New Year

I dunno what to do. I really, really don't want to end up sat here on my own. That'd be a great omen for 2009 wouldn't it? Seeing in the New Year alone feeling like shit. So what are my other options? Well I was leaning towards finding a way to my sister's, to go to a party at the place she used to work. Now, she thinks she's going to another party in London. While I am still invited, this one would be with her old friends who she doesn't see often. I'd feel way too much like I was just tagging along. If it was at the other place I think I'd still try and go, but not the London party. Another option is going to my dad's mate's pub. I don't want to do that at all. With a couple of exceptions, I'm not keen on most of my dad's friends. I've never liked how they talked to me. Plus an evening with my dad and his girlfriend, with no support from my siblings, would be pretty hard going. In an ideal world I could have persuaded a uni friend to go to Hull with me, but I'm being ignored...as usual. I wish people would tell me to piss off rather than flat out ignoring me.

The more I think about it, the more likely I think it is that I'll be here. Online. Seeing in the new year on my own. Yep, moving here has proven to be yet another new start where nothing has really changed. Maybe I'll always be on my own.

Is it Roslin?!

A further note to my last Cylon related post. Roslin ISN'T IN THE PICTURE ON SCIFI's CLUES SITE! A slowed down teaser from the new series seems to confirm who the suspects are. The Adamas, Starbuck, Baltar, Roslin, Zarek, Dualla, Helo and Gaeta. I very much doubt it's Dualla (not significant enough), Gaeta (same reason) or Helo (hybrid daughter). That Last Supper picture with Roslin not in it...I didn't even notice at first! I thought it was the same picture I'd seen before. Ronald D Moore said that the final Cylon isn't in the picture, but which version?! Roslin was my first guess when the other four were revealed. With the absence of Ellen Tigh as a suspect, according to the trailer, I revert back to her, with Zarek as my number two.

Less than a month now!

The Final Cylon

I'm such a nerd. I can hardly contain my excitement at the fact that Battlestar Galactica is back in about a month! I just watched the first of the new webisodes series, which was interesting. If this series is half as good as The Resistance it'll be well worth watching. Anyway, after watching, I took some time to look around SciFi's Battlestar site, and now I can't stop thinking about who the fifth Cylon is again. For most TV shows, I have no interest in reading about other people's theories. It reminds of the Harry Potter "who is the Half Blood Prince?" thing, because that was so ridiculous and some people really did have stupid ideas. I won't name the PB member who was sure it was Justin Finch-Fletchley. Battlestar theories, for the most part, seem a whole lot more sensible though. Reading what other people think gives me ideas I might not have considered myself. Anyway, the rest of this post is about why I think people are or are not likely to be the last of the final five.

Admiral Adama - Lots of places are sure it has to be a really major character. Thinking of really major characters who aren't already Cylons, I'll start with Bill Adama. Biggest reason why he isn't the one? Caprica. Based on that story, his family was opposed to the creation of Cylons before they even existed. That, along with the fact that it'd make Lee and the other son hard to explain, means that I think it very unlikely to be him. It'd be quite impressive if they found a way for it to work mind. His sons could be the first hybrids for all we know. Still, doesn't seem very plausible.

Lee Adama - Same reasons as his father. It's just too complicated with his family history. Lee has always been a good man, so he'd be an interesting one to reveal as a Cylon, but again I don't think it possible.

Laura Roslin - She was my favourite to be the fifth after the season 3 ending. Her connection to Athena and Caprica Six is suspicious. Her visions too. Still, the prophecies hint at her being a special human being. A great leader who would lead her people back to Earth. Also worth noting that D'Anna said that there were four of the five in the fleet, and Roslin wasn't with the fleet at the time. Still, D'Anna also said it wasn't her. Well, more or less. Would she have told her if it really was her? I think Roslin is still one of my favourites, because it would be a massive revelation. If it has to be one of the main lot, I'd pick her.

Starbuck - I just don't believe it is her. Gut feeling maybe. There are many clues suggesting it is though. Her relationship with Leoban, her miraculous reappearance, the symbol she always painted...it really is like everything that has happened is her destiny. Is that because she's a special human being, or because she's something else? She'll lead humanity to destruction, but will that be because she's a Cylon? In my opinion, no. She's special and she has a great destiny, but I still think she's human.

Baltar - I don't know. I thought he definitely wouldn't be. Thought it'd be too obvious. He was just a flawed human who made bad choices and did a few really bad things, but he represented what was wrong with humanity. To blame his actions on being a Cylon would be an easy way out. Things the hybrid said about seeking redemption point to him more than the other main characters though, and this new "voice of god" Baltar has really made me think again. The clues on the SciFi site too. I've never wanted him to be a Cylon for the reasons I said about him just being a flawed human being, but at this point I still think it'd be a good twist. Oh and obviously his head Cylon makes you think it could be him "projecting" her image, but I think her presence is way more complicated than that, and I can't even begin to explain why she's there or what she is.

Helo - I've always seen him as a definite no, along with Cally Tyrol. He father a child to a Cylon. Cylons can't reproduce with other Cylons. However, it appears that Tigh got the Six pregnant. Is this because the final five are different, or can Cylons reproduce afterall? I still think it very, very unlikely that Helo is one, but I now don't see it as impossible.

Ellen Tigh - Right, now we're out of the main characters, but Ellen Tigh has been my favourite for a long while now. Her and the Colonel have no children. Both Cylons? Baltar never did reveal the results of her Cylon test. Her mysterious reappearance in season 1, as well as her other slightly suspicious actions, have left me really thinking it could be her. I think it'd be a pretty good twist. I don't think I can really explain why, but there's just something pushing me to think it's her.

Gaeta - No. Although it looks like he's the focus of these webisodes, I don't think he's important enough. He's not done anything that'd make you think one way or the other that it could be him.

Hera - Maybe the final Cylon is "the shape of things to come". Maybe she hadn't been born at the time the other four of the five were created. Hera is definitely very important. Is that just because she's a hybrid, or something more? This is a theory I've not long come upon, but it's definitely worth considering.

Tom Zarek - Like Roslin, this guy is quite anti-Cylon, making him someone else who would be very interesting to have as one of the five. He's not always been a central character, but he's always been important as a secondary character. He often gets in the way and protests against the actions of main characters. Could he know things they don't? What if he's always known he was a Cylon?

Boomer - Another interesting theory I came across was that as well as infiltrating humanity, the final five had infiltrated the other Cylons. Boomer is apart from the other eights. That doesn't seem to happen in Cylon society. Is she different to the others? The final Cylon looking like an existing Cylon model? Long shot, but interesting.

Head Six - This didn't really occur to me until I looked again at the epic "Last Supper" picture. Maybe the last one isn't a physical being. The Six in Baltar's head has definitely influenced events over the last 3 and a half seasons. So has the Baltar in Caprica's head. Why? What are they? The picture comes into play because I noticed Caprica pointing at the Head Six. She can see her?! That must be significant, somehow.

Someone new - Very unlikely, probably impossible. No one introduced at this stage would be significant enough, unless it's revealed that the final Cylon is the God, a god, the hybrid or something else bizarre like that. It'd be kinda disappointing if it wasn't someone I listed above though.

Other stuff to consider - The final five, or at least the four we know, we triggered with Bear McCreary's very awesome version of All Along the Watchtower. Why wasn't the fifth? None of the other suspects could hear the music. At least, not the ones in the fleet. That doesn't include Starbuck, who returned around the same time the trigger went off. Coincidence? Also doesn't include Ellen Tigh, since she's presumed dead. I also mentioned earlier that Last Supper picture SciFi released. I mentioned the pointing at the Head Six. Also worth noting, and the thing I noticed the first time I looked, is the empty seat at the table. The obvious conclusion would be that this is the seat for the final Cylon. And now for a comment that makes a lot of the rest of the stuff I've written irrelevant. The writers are now saying the the final Cylon is not at the table. NOT AT THE TABLE. Rules out the Adamas, Roslin, Baltar, Starbuck, Helo and the Head Six. Haha, wish I'd read that first before I'd written out everything else, but oh well.

And my conclusions? Ellen Tigh or Tom Zarek. If they're lying about the final Cylon not being at the table, Roslin is also a major suspect. Hera is also a big one, for the sake of having a slightly alternative theory.

Seriously, I am so excited about this coming back on TV. Battlestar has been one of the most exciting things on since it started.

Update time

I've not been updating so much recently, but I feel like a lot has happened. This post is about stuff that's happened rather than one thing in general. Finished this post well over a week after I started too.

Firstly, the other weekend I went to my sister's on the Friday so we could go see Thunder in Manchester on the Saturday. I'll get to Thunder next, but Friday night was pretty awesome too. Got to her house, went shopping and bought studenty food and booze, went back and ate, then spent the whole night watching music videos and playing Guitar Hero and drinking. I properly regressed into student mode and started making up Snakebites too. Oh how I miss that kind of random hanging out session, and just being a student in general. Still, didn't feel the same the next morning. Woke up not really hungover, but feeling like I'd had a few. It was freezing because they're too poor to have the heating on all the time, downstairs was a huge mess of cans from the previous night that no one had cleaned up, the kitchen was a state and the bathrooms...I don't even want to go there. Proper student living...and I don't miss that.

