My "theme of the month" didn't really amount to anything - due to the gym being so exceptionally busy in January my ability to get properly stuck in proved to be very limited; I didn't actually get started on the diet properly; and no other areas got even slightly addressed (although they were in a pretty good place to begin with).
So that's basically a write-off.
Friday, January 31, 2020
A Black Day
Today was never going to be a good day. Even at its best Brexit was never going to be a good thing, and in delivering it in the manner they have the Tories, under both May and Johnson, have unleashed all the worst impulses of this country. It is an entirely self-inflicted wound that represents a tragic dimunition of the UK on the world stage.
But there was always one slight hope: with the horrors of Brexit unveiled, at least the need for Scottish independence was becoming clear. And, indeed, the most recent poll showed that a majority of Scots now backed independence. So when Nicola Sturgeon let is be known that she was going to make an announcement on the subject, there was at least some hope - maybe she was finally ready to grasp the thistle and go for a referendum.
But, no. One utterly underwhelming announcement later and... the dream is dead. Scotland will not be independent in the foreseeable future, and maybe not ever. We're done.
And with that, I think I've now voted in my last election. If the SNP don't stand for independence, they don't stand for anything useful; I won't vote Green for a few reasons that I won't discuss here; and every other party sits some distance under "Don't Vote" in my ordered list of preferences.
So, a black day indeed. EU membership, gone; the dream of independence, gone; and democracy dead to me, all in the space of 24 hours.
But there was always one slight hope: with the horrors of Brexit unveiled, at least the need for Scottish independence was becoming clear. And, indeed, the most recent poll showed that a majority of Scots now backed independence. So when Nicola Sturgeon let is be known that she was going to make an announcement on the subject, there was at least some hope - maybe she was finally ready to grasp the thistle and go for a referendum.
But, no. One utterly underwhelming announcement later and... the dream is dead. Scotland will not be independent in the foreseeable future, and maybe not ever. We're done.
And with that, I think I've now voted in my last election. If the SNP don't stand for independence, they don't stand for anything useful; I won't vote Green for a few reasons that I won't discuss here; and every other party sits some distance under "Don't Vote" in my ordered list of preferences.
So, a black day indeed. EU membership, gone; the dream of independence, gone; and democracy dead to me, all in the space of 24 hours.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Doctor Who I'd Rather Watch
I'm not entirely sure what to make of Sunday's episode of "Doctor Who". I think the root cause of my dissatisfaction is that I managed to be exposed to all the big spoilers ahead of time, which meant that I was mostly waiting to see the big event, and not really caring about the rest.
As an episode, it was actually quite clever - the reveal of the buried TARDIS intercut with the memory reset was very well handled; the idea that the Judoon were following a fugitive who turned out not only to not be the obvious candidate, but instead someone really unexpected was genuinely clever; and the dropping of so many tantalising mysteries was positively delicious.
But...
I mentioned once before that my big problem with "Star Trek: Discovery" is that while what we have is fine, it opens by showing us something I'd almost certainly prefer to watch instead. Much the same is true here, but moreso: I'm now really not a fan of the current incarnation of the Doctor, so when presented with an alternative with a commanding presence (rather than that of a befuddled supply teacher), and unburdened by the drag factor of three Companions I really don't rate... yeah, I'd much rather watch that.
(Incidentally, the internet gave the impression that Jo Martin's performance was somehow transcendent in the episode. It wasn't. She was absolutely fine, but I'll file under "Doctors with Potential" for now.)
My other issues with the episode were three-fold. Firstly, I thought the B-plot with Captain Jack and the Companions was a waste of time. Basically, it existed to get a message to the Doctor (beware the lone Cyberman), but framed it in a whole lot of gurning and bad dialogue. Sorry, not a fan.
Secondly, there were the Judoon. They're a cool concept, and have a really nice visual design, but they've just never really grabbed me. I'm inclined to think that they really need more time to develop some sort of personality, and perhaps more fully embrace the bounty hunter side to their presentation (rather than "trigger happy cops for hire"). But using them as the hired muscle for the real bad guys is a very good idea.
But thirdly, and mostly: so much bloody talking. Again, we have a scene that should have had actual tension, this time with a literal countdown, and when it expires we don't see everything spring into exciting action!... we instead get another pointless round of talking. GET ON WITH IT!
