There's usually someone out there who has a worse day than you do. This guy, for instance:



It makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. I must be evil.

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Yesterday was the hottest 27 October in more than a hundred years, apparently. We had 21 degrees centigrades here and people were wearing nothing but trousers and t-shirts, some even shorts. Nice.

Current track: Weezer - The Other Way

Labels: humour

Yesterday we went to the V&A to finally see the exhibition of Queen Maud's wardrobe. It was exquisite. I would truly recommend it, even for people like me who can't stand looking at clothes on mannequins for more than three minutes or so.

We then headed for the Criterion, where we picked up our tickets for Otherwise Engaged later that evening, before trying to find an empty table in any of the restaurants near Leicester Square (which is a nightmare at around six on a weekday of half-term, let me tell you). We eventually ended up at one of our usuals, Garfunkel's.

I had completely missed the fact that Peter Wight was going to be in Otherwise Engaged, so that was a very nice surprise. Especially when it turned out that he was the best actor there that evening. Now, don't get me wrong. Or do, and see if I care. I think Richard E. Grant is dead cool and I've had a thing for David Bamber since 1992, but they're both definitely stage actors. Or so I thought. David is brilliant on stage, but Richard...well, it is hereby confirmed that he's not a good actor. He is perfect in both Gosford Park and Spice Girls the Movie (*grins*), but he was a let-down in Otherwise Engaged. And the play was pretty boring during the second act. I wouldn't recommend it, and it hurts me badly to say so. It didn't even help that I could have tripped Richard after the show if I wanted to. Anyway, Anthony Head was pretty good as the drunken friend. And then suddenly there was nudity on stage; not quite used to that, but it seemed to go down well with the audience after the initial titter (slight pun intended).

After stopping by McDonald's to buy milkshake at ten thirty (I can't stand McDonald's but they do have the best milkshake), we went home to watch Medium before playing UNO for two hours.

This afternoon we decided to take a chance on going to see Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Wererabbit despite the enormous possibility of an invasion of children. I think it's safe to say that most of the paying customers there today were underage, but it was ok. We were going to see Nanny McPhee too, but neither of us could take another two hours of being surrounded by children, so we postponed our plans. This is why I need to see the fourth Harry Potter film (which I thought Jonathan Ross called The Goblin of Fire last week) late on a school night. Besides that, the film was funny, but my expectations were a bit higher than what I ended up thinking about the film.

And in case I've forgotten, I'd love to recommend Madagascar. Absolutely brilliant! And please start giving the dubbing actors their due recognition! They should be mentioned at the very beginning of the credits so that most people would actually know about them. Many films don't even include their names, which annoys me greatly.

Current track: Inspiral Carpets - Come Back Tomorrow

Labels: art, comedy, david bamber, film, personal, theatre, TV

That would be me, actually, after seeing tonight's episode of Waking the Dead. Bloody nuisance, those cliffhangers. Now, if they don't return for a sixth series I may have to stare at someone quite sternly. Grr.

We're going to the theatre tomorrow evening. I had a nightmare the other night where we were the only people in the audience and that the actors kept focusing on us and the whole thing was very embarrassing, especially when we fell asleep. Ahem. It's a comedy and one of the actors has been a true favourite of mine for 13 1/2 years (I could probably find the exact time down to the nearest hour, too), so I seriously doubt I'd fall asleep - but it has happened before (albeit due to jet lag, but highly embarrassing nevertheless), so you never know.

We cleared the dining table for the first time in many months today, in order to play Scotland Yard, a game I already have somewhere in my parents' house but which I've wanted to play again for years - so what else is there than ordering it online? This game is perfect for a Londoner or anyone wanting to visit London as it teaches you a lot about the layout of Central London. Three thumbs up!

Current track: Georg Friedrich Händel - Wassermusik (Luft)

Labels: david bamber, dreams, online shopping, personal, theatre, trevor eve, TV

I wonder.

I also wonder if I'm a little bit too enthusiastic about words. Earlier today I read the word "zakmes" in a Dutch advertisement, right beneath the picture of a pocket knife. Then I thought "how odd, it's the same as in English." I mean, "zak" means "pocket", "mes" means "knife". Well, duh. It's the same in Norwegian and Swedish, so I don't know why I was so surprised. It's like I was thinking "well, that is clever, and I always thought the Dutch were so backwards!" - I don't think so, because I know quite a few of them and have been in love with their country and language since I was little. So there.

