It's Pancake Day!!

Or rather Shrove Tuesday if you want to be all Christian and give it its proper name. In times gone by, today is when the monk's would basically eat till they burst, clearing out their larders and such, as from tomorrow (Ash Wednesday) they would fast for the forty days of Lent. But I'm not religious, not even a little bit and so today is Pancake Day.

This is the first Pancake Day in a long while in which I have had pancakes to eat, as I bought a couple packs of ready made ones from work at the end of my shift today. And because I'm a nice guy (as evidenced by my always finishing last), I bought enough for the house. I also bought a bottle of syrup, Banoffee syrup to be exact. Quite nice it is too, but then I'm a sucker for Banoffee in general. I even bought a bottle of Banoffeeade once... and the less said about what that tasted like the better!

Pancakes with syrup and a mug of coffee to drink with it. Not even remotely a healthy meal by anyones standards, but as I've not had pancakes for years, I'm not going to be feeling guilty for enjoying it!

Complicated Girl

I love this song, and for some reason every time I hear it, it reminds me of an ex-girlfriend who loves The Bangles' music as much (or more) than I do. It was her who told me that the group had released a new album (Doll Revolution), which I promptly went and snapped up. I think part of the reason we never got any further than we did is because we are/were both too stubborn to give any ground to the other. The saying goes that "Hindsight is 20/20" and it is certainly true in this case. The lyrics bear little if any relation to my relationship with her, but it is still this song that reminds me of her. Weird huh?

Complicated Girl by The Bangles

Valerie is beautiful
But she seems a little bit confused
The life you offer her she says
She cannot use

You live in another world
She thinks she won't fit in at all
And oh, what about her plans for him
She bends to his will

Hey, you better listen
'Cause I'm warning you
Love is never simple
With a complicated girl

You call her on the phone
She's got the other guy on hold
You see the scene unfold
You know it very well

Stay inside your room all day
When she doesn't call you pull the shades
Never seen you act this way
The girl has hit you hard

Hey, you better listen
'Cause I'm warning you
Love is never simple
With a complicated girl

Why bother making rules you know
She will not follow
Someday she'll find a way to remedy
This lovely mess she's made of you

Hey, you better listen
'Cause I'm warning you
Love is never simple
With a complicated girl

Attention To Detail

I've been spending a quiet day indoors relaxing and enjoying a day off work. I'd much rather the day off wasn't a Sunday as I prefer to work those, but rest is good regardless. I've spent the day listening to music, watching a bit of TV (and more later on, as a new series of "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps" starts at 10pm on BBC3 tonight), but mostly painting miniatures.

This week I picked up my paintbrushes again, and have thus far managed to finish the following:

• A pair of large Yuan-Ti Abominations (snakemen with large scimitars).
• A pair of Chaos Warriors (humans in platemail armour with swords & shields).
• An Elf Ranger with longbow.
• A Elf Priestess with twin whips.
• A Dwarf Warrior with axe, shield and crossbow, which is to represent Matt's character Jebodiah Bugman at my Friday night D&D games.

I am also working on, but have not yet finished (and in fact have barely started on some of these):

• A Lich (skeletal wizard).
• A Human Necromancer/Wearer of Purple. Intended as a villain model for my D&D game.
• 6 more Chaos Warriors including a drummer. When done I'll have a regiment of 16 of these, complete with drummer, standard bearer and leader.
  
• A Kajira (slavegirl).
• A Dwarf Wizard.
• A Dracolich (undead dragon).

I've also done more work on the massive model Tarrasque that I've been working on for ages now. Still a long way to go before that is finished, though all but one of its limbs is now assembled and stuck to the torso. Just got the last leg to fill with Plaster of Paris (so as to counteract the weight of the body and help the assembled creature to stand upright), and then trim the joint to fit the bulk of the figure, before sticking it together. I've also got to make its giant horns and attach those to either side of its head, for whch I have a quantity of modelling putty to mould them out of.

Normally I'd have spent my day off studying and revising my course, which is what I did on Friday followed by taking the second course exam which covered Copy Editing. I had been dreading this one, as Copy Editing is a lot trickier than just Proofreading alone, but it wasn't as hard as I had feared it might be, and I think I've done really well. I won't know for sure for a while yet, as I now need to mail off the papers to the publishing company to get them graded. I plan on getting them photocopied first, just so I have a record in case they get lost in the post or some such thing.