(I did feel a little sorry for Thirteen later in the episode when she kept being told to be quiet by the others... but only a little. Frankly, this whole incarnation could do with a lot less talking.)
So...
All in all, I think it was an okay episode - not quite as good as last week or the series opener, but better than the middle two weeks.
But a huge amount depends on the resolution to the various mysteries... and most importantly the big one.
There are big spoilers from here on out. If you don't want to know, skip to the last paragraph.
So, the big mystery is that "Ruth" turned out to be a new incarnation of the Doctor. Further, the assertion is that she must be a past incarnation, and yet Thirteen has no memory of her. What can that mean?
Well, canonically there is, just barely, space for a new incarnation - in "Time of the Doctor" Eleven noted that Ten had used an extra regeneration but kept his face... but it's always possible that he was just wrong. So maybe the spare hand doesn't count, and that gives one more.
But when? It seems to me there are three possibilities: apparently, there's a tiny window between Two and Three since we don't actually see the transition. Alternately, we don't quite see the War Doctor turn into Nine either (Ecclestone said "no", and Moffat felt they therefore couldn't quite show him). So there's a gap there.
But there's a third possibility: we know from "Day of the Doctor" that he can, apparently, revisit old faces. So maybe Doctor Ruth was spawned off any of the previous incarnations, did her stuff, and then returned to the old form. My preferred candidate would by Eight - after all, he does look markedly different between his two appearances. (Of course, that difference can also be explained in four words: "I got a haircut"!)
However, there's one other possibility that should not be discounted: maybe she's the next incarnation, and is lying about not remembering being Thirteen for... reasons. Indeed, maybe we'll see her backstory unfold in flashback over the next five/fifteen episodes, culminating in a double regeneration - Thirteen regenerates to Doctor Ruth, while Doctor Ruth regenerates into Fourteen. Or something.
The one explanation I won't accept is that she actually fits in before the First Doctor. Canon is mutable, but it should be treated with respect.
And here's the rub: if this had come out during the heady days of the Tenth or Eleventh incarnations, my response to it all would be very different. After the end of the first season of the restart, RTD had built up a very significant amount of goodwill, and I was therefore willing to take an awful lot on faith. Likewise the first few years of Moffat's tenure. But much of that faded during the Capaldi years, which I really didn't enjoy so much, and has now been expended almost entirely by the previous few years. So I'll wait and see what the answers are, but I'm not going to just take it on faith that Chibnall is going to pull it off.
So that's where we are. For the first time in a long time, I find myself eager to see the next episode, or more likely episodes. "Doctor Who" had, frankly, become a chore, and this changes that... somewhat. I just wish I was looking forward to the next episode more in hope, and less in fear at what they might do.
#4: "Mythos", by Stephen Fry
#5: "The Red Tent", by Anita Diamant (a book from The List)
Incidentally, both of these are very good reads, and highly recommended. Neither is quite a candidate for book of the year.
As an episode, it was actually quite clever - the reveal of the buried TARDIS intercut with the memory reset was very well handled; the idea that the Judoon were following a fugitive who turned out not only to not be the obvious candidate, but instead someone really unexpected was genuinely clever; and the dropping of so many tantalising mysteries was positively delicious.
But...
I mentioned once before that my big problem with "Star Trek: Discovery" is that while what we have is fine, it opens by showing us something I'd almost certainly prefer to watch instead. Much the same is true here, but moreso: I'm now really not a fan of the current incarnation of the Doctor, so when presented with an alternative with a commanding presence (rather than that of a befuddled supply teacher), and unburdened by the drag factor of three Companions I really don't rate... yeah, I'd much rather watch that.
(Incidentally, the internet gave the impression that Jo Martin's performance was somehow transcendent in the episode. It wasn't. She was absolutely fine, but I'll file under "Doctors with Potential" for now.)
My other issues with the episode were three-fold. Firstly, I thought the B-plot with Captain Jack and the Companions was a waste of time. Basically, it existed to get a message to the Doctor (beware the lone Cyberman), but framed it in a whole lot of gurning and bad dialogue. Sorry, not a fan.
