QNI last night. featuring a trip to morrisons, a spot of wii fit, and some improvised cooking up of random bits and bobs into a tasty meal.

today, i have lunched on a delicious spinach soup that i whipped up whilst cooking dinner. domestic goddess, get me! i should remember to label my stock before freezing it though. sniffing ice is a tricky business. my mum never used to label hers either; i remember eagerly opening a tub of cornish icecream, spoon in hand, only to find.... quite.

i have just had my lovely soup for lunch. i should remember how much i like it, and avoid the overpriced, over processed sandwiches from the deli on the corner. and especially the crisps.

watched drag me to hell last night. it was ok, many moments of jumping out of my seat skin, but also terribly predictable.

i'm thinking of giving up the demon booze for a month. to even have a hope of managing this, i probably need someone to bet that i can't do it. hmm.

i haven't been doing HUGE amounts of late. this summer (can we call it that yet?) finds me listless, and trying to claw my way back to being comfortably in the black again. hmmmm.

anyway! this means i have been doing other things, such as READING and, er, watching the telly.

freezer burn - joe r lansdale. a random choice plucked from declan's stash. a nice, easy, trashy read. total loser (mum dead and mouldering in bed, failed firework stand heist) ends up working for a freak show, boffing the boss's wife, and failing even further at attempted murder. i'm not sure what the overall thing was trying to say, maybe 'don't trust a woman you're sleeping with she's only up to no good', but it was fun to read. and i have a wonderful mental image of conrad the dog-man that may not go away very fast.

the red queen - margaret drabble. took this on my little holiday by the sea. was a xmas pressie AGES ago from dan's mum, i think, bought solely because of the title. a book of two halves, the first tells the story (researched and mostly accurate but fictionalised) of the red queen in the title. a crown princess in korea some centuries ago. court intrigue, pre-teen marriage, insanity, and rampaging murder. the second half is the story of the modern woman who 'discovers' the tale of the red queen, becomes obsessed by it, and propogates it. including, at the end, to, oh yes, margaret drabble. hmmm. apart from that, i loved it. absorbing. i may have to do some research into old skool korea.

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i have also seen:

coraline. hmmm. passed the time. probably more exciting with 3d glasses than on the telly.

quite a bit of 30 rock which is also so-so, why do people love tina fey so?

and breaking bad, which i only jumped into for the second series and regret not watching more. (chem teacher gets cancer, turns into meth king pin to provide for his family. what?)

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my decision today: to BLOW my 5 months of good work in not buying things and invest in some completely unnecessary shoes or not. well?

(actually i need to ruin my record anyway, for i must purchase some sunglasses and oh look i own no shorts.....)

because not enough of you are scrabbing me up, i have been reading imdb.

or rather, obsessively trawling through the user comments for once, which i attempted to watch probably a year or so ago, and have been inspired to look up because daniel merriweather on the radio sounded very much like my memory of the film.

*pause for breath*

anyway, how on earth are the comments organised? it appears to make NO SENSE. it's not in date order. or order of star ratings. i wanted to read them chronologically. explain please.

(no, i didn't really like the film. pleasant background but rather dull and going nowhere. i think i counteracted this by falling down a k hole

oh, the sacrifices i make for the internet! i was SO HUNGRY it is unbelievable, and could really have done with a tasty warm panini of some description. but for YOU, and the sake of SCIENCE!! i have persevered with the Great Savoury Porridge Experiment.

today: cheese, marmite and scallions spring onions. this works in a sandwich incredibly well (you should try it!)

as a porridge? pretty damned good, actually. i think i slightly overdid the marmite, but the combination is a winner. having a different texture in there is clearly the trick. possibly.

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in other news, there is no other news. body has kicked well and truly into sleepy hibernation mode. i have managed to watch ghost town, which is a lot better than expected and i didn't try and punch ricky gervais through the screen. i also had a bit of a weep at one point. though it is unsatisfactory at the end.

i have also managed to watch changeling, which is an intriguing little film during which i was mostly mesmerised by angelina jolie's lips. it's a horrible, horrible story. these things really happened! what is wrong with people? hmm? serial killers and police alike. meh.

