Happy New Year!

Farewell 2014 ~ have a grumpy David Tennant to wave you goodbye.

Words don't feel like flowing tonight so I'll jump right into a few things of note that happened this year:

• I graduated from community college with an associate's degree
• Did lots of singing at church and started preparing for our ensemble's concert
• Had some great times with friends
• Worked on learning the violin with my Grandpa, which has been really nice
• Went on a trip with my family
• Got a job and got settled in it
• Did a fair amount of sewing and made some plushies

Rather unexpectedly, I ended up in some new fandoms this year, which I will now soppily remember:

• Sherlock series 3 - this wasn't new but it actually happened finally. Also, I cosplayed Molly Hooper at a con and it was fun.
• Emma Approved - it was so great to follow that this year and talk about it with my cousin.
• Broadchurch/Gracepoint - both shows reawakened my love for David Tennant and they were just so good.
• Cabin Pressure - Listened to pretty much all of it this year including the final episodes on December 23rd/24th. It is so quotable and many lines and games have permeated my house yellow car. Also John Finnemore is precious and has introduced me to some other fun things.
• Endeavour - I was thinking about when I watched s1e2 I didn't want to fall in love with it and didn't want it to be another Sherlock. Weellll changed my mind about that, I guess. But this show and its characters have meant a lot to me. That and Cabin Pressure have been really important to me.
• Roger Allam/Les Mis - The previous two also showed me how awesome Roger Allam is, and got me back into Les Miserables as I listened to him as Javert. He also introduced me to some new cool things.
• Inspector Morse/other - The show that inspired the prequel Endeavour, Inspector Morse was really great to watch as well this year. I love Morse and Lewis. Also watched a bit of Midsomer Murders, which ended up being a really fun show.
• These aren't all the shows I enjoyed but they stand out to me the most.
• Oh yeah and Matthew Wood followed me on instagram. What.

 And now let's play how did I do on my new year's resolutions?

• Figure out, prepare for, and possibly take the next step in my life - this happened, but not in the way I expected. This may or may not carry over into the next year.
• Cosplay at least once - done! Molly Hooper, and a few closet cosplays for fun.

• Be more comfortable with myself - strangely yes.

• Post at least once a month here, and keep Gollum to the same - this will be my 12th post of the year but I posted twice for some months and missed others, so it evened out? Gollum wasn't so dedicated though...

• Make a video - I did record one and then decided I didn't want to edit or do anything with it, but I made it that far so I count this accomplished.

• Work on instead of surviving until good days (the weekend, events, etc) finding the good in ordinary or difficult days. - maybe a bit, and with my changeable schedule now it works a bit differently.

• Every day put a slip in a jar of something good that happened that day - halfway through January I knew this wasn't going to happen, but at another point during the year I did a similar happiness challenge for a few days. Maybe I needed it more then than the rest of the year.

I don't really have any firm resolutions this year, and the thing is my goals may change after a while, but here's a few ideas:

• Get back to learning Spanish (if anyone is on duolingo.com and wants to be friends let me know!)

• Write (and possibly post) fanfiction

• Assess my blogs and possibly improve them
• Read more - maybe do a reading challenge

I hope 2014 was good for you all, and whether it was or not that 2015 will be even better. Happy New Year everyone!

Currently

Reading:
Still slowly going through Mansfield Park, but hoping to finish before too long so I can read The Book Thief, plus I have one Doctor Who book I haven't finished, one I never started, and I just bought one...(it was $2 come on)

Listening to:
Nothing in particular for music, but been listening to the new series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Program, a sketch show by the writer of Cabin Pressure, and The Inner Tube, "THE podcast for content creators" by Josh Taylor and Kevin McCreary.

Watching:
Lots of Inspector Morse which is great, an episode of Midsomer Murders here and there with my brother, Gracepoint with my mom, and thanks to the nicest friend who taped them for me, about to start Doctor Who season 8! So basically all murder mysteries except for Doctor Who (unless there's something I don't know about...)

Loving:
Friends. I had great visits with some good friends this week, two of which I don't often get a chance to do text-less communication with, and got a strangely comforting missed call from another.
Also been enjoying sewing - I just finished making a plushie of the Tenth Doctor for a friend:

I don't think I've posted my plushies here, maybe that will be a future post.

