Me again.

I was very sad last night / this morning, because my watch has kind of stopped working. I bought this watch with my 21st birthday money. It has hands and a digital part. It did split times, time zones, date, daily alarm... all that stuff. And it had one of those twirly rings that you can use in conjunction with the sun (and the time) to tell what direction you're walking in. (Not that I ever had need of that, but hey, you never know when you'll be abandoned somewhere and have to find your way out of some sort of wilderness. Although it would have meant finding the instructions to remember how to do it.)

Last night I went to check the alarm time, and it got stuck on the 'alarm' screen. It won't change. I can't change the alarm time, so it goes off at 7.30am whether I want it to or not. I think it went off this morning, admittedly I was still quite asleep at the time, but if it did then at least you can turn it off. Otherwise it'd be on perpetual alarm. I can't check the date, I can't time myself doing things... the indiglo thing won't even light up the dial. *sniff*

So, this morning I looked on Argos's website for a new watch. I looked at all the £25 or less watches, and decided I like the one I already have the most. But I couldn't bring myself to order an identical one. I ended up buying a weird sporty type watch. Which has gadgets. Although not the compass thing.

Drat, I'll get stuck somewhere now and never find my way out...

Anyway, I think it's all a conspiracy. I decided to start jogging, you see. An insane idea, and not something I've ever enjoyed doing. I have horrible memories of being forced to 'jog' around a cross country course. Makes your lungs burn, your teeth ache... Grim. So, why am I inflicting this on myself? I just figured I'm very, very unfit. And it's a positive way to improve myself. A sort of way of achieving something measurable. And I'd be able to jog to... catch buses.

Except I hate buses. Buses are evil.

Where was I? Well, I looked around on the internet and found this article. Everything it says is very true - unless you do jog on a regular basis, you can't jog at all. It's pathetic. I figured that 2 minutes jogging 2 minutes walking for 15 minutes (yeah, the sum doesn't work) sounded achievable. Painful, but doable. I thought I'd give it a go.

The first time I went jogging I rubbed a hole in the back of my right foot. It bled a lot. I didn't really get much further than the initial 2 minutes. Subsequent attempts went better, but (and here comes the conspiracy thing) now my watch is broken. I need to be able to time myself, otherwise I'll never know how long 2 minutes is! And you have to do the 2 minutes of evil painful death. Otherwise it's all wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

First the blood, then the lack of timing equipment. What next?!

All this conspiring to make me not jog... I must be supposed to keep it up.

It's a scary, scary thing.

Jogging.

Eurgh...

I have been mostly... WATCHING (TV): monaco grand prix qualifying (itv) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno); indiana jones and stargate comics / LISTENING: future is now (claire's birthday); venus (claire's birthday); city loves (claire's birthday); on how life is (macy gray)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:45 PM 0 comments

I have completed 100 SETI units! And it only took 1012 hours!

Handed in my GIS project. A day early.

So much to do...

I have been mostly... WATCHING (TV): buffy (sky 1); angel (sky 1) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno); indiana jones and the fate of atlantis (graphic novel) / LISTENING: future is now (claire's birthday); venus (claire's birthday)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:11 PM 0 comments

THIS is a pretty funny Matrixy online cartoon strip. :)

And so is THIS. And also THIS. And THIS. Wow, they did a lot of strips about it. Here's ANOTHER ONE!

But that's it. Probably. :)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:43 PM 0 comments

Me again...

Haven't actually blogged about my life lately, have I? I've ust done stupid quizzes.

Well, I've been doing an incredible amount of work. I've been spending a lot of time doing my reconstruction drawing. I was colouring it in today - for 3hrs 50mins! I can't believe I spent that long colouring it in. And I still need to finish the rafters. Aaargh...

I have to get my reconstruction and illustration portfolio done for next Friday, and although there's a lot of layout work to do, and organising, I think I'll manage it. Oh, and I have to hand in a write-up of a seminar presentation I did, but I wrote a passable thing for that, so... Then there's just the next bunch of deadlines to worry about.

