ybunny is off to visit his brother for the weekend. I feel like I have the start of tonsillitis coming on, so I'm going to barricade myself in the house until Sunday morning. Hopefully, mainlining vitamin C will ward this off.

I walked past the Chicken Hut on Union St. today.

I don't usually walk past there, and when I do, I don't usually notice the place, since I'm not an eater of chicken.

However, something caught my eye:

Chicken Hut
Now serving
our
new recepy
chicken

This got me to thinking.

Perhaps it's my time served with the graphic designers while working in marketing, but it seems to me that it isn't that hard to find the spell check button when putting something up for public consumption.

Now, you might say...but Jyll! You've made spelling errors in your blog!

Yes, but I'm not trying to sell you anything. :)

There's a time and a place for spelling errors (as I noted previously, it sometimes shows that the food might be of greater importance than the marketing), however, I'll give you a little illustration to make my point.

Next time you find yourself reading a tabloid in the US/a gossip mag in the UK, check and see if there are any spelling errors.

Amazing how there isn't.

These publications know that they aren't particularly credible to the average person. To include spelling errors would drop them below bother. (I'm not sure its true, but I was told that it is more likely that you'll find a spelling error in the Washington Post than the National Inquirer. Hmm.)

It's the same with fast food. The quality of the food is low, so the marketing has to be pretty darn good.

But, then again...maybe the Chicken Hut is just really that good...

Now, back to that vitamin C.

Maybe there's a joke to this that I don't get. PLEASE let there be a joke here.

Otherwise, Joaquin Phoenix can't spell his own name.


Maybe someone else wrote his 'speech'. Maybe.

Hopefully, this is funny even without having seen the The Great Race.

Today as one of our to-dos we'd decided to buy gifts for various events coming up in the year.

The first was easy: a stripy blue, red, green, and cream fleece jumper for the new baby Christian Alexander to go with the onesie I'd bought him while I was stateside last. (Onesie says 'Nothing's wrong. Just testing you.')

For the second, we went round to John Lewis to buy a wedding gift for T and L-A. We went up to the Gift List office on the 3rd floor. They printed us out the list and off we went.

We knew what we wanted, so we headed to a till point to pay. The closest was in electronics.
No, they can't help us.

Down we go to ground floor, to garden supplies. What we were buying would give away the surprise, but as you guessed...
No, they can't help us.

Back up to floor 2, to kitchenwares. Except they really weren't kitchenwares as that's separate from Cutlery and China. We stand in line for ages to find out...
No, they can't help us.

Where next? Back up to the Gift List Office. If we know what we want, we pay there.
*facepalm*

Ah, well. Got our exercise for the day. :)

Luckily, the gift list for miriammiriam and darkcryst was much easier to navigate.

I always feel bad asking 'dumb questions', but from now on in those circumstances, I'm going to ask, 'Can't we just take care of $ACTIVITY here?'

ybunny comes home tomorrow! Much rejoicing!

---

I was mentioning to atticus_frog that there is a difference in my mind between being a fan and being a fangirl (or boy, whatever). I feel to old, too crochety, or too busy to get as excited as I once did about as many books/films/people.
As hatsumomo pointed out, it is a very dull person who can't get excited about anything, even if those things are supposedly childish. (Insert mumbling about finishing Book 7 in about 4 hours. *mumblemumble*)

I believe my first instance of fangirling anything came at 9 when I received the old Del Ray box set of Tolkien novels. Four books...The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy...which I wore to pieces reading.

I tried to make my way through the Silmarillion, but at 10, when I picked it up, it wasn't a very good read.

Cut to 6 years later. This was before the advent of online booksellers that made finding books easy. I spent a good bit of time scouring the used bookstores of Western North Carolina trying to get my hands on some more books by Judith Tarr. (Finding A Wind in Cairo took forEVER.)