Waiting for:
Christmas. I am so ready for Christmas music and may try to start on some crafts and shopping soon. Also looking forward to The Hobbit which is probably no surprise. Then a bit farther out, Sherlock is going to start filming early next year and Endeavour maybe around March, so that will be exciting.

What have you all been up to?

Les Pirates

Ahoy, mateys! It once again be our favorite day here at In Western Lands - it's Talk Like a Pirate Day! Don't forget ye landlubbers, use yer pirate lingo for me old self. Yo ho ho, that be the spirit! Ye can start by readin' the song I wrote for today! Sing it to the tune o' Do You Hear the People Sing.

Do ye hear the hearties sing?

Singing a shanty now and then

It be the music of a pirate

Who will pillage here again

When we look at all our charts

Thar be the place with highest sums

So grab a knife and hide your gold when the pirate comes!

Will ye join in our blockade,

Who will go pillaging with me?

Among our fine brigade

We will divide all the booty

So join in the fight that will make ye the fright of the sea!

Do ye hear the hearties sing?

Singing a shanty now and then

It be the music of a pirate

Who will pillage here again

When we look at all our charts

Thar be the place with highest sums

So grab a knife and hide your gold when the pirate comes!

Will ye give all ye can give

To make the Jolly Roger last

There's no need to hang the jib

If rival ships sail up too fast

Just load up the cannon and fire right into their mast!

Do ye hear the hearties sing?

Singing a shanty now and then

It be the music of a pirate

Who will pillage here again

When we look at all our charts

Thar be the place with highest sums

So grab a knife and hide your gold when the pirate comes!

 

Arrr, I hope ye liked it! A very happy Talk Like a Pirate Day to ye. Fair winds, mateys!

Bonus: Javert or Barbossa?

A-M Again

What's on my mind, told through whatever words I can think of that start with certain letters.

A - Autumn. Something I am very much looking forward to.

B - Blogging. I've written stuff but never edited it and thus haven't posted in too long. But I will post this post!

C - Choir. We've been doing some cool new songs lately including Lollipop by The Chordettes. It's really fun to do with my friends and it sounds good too.

D - Doctor Who: Deep Breath. I've only seen the first episode of season 8 but it was pretty good - it seems like Twelve and Clara will have a good season. Strax was definitely the highlight for me.

E - Endeavour. A British detective drama set in 1960s Oxford and my newest obsession. What I love most about this show are the characters and their relationships, especially between the main character, DC Morse, and his mentor DI Fred Thursday (played by Roger Allam, who I followed here from Cabin Pressure). If you like Sherlock, I highly recommend this.

F - Felt. I've been enjoying making plushies a lot lately, and just finished a cardinal using this pattern.

G - Gollum. He and I have both been tagged and these posts are coming! Sorry for the lateness.

H - Hogwarts. If you like over analyzing fiction as much as I do, you may enjoy An Endangered Species - Exploring the Wizarding World, a series of essays about the world of Harry Potter. There are also many Sherlock essays on the same blog, and they're all really interesting.

I - Ipswich. After listening to series 3 and 4 of Cabin Pressure last spring, my brother and I finally got series 1 and are now working on series 2. Our next episode is Ipswich which has this wonderful scene.

J - Job. I'm taking a year off from college and just got a job at a bookstore, so that's exciting.

K - Knightly. I really liked Alex Knightly (and Emma and Harriet!) in Pemberly Digital's Emma Approved which recently finished, sadly. If you're a fan, vote for them for a Streamys Audience Choice Award!

L - Les Miserables. The aforementioned Roger Allam got me into Les Mis again from listening to the original London cast recording with him as Javert. Love his version of Stars. And every other song he's in.

M - Maya Fey. So there's a game that's a crossover between Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and it was finally released in North America and it is totally awesome. Maya, one of my favorite characters, is back after not being in the last few AA games and it takes place between my two favorite PL games so I'm really happy.

What's new with you all?

Whatever Snow Does in Summer

Awards/tags! Two that go together rather well in the context of a Frozen song.

Rules:
* Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
* Answer the questions they asked you.
* Nominate other bloggers.
* Give them a list of questions.
* Let them know that they have been nominated.
* The Sunshine Award button must be on your blog post.

Thank you Alyianna and Vellvin!

