My IMDb ep summaries
(completed)
Arthur of the Britons
Sky
Star Maidens
The Starlost
Space Rangers
The Sentinel (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Swamp Thing (part: season 3)
Gravedale High
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Cybertron (part)
Misfits of Science (four eps)
Zoo Gang
Zodiac
Jupiter Moon
Transformers: Beast Wars (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Transformers: Beast Machines (part)
Vampire Princess Miyu
Starhyke
Nathan Barley
No Heroics
Undermind (3 eps)
Will Shakespeare (Tim Curry version)
Nightwalker
12 Kingdoms
Trigun (ep 8)
Rayearth
Hyperdrive (season 2 ep 3)
The Café
For later:
Missing Earthian ep
Missing Haibane Renme eps)
(And possibly Marine Boy...)

"Autumnal - nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges
of the day...
Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside
edge of the
senses... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth - reflecting on itself and through itself,
filtering the light. At
such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere..."
(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
are Dead Act
2: Tom Stoppard)
Autumn...
I love this time of year. I love the colours, the sharp slant of sunlight on the trees, mosaics of acid-yellow and harts-
blood, velvet and
darkness and a haze of mist-grey over the hills. I love its immanence, its mellowness, the tang of frost just around the
corner of the
year...
Watching the little birds in the goat-willow in my garden, I realised something more.
I love this land with a fierce, possessive love, deep-rooted in two thousand years of history. From the frosted beaches
and cloud-brushing peaks of the north to the wind-haunted meanderings of the rivers of the east, from the sensuous
rolling patchworked hills of
the south to the demanding dark moors of the west, this land seeps into bone and blood and synapse, mother of
motley nobility,
culture, individual freedoms. It can be known. It can be understood. It can be felt deep inside.
I love its effortless eccentricities, its vigour and vibrancy, its flawed perfections, its silent strength and tenacious
resilience, its hard-won tolerances and intense and variable beauty, the profound energy in its sacred mythical
landscape.
Home and more-than-home, the forces that shape and protect and bind, in me, as I am in the land. Love returning love
in the stillness
for those who'll only take the time to listen...
(Joules, Autumn 2004)
All photographs taken by Joules unless otherwise specified. All photographs © Joules A Taylor or other
specified
individual.
In Memoriam
17.03.09 - Argent
25.07.08 - Raptor
18.12.07 - Quyn
02.12.06 - Ryme
Currently enjoying:
Muse
Transformers - IDW, Prime, Animated, Rescue Bots.
Currently reading:
Various Transformers books and graphic novels.
Currently working on:
Haadri
Currently chuffed with:
My garden
Currently miffed at:
Nestlé, Nonpres Tinyhands Fart, Toadface Farage
Currently maintaining:
BCHS
BCW
Blog Pics I've gathered some of my pages of photos together: the page of links is here. I'll be adding more as time goes
by!
 Evil Squid
A Little Glossary of Taylorspeke
(in no particular order)
plit popints - n. Typo for 'plot points' typed on a keyboard with more than half the characters worn off...
[PING] (alt [ping]) - n. A brainwave. The text equivalent of a lightbulb going on blindingly over someone's head. Usually mine. And usually at the most inconvenient of times. [sigh]
TPTB - The Powers That Be.
wulmet - n. A person of little or no talent who somehow inveigles himself into a position where he is in power over other, far more talented people and uses his position to downplay them in order to try to make himself feel superior.
biteable - referring to an anatomical part vb, tasty.
Flatterfed - vb. 27.02.08: my typo for flattered, but since it's so cutely apt I thought it would fit nicely
here. Lutra defined it as "the lovely warm feeling of satisfaction resulting from enthusiastic reviews..." (which I've been
getting for my MB fics).
Composted - vb, 'compos mentis', mentally capable of working. Contrast with
uncomposted or non-
composted, not 'compos mentis', not capable of working, hungover...
Cumbles - n, cucumbers.
Kewp - how Ken says 'thank you'. We rather like Lutra's 'nanx', too...
Musekick - noun, music, without which I cannot work.
'feinne - noun, caffeine, essential for correct mental functioning, especially first thing in the morning. I
prefer mine in the
form of SodaStream Diet Coke. And on that subject...
