TFC.net

Contents
1. Four Lions - a film to be released later this year
2. Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson - a history of the English language
3. A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz - a novel

1.
I am incredibly excited about Four Lions, a new comedy film from Chris Morris.
In case you've not heard of him before, Chris Morris is the guy who brought us the Brass Eye paedophile special and Jam, so it's not too surprising that the subject of Four Lions is also a little dark. I have to admit that when I found out the film was going to be about Muslim terrorists, I was a little uncertain, but this clip from the film suggests that it's going to be a very funny film indeed.

2.
I just finished reading Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson, which was utterly fascinating. I could hardly put it down!
In the book, Mr. Bryson gives a potted history of the English language, including many interesting fact, such as:
- 'merchant', was apparently once pronounced 'marchant', and that, back in the day, most words containing 'er' were pronounced with the 'ar' sound. Nowadays, it's only words like 'clerk' and 'Hertfordshire' that are still pronounced that way.
- 'see you next tuesday' never used to be considered very offensive at all, and was used about a million times by Chaucer in his Canterbury tales (how filthy of you, Chaucer! I hope you wash your mouth out with soap and water!)

The problem is, the book only really skims the surface; I'd love to read more about the history of the language, but I don't know where to start looking D: D: D:

The other problem is that the book was written about 20 years ago, so it's quite dated now. NOT ONCE DOES IT MENTION THE EFFECT THE INTERNET HAS HAD ON THE USE OF ENGLISH. Which is a shame, as lolspeak is clearly the mightiest achievement in English to date.

3.
I also just finished reading A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. Thanks for lending it to me, Herr. Forward!

It didn't necessarily make me feel good while reading it, but the story was certainly interesting. Most of the time, I felt compelled to find out what was going to happen next, even if I didn't actually want to. And the turns of phrase that he uses are really quite novel and interesting. I loved the part where he was describing a boy with rather delicate features by saying that 'he had a face like a pianist's hand'. Awesome.

I think this is a lesson in why I shouldn't be allowed to read Susanna Clarke's stories, 18th century novels and watch Bakeneko all at the same time!

Title: Little Bitterley
Rating: PG
Word Count: 7254
Summary: An attempt to set a Mononoke arc in 18th century, rural England (while shamelessly, and unsuccessfully, trying my hand at Susanna Clarke's glorious style)

Full story »

So, having a crazy conversation about Ribbons from Gundam00 wanting to be Lady Gaga, led to the following embarrassing pieces of innovade/Lady Gaga fanart.

First, I pointed out that Regene would want to be Lady Gaga just as much as Ribbons would (if not more).

And then I decided that Bring and Devine should get in on the action.

But the pièce de résistance is the big dance number in which the innovades dance to Bad Romance. But there are 8 backing dancers, so who gets to be Gaga? Well. (Click for big.)

I don't know what to believe any more.

I've seen a number of people put up their own 'Best of 2009' mixes. And because I like the idea, I thought I'd do one too.

A disclaimer first though: A lot of these songs are from the beginning of the year, because that's when I found myself with a particular penchant for seeking out new music. I'm sure there were plenty of other songs that I loved later in the year, but I just wasn't paying attention enough to actually remember things like titles and band names. Such is the way it goes.

Onwards!

Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This
When I moved into my new flat in October, I had this song on repeat for about a week. In my mind, it still sounds like the excitement of new beginnings.

Dan Black - Alone
This song has finger clicks in it. Do I need to say any more? It's catchy like you won't believe.

Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden - Bonkers
I shocked myself by falling in love with a rap song. A rap song. I think it's the dirty electro beat. This song is wildly popular. And for good reason.

Duck Sauce - aNYway
I go weak at the knees for disco. I like to think of it as an amusing character trait.

Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses
I have been a fan of Franz Ferdinand for 6 years now. And they're still bringing out corker after corker. This song kicked off my 2009. What a great way to start the year.

