Today is one of those days in which I adore Google:



Because, yes, everyone should know Mary Cassatt.

Just saw Glee. I'd watch anything remotely related to musicals but this time I liked what I saw. Very simplistic and somewhat silly but, hey, All the Small Things had that too and I swallowed it whole. Have been seriously considering joining a choir, actually. I'm not such a good singer but I can hit a few notes and have a good ear which is all that is required. I really love singing and it shouldn't be so hard to find a place now everyone is doing it. It'd certainly be a good incentive to go out more.

Talking about things I love, how amazing is Ashes to Ashes? It makes me cry every week and, even though I miss a bit of the tackiness and frivolity of the first series, well, we are really talking seriously brilliant scripts, now. And the music? Feels as if I had been hit with a nostalgia stick every episode I see.

Started listening to HMS Surprise, yesterday. I'm having a lot of fun with the audiobooks. I love Patrick Tull with all my heart, his voice is my Jack Aubrey. Not so much with Stephen, though. The Stephen in my head sounds more ironic, not so serious and a bit younger. Still, it's a pleasure to fall asleep with someone reading some good Aubrey/Maturin to you.

Was dead scared about the English Test of doom but, fortunately, C. is taking it the same day as me so I won't feel so lost, after all.

And now I'm going to start reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I know what you are all thinking: "Don't do it! You are an Austen purist, you'll hate it!". Probably right but I can't help it, zombies are my one weakness.

Edit: Almost forgot! Have you heard the news? Colin Firth is coming to Barcelona for the shooting of a movie adaptation of Orwell's Catalonia. We might meet Mr. Darcy!

I can't tell you how brilliant, beautiful and funny the last episode of Free Agents was and how much I squeed and cried but I can show you this thing I was compelled to make:



Do you feel a Free Agents picspam coming? I do.

Also, do you know who would kill for this coat (and all her wardrobe, really)?


ME!

Fuck, I hope they do a second series...

Got computer to work after two worrying and seemingly fatal strokes. I should start looking for a place where they can replace my hard drive but I have had so many bad experiences with computer technicians I honestly would prefer to learn to do it myself or something. Because I don't trust those guys and because they are unnecessarily expensive. And I'm poor.

Still, I will try and use the poor little machine less, now, to prolong its life as much as I can. It is only two years old, it really shouldn't be troubling me this much.

In case you are wondering, no, I didn't resist the temptation of watching this week's QI. ( It was epic )

Also, the show isn't called Quite Interesting for nothing. I was introduced to the fascinating world of the Wilhelm scream:

Haha. Brilliant!

Trying to figure out what to do with my green balls of doom yarn has brought some amusing consequences. ( The Fail Mittens I'm currently frogging are a good example )
LOL. They are not only tremendously wrong in size and shape (OMGZ THUMB!) but also an utter colour fail. I needed to double the yarn weight because all the acrylic yarns in this frigging country are for crocheters and therefore too thin to be knitted properly so I decided to combine both the Green Yarn of Doom and a small ball of another ultra light acrylic yarn I had lying around. It hurts the eyes but I had fun doing it. I might even try and redo it with a little less thumb powa' and doubling the green thingie only.

Also finished my little green bag (although I'm still making the i-cord strap WITHOUT DPNS. Ouch.) and my first felted beads!
( Pictures under here + the yummy falafel I made last week. NOM NOM NOM )

( A poll about Sim!Merlin's looks )

If you excuse me, now, I'm going to go and sulk about the infinite WRONGNESS of the Spanish LoM* and the rather astonishing position of most of the fans who actually prefer it to Ashes to Ashes. *facepalm* It was such a nice fandom at first and now everyone has turned into a hyena, tearing each other apart without never even stepping down from their High Horses of Righteousness. If I ever muster enough courage to sell my dvds (I really could do with the money) LoM will the first thing to go. Because it's tainted for me and not fun anymore.

Slightly unrelated but... I thank the Gods Lark Rise to Candleford exists. Not even Being Human and its kick ass finale could make me so happy as this little period family show does. Especially now that Laura seems to be finally growing up, the Pratts have bigger roles and Brendan Coyle has gained a little bit of weight again.