Skoosh - verb, noun. To skoosh - to add CO2 to a sodastream bottle filled with water to make it
fizzy, prior to adding
Diet Coke syrup (or just drinking as sparkling water). A skoosh - a bottle of water that has been skooshed. Skooshy
- something that
has been skooshed, water, or that whipped cream that comes in tins you have to shake then upend and press the
nozzle...
Shoogle - verb. To shake gently, for example, of roast potatoes in a roasting tin to ensure they're
covered with oil. I
have vague memories of this being a real Scottish colloquialism...
Stegasaurus - n, spider of the genus tegenaria. Why? No idea. I just find it easier, that's
all...
Edit 08.09.07: Lutra thinks that Brian is a good name for a mini-stegasaurus. From now on, any 'Brian's in the posts
may be assumed to be a tegenaria. Except where otherwise specified.
Viterals - noun, vitamins + minerals. Also a pun on victuals.
Splish - verb. A combination of slosh and splash.
Parrots - noun, paracetemol (from the old joke "Why are there no aspirin tablets in the jungle?
Because the parrots eat
'em all...")
Maggles - noun, magpies. As opposed to non-magical people.
Flamewings - noun. Swifts. So called because the first time we became aware of them was an early
summer evening
when they were flying high, the light from the setting sun seemingly turning their wings to flames. Lovely little birds. We
always know
summer's arrived when we hear their high-pitched squeeing.
Murfs - noun, moths.
Peasant cut - noun, roughly cut up into big chunks, e.g. vegetables chopped in a hurry for a
hearty stew or
soup. By extension, anything prepared in a hurry - haircut, material, even a first draft of a story...
Giraffe - noun, a carafe (of wine, coffee or water, for example).
Shrumps - noun, mushrooms.
Splings - noun, Kai's spelling homework: by extension, any spelling.
Tyops - noun, typos. var toyps, typso, psyto, psoyt, etc. Usual result of a dose of the
fingerials (see next
entry).
Fingerials - (pr. fin GEEE ree yalls) noun, fingers that will not type what you want
them to.
Haddock - noun, time, of which I never have enough. (Origin of this term here.)
Sleep - noun? vb? a.k.a. sheeeeeeeeep.... I used to know what this word
meant...
The Updates
Blog
The place to stay notified of WaveWrights' Fiction updates: Zone, Darkside, DarkRealm, Matrix, Vault, Safehouse
13...
Butch, my computer gremlin. Click the pic for larger version, and read his
adventures here...

A gift for me! Butch by the very talented Sylverthorne. Click pic
for larger image.

This is MY haddock. It was caught
exclusively for me by Talon. No, you can't have any. I need
all the haddock I can get!!
.
A'lestrel - a gift for me from
Valkyrie...

Another gorgeous Valkyrie gift for me - Benten the Albino
Alsatian! Click
thumbnail for larger image.

Oekai by Bakayaro Onna - Radittsu at his sexiest...
The Zone Plant from
OrganicHTML (which alas no longer seems to exist...)
|
[::..My Regular Reads..::] |
:: Astronomical Pic of the Day
[>] |
:: What is Space... [>] |
:: Dark Roasted Blend [>] |
:: BLDG [>] |
:: Watchismo Times [>] |
[::..Fun Places..::] |
::HubbleSite
Stunning... |
::PALEOMAP Project
Absolutely fascinating. |
:: Skymap
Check out the night sky where you are! |
[::..Useful Sites..::] |
:: GreenNet First stop for environmental matters |
:: The Forest of Avon Our local community forest and places to visit |
:: The Guardian
Online Guardian Newspaper. |
:: Symbols Exactly what it says |
:: World Timeserver For checking the current time around this world |
:: Universal Currency Converter Actually it's just a terran-global currency
converter, not universal,
but it's still useful... |
|
So what is it with the
haddock? Am I some kind of fish freak?
I'll leave that to
others to decide.
The tale (or tail if you prefer) harks back
to October 2000, when my GoodTwin and I, ably assisted by Sue,
ran the first UK Professionals convention... It's common
knowledge that I never have enough time, and I was determined
not to bewail the fact that weekend: hence I promised not to use the
'T' word... Of course, that didn't really work (if nothing else I
had to let the trainees know what times things were supposed to be
happening!) so we decided a substitute word would be employed
instead. There were several suggestions. Banana came very close to
being chosen. However, I eventually decided that 'haddock' fitted
the bill nicely. Ever since, haddock=time. Hence the title of my forthcoming
autobiography, My Half-Life in the Haddock
Space Continuum....