Current track: David Bowie - Eight Line Poem

Labels: linguistics

The former dictator argues that he does not approve of having to wear the same clothes to court for days on end. This from a man who has been filmed in the same uniform for many years.

Current track: Madness - Rise and Fall

Labels: current affairs, humour

That's my life at the moment - I have a very stupid routine of waking up at nine, watching the news while in bed, getting up for a shower (and a wee, but not at the same time, because that would be...ew), checking my e-mail, watching This Morning while looking for work etc., picking up the post (more about this later), writing, doing the dishes, staring out of the window, writing a bit more, feeling stuck, making breakfast and lunch (if I can be bothered), watching Peak Practice, playing games or shopping or summat, watching The Paul O'Grady Show and then the news (usually on BBC1, unless I couldn't be arsed to switch channels and sit through the London news on ITV1), all the while surfing the net or playing games or other silly things, then the evening TV schedule takes off at around eight or nine, and it's time for supper. In bed before one o'clock but never asleep until two or three.

In other words, very boring.

So that could be why such a simple sentence as "A new series is planned" at the end of the Waking the Dead description in the Radio Times for next week cheered me up immensely.

About the post, or rather the postman: I met him last week when he rang our bell downstairs and told me there was a parcel waiting for me. I rushed downstairs and thanked him for being so kind as to actually letting us have the chance to pick up the parcel instead of having to ring them and arrange a different date (which they've done on several occasions before). He's rung our doorbell every day since and every day I get to know a little more about him. At first I didn't give it much thought, but it was getting a bit creepy yesterday when he rang the doorbell and said there was a parcel for me and then ended the sentence by using my first name. I honestly think he's just a social person and probably a bit bored and lonely on his route, but since my weirdo stalker back in Norway I'm rather cautious. And of course every person I don't know is a potential rapist and serial killer...you learn these things just from being of the female persuasion. Guys don't (think they) have to consider these things, but the way things are I'm pretty sure most girls have this thought stuck in their subconscience, especially when wandering the streets alone in the evenings. Wow, that was a train of thought our postman didn't deserve, I think. I apologise.

So, to sum up: Waking the Dead may have been recommissioned for a sixth series, I really should stop ordering things online, and my life is rather dull. If you would like to give me a job or just send me some money so that I can write full-time (which is a great investment, of course, since I will be sure to give you my special thanks when picking up both the Booker award and the Nobel prize), that would be greatly appreciated, especially by my nerves. *winks*

Current track: Sam Cooke - (Ain't That) Good News

Labels: gaming, personal, simon shepherd, trevor eve, TV, writing

As I was checking whether they were going to show a new series of Jack & Bobby I found this thread which starts out as a cancellation notice and ends up a discussion about American television. If you can see past all the terrible spelling mistakes, it's a good read.

Current track: Margaret Berger - Both Sides

Labels: TV

I have no idea how long I've been waiting for this game, exactly, but it must be at least two years since I first heard about it, maybe even three. It certainly beats my waiting period for the first Sims game, which was a little over eight months. Anyway, Peter Molyneux, the guy who's brought us tons of exciting hours through his brilliant games (Populous and my own, personal favourite from my Amiga days (even though I never fully understood the premise, duh), Powermonger, as well as Syndicate, Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and Fable), is about to finish his latest creation, The Movies. It must be stated, quite expressively, that he hasn't done this on his own. He just has the idea and then the whole team of extremely talented and dedicated people embark on a huge journey together, probably through a lot of frustration, anger and hopelessness as well as happiness and great take-away meals. Meanwhile, we, the fans, are more than eagerly awaiting the next release, biting our nails and preparing by creating fan pages, making badges and t-shirts to wear to work/school, discussing the most minuscule detail in the forums and eventually almost going out of our minds.

And when a game like this, which sounds like the ultimate game for a film fanatic, god-game lover and strategy game addict hybrid like me, is being announced three or four years before its release, we can't help but feeling a little bit exciting as we are just one month away from a very plausible release date. I want to share this phenomenon with you, so read this FAQ and see if you wouldn't be the least bit excited too.

The great thing about this is that while waiting for this game I have quite recently bought a brand new computer which will be able to actually play the game. The future looked grim there for a while.

To celebrate the near release of The Movies, I will now put on Black & White 2, which the postman brought me earlier today. Won't be able to play for long, as it's Thursday and that means "write the theme tune, sing the theme tune", or "watch a programme and tape two others at the same time", as we like to call it, more or less all night. Channel 4 didn't help us out, either, by launching their new channel on Monday ("Mofo", as we call it, after a funny trail with Allison Janney and Richard Schiff (from The West Wing) trying to pronounce "More 4" in an English accent), so now we have to watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart every night. Cursed are Channel 4!

