clo_again

Re-tweet, by FiendishThingie: Did everyone tune in at nine for "Derren Brown Explains Shit All About The Lottery Trick, And Is a Bastard"?


This is the general reaction to his explanation on Twitter, but with much hatred towards 'technobabble'. This makes me sad, because the math to me seems pretty simple - simple to the point of suspicious nonsense - and I'm AN ENGLISH MAJOR, so if the math is obvious to me then it must be pretty damn obvious.

What is not obvious to me is how the math he used could possibly give the results he claims it did. Guessing the weight of a cow is not the same as guessing an utterly random lottery number; you can clearly look at a cow and estimate based on appearance. Also, people at a country fair were the cow-guessing comp took place would presumably, for the most part, have some experience with cows and weight, thus making the average of their guesses into something approaching reliable. The connection seems random. Or rather, made up.

Instead of explaining the entire show to y'all (because those of you who're interested probably mostly watched it), I'll briefly explain what I understood as the explanation and then repost my tweets from the whole hour. Apologies to everyone I'm friends with on Twitter; I suspect I was very annoying. I'll move over here to LJ now. :)

By the way, as I type this 'Derren Brown' is the top trending topic on Twitter. #Derren Brown is the third trending topic. Bullshit or not, he certainly succeeded with this trick. Well done, you evil gay wizard.


( So, what I got from Mr Brown was... )



I'm not entirely sure that served any purpose, but I have the sofa (indeed the entire house) to myself tonight and I'm content to sit here and meander a bit. :) Especially when it comes to Derren Brown, who is still excellent even when getting pretty boys to almost stamp on mice as part of a bizarre explanation that seemed to have not-that-much to do with what he actually did in the end. But the boy was pretty and the mouse was cute. Plus Derren. I'm all for that!

Uh. Possibly that could be taken the wrong way. The mouse is cute as in sweet, whiskery tiny animal adorablity! Derren and the pretty boy on the other hand-

Ahem. So. I'm going to watch Jonathan Ross do the silly ab-exercise machine I saw advertised on Aussie morning television now. Keep being a fabulous liar Derren! Looking forward to you ruling the world next week!

I've just waited all day for a shower because kindoftrouble's iPhone was getting delivered today and I knew the second I stepped in the shower, they'd be at the door trying to deliver it. I've been listening for the very-definitely-noticeable doorbell (it plays a loud tune. There are trumpets. The first time I heard it I thought it was an oddly modern fire alarm; it is not missable) all day and since they tried to deliver it yesterday around 3:15, from 3pm onwardsI specifically didn't leave the lounge. I'm sitting almost next to the doorbell speaker.

Nothing. At 4:02pm, I decide to run downstairs to see if they've tried to deliver it earlier and I missed it.

Apparently they called at 4pm. They'll try again tomorrow.

...

DEAR MCFAIL DELIVERY PEOPLE. PERHAPS TOMORROW YOU COULD TRY RINGING THE FREAKING DOORBELL? IT IS RIGHT. THERE.

No love (seriously; what the fuck? If I'd run down two minutes earlier I would've caught you putting the card through the door. Should I be psychic now?)

Seriously. TRY HARDER.

Clo

~

On the plus side I did finish The Demon's Lexicon today (I only bought it yesterday because I finished Knife, which was supposed to last me the entire trip, during my three hours in Lancaster) and enjoyed it muchly. Couple of times on the way through I went "...I'm not entirely sure what you did there" but the ending was sweet as. I'd much rather have a book with a few minor wobbles on the way through and a kick-ass ending than the other way around, because it's so much more satisfying. It was excellent. Go forth and buy!

Knife was pretty good too. The main guy-love-interest was called Paul and I was amused at the universe because I bought this book to read before my Paul McDermott obsession but didn't get around to picking it up until I needed a new book for the train ride. I think I can probably count on one hand the books I've read with a major character called Paul. (Though no, the Bible does not count. Probably. It might not actually make that much difference to the tally).

The only thing now is that I need another book for the trip home. Damn. Suspect a trip to Forbidden Planet may be in order (isn't it always when I'm in London?) Except this time I am allowed to buy one book only. Take note.

Okay, well since, apparently, either delivery people fail at doorbells or I'm now experiencing doorbell-specific deafness, I'm going for a shower. And to think up a way to tell kindoftrouble that she has to wait for her shiny new iPhone. Uh. Hopefully she won't have her vengeance by letting Derren Brown use me as a mind control guinea pig tonight (hurrah! Derren Brown!)