Normally I wouldn't, but these
were just irresistible...



These
Too-Kawaii Kitties were adopted from Ghost's Anime
Page (which appears to have disappeared, alas...)
|
[::..Anime/Manga..::]
Useful sites:
Yamato -
Fabulous anime figures
Anime Lyrics
A huge selection... evil popups
Anime still needed to complete series' I'm collecting...
Many thanks to everyone who has helped me acquire the collection!
|
Ai no Kusabi
Owned:
DVD
Dj: June Special
CD: Ambivalence
|
Cyber City Oedo 808
Owned:
DVD
All 3 eps on Video, dubbed
Dj: Cyberage 1-3
Illustrated Book 2 (Benten's) in Japanese
|
From Eroica with Love
Owned:
Manga Vols 1, 9, 11
|
Mirage of Blaze
Owned:
DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-4)
|
R.G. Veda
Owned:
English Manga: Vol 1
Japanese Manga: Vol 1-7 complete
Tarot Pack
R.G.Veda video
|
Twelve Kingdoms
Owned:
Anime Vol 1-12: complete
|
Under the Glass Moon
Owned:
Manga Vol 1, 2
Vol 3 needed
|
Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust
Owned:
DVD
Vampire Hunter D Book 1
|
New Vampire Miyu
Owned:
(Studio Ironcat) Manga Vols 1 -5 (complete)
|
Yami no Matsuei
Owned:
Viz Manga: English translation, Vols 1 - 11 (complete: I believe vol 12 is only available online)
Japanese 3-DVD set
Central Park Media: Descendants of Darkness Vol. 1, English/Japanese subbed.
Sketchbook
|
[::..Joules SPfied..::]

... this is Terra? How the hell'd I end up here...?
(Thanks, Lutra, for the quote!)
|
[::..archive..::] |
07/01/2002 -
07/31/2002 | 08/01/2002 -
08/31/2002 | 09/01/2002 -
09/30/2002 | 10/01/2002 -
10/31/2002 | 11/01/2002 -
11/30/2002 | 12/01/2002 -
12/31/2002 | 01/01/2003 -
01/31/2003 | 02/01/2003 -
02/28/2003 | 03/01/2003 -
03/31/2003 | 04/01/2003 -
04/30/2003 | 05/01/2003 -
05/31/2003 | 06/01/2003 -
06/30/2003 | 07/01/2003 -
07/31/2003 | 08/01/2003 -
08/31/2003 | 09/01/2003 -
09/30/2003 | 10/01/2003 -
10/31/2003 | 11/01/2003 -
11/30/2003 | 12/01/2003 -
12/31/2003 | 01/01/2004 -
01/31/2004 | 02/01/2004 -
02/29/2004 | 03/01/2004 -
03/31/2004 | 04/01/2004 -
04/30/2004 | 05/01/2004 -
05/31/2004 | 06/01/2004 -
06/30/2004 | 07/01/2004 -
07/31/2004 | 08/01/2004 -
08/31/2004 | 09/01/2004 -
09/30/2004 | 10/01/2004 -
10/31/2004 | 11/01/2004 -
11/30/2004 | 12/01/2004 -
12/31/2004 | 01/01/2005 -
01/31/2005 | 02/01/2005 -
02/28/2005 | 03/01/2005 -
03/31/2005 | 04/01/2005 -
04/30/2005 | 05/01/2005 -
05/31/2005 | 06/01/2005 -
06/30/2005 | 07/01/2005 -
07/31/2005 | 08/01/2005 -
08/31/2005 | 09/01/2005 -
09/30/2005 | 10/01/2005 -
10/31/2005 | 11/01/2005 -
11/30/2005 | 12/01/2005 -
12/31/2005 | 01/01/2006 -
01/31/2006 | 02/01/2006 -
02/28/2006 | 03/01/2006 -
03/31/2006 | 04/01/2006 -
04/30/2006 | 05/01/2006 -
05/31/2006 | 06/01/2006 -
06/30/2006 | 07/01/2006 -
07/31/2006 | 08/01/2006 -