I thought the title of this post to be fitting, as paying attention to detail is going to be paramount from now on in both my hobby (figure painting) as well as the professional work I aspire to do (Freelance Proofreading).

Two Days In Yeovil

I've just returned home after the second day spent in the Morrisons store in Yeovil. Yeovil for those not in the know, is a town about 26 miles from Taunton where I live. It is mainly known as the site of Westland, a company whose factories take up a good deal of space on one side of the town, and who manufacture helicopters. In particular, military helicopters such as the EH101 and the Apache.

I was sent there along with two other employees of the store: Kath West, and Jane (I honestly cannot for the life of me remember her last name!), to learn the basics of First Aid. I had been volunteered for this duty by our stores Personnel dept, who needed someone to make up the numbers. The course started at 9am, so to be sure of getting there in plenty of time, we left the Taunton store in Kath's shaky little car at 7:30am on both days. We got there 45 mins early yesterday and today, and so got to relax in their canteen before hand. We didn't get to warm up though, as the Yeovil store canteen is bloody freezing!

The course was attended by another 8 Morrisons employees, from the Bridport and Glastonbury stores, for a total of 11 students. Our tutor was... dammit his name eludes me as well, but he did look strikingly similar to an actor by the name of Joshua Malina, which was a bit odd. The course was good, with a variety of presentation styles ranging from demonstrations on volunteers to some truly gruesome video clips and photos (the short clip of the skateboarder breaking his leg is gonna take a while to forget that's for sure!). I did find myself almost nodding off at a couple points yesterday, but that was due to the utter lack of sleep I'd gotten on Tuesday night. Thankfully Pepsi Max and willpower kept me awake!

I have enjoyed the couple days training, and I passed my evaluation at the end of it, demonstrating my skills at CPR, Bandaging and the Recovery Position. So I've got my little green badge and the green pouch with its belt to wear from Saturday when I am back in work. Still, while I have the knowledge now to help someone who has been injured, I truly hope I never actually have cause to need it.

Still Linkless

It would seem that I was a bit premature in my last post, in saying that the problem with our internet connection turning itself on and off was fixed. It isn't! The wireless router we use to link our PC's together and connect to the net through has 4 green lights on the front of it. When all four are lit up, then the connection is a-okay. But the middle two keep turning off, and thus severing our net connection. This isn't a problem with the router, we have checked and double-checked its settings (and by "we" I mean Tony).

So the problem lies with our broadband provider, and Tony is gonna have to give them another call later on to ask what the hell is going on! As for me, I'm being sent by my store to the nearby town of Yeovil today and tomorrow, to the store there, to learn First Aid. Wish me luck!

Linkless

I've not posted anything for a couple days now, because I've been unable to do so. This is due to an upgrade to the houses internet connection, courtesy of our ISP: Bulldog DSL. Last year we signed up to an improved package to what we had. What we had was a 2MB broadband connection. Not too shabby, but not good enough, as we would regularly use all of that up between 3 PC's, especially on the weekends when Tony does a lot of downloading of the latest TV episodes.

So we signed up to a combined package, which would give us an 8MB broadband connection, as well as include our telephone line rental, local and national calls, all inclusive for a slightly greater fee. This was suppossed to have been installed back in October. It wasn't! On the plus side, we weren't being charged for the new features until they were up and running. We just had to wait.

Last week, the company finally got around to upgrading our service, but not without a few hiccups. Namely the connection turning itself off all the time, in intervals ranging from 5 minutes to as little as 10 seconds! To say this was extremely annoying would be putting it mildly. Tony phoned up the company and got a job reference number and a statement that all should be well within 24 hours.

To be fair it did take them about that time, but it sure did feel longer. Nice to have the net back though, and now it is running much better than before, with ample bandwidth for all of us. I've used the time to tidy up my room a bit, and paint some miniatures, which I'd not done is quite a while. Even finished four of them. I'll have to do a bit of painting more often from now on, it certainly eats up the time!

The Rainbow Connection

I adore this song. It took me ages to find it on mp3, but that time was totally worth it. This is the song that Kermit is playing on his banjo at the sart of The Muppet Movie. Sat on a log in the swamp, he is strumming away and singing a happy tune to himself, when a Hollywood talent scout comes rowing past having heard him singing. It's probably best not to ask why quite a Hollywood talent scout is rowing a boat through the Florida Everglades really.

