Xenon's Seventh Circle

Look at this - three posts in less than a week. It must be some kind of record! But I saw a picture on Twitter which is true excitement in .jpg form, and now I have to bother everybody else with it. How have I never seen this until now?!

Robin Of Sherwood and Return To Treasure Island were made by the same people at the same time. So far, so common knowledge. But at some point, this happened: ( ... )

Yes, I know. Apart from a fleeting visit with Daleks (Daleks and Jack! On New Year's Day!), I haven't posted anything in about nineteen years. So I thought I'd talk about books.

I usually read non-fic, so I don't post about reading much. I've read a lot of palaeontology and history this year, but I also got back into fiction a bit. Susanna Clarke, who wrote Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, put out a new book, called Piranesi, which is about a bloke in a cave. Sort of. You'll just have to read it.

Then I read a book called Across The Bright Sea, by Lauren Volk, which is supposedly a children's book, but yeah. Whatever. It's about a little girl who was a foundling, raised by an outsider on a tiny island, and it's fab. Shades of the equally wonderful Rooftoppers, by Katherine Rundell, which is also a book about a young girl who was a foundling raised by an oddball. And is also wonderful. Shortish reads, since they're (supposedly) for kids, and both great. Rooftoppers came out years ago, and how it hasn't been adapted for the screen yet, I have no idea.

And then I read A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik. She wrote the Temeraire series, about dragons fighting the Napoleonic Wars, which gave the world Izkierka the pirate dragon, and her slightly unwilling human, John Granby (and yes, Temeraire too, but he's less interesting). Now she's writing a new series, set in a psychopathic school for wizards. If it doesn't eat you first, you graduate. Very promising first installment.

After that was A Declaration On The Rights Of Magicians, by HG Parry, which is a heavily researched alternate history, in which Pitt and Wilberforce fight demons. Blinking giant doorstop of a book, but fun, and full of real history, as well as monsters and stuff. There's a sequel due out soon. HG Parry is quite new, and has only written one other book so far, which I've bought but not yet read. It's called The Unlikely Escape Of Uriah Heep, and sounds buckets of fun:

For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can't quite control: he can bring characters from books into the real world. His older brother, Rob - a young lawyer with an utterly normal life - hopes that this strange family secret will disappear with disuse, and he will be discharged from his duty of protecting Charley and the real world from each other.

But then, literary characters start causing trouble in their city, making threats about destroying the world, and for once, it isn't Charley's doing. There's someone else out there who shares his powers and it's up to Charley and a reluctant Rob to stop them - before anyone gets to The End.

Back to non-fic at the moment though - Wonderful Life, by Stephen Jay Gould, on the Burgess Shale, and a book called Survivors, by Richard Fortey, which is about natural history. Fortey's fab. A great writer, and also one of the world's leading experts on trilobites, so you can immediately see that he's a good bloke. Uriah Heep will probably come next.

So there you have it. I also watched the Robert Downey Jr film Dolittle, which is very, very silly, and a lot of fun. I don't think I've watched anything else in aeons though.

If you're feeling friendly, say hello to seal_girl, by the way. She's trying this place out for size. Has been known to write wonderfully arcane crossovers (Ironside meets the Doctor!), so should fit in perfectly with some of you lot...

A couple of years ago, I found a soupy concoction in a bag in the garage, which turned out to have once been dahlia bulbs. Tesco Finest, apparently, though it didn't look particularly fine. The bag had been in a box, in a cupboard, which is hardly ideal growing conditions. All the same, one bulb had prevailed, albeit producing the most anaemic shoot what ever shooted. So I planted it, and it struggled for a while, but it managed to flower, and very nice it was too.

Took a picture of it today, at the end of its third summer. It's still doing nicely, though it's bloody cold tonight, so I don't know how much longer it will keep going this year. Hopefully it will see out the month.

( The Little Dahlia That Could )

There's a chance 2020 might be taking a turn for the better, with Bruce Springsteen and the Struts both putting new records out. The new Struts song, Strange Days, is as bouncy and energetic as their stuff generally is, and Springsteen's new one is lively too, though not without reflection. There seems to be a subtext about ageing in this new album, and the bits of film that accompany this new song, Ghosts, and last week's new one, Letter To You, show a band who have grown old together, and are comfortable with that. I like it.

Possible antidote to 2020 beneath the cut. ( Snip. )

Nicked from a couple of you:

A Place: Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
A Food: Strawberry Fields Forever, The Beatles
A Drink: Milk & Alcohol, Dr Feelgood
An Animal: Cry Wolf, a-ha
A Number: 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Tom Robinson
A Colour: Behind Blue Eyes, The Who
A Boy's Name: Flash!, Queen
A Girl's Name: Maria, Blondie
A Profession: I Am A Drummer (In A Rock & Roll Band), Roger Taylor
A Vehicle: I'm In Love With My Car, Queen


And because I'm bored, here it all is just with Queen songs:

A Place: In The Lap Of The Gods
A Food: Brighton Rock
A Drink: Seven Seas Of Rhye
An Animal: Ogre Battle
A Number: In Only Seven Days
A Colour: My Melancholy Blues
A Boy's Name: Ming's Theme
A Girls's Name: Lily Of The Valley
A Profession: Hitman
A Vehicle: In The Space Capsule


And Bruce Springsteen ones:

A Place: Where The Bands Are
A Food: Candy's Room
A Drink: Sherry Darling
An Animal: Kitty's Back
A Number: American Skin (41 Shots)
A Colour: Little White Lies
A Boy's Name: Adam Raised A Cain
A Girls's Name: Mary's Place
A Profession: Murder Incorporated
A Vehicle: Stolen Car

Just be grateful I got bored again before I got around to Dean Martin and a-ha. :)

ETA: I notice the second two both have organised crime as the profession. A slightly unfortunate coincidence!

When I grow up, I think I want to be Randy Rainbow.

Ten pictures of favourite fictional characters, with minimal explanation.



Robert Fuller as Jess Harper.

Ten pictures of favourite fictional characters, with minimal explanation.



Letitia Wright as Shuri.

Ten pictures of favourite fictional characters, with minimal explanation.



Henry Darrow as Manolito.

Ten pictures of favourite fictional characters, with minimal explanation.



Don Galloway as Ed Brown.