~

Before I go, one more thing; Dear Wimbledon, when you're showing Andy Roddick's match DO NOT SHOW ME A CLOSE-UP OF AN ANKLE BEING WORKED ON WHEN I'VE BEEN TOO BUSYING BLOGGING TO KNOW THAT IT'S NOT ANDY. That was a horrible horrible moment until you panned back. Don't do it again, kthnx.

Clo

IT'S SNOWING. IT'S ACTUALLY FINALLY SNOWING ENOUGH TO STICK. AAAAAAHHHHHH!! I AM VERY EXCITED.

Of course I'm not really expecting to wake up tomorrow morning to anything like a proper covering because this is me and it'll no doubt be raining by 2am (okay, 4am according to BBC's 24 hr forecast) but still. Pretty. It almost makes up for my envy of the south getting YET MORE SNOW in this supposed 'Winter Storm' happened tomorrow night/Tuesday morning. I was actually contemplating getting on a train to kindoftrouble's tomorrow morning because, dude. Dear South, stop hogging the snow wealth!

Not that I'm bitter. Nope.

...Yeah.

~

Is it just me or is this self-portrait of Derren Brown just missing the little devil horns? I wish I had the spare £50 to buy a print of it, I really do. *wistful* Oh to be rich.

I spent two hours of my night sleeping because I literally had no energy to do anything else - and now that I need to go to bed, I'm properly awake. Sigh. Not that I'll have trouble sleeping because I sometimes wonder if I couldn't sleep through the Apocalypse but why couldn't I be awake earlier? I was too tired to even watch a DVD. Hmpf.

I knew there was a reason I'd been putting off buying Clerks and I guess this was it. Not that I have any money to buy that either - was a little floored by the price of postage today. If I had a first-born I would've sold them by now - but I'll stick it on the list. I've just caught the last ten minutes of Clerks II, finally, and it was actually funny. Even with Kevin Smith I was dubious about a sequel but no, I eat my words. So that's something else. I just wish I'd splashed out on that pretty, pretty special edition of Dogma which it doesn't look like I can get anymore. Dammit. I should pick up the pretty special edition Dark Crystal before my procrastinating makes it too late for that too.

Oh right, no money. But sometime I will buy all these things.

~

kindoftrouble, did you know they have loads of the fun ducks on Amazon? I'm particularly fond of this one but this smiley faced one is also full of lulz.

~

I was so busy being useless over the weekend that I forgot to shout about David Tennant on Trick or Treat. It was really really really awesome and as for the girl who had David Tennant bouncing up to her on the street going "Can I read your mind?", so much envy. David Tennant and Derren Brown all at once! I would be flailing incoherently on the floor, which is why it's a good thing I am not on television. I can't see how flinging myself at Derren and clinging to his knees while whimpering over how awesome he is (while also, no doubt, fighting off Security) could make a good first impression. It's probably for the best that I stick with this side of the TV screen.

Still. The Tennant and Derren. I couldn't speak for fifteen minutes after The Barrowman; it'd be a week with those two together.

But anyway; DAVID TENNANT ON TRICK OR TREAT = EXCELLENT. It's bound to be repeated or be on Four On Demand (teh interweb informs me that it's repeated on Channel 4 at 11pm this Thursday) I command you to watch it, even if you've never heard of Derren Brown in your life, or only from me ranting on about him with slightly creepy levels of enthusiasm. Awesome awesome awesome.

~

I think it was fair that Niamh went off I'd Do Anything this week. I winced through her singing Don't Speak, which I love. That said, Samantha irritates me more every Saturday; she always seems a little outside on the group hugs, as if everyone else is a bit dubious about her too, and I've seen her smiling more than once when singing people off the show. Also her and Rachel seem to have something going on; every week when they ask them who isn't Nancy, they say each other. I still find Rachel a little dull but I'm with her all the way over Samantha. She at least comes across as a nice person; Sam, I'm not so sure. No one who smiles that much is natural.


Is it on next week around Eurovision? (don't get me started on Doctor Who being moved back a week to make room for freaking Eurovision of all things; the only reason it's worth watching these days is for Wogan's sarcastic commentary and they replaced Doctor Who with it, bah). I can't see them skipping it for a week.

'Who was better this week though. Apart from GIANT FREAKING WASP I enjoyed it (though WHY A WASP? I already have a complex about them, honestly). I got quite excited about the trailer for the next episode because it looks like it could be really fantastic if done well. All the more annoying that we have to wait an extra week but I guess I'll be coming back from Hay Saturday anyway so there were worse weekends for it.

Have to go to bed now. -_- I only came up to check song lyrics and that was an hour ago. I wanted to watch TV for a while but no, I don't have time to watch TV or read or even think so much, anymore. I would love to introduce whoever invented the five day working week to a blunt object, preferably at some speed. No one can have a life around this. It's ridiculous.