*Yes, my tv has been turned off since the day the trailer was released (I was already boycotting Telecinco and Antena 3 for being a bunch of Spanish nationalist bullies - they are actually campaigning against Catalan- and openly supporting bullfighting so it didn't make much of a difference).

I still have a few comments to answer but before that and in case you haven't seen it... A SNOG!

If you are planning to watch the F series of QI: LOOK AWAY! If you don't, well, I'm sure you will after seeing this.

Meanwhile I'm still frustrated for not being able to buy proper, beautiful yarns for all the projects I want to start while desperately trying to find a pattern which would somehow embellish the nicely coloured but rather stiff six balls of green acrylic yarn mum bought me for Christmas (good intentions but, kids, never buy yarn if you don't know much about it). I had to discard the bag I had planned for it because it wasn't going well and the result was quite ugly. I'm considering this bolero right now but I'm not sure I want to knit my first shaped clothing pattern with the trickiest, less comfortable yarn in the world, either.

And just to make it all even more random ( Merlin!Sims Preview - you know you want to- Meet the Main Characters )

Hey, f-list, how is your new year going? I'm sorry I didn't come by to wish you a happy 2009 but I've been fighting a bad case of New Year's Blues. Let's give Jon Arbuckle an opportunity to explain my first 12 days of the year:

Or, in case you want a somewhat more detailed account, this is what I've been doing:

- Knit Gabriel's b-day gifts. I made a hat, I did it! Weeeee! I'm perfecting my increases and decreases and learning to make cables, now.

- Avoid the news so I won't hear about what's going on in Gaza. Because it makes me so sad and angry I can't process it.

- Watch the whole HIMYM. 3 seasons and a half in only six days and I still can't decide if I like it or not. Mostly it's a no, because I hate Ted, his stupid story and his twisted morals but then the other characters (i.e. Swarley!) are fun and it has hilarious moments. That's American sitcoms for you, they are rarely perfect and they never seem to find a good balance between comedy and plot, these days.

- Enjoy the extras in my shiny-shiny Especial Edition of Green Wing. OMG. An hour and a half of deleted scenes. Hilarious audio commentaries with cast and crew - Julian Rhind-Tutt told me to get out of the house; Stephen Mangan is a God; Mark Heap said Pippa was her bitch (again); all the girls were in love with Tamsin Greig and the boys were jealous; it was bliss!

- Feast my eyes with The Grinning Man (Alan Davies + Sheridan Smith = YAY!SQUEE!) and QI (Flotsam and Jetsam has gone right into my Top Ten Episodes List).

- Feel very uncomfortable surrounded by my Christmas gifts. We are poor, we shouldn't have bought them at all. Now they are staring at me from under the -imaginary- tree with their shiny wrappings and they menacing tied ribbons.

Oh, yet another thing: lydkami, I found the Christmas card I thought I had sent you, behind the dinning table while cleaning out, today. :S I sincerely hope you didn't notice its absence at all. I guess it fell off the stack when I was putting on the stamps. Silly me! I'm very sorry, dear.

What a long post... SAVE YOURSELVES! I still owe a you a few replies which will come swiftly tomorrow together with the first edition of Sim!Merlin (now with moar naked!Arthur and glamour!Gwen). I've told you, I'm 12. XD

Watching Harry Potter films on tv seems to have become a Christmas tradition, now. The dubbing is terrible (both in Spanish and Catalan) but it's nonetheless fun. Not as much fun as Doctor Who last night, though. Apparently, snow + steampunk + David Morrisey = JOY! Especially when David Tennant and David Morrisey have such an astonishing chemistry going on. There were so many sparkles in my screen that I thought I had forgotten to clean my glasses. But no, it was the sex emanating from those two. Quite nice. It's weird how I seem to be growning fond of Rusty now that his era is coming to an end. I have the feeling I'll miss him (especially if His Royal Terrible Actor Patterson Joseph gets to be Eleven).

Also watched Crooked House, last night. Rather daft ghost stories but still entertaining. And had Julian Rhind-Tutt in a wig, pregnant Daniela Denby-Ashe, and Lee Ingleby whom I adore.

