The Squeee

They're back! Series four of Horrible Histories comes to CBBC soon, celebrating with a whole week of historical shenanigans! Keep your eyes peeled 9 - 13 April. Quoth the BBC Press Centre : In series four, viewers find out how historical figures such as Dick Whittington and Robert the Bruce get on pitching movies about their life story, and which Historical Apprentice teams will find out they’re fired. There are also more magnificent musical interludes including Victoria and Albert’s love ballad, Charles Darwin with a Bowie-esque rock tune, and a new Battle of Britain RAF Pilots boy band. Each episode features a mirthful mix of sketches from across the ages, from Slimy Stuarts to Rotten Romans, and is hosted by Rattus Rattus the talking rat. Death returns to quiz the recently deceased on the manner of their demise in Stupid Deaths, and King Henry VIII has a go at raising some much needed funds by taking part in a daytime TV show Cash in the Abbey. Hands up everyone who ju...

It's that time again! Today, we put the clocks forward one hour - in fact, by the time we've woken up today, it will have happened already. In Christian mythos, it's the day where virgin Mary was told she was to become the most famous teenage mum in two millennia. In Sweden, this is called Jungfru Maria bebådelsedag . At some point, this was known as Vårfrudagen (day of our lady), but through some sort of Chinese whispers, it morphed into Våffeldagen (waffle day). Bit of a difference, really. [ Source ] Traditionally, you'd have Swedish waffles with whipped cream and jam. Preferably straight from the waffle iron, so they're crispy and hot. For some reason, my mum has never quite understood why hot, crispy waffles are nicer than cold and spongy ones. They're not pancakes, after all. (Mmm, cold pancakes!)

I wish all music videos were as adorable as this one. :) I may have posted this one before, I don't remember. Worth seeing again, though. Speaking of Fatboy Slim, I couldn't find a version that would allow embedding, but having legendary actor Christopher Walken in your music video is pretty darn epic , so go check it out!

Well, what a week! I haven't had much time to look at other posts, let alone respond to comments here, but that means that FanstRAvaganza 3 is far from over. While the actual event is over now, the posts are still there to read and to comment on, and that goes for all the participants, not just myself. Thank you all for stopping by and reading what I've had to say. I've tried to mix business-as-usual with FanstRAvaganza, which means a lot more work, but it's worth it. Big, humongous thanks to the organising crew behind this year's event, and amongst those, I'd like to give honourable mentions to Servetus , who has done the nigh impossible here and managed to herd cats organise bloggers, and to CDoart, for keeping track of all the posts . Thanks also to all fellow participants, old and new. You're all awesome, and it's going to be lots of fun catching up with everything in the weeks, and probably months, to come.

Today's Tag Teams: Last, but definitely not least! Freeform: Agzy shares with us her favorite Armitage paper doll • Ana Cris examines Lucas North's tattoos through Maori tattoo culture • Jas Rangoon premieres her new John Bateman fanvid • In fandom , jazzbaby1 thinks RA fandom is just groovy! • C.S. Winchester asks "naughty or nice?" in a picspam • Mrs. E.B. Darcy thinks about Armitage's future after TH to wrap up the Hobbit chain • Jo Ann offers the last King Richard Armitage post, on Richard III and the Tudors • In fanfic , Maria Grazia reviews and compares works by the authors she's interviewed • Gratiana Lovelace wraps up the event with a guest post by Melissa the Mouse! • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of the event! This post is not inspired or based on anything in particular, but it's my last actual discussion topic of F3. I have had a thought for a while now, after reading in various online newspapers about ...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Even though I'm not Irish this time around, I still like to observe St. Patrick's Day. And as is traditional for me on the blog, here is an Irish song. This rendition of Óró, Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile is from a 2002 live performance of traditional songs by Sinéad O'Connor. I really like her version of it. If you've seen The Wind That Shakes the Barley , it's sung by the characters.

Today's Tag Teams: It's almost over, oh noes! In fandom , Phylly3 celebrates her second blogiversary! • Avalon considers her favorite fandom moments (includes interview with Jeannie Gisborne)! •  In the Hobbit chain, Antonia Romera compares trailers for An Unexpected Journey in three languages • CDoart 's the King Richard Armitage blogger, writing on the relevance of the character in times of questionable justice • In fanfic , Jo Ann finishes her story • fedoralady traces the evolution of her "sloth fic" series • In freeform , Gratiana Lovelace rescreens her Armitage birthday vid • Fabo casts Armitage in Hollywood musical remakes • C.S. Winchester takes on Armitage in period costumes from N&S and Miss Marie Lloyd • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of each day. This post is inspired, but not exactly based on, Richard Armitage's character in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: In Divine Proportion . I freely admit the reason...