08/31/2006 | 09/01/2006 -
09/30/2006 | 10/01/2006 -
10/31/2006 | 11/01/2006 -
11/30/2006 | 12/01/2006 -
12/31/2006 | 01/01/2007 -
01/31/2007 | 02/01/2007 -
02/28/2007 | 03/01/2007 -
03/31/2007 |
04/01/2007 - 04/30/2007 |
05/01/2007 - 05/31/2007 |
06/01/2007 - 06/30/2007 |
07/01/2007 - 07/31/2007 |
08/01/2007 - 08/31/2007 |
09/01/2007 - 09/30/2007 |
10/01/2007 - 10/31/2007 |
11/01/2007 - 11/30/2007 |
12/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 |
01/01/2008 - 31/01/2008 |
01/02/2008 - 29/02/2008 |
03/01/2008 - 31/03/2008 |
01/04/2008 - 04/30/2008 |
01/05/2008 - 31/05/2008 |
01/06/2008 - 30/06/2008 |
01/07/2008 - 31/07/2008 |
01/08/2008 - 31/08/2008 |
01/09/2008 - 30/09/2008 |
01/10/2008 - 31/10/2008 |
01/11/2008 - 31/11/2008 |
01/12/2008 - 31/12/2008 |
01/12/2008 - 31/12/2008 |
01/01/2009 - 31/01/2009 |
01/02/2009 - 28/02/2009 |
01/03/2009 - 31/03/2009 |
01/04/2009 - 30/04/2009 |
01/05/2009 - 31/05/2009 |
01/06/2009 - 30/06/2009 |
01/07/2009 - 31/07/2009 |
01/08/2009 - 31/08/2009 |
01/09/2009 - 30/09/2009 |
01/10/2009 - 31/10/2009 |
01/11/2009 - 30/11/2009 |
01/12/2009 - 31/12/2009 |
01/01/2010 - 31/01/2010 |
01/02/2010 - 28/02/2010 |
01/03/2010 - 31/03/2010 |
01/04/2010 - 30/04/2010 |
01/05/2010 - 31/05/2010 |
01/06/2010 - 30/06/2010 |
01/07/2010 - 31/07/2010 |
01/08/2010 - 31/08/2010 |
01/09/2010 - 30/09/2010 |
01/10/2010 - 31/10/2010 |
01/11/2010 - 31/11/2010 |
01/12/2010 - 31/12/2010 |
01/01/2011 - 31/01/2011 |
01/02/2011 - 28/02/2011 |
01/03/2011 - 31/03/2011 |
01/04/2011 - 30/04/2011 |
01/05/2011 - 31/05/2011 |
01/06/2011 - 30/06/2011 |
01/07/2011 - 31/07/2011 |
01/08/2011 - 31/08/2011 |
01/09/2011 - 30/09/2011 |
01/10/2011 - 31/10/2011 |
01/11/2011 - 30/11/2011 |
01/12/2011 - 31/12/2011 |
01/01/2012 - 31/01/2012 |
01/02/2012 - 28/02/2012 |
01/03/2012 - 31/03/2012 |
01/04/2012 - 30/04/2012 |
01/05/2012 - 31/05/2012 |
01/06/2012 - 30/06/2012 |
01/07/2012 - 31/07/2012 |
01/08/2012 - 31/08/2012 |
01/09/2012 - 30/09/2012 |
01/10/2012 - 31/10/2012 |
01/11/2012 - 30/11/2012 |
01/12/2012 - 31/12/2012 |
01/01/2013 - 31/01/2013 |
01/02/2013 - 28/02/2013 |
01/03/2013 - 31/03/2013
| 01/04/2013 - 30/04/2013
| 01/05/2013 - 31/05/2013
| 01/06/2013 - 31/06/2013
| 01/07/2013 - 31/07/2013
| 01/08/2013 - 31/08/2013
| 01/09/2013 - 30/09/2013
| 01/10/2013 - 31/10/2013
| 01/11/2013 - 30/11/2013
| 01/12/2013 - 31/12/2013
|
01/01/2014 - 31/01/2014 |
01/02/2014 - 28/02/2014 |
01/03/2014 - 31/03/2014 |
01/04/2014 - 30/04/2014 |
01/05/2014 - 31/05/2014 |
01/06/2014 - 31/06/2014 |
01/07/2014 - 31/07/2014 |
01/08/2014 - 31/08/2014 |
01/09/2014 - 31/09/2014 |
01/10/2014 - 31/10/2014 |
01/11/2014 - 30/11/2014 |
01/12/2014 - 31/12/2014 |
01/01/2015 - 31/01/2015 |
01/02/2015 - 28/02/2015 |
01/03/2015 - 31/03/2015 |