*sigh*

And when I get my additional archaeology qualifications, what then?

Who knows...

My pirate name is:

Dirty Anne Vane

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

What's your pirate name?

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): bowling for columbine / WATCHING (TV): alias (sky 1) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno) / LISTENING: among the suns (brainstorm); online (brainstorm); eighties coming back (ruffus/claire's birthday); sanomi (urban trad) ; magic hotel (toploader)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 9:12 PM 0 comments

Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Lago Ture Madilé

Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Madilé

Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Saro Delamaoré

Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Sanisi

Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Lago Ture Madilé

Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Madilé

Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Saro Delamaoré
Kenatu Narilé
Lakenatu Narilé
Pasema Niamo Ture Sanisi

Léala Léala
Sorimana
Sorimana
Léala léala
Sorimanao

Léala léala
Sorimana
Sorimana
Léala léala
Sorimana Soléo

Sanomi Helé
Manilla Keranu
Aliya Irema Nia Madilé

Léala Léala
Sorimana
Sorimana
Léala léala
Sorimanao

Léala léala
Sorimana
Sorimana
Léala léala
Sorimana Soléo

!!!

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:49 PM 0 comments

And this is reassuring...


Friends & Teammates


How do you like your Sam-Jack?
brought to you by Quizilla

*mutters about Sam and Jack being wrong, all wrong!!!*

posted by Fiery Fred @ 12:18 AM 0 comments

Yikes! Or indeed, "whoa"...


You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.


What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I wasn't trying to get Neo. That's kind of scary.


You are Wolverine!

A loner by nature, you feel uncomfortable when
around those you don't know and even those you
do. You are awkward when it comes to
relationships, but fiercely loyal to those you
love.


Which X-Men character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

And that's just... well, I had trouble deciding on quite a few of those questions. Not a particularly well done quiz, in that respect.

I kind of agree with the description line, though. ;)

And, like Ali...

You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

I think that's enough of that. :D

Incidentally, Daisy has been being really complimentary about my RP stuff at Zotria. I never feel that confident with it all, and I've had to ask her for help every step of the way. So if anyone is responsible for any decent stuff I've written, it's her. I wouldn't even have started if she hadn't made me!

Wasn't going to blog.

Better go now.

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): spaced series 2 / WATCHING (TV): firefly (sci-fi) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno) / LISTENING: among the suns (brainstorm); eighties coming back (ruffus/claire's birthday); sanomi (urban trad)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 12:03 AM 0 comments

And I apologise for thinking that James was confused, although I think saying, "...or trying to comprehend The Matrix Reloaded which I saw last night (what the...?!)" might have been a misleading way of putting it if you weren't confused. :p

Also, if you really want to explode your mind with Matrixey goodness, take a look at this weblog...

posted by Fiery Fred @ 5:32 PM 0 comments

Oh, and why doesn't anyone talk on the tagboard any more?

posted by Fiery Fred @ 5:16 PM 0 comments

Mr Random/Geoff/whatever says that it was 23 people. The Matrix Reloaded thing. He also says he has other comments... ooer.

If anyone is sitting there wondering, "Where can I buy a ticket for the Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff", then look no further than here! Yes, a ticket for the 2003 FIM British Speedway Grand Prix, which is at the Millennium Stadium on June 14th. There are only two days left on the auction! And if you buy it, you'll get to sit near a bunch of friendly, generally great guys (two of which are my brother and his friend Chris).

If that's not a good enough plug, then I don't know what is. ;)

I'm sure there were other things I meant to say, but I can't remember what they were...

Can't have been important, although nothing on here can ever really be classified as important, can it?

Incidentally, it looks like I've blogged twice today, but the first of today's blogs was kind of last night, so...

Hmm...!

