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There are some status messages on Facebook that you just don't expect to see. Especially not from people you'd always had labelled as too polite. Huh. The things you learn through Facebook.

Speaking of unexpected things, I'd been watching Billie Piper's Secret Diaries of a Call Girl without much enthusism - it was like the PWP of TV, only more boring - for the first few episodes but last night actually took a step up to the level of plot. Okay so it wasn't entirely believable because, after weeks of happy secret bonking of everyone and their accountant, she changes her mind in the space of one twenty-minute episode? Yeah right. But honestly, I'm looking forward to next week for the first time because there's actually a sort of *story* going on. I'm worrying that Benjamin won't understand or he'll freak or he'll want to hire her (and that last one makes me want to write call-girl/-boy fic for someone. Anyone). Angsty possiblities. Delicious.

Maybe I just get too much of teh pron on the interwebs but watching this series made clear that sex scenes on TV are now just the point at which I go make myself a cup of tea to pass the time until the next bit of actual plot. Or maybe ITV just do sucky sex scenes. Whatever, I can get better PWP in fic, thanks very much. Give me plot.

Especially since I'm now sitting here waiting for the people to call about delivering our a new TV today. New TV! I need good things to watch on it. Am a little bitter than I have to wait over a week to see how good Top Gear looks on it but eh. At least there's Robin Hood tomorrow and I get to see the historial inaccuracy in glorious 40 inch shininess. Though, since life and bad internet distracted me from my squee over it last week, meant to get excited over recognising the rune Allan used as his signal to Gisborne. Years of re-reading The Forbidden Game trilogy clearly served some purpose because he drew it and I went "Thurisaz! The thorn, protection but also something... violence? Could they be saying something? Is the rune a giant hint to what is going on with Allan?"

So I then spent the night looking up rune meanings before realising that the RH people probably don't pay that much attention to detail. I was kinda filled with squee that I even remembered the name though; it's been forever since I looked them up to see if the FG trilogy was just pulling them out of its ass (it wasn't).

Also, caught the end of Prince of Thieves on Sci-fi last night (I mean, sci-fi? Really? I guess there's a witch but really?) and decided that, while I probably like Lucy Griffth's Marian better because I always found the PoT one a bit wet, Jonas Armstrong can't measure up to Costner. And I don't even particularly like Costner. PoT does have surprise!Connery though (I'm resisting the urge to type 'like surprise!buttsex with a Scottish accent' because I am an inane five year old still) which is always going to beat everything.

Have an interview with a job agency to go to later, which I made on Wednesday in a fit of indignance at not yet having a job. Have an application form to fill in for a Christmass job at Waterstones too, something I would actually *love* to do but I'm not sure if the being in London for two weekends in November will matter. I'd sulk if I had to cut it short and come home before the second one but working in a bookshop, finally...

At least my train ticket's open so it doesn't matter moneywise. Just in S sulking at me.

I should go do application forms. Am getting really sick of application forms. Especially ones that ask you to "Describe a time when you met expectations" and all that personal-selling-yourself crap. It's a freaking Christmas job. Honestly.

I've just found out about Long Way Down - why did I not know sooner! I would've followed it all the way through. Alas. Still, am inordinately excited. Long Way Round was wonderful. I missed it when Sky first showed it, sort of half-interested but not enough to keep tabs on it so I watched all the repeats at 2am a few months later instead. It's one of the few things I've finished watching, then gone straight out and bought on DVD without a second thought.

(I just lent it to my Harley-Davidson-riding uncle and from the squeeful reports I'm getting, he'll be buying it too. Which is at least nice confirmation that it's actually good for the biker-types as well as the nutty McGregor fans. My 'rents are giving him the book for his birthday. My DVD collection brings joy to all! :D)

So, all is shiny. Good things to look forward to on TV in September (including possible/probable new Top Gear!) And Run, Fat Boy, Run out! Yay!

On the downside I was actually looking forward to the second series of Torchwood partly because, to quote from Wikipedia: "Other guest stars in Torchwood's second series include former Buffy and Angel star James Marsters (whose character is set to have a "horny and violent" sexual encounter with Captain Jack)" and partly because I was hoping it'd have hit its stride and be, well, less crap. Which is why I'm disappointed that it's not airing 'til "early 2008". What?! Why BBC?! Why do you taunt me with unexpected waiting?

It'd better be good. Dammit. Still, there's always Robin Hood showing again from October.

... Sshh. Stop laughing. ;p I like it alright?

Actually speaking of shows that it may be slightly shaming to admit a liking for, Hyperdrive has been surprisingly good for the last three or so weeks. Nick Frost is still doing very little for me, possibly because I think the character lacks depth, possibly because I just think he's not great in the part but the rest of the cast is hilarious. Jeffers' "Resurrected/corpse/resurrected/corpse" scene gave me new love for the whole thing, it was so almost Red Dwarfish. That said, I still wouldn't recommend running out to watch it. Not that there's not much other shiny TV to watch soon (yay!).

...I have no other news. Except news of life which is, as usual, mundane. TV is better.

I may go watch the tennis final now. Mmmm. If I can stay awake.

Getting sidetracked from reading -- because it's on Beowulf and even Tolkien writing about Beowulf can't make it interesting -- onto play.com and aside from the stupid overpricing of the new Robin Hood DVDs (buying the three volumes together comes to almost £43, only £10 less than a season of Farscape. Yeah, dream on BBC. Do you *want* people to buy these DVDs instead of downloading the episodes? Really? Honestly? Because with those prices, they certainly won't.) and was totally sidetracked when I noticed the complete four seasons of Farscape are now only £100. Which means me spending the £53 each I was planning to on individual seasons seems... silly.