So then Saturday night we went to Manchester. Wow. Thunder were just so much better than I expected. I've heard great things about them live, and liked the songs I knew, but they really blew me away. All the songs are a million times better live. The singer has so much energy, and I've never seen a band get the crowd going like that. That was my third time at Manchester Academy, and the only time I've seen it totally sold out. Absolutely amazing gig. I bought some Thunder albums afterwards too, and the new album is great. Everyone listen to the album "Bang!" for free on Last FM.

After that another tough week at work happened, and then there was another weekend. And a payday! Of course I spent my money wisely and saved as much as I could, and also paid off my debt to my dad. HAHA NO. I bought a Wii! Best decision ever. It's fantastic. I got the console and Mario Kart. So worth it. Good times.

On to the next weekend. I went to my Mum's for a few days, including Monday and Tuesday since I'd booked them off work. I enjoyed being at home for a while, and not feeling like I had responsibilities. It was nice to have the cats around, and to have meals cooked for me, and to have Sky, and to just be able to relax. Sucks that I don't have many friends queuing up to see me back there, but oh well. Bumped into someone from school in town, and she's not really talking to any of our old lot either. Generally a good weekend though, and I'm glad I had those days off work.

Saying that, work has been okay this week. Oddly quieter, especially today. It's been nice chatting to some of the people there, especially the one from my old lab. Funny to get the gossip, and find out that little has changed. All in all I had a pretty good day today, and I intend to have a good weekend finishing my Christmas shopping and Wiiing.

Edit: Hey, the date says the 3oth of November, but this is actually going out on the 12th of December. Stupid delay.


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Now playing: Thunder - Carol Ann
via FoxyTunes

This is how I escape

This week has been really hard. Well, the last few have, but this one included a funeral. I think the best way for me to deal with that is to escape into fantasy worlds. So this is what I've been watching.

Heroes

Heroes is usually just that average thing I watch. Not amazingly fantastic, and not a patch on things like Lost, even though it follows the same finding a small bit out at a time formula. Still, I think it's really become something great lately. This last episode, Villains, was brilliant. If I was to pick the main villains before this season, I'd have said Sylar, Angela Petrelli, Adam Monroe and Linderman, and he's dead. Now we know that Bennett pushed Sylar over the edge at a time when he could still be saved, and Angela was sometimes being controlled and sometimes acting to stop her husband. Arthur Petrelli is definitely going to make things more interesting. I'm kinda disappointed about Bennett, but it was still a really good twist. I'm actually excited about the next episode, because I really have no idea where this is going.

Dexter

This continues to be interesting. I just hope Anton doesn't end up killed or leaving at the end of the season or whatever, like Deb's previous love interests. I'm still enjoying the Miguel Prado story.

Stargate Atlantis

You know, it's really sad. I think Atlantis has run it's course, and they're ending it at the right time. It really sucks that I finally think that. Last week's episode was really good. Exciting, action packed, featured Shepperd's team heavily, had a part for Woolsey, great to see Michael back, and great dramatic fight on the outside of Atlantis. So what didn't I like? Starting with the smallest thing, no Keller. What was the point of putting her on the credits?! And now for the biggest bit I didn't like. This was far too brief a wrap up for Michael. There was no build up to this episode, and then Michael was defeated by being kicked off a ledge. Revenge. I hate revenge in characters I like, including Teyla.

Michael has been the main villain on Atlantis since his first appearance. Well, the main individual, so not counting generic wraith or replicators. They've mentioned him this season, but since the beginning, no sightings of him. Nothing featuring him. Not even any contact with his men. When SG1 had Anubis as their main enemy, he was in a handful of episodes during seasons, but there was also evidence of his plans, and attacks from his Kull warriers. Nothing from Michael other than talk of what he did before, and the effects of the Hoffan drug. I dunno, I guess for me it was just a bit of an anti-climax.

This kind of episode is why I think maybe Atlantis has run it's course. Good, but lacking something. Atlantis peaked in season 3, which was just brilliant from start to finish. Seasons 4 and 5 have had some great episodes, but on the whole haven't been so good. The team isn't always together, and the back end of the season isn't living up to expectations. Mind you, season 10 of SG1 had a disappointing second half after a brilliant first half. Anyway, I'll stop complaining, because I still love Atlantis and a massive part of me still doesn't want it to end. I just wish it could have ended better.

Mamma Mia! The Movie

I'll mention a film now I'm done with TV. Mamma Mia. Wow. Just wow. This film was fantastic, and now I'm addicted to the soundtrack, and to general ABBA songs. It's cheesey, but it's brilliant feel good stuff. The songs are great, and I think I like the less discoey versions in the film more than the ABBA songs in some cases. Meryl Streep was a great choice for the main part, but it's the blokes who make the film. Colin Firth has a weird voice, Pierce Brosnan clearly struggles to sing, and although Stellan Skarsgard is a bit better, none of them are singing stars. Still, it makes it so much better in my opinion. They sound like normal blokes who just decide to sing. Also, there's just something genius about having Pierce Brosnan singing SOS. Well, about having James Bond sing ABBA in general. Genius, and definitely hot, as strange as that sounds. Haha, <3 Pierce Brosnan.

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Now playing: Oasis - Pass Me Down The Wine
via FoxyTunes

Being a person...

...is really hard. Sometimes I wish I could be a student again instead. And then I talk to a 3rd year and realise that I never want to have to deal with my 4th year again. Still, I wouldn't have all these responsibilities and a mega hard job.

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Now playing: Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
via FoxyTunes

Television, webcomics, music and maybe other things

The last couple of weeks haven't been that great, so I haven't said anything, and I probably won't talk about that much at all. Bad times. Instead, here's where I'm up to TV wise, followed by some comments about other media stuff.

Dexter

I'm so surprised that in season 3, this can still be so exciting. I didn't think they could take this serial killer as the main character thing on for a long time without being too repetitive, but that's not happening at all. I guess 12 episode seasons really are a good idea sometimes.

Anyway, Miguel Prado is a really interesting character. He knows Dexter kills, but thinks it's the right thing to do? My prediction is that he's going to do something against the code, and Dexter will have to kill him. I dunno. It can't be as straight forward as him just being cool with Dexter killing. Great twist though, having him know. I'm not sure who the skinner will end up being yet. It's out of character for Miguel, and I don't think it's Ramon. The new detective is a possibility, although maybe a little too easy. I just really hope it's not that Anton guy.

In conclusion, this is one of the best things on tv at the moment. I just found out that there will definitely be two more seasons, so I hope they manage to keep it fresh for all that time, and Dexter getting away with things doesn't always become way too convenient.

Desperate Housewives

Another one of the best things showing at the moment. Season 4 managed to be as good and as exciting as season 1, and 5 is easily keeping up. The five years later thing was a great idea, and I really like the Dave character. I think he's going to end up being after Orson. They're making it look like Mike, but Orson was also in prison, and it could have been him involved in Dave's brother's death. Either way, I'm really enjoying it. I wish Susan and Mike would hurry up and get back together though. I'll feel a bit cheated if they never do, and I think many fans will, so I don't really think I want to see him with Katherine.

Stargate Atlantis

I can't remember when I last said something about Atlantis. I think I mentioned the one Daniel Jackson was in, but if not...wow. ASGARD! One of the best twists ever on Stargate. The episode after that was pretty good, because it was very old school Atlantis. Sort of like season 1 or 2, when the team being all together on random planets was more regular. Nice to see Beckett back in the gang, although it's still a bit odd that he's the clone and not the guy who died in Sunday. It was a little bit disappointing that Sheppard didn't care about blowing up the bad villagers at the end, but I guess maybe he didn't know that guy would go with the wraith? Who knows, but it was a good episode.

The next episode...I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, I like a good clip show, but this late on in the final ever season? Not a great plan. The idea behind it wasn't that bad, although it's been done before in several other sci-fi series. Not the same circumstances, but putting the good guys on trial for their actions. It was more interesting in the fact that the prosecutors were pretty much right, as funny as that is. I think the only good thing to come out of the episode was the awesomeness of Woolsey, who like Carter, has been tragically underused this season. Robert Picardo is a great actor, and Woolsey a great character. The episode was wrapped up too fast though, and we could have done with some more of his awesome. I look forward to the next episode though, since I think Michael will be back. It sucked not having a new one last week though. Also, I'm very, very disappointed that there's going to be 3 weeks between episodes 19 and 20 now. Very disappointed. American tv stations generally suck.

Fringe

I don't think I've written in my blog about Fringe yet. This is definitely worth a mention. I see it as something in between Lost, because of all the mystery elements and the things going on in the background we don't understand yet, and The X Files, in the way that they're investigating these things and it's clear that people pretty high up are involved in some kind of conspiracy type thing. Still, it works, and part of that reason is the cast. Anna Torv is pretty good, Joshua Jackson is surprisingly good and I rarely think of Pacey (come on, I have to sometimes though...he was Pacey!), but John Noble is awesome. I assumed he'd be playing some kind of authoritarian genious professor, with bits of Denethor in him. Crazy mad scientist is so much more awesome than that.