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): spaced series 2 / WATCHING (TV): angel (sky 1); eurovision song contest (bbc 1) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno) / LISTENING: among the suns (brainstorm); online (brainstorm)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 5:15 PM 0 comments

Ah, Eurovision. Always a great night's entertainment. Even though this year I didn't have my lovely friends Cheryl and Barbara to watch it with. Last year was fun... Although Cheryl did phone me before the contest and during the interval. Which was nice. :)

I have to admit that one of the coolest things for me was that Renars Kaupers was one of the presenters. Okay, being a Eurovision presenter is not necessarily a good thing. You don't tend to come off that well. The script is always cringeworthy. But I like Renars because... he's the lead singer of the Latvian band BrainStorm.

You may remember BrainStorm from the 2000 Eurovision contest. Their entry was called "My Star", and it was oddly catchy. Plus, Renars has this really peculiar leg-wiggling way of dancing. It's reminiscent of Beck. Anyway, he's cool.

After last year's contest I found an MP3 of "My Star", and also one of their song "Maybe". This led to me buying two of their albums. Yes, I have two albums by a Latvian group. How many people can say that? Probably some people in Latvia, but hey. They're highly entertaining. And in the interval, there was a clip from a BrainStorm song that I'd never heard! Fantastic. Apparently they have a new album out. Woo-hoo!

But I doubt you want to hear me ramble about BrainStorm. I doubt you want to hear my opinions about the contest, either, but I'm going to tell you anyway. :p

My shortlist was as follows:

• Belgium (a made up language and a catchy tune!)
  
• Estonia (a proper indie song, cool)
  
• Turkey (eventual winners, the song with the veils)
  

Visit the Eurovision website to hear all of these songs, and more!

I really wanted Belgium to win, but they were pipped at the post by Turkey. Boo! Boo! Although at least TATU didn't win. How I laughed when the audience booed them. Honestly, it's one thing to be scary Russian lesbians taking over the pop world, but I don't think they can sing live. And they're not really silly enough to be in Eurovision. They're kind of scary. Unless it's just me who finds them scary. :)

Belgium's song was... a chillout kind of song. Really nicely done. And it was an interesting idea, to make up a language instead of singing one of their native languages or English. I'd never heard of Urban Trad, but I wouldn't mind hearing more of them. It really is a very good song.

Estonia's entry was by far the coolest, in a trendy indie sort of way. It was, in many ways, too much of a proper song to do well in Eurovision. The band is Ruffus, the song is "80's coming back". And it was strangely appropriate, considering that the last entry in the contest was very eighties. Slovenia's entry had synthesizers, a singer who looked kind of like Toyah Wilcox... it was so 80's.

Listening to that song again, it was a good song. It deserved to do a lot better than it did. Although let's face it, few countries seem to vote purely on musical prowess. Sometimes I think I'd doing the wrong thing by choosing the people whose music I like the most. ;)

Turkey's song was catchy, and it's always good when countries do something that's vaguely to do with their ethnic roots. In their case, belly dancing. Heh... Still, it was catchy. And a lack of clothes never guarantees that you'll do well. So it was their music that helped them win.

Maybe you're wondering where all the daft entries were. Well, look no further than... Austria. It always seems to be a country around there (okay, Germany sticks in my mind) that enters the daftest song. Maybe they think it's serious. I hope not..!

Obviously you're not going to get the full experience unless you saw this performed, but to give you an idea of how great it was, here are the lyrics...

I like most animals on this earth
But I really prefer little rabbits and bears

Soon all birds and beetles will die
But Adam's in bed with Eve busy reproducing

Rabbits live in the woods
Cats in the meadows
And cockroaches
Live under tiles

Little rabbits have short noses
And kittens soft paws
And Mother Holle likes her wool
From the african dromedary

The difference between animals such as apes and primates
Is no bigger than between noodles and pasta

But whoever wants to know more about animals should study Biology or inform himself on my homepage

Some animals have wings
And others have fins
Some live outdoors
And others in cans

Small rabbits…..

Apparently this is a song, "about animals living in the filth created by man". So there you go.

