Washing Machine Down

Our washing machine died yesterday. It looks pretty serious - my guess is that it's the main board that has given up the ghost, which is theoretically fixable but probably not worth it. However, this isn't a disaster, as we already have a new washing machine, which we bought for the flat a couple of years ago. So, really, all that's needed is to take out the old washing machine, put the new one in its place, plug it in...

Unfortunately, that's where the next problem comes in, because the washing machine and tumble drier in our utility room aren't plugged in to the wall at all - some bright spark decided the thing to do was to wire them in directly. (I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I can't find the offending post...) So what is needed is a multi-step process - first, pull the appliances away from the wall; switch off the power in the house; unwire the existing appliances; wire in a new socket; switch the power back on; lift the old washing machine into the garage and bring the new one into the house; plug the new one in. (And much the same for the tumble drier.)

And, alas, the washing machine, at least, is too heavy for one person to lift by themselves.

So it's all a bit of a nuisance, especially since we're in a position where we can't easily make plans, and where I don't get home until after it gets dark. And, of course, it's now a job that can't really wait - we can just about make do without a washing machine for a short period, but it's really not for the best.

A Tiny Victory

On Sundays at the moment, Channel 4 have a show "The Biggest Little Railway in the World" which, really is one of those shows that exists because they have holes in the schedule so they find some colourful characters, set them an absurd challenge, package it all up with some historical context, and call it good. Anyway, it's a relaxing way to waste some much-needed time, so that's fine.

Anyway... (Oh, and spoilers, I guess...)

LC and I have been watching the show since about mid-way through the first episode, and it's been interesting. I'm particularly enjoying the engineering challenges. It's all a bit odd, but it's good fun.

However, last night's episode was filled with the tragic moment when the team lead decided that the Age of Steam would have to come to an end - they were taking too long servicing the steam locomotive, so that they weren't going to meet their target. So he replaced the steam locomotive with a battery-powered one that, while obviously more efficient, just wasn't as good. New is not always better.

Anyway, that was the way of things for about a quarter of the show - they'd shifted from steam to electric, it had all gone modern, and that was that.

But then, triumphantly, they brought back the steam engine! This seemed mostly to be due to stubbornness - the team lead had to go check in on another team, so the lead engineer (who was then in charge) brought back the steam locomotive because, let's face it, it's just better. (Seriously, that seemed to be the argument - we like steam, so let's have it. Huzzah!)

But what's most interesting, and the reason that I'm bothering with this post, is that Tadpole seems to particularly enjoy this show (it's probably the music). And at the exact moment when the steam locomotive was restored, Tadpole chose to dance the Dance of Celebration!

Thus proving two things: Tadpole is a person of taste and discretion, because steam is indeed better, and Tadpole is clearly going to be an engineer when she grows up. Huzzah again!

Unless she decides to do something else instead, of course.

(Also, the pronouns aren't a clue, because I don't know. I may need to edit this post in a couple of weeks to change them.)

The Day of Sorrows is Upon Me

For the past several weeks, the Tesco list has had "Irn Bru?" on it, as a consequence of the impending change to the ingredients. Until this week, a check of the bottles has revealed that we were still on old stock, and so I've gradually built up a supply (as each week I have bought enough for two weeks).

Yesterday, reading the bottle revealed the horrible truth that we were now on the new stuff. So that had to go back on the shelf while I completed my shop in dismay. (In the end, the story had a happy ending - it turned out that while the bottles were new, they still had cans that were in the old recipe. Score one more for the good guys!)

Which means that we've come to the crunch time. Things can go one of three ways: either the sales figures will hold up (or even improve), and the new recipe will be here to stay; or they'll drop by a reasonable amount, but not enough to force a rethink, and the new recipe will be here to stay; or sales will plummet and they'll fairly quickly have to reverse the decision (as happened with New Coke). I hate hoping for something to fail, but...

On the larger topic, I do understand why this measure has come about. The impending Sugar Tax left Barrs in a tricky spot. They had three choices: they could swallow the tax themselves, and devastate their profits; or they could pass on the tax to customers, and see a large hit in sales; or they could do what they have done.

