Banquet for the Damned by Adam L.G. Nevill (2004)

Musician Dante Shaw travels to Scotland's oldest university city, St Andrews, to work as a research assistant for a reclusive academic (who wrote a book on the occult that Dante would like to use as the basis for a concept album), but increasingly comes to believe that he has been lured there under false pretences. Meanwhile, some students in the city are experiencing night terrors -- and meeting gory ends at the hands of something soon afterwards. Then Dante starts to have bad dreams...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's such a smooth read (something I appreciated all the more because I was grappling at the same time with another book -- now abandoned -- which was a real chore), but it's not a slight one, far from it. Yes, there are gory passages, but they're only intermittent, and balanced out by the creeping atmosphere. And perhaps the greatest horror is nothing supernatural, but the way circumstances force Dante into committing a heinous act of his own.

Banquet for the Damned was originally published as a limited edition hardback by PS Publishing. I was reading it in the new mass-market paperback edition, an edition I think the book very much deserves.

Hello Pixers! XD!
I love this community so much. I wanted to reach out and talk about the names we give our kittens. This post has probabley been posted before, but I haven't seen it? Let Loose!

Vincent has the following names..
FuzzButt, FuzzHead, FuzzPants, Junior, Vinny, Vinerino. VinVin, Snapfish, FishyFish, FluffyMuppetBabyBunnyKitty (when he gets his morning hug), Muppet Butt, Dessert Spoon, Little Guy, Purrowpurrow, Big Hunter, George (the mother in law refuses to accept the name I gave him), Buddy, Big Lion, Big Baby Lion, Vincento

-and his personal favorite "NO!" which he does not answer to but seems to invoke a lot of the time.

Anyway- To keep it legal here is Vincent, the magnificent! In a great show of solidarity he wanted to take a photo with "his" laptop to show that he too, has a thing for technology.



"Mah Ma was a skunk, mah dad was a bunny"

Actually asked this as a comment of a comment and realized it probably wouldn't be seen, so...

I was wondering if the episodes now on iTunes are the US cutdowns or the original BBCOne versions, because when I was looking at the run time for "The Family of Blood," it's listed as 39:31. I thought that sounded way too short and pulled up my BBC copy of the episode, which clocks in at 42:55 including credits/next episode preview and 41:48 without the credits/next episode preview.

Same thing with "Gridlock":

iTunes listing: 40:32
BBCOne version with credits: 44:56
BBCOne version without teaser/credits: 43:32

It's not like that with all episodes though. "Human Nature" only has a six-second difference between the BBCOne version and the iTunes listed version.

Just because it's been a while!
Here are some solo pics of Cmmdr. Adama and Howie, and a group photo of the wonder trio!



( ..Jump! )

42.  Careless in Red, by Elizabeth George.  623 pages.  (2008)

Grade: B

The latest volume in the series, this one follows Lyndley on a walking trip through Cornwall, where he discovers a corpse.  He is then "brought in" to help solve the case by the local Detective Inspector, who is shorthanded.  At about page 300 Lyndley's long-time Detective Sergeant Havers shows up to help as well. 

The focus on the surfing scene in Cornwall was interesting, but there just wasn't enough Havers for my taste.  I find Barbara Havers fascinating.  The end of it was just sort of hanging there, as well.

Not the best in the series by any means, but still a good read, as evidenced by the fact that I stayed up to 2:30 at night to finish it!

Why is John Barrowman gay?, an interview and article on the BBC News Magazine site with Mr Barrowman. Includes a two minute clip of John Barrowman's programme which will air tonight at 9pm on BBC 1. I figured most people here will be interested in hearing from Captain Jack, I hope it's not considered too off-topic.

And also, "Doctor Who and Star Trek fans have been banned from having sci-fi merchandise signed by David Tennant and Patrick Stewart while they star in Hamlet." Again from the BBC. I'm not refreshing the news front page, honest.

http://io9.com/5028464/exclusive-interview-with-doctor-whos-steven-moffat

Discusses the issues of DW being a "children's show," his influences, and gives away absolutely nothing about upcoming story lines, other than the fact that it will change.

Giving us a taste of what to expect from him in season 5 and beyond...what kind of Doctor he aims to portray, etc.

Spoiler for the end of season 4, but nothing for season 5 - just discussion and some insight into the mind of the Moff!



from here (with additional pretty pictures!)

EDITED to fix wacky html..sry about that!

Here's my first attempt at creating wallpapers. All are 1280x800 widescreen I believe.

Thanks to x_crackerbox for making the wonderful base, and allowing me to use it!

