Some days I hate everything...

Today is one of those days. Hmph. I feel all squished inside, all muted and non-existent. I need chocolate, but chocolate is also the last thing I do need.

Catch me if I fall...

I don't like Mondays...

Just a title. I have no reason not to like Mondays. Monday is just like any other day. Now I shall stop rambling.

I am so very tired today. Principessa decided she had to stay up past 11 last night. I tried everything possible to calm her from her excitable mood; shower Doctor Who, Green Eggs and Ham audiobook, making pompom and pipe cleaner bugs. Nothing worked. She was a veritable Energiser bunny. When she finally did settle I was in no mood to sleep, so sat down and trundled through an hour and a half of studying Rousseau, democracies and persistent minorities. I am constantly surprised at how interesting this all is, I never thought I would enjoy this section. Unfortunately, late nights being the time that is available to study, it sets my brain going and stops me from dropping off to sleep. I think I spent half an hour dramatically miming along to 80's power ballads (why, oh why did I put Heart on the IPod? It's like finding an old friend!), then completely wound down reading some more of Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. (Yes, I know. I said a few days ago that I was reading Dust by Elizabeth Bear. Couldn't get into it. Brain is not in gear for that sort of story at the moment.)

I am just about to do some more studying, now Principessa has gone to bug her Nanny. I think I will start putting down the bones of the next assignment while the information about persistent minorities is still fresh in the mind. I might think about lunch first, though.

One of the most interesting blogs I've read...

The Nonist.

Go check it out.

Are we what we are?

Principessa this morning:

• You are a drum. Nanny is a giraffe. I am Principessa.

So there you go.

I went a bit ITunes crazy yesterday. After playing GH, some of the tunes have become so ingrained that I need to listen to them some more. I bought some Muse, Heart, Killers and Weezer (though not the song on GH3, but 'Gone Fishin''). And because I just love the video, and I'd never bought a video for the ipod, I got 'Here We Go Again' by OK Go. Such a good vid, and there is an advert on TV that copies it, though I can't remember what for. Ah well.

Rousseau is still feeding my brain at the moment. It's all very interesting reading (oooh, here's a song I haven't heard for ages - 'All I wanna do' by Heart. Love a good rock ballad, me! Sorry for the interruption!) and it is churning the creative juices, though what Rousseau has to do with robots - I have no idea! Wow, six months ago I never thought I'd be talking about Rousseau and how his mental ramblings would inspire me. I didn't know who Rousseau was, let alone be thinking of studying more philosophy. Hmmm.

Goodbye Louis XVI, I hope!

I'm done. It's written and printed, so all that is left to do now is give TMA04 one final squiz and send it off. *Phew* is all I can say. I really hated every minute of this one. Trying to work a way to write witting and unwitting testimony into one piece of continuous prose was tough. But, when all is said and done, I suppose it has taught me a handy skill that I could translate into my writing. When I get back to my writing, that is.

Principessa is still a funny one. Nanny had been talking about the habits of animals with her the other day, and had told Principessa that she was not an animal, this was the reply that Nanny received:

• Are you an elephant then?

Later on, she turned round to Grandand and said:

• Grandand, I am not a sambwich!

She is a crazy baby! The other day I went to put on Guitar Hero, and Principessa decided she wanted to watch Nick Jr. Here is the conversation:

• Me: Can I play guitar babs?
• Princi: No, I want Nick Jr.
• Me: But you can play on your computer.
• Princi: No. I want Nick Jr.
• Me: But you've switched your computer on. You need to switch it off before you can watch Nick Jr.
• Princi: NO. I WANT NICK JR.
• Me: But you have your computer.
• Princi: And?

I didn't know she had those kinds of arguing skills! It completely killed my argument off, I was far to busy laughing at the turn of events!

Well, time to go and get TMA04 in order. I hope it is okay and not just a load of bull!

All the bees have disappeared?

No, this is not a reference to actual bees disappearing. This is the Doctor Who quote that is buzzing all over the net. I've noticed loads of it around, and people have latched onto it and are speculating what it could mean for the series. Well, I thought I'd add my tuppence worth.