What they couldn't do, unfortunately, is just reduce the sugar content without adding other sweeteners. The Sugar Tax is a binary thing - you pay nothing up to a threshold, and then you pay the full amount no matter how far above it you are. Irn Bru was at about double the threshold. So a reasonably reduction in sugar wouldn't be enough to avoid the tax, while cutting it by half would drastically alter the flavour (probably making it undrinkable). So, to avoid the tax, it had to be artificial sweeteners.

(They could, of course, have launched either "Irn Bru 50/50" as a new option, or introduced "Irn Bru Premium" that maintained the sugar but at a higher price. But there are problems with both options - basically, you're competing against yourself, which never ends well.)

So, that's where we are. I believe I have enough in stock to take me through to my birthday (especially since I'm still giving it up for Lent, starting on the 13th of February). By which time we'll know the outcome one way or another - either the new stuff will be here to stay, or the old recipe will be back. Or, just possibly, that "Irn Bru Premium" I mentioned may have arrived... though I'd be surprised.

#4: "The Darkling Child", by Terry Brooks

Gym and Bear It

Ever since work moved to our current office about 5 years ago, I have been a member of the university gym. It's actually a very well-stocked gym (except for the lack of a swimming pool), and at a very reasonable price - and, indeed, it's even more reasonable since I'm technically classed as university staff (for book-keeping reasons) and so get a lower rate, and work subsidise the membership.

That said, any price is still too much if you don't actually use it, and despite the occasional visit over the years, and despite a brief flurry a few years ago, I haven't really had my money's worth. Indeed, about two years ago they built a whole new facility, and in all that time I'd only actually been back once - and that was for lunch!

Late last year, a couple of months after moving house, I received some spam-mail from the gym. This was sent to my home address, was duly redirected in the post, and so reminded me that I needed to update the gym with my new home address. Then, on the morning when I was about to head over there to do that, I received an email from them, noting that I hadn't been in a while and inviting me to come along for an induction session.

That conveniently all tied up as a big reminded that maybe I should think about going.

And so, the big development of 2018 so far (albeit one that is soon to be eclipsed) is that I've actually been going to the gym regularly.

It's worth noting that this isn't a New Year's Resolution, largely because I don't do those, but also because this all started up in the last working week of December. Indeed, I even went over to the gym on Tuesday the 27th, though that proved to be a mistake (since it was crazy busy).

I'm still not convinced that it's doing me more good than it's causing me pain, but never mind. The big challenge, though, will be to resume going after the arrival of Tadpole - that last flurry of visits I mentioned stopped as soon as I had my first holiday of that year, so taking a break is known to be dangerous...

#3: "On the Road", by Jack Kerouac (a book from The List)

Experimental Cookery 2018: Lemony Courgette Linguine

For Christmas I received two cookbooks, and the first Experimental Cookery of the year came from one of these, Jamie's "5 Ingredients" book. This was one I'd seen on his programme and wanted to try, so...

Well, as expected the meal was quick and easy to put together, with the most involved step being to slice up the courgettes. Not exactly tough. So, it was all done and on the plate inside 25 minutes - I could have done it faster if I'd chopped those at the same time I cooked the pasta.

Taste wise... it was okay, but I'm afraid no more than that. Certainly, I'm not inspired to do this one again. A shame, but not a disaster.

And that's that. I don't have a next Experimental Cookery planned, but one will no doubt come up...

#2: "Pathfinder: City in the Deep", by Amber E. Scott

Theresa's Reshuffle

One for the media: if you don't mind, I'd rather you didn't endlessly harp on about the Tories being inept on social media, and instead bring us the news of what's actually happening. Indeed, a nice table showing all the jobs as they get filled in would be just right.

The thing is, while it's amusing that the Tories are having a bad time of it on Twitter, that's really not important in the grand scheme. It is, after all, really easy to hit "Send" before you realise you've got the wrong name in place, or to drop in a spelling mistake. Yes, it's funny. But it's no more than that.

More important, though, and what I'd like to know, is who is going to be ruining the country for the next year or so.

And that's not a typo.

