Who is Matt Smith!

Matt Smith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Smith_(British_actor)) is the new Doctor! I've never heard of him before now anyway. I've not seen anything he's in either, still he sounded ok in the brief interview they had with him on Confidential just now, so it's wait and see as to what his Doctor's like before I make my mind up one way or another.

Cooking Fun

I made beef balti today, I love cooking, but I never have time normally except for weekends as I don't want to go to work on a big meal and I don't want to cook last thing at night when I get in and I'm really not in the mood for food first thing in the morning or even lunch time, yes I'm a lazy cow, but weekends are perfect for slicing, dicing and spicing :) As mentioned in a previous ramble my cooking style is very simple and the ingredients different every time, so there's always some diversity and unpredictability. Same mess to clear up every time too though, just add messy mare to my list of faults.

New CD's in the post

Got two Helloween CD's today, their latest 'Gambling with the Devil' and their 1999 covers album 'Metal Jukebox' :) Now I have all their studio CD's. GwtD is very much in the vein of the previous CD's a strong mixture of power metal and power ballads, while Metal Jukebox is a much more varied mixture of songs from The Scorpions to Abba to Cream!

I need a new cardigan

I've been looking online without any success so it's time to get my heels on and sashay my bum to the shops for some serious hunting aka shopping.

Shattered

After an evening of sitting down doing nothing! Honestly this working makes you really tired and not working is actually more tiring than really working! I've also finally figured out how to let anyone leave comments about my random mutterings (they still need moderator approval, think of it more as a weirdo trap than a tool of fascist mind control propoganda).

The Eleventh Doctor - Tomorrow

Ok, this is the news all fan grrls have waited for and dreded, the successor to David Tennant, it means he's really leaving but it's also a positive sign for the show to as there's a new Doctor to look forward to. I'll post my innane ramblings about the casting once I find out who is the new owner of the sonic screwdriver...

Pink Bubbles Go Ape

I got the expanded version of the album in the post today :) It boasts 4 new songs not on the original CD release, one of them a cool cover of Blue Suade Shoes and while many complain that it's the weakest CD that Helloween have ever done I disagree, I think it's a brave attempt to try something new, after the iconic Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II any CD was going to be a let down so instead of producing a pale imitation the band tried something else, something new. There's s couple of stand out tracks, one of which remains in the live set to ths day. Kids of the Century was the lead single and it's a firm statement of how exploratory the band are, it's quite different to their chant along classics but yet it retains a good sense of self and it stands up quite nicely on its own merits. Number One is less of a stand out single as it's eclipsed by non-single track The Chance which remains a fan favourite (one of mine too) to this day. This album is a necessary one, without it the band would have remained trapped in a style that was rapidly fading and instead they searched for a new sound for the coming years and eventually they'd find it in Master of the Rings.

Head Girl

I've bought myself a little treat a cool 'head girl' badge, it's got a couple of meanings too. Of course I'm far too pure and innocent to know what any other meaning could possibly be inferred...

New Torchwood Magazine out today

I've got my copy and now I'm going to read it :)

Why do some people walk on the road...

...instead of the path that's right next to them? It's really annoying as I have to swerve to avoid these idiots putting my life in danger, the worst is when there's an oncoming car so i have to stop and wait for them to walk around me so I go on my way again, they could easily avoid that by stepping onto the path but they don't, are they afraid that the path monster will eat them or are they just some sort of person that gets off on that sort of sociopathy?

Back to work today...

...after 3 months laid off on the dole, I hate these seasonal layoffs but I don't need to worry next winter, touch silk petticoats, as I hope to be in full time employment by then.

I need a new epilator

my old one's dead, deader than a can of spam, they're just so expensive these days :( I paid £10 for my old one, now the same model costs £30! That's just too much, even for silky smooth hairless skin.

Doctor Who Prom

Just watched it, it was a great hour of music and clips from all my fave scenes of the show :) Why couldn't they have done things like that for the show when I was a kid and could appreciated it then?