01/04/2015 - 30/04/2015 |
01/05/2015 - 31/05/2015 |
01/06/2015 - 30/06/2015 |
01/07/2015 - 31/07/2015 |
01/08/2015 - 31/08/2015 |
01/09/2015 - 30/09/2015 |
01/10/2015 - 31/10/2015 |
01/11/2015 - 31/11/2015 |
01/12/2015 - 31/12/2015 |
01/01/2016 - 31/01/2016 |
01/022016 - 28/02/2016 |
01/03/2016 - 31/03/2016 |
01/04/2016 - 31/04/2016 |
01/05/2016 - 31/05/2016 |
01/06/2016 - 30/06/2016 |
01/07/2016 - 31/07/2016 |
01/08/2016 - 31/08/2016 |
01/09/2016 - 31/09/2016 |
01/10/2016 - 31/10/2016 |
01/11/2016 - 31/11/2016 |
01/12/2016 - 31/12/2016 |
01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017 |
01/02/2017 - 28/02/2017 |
01/03/2017 - 31/03/2017 |
01/04/2017 - 30/04/2017 |
01/05/2017 - 31/05/2017 |
01/06/2017 - 30/06/2017 |
01/07/2017 - 31/07/2017 |
01/08/2017 - 31/08/2017 |
01/09/2017 - 30/09/2017 |
01/10/2017 - 31/10/2017 |
01/11/2017 - 30/11/2017 |
01/12/2017 - 31/12/2017 |
01/01/2018 - 31/01/2018 |
01/02/2018 - 28/02/2018 |
01/03/2018 - 31/03/2018 |
01/04/2018 - 30/04/2018 |
01/05/2018 - 31/05/2018 |
01/06/2018 - 30/06/2018 |
01/07/2018 - 31/07/2018 |
01/08/2018 - 31/08/2018 |
01/09/2018 - 30/09/2018 |
01/10/2018 - 31/10/2018 |
01/11/2018 - 30/11/2018 |
01/12/2018 - 31/12/2018 |
01/01/2019 - 31/01/2019 |
01/02/2019 - 28/02/2019 |
01/03/2019 - 31/03/2019 |
01/04/2019 - 30/04/2019 |
01/05/2019 - 31/05/2019 |
01/06/2019 - 30/06/2019 |
01/07/2019 - 31/07/2019 |
01/08/2019 - 31/08/2019 |
01/09/2019 - 30/09/2019 |
01/10/2019 - 31/10/2019 |
01/11/2019 - 30/11/2019 |
01/12/2019 - 31/12/2019 |
01/01/2020 - 31/01/2020 |
01/02/2020 - 29/02/2020 |
01/03/2020 - 31/03/2020 |
01/04/2020 - 31/04/2020 |
01/05/2020 - 31/05/2020 |
01/06/2020 - 31/06/2020 |
01/07/2020 - 31/07/2020 |
01/08/2020 - 31/08/2020 |
01/09/2020 - 30/09/2020 |
01/10/2020 - 31/10/2020 |
01/11/2020 - 30/11/2020 |
01/12/2020 - 31/12/2020 |
01/01/2021 - 31/01/2021 |
01/02/2021 - 28/02/2021 |
01/03/2021 - 31/03/2021 |
01/04/2021 - 30/04/2021 |
01/05/2021 - 31/05/2021 |
01/06/2021 - 30/06/2021 |
01/07/2021 - 31/07/2021 |
01/08/2021 - 31/08/2021 |
01/09/2021 - 30/09/2021 |
01/10/2021 - 31/10/2021 |
01/11/2021 - 30/11/2021 |
01/12/2021 - 31/12/2021 |
01/01/2022 - 31/01/2022 |
01/02/2022 - 28/02/2022 |
01/03/2022 - 31/03/2022 |
01/04/2022 - 30/04/2022 |
01/05/2022 - 30/05/2022 |
01/06/2022 - 31/06/2022 |
01/07/2022 - 31/07/2022 |
01/08/2022 - 31/08/2022 |
01/09/2022 - 30/09/2022 |
01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022 |
01/11/2021 - 31/11/2021 |
01/12/2022 - 31/12/2022 |
01/01/2023 - 31/01/2023 |
01/02/2023 - 28/02/2023 |
01/03/2023 - 31/03/2023 |
01/04/2023 - 30/04/2023 |
01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023 |
01/11/2023 - 31/11/2023 |
|
|
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Tuesday already? Heh...