There were other bizarre things, too. For instance, although the German entry was in English, it wasn't English that made a lot of sense. I'm left wondering how you can be both 'cool and stressed' at the same time. Not only that, but to hear a modern song telling everyone to be gay... maybe TATU should have sung that song, instead of the weirdness that they ended up with.

Yeah, TATU. Their song didn't make any sense either. But at least they had the excuse that it could have been poorly translated from Russian to English. I couldn't really work out what it was about. Maybe it had some sort of deep meaning, but there was a line that read, "someone will untie the wire from the cleat", which yes, it kind of makes sense, but... huh?

Every year I wish people would sing in their own language. If your song's not going to make sense in English, then why sing it in English? Does it really matter if a few more people understand it? Surely subtitles are fairly widespread now? And does it matter anyway? Belgium's song didn't have words that anyone could understand, and it was great!

Maybe all songs should be sung in Esperanto. ;)

TATU were not Eurovision material. They ponced on stage with their hand-holding and "we're famous pop stars" thing and... it wasn't just me who didn't like them. The audience were cheering when they scored low in the voting, and booing when they scored the high points. There's just something about Eurovision that makes you think big stars shouldn't be allowed. It's kind of cheating. At least they didn't sound that great. There were some much better singers in the competition.

Sadly, the UK entry did not feature those better singers. To be fair, by the end of the song they were sounding pretty good. But the girl started off in the wrong key. When the bloke had to come in he didn't get the right key either. Eventually they worked it out, but it was too late. It wasn't a great song to start with, and... good effort, but no banana.

And so, the UK scored nil points. Terry Wogan reckoned that this was entirely due to a post-war backlash, but we didn't deserve to do well. We deserved to scoop one or two points, sure, but we didn't deserve to come anywhere near the top. Unless we enter a good song into the contest, the likes of (dare I say it), Katrina and the Waves, Sonia or even Gina G, we're not going to get near the top of the score board.

Or we shouldn't, anyway.

But let's face it, anything can happen...

Hee, the Ukraine's entry was called, "Hasta La Vista"...

posted by Fiery Fred @ 12:29 AM 0 comments

What did I think of The Matrix Reloaded? Well, what can I say but... "whoa!"

I'm the only person who finds that funny. The Keanu Reeves "whoa" thing. I make too much of it. But he does say it a lot. Didn't say it in The Matrix Reloaded, though, which was disappointing. :)

I'm not really sure what James found so confusing. For me, it answered a lot of the questions I had about the first film. But maybe that's just me. I don't know.

My main question about the first film was this: how did the rebellion start? They said it started with one man, but how was that possible? How did they build all that stuff? You're not going to find the parts for flatscreen monitors littered around a mostly destroyed planet, are you? How did one man get out of the Matrix, build enough stuff to get other people out, build a city and... everything else?

These questions meant I couldn't see The Matrix as a proper, in-depth, complicated and yet 'it all makes sense when you think about it' kind of film. It was kinda bogus. I know that when I try to write things, I tend to get too bogged down in the detail. I have to know how everything got up to the point where I'm writing from. Ali didn't have that problem with The Matrix, and she loves it. Now I've seen Reloaded, I can see the wood for the trees. Okay, so it's left me with questions (it must have left everyone on the edge of their seats!), but if they answered the first film's questions in the second film, there's a chance everything'll be explained in Revolutions. Most excellent!

I'll white the words out so that I don't spoil people who haven't seen it yet. Highlight all this stuff to read it.

What Reloaded explained, from the first film, is this. It explained how the rebellion started. I mean, it wasn't just one man. 'The one' and a bunch of 27(?) others were were set free from the Matrix in order to start Zion. The AI let them go, knowing that if they let the humans take the 1% that couldn't survive within the program go outside the program, they could easily wipe them out. They could destroy them before they became too powerful, and make them start again. The Matrix wasn't compromised, the 1% was destroyed, everything ran smoothly. Presumably if the AI was encouraging them to start a rebel city, it'd provide them with the means to do so. The means to make flatscreen monitors, for instance.