While at the Asheville's Downtown Books and News on Lexington, I happened upon a book by Guy Gavriel Kay. I wasn't looking for that, but the name was familiar. I liked the cover art, so I took it home.
It finally dawned on me, this was the guy that had worked with Christopher Tolkien to edit the Silmarillion.

The book in question is The Lions of Al-Rassan. US Amazon link and UK Amazon link Sadly, they've changed the cover art.

The story is gripping. Set in a world easy comparable to medieval Spain, the plot involves a love triangle with protagonists representing three religions, renamed versions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. There's a bit of El Cid legend thrown in for good measure.

Well friend, Hollywood has gotten hold of Lions. magid mentioned it previously, but I'd sort of blocked it out, I suppose. The original discovery is hers.

The only detail forthcoming involves the choice of director, Edward Zwick.
Because I love the book so much, I fear for its translation to the big screen. But, I have to admit that I really liked Zwick's Last Samurai (even with Tom Cruise). He was also involved with two of my favorites, Shakespeare in Love and Dangerous Beauty, as a producer.

Kay's site, Bright Weavings, has little to say on the topic, but does admit to 'low grade discussions with Hollywood'. As of 15 June, Warner Brothers has the first draft script, but no casting decisions have been made.

Here's the thing, Zwick: I'll be there for the film, if/when it gets made. You've got my money already, as it were. But, please, let's keeps to the story. Don't let the them push you into making a swash-buckling film that hollows out the plot. (Not that I have anything against buckling swashes.)

What book would you like to see made into a film?

Back about a year ago I had a bit of a problem with a seagull baby living in my back garden and harassing my runt of a cat.

A few of you were concerned that I might harm it, enormous though it was.

I'm here to tell you that Aberdeen seagulls can fend for themselves.
The [seagull] first swooped in Aberdeen's Castlegate earlier this month and made off with the 55p crisps, and is now a regular.

I'm just incredibly amused by the preview pic for the video clip. He looks so pleased with himself.

In case you don't know, I'm an animal lover. I wouldn't hurt anything intentionally...except spiders. Most of that is caused by me flailing to get away. Plus, we all know they started it. :)

I want to make a post today, solely for the purpose of having made a post on 07-07-07.

I think now would be a good time to provide a links post.
I tend to store up cool and interesting sites in a bookmarks folder called 'to blog'. Unfortunately, or fortunately...depending on your point of view, I've not been without things to write about for the last few weeks.

So, on with the links dump.

1. A list of snow clones. Snow clones are formulas for clichés. The one that will have been flashing noisily in your face for the past few months is 'I'm in your X, Ying your Z'.

I wasn't surprised to find this had a name. Everything has a name. The snow clone I use most frequently is 'Friends don't let friends X'. Obviously, the original was 'Friends don't let friends drive drunk'. Which is irritating, because surely it should be 'drive drunkenly' or 'drink while drunk'.

2. A great site for poetry. I found it while looking for the text of Edwin Morgan's poem 'Strawberries' to send to my sister-in-law.

I've been reading through them starting with the shortest first. It's a great collection.

3. A podcast from the Film Factory with Geoffrey Rush and Bill Nighy on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Link opens a Quicktime movie.

I love how Rush and Nighy talks about the presence of British pirates. We have a long history of [piracy]. The Irish, the Scots, the Welsh, the English...we've always had an enthusiasm for going to sea and robbing other people.

4. A time lapse video of mushrooms growing. Link goes to YouTube.

Obviously, there have been other time lapse vids of mushrooms, but this one just picked some fantastic music to go along with it. Plus, it should gross out ybunny. ;)

5. While in Edinburgh, athousanderrors mentioned a song sung at a Breast Cancer fundraiser.

I found it, to my amusement. Here's Tim Minchin singing 'Inflatable You'. Link goes to YouTube and the lyrics are Not Safe For Work.
The lyrics are here, in case you're at work when you see this.

I love when I see humour used in conjunction with fundraising. Plus, it'll get stuck in your head. Just fyi. :)

Working away today: Hebrew, 20k paper outline, and laundry.