So what happened? Um... Sat was shopping and gardening - finishing up treating the bench and getting it into place (on bricks this time to keep the legs in better repair).
On Sunday am Ken and I went back to Wyevale (10% off everything that weekend) for another 2 for 1 breakfast, new grass shears and grease bands for the fruit trees (I ended up buying a tin of grease instead, much easier to apply!), and bought a very pretty double primrose and a blue vinca (periwinkle). In the afternoon Kai and I went along the Whitchurch Way, which is looking very pretty right now...
but I was absolutely knackered when we got back.
Monday I started tackling the meadow: cut down the old teasels, dug up brambles, took the dead wood off the rose of Sharon and cleared around the Juneberry. Also shifted all the dried wooden cuttings into the greenhouse to keep them dry until we can incinerate them.
Today Kai and I started clearing the ivy from his railway track, but had to stop when it started hailing...
That was followed by a couple of peals of thunder, which fortunately didn't come to anything else, as I'd arranged to meet Ken after work at Sains so he could carry back the heavy shopping (I just can't manage it any more, it makes my shoulders, back and legs hurt. Sometimes I miss the car...)
So busy, but generally productive and satisfying. I should start getting photos soon, so you can see what we're doing to the garden.
Labels: busyness, garden, garden centres, walks
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 10:12 pm
Friday, March 20, 2015
Super moon, partial solar eclipse, Spring Equinox!
Light cloud made getting pics possible! These are Ken's (his camera is better than mine).
The clouds mostly cleared for totality, which meant most of the photos were useless as the glare was too intense - except for a few of mine, where a strange optical effect gave us an inverted, reverse purple 'ghost' of the real thing!
The light stayed quite bright, but the drop in temperature was very noticeable. All in all a quietly dramatic event.
Labels: eclipse, Spring Equinox
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 12:04 pm
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Major catchup before I'm too tired to get it written up. It's been busy...
Kai's been fighting off cold bugs for a couple of months quite successfully, but it was, of course, too good to last! Just after my last post he took his temperature - 38.3°. So it was off to the BHOC. By the time we got there it was up to 38.5°: the nurses took full bloods and throat and nose swabs to be analysed urgently while we waited to hear what we should do. Happily, the initial results came back negative, so we came home again (with a course of anti-biotics to tackle a minor unrelated possible-infection) but were advised, as ever, to contact them if we were worried. At this stage there's the possibility that other worse infections can creep in under cover of a cold or flu bug, so any time his temperature gets above 38° we're to ring for advice.
The bug is now on the way out - it was a cold, but quite a nasty one, and it looks like it may be a little while before he feels completely better. Hopefully his new immunity to that one will stop him getting another for a few weeks (for my sake too, his coughing keeps me awake). Other than that, all continues well. The next hurdle is in a few months, when they'll be testing for chimerism. It's vital that my stem cells have taken over, and there are none of Kai's left, for the transplant to be considered a success (as I understand it the tacrolimus is the drug that's keeping his down/killing them off, which is why they won't reduce the dose yet. That's the med that makes him feel fuzzy-headed, unfortunately...)
We've let the university know that, if all continues as it is, he'll be starting his course in October.
We haven't been for a walk in over a week, as he hasn't felt well enough. Looking forward to restarting them, as although I have time this fortnight to catch up with all my own stuff, I find I rather miss them!
