Experiments.

Over the last few days I have been experimenting with Haiku. I'm not sure if the experiment is working well or not. In other words, I'm not quite sure if I am grasping the straws correctly. Here are a couple of the Haiku I have scribbled:

Day the first:

Sleek, black, prowling cat;
Graymalkin - do you come?
Magical Moll-cat.

Day the second:

LCD screen.
Giggles and shrieks of delight;
computer literate.

Day the third:

1.
Glistening white weight;
curvature of lifeless bough
magical winter.

2.
The angry sun
gold and red in cloudless skies.
Beauty - a statement.

I think I like the last two. Oh, but would number 1 work better as:

Magical winter;
dormant boughs bow beneath
glistening white snow.

Oh, maybe that one! Yeah, I think that one sounds much better. Wow, blogging helps me edit. Didn't think that'd happen!

Oh so tired!

Knackered! And for no apparent reason. I think I need to stop reading before I go to bed.

Nothing much has been happening since the birthday celebrations on Sunday. I can't believe Principessa is four already. It feels like only yesterday I was in the horrible delivery room, with Melanie and H for support, hoping it wouldn't take too long for Princi to be born. 17 and a half hours later... Ouch! I'd say cats aren't in labout for that long, but then I didn't give birth to a litter of mewling kittens. Thank god! There would have been something seriously wrong then!

Well, must get to the creative scribbling. I have now been assigned my tutor, and the actual start date of the course is looming (27th Sept). So, the plan for the day is:

• to bash out a few more freewrites
  
• maybe do a few clusters around the TMA prompts
• attempt some 'pen portraits'
• do a couple of haiku

all in the next two hours! Then Princi is back from nursery. So, upanattam!

Of wardrobes and cathedrals.

Today, I took Principessa (with Grandand's help) to the cathedral to see the Prince Caspian 'experience'. The first stop was face-painting. She was really looking forward to that part, and becoming a tiger! Then we had a wander round, and Princi did some little craft-type things. Upon further wandering, Princi wrote a prayer-balloon, and then we sat and watched a little puppet show after we finally found Aslan. The picture doesn't do the Aslan statue justice at all, it was beautifully carved.

I have to say, I was in awe of the cathedral. I've lived most of my life in Liverpool, and today was the first time I have ever stepped foot into the cathedral. It is vast and impressive and imposing all at once. The stained windows are absolutely fantastic. I just wish I had full use of my legs so that I could explore the place fully. It really is breath-taking architecture.

Of essays and choking.

TMA08 results day. I should say yay me, but instead I felt a bit bleurgh me. 84%. Now, I know. 84% is a good mark. But it's still not there for getting the 'top class' results. Yeah, yeah, I said I'd be happy just to pass, but as I have a good mark, what in the hell do I have to do just to push it that 1% further and get that elusive 85% to get a first class rating? Argh! I have only managed it once, on TMA03 (90%), but have not even been hitting close to that since. So, based on that, I think my niche is gladiators. That's not good, is it? There is no gladiators specific course! I think I may have to work very, very hard to get what I want from the creative writing course, when it does actually matter what esults I get. Ho hum.

Unfortunately, procrastination beckons now that I can once again get onto the forum. Yay! But I shall control myself (yeah, as if!) and read some more of the course book and do some writing (daily haiku is not my friend at the moment, just can't get into it). And the writing thing is making me consider a wordpress blog even more, as I could put some of my scribbles on separate pages, rather than in the body of blog entry.

As for the choking... I had a visit from a speech therapist this morning. About a year ago I told my consultant that I was having problems if I choked, in that my choke reflex didn't seem very strong, and it took a lot to stop me choking when it happened. Today was the consultation for that problem. However, because the choking fits are so random, there is nothing that can be done, as for them to find out what causes the problems they would have to observe a choking fit. Which is perfectly reasonable. Hopefully, I'll not have another three weeks of choking fits for a while *fingers crossed*.

Locked out!

Oh noes! No access to the Open Uni forums! Noooooeeeeesssss! I can't cope with that! I'm all Grrrr Arggghhh right now.

At least bedtime is good. Sean Bean is a great Principessa-put-to-sleeper! And I'm enjoying listening to the stories as well. I'm looking forward to getting a little bit of time to myself so that I can listen to The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer, read by Jack Davenport. *Flibble* Interesting dreams lay ahead!

Well, off to tend to pebbledashing Principessa. And to do some studying, I suppose, now there is no distraction from course fora.

Looking forward to bedtime.

Not mine, although I do enjoy my sleep. Nope, looking forward to Principessa's bedtime. Not because it means she'll be quiet (that is a bonus!), but because of what will happen at bedtime.

Recently, when I've taken Principessa to bed, we have listened to a story on the iPod. Over the last week it has been The Wolves In The Walls written and read by Neil Gaiman. Before that it was Dr. Seuss's The Cat In The Hat Comes Back read by Kelsey Grammer. But tonight, oh a treat! As she has been enjoying the audiobooks so much, I decided to invest in a few more. One of the new audiobooks is King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Benedict Flynn. Now, as it's Arthurian mythology it was a must buy, but I hadn't looked at who was reading it. Imagine my joy at discovering that Sean Bean is the narrator. Yay! *Swoon* 'Twill be a happy bedtime tonight! Now all I need to do is find an audiobook narrated by Jack Davenport!

Anxiety.

My course materials finally appeared today. Argh! I am stressing out. The onset of A215 is a reality now, not just an electronic anomaly on the hard drive. Eeps! Currently in the process of copying the audio discs to iTunes.

With the closing of A103, A215 begins. A103, however, has left its mark. Before studying the introductory humanities course I am ashamed to say I had never heard of Rachel Carson. The first essay I had to write was based around an extract of Silent Spring. I enjoyed that essay, but still I haven't got around to buying the book. Then, in the final essay, I once again used the reactions towards Silent Spring and Rachel Carson as part of my argument as to how women's actions began to change science in the 1960s. So, when Elizabeth Bear mentioned the name Rachel Carson in her blog yesterday, I had some sort of inkling as to the reference. This made me happy.

As long as I have knowledge, I will always be happy.

Oh my!

300 posts! Well, I never thought I'd manage that. I quit my first ever blog on 99 posts, then the second blog on four posts. Way hay, congratulations me!

Anyway... I once again picked up Dust by Elizabeth Bear the other day and have been reading it when I have a spare second. When I first picked it up I couldn't get into it, my brain just wasn't in the right space to process it. With Principessa being ill over the weekend, reading seconds have been few and far between, so it's been slow going. Until last night. The story hit the ground running, and I became completely enthralled! I had promised myself an early night, but the book had other ideas. I was loathe to put it down to go to sleep, but my eyes threatened a boycott (why does boycott have two 't's? Is there really any reason?) and the cocktail sticks were becoming ever so slightly riotous against the rallying eyelids! I will resume reading again once I've finished on the net. (Now very tempted to buy the Promethean Age series.)

But... maybe I should do some writing first?

Bleurgh.

Didn't get anything done yesterday. My poor Principessa was very poorly.