I've seen some pictures for this year's Christmas special, so my thoughts are (whited out below so I don't spoil anything for others! If you want to read it, highlight the section):

In a Patrick Troughton episode (The Tomb Of The Cybermen), one of the characters (a German named Klieg) describes cybermen "like bees in a giant honeycomb, awaiting for a signal to awake from their winter sleep." Could the bees disappearing be a reference to this? Also, it has been said that David Morrissey might be playing the part of the first Doctor, but I reckon he looks more like the second Doctor. If so, it would give the bees thing even more weight.

Well, that's my Doctor Who speculation over with for now. The fourth series, after its poor start, is going well. The episodes have been much more enjoyable, and the last episode with the Oods was really good. I still think the Oods resemble a cross between Cthulhu and Bela Lugosi's Dracula though!

Right, enough DW. I had a look at my Feedburner account before and saw one of the best searches ever that led to my blog:

• dave mckean please help me on writing

I am so sad (in the geeky way, that is), I think this is great. If only Dave McKean would teach me to draw! I think I would ask Neil Gaiman or Michael Marshall Smith or Brian Lumley for help with writing though.

Rousseau before bed = weird dreams

So. I have decided that it is not worth wasting all my time trying to write (though I should really say writing. There is either do or do not, no try) TMA04, and have started reading the Rousseau section of block 3. Big mistake. Not because I don't understand it (once you get into it, it's okay), but because it sets my subconscious off on one while I am sleeping.

• Implicit assumption: Rousseau before bed = weird dreams.
• Premise 1: I read Rousseau's thoughts on legitimate authority versus naked power (that can conjure interesting, yet disturbing, images even before sleep!) before I went to bed.
• Premise 2: I had weird dreams about men with guns kidnapping me and some friends, not wanting them to drill through my head, so doing what they said to save myself and my friends because they now had guns and drills and therefore had naked power over us.
• Conclusion: So reading Rousseau before bed gave me weird dreams.
  

All through the dream it was a constant struggle to do what the men said to stop them from drilling my head ('Is it safe?' now echoes in my mind!), while trying to find a way to escape, therefore disobeying their instructions. More and more people seemed to end up being kidnapped and sitting with me. Somehow or other, the men and their threats became tolerable, though we were still making plans to escape. We finally got our chance when they went outside to a small brick building to sleep. It was still worrying because if they hadn't gone to sleep they could see us trying to escape through the open front door (this is how cruel my mind is; the door was open so we could see our deprived freedom). Just as we were about to make our escape, the children ducking down and out through the front door, the adults over the fences of the back gardens, I woke up.

I hope this doesn't happen every night I read the Rousseau section. Or maybe I do. It might provide some useful ideas for stories. It's also nice to know that my brain is trying to work at some level to make sure I understand things, even when I am asleep!

I don't give a damn about the Estates-General!

Nope, I don't care for history in the slightest. It makes my head hurt. I do not want to be an historian. Of that I am sure. I can get deeply immersed in some things history related, but that is more folk and fairy tale, mythology and most surprisingly, gladiators. I like the gladiators. Just don't put primary source material in front of me to be delved into.

I am fed up of looking at the excerpt of the Decree convoking the Estates-General now. What the hell am I meant to see in it? I can get through the witting testimony. But the unwitting testimony? I would like to know what I think I can see in it is right before committing to write the essay. Ah phooey!

God of Rock!

Well, not quite yet. I think I'm slightly addicted to Guitar Hero. I went to bed last night and all I could see when I closed my eyes was the bloody fretboard and the notes popping up. I also developed a nervous twitch in my fingers and my hand was independently playing air guitar while I was falling asleep.

I've managed to make a start on TMA04, spurred on by the result for TMA03. I've got about another 200 words to find, but I think I'm just confusing myself with what I'm writing. Will take another day relaxing and launch into it tomorrow.

Come back gladiators, all is forgiven.

Heheeeeeeee, I got my TMA back today. Wow! I couldn't believe it! For once I can't whinge about the mark as I never expected in a month of Sundays to get such a result. I was hoping to achieve around the mark I got for the test TMA (79%), so imagine my glee when seeing a mark of 90%! Absolutely fantastic!

So I am giving myself a day off from the French Revolution and the fall of the ancien regime. I will, instead, be rocking out with Guitar Hero with Principessa. RRRAAAAWWWWKKKK!!!

I took Principessa to Spaceport today. Grandand came along too, as did Melanie and Nat. We had a great time, although I was unable to sit with everyone during the planetarium show. Bah!

