This week’s bake was chocolate chip cookies that I have been dreaming of making for a long while, since the middle of the actual Bake Off marathon. I sourced a recipe and, once again, was happy that my ingredients cupboard featured everything I needed except chocolate chips. I decided to buy both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks and mix things up a bit. Oh my god, they were so good! I made two batches. The first one was six dollops of cookie dough, which then spread out far too much and essentially created one giant cookie. I managed to split it up, but it had square edges which was a bit silly. The second batch was just three cookies on a baking tray, so that they naturally found their own round shape, like the above.

There’s a new trailer for the sequel to Despicable Me. If you did not enjoy the last one that included some incredible/awful singing, don’t worry. This one only has a few seconds of much more tolerable minion singing. Despicable Me 2 I am very concerned about the final clip though - with the minion opening the door to what appears to be a friendly face, only to be attacked. No minions must get hurt in the making of this film!!

It’s hard to know where to place your allegiances, because none of the characters are particularly friendly, and all of them are flawed to a high degree. The only one who really seems okay is Sloth, and I’m not sure that counts. This is a world where people who have done bad things wind up with an animal as a companion, which in turn sets them apart in the social scene. There’s vague magic at work, but this is really about crime and navigating an almost disturbing plot set amongst drugs and rock and roll.

So, yea, it’s exactly what I said it was above. I guess in some ways it is fun to live vicariously through them a bit, although I’m pretty sure they’re all quite crazy. There’s plenty I don’t understand - like why the girl is meant to be getting changed in his room but decides to strip off and just hang around for a while. It doesn’t say a lot when my favourite bit is the guys chanting at the painting of Stifler’s mum. The main characters go off to another room, have a whole conversation, and when they come back they’re still at it!

This month has been all about Ed and Emma and their lack of funds. They’ve both been trying to find extra work but it is not easy to find. Expensive things keep happening - broken cars, trips to London, vet bills - and there’s only so many times Susan and Neil can reach into their pockets. What this is really building up to is yet another battle between Ed and Will, however. Will gave his boy a surprise guinea pig as a pet and a present. That just landed them with another expense they weren’t hoping for.

I recently spruced up my Life List page, adding some handy links to the yearly reviews at the top, and then splitting the to-do items into tenuous categories - things to do, things to see, that kind of thing. It’s surprising to me to realise that I’m heading rapidly towards the end of a third year of life-listing, but then again, I’ve tried all sorts of crazy things in that time, so it’s certainly doing its job!

One of the appeals of writing books exclusively in a digital format is that if you need to update your book, it should be simple. Whether it be for a mistake, or additional information, or simply a bigger and better second edition, ebooks are perfect for updating. Rather than printing a huge batch of paperback or hard copy books then realising you’ve made an error, it should be easy to fix and avoid that heart-sinking moment of discovery.

I love projects and creative thinking that solve problems - even if they are problems that I don’t always relate to or understand. This is one of those: encouraging people to exercise when they are using the computer too much. Can there possibly be such a thing?? The video explains it all, with tons of information here. I like the concept, I think being instructed you should do something based on a measurement of your activities is really good. The computer thing doesn’t work for me, because I would go mad if my mouse started slowing down. Plus I don’t have a bike. It makes more sense when people are just messing about on Facebook for hour after hour, or as I used to do - playing the Sims all night. I like to think I’m being slightly more creative online now, but that doesn’t mean that getting up and away from the screen isn’t important too.

I had heard some reports that this book was quite difficult to read and a tough job to get through, so I was relieved when I started it and found it okay. Travelling with Raskolnikov on his journey to and from the pawnbroker was a good start, listening to his thoughts as he pondered killing her. A bit odd, but we’ll go with it.

The Great British Bake Off came to its conclusion a week or so ago (not that you’d know it as their are masterclasses and “revisited” episodes galore!) and I was sure that I was going to take a break from baking too. Except, then Mr C requested jam tarts and I had a look at a recipe and compared to some of the things I’ve been doing, it seemed the easiest thing ever.