The only problem I have with Fringe is that I can see it's going to be months/years before we find out what's going on. I hope it manages to stay exciting, because at the moment I think it's something really worth watching.

Dr Who

Well, this isn't about episodes, but more that David Tennant is leaving :( I wish they hadn't told us, and it'd been a total shock, but more than that I wish he wasn't leaving! He's been perfect for the role, and I was hoping he'd do it for years to come. I have no clue at all who they'll pick for the next one. I hope it's someone older, since they've done the whole having a younger hot guy playing him now, and the younger audience is well and truly hooked. A black/Asian/non-British actor would be a new way to go.

xkcd

And so we move on to webcomics. I think I wanted to say something about xkcd because I'm almost disappointed with it lately. It's hardly ever unfunny, but some of the more recent ones have been more mildly amusing than hilarious. The last couple of week specials haven't been so great either. I dunno, I hate to complain because it's usually just so good. I still want to buy the height poster and the science tshirt. I still think it's awesome, I just wish every comic was still awesome.

Questionable Content

I really don't know why I'm that addicted to this. I have to read it every day, even though it's hardly the best thing around. I guess the overall stories are usually good, and I want to find out what's going on like it's a soap or something. Sometimes it's really funny, other times it's just a story I like, and other times it's actually pretty crap. My biggest issue with it is the fact that the writer is a bloke who thinks like a bloke. The girls don't talk or act like girls. Now I do realise that not all girls are the same, and I'm not all that girly myself, but I just don't hear girls talking about sex in the way that they do. I guess I like it a lot more when that kind of stuff isn't going on.

Cyanide and Happiness

Some of these are just too funny. Absolutely hilarious. Some are just way over the line and actually disgusting. Those ones seem kinda forced, like how can we do something offensive and line crossing today? Again, I still like it though. Just not so much as more light hearted stuff like xkcd. That's adult in a good way, not adult in the way where you'd be mega upset if your kids saw it.

Music

Haha, just one heading that's music related, because I honestly can't remember what I was going to say about music. I've been listening to a lot of Oasis, and a lot of Bright Eyes too when I wasn't feeling so good. Oh, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Thunder this month, so I hope I can go.

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Now playing: Stiff Little Fingers - Listen
via FoxyTunes

A Normal Post

Most of my recent posts have been on a specific subject, and sort of like reviews. It's been good, because I've found that kind of thing gets my blog loads more hits. I chose a new template last week too, and redid all the colours. Again, more appealing, more hits. I like to know people are reading. It was really cool to get a comment on the Big Cat post from someone from the BBC.

Anyway, what's new? I'm in week 2 in my house, and I love it here. It's not like being away from home at all. This is my home now. I'm pretty bored this week though. So far I've spent most of it on my PC or watching TV, and most of the TV is on my PC anyway. I do little things everyday to make sure I'm not being totally useless, like today I did my washing and went into town to get some keys cut, but that doesn't take up much time. I guess really I should make the most of my last week of freedom from work, but really I just want to get started.

Another thing I wanted to mention in this post relates to my earlier post about getting the new Oasis album. I had some problems getting it from iTunes, and I can't be arsed to explain the situation, but there were complications and I'm still owed a bonus track. iTunes have been fantastic about it though. I've never known customer support to be so good. I get regular emails to say they haven't forgotten me, and every communication has been personal and detailed. They even gave me 2 free store credits to make up for the delay. I decided to spend the first on an Oasis bside, a really chilled track called Sitting Here In Silence (On My Own), and then the second on Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie. This song came up on a Last FM radio a few months ago, and I've really got into it. I'm not a huge fan of the band, but this song is something else. It's not something I'd think to buy without a free credit, so I think it was a good use of it. I then went on to buy another song, since I've also got into some Sigur Ros on Last FM, and really really wanted Hoppipolla. I thought it was beautiful as the theme to Planet Earth, and when I heard the full song, I had to get it.

Anyway, I'll probably post my usual list of watch TV I've been watching tomorrow. Some good stuff on lately.


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Now playing: Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla
via FoxyTunes

Oasis in Sheffield

Wow. The setlist was exactly like the one I found on another blog a few days ago, making it the best setlist I've ever heard them play, and this was the 5th time I've seen them. Liam's voice has definitely improved, as shown by I'm Outta Time. Noel's acoustic Don't Look Back in Anger was just fantastic, as that song always is live anyway. There's nothing better than thousands of people singing the same song, and in an arena, it's totally different to an outdoor stadium in the way it sounds. It was cool to hear how he wrote it 14 years ago in the dressing room at in Sheffield too...and expected a different reception this time he played it.

Other highlights include The Masterplan, which is always good to hear live, and then most definitely Slide Away. I never, ever thought I'd hear my favourite song played live. This is a Definitely Maybe song which was never even a single. Popular yes, but not one you'd think they'd put back into a live set 6 albums later. I'm so glad they did, and so is every other person in there who sung every word. Most Oasis fans will recognise Slide Away as one of their greatest songs.

The only fault in the Oasis set was Liam stumbling on I Am The Walrus. He missed his cue, but it totally did not matter at all. Liam Gallagher can get away with that on stage, and no one cared. The fault in the whole evening though was a bit bigger, and that was Twisted Wheel. We decided that they were somewhere between The Coral and The Arctic Monkeys, and nowhere near as good as either. The Coral might be boring, and it might be funny that I keep seeing them as a consequence of seeing better bands, but I missed them last night when Twisted Wheel were on. The were pretty crap.

Still, once again, I think I can say that last night was the best I've ever seen Oasis play, and the best setlist I've seen the play. Not as close to the front as I was in Cardiff in 2005, but every gig is a different experience.

Edited to add the full setlist, since a few people have been Googling it, coming here, and then not finding it:


Fuckin' In The Bushes
Rock N Roll Star
Lyla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes And Alcohol
Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There's Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
Ain't Got Nothin'!
The Importance Of Being Idle
I'm Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic

Don't Look Back In Anger (acoustic)
Falling Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus

Big Cat Live 2008

I've been a fan of Big Cat Diary since it started in 1996, when I was just 10 years old. I watched it every two years after that, and I've watched repeats of it on whatever cable channel played it over and over. I've watched the newer, one week format since it started too. When I first read about Big Cat Live, I was definitely excited. Now I've seen most of it, the word amazing doesn't even nearly cover what I think of it.

I think it's hard to amaze people with television these days. You get the feeling that everything has been done, and there isn't much new for us to see. Of course that isn't true, but that's how it can feel. Planet Earth was an exception to that. That series filmed animals hardly ever seen on camera before, and the stories of how long it had taken to get a few short clips were amazing. I think what Big Cat Live are doing now is even more exciting. To see live shots of the animals on air in between showing recorded films taken in the couple of weeks in the run up to the show is one thing, but to be able to then turn on your computer and continue to watch live animals in Kenya's Masai Mara on webcam really is something else.

The show itself is as good as it ever was. It's great to catch up with the Marsh Pride, and I love that we know that these adult females are the cubs attacked by the buffalo in 1998. To have such continuity in the cats they follow really is a great thing, and one of the reasons I keep watching. It was great to be able to see Bella again too, even though she's looking really old now. I love how they follow the leopard families, although it would be really nice to see if Shadow was still around. Whatever happened to Safi too? The new cheetah family is so good to watch. I've always loved watching cheetah mothers raise their cubs, and being able to do it in real time knowing that this is what's going on now, rather than what happened months ago when filming ended, is really special.

Jackson Looseyia has been an awesome addition to the team. This man is a Masai who has grown up in this environment. He knows and understands the land and the wildlife in it, and he gives a perspective that they haven't had before. To hear someone who has seen this for his entire life still talking about it with so much enthusiasm is inspiring, and makes me want to go over there and see it all for myself even more.

As I said earlier, the really amazing thing about this series has been seeing those live images online. Right now I'm watching infra-red video of the Marsh Pride lions. Before that, I was watching them on the thermal imaging cameras. Before that I was watching a hippo feeding right next to the camera. Earlier today, jackal cubs and hyena cubs. At the risk of overusing the word, it truly is amazing. For those of you viewing this blog in the UK, the link to the site where you can watch all this is here. I'll include a view images of what we get for those of you not in the UK. On the left is the four webcams available half an hour ago when I took the screenshot. In the upper left quadrant, thermal images of lions. Upper right, a hyena is just poking his head out of the den. Lower left, I think that's just a camera focussed on the river. Lower right, and that's sleeping jackal cubs. The image on the right shows the thermal image of the lions on it's own. It truly is impressive, especially when you think about the fact that it's all live, and happening right now in Kenya.

I'm hoping, at some point, to see a live lion hunt. Everytime they look like they're going to do it, they just...don't. There has been one shown live, but I missed it. The Big Cat team think it's the first time this has ever been shown live on the internet. It's on YouTube, for those of you outside the UK who can't see it on the website, and is shown below:



When you think about it, this series has been a major risk. What if they hadn't found what they were looking for when they went out there? So many things could have gone wrong with doing this kind of thing live. They've succeeded in showing people in this country a totally different world, in a way they never have before. I don't think the BBC can be beaten for wildlife television, and I hope they do this again next year.

