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Sunday, July 31, 2005

Happy Gazzaday

In honour of Ginge's birthday, we've pretty much done nothing at all, since we went over to his place last weekend for a birthday get-together. He and Son are thinking about getting another house before too long – they're finding the one they have now is a bit cramped, I think. Can't happen for a little while yet, I gather, but that didn't stop Ian spending his birthday surfing the net for possible bargains. As Fi said, house hunting becomes a bit of an obsession once you start at it.

One house is not enough

We've got to get back into the search for decent investment properties again pretty soon. It's tax time, so presumably before long we'll have a (no doubt modest) return to put on the mortgage. It's getting towards being comfortably manageable now, which according to the Plan means we can start looking at taking on more exciting levels of debt.

At this stage there are no plans for long term investment in valuable research and development, sorry, Doctor Clam.

Crass entertainments

While World of Warcraft continues to form the backbone of my diversions from reality, I am also reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Almost Everything - just finished actually, and it's an excellent work for someone like me who is deeply fascinated by all things scientific except the maths and the intellectual discipline – as well as the new Harry Potter (with which I am deliberately torturing Lindor by reading no more than a couple of pages a day), the first of the new Doctor Who novels (serviceable, and rewatching the televised episode Boom Town again last night, I noticed a subtle piece of cross-promotion which is common enough but somehow seems a little vulgar coming from the BBC) and Coldheart Canyon, which is by-the-numbers Clive Barker, inasmuch as it's slightly predictable, elegantly written, occasionally moving and somewhat decadent. All good diversions, though.

Speaking of Doctor Who, ChrisT, Si, Lindor and I went to the theatre on Tuesday night to see Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Katy Manning doing a stage show called Inside the TARDIS. Mostly it was entertaining, though the choice of the least-best ex-Doug Anthony Allstar Tim Ferguson as host was, I think, an unfortunate one. Oh, sure, he had a few good lines and was on rare occasions able to deliver them with adequate comic timing. But he also fluffed just as many, had his usual high opinion of himself and, least forgiveably, often stifled the stars he was supposed to be supporting. Disappointing, though more or less as expected.

Katy Manning, who played Jo Grant back in the early seventies, was hyper and shrieked a lot (much of it a deliberate sendup of her original performance, but mostly obviously natural ebullience turned up to 11). Colin Baker was the epitome of a “real British actor who takes his craft seriously”, but fortunately tempered it with a sense of humour. Sylvester McCoy was, no doubt about it, utterly mad. He spluttered and raved and hammed up for the audience outrageously. I liked him the best.

Anyway, good show, though I rather suspect I'd enjoying seeing them more in a more casual and relaxed setting. (Maybe I should go to one of them huge conventions thingies one of these days. I think I'm a big enough geek to qualify). Oh, and Kate and Jon would have been much better as hosts – I guess it probably wasn't an option for all sorts of reasons – than disappointing ol' Timbo.

Speaking of being a big enough geek

It appears that the Trogdor the Burninator T-shirt that Simon got me for my birthday has left my other geek-culturally sensitive colleagues mystified. This is one of those memes that briefly achieved near-total saturation on the net for about one week (see also: “All your base are belong to us”, the kung-fu salmon-loving brown bear and more recently the Carlton Draught “Very Big Ad”). It also rated a mention in the final episode of Buffy, if that helps at all. As to what it actually means, I'm not really sure I can help you with that. It's all a bit odd.

5 smartarse remarks Post a Comment

5 Comments:

TROGDORRRRRRRRR!

TROGDORRRRRRRRR!

burninating the countryside,

burninating the peasants

so you gotta trogdor t-shirt, huh?

goddamn it.

(don't say spite. don't say spite.)

By ted, at 12:25 AM

Trogdor rocks.

By emmajeans, at 8:05 PM

This post has been removed by the author.

By Dave, at 11:47 PM

Indeed he does. Mightily.

By Dave, at 9:56 AM

the new Harry Potter (with which I am deliberately torturing Lindor by reading no more than a couple of pages a day)...

I knew it. Bastard.

L.