On the very day that my Trailer Tuesday post was due to go up last week, the new Iron Man 3 trailer was released. I meant to go back and update that post, but… I didn’t. And then I thought, actually, this deserves a post of its own, even if it is a week late. Iron Man 3

Quite a while back now, Mr C and I ventured towards Manchester to see what all the fuss was about with these new television studios at Media City. The move away from London towards a new settlement a little further north is full of political interest, but that’s not why we wanted to go. Just to see all that broadcasting power contained within some beautiful buildings is like heaven for us.

How has it been four weeks since I last wrote an update? Very odd. I managed to complete October’s 10k. If you’ll remember, I was hoping to improve on this: Jun – 1:34:31 Jul – 1:36:03 Aug – 1:30:55 Sep – 1:34:31 And I managed this: So, not a personal best, but close enough. In other personal best news, my thirty minute runs have topped out at 3.63km, which I managed twice this month. I’m desperate to get to 3.7km, that seems like the next milestone.

It is really annoying that this is a two-parter film that signs you up for five hours commitment of watching, particularly as we weren’t aware of that before we signed up. If we ignore that, though, the film is okay! Some of the sequences are completely preposterous, but great to watch nevertheless - just waiting to see what an earth they can come up with next! Johnny Depp gets to play around with his character continually, and we get yet more bravery from Orlando Bloom, with his over-the-top earnestness.

Almost as much as its adventures in space, the final mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour - to get through the streets of Los Angeles to its final resting place - has captured the minds of a global audience. There’s so much about this that still manages to boggle my mind, and now we have some brilliant time lapse videos to see the movement in action. This second video is almost exactly the same, but does have a clip of them lifting up some electrical wires out the way. It’s amazing how they managed to pull off this feat of extreme travel, incredible to have the view of a space shuttle tail fin winding its way through a leafy suburb, and brilliant to watch the city be put back together again once the behemoth has passed through.

Naturally, I went into this film knowing I loved it, and it was quite fun to be watching with Mr C who hadn’t seen it before. This time I got to be the one who answered the questions and had all the knowledge - that very rarely happens! Anyway, I love it so it’s only ever going to get a five out of five from me. It is slightly longer than I remember, but the twists and turns along the way make it so worth it.

Mostly, this was quite rubbish. I know that teenage drama is always going to be a bit less full on that some of the more hard hitting stuff films like to get away, with but jeez louise, I have never known people make bigger mountains out of smaller molehills! The only bit that made any sense at all was when the diary was read and she moved out. The rest was all just a bit silly.

When the new and exciting Kindle Paperwhite was announced, I was keen to try it out. There’s not much wrong with my current Kindle, but there are a few niggles that the Paperwhite is meant to solve, and they would make me ebook reading experience even more brilliant than it already is. We ordered as soon as we could, and the Paperwhite arrived on the doorstep yesterday. With just 24 hours of experience under my belt, I have some early thoughts on the device - and they’re not as ecstatic as I thought they would be.

Sky have created an advert of sorts, highlighting that never-ending animation series The Simpsons. I haven’t seen any episodes for the longest time, and quite a lot of people think it should have ended by now. Regardless, the title sequence is iconic, and here it is done with real life actors! The only bit that doesn’t quite work for me is Marge’s hair. I get that they’re not going for the full on yellow skin, but a bit of a beehive might have made all the difference!

When I first started reading this, with no background knowledge at all, I figured it was going to be another of those classic books about a country bumpkin who marries or becomes successful but doesn’t do much else. How wrong I was. This book is packed with drama, and action. The ’love’ triangle twists and turns back and forth until it is impossible to second-guess what is going to happen.

For each and every episode of this year’s Great British Bake Off competition, I attempted to bake my own version of something seen in the show - either a direct recipe from the show, or a recipe that was inspired by what I’d just watched. My previous baking experience includes a loaf of bread here and there, the occasional Victoria sponge, mince pies and simple bits, plus one iced cake extravaganza.