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

I have so much to say at the moment. I moved out at the weekend, and I now have a house to myself. It's great, but it's not what this post is about. Maybe I'll talk about it more later, but to be honest it's more the sort of thing I'll talk about if asked than what I want to do a blog post on. No, this post is a sort of review of the new Oasis album =D

Before I talk about any of the songs, I should mention that this is completely biased. After so many years of liking Oasis, I think it'd be very hard for them to bring out an album I totally hated. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is weak compared to the others, and has some less than good songs. Be Here Now has some epic songs, and I'd describe some of them as my top few Oasis songs, but every song goes on for a couple of minutes too long, and the whole process was obviously fueled by drugs. Still, I like both of those albums, so as I said, it'd be hard for them to release something I wouldn't like.

Not only did they release something I couldn't hate, I'd go as far as to say I love Dig Out Your Soul, already, after just two days of owning it. It's very different from Don't Believe The Truth. More psychedelic influence, but they still sound like Oasis.

Track 1 is Bag It Up. The first time I heard this, I wasn't that bothered by it. Album track I might skip to get to the good ones. I still don't think it's particularly memorable, but it's grown on me. It's no Rock and Roll Star, Hello, Do You Know What I Mean, The Hindu Times, Fuckin' in The Bushes or Turn Up The Sun as far as opening tracks go, but it's still a good song. I saw some review making a Pink Floyd comparison, but I don't know what that's about.

Next it's The Turning. This has also grown on me since I first heard it on Myspace. Slow start, with a fantastic chorus. I think this song shows that Liam's vocals have improved since the last album. Definitely a great song, and I can imagine this one being good live. I think it would have been a better opener than Bag It Up too.

Waiting For The Rapture. I love the dirty guitar. This has a great beat. Some of the guitar in it reminds me of Cold Turkey by John Lennon, but that's no bad thing. I like this song a lot.

The first single, and so the first song I heard, was Shock Of The Lightening. Now this song really sounds like Oasis. This is the Lyla, or the Go Let It Out, or the Hindu Times. A rock song made for stadium gigs, and an obvious first single. Typical Oasis in that there are lyrics only there because they rhyme, but long time fans like me love that stuff.

Next, I'm Out Of Time. Some songs you aren't bothered about at first, but they really grow on you, and you come to love them. Some songs you like at first, but don't truly realise how brilliant they are until months down the line. Some songs just blow you away from the first time you play them. This song falls into the last category. Imagine my surprise when I found out Liam Gallagher wrote it. Now I know Liam has written some great songs, including Born on a Different Cloud, and Love Like a Bomb, but I'm Out of Time blows them all out of the water. This song is beautiful, and one of my favourites for best on the album. I read in another review that Liam wrote this to prove to Noel that he can still sing. Liam wins.

(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady is a good song, but definitely an album track. Bit crushed (I think that's the term?) vocal, which is interesting on an Oasis album, but I don't think the song is anything special.

I said earlier that I'm Out of Time was one of the favourites for best on album. This is the other. Falling Down is one of the best songs Noel has ever written. The lyrics are fantastic, the drums are great, and this is a perfect one for Noel to sing. Not only one of my favourites on Dig Out Your Soul, but up there with my favourite Oasis songs.

To Be Where There's Life is a Gem Archer song, and it's just alright, as other songs by him usually are. Nothing spectacular, but I don't think I'd skip it as I'm going through.

Ain't Got Nothing is another Liam song, and unlike his previous contribution on this album, this one is so obviously not a Noel song. Again, it's not bad, but it's an album track. I bet they'll play this live though. To me, it just sounds like it's not quite Meaning of Soul.

The Nature of Reality has got fairly bad reviews, from what I've seen. This is an Andy Bell song, and it's worth remembering that he wrote one of my favourite Oasis songs in Keep the Dream Alive. This doesn't compare to that, but I still love the lyrics. Short and uncomplicated, while questioning the meaning of everything. "Belief does not existence make"...I wonder if the Christian Liam Gallagher realises what he's singing. Great beat on this song too.

Soldier On is the last song, and another Liam song. Perhaps not the best finisher. I think I'm Out of Time or Falling Down should have had this position on the album. This is a good song though. I can't put my finger on what other band it reminds me of. Blur's Tender comes to mind, but I know there's something else. I do really like the song though, and I wouldn't have guessed that Liam wrote it.

Around the internet, I've seen reviews saying that this will only appeal to hardcore fans, and then some saying this is the best they've done since Definitely Maybe. Well I know that's wrong, since obviously they forgot What's the Story. I'm not sure it tops Don't Believe the Truth, simply because it's not got so much you can sing along to in a field of strangers. There's a possibility I might change my opinion on that, and it's not that I mind that Oasis have moved on from stadium anthems, but I do enjoy having songs like Lyla on an album.

In conclusion, I'm not disappointed. This was worth waiting for, and it's a brilliant album. Buy it, if you haven't already, then go get some tickets to one of the live shows. I'll be in Sheffield next Saturday, standing.

Children of Dune

Tonight I watched the final part of the Children of Dune miniseries, having watched the Dune miniseries beforehand. I was really impressed with Dune. Bits were missed out, but it felt closer to the story than the 80s film. I wasn't keen on how Paul was portrayed as being moody and immature at the beginning, but other than that I thought the part was well cast. Jessica...not so much. She just never seemed sure of herself. She just was not like Jessica the Bene Gesserit.

The first part of Children of Dune was really good. Dune Messiah is an odd book, in that it takes a while to know where it's going. On TV, it was summarised well enough, covering everything, and it really felt like it was how the book should have been. Alice Krige should have been cast as Jessica from the start, and that guy who played Atherton in Firefly should have played Duncan Idaho from the start. I'm not too keen on the woman who played Alia, or how she was portrayed throughout Children of Dune. She seemed like a stroppy kid at times, and I don't think she's a great actress. Possibly chosen more for her appearance? The Atreides twins were well cast. James McAvoy was the stand out actor of the whole thing. However, while I understand why they decided to change the kids ages to young adults rather than 9 year olds, they might have done the same with the rest of the cast. Irulan didn't look any older than Ghanima. Alia hadn't aged a day in however many years it's supposed to have been, and neither had other young looking characters.

While part one was really great, and part two was pretty good, part three just didn't do the job. If I hadn't read the book, I'm not sure I'd really get what was going on with Leto at the end. The sand trout symbiosis thing wasn't well explained, and didn't look as it should have done. I sometimes wish they had a slightly bigger effects budget for things like that. I think the book has a weird end anyway, and it's certainly the weakest of the trilogy, but it was easier to understand what was going on than the film.

Farad'n wasn't as I thought he should have been. He was portrayed as week, up until he landed on Arrakis. That's not how I saw him. He was more intelligent than his mother, but naive. When he worked out what was going on, he bided his time, and made his move when he needed to. In the book that is, because TV Farad'n was a bit of a wimp until he realised he could do the Weirding stuff. Another thing I wasn't too happy with was Duncan's death. I think it was harder to understand why on TV. To be honest, the whole episode in the book was odd, and seemed a bit sudden, but it was more so on screen. That was a shame, because Duncan is one of my favourite characters.

In conclusion, the miniseries were both were watching, and the trilogy was worth reading. Dune was probably my favourite book, and although I can see that it wasn't finished and needed continuing, I think the story got progressively worse. Messiah was really interesting, Children of Dune started off really exciting, and then became even more complicated than it had been previously, and finished in a weird way.

Messing with the blog

I can't decide what to do with it. I've put up some ads, and moved the labels list under the SayBox, but I can't seem to decide on where I want everything to go, and whether to change the template completely. I don't think I like many of the other templates Blogspot provides, but I can't be bothered with the hassle of doing any serious editing of the HTML. I'm sick of the current colour, and although I like the blue version of what I've already got, I'm not sure I want to keen the design either.

One problem with the current design is the layout of the sidebar, and the fact that I don't know what to do with it. I can't decide whether the archive or labels are more important. The SayBox takes up too much space. I considered using a popup link for it, but then it'd get even fewer posts than it already does.

I'm tired. I'll think about it again another day :P

Stumbling around the internet

I started typing up a post about books I've been reading and tv I've been watching, but I so can't be bothered with that right now. Instead, here are some sites I like, based on what's on my StumbleUpon profile. StumbleUpon is one of the greatest inventions since the internet, by the way.

Jeff Russells Starship Dimensions

This is a site where you compare spaceships, basically. Great for scifi nerds like me. It's best viewed in IE, because that allows you to drag stuff around for better comparison. Ever wanted to know how big the Enterprise is in relation to Moya? Or Serenity? Or the Cloverfield monster? If so, this site is a great way to avoid doing your dissertation.

Guess the Google

I'm guessing that most people with access to this blog have heard of this game already, but it's still worth a mention. Basically, the game shows a load of images, and you have to type in the word Googled to get those images. It's a simple game that's actually really fun to play. For a while. Obviously these things do get old, but it's worth a mention.

