Blinky's Musings

Links Post Number 52

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:35:28 GMT

Tapestry woven entirely from spider silk. It cost half a million dollars to make. Wow.

The Two Paths for Girls and Boys. It's hard to decide which is more appealing, really.

Accidental headline of the year :-).

Cheese or font? Can you decide?

Okay, I'm not sure I'm as appalled as the guy in this post but... that is pretty freaking creepy.

How Google streetview works. Well no, actually it's how we kinda wish it worked. It would certainly be cuter that way :-).

Finally, what does the internet think? About the ozone layer? About nuns? About torture? Or what about you?

...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:35:00 GMT

As an addendum to the last post, I wondered whether there was an actual meaning to the term 'Boo-yah', or whether it was just one of those things you yelled when things were cool.

So I looked it up.

Number 6 is...not what I meant.

You learn something new everyday?

Back home for another week...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:25:30 GMT

...then I'm going to head back to the UK probably until March, I think. I mean, I've got the visa until my birthday in October next year, so I may as well use it, right?

I've come back for a few weeks to catch up with people, attend a teacher friend's wedding and see S and confirm her okayness :-). She's out of hospital and recovering well, so that's a relief.

I'm staying at my parents house and it's nice to just relax for a bit. I haven't really gotten everything done that I said I would, however. Ah well.

In other news, I've decided to attend Spiel 2009 in Essen, which is basically the biggest board game festival in the world. I've been really enjoying the games I've played at the game club I joined, and since I'm going to be closer to Germany this year than I'm likely to be for a while, I might as well go for it. Boo-yah!

What I've seen and done so far: Geeky things!

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:53:03 GMT

- London MCM – This was a film, comic, but mostly gaming convention at the Excel centre in London. They were trying to set a record for the most people dressed as video game characters in one place, which means there were lots of awesome costumes around.
- The Hub 2 – A Torchwood (Doctor Who spin-off) convention in Northhampton. Most of the cast where there and they were very entertaining.
- Torchwood mini-series preview – At the BFI on the river. The first episode was really character driven and team-centred, which was why I was so disappointed when the whole mini became less and less about the original characters and more about a bunch of new characters I wasn’t half as interested in. And then they pretty much killed off the whole original show in the finale, which was just fine if you hadn’t actually liked the original show.
- Watchmen and Wolverine – Saw the first in a tiny theatre in Leicester Square, the second in the local cinema near where I live. Gambit and Wade Wilson were cool. Plus the Watchmen credits.
- The Torchwood Forum Meet-Up – Met up with a bunch of people from an online forum I browse at. We hung around Cardiff and had a lot of fun.
- The Doctor Who Exhibition in Cardiff – This was seen while we were there. You needed to be a kid to really get into the ‘terrifying atmosphere’ but it was fun seeing all the props :-).
- London Film and Comic Convention – I saw Tom Baker at this one, although it was hard to tell what he was saying because of poor sound equipment and a stage that was not cut off from the rest of the convention. What I did hear proved that he was just as bonkers as everyone always said he was :-).
- Joined a weekly board game club – I’ve always been interested in board games, but could never really find enough people who were interested in playing a variety of complex ones regularly. The great thing about being in London is that there are always people around interested in anything. This is a well organized club and the people are very friendly. My favourites from what I’ve played so far have been Amun Re and Stone Age.

Daleks. Scary monsters or vaguely unconvincing plastic things? You decide.

Tom Baker is in this picture. Somewhere.

The London Expo summed up in one image. I kinda love this picture. Everyone looks so purposeful :-).

Things to Watch Post Number 4

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:25:46 GMT

He Dies at the End. A short indie film. As you might imagine from the title, you might not want to click if you're the jumpy type.

Every jellybaby scene from Doctor Who (except for a handful that got missed). I really didn't realise there were so many of them!

OMG I'm having bad nostalgic flashbacks. Emphasis on the 'bad'...

I've always loved this song from Kate Bush, but I only recently saw the video. It's got some awesome interpretive dance in it, as well as some awesomely weird moves. Very Kate Bush :-).

Ghost Busters (1954) Trailer. What do you mean, it wasn't made in 1954?

And to finish with some creepy reality, "The War Game". Created for the BBC in 1965 as a "fictional, worst-case-scenario docu-drama about nuclear war and its aftermath in and around a typical English city", it was declared too disturbing to show on television and was instead licensed to play in a limited number of theatres. It was finally shown on the BBC in 1985, when the cold war had been going on for quite some time and people where presumably more jaded about these things. It's a bit over the top at times, but the calm documentary manner is genuinely rather chilling, moreso for knowing that the threat of nuclear weapons has not receded as much as we wish it has...

