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Words Monday: 556
Words yesterday: 518
Words today: 518
Words total: 71045

Broke the 70 kiloword mark! Yay!

Our lunchtime games

Played rugby for the first time in years. Great fun, but it was a struggle in the lunchtime heat. I've also discovered that I have the turning circle of an articulated lorry, and I'm pretty rusty in second-guessing other people. I can do better, it's just going to take a while before I get any kind of rugby-head on again.

Looking forward to playing again next week, though.

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Words Sunday: 531
Words Wednesday: 913
Words Thursday: 734
Words total: 69453

Our curiosity

Because I seem to be in a bit of a frenzy of productivity at the moment [entry], I've submitted Curiosity to its first market. I've spent the last couple of nights revising it, and I think the ending is finally where I want it to be.

Other than that, I've been slogging my way through Home. Actually, slogging probably isn't the right word because it's coming fairly easy. Word count to follow.

I've also sent copies of The Well and Tymmy to my publicist, because he hadn't read them. 'How am I supposed to sing the praises of my talented and better-looking older brother if I haven't read his work?' he asked me. It got to the point of nagging, so I had to send him copies of the stories currently doing the markets in order to shut him up.

Our birthdays

Bit of random fun for a Thursday afternoon:

Find out what was the UK number one on the day you were born.

Yields up some interesting results. For instance, I'd always known my brother was a hippy, and it turns out his was Imagine by Lennon. And mine was Message in a Bottle, which is crazy, because I'm always writing messages in bottles.

Our fear remembered

After letting it sit on my hard-drive for 8 months for no apparent reason, I've decided to send The Well back out [entry]. This is market number 11.

Hopefully, better luck will be had at this one.

Our sunburnt necks

I was trapped in the Concrete Kingdom of Swindon this weekend and, as usually happens, tried to spend as little time as possible actually in Swindon. Achieved a moderate level of success.

Saturday, I went walking round Barbury Castle, and then sat at Coate Water reading for a couple of hours. On Sunday I went down Savernake Forest way. Caught the sun on my neck, but otherwise managed to avoid burning. Didn't really tan though.

I've really got to get myself a bike. It sucks having to drive to get to anywhere nice in this bloody town, and it's not particularly pleasant driving anywhere in the Silver (and Red) Machine in this heat. Also, when you've been drinking you can't drive at all, and then can't escape at all.

The obvious solution is to not drink, but then I'd have to attempt living in Swindon sober.

It's a vicious circle.

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Words Wednesday: 1377
Words Thursday: 316
Words Friday: 79
Words total: 67275

Our pictures, part 2

Uploaded some more photos to the flickr account, this time from my latest weekend back. They can be found here.

This one in particular, when I looked back at it, made me seriously question what I was doing in the Concrete Kingdom of Swindon.

Our memories

Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, 3) by Steven Erikson

I cannot say enough good things about this book, this series, this author.

Oh my god.

This series is amazing, and it's rapidly securing its place as my favourite set of books. Three books read of the five so far, and they just keep getting better and better. I couldn't find fault with this book, aside from the fact that it made me want to go out and buy House of Chains and Midnight Tides straight away (which would have prevented me from reading other books in the pile).

I'm not going to recommend you read this book. I'm going to insist that you read Gardens of the Moon as soon as humanly possible. You'll want to read the rest after that.

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Words yesterday: 1145
Words total: 65503

Amazed that I managed to get anything down at all yesterday, given the run [entry], two tae kwon do classes, and packing for this weekend. But there you go, sometimes you can just be productive.

Our stitches

My running this past three weeks has been training in preparation for the Spring Welly, a 3.5 mile team run through the countryside around work.

The run was this afternoon. I was in a team with Lou and a couple of others from our department.

I came 13th out of the 14 that ran. 3rd out of 4 on the team. Sounds bad, but this is after the time allowances given depending on sex or age. As a young, fit[5] male, I got no time allowance. Unfortunately, no one timed us, so I have no idea how fast I ran or how my time compared to anyone else's. I think I ran about 27 minutes.

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[5] Apparently.