#1: "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún", by J.R.R. Tolkien

Books of the Year 2017

As part of the end-of-year round-up, here's the list of the books of 2017:

1. "Pathfinder: The Whisper Out of Time", by Richard Pett
2. "Reaper's Eye", by Richard A. Knaak
3. "Far From the Madding Crowd", by Thomas Hardy *
4. "Jarka Ruus", by Terry Brooks
5. "The Player of Games", by Iain M. Banks
6. "Ravenspur", by Conn Iggulden
7. "Pathfinder: What Grows Within", by John Compton
8. "Jude the Obscure", by Thomas Hardy *
9. "Tanequil", by Terry Brooks
10. "Use of Weapons", by Iain M. Banks
11. "Pathfinder: Black Stars Beckon", by Jim Groves
12. "Through the Gate in the Sea", by Howard Andrew Jones
13. "The Remains of the Day", by Kazuo Ishiguro *
14. "State of the Art", by Iain M. Banks
15. "Straken", by Terry Brooks
16. "The Immortal Throne", by Stella Gemmell
17. "The Color Purple", by Alice Walker *
18. "Armageddon's Children", by Terry Brooks
19. "Pathfinder: Trail of the Hunted", by Amber E. Scott
20. "Excession", by Iain M. Banks
21. "Pathfinder: Fangs of War", by Rob Lundeen
22. "The Woman in White", by Wilkie Collins *
23. "Gears of Faith", by Gabrielle Harbowy
24. "The Elves of Cintra", by Terry Brooks
25. "Inversions", by Iain M. Banks
26. "Pathfinder: Assault on Longshadow", by Benjamin Bruck and Thurston Hillman
27. "The Flame Bearer", by Bernard Cornwell
28. "The Gypsy Morph", by Terry Brooks
29. "Look to Windward", by Iain M. Banks
30. "She's Come Undone", by Wally Lamb *
31. "Pathfinder: Siege of Stone", by Thurston Hillman
32. "The Long Cosmos", by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
33. "Madame Bovary", by Gustave Flaubert *
34. "Bearers of the Black Staff", by Terry Brooks
35. "Pathfinder: Prisoners of the Blight", by Amanda Hamon Kunz
36. "The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner", by Terry Pratchett
37. "Matter", by Iain M. Banks
38. "The Power", by Naomi Alderman
39. "The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett *
40. "Measure of the Magic", by Terry Brooks
41. "Pathfinder: Vault of the Onyx Citadel", by Larry Wilhelm
42. "Go Set a Watchman", by Harper Lee
43. "Surface Detail", by Iain M. Banks
44. "Anne of Green Gables", by L. M. Montgomery *
45. "Pathfinder: The Lost Outpost", by Jim Groves
46. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms", by George R.R. Martin
47. "The View From the Cheap Seats", by Neil Gaiman
48. "Wards of Faerie", by Terry Brooks
49. "Germinal", by Émile Zola *
50. "Pathfinder: Into the Shattered Continent", by Robert Brookes
51. "Bloodfire Quest", by Terry Brooks
52. "Beren and Luthien", by J.R.R. Tolkien
53. "Witch Wraith", by Terry Brooks
54. "Pathfinder: The Flooded Cathedral", by Mikko Kallio
55. "SS-GB", by Len Deighton
56. "Xanathar's Guide to Everything", by Wizards of the Coast
57. "The High Druid's Blade", by Terry Brooks
58. "Swallows and Amazons", by Arthur Ransome *
59. "Moby Dick", by Herman Melville *
60. "The Hydrogen Sonata", by Iain M. Banks

So, that's 60 books exactly, including twelve from The List. Of these, there are thirteen RPG books, and only one re-read ("Use of Weapons"). The Pathfinder Tales sublist had to be curtailed, as these suddenly stopped being published (with still no news of them restarting), but the other sublists were completed, and sufficient additional new books were added to make up the total. So I'm happy with that.

The book of the year was, surprisingly, the very last one I read: "The Hydrogen Sonata" by Iain M. Banks, which was the best of a strong series, and a very fine way to send off that series. I should note that, until book 60, the previous best had been "Inversions" by the same author. Also of note is "Germinal" by Zola, which was strong stuff but very depressing.

