at the foot of the bluff

tea; and discomfort

Today was a strange day.

I went to Edwardian Tea with my friend Shivaun, and we ate scones & cucumber sandwiches, drank lots of tea and were treated to a performance by steampunk hiphop artist Professor Elemental (look him up on YouTube if you like; he's weird, and weirdly compelling, and funny, and mental).

Then we had a pint of Strongbow cider & some snacks.

Next, we got severly depressed by watching the movie Shame. I won't talk about the movie much, but suffice it to say that while the acting was amazing, there's a good reason for my love of Sci-fi & action/adventure: I don't leave the theater massively depressed.

To end the day on a not-depressed note, I'm finally watching The Nerdist's 2011 in review - with Wil Wheaton & Nathan Fillion - yay!

Ooooh, I forgot to mention two really good things:

I bought really cool earrings. And while I was resting on a settee in the Edwardian vendor hall, before tea, Shivaun sneakily went and bought me this really cool owl illustration I'd had my eye on. Thanks Shivaun! If I can get a pic of it I'll upload it.

In other news, I'm super-excited for my sister to come visit me next month! And now, I'm tired. Night folks!

skipping right along

This past week had plenty of small good moments, but overall was tiring and I'm glad it's over and done with.  There was one great fun moment: going to the San Francisco Symphony's performance of Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien.  Of course the next few weeks might also be mostly small moments, like finishing a good book, but I'm good with that.  There will be some nice things, like an Edwardian Tea, but I'm really good with quiet and relaxing.

That was my resolution for this year, you know. To reduce stress and over-scheduling. I'm generally pretty good at the latter, but less good at the former. I think I need a massage. And a week off. And a vacation to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, with no cell reception, no internet and no tv.

Hmm. I wonder if I could make that last thing happen. What about a family trip up to Grand Marais? Perhaps . . . 

Sherlockiness

I just finished watching the 2nd episode of the 2nd series of Sherlock . . . spooky. Also there were some great shots of Benedict Cumberbatch standing on top of a great big hunk of rock looking over a landscape. And his cheekbones were still quite sharp. And Watson called him Spock. HAHAHAHA.

Speaking of Spock, I need a Spockmonkey. Yes, it is a Sockmonkey that looks like Spock.

In a past post I noted books that were on my "To be Read" shelf . . . I kinda skipped to some other books.  I'm now reading:

An Artifical Night - by Seanan McGuire (What if the Fae were real, and lived in San Francisco and a changling (half human/half Fae) just happened to be a Private Investigator, and a Faery Knight to boot? If you read this series, which started with Rosemary & Rue, you'd know.)

We Never Talk About My Brother - by Peter S. Beagle (Short Stories . . . good ones. Read this.)

A Feast for Crows - by George R. R. Martin (The 4th book in the series "A Song of Fire and Ice" - completely engrossing . . . I'm just starting it now. Er, when I'm done with An Artificial Night, actually. Yes, I've listed this again.)

The Unwritten - by Mike Carey & Peter Gross (Graphic Novels 2 & 3, collecting the comics 6-12 and 13-18 . . . excited to read/devour with my eyes. Saving them for a time when I really need something special and fun. Like tomorrow!)

To loop back to Sherlockiness, I sent my dad 2 DVDs with my sister's favorite Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes episodes . . . or at least, the ones she selected as being really dang good, which they are.  He hasn't watched them yet, but assures me he will soon.  He needs to compare Jeremy Brett's essential Sherlockiness with Robert Downey Jr's essentially different kinda-Sherlockiness.  If you read the books, Jeremy Brett fits the mold far more closely.  But Robert Downey Jr. takes his shirt off and fights with more manliness. And then there's Benedict Cumberbatch, who doesn't look half-bad as Sherlock draped in a sheet sitting on a couch in Buckingham Palace.  Anyway . . .

P.S. Also a new episode of Bones tonight. Booth (David Boreanaz has not, so far, taken off his shirt. Not that I expect that in every episode, nor am I objectifying him. Uh, yeah. Oh, no something's on fire!  OK, going to pay more attention to this episode.

I should be sleeping

 . . . but I'm writing this. I have to get up before dawn tomorrow - on purpose - because I'm working 6: - 2:30 and then doing to the doctor.  If only a Friday appointment had been possible, but nooooo.

I'm pretty sure there was something else I was going to blog about, but now I cannot remember it.

I hope I don't dream about bunnies that fluoresce at night.  I hope I can watch the rest of Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville tomorrow.  I hope I can fall asleep soon.

Who wants to come over tomorrow night and watch with me? And stay overnight to wake me up if I have a nightmare? Maybe I'll just wait to watch the end of that episode until my sister comes to visit me, then she can have that special job :-P

Oh, and my arm hurts for no good reason. Stupid carpal tunnel syndrome / repetitive strain injury.

in which everyone wins

Irene Adler wins because Sherlock said she could. I win because I could watch it.  My sister wins at finding things on the internets, and I win at changing browsers to defeat the stupid streaming video blockage issue.

Incidentally, I <3 Benedict Cumberbatch. And Martin Freeman.

I am not feeling so well, but watching Sherlock perked me right up.  And now for an early bedtime, so that I can pull through work tomorrow and Thursday and feel better starting Thursday afternoon. Firstly because it's my weekend, and secondly because I see my doc and get meds to help me do so.  Yay!

Also, I finished a good book today, and already have the next book in the series. It's fabulous. Or would be if it weren't just distracting me from how crappy I feel. I'm gonna stop whinging though.

Tomorrow night I get to watch the next episode of Sherlock. Yes!

sign of impending doom #327

I was watching Sherlock "A Scandal in Belgravia" and the website konked out. As in told me my free watching time was over. Very not cool, especially as I was 77 minutes into the 90 minute episode.

And now, to see if my little sister can help me. Because when it comes to the internets, she's smarter than me.