Our Stigmata

The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse

The transition between small screen and silver is a tricky one, and film versions of popular television shows are usually seen as a way of reviving interest when the writers have run out of ideas and the jokes themselves have run their course. When the programme is a sketch show -- as TLoG started out -- it becomes hard to carry off. When the programme has developed a cult following that prevents new viewers from joining as time progresses, then it's pretty much impossible. The assumption is that this will be one for the die-hard fans, completely inaccessible to the rest of us.

The reason that this film works (and it works well) is the emotional depth with which these one-joke characters are treated. You've never related to Herr Lipp before, because his one-joke is simply confused innuendo. You will relate when you watch this film, as he discovers in the 'Real World' that he can be much more. One of the most surprising dramatic moments of the film comes when Mark Gatiss (I think) tells him 'You're one of the easiest characters to write', bringing home to him everything he's not.

It's true with the other characters, who are given room to grow and expand into roles you wouldn't have previously found them in. And the best thing is that the comedy doesn't suffer for it. Die-hards will be pleased that the jokes are all still as funny, but the film is accessible to new-comers. The characters are introduced in what could easily be segments of the show, so we know what to expect from them, and then they develop before we can tire of them or feel left out.

It's a fitting end to the series (if indeed this is the end), and a reminder that the League of Gentlemen team are very talented writers. Yes there is toilet humour, and innuendo, but there's also so much more.

Our glass slippers

Went out at beer o'clock last night with Cinderella and her boyfriend[4]. 'twas drinking weather -- persistent crappy rain. Pub, pub, chipshop, flat, pub, pub . . . so a fairly typical Friday night.

Cinderella's boyfriend drunk a pint of beer with a toe- or finger-nail floating in it. It was, quite possibly, the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.

I got to use one of Cinderella's favourite facial expressions [entry, scroll down to the comments] whilst walking back to the flat. Her boyfriend really does need to learn what subjects are safe to discuss in public at the top of your voice.

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[4] Previously referred to by their given names of Jen and Andy, but they failed to stay out past midnight yet again, so they're going to be called these new names until I get bored with them :)

Our pictures

More jumping on the e-bandwagon, as I've got myself a flickr account (only one of those free ones mind).

My photographs are here (there will also be a link from infinitewhite). Also notice the badge on the right (you'll have to scroll down a little).

Mmmm, photos.

Our republic

I was Cinema Billy again last night, but I felt that I had to see George Lucas' latest offering to the gods of Marketing and Merchandising. I'll try and keep it short though, because it seems every man and his ewok has written reviews[1] of this film. Oh, and watch for spoilers :)

Revenge of the Sith

First, as always, pseudo-pull-quotes:

• Great screen-saver, average movie.
• Dude, where's my Padawan?
• Perhaps the highest praise I can give this film, having seen Episodes I and II, is that it doesn't totally suck.

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It's not a bad film, as they go. It's just not great.

Good things: Light-sabre fighting, CGI Yoda still is the coolest thing in the universe

The way the film ties-in with Episode IV is nicely handled. I really appreciated it, so I imagine the hardcore fanboys are wetting their pants at spotting the links (not to mention alienating everyone they know by pointing out all of the links).

The light-sabre fights look awesome, esp. Obi-Wan and Vader's showdown.

The destruction of the jedi is pretty well handled.

Bad things: At times awful dialogue (every exchange between Anakin and Padme, or Anakin and Obi-Wan[2], for example).

Palpatine's panto-villain transformation into Darth Sidius.

The fact that none of it is there. None of it. Zilch. Jeez, if I wanted to watch a CGI cartoon I'd have gone and seen Shrek again.

Midwife-droid [3].

Anakin's five second fall to the darkside. Anakin: 'Oh no, what have I done?' Palpatine: 'Embrace the dark side.' Anakin: 'Okay'. Excuse me? What happened there? Worst still is Lord Vader's three second rise to emperor at the end. Obi-Wan looks as confused as I felt.

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[1] Many of them better than my effort [link|[link]
[2] Oh, lets be honest, every exchange featuring Hayden Christensen.
[3] Who, I swear, at one point does an impression of Homer Simpson. Mmmm, birth.