides by big rubber bands. Much the same principle as those bungee things they set up on Waverley Market for kids at Hogmanay and the like. It was one of the most breathtakingly beautiful things I’ve every seen in my life. It may have been the sun or the cider or hormones or whatever but it was so lovely I could have watched that all night. The poor guy would probably have got very dizzy and thrown up though.

The other bit that I adored was the finale of the show when they perform a routine that involves a large, round Perspex tank. This is the bit you’ve been waiting for, it’s the picture on the poster – what on Earth could they be about to do? I’ll tell you what they do… they get soaking wet and that was when I just lost it. Ever since I saw my first Jackie Chan movie I’ve liked seeing a well muscled man and when you get one of those wet… Hummanah hummanah!! Sorry everyone but this is where brain stops to admire the view….

……

……

Mmmmm. Got that one stored away for future reference. Cor blimey guvnor! Oh, and they did lots more wet acrobatics if you really need to know.

What’s that? Eh? Oh yes, I almost forgot – sucking off a horse. You’ll be wanting to know about that won’t you? There’s a big purple inflatable cow lying on its back in Bristo Square. It’s a venue of course, silly, what else would it be? Emily and I met up with Louise, Craig, Bruce and Suth for a drink by this big purple cow, which is known as the Udderbelly (It’s a pune, or play on words). The Duffs and Suth had been to see the comedian Brendan Burns and a disagreement as to the content of the act was in progress. The bloke collecting glasses happened to pass our table at that time. I like to think it was one of the most random things he’d overheard while doing the rounds that evening but I somehow doubt it was the strangest.

Just About the Classiest Web Site I've Ever Seen!

http://www.bombaysapphire.com

Still here... Just about!

Hiya folks

Sorry I haven't updated for a while, I just don't seem to have managed to make the time. Since the power cut I've taken to reading more while at home (laptop gathering dust) and I've been in a constant state of annoyance at work recently which seems to take up all my time and energy. Gah! Workin' nine to five - what a way to make a living indeed!

What've I been up to? I went to the Bombay Sapphire Glass House exhibition and learnt all sorts of interesting stuff about yummy gin, that was definitely the highlight of last week. I must dig out some interesting facts and figures for my fans but I'll let you know right now that I thought the Tom Collins was the yummiest cocktail on offer at the event. Mmm... gin....

The old landline got installed as well but I'm currently in a massive huff with BT so I won't go into that. Gah! Effers! The lot of them. Hope they rot in their own excrement!

Calm. Deep breaths.... Look at the ocean lapping on the shores of Marj Island. Check that serenity*...

That's better. I think a Tom Collins courtesy of Juan will sort everything out. I'll just go and see where he's got to.....

*A shiny sixpence to whoever can name that movie.

Better to light a candle than curse Scottish Power? Ask Blow-up Doll Bruce!

So I was sitting on the couch last Tuesday evening, quietly degesting my dinner and ogling the goggle box. It's not a common occurence for me to be at home watching telly on a Tuesday evening and now I know why - there's nothing on! I do believe I was watching one of those shows about people trying to buy houses. Ugh, reality TV. What evil dick thought of that concept? Anyway, I was saved from the tedium by the TV suddenly going 'pop' and switching off. "Hunh," thought I "another power cut." There had been a thunder storm the week before which I think effected the electrics because my alarm clock had reset itself while I was out. I settled down with the new Jasper Fford book to wait for the electricity to come back on. It had been a while and I was starting to wonder if it was just me but I had to pop out to the shop and all the lights were off there as well so I was reassured. I went back to Jasper Fford and lit candles when the sun went down.

The next morning I still had no power so I phoned the Scottish Power emergency line and after telling it my address and postcode (I'm SO dubious of that technology!) the automated message lady told me they were aware of a fault in my area. This was after waking up with the horrible realisation that I have an electric shower in my flat. Waily! Blithely accepting that Scottish Power had everything in hand I packed a towel and some shampoo and toddled off to work. The shower at work isn't great but it was better than no wash at all so I could get on with my day without feeling too greasy and smelly. I phoned for regular updates throughout the day and at half past four in the afternoon was told that everyone's power was back on, except one customer who had agreed to have it kept off in the meantime.

However, when I got home it soon became apparent that I still did not have any power. When I phoned Scottish Power back the silly lassie on the line actually suggested I was the one that had agreed to have my power kept off. If that was the case why the Hell would I be phoning to complain??? Gah! Anyhoo, they said they'd log the fault and an engineer would contact me. Did they? Did they doodah! I probably should have phoned back earlier than I did but I was hacked off and went to Zoe's for sustenance and electric lighting. The upshot was that when I got home at about 11pm I still had no power. That was when I discovered that my supply of tea lights had been tidied and I had no idea where they were so the Bruce Lee candle that Barney gave me for Xmas a few years ago was finally lit. It's had a good run as The Most Tacktastic Piece of Tat I've Ever Been Given but finally it was useful!

