I am currently shedding dry skin off of my nose. Dandruff, anyone?

So, and this has nothing to do with dandruff (I think) - I got the next two series of Waiting for God for Christmas, plus a few books, a couple of CDs, some soup (this may sound odd, but it was actually one of the most appreciated gifts I had all Christmas), a new brolly (a small one), another calendar (but this one I'm actually going to use, as opposed to the several calendars we've got from various local fast food restaurants for our patronage (oops) - even though one of them does show both English and Chinese bank holidays), some gift certificates and some other bits and bobs. Since I was alone I decided to spread the gift unwrapping a little bit across the day and opened the last one just before I started preparing for lunch.

Lunch lasted for just about all of The Snowman and the plates and bowls had been removed by the time the Queen popped up on the screen. So much for overeating. Didn't even finish one portion. And the desserts were so rich I felt like a millionaire after eating a few mouthfuls.

And I almost made my way through Christmas without watching Love Actually, but then I suddenly got this urge to see Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman and Colin Firth, and what better way than to watch the one film that puts them all together, eh? By the way, to those who have been wondering what Rickers is saying to Emma after the school play, you're not alone. Listen to the commentaries on the DVD.

Speaking of commentaries, I would really recommend the commentaries to This is Spinal Tap. It brings a new dimension to this already fantastic film, as the three actors Guest, McKean and Shearer stay in character as their alter egos/stage personas throughout the whole thing. It's quite brilliant.

And if I haven't said this already...you must see Best in Show. Seriously. In fact, anything with these guys (Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind and the brand new For Your Consideration). Or else you will simply have to be spanked. And not in a good way, either.

Woke up this morning to the most wonderful trail on BBC...apparently the long-awaited umpteenth series of Waking the Dead will be back "soon". Yum. And speaking of trails...they have started showing the trail for Perfume on telly. Slightly desperate for another film with Rickers by now.

I think I am going to vote for the inauguration of Midsomer Murders: Ghosts of Christmas Past as the traditional murder mystery for Christmas. I think ITV may be ahead of me, though, as they have been showing it three years in a row now. It's just that you can never have enough Quastiness, and this is the best showcase for that quality. Well, if not the best at least certainly good enough! Awaiting the arrival of Javert - Misunderstood Copper, a drama series of 52 episodes where Quast is contractually obliged to appear in every single scene.

OK, maybe that would be a tad too much even for me.

Every other scene, then. But then we'd need 60+ episodes. And lots of plot.

Good luck to the writers.

Labels: Alan Rickman, bill nighy, Christmas, colin firth, comedy, daniel hill, film, illness, Javert, philip quast, trevor eve, TV

What a nice way to start Christmas. First my debit card is being declined everywhere despite having "lots" of money in the account, leaving me with very little money for the holidays, and then I wake up on my first day off to a very sore throat which eventually leads me to believe I have a cold. So, after three feverish days with coughing and sneezing and general unwell-being, I am back at work and my head feels like a complete vacuum. At least the sore throat is gone. Well, the throat is still there, but it doesn't hurt anymore. Yesterday was fun, in an irate way. The lift, once again out of order (having been so for five days already had prepared me for an interesting day), did not help me the least as I went to go grocery shopping for Christmas. Wearing my rucksack filled with goods from the local supermarket, I began the ascension to the 10th floor, my throat threatening me with a lawsuit if I went past third floor and my sweat glands not sure what to do about my fever. But I made it in the end and almost collapsed on the floor before getting a grip and put the food into the fridge.

Forgot buying onions, of course, so will have to stop by a shop today as well. And I thought I'd planned every minute detail.

Also forgot to tell you that I went to see The Holiday, which was surprisingly good (it starring Jude Law and all - his appearance quite often ruins the whole film for me, but not this time), and the other day we watched the whole first series of Waiting for God in one go. I've missed that series, it seems. Also, Daniel Hill never appears in anything (but silly commercials).