Yesterday morning she woke up screaming "I have red in my mouth!" I thought she had had a nightmare, so I gave her a cuddle and she went back to sleep again. She woke up again complaining of the same thing, and then throughout the morning she complained intermittently about the red in her mouth. I gave her a colds and coughs pastille, and for a little while she was okay and happily went to the swing park. But when she came home she complained about a headache, had a cuddle and then went upstairs to sit with Nanny. The next thing I knew she was panic crying, and Nanny was calling that she had been sick. Oh, my poor little munchkin. Being sick frightens her so much. She was so ill all last night, but by this morning she was back to her normal demanding self. Well, not so normal. She has been very bossy this morning, making up for yesterday. Little monster! But I'd rather have her like that than the sickly Principessa. It's really weird though, as it is around this time every year she has a one day illness that always includes a puke fest. Very strange.

At the moment, she is making interesting Jackson Pollock type pictures on the computer, so I am going to read some more of the Big Red Book PDF, and do some freewriting. I am letting the clusters sleep in today.

If I had but the talent or the inkling...

This is fantastic! Batman meets Jane Austen, one of the funniest things I've read in a long time.

And speaking of films, holy heck was I disappointed. I watched Be Kind, Rewind last night. Now, while the film was good, not excellent by any stretch of the imagination, I enjoyed it. I loved the use of pizza bloodsplats, and tinsel ghost tazers, but the ending was... not exactly an ending. One thing I like in a film, if it is not part of a series, is for it to have some closure. BKR had no closure. It seemed like they got to that point in the film and just said "Ah, stuff it. That'll do. It's a wrap." Pah! Such a pity, because it was a good idea.

As for the clustering. It seems to be coming along a little. The brain is slowly opening, like a Predataor's maw with lockjaw! I'm not used to thinking in spidergraphs, it almost seems forced. I'm finding it difficult to generate ideas when prompted with something that is likely to be far from the actual story subject. Hopefully, once I've worked through my skepticism, this technique will turn on some lights. At the moment it just feels wrong forcing my brain to make leaps that it wouldn't normally, it usually takes tenacious leaps of its own accord and slaps me accordingly!

Anyway. Back to it.

And so it starts...

(Pic from http://www.prog99.com/Hillwalking%20in%20Scotland/2006/Ben%20Lomond%20-%20September%202006/index.html)

The self-doubt has made a fine log cabin in my head.

With acres of untamed fields and woodland of niggling questions and mountainous arguments. Wood for the trees? That's me. And each tree feels like a whomping willow, forcibly thwacking me with branches of self-deprecation, cutting deep rivulets in already low confidence. No tyre swings or fairy godmothers in sight. The sun is shining with a darkness, lining silver clouds and locking in the goodness. The fog refuses to give up its Brochen spectres, leaving me cold and lonely, warm in the knowledge of impending failure.

Yep. I am already writing myself off. (No pun intended there.) Do they do insurance deals for confidence? You know, in the case of serious self-doubt they provide you with a hire-ego while taking yours away to massage it back into self-belief?

Argh!

What he said.

Mr McCullough has been at it again, netspeaking with that common sense type stuff when it comes to writing, or not writing for writing as the case may be. (And no, I'm not becoming an internet name-invoking stalker!)

Well, that's all. Need to get back to exploring clusters. (And no, that's not star clusters or crunch nut clusters, but wordly type clusters. So far, not having much luck finding anything interesting. Bummer! Though there was one thing... *toddles off thinking clustery thoughts*)

Intent to write weirdness.

Despite buzzing televisions, tons of washing and a demanding Principessa, I actually managed to do one of the writing exercises. Yay me! I had a go at the freewrite exercise, though I don't know if what I scribbled could be counted as a freewrite. You see, I can't write without putting in some form of punctuation, like I think in commas and apostrophes. I can't help it. But writing a freewrite, you are supposed to just write stream of consciousness stuff, so punctuation is superfluous to requirements. I just can't do it! Even if the punctuation might be a bit off - comma diarrhoea and the like - I have to put it in. Not only that, but the stuff I did write was a bit like sinister, surrealist fiction with environmental (as in noises around me) influences structuring the sentences. Anyway, enough of that. This is what I came up with (as written and unedited) for the "One summer's day" prompt:

One summer's day the world ended. Well. Not ended as such, but it stopped. Just for a split second. The washing machine trundled away on its own merry business, spinning the children like one of those rides in the fairground. They giggled and gurgled as the machine sprayed them with luke-warm water. After all, health and safety is rife now and using cold water can get you sued.

My mind piled up with all these strange, stringy thoughts. They tumbled out like so many hankies from a magician's sleeve. Red, angry thoughts. Purple, peaceful thoughts. Blue, cold revenge thoughts. But it was the yellow, summery thought that caught my attention, bouncing like tennis balls off freshly cut grass. That green, verdant smell was in my nostrils, the hazy summer sun buzzing with the intent of an angry wasp in the front of my head. Migraine, nausea and hayfever struck with one single, violent exploding jerk of my body.

Some of it I really like, but some of it seems just a bit too twisted! Eeps, I think my mind is slightly strange. And does it count as a freewrite, as that is exactly how it seeped from my brain?

Keep on dreaming boy, 'cos when you stop dreaming it's time to die.

(Picture from www.bbc.co.uk/sports)

Ah well. Andy Murray didn't win. He gave it a good shot, and played some fantastic tennis, but Roger came out and you could see the win in his eyes. Andy was just a pesky little fly that needed swatting, and swatting in the most complete sense of the word. But still, what an amazing game. Some of the rallies brought out the best tennis in the both of them, but I haven't seen Roger play that way - with that confidence - all year. Stunning!

Elizabeth Bear is offering up some more food for thought in regards to narrators and POV. Go have a read. You wont be disappointed.

So, Principessa is in school. I would love to get some writing done, but there is nowhere in this silly house that provides any silence. I think I may have to invest in some earplugs, just to blot out the sounds of the TV. Drives me mad. I'd love just to switch the TV off, but a Skidaddles insists on zoning out in front of it. Ho hum.

Anyhows, off to wash Principessa's painted uniform.

Brrrrrr....

Pebble! Yes, I know, some explanation necessary. Nanny was trying to teach Principessa to say rock the other day.

• Nanny: Rrrrrrrrrock.
• Princi: Brrrrrrrrr-wock.
• Nanny: No, rrrrrrrrrock. Put your tongue behind your teeth.
• Princi: Brrrrrrrr-wock.
  

A little later, Principessa went to see Nanny again to give her one of the her stones.

• Princi: There you go Nanny. Brrrrrrrrr-pebble.

That still makes me laugh. She's a funny Monkey.

On sports news... Woohoo! Andy Murray is in the final of the US Open. He shall be playing Roger Federer tonight, though I doubt I will be awake to bite fingernails 'watching' him. (No Sky, virtual scoreboards on the computer.) But I am hopeful of good news in the morning!