Once I'd set fire to Bruce Lee's head I took a deep breath and called Scottish Power again. The lassie who answered my call sounded about 15 years old and had the customer service skills of a 15 year old too. She was so unhelpful that I ended up hanging up on her in tears. Although to give Scottish Power their due, they phoned me back 3 minutes later to say there was an engineer in the area who would pop in and have a look at it for me. Apparently you don't often get this kind of service - but I don't see why not after over 24 hours with no electricity, especially seeing as everyone in the call centre seemed to be utterly clueless.

So the engineer came up and poked around and wandered about. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything about the power being off without access to the basement of the building, which is storerooms for the University. At least it put my mind at rest that it wasn't just me being a spakker or due to my refusing to risk life and limb balancing on a chair in the pitch black in a flat on my own to flick some switch which I'd flicked earlier that day to no effect. Apparently the University had agreed to have the power kept off down there in the meantime but I think the whole rest of the stair was cut off as well. Nobody else had complained but the Scottish Power engineer said he thought he saw candles in the flat next door to me as well. This could just have been my Italian gigolo neighbour entertaining a young lady though.

I eventually got power back on Thursday morning, in time to shower before work, but the stair lights are still out - almost a week later. I suppose I'll have to phone and complain about that too but I keep forgetting to note down the number for stair lighting complaints. In the meantime I'm carrying a torch about in my handbag. Sigh.


Oh, and PS
http://www.jasperfforde.com/
:oD

Mr David Keanrick and Mr Enoch Mossop present A Midsummer Night's Dream

I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream in Princes Street Gardens at the first (and possibly last!) Edinburgh Shakespeare festival last Wednesday evening. Open air theatre is a lovely idea but not really for Scotland and not really for the Ross Bandstand. The weather was very weird all day last Wednesday for a start. It was overcast in the morning, then there was a heatwave at lunch time and by 5pm it was overcast again. Now, that doesn't sound all that strange for Scotland but it goes to show how unpredictable the weather can be. I had packed my cagoule just in case but in the end it didn't rain during the performance. The bloke 4 rows in front of us that got shat on by a dive-bombing seagull possibly wished he'd packed his cagoule though!

The other thing that I don't think the organisers of the event took into account was that the main railway line north out of Waverley station runs right at the back of the gardens and the Edinburgh - Glasgow shuttle goes by every 15 minutes. The London train was worse because, though it runs less frequently, it is longer and seemed to scrape the tracks a whole heck of a lot more. So the poor actors were having to contend with the noise of passing trains, the traffic on Princes Street and the odd passing ned shouting incoherent abuse (in that way that they do). For the most part they coped admirably, except for Hypolita/Titania - you couldn't hear a blinking word she said. We all agreed we recognised her from television so she's probably not as used to projecting.

So, apart from the iffy weather and the noise pollution, how was the show? Not too shabby actually. I was thinking that the noise was unfortunate seeing as so much of Shakespeare is in the language but we all laughed in the right places and that play does allow for a lot of physical comedy. One of the things that made me chuckle the most, though probably unintentionally on the part of the actor, was Oberon's acting. It reminded me of that episode of Blackadder the Third when George is being taught to act by messers Keanrick and Mossop. He basically stood with his legs as far apart as possible and shouted. Helena also seemed to have been at this acting school, and there was more than a little whiff of 'Bob' about her too. She didn't actually slap her thigh at any point but I suspect she was supressing the urge. I think my giggling at Helena and Oberon confused Zoe no end and made her worry she was missing something.

On the whole I enjoyed it but my ass was numb by the end. That's due to the chairs though and not the quality of the production. It's reminded me how much I enjoy the bard and got me more excited about the Festival. They're doing Romeo & Juliet and Cymbeline in the Botanic Gardens this year and I must, must, must go! I can't remember why I missed A Winter's Tale last year but I suspect it was either due to laziness or a hangover. D'oh!

Do Not Resist Hypno-Kitty

I had to pay homage to the fantastic mug that Kirsi got me for my birthday. It's a magnificent mug and the big, blue eyes of the moggy theron seem to urge you to drink more tea....