TEOTWAWKI?

Is Yellowstone about to errupt again or is it just letting off a bit of steam? There's been a series of earthquakes in the caldera of the active supervolcano all week now. It could be the beginning of the end, or just a lot of panic over something minor.

Nine Full Years Without Alcohol

I gave it up New Years 1999/2000 and I don't miss it at all, I never really liked it and only drank to be social. If I had my way I'd have it criminalised as a Class A drug, more people die from alcohol related problems than every other drug (including cigarettes) combined! :(

Happy 2009

I had an early night last night so I slept through it, for a change.

Bands Don't Want Fans To Hear Their Songs!

Why do bands go out of their way to make sure some fans can't hear their songs? I refer to the habit of releasing some songs only in certain markets and not in others, making it impossible for fans to ever hear those songs. Manic Street Preachers (Soul Mates, Antarctic)are one of the worst offenders, Helloween (Fast As A Shark, We Unite) another. Do they hate their fans or those songs that much that they want to keep them apart?

The evils of printer fascism

I've replaced the ink cartridges for my printer but my evil fascist printer won't recognise them, it demands expensive purity of ink instead of what I can afford. There's nothing wrong with the cartridges, they're the same type as what I just removed, it's just the evil printer hates them with a cold fury that makes a Dalek look like a liberal in comparison.

Things to look forward to in 2009

Movies:
Star Trek
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Terminator 4

Books:
Unseen Academicals
Rides a Dread Legion

Telly:
Doctor Who 'Planet of the Dead'
Robin Hood
Comic Relief
The Prisoner
Torchwood
Heroes - Volume 4
Battlestar Galactica - season 4 part 2

Looking Back at 2008

I bought tons of feminine clothes and wore knickers 24/7/365 and the local river burst its banks spectacularly, but apart from that it wasn't an especially good year for me but neither was it a bad year, just a boring year really. Here's to 2009 when I hope to have more femine clothes than not :)

Life: a poem

Am I falling or am I flying?
It's all a matter of opinion if
I'm in control of my life or not

It's like I'm moving without going
Moving fast just to stand still
Going nowhere fast as usual

Soaring above the ground so high
I am the eagle in the cool air
Riding the thermals of life

Too fast, too slow, too daunting
Too steady, too quick, it's confusing
I have my good days and bad ones

Sometimes things are just perfect
Others are just like total crap
I just want good more than bad

I want to fly above the hurting pain
Rise above the mundane nausea
Be myself not something other

Is it too hard to want normality
A simple existance where I'm happy
Some days it's here and then its gone

I guess we can't have joy all the time
But I'd like more fun than misery
That's all we can hope for I guess

Goblet of Fire

Just been watching the movie (yet again) I must have seen it about 15 times now, it's one of the better films in the series, it really sets events into motion that play out for the rest of the series. Voldemort is back and he's badder than ever. Harry experiences the death of a friend and this loss haunts him for a long time. His friendship with Ron nearly breaks and comes to an end but it is remade all the stronger, until Deathly Hallows tests it even more of course. Harry undergoes all sorts of tests of his character, his skills and his courage and he's all the stronger for it as proved in Order of the Phoenix when he assumes the role of DADA teacher in secret. Goblet of Fire sees the end of Harry's childhood in a way, from this story on he starts to mature rapidly into an adult. It's a painful time but a necessary one.

Sparknotes Test

It all adds up... we feel 56% certain that you are...A Woman!
100% more male than you — 0% like you — 0% more female than you
How do we know? Well, deep down, your gender affects everything about you, from your favorite number to your views on Canada. Many women who took the test think and act just like you, as you can see from the graph above.
Statistically speaking, you are a woman—whether you know it or not.