As for Formula 1. Well, grrrr. After a fantastic race, the last three laps being the best part of the race, it became all a bit dreary. Lewis Hamilton won the race, but because of an incident with Kimi Raikkonen on the last three laps, or there abouts, Hamilton was stripped of the win and docked 25 seconds. This put him into third place. Now, this is what happened. Lewis attempted to overtake Kimi, but Kimi blocked Lewis, pusing him off the track. Travelling along the inside of the chicane, Lewis overtook Kimi as he corrected himself but, following the rules, he gave the advantage back to Kimi before attempting to overtake ligitmitly, therefore no unfair advantage was gained. He managed to overtake Kimi in the next corner, but Kimi once again overtook Lewis. Unfortunately for Kimi, a little while later he spun the car, crashing into the track wall. It was due to these events that, two hours later, Lewis's victory was revoked and given to Filipe Massa instead. So, once again, Ferrari are awarded the win. It makes me wonder what the FIA (does that stand for Ferrari Intercompitition Assistance?) has against McLaren. Ho hum. Think it's time to stop watching F1. Just as it is time to stop watching anything with the term 'Eurovision' prefixing the title. It's all just a load of political bull.

Jumping off the soapbox now.

And House is on, so I can't be bothered linking everything.... Yes, lazy day today.

And it is done.

Finished and sent off, good riddance to TMA08. I would say I hated every minute of it, but some of it I quite enjoyed writing. Saying that, I feel about 08 the same way I felt about 06, that it's a big pile of poo! As much as I want a funky high mark for it, I will be happy just to pass it.

And with the finishing of TMA08, it is also the end of A103. So what do I think I have learned? Well, I think I understand poetry now, though I will never again have the ignorance of writing poetry without thinking of the mechanics ever again. That I will miss. I've realised that I might want to pursue an English language and literature degree, rather than just the language degree. I have a new appreciation for classical music now that I can deconstruct it and mostly understand the techniques used to compose it. I was terrified of the art history sections, but once I started on them I fell into them, and enjoyed it more that I thought I would. I also now have some passing knowledge of philosophy, though I don't feel I could call myself adept at philosophising. All in all, apart from struggling a little through demotivation during the middle-ish of the course, I have enjoyed my time on A103.

I think I shall give myself the weekend to relax (and damn the weather, as I can't go and see La Machine) and play games with Principessa before starting with A215. Yay! Finally I am there!

I knew there was something else...

Woohoo! Andy Murray is in the semi-finals of the US Open. Well done that man!

The unreachable 2000.

ARGH! This essay is beginning to grate now. Every word feels like it's being ripped from another dimension, biting and clawing to be left alone. I've now written just over 1800 words, but it feels like it'll never be finished. I keep combing what I have to make sure I have enough words to finish this last bit about the Early Music Revival (sorry, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, I shall have to keep Eight Songs For A Mad King to myself this time) and the windy-uppy conclusion. I was about to say I knew where I was going with the conclusion, but leaving out Max... I have to rethink.

Oh noes! Hang on, I have to free my little Principessa fish from the net! (She is currently playing in her hamster-style tent-tube with some Daleks. However, the tube has become a net that she keeps getting trapped in.)

Awww. She's so cute and funny:

Thank you Mummy, you saved me. I missed you sooo much. Can you make me a drink to make me feel better?

Just lately she has settled on a new phrase. Whenever she has food or drink that she doesn't want, the cry goes up:

But it tastes like snakes!

How does she know? I've never seen her eat a snake! Maybe Grandad told her that snakes taste like chicken. Besides for snakey-tasting stuff, she is enjoying school so far. Thankee muchly.

Back to the grindstone, anyway.

Again with the free (downloadable, but not keepable) e-book.

Harper Collins are once again offering a Neil Gaiman book, this time Neverwhere, for free for the next 30 days. You can either read it online, or you can download it, though the downloaded file does expire after 30 days.

Go here to enjoy the brilliance that is Neverwhere.

(I loved this book. I think, in fact, I shall dig it out and read it again. Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar make the most delicious villains. You know, I would be so happy if Mr Gaiman were to write a book with these two characters as the protagonists, rather than the antagonists. I still have to see the BBC miniseries, just to see how it fronts up to the book.)

With aptness to the new writing cause...

Okay, so I am blatantly pinching this from Kelly McCullough's post on Wyrdsmiths today, but I thought it very apt for those of us about to embark on A215.

Once more unto the book, dear friends, once more;
Now mark the page up with our English words.
In lulls there's nothing becomes a writer
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the novel call blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd ink;
Then lend the pen a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the word o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth bad metaphor
O'erhang and shadow its intended thought,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful word.
Now set the start and stretch the keyboard wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every writer
To their full plot. On, on, noblest novelist.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of literature!
Fathers that, like so many Asimovs,
Have in these parts from morn till even writ
Then sheathed their pens for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your keyboards; now attest
That those whom you took as models did beget you.
Be example now to those of grosser blood,
And teach them how to write. And you, good yeoman,
Whose pens were dipped in ink, show us here
The mettle of your writing; let us swear
That you are worth your paper; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not vital story in your heart.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for story, pen, and written word!'

If I knew Mr McCullough I would thank him for this Shakespeare distortion, as it kind of gets the blood boiling again when it comes to writing for pleasure - of a sort! (Yes, I know, I will still be writing with the aim of finishing a piece for a new set of TMAs, but at the same time other things I will write for pleasure will be better for it.)

Serious fixation?

Just now, Principessa presented me with this scribble.

Me: Oh, that's nice. But who is JW?
Princi: (All shy and coy) James Whale.

I want to know what Voodoo magic James Whale has performed on my little Principessa to deserve such admiration!

(If you're wondering what I'm on about, the scribbles at the bottom look like capital cursive J and W.)

First day.

Eeps! It's Principessa's first day at Nursery today. I just don't understand how I managed to convert mini pink Sith Principessa into little blue schoolie Principessa!

Okay, so maybe it isn't technically her first day. She did try nursery last September, but she hated it. I think she may still have been a little too young. But she seems quite excited about it now, although this morning she was less enthusiastic. We'll see. I hope she does enjoy it this time round.

Just lately Principessa has decided it is fun to speak Mockney. I have no idea why. She keeps on saying things like:

• Can I have my compu-ah?
• I need to make it beh-ah.
  

It is very funny.

Anyhows, time for school.

Discombobulated by discomgoogolation?

Mooching around... well, OK. Going to play games on Yahoo! this afternoon, I came across this article. And I have to say, how true it is. I've posted a couple of times about the frustration of losing the internet. It really does make me all jittery, cold turkey stylee!

Then I got to thinking. It's almost sinister how the internet has slotted into everyday life more seamlessly than even mobile phones. I mean, I could live without a mobile phone, but losing the internet drives me absolutely loopy! It's quite scary, when you think about it, how all this information/disinformation is there, at the touch of a fingertip. The internet - greatest conspiracy of all time? I'd have to say yes. After all, how many places have you readily volunteered any personal information without as much as a second thought? And now, as a way to safeguard your computer or car, a biometric fingerprint system has been devised. Now, surely for that to work all the fingerprints will have to be kept on a database somewhere? Devious.

Anyway, enough of my foil hat madness. I still have 500 words to write.

Boocat Lolcat

Still hard at it.

I've got just about 1000 words now. Not sure if they are good words, but it seems to be coming together. Just got to write about the military-industrial-academic complex and music counter-culture, and then wind it up with the conclusion.