Today's Tag Teams: In the Hobbit chain , Mrs. E.B. Darcy projects what our hero may do in TH: There and Back Again • Ana Cris discusses a Maori ceremony Mr. Armitage witnessed in New Zealand's mountains • In King Richard Armitage , fitzg guestposts at judiang 's on non-Richard roles for Armitage in a Richard III project • In fanfic , Jas Rangoon continues  her modern N&S fic • Maria Grazia presents an interview with Cat Winchester and giveaway of her book, Northern Light • In freeform , fedoralady asks about our dream Armitage-narrated audiobooks • John Thornton wonders if anyone else could play him • Agzy discusses Heinz Kruger's sartorial choices -- and what's underneath them! • In fandom , jazzbaby1 maps Armitage in the Tommyverse • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of each day. This post is inspired, but not exactly based on, Richard Armitage's character in Between the Sheets . Say what you want about Paul, ...

Here's one I've forgotten to mention, but which I'm actually participating in ... It's very simple - all about reading non-fictional books. Subject or genre doesn't matter, as long as it's non-fic. I've signed up to read five books this year, but I've kind of already done that, so I might up it slightly. Here's my list of non-fic books read and reviewed in 2012: Britain's Living Folklore by Roy Palmer (1991)   The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A Norman (1988) Hypothyroidism Type 2 by Mark Starr (2005) And here's what I'm currently reading and/or drafting: How to Go Carbon Neutral by Mark Brassington (2008) [That impossible-to-read course book about design] (2004?)

Today's Tag Teams: In King Richard Armitage , Servetus admits to (gasp!) stray thoughts while lecturing • In fanfic , Margaret Hale guestposts at John Thornton 's on why she loves him • Jo Ann continues her story • In freeform , Jas Rangoon jokes about potential reproductive partners for Mr. Armitage • Itsjsforme reveals another Guy of Gisborne PSA (still not safe for work!) • Gratiana Lovelace needs more help captioning "Whimsical Moments with Deadly Serious ChaRActers!" •  In fandom , IngeD3 focuses on Ricky Deeming • Fabo confesses her Richard Armitage eyelash fetish! • In the Hobbit , it's calories galore as Antonia Romera discusses fingerlicking at the Hobbit table • The Queen takes on Hobbit cakes • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of each day. Can't believe we're half-way through already! This post is inspired, but not exactly based on, Richard Armitage's character in The Impressionists . A passion f...

Today's Tag Teams: F3 brightens up "hump day"! In fanfic , Maria Grazia presents an interview with Trudy Brasure and giveaway of her book, A Heart for Milton • C.S. Winchester helps new authors get their feet wet writing fanfic • In freeform , ChrisB continues the alphabet with "B is for Beard(?)? • jazzbaby1 puts John Porter in the hands of Frank Spotnitz • Agzy outs Armitage characters as dog lovers • In fandom , fedoralady recommends the right tunes for your Armitage fanvid • Rose Gisborne describes her Armitage day •In the Hobbit , IngeD3 reveals the deeper meaning of the dwarfs' hoods • Ana Cris reflects on Armitage and Maori ceremony • In King Richard Armitage , Fabo offers some choices to play Anne Neville • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of each day. This post is inspired, but not exactly based on, Richard Armitage's character in Marple: Ordeal by Innocence . Several ideas pop into my head when it comes to...

If you're in the UK, remember to tune into Watch (Sky 109, Virgin 124) tonight at 21:00 / 9pm for the premiere episode of JJ Abrams's ( Lost, Fringe, Alias, Felicity ) new US drama Alcatraz . In the thrilling first episode America’s most notorious and infamous prison inmates are back, and seeking revenge ...

Today's Tag Teams: In freeform : Melanie on why Harry Kennedy is the perfect man • Rose Gisborne on which colors look best on Richard Armitage • Itsjsforme unveils Guy of Gisborne's latest public service announcements (not safe for work!) • In fandom , Fabo on Richard Armitage's statements about fans •  Gratiana Lovelace requests help captioning in "I'm Too Sexy for My T-Shirt!" • The Hobbit chain goes creative with The Queen on Hobbit quilts • Mrs. E.B. Darcy on Hobbit action figures! • For King Richard Armitage , IngeD3 reviews the Michael Hicks biography of the fifteenth-century king • In fanfic , John Thornton on why he loves Margaret Hale • Jo Ann introduces us to a new Armitage character she knows we'll love • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of each day. This post is inspired, but not exactly based on, Richard Armitage's character in The Golden Hour . One of the most enduring romantic fantasies is that of t...