That's all good and well because I do feel more feminine than masculine but it's hardly a case to spend £20k getting a groin reconfiguration, although I'd like one there's no way i can ever afford one so I just have to make do with being wrong down there and anyway even when I get my vagina the rest of me can hardly pass so what's the point? Gender shouldn't be compulsory from birth it should be optional when you're old enough to know what you want to be.

is it possible to be addicted to coffee?

I love a good cuppa, coffee that is. I really cannot stand tea at all, it just tastes awful to me. I try not to drink too much either, about five or six cups a day and preferably before 2pm. I'm going ot have one more cuppa just now and that'll be enough for me. I've read about people who are actually addiced to coffee, how can they possibly sleep? If I have a cuppa after 4pm I can't sleep that night, there's no way I could ever drink enough to go without sleep. Plus I don't need a cuppa, but while it's cold like this it makes sense to get a warm drink now and again. I'm certainly not addicted to it like I am to chocolate, I freely admit to being a chocaholic, I love chocolate, it's like a boyfriend to me, holding me in his big strong arms keeping me safe and secure from the worries of the world.

A great profusion of post today :)

A very girly post day as I got lots of goodies. My new socks, my slutty camisole, my new nail varnish & eye shadow, my new lingerie and my new shoes. I'm still waiting for a few items too, namely a jacket, skirt and blouse, as well as more mundane items like a CD and DVD. I'm wearing my new lingerie right now, it feels wonderfully feminine :)

Back to Work this Friday

After being laid off for three months I finally get to do something boring and mundane for a while. I'm looking forward to it on the whole, I get to see people again I haven't seen in months, the down side of course is I get to see people I haven't seen in months ;) Still I'm looking forward to it on the whole.

Re-ripping CD's

I'm in the middle of re-ripping some of my CD's because they were originally ripped in a very large file format and I'm running out of HD space, so I'm re-ripping them in a smaller file size to make room and keep all the music files for my listening pleasure.

Star Trek: The New Voyages aka Phase II

A not for profit fan made series that is trying to complete the five year mission . I've seen the pilot and the first 3 episodes so far and I've been impressed by how much better each one's been than the last. Episode 4 is available now, well ok it was available 10 days ago but I've waited until now to download it to avoid the rush. It's the first part of a 2-part storyline, a first for the series and the trailer looks excellent.

0. Come What May
1. In Harm's Way
2. To Serve All Of My Days
3. World Enough And Time
4. Blood And Fire - Part 1
5. Blood And Fire - Part 2
6. Enemy: Starfleet
7. The Child
8. Kitumba - Part 1
9. Kitumba - Part 2

As you can see it's an ambitious project and I really hope they make it. It's also worth nothing that James Cawley who plays Kirk in this series has an unnamed role in the forthcoming Star Trek movie.

Mugs

I have a good mug collection, everyone collects something, right? I collect mugs. I got two new ones recently, one a gift and the other I bought myself. The gift was a large M&M cup, it's green but it's got the blue M&M character on the front. The other is a Slytherin House mug, which is white and features the Slytherin emblem on one side, while the other side is blank. I hope they re-release it next year with a design on both sides and perhaps in silver instead of white. Other mugs I have are one with a kitten on, a pink one with a cake on the front, three Doctor Who mugs, and several brightly coloured mugs each with a witty message on the front as well as numerous plainly patteredn mugs of varying colours. I've never counted them all to see how many I've got, I'm not quite that nerdy.

washing clothes

Yesterday and today have been taken up by doing laundry. First up were my dark clothes, two skirts, t-shirts, tops and socks mainly with a few dark pairs of knickers too. The problem is it's too cold to put anything out on the line so I have to use the tumble dryer too and certain tops just will not dry in it no matter how long I put them in it. Whites were next, mainly knickers with a few t-shirts. I hand wash my bras so they don't really count here. Then it was 1/2 my old bedding, and a few stray socks and knickers and now I have my last load in drying, the other half of the bedding, a couple of pink skirts and a couple of socks that didn't quite get dry before. I have my damp top stuck over the radiator hoping it'll dry it off somehow. During the summer I tend to do washing every other day but in the winter I tend to get lazy and leave it to build up a bit before I force myself to do it. Tomorrow I have a pile of ironing the size of Everest to do but I'll get through it, otherwise I can't wear my favourite skirt for New Years Eve.