And I built myself a brand new computer the other day. Shh, don't tell anyone. It even works...ish. It would have worked so much better if I'd actually had the newest version of Windows. So now I am eagerly awaiting the announced 30 January release of Windows Vista. Hopefully I will be able to afford it. Since I received a very surprising Christmas bonus at work (surprising in that I didn't expect one), I think that should be possible. Until then I will have to play a very nice-looking Oblivion with no sound; all the other new games I have won't work as I have no drivers for my Windows version. Haha, must remember to read the fine print.

Actually, I am just amazed I managed to build the darn thing. It took me a lot longer than first expected (and a few extra trips up and down the ten flights of stairs with my sore throat in order to buy tools from Maplin), but at 21:20 I plugged it in and hoped for the best. And the bloody thing actually worked. The graphics are quite stunning and this is definitely a computer which will last at least a couple of years, considering the fact that it is compatible with the not-yet-released DirectX 10, and also I managed to buy a motherboard which can take at least one major upgrade before I have to buy a new one.

So apparently Playstation 3 will not enter my house in a long while. Wii will, however, at least I believe it will.

I no longer have a computer on which to play my old games, though. Will have to look into that. I kept the old parts, of course, and should be able to build a Windows 98 machine from those, when I have the space (which will only happen by magic in the flat where I live at present - good thing Harry Potter is still around).

Looking forward to Christmas lunch. Have stocked up on all sorts of goodies and am expecting a one-woman-feast, apparently. The sad part is, I'll probably finish everything within 30 minutes after having spent a good five hours preparing it. Oh, well. A vely melly Chlistmas to you all, though, no matter how and whether you actually celebrate it or not.

Labels: Christmas, computers, daniel hill, film, food, gaming, illness, TV

Aah. So, what do you want to read? Talk about reading; I was supposed to be reading some books this week, but most of the week is gone and all I've done is coughing and shivering and sitting by this blasted machine. I'm in need of some serious slapping-about. I should have been writing something. I even bought a notepad and a pen the other night as I was waiting for the Tube, but it's for outdoor use only, so I haven't used it yet. Haven't even bothered to go downstairs and check the post today. Bob only knows what I've been doing. Watching some Black Books and My Family episodes, I guess. Oh, and a documentary on the National Geographic Channel. And, embarrassingly enough, this whole week I've been listening to the most popular soap opera in this country. Well, the only one, actually. :-) Listening, because I couldn't care less about the plot. I heard that one of the guys from La Cage is an irregular on the show, and he has popped up this week, so I sort of got stuck with watching a few episodes. When I first saw him on stage I thought "hmm, a young Alan Rickman," so naturally I liked him instantly. *grins* And about Mr. Rickman - I finally saw one of the trailers for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban today and it started out very well with Professor Snape striding into the classroom; always a winner, that one. The film looks as if it'll be a winner, too. I'm really looking forward to it, and the premiére has apparently been pushed forward to June 11 here (June 4 in the UK, previews during the last part of May), so this summer will be spent in the air-conditioned cinemas across town. Wa-hey the lads! (Ever watch Bottom?) Oh, and then the fourth episode of Seks som oss aired just an hour ago; it just keeps getting better. I read in the paper today that they're planning on filming another season. "Some" of the actors have agreed and will return. Betcha Dennis Storhøi isn't one of them. Bet his character does something in the last episode that will prevent him from ever returning to the show. Bastards. *always the optimist* I also meant to buy tickets for La Cage again this week, but I sort of haven't done that yet. What have I been doing, anyway? I told everyone this was what would happen when I had a week off with no plans. Oh well, at least I've been able to relax for a bit. Before going back to a job I really, really dislike at the moment. This wasn't what I was supposed to do, I keep telling myself, but to no avail. I wish I had that sign Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray have got in Tootsie: That huge sign with lightbulbs all around its edge, that says "WORK". That's what I need. Now, where would I put it?

I guess I should just retreat immediately and go watch Signs. Which is rather crap, by the way, but there's this one scene I'd like to see again and I'm willing to give the film a second chance.