The most disappointing book of the year was itself a disappointing category, as three books were in very strong contention for the position, meaning that the quality of the year as a whole took a hit. "The Power" was abject nonsense, but it was at least well-written and mostly entertaining nonsense, so it's spared the title. "Go Set a Watchman" was likewise a huge disappointment, and indeed a book I wish I had never been published as it achieves the almost impossible and makes "To Kill a Mockingbird" retroactively less good. But I was aware of the risk going in, so I have to blame myself, at least in part, for that one.

The book that gets the title, sadly, is "Beren and Luthien", which I didn't enjoy and which also disappointed my high hopes for it. I'd expected, and hoped for, something on the lines of the excellent "Children of Hurin", and although I was uncertain how this could be done (since as far as I was aware, Tolkien never finished a long-form version of this story), I'd hoped that something had come to light to allow it. Alas, this was not the case - "Beren and Luthien" reads much more like an academic tract, bringing together and discussion lots of different versions of the story, without actually presenting the whole thing as a cohesive narrative. It's a book about a story, not really the story itself. (Which is a shame, since that and the story of the Fall of Gondolin, would be extremely interesting additions to the canon of Middle Earth, if it were possible for them to be brought together.)

2018 is another year of transition, and like 2012 I'm therefore not setting goals of the same sort. In fact, the one goal that I am setting is a reading goal, but it's not a total number of books but rather more specific: I intend to read ten specific titles over the course of the year. I've discussed the specifics of this on my post about goals, so won't reiterate them here.

My Year in 2017

So, the end of 2017. It's been an interesting year, if nothing else! After flirting with the possibility of a change, in the end I decided to stick with my normal format...

My Year in... Blogging

This year I set myself a sort-of goal of posting an average of 10 times a month on this blog, and a further five times a month on the Imaginarium - enough for both blogs to be vibrant, but not a record-beating number. And I've achieved both targets pretty much exactly. I'm happy with that.

My Year in... Work

There's not much I can say about work - all the same things I couldn't talk about last year are pretty much as un-talk-about-able as they were last year.

For the rest... in some ways this has been a great year, in others it has fallen short. There's the prospect of some of that being made good in the near future, but then I thought that this time last year (I even had a whole goal about it). So we'll have to see.

Once again, there has been no call to travel this year. Under the circumstances, my ability to travel next year is limited. So I don't know when next I'll be away.

My Year in... Health

This year has been much the same as the last few - mostly fine, with the IBS never really being too bad. I did have to have a root canal treatment on one tooth, which wasn't fun. But that's done now.

My Year in... Gaming

2017 has been a very quiet year for gaming - I enjoyed a grand total of five sessions, I think, one of which was "Star Trek" and the others "Pathfinder". My main conclusion is that Pathfinder is not for me.

I expect 2018 to be largely devoid of gaming.

My Year in... Band

2017 was a bittersweet year for band. I enjoyed my last season with Camelon & District (well, I mostly enjoyed it) and then bowed out. I've since joined Uphall Station Pipe Band, which is a local, non-competing band. The standard is much lower, which is inherent in 'non-competing', but the pressure is also much less. I've played two events with them so far, and it's a good fit.

My Year in... Resolutions

As always, the wrap-up of annual goals, and setting of goals for next year, are handled in another post.

My Year in... Travel

I made two trips in 2017, and LC made a third. During the Easter holiday, we took a short holiday in York, which was good fun. And then in October we visited Copenhagen. This latter trip was also good fun, with the highlight being seeing the polar bear (in the zoo), though it was really quite expensive (and, to be honest, I preferred Amsterdam).

I didn't take a summer holiday this year due to the house move, but LC spent a week in Croatia. Which is deeply unfair - maybe I'll take a holiday by myself next year to make up for it.

On the other hand, the big movement of the year was also a very short one - the move from Falkirk to Livingston. We finally moved out of the flat at the start of June, and into the new house at the start of July (while LC was in Croatia, no less). This was all a bit of a nightmare, so it was a huge relief to have it finally over and done with!

My Year in... Faith

Following the house move, LC and I have done a tour of the churches in and around Livingston, and settled on a new base of worship. It's very new at the moment, but looks to be a good start.

Other than that, there's not much to report.