Secondly, there were the Judoon. They're a cool concept, and have a really nice visual design, but they've just never really grabbed me. I'm inclined to think that they really need more time to develop some sort of personality, and perhaps more fully embrace the bounty hunter side to their presentation (rather than "trigger happy cops for hire"). But using them as the hired muscle for the real bad guys is a very good idea.
But thirdly, and mostly: so much bloody talking. Again, we have a scene that should have had actual tension, this time with a literal countdown, and when it expires we don't see everything spring into exciting action!... we instead get another pointless round of talking. GET ON WITH IT!
(I did feel a little sorry for Thirteen later in the episode when she kept being told to be quiet by the others... but only a little. Frankly, this whole incarnation could do with a lot less talking.)
So...
All in all, I think it was an okay episode - not quite as good as last week or the series opener, but better than the middle two weeks.
But a huge amount depends on the resolution to the various mysteries... and most importantly the big one.
There are big spoilers from here on out. If you don't want to know, skip to the last paragraph.
So, the big mystery is that "Ruth" turned out to be a new incarnation of the Doctor. Further, the assertion is that she must be a past incarnation, and yet Thirteen has no memory of her. What can that mean?
Well, canonically there is, just barely, space for a new incarnation - in "Time of the Doctor" Eleven noted that Ten had used an extra regeneration but kept his face... but it's always possible that he was just wrong. So maybe the spare hand doesn't count, and that gives one more.
But when? It seems to me there are three possibilities: apparently, there's a tiny window between Two and Three since we don't actually see the transition. Alternately, we don't quite see the War Doctor turn into Nine either (Ecclestone said "no", and Moffat felt they therefore couldn't quite show him). So there's a gap there.
But there's a third possibility: we know from "Day of the Doctor" that he can, apparently, revisit old faces. So maybe Doctor Ruth was spawned off any of the previous incarnations, did her stuff, and then returned to the old form. My preferred candidate would by Eight - after all, he does look markedly different between his two appearances. (Of course, that difference can also be explained in four words: "I got a haircut"!)
However, there's one other possibility that should not be discounted: maybe she's the next incarnation, and is lying about not remembering being Thirteen for... reasons. Indeed, maybe we'll see her backstory unfold in flashback over the next five/fifteen episodes, culminating in a double regeneration - Thirteen regenerates to Doctor Ruth, while Doctor Ruth regenerates into Fourteen. Or something.
The one explanation I won't accept is that she actually fits in before the First Doctor. Canon is mutable, but it should be treated with respect.
And here's the rub: if this had come out during the heady days of the Tenth or Eleventh incarnations, my response to it all would be very different. After the end of the first season of the restart, RTD had built up a very significant amount of goodwill, and I was therefore willing to take an awful lot on faith. Likewise the first few years of Moffat's tenure. But much of that faded during the Capaldi years, which I really didn't enjoy so much, and has now been expended almost entirely by the previous few years. So I'll wait and see what the answers are, but I'm not going to just take it on faith that Chibnall is going to pull it off.
So that's where we are. For the first time in a long time, I find myself eager to see the next episode, or more likely episodes. "Doctor Who" had, frankly, become a chore, and this changes that... somewhat. I just wish I was looking forward to the next episode more in hope, and less in fear at what they might do.
#4: "Mythos", by Stephen Fry
#5: "The Red Tent", by Anita Diamant (a book from The List)
Incidentally, both of these are very good reads, and highly recommended. Neither is quite a candidate for book of the year.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Experimental Cookery 2020: Sausage & Bean Supper
Another one from "One Pot Wonders", this was a vast improvement over last week's failure. And it was ridiculously easy, too - combine several things in a roasting tin, bake for a while, mix the rest in a bowl and then pour over the tin, and then bake again.
The only thing I will change next time is to reduce the amount of squash included. And that was a result of reducing the recipe from 4 people to 2-and-a-bit, coupled with not really having a use for the other half. Oh, and one more thing I guess: this takes 50 minutes to bake, so it's not really one for a Tuesday evening.
But it was a success, and another option to add to the repertiore, which is always nice.