Current track: Humpty-Dumpty.

Labels: gaming, TV

Our "big day out" was to turn up for the Paul O'Grady Show down at ITV's South Bank studios. I would recommend that any potential audience member should (after having received a ticket, of course) start queueing at least one hour before they open the doors. When we arrived there must have been at least a hundred people there already, and this was 45 minutes before we were let in.

Anyway, it was real fun to go there because we got to see a lot of the backstage area (we were guided past several studios) and then actually witnessing the show first hand without having to be on telly (not too keen on that). Paul was just as brilliant as we thought he'd be. I usually watch his show daily and I think it's amazing that they let him have a talk show during the afternoon, before the infamous watershed.

And I finally found out whether the programme is transmitted live or not. It's not. Well, not on Thursdays and Fridays, anyway. We were there when they filmed the Friday one. Of course, this way we get to see it again. Uhmm...because we couldn't possibly set the VCR/DVD recorders...hmm...

Current track: Nothing right now.

Labels: comedy, TV

Believe me, it's not a healthy alternative. The ones without anything on them, including salt, are the only ones that are considered to be healthy. Within reason, of course. Boring, I call it.

Tried the local Chinese takeaway on Saturday night - I'm a pushover:

Flatmate: I was going to try some Chinese tonight. Wanna try it too?
Ingaroo: Well, I have already defrosted some hot dogs, so...yes!

It was actually good! I was a bit afraid, since they tend to take a few shortcuts around here (I've decided not to ask them where the meat comes from), but it seems they actually do things from scratch and they don't just reheat things in the microwave oven. So we'll go there again, I think. I thought it was fascinating to hear the guy ask us: "Fly or wa?" My flatmate, who of course ordered the whole thing, just looked at me and her eyes told me she didn't understand a word he was saying. Since we were deciding on the rice at the time, I took a chance on saying "white, please", and the nod of recognition that followed made me breathe easily again. I was a bit afraid I would automatically say "flied lice, please" the moment I opened my mouth, but that didn't happen.

So, to recap our local eateries:

• Chicken wings shop (halal) - crappy ribs, ok chicken. Must ask for chips in a separate bag or else they'll be soggy by the time we get back home.


• Pizza place (halal) - have only tried one pizza, but I've tried it several times by now and really like it. And it's amazingly cheap. Nice people, even though the kitchen looks a bit crowded at times.


• Chinese takeaway (non-halal) - OK so far, fast and good service, very sparsely furnished waiting area (reminds me of dance school; girls sitting on the right of the huge floor, boys on the left). At least there is a telly.


• Local pub (probably not halal) - Good service and good food. Kind prices. Nice atmosphere. And you can stay afterwards.

There are other places a stone's throw away as well, including an African one and a Russian/Eastern European one and my pharmacy marathon on Saturday revealed quite a few others within a fifteen-minute walk. (I visited a couple of pharmacies to see who stocked my allergy medicine; I can only buy one at a time and I use it a lot.)

I'm sort of into Guild Wars again, although I keep getting kicked out through a network error which turns out to be bogus, but by then I'm already out and will have to start from the beginning of that particular area again. Rather annoying. I think I found a way around it earlier today (ok, so I just switched computers), and just as I was finally entering the next area, the bloody mouse stopped responding. (And no, it had nothing to do with a dodgy cable, low battery level or channel switch) I just couldn't believe it. So I'll have to go through that large area again. Must be the sixth or seventh time. Of course, now I know where all the monsters will appear.

Other than that, I have been to OKCupid!, NationStates and Neopets a lot lately. Yes, I am bored. At least we're doing something much funnier on Tuesday. I'll tell you all about it when we've been there.

Good news is that Parky is back and that Have I Got News for You will be back this week. On Saturday there was another Test the Nation, this time it was Know Your English and I'm ok with the fact that I got 80% since English isn't my first language. Rhyming slang and the origins of ye olde English expressions just aren't among my best subjects, so I didn't quite manage those, but oh well. At least Phillip Schofield was hosting, next to a rather well-behaved Anne Robinson. We've decided we can't stay sad/angry/annoyed for long when we see Phillip on the screen. His charisma is just too great and his smile too contagious. No wonder I watch This Morning every morning after the news update on BBC News 24!

