Looks in

I see this place has new ownership again. Wonder if it’s still a nightmare- the looping on the privacy box suggests stuff is still buggered...

Been a while

Moved to Pillowfort... Just Lonemagpie there, but haven’t really had time or motivation (at least not concurrently) to post much there either. and as for here since December 2018, well...

Happy/Merry everything.

Book Log 2021 #8)

#8) STONEHENGE by Rosemary Hill.

A book about a subject that’s under constant study is always at risk of being superseded by new discoveries, and, having come out in 2008, this one was before the latest revelation a year or so back that a version of the monument had been set up in Wales first and was physically brought with its builders to the site in Wiltshire and remade…. And that doesn’t matter, where this book is concerned.

       This book, you see, isn’t a history of the monument and how it developed. No, this is a book about the history of how it has been viewed and studied since its discovery- by Medieval chroniclers, 17th Century Antiquarians, Victorians, artists, archaeologists, architects, governments, and (of course) wannabe Druids.

       It’s a highly readable and fascinating tour through history, taking in why people in different eras thought it was built by Romans; how the different focus of architects, antiquarians, and archaeologists gave them different views;  just how the various Druid wannabes got so intertwined with it and their internicine feuding, and sidesteps into intriguing and often amusing bits of the lives and works famous people in the abovementioned fields away from Stonehenge. (To pick a random example, how Frederick Bligh-Bond impressed the Church by discovering lost wings of Glastonbury Cathedral very quickly, then got fired for revealing he had been told where to look by one of the original builders in a séance).

The chapter on more recent decades is also a good brisk eye-opener as to how it became a counterculture icon and the location for protests and violence in the 80s, and where English Heritage really spawned much of that.

And of course there’s a great round up of the physical facts of Stonehenge to start with, and some tips on visiting and further reading to end with.

       Engaging, fascinating, good fun, educational, highly readable… Lovely bit of popular history. Very recommended.

My review of the new Masters Of Cinema blu-ray release, out today.

Most people will be wishing Chinese friends Gōngxǐ fācái (Gong hei fat choi) today, though that just means "happiness and prosperity" but New Year is a good traditional time to wish that. If you want to specify, Chinese (Mandarin) for New Year is Xīn nián, so you can go with Xīn nián kuài lè (shin nyen kwai leh, or sen nin fey lo in Cantonese, IIRC), or Xīn nián hǎo (shin nyen haow, or sen nin haow in Cantonese)

Pillowfort well buggered since it went public. - "Pillowfort is down for a little while.On the 25th, Pillowfort launched free public registrations for the first time. Unfortunately, a number of significant security-related issues were brought to light, and our team ultimately decided it was in the best interest of our users to take Pillowfort offline to conduct a full investigation, as well as an overview of the whole site to make sure no further issues arise. While we are committed to bringing the website back up as soon as possible, we can't offer a specific ETA at this time. We will keep you all updated.Our team wants to re-iterate once again that there were no breaches of data or private user information that have occurred. Nonetheless, we want to express our deepest apologies for our failures during this last week. We regret letting you down.If the last few days have been discouraging to any of our members, and our Customer Service team will still be processing refunds while the site is down. We offer refunds for up to 30 days after a transaction is made. Send an e-mail to info@pillowfort.social to begun the refund process. For those of you who still believe in us, we will do everything we can to get the site back online for you. The Pillowfort Community means everything to us. We still hope to regain your trust in us once we return.Signed,Pillowfort Staff"

Fucking Jesus, I might as well either gibe up on image posting or waste time frustrating myself with the lack of decent shit in this place since it went all censored in 2018, and that doesn’t sound any fucking good either.

Well, do much for Pillowfort...