I mean, wow, the whole 'the one' thing was a lie! The AI made the humans think they were trying to save themselves, when in fact they were doing exactly what the AI wanted! As plot twists go, that's pretty non, non, non heinous. ;)

I think the whole lustful (but clearly besotted) Neo/Trinity relationship was only slightly unbelievable (as Daisy seemed to think) because of Keanu Reeves. Let's face it, he's not a great actor in some ways, but to give him credit, he does what he does well. He looks good in a long black coat, for instance.

Then we come to the end of the film. Someone raised the question, "Are they still in The Matrix at the end of the film? Is that why Neo can down the Sentinels?" Well, I have a theory. Smith kept saying that Neo took something from him. The whole Smith thing is clearly going to be vitally important to Revolutions. It doesn't make sense, not at the moment. But I'm digressing.

I don't think they're still in the Matrix at the end. I don't see why the human who's been taken over by Smith would be unconscious as well. I figured that he'd done the same thing as Neo had, in order to survive the Sentinels, which resulted in him being in a coma. Whatever Neo did, he could do it because of his experience with Smith in the first film. When Neo changed Smith, he also changed himself. When he travelled back into his body, his being (his soul, mind, whatever) was different. It'd been altered. Perhaps whatever he took from Smith meant that he was somehow connected to the AI, like the Sentinels, like all the other machines.

That's what I thought, anyway, although it's all speculation, isn't it? Until Revolutions.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who've seen both films many times and can put me straight on whatever I'm messing up. :)

Oh, and I didn't think the effects were too OTT. They were kind of what I expected. Excellently done, very smart, and for me the fight scenes were never boring. It was such a beautifully made film! Great direction. Anyway...

Party on dudes!

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): spaced series 1 & 2 / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1); buffy (sky 1); totp 2 (bbc 2); totp (bbc 1); friends (c4) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno) / LISTENING: think tank (blur)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 9:32 PM 0 comments

Heh, I'm all matrixed out. :)

Tonight, because I'm going to see The Matrix Reloaded tomorrow, I watched The Matrix. It was a lot better than I remembered. In fact, I didn't really remember anything about the film at all! Which is odd. But it meant that I enjoyed it, because it was virtually an entirely new experience for me. Ali reckons that the more times you watch The Matrix the better it is. This does appear to be true. So although I didn't remember what happened in it, I must have subconsciously remembered things. Otherwise the cumulative effect would not occur.

Aaah. :p

Can't remember what I did yesterday. Let me think... Ah, I know, I did GIS. I spent the afternoon redoing my project - the project that the network ate. Well, I got to a point where I wanted to do a map calculation, and it wouldn't work. So the man in charge said try logging out and logging back in. And guess what happened when I did that? My project wouldn't open. Again. Yes, the network had eaten it.

Anyway, today, after developing photos in the darkroom all morning, I went back to tackle the evil network once more. My project still wouldn't open, so I redid the things I needed to redo in order to make some attractive diagrams. I didn't have to record all the figures again because I'd saved them in a handy spreadsheet. Unfortunately, although today it would do map calculations, it wouldn't do hydrological modelling.

Honestly, does the network hate me or what? It doesn't consistently ruin anyone else's lives.

I didn't try opening my new project. I did save it in three places in my network space under three different names (one of which was gisprojectmoo.apr), but I don't expect any of them will actually work. That'd be too much to ask...

Just remember, there is no spoon. ;)

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): the matrix; spaced series 1 / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno) / LISTENING: various www.diffusiononline.net songs

posted by Fiery Fred @ 11:16 PM 0 comments

Ha, I break the two day rule, I laugh at danger...! Mwahahahaha.

Did I mention that last week the network ate my CAD file? Because now the network's decided to eat a .dll file so that I can't run my GIS software. Aaargh... I hope it works when I reinstall it.

Haven't really done much today. I'm sure there was a reason I wanted to blog. Beats me what it was.