Ooh, this is a good article. Makes for interesting reading, and good for getting story ideas tumbling around. It's just a pity there are no references. I'd be more inclined to use the article. And this article too.

And Michael. I've sent those CD/DVD numbers to you on Facebook mail.

Itchy pate, oozing brains!

So, over the last week and a half or so, Principessa has had this scab on her leg. She keeps picking it, so it has grown. Luckily, putting a plaster on it the other day encouraged her not to pick it anymore. However, it made me think of a post on Justine Larbalestier's blog, and I have not since managed to remove the imagery from my mind. Argh! And ewwwww!

Now I think I may go and buy some Metallica from iTunes. I have none on CD, and I miss a good Metallica mosh! After all, I had my angsty female music fix yesterday when Oyster by Heather Nova arrived.

And while I have writing on my mind...

Here's an interesting post from Wil Wheaton on the experience of being a rookie writer.

I think I might have to put Scalzi's blog on the blogroll, as I haven't yet. I only ever read the odd post.

Now it's back to mulching thoughts and sentences into a coherent essay in between bouts of playing D&D Tiny Adventures on Facebook!

1 + 4 = 5 ghosts

Wow! I had the craziest, well not crazy, but messed up dream last night. It started off all well and good, but a relationship breakup set off a strange chase dream.

I was running for my life. Because friends got in the way, they lost their lives and then, all of a sudden, the person doing the chasing disappeared. The next thing I know I am at a house having a meal of undercooked steak and sausages with chips, baked beans and mushy peas - mostly foodstuffs I hate in real life. There are three cards on the table in front of the woman whose house it is. When she takes the plates out, I pick the cards up and read what's inside them. They are from the bloke who had been chasing me. It is the second card that gets my attention. At the bottom of the card there are two sets of pictures of little stick men with big heads. The first picture shows one little stick man, an equals sign, and "1 ghost". Underneath it says "Me plus her, alone, in her room." The second set shows one little stick man, a plus sign, four little stick men, an equals sign, and "5 ghosts". Underneath it says "Her, plus her friends, if her friends get in the way." I ask if I can take the cards to make copies (morbid, I know) and give them to boyfriend to pass back. But I forget the boyfriend's name. The woman's husband shouts, "Hey, Robinson, get over her. She's forgotten who you are!" As he says this, I remember his name and say, "Alan. I will pass them back to Alan," while rolling my eyes at my silly memory.

This isn't the whole dream, and I know I woke up at least twice during this dream. The first time I woke up I remember thinking, as I fell back to sleep (I was fighting going back to sleep because the dream was at a particularly frightening part), "I can't let this dream beat me." Still, it was a pretty harrowing dream, all in all. I wonder what my subconscious was trying to work through?

Well, I think I have about 600 words so far for the essay. But at least it seems to be coming together. If I can remove a Principessa from my shoulders (she is there now, watching Nick Jr.) then I shall get the books out and start writing again. Hopefully, I'll get the first draft done today.

Resuming normal service.

It's been a while, but I am back to my sports blogging. Yes, I know. Olympics. Only the biggest sporting event in the world every four years and I failed to blog. I didn't feel it necessary as it was on almost 24/7, and if you wanted to know about what was happening you would have watched for yourself! But, I am proud at how team GB fared. Especially in the cycling and sailing. And the swimming. But the Olympics are done and dusted so no blogging about them here.

No, I am back to tennis. Fresh of the heels of Olympic tennis we are now at the US Open at Flushing Meadows. The Brits have only two players in the competition, Andy Murray and Anne Keothavong. But, boo hiss, I cannot watch the matches. No. Eurosport do not have the license to show them. Only Sky does. I don't have Sky. Bugger! At least the good news is that both players are through to the second round. Yay! Very happy. I will just have to put up with watching the virtual scoreboards on the computer during their matches.

In other sports news... How miffed am I about the European GP at Valencia? The whole pit lane incident with Felipe Massa? The 'unsafe release' when he nearly drove into Adrian Sutil? He got away with a 10,000 euros fine. You just know that if that had been a McLaren driver that they would have had at least a drive through or a ten place penalty, have points docked from the constructors championship AND be given a monetary fine. I am just a little bit peeved. Grrrr!

So, that's the weekend sports review. Today, I shall mostly be writing an essay (I suspect). Especially as the glass walls trapping the essay in the recesses of my mind are now being broken down and essay like sentences are starting to seep from the cracks. Off now to scribble.

You know when you have writer's block and Pteranodontresiliteraturism when...

Not only can you not get finished, you can't get started either!

Well, I've started. Twice. But then I have found my words immersed by a quagmire of a million silent pteranodons. Ho hum.

And Skips, sorry about this, I'm going to use one of our conversations to explanation Pteranodontresiliterature. After all, it is where the term originated :D

• Ally: I wish I could stick with writing one story. Started plotting out another story for mini nanowrimo. I think my brain hurts. (I must have some psychological block when it comes to getting a story finished!)
• Skips: heheheheheh it's like finishing block rather than writers block! Maybe you're the only one in the world who has it. Then you can come up with the name for it. Tressiliterature Syndrome - my problems finshing a book! hehehe!
• Ally: It'd only have one 's' though... Tresidder; one shark, two dolphins!
• Skips: ok Tresiliterature then, although as it's the name of a syndrome you can add in as many silent and unnecessary letters as you wish and no one asks questions ;)
• Ally: Okay! Then it should start with a silent Pteranodon then. Pteranodontresiliterature!
• Skips: Pteranodontresiliterature! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! it's genius! I love it.*says in low worried voice* "So how is.. you know... the Pteranodontresiliterature?" HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! It could be a new word. We could add it to Wikipedia and soon the world would be using it as a description of when you can't finish something... :D
• Ally: Ooohhhh, evil genius Skip at work to take over the world one Pteranodontresiliteratist at a time, Wiki-style!
  

And that is how the word was born!

I shall go and eat some chocolate now.

You know you're entering the Twiglet Zone when...

Principessa turns to you and says:

It's OK Mummy, I'm not James Whale anymore!

Yeah, can't get any more surreal. Although, I wonder what she was dreaming about last night when I asked her to move over (yes, she had invaded my bed. Again.) and she sleepily cried out:

I can't! And I can't fly!

Complete head scratcher!

I think I will have to think about getting this essay written. I haven't looked at it over the weekend. I know I need to, and that I just need to prod it to get started, but an enormous sense of apathy resides in my brain. I think my synapses must be on holiday because my brain isn't firing up at all. Ho hum! Or maybe it's just that I want A215 to start. Impatience...

Principessa-ly!

Asking Principessa what she wanted for tea tonight:

Me: Do you want peas?
Princi: No, no peas.
Me: Do you want sweetcorn?
Princi: No, not sweetcorn.
Me: Do you want carrots?
Princi: No, they are too blue. *Mind ticks as she realises carrots aren't blue* No, they are too carrotly.

Ever since, thing have been decidedly "ly"!

Me: Do you like your beach shorts?
Princi: Yes, they are very beachly.

Nanny: Are you sure you don't want peas?
Princi: No, they are too pealy.

Anyway. Time to get a little miss to bed and then attempt an essay. *Sigh*

Verb creation

Principessa has started making up her own verbs. Yesterday, when coming down the stairs she held my little finger while resting her other hand and chin on the arm of the stairlift. Somehow or other she managed to knock her chin.