Kermit is intrigued at the idea that his singing could bring joy to millions, and he decides to head to Hollywood. So begins one of the great road movies, as along the way he will meet (and be joined by): Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great (and his girlfriend Camilla the chicken!), Miss Piggy (urgh, my least favourite Muppet), and Rolf the Dog, as well as Dr. Teeth and his crazy band The Electric Mayhem. All the way they are chased by the villainous Doc Hopper who wants Kermit to advertise his chain of Frog's Leg restaurants. I used to have this movie on VHS but I donated most of that collection (4 banana boxes worth) to the PDSA a while back. I must remember to get that movie on DVD sometime. I miss having it on my shelf.

The Rainbow Connection by Kermit The Frog

Why are there so many songs about rainbows,
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it,
And look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing,
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

All of us under its spell,
We know that it's probably magic...

Have you been half asleep?
And have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm s'posed to be...
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

Laa, da daa dee da daa daa,
La laa la la laa dee daa doo...

The Crimson Gold: A Book Review

Yep I am definately writing these more often of late... or it just seems that way cos I've not been writing that much else recently. Hmmm, anyway on with the review. The Crimson Gold by Voronica Whitney-Robinson is a Forgotten Realms novel, and the third book in a quartet of stand-alone tales titled The Rogues. This particular novel's central character is Thazienne Uskevren, the wealthy daughter of a powerful Sembian merchant family, with a larcenous streak.

Having started stealing as an infant to gain attention from her emotionally reserved father, she has gradually gotten better at it as she's grown older, tutored in part by her friend, the family butler Erevis Cale. This book is a sequel to an earlier novel (which I've not yet read), which was part of a seven book set called The Sembia Series. The same series featured the novel Shadow's Witness, which I recently reviewed, and which focuses on Cale himself.

The book starts with an entirely unneeded prologue featuring a duergar (gray dwarf) called Adnama Stoneblood, who is exploring some volcanic caves. He gets eaten by some creatures. So that was a waste of 16 pages. Next we get to meet Thazienne herself, who is a couple thousand miles from home, deep in a cave system under the Sunrise Mountains, busy stealing from some unknown race. She is stealing nuggets of crimson gold, a type of gold with a reddish glow to it, that is harder than steel. The reason why is explained later in the book, and to be honest is a crock of shit. She's stealing the gold, to replace the lump of the same stuff she took from her father years before. Only her father is dead now, which kinda defeats the point of her "quest".

The book is named for this substance, but it barely plays a role in the actual story, as she is out with her loot within one chapter. What then follows is a long drawn out journey story, wherein Thazienne (or Tazi as she is known to friends and family), is enlisted in the schemes of a Red Wizardess named Naglatha.

The Red Wizards are an organisation of evil spellcasters who utterly rule the nation of Thay, a large empire atop a plateau wherein magic rules, and slavery is widespread. In the past Thay has periodically invaded its neighbours, with mixed results. But of late, they have persued a policy of trade and peace. Naturally this doesn't sit well with many of the ruling council made up of the Zulkir's (each of which heads one of the eight schools of magic) and Tharchions (each of which controls a territory, much like a Duke rules a Duchy), but thus far none of the disgruntled have challenged the authority of the most powerful Zulkir of Necromancy, Szass Tam, who dictated the new approach.

Naglatha aims to change that, and she needs Tazi to do so. So she stages a bar brawl and gets her arrested and then enslaved. When she buys Tazi from the slave market, with her comes another duergar, Justikar Stoneblood (the brother of the dwarf devoured in the prologue). Though gruff and surly, Tazi is able to reach an accord with him wherein they will work together to serve Naglatha's interests and thus win their respective freedom from the wizardess.

None of this is that well written to be honest, the author regularly resorting to cliche's which quickly grow tiring. Also the journey to the mysterious Citadel takes FAR too long. It is 187 pages before the group (comprising Naglatha, Tazi, Justikar and Naglatha's two bodyguards Milos and Heraclos) arrive at the Citadel, and the book is only 312 pages long. This results in a long drawn out beginning and a rushed finale, which stinks of bad writing, with the very gratuitous use of name dropping. EVERY well known Red Wizard villain in the Realms is present, even if they only get a line or two of text, they are mentioned. Ohh plus a couple armies, volcanic eruptions, an apocalyptic battle, political intrigues and more. In the space of 100 pages?

The one redeeming feature of this book, is that the main villain himself Szass Tam, is very well written. Calm and commanding whilst all about him is in chaos, he is written like the natural (or unnatural when you consider that he is in fact an undead lich) leader that he is. For the sole sake of how well he is written I'm giving this book 2/5, otherwise it would get but a single point. I have read that the author of this book is no longer writing for the Forgotten Realms, and I can honestly say "Thank fuck for that!"