I'll go back to enjoy the wonderful Beatrix Potter's biography Linda Lear wrote read by Lindsay Duncan at BBC7, now, but I'll leave you with some slightly belated Holiday wishes from our favourite Prince and his very loyal and magical boyfriend manservant.

Too much time in my hands, I know.

Take a look at the spiffy costume Colin Morgan was wearing for the The Paul O'Grady Show Panto (it was Pinocchio, Merlin Colin was playing The Cat):



How cute. He almost could be on Cats. ( He made some magic, too, just like Mr. Mistoffelees! )
And now look at Jo Brand who, right now, is my favourite fairy person ever:



That was the first Panto I ever saw and I must say it was funny. Also quite enjoyed Sheridan Smith's appearance (I do have a soft spot for all Doctor Who companions who aren't Martha Jones) and the whale.

*In case you are wondering, Els Pastorets is the typical Catalan comical nativity play. We all have done it (I was Garrofa from Pitarra's version for a couple of years before I got breasts and couldn't play a boy anymore).

I finally sent my christmas cards yesterday and most people around home seem to have received them already. That's efficiency. Completely un-Spanish efficiency. It's so weird I'm starting to have conspiracy theory related paranoia. Honestly...

This interview with Frankie Boyle is almost a confirmation of his leaving Mock The Week. Well, that's sad. I understand why comedians would want to keep their careers open and get some distance from the very competitive, somehow overused panel shows but, Frankie, dear, if you stop being on tv regularly I won't be able to drool over you follow you at all. I must get a reliable source of income and some other things *cough* to plan a few trips to see his gigs.

Stopped having wedding dreams. They were replaced by "Being chased by giant, skinless, headless chicken" nightmares. Laugh if you want but I decided I should stop slacking off and get fit in case dead meat decides to start picking on us veggies in real life. DUN DUN.

Bored now. ( Have a poll )

The amount of squee after watching all the Children in Need specials this year has been high and my head is not clear enough to make proper reviews so, here, have some bullet points:

. QI. Waaaaaaaaah. I went completely insane waiting for it and then it was so short and there was so little Alan! David Mitchell was splendid, as always, and so was Stephen but I missed a more "classic panel" (Where was my Jo Brand, and Sean Lock and Rich Hall and crossing-my-fingers-for-him Bill Bailey?). It was still good, because there can't be bad QI but definitely somewhat lacking.

. Ashes to Ashes/Top Gear - WTF happened to Marshall's hair!? It was yucky. Apart from that... I have missed my boys (and girl) so much! Can it be next year now?

. Merlin. I Lol'd. Hard. It was so silly and all the actors were so clearly trying not to laugh. It's horrible, yellow and has only one eye!. A creature of charity? Even Richard Wilson was struggling with his lines, there. XD

. Doctor Who. OMG. I know, I know, fake Dickensian England is fake, but can I go and live there? With David Morrissey and his false hopes for better Doctors?

Edit. Forgot to say: THEY ARE DOING NEW RED DWARF SPECIALS!

I shouldn't be this excited because, honestly, series 8 was crappy and the new stuff will probably be as bad, but I can't help it. It makes me so happy that they are at it again.

How good is that the first episode of Bones I happen to catch on telly is one of the three that had Stephen Fry?

I'm writing again. Not for NanoWrimo or anything like that (I'm no good at collective things, thank you) just the silly old story I started a couple of years ago and intend to finish even if it takes me a couple of decades. It's not as if it was some transcendental stuff either, just a children's mystery novel that happens in a circus at the very end of the 19th Century. Quite fun. Problem is I'm a painfully slow and insecure writer and I need to get into a particularly hard to achieve mood to get any work done (I call it the Mrs. Fletcher mode). Which reminds me I have something to ask you:

Can vampires eat normal food? I mean, I know they drink blood and all that but are they known to eat salads and chips, too?