I've Been Sorted!

be sorted @ nimbo.net

what the test says:
So basically, you're cunning, ambitous, and willing to use any means to meet your ends. Lots of people think Slytherins are cold, evil, heartless people.. and although some are, some are not. Slytherins are the most misunderstood people.. You're not all evil! We're misconceived and misunderstood, and have been given a bad rep.. The movie makes us look terrible. People just have this thing about people about ambition.. Hmm.. Well, you know you're the best, so I guess it doesn't matter. Gryffindor may beat you at everything.. but you still keep trying! COME ON, SHOW SOME SLYTHERIN PRIDE!

It's Cold!

Really cold, really really cold. It could drop below freezing tonight :( It's too cold for a miniskirt and a vest top, a proper blouse is needed, and antifreeze in the blood! Just popped out to the shop, I had four layers on and I still wasn't warm enough! This winter is much colder than last years and tomorrow's going to be even colder according to the BBC's website :(

why do some companies drastically over-wrap packages?

Last week I got a mug in a box that was large enough to fit four of them inside and today I got a package that was large enough to hold a 12" vinyl record that turned out to have my new Slytherin silk tie in it. Both were vastly over-wrapped to what they could have been, using way too much marerial that could have been conserved for other orders and thus more eco-friendly. Had I been out the house today the postie couldn't have delivered my tie even though if wrapped better it could have been delivered without any difficulty. Is it time to start levying a waste tax against companies that blatently enlarge the carbon foot print of a delivery more than it needs to be?

Blackadders

There's been several different Black Adders throughout the ages:

Blackaddercus, a Roman soldier
Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh aka 'The Black Adder'
Lord Edmund Blackadder courtier to Queen Elizabeth I
Edmund Blackadder, butler to the Prince Regent
Sir Edmund Blackadder, the royalist supporter of King Charles
Ebeneezer Blackadder, the kindest, lovliest man in all the land
Captain Edmund Blackadder a british soldier serving in the Somme
Edmund Blackadder the inventer of a time machine and later King Edmund III
Commander Blackadder a space age warrior

I think my favourite is the butler, being lower down the pecking order really brings out his nastiness more than the other characters, he's much more cerebral and his plans are more devious and dangerous and he gets some of the best lines too.

Cult

What is cult and why is it cult? Cult is generally described as something that is popular with a small group of people outside of the mainstream public concensus. Eg Star Trek is a cult TV show, because there is a hardcore audience of trekkies who love the show all the time even theough the show comes and goes in and out of general public favour. Certain bands have a cult following too, REM before they signed to a maijor label had a huge cult following that was way larger than many of the so-called 'big' bands at the time, and they've gone on to find great success in the public mainstream while retaining most of their original cult following. On the whole I think that the label cult gets applied by the media when it can't understand why somehting is more popular that they think it should be. This is not a bad thing, on the contrary it shows what things to look out for because it might just be really good.

Battlefield: The Special Edition

After the special editions of The Five Doctors and The Curse of Fenric comes Battlefield. A mix of high drama and sword and sorcery comedy fantasy. There's an evil queen and even a demonic monster too. The Doctor and Ace meet up with an old friend from the Doctor's UNIT days, the Brigadier! Of course the meeting is hel bac until the start of the 3rd episode, but when the cliffhangers have been removed to make it one movie-length story it just seems like too long a wait. The final showdowns are good, all three of them. First up there's the Doctor vs. Morgaine & The Destroyer, then there's The Brigadier vs. The Destroyer and finally The Doctor vs. Morgaine. The final scene is cool though with Ace, Shou Yuing, Winifred and Doris going for a girls day out in Bessie, the Doctor's souped-up yellow car. It's a good story but the whizzy special effects are a lot more subtle and sparse than the previous two special editions.