Links Post Number 51

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:30:58 GMT

Dice! Lots and lots of dice, including ancient dice. Kewl!

Probably Bad News :-)

The 50 best cover versions ever recorded? Agree with some (Pet Shop Boys ftw!), haven't even heard of a few...

When you see it... The first image is crap, but the rest of the thread has some good ones if you scroll down!

Chailmail Chess set? Wow.

Awesomest keyboard ever. Also most expensive, but still...

My parents are looking after my cat at the moment, along with the two cats they already have. This sums up the current situation better than anything I could say :-).

Odd Photos From Overseas Number Five

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:41:20 GMT

...is this a triffids thing?

Odd Photos From Overseas Number Four

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:20:23 GMT

Look closely :-).

Most astounding coincidental symbolism ever!

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:25:20 GMT

I am in Cardiff at the moment, and for the next couple of days at least. I'm busy getting my geek on here, but in amongst the geekiness I had to snap a photo of this...

Symbolism 101: this statue is a symbolic representation of a cool politician by the name of Aneurin Bevan. He was one of the founders of Britain's National Health Service.

Now you try! Who do you think the seagull is representative of?

See! Symbolism's easy!

Links Post Number 50

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:02:38 GMT

Okay, I know romance novels are kind of running out of good names by this point but... Pregnesia!

Stupid Comics - the stupid plot twists edition

The garbage pin! It's art! Or more properly it's, 'a metallic silver structure that holds a tiny, transparent plastic bag (the garbage bag). this bag, once full, can be removed, closed with a wire and kept as a outcome of the experience.' You see? It's no longer your sweet wrappers and a snotty tissue. It's an 'experience'!

This art, however, is more kinda freaky yet cool.

Lovelace– The Origin!

Finally, I present the most unfortunate-in-retrospect advertisement ever made. After all, why take diet pills when you can enjoy ayds?

Oh dear.

Odd Photos From Overseas Number Three

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:25:22 GMT

Yes, I am twelve.

And just because I have a lot of photos from the museum, here's a picture including the unfortunately named game "The Greasy Pole".

Don't you love a game that sounds like either an extremely racist game about European people or an exciting lead up to an all-male orgy?

Odd Photos From Overseas Number Two

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:23:59 GMT

This restrained advertisement was taken in a market in Venice. Oh Italy. Stay classy :-).

Odd Photos From Overseas Number One

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:38:50 GMT

I've been awful at actually getting pictures of my trip overseas up, mostly because the thought of uploading the masses that I have and writing witty comments on all of them seems like a lot of work and I've therefore been procrastinating.

So here's me trying something small, and uploading pics one by one. More specifically, this series will be of some of the odder pics I've got, because they are always more amusing :-). So...

Why yes, that is indeed a guy dressed as a giant Tetris block. Why do you ask?

Okay, okay. See, it was at the London Expo, and they were encouraging people to come dressed as their favourite game characters because they were trying to set a record. This guys wins the internet for his costume. He even had his friend walkng around with him with the Tetris music playing on his phone :-).

Things to Watch Post Number 3

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:20:21 GMT

Okay, so I haven't really been numbering my infrequent "Things to Watch" posts, but I think there's only been a couple so that'll do :-).

In one of the most insanely endearing advertising shticks ever, Tom Dickson advertises his company's blenders by posting videos of himself blending weird and inadvisable things together on YouTube. And I have to say, they are some damn rigorous blenders there :-). Here, see him battle with glow sticks to find the answer to the age old question, "will it blend?"

The worst music video ever? Man, it's gotta come close. Seriously, what?

The worst purple prose ever written, however, could well belong to the book "Silk and Steel". Here, let Alix K demonstrate :-).

This is an awesome cake with an insane amount of detail, and it's fascinating watching them make it too.

"We didn't start the fire" with pictures and years for all of the listed events. Awesome history tour!

An Engineer's Guide to Cats. 'Zoe measures 17 inches by 10 inches, which gives her an aspect ratio of 1.70 and a large internal volume...' :-)

Finally, a look at one of the most gob smacking cutesy children's animated movies to ever be made. Be struck dumb as you watch a review of that classic tale, "Titanic: the animated musical".

With Mexican mice and a rapping dog.

No, really.

Oh, and one more...

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:46:15 GMT

I have to put this link in a separate post so that people will pay attention to it, because it's one of the cleverest and most awesome one-shot web comics I've seen in quite some time :-).

