Entry tags:
Entry tags:
On our way soon
Both kids are still a bit crook, but not too bad. We're getting stuff packed, so it's happening. We're going to Continuum 7. Hooray!
For those on my friends list who don't know, Friday night of the con is free! So you can try it out, and if you like Continuum (and what's not to like? It's awesome!) you can buy a day or full membership to go to the rest of the con. And if you know anyone who has been curious about conventions, Friday night is a great taster for them, so let them know!
For those on my friends list who don't know, Friday night of the con is free! So you can try it out, and if you like Continuum (and what's not to like? It's awesome!) you can buy a day or full membership to go to the rest of the con. And if you know anyone who has been curious about conventions, Friday night is a great taster for them, so let them know!
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C7 - we may not make it
Just wanted to put the word out early that all our Continuum 7 plans may suddenly be cancelled. Both kids are sick, but Lex is really unwell, poor little bugger. He's been out of sorts for a couple of days, but today he's bad enough that he's voluntarily staying in bed, moaning, dozing, and asking me to come in and hold him every 20 minutes.
It's no good dragging him down to Melbourne if he's like this. It won't be fun or comfortable for him, and it certainly won't be fun for us. Mind you, with both kids at the con we were keeping our hopes for fun at fairly low levels. :)
Original plan was to leave Thursday. If Lex isn't substantially better by Wednesday arvo, then we start to cancel 90% of our travel plans. The remaining 10% will be me driving down to Melbourne on the Friday, doing the Chronos Awards, staying the night, then leaving Saturday after the Continuum 101 panel so Sharon isn't stuck with looking after a sick child and a baby on her own.
I have suggested to Shaz that she can head down with MaybeZoe, deliver the awards, do the whole con, and I'll stay here and look after Lex. I doubt she'll go for it, but have made the offer. It'd let her get to a con, and give her a few days off, albeit looking after one child. She could leave MZ here, but it would destroy our frozen breast milk supplies and leave us no reserves.
Naturally, if we do cancel Wednesday arvo, Lex will be right as rain Thursday. If we wait until Thursday to cancel, he'll be well Friday. If we go to Melbourne, he'll be sick and miserable the whole time. This is the nature of parenting :)
Fingers crossed he gets better and we can all travel down. I know he was looking forward to the trip as much as we were. And it's shaping up to be a fantastic con, so it'd be nice if we could see parts of it around children.
It's no good dragging him down to Melbourne if he's like this. It won't be fun or comfortable for him, and it certainly won't be fun for us. Mind you, with both kids at the con we were keeping our hopes for fun at fairly low levels. :)
Original plan was to leave Thursday. If Lex isn't substantially better by Wednesday arvo, then we start to cancel 90% of our travel plans. The remaining 10% will be me driving down to Melbourne on the Friday, doing the Chronos Awards, staying the night, then leaving Saturday after the Continuum 101 panel so Sharon isn't stuck with looking after a sick child and a baby on her own.
I have suggested to Shaz that she can head down with MaybeZoe, deliver the awards, do the whole con, and I'll stay here and look after Lex. I doubt she'll go for it, but have made the offer. It'd let her get to a con, and give her a few days off, albeit looking after one child. She could leave MZ here, but it would destroy our frozen breast milk supplies and leave us no reserves.
Naturally, if we do cancel Wednesday arvo, Lex will be right as rain Thursday. If we wait until Thursday to cancel, he'll be well Friday. If we go to Melbourne, he'll be sick and miserable the whole time. This is the nature of parenting :)
Fingers crossed he gets better and we can all travel down. I know he was looking forward to the trip as much as we were. And it's shaping up to be a fantastic con, so it'd be nice if we could see parts of it around children.
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On the importance of saying nice things
Just jotting this down between toddler wrangling and chopping wood. It's going to be messy and a bit long, because I don't have time to edit it.
Was looking on the Boxcutters Podcast website and saw a comment by someone who said, "And if all I seem to do is complain, it’s probably because I don’t really feel the need to say anything about the bits I enjoy, I just enjoy them."
Now who it was, what they complained about, and the subject of the conversation is unimportant. It's this line that really stuck out to me, because it seems to be such a common attitude.