"Ow," she said.
"Awww, you okay? You daftie," I said.

Then, a couple of steps later she knocks her chin again. On purpose this time.

"Ow! I just daftied again, Mummy!"

I love it! You can't beat a bit of verbage!

And to finish;

*DRUMROLL*

Presenting, for your viewing pleasure,

ROCK MONSTER!

'Avin' a baybee!

Not me! No, definitely not me! But I am going to be a proxy aunty (hey, I said proxy!). Skips texted me with the fantastic news that she is pregnant last night. Yay! I'm still smiling this morning :D I'm so chuffed for you, hon!

Procrastination unlimited.

Can't be bothered. Well, I can, I'm just apathetic. Well, I'm not, I just can't seem to get started.

Yep. TMA08 is proving to be that thing that forces me to sit and play games on the computer or just find something else to do instead. I think I have all of, ooh, 20 words. Only another 1980 to go. Bum. Inspiration is no longer my friend, and procrastination is now just part of the family. Hmph.

And as I have broken the embargo on not posting Principessa pics, this pic demonstrates my procrastination aptly, I think!

Whales and dolphins, whales and dolphins, yeah!

(Pic from http://www.kidzone.ws/)

But no. Sharks and dolphins, no whales. In my dreams. Evoloved sharks and dolphins. Sharks in smoking jackets and dolphins in lab coats. Yes, I am mad.

So I had this weird dream, obviously. Above water level there was a TV station. There was some sort of Jeopardy style game show. The winners, well, they won. The losers, they were chucked into some massive vat and flushed away, where sharks waited in anticipation like dogs under a dinner table. When the losers appeared the sharks caught them, again like a dog catching scraps at the aforementioned dinner table. Some losers escaped, and found themselves at this strange, enclosed underwater complex.

Lots of rooms and corridors. The rooms were all plush, with all mod cons and any creature comforts you could think of. In these rooms, lots of peeps. There was only one problem. There were sharks inside. Sharks that could walk on their tail-fins, and use their pectoral fins as hands and arms. They would walk to a room, and just as a trained squirrel would do, pressed a button, the door would slide open, and the shark would snatch a person from the room. This happened a few times in the rooms that the dream me happened to be in. I became really annoyed by this, so found an interconnecting door. When the buzzer went on the door the shark was opening, I went through into the other room, quietly opened the door to the corridor, and attacked the shark from behind. (Here is where dreamtime goes anti-physics!) I grab the shark by his throat, and start screaming that I was fed up of him eating my friends. I walked down the corridor, shark by the throat, until we reached a set of double doors. Through the double doors we go, into a laboratory run by dolphins in lab coats and spectacles. I throw the shark at them, shouting that they can have him back because I was really pee'd off with him. The dolphins were mightly happy at the return of thier lab pet!

Then I woke up.

So yeah. I think I must have a fevered brain. Or maybe, after reading the Timothy Leary turn on-tune in-drop out stuff last night my brain decided that sharks and dolphins are to be my religion. Who knows. It must have been the repercussions of the "Death. Life. Structure" thing in the source reading. Must have been changed to Dolphins. Lab. Shark.

Well, off to continue reading the music unit, as the religion stuff is clearly playing with my head! (Though the music is doing my nut, too. Listening to "The Dangling Conversation", I am sure that the second "Are the borders of our lives" - as it is written in the lyric in the block book - is more "Are the warders of our lives" when you listen to it. It would make more sense to the song.)

Ooooooohhhhh

Wandering around the OU forums (or should that be fora? After all, it's of Latin origin...) this afternoon I stumbled across a post about not scaring the newbies. Interest piqued, I nervously clicked on the post. It was nothing to be scared about, just something to be anxiously excited about. So, now I am about to have a look through the course materials for A215! Yay! But still anxiously! It's a reality now, not just something that's happening in the near future, not just a whispering thought.

Dagnamit! I still have TMA08 to do before I start playing!

*Slinks off to read the religion section*

It must be Tuesday.

No. It's not because Dawn is in trouble. It's because I've just heard a screaming, excited Principessa running down the stairs shouting:

Yay! Pancakes! Pancakes! PANCAKES!

Do you think she likes pancakes?

Mostly back on form!

So I can now concentrate fully on the 60s. My essay mark is back (well predicted, Michael) and I feel so much better. 84%! Woohoo! I feel quite happy with the comments, just need to work out the integrative bit now. Which I shall. *Determined* I just hope that TMA09 hasn't scuppered my chances of passing this course.

The only thing now is, I'm wondering if I should do a language and literature degree. Hmmm. I know that there is a children's literature course starting in 2009 sometime (U300, I think), and I would very much like to try it, but I'm definitely not going to try it without doing some form of literature course at level 2 first. So, that would now mean doing A210 and U211 once the creative writing course has finished.

Now, on to toying with the idea of transfering my Blogger blog onto a Wordpress blog... Choices, choices.

Cloverfield

I have finally had the chance to see Cloverfield. Well, I was dubious, as it had been dubbed the Blair Witch meets Godzilla (I hated Blair Witch, it bored me stupid). I can see why, but there was much more to hold the attention in Cloverfield . Unlike BW, I did find that ball of anxiety in my chest during the tunnels and exploding friend scenes. However, I didn't think it was amazing. That may have been due to watching it on TV. I can see how the tension could have been built watching it on the big screen. But, I did enjoy it. Not got more to say on it than that.

On the subject of films though, one of my favourite films happened to be on yesterday. What was the film? The Princess Bride. I love it! I have never read the book - a flaw on my part - but I am worried that if I read the book the shiny of the film might be marred. Now, this isn't like me. I would rather read a book than take a film based on the book at face value. The Princess Bride is a different matter though. I love that film so much, I can watch it over and over again, that I don't want to read the book in case it does affect my enjoyment of the film. See, I might have enjoyed Eragon if I hadn't read the book, but the glaring omissions in that film just made me angry. So, I don't know if I will ever get to reading William Goldman's book.

As for returns of essays... I'm still waiting. *Sigh* I'm finding it hard to concentrate on the 60s when I don't know how I fared on the last essay. However, I am slowly trudging through the science section. I think I am quite certain that I will tackle science in the next essay, and possibly music and history, though having done okay with the art sections... We'll see. I think doing the history part is a given, just because to tackle periodisation you can hardly ignore it.

And to finish; the best swordfight (or fencing duel, I'm not sure!) in film!

Crazy baby, little monkey.

Hmm, that sounds like some weird and wonderful parody of a martial arts film in the same vein as Crouching Tiger...

So, I am trudging through the 60s block with my brains dribbling out of my ears. As much as I like old Arthur's writing style, I do think he suffered a little with verbal diarrhoea. His repetitive, driving points home affirmations are not what bothers me, it's all the "in so far"'s and other little phrases of the sort that pepper each chapter. That is what is driving me up the wall! I can't wait for this block to be over!

This, however, is both relevant and brilliant!