My Year in... Sadness

Of course, the end-of-year review couldn't pass without mentioning the passing of Grandma, on the 1st of April. I wrote about this at some length at the time, so won't reiterate it here, but it's sad that this was the first Christmas in twenty years when she wasn't visiting (albeit in hospital last year).

My Year in... Great Joy

But, of course, the most significant event of the year was of course the start of Project Tadpole, which is now in the middle of its eighth month. This is actually something I've been hoping for for a very long time, and also something I'm very much looking forward to in 2018.

My Year... Overall

I know that a lot of people have found 2017 to be extremely trying, and there is certainly reason to wish it done. However, for me, 2017 was a very distinct step forward from the horrors of 2016. It was really good to finally complete the house move, developments at work have been largely positive (though not without their problems - but I can't talk about that), and so it has been a generally okay year.

2018 promises to be a year of major changes. That being the case, I'm not entirely sure what to expect. I guess we'll find out.

And with that, I bid farewell to blogging for 2017. I hope you have a good New Year, and that 2018 brings every blessing.

End of Year Update on Goals

With the year rapidly coming to an end, it's time for the end-of-year wrap-up. And so my first post on the topic is the update on my goals for the year:

• Weight: No joy. This has been an utter failure. There's not really any more to be said there - it just hasn't worked out at all.
• Books: This was a very narrow success - I finished book 60 on the 29th of the month. I made it through all but one of the sub-lists - I had to abandon the Pathfinder Tales when Paizo stopped publishing them, though that can't really be considered a failing in the goal. So, success!
• Super Secret Goal #4: This was completed, finally, in August.
• Part Five: The House: This was mostly done - we didn't get around to redecorating the two rooms, but we did get the various bits of new furniture and did do most of the other things on our list. So that's not bad.
• Part Five: Church: Done. LC and I have decided to worship at the St Andrew's church in Livingston (which is associated with the Old Parish), at least for the foreseeable future.
• Part Five: Band: Done. I left Camelon & District Pipe Band at the AGM, and have moved across to Uphall Station Pipe Band, a non-competing band in my local area. So that's good.
• Part Five: Gaming: Done. I've decided to stick with the Falkirk RPG group, at least nominally. However, I expect my gaming to be sharply curtailed over the next few years - indeed I'm considering stopping gaming altogether for various reasons.
• Super Secret Goal #5: I fairly quickly decided that this goal would be discarded. And yet, with the end of the year upon us, I find I may have to revisit it...

So...

Of the eight goals, that's five done and one abandoned. There was one incomplete task, and one abject failure. That's pretty good, really. But the failure of the weight goal is fairly damning.

2018 will very much be a year of transition, much like 2012. And, like 2012, 2018 will be marked with an absence of formal goals. In fact, I'm only going to set one, and it will be both fairly minor and awfully specific:

• Books: As I've mentioned before, The List is made up as a composite of two top-100 lists, one British and one American. My goal for the year is therefore to read the remaining titles in the British list. This gives me ten specific titles to read over the next year (technically eleven, but somehow "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" and "Hamlet" are both on the list. I'm not sure how that came about.)

And that really is it - just one goal for the year, and it's extremely doable. (I do hope, again, to do something about the weight issue, but I'm not setting a formal goal even on that front. I wonder if that means it will be any more effective.)

#57: "The High Druid's Blade", by Terry Brooks
#58: "Swallows and Amazons", by Arthur Ransome (a book from The List)
#59: "Moby Dick", by Herman Melville (a book from The List)
#60: "The Hydrogen Sonata", by Iain M. Banks

The Last Jedi

Well... it's a film.

I don't think there are any spoilers in what follows. But if you really want to be sure, look away now!

LC and I went to see the new Star Wars film last night. Surprisingly, the cinema was largely empty. I have no idea why this was the case - did they just put on too many showings, or massively over-estimate the draw of the film? Or is it just that the Vue are so absurdly expensive that they've killed their own business? (I suppose it might also be that 3D is now a dead fad, but I didn't see a huge number of people lining up for any of the other showings either...)

My impression of the film itself was... strange. There are several things that I liked - I liked that they did something new with the film, rather than just rehash "The Empire Strikes Back", and I liked some of the new characters and new locations, I liked seeing the 1% of the galaxy, and I liked the various takes on Luke and Kylo's memory...