Jack Peñate - Tonight's Today
This is the ultimate feelgood song. It's impossible not to sing along to the chorus. Impossible.

Kasabian - Fire
I normally find Kasabian a little too dirgy for my tastes. But they really pulled out all the stops for their latest album. This is a fantastic song to rock out to.

Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
Everyone loves this song. I love it too. And not just for the catchy chorus and the sexy accents, but because of the joke my Dad told: says he, "That sounds really painful."

MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend - Heartbreaker
MSTRKRFT keep pulling out the tunes. This is no different. See the above comment about disco <3

Peter Bjorn and John - Nothing to Worry About
This song reminds me of my old flatmates in London and good times involving cadres and hippie love-ins.

As requested by various people (NAMING NO NAMES), here's a table of contents for this entry:
1. Brief introduction
2. Review of my mental health in 2009 (warning for srs bsns and sentimentality)
3. Broad-brush review of my 2000-2009 (warning for further srs bsns)
4. Recap of the new year festivities
5. My new year's resolutions
6. Close

1.
OK, it's time for one of those 'hey, it's the end of the year, let's have a srs think about things' entries.

So, I'm feeling pretty positive now we're moving into 2010 (and not just because of the snow outside!)

2.
My 2009 was a mixed year. I started out in a pretty bad place, mentally. It's not something I've really brought up on this blog because of TMI, SRS BSNS, and 'oh man, this is boring'. But, well, the story is: I started suffering from pretty bad anxiety at the end of 2008. (You can thank my MA disertation for that orz) And while it only threatened to be debilitating on a couple of days, it was still pretty constant.

I didn't get better as quick as I thought I was going to get better, and Christmas 2008 and New Year 2008/9 were not really much fun at all.

But do you know what? All I really needed was time. I have slowly improved throughout the year, and Christmas 2009 feels a world away to how I felt in Christmas 2008. I'm not free from my anxiety by any means (and when I think about things, it was probably always there, even before 2008, I just didn't have a name to put to it) but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to keep getting better as the year goes on.

At this point I'd like to give a big shout out to all my friends and family for helping to take my mind off things so wonderfully. I had a lot of fun in 2009, I really did. And a special shout out to Auto, Orange and Typo. I have loved talking to you guys, so much. I really think meeting you was one of the turning points of my recovery.

HERE'S TO A GREAT 2010!

3.
As for the whole last decade, it's been a pretty interesting one. It's probably the same for all of you who are around my age, but this decade, the 'noughties', is the one that really made me who I am today. I was 16 in 2000. Now I'm 26. And I have done so much.

At 16 I was still suffering from the throes of pubescent uncertainty, going to school and living with my parents. But as the years went by and I was finally able to kick the hormones, I came to a realisation about who I am, and I reached a point where was actually pretty content about that.

I left home in 2002 to go to university, which is the most life-changing and best thing I've ever done. Then, through the rest of the decade I accumulated 2 masters degrees, a smattering of full-time jobs, and finally, my very own sofa.

I have lived in Bath, London and New Fucking York. And now, as the decade has come to a close, I have moved back to my home town, surrounded by my family, but now financially independent, renting a place on my own and a changed person.

I like that kind of symmetry.

In summary: woo! \o/

4.
Now, enough of the boring stuff. Here is a list of what I done for the new year:

- I went to Chippenham to see Siân on New Years Eve. It really was one of the best NYEs I've experienced. We played Cranium (which is lots of fun) and then played a game with a cereal box (which is fun but painful) and then played a game about vaginas (which is fun if you are sober enough to remember lots of words XD)

- Then, the next day, Nick, James, Linda and Steve came back to visit my new pad, which was cold, but it was very nice to see everyone. There was plenty of eating and walks in the frost, with a trip to see Mr Downey Jr and Mr Law in a film about Mr Holmes and Mr Watson, and don't forget the highlight of James going blind while driving around a roundabout \o/

5.
My new year's resolutions:
1. Learn Latin
2. Enrol on the scheme to become a registered archivist
3. Draw more (at least once a week?)
4. Write more
5. Make at least one person happy each day (stolen from my resolutions from last year because it is fantastic)

6.
<3 to you all!