It was a Godsend on Saturday when I inexplicably woke up at half six in the morning. I managed to lie in bed for another hour but then I was flipping well wide awake so I got up. I haven't seen half seven on a Saturday morning since I worked full time in Tesco, it was very weird. I tried texting Bruce to get revenge for the previous week, and the text that had awoken me from a drunken stupor on the couch at 2:30am. It didn't work, he replied a few hours later extolling the wonders of silent mode. Bah! Anyhoo, Hypno-Kitty kept me company for the next few hours with gallons and gallons of lovely tea. Hoorah for Hypno-Kitty!

On Saturday evening I dragged my ass out to Hannah's flat warming, fully expecting to be face down snoring in the potato salad before midnight. And guess what? Yep, I didn't end up leaving until 5am. What? How did that happen? I guess we just spend the whole evening gassing away, after all the middle aged teachers from Dunfermline left. Oooh, they were scary. I wasn't feeling particularly sociable and hadn't had a drop of Dutch courage to fortify me so I didn't really know how to interact with them. They all seemed lovely though and Hannah had lots of good things to say about them.

Anyhoo, at 5am Barney, Cat and I decided to walk home because it was light outside and we were all feeling in need of some fresh air. The walk was quite uneventful until I left my companions at the bottom of North Bridge. Between the bottom of NB and home I met a drag queen/transvestite (I'm a little hazy on the distinction - sorry), was offered a toke on a dooby and finally managed to wake Bruceyboy up with a drunken text. Sweeeeet! Revenge is mine! Mwah hah hah hah hah!

Last week I are mostly was having a birthday.

It was my birthday precioussssss. Last Saturday (24th June) to be precise, and it was a good day. I had started the celebrations early with a drink or twelve on Thursday evening with a few esteemed colleagues. Needless to say, I felt rough as feck on Friday. Bleeurgh. I made it through most of the working day with the judicious application of coffee and carbohydrates until I could decently crawl back to the pit from whence I came. A few hours later I was soothing the pain with dinner at Phenecia with Helen and Emily. The hummus there is surprisingly good for hangovers by the way, or maybe that’s just because it’s yummylicious at any time?

My first birthday greeting on the big day itself came in the form of a text from Bruce, at freaking half past seven in the morning! My text alert at the moment is a sound clip of Podge and Rodge so I was woken by a screech of “Are ye making the teeeeeeeeeeee?” I suppose I have nobody to blame but myself for that. Bah. The upside is that I got to spend the rest of the morning blissfully drifting in and out of sleep and really spending some quality time appreciating the wonderfulness of my bed. Mmmmm! (Oh, and if you’re worried about Mr Hadden it’s ok kids – he was on his way to bed, not getting up.)

After an afternoon of pottering and lazing about I went out for dinner again. Well, it was my birthday :oD

As I couldn’t get booked into Phenecia this year (I’d been meaning to book for weeks but hadn’t got round to it. Curses!) so I picked another interesting-sounding BYO in the area – Fenwick’s on Salisbury Place. The List Guide review appeared favourable, citing it as a favourite haunt of the fictional detective, Inspector Rebus. “Well,” I thought “if it’s good enough for a fictional character then it must be good enough for me!” Another odd thing about the review was that the minus point listed was that the bread was a tad tedious. If that was the worst thing they could think of to comment on then that seemed promising.

The staff were very friendly but the chairs were a little too high, or the table a little too low, and our starters took a noticeably long time to arrive. When they did they were a little underwhelming and the bread (that we had to ask for) was, indeed tedious. The main courses and desserts more than made up for these deficiencies though. I had pan-fried duck breast with roast parsnips on a bed of balsamic vinegary puy lentils. That duck breast was gorgeous! It was moist and slightly pink in the middle and utterly delicious. The red berries crème brulee that I had for dessert was absolutely beautiful as well, though I did fancy the champagne jelly with melon accompanied by blackcurrant sorbet. I think the fact that nobody offered anyone else a taste of their pudding is testament to how darn tasty it all was. By the end of the meal everyone seemed impressed with the place and any restaurant that has jelly and ice cream on the menu is ok in my book.

Then it was back to Marj Towers for drinkiepoos and intelligent conversation… well drinkiepoos anyway. We had a fine old time but, fear not gentle reader, it didn’t get too out of hand. That bottle of Absinthe remains, untouched and dusty, upon the fridge still. Mind you, how different things might have been if Barney hadn’t been on call that evening...

Burgertastic Baby!…And also BBQlicious beeyatch!

