The Squeee

So it appears our favourite doctor in outer space is gay. If you thought of McCoy or someone else who isn't Simon Tam of TV series Firefly or movie Serenity , then you thought of the wrong guy. :P Sean Maher has come out, after 14 years hiding in the closet. He's had a partner for the past nine years and they have two children together. I knew about the kids, he mentioned them on Twitter (he's @ Sean_M_Maher by the way) before, but didn't know their origin.

My other favourite pair of blue eyes :) (I know, it should be "pairs of eyes", but that doesn't sound as catchy as a title.) There are some people whose gaze catches you and makes you stop and think "oh my word" and then you wonder how on earth it's even possible to have that particular shade. Tonight's installment will be blue eyes. Beautifully blue, brilliantly breathtaking blue. There are of course many a good-looking actor out there with blue eyes, but I'm interested in the ones where you look at them and can't help but notice their eye colour specifically . So without further ado, here's my top 5:

Or rather, have you heard of the campaign launched by some fans of Richard Armitage, to have his project about King Richard III come to fruition? If not, you really ought to check it out. :) There's a petition to sign and everything! Back in August, there was a "King Richard Week", which I forgot to mention at the time, as my parents were visiting so didn't have much time for computers. Thought it would be good to have a reminder about the project now, and perhaps find some more supporters. :) Richard Armitage has been talking about wanting to do a project about Richard III for some time now. He wants to do something historically accurate, because William Shakespeare ... well, he was paid by a Tudor, and seeing as how they defeated the Plantagenets (or something like that), trying to downplay the defeated king meant getting a paycheck. Here's the king himself to tell us what was going on, thanks to Horrible Histories :

Today, we celebrate the Autumn Equinox in the northern hemisphere, the time when night and day are in perfect balance. We're heading toward winter now, meaning nights will be longer than days, but there is no need to fear the dark. There is a need to be slightly concerned about it, if you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - or "winter depression" as it's also known. (I got mine off mum, because the bleedin' thing is hereditary. Cheers, mum!) Take some vitamin D and use a light box for half an hour (or even 10 minutes) in the morning . The morning bit is really important: you're trying to stop the production of sleep hormone and get the body clock to realise it's daytime - using it at night won't work! Using it at all will really help, and also going out for a bit during the day time. Ain't no lightbulb like the good ol' sun, after all! As the days are growing shorter and the cold starts to creep in, I don't just get tired,

Here's something you probably didn't know and probably wouldn't have guessed: I'm a closet R.E.M. admirer. Not a fan, per se , because a lot of their music doesn't really take my fancy, but you know, plenty of it does. Now, the news has broken that the band are splitting up after 31 years: "To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." R.E.M. When I found out that they were coming to Nottingham a few years back, we instantly got tickets. The arena was a little peculiar - the Nottingham Forest football stadium! - and it really didn't lend itself very well to a concert. The acoustics left a lot to be desired, at least where we were sitting. Still, nice to see them live. Now there won'

Ahh, we're spoiled for choice all of a sudden! 2011 is apparently the year to really be a Thomas Anders fan. :) First, the release of album Two by Anders | Fahrenkrog back in June, then Hits & Raritäten came out on 9 September (review to follow soon), followed by the long-awaited release of Strong outside Russia on the 18th. Granted, "only" as an MP3 album, but I don't care. Main thing is that it's finally available. Which is really ironic, because only today, I received the Oriflame edition, recently ordered from someone on eBay as it was the cheapest place to get it. And then, I turn on my computer and find out that HEY, GUESS WHAT? D'oh. Went straight to Amazon.de, and got a message about geographical restrictions. Was about to have a hissy fit until I remembered to check Amazon.co.uk and there it was - and as it's on the UK site, it means my gift certificate balance is available = free stuff!! Actually, I was looking for the tracklisting fo

The first trailer for Wuthering Heights (2011) has arrived, and boy, doesn't it look dreary? It's like it's got "emo" written all over it. Suits you , sir. It's out 11 November 2011 in the UK and some time in 2012 in the US.