Two men are playing tennis, one man falls and hits his elbow and decides to go to the doctors, the other man says "Don't waste any money on the doctors, just go inside the store at the corner down the street, put $10 in the machine in the corner, piss in the cup, let it do its thing and a slip of paper will come out that tells you what you have."So he goes to the store puts ten dollars in the machine, pisses in the cup and out comes a piece of paper it says "You have tennis elbow take this ointment cream and apply it on your elbow 3-4 times a daily". So goes home wondering how it know what was wrong, and wanted to see if this machine is a real miracle worker, so he goes home and gets his sisters piss, brothers piss, dogs piss, and jacks-off in the cup goes back to the store, puts ten dollars in the machine and places the cup in the machine. The paper comes out and says "Your sister has gonorrhea, your brother is gay, your dog has worms, and if you keep jacking-off like that you'll never lose that tennis elbow."

Who's Moffat Looks Ahead</i>

( The article mentions FIVE specials? )

There was a short scene cut from Journey's End that expanded a little on the fate of Rose and the Doctor, and I feel it puts a bit of a different spin on it. The scene is going to be included on the Season 4 DVD boxset.
The page of dialogue was printed in this weeks DWM, and I've helpfully posted it to my journal.

The Doctor Who Drinking Game
(With credited modifications and thanks to everyone who added something.)

Note: I am closing this now. We're going to need an AA intervention as it is!

( Read more )

Since we don't know who the new companion is for series 5, it could still be a past companion, or character. =\

I think my two favorite choices would have to be:

Sally Sparrow (Blink): I don't know why, I just think we could see a bit more from her.

Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter): I think she'd be pretty cool, though probably some competition for thw Doctor maybe? ^-^

Also I was thinking of a few monsters that I think should return.

So far I've only really thought of the weeping angels.

And we know for certain the cybermen are returning, maybe some other old enemy will return? *wink*

Sorry about this second post. I couldn't edit my first because it's totally unrelated.

( An amazing trailer using clips from the S3/S4 finales )

There's a monster from a 3rd 4th Doctor (I think) series that I've been trying to work out the proper name spelling of for a search; it has people being bitten by giant greenish maggots, which turn them into maggots themselves. It's not the Green Death, as I remember it was set on a space station, and the maggots eventually morphed into mosquito-like giant insects. If anyone knows, that'd be great! Eta: I think the name of the monsters sounded something like 'willim'

Eta-2: Question answered, thanks!

I can't believe I found a massive thread on Outpost Gallifrey (or whatever they call it now) this morning discussing whether the show should be renamed to "Dr Who".

Obviously this would never happen, but I thought we could have our own silly discussion :)

This is a re-post, as I kind of had bad timing the first time round. I posted the fic just before the community was inundated with review posts dealing with either the second last episode or the season finale. But considering what happens in the season finale I though this fic was appropriate. So I hope you enjoy!

Title: The Room
Rating: PG
Characters: The Doctor [TARDIS sort of]
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Doctor Who

The Room

Thanks for reading!

What is the hardest substance in the human body?

( Read more... )

http://www.neopets.com/sponsors/meetdave/index.phtml

The Daily Puzzle is at Pet Central.

Which of the following Neopian species cannot be painted Zombie?

( Answer )

That is correct!

You have been awarded 275 NP

32. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane (fantasy)

When Nita finds the old book in the children's library, she doesn't truly believe it will teach her real magic. But she soon learns better and it isn't long before she and her new friends Kit and Fred find themselves in an astonishing new world and a terrifying adventure. Splendid YA fantasy adventure, first of Duane's "Young Wizards" series. I enjoyed this one a lot. If only someone would publish book 4 of the Tale Of The Five...

33. The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp (autobiography)

Crisp writes with beautifully elegant prose, but his portrayal of himself in this book makes it difficult to like him. I gained the impression that Crisp is among the most unreliable of unreliable narrators, but if there's any truth in his description of his childhood behaviour, then I feel very sorry for his mother. But although the shallowness and selfishness of the self he presents is rather repellent, it's hard not to feel some pity for the emptiness and loneliness of his life.

34. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson (travel)

I like Bill Bryson for the most part, although he can get a touch too enamoured of his own cleverness at times. This was a mainly enjoyable and often quite amusing book about his travels around mainland Europe, but I felt it was lacking something. Many of the places Bryson visits would need a book of their own to do them justice, so obviously this book was never going to cover them all in any great depth, but it seemed to me that even for a book of such limited scope, he dealt with some places in a very sketchy way.  I may have been biased at his very brief comments on Florence, a place I liked very much. A decent enough book, but not a great one.

Uhm. I decided to publish them here... hm. Okay, first post.
This is my Cat Neko, she is a normal European Housecat and lives with me in Germany.
Okay... hope you love my neko XD maybe me to.... XDDDDDD

 Get him!



