Dance kitty, dance !

I really don't make the cats perform for their treats, but I was not going to bother with a video tonight, until of course they started doing this...

An (un)interesting technical note, was that as I was filming (and uploading) this film from my phone I needed a way to get the phone to stand on the kitchen counter whilst unwrapped the treats. Invention being required by necessity, I pressed into service a nearby apple device.

Apple device ? Wait, iphone, ipod, imac ? No. I mean the device I sued to prop up the phone and take the footage was leaning it against an apple (the type you eat dumb-ass). I couldn't take pictures of this fact... because, well, I normally take pictures with my phone.

Stupid cat...

What can I say ? Sorry ? This is the longest (to date) video I've done. Sorry it goes on a bit, hopefully you won't find it all boring.. maybe just skip the boring bits...


Really selling this aren't I ?

Where on the stairs.. right there, a little man with a vlog on...

From the bedroom (again).. with disgruntled cat looking on

Filmed with my wildfire S, and the camera flash to illuminate things. Midnight giving me evils.

Don't be an idiot

On the way to work Thursday morning, I hurt myself coming down the stairs on the 700 bus. In my eagerness to get off the bus, I'd decided to try and come down the stairs at precisely the moment that the bus pulled away from a set of traffic lights.

Thankfully I was holding on, otherwise I would have fallen down the stairs. As it was at one point I was suspended in mid air, with my feet hanging free, with my hands supporting my weight. Good job I wasn't holding onto my kindle or phone at that point, as not only would they have gone flying, but I would have too, into the not very friendly looking metal bar at the bottom of the stairwell. Idiot.

It being the cat's birthdays I celebrated it with them by buying some treat sticks for them, which they did seem to enjoy, and getting some slightly different food, which they seemed to appreciate. Anyway, I made a short video to explain all that, but having just read this, you may think that watching it will be a waste of your time. You may be right. But anyway, here's the video.....

I also took some footage whilst I was cleaning the cat litter tray, which I was going to edit into something like the talking animals type video of The Dumb, The Unwilling, and the Washing Machine... That I will leave to another day to edit. Laters.

The dumb, the unwilling, and the washing machine...

So this is something I knocked up quickly with some footage I took on the camcorder tonight. I would have used some of the footage from my phone, but the lag between sound and image is so sucky on today's footage that it would be impossible to watch... so I've 'treated' you to this instead. x

Switches

For those amongst you that are, ahem, easily turn of and on-able.... After last night's video, I actually really do need to get my body used to sleeping, and waking at a reasonable time. To that end, I may have cut a few corners with the creative integrity of this video....

Maybe...

Shhhhh !!! You don't need to shout.. you only need to Wispa.

Resolutions seem to break like...

...china cups dropped onto my kitchen floor.

Not that I've done that you understand. Puft ! Like I'd have china cups !

I'm remonstrating myself about not blogging as much as I had wanted. I have taken my eye off the ball. It's not for lack of events to blog either, it's more a case of lack of time. Before I got home last night (to start a 4 day weekend) I hadn't actually turned on my lovely iMac since last weekend. Poor thing.

So what's been happening ? The kittens have well and truly settled. Very comfortable, and are loving their new cat tree. 

..thank you Daddy x

Dr who is back. And Stetsons are cool.

Progress is being made, sort of, with the show, but we've had some set backs. Gemma, who was going to play Starlight, has had to pull out as she realised she has family commitments the week of the show. The wonderfully talented Faye has let us know that because of increased workload (at work, I guess) she has had to drop the larger of the two parts that she had been cast.

We may well be able to get Nick's Mum to do one of the now vacant roles, it would be brilliant to have her involved in a show again. Fingers crossed. So pretty much looks like we are only one person short, instead of two. Monday's rehearsal involved us going over one of the call centre scenes, which are the complicated ones.  We did this easily enough, despite the lack of a Starlight, and with Helen getting herself distracted, becoming too carried away with the background antics of Polly. Even so, scene got blocked out and was working well. We'd actually planned to only do about 5 pages of the scene, but decided to do the whole scene in the end. The comedy is coming alive, the (hopefully) wonderful visual comedy that is laced throughout the show. Wednesday night we blocked out a scene set in the Manager's office, and again the comedic talents of Lin (Bone) and Faye came to the fore. Such a shame that she (Faye) won't be able to do Hermione, but I understand if she's at risk of being overwhelmed. Much better that she let us know now, than in about 8 weeks time. 18 Rehearsal sessions left until the show opens. Clock is ticking. Clock  IS ticking.

The blocking, on the whole is taking less time than we imagined, which is good because we will have to go back and do some of it again for the benefit of the characters that we will now have to recast. We also need to make sure that we can sort out the filmed pieces in the show, as if we can't get them to work, we really do have a problem.