Current track: ABBA - The Name of the Game

Labels: Alan Rickman, comedy, dennis storhøi, film, illness, literature, personal, tube, TV, writing

At least it was tonight. Wow! They played music from several films, among them were 2001: A Space Odyssey (listening to Atmospheres by György Ligeti was very special, while seeing how they make all the different sounds in that rather experimental piece of music), Apocalypse Now!, Schindler's List (I cried) and Ran (directed by Kurosawa). Let's just say that when an 80-piece philharmonic orchestra starts off a concert with Luke Skywalker's theme from Star Wars you must hate music really bad if you don't get a bit mellow. I got goosebumps and tears in my eyes on three different occasions. And the host for the evening, everyone's heartthrob Kåre Conradi, was fun to listen to and when he forgot his lines and messed up his cards and asked us to "talk among ourselves", he got a huge laugh and became an even bigger heartthrob to all of us. ;-) The conductor was Susanna Mälkki; I am the first to admit I don't know much about who's who among the orchestras of the world, but according to the websites I've visited recently she's pretty good. I was amazed no matter what. AND I didn't cough more than a couple of times, between songs! Yay me! Mind you, I was eating pills to help my sore throat like they were the only ones left in the world and my life depended on it, so that could have something to do with it.

Current track: Kosheen - All in My Head

Labels: concert, illness, music

I'm just lousy at being sick. If you've seen that episode of The Young Ones, "Sick", where Neil the hippie has a cold and keeps sneezing inside a pillow case; well, that's how I feel. I've been sneezing all day, and I usually don't when I've got a cold. Also, I've had a fever for two days now so I keep shivering and sweating alternately. Very annoying. Is this bad karma? Did I do something wrong so that my one-week holiday is going to be spent indoors, preferably in bed? Hmph.

I did not, however, fall into that trap, so I've stayed awake all day and evening. I was just watching The Net for the third time. WHY did I see it a third time? I don't know, blame the fever or something. I mean, it's got some thrilling action but the plot is utterly unbelievable. Remember when I started laughing about Alan Rickman's character asking for an NEC computer in The January Man? Well, this is mainly the same thing. It's like they didn't think ahead when writing the script. They didn't consider the possibility of a much wider knowledge of computers among the film's viewers a couple of years later. By pressing Escape you unleash a virus into a (very poorly guarded) mainframe computer??? Get real! Well, at least they earn some credit with me for introducing the terms IP address, Trojan horse and IRL in a mainstream film in the mid-nineties. Good on ya!

My head feels like a giant cottom ball. I've got greatly reduced hearing in one ear. I hate that.

Oh, and I got to watch Ring 2 tonight. Scary, but not as scary as its predecessor. Looking forward to watching Ring 0 now.

Current track: Nothing, due to reduced hearing. Duh.

Labels: Alan Rickman, comedy, film, illness, technology, TV

You should try it. It's fun. Tedious, but fun.

A fractured elbow, that's the diagnosis. Woo-hoo! Said no thanks to an extended sick leave. I have enraged the boss enough for now.

Looking forward to lasagne and Stingers tonight. The little pleasures in life.

Mood:
Current track: Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid

Labels: illness

Yes, well, that's how it goes when you're in a hurry. I thought I was moving in a reasonable fashion on the ice, but suddenly I was lying there staring up at the dark sky. Hmph.

Nothing's broken, but my arm is locked in an 80 degrees angle and the doctor gave me some strong painkillers. Woo-hoo! On sick leave for the next two days. Back to the casualty on Friday. Biting my nails because the boss will go ape. Having a bad conscience because I could do some work from home so that the boss can make his deadline. I bet he's swearing at my co-workers right now. As if that helps.

Nice, elderly female neighbour helped me opening the door when I stood there with my arm in a sling, and the cabbie suggested he'd kick the arse of the janitor who's responsible for the ploughing. Mwahahahaaah!

Mood:
Current track: Michael Andrews - Mad World

Labels: illness