Woo! I hope you all had a nice time!

I'm just back from Christmas at my parents house. It was good. We went to see family and some of my parents friends. I don't normally enjoy visiting people on Christmas day too much (because I'm normally full of turkey and have to go out when I'd rather be digesting and napping), but I really enjoyed it this year. Maybe I'm just getting older. But I liked it, because everyone was in a good mood and having fun because it's Christmas. Also, I think my Dad enjoyed it too, because my uncle plied him with brandy (lots and lots of brandy), and then we got to watch for about 20 minutes as they both tried (and failed) to open up my uncle's dining table ready for Christmas dinner.

Highlights from the presents side of things include an electric whisk from my parents (now I can bake cakes! If I have the motivation!); a book on local history from my grandparents (I am so chuffed); and a copy of my favourite film of 2009 from my parents.

The best present though came from Jackie, my parent's friend who passed away recently.
She was always very organised when it came to presents, and this year she bought and wrapped her presents a whole month before she died. So, come Christmas, there was a present waiting for me. And do you know what it was?

A bottle of perfume.

And not just any perfume; we could tell as soon as I'd unwrapped it, just from the smell - it's the perfume that she always liked to wear. I thought that was a really nice thing to receive.
But, not only that. When we saw her husband the next day, he told us that it wasn't something she'd gone out and bought for me; it was a bottle that she'd bought for herself. There must have been a point where she realised that she didn't have long left, and, thinking that she wouldn't be able to use it herself, she passed it on to me.

What a beautiful thing to receive.

I feel really privileged. It's not the sort of perfume that I'd normally use, but in this case, I'm going to wear it with pride.

♥

I doubt I'll be around tomorrow to spread the Christmas greetings, so I thought I'd do it now.

I hope you all have a nice time!

To celebrate, here's a nice video I found yesterday. Simon's cat in the snow. I think I'm pretty late on the game with this one, but I have to say, the Simon's cat animations are awesome. Watch all of them. The way the cat moves is so wonderfully lifelike. If you've ever owned a cat, you'll understand.

Falalalalalalalala all that jazz, guys <3

What the hell is it with 2009 and snow? First we had tonnes (relatively) of snow in February and now it's snowing in December!

We could almost have a white Christmas, which is something I've never seen in my 25 years, but I kinda hope we don't because I need to go visit relatives and travelling when it's icy is a big piss.

The good news is that at work today we were told (at 2:45pm) that we should all go home at 3pm because of bad travelling conditions \o/

To celebrate my afternoon off, here's a video to get you all into that festive spirit.

I went to my first ever funeral this week. It turns out that funerals are really really sad. Really sad. But they're important you know, for closure and all that. And this one did go as well as it could have done. They had flowers spelling out 'love' and 'peace' and they released a dove into the air. Jackie would have loved that if she had been there to see it.

In brighter news, I went to Oxford to see both Mariya and Emma this weekend. Oxford is terribly pretty, and full of fascinating history too, so I had a jolly nice time. There was also dancing and sushi and FUDGE so it was all good.

Have some photos:

The Bodleian Library. Very impressive.

Some gate or something? I DON'T KNOW

An old, weathered door with carvings. I love old doors like you won't believe!

Inside Brasenose, which I am assured is one of the prettiest colleges. And when you're standing there, you can pretend to be all intellectual, even if you're just visiting. I WANT TO LIVE IN A COLLEGE PLEASE IT'S SO PRETTY.

Inside Brasenose's hall. With it's long wooden benches and heavy panelling, it could be described as 'Harry Potter style' were it not for the fact that Harry Potter style is based on Oxbridge style and not the other way round. This particular hall has a very classy Christmas tree.