In addition, there's nothing I didn't like about the film. Okay, maybe one particular bit of silliness, but can live with that (it is only a few moments, after all). And, I suppose one moment left me thinking "why didn't you do that in the first place?" But those are quibbles, rather than movie-shattering flaws.

But having said that, my overall impression is, as I said above: "it's a film." I didn't hate it, I didn't love it... it was just there. Okay then, thanks for that, see you next year.

Which is weird.

I should note: I do think it's better than "The Force Awakens", but probably not as good as "Rogue One" (on any count). And it's not going to dislodge any of the original trilogy from my affections. It's also better than "Justice League" or "Wonder Woman", but I certainly enjoyed "Thor: Ragnarok" considerably more.

One More!

I forgot to post at the time, but when in Edinburgh Airport on my way to Copenhagen I discovered a truly great piece of news: there is one more Terry Pratchett book that I have not read! It's a third short story collection, "Father Christmas' Fake Beard", collecting a few more of his early writings. That, alas, really will be the end, but never mind - it's one more bit of extra time I didn't know was coming.

#54: "Pathfinder: The Flooded Cathedral", by Mikko Kallio
#55: "SS-GB", by Len Deighton
#56: "Xanathar's Guide to Everything", by Wizards of the Coast

Ending in Fire

I'm a little hesitant to write this post. It has been my contention for some time that anyone who interprets politics through the lens of Harry Potter is equivalent to Dolores Umbridge teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts: lacking a proper understanding of the subject, they're forced to revert back to an inadequate textbook.

And yet, I'm about the note a big parallel between UK politics and "Babylon 5". But, oh well.

So, here it is: in B5, the Centauri Republic most readily match up to the UK - a proud, decadent people, that are somehow both a democracy and ruled by an emperor, long since past their prime, and busily sucking up to the Earth Alliance (that is: America).

In this arrangement, Nigel Farage is Londo Mollari, and especially in his answer to the famous "What do you want?" question: "Do you really want to know what I want? Do you really want to know the truth? I want my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again and command the stars. I want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power! I want to stop running through my life like a man late for an appointment, afraid to look back or look forward. I want us to be what we used to be! I want... I want it all back the way it was. Does that answer your question?"

(There's a really big weakness of the analogy right here - in the show Londo is deeply flawed, but he's actually a sympathetic, albeit tragic, figure.)

Of course, things don't go well for our hero. But I'll get to that.

As the show progresses, the various species eventually find common ground in the Interstellar Alliance, of which the Centauri are somewhat uncomfortable members. So, that's the EU. Meanwhile, through a combination of mad circumstances, the Centauri find themselves ruled by a spectacularly weak Regent (May), who is being influenced or controlled by shadowy figures called the Drakh (Boris, Gove).

And following a further sequence of events, apparently caused by the Centauri, but really brought about by the secret influence of the Drakh, the Centauri Empire declare that they are leaving the Interstellar Alliance in order to stand alone. So far, so Brexit-y.

Unfortunately, what happens next is "The Fall of Centauri Prime", and a generation of misery for the people of that Republic.

The Passing of Irn Bru

Today I finally saw news that I'd been expecting, and dreading, for a year: Barrs have decided to reduce the sugar content in Irn Bru, replacing it with artificial sweeteners. Come January next year, barring a miraculous reversal of this nonsense, I will have to give it up.

And there I was thinking that 2017 hadn't been as bad as 2016.

Captain Ric: To Infinity and Beyond

Terrible news, folks: RiCiCles are being withdrawn from sale. The age old battle between tiger and spaceman has ended in the only way that it could, with the demise of our beloved mascot Captain Ric.

Fortunately, Coco Pops and Frosties remain safe.

For now.

Justice League

LC and I finally made it out to the "Justice League" film last night, one of four (I think) we're still hoping to see before the end of the year (the others being "The Man Who Invented Christmas", possibly "Coco", and of course "The Last Jedi").

