Stephan!

Steph is a cool guy. He is my friend. He has red hair. He is funny. He really wanted to be blogged about. As this is the season of getting your wishes fulfilled...

Here he is! Stephan, Stephan, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can! :D

Success!

Yes! Finally! I did it! :D I beat BG2: Throne of Bhaal.

This is a big deal. It's taken me at least four abortive attempts to kill one annoying mage who with his dying breath becomes a dragon and pwns my party. But I killed him, and all the other 'big bosses' were a breeze. Ariandre finally laid eyes on that warm and fuzzy part of Hell where the throne of Bhaal (Lord of Murder aka dad) is located! And she wiped the molten gravelly floor with the arse of an annoying pretender to power, upon which she was given a choice: become the god of death and killing things (but in a good way) OR go back to being a mortal with your pansy boyfriend and the hamster guy. Well, what's love compared to an immortality of governing the underworld, I ask! See ya Anomen, don't trip on the lava boulders on your way out!

What a sad feeling somehow, I think as eternities pass by, to have finally finished Baldur's Gate in all its incarnations (for PC). Well, there's high replay value. And there's Elder Scrolls. And NWN2 is out! Maybe not such a problem actually? ;)

Now I just need a PC upgrade. Hasten, 21st birthday! I implore!

T minus three days...

All the shopping is done, the tree is up, the food's been cooked, the presents wrapped, the plans made, the decorations sorted... Everything's completely ready for Christmas. What's going on? That's not supposed to happen! What about early 24th last minute prez-shopping? What about botched menus? What about having to wait another hour coz the gifts haven't all been wrapped and tagged? Where's the excitement??? Will I have to while away the time watching Christmas flick reruns? This is too many questions to be asking.

Reise, reise...

Whew, back from camping! After last years 'couples trip from hell', this time was surprisingly tame. The only debaucherous occurrence was some skinny-dipping and general nakedness, but only once and only in the deep darkness of the African bush (well, maybe a few torches). No serious sunburns, no huge arguments (except the food issue, but that was before we left), no strangers making out (tho Frase and I were keeping an eye out), no insane drunkenness, no special herbs... In fact, the only uncouth element was the heinous state of our camping spot, which I blame entirely on other people. :P

Beaverlac is a beautiful place to camp, and really close to town, as these things go. Except, the roads are awful at some points (many complaints were heard) so it takes a while to get there. The camping spot was nice, with enough shade to go round and a little shop that sold booze and wood and other edibles. The scenery was great when it wasn't too hot out, and the swimming lakes were awesome. It was a special treat to sit out on the rocks in the near-pitch darkness and watch the stars twinkle overhead (when people weren't shining torches in your face...). In all a fun trip with nothing eventful at all happening. Maybe a good thing?

Celandine

Lying in bed all day does luckily have some benefits, one of which is virtually unlimited reading time!

In two days I raced through Celandine by Steve Augarde. Technically it's a children's book, but like all good kids' literature, it's enjoyable for everyone. It centers around a young girl, Celandine, who runs away from an evil boarding school to live with faeries that inhabit the wild forest on her parents' farm. These aren't tinkerbell faeries though; they're strange, dark, suspicious and completely foreign. In fact, the whole book is very dark and filled with sombre themes like death, loneliness, fear and betrayal. There are very few jolly moments, but a few sentimental ones

The plot is pretty straightforward, if a bit slow-paced, the characters remain steady and the writing flows effortlessly from page to page. While most readers will be a step ahead of the protagonist (she's 12, after all), this doesn't interfere with the general enjoyableness of the story. The world draws you in through it's uniqueness, consistency and depth. It's the kind of book that makes you want to read just one more chapter before putting it down.

Celandine is the second book in the Various trilogy, but it's virtually a stand-alone book. While there is the obligatory running mystery that's left unsolved, it isn't one that'll cost you much sleep at night. The main story is resolved quite nicely, in fact. But of course you want to know what happens to your favourite characters, and I for one am eagerly awaiting book three.

If you like your faeries dark and ambiguous, your protagonists miserable and your story and setting imaginative, you'll probably like Celandine. It's quick, easy reading that pulls you along, and the occasional illustrations bring a touch of elegance to the text. It's a great entertaining book, even if your mom doesn't read it to you! ;)

Do you trust your doctor...

to do what's best for you, or what's best for them?

I'm currently labouring under one hell of a throat infection, and when I went to see my doctor she pulled out the dreaded prescription notepad and promptly signed me up for some antibiotics. Every single time I've been to the doctor, I've been told to take antibiotics. Granted, I don't see her for every flu and ache - maybe a sum total of twice or thrice a year. But every time it's the same story. So I got to thinking, do we really need these antibiotics for every illness imaginable, or is it simply the easiest and most reassuring medication to give?

A brief googling told me that my concerns were well founded. Every medical website I consulted on the subject said that, in no uncertain terms, that there were very few 'common illnesses' that could be cured with antibiotics. Mostly because flus, infections and such come from viruses rather than bacteria. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses whatsoever. They won't cure your cold, no matter how much you're made to believe the contrary. In fact, if overused for every little ailment, antibiotics do much more harm than good: they make your cells resistant to their effects, making any subsequent bacterial illness much harder to cure and requiring stronger doses to get the job done; eventually a vicious cycle comes to being, and bacteria mutate and become immune to the effects of these drugs. The version I'm taking (for what I think is legitimately a bacterial infection ;) ) combats a whole list of 'resistant' bacteria strains.