It’s been said over and over, but Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher is plain odd. I haven’t read the books in a long while, so I’m not really able to pass judgement fully, but I know that deep down it doesn’t seem right. There’s a new trailer which puts a different spin on things, because it looks like a really good film! Jack Reacher

If you’ve got a smartphone that does all manner of exciting things, you’ll know that sometimes you run out of battery before the day is out. When I switched to the iPhone, I was pleasantly surprised by the battery power in the device - it would get me comfortably through the day, and just need a charge up at night. If I was to use it as a camera, though, on a day out, or as a map to find my way to that day out, then the power supply is severely depleted. The lighter socket in my car is intermittently functional, so that charging on the go can be a problem.

This book was recommended and loaned to me in physical format, meaning I’ve read it in gradual stages at work, as it was quite a hefty hardback and I didn’t want to lug it back and forth. The tale inside is an incredible one though, with great insight into the troubles that Nigel Mansell faced trying to get his career off the ground. From near bankruptcy, through some horrific injuries, and then the steady progress towards the F1 World Championship, it’s all documented in great detail, and honesty.

I really didn’t think this was very good. It started out so promising, Spiderman looked like he had a happy life that was about to be compromised, and there was an incredible villain in the shape of an awesome-CGI sand-monster thing. But then there was also the black goo, there was also Harry flipping out, losing his memory, getting it back, going bad, going good. There was Mary-Jane and all her baggage, there was the guy taking the photos. It was all too much.

It’s good! Well, no, that’s not true. It was terrible, dreadful, corny, silly, but totally brilliant at the same time. I really think Russell Brand’s accent was unfortunate, and it got to the point where every time he opened his mouth, we cringed. Post-film research proved it was meant to be Birmingham, like Ozzie Osbourne.

It’s been a while since I read a proper crime book, these are the type that I would devour as they were handed to be from all different sources. Since I have a book list to get through, and the entire Kindle library has opened up to me, crime has fallen off my radar a little bit. I’m not sure where I picked this one up from, a sale or a promotion of some sort, but after just the first few pages I was hooked.

The final of the Bake Off was so good! The balance of baking power kept swinging between the contestants, so that it really was a complete unknown when the winner was announced. Well done John! Brilliant job. Meanwhile, I was left with a decision to make. I decided, as this is the last “Inspired by…” post, I’d go for it and try my hand at the technical challenge. Signature dish - Pithivier Technical challenge - Fondant fancies Showstopper - Chiffon sponge Mary Berry’s fondant fancies - the recipe had a lot of steps, but I understood pretty much all of it and felt it was something I could get away with.

The final episode of the recent half-series of Doctor Who episodes ended with Amy and Rory together but stuck in time. I wasn’t particularly happy with the episode as a whole, and there are plenty of plot points that still confuse me. Overall, though, it seems like a fitting end for the pair, and we’re now looking ahead to the introduction (re-introduction?) of the new companion at Christmas. Except, there was some unfinished business with the last episode, and that was Rory’s dad Brian. He encouraged Amy and Rory to go off and travel with the Doctor, but was then left behind with no knowledge of what happened to the pair. They were stuck in New York so couldn’t ever come back, and he was left not knowing what had gone on.

This was looking a lot better than the first one, more interesting story, fascinating emotions going on, and intriguing bad guy. Unfortunately, it all went on a bit too long, with some pretty awful scenes between MJ and Peter. They had to do the son finding the dad’s Green Goblin stuff, but all that was another extra scene that seemed to ruin the tension of everything that had gone before. It was a better film, but the dialogue between the pair is awful, and it’s hard to get behind them as a couple. Cut out a few of the more painful scenes and we’d be in business.

Every now and then, I take a quick look at what is available in the novelty mug market. I don’t know why I started doing this, as I didn’t really indulge in hot drinks when I posted the first one. Since then, I do boil the kettle more often, but I haven’t actually bought any of these novelties as yet. I wonder if there’s one I might purchase in this batch.