Ali hadn't noticed Katie Stuart or Jill Teed in the film. (Yesterday's entry, keep up people!) I mean, if you can't remember the woman who said, "So how come we don't fall through the floor?", in reference to being 'out of phase', who are you going to remember? Admittedly I didn't quite place her as being in Stargate until after the event. I had that annoying, "Where have I seen her before?" thing going on for a while. But still. I recognised her.

I am a sad and pathetic Stargate fan.

Ha...

What did I want to say?

How annoying.

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): ronin / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1); alias (sky 1) / READING: edge magazine / LISTENING: diamonds and guns (transplants); stuck in a groove (puretone)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:58 PM 0 comments

Seems like I blog every two days lately, doesn't it?

Two things are making me feel a bit strange this weekend. First of all, I've been doing work. Pretty much all the time. I have to hand my GIS project in on Friday, so I thought I'd try to get it all written up. As I suspected, I've found some things that I'm going to have to check on the computer at uni. Because I don't have the GIS software here. Annoyingly. My name's on the list, so I'll probably get my hands on the CD-ROMs when the deadline's gone. Boo! Boo!

Obviously I didn't work during the Grand Prix qualifying or indeed the race, but I haven't done anything else, really. Hmm.

The more work I do on this GIS project, the more I feel like it's awful. I suppose I don't have the information to do great analyses, but it annoys me that I know the things I'm churning out are pretty pointless. For all I know I'm not really doing them right, either. I hate the suspense. I just want to get it all over with, now. :(

It kind of depends what the point of the project is. I mean, if it's just to show that I know how GIS works, and how to do simple analyses, I might do alright. If it's supposed to come to exciting new archaeological conclusions, I might be in trouble. Ah well...

The only other thing I did was go to the cinema with Mark. He's already seen it (seems like everyone has), but he accompanied me to see X-Men 2. I feel like I want to refuse to call it X-2, because I'm not really sure why it's called that. I mean, the first one wasn't called X, was it? Because that'd be stupid. They could have called it X-1, I suppose, because it was clear there was going to be another one.

Anyway, I have to admit that I really liked it! I didn't really like the first one, but this one was action packed, shiny, and the plot was pretty interesting. Plus it had... some people... in it.

Ha, I'm so transparent.

Okay, well, all the way through I was thinking, "That has to be Alan Cumming, right?". Nightcrawler, I mean. The blue makeup threw me off the scent a bit, but... wow. I love that guy. I loved him in Goldeneye. He was Boris. You know, "I am invincible!!!". If you don't know from that you never will. Heh... He's so cool.

Ha, his website is amusing. "Please remember not to try anything Nightcrawler does at home." Wise words, Alan, wise words. ;)

And then I was distracted by Stargate actors. Okay, so there were some obvious ones, but still. The first one I saw was Katie Stuart. You didn't actually see her much, so owning up to the fact I spotted her is probably really obsessive. From a Stargate point of view. She was Kitty Pryde. You saw her running through walls in the school. And if you're wondering who she was in Stargate, you should be ashamed of yourself! Only kidding.

I'm not funny tonight, am I? If I ever am. I think the excess work thing has totally killed my brain.

I mean, have I already said that? I don't know. Because my brain is dead. :p

She was Cassandra. The first one. Not the one played by the girl from Bane.

Anyway... okay, more obvious Stargate actor... Peter Wingfield! Who, of course, played Tanith/Hebron in Stargate. And he had lines in X-Men 2. Wow.

And although I knew I'd seen her before, I didn't figure it out whilst in the cinema, but Bobby's mum was Jill Teed (Yolanda Reese/Stacy Monroe in Wormhole X-Treme!). It was annoying me where I'd seen her before. Ha.

Looking at the IMDb there are plenty more SG actors that I didn't spot. Of course, anyone who did spot them all should probably seek psychiatric help.

Here's a test. Just in case you're worried.