Questionable Content

I discovered this webcomic a couple of years ago. I wasn't really into webcomics, then a PBS thread came up where people were listing their favourites, and I thought I'd check some out. QC was mentioned a lot, so it was one of the first I looked at. I realised that I'd have to start from the beginning to get it, and although at first I wasn't sure I'd be interested, I ended up reading every one and getting right up to date. The comic can be really funny at times, and the plot is usually interesting enough to make you want to know what happens next. I think my only problem with it is how obvious it is that it's written by a man sometimes, and the fact that he writes things into the female characters that just don't seem to fit. I'd still recommend this as one of my favourite webcomics though.

eFestivals

The only site UK festival goers need for all the latest festival news. I live by this site when line ups start to get rumoured early in the year, and check it regularly after I buy tickets for any changes.

Digital Spy

This site is every trashy magazine I hate, but I love it still. I mostly go there for TV and soap news. The premiere list is useful, and I usually like checking up on the cult section. I use the soaps section to see if I'm missing anything major in Hollyoaks if I haven't seen it, so I can go 4oD it if it's something important. Also good for Big Brother, X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing news. One thing I don't like about it is Gay Spy. That part of the site seems to assume that gay men are only interested in thinking about which celebrity pretty boy looks best without his shirt on.

Scientists for Better PCR (song video)

This is brilliant. Just brilliant. It's actually an advertisement for Bio-Rad, who make scientific equipment, but it's still great. For those who don't know, polymerase chain reaction (or PCR) is a method of amplifying DNA for analysis. The thermal cycler Bio-Rad make is a machine that can do this. Anyone who does get it will find this song hilarious. It's funnier because it's made to look serious.

A Dog's Breakfast Movie (+ David Hewlett's site)

If you haven't seen this film, go and buy it. It's so funny, and I can tell David Hewlett has a pretty similar sense of humour to me. If you don't know, he plays McKay on Stargate Atlantis, and quite a few Stargate actors pop up in the film. The site includes his blog and twitter, and so also updates on what he's doing on Atlantis.

Book a Minute (SF/F)

This is the sci-fi/fantasy section of Book a Minute. Basically, it sums up popular books in a few sentences, and usually in a funny way. As an example:

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune: "(People do stuff that is OUT OF CHARACTER. People do stuff that makes NO SENSE. Cool arabic-type words and names are said, making Frank Herbert look SMART and COOL.)"

Too true, haha.

Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog

I believe I've spoken about this in a TV or film related post, so I won't dwell, but it's still as brilliant as when I first saw it. You can't see it on the site anymore, but there are lyrics and stuff there, so it's worth a look.

Television Tropes

This site is one of the greatest sites ever. I like TV. I like overanalysis of TV. I like it even more when done in a humourous way. This site does just that, and includes some awesome comical analysis of my favourite shows, and the patterns and cliches in them. One of my favourite trope labels is "Magnificent Bastard". Obviously this includes Scorpius, who has to be the best character mentioned. The Master, from Dr Who, is another good example. Anyway, this site is easy (for me at least) to lose hours in. I already spent longer on this paragraph than any other so far, since I started looking at the site.

Treesize Free from JAM Software

Even though I could give out more sites, I'm going to end it here for tonight. I'll finish with some free software Google told me about the other day. Have you ever wondered where all the space is going on your hard drive? I know I did. I only have 80GB, and when I couldn't work out how why I was always nearly out of space, I decided I needed a way to find out where I could stand to lose stuff. This tells you exactly where on your hard drive most memory is being used. It made it so much easier to clear things up. Definitely worth a look.

More complaints about people

I wish everyone saw things as I did. I think I treat people okay, most of the time, and it makes me sad that other people don't. Well, something happened, and it made me look at someone in a way I don't want to look at them, considering some other stuff which is going to happen. I can't really say what it's about, because even though they won't find this blog, it doesn't seem right to share this time. I just wish a certain person hadn't acted the way they did.

Slightly different, but I also regret the way I've acted to a certain person over the last few months. Yes, they talk about themselves a hell of a lot, but I've still been more short tempered than I should have been with someone who didn't deserve it. Sorry mate.

Aimed at yet another person, I though there was a chance you were missing any Facebook messages I sent, but I doubt that someone who keeps her phone with her at all times would miss a text. Wtf did I do? Maybe I should just forget yet another person I used to know.

"You've never seen There's Something About Mary? You're kidding, everyone has seen that!"

And now so have I, and it's really not that special. I wonder why people talk about it like it is, and are so shocked when you say you've not seen it compared to other stuff in that genre. It's alright, and mildly amusing, but I prefer 50 First Dates as far as those trashy American romcoms go.

Dr. Horrible and other things from the telebox

I think it's time to have one of those long rambly posts again, after some short and unpleasant ones. It'll have the usual structure of my tv related posts, with subheadings so that anyone who might be reading can skip the bits they totally don't care about.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

This was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, in the truest sense of the word. Joss Whedon is possibly a genius. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I had high hopes after reading everything Whedon said about how he made it and why it was made. The songs reminded me of the musical Buffy episode, and also I guess of Sweeney Todd. It was hilariously funny in parts ("The hammer is my penis" - I laughed so much) while still being semi-serious, and then the ending was really sad and really not how I expected it to be.

I think it's a real shame that this isn't available in the UK yet. It's not on the iTunes store, and although apparently it was available internationally on the website, it no longer is. I will definitely be buying this when it becomes available, but if they want it to do well in the UK, they need to make it available pretty soon. I bought the soundtrack anyway, so I don't feel guilty about how I obtained the film. The soundtrack itself is amazing, and I've been listening to it over and over since I bought it yesterday afternoon. I think £7.99, the normal price of a normal album, is a bit steep for an album no longer than my bus journey to town, but it is fantastic. I might watch it again later :D

Firefly

So this isn't new, but I've been rewatching Firefly. It's been a while, and I caught some on tv the other day. I persuaded my dad that it was good, and we marathoned a bit this weekend. It really does baffle me thinking how this got cancelled. It's original, it's funny, and it's entertaining. The plot is great, the characters are interesting, and I don't think there's another sci-fi like it. I'll say it again, Joss Whedon is a genius. It's a crime that these characters didn't get a good conclusion. Well, Serenity is a good film, but this story deserved more. Serenity told a small story, and this deserved a few seasons of development. Maybe I'll get the comics, but I'm not really a comic person. I want a tv continuation.

I think one of my favourite things about Firefly is the language. The Chinese thrown into sentences, evolution of words like "shiny", and just the way they speak in general. "No power in the 'verse can stop me!"

Stargate Atlantis

I may have said this in a previous post, but season 5 is awesome. Way better than 4, and some of the best episodes are showing up here. Whispers was really something special, I thought. Creepy, and I'd go as far as to say scary. It had that problem though that I've moaned about on many occasions, in that the team were split and it only focussed on a couple of main characters. Sheppard was there, and McKay was briefly there, and then there was Beckett, who I guess I still see as a main character. If this was a one off, it would have been a good one to focus on another team with minimal main characters. It isn't a one off though. They do this too much now. It was a problem for me in later SG1s, and it's been a problem since Atlantis season 4. If it had been a one off, then like I say, this is one where it wouldn't have mattered. It was interesting to see the all female team, and clever that Vega was killed off. I don't know why, but Wikipedia and other sites seemed to be making a big deal of her involvment in this, and her introduction earlier in the season. I thought she could be another secondary character, similar to Lorne. Nope, killed by monsters. I like monster episodes. The alien one of season 3, can't remember what it was called but it was episode 19 I think, was really awesome, and this was just as good.

This week's episode, The Queen, was also pretty good. I like Todd the wraith, but I can't help thinking that they've done something stupid by trusting him and making him leader of that wraith alliance. I guess Teyla is still in control though, since she can go back at any time and get him kicked out. I like Todd as in insight into what the wraith really are though. They aren't just monsters who want to kill. They need to feed. Todd does seem to want to make things better for them. It's interesting anyway, and I enjoyed this episodes. What I didn't enjoy was the trailer for next week's. It made out that someone will die. Not sure that they will, but I'll be gutted if Keller dies.

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Now playing: Neil Patrick Harris - Brand New Day
via FoxyTunes

It just hit me

He's really gone. Some people don't get how much pets can mean, but I don't really care what they think. I was devastated the day my cat died, but since the day itself, it's been hard to really comprehend. Today I really know he's gone. 15 years of my 22, and he's not here anymore. It's horrible :(

Completion

So much to write, but I don't really want to go into any of it. Yes, I have a job now. I'll be moving in the next few weeks. I'll write some more about that some other time.

Quick note to say that I've finally seen every episode (so far) of Stargate Atlantis. I don't know why I didn't just download Underground myself after the disc I was given had dodgy sound, but I got round to watching it on tv today. I just need to acquire the SG1 episode I haven't seen (I think there's just one) and I'll really have completion :P

27th of August 2008

This is the day Batman lost Robin. My Sonic is gone. I'm glad he's at peace, but I don't know how I'll ever cope. I don't remember much before him, and I can't imagine life after him.

Don't let them kill Atlantis, those frelling b******s!