2021 Book Log #1 - The Chimes

The Chimes, by Charles Dickens

You can tell A Christmas Carol went well for Dickens, cos he tried to repeat the effect a few more times, in his Christmas Books. The Chimes is the second one, published only a year later, but definitely suffers from what we’d now call sequelitis. This follows a similar path of a lead character – albeit one far more sympathetic from the outset than Scrooge – shown visions of the future to make him change his ways. The main differences being that this time it’s about New Year’s Day rather than Christmas, and about the virtues in looking forward instead of back. And also the quality has dropped from genuine classic to all over the map, like a studio-demanded instant sequel to a surprise hit. Which basically is what it is. Anyway, it starts off well, with vibrant and spooky descriptions of a church and belltower that M.R. James must have found very inspirational, then turns into a tour of fat cat landlords, justices and capitalists stamping down on poor Trotty and his friends, and Trotty getting a big dream sequence of how awful they’ll end up if they believe what the scumbags say of decent poor folks, and look towards a past golden age that never was (Jeez, that sounded familiar, doesn’t it?) instead of raising the poor workers to better lives in future. In this sense it still rings totally true – all the fat cat scumbags could be writing in the papers today from their Cabinet offices. However, Dickens has probably hit the gig here where he gets paid by the word, and sentences run on for whole pages, making them confusing as hell – there’s also a character death where he forgets to confirm who it actually is! - and it’s all topped off with an appalling “it was all a dream, now lets all sing and dance with all the good characters, who have miraculously turned up at home like in a Muppet version finale”. And the “goblins”, the voices of the Chimes themselves don’t have a memorable or even notable character the way that all the Xmas Spirits in the previous one did. So, there are good bits, like the opening descriptions, the early fart gag, and the chilling speeches of the – well it’s hard not to say Tories, franjkly, they haven’t improved since. The message is fine and correct, but the delivery is also confusing, long-winded, and despite being two-thirds the length of A Christmas Carol, took three times as long to get through, and has no deep or interesting characters

And.... Lesley and I both have positive Covid tests. Whee.....

If she can point out the maskless cunt who coughed on her last Monday, I'm going to punch his teeth so far down his throat he'll have to floss by enema.

(That comment got banned by FB, for incitement to violence. I bet fucking Trumpers are still allowed to threaten individuals)

And that means next week's eye-stabbing is cancelled. I'd be out of isolation, but they always ask at them if you've had a positive result in the past two weeks, so I guess that's the safety buffer.

I mean, we're already feeling better than a couple of days ago - I felt worst on Thursday, and her on Sunday/Monday - but it's bloody annoying, especially since it means I can't pick up our meds on Friday, and don't have enough to wait til Monday. (Friday is my 10th day, but the pharmacy is closed at weekends...)

Of course now there's the psychological "Well that's fucking depressing"

2020 soundtrack

I did manage to compile a 66 track score for 2020, and here it is. As always, the tracks  do reflect specific events or moods, but only I know what they are...

1)Exercise at Gibraltar  [John Barry, The Living Daylights]

2) Don’t Lose Your Head  (Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head)

3)Persistence (Jeff Russo, Discovery season 1)

4)The Woman He Loves (Murray Gold, the Husbands Of River Song)

5)And Somewhere Else The Tea Is Getting Cold [Dominic Glynn, Survival]

6)The Dead Are Already Here [Ramin Djawadi, Game Of Thrones season 8]

07)Impossible Choice  [Murray Gold, Dr Who Series 5]

08)Contemplations – [Ron Jones, ST TNG Best Of Both Worlds]

09)Ghosts Of  A Future Lost, [Clint Mansell, Requiem For A Dream]

10] One Word[Murray Gold DW series 9]

11] Palpatine’s Theme Epic Medieval version [John Williams, Samuel Kim].

12]  What Must A King Do –[Tyler Bates, 300]

13]    Anakin’s Betrayal/Dark Deeds [Samuel Kim mix]

14] Data Awakes In Engineering   [Jerry Goldsmith, First Contact]

15] Rebirth, [Bear McReary, Godzilla King Of The Monsters]

16] Order 66  Sad Cinematic Version, [Samuel Kim]

17 ] Dumpling Warrior [Hans Zimmer, Kung Fu Panda 2]

18] Soul Battles – [Ryan Taubert]

19]  Contamination – [Ennio Morricone, The Thing]

20] He’s A PirateMedieval Style[Hans Zimmer/Samuel Kim POTC]

21] Tell Me Who You Are [Murray Gold, Dr Who Series 6]

