Garamond Bôphin

Live-action Noggin?

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:48:31 GMT

Sorry about the bizarre timing of this post, but watching a documentary the other night about Smallfilms (Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin) got me to thinking about my ideas (from the mid-1970s?) for casting a live-action version of "The Saga of Noggin the Nog" and I wondered what the rest of you might think. Of course, it would only have worked at the time (some of them are now far too old... or even too dead!). Do you agree with any or all of my choices? Who would you choose instead? Who could do it now? Who would Hollywood cast? I'd like to include pictures, but I'm not sure how to accomplish that without risking producing a messy/chaotic layout, but I could send a document showing what I mean if you e-mail me via baldric AT thebaldricpress DOT com. Meanwhile, here is a text-only list:

Tim Brooke Taylor as Noggin the Nog
Amanda Barrie as Nooka, Princess of the Nooks
Keith Chegwin as Prince Knut, their son
Willie Rushton as Thor Nogson, Captain of the Guard
Peter Wyngarde as Nogbad the Bad
John Cleese as Olaf the Lofty, the inventor
John Hurt as the voice of Graculus the Green Bird
Mollie Sugden as Grunhilda, Noggin's Mother

If you are not familiar with Noggin & Co. you are really missing out: it was one of the best children's programmes ever produced (yes, I know I should mention "Jackanory" as well...). Try searching by the title or for The Dragons' Friendly Society to find out more.

Charlie Smithers

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:48:46 GMT

"The Two Ronnies" famously featured a spoof of "Mastermind" in which the contestant answered the question before last (having supposedly answered questions before they were asked in the previous round) - I seem to suffer from a variation of this, insofar as: when I e-mail people to ask them what I think are perfectly straightforward questions, they seem to reply with answers to other questions that they have made up themselves and not mine at all. Does anyone else get this? What can I do (except repeat the question, perhaps simplifying it - if that's even possible - until I do get a relevant answer)?

Music Maestro, please!

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:06:48 GMT

Henry Gee has just recommended a social networking site for those with a "love of music of all genres", so I wondered if my latest download list would qualify me:

Boom Oo Yata-Ta-Ta
Dragostea din tei
Eena Meena Deeka
I te vurria vasa
Keep Hope Alive
Lollipop [the Ronald & Ruby original]
Mr Blue Sky
Oh Yeah
Teenage Dirtbag
Wicked Game
Would You...?

Can you tell what might have inspired each choice? (The amount of TV I watch is not entirely responsible and I included one track at least a day before I realised that something relevant was being shown again...) Come on, folks: let me know what you think.

Growing up as a Womble

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:05:49 GMT

When I was quite a child (as they used to say), I'm afraid I was rather like Orinoco: irresponsible, energetic in all the wrong ways and paradoxically lazy too. (I still do like 40 winks and puddings!) Then, as I progressed through school, I went through a rather earnest Wellington phase. After that came university... and things went a bit Bungo! Full-time work helped me develop more Tobermory-like traits (though more with keyboards than hammers and drills). Now, thanks to my niece and nephew-in-law and their recent arrival, Christopher, I am a Great Uncle. I'm not sure I want to start reading newspapers again, but a rocking-chair would be nice (if I had enough room for it!). I rather bi-passed Tomsk, but the wind today did try to give me his hairstyle! Now, I haven't any moss pie with elm-bark topping, but I am rather peckish, so I'd better see what I do have...

Thesis-writing - opinions?

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:46:03 GMT

I just came across a story that made me think about those of you who are writing (or have just completed) a thesis and I thought I'd ask if you think the moral rings true...

One sunny day a rabbit came out of her hole in the ground to enjoy the fine weather. The day was so nice that she became careless and a fox snuck up behind her and caught her. "I am going to eat you for lunch!" said the fox. "Wait!" replied the rabbit, "You should at least wait a few days."

"Oh yeah? Why should I wait?"

"Well, I am just finishing my thesis on 'The Superiority of rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'"

"Are you crazy? I should eat you right now! Everybody knows that a fox will always win over a rabbit."

"Not really, not according to my research. If you like, you can come into my hole and read it for yourself. If you are not convinced, you can go ahead and have me for lunch."

"You really are crazy!" But since the fox was curious and had nothing to lose, it went with the rabbit. The fox never came out.

A few days later the rabbit was again taking a break from writing and sure enough, a wolf came out of the bushes and was ready to set upon her.

"Wait!" yelled the rabbit, "you can't eat me right now."

