The Squeee

I don't quite know what the spy theme is all about, but Thomas Anders in a tux - hey, that works for me. ;) Besides, it gives me something to look at while I'm waiting for Strong to be released in Germany because I'm not keen on paying £40 for the Russian version of the album. (I know it comes with a DVD but it's not like it's got a whole lot on it, you know?) And there's STILL no release date for it! It's been out like a whole YEAR in Russia now and Stay With Me is the new single, apparently. Ph33r my hacking skillz for embedding this video without it actually having an embedding link! (It's you and me, Tariq!) The song? Yeah, 's awight. The video ... yeah, err, looks shiny but I don't really know where the whole James Bond thing came from? And if we're talking spies, then I prefer talking about Spooks , because of who's in it, or who used to be in it. Yeah ... Him. Now that's a thought ... Thomas Anders and Lucas North...

Well, at least if you would be so kind to vote for me, that is! ;) TalkTalk Tales is the contest, and it's about reading an excerpt from a well-known and loved children's book, or as they put it: "Our nationwide hunt for Britain's best amateur storyteller." I started by reading all the excerpts aloud to myself, and then chose the one I found most fun to read. It so happened to be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. (I wasn't confident enough in my pirate singing.) Anyway, you can go and have a listen to my entry, and if you like it, please vote generously. :)

Can't believe it's taken us this bloody long to go and see the nearest hall/mansion/castle/thingy! Have lived in Nottingham for 6½ years now, pretty much, and the Saturday just gone saw our first ever visit to Wollaton Hall. Which is pretty inexcusable, considering the move we did about a year ago brought us closer to it than we were before, and yet ... nothing. Not until Relatives came to our side of town for a stroll in the park with Baby Nephew. Here's our chance! Let's go! Nottingham's Downton Abbey We did just go for a stroll around the park, and the wind was rather on the cold side and it wasn't a terribly pleasant day for a walk, but at least it didn't rain. It also gave us the impetus to go back when the weather's warmer. Wollaton Hall was built in the 1580s for Sir Francis Willoughby and should not be confused with Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, which is a replica of this one, apparently. The replica has been used as a filming loc...

One of the blogs I follow, because it's a brilliant place to get updates on anything to do with the Brontës or their works, is the BrontëBlog . They don't just post about upcoming movie or TV adaptations, they also tell you about things like books about the Brontës, new editions of their books and - crucially when you've set yourself the nigh impossible task of reading everything to do with Jane Eyre - upcoming novels by modern authors who have done their takes on the classical story. Today, I spotted a few upcoming novels and on closer inspection, they are all to do with Jane Eyre , yay! Here's a chronological rundown:

If you thought Charlotte Brontë only wrote Jane Eyre , you are mistaken. Her second published book was Shirley , and good ol' BBC have made an adaptation in six parts of it. For radio, not TV. Oh well, you can't have everything. If I understand the website correctly, it was first broadcast in September 2007, so it's not actually new new. Part one was broadcast this morning at 10 am (thanks for the tip, BrontëBlog !) and part two is tomorrow at 10 am, and the rest follow at the same time in the rest of the working week, with the final two parts next Monday and Tuesday. Linkage: Charlotte Brontë's Shirley on BBC Radio 7 - part 1 is available on BBC iPlayer for 7 days.

There is a lot about having to look slim for the camera and all that, but actually, my preferred man is one that has a bit of meat on him. Not too skinny, not too muscly, not too morbidly obese, but you know, a happy medium. Richard Armitage isn't too muscly, for instance. However, with there being a lot of skinny blokes out there, I feel we should also recognise that there are a number of heavier blokes out there who also deserve some appreciation for their looks (they're already getting kudos for their talents), but a lot of the time might get over-looked because of their size. So here are a few that have it goin' on, and who definitely aren't stick insects! :) In no particular order, aside from alphabetical:

Excuse me while I go squeee for a bit. These are in chronological order from when they appear in the book. 1. "When will I meet Miss Fairfax?"

Recently, at the British Comedy Awards, there was this kids TV show that won an award for Best Sketch Show! So I decided to check it out. And HOLY MOLY it's AWESOME! Horrible Histories on CBBC! Why is it awesome? Because it's about history and that's always a good thing, and that's just for starters. It's also fun, and very informative while being very playful. It's a history lesson made irresistible. Sure, I already like history as a subject, but this never fails to engage you. And there are songs and everything! And (admittedly) the stars are cute too, and they do sometimes wear cravats! ;) But mainly because it's a hoot to watch. So sit down, and let the history lesson commence! They really need to bring out an album with all of their songs! :D More: Wikipedia , IMDb , Amazon UK , official Horrible Histories website on CBBC

Thanks to MG at FLY HIGH! for the link! :) Here's a first look at the trailer for the upcoming Captain America movie. Richard Armitage is in it, but blink and you miss him (ca 00:23). Are you looking forward to this as well? Are you a comic book to film fan or just a fan of Richard Armitage or one of the other actors?

For the upcoming Richard Armitage FanstRAvaganza , my topic is going to be to delve more into the man behind the actor, to try and figure out why we're so drawn to him. Aside from talents and good looks, how come many of us can't read an interview with him without going completely potty and fancy him even more? What's up with that? Why are we so infatuated with this ordinary Leicestershire lad? I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions when it comes to interviews he's done where he talks about himself. I don't mean really personal stuff (like that one where he's lured into talking about how he lost his virginity and stuff like that) but you know, where he talks about having a BMW but would prefer an old, bashed up car; where he talks about food, sports, hobbies, DIY and all that sort of thing. Are there any articles that you've read that have stood out in particular for you that you can give as suggestions for me to have a closer look at? :) P.S. We...

Imbolc (2 February) is a Neopagan holiday that celebrates the coming of spring. While we might not be able to see it yet, nature is slowly starting to come back to life after the long hiatus of winter. This very much depends on where in the world you are, of course. In Sweden, the ground will probably still be fairly frozen, at least if you're in the northern half. South - meh, your mileage may vary. In Britain, we've got little green things starting to poke out of the soil already. Worth bearing in mind that Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Paganism - or rather the founder of Wicca specifically, was British. If you're a Pagan in the southern hemisphere, I suppose you've got Lammas or Lughnasadh instead now, while we have to wait until August. Speaking of southern hemisphere - Australians, my thoughts are with you. First, the floods, now a ginormous cyclone headed straight for Queensland. Look after yourselves and stay safe! Like I said when posting about Y...

What do you get if you mix JRR Tolkien with Arthurian legend, throw it in a blender and add some general insanity? You get this thing, which is something I wrote a few years ago just for the hell of it. It's very silly, but I've been feeling quite down and tired and generally fairly BLEARGHH sod the hell off this week, so I believe a dose of silliness might be good. Also, there's so much talk of The Hobbit in various places that I just felt like jumping on the bandwagon - without actually jumping on it at all. So take your Hat of Seriousness off and jump into Non-descript Fantasy World for a bit! "The Fellowship of the Grail" ^^ HOLEE GRAYLE ^^ "Have I told you about the time when my uncle went to the City to see--" "Where babies come from. Yes, you have." "Oh. What about the story of the Witch Who Would Not?" "Yes." "So …" Grandfather Byl looked down his pipe with a frown. "Where has Samawel got t...