The only thing I will change next time is to reduce the amount of squash included. And that was a result of reducing the recipe from 4 people to 2-and-a-bit, coupled with not really having a use for the other half. Oh, and one more thing I guess: this takes 50 minutes to bake, so it's not really one for a Tuesday evening.
But it was a success, and another option to add to the repertiore, which is always nice.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Experimental Cookery 2020: Classic Turkey Burgers
This one comes from "The Handcrafted Burger", which is a book LC bought me for my birthday last year and which I've never quite managed to use until now. My previous effort at turkey burgers is one of my major cookery disasters, so I was somewhat apprehensive about these, but also hopeful that they'd turn out better.
The short answer is: they did. These were simple and easy to put together, although I remained a little apprehensive about the amount of moisture in the burgers. But they cooked up really well. At least these ones looked like turkey burgers!
Taste-wise, they were pretty good. I think in future I'll want to reduce the amount of lemon juice significantly, as they was by far the dominant flavour, but otherwise I have no complaints. And I'll certainly be having these again. (That said, I don't think these are ones to batch prepare, as in the case of the beef, lamb, or venison burgers we have. I'll see when we cook up the spares, but my gut feeling is that these are best prepared and eaten right away.)
And that's that. I'm actually in a bit of a vein of new meals - there will be another Experimental Cookery tonight, so expect another update soon. Hopefully, I'll find something else to blog about before too long.
#3: "The Next Person You Meet in Heaven", by Mitch Albom (an early contender for Book of the Year, though my feeling is that if this is the peak then it probably means 2020 is not a banner year for reading. It was really good, but not that good.)
The short answer is: they did. These were simple and easy to put together, although I remained a little apprehensive about the amount of moisture in the burgers. But they cooked up really well. At least these ones looked like turkey burgers!
Taste-wise, they were pretty good. I think in future I'll want to reduce the amount of lemon juice significantly, as they was by far the dominant flavour, but otherwise I have no complaints. And I'll certainly be having these again. (That said, I don't think these are ones to batch prepare, as in the case of the beef, lamb, or venison burgers we have. I'll see when we cook up the spares, but my gut feeling is that these are best prepared and eaten right away.)
And that's that. I'm actually in a bit of a vein of new meals - there will be another Experimental Cookery tonight, so expect another update soon. Hopefully, I'll find something else to blog about before too long.
#3: "The Next Person You Meet in Heaven", by Mitch Albom (an early contender for Book of the Year, though my feeling is that if this is the peak then it probably means 2020 is not a banner year for reading. It was really good, but not that good.)
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Experimental Cookery 2020: Spiced Sausage Gnocchi with(out) Warm Kale & Bean Salad
Following hot on the heels of the Macaroni Cheese comes the second Experimental Cookery of the year. This one comes from Jamie's "15 Minute Meals", and indeed took close to the fifteen minutes. Though I only really did half of it - rather than serving the warm kale and bean salad I instead served with just some peas, beans, and mangetout.
This was a nice, pleasant meal to produce, and was very tasty. Despite producing considerably more than we really needed, LC and I ate almost all of it, which is always a good sign. (Funsize rejected it completely - she seems to be going through a phase of refusing any and all food I cook for her. Though it turns out I hadn't actually intended to give her this at all - my food planner recommended chicken instead.)
The only minor adjustment I would make to this would be to slightly reduce the amount of fennel, which is rather strong taste that I'd be inclined to tone down. Otherwise, we'll no doubt be having this again - I was well pleased with the result.
#2: "Dragon of Icespire Peak", from Wizards of the Coast
This was a nice, pleasant meal to produce, and was very tasty. Despite producing considerably more than we really needed, LC and I ate almost all of it, which is always a good sign. (Funsize rejected it completely - she seems to be going through a phase of refusing any and all food I cook for her. Though it turns out I hadn't actually intended to give her this at all - my food planner recommended chicken instead.)
The only minor adjustment I would make to this would be to slightly reduce the amount of fennel, which is rather strong taste that I'd be inclined to tone down. Otherwise, we'll no doubt be having this again - I was well pleased with the result.
#2: "Dragon of Icespire Peak", from Wizards of the Coast
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Experimental Cookery 2020: Macaroni Cheese
For Christmas I received a copy of the Hairy Bikers' "One Pot Wonders", and so yesterday's meal was the first foray into this book.