( A Picture floooooddddd.... )

38. Slim to None - Taylor Smith - 411 pages. A woman formerly a sheriff takes on international security jobs to try to get enough money to regain custody of her child. A killer crosses her path. International military intrigue, hostages, violence and a frame job all occur in this interesting thriller.

39. In the Courts of the Crimson Kings - S.M. Stirling - 304 pages. This book posits that life on Mars and Venus was discovered in mid-twentieth century. An archaeologist is sent out to the "wildlands" to search for relics. Interesting developed Martian history and culture.

40. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon - 850 pages. Another time travel book featuring Scotland. This time a WWII nurse gets pulled through a circle of stones to the 1700's where she has to adapt to the realities of life there. Aside from the time travel bit at the beginning and the fact that she brings her "modern" skills, it's pretty much a historically accurate novel. I've got the rest of the series on hold with the library.

40 / 100 books read and 14,412 / 30,000 pages read

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer

The Hubert girls: Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy, and Autumn (ages 17-11) each have distinct personalities. Their family is low on money, their father has been hurt and can't work, and they are being watched. These girls have caught the eye of "the man" who considers them his birds, and spends the time he watches them deciding which one he likes best. This man will change the lives of these girls forever.

I've read wonderful reviews about the book, and the premise was rather interesting, but I didn't love it. First of all the writing made it sound like the book was set 50 years ago, even though it is set in present time. The mention of current technology (like blogs) disrupts the rhythm of the story more than helping to create the setting. We are introduced to each of the sisters but none of their stories really seem to go anywhere, except for the sister who encounters the man. The story moved quickly enough, and kept my interest throughout but I was left wanting something more.

I just recently became a foster mommy for two wonderful bengal kitties. They are both 2 1/2 years old. I was told by the previous owner that Brooklyn (a snow bengal) is completely lost when she isn't with Bella (a tabby bengal). They usually get along and were supposed to be adopted out together. This is only day two, but for whatever reason, Bella has been hissing and growling at Brooklyn. So Brooklyn basically doesn't want to come out from under my bed, and she is very scared. I was wondering if any of you had any ideas as to why two kitties who were inseparable before now don't get along? I was keeping both of them in my room, but I decided to let Bella out so that Brooklyn could rest and not be freaking out so much. Bella has met my two (non-foster) kitties and nothing major has happened. It's just strange that she is hissing at her "sister." To make it legal, I'll include a picture of one of my kitties (not the foster ones, gonna take pictures once they are acclimated).



This is Lyle. He is our kitty ambassador. He likes to make friends with all the kitties and creatures that come across his path in our neighborhood. He saw the two foster kitties, sniffed their stuff, and just walked away. He wasn't even fazed. haha. I love my kitty!

So, I'm going for 50 books a year! This is what I've read this year already. I'm ashamed I haven't read more. I think I've missed a few though, to be honest.

So far I have read:

01) Henry and June - Anais Nin
02) Blue Highways - William Least-Heat Moon
03) As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
04) She Walks These Hills - Sharyn McCrumb

( Thoughts )

Currently reading : The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven - Sherman Alexie

4 / 50 books. 8% done!

20K!!

http://www.neopets.com/pirates/buriedtreasure/buriedtreasure.phtml?159,290

I keep getting the evil Meerca of doom yelling at me about the filter. But the only thing he says is something like the word that was blocked was ".

". , that's all it says.

The first time I had the marks that are more like this ` rather than this ' so I went back and changed them and then tried again but it blocked my post again and actually showed "suck" as the bad word (I copied a quote about a vampire sucking blood.)

This time I had no funny quotation marks and I couldn't find anything else wrong with my post, so I just didn't post at all. I should probably just stay away from any boards/guild posts, since I saw that post a few days ago about monitors freezing you even if your post didn't go through.

Is there an official list of banned words/etc?

54. Ransom by Julie Garwood This wasn't bad, another medieval romance by Julie Garwood that has adventure, humor, sex and a good plot. Not my favorite of her books, but it had by far the best plot and the longest I've read to date of her books - over 500 pages (long for a romance novel.) 3.5/5 Review

55. Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd about her life with George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Interesting since I'm fascinated in both musicians and their lives. No huge revelations, more of an account of who she knew and where she traveled to. Considering the amazing love songs written for her, she didn't come across as all that remarkable (as she admits herself). 3/5 Full Review

56. The Wild Rose of Kilgannon by Kathleen Givens A frustrating sequel to her previous historical romance, Kilgannon. I'm realizing that I'm just not all that crazy about this author. The book was exciting in parts with some action towards the end, but mostly it was just a lot of hand wringing, it just didn't grab me, it dragged. I think it would have been best if she'd just combined these two books into one big book, since in this second one, the hero and heroine were almost never together! I don't even think I'm going to bother reading any more of her books after this one. 3/5 Review

56 / 100 words. 56% done!