| 2009 Chronos Awards Ballot and Voting |
[Feb. 19th, 2010|11:57 pm] |
The Continuum Foundation is proud to announce the ballot for the Chronos Awards for excellence in Victorian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror in 2009. Click on Read More for the ballot and voting procedures. ( Read more... ) |
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| Small-ish Lex Update |
[Feb. 10th, 2010|11:23 pm] |
So, today I left Lex's room and called him to follow me and get something to eat. I got down the hall and nothing happened. Normally food over-rides almost everything else, but obviously not this time. I called him again. Still nothing. I called him a third time, then went to go get him. This is what I found... ( Pictures under cut ) |
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| Movies for 2010 - Part 5 |
[Feb. 10th, 2010|02:28 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | movies | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
1st February
The Evil of Frankenstein
2nd February
Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds
3rd February
The Bourne Supremacy
4th February
Apocalypto
5th February
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
6th February
Lost in Translation
8th February
Frankenstein Created Woman
9th February
Dracula has Risen from the Grave
( Read more... ) |
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| Lex out and about |
[Feb. 8th, 2010|06:31 pm] |
 Had to make a trip to Belconnen today, with mum and Lex. I didn't take the stroller because on two previous occasions with Lex holding my finger as we walked, he's been fine.
And he was again today. We walked around for over an hour, and he was fine the whole time. I'm still amazed by this. I know he's a pretty good kid, but even so, we're out walking in a big, wide, interesting place with lots of shapes and colours and people, so I pretty much expect him to want to run off and explore everything. They're naturally curious, and everything is new, so of course they want to investigate.
But Lex is happy to hold my finger and walk along, twisting his head and body wildly in an attempt to take in as much as he can. The two points where he saw something he just had to get a better look at (balloons, and a random shop window), he grabbed my finger more firmly and gently pulled me in the direction that had his interest. So we'd have a look and then, because I knew he'd happily look at this stuff for an hour, I'd lead him away and he'd come with minimum resistance.
I've always been told that I was a really good, quiet child, and so far, that describes Lex. He usually only plays up when he's over-tired, or in discomfort, neither of which one can really blame him for.
So, maybe he takes after his dad in that respect. I wonder if he'll be a quiet teenager too, until he finally finds the social group in which he feels comfortable, and then look out world! |
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| Doctor Who Original Series - The Chase (2.30 - 2.35) |
[Feb. 7th, 2010|07:15 pm] |
( Some Spoilers )
6/10 The Chase
There's a good story here, struggling to get past the over-long set-pieces that are hard to avoid on a TV show with such a limited budget. The Daleks suffer a little with what can only be assumed to be Terry Nation's boredom with the characters, as he proceeds to give various Daleks character traits such as being a bit dim, stuttering, or being worried that the Mechanoids may actually be a genuine threat.
The tone is a little variable as well. There are times when the TARDIS crew seem terrified of the fact the Daleks are hunting them, then other times when it's all treated by them as a bit of a lark.
At times the story meanders along in such a way as to be a bit dull. It also has the problem that an awful lot happens through sheer blind luck. Most TV and film relies on random chance bringing things together to create the situation, this story has a few too many elements where chance saves the day. But when the writing is on form, and the main cast are given something to do, it holds up well. |
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| Quick grumble |
[Feb. 5th, 2010|04:36 pm] |
Is it unreasonable of me to be annoyed at the many gluten-free recipes that basically substitute a commercially bought 'gluten-free' flour for regular flour, with no other changes? I can bloody figure that one out for myself thanks. I prefer making things from scratch, and that includes using or combining various things like potato and rice flours in place of the regular variety.
Before someone asks, was looking up gluten-free pizza bases so I can make some for tonight. Found a recipe that seems worth trying, happy to have any recommendations for others though. |
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| Movies for 2010 - Part 4 |
[Feb. 1st, 2010|11:54 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | movies | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
23rd January
Manos - The Hands of fate - MST3K version
Shaolin Soccer
26th January
Die Hard
27th January
EuroTrip
28th January
The Bourne Identity
29th January
Flying High
30th January
30 Days of Night
31st January
The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
( Read more... ) |
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| To the world media |
[Jan. 31st, 2010|09:13 pm] |
Would it hurt you to do a little research? Would it? Huh?
Just because Tinto Brass says he's making the World's first 3D porno you don't have to take him at his word.
3D porn has been around since the late 60s at least. I don't mind you reporting that he's doing this, or that he says it's the first, but I do mind that none of the media outlets have done enough research to say something like, "While Tinto is claiming it as a world first, in fact 3D porn has been around for decades." |
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| RTD Era Doctor Who - Poll the Third! |
[Jan. 31st, 2010|07:19 pm] |
Yes, it's Series Three!
And while it may seem superfluous having separate favourite and least favourite for the companions, given there are only two, I've gone ahead and done it anyway!
( Read more... ) |
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| I'm outta here! |
[Jan. 29th, 2010|01:50 pm] |
Off to Cooma again this weekend. Wasn't planning to be, didn't know when I'd next get there, and suddenly I'm looking at houses this weekend! Won't be back for a few days.