An Act Of Rememberance

Before going to work today, I spent a couple hours browsing my usual selection of websites that I check pretty much daily. And I read a bit of news that saddened me greatly. An actor who I admire has passed away. That actor is Andreas Katsulas, who is better known to fans of sci-fi as the Narn Ambassador G'Kar on the TV show Babylon 5. Film fans might well remember him as the one armed assassin, who framed Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble for the murder of his wife in the movie Fugitive, or perhaps the terrorist cell leader whose freedom is demanded by the plane hijackers in the Kurt Russell action movie Executive Decision.

He was a truly great character actor, especially in his role as G'Kar, being as he brought that character to life from behind a full face prosthetic. No easy task! So I've done what I always do whenever I hear of a member of the B5 cast dying. I watch what I consider to be the best episode of that actors particular character. For Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin) it was the 2nd season episode "Confessions and Lamentations" where he has to find a cure to a 100% contagious, 100% lethal alien virus, before it annihilates an entire species. For Tim Choate (Zathras) it was the 3rd season two-parter "War Without End Parts I and II", the plot of which is way too complex to fit into a couple lines, but has to do with a time travelling space station, and the greatest theft ever undertaken.

Tonight it was back to the 2nd season, for the episode "The Coming Of Shadows", which won the prestigious Hugo Award for that years best filmed sci-fi presentation. A visit by the ageing Centauri Emperor to the Babylon 5 space station on a mission of peace, results in the outbreak of war. Watching his performances won't be quite the same again now that he is gone, but he left a legacy that I'll certainly continue to enjoy. Rest In Peace Mr. Katsulas. You will be missed.

Crunch Time

So after weeks of reading, learning, making notes and revising, it finally came down to this. Taking the exam in module eleven. I'll be honest, I was dreading doing that. I've not sat an exam since... ohh August 1997 when I had to go back to University for a weekend to do a re-sit exam. Of curse then I was sat in a large quiet exam hall, at a tiny table under the stern gaze of some professor type or other. Today I was curled up on the sofa in the lounge, feet up on the other cushion, with a mug of hot coffee. Was still quiet though, apart from a short shower that made the plastic roof of the conservatory at the back of the house rattle.

I haven't done the whole exam though. Not yet. The whole thing covers both Proofreading as well as Copy Editing. Now Proofreading I know well, that's really the easy part... well okay not easy per se, but certainly easier. Copy Editing is a lot more tricky. But the part of the exam that is purely Proofreading is done and dusted. For all my nerves about tackling the exam, when I actually sat down and got on with it, it felt really natural. I think I've done well.

I had to pause mid way through the exam to go out and get a dictionary though. I also felt in need of some fresh air. I should have bought a decent dictionary ages ago, back when I tried this course the first time really. But for whatever reason I didn't. So off to Waterstones I went and there I was confronted with a huge variety of dictionaries to choose from. Dozens of them, in all shapes and sizes... okay sizes, they are all pretty much book shaped! Should I go for a Complete Dictionary, a Concise Dictionary, a Dictionary/Theosaurus combination? The choice was a little intimidating, especially since by this time the store was closing in less than half an hour.

I settled on a Collins Essential English Dictionary, which set me back £11.99 for a nice sized hardback. While it is not as comprehensive as a Complete Dictionary would be, it is within my budget, whereas a £30+ book is not. With that in hand I made my way back to the house via the Market House pub which I haven't frequented since before Xmas. Stopped in there for a pint of lager and a pack of peanuts (dry roasted of course), before returning to the house and finishing the couple bits of the exam paper I wasn't sure on.

I need to have a good read through the Copy Editing paper before I attempt it, and the third module of the course too. Still, I am happy with my progress so far. Taking this course too quickly was what caused me to do poorly at it the first time around. A mistake I do not intend to repeat this time.

Strapped Up

Over three years ago, I slipped on the dancefloor in the Cafe Mamba nightclub and landed heavily on my left wrist. For the first (and thus far only) time in my life I broke a bone. The pain was so intense, so much a surprise to me, that I went into a mild state of shock and a far greater state of denial. Had it not been for my friends who caught up with me as I was walking home, I don't know what condition my wrist would have been in by the time it got treated.