Alyianna:

1. Do you know that you are a very lovely person? :) (Yes, you are!)

Why thank you, so are you! :)

2. Which of these would you rather do: be the Doctor's companion, solve crimes with Sherlock, or get married to one of the characters from the Enchanted Forest (pretend that they're not married off already :P)?

Um um um not marry a character from the Enchanted Forest but between the others...being Sherlock's Molly would be cool but I love the Doctor too... I think solve crimes with Sherlock. But I'm really unsure about that at the moment.

3. What song do you listen to that you're embarrassed to admit? (Come on, we all have one or two. :P)

Can't think of one, but if I had one I probably wouldn't mention it. :P

4. Where is the nearest fire hydrant to your house?

Down the street a ways. Didn't really notice until you asked!

5. What book are you reading at the moment?

Mansfield Park by Jane Austin

6. What is your craziest dream? Aim high!

Being the Doctor's companion or solving crimes with Sherlock.


Vellvin:

1. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
Meeting people and having a way to write and be creative in a format I'm fairly comfortable with.

2. What type of music do you enjoy listening to? i.e. pop, rock, electronic ect.
Soundtrack/musical/jazz and related genres.

3. Best line from The Princess Bride? (I'm assuming you've all seen it)
Probably "You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this"

4. Are you more of a reader or a watcher. Books vs. Movies?
Books. I like movies but they can be a significant investment of time whereas books you can read as much or as little as you want. And I just feel weird/tired/in another world after movies and that can happen with books as well but not as much.

5. If you could meet up with one of your favourtie characters from a book you've read who would it be?
Don't do this to me. I'm thinking Sam Gamgee or John Watson but it's hard to say!

6. Marvelite or Ringer?
Ringer (or Tolkienite is cool too!) - Marvel is great, but Middle-Earth is home. :)

7. On average how much quoting do you use on a day to day basis? i.e. quotes from movies that just fit the situation.
I would say that I don't quote things much...

So basically a lot.

Another tag from Alyianna - this is so cute!

The rules are as follows...

1. Follow the blog that tagged you (optional).
2. Include two or more pictures that include your favorite characters, books, movies, or lyrics from songs (they can also be your own edits or pictures).
3. Tag five or more bloggers and tell them.
4. Answer the blogger’s ten questions related to characters, books, movies, or lyrics.
5. Create your own questions having to do with the same thing.

Here are a couple pictures I found recently:

MissMeggsie of DA

Season 8 will be interesting

1. Would you rather be hunted down by Jean Valjean or the Nazgul?
Definitely Valjean. I'd even take Javert. Nazgul are cool but creepy. And I'd rather be dead than undead and working for Sauron.

2. Lumiere or Cogsworth?
Mmm tough one...I do like Lumiere.

3. Which book has been made into a movie but you think it would be better as a TV show?
Someone said Harry Potter could make a cool TV series and it could flesh it out a lot more, and I think that could be good.

4. And vice versa (TV show, better as a movie)?
Some episodes of The Clone Wars could have maybe worked better as movies, or at least 45 minute episodes. Star Wars is a big story and 22 minutes isn't a whole lot of time for some things. :)

5. What is one scene from a book that you were extremely disappointed didn't show up in its movie adaptation?
The Scouring of the Shire in Return of the King. It makes sense that they didn't include it but it's one of my favorite parts of the book.

6. The age old question - books or movies?
Answered above because great minds think alike!

I will tag...
Shena of Pens, Thespians, and Words
Zenta of A Semi-classical Training
Shaak Ti of The Artist Alchemist
And Alyianna and Vellvin if you want to again!

Pick one (or both) of the tags above and add these questions:

1. Do you listen to any podcasts?
2. At what point did you know you were into your main fandom(s)?
3. What are you currently reading and/or watching?
4. Writing in books - yes or no?
5. Who is the funniest character you like?
6. What is your favorite soundtrack?
7. Do you like to reread/rewatch things?
8. What character inspires you the most?
9. What is a smaller or lesser-known fandom you think is great?
10. What movies are you still looking forward to this year?

Thanks again girls!

...I don't know how to end this post.

Sherlock Replies to Spam

source

I received several anonymous comments on my previous post (and on other posts in the past) that were clearly unrelated and existed only to promote different websites. Since he is not on a case at the moment, Sherlock offered to reply as he attempts to stave off boredom.

Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be ok.
I'm definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.

Feel free to visit my page ...  *link removed*

No, I do not use twitter. As John already stated on his blog, any twitter accounts claiming to be mine are fake.
Observation has revealed that those who suggest they appreciates someone's work before showing they are only looking for personal gain are insulting. I suggest you do not try this again.
-SH

(on previous Mini Reviews post)
Thanks for the suggestions you have discussed here. Something
else I would like to state is that pc memory needs generally rise along with other advances in the engineering.
For instance, any time new generations of cpus are introduced to the market, there's
usually a corresponding increase in the type eferences of all computer memory and hard drive space.
This is because software program operated by these processors will
inevitably rise in power to use the new engineering.

Also visit my weblog :: *link removed*

You started out brilliantly! If only you talked about the actual suggestions in the post! However, you gave it a valiant attempt and I applaud you.
-SH

I think that everything said made a bunch of sense. But,
what about this? what if you typed a catchier title?
I ain't suggesting your information isn't solid., but suppose you
added something to maybe grab folk's attention? I mean "We're Back,
Precious!" is kinda vanilla. You ought to look at Yahoo's front page and note how they create post headlines to grab viewers interested. You might add a video or a picture or two to get people interested about what you've got to say. Just my opinion, it would bring your posts a little livelier.

Review my blog *link removed*

This post was written by Gollum, so when you say that everything made "a bunch of sense", I assume you are joking.
It should be "I am not", not "I ain't". "But what about this?" with no comma. Do not use a comma immediately following a period in such a sentence. "Kind of". "Grab viewers' interest". "It would make your posts a little livelier".
Why do I even bother?
-SH

(old music meme post)
Right here is the perfect blog for anybody who wishes to understand this topic.
You know so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want
to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject which has been written about for a long time.
Excellent stuff, just excellent!

Here is my weblog: *link removed*

Oh yes, because a post about the blogger's questionable taste in music is a topic we all wish to understand. If you were to say it is almost hard to argue with Arda, almost would be the key word. At time she will be stubborn about the most trivial things, but will crumble on important topics with the right pressure. All of which are observations I am sure an ordinary commenter could learn from simply reading her blog.
Or perhaps not.
Also, it was a completely unoriginal post with a style she copied from another blog.
-SH

I seldom leave a response, but I looked at a few of the comments here "Chatting + Middle-Earth Favorites".
I actually do have a few questions for you if it's allright. Could it be just me or does it look like some of these responses look as if they are left by brain dead folks? :-P And, if you are writing at additional online sites, I'd like to
follow you. Could you list of the complete urls of all your public
pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?

my web site *link removed*

If you were speaking of "brain dead folks" commenting on John's blog, I might be inclined to agree with you. I believe that Arda would be slightly more appreciative if you commented on her content, rather than insulting the individuals she associates with.
She also said I am not allowed to call you the brain dead folk on her blog.
Again, not on twitter.
Please use spell check.
-SH

Amazіng! Thiѕ blog looκѕ just like my оld one!

It's on a completely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!

My site: *link removed*

Amazing! What a conincidence! Especially considering the layout is completely ordinary and very little is changed from the default on this blogging platform.
-SH

Nice blog here! Also your site a lot up fast! What host are you the use of?
Cann I get your affiliate link in your host?
I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol

Here is my page: Loanbs for poor credit [*link removed*]

I can only imagine that English is not your first language.
You have greatly intrigued me about these "loanbs" you offer. Please, tell me more!
Also, I ask you to refrain from using the acronym "lol". Arda does not need any encouragement.
-SH

Although Leading 14 Hack into Leading 14 footballing
director Bridal party compromise major 14 crack turbine might be a
large within adult males, will it be a new dwarf amongst plan. Others can find the exact programs
they need by shopping at the same retailer where they bought their systems.
If a human being can do it, our software application can do it (therefore its name).

Here is my site; *link removed*

Words fail me.
-SH

I also saw a few comments that included links to private detectives. If any of you are in need of a consulting detective, you can visit my website, The Science of Deduction, or contact me through The blog of Dr. John H. Watson. Don't be boring.
-Sherlock Holmes

Mini Reviews

I bring you the first edition of "Arda watches things long after they are released and decides to talk about them after many people stopped being interested in them."