Did you spot:

• Colin Lawrence? (Sergeant/Major Warren)
  
• Aaron Douglas? (Mo'ac)
  
• Steve Bacic? (Major/Colonel Coburn)
  
• Michael Simms? (Secretary of Defence Arthur Simms
  
• Roger R Cross? (Lieutenant/Captain Connor)
  

...and so on...

Those are the only names I recognise, but let's face it, this stuff happens when you film things in Vancouver. There are only so many actors. ;)

Was there anything else I wanted to say?

Can't think of anything.

I'll be heading off, then.

Bye!

I have been mostly... WATCHING (CINEMA): x-men 2 / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1); spin city (paramount comedy); austrian grand prix (itv) / READING: edge magazine / LISTENING: the things (audio bullys); diamonds and guns (transplants); everybody in the morning (lockdown project)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 9:18 PM 0 comments

Two more days in which I've done... stuff.

Yesterday I got sorted out, then headed into uni for 11.30am. I was a bit ahead of the other two people who are doing the thin section ceramics project with me, because I've been around for all the sessions, and they haven't. It's nice to feel slightly organised occasionally! Also, I impressed myself by determining which sort of chlorite was in the granodiorite sample. This may not sound much, but I think I'm getting the hang of it all. It's a good feeling when something clicks. Plus the man in charge complimented me. :)

After that I went and looked at the past work for the reconstructions and illustration portfolios, so that I had an idea of what to aim for. As if it wasn't enough to get the work done, there's the presentation to think of...

And then I met up with my dissertation supervisor - I had to write up my dissertation proposal form. So he looked over it, signed it, then I handed it in. It's official - I'm doing an analysis of the Roman pottery from the Roman fort at Alchester. I can't help but think it's going to be a lot of work, but it's a Masters dissertation, so it should be! Plus I'm pretty sure I can do a good job, and my work'll get used in the final publication (and my name will be on it!). Cooool.

That was yesterday, then. Pretty much. Oh, I sorted out my pottery illustrations, cleaned up some of the pen, stuff like that.

Today I didn't have to go into uni, since I handed my dissertation proposal in yesterday (it was due in today), so I stayed in bed for far too long. And I didn't hear the postman, which is really annoying. Dad sent me a book that'll help in my dissertation proposal, you see, but the postman took the book away and left a really crumpled up piece of cardboard informing me I had to go and pick the thing up. It's a good job Ali knows where they keep the things, because you can't read the address on the card. Honestly...

The only work I did today was for my archaeological reconstruction. I did a lot of sketches of 13th/14th century costume, and a working sketch of the interior of the manor house, to try and figure out how to do it. I might actually try doing a proper drawing soon, at least of the exterior part. It's going to be a cutaway drawing, you see, so if I sort the outside out then I could work on the interior later.

I can't think of anything else. Today has been kind of wearing, kind of... depressing. I don't really know why. Ah well.

And I was up in the middle of the night but I didn't see the lunar eclipse. Leicester is a cloudy city...

Goodnight then. :)

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): stargate S6 (the other guys) / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1); buffy (sky 1); angel (sky 1); scrubs (sky 1); friends (c4) / READING: edge magazine / LISTENING: think tank (blur); a short album about love (the divine comedy); the things (audio bullys)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 9:56 PM 0 comments

This cheesecake is weird...

Um... what should I say? Yesterday, that's a good place to start.

So... yesterday I went into the city centre with Ali. We bought a rug for the living room, to cover up the bit of the beige carpet (which isn't the best quality carpet in the world, it has to be said).

In the afternoon I had a GIS practical.

Then I went home, and there was the church housegroup in the evening (although they call it a 'cell' group, which sounds a bit scary to me, but hey).