Which reminds me...congrats to this year's Nobel laureates. I watched the live presentation (by accident...I had completely forgotten about it) on a previously mentioned channel and they'd brought in a Norwegian-sounding lady to translate. The poor thing was nervous as hell and said a few strange things, but it went ok. Of course, if they'd only waited for another minute, they would have heard the thing in English (and I use "English" very loosely in this sense, as the current chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee speaks English badly), but it's all about being first, getting the scoop, bringing us breaking news, isn't it? Whenever I see "Breaking News" as I turn on the telly, my heart skips a beat, until I realise it's not really worth the "sensational" label at all. Which is a good thing, usually, considering some of the dreadful "Breaking News" items that have popped up during the last few years.

It's getting late and if you've read all of this you must not have a life, just like me. Have a nice day and stop searching for pr0n!

Current track: Jem - Finally Woken

Labels: award shows, food, gaming, Norway, personal, TV

I haven't gone back to the bank since that fateful day, because...well, I don't know if I have enough patience for annoying people. I shall have to soon, though.

Last Friday (a week ago) we went to see "Second from Last in the Sack Race" which the Woodhouse Players were performing in Leytonstone (just a short busride away...well, not as short as we would like it to be, perhaps, especially not when scruffy-looking people smoking something with the distinct smell of "herbs" enter and try to poison the whole wagon). It was rather good and we quite enjoyed ourselves.

Then on Sunday I discovered that my favourite TV detective nowadays uses the exact same laptop that I have. They showed it for about a second, but I have a keen eye for detail (when I feel like it, ahem) and recognised it straight away. Of course, since I can't help myself and tape every episode (yeah, so arrest me), frame by frame search helped to confirm my suspicion. And for those who wonder what the hell I'm talking about, you clearly haven't read my blog closely these past few weeks. Click here.

(Skip this following paragraph if you don't know Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, as it contains a spoiler in the form of a song title) On Wednesday we had dinner at four while watching the Liam Neeson/Geoffrey Rush film version of Les Misérables before hurrying down to the tube station. By the time we arrived we realised we'd left home much too late and took the tube only halfway before hopping onto a cab. You see, thanks to Red Ken's "Everyone's London" campaign, we'd bought tickets to see Les Mis at a reduced price. My flatmate didn't know the story well enough (even though I've run it by her several times while forcing her to listen to one of the (many) recordings I have of the musical) so that's why we watched the film first. The cabbie laughed at us when we asked if he could get us to the theatre on time. As you may know, theatres are NOT like cinemas and tend to close their doors and actually start the show on time. I know, it's preposterous, isn't it! Anyway, the cabbie was a very nice man and wouldn't stop talking (which was fine by us), but we quickly understood there was no way in hell we'd arrive on time. Luckily we're Scandinavian-looking girls and were let in anyway, fifteen minutes into the performance. I would like to apologise to the person sitting next to me as I nearly fell over her when I sat down. Well, it's been a little over a year since I last saw the musical and the cast had unfortunately changed. Not that that was a really bad thing, since I actually discovered one of the best Valjeans I've heard (no wonder, John Owen-Jones knows how to sing, having performed in numerous musicals, including an enormous amount of performances as the Phantom) as well as Enjolras (Shaun Escoffery) and was quite impressed with the Javert-of-the-day (Jeff Nicholson). I am, as you may have realised by now, quite evil and despite the fact that I thought he did a very good job, I couldn't help but grin when he didn't receive any applause when singing "Javert's Suicide". Being an avid fan of a couple of other Javerts (Quast & McCarthy) I may be biased, but they always receive(d) much applause after this song. Of course, not applauding means I was part of a lousy audience. Well, at least they got a standing ovation at the end and they're celebrating their 20th anniversary tomorrow/today (the eighth). Fantastic!

Then someone provided me with tapes of a few TV programmes from back home, and gasp! Why didn't anyone tell me the King of Standup (and I don't care who you may prefer, for me there is only one) - Eddie Izzard - had appeared on a talk show there? Good thing I got to see it, so thank you.

And why on earth - I'm sure this is out of spite, because it's just unbelievable - why did they start showing Waking the Dead again in Norway; the series I still haven't seen; just a few weeks after I moved across the pond? That's just not fair. Meanwhile, we are eagerly, nay - desperately awaiting the rest of the series to be released on DVD, but the Beeb only released the first series last month, and there are another four to go before we're up to date. This'll take years!

Now I'm cross.

Current track: Philip Quast - Stars

Labels: comedy, geoffrey rush, Javert, Michael McCarthy, musicals, personal, philip quast, theatre, trevor eve, TV