xkcd - often a source of cheer

Cloud often sends me an xkcd cartoon to cheer me up, and as I only get chance to follow them up occasionally, it's nice to rummage about and find further goodies.

Here are some I've enjoyed today

Conspiracy Theories

Thoughts (especially of amusement to anyone who has watched Secret Smile and a certain line said aloud)

Librarians

Names

Nighttime Stories

I Know You're Listening

FYI - the hiccups departed after Monday 13th Sept...

... and so far, Cloud is fine and no longer hiccuping.

Phew. Not 60 years of hiccups then...

London pictures - Eltham Palace - Art Deco Heaven Saturday 11 September 2010

Eltham Palace in Kent London, definitely in LONDON, ine the lovely borough of Greenwich, is just DIVINE. Taking a medieval palace and making it an Art Deco heaven was a stroke of genius on the part of the Courtauld family.

London pictures - The Red House

Thames Festival Fireworks - Sunday 12 September 2010

The Mayor's firework display went off with a bang near the end of our London trip.



A slightly less professional filming but with a bit more atmosphere - and nearer to our vantage point (though we were clearly below this filmer as we were down at Gabriel's Wharf -- the fireworks definitely felt as if they came a bit closer as they exploded)!

Visiting London - William Morris and the Red House, Eltham Palace and the Globe Theatre

Makes sense if you actually bring in your memory stick WITH the draft post and pictures on it to post online.... *you bloody dolt Lisa*

Apologies people: it's been a demented start to term.

Shine on Harvest Moon

Tap, tap. Is this thing on? There was a Harvest Moon last night.

Pretty wasn't it?

The hiccups continue

Neil started with hiccups on Friday night (UK time) not long after the Christchurch NZ earthquake hit (their Saturday morning).

He STILL has hiccups.

With a Wicked Willow hat on I say "bored now", but mostly I'm just worried that the doctor's warning that someone had hiccups for around 60 years will come true with us...

Showtime meme

I've been tagged by Persiflage (an LJ friend) to identify my favourite performances by the following - relatively randomly chosen - actors. This means there are some where it is easy to choose some favourite performances, and others where there was an obvious favourite, and others where it was 'depends on my mood' (e.g. some days you just want to indulge ins something you shouldn't...) and others where I was pushed to think of a choice.

Hmm. Here goes:

Male

• David Tennant - Casanova /Hamlet - Doctor Who/Blackpool/Einstein and Eddington but I can watch/listen him in anything - does an addiction to the Hiccup audio books count against me?
• Ben Daniels - Conspiracy (because everyone in that was incredible) Law and Order-UK (because he nails the Sam Waterston righteous liberalism
• Paul McGann- Our Mutual Friend /Doctor Who (esp. on audio)
• Mark Gatiss - Funland (evil stuff, but everyone is brilliant in it)
• John Thaw - Kavanagh QC (which I think I like more than Morse)
• Douglas Henshall - Anna Karenina / This Year's Love / Primeval (especially s1) - The Crucible / Coast of Utopia - Voyage, and on radio 'Fragile!'/ 'The Long Farewell'/ Bampot Central, but again, anything will do. He's never less than worth turning up to watch/listen to - most particularly when that delicious Scottish voice comes through.
• Derek Jacobi - Cadfael, Breaking the Code, and anything on stage that I WISH I had seen him in (plus he was awesome in Doctor Who)
• John Simm - The Devil's Whore --- probably followed by Life on Mars, State of Play and Crime and Punishment
• Kevin Whately - Lewis (and he's certainly better in this than in Morse: room to breathe and plays well against Mr Billie Piper)
• Martin Freeman - Sherlock (because I couldn't bear The Office: though he is well sweet in Love Actually)

Female

• Judi Dench - Mrs Brown /A Fine Romance/As Time Goes By (but I wish I had seen her on stage)
• Kate Ashfield - WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! --- sorry, that makes more sense if you read anything written on Marie Phillips's previous blog (Struggling Author) or read subsequent writings here. Otherwise, Shaun of the Dead
• Freema Agyeman - Doctor Who/ Law and Order UK
• Saskia Reeves - Butterfly Kiss (just a stunning performance, as was Amanda Plummer)
• Lalla Ward - Doctor Who
• Karen Gillan - Doctor Who
• Claire Ashfield - who??
• Hermione Norris - Wire in the Blood/Cold Feet/Spooks (though I never quite forgave her initial actions in the last of these)
• Maggie Smith - Tea with Mussolini (I must be the only person who doesn't mind her heartstrings being shamelessly pulled by this film)
• Julia Roberts - The Pelican Brief (because I love a conspiracy thriller)

Blimey, that was a fairly random list!!!!

Earthquake hits South Island New Zealand

A massive 7.4 earthquake has hit South Island New Zealand.

To pre-empt questions, everyone seems to be okay - mother-in-law spoke to Neil's bro and family shortly after it happened, although power and water supplies are out at present.

The damage looks pretty bad and I know the place which was the epicentre (Darfield).

Robert Burns - readings worth listening to

Oh sweet weekend, thank you for bringing me readings of Robert Burns writings.

And look who is on the list of lovely readers: lovely Dougie Henshall reading Burns.

Swoon.

Thanks as ever to the Douglas Henshall fan website for passing on the tip.