22]  Not Today [Ramin Djawadi, Game Of Thrones season 8]

23]  Kylo Ren/Imperial March [JohnWilliams/Samuel Kim]

24]  They Are Everywhere [Murray Gold Dr Who series 7]

25] You Win Or You Die [Ramin Djawadi Game Of Thrones season 1]

26]  Legend Of The Scorpion King [Alan Silvestri, The Mummy Returns]

27] Definitely Not Swedish [Jerry Goldsmith, First Contact]

28] The Law [Alan Silvestri, Judge Dredd]

29] Leaving Drydock [Jerry Goldsmith, Star Trek The Motion Picture]

30] Obi Wan Kenobi Theme [Samuel Kim]

31] Dredd And Fargo [Alan Silvestri, Judge Dredd]

32]  Matrix Main Title [Don Davis, The Matrix]

33]  God Of Gamblers Theme  [unknown composer, God Of Gamlers]

34]  A New Home/Rey [John Williams/Samuel Kim, Rise Of Skywalker]

35] Police Station [Brad Feidel, The Terminator]

36] A Grand Day Out [Julian Nott, A Grand Day Out]

37]  The Man [Ennio Morricone, Once Upon  A Time In The West]

38]  Sitting Ducks/ Borg Reach Saturn[Ron Jones, Best Of  Both Worlds]

39] Connor’s Life [Lorne Bailfe, Assassins Creed 3]

40] The Friends Song [ Mark Knopfler, The Princess Bride]

41] Hoist The Colours Davy Jones Mix [samuel kim, POTC]

42]      Something I Can Never Have [Ramin Djawadi, Westworld season 1]

43]     Matrix Breaks In [James Horner, Commando]

44] Musketeers Piano Arrangement [Murray Gold, The Musketeers]

45] Floating Office [Jerry Goldsmith, ST TMP]

46] The Lab [Jerry Goldsmith, Alien]

47] Reveries [Ramin Djawadi, Westworld season 1]

48]   The Course Of My Life [Murray Gold, Dr Who A Christmas Carol]

49] It’s The End [Paddy Kingsland, Logopolis]

50] The Hunt Builds [Wojciech Kilar, Bram Stoker’s Dracula]

51]      Remember Remember [Dario Marianelli, V For Vendetta]

52] This World [Ramin Djawadi, Westworld season 1]

53] Everything Has To End Sometime [Murray Gold, Dr Who  A Christmas Carol]

54] Through The Flames [John Williams Return Of The Jedi]

55]          L3 And Millennium Falcon [John Powell, Solo]

56] Hanging On [Jerry Goldsmith, Alien]

57] Training Begins [Don Davis, Matrix ]

58] The Penitent Man Will Pass [John Williams, Last Crusade]

59] Imperial March Sad Prowse Tribute Mix [John Williams, Samuel Kim]

60] Assault On The Tower [Michael Kamen, Die Hard]

61]  Temporal Wake [Jerry Goldsmith, First Contact]

62 ]Imperial March Carol Of The Bells Epic Mix [John Williams, Samuel Kim]

63]  You’re Fired [Murray Gold, The Doctor The Widow And  The Wardrobe]

64] Rise Of Skywalker final trailer music [John Williams. Rise Of Skywalker]

65] Captain Borg[Ron Jones, TNG Best Of Both Worlds]

66]        Blue Skies [Isa Briones/Jeff Russo, Star Trek Picard]

Happy March 397th 2020, everybody

So what did I manage in 2020, my 52nd year? Um... earned not one penny, finished not one writing project [these are probably connected, but Lesley needed to do her writing to stay sane while keyworking, and I can't write when there's typing going on], fought no tournaments, got no auths, nor got my students any auths of prize plays... in fact moved my SCA path from 18 months behind to two and a half years behind. Took on one new novel project, which got canned halfway through when rights issues changed, and one short story project which I'll turn in next week.

Started or announced intentions to start more craft projects than ever. Did finish a couple, like Eowyn's shield, etc [seriously, is it wrong that I made leather vambraces for fencing to hold down a shirt cuff that a button had come off, rather than sew a button on cos it wouldn't match the other cuff?] and new flexible articulated armour carapace is 70% there...