I love what you do, and I figure you know that. I only complain when there's an issue.
This is a remarkably common mindset, and it's also a completely fucked one. I've been a part of various volunteer groups over the years, been friends with literally hundreds of people who have been a part of other volunteer groups, and let me tell you something - it's never easy. Those people who volunteer time for anything, be it a convention, a panel, a podcast, support phone lines, local fire brigades, animal rescue, local radio, volunteer tourist staff, helpers at festivals, emergency relief...
So let me say this very, very clearly -
Every complaint hurts, and no thank you is ever, ever taken for granted.
( Read more... )
Was looking on the Boxcutters Podcast website and saw a comment by someone who said, "And if all I seem to do is complain, it’s probably because I don’t really feel the need to say anything about the bits I enjoy, I just enjoy them."
Now who it was, what they complained about, and the subject of the conversation is unimportant. It's this line that really stuck out to me, because it seems to be such a common attitude.
I love what you do, and I figure you know that. I only complain when there's an issue.
This is a remarkably common mindset, and it's also a completely fucked one. I've been a part of various volunteer groups over the years, been friends with literally hundreds of people who have been a part of other volunteer groups, and let me tell you something - it's never easy. Those people who volunteer time for anything, be it a convention, a panel, a podcast, support phone lines, local fire brigades, animal rescue, local radio, volunteer tourist staff, helpers at festivals, emergency relief...
So let me say this very, very clearly -
Every complaint hurts, and no thank you is ever, ever taken for granted.
( Read more... )
Entry tags:
Kid pics and snow
Been meaning to post some pictures of the kids for ages, but a request from the lovely
kaths has gotten me off my arse. ( 16 pics below the cut... )
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
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Just poking my head up to say hi
Have you been happily unaware of my absence until this post appeared to blight your fine day? You must have been loving a good chunk of this year because I've just been not finding time to post.
How bad is it?
I've been meaning to mention that I sold one of my photographs for use in the Park Secrets Victoria pack of cards since last year. It's not one of my best shots, but I was approached because of the location depicted (Pink Cliffs Reserve in Heathcote), and who cares because I professionally sold one of my photos! It's something I'm naturally pretty proud of, and I haven't found the time to write about it until now, when I'm choosing not to do one of fifty other things, or resting, to mention it.
Needless to say there's been lots of other good stuff, but finding time to talk about it just ain't happening. I will mention that the Perth trip seems to have made a major difference to me. I'm still run down, but I haven't been continuously sick since the trip. Hooray!
Quick bits of stuff - Swancon was good, the Ditmar controversy was bullshit, Continuum 7 is looking to be awesome, no-one seems to have picked up on the (to me) two glaring potentially important pieces of information that were onscreen in the latest season of Doctor Who, I've been chopping lots of wood (that's not a euphemism), we had a surprise bill of $3000 which is incredibly painful but annoyed us more because of the unexpectedness than the amount, the local pub does chips covered in melted cheese and bacon bits.
Sharon's tired but awesome, Lex is energetic, tiring, frustrating, but mostly fun, MaybeZoe has stood twice and is trying to learn to be as cute as her brother, Mum is mostly okay when not driving us nuts, and I'm tired and depressed but still the prettiest person you know.
How bad is it?
I've been meaning to mention that I sold one of my photographs for use in the Park Secrets Victoria pack of cards since last year. It's not one of my best shots, but I was approached because of the location depicted (Pink Cliffs Reserve in Heathcote), and who cares because I professionally sold one of my photos! It's something I'm naturally pretty proud of, and I haven't found the time to write about it until now, when I'm choosing not to do one of fifty other things, or resting, to mention it.
Needless to say there's been lots of other good stuff, but finding time to talk about it just ain't happening. I will mention that the Perth trip seems to have made a major difference to me. I'm still run down, but I haven't been continuously sick since the trip. Hooray!
Quick bits of stuff - Swancon was good, the Ditmar controversy was bullshit, Continuum 7 is looking to be awesome, no-one seems to have picked up on the (to me) two glaring potentially important pieces of information that were onscreen in the latest season of Doctor Who, I've been chopping lots of wood (that's not a euphemism), we had a surprise bill of $3000 which is incredibly painful but annoyed us more because of the unexpectedness than the amount, the local pub does chips covered in melted cheese and bacon bits.
