The Gallifrey Film Society Presents....

If it's not folks after our chocolate, they're after omnisexual, immortal time agent/companion types. What's next?!

( mumblemumblegrumble )

Um... yes, slightly grumpy monster is slightly grumpy at present. With everything else going on in the world, it's nothing. Even so, can it please be next Friday nao?

Anyway - have a meme on books.

( 'How To Spot A Hadrosaur In The Bus Queue' and other really *bizarre* titles I have known;) )

BBC Highlights for the Christmas period SPOILERS FOR DOCTOR WHO

Please note - no dates attached, so your guess is as good as mine regarding the airing date for the second Who episode (other than sometime before 2/1/10 or 2/1/10 - ymmv). Dates etc. will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. Watch this space.

***

mini_nanowrimo continues apace. No, I haven't written today's 100 words yet. I'll do that when I finish this (because, this? Does Not Count!) The main issue seems to be picking one story and sticking with it! Finding the words is not an issue, sticking to one story is.

Right now, I am trying to get all my stories to a point where I know where they are going and can let them curl up like cats in sunbeams and just concentrate on one of them. As to which one to concentrate on... ahahahah! If anyone wants to put in orders:

x1 Superman Returns post-movie
x1 Doctor Who OT3 (Nine/Rose/Jack)
x1 Torchwood pre series Cyberwoman AU
x1 Torchwood/Doctor Who post 'Children of Earth' story of DOOOOOOOM

There is a fic that's almost ready to go... when I finish the damn beta that is!

***

Work is... work. Despite dealing with students who think that Anti-Virus software is too technical for a mere enquiry desk librarian to handle. No, I am not posting this from the nearby police station, why do you ask?

The end of term is in sight and so are the deadlines. May the 'verse have mercy on my soul!

***

My life is terribly boring but Spock is still my bebee. I am also looking forward greatly to the Christmas holidays - not least because I have about 10 books in my to read pile (and that's not including the ones I'll get for Chrimbo!) but my delicious list is full of big bang fics and other sundry recs to read.
The weather is being unseasonably 'mild' around here. The North Sea is trying to reclaim the mainland by air drop but mild. This is not the way Winter will end, I can tell.

***

I am behind in my tv watching and my movie watching. I can just about manage to catch Strictly Come Dancing of a weekend, (voting for Ali and for Lallia atm). Merlin is a nice, easy watch but not inspiring fannishness.

I have been watching Dexter on DVD - very enjoyable! Although I do think this has a lot to do with the fact that I've read the first two novels, so I know what I'm letting myself in for! Next up is The Big Bang Theory. Since the flist rate it so highly, I am giving it a go.

The great Doctor Who watch has stalled at 'Boomtown'. Mainly because I am too much of a great wussafuss to woman up and watch the final three - because losing Ten will be hard, but I loved Nine first.

If there is anything else, I'll post it tomorrow! I have 100 words to wrassle...

By now, you would have all read about Kindle, Amazon.COM's proprietary e-book reader?

Where do I start?

Most of you guys know what I do for a living. I'm a librarian. I work with books and information. As such, I know a thing or two about how people access information and how much publishers expect to be paid for their product.

The short version is - people like paper and publishers like lots of money. Especially if you want it electronically.

I never thought I'd do this but... CILIP article on an UK Academic Library project on providing a 'library' of e-books to UK University Libraries. CILIP are the British Library Association, my professional body.

The most relevant paragraph is as follows:
Six bids made it through to the consultation, equating to a total of 136 e-books – seven in media studies, 29 in engineering, 42 in medicine, 58 in business and management.

Here was another major challenge. The value placed by the publishers on these 136 e-books, with free-at-the-point-of-use access, for all UK HE institutions (more than 2.4m students and their tutors) was £2.08m excluding VAT

Project budget? £600,000. (Current exchange rate £1=$2)

Okay - it's not quite the same as what Amazon want to do but if publishers want that kind of money out students and academic libraries... what are they going to charge to the public? It might be all hunkydory now but what's to stop another NBC versus iTunes a couple of months down the line?

Not to mention - what obscenely biological acts did Amazon have to perform to get all those publishers on board? Or shall I just reach for the mindbleach for you all now? *g*.

And just DO NOT get me started on copyright! Else we'll be here all night! These 'Kindle' books, can they be lent? Can they be backed up? What happens if you break the screen? And for people like me - what if you want more than the 200 books they allow you to have?

As for the design.... perhaps I am drunk on the beauty of the Illyamonster but hell's teeth, that is one ugly looking machine!

So - thoughts people? Would you buy one or would you prefer to go with book v1.0?

As published in the 'Sunday Times' today. Written by Paul Cornell who wrote 'Father's Day' for the first series/series 27.

Deep and dreamless sleep by Paul Cornell

Word of advice to the more... soft hearted (like me) on my flist - you may need a hankie. Highly recommended.

( The State of the Beckymonster )

So... there I was on Monday, at work, trying to tidy my desk. I may organize information for a living, but my desk? 'Atomic' and 'Bombsite' are usually good adjectives to describe my work area. Mme Director had decreed that this was To Be So. Cue an awful lot of peeved staff. Including me.
This is to give you an idea of my state of mind when I read the following...

My story 'Broken Stones' as recced on stargateficrec

You have no frelling idea how happymaking this was.
At first it was like 'Broken Stones? I have a story called that....' reads some more 'HOLEEE FRAK MONKEYS!!!! I'VE BEEN RECC'ED!!!!'

( Now, a little meta as to why this was so happymaking )

ZOMG!!!! Mark and Karen won Strictly Come Dancing! After last week's Argentine Tango, this is not a surprise - but I do have to say that Matt Dawson was just as fantastic. Trying to decide a winner, for myself, was almost as hard as trying to decide who's my favourite Doctor out of #9 and #10!

Both wonderful and both amazing to watch. Not to mention about £4 million odd raised for charity in the process!

Right - the pit is calling. I will check in tomorrow (hopefully) just to wish everyone seasons greetings and all... you understand;)

I have no frelling idea!;)

I was going to write a post where I wondered (aloud) why people spend time reading (so-called) bad fic with the express purpose of tearing to pieces. But I'm not going to.

Life is too short and precious to waste on bad vibes. So, instead, I will post a list of things that are good and worthwhile and all of that malarkey. After all, this is my LJ and I can do what I want with it? Yes?
So glad you agree with me!:D

Books -
( The 'Dresden Files' Series by Jim Butcher. )

( Does anything eat wasps - The best of 'The New Scientist's' The Last Word Column. )

Sports
( The RBS Six Nations )

Movies
( It's Oscar time again! )

Telly
( BSG, SG-1 and ER I )

Just to leaven out all this good stuff - my ipod has bit the dust... AGAIN! Think it's the battery this time. It can't be the hard drive as it's just come back from the menders (3 month warranty) so I'll get it checked out. Thankfully it's not *that* expensive. Even so, it's still a frelling nuisance!