ZHE FIRST OF MANY!! (Possibly. Maybe. Hopefully?) If I can find inspiration, instrumental songs and time, that is. :) This one's about Guy of Gisborne from BBC's Robin Hood - Richard Armitage - and how he's unlucky in love. Based on "Lucky Guy" by Modern Talking. Or, actually, this is the instrumental to the "Ryan Simmons" version, but let's not split hairs. In retrospect, should've stuck with what I did originally, and have it as "you are no lucky guy", because "you are unlucky, Guy" sounds a heck of a lot like "you are a lucky guy". Ho hum, never mind. And for the next attempt at something like this, I'll prepare more beforehand ... and hopefully come up with better lyrics. ;) Not used to making fanvids, so it's as it is. Hope you enjoy it, anyway. Happy weekend everyone!

In the news today: The most recent adaptation of Jane Eyre was number three in the UK box office during its opening weekend. Well done! I think it was really well done considering out of the four cinemas in Nottingham (that I know of, anyway), only one is actually showing it - Showcase. Broadway will be showing it, but not until the end of the month. If that's the case here, what's it like in other parts of the country? #3 is well done! :) Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson are billed to star in next year's adaptation of Anna Karenina . Haven't we known about Keira Knightley playing Anna Karenina for months now? Jude Law is to be Karenin and Johnson Vronsky. Speaking of adaptations, Joanna Trollope is apparently set to write a modern day re-make of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility . It's set to publish late 2013 and is a part of HarperFiction's attempts at giving all the Austen novels an update. I'm just slightly puzzled as to why this

In the review of Jane Eyre (2011) , I mentioned that there were a few things I would have a separate rant about. This is that post. It will contain lots of spoilers, it will be ranting. Readers of a delicate disposition might want to look away now, even though I don't use the F word once. This is in some sort of chronological order and might be edited if I can think of more things after posting. Ready? Here we go.

So, we finally made it to North Lees Hall outside Hathersage in north Derbyshire. ( Previous post about this day is here , by the way.) We drove up to the house, parked on the side of the field where other people were parked, tried to get an overturned sign to stay up in the wind (it wouldn't), and walked up to the old house. First impressions, aside from fangirly glee of being somewhere where Charlotte Brontë had been and been so inspired by, was that the house itself is rather on the small side, but wow, the views of the Derbyshire hills from there are extraordinary! How's this for a view? The reason behind going to North Lees Hall in the first place is of course that it's one of the buildings that inspired Charlotte Brontë to write about Thornfield in Jane Eyre . In fact, the description of Thornfield Hall does ring true with North Lees (which also, as it happens, was the ancestral home of the Eyre family), with a tower and turrets and the surroundings, nestled

We interrupt the Jane Eyre -centred week with an important announcement! For those who remember the 1990s and in particular, a British comedy show called The Fast Show , and to those who enjoyed it as much as I did - good news! There's some deal with Foster's (the beer brand) to bring the show back ... on the internet, at least. It seems the whole gang has come together for it too, aside from Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley in Harry Potter ). I would say "Which is nice", but I'm disappointed he won't be in it. The Fast Show was a sketch show mainly made up of catchphrases, but it was absolutely hilarious. I have all the three series on DVD, including the Christmas Special and the live show. For those who have never seen it, look them up on YouTube.

I love the richness of detail in Jane Eyre . Charlotte Brontë weaves Jane’s inner life and her outer surroundings into a tapestry of emotion, physical sensation and contrast. The themes that run throughout the story are both subtle and strong, resulting in a coming-of-age / gothic horror / love story / portrait of integrity that I return to again and again. One theme is that of insight and blindness. Brontë describes many of her characters’ eyes in great detail. Take this quiz to see if you can match the eyes with the character. Who has:

[Grazie, BrontëBlog !] Thought it might be good with an update for the release dates of Jane Eyre - the ones that are still ahead of us! 7 September 2011 Belgium France 9 September 2011 Ireland United Kingdom 16 September 2011 Sweden 22 September 2011 Netherlands 7 October 2011 Italy (not confirmed) Poland 13 October 2011 Hungary 1 December 2011 Germany 2 December 2011 Spain 9 December 2011 Turkey 23 February 2012 Denmark The poster above is from Italy, by the way. I quite like it. A mix of the first picture released on the interwebs as well as the European poster. Still prefer the European poster, though. I also feel really sorry for our friends in Denmark. That's almost a whole YEAR after it came out in North America!