Summary of weekend: Marj stuffs her face :o)

The weekend was kicked off in fine style on Friday evening with a slap-up feed from the Jasmine in the good company of Cat, Rachel and Ruth. Such a feast we had! That place really is the mutt’s nuts by the way. Oh! The prawn crackers! So thick and crunchy. Mmmm. *drools* I’m getting a bit wussy in my old age and all that good food and, of course, wine had me yawning my head off and almost falling asleep by about 11pm. Or that could have been a result of the emotional trauma of being forced to watch Big Brother for the first time this year. Gah! Who let those awful people on telly?? It’s flipping painful to watch is what it is. I am really of the opinion that they should just make the BB house as close to Winston’s world as possible and feed them with nasty gin and fags that fall to bits. Now that I would watch!

During this ordeal I received a couple of texts from Naomi in Brataslava and I’m hard pressed to judge which of us was witnessing more horror. Poor Naomi, supposedly relaxing on holiday, was having a surreal time in “a huge metal shed (exhibition hall) watching dodgy 80s pop acts who Graham is all excited about and who I’ve never heard of.” About an hour later I was informed that they were now “listening to Sam Fox attempt to sing Touch Me very, very badly.” I was assured that it was very painful and I did not wish I was there at all. I regarded the caterwauling cretins on the tellybox attempt to backstab and shag each other I thought to myself “Don’t be too sure of that dolly!”

On Saturday morning I woke up at about ten past eight and thought “Feck! Feck! Feck! Have I slept in? Why didn’t the alarm go off? Oh my God! Am I going to be late again? Fuuuuuuuuck!” Then I realised it was Saturday, allowed myself a small “Woo hoo!” and went back to sleep.

The weather on Saturday was hot and sticky and yuck. I had to gnash from Fopp in Rose Street to the one in Cockburn Street in order to pick up Kelly’s birthday present and by the time I got there I was not a pretty sight. Eeeeeeeeuw! I don’t do humid. Luckily I didn’t have to do too much moving about that evening as we were at Kelly and Andy’s new house for her birthday BBQ. A proper house with a garden you can char meat in – how groan up they seem! I’m sure it’s all a front though ;oP

After we had stuffed ourselves silly with charred meat and things on sticks (hoorah for things on sticks! Pineapple, lamb, tofu, mushrooms, etc…. though not all on the same stick…) we adjourned to the living room where some damn fool got out the Giant Jenga set. Jenga freaks me out by the way, I just can’t handle it. It dates back to an unfortunate incident of combustible over-indulgence in my younger days. *shudder* I can watch people play it now but I’d still rather not join in myself. I think my fear is quite justified when you get to the silly arena of Giant Jenga. We were discussing if your work would buy it if you phoned in sick with Giant Jenga concussion and I’m sure many people have already. Those blocks look lethal.

On Sunday a BT contingent headed out to Tantallon for more BBQ fun, despite the lovely Scottish weather – i.e. it was pissing down. At least it meant the beach was quiet. We had a bit of a fiasco trying to get there as we had a convoy of 5 cars and only a vague notion of where we were going. We got there in the end though, after blocking the harbour at North Berwick – oops! Ali had brought a gazebo which took about 6 of us to erect but once it was up it did the job a treat. In no time we had the disposable barbies fired up and various yummy foodstuffs were cooking away. I even went for a paddle in the sea – and laughed at the wussy Ozzie and Italian who got as far as dipping a toe in and then running away. That’ll be the Celtic blood and lard insulation :oD On the whole, despite the precipitation, the day was hailed by all as a great success and I hope we do it again soon.

Marj's Movie Reviews

This episode:
Everything Is Illuminated *** (Worth a look)
Guy X * (Pish!)
Thumbsucker **** (Well worth a look)
South Pacific *** (a classic and who am I to argue? Much...)

I've had quite a movietastic weekend and thanks to Naomi, a bottle of plonk and Vogue Video. I spent Saturday afternoon supping Magners and scoffing goats cheese in the sun with Mandy and Emily (That place that used to be the Dutch House and is now a cafe type place: Huuuuawge sharing platters of yummy commestibles for £8.50 by the way. Bargainous and delicious - I'll definitely be going back!) I met up with Naomi later on and, after all that sun and booooze, an evening of cinematic entertainment seemed just the ticket. I think I've got mild sunburn on my ears anyway so it's probably for the best we decided not so stay out in the sun much longer. I like pink but not that special pink that my face goes when Mr Sun has bit my bum, so to speak. I look like a fecking eejit!

Anyhoo, rant over. To the movies!