On the positive side, this was pretty quick and very easy to put together, and it was certainly a boon having only a single pot to wash up afterwards (even though I didn't do that washing up, I should note).
Unfortunately, the results were not ideal. We found that the meal was surprisingly bland. We also found that the quantities were off - as far as I could tell, they used about twice as much pasta as the meal really should have had. This meant we were left with a fairly large amount of not-very-tasty pasta that is going to end up in the food waste bin, which isn't great.
I do think I could probably adjust this one for better results, by reducing the amount of pasta, and adjusting both the quanitities and type(s) of cheese. However, I'm not sure I'll bother - we prefer Lorraine's method and that's not too much effort, so maybe we'll just stick with that. We'll see - convenience does certainly have it's advantages...
On the positive side, this was pretty quick and very easy to put together, and it was certainly a boon having only a single pot to wash up afterwards (even though I didn't do that washing up, I should note).
Unfortunately, the results were not ideal. We found that the meal was surprisingly bland. We also found that the quantities were off - as far as I could tell, they used about twice as much pasta as the meal really should have had. This meant we were left with a fairly large amount of not-very-tasty pasta that is going to end up in the food waste bin, which isn't great.
I do think I could probably adjust this one for better results, by reducing the amount of pasta, and adjusting both the quanitities and type(s) of cheese. However, I'm not sure I'll bother - we prefer Lorraine's method and that's not too much effort, so maybe we'll just stick with that. We'll see - convenience does certainly have it's advantages...
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
The Next Labour Leader
I'll keep this short because I'm really not paying much attention to the Labour leadership contest. The reason for that is that I believe it genuinely doesn't matter who they pick: they're not choosing our next Prime Minister here. The successful candidate won't be the next Tony Blair, or even the next John Smith; if they're lucky, they'll be the next Neil Kinnock - the person who loses the next several elections but does eventually lay the foundations for future success.
The next Labour Prime Minister is somebody we haven't heard of yet, and quite possibly someone who hasn't entered Parliament yet.
The next Labour Prime Minister is somebody we haven't heard of yet, and quite possibly someone who hasn't entered Parliament yet.
Monday, January 06, 2020
Theme of the Month: Fitness
It's unlikely that I'll have a theme for every month this year, and there's a good chance that I may repeat a few. However, for the month of January, I'm very definitely setting a theme, and that is fitness. This is motivated by my repeated failures to lose any significant weight over the last several years, coupled with not really getting started on the fitness programmes I've had set up at the gym. Still, we'll need to see how it goes - simply setting a theme doesn't actually mean it's done.
I've made something of a start on the theme this afternoon, with my first trip to the gym of the year. It went okay, but wasn't spectacular - there will be a fairly long period of building up the routines until they cover all of the programmes I was given. But that's fine.
But there's more to fitness than just going to the gym. Another part of it will be fixing my diet, which has been excessive for too long. (That starts tomorrow; due to a family birthday it doesn't make much sense to start today.) And then there are other aspects of fitness: mental, emotional, psychological. Not to mention a more general fitness in my lifestyle - a general tune-up of finances, another round of decluttering, and so forth.
So it's going to be a busy few weeks. But a worthwhile one, I think.
#1: "Lethal White", by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
I've made something of a start on the theme this afternoon, with my first trip to the gym of the year. It went okay, but wasn't spectacular - there will be a fairly long period of building up the routines until they cover all of the programmes I was given. But that's fine.
But there's more to fitness than just going to the gym. Another part of it will be fixing my diet, which has been excessive for too long. (That starts tomorrow; due to a family birthday it doesn't make much sense to start today.) And then there are other aspects of fitness: mental, emotional, psychological. Not to mention a more general fitness in my lifestyle - a general tune-up of finances, another round of decluttering, and so forth.
So it's going to be a busy few weeks. But a worthwhile one, I think.
#1: "Lethal White", by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
Books of the Year 2019
As part of the end-of-year round-up, I can once again present a list of books read in the past year.
Here is the list:
The book of the year goes to "The Falcon of Sparta", by Conn Iggulden, which I enjoyed from start to finish. The most disappointing book of the year, by a long way, was "Not Wanted on the Voyage".
