Not for dog friends

It's weird what music can bring you, especially when dealing with Osymyso's mixing. Which comes from this idea:

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Milk Who

Time and time ago, there was a UK radio show (no, really, there was) called "The Milk Run", a comedy program, about which there is very little that can be found on the web. Bits were remixed by Osymyso, and one such bit was a wee sketch (around 28 minutes in) about a topic we might find familiar, reproduced (without permission from anyone, but full credit to the show and its writer) below the fold.

REAL ESTATE AGENT: And, this is the lounge.
HER: Oh, it's lovely, isn't it?
AGENT: All original features. (lions roar) The lions are staying.
HIM: Wonderful. And the feeling I've been here before?
AGENT: No, I'm afraid they're taking that with them.
HIM: Oh, but it's lovely, isn't it, darling?
HER: We could set up a little sniper's nest in this window.
AGENT: Oh, you're a keen sniper are you?
HER: I do like to keep my hand in. (gunshot)
AGENT: Oh-ho, look out!
(All laugh.)
HER: What are the neighbours like?
AGENT: Cybermen.
HER: Shit.
AGENT: Yeah, well, it's the area, you see. It's a very mutlicultural area. They keep pretty quiet. They will occasionally try to kill you, but if you keep a low profile, you'll be all right.
HIM: I do like the house, but I'm not happy about living next to Cybermen.
HER: Oh, darling, they're not that bad.
HIM: Not that bad!? They come over here, they take all our jobs, they make no effort to learn our culture, AND they try to kill everybody. Remember when John had the Daleks move next door to them? He had Davros turning up to their doorstep at all hours. Drunk off his head, they left dead bodies in front garden, up on bricks, and the smell.
HER: You're just a racialist.
HIM: I'm not a racialist. What about Steve? He's an alien. He's all right.
HER: He's not an alien. He's from the Isle of Man.

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Hamilton + Overseas = Huh?

When I was flying in to Hamilton, it was all about getting through the airport and out the other side. When I was flying out, I had more time to appreciate the finer details. Such as the fact that Hamilton is an international airport.

That isn't something that readily comes to mind when thinking of Hamilton: airplane access to cities in countries abroad. Not that Hamilton is a small place, per se, being about probably number five in size (could check, but it's easier to make stuff up), but "Hamilton the center of international travel" is not something that most people would name.

And it looks like I'm not the only one having trouble with this. Travel is down from there, and Hamilton might not be an international airport much longer. It does look like Hamilton could be a good place to fly from, in that airplanes aren't chock full, and it's always nice to be able to relax without a thousand kids screaming in your ear, but I'm doubtful it's going to pick up significantly. Use it or lose it, Hamilton, but it looks like the people have already spoken.

The other weird thing about Hamilton was a domestic departure tax. Wha? Some bizarre plot to trap people there and grow the city population? A scam to help pay for their shiny new terminal? Recover the costs from not being internal enough? And just why couldn't the travel agency we booked with have paid this as part of their dues?

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Sarah Jane Adventures: Episode 2.01/2.02

And it's back! Series two kicks off with a wee story that... isn't actually all that good. It certainly fits the Sarah Jane mold, and yet doesn't quite reach any interesting heights.

This reminded me of the previous Slitheen stories, in that this was once again a sequel monster, obviously the Sontaran. And... well... let's take a moment to think about how powerful the Sontarans are supposed to be. One Sontaran in previous stories managed to take on several fighting types and still come out on top. They are immensely strong, and not likely to do the stupid thing...

And yet... Kaagh gets defeated by a bunch of kids! He can't shoot straight (although few villains have any ability in that area), he can't lift levers Clyde can, and resorts to thumping on doors held closed by Luke... The hell? What? He just runs around! He has an invisibility cloak, but doesn't use it after revealing himself! Frankly, he deserves to be de-pants'ed and drug around by his heels...