Sunday was Mothering Sunday: Ken and I went out to Wyevale for me to use up some of my vouchers (2 for 1 on breakfasts, £2 off a purchase, £1 off the latest copy of the BBC Gardener's World, plus double points. It was really nice, and we came back with the veg seeds I need for this year and two camellias (on special at a third off!) - an Adolphe Audusson, planted out the front, and a Nagasaki (I've wanted one of the latter for a while now). That will be planted at the back, but we're not quite sure where yet. It'll probably be between the spiraeas in the unicorn bed to the side of the greenhouse.
After dinner we watched Starship Rising... Yes, we knew it was going to be pretty bad from the IMDb review, but I was fancying 'park your brain atthe door' entertainment to end the day.
... it was awful. I think it qualifies as the worst film I've ever seen. It tried hard, with some excellent, strong female characters (who would have been more believable had they not been plastered in inch thick makeup and wearing ridiculously high heels), with the look of the live action Casshern and a vague feel of Lexx, but apart from that... Ken described it as the visual equivalent of Vogon poetry. Kai said it was like a bad fanfic. To me it played like a 26 ep bad s-f series condensed into an hour and half. It was incoherent, the acting was dreadful and the dialogue incomprehensible.
And there's a sequel!!
Yesterday I (reluctantly, as the new position is much more exposed and less secure) moved the planting table out from it's usual position by the fence (to stop next door killing off my seedlings, he cost me hundreds in lost produce last year), cleaned it and got the first of my seeds on the go - spinach, radishes and the first batch of peas. Ken picked me up a couple of packs of peat/cardboard pots at Broadwalk: I need more compost, but I think I can buy a small bag at Sains to keep me going until I can get out to a garden centre.
When Sue visited last she brought over the Zodiac DVD set (I'd had it on my amazon wishlist) and we watched the first ep. I was hooked, ordered it, and we've been watching it after dinner for the last few days (and I've been writing the ep guides on the IMDb). It's wonderful! Very much of its time, but such fun! It has the ambience of The Avengers (the John Steed/Mrs Peel version, not the superheroes) with a tiny hint of Sapphire and Steel. I really wish it had gone to a full twelve eps instead of stopping at six.
Still ploughing through Transformers: Armada, writing up an ep at a time on the IMDb (ep 38 today...). Then - oh joy - I'm determined to do Energon and Cybertron too, at 52 eps each... Glutton for punishment indeed. But I don't like leaving things unfinished.
Which naturally leads to the consideration of Poppy. It's been nagging, but I've also been undecided how to proceed. The Tales are based on the Bayverse films, and now, of course, there's Age of Extinction to take into account. I could ignore it - but I actually really like the film... I think I have the plot organised in my head, will try to get it on rust asap.
Finally, Ken's latest book - The holy well and the Chapel of St Anne in the Wood.
Ken's been writing this for some years, slowly accumulating information, and when the Discover Brislington Brook project organisers suggested it would be a good complement to their work, he happily agreed. The book was to be paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund - but instead of putting it out to tender, the organisers insisted it be published by Fiducia, a small, independent local publisher. Ken wasn't completely happy with this, but after so much work - and under pressure from the organisers - agreed.
Well, Fiducia might have been good in the past, but it's under new management, and said management is aggressive, combative and, quite honestly, incompetent. They wanted the book to go to press riddled with typos and inaccuracies: when Ken refused they asked to go to mediation. Ken had to take a day's unpaid leave to do so (and remember this was all happening at the time when Kai was facing his transplant and the future was uncertain and terrifying).
The results were not good. (How much so? The following day the mediator rang Ken to apologise: he said in all his career he'd never had to deal with anyone so unreasonable.) The upshot is that the time ran out for the Lottery Fund cash, we had to use Archyve as the publisher and pay for everything ourselves, at not-for-profit prices...
A (somewhat dubious) bright spot was that the printer printed the first batch at the wrong quality. The second batch was at the right quality, and it meant we were able to provide two versions of the book, standard and deluxe. The only difference is in the quality of the pictures, and even the standard ones aren't bad, just not quite as crisp and clear as the better version.
And the book itself? It's been very favourably received, and despite all the obstacles Ken is happy with it. I think it's gorgeous.
Later edit: [headdesk] sorry - it's Thursday tomorrow. I've been living the wrong day all day...