Because I was going to spend £53 after Christmas and another £53 at Easter on just two seasons anyway. Why shouldn't I spend the £100 after Christmas all at once and get all four?

Mmmmm. I totally should've done Farscape for my dissertation. Somehow. The parts of it I understand anyway, though that might not leave me with much to talk about I guess.

£100. I think I'll be pondering on that for a while.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHOMGILOVETHISSHOW. :D

More later, when I can breathe again.

Also ( spoilers )

I'll probably have more thoughts when I get round to rewatching it but that's all I can think of now. Mmmm. Much to ponder.

How, for example, is anyone suppposed to take Guy of Gisborne seriously when he's dressed as a motorcyle courier?

Okay, so the new series... shall we say, plays loose and easy with historical detail. Guy does look like a Hell's Angels reject, Marian was wearing a yellow cardigan probably bought from Primark a week or so ago, Robin is wearing an identical twin to the fake!fang necklace I bought at a Fairtrade shop a few months back but I'm starting to think that it's not the point. Because who cares if the Sheriff says yippee or Guy calls Robin 'lord of the dance' (okay, so that was somewhat WTF considering Michael Flatley wouldn't show up for about another eight hundred years). If it was in archaic English with them living in historically accurate mud houses and spending all their time skinning rabbits and bemoaning yet more bad British weather, I wouldn't watch it and neither would you. Ssssshhhh. Just nod, smile and move on.

Besides, Red Dwarf has the best excuse ever for inconsistencies -- multiple universes. Maybe in this particular 'verse, Robin is a skinny idiot with a hero complex and Marian is some sort of Dark Age help-the-helpless Xena and Much is totally crushing on his abusive!boyfriend Robin. Mutiple universes where they had invented cardigans in the twelfth century (for all I know they had. Maybe.)

Multiple universes, dimensions, possiblities. The excuse for any occasion. And by the way, I happen to like Guy looking like he's the pet of someone with a black leather fetish. You're telling me you don't? ;)

Disclaimer: This post was in no way an attempt to avoid doing any actual uni work. Honest.

edit: I will however, concede that the titles are utterly dumb. I love a pretty title and these, these are not pretty. Though I will also say they're improving since "Who Shot the Sheriff?", perhaps because there was no possible way to drop lower than that.

Really, not procrastinating. Nope. Mainly just pissy that the only sites I can find this week's -- and any week's -- episodes for download on hate me with passion.

Though hey, there was a lovely person the other week... ooohh. I may have to go hunt them out. Yeses. Because I missed the damned first few minutes that everyone's talking about and it's hugely irritating.

I love it when sticking it out and having faith in something pays off. Love it. Nary a moment of daftness -- okay, *less* daftness than usual -- in the entire thing and *such a damn good setup* for future angst toward the end. Even the 'rents who called after grudgingly admitted it was 'enjoyable', after they've been telling me how awful it is for weeks. I think they finally got that some moments are more tongue-in-cheek, ( spoiler for things from tonight's episode ).

Feet = cold. Slept in my thick jumper last night and was still a bit chilly but I refuse to turn my radiator on when it ends in me waking up slowly roasting in the middle of the night. Meant to be freezing tonight to, so maybe I should add my thick blanket on top but then I wake up too hot too. I wish the weather would make its damn mind up and be either warm or freezing, not something in between. This has been a bloody weird November weatherwise so far. If I didn't completely believe in global warming before, I do now.

I love LiveJournalers.

On a totally unrelated note, is it just me or was the cheese toned down slightly for last night's episode of Robin Hood? I mean, there was dumb stuff sure but I wasn't wincing every two minutes and that's a step up.


( Also (spoilers!) )

Why I just requested a postgraduate prospectus from Nottingham University? I couldn't honestly say. It's not like I have the money to do something as crazily pointless as take an extra year to study the legend of Robin Hood. Not to mention I have to pass this year first and considering I haven't read either of the two Shakespeare plays we're meant to have done so far? Hhmm. Yeah.

Still. It's nice to dream.

GOOD MORNING FLIST! :D

I'm back in my Sunday routine so all is fine and dandy here in rainy Lancaster. Tea, bagel, Countryfile, all is happiness. Not to mention Countryfile was in Sherwood Forest this week and it fed my current Robin Hood squee-fest. Yeses. Not to mention the aerial assault course they have through the trees there. o_O Dude. The coolness knows no bounds. Anyone UK-based who doesn't have a fear of heights want to meet at Sherwood Forest sometime because *wow*, I have a sudden uncontrollable craving to go dangle from a rope forty feet off the ground while climbing nets and platform-hopping from tree-to-tree. It *has* to be cool if I'm actually craving something that involves strenuous exercise. Tell me that does not look fun.

Unfortunately the weather forecast implies a sad lack of winter arriving this week and *dammit*, I really wanted it to be cold for my birthday. Apparently it's only a degree or so warmer than average for October but it feels like a whole lot more. Alas. Maybe next week there'll be a hope of some proper frost and some winter weather, *finally*.

Not even the prospect of a week of warm rain can dent my cheerfulness today though. :) New show to enjoy, TORCHWOOD STARTS TONIGHT (that deserves the capslock abuse, believe me) I've got two and a half days off yet before I have to go to a lecture and dinner at my favourite resturant in the world to look forward to come Friday.

All is, in fact, shiny. That can never be a bad thing.


edit: This news of Hamster however, does put a sizable dent in cheerfulness. I thought literally a couple of hours ago, "If Hamster's fine why isn't he out of hospital yet?" and life goes and answers me.

Mmmm. Suddenly I'm remembering why no news is good news.