Broadchurch

Broadchurch is an 8-episode British drama about a close-knit community that suffers the tragedy of the murder of an 11-year-old boy and how it affects the family, friends, media, police, and community as a whole. It stars David Tennant as DI Alec Hardy (so it might be a bit obvious why I watched this in the first place) and Olivia Coleman as DS Ellie Miller, both of whom are fantastic. The show is really intriguing and sad, and really gets into how devastated the boy's parents are. Every episode kept me captivated with the emotion and the mystery - eventually, I wasn't sure if I wanted them to solve it or not. It's rated TV-14 and has some heavy issues, so if you're interested but want to know about the content, let me know. Definitely recommend.

 

Mean Girls

The 10th anniversary of Mean Girls was April 30 so I watched it to learn the context of the many lines I heard. It was pretty good, and I enjoyed the coming of age theme. I guess I didn't find it as funny as most people, but I tend to take things seriously and get second-hand embarrassment, so although I like comedies, very few actually make me laugh. But nice to get the references now at least.

The Clone Wars season 6

Watching new TCW episodes reminded me how much I loved this show and I'm sad that there will be no new episodes to look forward to after this. In many of these Palpatine has been looking really sinister and I kind of wish I could forget the movies for a while and be able to speculate about what the heck is going on. While these haven't been my favorite episodes of the series (there are a few in seasons 1, 2, and 3 that are pretty hard to top for me), and they've been kind of sad, I've enjoyed them. The Clovis arc had some interesting interactions between Anakin and Padme, and one scene with Anakin and Obi-Wan that I really liked. I just have the final three episodes left, and I cannot wait to see any bit of Qui-Gon that might be in them.

Frozen

After months of people telling me I have to watch it, I got a chance to see Frozen and really liked it! I had already heard a couple of the songs (Love is an Open Door and Let it Go, which are probably my favorites) and loved the others. Frozen Heart was a surprise but it was so cool. Besides the songs, I really like how they portrayed Elsa, and Anna and Kristoph were great too. Now I must learn all the songs!

From these things that I have watched and the parts that I liked, I can conclude that I like sad things.

In the category of possibly sad things, the Once Upon a Time season finale is tonight. I am not prepared for this.

What have you all been watching lately?

Stormtrooper post #1

I don't know why we have to do this. No one oversees the posts, no one really cares about this division, no one really reads the blogs once we take them over, and it's just more work for us.

So...

I'm so bored.

What time is it when an AT-AT steps on your wrist chronometer?
Time to get a new wrist chronometer.

Why should you never tell jokes on the Millennium Falcon?
The ship might crack up.

Why is a droid mechanic never lonely?
Because he's always making new friends.

You guys know any jokes?

I hit my head on a doorway this morning and it still hurts. Blast these helmets and lack of peripheral vision.

Hey look, I took a selfie:

These filters are awesome.

This job may be boring but at least there's good coffee in the break room. Out of cookies though. You all like to joke about "Dark Side" cookies, but the Empire does provide some really tasty treats.

Uh, what was that noise? Something just fell behind me.

Eh, it's probably just a drill.

Imperial regulations state that this post must be at least 200 words long so I'm just going to write a little longer so I can reach the word count that this post must be as dictated by Imperial regulations that I must follow so I can keep my job. You know, in addition to keeping the galaxy in order.

Okay reached 200+ words! Goodbye to all the people that probably aren't reading this anyway.

-TK482

THIS BLOG IS NOW UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE GALACTIC EMPIRE

This blog has been confiscated by the Galactic Empire for failing to abide by multiple Imperial cyber laws. 

Imperial Edict OB-1KN3 - propaganda statements regarding the Jedi Order, a cult which attempted to overthrow the government and destroy peace by gaining full power.
Instances of this offense:
"one thing I love [...] is the Jedi Order"
"I've been fascinated by their culture and teachings, and most of my favorite characters are Jedi.  I love reading about them, lightsaber techniques, and the Jedi Way."
"I kind of like the Jedi."