Dr Who returns. Fantastic, thrilling, scary and funny episode. The Impossible Astronaut, at risk of running out of superlatives, it was a brilliantly sharp script. I've now watched the episode 6 times, and it sings every time. Really tight. Really well done. Again laden with phrases that will, I am sure to be copied by millions of fans up and down the country.

I've brought a sun hat. After shaving off all my hair again, and the recently gorgeous sunshine, I thought it would be a good idea to protect my poor noggin from the sun. I have become rather attached to my sun hat. I am sure that the prevailing opinion may be that I look like a prat, but I don't care. I like it, so I wear it. I am ready to pick Chloe up tomorrow, and have her laugh uncontrollably at me.

I wear a sunhat now

I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to be able to complete the script Laptop for Script Frenzy. Now I know that I sure as hell WONT achieve it with THAT attitude, but as I am only at page 25 I really would have to cane it completely to even stand a chance of getting it finished before the end of the competition. This is sad. I really had wanted to make sure that I did complete it, as I had failed so miserably to complete NanoWriMo in November last year, using the move as a reason/ excuse.

Grrrr. Frustrated with myself. Need to get a review done for Beacon, as I haven't done one since I moved. Need a great big boot and rather bendy legs, so as to kick myself up the arse don't I ? Yes. See. I knew I was right.

... and sunhats are cool....

What else has been going on ? Well, work has not been without its dramas this week. People can be funny things, and sometimes the hardest thing they find to do is to look into the mirror and accept what they see. Me, I'm always looking in the mirror, although you may not think so to look at my dress sense. It his heartening to realise that despite some difficult times, the world isn't against me. I work with some really great people, and I just wish I got more of a chance to get to know them in that context than the ones I am normally presented to them in. Hopefully the crowd from work will come along to the show, and will be able to let their hair down and have a really good night.

Royal Wedding. As someone who both dislikes the idea of royalty on political grounds, but has a deeply contradictory love of the royal family themselves - and all the things they do for the country I had decided that I wasn't going to be spending time on my extra day off to watch William & Kate's wedding. Somehow, my 'bah humbug' nature was overridden sufficiently for me to watch the spectacle and be very moved by everything that I saw. I really don't give a stuff about the ins and outs of their or anyone else's private lives. But to be a spectator on such a happy day reminds me of how much hope there is in the human spirit and in the love of another. I do wish them well for the future. Wishes I am sure they will not be short of.

It is at times like this, when pretty much half the country has gotten caught up in the fever and celebration and flag waving that we remember what it's like to be British. It is nice to see though, that because most of the flags are the ones provided by the Sun newspaper, and have a picture of the happy couple on them, thereby forcing Jo public to put the bloody flag up the right way. Otherwise I would be getting all anal about how some people don't realise that there is a right and a wrong way to hang a union flag.

I've been busy...

I've been so busy, that I haven't taken the time to make a blog entry. It's not through laziness. Well, okay, looking back, perhaps there is an element of the latter to it, but I really have been rather busy. Not only have I had the loving company of my daughter for the last four days, during her Easter holidays, but I have also been rather absorbed by work for the show. There has also been the small matter of taking care of my two new arrivals.

Midnight & Twilight, our kittens joined our family last weekend. Ever since they have been a bundle of joy to watch, and look after. They've settled in really well, and have gotten used to me and the flat without any problems whatsoever. They are now starting to gain confidence and realise that they can jump up onto things like the sofa, or my bed. Time will only tell just how well they get on with the sofa.

...one of Chloe's pics with her iPod Touch

Chloe and I have had a great week, getting to know the kittens, but also going out and doing things together. We went to Marwell Zoo on Tuesday, with my sister and her two boys. Fantastic day out that we wouldn't have had the chance to do if it wasn't for my sister being able to drive.  We had a brilliant day there, that for me was a little overshadowed by the determined dying of my Blackberry, leaving me without the ability to take loads of pictures like I normally would. I was though, very impressed with some of the shots that Chloe was able to get with her iPod touch.

Drama off the stage has overtaken drama on it at St Peter's. The PCC have taken what seems like the rather political step of sacking anyone on the PCC that did not agree with their view that they sell the Theatre and its land, and the church. This land-grab is supposed to be to release the capitol needed to build a new church somewhere else.

Now I'd probably upset a load of people by commenting that surely if god is omnipotent and omnipresent it doesn't matter a damn where you are when you 'give thanks', so I won't say it. I am rather angered by such a move by the PCC. I don't confess to understand the inner workings of the political machine here, but it seems to me to be callous, ungrateful and downright despicable that they get rid of all these people that have worked tirelessly for the church and the theatre all these years.

Shame on them. Shame on them.

Phoenix Players have been resident there for decades, and have literally raised tens of thousands to keep that building going. To see the potential of them being so summarily chucked out onto the street is galling. It also means that we should at least consider the reality that we may need to find somewhere else to put on the show, as a backup, just in case things get worse.