By Anonymous, at 12:07 PM


	Sunday, July 31, 2005 Happy Gazzaday In honour of Ginge's birthday, we've pretty much done nothing at all, since we went over to his place last weekend for a birthday get-together. He and Son are thinking about getting another house before too long – they're finding the one they have now is a bit cramped, I think. Can't happen for a little while yet, I gather, but that didn't stop Ian spending his birthday surfing the net for possible bargains. As Fi said, house hunting becomes a bit of an obsession once you start at it. One house is not enough We've got to get back into the search for decent investment properties again pretty soon. It's tax time, so presumably before long we'll have a (no doubt modest) return to put on the mortgage. It's getting towards being comfortably manageable now, which according to the Plan means we can start looking at taking on more exciting levels of debt. At this stage there are no plans for long term investment in valuable research and development, sorry, Doctor Clam. Crass entertainments While World of Warcraft continues to form the backbone of my diversions from reality, I am also reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Almost Everything - just finished actually, and it's an excellent work for someone like me who is deeply fascinated by all things scientific except the maths and the intellectual discipline – as well as the new Harry Potter (with which I am deliberately torturing Lindor by reading no more than a couple of pages a day), the first of the new Doctor Who novels (serviceable, and rewatching the televised episode Boom Town again last night, I noticed a subtle piece of cross-promotion which is common enough but somehow seems a little vulgar coming from the BBC) and Coldheart Canyon, which is by-the-numbers Clive Barker, inasmuch as it's slightly predictable, elegantly written, occasionally moving and somewhat decadent. All good diversions, though. Speaking of Doctor Who, ChrisT, Si, Lindor and I went to the theatre on Tuesday night to see Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Katy Manning doing a stage show called Inside the TARDIS. Mostly it was entertaining, though the choice of the least-best ex-Doug Anthony Allstar Tim Ferguson as host was, I think, an unfortunate one. Oh, sure, he had a few good lines and was on rare occasions able to deliver them with adequate comic timing. But he also fluffed just as many, had his usual high opinion of himself and, least forgiveably, often stifled the stars he was supposed to be supporting. Disappointing, though more or less as expected. Katy Manning, who played Jo Grant back in the early seventies, was hyper and shrieked a lot (much of it a deliberate sendup of her original performance, but mostly obviously natural ebullience turned up to 11). Colin Baker was the epitome of a “real British actor who takes his craft seriously”, but fortunately tempered it with a sense of humour. Sylvester McCoy was, no doubt about it, utterly mad. He spluttered and raved and hammed up for the audience outrageously. I liked him the best. Anyway, good show, though I rather suspect I'd enjoying seeing them more in a more casual and relaxed setting. (Maybe I should go to one of them huge conventions thingies one of these days. I think I'm a big enough geek to qualify). Oh, and Kate and Jon would have been much better as hosts – I guess it probably wasn't an option for all sorts of reasons – than disappointing ol' Timbo. Speaking of being a big enough geek It appears that the Trogdor the Burninator T-shirt that Simon got me for my birthday has left my other geek-culturally sensitive colleagues mystified. This is one of those memes that briefly achieved near-total saturation on the net for about one week (see also: “All your base are belong to us”, the kung-fu salmon-loving brown bear and more recently the Carlton Draught “Very Big Ad”). It also rated a mention in the final episode of Buffy, if that helps at all. As to what it actually means, I'm not really sure I can help you with that. It's all a bit odd. 5 smartarse remarks Post a Comment 5 Comments: TROGDORRRRRRRRR! TROGDORRRRRRRRR! burninating the countryside, burninating the peasants so you gotta trogdor t-shirt, huh? goddamn it. (don't say spite. don't say spite.) By ted, at 12:25 AM Trogdor rocks. By emmajeans, at 8:05 PM This post has been removed by the author. By Dave, at 11:47 PM Indeed he does. Mightily. By Dave, at 9:56 AM the new Harry Potter (with which I am deliberately torturing Lindor by reading no more than a couple of pages a day)... I knew it. Bastard. L. By Anonymous, at 12:07 PM