As it was they called a taxi, and my mate Derek Adams accompanied me to the hospital and waited with me for several hours before I was seen too by a doctor. X-Rays were taken and I found out that I'd broken a couple small bones in my wrist, behind my thumb. Weirdly, the impact with the floor hadn't broken my bones, they had been snapped by my other bones crunching them, as the breaks were on the other side of my wrist to the side that hit the floor.

So I was plastered up and sent home, and told to return in a week to have a new cast fitted, as the one I was put in that night was temporary, designed to allow the break to swell and then subside again. The new cast wasn't plaster, it was fibreglass. When it was drying, the doctor twisted my wrist slightly and held it thus until the cast had turned solid and would hold the wrist in that pose for the next five weeks while it healed.

I thought the posed wrist felt wrong then, but I didn't say anything. I figured the doc knew what he was doing. After all he likely set bones dozens of times each week right?

Three years on I'm not so sure that my silence was such a good idea. My wrist healed up sure enough but not fully. I can hold my right hand out with the palm upward, with the palm flat. I cannot do that with the left one any longer. From time to time the wrist aches. For no reason at all, it will throb. As far as I know there is no cause for this. It happens no more often when it is cold than when I am in the warm. And the throbbing can last days. At times a constant tingle, at other times bad enough that I have cause to grit my teeth to bear it.

It started up again today. At times like this I am thankful that I kept the wrist support the hospital gave me to wear for a few weeks after the cast came off. Reinforced with a metal bar, and secured by four velcro straps, it can very effectively immobilise my left wrist. Typically a day or two spent with the wrist strapped up like this causes the pain to stop. I've had it on most of today, and I'll likely wear it at work tomorrow. I wonder how many will notice?

The Alabaster Staff: A Book Review

Time for another book review. Feels like I'm writing these more and more often of late, maybe I'm reading faster. The Alabaster Staff by Edward Bolme is a Forgotten Realms novel and is the first book in a quartet titled The Rogues. Each of the four books details a story featuring a central character whose main skills lie in sneakiness. As I love sneaky characters, I'll admit I am a little biased towards these books from the outset.

This book focuses on Kehrsyn, a slip of a girl on the verge of womanhood who has grown up living on the harsh streets of the cities in the nation of Unther. Unther was a nation ruled by the god Gilgeam and his tyrannical clergy. All that changed when Kehrsyn was a small girl as he was killed in battle with another god Tiamat, the five-headed queen of dragons (who you should remember if you've ever seen the old D&D cartoon). Chaos has ruled in Unther ever since, with various factions controlling each city and struggling amongst themselves to reunite the country under their sole authority. To add to the nations problems, just over a year ago the nation of Mulhorand invaded, and has conquered three quarters of the divided country in just under 18 months. All that is left of Unther is the city of Massemprar and its environs.

And it is here that Kehrsyn, like so many other refugees has fled too, the cities population has tripled from the influx, and between that and the naval blockade of the harbour by the Mulhorandi fleet, food prices have soared. Kehrsyn does her best to earn a living though, entertaining crowds in the various plaza's of the city, with sleight-of-hand tricks (such as the card and coin tricks performed by modern day magicians). Still a couple factors make her living hard, one is that few people are inclined to part with coin to pay for her perfomances when that same coin could be needed to feed them; and the second is that Kehrsyn is far too nice for her own good, and frequently gives her money away to those more needy than herself.

It is while performing in such a plaza that she attracts some unwanted atention from a recruiter for the newly formed Thieves Guild, who seeks to employ her. When Kehrsyn refuses, the agent frames her for the murder of a Zhentarim soldier (the Zhentarim being a powerful evil organisation of merchants and wizards, and one of the few groups able to get food shipments past the blockade). Wanted by the Zhent's and the city guard she has no choice but to carry out the theft that the guild want her to perform, in return for which they will remove the stain on her name.

There are several powerful organisations in the Realms, for a novel to feature a couple of them and to do them justice is one thing... this book features no less than five of them! And all written superbly. I smiled reading pretty much every page of this book, as the characters, the action, the dialogue (ohh the wonderful dialogue, in particular how the character of Massedar speaks!), all of it is well written. I've never read anything by Edward Bolme before and I know he is now writing books for the Eberron shared fiction world, which is a loss to the Realms.

This book gets a full marks from me, 5/5. Kehrsyn is one of the best written heroines that I have ever read, and I'd dearly love to read another book about her (unwanted) exploits. If you want to try a Realms novel and you don't know where to start, I can heartily advise you to give this one a read.