"And why might that be, my furry appetizer?"

"I am almost finished writing my thesis on 'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'"

The wolf laughed so hard that it almost lost its grip on the rabbit.

"Maybe I shouldn't eat you; you really are sick ... in the head. You might have something contagious."

"Come and read it for yourself; you can eat me afterward if you disagree with my conclusions." So the wolf went down into the rabbit's hole ... and never came out.

The rabbit finished her thesis and was out celebrating in the local lettuce patch. Another rabbit came along and asked, "What's up? You seem very happy."

"Yup, I just finished my thesis."

"Congratulations. What's it about?"

"'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'"

"Are you sure? That doesn't sound right."

"Oh yes. Come and read it for yourself."

So together they went down into the rabbit's hole. As they entered, the friend saw the typical graduate abode, albeit a rather messy one after writing a thesis. The computer with the controversial work was in one corner. And to the right there was a pile of fox bones, on the left a pile of wolf bones. And in the middle was a large, well-fed lion.

The moral of the story: the title of your thesis doesn't matter. The subject doesn't matter. The research doesn't matter.

All that matters is who your advisor is.

Mille millions de mille milliards de sabords de tonnerre de Brest!

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:15:14 GMT

Your LiveJournal Pirate Crew
LiveJournal Username
Sixteen chests on a dead man's rum!
Cutlass or pistol?
What is the name of your pirate ship?
Where is your secret pirate base?
What kind of loot do you prefer?
What do you and your crew prefer to be called?
Parrot or monkey?
Argh!

Your capable first mate	miss_next
Your bumbling cabin boy with a heart of gold	the_marquis
The aloof, yet honorable, pirate with a mysterious past	atreic
Is always the first one into the fray	rustica
Is the naval officer who ruthlessly pursues your ship	wellinghall
Is the comical pirate who is always drunk on grog	parrot_knight
Is currently in Davy Jones's locker	blueshed
The amount of money you make as a pirate	$1,000,000


This Fun Quiz created by Lynn at BlogQuiz.Net

It's nice to have a little chuckle!

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:01:13 GMT

I had a pretty lousy time at the office last week. I already knew I'd be busy, covering for colleagues on holiday, but there were also lots of niggly little things that took inordinate amounts of time to sort out - these often seem to crop up when I'm busy, rarely when I have spare time. However, when rounding off one of the letters I had to write, I caught myself (not for the first time) nearly typing "I look forward to hearing from you shorty"!

That put a little smile on my face and reminded of an incident a couple of weeks back when someone's poor handwriting led me to wonder (albeit only for an instant) why we should be paying for "bank cheeses"! That cheered me up even more and was a nice way to round off the week.

On the way home, I pondered the wonderful world of mondegreens - if you don't already know about them (or even if you do?), try looking at wikipedia on mondegreens and an archive of mondegreens. (I hope the links work.)

As usual with web-surfing, I then went off at a bit of a tangent, having gone from typos to mis-readings to mis-hearings and ended up at mis-translations, two examples of which at an article on translation problems, with links to others and pirate dvd star wars subtitles had me laughing so hard I could scarcely breathe and had tears streaming down my face.

If you are feeling a bit down-in-the-dumps, I heartily recommend reading such things as a remedy.

Do any of you have similar examples to recommend?

The Axe Falls (very slowly)

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:00:28 GMT

On Thursday, I finally received confirmation of the news I was dreading: my company is making me redundant... next May! This is a really weird situation that none of us affected has heard of happening anywhere else. On the one hand, we have plenty of time to look for a new job (not that that is viable at the moment, but we hope things will improve as we get nearer the time), but on the other we have to keep working for people who clearly don't value our contribution. I'm still a bit bemused right now (yesterday was quite strange, as the first full day when everyone knew who was staying and who would be going), but am quite sure I'll have further thoughts on this in due course...

jihw-CHOK chom-CHEM-jag-eej BRYCE-cichoki

Sat, 30 May 2009 01:23:27 GMT

Just wondered who else watched the "Astro Quest" episode of CSI and what you thought of it and/or "Galaxy Quest", if you have seen that...

What's happened to Gaya?

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:55:38 GMT

Does anyone know what has happened to gayalondiel/why her username is struck through? Is anything wrong or does this sort of thing happen a lot?

Poetry meme

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:59:34 GMT

Picking just one favourite poem seems a bit mean, but - if push comes to shove - what about:

Ozymandias

or

On A Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Inserted Below

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.