Sharon's tired but awesome, Lex is energetic, tiring, frustrating, but mostly fun, MaybeZoe has stood twice and is trying to learn to be as cute as her brother, Mum is mostly okay when not driving us nuts, and I'm tired and depressed but still the prettiest person you know.
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In Perth
Arrived last night, had some sleep. Now, off to Lush and to buy some groceries.
I have a nice room all to myself, it feels decadent but as I said to Sharon on the phone, if she were here and feeling that way, I'd tell her to shut up and enjoy it.
Sadly room windows do not open, nor are they locked with allen keys, so will have to throw a chair through one.
I have a nice room all to myself, it feels decadent but as I said to Sharon on the phone, if she were here and feeling that way, I'd tell her to shut up and enjoy it.
Sadly room windows do not open, nor are they locked with allen keys, so will have to throw a chair through one.
Things it did me good to hear today...
My mum saying, "I don't know what you do different, but you're much better at looking after the kids than Sharon." Which I sort of know, and Sharon sort of knows, but it's nice to hear on a day when I'm struggling and behind on every other aspect of my life.
And a phone call from Sharon confirming that she's got time off for Continuum! Hooray! It'll be a rush trip, down to Melbourne, do the con, come home, but we get to go to the con as a family. Which means that Sharon and I will see a lot less of the con, but that's fine.
We're planning another trip later in the year to visit all the relatives, so we don't need to squeeze mad running around visits into an already tight schedule either.
Back to answering emails and trying to begin to start to think about packing for Perth.
And a phone call from Sharon confirming that she's got time off for Continuum! Hooray! It'll be a rush trip, down to Melbourne, do the con, come home, but we get to go to the con as a family. Which means that Sharon and I will see a lot less of the con, but that's fine.
We're planning another trip later in the year to visit all the relatives, so we don't need to squeeze mad running around visits into an already tight schedule either.
Back to answering emails and trying to begin to start to think about packing for Perth.
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Mini-April Stroke-Boy Update.
Most years since my faux-stroke I've managed to post around April 1st (the day the migraine that did all the damage started) on how I've been going. This year, the fifth since it all started, I've been way too sick/busy/run down to do so. And even not posting here, I'm still behind on everything!
So this is the short-ish Stroke-Boy Update. ( Read more... )
So this is the short-ish Stroke-Boy Update. ( Read more... )
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Swancon
Only on a couple of panels for this Swancon -
Sunday 2pm-4pm - Classic Doctor Who panel We'll be discussing Season 4, Hartnell Troughton stories.
Monday 2pm-3pm - Whose Line Is It Anyway I'm hosting! When I was originally asked to do it, I requested suggestions from the programmers of good people to be contestants, because my brain is gone. They've been naturally very busy and so I'll ask here for some suggestions, or volunteers. I'd like to be able to talk to and go through the kind of games the contestants can expect before the day so they have a better idea of what they're in for.
I may end up drafted to appear on/in more stuff. Happy to do a few more, just as happy to rest. Will probably spend less time wandering around during the day and more catching up in the evenings.
Sunday 2pm-4pm - Classic Doctor Who panel We'll be discussing Season 4, Hartnell Troughton stories.
Monday 2pm-3pm - Whose Line Is It Anyway I'm hosting! When I was originally asked to do it, I requested suggestions from the programmers of good people to be contestants, because my brain is gone. They've been naturally very busy and so I'll ask here for some suggestions, or volunteers. I'd like to be able to talk to and go through the kind of games the contestants can expect before the day so they have a better idea of what they're in for.
I may end up drafted to appear on/in more stuff. Happy to do a few more, just as happy to rest. Will probably spend less time wandering around during the day and more catching up in the evenings.
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Evil of the Daleks novel
I'm on page 16 of the novelisation of Evil of the Daleks by John Peel, and it's making me violently angry.
Peel is a continuity obsessed fanboy, and that's fine, but there's a time and place for it. I don't normally mind authors expanding the worlds in which the original stories were set, but this is really pissing me off. The story doesn't need all this retconning, it only needs minimal background, but in the prologue alone Peel manages to tie in with Frontier in Space, Daleks' Master Plan, and Genesis of the Daleks.