I don't know a thing about vampires. They really bore me*. Zombies? cool; werewolves? sexy; green blobs? would marry them, but vampires are a bit cliché for me. Still, for nostalgic and too-long-too-random-to-explain reasons, I want a fake!vampire in my circus but I need to know if people would discover he was a fake if he was seen feasting on a roasted chicken. Any help appreciated I'm too lazy to research this myself.

I changed my hairstyle, yesterday. I went for the Moneypenny look although I can't say if I succeeded or not (and won't post a picture because I'm going through a low self-image phase). Still, cutting my own hair is a great way to relieve stress. Also, I'm no good at letting it grow. Gabriel likes it long but I don't have enough willpower to resist those little pointy scissors talking to me with their high pitched voices from within the bathroom's cabinet.

Anyway, has anyone seen the latest Dexter episode? I'm glad I didn't stop watching (this season had been disappointing so far) because it was absolutely fantastic. Actually, I ship Laguerta/Ellen Wolf like burning.

*All except Spike, of course. He doesn't bore me at all.

I made a chocolate cake today. Half of it didn't go up so its looks weren't promising but, fuck!, it's the most delicious thing I have tasted since I had those muffins in London two years ago. A real success, I tell you.

I was needing something like this, too. I finally watched The Sarah Jane Adventures, this morning ( and it was )

After that I just needed a laugh so I watched the first Buzzcocks of the season. The lack of Bill was painfully obvious but still Phill and Simon made the best of it and in honour of The Bailey took part in one of the best moments of the show I've ever seen. It was so funny to see those two doing some hot choreographic dance together! Although they really need to find a new and charismatic permanent team captain or the show will suffer. Still, only a week for Stephen Fry, now. YAY!

Oh, BTW, does any of you watch "No Heroics"? Even though it's ITV and therefore probably crap, I'm intrigued as it stars James Lance. I have the first three episodes, maybe I'll watch a couple after the first one of the new season of OMG!YAY!Pushing Daises.

Sounds like a plan.

*Yes, Mr Thornton is the human-although-fictional equivalent to chocolate in my world, hence the icon.

I know, I know, I did say I was not going to watch Buzzcocks any more because Bill wasn't there and boo hoo the Drama Llama but then I just read that STEPHEN FRY* is going to be the guest team captain on the second episode of this series. OMG! I still think it would have been much better if Stephen had been on while Bill was still there but then again... CAN YOU IMAGINE STEPHEN FRY DOING THE TUNES?

I can't wait to see if Simon is capable of keeping his attitude with STEPHEN FRY in front of him. I hope he does.

*Yes, Stephen Fry is totally The Man. And he deserves Capslock every-f***ing-time.

I cried buckets and now I'm too sleepy to write a proper review but... WOAH! And... sigh!

There goes another series I'll buy when the dvd comes out. It'll go right together with the first one because it's just as awesome.

I can't wait 7 days to see what happens next, you bastards!

O_o!

*iz ded*

Everything this man does is magical. Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies? All brilliant, beautiful, witty, funny and quirky in their own different ways, all having something to do with Death, with philosophy, with Life...

I'm in awe.

P.S. I owe you replies and comments. They'll come tomorrow.

Oh, God, I'm still laughing. The trailer for the American Life on Mars is hilarious! SO. VERY. SILLY. I'm glad I saw it (by accident and because I'm so curious I can't resist a ticky button - thank you, intervain), I wasn't going to, I just thought I'd ignore everything about it but now I can't wait to watch the whole thing, it looks so tremendously craptastic... In fact it's so bad it's gone past good and back to bad again. No, really, the music, the ultra-modern cut action scenes, the WTF in fake!Sam's face... and O'Brian failing at being Gene? LOL

I can't believe I'm writing this but... bring on the Life on Mars!crack versions! This is going to be fun.

Right, I'm back to enjoy the not-so-hidden-by-now gay agenda in the last two Hornblower stories.

I feared you wouldn't ask!

*drool!squee!*

*joins the early 19th Century British Navy*

The Doctor made a Nine reference! I declare this series is almost making up for all the crap in the previous one. Ten doesn't even act like a twat, anymore! And Donna is still all over it being great and spectacularly funny and caring and real. It's too good to be true.

Um, I need an "All hail Donna, the perfect companion" icon, now.