The Simpsons

I watched a couple of episodes last night :) The one where the school bus crashes and it all goes a bit Lord of the Flies and the one where Krusty becomes a stand up comedian before selling out again to get a free car. Two good episodes from the 9th season, which was 11 years ago now! The latest story I've seen is the movie which was about 4 times as long as a regular episode and didn't have much more jokes than a regular episode, still I'm sure they'd cancel the show if it got crap, right?

drink is evil

I don't drink alcohol, at all. I stopped drinking nearly 8 years ago and I haven't had any since. Why? A) I can't stand the tatse of most of it. B) It does nothing for me, I don't need to drink to have a good time. C) I like my liver the way it is and would rather not have it pickled thanks all the same. D) Chocolate is my drug of choice, against it alcohol is rubbish and yucky. I'd rather have a chocolate milkshake drink every time. I don't even bother with alcoholly desserts if I can avoid them, there's just no need to ruin a good pudding with evil booze.

the need for b-sides on cd singles

Many bands sadly fill their singles with pointless remixes of the single track, where as a few see it as a chance to do somehting a little different and release songs that they woudn't normally put on an album, eg a cover or a classic song or perhaps a song that's not representitive of their normal style, they might try a totally different style and the CD single is the perfect place to put it. I'm an obsessive about buying singles by certain bands, because I know they'll give something good as an extra bonus to their fans. The Wildhearts record songs specifically for their singles, and some of their best songs are actually b-sides, eg '29 x the Pain' or 'SIN (In Sin)'. Singles are a showcase for the band's musical talent and should encourage the casual fan to want to buy the album because the single's good and the b-sides aren't terrible, alas too many bands treat their singles as an excuse to make a rubbish video and flood the radio with irritating songs that make me want to tune in to another station.

additional
I've just bought the new Nickleback single 'Gotta Be Someone' and it includes a wonderful cover of Elton John's 'Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)' as the b-side. This just goes to prove what I was rabbiting on about above :)

Can you ever have too many skirts?

I currently have only eight, with another one ordered, and is that really enough? I'm not sure it is, is there a maximum number of skirts you can own before it becomes impossible to ever wear all you own? Maybe ten million, but if you were determined then it could be possible to wear them all (albiet briefly) within a lifetime. However I only have two dresses (boo-hoo) as I find they're not that really suit me in my size and budget. Maybe I'll have to win the lottery and go on a dress buying binge ;) I just hope there isn't another error with their networky gizmo thingy like yesterday, still I saved a quid for my new dress fund.

Four to Doomsday

Peter Davison's first story (production wise) and it's a simple story to get him used to playing the Doctor and the commentary is just hilarious as he and his fellow stars rip into everything, most of it justified too. The story is quite simple, a variant of the mad scientist, this one wants to travel faster than light, go back in time to before the big bang where he'll meet himself because he's god! Honestly! The Doctor is resplendant in his crickety cricket gear and decorative vegetable, and Adric, Nyssa and Tegan also have their costumes on too. I say costumes because that's what they are. They're not remotely like real clothes, they look like they've stepped out of four different theatre plays onto the set of a sci-fi b movie. Still it could be worse, they at least have a half decent set for once and some good mood lighting. One of the better designed and directed stories of the era imo, but it never gets past the simplicity of the script.

200 Days to Harry Potter

Of course it SHOULD have been released already, but the company moved it back to a summer release, it would have had virtually no opposition this winter, instead it's being put into a crowded summer that includes movies like Star Trek (which I am SO looking forward to) Transformers 2 & Terminator 4.

German Power Metal

I'm a huge fan of Helloween and Gamma Ray, they both combine crunching metal riffs with catchy vocal melodies but in their own way. I'm currently listening to Gamma Ray's latest studio CD, Land of the Free II, a thematic sequel to their 4th CD.