The only bit that fits is later when the Doctor is thinking about his past self, who is busy on the other side of London. Given it relates directly to Ben and Polly leaving, it's a fair addition to make.
Then he manages to get the details of the Chameleon's plan from The Faceless Ones arse about, talking about their plan to invade Earth, when their actual plan was to abduct 50,000 humans and leave.
I dunno, maybe I'm just being too harsh. Or maybe I'm right to be angry that I'm being inundated by dodgy continuity by an author who manages, on the second page, to misspell the name of the Dalek home-world as Skarao.
Peel is a continuity obsessed fanboy, and that's fine, but there's a time and place for it. I don't normally mind authors expanding the worlds in which the original stories were set, but this is really pissing me off. The story doesn't need all this retconning, it only needs minimal background, but in the prologue alone Peel manages to tie in with Frontier in Space, Daleks' Master Plan, and Genesis of the Daleks.
The only bit that fits is later when the Doctor is thinking about his past self, who is busy on the other side of London. Given it relates directly to Ben and Polly leaving, it's a fair addition to make.
Then he manages to get the details of the Chameleon's plan from The Faceless Ones arse about, talking about their plan to invade Earth, when their actual plan was to abduct 50,000 humans and leave.
I dunno, maybe I'm just being too harsh. Or maybe I'm right to be angry that I'm being inundated by dodgy continuity by an author who manages, on the second page, to misspell the name of the Dalek home-world as Skarao.
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This is my life at the moment
I suspect Sharon and I could have done with more than three hours sleep each.
By this point of the day, I have seen to all the needs of the children. I've put nappies on to wash, read Lex a book, and have just sat down. Now to eat, then put Lex and/or MaybeZoe down for a nap. Then I have a choice between trying to get some more sleep myself, or doing some of the many, many, many jobs I'm hideously behind on.
At six this morning I thought of a job that I'd completely forgotten about for the last two months, and now it's too late to do it. I feel bad about that, but I'm trying not to beat myself up about it because there were plenty of other people who should have noticed and they could have either reminded me or done it themselves. I'm still annoyed at myself, however.
I've actually been improving energy-wise over the last five days or so, the last couple of which I've started taking the multi-vitamins that Shaz bought for me to try and give me a boost. There is a cruel irony to the fact that the woman with no sex-drive bought her usually lascivious husband vitamins where 25% of the points made on the label are to do with improving male sexual performance. Needless to say, while my energy levels were improving a little anyway, I am now totally distracted by a libido I have no time or left over energy to deal with.
On the plus side, at nine-thirty last night Sharon and I watched West Wing while we ate popcorn, then ice cream.
By this point of the day, I have seen to all the needs of the children. I've put nappies on to wash, read Lex a book, and have just sat down. Now to eat, then put Lex and/or MaybeZoe down for a nap. Then I have a choice between trying to get some more sleep myself, or doing some of the many, many, many jobs I'm hideously behind on.
At six this morning I thought of a job that I'd completely forgotten about for the last two months, and now it's too late to do it. I feel bad about that, but I'm trying not to beat myself up about it because there were plenty of other people who should have noticed and they could have either reminded me or done it themselves. I'm still annoyed at myself, however.
I've actually been improving energy-wise over the last five days or so, the last couple of which I've started taking the multi-vitamins that Shaz bought for me to try and give me a boost. There is a cruel irony to the fact that the woman with no sex-drive bought her usually lascivious husband vitamins where 25% of the points made on the label are to do with improving male sexual performance. Needless to say, while my energy levels were improving a little anyway, I am now totally distracted by a libido I have no time or left over energy to deal with.
On the plus side, at nine-thirty last night Sharon and I watched West Wing while we ate popcorn, then ice cream.
Entry tags:
- doctor who,
- lex,
- tnpsk,
- zoe
Late night in the household
Last night I was so wrecked I nearly went to bed at 8pm. I ended up staying up later only because I wanted to hang out with Sharon, who was actually too busy to hang, so I went to bed at 10pm. After I went to bed, Sharon had a crook guts, which kept her up until 1am.