Anyone reading should probably ignore my last post. Something triggered a bad mood, and I over thought a few things. One of the people I described can just go screw herself if she's not bothered. I won't be bothered either. See you at R's wedding in a few years or something. The other person, I guess I just need to stop caring so much, because they'll never change. The sooner I accept them as they are, the better it will be for me.

Anyway, all that is irrelevant now, because something far more depressing occurred last night. THEY CANCELLED ATLANTIS! What the eff word?!

I don't think I've ever been so upset by a tv show cancellation. I was gutted to come to the end of Enterprise, Farscape (as I've said in great detail in this blog) and Firefly, but I knew they had been cancelled already by the time I started watching them, since I acquired them all after they'd finished on tv. I was totally gutted about SG1 ending, but not totally surprised, since it had changed so much since the early seasons. I don't think the last two seasons were any worse than the rest, but I can see why they might have thought it best to end it. Needed another season for wrapping up, but it got films instead. When Angel was cancelled, I already wasn't happy with the final season, so although frustrating that the story was rushed, again it wasn't all that shocking. Invasion being cancelled was really annoying, because that got really good at the end. It had been slow to get going though, and it wasn't the greatest thing ever, so I wasn't too gutted. Atlantis though? Atlantis is one of the top few things on tv at the moment. It's still going strong. The stories are still good. Damn them, this is so annoying.

Granted, I think Atlantis has suffered from some poor cast choices and character stories since series 3, but it's still been great. Carter was badly used. As a leader, she wasn't present enough, and she seemed to forget that she was a genius and a soldier on many occasions. Maybe that was so she didn't take anything away from Sheppard or McKay? I know I was worried McKay's role would suffer with her there, but they did it the other way. She suffered, and McKay solved everything. Another problem was something I noticed SG1 screwed up on in the last 2 seasons. The team was split up too much. One week McKay and Sheppard are on that planet with the princess, and the next Sheppard and Ronan alone on Earth. I know there are reasons. I think what'sherface who plays Teyla was really pregnant? Still, since the character was, no reason to split up the rest so much. Too many episodes where Carter wasn't even there, and too many without the full team. Still, season 4 had great stories. The conclusion of the season 3 cliffhanger was one of the best episodes ever. The mid season three parter was great. Midway was pretty hilarious, and the last few and the Michael story was awesome. Michael is a fantastic villain, and I hope he shows up again soon.

Season 5 looks a lot more promising than 4. Woolsey is a great character, and I've thought that since the end of SG1 season 7. He's a genuinely good guy, who does bad things for the right reasons sometimes. He's obsessed with doing things by the book, but he's clearly learning that this won't work. He's a far more interesting leader than Carter was, and it's a shame he only gets one season. Weir had 3, so this chopping and changing isn't good for the series. I'm glad Keller is on the main cast now, because I think her character is pretty good too. She needs to be in more episodes though. She wasn't in the last one at all. Woolsey wasn't in one earlier in the series when I thought he should have been too. I don't remember which one, but I know Sheppard was contacting Lorne in Atlantis. Why Lorne over the expedition leader? Weir was pretty much always there, and Woolsey should be too.

The stories have been really good so far in season 5 though. I enjoyed the parallel dimension one, and the replicator ascension one was awesome. Screw Tori Higginson, she totally wasn't needed. And now they're ending it at the end of the season. It's not all bad though, because there will be films. The finale cliff hanger will get a 2 hour conclusion, and then there will be more. Brad Wright is looking at this as a positive thing. They're moving to films while it's still going well, and he hopes to knock out 2 SG films, one of each, every year. Now that will be great, but I'll still miss Atlantis as a series.

Stargate Universe will be replacing it next summer. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about that, but I would have liked to have seen Atlantis get to at least 7 seasons. Universe looks good, but I would definitely prefer more Atlantis before it switches to movies.

I guess it's not all bad, but this was not good news for me. I'm running out of stuff to watch. Sci fi stuff at least. BSG again next year, Caprica, and now Universe...so I guess there's something to look forward to.

(thread title taken from the image below, obviously created after the Farscape cancellation. I love South Park Scorpy)

V 2008

Muddy. It was muddy, and wet, and cold, and I'm totally knackered. Worth it though :D Muse were absolutely awesome, as usual. I also met Fran Healy, lead singer of Travis. He really was a nice guy. He came down to a charity tent, to sign a card for Save the Children and have photos taken, but people were asking him if he was going to play acoustic. The charity must have got mixed up and advertised that he would, but he didn't know anything about it. Still, he said that if someone got him a guitar he'd play some songs. Being a festival, there are always people with guitars in their tents, so one arrived. He seemed surprised, but then asked if anyone had a plectrum. My sister always carries them, so she leant him one. He then played a few Travis songs, acoustic, to a crowd of maybe 100...if that. He was more than happy to have photos taken with anyone there, and sign stuff, on the condition that they helped out the charity. He really is a great guy. I can't see many other musicians taking time out to do that.

Other highlights included seeing the Kaiser Cheifs, Squeeze, The Stranglers, and I have to mention Muse again. Photo albums linked to below:

Album 1

Album 2

Things I'm pissed off with right now

1) It's too hot in my bedroom.

2) There's a slight smell of cat poo coming up through my bedroom window.

3) I've been so uncomfortable at my own PC that I'm using the family one.

4) The stupid position of my PC has meant that I'm starting to get a callous on my wrist from the position I'm in to use my mouse. It's unpleasant.

5) ProBoards, and various related issues.

6) No mention of the conspiracy in The X Files film.

7) The fact that I'm pissed off suddenly when I otherwise had a good day.

8) The heat isn't good for Sonic.

The real world and the fake

Last weekend, after a lot of complaining about how much I hate camping, I ended up going camping in Mablethorpe with my dad, his partner, and her family. It was actually a really good break, away from the internet and the boredom of all the nothing I do at the moment. I sat in the sun all weekend, spent a lot of time talking to my dad (and realising how I was actually brought up rather well) and I read an entire book. Dune Messiah, which I may talk about in another post after I've bought and read Children of Dune too. Fantastic read, and the first time I've read a novel in far too long. I really enjoyed just escaping into it while sitting in the sun outside a beach chalet.

If I wasn't completely shattered right now, I'd write more about that weekend, because I really enjoyed it. There are some things that I would have complained about, like a certain 16 year old who has been far too spoilt, and maybe someone a bit older who is the same, but I can't quite be bothered. It was just some quality time in the real world, and I liked it more than I thought I would.

So going the other way, I've also done something unspeakable in the last week. I got the WoW trial. Yes I'm hanging my head in shame as I type. I got it for two reasons. The first is that it's a cure for the boredom, but the main one is that I want some MMORPG experience on something other than Runescape before Stargate Worlds is out. That's been pushed back to 2009 now, but I still thought it'd be good to have a go on WoW.

So far, it's not too bad. There's a lot to do as a newbie to get going. A lot of small quests that build you up. I can't see how level 70s stay entertained, but it's alright for now. Pete will probably come and help me with quests at some point, which will be a help. I'm not sure how I like the social element of it though. I know on RS doing stuff with other people and chatting as you play is well annoying. I guess I'll have another go before the trial runs out, and consider buying it for my free month if I think it's worth it. Anyone on Burning Blade in Europe should give me a shout though.

I still watch TV

It's been a long while since I've written anything about what I've been watching on TV. Some of the things I should have said something about finished a while ago, so I've probably forgot what I was going to say. I'll cut it up again like last time, seeing that's easiest to follow.

Farscape

So I know I've written in my blog about watching Farscape before, but I've just finished rewatching it with my sister. I read back the post I made called "Mostly about Farscape", and I've changed a lot of my opinions. I thought Scorpius lost something as a villain because of Harvey, and because it was odd for a villain to be on the main credits. I was wrong. Second time around, it was easier to see Harvey as a totally seperate character, and there was no point where Scorpius stopped being awesome. I was also less bothered by the cast changes this time, although it still would have been nice to see more of Jool later on, and definitely more Pilot in later seasons.

PK Wars is worth revisiting again too, because now I can see which bits really needed to be expanded in the season 5 that never happened. Sikozu being a Scarran spy...that needed some build up. Why would this highly intelligent woman who totally understood how the Scarrans worked and that they couldn't be trusted, suddenly believe that they would free her people? Why would she think she could fool Scorpius, who can tell when people are lying? Why would she want to betray him, when it was obvious that she genuinly cared about him? I'm not saying her being the spy is unbelievable, it just required some more explanation.

The rest of it is pretty much a perfect ending though. I now think Stark's story was well handled, and D'Argo's death was perfect. The opinion that I have kept from the first time is that Scorpy needed more of a conclusion. Has his need for revenge against the Scarran's just gone? Is he really happy with the peace? I would think he would be, but what does he do now? His life has all been about revenge and stopping the Scarrans from conquering the Peacekeepers. Who knows, maybe it'll be included in the webisodes.

I saw a Youtube thingy where the showrunner addressed the cast on it's cancellation, and I think what he said was so true. In years to come, people could see the cancellation of Farscape as something as stupid as the guy who thought it was a good plan to cancel the original series of Star Trek. Farscape is so different to every other sci-fi I've seen, and that's what makes it better than most.