Today's Tag Teams: In the beginning, Richard Armitage made scores of fans -- and he keeps on making them! To kick off the fandom chain , Didion converts friends to Armitage love • Phylly3 reports on her fandom experiences • In t he Hobbit chain , Ana Cris writes on her recent film location visit • Mrs. E.B. Darcy speculates about what our hero will do in An Unexpected Journey (spoilers!) • King Richard Armitage chain begins with Maria Grazia on a film adaptation of Richard III • Beginning the fanfic chain , fedoralady explains fanfic's mainstream appeal • In the freeform chain , Fabo files an eyewitness report on Richard Armitage's visit to U.S. accent school • jazzbaby1 wonders "what were they thinking?" re: Lucas North's women • and ChrisB opens the Armitage Alphabet, with "A is for Action" • Links to all FanstRA 3 posts appear here at the end of each day. This post is inspired, but not exactly based on, Richard Armitage's ch...

In less than six hours, this year's Richard Armitage FanstRAvaganza kicks off! Welcome blog readers and Richard Armitage fans, old and new! :) The Squeee has been participating since the beginning, and is one of the "core blogs" in F3: this year, we've got a team of core bloggers and a few different tag teams, where several blogs are a chain posting about one topic, but only one person does so per day. All my F3 posts will include links to the tag teamers, and the core bloggers can be found in the sidebar on the right, over there somewhere. -----> For those of you who don't particularly care (gasp!) about Richard Armitage, every weekday will still contain a review, as normal, posted around the normal time - between 8 and 9 in the morning GMT/UK time. All five productions do include Richard Armitage in the cast list though ... :P

Sadly, the big man is no longer with us, but if he hadn't been snatched from us in May 2001, he would've celebrated his 60th birthday today. Alas, that shall never be. In honour of his birthday, however, here's the man himself, giving UCSB a talk not long before he passed away. Douglas Adams supported Save the Rhino . Do you have any spare Altairian dollars for these merry savannah tanks?

It's been just about a year since I wrote that post about IF Richard Armitage was gay, what's it got to do with us ? This has since become the most read and the most commented post on this blog, for better or for worse. Hotly debated issue, apparently. The thing that strikes me is how people look upon the subject. A lot of comments were very supportive, saying if he was gay, it might spoil the illusion somewhat, but all in all, if that's who he is, then that's who he is. Others claimed to have evidence of him being a homosexual, but from what I gather, it's really only based on hearsay, rumourmongering and/or "gut feelings". Personally, I'd be interested to hear a gay man's views on this. Why? Because everyone in the debate is female, and the vast majority, if not all, are straight. Ever heard the term "gaydar"? Whose gaydar is more likely to be accurate - a straight female's or a homosexual male's? I know who I'd vote for...

Got the message through that the third series of Horrible Histories will be released toward the end of May but that it is now available to pre-order from Amazon UK. That's where my alert came from, but other retailers are available. Especially HMV, they could do with the custom. Third series of course includes songs about Dick Turpin, the Suffragettes, Richard III, William Wallace, Victorian children working, Incan priests and all the kings and queens since William the Conqueror. Indeed. Speaking of singing, Engelbert Humperdinck will be representing the UK in this year's Eurovision. Bloke's 75, but in today's day and age, even pensioners are required to work. Ah. Ha. Ha. Seriously though, will be interesting to see how he does, especially compared to Ireland, who are unleashing Jedward once again. We have some great singers here. Why don't we send Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones next year? That would be EPIC.

If I did personal greetings on this blog, I'd wish my sister a very happy birthday. If I was Welsh, I'd wish everyone a Happy St. David's Day. But I don't really do personal greetings (as such) and I'm not Welsh. I am, however, a big fan of German singer Thomas Anders, and it's his birthday today. Happy 49th birthday, Herr Anders! May all your days be merry and bright, just like ... well, like you , as it happens. :) With lots of love from your fans around the world ... but especially me ... because this is my haunt ... *cough* It's been 14 years now, and that smile still makes my heart flutter. Or whatever. *happysigh* [ Photo source ]