My Mate Andy - Stunning Star Wars Fan Art

Just a quickie to highlight the work of a mate of mine, (the award winning) Andy Ravenwood, who has to suffer sitting on the same desk as me every day and lookin' at my ugly mug.

His website is well worth a visit, especially if you like your SW fan art. Go get yourself a new desktop. Andy is a decent bloke and a talented (if hirsute) little bugger. A gadge, a dude and a hero, even if he does approve of the Special Edition New Hope (where Greedo shoots first and destroys my childhood) and the hideous travesty of a toy advert that is Episode 1.

I couldn’t do my job without him...

I bought this T-Shirt (left) to hassle him at work and took it over 4700 miles to get this photo (which, incidentally, has just won me $100 worth of USB powered plasic tat and cool apparel from http://www.thinkgeek.com/).

Remember Perpugilliam Brown?

From my rapidly developing accidental collection of semi-naked Who assistants, may I humbly present Perry.

Surely this is why man TV cards. She was big in the Davidson years. I remember her being the last thing that held my interest around the time I began to tune out.

God love her. She's probably responsible for the start of my bob fettish.

Nice, a sweetie, but she was no Sarah Jane...

Breakfast of Champions

There are few pleasures in life greater than a cooked American/English breakfast.

I know it’s wrong. I know the cholesterol will slay me good and proper. I know it’s gonna block my arteries and result in immediate colonic and gastric discomfort. I know it’ll make me fat. I don’t care. A good breakfast has rewards above and beyond the benefits of nutrition.

Life without a good cooked breakfast, the classic bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, pancakes with syrup, glass of fresh OJ and a pot of Joe, the possibility of blood pudding and fried bread, at least 3 rounds of thick white toast and the whole shebang, isn’t worth bupkiss. I love those Mondays off, just so I can enjoy a good café breakfast with a copy of the media Guardian and take the time to ease into the day.

If you're local, may I recommend the best damn breakfasts in Nottingham (and trust me, I’ve made something of a personal study)...

1. ‘Walsall Diner’ up Derby Road near the cop shop. It’s a Yankee diner during the day and a Polish vodka bar in the evenings. Seriously pucker. Make the effort. Numero uno.
2. The classic greasy spoon, ‘Bunters’ on Upper Parliament Street, if you can't be fagged with the walk up the hill to the Walsall they do the basics pretty damn well.
3. Best veggie breakfast (for when the wifes with me, or the colon just plain won't take it) goes to the Alley Cafe (down the ginnel near Gregs, across the road from Game Station).

Breakfast heaven.

Online Who

For those of us watching the new Dr Who series on BBC 1 there's a few companion bits and piece online. You should take a look at a few of these websites, if you've not clocked em' already (cheers Daz).

There's shed-loads of spoliers, so don't peak if you haven't been watching or you live in the US:

• Who is Dr Who - a kinda 'Who conspiracy theory' website.
• UNIT website - the password is "bad wolf" (at the moment). It was changed from "Bison" earlier in the series. Excellent 'literature' page for new recruits.
  
• GeoComTex - take a look at the products page. They seem to make "Argentum Ordnance" (or silver plated bullets). Popular for offing werewolves.
• The Bad Wolf website. Hmmm, why is this phrase turning up in every other episode? - check out the hidden messages on the disclaimer page.

Nice touch Auntie Beeb. Ya gotta love thier online policy.

I Want to Believe

I never watched the X-Files when it was on telly. I was at Uni and living all over the place and tryin’ to make movies and stuff and I was just never in the right place at the right time on whatever evening it was on.

I never got even slightly obsessed with a diminutive red head. I never had one of those UFO posters in the office. I don’t know the name of Moulders gang of geek buddies. I’ve never used the phrase “The Truth is out There” with conviction. I don’t know the insidious agenda of ‘The Cigarette Smoking Man’. Until reading back of the box (for season one) I though ‘Deep Throat’ was just a movie banned in 23 states.

To be honest, I feel like I’m missing out on something. So, with the help of 3 at a time from Love Film, I hereby pledge to watch them all. All 9 seasons, 201 episodes, from beginning to end.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Cuddly Food Stuff

On the boat we have several pets. No space, but several pets.

Two of these are the bunnies known as Worthington (stoic, brown, slightly wasted, kinda like Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction) and Emily (blonde, flighty, buxom, and kinda like Diana Doors).

My views on vegetarianism not withstanding I have to say, house (or boat) rabbits make excellent pets. They make even better casseroles but they do make great pets. They’re not noisy, they ‘cuddle’, they’re cheap (except when they need a vet but that’s what pet insurance is for) and they don't need regular walkies or major coordination if you're going away for the weekend.

A home does need a degree of bunny-proofing to stop sharp teeth nibbling through electrical cables etc., but once they’ve ‘been done’ they (allegedly) whiz in a littler try no problem and (allegedly) stroking a bunny slows the heart rate.

Jema ‘loves’ her rabbits. They are the be all and end all of her very existence. They are the alpha and omega of her day.

If you want to know if a house rabbit is the thing for you, may I humbly recommend the invaluable House Rabbit Handbook: "How to Live With an Urban Rabbit" (or, more accurately: How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Animal Faeces and Live Without Skirting Boards) by Marinell Harriman, plus The House Rabbit Society (who also do a fine range of 'rescued' rabbits that need a proper home). If you decide to go for it they are great and rewarding (but, as a committed cat owner, no substitute for a real pet)...

Seen ‘The 30-Second Bunnies Theatre’? You should, visit Angry Alien.