Warning: you may have to think about it for a while...

Links Post Number 49

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:25:58 GMT

And since I really need to whittle these down:

13 year old swaps ipod for an old walkman for a week. "It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape."

If you've been browsing on any even slightly geeky web sites you may have noticed the ads for the game 'Evony' getting more and more ludicrously sexist as time went on. This link sums up the madness rather well: How Not to Advertise on the Internet.

"The Radium Water Worked Fine until His Jaw Came Off" may be the most bizarre headline the Wall Street Journal ever printed. Warning: as you would imagine, the death detailed within is... unpleasant.

Bollards of London. A site dedicated to people who care about bollards. In London. Who says that there isn't room for everyone on the internet?

Commodore 64 reincarnated in laptop form. It's like my childhood turned into awesome!

Of course it's from Japan. Of course.

Finally, I present the most awesome job ever! And yes, it is perfectly real :-).

Six months already?

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:18:54 GMT

My contract is finished and the school term is over. Teaching in a school in another country was... well, an experience. Not really that different to home, although the kids were perhaps a bit rowdier. I'll have to collect my thoughts on the whole thing now that I actually have time to think and post a proper post about what I've learnt. For now, I'm resting a bit before I launch in more touristy pursuits. Hopefully this will mean more posts, both about holidays and fandom things (or both- I have been to a few conventions now!).

One thing my students taught me, however, are some brand new words to use! Here's a quick guide for all you Aussies out there on how to speak like a proper East London school kid! :-)

Word: jack
Meaning: to steal or take without permission.
Example:
Me: Why aren't you doing any work?
Student: Miss I can't. He jacked my pencil at the beginning of the lesson.
Me: 40 minutes ago?
Student: Yeah!
Me: ...
Student: What?

Word: innit?
Meaning: short for 'isn't it?', or "isn't that right?' Added to the end of a sentence to reinforce it or get someone to agree with you.
Example:
Student: This book is boring though, innit?
Me: We have to do it as part of the course. If we get through this bit we'll do some work in the computer rooms though.
Student: *elaborate, put-upon sigh*

Word: allowit
Meaning: stop it, or leave it; don't go on about it.
Example:
Me: Sit down and stop flicking other class members with pieces of paper!
Student: Miss allowit. They threw them at me first!
Me: Didn't we come across the quote 'an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind' last lesson?
Student: But they flicked paper at me!
Me: *sigh*

Word: spud
Meaning: to curl your hand into a fist and touch it against someone else's fist. Sometimes known as a fist bump.
Example:
Student: Miss, spud me! *holds out fist*
Me: Errr... *looks confused but obligingly bumps fist*
Student: Hah! Look at Miss's face!

Word: try'nit
Meaning: trying to make trouble with someone
Example:
Student: What you doin' man? Why you try'nit? *pushes other student*
Student on the sidelines: It's okay, they're not really fighting...
Me: *disbelieves*

Word: bunkin'
Meaning: skipping out of lessons. Wagging for Aussies
Example:
Me: Where's (insert student name here)?
Student: Miss, he's bunkin'! I saw him jump the fence!
Other Student: No he's not; he went to the dentist last lesson.
Student: Aww, you spoiled it!

Links Post Number 48

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:44:42 GMT

Haven't really been doing anything notable of late, except spending a weekend in bed sick and another meeting friends at the Borough market (although that's a bit of a tale in itself). Also, Friday night I went to a Torchwood book thing, and I will explain that in more detail later too. For now, here's a links post, because I have tons saved up. Props to blake_reitz because I know I ~~stole~~ borrowed links.

First, for the benefit of the peoples that I met on Friday, and also because the first episode of the mini series in on tomorrow, some Torchwood links!

The special online Torchwood comic, complete with crappy art and Ianto inexplicably taking his shirt off at the end. I'm as confused as you are.

And talking of inexplicable, Torchwood babies! Why ask why?

Ten Bizarre DW/TW Fan Theories. Rhys is who?

In conclusion: watch the mini, flist! I have personally previewed it and the first episode at least is awesome.

Ahem. More links!

The 13 Most Unintentionally Disturbing Children's Toys. An extra finger that shoots out a fragmentation bomb? Man, I knew my childhood was missing something...

Artwork created by creasing paper. Wow.

I'm sure you all saw the story in the paper about the stoned wallabies in Tasmania. This takes things one awesome step further :-).

Robot Bugs Accepted by Cockroaches as Their Own. Awwww. What? I'm allowed to find Cockroaches cute if I want to!