Turned Off

I had the late shift in work tonight. Normally on a Saturday this would entail me finishing work at about 9pm, as the store shuts at 8pm and it takes about an hour to do the closedown and such on the computers. Not tonight though, I was there until 10:30pm this time. Granted my shift had started an hour later, as I knew that I'd be staying late in advance.

The reason for this is... well actually I don't know the reason, only the cause. Tonight I spent about an hour and a half racing around the store turning off every piece of electronic equipment in the store such as: computers, servers, printers, tills, scales and these big ass terminal things called Bizerba's. Not only did I have to turn them off, I also had to unplug them from the wall.

That second part proved a bit tricker, as not only were a lot of the plugs a weird design called electrax (which twist to the side, rather than pull straight out, which took me a few tugs to figure out), but many of them are in damnably hard to reach locations. Clearly whoever wired up our store during the refit last year, thought it'd be a laugh to do so in such a manner. I guess so as to ensure that when it came to unplug the equipment, whoever was doing so would have a few choice curses to utter whilst doing so. I know I certainly did!

The guide I had to work by, said that the whole operation should take about 30 mins. I'd like to see the git who wrote that try it. Maybe in a store half the size of ours it might be possible. We have 24,500 square feet though, and that's a lot to dash around. And I still don't know why we had to unplug everything, only that it gets done once a year. Something about an electrical test or other.

Still as tiring as turning everything off and unplugging it was, my sympathies go to my colleague Ben Harvey, as tomorrow morning he has the unenviable task of plugging everything back in and turning it all back on. Rather him than me!

Like A Prayer

Now some songs I post on here I don't have that much to say about them, other than I like the tune and/or the lyrics. This song though. I could write all day about this one. I mean where would I start? I could go on and on about the songs obviously religious nature, and my hatred of all forms of organised religion. I could mention the video that created a huge fuss when this song was released, because it depicted Madonna dancing with Jesus... who was black! I could mention that when this plays at the disco, the dancefloor will always be packed, and everyone knows thw words to it.

But while I might someday write an essay or two on those topics, today is not that day. I'm just too tired right now. So yeah I like this song, the tune is a wonderful mixture of pop and gospel, and the lyrics are great. I'm not the slightest bit religious, but I don't think you have to be to like this song, and to lose yourself in its rythmn.

Like A Prayer by Madonna

God?

Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying
I close my eyes, Oh God I think I'm falling
Out of the sky, I close my eyes
Heaven help me

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

Like a child you whisper softly to me
You're in control just like a child
Now I'm dancing
It's like a dream, no end and no beginning
You're here with me, it's like a dream
Let the choir sing

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery
Just like a dream, you are not what you seem
Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there

Just like a prayer, I'll take you there
It's like a dream to me

Sky High: A Movie Review

I bought a DVD before leaving work today. I hadn't heard anything about the film I was buying, but I saw it on the shelf, read the back cover of the case and figured I'd give it a shot. After all if it turned out to be crap, well there are a couple of places in town that buy second-hand DVD's. The film is Sky High, which is a high school comedy/drama with a twist. The school hovers a couple miles up in the sky, and is a special learning facility for super-powered teenagers.

The idea of a superhero school is hardly new; cartoonist Aaron Williams writes & draws a comic book called PS238 for instance, which has the same central premise (though that school is deep underground). And (more famously) there is the Xavier Institute from the X-Men comics/films/cartoons. But a couple things convinced me to give this film a try:

1. The film stars Kurt Russell who is one of my favourite actors. This is the guy who did Stargate, Big Trouble In Little China and Escape from New York (among many others). Seeing him playing a superhero. Yeah that sounded cool.
2. The film also stars Bruce Campbell who never fails to be cool in any role he plays, though his most famous role is, of course, Ash from the Evil Dead movies.

The movies plot centres around young Will Stronghold, the son of the worlds two most legendary heroes Commander (Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston) starting at Sky High school. There's just one small problem... Will has no super powers! He has been hiding this from his parents, who fully expect him to join them in the family business.

No such luck at school though and when he has to admit to being powerless, Will is placed in Hero Support class aka Sidekick Training, much to the dismay of his father. There is the usual high school cliches of course: the couple bullies who pick on the sidekicks, the bitchy cheerleader, the angry rebel kid, and the girl best friend with a crush on the boy next door. None of that detracts from what is a fun film. Yeah the plot is wafer thin really but I didn't care.