We wonder, and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragments huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

- Horace Smith

Bet you thought it would be the Shelley one!

?

An Evening at Barcelona Tapas

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:49:08 GMT

As I start this, I must crave your indulgence in forgiving any mistakes or vagueness: like Rowley Birkin, Q.C. from The Fast Show, "I am very, very drunk"! (As you will gather as we progress.)

After a false start, when I found that the branch closest to my office was booked for a private function, and a few problems finding the correct turning off Bow Lane (third time lucky, eh!), I descended into a very pleasant subterranean restaurant/bar. Having previously looked at the Barcelona Tapas website, I was a little apprehensive about the background music, but found that in real life it was pitched at just the right volume and actually quite nice.

Aside from the décor (which involved some very attractive, bright tile-work, but otherwise didn't make that much of an impression), the first thing I think I should mention is the staff. Unfortunately, I didn't make a note of anyone's name (and, if I was told what they were called, I can't remember now), so all I can say is that two of them, who I'll have to refer to as "Miss Food" and "Mr Wine", made this such a pleasant experience that I increased the tip from the auto-calculated sum to something a bit more reasonable. I was, however, somewhat less impressed by three of their colleagues, one of whom was incapable of bringing me some ice-cubes without referring the matter to one of her superiors!

I had gone along merely with the intention of comparing a couple of the wines on their extensive list, but succumbed to the temptations on offer and stayed for some food and more wine, over the course of about the next three hours and I would heartily recommend a similar exercise to anyone who is not overly short of funds (I justified the expenditure to myself as making up for a couple of missed meals out in August and early November).

As wine was the raison (or should that be raisin?!) d'être for my visit, perhaps I should run through the ones I had. The Valdepeñas was OK, but a bit disappointing compared with supermarket ones I've tried before, which scarcely cost more for a whole bottle than this did for a glass – it was drinkable, but I'm not sure I'd want more than a couple of glasses. The Castillo de Manzanares, on the other hand, was pretty much worth the whole trip on its own: so much more refined a flavour, for not much more money. I'll refrain from the Jilly Goolden/Oz Clarke description; suffice to say this was my second favourite wine of the night for a third of the price of the only one that beat it.

Now, when choosing wines, I tend to look at the grape variety first and then the country/region etc. My favourite red wines are made from pinot noir grapes (with Hospices de Beaune as the best I've yet tasted), but tempranillo is not far behind and that tends to be what good Spanish wine is made from (in some areas they call the variety "cencibel" and surely any wine made from "sensible" grapes must be good!). However, the only way to tell if I might like wine made from another grape variety is to try some and there were plenty to choose from here.

The outstanding wine of the night, an Andalus 2001 (which it took Mr Wine a bit of time and effort to track down, but well worth the wait), was made from petit verdot – I really must try to track down some more, as this was quite remarkable. Of course, these things are subjective and I'd hate to be responsible for someone shelling out oodles of boodle and thinking "was that it?" – I was somewhat taken aback at the price myself, but I enjoyed it so much I think it was worth every penny. The bouquet alone was so complex that it seemed more like a liqueur made from numerous ingredients (some, at least, jealously-guarded secrets) than a wine made from grapes alone...

Mazuelo, on the other hand, is not a grape I think I'll bother looking for. The Miguel Merino... de la Quinta Cruz was decidedly ordinary (though I'm sure some people would like it – in the cigar world, I'd much rather have a Macanudo or Cuaba than a Montecristo, but tastes do differ...).

Out of my next three potential choices, they only had one in stock: the Prado Rey Roble (going back to tempranillo grapes), which was somewhere between the first two for enjoyment, but went well enough with the food I was by then consuming.

Finally (well, almost!), I turned to the dessert wines. As I've mentioned, I was looking at grape varieties in the first instance, so I had to ask Mr Wine about the only one that didn't have a variety listed: it turned out to be a garnacha/grenache, so I started to look elsewhere on the list, but he had dug it out from some obscure corner of the cellar, so he poured us a taste each. All I can really say is: yes, it was definitely a grenache, albeit a sweet (and not wholly unpalatable) one.

What I actually chose for a whole glass (after my first choice proved, once again, to be out of stock) was an Ochoa moscatel, which smelt like Beaume de Venise and tasted like Montbazillac – in other words: very nice indeed! I don't know whether Mr Wine thought I had made the wrong choice, but anyway he then plied me with some Don PX (made from pedro ximenez grapes), which smelt and tasted very much of sultanas (albeit boozy ones) and precious little else.