Stargate Atlantis

Yay, more new Stargate! It's been a while, and I've been looking forward to this so much. The first new episode was great. Everyone rescued, but not quite status quo since Carter left. Good move really, since she was wasted on Atlantis. Woolsey will at least be interesting to watch as leader. He's not always been used that well as a character in the past, because he often seems to have revelations about the fact that SG1 or the Atlantis lot are doing alright after all, then come in with the same attitude that they're doing things wrong in the next episode. You can sort of understand why though, because he's too caught up in doing things by the book. Some time in Atlantis will teach him that that doesn't work.

The second new episode was good too, because it was a chance for Keller to have an episode. I like Jewel Staite. She was great in Firefly, and I like her character in Atlantis. Keller is just a doctor, not a soldier or someone used to being in dangerous situations. Bit odd that they'd send someone like that to Atlantis. When they sent Beckett, they didn't know what he would have to face, but they did with Keller. She's still interesting though, and I'm glad she's on the main cast this season.

One thing I will say, is that I hope they settle the cast down and keep Woolsey for more than a season. New leaders every season won't be good for the show, and I really hope Atlantis has a few more seasons in it yet. Still, I hope they know where to end it though. The problem with SG1 was that they just kept going. I don't know if they had a plan to finish with season 11, but it didn't seem like they knew when they were going to wrap up the stories and stop. I hope Atlantis has a better prepared ending.

I'm not doing a seperate section for it, but I'll also say that I'm really excited about Continuum :D

Dexter

Bit different to what I usually watch, but when my mum watched the season 2 opener the other week, I got a bit interested. I've now seen all of season 1, and I'm about to start 2. It's really worth watching. Dexter is totally different from anything I've seen, and it's totally unexpected. Who would think of someone working for the police being a serial killer? I'm not keen on my heroes being killers though, and I hope he does get caught at some point. Saying that though, everytime he comes close, I really hope he doesn't. It's definitely a weird programme. I'm looking forward to season 2.

Dr Who

It's been a few weeks since it ended, but I don't think I've mentioned that epic finale yet. Turn Left was a fantastic episode. Without Donna, the world would pretty much be ending, and it's all because she turned left and ended up meeting the Doctor. And then when Rose gave her two words, and it was Bad Wolf...fantastic. RTD linked it all together. Everything, from every series since he brought Dr Who back to life.

Stolen Earth just got better. To have all of those companions back was great. Billie Piper was pretty weird as Rose. I don't know what was going on with her voice. Still, it was great to have Rose back looking for the Doctor. Martha is a hell of a lot more interesting with UNIT than she ever was as companion. Captain Jack is always awesome, and it was great to see Gwen and Ianto there too. I like Sarah Jane, and her being back in Dr Who makes me want to watch her series too. I know it's supposed to be a kids thing, but it actually looks pretty good. Catherine Tate has been amazing as Donna. She's definitely the best of the regular companions. The end of the episode was just brilliant. A Dalek manages to shoot the Doctor, and it looks like he's going to regenerate. I didn't know what to think there. If he did regenerate, I'd have been disappointed to lose David Tennant, but amazed that they'd kept it so secret. The media didn't seem to know at all for that whole week, which was fantastic.

Journey's End...well he didn't regenerate, but again it was great how things linked together. The hand, cut off in The Christmas Invasion and kept at Torchwood in Cardiff for a year, took the regeneration energy. More old companions returning with Jacqui and Mickey, who is a lot less annoying since his time fighting Cybermen. And then the conclusion. Donna being the key to everything. Really was one of the best episodes I've ever seen. I think the one thing I didn't like too much was the duplicate half human Doctor staying with Rose in Bad Wolf Bay. I understand that he needed Rose's help, as the real Doctor said, but for them to just suddenly be together? Wouldn't the real Doctor be more upset? Would Rose just accept that? I mean he's not exactly the same guy. Same memories and feelings, but he committed genocide. He wasn't the guy Rose loved...not exactly. Oh well, the rest of the episode was beyond brilliant. It was heartbreaking to see Donna have to lose it all.

One thing that I hope happens in the future is that companions stick around for a bit longer. It'd be nice not to have a new one every season. I know they all end up coming back for a bit (although Donna might not) but just to have them stay a bit longer. Or even leave mid season, so it doesn't seem like a series ending clearout.

I think that'll do on TV for now. Now about last night's post in here. I still feel as annoyed, really. I'm annoyed that someone else who hasn't been there like I have gets more recognition than me. The way I write it down makes me seem immature, but I don't think it's abnormal to just want a friend to let you know that you're really a friend.

On a totally separate note, I'm thinking of backing off the internet a bit when I find a job. I get bored of it far easier lately, and I didn't miss it when I was on holiday. I miss it as a way of keeping in contact, but I don't miss PB half as much as I used to when I'm away. At the moment, I think I'm just there because I have nothing else to do rather than because I really enjoy it.

On a good note, I think we're gonna find another zoo to go to this week :D

The real end of the world as we know it

Graduation. It's really all over now. It was a great day. Loads of photos and catching up with the folks off the course. It's sad to think that I might not talk to them much again. I really want to make the effort to keep in touch. Laura is having a party in September, so I'll definitely go up to that. Hopefully the others will too.

Seeing my degree certificate...that was amazing. 4 years, and it's all been leading to that bit of paper. I just can't believe it's really all over now. It was almost over when I finished my dissertation. It was almost over when I sat my last exam and celebrated with everyone on the course. It was almost over when I went to the end of year ball with my first and second year housemates. It was almost over when I moved out of Hull and said goodbye to my third and fourth year housemate. It was almost over when I got my results and knew I'd passed. Only now is it really all over.

I can't stop being happy about something my mum said last night when I kept looking at my certificate. Whatever else happens, no one can ever take this away from me. I'll always have this degree.

Good morning from Bagdhad

Apparently I'm on Bagdhad time. GMT +3. I like that I've got back into my nocturnal routine, but I'm starting to feel like everyday is wasted. Last night I didn't sleep till 4am, because I watched Dexter till then. Woke up at 11.15, watched more Dexter, didn't go downstairs till 12, didn't get dressed till 2pm. It's 3.19pm and I've still done nothing useful.

I dunno why, but I'm in a shitty mood today. Oh well, beer festival later. That's always a good night. I'll probably go tomorrow night too. Just sucks that there's no internet round my dad's place.

The comic is from http://xkcd.com by the way, in case anyone is interested. Funniest on the internet.

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School

Sometimes I think it's really sad that I don't talk to many people from school anymore. Sometimes something will happen that makes me think that I'm so glad I moved on, even if my social life suffers when I'm back home because of it.

I just got invited to a Facebook group by some girl I never used to talk to about crashing the wedding of the head teacher and the deputy head we all knew she was sleeping with. I don't like this woman at all, and I'm saying that from an unbiased point of view since I was never in trouble with her. I do like the guy, but as a couple they're pretty unpleasant from what I've heard. I heard things about her not marrying him, or even living with him, because it would damage her position of power and elevate him, or something. Whatever, I don't like them much and she in particular did me no favours.

Still, do I care enough about it to crash their wedding? Or even give their wedding much thought? School ended more than 6 years ago. I'm so over it that I don't even want to hunt down that prat who I blame for my Merit in ICT anymore. It's done. I've lived in other places for 4 years. University was my life. Who gives a shit about what school teachers who probably don't remember us are up to now? I really pitty everyone in that Facebook group. If the wall discussion gets going though, I may join and actually tell them to get over it.


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Thank You (2:1!)

I've not updated this for ages. I've written nothing about my holiday in Scotland, the stuff I've done since, and the fact I've passed my degree with a 2:1, and I'm way behind in writing about tv. I might do my usual tv bit later, since Dr Who is really on my mind right now, but I'll leave Scotland for a bit. The main reason I've not written about it yet is because I've been telling everyone about it recently, and I didn't want to have to repeat it all again. So today, I think I'm going to concentrate on the degree bit. Most people won't realise what a struggle this past four years has been. I struggle to focus, and to motivate myself, and to ask for help when I need it...so all that has made this pretty hard. Rather than dwell on it and go on about how happy I was when I viewed the results, I'm going to take the time to thank the people who need thanking.

I'll start with university staff. Thank you to Jan, for always being there to sort things out when it all when wrong. Alistair, for helping me out with my exam messes, resits and referals, and never making me feel stupid for failing but encouraging me to try again. I thought you were an intimidating man at first, but you really did make me feel better. Janet, for your help sorting things out while I was on placement. Frank, for all your help with my research and telling me I was good at something. Without your help and the mark I got for my dissertation, I would not have a 2:1. Cath, and everyone in the research lab, for your help during my project. Chris...what to say here? In some ways I need to thank you, for your comments on my work and for being easily the best lecturer we have in the way that you set work and deliver your lectures. No thanks for not really taking an interest in me though, and not taking the time to talk to me while I was on placement. I will need to thank you for the help you're giving me now though, but I would have liked to have known I had your support on placement.