The film is funny and entertaining and I enjoyed it. For that it gets a 4/5 rating from me. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than light entertainment, and it is exactly that. I hope they make a sequel!

And Now For Something Bunny

I was browsing the BBC News website and I saw a link to the Newsround section (which for those of you who don't know the BBC, is a news program for children), about Herman, who may well be the world's largest rabbit. The full story is here.

I've included the picture here though, because just looking at it stuns me. That is one massive bunny! I like rabbits. I can remember the "joke" my Dad played on myself and my two siblings years back when he got us to eat rabbit. All of us were appalled when he told us what it was that we had eaten and I think it was a while before he was forgiven.

I get to see wild rabbits whenever I walk to the cinema, as the parkland either side of the River Tone, that stretches from the Town Centre to the Riverside complex where the cinema is, is home to hundreds of them. As I walk along the trackway through the park, so up ahead I'll see bunnies diving into the hedgerow, alerted by the tremors of my approaching footsteps.

I have seen a big bunny before, back when I used to be friends with a guy called Greg, who kept this big rabbit (which used to chase the local cats if they came into the back garden), and the size of that startled me. But this? This rabbit could eat Greg's rabbit whole and likely have room for seconds!

Part of me thinks "Urgh, that is some serious messing with nature", and a far larger part of me is wickedly envious of the guy holding it, cos damn that is one cool bunny!

Ulysses

It has been a while now since I last posted a poem on this blog and so I think it is about time I put another one here. This is by my favourite poet (I have a thick book of his complete works on my shelves), and it is also the first poem of his that I read. The last part of it is quoted at the end of the season 4 episode of Babylon 5 titled "The Long Night", which was where I heard it first, and I then tracked down the full version of the poem, and then his other works. Hope you like it too.

Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vest the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers;
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breath were life. Life piled on life
Were all to little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle-
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me-
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads- you and I are old;
Old age had yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in the old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal-temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Shadow's Witness: A Book Review

Right, after a good night's sleep I'm not feeling knackered like I was yesterday, so on with the review of the latest book I've finished. Shadow's Witness by Paul S. Kemp is a Forgotten Realms novel, and the second book in the Sembia series. The seven books of the series are standalone tales focusing on the wealthy Uskevren family from the Sembian city of Selgaunt. This particular book details the family's loyal butler Erevis Cale, a man with a dangerous past that is about to catch up to him.

Cale is a fascinating character, a man loyal to the family he serves and secretly in love with Thazienne Uskevren, the daughter of his lord Thamalon. He is however, also a spy, placed in the household to keep an eye on them and report on their doings, to the Night Knives thieves guild. His loyalties are divided though, as in the ten years in which he has served in his current role, he has come to admire and adore the family he serves, and it is clear from the novels outset which side he will favour when it comes time to choose.

That choice comes a lot sooner than he had hoped for, and in a most unexpected fashion. The guild he nominally serves is led by a figure known as The Righteous Man (a somewhat ridiculous title for a master thief but that's a minor quibble), who is a devout worshipper of the god Mask, lord of thieves and shadows. Having divined that his god is about to elevate someone to be his Chosen he acts to ensure that it will be him.

As a sidenote, I'll point out that in the Realms, a god's Chosen is a VERY powerful individual. Not many god's create such, and then again some have more than one (Mystra the goddess of magic has ten!). A Chosen's abilities and powers vary depending on which god they serve, but they are always tied to that god's portfolio, ie Fzoul Chembryl the Chosen of Bane (God of Tyranny) can compel obidience. And now back to the book...

With that in mind, he intends to summons a creature to serve him and command it to slaughter the rival thieves guilds in the city, thus ensuring that Mask's servants (he has converted a lot of his guild to the gods worship), dominate the entire of Selgaunt's underworld. He hopes that this feat will make him the clear choice to become Mask's Chosen. Things don't go according to plan, and the creature gets loose, slaughters the Righteous Man and begins its own reign of terror, which leads it to start attacking the city guilds, nobles, and other power groups.

In one of these attacks the creature (named Yrsillar) sends its servants (a couple of shadow demons it summons, as well as the Night Knives guild members which it corrupts into ghouls), to attack a ball being held at Stormweather Towers, the home of the Uskevren's. In the ensuing slaughter numerous party guests are killed, and Thazienne is greviously injured. Cale believes that the Righteous Man sent the attack, to punish him for turning away from the guild, and vows revenge.