And that's that. As discussed previously, the goal for 2020 is once again to read 60 books. I'm not setting any sublists, as pretty much all the series I've been following have now come to a stop - there may be the occasional new volume in some, but not enough for a full sublist.
Here is the list:
- "Dark Sun Campaign Setting", by Richard Baker, Robert J. Schwalb, and Rodney Thompson
- "802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide", by Matthew S. Gast
- "Version Control with Git", by Jon Loeliger & Matthew McCullogh
- "The Business", by Iain Banks
- "Book of Swords, Part I", edited by Gardner Dozois
- "Game Angry: How to RPG the Angry Way", by Scott Rehm
- "Creature Codex", by Kobold Press
- "Pathfinder: Rise of New Thassilon", by Greg A. Vaughan
- "Dead Air", by Iain Banks
- "100 Classic Stories", by Miles Kelly **
- "Pathfinder: The Dead Roads", by Ron Lundeen
- "Book of Swords, Part II", edited by Gardner Dozois
- "The Skaar Invasion", by Terry Brooks
- "The Steep Approach to Garbadale", by Iain Banks
- "The Magician's Nephew", by C.S. Lewis * **
- "Pathfinder: Eulogy for Roslar's Coffer", by Jason Keeley
- "Darien: Empire of Salt", by C.F. Iggulden
- "Forever and a Day", by Anthony Horowitz
- "Anna Karenina", by Leo Tolstoy *
- "Transition", by Iain Banks
- "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", by C.S. Lewis * **
- "Doctor Who: Wit, Wisdom and Timey-Wimey Stuff", by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
- "Pathfinder: Last Watch", by Larry Wilhelm
- "Book of Spells, Part I", edited by Gardner Dozois
- "Dark Sun Creature Catalogue", by Richard Baker and Bruce R. Cordell
- "Marauders of the Dune Sea", by Bruce R. Cordell
- "Pathfinder: Gardens of Gallowspire", by Crystal Frasier
- "The Horse and His Boy", by C.S. Lewis * **
- "The Crow Road", by Iain Banks
- "Morgrave Miscellany", by Keith Baker and Ruty Rutenberg
- "In the Skin of a Lion", by Michael Ondaatje *
- "Moon Over Soho", by Ben Aaronovitch
- "Pathfinder: Borne by the Sun's Grace", by Luis Loza
- "Book of Spells, Part II", edited by Gardner Dozois
- "William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Jedi the Last", by Ian Doescher
- "Clan of the Cave Bear", by Jean M. Auel *
- "Colonel Sun", by Kingsley Amis
- "Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis * **
- "The Falcon of Sparta", by Conn Iggulden
- "Pathfinder: Midwives to Death", by John Compton
- "The Secret Life of Bees", by Sue Monk Kidd *
- "Pathfinder: The Emerald Spire Superdungeon", from Paizo Publishing
- "The Verdant Passage", by Troy Denning
- "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", by C.S. Lewis * **
- "A Legacy of Spies", by John Le Carré
- "The Crimson Legion", by Troy Denning
- "War of the Wolf", by Bernard Cornwell
- "The Silver Chair", by C.S. Lewis * **
- "The Amber Enchantress", by Troy Denning
- "The Last Battle", by C.S. Lewis * **
- "Nightflyers", by George R.R. Martin
- "Babe, the Sheep-Pig", by Dick King-Smith **
- "Not Wanted on the Voyage", by Timothy Findley *
- "The Mystery of the Three Quarters", by Sophie Hannah
- "The Obsidian Oracle", by Troy Denning
- "Children of God Storybook Bible", by Archbishop Desmond Tutu **
- "The Cerulean Storm", by Tory Denning
- "Fantasy Mapmaker", by Jared Blando
- "Shiang", by C.F. Iggulden
- "The Bourne Identity", by Robert Ludlum *
The book of the year goes to "The Falcon of Sparta", by Conn Iggulden, which I enjoyed from start to finish. The most disappointing book of the year, by a long way, was "Not Wanted on the Voyage".
And that's that. As discussed previously, the goal for 2020 is once again to read 60 books. I'm not setting any sublists, as pretty much all the series I've been following have now come to a stop - there may be the occasional new volume in some, but not enough for a full sublist.
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