I wonder, now, if it's simply become common practice for doctors to prescribe antibiotics for everything because that's what people expect, and because it's become habit. Thanks, Mr Flemming, because after all your discovery was a huge leap in medicine. Now, could someone go out and find a cure for viruses; like, to start off with, the common cold? Doesn't seem like too much to ask. ;)

Fitness stinks

Yes, yes, I know we all set outlandish goals for ourselves when it comes to keeping fit. 'Why, yes, of course I'll be at the gym six times a week.' Chances. The likelihood of anyone sticking to a set training routine, especially on their own, is immensely slim. We've all tried it, and we've all failed (sometimes before even starting!).

So it's with trepidation that I embarked on my first boxing class in, oh, months. I've done boxing and other martial arts before, so I knew the ropes. I had the gloves. I was determined.

Ooh, and now I'm paying for my eagerness in lactic acid-induced pain! Not surprisingly, the 30 minutes of skipping wreaked havoc on my pristinely flabby 'muscles'. All the bouncing around after that didn't help either. When it came to the actual boxing, my body was probably so stunned at being actually moved around that it forgot about itself - I felt fine, ready to go toe-to-toe with fellow students in a sparring match. Well, yes, as you can predict, I didn't land a single punch; my body simply forgot what it was doing. Got hit plenty, got humbled, and went to go hit on a bag for the rest of the time (it didn't fight back). All seemed well on the drive home...

...cut to this morning. I'm trying not to move my calves as I type - in fact, my whole legs if I can help it. When I walk I look like a bandy-legged cowboy. At least the stiffness in my back is keeping my posture upright.

Why is getting fit so hard and unpleasant? I don't understand it. It's no wonder people retreat back to a world of lower calories just to make up for a lack of sport. I did read once that you were considered a reasonably fit person if you just walked around a bit every day (taking stairs instead of elevator, walking the dog, walking not driving to the nearest convenience store, that sort of thing). That doesn't sound too tough! In fact that sounds very pleasant, my shattered abs tell me.

No! I must be strong! I must get fit!

Tomorrow.

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Favourite Webcomics!

If you're ever sitting in front of your computer at a loss for what to do to while away the time, here's a tip: read a webcomic! They're free, they're fun, and there's a gabazillion to choose from. Here are three of my favourite ones.

Cat and Girl - The life and times of a cat and a girl, like the title suggests. Very strange occasionally, but insightful and hilarious. Uses copious puns and a lot of anticlimax, and is very culturally relevant. A bit girly too. :D

Little Dee - Very very cute comic about a talking bear, vulture and dog who find a little girl, Dee, and take her in. Adorable and lovable. Cute and cuddly. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, but mostly makes you go 'awww'.

Dicebox - A very beautiful, atmospheric and completely original comic. Follows two female factory workers in a quasi sci-fi world. It's blunt, the dialogue is absolutley brilliant and it deals with all sorts of themes and moods. Plus there's sex scenes.

"Do I look like I give a s#!+?"

This blog is going to be all about the things I love doing and what I think about them. I really like to watch movies. I also really like having an opinion. So, I figured, I'll cash into some startup blog-traffic by going mainstream and writing a review about everyone's favourite action romp of the moment, Casino Royale.

First of all, it's almost unanimous that Mr Craig is the best Bond since - well, since the novels were written. No more gentleman here. Bond becomes the true and proper one-lining, face-into-sink-smashing, cold-hearted thug he's meant to be. That's not to say there's no suave womanising (though he could have been more subtle, and according to some there wasn't enough nudity) or martini-drinking (for the twist, see the post title). But he becomes one mean b@stard.

That's not the only thing that distinguishes this movie from the Bond formula. Plenty of buildings collapse and villains drop like flies, de rigeur. Spotted some tuxedos, but there were no obvious gadgets and the suave accent sounded like it came from the London 'burbs. The lead woman had a smidgeon of character, even. It seems like someone finally caught a clue and broke the mold, leading to the first truly enjoyable Bond-film in many years. It's fast-paced, obviously, but with a few too many (and too long!) dramatic chase scenes. The locations are stunning! The main villain is despicably heinous, but has a rather corny defect that makes him cry blood (I thought it was a little silly). Fun moments include the beginning and end scenes, and watching the male half of the audience flinch and shift around when Bond's privates encounter some rather harsh treatment.

It's a well-made movie with a straightforward story, fun action scenes and the regulation twist or two, rich and beautiful people, and clever dialogue (which falls horribly flat at points). It feels like you've seen all this before (apparently it stole the defibrillator thing from MI3) but in a good, comforting and entertaining way. Doesn't make for brainy or deep viewing, but it is still a Bond movie at heart after all. In all, worth seeing.

Greetings

Greetings all.

This is my first blog. Let's see if it lasts for more than a week. Pass it on and maybe it will! ;)

Literatim means 'letter-for-letter'. Like verbatim, only not.

Huh.