So before I go, a quick note to all those folks that took my rant as a 'we should ban people' thing, and started jumping up and down going 'yeah, we should ban people!'
For God's sake people, I know my writing can be a bit sloppy at times, but I talked about banning people who were crap on panels! Did I really need to make it more obvious? Did I really have to say, "and after we ban children, and people who run bad cons, can we move on to the Blacks and the Jews?"
So I will spell it out. Except in very exceptional circumstances, with a hell of a lot of safeguards in place, we shouldn't ban people. Because give folks that power and sooner or later it gets abused.
I have a hell of a lot more I can say about this subject, but I have to be off.
I'll finish with this. If you're someone who really thinks we should just be stopping people coming to cons, for no better reason than their presence irritates you - please start by banning me.
Because God knows, I want nothing to do with you. |
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| Kids @ Cons - The Poll! |
[Jan. 27th, 2010|04:44 pm] |
Note! This poll is about negative impact of experience!
Poll #1517139 Annoying people at cons
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 88A child (someone else's) has seriously impacted on my enjoyment of a con or fannish event... An adult has seriously impacted on my enjoyment of a con or fannish event... Susan is genetically the Doctor's grand-daughter, and not in any way adopted! |
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| Kids @ Cons |
[Jan. 27th, 2010|04:29 pm] |
Way back in '91, (or was it '92?) I ran a convention and very deliberately insisted on a panel about being a parent and staying active in fandom. It had two two fan mums on it. Back at that point, I think I knew three people with kids that were still active fans. ( A little long, and a bit of swearing... ) |
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| Australia Day |
[Jan. 25th, 2010|11:56 pm] |
Tomorrow there will be a lot of young, drunken, yob idiots walking around, using Australia day as an excuse to abuse, verbally or physically, people with cultural backgrounds different than their own.
It sickens me. To me these 'patriots' are the unAustralian ones. They are thugs looking for an excuse to belt someone, and Australia Day is a handy excuse because it's so very easy - pick on the people who don't look like you.
When I was droving I worked and lived amongst yobs and bogans and thieves and murderers, and most of them, while still maintaining aspects of the low level racist attitude they were brought up with, actually got along well with 'new-Australians.' ( Rambly, badly thought out, almost stream-of-consciousness post below the cut. It will probably irritate some of you, but you'll have to live with it. ) |
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| Cooma |
[Jan. 24th, 2010|10:08 pm] |
Travelled to Cooma this weekend to look at houses. Out of nine houses, eight of them would have worked for us more or less. I now have a rough handle on what the different 'Snowy homes' are, and know that anything marked as an E-Type snowy home will be too small. That's a major help right there.
But the important thing is, all the prices were fair, even when compared to one another. They were all good houses, and there was none of the knee-jerk "You want how much?!" that I get with... well 99.999% of Canberra houses. ( Cut for housey stuff ) |
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| Movies for 2010 - Part 3 |
[Jan. 22nd, 2010|04:29 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | movies | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
Not much watched recently. Lex has changed his daytime sleeping habits, so it's taken most of this week to find the new balance. Plus I've been madly researching houses for my overnight trip to Cooma - want to check some out and strike them off, or add them, to our list of potentials. Plus plus, been watched Pertwee's first season so I can pre-record my bit for Swancon. I think Doctor Who and the Silurians is an underrated story.
15th January
Kung-Fu Hustle
19th January
The Brides of Dracula
Fourteen movies watched since the start of the year. I'm rather pleased about this. Keeping the list means that even though I don't feel like I've watched many, I can go, "Fourteen? Cool!" I'm quite pleased at the range of years I'm going through.
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| RTD Era Doctor Who - Poll the second! |
[Jan. 17th, 2010|03:52 pm] |
Before anyone asks, I'll be putting all the specials together at the end, hence no Christmas Invasion. Why? Because I can. And even though they fit in with the show's continuity, they are meant to be specials, not part of the regular run.
( Read more... ) |
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| Movies for 2010 - Part 2 |
[Jan. 15th, 2010|11:21 am] |
Dr. Mabuse is a four-hour silent epic by Fritz Lang. Fortunately it splits fairly naturally into two parts, and I just haven't had the brain space to watch the next bit. I want to be awake for it, 'cos it's very good :)
9th January
The Descent
Curse of Frankenstein
10th January
Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler Part 1
11th January
The Boondock Saints
14th January
Horror of Dracula |
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| Movies for 2010 - Part 1 |
[Jan. 9th, 2010|08:46 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | movies | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
Since I enjoyed keeping track of what ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) angriest watched last year, I've decided to try and keep track of the films I watch this year.
I'll be doing charts of the year the films were made, as opposed to the type.
Partly because that tends to hold more interest for me, and partly because I struggle to pick what category something should be in. Should a horror/comedy be down as horror or comedy? Grant, you got an answer?
So anyway, the films so far...
1st January
Star Wars (Original Theatrical Version)
2nd January
A Chinese Odyssey Part 2 - Cinderella
3rd January
The Colour of Magic Part 1
4th January
Next
The Colour of Magic Part 2
5th January
Dance of the Dead
7th January
Mission Impossible 3
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calm
awake
annoyed
tired
slightly down, but not overly
thoughtful
4 (4.5%)
quixotic