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in other non-news, i am FAILING at christmas. still need to get most of my family presents. wah. this means oxford street on saturday, i imagine. this will NOT be fun.

(i have, however, found my photos of the crystal palace dinosaurs, so all is not lost.)

lockjaw: rise of the kulev serpent: don't.

lost boys 2: entertaining if you loved the first. especially the (deliberately) recurring frog dialogue.  angus sutherland has lovely eyes.  i didn't realise it was such a recent film!

the love guru: don't. although there are vaguely entertaining bits.

hancock: i loved the premise. it got a bit too soppy.

birds of america: passes the time. plus you get to see chandler bing sh1tting himself. thankfully not a romcom.

the dark knight: slightly too overlong, but otherwise pretty good.  heath ledger is being deservedly praised. though does have a touch of the nicholsons about him.

the x-files: could have been a special tv episode. i wasn't really concentrating.

rescue dawn: another excuse for christian bale to lose TOO MUCH weight and escape from vietnam during the war. much more accesible to my tiny mind than most war films. based on a true story. 

hellboy 2: more atmospheric than hellboy 1. held my attention.  but then i've always loved elves.  and evil.

there are two good things about forgetting sarah marshall.

1 = russell brand, particularly the singydancy silliness.
2 = the vampire musical.

the rest, is largely forgettable.

things i watched this weekend
♥ zodiac - mediocre serial killer film based on a real life serial killer from the end of the sixties. forgettable.
♥ the hammer - midlife crisis boxing comedy. occasionally mildly amusing, mostly a bit irritating. i had a weep at the end.
♥ some of shallow hal - a million times better than i expected, but jeez my expectations were terribly low to start with.
♥ doctor who - excellent episode proving you don't need special effects and other such japery to hold the attention.

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things i did this weekend
♥ slept a lot.
♥ loafed a lot.
♥ celebrated wardytron's birthday by picnicing in his and fille_a_paris's garden and the lovely marble hill park close by.
♥ visited tasty cheese shop of joy.
♥ got ID'd in oddbins. sweet!
♥ rode a bike for the first time since i was 11! it's true what they say. you don't forget how to ride a bike. you *do* forget how to do corners, and it's a little petrifying, especially with a moleintheground chasing after you. dare i investigate getting my own?
♥ got a little over-inebriated and weepy. sorry folks!
♥ forgot to call it a night and accidentally stayed up too late nattering with dawnage and orangerick.
♥ slept a lot more.
♥ whinged.
♥ dragged self to the open air theatre in regents part for the yearly daniel kitson and gavin osborne show. a second half of 1hr 45m???? ARGH. failed to get in until half 12 or so.
♥ it was totally worth it.

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how i feel today
♥ headache-y.
♥ throat shredded. (i was singing again, right?)
♥ in need of LOTS more sleep.

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(and just so i don't forget, on thursday i played some poker. not very well, if i'm honest, but then there was wine. managed 4 / 6 on the first game, and was knocked out first in the second on a very unlucky all in. wah. still, i blame the new person and scarily repeatedly demonstrated beginners luck.....)

So, last night I went to see Inland Empire with iamthe_sky. I have to say, I disagree completely with (deletedgoth) youngliars, I loved it.

( And just in case any of you are likely to see it, I shall put everything behind a cut in case of spoilers. Can you spoiler a Lynch film? Possibly. )

Economy Review: Strangely accessible. Go see it!



* I remember watching Lost Highway 3 times, being so frustrated I got someone from the internet to send me their dissertation on the subject, reading it, re-watching it, still not getting it, reading the dissertation at the same time as watching it, getting in a huff.

** Well, them or musicals. Why yes, Dancer In The Dark is up there in my top 3 films, why do you ask?

“Are you cinnamon-buns?”
“You bet your sweet ass I am….”*

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are in a bit of a tired mard for no good reason, I can highly recommend listening to Demetri Martin on the commute to work. Even the pain of not getting a seat is diminished, and I hardly noticed the people staring at me whilst I was chuckling…..