A couple of things for your amusement:

For you crossword enthusiasts

Forbes Fictional 15
Forbes.com has a sense of humour. Who knew?
#9 is especially amusing.
Might make you go through an intro page. Skip button at top.

I went this morning to see Pirate 3. At 9:40 am! Movies in the morning? Who knew?

Based on the fact that the bleeding movie is 3 hours long, it's a good thing. I'd have been well asleep if I'd gone at night.

As a foreword, I go to see movies for four reasons.
1) They remove me from reality and allow something that I think would interesting to happen...when it definitely could not happen in the confines of normal reality.
2) It is a period piece and I get to see fun costumes. I'm just a costume junkie.
3) It is an adaptation of a play/book/event that I thought interesting and I want to compare the two.
4) It stars an actor/actress that I have enjoyed performances from previously.

That doesn't mean I don't end up seeing some real trainwrecks that make me want to scrub my brain with bleach. But, generally, those are the four guidelines.

The first of the Pirates trilogy satisfied three of the four.
1) The movie was about Disney pirates...which don't hold a candle to the dastardly deeds of the real pirates. Therefore, they could be sympathetic characters and create a silly adventure.
2) Everyone's in a costume. More importantly, there are British navyboys in uniform.
4) Jack Davenport. Hilarious in Coupling, enigmatic in This Life.

Very enjoyable. Good job, Bruckheimer, et al.

Pirates 2 should have been a happy experience, but I felt as though they sold out some of the characters and played too much to the jokes and not the plot. The jokes were good, but they'd be better with a more intricate plot.

Today I saw Pirates 3, as I said.

( And here begin the spoilers. )

I'm just disappointed, I suppose. I thought Pirates 1 was a tightly written, interesting film, and Pirates 2 and 3 were just sort of...there.

(Once/If you get around to seeing it) Let me know what you thought of the film.

I've been out with the goddaughter and family and then started sewing again when I got in, so I almost forgot FF. :)

I've been contemplating going to see Spiderman 3. Not because I actually want to see Spiderman 3, however. One friend said of it I wanted it to be good, but it was instead a movie so horrendous ([my wife] used the word “ghastly”) that I’m not going to waste your time blogging about it.* Given that this is a friend with finely honed movie appreciation, I'll give it a miss.

So, why was I thinking about going? Movie Popcorn.

Oh, I love it. The thought of how many gross things could happen to it between being raw ingredients and making it to my mouth never seemed to bother me.

The problem is that a box of popcorn here is £3.25 at the lowest (the kiddie size) and £4 for what ybunny, the fiance, and I normally split.

I can't fault the UK. When I was still living in the US, the popcorn wasn't exactly cheap.

So, what's a poor university student to do?

Smuggle food in, of course. I purchased The Handbag back in 1997. It was a brown Sak bag with the long strap that stretched and then had to be knotted to avoid being entangled with my feet.

The Bisquits** and I could stuff a meal for three into my handbag. The usual was Taco Bell. Mmmm...warm bean burritos during Romeo + Juliet. Fan-bloody-tastic.

We never got caught, mostly because I think there's a bend in time and space that makes it possible to stuff everything into that bag*** and not look like a disembodied hamster's cheek.

I still balk at buying anything other than popcorn at the movies.

Anyone else sneak things into the movies? (I promise I won't tell. :) )

---

* If you're reading this and you want me to link over to your blog, please let me know. I'm not sure how public you want your blog. :)
** redthought and golfbisquit, my sibs
*** And its replacement, a short strapped black Sak

Internet Explorer users: I think the journal's fixed now. Let me know if you're still seeing a problem. Cheers.

It's hard not to be sleepy today in Aberdeen.
I woke up thinking that it would be another day as usual...cool, but not cold. However, it is 18C today!
I walked back from the university and considered how bad it would be if I just took my shirt off. It's that much of a temperature shock.

