Coupling action!

When looking on YouTube for videos from Coupling for my previous post, I found lots of videos for train coupling.

Now, we all know about train spotters, but this was something I definitely wasn't expecting. How many videos of trains coupling do we need? (Quite a few Japanese ones for some reason.)

And, if you can handle it, there's decoupling action too!

As it has been said: it doesn't take all kinds, we just have all kinds...

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Town character

No, not atmosphere, but the local... people who are so memorable to see.

Such as, here in Wellington, Blanket Man! Often seen on Cuba Street, looked at very strangely, largely ignored by the populace as these people mostly are. Yeah, even me. But I don't mind him around. He might be... intellectually different, but at least he's obviously so. It's the subtle ones you need to watch out for. But, he's harmless, and he's ours.

A more known figure is the Wizard down in Christchurch who just hit 75! Now there's someone who knows how to be strange and do good with it! Got onto television, and refuses to be in the Census by being offshore on a particular date every few years. He seems fun!

And as for Auckland... umm... is there anyone noticably weird up there? (I mean, moreso than the rest of you...)

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Coupling Steven Moffat

Based purely on his brilliant sci-fi scripts, I decided to pick up the entire series of Coupling (that it was available cheaply didn't hurt). Many people would immediately say "this is the British version of Friends", and I can't deny that charge, although Steven claims more influence from Seinfeld and the series is more of a form of ripped off autobiography of his life with now wife (and series producer) Sue Vertue.

Being from Moffat is it extremely funny, although watching it all in one go does make the later episodes feel like an effort to get through, and I starting skimming through the opening titles before the end of series one.

Would have to say that my favourite character is Jeff, the insecure one, who unfortunately didn't get into the fourth series. (He is replaced by Oliver, through whom Steven gets to make lots of sci-fi geek references, and throw in a lot of Doctor Who moments, including having Nicholas Briggs give a rather familiar vocal performance!) [And seeing Gina Bellman did cause some cognitive dissonance as I had seen her in Jekyll.]

There was an attempt to recreate it as a US series (to put on versus Friends), but seems like it fell over before it got through the first season because it was so terrible (as anyone who's seen US-adaptions of UK shows would have predicted).

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Affect of the Doctor

When it was announced that someone was writing Billie Piper's autobiography, we all thought "'ey up, she ain't done nuffin yet, that's a bit off, innit?" (although probably with less of an accent). But I've just been reading a sort of autobiography that was basically focusing on their teen years...and it was a fascinating read!

Of course, I have a slight bias in that this was a Doctor Who book, but not one by one of the more recognised stars. I'm talking about "The Doctor's Affect" by Steve Cambden, who's claim to Doctor Who fame was that he helped Nigel Brackley control K9. Woo!

This book is written extremely engagingly, proving that inserting personal observation onto the more dry facts of "this effect was done like this, and that effect was done like that" is an excellent narrative technique. How did he have do much trouble finding someone to publish this? (He eventually self-published.)

Steve grew up with Doctor Who and Tom Baker especially influenced him. Taking any opportunity he could get, Steve managed to get himself onto a Doctor Who set as a helping hand - at the tender age of 16! He was there during the later part of K9's role on the show and treats us to the ups and downs (or lack thereof) of K9's performance and of the show itself, pulling no punches (not that he has a lot of punches, not exactly in a position to get the real dirt on the happenings).

If you have any interest in the show, especially behind the scenes, I highly recommend this book, it's a compelling read. (Although it could have used an editor's eye...and page numbers!) Onto his next book: The Doctor's Effect.

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I like chicken!

But it looks like I should, as chicken is full of bugs. Damn that evolution!

The bacteria of two chickens tested resistant to apramycin. They also proved resistant to another two antibiotics from the same family - gentamicin and tobramycin - used for serious human infections.

Oh, that sounds bad... I guess. The article compares this finding with that of the Ribena scandal (was it big enough to call a scandal?), in which another schoolgirls did a scientific experiment that produced alarming results. I think this points to the conclusion that we should stop all school science experiments immediately! They are clearly getting in the way of business profits!

Still, at least we can spin this as not a problem:

"What Jane has done is taken a very small snapshot and it has shown a surprising observation," he said. "But it's a time-specific snapshot and it's not a good look."

Ah, so it's a matter of "yeah, that might have been true, like, yesterday, but it might not be the case today!" I get that, great excuse...

But since, if I was restricted to just one type of meat, I would choose chicken, I'm not giving up the habit just yet.

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Phew, demons are Christians!

Exciting article on Saturday telling us all about exorcisms and how they exorcise real demons from people. Despite the fact that the church is often saying "we don't do that any more". And that lots of priests have said "we prefer to first go for psychiatric style investigation before assuming actual demonic impression because that's more responsible."

Nope, what we have here is Michael Hewat, ready to exorcise at the drop of a demonic curseword. 'Cos that's how you can tell people are possessed. They start growling, and cursing and glowing eyes and spewing blood... oh wait, those last two things don't happen, and it's not like anyone could do the first two unless they are possessed.

But the best point about exorcisms, which isn't mentioned in the article, is that they work! Never once has it been "hey, you can't exorcise me. I don't reocgnise your god, I was made by Zeus!" or "don't try that pansy crap on me, I am an aspect of Shiva!"

Which leads to four possibilities:
1. The demons really do follow the Christian religion.
2. Christian rituals evolved (evolved? never!) to deal with demons properly.
3. Doesn't matter what ritual, any works on demons.
4. DEMONS DON'T EXIST!

At least there's the token skeptic voice of David Riddell in there, talking about the power of suggestion.

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Slow news day

Yeah, there was exciting stuff going on yesterday. It's hard to know where to look first.

There's the exciting news of a crane being finished! Woo! And Britney and Paris are bad role models! Well, I never! And then there's Beckhan Watch! Hold me bad!

If only there was real news to talk about. Like, say, the woman who was lashed for being raped. Or the woman who was jailed for letting children named a teddy bear after... one of the kids, actually. Or how one woman has to get others to help pay for security because governments aren't interested.

Whatever sells papers, I suppose...

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