And I can't wait for the creative writing course to start. I can feel my Combat Foxes (otherwise known as The Muse) cavorting around in my head, finding interesting phrases and inserting them into interesting situations. I think there is a new story, though an old idea, doing aerobics to get my attention. I am still pondering on whether I should write part of the whole idea as a short story though. Maybe I will, and use it as one of the TMAs. So I shall let it gestate some more.

The beauty of speech.

I love Principessa's way of talking.

Last night, she was happily playing away on Nanny's computer when she decided that it was too loud. She turned to Nanny and said:

• I shall just turn this down, and then my ears wont go blind.

Brilliant! But as I giggled about her turn of phrase I did begin to wonder...Maybe Principessa is a sound to colour synesthesiac. You never know!

Evil banana counter-culture.

Okay, so the picture is a bit blurry, blame the crappy camera with no manual focus. But, this morning, I took two bananas from the fruit draw for Principessa and me. I went into the front room, sat down and went to peel the banana, but I was stopped in my tracks when I saw that horrible white growth on the skin. Now, you can't see it from the pic, but there is a hole in the front of the growth, so I think it must be a spider egg sac. Eeeeuuuuggghhhh! I am just hoping that whatever was in it, spider, bug, alien, that it hatched before the banana bunch came into the house.

It's weird when you look at it close, it almost has the same appearance as the sherbert-filled UFOs. It still makes me cringe, though!

There is no (60s) spoon!

(Pic from www.ew.com)

So, I was reading some of the 60s stuff last night, mostly the bits about periodisation, and whether the 60s can be identified as a specific period of history. One of the exercises was to read an excerpt from a book about 60s counter-culture, see below. Now, apart from actually mentioning the word 'matrix', it almost reads like some sort of deconstruction of 'The Matrix'.

[...] But from my own point of view, the counter culture, far more than merely ‘meriting’ attention, desperately requires it, since I am at a loss to know where, besides among these dissenting young people and their heirs of the next few generations, the radical discontent and innovation can be found that might transform this disoriented civilization of ours into something a human being can identify as home. They are the matrix in which an alternative, but still excessively fragile future is taking shape. Granted that alternative comes dressed in a garish motley, its costume borrowed from many and exotic sources – from depth psychiatry, from the mellowed remnants of left-wing ideology, from the oriental religions, from Romantic Weltschmerz [agony over the state of the world], from anarchist social theory, from Dada and American Indian lore, and, I suppose, the perennial wisdom. Still it looks to me like all we have to hold against the final consolidation of a technocratic totalitarianism in which we shall find ourselves ingeniously adapted to an existence wholly estranged from everything that has ever made the life of man an interesting adventure.

If the resistance of the counter culture fails, I think there will be nothing in store for us but what anti-utopians like Huxley and Orwell have forecast – though I have no doubt that these dismal despotisms will be far more stable and effective than their prophets have foreseen. [...]

From Theodore Roszak, Preface to The Making of a Counter Culture (1970 edition)

I love the matrix line - "They are the matrix in which an alternative, but still excessively fragile future is taking shape." I really like the idea that the counter-culture is the matrix, rather than the society that the counter-culture is opposed. It makes me wonder if the Wachowski brothers had read this passage, because it really does fill your mind with fantastical ideas!

I think I must be going mad! This is what happens when you study in the dead of night... Things become something else! 'There is no counter-culture!'

Why the angry ball of fog?

Here's some more Principessa art. I love the little green man/woman - I'm not sure - wearing a very fetching hat. I'm not so sure about the angry green cloud following behind....

Do you think there should be a *parp* noise there too?

Ooohhhh...

This would make me happy. How I miss the Buffy/Angel Thursday night happy...

At least that's some good news...

(Pic from www.bbc.co.uk/sport)

Woohoo!

Andy Murray has just won his first Masters event. He beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) at Cincinnati. Well done that boy!

Unfortunately, I can't comment on the match, as I don't have Sky sports so I can't watch the Masters matches!

Holy heck! She scribbled shite!

Sorry for the bad language, but hmph! I think I may have failed the whole course. I have just finished TMA09, and boy, does my head hurt. I decided to go with art history and poetry, simply because I had forgotten to take my Ipod with me so I couldn't do the music, and the philosophy question scared the hell out of me! I am hoping that the art has saved me, as I feel more at ease with that than anything else. I think I could have managed the music well, but ah well, stupid me for not having the music piece with me. The poetry... well, the less said about that the better. I must have written the biggest load of poo ever! I will have my fingers crossed for months now while I wait for the results (I think the results come out in December). Wow, do I feel sick right now.

You know, I don't think I'm cut out to do an arts/humanities degree. Nevertheless, onwards with the 60s block. Not tonight, though!

Is thinking a thought experiment?

If I could make Chewbacca noises, that's what I'd be doing right now. My brain is on overload with revising for TMA09. At the moment I am reading through the Rousseau philosophy stuff, though I will have to reread the philosophy from block 1. I have decided that I will get it done tomorrow night, once Principessa is asleep. I want it done and out of the way before next week. That way I can concentrate on TMA08, which I am dreading. I'm not looking forward to wading through Mr Marwick's verbose history of the 60s.

Speaking of Principessa... She is driving me crazy lately, answering back all the time. She has decided that being told off is a request, and will shout 'No thanks' at me when I do tell her off. It would be funny if it wasn't infuriating! If that's not enough, she is becoming really handy with her fists if she doesn't get her own way. Argh! I just don't know what to do. She is getting far too strong for me, every day seems like a constant struggle!

Ah well. I suppose I'd better get back to the revision instead of looking through my new sumi-e books. Ooohh, it looks all so interesting, and so relaxing, that I can't wait to get started on it. But I have to. I need to get this humanities course wrapped up before I stress out! But what I'd like to know is why someone was searching the internet for 'Myra Hindley in a leather skirt'? Very intriguing. (How do I know that someone was searching for this? Well, it came up in the feedburner stats this morning. The search pointed to my blog from comments made at this post.)

Procrastination over.

TMA07 has gone.

Now it's sent, I shall stop thinking about it. (Or so the theory goes... I've just had to make sure of a word definition. Luckily, I was correct in my usage. Phew!)

Hovering on the submit button...

(Image 'Myo - Illumination, Enlightenment' from www.theartofcalligraphy.com)

So, I am done. I am (though not exactly) happy with the essay. I just can't find the courage to hit 'Send'. I don't want my confidence dashed again before taking on the last two assignments. Hmph.

Speaking of the last two... I've got to get motivated to start some revision for TMA09. I really want that done by next weekend, just so I can concentrate fully on TMA08. I am hoping to have the course done and dusted by the submission date for TMA08. That way I can get started with some of the reading for A215. I don't know if I'm looking forward to, or actually quite daunted by, the prospect of starting the writing course. But I'm signed up to it now, so I will strive to do my best.

I might take a day out to have a go at Japanese calligraphy. My cousin got a set of brushes and an inkpad, so I've bought a book in order to have a go at it. I didn't want a pressie to go to waste! And besides, it might get me started on learning Japanese again. It's been such a long time since I've done any study for Japanese, but I'd like to get back to it at some point. Which reminds me, I'll have to get around to reading the Haruki Murakami books I bought a while back.

Dum de dum...

Why do I crucify myself?