Everything is Illuminated is about the grandson of a Jewish immigrant from the Ukraine who fled from the Nazis to America in WW2. The earnest and bespectacled grandson sets out to find the woman who helped his grandfather with only an old photo and the name of a village to help him. I really liked this film for many reasons, which I won't say too much about because I was delightfully surprised by it and I wouldn't want to spoil that for you. I will say that the soundtrack is ace and I'd like to borrow it from Laura Pie please. Thank you very much ta :o)

Guy X, on the other hand, I was disappointed by. The cover was promising. The tagline was "There's been a f*ck up", it was hailed as a brilliant black comedy and a comparison to Catch 22 was made. All this made it seem like this would be an interesting and intelligent movie with a lot to offer. Unfortunately it wasn't. I'm afraid to say it barely kept my attention, and it only did because I felt sure it was going to go somewhere any minute and I wanted to see where that was cos, boy, it had better be good. The plot is that Jason Biggs,the dude who shagged the pie, is dropped on an army base in Greenland and immediately eaten by local insects. Boy, do I sympathise! When he comes to in the base hospital everyone is calling him by someone else's name and refuses to believe him when he tells them he was supposed to be in Hawaii. It goes on from there... Madness and boredom of isolated army life, bit of a love story, sinister cover-up, yadda yadda yadda...After watching this film I had a vague feeling that I'd missed the point of it and that annoyed me. I had that feeling after watching Jarhead as well (though I think I may have worked out what that movie's about - 2 months later!!!). It's like when someone gets to the end of an anecdote and looks like they are expecting you to go "Ho ho ho. That's so funny!" and all you are thinking is "Oh. Is that the end of the story? I don't get it..." Oooh, I do hate that in a movie!

Hooray for us keeping Thumbsucker for last! I put this one in the DVD player with a heavy heart because I felt that this one could go either way, thoughtful and enjoyable indie treat or tedious load of self-indulgent old waffle. I'm happy to say it turned out to be the first one - hoorah! And it had Kanoonie Reeves in it, as Ted Theodore Logan, all growed up and practicing dentistry. Woah, dude! This one is about a 17 year-old who still sucks his thumb and lives in suburbia. This guy really wants to stop sucking his thumb but it's how he copes with the normal horribleness of adolescence, middle-class white suburban family life and all that guff. He eventually gets prescribed Ritalin and the film deals with how that effects his life. Considering how many kids you hear are on this stuff in the States I'm glad they made this film and I hope a lot of people see it. Horrible stuff! The behind-the-scenes documentary in the extras is well worth a look.

I'm currently halfway through South Pacific and enjoying it immensely. Good old Rodgers & Hammerstein. It's big, it's bold and it's bloody silly in some places. South Pacific right? Polynesia, Japan, all that good stuff? How comes then, the famous Boar's Tooth Ceremony looks like something from tribal Africa and all the polynesians look suspiciously like tribal Africans as well? I can just imagine some big studio boss chomping on a cigar and saying "Ah what the Hell, nobody'll notice anyway. The public are dumb!" and some poor director weeping into his megaphone. It's getting exciting though. It's all gone to poo now and our 2 dashing and handsome leading men are heading off to a mission that could entail certain death because they've cocked up relations with their respective honeys...

And now I've just finished it. Cor, that was a good 'un. Still kinda silly in bits. When they're stalking around the island spying on the Japanese they have companions that are supposed to be local fishermen friends of the French dude. You guessed it... They look suspiciously like African tribesmen. Now, geography was never my best subject, once it got past colouring in maps I kind of lost interest, so if I'm overlooking a part of the population of the South Pacific please correct me. It's just all the local ladies in the film look, well, from the Pacific area at least. Hooray for Hollywood!

Words, words, words...

I've been reading a lot lately - Hoorah! I just finished Flying Dutch by Tom Holt and enjoyed it immensely. The the story is about the Flying Dutchman (no surprises there), a cat, an alchemist, an accountant and a life insurance policy. It was extremely well written and hugely entertaining. I'd totally recommend it. Thanks for lending me it Kirsi, I'm not sure I want to give it back ;o)

The other book I'm excited about this week is Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I've only read what adds up to about 2 books by this author but I think he's superb. Let me explain - I've read Good Omens which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett (so that's about half a book), Stardust and half of Anansi Boys. I was lent Stardust a few weeks ago by Louise and wasn't quite sure what to expect out of it. It's a lovely book though, a charming and entertaining fairy story for groan-ups. Much like Dianna Wynne-Jones (the 2 I have read) but with more sex and swearing (woo hoo!)

Anansi boys is about the sons of Anansi, the trickster spider god. I don't really want to say much more than that, except that it had me absolutely guffawing out loud in the first chapter. Where's that bit I wanted to share?...

"Spider kept himself amused. That was what he did. That was the important bit. He would not have recognised guilt if he'd had an illustrated guide to it, with all the component parts clearly labelled. It was not that he was feckless - more that he had simply not been around the day they handed out feck."