ComicBookMovie.com have posted some pictures of Henry Cavill dressed in full Superman costume, for the new, "darker" franchise reboot, Man of Steel (2013). Dark? Superman?! That just sounds wrong. But anyway. Here's what Clark Kent's superhero alias will look like: Nice cape, Clark. But what's more:

Jane Eyre '11 premieres here in the UK on Friday 9 September. Leading up to that, I'm clearing the schedule for an all-out Jane Eyre week! If you have something you'd like to contribute about Jane Eyre - be it The Book, derivative books or screen adaptations - between now and 10 September, feel free to get in touch, as I'm looking for guest bloggers for this event. Posts about Jane Eyre '11 in one way or another are preferable, seeing as how that's the film that's coming out, but I'm not picky. After all, it's the same great story regardless. :) Please send in your post(s) by email to dishmastah (at) traxy (dot) net or by Facebook message to Traxy Thornfield . If you could included a brief summary of who you are and where you're from, that would be helpful. Doesn't have to be personal. I'm planning to spend tomorrow camped out in Bakewell. We'll see how that turns out. Hopefully, in the week that follows, I'll have mo

YouTube user jagfilm has uploaded a video containing four clips from the upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation, due to be released in the UK on 11 November this year. Have a look! What do you think? Does it bode well for the full feature? On a side note, Jane Eyre '11 will finally open next Friday here, yay! Some lucky winners could win tickets for a special screening this Sunday ... at Haddon Hall. Competition closed yesterday, so now it's just fingers crossed I'm one of them. ;)

The BBC Proms concert held in July has finally been given a date and time for airing, yay! So, without further ado: Horrible Histories at the BBC Proms will be broadcast on CBBC at 17:45 on 9 September 2011 and on BBC One at 16:00 on 16 September 2011 . Huzzah! It's apparently a one-hour show with the highlights from the concert itself. You can see the programme notes here - it has song lyrics and everything! Meanwhile, I've got the V+ to series link the show again, as for some reason it hasn't done that for some time. Don't know why. Shooting of Horrible Histories series four will begin in September and it's set to be broadcast in the spring of 2012. All good news! Other great news is that Laurence Rickard and his mate George Sawyer have got a new website up and running: Larry and George . Go check it out! And finally, Terry Deary, a.k.a. the author of the books which inspired the TV series, is going to run the length of Hadrian's Wall in Septemb

This is most peculiar. Early this morning, I had a dream. The dream was situated in a room upstairs in my parents' house - except of course it looked a bit different and it was like looking at it from the house on the other side of the street, because nothing in a dream is ever quite like you'd expect it to be. For some strange reason, I was married to Michael Jackson. Yeah. Tell me about it .

Today is the second anniversary of the launch of The Squeee ! A lot of things have happened during these past two years. To begin with, the template used to be green ... There was the Fanstravaganza and Brontë Challenge in 2010 and then there was Fanstravaganza 2 in 2011. This year, I've also got a shiny own domain name for the blog (www.thesqueee.co.uk as opposed to just thesqueee.blogspot.com), and settled for an actual (fairly) regular posting pattern. Thanks to everyone who reads my crazy ramblings, thanks to those who comment on posts made, and thanks to those who follow the blog in one way or another. I can't believe how many people are actually listed as followers, and every time I see the number, I'm amazed and humbled. Thank you so much! Here's one of the reasons for starting up this blog ...