Wow! It's been so long since I've listened to Tori Amos, let alone the album Little Earthquakes. I'd forgotten how good it was. I'd forgotten all the memories that comes with it too. Wow! All I can think of now is the start of a poem that I began years ago, that might now need looking at and rewriting because I really liked the first two lines:

Orcs and elves and Tori Amos
Let's not talk now about my demons

Yep, I still like those lines. Reading them back now, though, and remembering back to the time I wrote them, it's almost like I lay myself on a slab to be dissected. Eek! I'm sure there was another line in there somewhere that went something like:

Pysychology, Endocrinology
I'll know you inside out.

Slightly sinister, me thinks!

Hold on... just listening to Silent All These Years... Fantastic! That song still takes my breath away.



So, today is another day of combing the essay. I did a little yesterday, ended up more or less rewriting the conclusion, just to include why the two pieces are still relevant today, taking into account the masculine/feminine attributes and comparing them to modern day cultures. Hmmm, I hope it sounds okay. I've just got to make the rest read fluidly now. Maybe I should put some more references in. Not line references, I have enough of those, but references as to where I got the info for the rest of it. Wish I wouldn't panic so much!

Is that the fat lady I hear?

(Pic from www.edward-norton.org/)

No, the pic is not a representation of how I feel, though it is more than likey what my brain looks like after writing that essay. That said, I have finished. Done, done, done. 1537 words of pure, unadulterated rubbish. After a full day of working, many long words thrown in to make me sound intelligent, words like dichotomy and socio-verbal. Words I would never use in everyday life. God, I'd probably sound like Edward Norton (have you ever listened to his commentary or what ever the extra is on Fight Club?)! But it is done. I am just hesitant to send the damn thing off now. I'll leave that until tomorrow, I think. Give my brain a rest and a give the spawn of the devil essay a final read through tomorrow.

I think I should go and spend some time with Principessa now. Poor thing. I've almost completely ignored her today just so I could get this essay out of the way. At least she has me to herself over the next few days, now I don't have anything to fret about! Yay! Playtime with Principessa!

Would it help if I went to the dentist?

Because writing this damned essay is like pulling teeth! Saying that, I've got just over another 300 words to write, but in that I've got to get suitable conclusions to end the separate sections, a decent tie in section to bring it all together, and an all round conclusion just to finish it all off. Hmmm, seems a bit of an uphill struggle. Oh, bum! Oh, and I forgot to mention, I haven't quite finished writing the central body of the Don Juan section. I think I am about done with Medea.

Oh well. Hopefully I'll be done with this by the weekend. Not that anything special is happening at the weekend. I should be so lucky. But, if I can be done with it by then, I can do some revision for block one and read up on the Rousseau philosophy and the David/Friedrich art history, and maybe aim to get TMA09 done and dusted before the 60s block. It would make me feel so much better.

But for now, I need to stop a Principessa from bouncing the bed through the ceiling....

Reliving lost days...

Yay! But oops! I fell to the perils of Ebay, once again, but I have finally got a copy of Chronicle Of The Black Sword by Hawkwind! Raaaawwwwwkkkk! Chuffed to little mintballs I am. I've been meaning to get the album for ages as I only had a copy on cassette, and it's one of those albums that gets under your skin. The only problem now is, I want to go and dig our my Elric books and read them all over again. Maybe Stormbringer is trying to eat my soul!

What makes me smile even more as I listen to the album again is that Principessa is rocking out with me. She has already decided that Jerry Cornelius's Needle Gun is her favourite song.



She is making me giggle so much by pogo-ing about singing 'It's gonna make you run, needle, needle, needle, needle gun!" 'Tis a happy day.

'Tis a doubly happy day as I have also got myself a copy of Brian Lumley's book 'A Coven Of Vampires'. Woohoo! More little mintballs in the happy offing!

Right. Well. Happy day, but need to try and get the Medea/Don Juan essay written, and get ready for the surveyor and occupational therapist visit. They are hopefully going to the extension business started. Finally.

"He needed that like a thrid armpit!"

Just one of the fantastic commentary quotes that made me laugh out loud whilst watching the MotoGP last night. Well, I'd put in the work watching the qualies the night before, so I thought I might as well watch the actual race. And my oh my! What a RACE!

The first few laps consisted of Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in an absolute dogfight for first place. They completely blasted away at the front and didn't let anyone else get a look in. It was hair-raising, breathtaking stuff!



The jostle for the lead ended up with Rossi taking the front, but Stoner was always on his back wheel. Until eight laps to the finish line. Stoner attempted to overtake Rossi but Rossi pushed him wide. Stoner slowed just enough not to take them both out, but had to lay off the breaks to stop himself crashing, only to drive into the gravel and mini-crash anyway. He was still far enough in front of third place man Chris Vermeulen to stay in second place after he picked the bike back up and rode back onto the track. It was Rossi's first win at Laguna Seca. And James Toseland didn't do too bad, getting 9th place.

I've not ever enjoyed a race as much as I enjoyed this one. I think the commentators also helped though, because when I wasn't on the edge of my seat I was crying with laughter. All in all, a damn good night!

The good news came in the form of F1 though, as Lewis Hamliton won the German Grand Prix. That means he leads the championship, four points ahead of Felipe Massa and seven points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

Yep, I've a weekend of sports, I even watched Padraig Harrington win at Royal Birkdale, and I don't watch golf!

Just a little out of sorts...

Brain? (Or as my fingers demanded me to type - barin.) What is that? I have lost the ability to access mine. I think it may just need a wooden leg, or at least some matchsticks to prop it up, such a flaccid, useless thing it seems to be lately! Yes, I am still fighting the combat foxes in my head, the ones stuffing up my brain's bunghole, stopping the free flowing of the River of Idea and Creativity. Poop. But at least I had a relaxing evening last night - well, as relaxing as it can be watching MotoGP qualies. *Yawn.* But a can of beer and an hour out to watch Bonekickers (not sure about Bonekickers yet, the jury is out at the minute. Will watch again next week, must make an informed decision!) made all the difference. I will get back to the essay tomorrow.

So, my slackness forced me to slack off blogging yesterday, so no mention of the Dr. Horrible episode. Yes, act three went up yesterday. It's still available to watch, but will be gone by tomorrow. Pity. I really enjoyed it. Made me long for more Buffy, I tell ya! I still feel robbed that Angel only had five seasons. Stupid TV networks!

Anyway. I'm going to post this. And thanks Skips for pointing me to it. Cat lovers of the world, unite! Cats are far too evil to be cute, but they manage it somehow...

I feel like a quote out of context...

Argh! This TMA is doing my head in! But on the upside, this is post 250! Woohoo! And act 2 of Dr. Horrible's Song-Along Blog is up for viewing.

Back to normal programming. I am slowly being driven up the oil-slicked wall with this TMA. Every time I think I have found a foothold I am unceremoniously dropped from a great height. The Medea section seems to be coming together, but the Don Juan bit is eluding me at the minute, even though I know I have all the info that I need to write it. Fudgecakes! I may be going slightly mad.

So, for a quick music lesson...

For your consideration...