But before that, a word about Vue cinemas: I can't say I'm impressed. There are a number of reasons for this. One is the price, which is significantly higher than Cineworld (which was already getting out of hand). A second is that they're still stuck in the dark ages of charging a booking fee for ordering online (it should be the opposite - if we're booking online, not only are we paying in advance, and for tickets we might end up not even using, but we're also saving you staffing costs). The third is the absence of any sort of Unlimited card - given the above, that would be a major boon.

But my biggest issue is the concessions stand. Now, my understanding is that these days cinemas, even grotesquely overpriced cinemas, actually barely break even on the films, and instead make their money on the drinks, popcorn, etc. So I do generally take the view that if you want those things you should get them (and, in particular, not sneak in your own, reasonably-priced, drinks and snacks). However, the flip side of that is that the cinemas really need their staff to be on the ball - it's no good if you get to the cinema, find there's virtually no queue, and then still have to wait to be served, wait while the staff mess around with something else (in this case, "no milk!"), then have to repeat your order several times, and then eventually get it.

On the plus side, that disappointment prepared me nicely for the film.

"Justice League" is fine. It's far, far better than "Batman v Superman", though not as 'good' as "Wonder Woman" (though that film is also vastly overrated - probably due to a combination of being a DC film that doesn't suck, and also being a female-led superhero film that actually made money). There's nothing much wrong with it: there's a coherent story, with a beginning, middle, and end; the actors do their jobs well enough; there's at least some little hint of levity and humour. Basically, it doesn't suck.

But... there's also not really anything in the film that really demands a viewing, and certainly not at £30 for two tickets plus popcorn.

To be honest, I think the only thing in the film that really made any impression was the music, and in particular the reuse of the old Danny Elfman "Batman" theme and the John Williams "Superman" theme. On the one hand, this was a great move, since those are great themes (and since the latest DC versions don't have good themes for those characters). On the other hand, the biggest effect of this was to remind me of other, older versions of the characters that, frankly, I liked more - it's not that Cavill is doing a bad job as Superman, but he's just not Christopher Reeve; and it's not like Affleck's Batman is bad, as such, but both Bale and Keaton did it better.

So, yeah. "Justice League" is okay. But I have no burning desire to see it again, and frankly I'd recommend going to see "Thor: Ragnarok" a second time instead. Or just watching the "Infinity War" trailer, which packs more greatness in two minutes.

So... Christmas

One of the issues caused by the adverts starting Christmas in July is that it means that as we get towards the end of November I invariably find myself starting to worry because I've barely started yet. Indeed, as a matter of principle I won't be starting my 'real' preparations for Christmas until next Sunday, with the ceremonial decorating of the tree. (Though I have purchased a gift - the office are doing "Secret Santa" this year, and so the deadline for that one is rather earlier than the rest.)

That said, my plans are somewhat advanced for this year, notably in that I have an actual plan.

This year represents the start of me getting properly organised for Christmas, per my guide of last year. That being the case, I've set up my Christmas folder, established the three documents I'll need, and thus got the paperwork ready to record the steps. I've also discussed with LC what we'll be doing in general terms - so I know that in addition to the tree we'll be adding some new decorations for the rest of the house; I know I'll be doing a little, but not much, Christmas cooking; and I know that we'll be heading to the Christmas market in the near future.

Of course, the main thing that I have not done, is come up with much of a list of potential Christmas gifts for other people to get me. The big problem is that there's very little I want or need, and of those things that I do need (mostly, replacements for things that have worn out), my needs are very specific - it's all well and good saying I could do with some band kit, but the reality is that I'll need to pick that out for myself to ensure I get the right size/colour/etc.

But that's not a bad starting point for still being a week short of December.

The Alex Salmond Show

Thanks to the vociferous outrage of the Scottish media, I recently became aware that Alex Salmond has a new show on RT (formerly "Russia Today"). Furthermore, given just how angry the subject made them, I felt I just had to check it out. I'm sure Alex is absolutely gutted at the coverage.

Anyway... it's not great. From the opening credits, which look and feel much like a low-budget equivalent of the Andrew Marr show (lots of Alex walking around, all dramatically shot, but a bit pompous for my taste) through to Alex's presenting style (which I would categorise as "reasonably-good amateur"... which is probably about right), through to their almost determined need to prove they're not Kremlin stooges by calling out Russia/Putin at just about every opportunity.