Sigh. Bed then.

I recorded Trick or Treat last night because I was too tired to focus (we went shoe shopping after work. I bought three pairs. I was either tired or in shock.) Started to watch it this morning and at the point where Derren's saying all these people applied, blah blah, these are the ones I chose, I went "...Wow that man looks like David Tennant." *rewind* "...That man is David Tennant." "...IS DAVID TENNANT GOING TO GET MIND-FUTZED BY DERREN BROWN?!!"

*cue crazy flailing and immediate running to Wikipedia*

To find "Tennant will be appearing in Derren Brown's Trick or Treat... In the 26th April - 2nd May issue of TV & Satellite Week Brown is quoted as saying "One of the appeals of Doctor Who for David is time travel, so I wanted to give him that experience. He was open and up for it, and I got a good reaction. He's a real screamer!" .

I'm torn between watching the episode immediately and putting it off until tonight to build the anticipation. Oh my god. Simon Pegg, David Tennant. John Simm or Dylan Moran next please Derren. I can't promise to love you more than I already do for it, because it's not possible but I'll add cookies on top.

In the midst of my excitement, it did occur to me that perhaps one of the reasons I like Derren Brown so much is that he reminds me of a real life Crowley. In fact if I was asked for my list of fantasy dinner guests, you know where you say who you'd invite to a dinner party if time, reality and death were no object, I'd sit Derren and Crowley next to each other. I suspect they'd get on like a house on fire.

And possibly leave with it actually crackling gently behind them. But still. Totally worth it.

eta: So Wikipedia lied and it was not last night's episode. *sadness* I did think it was a bit odd to show it first and not save it until the end. But that does mean it's still to come and I can look forward to it for weeks yet. :D On a side note about last night's episode, I wish I'd seen that before I wrote my dissertation. I definitely would've tried that technique to see if I could pull a few more factoids out when I needed them.

eta: I also just noticed something else. Go here. And then here.

...I picked the colours of my LJ because I love the teal and black was just the make the photograph blend. Okay so it's not identical but it's- similar. Enough to be a little weird

I just liked the colours. o_O

Derren Brown is a shockingly, delightfully rude man. Not sure what I was expecting from Tricks of the Mind but it certainly wasn't Noel Edmunds and rimming included in the same sentence (something which has scarred me for life, Derren, and for which part of me will never forgive you.) I'm only a couple of chapters in because I keep forgetting it's a very interactive book - he expects you to make pendulums and do card tricks and such - and I keep picking it up about 3am for 'something to read before I go to sleep'. Have to say, the pendulum trick is pretty nifty though. Ideomotor movement. Why can I learn new words and facts easier from a delightfully rude Derren Brown than mindlessly dull English tutors hm?

And why am I excited about the Hot Fuzz DVD when there's still more than a week before I'll get my hands on it? *Why*? I can't remember being this excited about a DVD release before. On related-lines, kinda sad Miko won't be here to come see Run, Fatboy, Run with me in September. I'd forgotten how fun it is to have the same fangirly passion as someone you see everyday. I'll have to get hill2k and dukedee to come and fangirl with me instead. ;) And maybe by the time Pegg/Frost have the next one written and filmed she can come back for a visit.

I just realised that the several fics I've memorised, over many months, in one fandom, are all by the same author. Even though I watch two fanfic comms for that fandom and read anything with my favourite pairing. I'm not sure if that says something about me or something about the fandom.

Seen 17 episodes of Heroes. Still speechless at the sheer awesome of it all (and the Stan Lee cameo had me flailing into falling off my chair. The man gets everywhere! Like sand...) May have more coherent thoughts when I've seen the whole series. But I love Hiro, bless his geeky little socks. And Mohinder is useless but very pretty. And in the last couple of episodes? Peter is getting very cool. I foresee possible bitterness in my future.

Sssshhh. Say nothing. I'll hamstring anyone who spoils me for this, ;) It's that good.

... one of these days, I'll get dressed before 1pm. Really.

Was just wandering the Derren Brown site (missed Trick or Treat again this week. annoyed at self), the first in-no-way-related-to-Simon-Pegg thing that I've done in days, only to click on a picture gallery and find (the only picture of him with an actor on there!)...( this )

Not sure if I should be spooked, write it off as the universe screwing with me or start believing Derren is actually psychic. Weird.

I know i said silent. You have no idea how long it's taken me to type this letter by letter. Am crazy.

unrelated edit: You know why I don't re-read uni work I've handed in until I get the marks back? Because I find very obvious mistakes, like just how much I screwed up the tense in a story. Fucking *tense*, that I've always prided myself on dong well.

Fuckity-fuck. Going to fail. ;_;