When they'd gone I watched more Stargate. I watched Abyss, and then I watched the 'directors series' things for Nightwalkers and Abyss. The Nightwalkers one was directed by Peter DeLuise, and it was kind of entertaining that it had a whole section headed "rear screen projection". Okay, you probably won't find that funny, but some of us have noticed an unhealthy obsession with rear screen projectors. ;)

Today I went into uni for 9.30, had three hours of cad (at the end of which the network had eaten my section, the one I'd spent ages drawing), then I did GIS until 3.45. I was a bit surprised to see that that much time had passed. I bought a book about barrows, to help with my GIS project (not wheelbarrows, barrows like in the Lord of the Rings, but without naked hobbits). Hmm. I bought an A3 pad from Staples on the way home. Then I had 'lunch'. Bit late. And watched Shadow Play. And Neighbours. Then I phoned home... is this getting boring?

Then there were things like dinner, and a bath...

Nothing interesting.

If indeed any of that was interesting.

Maybe I'll do something interesting tomorrow. ;)

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): stargate S6 (abyss, shadow play) / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1) / READING: outcast (josephine cox) / LISTENING: husan (bhangra knights vs husan); rise and fall (craig david and sting)

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:15 PM 0 comments

Now this is bizarre...

posted by Fiery Fred @ 11:00 PM 0 comments

I did so much archaeological illustration today that my brain completely melted. I had to really concentrate to prevent myself doing daft things, like, for instance, stepping out in front of traffic. Ah well, I made it home. ;)

Didn't do much Sunday, so I won't bore you with that. Although I did watch City Hunter. You might recall that I bought a Jackie Chan box set a while back, and I'd only managed to watch one of the three DVD's. Well, now I've watched two. Go me.

City Hunter was... bad. You could tell it was supposed to be really funny, but I didn't laugh that much. It's either not something that Western audiences relate to so well, or it's me. I do have a problem finding some comedies amusing. The slapstick thing sometimes passes me by. But there was one thing that made me laugh a lot - the Street Fighter fight. Everyone kept turning into characters from Street Fighter, you see. Jackie Chan was Chun Li at one stage. Hee...

Um... I watched some Stargate too. I watched Descent, Frozen, Descent with Peter DeLuise and Gary Jones's commentary, and today I watched Nightwalkers. I'd forgotten how good the beginning of series 6 was! Hopefully I've forgotten how good the entire series was, and it'll keep being great. If you know what I mean. The introduction of Jonas makes for some great lines. I love the "alien conspiracy" thing with Teal'c, and the "first time in a Death Glider" thing, and the way Carter distracts Jonas with offers of lunch. It's all so well written! Ah, this is why I love Stargate so much. Quality. :)

Anyway, today I went into uni, talked to my supervisor-to-be about my dissertation proposal (due in Friday), did hours of illustration, went to the library, managed to photocopy some articles (haven't checked to see if they're what I meant to copy, but hey), went to Safeway on the way home, then collapsed and watched Nightwalkers. Yaay for Jonas and his onion rings dipped in chocolate milkshake!

I've tried playing Medieval Total War, a bit, but I haven't enjoyed it much. I end up hopelessly trying to make my land profitable, then I fight battles and mess things up and get even more annoyed. Perhaps I'll sell it and buy Splinter Cell. ;)

Oh, and Alias was totally fantastic tonight. I love Marshall, he's so funny. He's the tech guy, he's just so amusing. (You've noticed the overuse of italics tonight, right? *grin*) But he was in tonight's episode a lot, and now... terrible things! Aargh!!!! I can't wait for next week!

Although it looks like I will have to wait for The Dead Zone. Looks like the reason it suddenly disappeared is that we've caught up with America. Presumably they have the same hiatus thing with all their shows, where they have a break in the middle. Which is why we always finish watching the new series of Stargate in the UK before America. Ha.

From tonight's entry you'd think all I ever do is watch TV. ;)

I have been mostly... WATCHING (DVD): stargate S6 (descent, frozen, nightwalkers); city hunter / WATCHING (TV): neighbours (bbc 1); firefly (sci-fi); alias (sky 1) / READING: outcast (josephine cox) / LISTENING: a funk odyssey (jamiroquai) / PLAYING (PC): medieval total war

posted by Fiery Fred @ 10:49 PM 0 comments