Sadly, all the Christmas trees in the world could not distract you from what greets you as soon as you walk in the room. I THOUGHT UNICORNS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SYMBOLS OF VIRGINITY AND CHASTITY, WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO THIS ONE.

Recently, I've been reading a piece of original fiction set in a slightly fantastical victorian England. And one of the characters caught my attention so much that I just had to draw him.

Meet Henri Jean Louis Rochelle. As you might be able to tell, he's French. He's also a vampire, but not one of those ghastly monsters who like to live in huge castles perched on the edge of ravines and who think there's nothing better than sneaking into people's bedrooms in the dead of night for a quick snack - no, he's cultured, lives in central London and prefers to drink quail. (I can't vouch for the not sneaking into people's bedrooms thing though; probably best to lock the door just in case.)

And it may be because he's a vampire, or it may be because he's French, or it may be a terrifying combination of the two, but Rochelle is more flamboyant than a whole line of chorus girls. (And yes that is a ladies fan he's holding.) Luckily for him, he's both rich enough and fang-y enough that no-one dares pull him up on it.

So, real life has been kinda shite recently.

A close friend of the family died this week.

She'd been fighting with lung cancer for the past few years now, and she had been particularly bad recently, but it's still a shock. At least she died peacefully in her sleep. And now she doesn't have to suffer any more.

But man, you couldn't have met a nicer person. She always treated me like family. I'll miss her a lot.

My parents are taking it quite bad. They've lost one of their best friends. But they're doing their best and trying to keep busy.

So am I for my part.

Things I have been doing to cheer myself up:

1. I just finished playing the first Phoenix Wright game. I am late to the party, I know, but it was fun nevertheless. If you want to know what Phoenix Wright is like, here is a helpful summary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAS1WoDi3Q0

2. I finally caved in a got myself a pink cardigan. (And not even for cosplay purposes. I bought it for EVERYDAY WEAR.)

Oh lord, what have I done.

Hi!

I went to see Deborah in London for her birthday yesterday. Claire was there too, which was cool, because I haven't seen Claire in about a year and a half!

I got to see Deborah's new flat, which is very nice and new, and much less skanky than my old flat in London was. Then we went out in Holborn for some dancing. I got cidered down the back of a leg, but they also played this so it's all good.

Then, on the way home today, I saw a poster for Bunny and the Bull. WHAT IS THIS FILM. I neeeeed to watch it. Have you seen this clip? She has most productive teat of all my bitches.

(If you don't like strong language, you definitely won't like any of the links in this post :D)

As a character, Malcolm Tucker is a horrible person; horrible, horrible.

And yet strangely attractive.

And the more he swears, the more alluring he becomes. When I watched this scene in Saturday's episode, I was nearly beside myself.

Maybe it's the accent?

Oh Janine, with this new layout you are really spoiling us.

Why yes, yes I am. And those little round chocolates are quite nice too.

So! I decided to drag my blog kicking and screaming (and there was plenty of both, but mostly on my part), into 2009.

1. Yes I realise 2009 is nearly over.

2. Shut up.

Hahaha, it took me so long to change it because I really liked using Mariya's batik. But in the end, I figured that after 2 whole years, it was time for some new scenery.

Now, I'm not quite sure if this layout is going to work or not, becuase I've used .png files for the images, which I have never done before because not all browsers support them (but seeing as I learnt that fact back in, oh, the year 2000, perhaps browsers are more up to speed now than they used to be). So this is just a heads up: if the site looks like a big hairy bollock to you, please let me know and I shall endeavour to fix it.

It's funny, you learn a lot of things when you redesign a layout. Today I have learnt that:
- trying to do anything with php makes me cry (I kinda knew this already)
- I've hardly drawn anything this year at all D:

I clearly need to draw more. Working full time sucks away all my good drawing time, and when I get a weekend free, I waste it doing silly things like making new layouts :D

I'm in the process of updating the layout, so the site might like a little funky for a bit (and not in a good kind of way).