When we got home, Principessa became a scribbling demon! She sat for ages, doodling these pictures. I am so proud of her as she hasn't been taught to draw people and I just love the little man.

Still struggling with the French Revolution part of the OU course. I can't tell you how much I despise unwitting testimony right now.

As for sports, I only have the MotoGP to comment on. James Toseland did us proud again, getting 7th place, but having to fight from 11th. He's not doing bad for his rookie year, me thinks.

Oh, I lie! Have the swimming to talk about too. What a competition! Team GB notched up 24 medals, and three of them were gold. Made up. That's pretty fantastic.

I think Sod has it in for me!

I had to go to the hospital today, just to get the results of the sleep study I had in December. It took us ages to get a parking space, which meant spending ages waiting to be seen because I was late. Principessa was a little star while we waited, playing with her cyberman ("Isn't my cyberman beautiful?" she asked me the other day... strange child!) and Dr Who figures and scribbling on some paper (kindly provided by the nurse) with crayons that she had found in the back pocket on the wheelchair. It was hardly worth going. The Doc asked how I was feeling, if I sleep okay, if I feel overly tired during the day. Then he told me that as all was fine, and as the tests came back with satisfactory results that that was all he needed to say.

So, as Principessa had been so good, we went to the bookshop. She finally decided on two Charlie and Lola books and a Mr Greedy book. Then it was Starbucks time (only take out though, much cheaper that way!). All is fine and dandy, and Principessa is still behaving.

Out we went to the car, Principessa sucking her lollipop, all is good and the world is happy. Until we all get settled in the car and Grandand notices something on the windscreen. Yup, a fixed penalty notice for parking in a disabled bay. In all the kerfuffle of getting me and Principessa out of the car, Grandand had forgotten to put the freshly renewed (on Wedenesday) blue badge on the dashboard. Bartender!

Ah well, elephants and equilibrium and all that jazz!

Jaded.

I've only been on the OU course for just over 2 months and already I'm jaded by something that has happened.

When you join the OU you are given access to course forums. I had been having a look around course forums of courses that I want to take after A103 and had clicked on a post that had an attachment. So I clicked on the attachment (usually pictures, sometimes documents relevant to the course) - yeah, I blogged about this last week. No need to repeat myself. Anyway, the situation on the forum rollerballed and it turned out that somehow the link for the attachment was dodgy (it was supposed to be a picture of a cat, but other people clicked on it and pictures of their kids popped up), but the fear of the implications had already taken hold. I sent the person who posted the original post a message apologising for how the situation blew up, but at the same time the person must understand how I felt.

So I now feel particularly bleurgh about the whole thing. About clicking in the link in the first place, about asking for advice on how to handle it, about everything. I think I'll continue with the course until it's finished, but I'm not sure if I'll do any others.

Bah! I was enjoying it up to now, too.

It's all in the commas.

I was talking to my Dad today about using commas. While we were deep in the conversation, Principessa runs up to me and says;

• "What's a comma?"

• "It's a punctuation mark, babe," I said.

• "A punctumation mark..."

And off she ran to play Tom and Jerry games on the computer.

The excitement....

Was barely contained and only partially worth it. Bah!

The new series of Doctor Who... Hmmm... I wont say too much because I don't want to spoil the story for peeps reading this who haven't seen the episode yet (Hi Dave!).

Well, Catherine Tate was good. There was a fantastic bit with her and the Doctor when she finds him, and Sarah Lancashire was good as an alien nanny, but other than that the episode was a bit like pulling teeth. I really didn't enjoy the story, the bits for Donna were the only parts that made it bearable. Me, saying that! Didn't think it'd happen! David Tennant was his usual Doctor self, though his performance just seem to lack something.

Hmph, after all the waiting I was disappointed. The whole episode was too cutesy. I suppose the only way to go from here is up? I hope so.

Hellboy and Stardust

I finally got around to watching two of the DVDs I have purchased over the last couple of months.

• Hellboy.

I really enjoyed this film. I have to admit I haven't read the comics, but maybe I'll go and search some out on Ebay now. Other than I enjoyed it, I haven't got anything else to say as I watched it to relax and free my brain from thinking.

• Stardust.

