Tome Time - Dr Who and the Daleks by David Whittaker

Started August 15th, finished August 19th.
This is a read-along with Paul's Target blogging.  It is also the first of the re-released Target novels.  It's teh only one I've bought so far but I'll probably pick more up in time.  Paul gives a good overview of the new editions here.
I remember the weird feeling I had when I first saw the Dr Who story The Daleks.  A strange sense of deja vu.  It took my weak brain a while to figure out why this was.  then it dawned on me.  My childhood viewings of the Cushing films.  I hadn't realised they were lifted from original, unseen by me, scripts.  
I was wary of what I would make of the book from the dual viewing of one story already.  I am a fan of teh second Cushing film but not so much the first.  Even the foreword by Neil Gaiman couldn't ready me for what I found between the pages.  I found the rewriting of the opening scenes off-putting enough.  The real killer for me though was the new Ian Chesterton.  I love Ian Chesterton I don't want him changed by an annoying Roy Castle or a writer who's fiddling.  The revamped Ian and especially his 'will they, won't they?' with a temperamental Barbara was very distracting throughout the tale.  It did neither character any favours if you ask me.  I couldn't understand why the Doctor was sidelined for Ian.  It was a bit like a prior Rose Tyler Show.
The Daleks story is quite long and drawn out.  The 'journey' parts do quite well here, better than the tv or film, at making it seem like a journey.  I just couldn't get into the story though.  The narrative from Ian put me off as well.  I can't understand the Thals reasoning for not taking a stand.  I'm surprised they've evolved at all if that's their viewpoint.  This book is not a highpoint in the Target universe for me.
As for this edition.  It does add something to the books when you get to read about famous DW fans for the Target novels.  I am immensely fond of them and I like to see them praised.  Although Gaiman's intro was hardly going to win over new readers on its own.  I couldn't think what was missing from my copy.  Until I read Paul's blog, it was the Target logo.  I imagine no-one wants to put a defunct and not their own logo on a book.  It would have been nice to see it though :-(  The explanation of the story at the end was useful.  How it put into perspective the aired version vs the novel.  Unfortunately it was a bit of a grind finishing the story so I was weary by the time I got to that.  
All in all, I'm glad teh books have been reprinted.  I won't be reading this one again any time soon though.  I wonder what they've done with Doctor Who and the Cybermen.......
2.5 pawprints out of 5
Next The Death of a Mafia Don by Michele Giuttari

I miss Ice Magic

One of the fond memories I have of my childhood is Bird's Ice Magic.  It was the perfect Ice Cream topping.  It used science! to make a chocolate sauce that went hard due to the coldness of your ice cream.  You could then crack it with a spoon or if you were really adventurous....  Stir it, really quickly into your ice cream creating your own version of choc-chip.  It came in a cool upside down cone bottle.  The lid then looked like some Ice magic that had been squirted onto ice cream.

The different colours for different flavours.  Chocolate, Chocolate Mint and Chocolate Orange are the ones I can remember.

A Google search suggests that you can get hold of a product called Ice Magic but it's bloody dear and critically, comes in a boring bottle with a flip top lid.

Bird's Ice magic also had a very cool advert for a kid.  The 80's were mainly crappy but there were a few stand out stars.

Yeah, I know that it wasn't the perfect item to live in the cold North West with.  But, you could always run it under the hot tap to get it out of the bottle ;-)

Apes will rise?

NO SPOILERS

I was looking forward to seeing this.  Hearing Andy Serkis interviewed and his enthusiasm for it helped a lot.  The trailer made it look very good and exciting.  The original film is a classic.

The film looked great.  The apes looked fantastic but it isn't new technology anymore, I expected it to be good.  Technically there was nothing wrong with the film for me.  It had Brian Cox, always a bonus.  John Lithgow gave a great performance, heartbreaking.  James Franco was ok.  Didn't rate him, didn't hate him.

The message of the film is pretty sledgehammer.  Nevertheless it struck a nerve with me.  I found the opening scene upsetting.  It's very clever for setting up how you should feel for the rest of the film.  If none of the film is subtle it still worked on me.  Which is unusual, slamming a message into my face usual shuts my empathy down.

My huge problem with the film was its predictability.  You knew what was going to happen and when.  Making the majority of the film drag and drag.  There was an awful lot of stuff you knew was coming for the last payoff of the last 10 minutes.  

I did enjoy the last ten minutes.  Even though they were as predictable as the rest of the film at least there was some excitement.  It ends plausibly for the original film to then come into being.

There are many nods to the original film.  Some clever, some not so clever and one that took me out of the moment.  I missed a few.  Luckily Wikipedia has a nice list of them.