He enlists the aid of his halfling friend Jak Fleet, and the pair of them launch an all out assault on the Night Knife guildhouse, which is slowly being warped by hellish gateways to Yrsillar's home dimension. The book is fast and furious, with almost the entire story baring the Prologue and Epilogue taking place over the course of two days. Mr Kemp's writing style is very addictive reading, with the fights being quite brutal and graphic. You can feel Cale's anger and Jak's uncertainty. Having said that, I think I would have screamed if either of them had said "Dark" again by the end of the book, an exclamation that was way overused. As though an assassin and a rogue didn't know any other oaths!

I'm going to give this book 4/5, it is a gripping read, but a few bits kinda niggled me about it. I am however looking forward to reading the Erevis Cale trilogy by the same author and featuring the same characters, which I'll be starting soon.

Too Damn Tired

I was going to write something about... I forget. It probably wasn't that important then, and if it was, it'll come back to me and I'll write about it tomorrow. I also have a book review to write. But not today. I have tomorrow off work and I'll write then. Now? Now I'm going to make myself some sandwiches, and a pint of bourbon and cola, and just crash out for the evening. I'm too tired to do anything else.

An Untypical Friday Night

Normally on a Friday Night I run Dungeons & Dragons at the Green Goblin Games Club. Not this week though. For once in a blue moon I had to work past 4pm today, and I finished work at 7pm instead. Too late to run the game, and I wasn't going to pay £1.50 just to be at the club for a couple hours. So I did a bit of shopping before I left the store and headed home.

I bought the usual stuff like bread, canned pink salmon (tastes the same as red salmon, less than half the price, and is great mashed up with a little black pepper in sandwiches), Doritos and hot salsa dip and a couple 2 litre bottles of Pepsi Max Twist (it has something that vaguely resembles lemon & lime flavouring added to it). I also bought myself a couple treats, namely a bottle of italian white wine called Soave, which is both cheap and quite tasty. I'm finishing the last of it as I write this. I also bought myself a new scented candle, as I enjoyed the couple vanilla ones I bought for my holiday back in late November. This one is Mocha scented, a heavenly mixture of coffee and chocolate to add aroma to my room.

Bought my ticket for tonights EuroMillions lottery too. I know I have a 1 in 76 million chance of winning the thing (well okay 2 in 76 million chance as I bought a couple rows of numbers), but for a chance at a £125 Million jackpot and with £3 to spend, I figured "Why not?" I know the odds of me winning it are next to impossible (the same bookie who worked out the actual odds, gave less odds on the world ending!), but I do know that someone will win it. I don't know what I'd do with that kind of money. I don't honestly think anyone as penniless as myself, can ever have any real concept, of just how much that kind of money will change not only your life, but also yourself. Still... sure would be fun to find out!

A Quiet Couple Of Days

I had yesterday and the day before that off work. Aside from a brief trip to the newsagent around the corner to fetch milk and a paper yesterday, (and a packet of choc muffins whilst I was there!) I didn't leave the house. I saw no reason to do so. Didn't do much at all on Monday and I'm honestly not sure why. By rights I should have done some studying and revising for my course, but I just seemed to be in a fugue state the whole day through. Very weird experience.

I got the tenth module read through on Tuesday, which now leaves me with the last one (turns out there were eleven modules in all, not ten as I'd originally thought) to do. That's the exam, which leads to a diploma in Proofreading & Copy Editing. I'm not that hot on the Copy Editing part. It does pay better, but not that much better. Not for the amount of hassle which seems to go with that job. Thanks but no thanks.

I'm going to re-read through modules 2 (Proodreading), 4 (Grammar and Spelling) and 5 (Punctuation), make notes on them and cement those parts of the course into my head before I tackle the exam itself. I reckon a couple weeks of revision should suffice to prepare me for the final test.

I've watched a couple DVD's too, which I bought last week (they were on cheap in work), namely Enemy at the Gates (great film about snipers fighting a duel amidst the rubble of the city of Stalingrad... and it has Rachel Weisz in it!), and also The Bourne Supremacy (which is a very tense and in place brutal spy thriller starring Matt Damon). I'd seen both of them before at the cinema, and they'd been on my "To Get" list for a while. Two bargain price additions to my DVD collection.

I was back in work today though, but that shift was slow too, with just me and my boss in the office, the other admin clerks having today and tomorrow off work. I think I'm going to make myself a mug of hot chocolate (got a low calorie sachet with white choc flavour to try out), and watch a cartoon or two before grabbing an early night.