On placement, I really have to thank Sue for everything she did for me. We were never going to be good friends, but she was a great tutor, and that placement turned it all around for me. Thanks also to everyone else in that micro lab. Some were more help than others, but everyone made a difference. I should also mention Julian for his help, and for taking an interest. Thanks to Debbie too, for being an encouragement, and to a lesser extent also Sian and Charlotte.

And now the friends at university who have helped me. Mike, Laura,Victoria and Matt are the names I first think of. People on my course who have helped me out with work over the years, and some who have helped me out with other stuff. Thanks also to the group I worked with in micro this year. That presentation turned out really well and helped all our grades. Off my course, I wouldn't say my best friends ever did much to help me out when I was failing things and struggling, but I don't think I made myself easy to help. I'd like to thank my second year housemates, some people from halls in first year, and also Dan, just for being my friends.

Other friends who have been around for me to talk to also deserve a mention. I wish that included more people from home. Early on, it was nice to have the old group to come back to, so thank you for that time. Thank you to the people I still talk to now, for still making the effort. I guess I should thank Chris, in a way, because he's made me feel pretty good about myself from time to time. I really need to say thank you to my online friends. Four years of university, and some of them have been around to talk to and been my friends all that time. ProBoards has been something familiar when everything else has been changing. Thank you to all the people who make it worth staying, particularly those who have been good friends for a very long time now.

I've saved the people I owe the most to last. My family. Thank you for everything. My mum, dad, sister, brother, nana, and even Garry, have always been great, and kept me sane during everything. Even when things have been pretty bad, they've still supported me with uni.

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT...

...AND I FEEL FINE!

Actually that's a lie, I feel like death itself with this cold/cough, but I've finished my degree! I hope. I guess I haven't really finished until I get results and know I've passed, but today was the last exam. I'm freeeeeee!

And now only 13 days until the epic Scotland adventure! I guess we should look into sorting ourselves out for that soon. It's gonna be immense.

Hull City fan? No thanks

So yesterday, Hull City got promoted. I was at The Deep at the time, and it came on the radio, and people were shouting and generally being really ecstatic. How depressing is that? This time last year I had one of the best days of my life, in a packed pub watching Derby get promoted. Absolutely fantastic atmosphere. The whole city was elated. And then we were relegated after just one season in the top flight, and Hull have been promoted.

It got me thinking, about where I'm from, where I consider home, why I don't feel any association with the football team of the city I've lived in for 3 years. I do love Hull, and I love living here. I miss it when I'm away, and coming back here feels more like coming home than going to Derby does sometimes. If people ask, I'll say that I live in Hull, but originally came from Derby. In the past, I'd have just said Derby and left it at that. This place is home, for the moment. Still, however crappy being in Derby can be lately, and however much my ties to the city are disappearing, and even though Hull is a better night out and has a better shopping centre, Derby is still where I'm from and I still have that problem of defending it when people have something to say. Maybe that's why I have no interest in the football team here, and why I really didn't like seeing their celebrations. Back in second year, I remember listening to Hull v Derby on the radio. It was awful. You don't realise how biased football commentary is until they're biased against your team. Derby lost, either 1-0 or 2-1, and listening to them bash my team was not fun.

I guess this is why I don't understand people who don't support their local team. I can't imagine supporting a team other than Derby. I've lived here, and been around Hull people, for 3-4 years now, and I still have no connection to their sports. I also have no interest in defending the city when people start having a go.

I feel like this is one of the most unstructured and going-nowhere posts I've made in this blog, but I'm not thinking right at the moment. I had a point to this when I was thinking about it yesterday, but it's got lost somewhere. I think I'm coming down with something. My throat isn't good and I keep coughing, and I'm tired. Oh, and I can't find anything I want to watch.


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Sitting

Since last posting, I've finished season 7 of Scrubs and season 4 of Desperate Housewives. Scrubs, as usual, was great. I think it's lost something in humour from the last season, but it's still good. Hopefully the next one will be too. Desperate Housewives was fantastic. I mean really, really fantastic. 4 has been as good as 1, and that's saying something. 5 years in the future, Gabby has kids? Susan isn't with Mike?!? So will the next series be set 5 years after the events of the last? Shocking.

This week has been awesome for tv watching. After the amazingness of the Lost episode I saw Friday, I didn't think anything else would compare. Battlestar Galactica was equally as shocking though. Where have they jumped to?! And the use of the song throughout was great too. That, and Desperate Housewives too. Shocking television. Oh, and Dr Who was great too. Series 4 of the newer ones could turn out to be the best.

I've also been doing a lot of Stargating. SG1 season 6 and Atlantis season 3. Apparently it's what they all do round my dad's house these days. Strange that everyone is hooked, but good strange. Even my brother is really into it, saying he prefers Atlantis. Good times.

I'm actually enjoying being here. I don't have much to do in the daytime, but that doesn't bother me. It's nice to relax on my own here, without feeling like I'm treading on egg shells. I still don't enjoy the constant presence of my dad's girlfriend, and I find it hard to respect someone with so little independence (that's how she looks to me), but she's a nice person and I things are just more easy going here than at my mum's. Still, I won't be able to tolerate it for much longer, so I'll be back round my mum's tomorrow I think.

One of the worst things about being here is the lack of my PC. I'm confined to my dad's laptop. Round my mum's, I have the family PC. Not as good, but better than the laptop. Both are better than being around Catherine the idiot in Hull right now though.

This week, I have been mostly watching...

Okay, not this week, but imagine it in Fast Show style :P This is just the usual rambling post about what I've been watching lately. I'll go with the subtitled format again.

Heroes

Heroes season 2 started a few weeks back. Some people told me that I really shouldn't bother and it's really crap. I've read a lot of bad reviews. After thinking the season 1 finale was ace, I wasn't going to miss season 2 because other people didn't like it. I'm glad I didn't! It's not the greatest thing I've ever seen, but then Heroes never has been. There are some massively annoying things, like what's-his-name from Enterprise doing a terrible Irish accent and slipping in "so I will" in an effort to sound more Irish. The new characters are also fairly annoying, since I'd rather they focussed on the originals and introduced new people as a consequence than just start following others. Micah's cousin...do we care about her? Those hispanic people who's names I haven't cared to remember...I'm just not bothered. Okay so they've just met Sylar, bringing them into the main story, but it just hasn't been interesting to follow them before that point, when you'd rather see what the season 1 folks are doing.

Despite the annoying bits though, the story is good. Virus, The Company, Parkman's dad, the Bennetts in hiding. It's not half as bad as I was told.

Lost

Lost is getting really, really interesting. There's been the odd thing I've not liked in season 4, like seeing Jack and Kate ending up together in the future (even though it clearly doesn't last based on the flash forward order), and like Ben letting his daughter die and threatening revenge on Widmore, and like Sayeed being an assassin. Just because I don't like them, doesn't mean they aren't really interesting developments though. This week, and Locke's great destiny, was even more shocking. And wtf is Christian Sheppard doing alive and on the island, and why isn't Claire bothered by it's weirdness? And why did the guy who works for Widmore tell Locke to go on the walkabout? Season 4 has been fantastic for revelations, and even answers. Obviously there are a load more questions, but you feel like it's going somewhere now. Can't wait for the finale. Oh, but that thing about Locke saying he wants to move the island. Noah's Island anyone?

Battlestar Galactica

Awesome. It really is. I don't think season 4 has blown me away as much as early season 3 did. Possibly because it's taken place over a period of months rather than weeks/days. It has been pretty shocking though. Fantastic revelations, and with next week's being a two parter, I'd imagine that some awesome things are about to happen, including the reawakening of D'Anna. Why though, is Kara the harbinger of death? Intriguing!

Dr. Who

The biggest problem I've always had with watching the new Dr. Who is the lack of continual stories. There are threads that link things together, like Rose's reappearances etc, but it's just random stories. Every story is great, and every episode this series has been pretty fantastic. It's just that the stuff I get addicted to and get really bothered about watching every week is the stuff with a continuous story arc.

Now that complaining is out of the way, I'll say again that this series has had some fantastic episodes. Donna is great, simply because she's not in love with the Doctor. Rose and the Doctor was a believable connection, and something you know would never have happened, but was sad because of that. Martha just fancied him, and it was silly. Donna is refreshing because she's confident, strong willed and not some little girl who follows him around. It's a bit irritating when Catherine Tate slips into "am I bovvered?" mode, but I still like her. We've had some good stories this series, with the Ood and Sontarans, and I enjoyed this last episode with his daughter. Possible future companion?

My favourite part of that episode occurs after General Cobb shoots and kills Jenny, when the rest of them have decided to make peace. The Doctor takes a gun, puts it to his head, then hands it back to him and shouts "I never would". He tells them to remember that he never would, and to build their society thinking about the man who never would. My favourite thing about the Doctor is that he never would. Most other lead characters in TV series I watch would consider it, including Starfleet captains, but not the Doctor.

I was also going to comment on Desperate Housewives, but I can't really be bothered, and I'd rather go watch the next episode instead. Other things about TV: I've got over watching random Farscape clips now, but I'm feeling DS9 withdrawal. Why? Because I've been watching some epic season 5 and 6 episodes with my sister. Now I want to keep going. Oh well, I should really revise.


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