Heh heh heh. Just a wee example of the gems that this book contains. Just as I pulled it out the carrier bag and confessed to Louise that I'd naughtily detoured through Fopp on my way home she told me she was about to recommend it to me as she is reading it too. Coincidence? Hmm, who knows? Maybe I've been reading too much Gaiman to answer that one? Alls I know is it's one to take note of. I don't know why it's been published with 2 covers though, hopefully they don't have alternate endings or something!

Oh and P.S. Woo hoo! Friday! Yippeee!

Our last, best hope for entertainment.....

Well, not quite. Joss Whedon's still going after all but nevertheless - Yay! Kirsi and I have started watching season 5 of Babylon 5 at last. We gave ourselves a good long break in which we worked our way through, among other things, 4 seasons of Alias, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Hex season 1, The 10th Kingdom, Lost season 1 and even.... Resident Evil - the movie (ho ho ho, what utter balderdash!). Why leave it so long? I hear you ask. Simply because, compared to the rest of Babylon 5, the last series is completer and utter kack. How can you go from "GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR GALAXY!" to some wally with Timotei perfect hair who has an annoying habit of looking winsome and quoting Hamlet unmercilessly? I swear if he does it once more I'm putting my foot through the telly! I just hope we're at Kirsi's house that week ;o)

Despite the hirsute ponce it's still most definitely a very fine dose of sci-fi though, and we still have dear old G'kar (pictured above with his hetero-life partner/nemesis Londo). I remember how brilliant the first 4 series were and we're definitely going to have to watch them again now that I know what's going on and Kirsi won't have to suppress herself every time something seemingly insignificant, but with later huuuge consequences, happens. Mmmmm, plot-arclicious baby!

The rest of the weekend just past was fairly quiet. After a traumatic experience with Orange (forkwits! The lot of them!!) on Friday I had a couple of quiet drinks after work and then went home to slump on the couch with Louise and Craig. On Saturday I slept until I woke up and when I woke up there was a girl meets boy/girl hates boy/boy and girl get friendly/girl gets all stroppy and hates boy/girl and boy fall in love type movie on ITV that just sucked me in to a movie bonanza. I followed Cutting Edge (for that was the name of the movie) up with Strictly Ballroom, How to Steal a Million and What's New Pussycat? Nice! It looked sunny outside but I was quite happy where I was. On Sunday I went to see Wah Wah, Richard E. Grant's movie about his childhood in Swaziland. I enjoyed it. I'm never sure what to make of these movies that are about actual people but he had the cream of British acting talent in there and the script made me laugh and cry so it was ok in my book.

And now it's Monday and that totally sucks boaby by the way. Harumph! How long until Friday?

What do you mean "Which one's the cow?"

What a pleasant weekend I had. On Friday night I went to a quiz in aid of MacMillan Cancer Research with Kirsty. We didn't win but we didn't come last either so that was good enough, seeing as the questions were HARD. The evening ended in fine style with Kirsty and I drunkenly putting the world to rights from the comfort of my sofa before she toddled off home and I dozed off on the couch...

Luckily I'd been drinking water so I wasn't utterly minging when I had to go out and meet my dear mama the next afternoon. We went to see Alan Borthwick and Friends doing a selection of Gilbert & Sullivan favourites at St Andrew's & St. George's church. They're a great bunch but they do get carried away sometimes! The first half of the concert was over an hour long and by the end of it our poor bums were complaining. We weren't sitting in the pews but the hard chairs we did have were unmerciful on the derriere. I persuaded mama that a cup of coffee in the Portrait Gallery would be preferable to subjecting ourselves to those chairs for a moment longer and off we trotted. Then I went and spent too much money in HMV. Whooops! Saturday evening was spent in the flat, not spending any more money thank you so very much!

On Sunday I took advantage of Cat's ASVA (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) passes to get Naomi and I in to Dynamic Earth for free. There were some rather splendid cows outside and above is a picture of me with my favourite from that herd. Close up he's glittery - Pwetty!

Dynamic Earth was ok, but I would have grudged paying to get in. It's one of those places that seems to be enhanced by the audio guide that costs a fiver on top of the £8.95 you just paid for the privilege of entry. Gah! It's true, the Scots really do try and rip off the tourists for every penny. No wonder they have to try and work so hard to flog holidays in Scotland to Scottish people!

On Sunday evening I went to Glasgow with Nat to see The Editors at the Carling Academy. They were really good and I quite enjoyed the support band who were on right before them - unfortunately I have no idea what that band were called. I must try and remember to find out...