This is also the last gasp of Maria Jackson, before the new girl is introduced next episode. The wiki entry doesn't reveal why Yasmin Page left, but this is the second change of the main crew. Nice to see that things are constant, but Yasmin was a core part of the female connection of the show, so not sure how forced her replacement will be.

It's a fun enough story, but aside from the moving to America sub-plot, doesn't really feel like it's going anywhere.


Next week: Yay. Clowns. Yeah, 'cos they're never treated as creepy...

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HC Again

Lots of gaming again this weekend. Richard might be having problems, and it's great to hear his gaming, but with him gone, I've got an in...

First up was a rather strange case, featuring the bathroom and what lies beyond... And I'm surprised no-one worked out the source I used! Anyway, I GM'd another mod due to Logan needing someone to step in while he organised other things. The Exploration of Holmes Aunt's Bathroom: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

But that wasn't the end of the day, and we got stuck into a wee case that suddenly exploded into something much bigger. An Obvious Case of Suicide: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

And then, the next day, I sharked in, only to get in just in time to continue the case started just above. Terrorists & The Last Tango In The Cubical Jungle: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8.

While we had a lull due to brain death, we did just sit around and chatting. Gamer Talk 41: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

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Wuh-Lee

Pixar do know how to make a good film. (One very notable thing they do is in their trailers: they do not hype up big names in the movie (if any). And they do have some big names in this movie...)

Anyway, Wall-interpunct-E is the story of a lonely robot who just wants a friend (or possibly "friend"), just someone to hold hands with. One might say "be careful what you wish for"...

Cute movie, and one that drew laughs from the audience (although there were more during the pre-movie short - yep, there's a pre-movie shoot. Neat!). Pixar go all-out with investing their animations with emotions and realism (as far as such realism can go) and given that we are dealing with robots, they really get a chance to shine. And definitely shine they do. Yowsa, that's good animation.

One surprise guest: Fred Willard! Great to see him suddenly pop up, and such a role made for him. There are other big names in there, but I'll leave you to find them out for themselves (as for the computer...).

As feel good as any other Pixar (although I never did get around to watching Cars, but that just seemed to generic "rich kid finds himself in city of non-rich kids"), and definitely a great way to spend a few hours.

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The Chronicles of Risan: Part the Ninth

After suitable resting, we ventured further in the caverns of the Drow, barely pausing to note that the dwarf fighter had changed into a halfling paladin. We had a drastic decision ahead of us: left or right? We all decided on left, not least because the gnome said to go right.

Then we got zapped. Or rather, I got zapped, as I'm the only one who can do thievery skills, and of course there were traps. The Raven Queen help them if they ever discover traps without me... Got most of them not working, and only got halfway towards dead.

Inside their place was a large room, complete with table, a pantry, and halflings. Yep, halflings, whom the Drow enslaved for their own purposes (basically cleaning and cooking). Now that we were here, the halflings had a chance, and they took it. We stayed hidden as the halflings poisoned most of the Drow (look, Drow are evil, okay?), leaving us just the nightwatch to deal with. Just the nightwatch... and a bad-ass jailer (and his guard chap)! He was a tough take-down, with most of us barely able to hit him (a feeling we would experience again).

With the nightwatch getting nearer to arrival back here, we rearmed the zap trap, but in different squares (that'll teach 'em!), and ventured further, coming across an altar room dedicated to Lolth, complete with more human males, two snakes and two succubi (who liked slipped me the tongue!). More knockouts via magic fire later, we desecrated the altar and the warlord fell through the floor. Eh, these things happen.

Turns out, he found the other passage out, leading to a jail area with the elite female guards, one of whom died as she imparted the message of one of them taken away that we had to save. After getting the others out safely, and finding whiskey!, we went on to one more room, with merely an Angel to deal with. Yowsa! Talk about hard to hit. Turned into a slog once we knocked it into range, and finally put it down. (Yeah, we killed an Angel. It wasn't good or evil.)

After that was another door, which we went through to find ourselves on another island...

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