My last tipple, to accompany a nice-enough coffee (though it was rather hot – hence the request for ice – and had a quite alarmingly frothy "head" on it!), was Licor 43, which took me back to Benidorm in the '70s!

Starting about wines three and four, I was somewhat more modest on the food side, but couldn't resist the Pulpo a la Gallega (which evoked memories of Granada in the '80s – I hadn't been able to find octopus as nice in the meanwhile). My only criticism would be that the rock salt was rather too crunchy.

With the Riñones al Jerez, the kidneys themselves were excellent, but I couldn't detect much sherry flavour and I ended up leaving most of the accompanying onions, which seemed superfluous.

The Chocolate Gaudi tasted nice enough, but was frozen far too solid to be classed as a "mousse tart" in my book. As for the Ovin cheese, it might not be so easy to distinguish from chalk as all that...

With my coffee, I was served what I can only describe as a small, very sweet sand cake, from which I foolishly bit almost half, before I realised what I was letting myself in for! Oh, how I pined for the plum chocolates at the Polka Continental... Still, I was able to wash the worst of it away with the remaining liqueur and coffee – and it gave me a whole new perspective on Marion's shortbread!

Minor quibbles (and major bank balance damage) aside, I had one of the best evenings out I've experienced in a long time and managed to toddle to a station in plenty of time for a train home in a very pleasantly tipsy state – arriving in just the right mood to type my very first entire document on Beautiful StephanEee, my dinky little laptop (though I am using Queen Clioputer to post this).

Now we've started something...

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:28:49 GMT

Your result for The Absolute Language Test...

The Rain In Spain Stays Mainly In The Plane

79% Eloquent, 59% Well-Versed, 20% So-So, 7% Amateur and 5% Ignoramus!

The statement above is a play on words, I know it's supposed to be "plain." So please no more e-mails about how I spelled it wrong.

You are a master of the art of language! You probably speak more than one language and are very well cultured because of it. You also get annoyed with people who don't use proper grammar and constantly correct them. Give yourself a pat on the back! You're ready for the Embassy Ball!

Take The Absolute Language Test at HelloQuizzy

I do hope this won't turn into my latest addiction...

Well, I had to have a go, didn't I?

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:18:02 GMT

Your result for The Silmarillion Test...

The One

100%

Who am I to test you?!

- - - - -

Take The Silmarillion Test at HelloQuizzy

Cybersponge

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:06:27 GMT

I've been meaning to post something for months, I really have, but MyFaceJournal soaked up so much time and energy that I haven't managed it until now... and it's going to be boring (if not depressing), so feel free not to bother reading any further.

[I’ve nearly lost this post several times now and find the posting mechanism here the most nightmarish I’ve ever encountered anywhere, so this may be the only post I ever submit, as I’m worried that I might hurt myself or my computer if I ever get this frustrated again!]

I have come to realise that I am a serial obsessive and that the Internet has enormously expanded the range of things I can get temporarily hooked on, to the detriment of my health and sanity. Until recently, I was lucky enough that I was only 'hooking' myself and wasn't doing too badly at pacing myself, but then other people got involved and I was sucked into the cybersponge of the title.

I won't name names (though the guilty will know who they are!), but I had to join FaceBook to read a particular discussion (if not to get more deeply involved) and then I started to get bombarded with invitations to join in with games, groups and other activities, some of which I found myself participating in so maniacally that at times I was barely getting any sleep, having to do my 'day job' virtually on 'auto-pilot' and having almost no resistance to any sort of illness that was going around. In a similar way, I got lured into LiveJournal and I fear it is only a matter of time before someone comes up with what seems to be a perfectly legitimate reason for registering with MySpace and/or various other similar-but-slightly-different sites. What they will not realise is that inviting me to view something with numerous options for spending time I do not have doing things with no practical purpose is like putting an opened bottle of vodka in front of an alcoholic...

Apart from reading my friends' posts here, though, I seem to be 'in remission' at the moment, having been too ill to sink pirate ships, build castles, pet fluffs, mug gangsters etc. etc. for long enough for the cravings to die down. However, I don't know how long I will manage to hold out (as a long-time smoker, I know how little willpower I have!).

So, please bear with me if I don't seem as enthusiastic as you expected when you suggest something you think I might like: my reluctance may stem from my fear of liking it too much...