Perhaps the most unfortunately named product to ever exist.

And here would be the most unfortunate headline. *boogles*

Still in existence!

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:06:40 GMT

I'm really quite crap at this updating thing, mostly because when I get home from work I always feel like doing stuff that doesn't actually involve thinking much, and so I end up playing games instead of writing about what I'm doing.

Anyway, significant places visited since the last post include:

* Another go at the Natural History Museum. I've only got one gallery to get through now!
* Covent Garden, lots, because it is awesome. Also, I found a game shop in the Seven Dials next to it, and bought Zombie Fluxx, Once upon a time and the roleplaying game based on PS238!
* The London Transport Museum, which is also in Covent Gardens technically.
* Borough Market, twice, because there are tasty things.
* Spitalfields market (awesome) and Petticoat Lane (kinda sucky).
* Saw Watchmen at a teeny theatre in Leicester Square.
* Saw Wolverine: Origins at a slightly less tiny theatre in East London.
* The Bethnal Green Childhood Museum. Took photos of almost the whole damn place, for it was awesome!
* The London MCM Film, Comic, Anime and Gaming Expo. My first big multi-fandom convention! It was insane and cool, and I listened to Linda Hamilton and met Craig Charles!
* The official preview and cast and crew Q and A of the new Torchwood Mini-series!

Perhaps, if I can get my butt together and all goes well, I might actually put together proper posts for all of these. For now, I sleep :-).

Torchwood Preview!!!!

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:09:11 GMT

There was a preview of the first episode of the new Torchwood mini that screens next month, on tonight at the BFI’s cinema at Southbank. With a Q and A with cast and crew after! Tickets opened to BFI members before the public, but it was so popular that the BFI members bought them all before it was even opened to the general public.

But man, I really wanted to go, so I asked about standby tickets and… let’s just say I was there embarrassingly early in order to snag one. But snag one I did! Hoorays!

So, the episode? I am happy to say that it was pretty damn awesome. Action packed, but with a surprising amount of personal baggage to deal with from all team members.

Okay, this section may have some spoilers, but I’m not going to spoil everything, and this is not a real review, merely a selection of comments and things that I remember striking me. That said:

Quick start, with a bunch of kids being driven out into the middle of nowhere and then delivered to a big lighty thing. Except one kid doesn’t do the zombie walk into the light and is left behind. Reminds me of the Pied Piper, for some odd reason.

In the previews, I thought the whole kids stopping thing looked a little cheesy, but I have to admit, it’s filmed very well, and has a more subtle buildup than I assumed there would be. It’s rather eerie!

Ianto’s… hmmm. He’s clearly a lot more possessive of Jack than we last saw him (at least if you exclude the books). The fact that he’s kind of vaguely bringing up the whole ‘couple’ idea (more than once!) is… not something I actually thought he’d do. Jack’s response is slightly wince inducing, though he’s got enough issues that we can see why he might be hesitating.

They need to find a child to analyse, and Gwen’s off to investigate another lead, leaving the two least able to interact with any actual children behind. Oh dear.

Then…. Oh Jack, you bastard. I mean, I know why you are doing it, and how it’s about the world in danger and so on and so on, but really, that was an awesomely arseholish thing to do and you should have known you wouldn’t get away with it.

And I wonder how much you realise just how utterly loyal a soldier Ianto is. He’ll give you everything you need, even if he needs to get it by lying through his teeth to his own blood.

Gwen’s empathy was actually well played and genuinely useful. Hooray!

Ianto with his sister’s family… *facepalm*. I love how he purposely gives out ten pounds notes to the kids as soon as he arrives, and how they indicate that yes, the notes are his main form of interaction with them when they even see him at all.

Ianto’s conversation with his sister about his relationship? So entertainingly awkward. And her husband’s helpful interruption… Paraphrase:

Ianto: “I do have something with a guy, but I’m not sure what it is or where it’s going so please don’t broadcast it”
Rhiannon: “Oh, sure, sure. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”
Rhiannon’s husband wanders in, sees Ianto, and gives him a bear hug: “HELLO GAYBOY!”

And the plot takes two turns that I did not see! Man, I love that. Though to be fair, I really should have seen one of them.

Also, they really have this thing about cutting people open on screen. It’s a bit disconcerting.

And of course, the big cliffhanger, which I kind of saw coming, but I have to admit, the way they got the bomb into the hub was ingenious, and the way the plot allowed them to find it was very clever.

And we get a kiss between Ianto and Jack, so that was nice.