Watched this last night (after Principessa went to sleep while watching Hellboy. She was supposed to watch Stardust with me, but she wanted to watch the red monster instead). After hearing so many people say it was awful I was quite surprised as I quite liked it. Okay, so some of the plot points from the book were missing, and other things were there that I don't quite remember from the book (I'll have to read it again now), but otherwise it was okay. I was hoping the the fight between the unicorn and lion would still be there as that scene, for some reason, really stood out for me. But no, just the unicorn appeared.

I might get around to watching Daywatch tonight. I really loved Nightwatch. I've got the books sitting on the shelf waiting to be read, but there is a pile of books to get through before I get to them. Reading Dust by Elizabeth Bear (or I will when I find it... the gremlins seem to have picked it up for their plaything at the minute. Can't seem to find it. Hmmm...) in between reading Block 3 for the OU course. God it's boring! Block 3, that is. I'm hoping it will get easier and less like my brain trudging through a quagmire.

*Sigh*

More Doctor Who related blogging. Sorry!

I was just having a nosey through the messageboards at the OU. Well, what can I say? I was truly devastated when I read a posting on the Doctor Who boards that Amy Winehouse was going to play a character in Doctor Who. ARGH! No! How could they do that to me? That would totally kill my enjoyment of Doctor Who, and would turn me off completely. I can't stand her.

Okay, so I'm not Catherine Tate's biggest fan, but I could deal with her being in it. I am hoping that she builds on 'The Runaway Bride', and makes Donna a character I like. But Amy Winehouse? No way. Could not deal with that. So I was so glad when I discovered it was an April Fools joke.

Phew. I can breath easy now.

Who gave Sod the opportunity to devise a law?

So, yesterday morning. I was up early to make sure I got to bid on a bunch of Doctor Who toys for Principessa as she had somehow managed to loose her Doctor. I put my bid in with 49 seconds to go, and yay me, won the items. Feeling happy with myself that I would once again make Principessa a happy girl again, I toddled off to do some other stuff online.

Fast forward, yesterday afternoon. Go upstairs to sort out the pile of books that needed to be put up on the shelves and sort out other bits and bobs in the bedroom. I was 'happily' going through stuff, when it came to sorting out the yellow bin behind the door. Now, somehow, stuff that wasn't to be thrown away had been put in there along with the odd bit of paper that needed shredding. Sitting on top was a brown paper Starbucks bag that Principessa had used to put a load of stuff in. I started to sift though it:

1. Lots of felt tip pens with no lids.
2. Lots of lids for other felt tip pens.
3. Lots of cards for a Dr Seuss board game she had destroyed.
4. Various chess pieces.
5. Magnetic letters.
6. Lots of scribbled on paper.
7. And.... you've guessed it. The Doctor.
   

Typical. The day I finally get round to replacing the lost Doctor the bloody doll appears. I take it downstairs to a computer goggle-eyed Principessa (who had been playing games downstairs on the computer while I was upstairs) and show it to her. She runs over, gives the Doctor a hug and then says:

• "Oh no! There's someone missing!"

• "Who?" I asked.

• "Daleks and Cybermen!"

• "She hasn't got a Cyberman," said Grandand.

• "Good job I bought the new Doctor then. There's one in the bundle," I said.

So now the Doctor has appeared I have a happy Principessa. I'm just going to have to search for her Daleks now....

No pics...

So today, after finding that someone had lifted a photo of Principessa from the blog and posted it to another site/messageboard, I have decided that I need to remove all pics of her from here and Facebook. It freaked me out just a little, and I found it quite a bit creepy that someone would just take a photo without asking and post it somewhere Netside that I visit.

Skips, I know you have some pics of Principessa on your sites, so could I ask you to take them down please? Likewise, anyone else I know. If you have posted any pics of Principessa, could you please take them down. Thanks lotsly.

LOLSnoopy

I love this. Drawn by a guy called Evan Shaner, I found it on Wil Wheaton's blog, and being a big Snoopy fangirl I had to post it. Absolutely fantastic!

Well, the Doctor Who thing happened again this morning. So sick of 'School and Chips' was I that I told Principessa that she could watch it, but it would be an episode of my choosing. So I put on 'Werewolf Doctor Who'. This was the response (until kung fu monks appeared):

• "No, not this one. This one is not my favourite. 'School and Chips' is my favourite."

Well, that told me, didn't it. I fully expect to be watching that before she goes to sleep tonight. Roll on new Doctor Who, save me!