There’s no sign of the Doctor, although a brief allusion to him in one small paragraph, so Melody is left to her own devices to find out what is going on and who is behind it all. It’s a fun little story, but I actually found it really hard to read. We know that River Song is all about the double entendre, but there was so much in here, along with an attempt to be witty in almost every sentence, that it didn’t scan as well as I think it was meant to.

We’ve seen the music industry attempt the occasional “pay what you feel” initiative, where a song or an album is released to the public, and they get to choose how much to pay for the item - giving what they think it’s worth. These haven’t revolutionised the industry, but it does cause a stir and can be a good marketing technique to draw attention to yourselves. Now, the concept has moved across to ebooks, and I’ve seen it in two different places.

After reading and not particularly enjoying David Copperfield, I went straight into another classic in which we follow the main protagonist from childhood into adult life. There’s also a significant case of child neglect going on here, and they get sent away to school, but that’s where the similarities end.

I’m sure it didn’t escape your notice that on Sunday Felix Baumgartner jumped from a capsule at the edge of space to freefall back down to earth, and then landed on his feet successfully. What did you do with your weekend? It was an absolutely inspirational thing to watch. I’ll admit I didn’t sit through the build up, and was a bit of a fairweather viewer - tuning in when he was just about half an hour from the impending jump.

I’ve fallen behind in documenting my exciting adventures out and about, although this first one I have to discuss isn’t all that exciting. It was a while back, when the days were still sunny, and I decided to get out of the house, go for a walk and make the most of the fresh air. I wasn’t really sure where to go, but I had a look online and found a circular walk or two that looked doable. I really like going for walks, following trails, that kind of thing. My parents are really good at reading an Ordnance Survey map and finding the pathways, but I need a bit more guidance than that.

Lovely. Quite angst-ridden at times, the girls clearly had a lot going on and a lot to work through, but it was really wonderful to travel the path with them. There were bits that didn’t quite make sense to me (why would you go to the baby shower? And why would you want to tell the woman about her dead mother?) but people are different and that’s what makes them interesting.

I did not like this at all. The good first: I thought Fassbender did a great job - portraying a robot who shouldn’t have feelings but does is a sci-fi standard but his was very well done. I also enjoyed Idris Elba’s character a lot. The cinematography was great, and the CGI excellent.

It was amazing! It took, maybe, one minute and then the jokes and one-liners came pouring out and we essentially didn’t stop laughing for the entire 90 minutes. There was so much packed into such a short film, it’s going to take at least a couple of repeat viewings to pick up on all the good stuff. There were so many good lines that I can only remember one of them! ‘I don’t like the monkey!’

I remember this film being a lot better than it was on a second viewing. The dialogue is shockingly bad, some of the worst I’ve heard in a long while. The acting leaves quite a lot to be desired, and given it’s age, half the CGI doesn’t really stand up to the test of time. But, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It’s still a good, fun way to spend a couple of hours. It does make me nervous about the other two though!

The Bake Off is getting pretty difficult now, with the semi-final last week and the final coming up. I was pretty confident that I wouldn’t be able to make anything they did in the show itself, but I was keen to be inspired. They baked the following: Signature dish - Petit-Fours Technical challenge - Fraisier cake Showstopper - Choux pastry gateaux I figured that chocolate eclairs would be a good compromise, although the recipe confused me a bit as it seemed to have chocolate on the inside and white icing on the outside. All the eclairs I’ve ever had have cream on the inside and chocolate on the outside.

On 13th October 2002, I was cowering in a doorway from the rain, waiting for the arrival of someone the world now knows as Mr C. It was our first date, I’d bought new boots that I was convinced made me walk like a duck, and my friend was sacrificing herself at the garden gate, getting soaked on my behalf to look out for him. Thankfully, as the evening progressed the rain eased off. We ate, we walked, we talked. We decided on a second date.

The month of September was filled with a nightly music extravaganza courtesy of the iTunes Festival 2012. Each evening, one or more warm-up acts introduced a bigger name, and it was all streamed live on the internet, available as a catchup replay afterwards as well. Mr C watched all of them, I saw some of the main ones, and these are some of my findings. There were a variety of different genres throughout the 30 days, and most musical tastes were covered in some capacity. My personal favourite of the lot was Pink. She hadn’t performed for two or three years, and was rusty - forgetting some words here and there. That made the show a little bit more personal. She was chatty, cared about the fans (particularly one who fainted), and did lots of songs that I had forgotten I like and own. Many plus points for Pink. I was also suitably impressed with Alicia Keys, who I thought was going to be a great performer but a bit aloof with the audience. She warmed to it, I think. Now, I’ve always taken a bit of a shine to Noel Gallagher, particularly when compared to his brother, but I’ve not really had any reason one way or the other. I’ve heard him in a few interviews and he’s funny and articulate. However, in his set, he was just a joy to watch. He must have incredible hearing because he was holding conversations with people in the front row, to the exclusion of everyone else. It was weird to see just one side of a conversation but also completely compelling. There was also the Liam-Liam chanting moment, that I quite enjoyed, wherein he bemoaned his own one-syllable name being hard to chant, and a certain sibling’s name being slightly better. On the flip side, I had expected to like Ed Sheeran’s set a lot more than I did. He expected far too much of the crowd, and told lengthy stories that didn’t seem to have much to do with anything. He also went on far too long with “you need me but I don’t need you” to the point where I thought I was being brainwashed. The duet with Gary Snow Patrol was awesome, though. Jessie J was another one who I thought would be better. I’m not her biggest fan, but I like a couple of the songs and she belts them out. Unfortunately, she changed her shoes to big red clumpy things so that she looked like a clown, talked endlessly about how grateful she was, and broke the momentum of the gig to sit down and read an extract from her book. I don’t go to (m)any gigs but this seemed odd, and I gave up watching halfway through.

To celebrate their 80th anniversary this year, Lego created a 15 minute animation recounting the history of the company. I missed this when it first came out in August, and have just got round to watching it now. You have to keep in mind that it’s one massive sales pitch, and the voiceover can get a bit patronising at times, but even so, there’s a lot in here that I had absolutely no idea about.

Over the weekend, the fabulous Stuart asked if I would be reading the new release from JK Rowling. The answer is quite simply that yes, I do think I’ll read it but no, I haven’t yet. I’m a big Harry Potter fan, but somehow this new book from JK Rowling doesn’t worry me in the way other “next projects” for beloved people do. It feels as though HP is such a phenomenon that she a) doesn’t have to write ever again and b) could write nonsense forever and it wouldn’t take away from that world. As long as it wasn’t in that world, of course.

We’ve seen Moneyball and “if you build it they will come” and when I saw the trailer for 42, I really wanted to see it! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baseball game but I really like movies about it. I should probably see about watching some of the actual action, but in the meantime, this looks good. 42

After watching this, I checked out the reviews and the one that says ‘worth watching once’ is pretty much spot on. It was okay, it was nice to see the characters again, the story wasn’t quite as engaging as the first, but it was mercifully short. There were some good bits in it, but I didn’t really like the two-headed Johnny Knoxville. Thankfully there was a lot less goo in this one, though.

This was a terrible, terrible film, there’s no getting away from that. Predictable, some shocking graphics, key plot points that didn’t make sense and ultimately derivative of a million other (much better) action movies. Having said all that, though, I really did like Guy Pearce’s character, he had some brilliant lines, and he was hot as anything. So a bonus point for Guy making the best of it.

I know I am very far behind to have only just discovered Temple Run. In fact, I saw the Brave tie-in before I saw the actual game, and because I haven’t seen Brave, I instantly dismissed it. I can’t remember why I suddenly decided to download it, but I was reading through some news feeds and they talked of other games of a similar nature to Temple Run. I opted to head back to the original and download it to see what all the fuss was about.

I’d forgotten how short the film is, and also how very gungy it is. There’s goo and all sorts flying in all directions almost all of the times. Nevertheless, the history I have with it, and all the lines I know and love make it a proper favourite of mine - although perhaps a little less than I’d held it in my mind. I do so love Will Smith though, I practically cheered when he arrived on screen.