At 4am I awoke to the sound of Lex being loudly happy. I knew immediately what the result would be, if not the cause. When I went into the room, MaybeZoe was wide awake as well because Lex had decided to play with her. At 4fuckingAM. Took a while to find out Lex had a headache, and then I had to lie with him to get him settled. Meanwhile, Zozo got progressively more unhappy.
At 6am she showed no signs of settling. In fact she was getting louder and more unsettled. By this point nappy had been checked, she had been fed (I woke Shaz a quarter hour before her alarm would go off to feed bub), and given she's teething I'd tried pain relief. Nothing was working.
Then I remembered something. It was something I'd not used with her because unlike her brother, she'd seldom had a lot of trouble settling.
I tried throat singing. Within 30 seconds she'd quietened down. By the five minute mark she was asleep. Hooray!
Now if only I had someone to help lull me to sleep...
Might be time to break out either the Dead Planet soundtrack, or the Warriors' Gate one.
At 4am I awoke to the sound of Lex being loudly happy. I knew immediately what the result would be, if not the cause. When I went into the room, MaybeZoe was wide awake as well because Lex had decided to play with her. At 4fuckingAM. Took a while to find out Lex had a headache, and then I had to lie with him to get him settled. Meanwhile, Zozo got progressively more unhappy.
At 6am she showed no signs of settling. In fact she was getting louder and more unsettled. By this point nappy had been checked, she had been fed (I woke Shaz a quarter hour before her alarm would go off to feed bub), and given she's teething I'd tried pain relief. Nothing was working.
Then I remembered something. It was something I'd not used with her because unlike her brother, she'd seldom had a lot of trouble settling.
I tried throat singing. Within 30 seconds she'd quietened down. By the five minute mark she was asleep. Hooray!
Now if only I had someone to help lull me to sleep...
Might be time to break out either the Dead Planet soundtrack, or the Warriors' Gate one.
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Reprints of Doctor Who novels
Yes, it's happening. Only six, but hopefully they'll be popular enough that there will be more to come.
I'd been disappointed that in recent years all the novels were being turning into audio books. Audio books are good, but I was saddened by the fact that these were readily available, while the paper versions were all out of print.
I'd been disappointed that in recent years all the novels were being turning into audio books. Audio books are good, but I was saddened by the fact that these were readily available, while the paper versions were all out of print.
Entry tags:
Life and other stuff
So, yesterday (it's actually taken a while to write this, so a day or two ago, in fact) found time/energy to post, and to deal with a couple of emails. Most non-child/household related stuff I've managed in a while.
Last night, MaybeZoe kept me up until 1:30, then kept Sharon up until 4:30, then Lex awoke at 8:30. And the sleep I had was broken.
So, now I'm zombie boy. And Sharon is zombie girl. But both our children are awake and happy!
( Other stuff, some cheery, some not, kind of long, and some pics of the demon offspring... )
Last night, MaybeZoe kept me up until 1:30, then kept Sharon up until 4:30, then Lex awoke at 8:30. And the sleep I had was broken.
So, now I'm zombie boy. And Sharon is zombie girl. But both our children are awake and happy!
( Other stuff, some cheery, some not, kind of long, and some pics of the demon offspring... )
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Movies for 2011 - Part 6
And then it all came crashing down. My poor health has slowed my film watching to a crawl. I was using it partially to make sure I stopped and rested for an hour or two, but now finding it too hard to keep my attention on a movie.
On the plus side, I've watched some good ones! And to the end of February I've managed 63 films, which is a great start.
21st February
Shorts
22nd February
The Harder They Fall
23rd February
Short Circuit
25th February
Halloween (2007)
26th February
The Incredible Hulk
( Thoughts and graphs under the cut. )
On the plus side, I've watched some good ones! And to the end of February I've managed 63 films, which is a great start.
21st February
Shorts
22nd February
The Harder They Fall
23rd February
Short Circuit
25th February
Halloween (2007)
26th February
The Incredible Hulk
( Thoughts and graphs under the cut. )
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Chronos Awards Nominations Reminder
We are now three quarters through the nominations period for the Chronos Awards. Nominations close on 27 March 2011.