So - Friday tomorrow. Super moon, partial solar eclipse, and Spring Equinox all on the same day. Should be good!
Heh. Been typing this up for over an hour now - time to get out and get some shopping. Later!
Labels: books, British drama, Fiducia Publishing, films, garden, Kai, medical matters
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 9:46 am
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Farewell, Sir Terry - you will be deeply missed. Labels: Terry Pratchett
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 4:50 pm
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Catch up...
We've been watching a lot of films just lately. I picked up the triptych of Lewis Collins mercenary movies - Code Name: Wild Geese, Commando Leopard and The Commander, terrible films but a lot of fun! - which Ken watched with me: found time to watch Speaking Parts (birthday present - surprisingly good, has gone on the special section of the shelf along with Snowpiercer, The Fountain, Cloud Atlas and Only Lovers Left Alive): Lucy (bizarre, shades of The Matrix) and yesterday I'll Follow You Down - a.k.a. Continuum - which is rather good in an understated way.
Kai, unfortunately has the most horrendous cold at the moment. He's managed to fight off most of the cold bugs so far, but this one... eurgh. It's never affected him so badly, and knowing this is only the start of his immune system rebuilding itself is a little depressing. He's staying chipper though, as best he can. But his birthday yesterday wasn't much fun for him... (GoodTwin, I did ask him to email you thanks but I haven't checked he did it and his memory is fuzzy atm. He really appreciates the present, though he doesn't know what he's going to get with it yet.)
Today was actually hot in the sun so I took advantage and started clearing out the greenhouse; Kai came out for some sun and fresh air, and felt a little batter afterwards. Still a bit to do, but it's a little more organised now, and for the time being we've moved the bench inside: it needs some serious weatherproofing, but it needs to be completely dry before I can treat it (we picked up some decent Ronseal stuff in a sale). Should be OK to do it in a week (I'm planning at least three coats) and then I need to burn the sulphur candle in the greenhouse to sterilise it before I start growing. All jolly good, if very smelly, fun.
The frogs have now discovered, and have been bonking in, Kai's woodland pool, which now also has frogspawn. GoodTwin was right when she said biblical proportions. Plagues of frogs in a month or so. We're going to be so popular...
[sigh] Foxes...
I've left them some food out tonight, in the hope they'll stop burying empty dog food tins in my big plant pots...
Labels: films, foxes, garden, greenhouse, Kai
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 11:29 pm
Saturday, March 07, 2015
Quicky before I go fall over...
The results of frog bonking season, Roeg's Pool. There's more, but the reflections hide it.
Labels: frogs, garden
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 12:09 am
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
[g] Snazzy stealth bomber Megatron now ordered and on his way, to be wrapped and put away for me for Yule... Labels: Transformers
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 9:29 pm
Monday, March 02, 2015
So... Saturday was great fun. I now have the first two volumes of Robots in Disguise, the companion series to MTMTE, to enjoy, and the wonderful Revenge of the Decepticons: pt 3, which I needed for the fabulous version of Megatron... (His alt mode is a stealth bomber, and that on his right arm is a fragging rail gun!!! I really really need this figure...)
And it actually exists!! [wince] Bit pricey though....
ANYway... a trip to Cadbury Garden Centre was fun, if not overly successful, and was followed up by a general knowledge quiz over dinner at the Black Castle and then Barry Norman's Interactive Film Quiz DVD back at home - most enjoyable! We're going to try to organise a summer visit this year - easier now Kai's improving.
Sunday was the usual manic, and today also very busy: into town to bank etc, then a late afternoon walk along the Whitchurch Way with Kai, as the weather was so beautiful (cold, but sunny).
Clouds over Dundry.
And it's frog bonking season again! Roeg's pool is already half full of frogspawn (nine clumps today: Tyjer keeps poking at them). Probably be more tomorrow -
Heh. We probably need more females. Labels: frogs, fun stuff, garden centres, Transformers
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 10:21 pm
Sunday, March 01, 2015
... and Sunday just went, again... Proper post tomorrow, I promise. Must just say that GoodTwin and Sue visited yesterday and I had a truly wonderful day! Labels: zzzzzzzoooooooooooooooooommmmm
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 10:28 pm
|
0 Comments: