This book is much more of an encyclopaedia, published in 1996, and containing even the smallest characters right back since the 50s, when the soap began. It's written by some of the actors, and that means they know their stuff. I don't know if it's designed to be read as a book, or if it is more of a reference, but I devoured it from cover to cover. I can't exactly recommend it, as I know no-one else on the planet would care to read a 13 year old book about characters that don't exist anymore, but still, I give it a big thumbs up.
As a child, I didn't like fireworks. I didn't like the bangs and had no desire to go anywhere near the source of such a noise. For perhaps a year or two, at a certain age, I did enjoy a firework display. The sudden noises weren't exactly ideal but I even went to a November 5th display where there was a roaring bonfire. Standing in front of the flames was …
It really is a page turner, and yet at the same time there is so much detail that does nothing other than get you right into the heart of the book. The descriptions of life in prison are incredible, and clearly taken from his real life experience. Apparently this book is a reworking of the classic Count of Monte Cristo, which I am only vaguely aware of. I will have to give that one a go.
Who doesn't love The Vicar of Dibley? The version I read didn't have the bright cheerful dust jacket on, it was just a red hardback book. It looks intimidating, but once you open the cover, there is simply joy inside. There are selected scripts, although after doing some research, I discovered that there are only some of the first series episodes missing, and of course anything since the book was released. The text was interspersed with biography style pictures, plus a few new additions in the form of notes, drawings and scribbles. It's brilliant, and the sort of book I can pick up in a few years and enjoy it all over again.
FKM will be on TF1 tomorrow in France to talk about the first ever Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. The race will be interesting as it is also the first twilight GP, and looks like it might be an interesting one. He'll be on at 13:55 French time. I don't have access to the channel, but yay for Mr M anyways!
Alex has written an interesting post about the types of things people pick up on when they see you using an iPhone. Once, when I was watching Friends, I heard two people talking next to me about how, having seen that, they were going to get iPhones. And on two separate occasions, people have asked me how difficult it is to get shows on there. And the answer is - …
A while ago, I tweeted about my desire to have some Nestle Pretzel Flips, but it appears they are no longer sold in the UK. Along with Lucky Charms, the best things are always stolen from me. My good friend pointed out a site called American Soda that delivers US groceries to our shores, but shipping isn't exactly cheap. Instead, I had an idea. Why not make them myself? I …
My favourite conversation of recent times: "Let me introduce you to... um... sorry..." "Christine." "Apologies. Christine, this is Paul." "It's Andy." "Ah."
When I was younger, I wanted to be a firefighter. Then I wanted to be a singer. Then I wanted to be a teacher. Now, I am not any of those things. I may not be sure about the career I have landed myself with, but I do not wish to be a firefighter or a singer or a teacher. A recent news item I read suggests that children as …
I featured Mr Panda in the last Baby Panda Thursday, and his creator Sarah left a nice comment there as well. That led me directly to her Etsy page where Mr Panda was for sale. Thus my introduction to Etsy was sealed. I have seen and read lots of posts about packages from Etsy, and how they are pretty beautiful right down to the smallest detail. I'm not even slightly …
As podcasters, we made the exexcutive decision to invest in two gym balls to use as seats. Okay, we did it because Leo does it, but it is good practice. They tend to squeak less than chairs do, it's good for your posture and generally speaking, an hour or two balanced on a gym ball is better than the same on an office chair. In some recent organisation, I had …
Our stationery suppliers often send free gifts as a thank you for our custom, and presumably an incentive to stay. Most of the time this is boxes of chocolates, or fancy biscuits. As it turns out, our stationery orderer (that's not a word, is it?), went off the idea of eating them all, and has been hoarding them up for a special tombola day. That was yesterday. Initially, I had …
Thanks to Kara who pointed me towards the San Diego video page via Twitter. There are all the videos we had on the last Baby Panda Thursday, plus some more ridiculously cute ones. However, we must move on from the videos, as I am crazy jealous of the people who get to play with baby pandas for a living. Instead, let's look at some more crafts and stuff. I like …
It's very quiet in Franckland at the moment - by the way, wouldn't that be the best theme park ever? The only bit of news doing the rounds is a rumour about a potential 2010 F1 drive with Renault. From what I can see the source is this interview [link no longer available], which was about the Singapore scandal, and doesn't mention driving for the team at all. My French …
This film is everything that the Da Vinci Code should have been. It has a great story, lots of puzzles and intrigue, and as mentioned above, is very Tomb Raider. Nicholas Cage is also very endearing, and the girl isn't annoying, so big thumbs up from me.
It's always a bit of a struggle to find decent pictures for your blog. You either have to go with something you've taken yourself, or start battling with copyright free imagery. The answer could lie in a genius new site called PicApp. Mr C has written about this over on Sidepodcast and says: PicApp reimburse content providers via advertisements that appear when you rollover the images or during specified time …
I've gone into a bit of a nostalgic mode for my little corner of the web, as I suddenly have the urge to dig up all the posts I wrote for previous blogs I've owned. Particularly, of course, the personal blog that disappeared to be replaced by this one. (Although don't forget that nothing is ever truly gone on the web!) Anyway, I think perhaps because I am also looking …
The idea with these shows is to keep them under ten minutes, so as to be a nice concise wrap up of all things media. Episode three is already a failure, but there is a bumper lot of news to get through, and we only just missed the target. Everybody is watching sport on the internet Today we're talking about football on the internet, images with disclaimers, and broadband as …
I just wanted to post a quick note to recommend this site I found that collects together all the Google Doodles. It's called Doodle Source and here's what they say about it: Doodle Source is a website focused in gathering all Google Doodles (Google logos for holidays) that are happening right now. We will also sort all doodles and make an archive for every and each country that could be …
I don't want to just rip a post directly from ZooBorns but it would be remiss of me not to use this week's Baby Panda Thursday to publicise these crazy-cute panda videos. The San Diego Zoo released all five of the baby panda exam videos, and all I can say is: I might die from the cuteness.
Why don't printers ever just work? If I had my way, I would never have to print anything, but that is a different problem. Faced with having to print something, why does a printer, whose sole job it is to print, splutter to a halt? It's not even a silent, resolute, protest of "No, I'm not doing that." The annoying red light blinks at you until you have to roll …
There was no BPT last week, so today we'll have a bumper crop of panda goodness. A little snuggly cutie. Credit: SSkelton1/Flickr Going a little bit more abstract, I wanted to point out these panda slippers. I'm not really sure about wearing a panda on your feet, but they are kinda cute. Finally, this bit of origami work is awesomeness! We featured some panda creations before, but this one is …
Amazon have finally got around to offering up the Kindle to parts of the world outside the US, although at the moment it seems to still be a US Kindle. The UK site redirects to Amazon.com for purchasing, and you buy the device and subsequent books in dollars. It also ships with a US charger, which would need a converter. It seems as though this is a rush decision to …
I'm not really interested in surfing at all, but I did like this. Perhaps it was Keanu. Either way, it's fun to watch a good cop drama with an unusual premise. There was a little bit too much swearing but it wasn't really obnoxious, so I'm down with that. Plus, Keanu was in it.
If I gave you £100 (or equivalent currency) right now to spend on non-essential things, what would you buy? Would you get a lot of little things or one expensive thing? My friend was telling me that she and her husband save a little money every week and put it away for the January sales. Then, they split the cash, head in opposite directions and meet up later. He has …
I stumbled across Chris Evans' blog last week, and the first thing I saw was a very cluttered desk. The DJ himself was very kind and offered to help the desk owner tidy things up, and the results can be seen here. This reminds me of the time Mr C and I first had a heated debate about the amount of clutter on my desk. It was a few years …
From the Peugeot press release: Franck MONTAGNY: "It’s great to have won the Mini Le Mans! It all feels very weird, but I think the organisers were right to stop the race, because the conditions really were dangerous. We had an excellent strategy and our car was very fast once we were able to run on slick tyres." I am wondering if mini Le Mans has been translated badly, but …
Franck won the race - hoorah! The Montagny/Sarrazin car was in the lead when the race came to an end, although it wasn't exactly a stunning victory. The entire race was marred by bad weather, with a lot of the running halted due to lightning concerns. McNish was dominating up until a serious downpour, when he spun on his cold tyres, and let the lead change hands. It may not …
Here we are with the second episode of this rough and ready podcast. Don't be expecting them on any schedule, mind you, just because I've done one for the last two Thursdays, and just cos I mention next week. Shh. Kinda Hard to Describe in Audio This week we discuss all things piracy and newspapers, plus an iPhone app, a Google Labs project, and a really expensive gadget. All that …
The first test day is complete, although Audi finished the day on top just ahead of FKM and Sarrazin's car. The difference was only about 0.16 seconds, so that is a good start. One very important thing to note, from the Peugeot press release: Running in blue and chrome livery, the two Peugeots will be distinguished by: white mirrors and wing for the N°07 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Pedro LAMY …
Chris Packham has hit headlines for resurfacing an old argument of his, that pandas should be left to die out with dignity. This is bound to ruffle my feathers, because I am one of those people he so resoundedly sneers at, donating £3 a month because the panda is cuddly. But why shouldn't I? In the original argument, Packham introduces his theory, pointing out that the panda lives on the …
I really enjoyed this film, despite its obvious flaws and that really awful supposedly French accent. There were laugh out loud moments which make up for some of the bad points, and it was a good story with a happy ending. What's not to like?
Okay, fine, I'll hold my hands up and admit it, not only am I a blogaholic, I am also a podaholic. Instead of writing several posts on our very new project Media Future Change, I thought I'd dive straight in and create a podcast. It's a simple trip through some of the news of the past week or so, looking at how the media is changing or resisting the changes …
I found myself with quite a few stories to discuss today, and rather than spend time trying to string sentences together on the page, I thought I'd bite the bullet and get on with the podcast. If You Want More Than 140 Characters A roundup of media news over the past week, including behind the scenes of TV shows, editing podcasts in the clouds, and a small victory for ebook …
People, I have found a new game! It's been a while since I subjected you all to the addictiveness of I Love Traffic, and the wackiness of Skywire, so I thought it was time I shared another gem with you. This time we're talking about Meeblings. At first it looks like a lot of random coloured blobs on the screen, and actually... that's exactly what it is. It ever so …
If you have access to the BBC, and particularly iPlayer, I want to recommend the Saving Britain's Past series. I have seen the first couple, and was very struck by the second episode in the series, all about the Park Hill Estate in Sheffield. The programme tracks the attempts to save some of the more iconic developments in Britain's history, with other episodes focusing on country houses and the iconic …
I have just remembered that Mr C asked me to write about the downside of the Google map via Android experience, just to provide a bit of balance to my previous post on the subject. We were headed out and about to visit the lovely Alex and Kat, but only managed to get five minutes from our house before hitting some serious traffic. We don't tend to sit in traffic …
Ah, stupid Thursdays. Here are some baby pandas to help us all through the day. Credit: Dustin Crawford/Flickr I also want to point out the latest ZooBorns post on pandas, which introduces us to the newest cub at the San Diego Zoo. Nick, over on Sidepodcast.com, said the cub looked suspiciously like George from Rainbow. It does too!
Another film that I have seen before, but this was a spur of the moment purchase on iTunes so I had no real thoughts or expectations when it came to watching it. Not even slightly how I remembered it. A lot more bloody, and certainly more moody than I recalled. However, that was mostly endearing (aside from the ear), and the characters are awesome. I never quite know where I stand on writer/directors who cast themselves in movies though. At least it was only a small part.
Here are a couple of Twitter bits and pieces I have found that I wanted to share - when Twitter does good. Cabbie's tweet reunites lost Blackberry with owner - a simple tweet saved a lot of headaches, which is a really nice story. However, the way Twitter is organised at the moment makes this kind of thing really unusual, as you have to be searching for something specific and …
It finally happened - the App that has been hitting headlines for weeks now has made it into both the Android and iPhone store. There was a lot of doubt over whether Apple would allow the app into their store, particularly over in this corner of the web. However, it's there, it exists, and it's time to see what all the fuss is about! Here's a first impression review of …
I have spent my Sunday evening arguing with Final Cut, however, I got there in the end. Here's some footage I put together from this year's Bournemouth Air Show. Music: Manda and The Marbles, Upside Down Also at the air show, the Avro Vulcan Bomber. Mr C donated some money towards getting the Vulcan back in the air, so we'll dedicate this short clip to him!
I bought a new pair of shoes! These are pretty cheap shoes that were in a sale from one of those cheap shoe shops, so I am not bragging about the style or quality of the shoes. The point here is: it was an impulse buy! I hate buying shoes. Really and truly, it is one of the worst things I have to do, second only to getting my hair …
It's no secret that I'm a fan of baby animals that are cute. I'm quite specific when it comes to which ones I like, but either way, it doesn't seem like a sensible idea to take me to a country farm show. Where there are cute baby animals. For sale. No, I didn't get one. Sadly I didn't have £75 on my person, but if I did... well, we could …
I went somewhere recently and saw a chocolate fountain (pictures coming soon). I know that isn't particularly exciting, but mmm, chocolate. In my travels across the web, I suddenly uncovered a mini chocolate fountain. This is sort of desk sized. A while ago, I talked about things you could have on your desk to brighten up the work day. I think a chocolate fountain would just about do it! I …
Here we go then, a selection of photos from the amazing A Perfect World of Pandas Flickr Group. Credit: xu ye/Flickr The one one the end so looks like it is sucking its thumb. _Credit: hwee__ling/Flickr_ I'm not actually sure this one is a baby, but so fluffy! Credit: Cheryl/Flickr Ah, the cuteness.
Okay, perhaps this doesn't really count as reading, but it is a book, and I started at one cover and got all the way to the end. This is more of a scrapbook with all kinds of snippets from each character. Nessa guides you through giving birth, and provides some letters to her former lovers. Smithy talks about beer and football - a lot. Gwen submits her application form for Dragon's Den, whilst Bryn has a lot to say about technology and about Wales, and preferably the two together.
I've seen this film before, probably a couple of times, and I even saw it in the cinema when it was first out. It always fascinates me that the film is 90% Hanks but not boring. As good as I remembered, and on every viewing, I don't understand how this film is interesting. Nothing happens. He makes fire. He knocks out a tooth. He spears a fish and drinks some coconut milk. But it's great!