Imperial Edict EP-2C4U - impersonation of an Imperial official.
Instances of this offense:
"Palpatine: Did you say Order 66?  *evil cackle*" 

Imperial Edict RA-1GD0 - propaganda statements regarding rebellion against the Galactic Empire.
Instances of this offense:
"Also in the Rebel Legion area. It's so cool..."
"Luke is so great"

Imperial Edict TS-7VI2 - defamation of high ranking Imperial officers.
Instances of this offense:
"So I'm definitely not crazy about [Panaka]"
"[Tarkin's] the guy I love to hate."
"Vader appears regretful of his past choices"
"Darth Vader's ship gets knocked away by Han"
"Palpatine is lying - he's been lying for a long time."
"[Palpatine's] not trying to make the galaxy a better place"
"Palpatine's charade of righteousness"
"I thought Vader had some vacuum cleaner in his helmet" 

His Excellency Emperor Palpatine gave these remarks regarding the New Imperial Cyber Protection Act:
The cyber world is one of our greatest sources of information, but so often this information is inaccurate, misleading, or outright lies. Our young people are significantly affected by this, and we owe it to future generations to give them an educational resource that is up-to-date, accurate, and beneficial to their lives as faithful citizens of the First Galactic Empire. Let us give them the tools they need to develop their world view in a safe environment, free from bias and falsehood.

Because the author of "In Western Lands" failed to uphold these principles, this blog will now be under control of the Galactic Empire. TK482 has been assigned to the maintenance of this blog and posting of Imperial-approved content so that the damage the previous owner caused may be reversed and readers may continue to be entertained.

-TK482

---

UPDATE: I've got my blog back! Apparently there are some good galactic lawyers out there. Here's a screen shot of the blog for the memories:

-Arda

Cabin Pressure

"The thing is, we've taken away all the things that can't possibly have happened, so I suppose the only thing that's left, even though it seems really weird, must be the thing that did happen in fact!"

"...Snappily put."

This is Cabin Pressure.

Cabin Pressure is a BBC audio sitcom about a tiny airline and their adventures, or misadventures, as they fly to various locations around the world.

And yes, that is Benedict Cumberbatch. But he is only one of the four principle characters:

Carolyn Knapp-Shappey (Stephanie Cole) owns MJN Air which consists of one plane, nicknamed Gerti. But since you cannot put one jet in a line, if anything it's an air dot. She has what it takes to make it successful however - if only her crew did as well. Despite her fearsome demeanor, she enjoys some of the games that the crew gets up to during boring flights, such as the traveling lemon.

Martin Crieff (Benedict Cumberbatch) always wanted to be a pilot despite everyone who told him he couldn't, including examiners. Once he finally passed, he was lucky enough to get a job as a captain with MJN Air. Much to his exasperation, he's often mistaken for a steward, baggage handler, or anything but a professional pilot (let alone a captain). He's a stickler for doing things by the book, but still isn't the most competent pilot.

Douglas Richardson (Roger Allam), however, is a seasoned pilot oozing with confidence, charm, authority, and smart comebacks. Although he used to be a captain with Air England, he now finds himself as the first officer for MJN after "a difference of opinion with Hong Kong customs about whether having seven silk kimonos stitched inside one's jackets indicated one was a smuggler... or simply a lovable eccentric." With schemes often up his sleeve, he enjoys being right and teasing Martin.

Carolyn's son Arthur Shappey (John Finnemore, the creator/writer of the series) is enthusiastic to be working with Martin and Douglas as a steward. Like really enthusiastic. About everything. Innocent and optimistic, he may not be the best steward but he will always try to help. His favorite word is apparently "brilliant."

Now that I'm done sounding like an official website, I found out about Cabin Pressure from some clips with Benedict. It's really cool to hear him in a comedy, since it seems closer to his real life personality and a lot of his characters in dramas are opposites of him. But then I was introduced to these other great characters, and a really fun, light-hearted show (it's pretty clean to and I'd probably rate it PG). I'm still pretty new to it, but have really enjoyed the episodes and clips I've heard. Here are a couple fan videos you can try to get an idea of it:

(Sherlock fans, search "cabin pressure sherlock" on youtube - there are some hilarious ones)

If you want to hear more, right now you can listen to an episode on the BBC Radio 4 Extra website. Right now they have one episode available a week, which they post online sometime Sunday evening. This next week is Ottery St. Mary, which from the clips I've heard of it, sounds brilliant.

Hope you like it if you give it a try!

by nzlioness

Scarves, Problem Solving, and Photobombs

Haven't known what to write about for a while, so here are a few cool things I've come across lately.