Woohoo! The first act of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is up and ready for perusal here. While I know it will get better, and the first act is just introducing the characters, so far it's a little flat. However, I love Nathan Fillion's entrance. I think he may be the best thing in it so far! But, as it's a Joss Whedon project, I'm just going to love it anyway!

TMA avoidance.

This is what this is. I am so frustrated with the whole thing, it's driving me up the bloody wall.

So, what do I have to do in this latest essay? I have to contrast the traditional attributes of masculinity and femininity in two of four specified texts. I've already said that I have chosen Don Juan and Medea here, but working the essay around them is proving more elusive than the Scarlet Pimpernel. I know what I want to say, and what parts of the 'texts' I want to use, but cohesion is non-existent! I am floundering, plain and simple. It is so frustrating because both of the 'texts' are goldmines for essay material. Maybe that's the problem, maybe I'm trying to incorporate too much. I think I will need more thinking time.

On other stuff... The things Principessa has me doing! Today she had me try to teach her how to play bowling and tennis on Wii Sports. It was both funny and frustrating at the same time. Principessa has developed the art of selective hearing extremely well, so trying to show her or explain to her what to do is a very hard job. But, saying that, she did strike out in bowling at one point. 'Twas very impressive! Another thing she has me do is put socks over her bedtime bottle (sooo much less hassle than a cup at bedtime) so that the milk or orange juice doesn't freeze her hands. Oh, if a drink is too cold she throws it on the floor. That is me, not a happy Mummy! A sock makes it all better, and her socks fit the bottle perfectly!

Anyways, enough of my rambling. Time to try and get more of this essay done. 500 words down (ish), another 1000 to go....

Cabaret Cthulhu...

(Pictures from http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/plush_cthulhu.html and www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies)

I have just been watching some TV with Principessa, specifically a program called Doodle Do. I must admit, I zoned out a little. My brain went off on a tangent and I found myself thinking about Cthulhu. I wondered why, but then I realised. The characters on Doodle Do resemble cabaret Cthulhu hand puppets! I don't feel so bad about Principessa having a cuddly Cthulhu now!

Now I have a picture in my head of Cthulhu in Las Vegas, feathers and all, singing 'I Will Survive'! I suppose it'd look a little like this, but with more tentacles!

What a secret blunder!

*Eeks* I received the secret 'exam' paper today. Well, the envelope contains the very last assignments for the A103 course. But...problem. The ever so secret pages have been sealed into the return envelope, instead of the top secret instructive envelope that should contain the exam paper and the return envelope. If any of that makes sense! So, I'm just keeping an eye out at the A103 forum to see what is to be done. Ho hum!

As for the current essay TMA07 plan... I've not started yet. I've taken a day or so out to finally get around to reading Wide Sargasso Sea. Holy heck! it's depressing. Just got a few more pages to read before I'm done. And I shall breath a sigh of relief. I thought I had better read it, just to make sure that it would not be a text I could use for the essay. I can tell you, it's a big, fat no! It's an interesting take on the Bertha character from Jane Eyre, Rochester's first wife. But it drains the life out of you faster than the death drain in Guitar Hero 3. So, it is definitely Don Juan and Medea for my two texts. Time to finish the Medea block work, methinks, and gather my thoughts about the Don!

Paper and pencil skiing.

Last night, Principessa was scribbling away quite happily when she go up and started playing with the two pencils. With one in each hand, she pretended to push herself along in the style of a skier.

• Princi: "I'm skating, Mummy"
  
• Me: "Don't you mean skiing?"
  
• Princi: "Yes, skiing."

Then she took two pieces of paper down, put them on the floor - one under each foot - and proceeded to pretend to ski out of the front room.

• Grandand: "Are you a Langlaufer?"
  
• Princi: "No, I am just a skier!"
  

And off she skied, into the hallway!

Cyborg Me

Get Your Cyborg Name

Has your child ever said "yuck" to food?

If they have, they can now be branded racist according to this report in the Daily Telegraph. Now, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I still say yuck to things like baked beans and lettuce. Does that make me racist? Surely if someone, child or adult alike, says "yuck" to food it means that you simply don't like it, that the taste or texture does not suit your palate? I love strawberries, but don't like strawberry flavoured things (weird, I know, but strawberry flavoured things make me chuck up), so what does that say about me.

The bit in the report that really irked me was how even babies could not be ignored in the fight against prejudice, as they can "recognise different people in their lives." If this is truly enforced it must mean that we are criminally responsible from the day we are born.

Wimbledon, Men's Final. Silverstone. Journey's End.

(Picture from www.wimbledon.org/)

Back to back they faced each other, drew their rackets and aced each other!

Rafa won! That was a fantastic final, full of excitement. I thought it was over in the third set. Rafa had taken the first two sets, 6-4, 6-4, and he was 4-5 in the third. He was playing just a notch better than Roger, so I thought he would break Roger and go onto win. But - dun dun duuuuun - rain delay! The third set went to a tie breaker. Roger turned on the tennis magic to win the breaker 7-5. The fourth set, littered with championship points for Rafa, also went to a tie breaker, again won by Roger, 10-8. At two sets all, 2 games all and 40-40, another rain delay. After about 30 minutes they resumed play.

After a really tough battle royale, Rafa took the fifth set 9-7. I think at the end of it all, after climbing to celebrate with his family, then taking a jolly jaunt over to the Royal Box, Rafa was a bit shell-shocked. But, I think, the better player won.

(Picture from www.bbc.co.uk/sport)

Yay! Louis Hamilton did go on to win at Silverstone. From a starting position of fourth, he jumped to second spot from the starting line, then overtook Heikki Kovalainen on the fourth or fifth lap, and led for the remainder of the race. 'Twas an incredibly interesting race in wet conditions.

(Screencap from time-and-space)

Now. Doctor Who. Journey’s End. Not sure if I enjoyed it, or if I was a little disappointed. It had the making of a great episode, it wrapped up all loose ends, but it seemed a little too convenient. However, there were some fantastic components. The threefold man idea was complete genius. It also provided a reason for Donna’s repeated comment ‘I’m only a temp. Catherine Tate completely out-acted David Tennant, and I’d go so far as to say she was amazing. She nailed the quick talking explaining Doctor trait perfectly, though Tennant mimicked her quite well too. Dalek Caan, what a twist! Davros, too, was brilliant. Unfortunately, the cameos from everyone else seemed to fall by the wayside, seeming all pretty pointless.

I do have more to say, but I wont, for fear of spoiling it for peeps yet to watch it. All that’s left to say is – there’s a Doctor-shaped hole in Saturday evenings that needs to be filled!

Wimbledon, Ladies Finals Day.

So I really should talk about the Ladies final, but I think this needs to be said first.

(Pictures from www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html)


Laura Robson won the junior Wimbledon title! She played such a good game. She beat the Thai 3rd seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. I really hope she can keep up this level of tennis and break onto the WTA tour with a vengeance!


In the Ladies final, Venus triumphed over Serena to win her 5th Wimbledon title. I didn't watch the match, I was too busy shouting 'Laura, Laura, Laura,' at the TV with Principessa! Venus won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.

So, Men's final day tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be watching as the F1 race is on at the same time. And as it's the British Grand Prix, I think that might need watching. Let's hope Louis Hamilton can win at Silverstone.