Don't feel I did the looking after people [other than Lesley] thing or did 'my bit' even though I know I did give shelter at the start of the year, and a new duvet in a bag to someone who needed it on Boxing Day... But all the endless, eternal, propaganda of 'do your bit by staying home and keeping away from people' doesn't do it for me, as I always lived like that anyway. Saw they got proof that a mild or asymptomatic case of covid does give some resistance/immunity and wish I could have given some blood plasma to help with that, but I'm not allowed cos mine's.... unusual.

Did read more books, but at the cost of less activity and higher blood glucose. Did build some models, teach Zoom classes, make videos on fencing tips [nothing sparks the impostor syndrome quite like those]... won a prize for cooked stuff the week before Lockdown 1.0 started. Dunno that stuff crammed into te first two months of the year counts for the lack of anything in the other 10.

Thought I was doing mentally well for most of it cos it was closer to my normal life, but probably not, in the end.

So what for this year? I usually like to start Jan 1st with new things; write a paragrah at least of something totally new, start a new model, a new game... Workwise it's impossible to tell. Keep pitching, keep at the stuff I'm already doing, hopefully things in retail will ease in such a way  that I can tell Lesley tolet  me do my work, if any. Who knows, it all depends too much on other people agreeing to things.

Event wise... nobody can plan anything more than about ten days in advance, so effectively it's still 2020. [Looking at when legislation expires, what platitudes and lies the government are saying, and running the numbers of vaccines actually likely to be rolled out, I suspect we'll see Tiers 3 and 4 solid through Jan/Feb, go random and politicised in March before dropping off and being replaced by something new in a Coronavirus Act 2021 at Easter, such as no tiers but caps on gathering sizes, and even if they get the vaccine rollout up to the quoted aim of 2 million a month by Feb or March, you won't hit effective herd immunity coverage level until... October. And they only have half a million doses, enough for a quarter million people, for January. I'd be confident of having Yule Ball and Xmas Markets next year, and proper Remembrance Day and Strictly Blackpool Week, but everything in summer I'd call 50/50 at this point, and the likes of Eastercon is still buggered.

Healthwise... I'd planned to not take the new tablets until after a Feb/March blood test to see if increasing activity levels would bring the numbers down, because if they came down I wouldn't know whether tablets or activity did it, but they have the pharmacy call to see whether there are any side effects, so I'm going to have to take some anyway to keep them off my back... Bleh.

But for today, write something new, glue something new, play the first level of something new, try to sieze power somewhere.... And finish off and post up the playlist for 2020's musical score.

Book Log 2020 #22

22 – TWELVE ANGELS WEEPING by David RuddenAn anthology of Dr Who stories ostensibly themed around Xmas, but actually most of the stories mention a festive season barely or not at all. As you might expect from an anthology there’s quite a range styles  and also of quality. Some of the stories get the characters and monsters spot on, such as Twelve in the first story [though not the Angels who at one point move while watched], or Vastra and Strax, while others… don’t. [Hello Leela who speaks with normal contractions, and Four who just talks like a normal bloke, in the Sycorax/Ice Warrior story].

Most of the stories have a less than subtle, but well phrased theme, and a thoroughly predictable, usually downbeat, end twist. However, totally worth it for some of the POVs such as the Cyberman and Vastra, and some of the narrations, such as the tradtitional noir private eye, and the Sontaran eduation machine which is so totally written in Dan Starkey’s voice…

Nothing amazing, nothing awful, light and generally pleasant entertainment in easily digestible bursts.

Sadly didn’t quite make a full 24 as I’d hoped,though I did read more than 22 books overall, but the others were more work related and research, so don’t count in this recreational reading annual log. For example, 22 would have been A Christmas Carol, which I often read in December, until I remembered it was for work reference this time, and so Twelve Angels Weeping moved from 23 to 22. Oh well, it’s better than the 8 or so that I ended up with last year. The cancellations and lockdowns helped with that, but the sitting around raised my HBA1C number so I hope there’s a happy medium to be found somewhere in 2021..