That was the first gig I'd been to since the smoking ban and the variety of aromas that I encountered was... interesting to say the least. To start with there was a prevalent odour of Heinz baked beans for some reason. This was later replaced with farts, stale beer, dope (I swear I smelt that!), Nat's deodorant from her spraying it on the massive inconsiderate barsteward standing in front of us and, most unpleasant of all, a faint tang of vomit - nice! That's much better than cigarette smoke isn't it?

We got back quite late on Sunday evening so instead of rushing out to take more advantage of the ASVA passes on the bank holiday Monday I did my laundry, went to Tesco and read a book. Ah nice :o)

Ralph Lauren eat your.... dinner!

I'm quite pleased with myself today. I'm wearing a shirt that I adjusted to fit better around the waist area, with my own two hands! Jane showed me how to take in a shirt at dressmaking last night and it was a piece of cake... or it seemed that way anyway. I cocked up the stitching a little but it's because I wanted to finish it in class and was in a hurry... honest! We'll see how Zoe and I get on without Jane's guidance. Zoe still may manage to sew her earlobe to her elbow (sorry darling but I'm sure after 20-odd weeks of classes you're well past that point. Hey, you took in a Ralph Lauren skirt and it looks soopah sweetie.) I'm confident that I should be able to do it again but I'll practice on my old shirts before I wade in and start on new ones. Thank heavens for H&M and their cheapo shirts!

I also had a massive binge of The Maxx (see pic) when I got home last night. Thanks go to Byron for providing me with the DVD, completely unsolicited. Nice one dude! You rool :o)

The Maxx is an animated series about a dude in a purple suit and a mask. In this world he's a hobo who lives in a box and hangs around with Julie, the freelance social worker. He also inhabits the world of Pangaea though, and there he is a mighty hunter with Julie as his leopard queen. Sounds mad I know, and it is - in the best possible ways. I remember it being on MTV circa 1995 and it's great to be able to see it all because back in '95 you'd never know when it was going to be on and it was always a treat when you found it. I've got the last 2 episodes to watch, maybe this evening when I get in from the pub quiz. The whole thing may be explained, but then again maybe it won't. Excellent!

Crime helps you work, rest and play...

Article in the Metro this morning:
Twelve people were arrested in dawn raids yesterday over the theft of £65,000 worth of Mars bars. Detectives swooped on a dozen addresses after receiving information from bosses at the Masterfoods factory in Slough, Berkshire, which makes Mars bars. All 12 suspects were released on bail until July. The chocolate was stolen in two robberies on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The bosses tipped off the cops? I wonder if it was a bunch of disgruntled (and possibly stupid seeing as they got caught so quickly) employees?

Pub conversation taken too far?

Another Metro article today:
The age-old question:What came first, the chicken or the egg? has finally been solved. A geneticist, a philosopher and a chicken farmer claim it was the egg. They said it comes down to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life. Therefore the first bird that evolved into what is now known as a chicken must have first existed as an embryo inside and egg, their report claimed.

Well done lads, more fodder for smartarses the world over. Sigh. What was the sound of one hand clapping again? At least it was Bart Simpson that answered that one...

What was all the fuss about?



I went to see the DaVinci Code yesterday. It wasn't as dire as I was expecting but I found it hard to be excited or thrilled by it because I've read the book. The most exciting bits were when the albino monk kept jumping out and grabbing the leading lady. Audrey Tatou was ok but her and Tom Hanks (so looks like a potato these days!) had absolutely no on-screen chemistry. I find this a blessing cos I can't stand Tom Hanks but one of the hilarious things about the book was how Robert Langdon was supposed to be this super-suave James Bond type, but an academic, and Sophie is basically supposed to be a Bond Girl. Ho hum. Angels and Demons was definitely better. I wonder if they'll make that movie? It's more an attack on the actual Vatican so maybe they won't? Or maybe it'll be ok cos it's the Catholics getting it in the neck? Who knows.... Ron Howard possibly?

The good news is that Jean Reno is still lovely. Hoorah!

(See above) Spot the difference....

I'm never drinking again... at least until lunch time...

So, Tuesday evening was another BT-funded drunk fest for Marj. I'm not sure I'll ever learn no to indulge when the booze is free, even though I spent all of Wednesday chundering. Luckily my manager was very understanding and didn't take the weewee out of me too much. He actually told me never to grow up and get sensible about such matters, so now I'm really looking forward to the Change Management Xmas party!

Anyhoo, the Metro today had an interesting little tidbit about Edgar Allan Poe that is alcohol related so I thought I'd do a little trawl for alcohol-related trivia for you. Enjoy!