But...

On the other hand, in the first week the show had an in-depth interview with Carles Puigdemont. Given how poor the media's coverage of the situation in Catalonia, that was most welcome. (And, it should be noted, my opinion on Catalan independence matches that of Alex: I don't have an opinion on whether Catalonia should or should not become independent, but I'm very much of the opinion that that's a matter for the Catalan people to decide.) In the second week, it had a detailed interview with Jackie Stewart that I didn't think would be interesting but which, in the event very much was - his thoughts on both dyslexia and dementia were definitely worth hearing. And despite my distaste for Alastair Campbell, it was worth hearing him stating his case on Brexit (or, rather, the need to call it off).

So, given that, I'm inclined to keep viewing. The presentation of the show isn't great, but hopefully that will improve with time. But the content, which really is the main thing, seems to be well worth seeing.

I guess I should thank the outrage machine of the UK media - if they hadn't spent so much time and effort telling me why I shouldn't watch, I probably wouldn't have known there was something to see.

(One other thing: one of the things I appreciate about the show is that I don't agree with everything that is said. As I said, Alastair Campbell in particular is not my favourite person in the political sphere. The thing is, being exposed to arguments you don't agree with is a good thing - it forces you to justify why you don't agree with them, which helps to refine your thinking.)

Experimental Cookery 2017: Sausage and Chestnut Pasta Bake

This one comes from the "Bake-off Winter Kitchen" cookbook which, it's fair to say, is not one of my most-used tomes. Indeed, it mostly gets used for the tomato sauce for pizzas, which isn't exactly challenging! So this week's experimental cookery was welcome, if for no other reason than that it gave some slight justification for keeping that book - there may need to be another clear-out soon, and a few of the lesser lights will no doubt go at that time.

Being a pasta bake, this meal wasn't exactly hard - there were a few minutes of prep, a few minutes of pre-cooking some of the ingredients, then it all got mixed together and put in a dish, and it went into the oven. Easy.

The resulting meal was also quite enjoyable - it's something I'll probably do again, though it doesn't exactly threaten any of my "nominated nine". My only slight criticism was that the recipe as given resulted in way too much food - even cutting the quantities in half (from 4 servings to 2) left a huge amount over. Still, this wasn't too terrible, as it saved LC from making lunch for the next day.

All in all, I think that was a winner.

#52: "Beren and Luthien", by J.R.R. Tolkien
#53: "Witch Wraith", by Terry Brooks

Pining for the Golden Age

Just after the Brexit referendum there was a brief spell between David Cameron tendering his resignation to the Queen and Theresa being asked to form a new government. During that time, we technically didn't have a government, and the highest-ranking figure in Downing Street was Larry the Cat.

Any chance we could go back to those halcyon days? Because, frankly, no government is better than a bad government.

#50: "Pathfinder: Into the Shattered Continent", by Robert Brookes
#51: "Bloodfire Quest", by Terry Brooks

Germinal

As I noted in my previous post, at the weekend I finished the 49th book of this year, "Germinal" by Zola, which is a book from the list. After some consideration, I have decided that it is not the book of the year, but it is very good.

Like "The Grapes of Wrath", I found that it depressed and angered me in equal measure. Angered because of the manifest injustice depicted in the novel (although, it should be noted, it was decidedly, and deliberately, one-sided). Depressed because the novel, despite being more than a hundred years old, could very easily have been written about Thatcher's Britain... and removed from the context of a miners' strike specifically it could have been written about in-work poverty today.

(It also didn't help that it was clear, pretty much from the outset, that those who thought of themselves as the saviours of the strikers were manifestly not suited to the job, whether due to self-interest or simple naivety. Indeed, the person with the clearest vision of how genuine change might come about turned out to be an utter, utter bastard... which, yes, is about right.)

Even the supposedly upbeat ending is pretty depressing - the protagonist walks away hopeful that change is coming, and change did indeed come. Unfortunately, the name for that change was "the Russian Revolution", which didn't go so well.

So, can I recommend it? Well, um... maybe. If you're in the mood for a French novel about a doomed miners' strike, and all the poverty and despair that goes with it, I guess so. But if you like happy books, not so much.