(Shared iTunes = the epitome of ‘what’s mine is yours / what’s yours is mine’ :) )

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Anyway, have we all got over V-Day yet? I’ve never been a huge follower. I don’t really mind either way to be honest! Last year I took the boy to a posh hotel for a lovely posh dinner in beds, which was fun, but this year, well, nothing says ‘I love you’ like some tasty crispy aromatic duck and a DVD. Ahem.

Best In Show is much better than I’d expected it to be, and while the outcomes may have been *slightly* obvious we were still rooting for them. It did have the unexpected side effect of making me really want a husky though. Sorry old English sheepdogs!

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I’ve been playing SingStar Legends on my own a bit of late, trying to remember how to sing in time for the weekend. To make it more interesting, I only ever select songs on random, but this does mean the darned thing keeps trying to make me sing Morrissey, argh!

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While I’m here, I’d just like to slap some sense into myself and apologise for the rubbish tone on this journal of late. My head’s been a bit all over the place, but it’ll sort itself out one way or another… :)




*And now I want to sing about asses, oh dear!

a 3 part entry, this one. First, a ramble about music, not really important and ( hidden under a cut )

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And now on to the meat of the post. Well, maybe the quorn or something less substantial. I was having a conversation with people (you can probably guess who they were) and we started arguing about who was the best member of We Are Klang, top comedy sketch troupe. I can't seem to find anything useful on the internet to link to; this is their myspace; here's a thing from Chortle.

And a breakdown of the components to assist you. They're all fab, but this must be decided!

Greg Davies (this is his face) is the hugest man I have ever seen in my life. Really. He looks like an oversized Rick Mayall, and yet is strangely attractive. He's the one wot plays the guitar and is Darren Chillblain.

Marek Larwood (this is his face) is obviously the funniest of the bunch wrt voices and faces and y'know, being funny. Saying "that's when I was born" in the right voice in the right company will always illicit a chuckle. He's also a scary dancing horse. And far too excited-looking during 'spunk storm'. Ahem.

Steve Hall (this is a not-very-flattering pic of his face) can be found planted in the audience as a singing Jew, and more often with his bum or winkie out on stage. You've surely seen Gary Mabbot by now.

Poll #884449 Rate We Are Klang!!!
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 13

Who is the most attractive out of We Are Klang?

More importantly, who is the FUNNIEST Klang?

Any more Klang related business?

NB - If you've never seen We Are Klang you really really ought to. They were, quite literally, and according to their own blimmin' song, the best act at The Fringe this year.

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Watched Walk the Line last night. I thought this was supposed to be a good film. It was rubbish. Seriously. I may even agree with D that The Meatloaf Story as shown on daytime Hallmark TV is better. And not just because I ♥ Meatloaf.

Tried the new Domino guest pizza - The Meltdown as well, Level 2 (extra fresh red chillis). It was bl00dy lovely, and made the film more bearable.

The iPod was in fine form this morning. On the bus it gave me 'She Bikini', and made me look like a mental in front of everybody with an ill-timed snicker. It then followed it up with 'If I Loved You' from Carousel, and 'Let 'Em In' by Macca. Marvellous.

I love Carousel. So so much. ( This is what is stuck in my head )

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Anyway, talking of Macca, as I was, the lovely angelv pointed this out to me. Buy Paulie's classical work from a particular shop and be guaranteed to meet him. OH MY LIFE!!!!!! I'm not sure whether I want to though. So livejournal, I am asking your help. POLL TIME!

Poll #868080 Paul McCartney meeting possibilities
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: Friends, participants: 22

So. Should I buy the (terrible) rekkid and meet my idol?

Your reasoning being.....?

Texty box. For anything and everything you chose.

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Last night we watched Nightwatch, which is an alright film, with some good ideas and fun special effects. The trailer made it look marvellous, it didn't quite live up to expectation.