Anyone play Super Mario 64? That will always be one of my favorite games, so it was really cool to find this Princess Peach stained glass window that apocaknits made! Makes me want to jump into it and go down a giant slide, if you know what I mean.

Set to Stunning is an awesome blog about geek chic fashion, and their diy Fridays posts are my favorite. This week they posted instructions to make a Star Wars infinity scarf, but you could use any fabric - licensed, patterned, or plain, - and just follow the simple (from first glance at least!) instructions. I love the look of scarves and found a make-shift infinity scarf really comfortable, so this would be fun to make sometime. If you're looking for a wider variety of fandom fabrics than you would find locally, I've heard Spoonflower is really great - though the fabrics are expensive, they have some really cool designs (I'd love a few yards of that Sherlock wallpaper!).

Random, but this gif really makes me laugh.

Self-explanatory and completely accurate.

If you saw Benedict Cumberbatch's photobomb at the Oscars, you probably thought how great a bookmark he would make. Whether you had such an inspiration or not, you can print and cut out the ones that mizjimmy created. Stick them in books or have them photobomb your own pictures.

This wasn't much of a post, but it was still something! That is all - have a good week!

Happy New Year!

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Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas. I return to do the same New Years post as always, starting with some good things that happened the past year.

And they mostly have to do with fandoms.

I started Doctor Who late 2012, but mostly watched it this year and it's been an amazing ride. The stories and especially the characters have supported and inspired me a lot. It's been great to talk about it with friends and meet whovians. My cousin and I saw The Day of the Doctor in the theater and that was a really fun experience. I put together a Tenth Doctor cosplay which I've gotten a lot of use out of already.

Also watched Sherlock but that's less of a story of inspiration and community and more just fangirling.

Another cosplay I made was Luke Triton from Professor Layton. I wore it to a con for a day and that was really fun. Several people stopped me which was cool, and I finally got to meet some Professor Layton (and Ace Attorney) fans in person. I want to go again this year but there's like five cosplays I want to do so I'll have to narrow that down.

School went really well this year - had some difficult subjects to tackle but met some nice people and have that behind me now.

We went on a family trip this summer to visit my grandparents - it was a really nice, relaxing time and nice to connect with family again that I rarely see.

Got introduced to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Love the books, and the movies are good too. Just finished reading The Half-Blood Prince.

Still in the same choir as last year which has been even better. I know everyone a lot better now, we have a couple new members, and had some really great times singing and hanging out together. Thank God for this group.

So a pretty good year.

Let's look at my list of thing I wanted to do in 2013 and see how badly I did...

Watch The Avengers, Doctor Who, Sherlock, more Once Upon a Time, Star Wars 3D movies, and The Hobbit part 2

Did all of these! Like extremely on the second and third. Except Star Wars in 3D which was postponed.

Costuming - fixing my Jedi costume, and I'd love to do an Ace Attorney cosplay (specifically Maya Fey who I think wouldn't be too hard), and maybe LotR-ish cloaks.

Weeeell I cosplayed Luke and the Doctor. Still thinking of doing Maya and got the clay for her necklace, so that's one of the cosplays I'm considering. Still want to fix my Jedi costume.

Write - blog posts, stories/fan fics, and lyrics.

Hm. A bit, but not too much on any of these.

Better manage computer time - drag myself off Tumblr more in favor of sites where I talk to friends and/or have way to improve myself (through writing and some reading).

Haha. Hahaha. Eheheheheh. I thought I was on tumblr a lot then. But in my defense, I talk to friends on tumblr now, and read/write some things.

Try to exercise once in a while, eat a bit more healthily, and get to a place where I'm healthy and feel good about my body.

I did okay-ish and on the feeling better about my body. Not the others.

Work on my spiritual life. Way.

This didn't really change but maybe that never goes away.


So let's try some more reasonable goals for next year:
Figure out, prepare for, and possibly take the next step in my life
Cosplay at least once
Be more comfortable with myself
Post at least once a month here, and keep Gollum to the same
Make a video
Work on instead of surviving until good days (the weekend, events, etc) finding the good in ordinary or difficult days.
Every day put a slip in a jar of something good that happened that day

If you have any goals or resolutions for 2014 you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them!


Thank you all for sticking with me all this time, and I wish you all the best this next year!