A couple of categories have several things nominated, but have not been nominated by enough people to make the final ballot. So if you've been meaning to nominate someone or something and haven't, it may be time to do so.
NB: There has been one set of anonymous nominations received as a screened comment. These nominations have not, and will not, be accepted unless the nominator lodges a further comment lodged here to identify him/herself.
Wide distribution of this post is encouraged but please acknowledge the source and provide a link back.
A couple of categories have several things nominated, but have not been nominated by enough people to make the final ballot. So if you've been meaning to nominate someone or something and haven't, it may be time to do so.
NB: There has been one set of anonymous nominations received as a screened comment. These nominations have not, and will not, be accepted unless the nominator lodges a further comment lodged here to identify him/herself.
Wide distribution of this post is encouraged but please acknowledge the source and provide a link back.
Entry tags:
Still alive
Just sick, again. Another cold, or the same cold. And migraines. I'm in one of my migraine periods where I have weeks of trying to head them off. Coming up on four or five months of colds, 'flu, stomach bugs, etc. Don't think I've had more than a couple of weeks without illness. Bit over crawling exhausted through my days and getting further and further behind on everything.
On the bright side, am keeping up with the child-raising duties. Not a lot of energy to do extra stuff, but getting the basics done is still better than some (grumbles about 5 year old kids going to school who have literally never opened a book).
Sharon and I are now referring to Swancon as my break. Suspect I'll spend a chunk of the con in my room, catching up on rest. But at least I have the option, and can catch up with friends.
Lex survived chicken pox with only minimal spots, MaybeZoe had even fewer spots when she caught it. MZ now has six teeth, five of which are on the same side of her mouth, all of which came up in a three week period. She's not quite crawling yet, but is mobile enough to cause trouble.
Lex is still being an awesome big brother. Biggest problem now he and MZ are sharing a room is that he keeps wanting to make her giggle and laugh when they should both be getting sleep.
On the bright side, am keeping up with the child-raising duties. Not a lot of energy to do extra stuff, but getting the basics done is still better than some (grumbles about 5 year old kids going to school who have literally never opened a book).
Sharon and I are now referring to Swancon as my break. Suspect I'll spend a chunk of the con in my room, catching up on rest. But at least I have the option, and can catch up with friends.
Lex survived chicken pox with only minimal spots, MaybeZoe had even fewer spots when she caught it. MZ now has six teeth, five of which are on the same side of her mouth, all of which came up in a three week period. She's not quite crawling yet, but is mobile enough to cause trouble.
Lex is still being an awesome big brother. Biggest problem now he and MZ are sharing a room is that he keeps wanting to make her giggle and laugh when they should both be getting sleep.
Entry tags:
Things New Parents Should Know #28 - Medication
Been ages since I posted up one of these, but dealing with a teething MaybeZoe reminded me of a big one - medication. Could be an interesting post as I suspect it may open a hornet's nest with some people.
There is a tendency these days for people to over medicate. As soon as there is a small issue, people will break out whatever and give the kid the biggest dose possible. Many will follow it up at the required intervals with more full doses, whether they are needed or not. ( Rest below the cut... )
There is a tendency these days for people to over medicate. As soon as there is a small issue, people will break out whatever and give the kid the biggest dose possible. Many will follow it up at the required intervals with more full doses, whether they are needed or not. ( Rest below the cut... )
Entry tags:
Movies for 2011 - Part 5
10th February
Mimic
12th February
Fantasia
Good Night, and Good Luck
13th February
Desperado
14th February
Highlander
15th February
Mutiny on the Bounty
16th February
V for Vendetta
17th February
The Stuff
Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet (1933)
18th February
Carry on Camping
19th February
The Phantom Tollbooth
Beowulf
20th February
The Pink Panther
Brief thoughts on the films under the cut ( Read more... )
Mimic
12th February
Fantasia
Good Night, and Good Luck
13th February
Desperado
14th February
Highlander
15th February
Mutiny on the Bounty
16th February
V for Vendetta
17th February
The Stuff
Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet (1933)
18th February
Carry on Camping
19th February
The Phantom Tollbooth
Beowulf
20th February
The Pink Panther
Brief thoughts on the films under the cut ( Read more... )