Edgar Allan Poe
According to accounts at the time, the father of American Gothic literature was found in a tavern in a state of delirium on October 3rd, 1849, wearing clothes that were not his own. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died four days later aged 40 and was buried in an unmarked grave. On the night before his death, he apparently repeatedly called out the name Reynolds. Opinion at the time was that Poe had died an alcoholic. (From The Metro today)

From http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/index.html

As Magellan prepared to sail around the world in 1519, he spent more on Sherry than on weapons.

The U.S. Marines’ first recruiting station was in a bar.

Frederick the Great of Prussia tried to ban the consumption of coffee and demanded that the populace drink alcohol instead.

The national anthem of the US, the "Star-Spangled Banner," was written to the tune of a drinking song.

A raisin dropped into a glass of champagne will repeatedly bounce up and down between the top and the bottom of the glass. (You think this would work with Cava as well? Must try it.)

The corkscrew was invented in 1860.

The purpose of the indentation at the bottom of a wine bottle is to strengthen the structure of the bottle.

Methyphobia is fear of alcohol.

In ancient Babylon, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead (fermented honey beverage) he could drink for a month after the wedding. Because their calendar was lunar or moon-based, this period of free mead was called the "honey month," or what we now call the "honeymoon." (So it has nothing whatsoever to do with the groom seeing the bride's bum for the first time!)

In old England, a whistle was baked into the rim or handle of ceramic cups used by pub patrons. When they wanted a refill, they used the whistle to get service. So when people went drinking, they would "wet their whistle."

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is commonly believed to be the only English sentence devised to include all the letters of the alphabet. However, typesetters have another such sentence: "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs." (F'narr f'narr!!)

There is a cloud of alcohol in outer space with enough alcohol to make four trillion-trillion drinks. It's free for the taking. . . but it's 10,000 light years away from Earth.

Wine has about the same number of calories as an equal amount of grape juice. (Whoopeee!)

Beer and Bras. British men have been found twice as likely to know the price of their beer as their partner's bra size. A poll reported in Britain's Prima magazine found that 77% of males knew how much their beer costs but only 38% knew the correct size of their mate's bra. (I was a 36F last time I checked, if anyone's interested...)

The average number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine is 600.

Adolf Hitler was one of the world's best known teetotalers or abstainers from alcohol; his adversary, Sir Winston Churchill, was one of the world's best known heavy drinkers.

Monday

Just another manic Monday? You betcha! The weather's pish and I managed to sleep in this morning. Two things did manage to raise a smile on my face on the way to wurk though. Once I had managed to catch the 5 bus (which goes all the way to my work without me having to change - bonus but I was already late and fed up by that point) the day brightened up when I saw the cows outside the Omni centre. For those of you not aware, there is a cow parade going on in Edinburgh at the moment.

http://edinburgh.cowparade.com/

I think I remember Hannah asking "Why cows???" (The extra question marks denote her tone - incredulous.) the other week. The only answer I can come up with is why not? Cows are pretty cool these days, and I think Robert Wiseman probably has something to do with that. Who can resist a cow playing keepy-uppy? I mean, really?

The other thing that cheered me up was "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure playing on my MP3 thingmy. I love that song anyway and the paradox of listening to it on a Monday morning cheered me no end. Needless to say the warm fuzzy glow these 2 things gave me had dissipated by the time I got to the front door of the office. I think they vanished in a puff of grumpiness as soon as I stepped off the bus and got rained on. Harumph! It's not that far to the door from the bus stop but the rain demanded the umbrella be put up and then the wind demanded the umbrella blow about and get tangled in my hair. Harumph! Bloody weather... (see Terry Gilliam animation in MP and the Holy Grail for that ref.)

The weekend just past was spent mostly feeling poopy and full of snot. I had to forego Crombie's sausages and mash at Chez Duff on Friday night because I felt so rubbish. Waily! It was gorgeously sunny on Saturday but I shunned the sun and hung out with Zoe in her flat instead. We took a trip to Homebase and I bought myself a new house plant - a kinky ficus. Well, with that name on the pot? I just had to!

Kirsi and I had an Alias session on Saturday evening, but it wasn't all straightforward. Kirsi's copy of Alias 4 is a dodgy copy of a Spanish version, I think. Disk 4 was labelled disk 3 and vice versa. We watched the whole of disk 4 - admittedly with a few kind of "Eh? When did that happen? Oh well, whatever. I'm sure they'll explain it." moments. We didn't actually notice that the disks were mixed up until halfway through the second episode on disk 3. D'oh! I'm not sure if that's a good indication of the script writing on Alias or not. The plots have been so convoluted and they've played with the timeline in previous series so we just trusted it would all become clear in the end - which it did but not in the way expected. Again - D'oh!! Ah well, I don't think it'll have ruined the season finale in any way so we still have that to look forward to. Huzzah!