In university news, I've done the reading I'm going to do until after I go back to the US. I feel like I have what I need to finish my paper for the conference in May, but I may be deluding myself.

In travel news, I leave for the US on 10 April. I'll be in Asheville and Chattanooga from then until the 17th. I'll only be in Chattanooga for slightly over 24 hours, though, if the current plan holds true.

In yet more travel news, it looks as if ybunny is headed back to the rigs on the 10th as well. At least it isn't Brazil this round. Egypt is this month's choice.

In German learning news, I spent entirely too long trying to sort out how to say 'It's me' in Deutsch. 'Ich bin es' is just wrong and 'Es ist mich' sound funny. I have no practical use for this phrase at present, I just realized I don't know what it is. *shrugs*

In 'holy crap, what a movie' news, we saw 300 on Saturday night last. A couple of nitpicks:
1. I dislike how they translate Leonides epithet. I'm a crotchety classicist at best.
2. I have to wonder a little at Frank Miller/the screen writer's sexual politics, that they have the Spartans calling the Athenians 'boy lovers' when pederasty in Sparta was possibly more a part of their society than even in Athens.
3. The other things were already brought up by magid, notably that Xerxes is not at all historically accurate in presentation and the incongruity of the deformed ephors (mystics on the mountain, for those who don't remember the movie's Greek). I'll add to her point that they were presented as some sort of priests/shamans, though in real life they were basically bureaucrats.
Overall, I liked the movie. The color scheme that they used reminds me of how I remember my own life. In my mind's eye, my past is colored unlike real life. I remember the good as bright and the bad as dim and hard to see.
Gore? Oh yes. Tons. However, I was definitely more traumatized by the death near the church in Hot Fuzz than the fighting in 300.

Well, I'm off to straighten up the house for the arrival of my goddaughter and her sister tomorrow morning. I haven't seen them for about 2 weeks and I'm very excited about keeping them tomorrow. :)

Doctor: What kind of birth control were you looking for exactly?

Woman: Well, I don't want him to know...so nothing loud.

*chortle*

My sister sent me last night's Final Jeopardy question.

Can you guess the answer?

Poll #824668 Please write your response in the form of a question.
Open to: All, results viewable to: None

What large home in Aberdeenshire is named 'the majestic dwelling' in Gaelic?

Me: Yeah, so black and white kitties are called tuxedo cats. I think it's just a way of making American/British shorthair cats sound more exciting.

ybunny: ...

Me: Except Caoimhe looks nothing like a tuxedo'd cat.

ybunny: No, she looks like she had one on and then ripped it to shreds.

...people will think I'm redthought. ;)

Lovely rain and fog we're having today...

I walked down the hill this morning to my GP's. Something red caught my eye, but I was running just a touch late, so I didn't really look.

On the way back up the hill, I was moving a bit slower and realized that the red thing was a condom and wrapper. The way the condom was laying, it looked about 3 inches long.

The size combined with the colour made me think 'my first condom'.

I'm still giggling about that. So...yeah.

Caoimhe just rolled over...and fell off the couch.

Silly kitty.

You know there's something wrong when you get the hooks of your own brassiere stuck in your hair.

*facepalm*

More sacrilege, because I can't seem to get enough...

10 Things I Hate About Commandments


Thanks, freckles42!

Earlier, I linked to the Bible according to LEGO.

Love LEGO? Love Monty Python?

Go love Monty Python in LEGO. Mwahaha...
This is so much better.

I especially love that Arthur has the Shell logo on his chest.

I thought that I'd lost my love for TV altogether.

But, sod it...I'll watch the BAFTA's any day. :)

I'll never be a happy TV person, I'd much rather have a DVD.

However, BBC Alba does make me happy. Even if I don't understand anything but every 100th word or so...

During supper, I watched a bit of the BBC's Office.

I wanted to find it good because so many people had said they'd liked it.

I just think it's painful.