Afterwards there was a Q and A, with John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Euros Lyn, and Russell T Davies. Gareth David Lloyd was supposed to have been there but mysteriously sent his apologies, which I really hope doesn't mean that the curse of the Torchsong convention got him.

Anyway, they discussed the making of certain scenes and the ideas behind Torchwood, and were all very witty and entertaining. Then the audience asked questions, and the night ended with a small child dressed as Captain Jack being given the microphone for a last question. His question to John Barrowman? Did he like the costume he'd made! John told him it was the best Captain Jack he'd ever seen. And yes, it was as adorable as it sounded :-).

The Q and A was being videoed to apparently go up on the bbc's website at some point, so I'm guessing you'll all get to see it eventually!

Also! There was a promo postcard given out with a new image. I don’t have a scanner, but I imagine it will turn up soon. Ianto looks very depressed, continuing his new trend :-).

Just finished watching...

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:04:46 GMT

... the second part of the Red Dwarf mini.

That may be the most surreal thing I've seen in a while, and I went to the Tate Modern today...

Links Post Number 47

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:15:11 GMT

This guy's perpetual chirpiness gets annoying really quickly, but some of the toys he's collected are indeed the epitome of fail. This Wolverine toy certainly shows an... impressive side of Logan.

Some cool April Fools Day stuff:
- It's way better than than the Blackberry. It's the Pomegranate!
- Slumber in the Belly of the Beast?
- And this is just awesome. It's classic Google!

Rideaccidents.com, a site devoted to accidents that have happened in amusement parks. An interesting, if somewhat gruesome read.

Why spend your money on those silly starving masses when you can buy something pointlessly encrusted with diamonds!

Teddy bears reach outer space! Next stop: world conquest! Are they as awesome as these guys? Maybe!

Man, I'm not usually one to buy fancy clothes, but some of these are pretty tempting.

Links Post Number 46

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:36:42 GMT

The Dreamwidth blog project seems to be going ahead quite steadily. I have to say, if it can do what it claims, it sounds like the first lj alternative that I might consider using.

Bigger is better. Well, at least if you like cheese...

Have you ever seen those nutty old ads in comic books offering live monkeys by mail and wondered what actually happened if you bought one? Some people talk about how they did! That's rather fascinating.

I wanna work here!

For those way behind things, Scans_daily got zapped. As someone who used to post there a lot, I'm rather disappointed, if not surprised. This run-down by Mightygodking is one of the fairest I'm seen about the whole debacle.

Who hasn't ever wanted a secret passage in their house? These guys build them! Awesome!

An amazing amount of effort to preserve an irreplaceable part of the past.

Great Sex Strikes through History

Gah!

And if that wasn't freaky enough? How about the wonderful tale of Barry?

Also!

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:43:29 GMT

Today I saw a hairdressing salon called "Peculiar Unisex Hair". This is clearly the most awesome hairdressing salon name on the planet and should be emulated in other shop types. "Weird Androgynous Books"! "Strange Bi-gender Groceries"!

Okay, I'll stop now :-).

Links post: Doctor Who and Torchwood Special Edition 1

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:49:03 GMT

Am still surviving over in Britishland. Have been tired and busy and not communicating as much as I should, though. One week holiday now, though!

It's awesome to be in a place where they have tons of Who toys even in the local supermarkets, and at least three different magazines devoted to the show (not even counting the Torchwood mag). In honour of that, and because I have tons of Torchwood and Who links saved up, here's a bunch of stuff from the net!

This mirrored Tardis is neat. The angle this picture's been taken at makes it almost seem transluscent.

Can you name all the Doctor's TV companions? I could! I wear my geekiness with pride!

A couple of side things from the creator of "The Ten Doctors". The Christmas comic he did was just adorable, but his comic on how the Doctor regenerated from Eight to Nine is pure brilliance. The last one is clearly correct!

A poll to decide the worst dressed doctor of all time. It's rather... definite in its answer. I bet you'll never guess who it is :-).

An exclusive web-based Torchwood comic. It's not very character-orientated but it's cute and actiony. And it involves Ianto randomly taking his shirt off in a rather out-of-character moment seemingly designed only to let Jack leer at him, which I suppose seems reason enough from Jack's point-of-view :-).

"Where shows like Star Trek and Buffy merely inspired fanfic, Torchwood gives the impression of having been inspired by it." This is an interesting theory on what makes Torchwood popular. I'm not entirely in agreements with all his points, but he does make some interesting arguments :-).

This portrait of Ianto is kinda awesome.

Finally, the trailer for the new Torchwood series looks intriguing and rather gruesome. Cool!