All in all, I couldn't fault the cast.  It looked great.  The apes were much better than I expected.  The predictability was what ruined it for me.  I was bored for a lot of it.  There wasn't a plot point you couldn't see coming.  I can't see me ever sitting through it again.

2.5 pawprints out of 5

Food Standards Agency Ratings - How clean are your favourite establishments???

I found a link to this via the Manchester Confidential mailout.

I have found it totally addictive.  The Food Standards Agency has put the results of its inspections online.  You can find your local cafe, restaurant, pub and more to see how clean their facilites were when they were inspected.  The scores range from zero to five.  Zero being 'Urgent Improvement Necessary'  and Five 'Very Good'.

I had a good scout around my regular haunts.  Some of the results were quite offputting.  I won't be eating in some of them again.  Luckily though quite a lot scored 4 or 5.

The visits range from very recent to 2 years ago. I'm not sure how often food supplying businesses are checked.

Below is an explanantion.  Go on you know you want to check your local!  http://ratings.food.gov.uk/AdvancedSearch.aspx  This works for England and Wales.  The Scottish have a similar scheme though.

The food safety officer inspecting a business checks how well the business is meeting the law by looking at:

• how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
• the condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
• how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe

At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings. The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards. Any business should be able to reach this top rating.

The food safety officer will explain to the person who owns or manages the business what improvements are needed and how they can achieve the top rating of '5'. The local authority will check that these improvements are made.

Tome Time - Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich

Started August8th, finished August 14th.  312 pages.

I borrowed this one from the local library after heating the author interviewed.  Much was made of his writing the books behind 21 and The Social Network.  I quite enjoyed 21 but can't say it shook me in any way.  I still haven't seen The Social Network.  This book sounded more up my street.

It is the story of a NASA intern who steals a quantity of Moon Rocks.  Now the title should have been a giveaway.  It's gratuitous to say the least.  In the interview the author had defended this saying it wasn't his idea.  Maybe not mate but you still used it.  His style of writing is very sensational.  Even when the story isn't really that exciting.  I couldn't gel with his style.  It didn't help that one chapter never flowed to the next there was always a jump in time and often tone between the end of one and the start of the next.

THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW, rollover to view.

I think the author wants us to sympathise with the subject of the book.  I couldn't.  No, not even his fear for his life and his pretty awful upbringing made me empathise with him.  He's a pretty shitty character really.  Builds his future on his wife's work.  Cheats on wife.  States how he presents a false face to everyone he meets at NASA because he wants to be someone else.  Abuses everyone's trust at NASA who are giving him chances a lot of people would kill for.  Claims it's all for love.  Packs in his teaching of other inmates in prison because he's had 'his heart broken'.  Destroys a man's life work.  This man is a self centred romanticist with a nasty lack of conscience.  The real clincher is the lack of remorse I find between the pages.  I'd describe him as a total French roof.

END OF SPOILERS

Don't believe the hype on the cover.  Be put off by the unnecessary gratuitousness of the title.  Look the story of Thad Ryan Roberts up on t'interwebs if you have an interest.  The part of how they pulled off the heist is not going to make a very tense film.  They'll need lots of ominous soundtrack.

2 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Doctor Who and the Daleks by David Whittaker

Just what you want....

... on your washing as it's drying.

Not.

How-To: Build a Cardboard Cat Rocket @Craftzine.com blog

How-To: Build a Cardboard Cat Rocket @Craftzine.com blog

Today I found this wondrous cat project thanks to @PixelAddiction on Twitter. I have an abundance of spare cardboard boxes at work. I can see me beginnign this project. My worry is that as with so many other 'great projects' it may never get finished.

Sil and Pawlie surely deserve such a wondrous den though? I could even pipe Space Oddity and Life in Mars into it :-D

Tome Time - The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah

Started July 31st, finished 7th August.  552 pages.

I was lent this book by a friend who really enjoyed it.  I was keen to read it as it was by a local author.

It's best described as a psychological thriller.  It's a hulk of a novel that is definitely very cleverly written.  It takes you through many twists and turns.  Looking back to people's pasts as well as telling the story of their present.  The length of the book gives plenty of time to look into the character's and let them grow on you. The main two characters are well written.  I didn't believe the male characters as I did the female though.  They seemed a little more caricature.  I didn't get a sense of depth with the male figures in the book.  especially the male police officers that pop up here and there.

My downfall with this book was the style of writing.  It's written in a very 'trendy' style and it grated on me somewhat.  It didn't feel natural it felt like a style had been adopted.  This grew less grating as the book went on but never really disappeared.  Because the story is well thought out, clever and quite gripping it didn't manage to spoil the book for me.  I did enjoy the story but I can't see me reading any more of this author's work.  It's not that she's a bad writer, just that the style of writing isn't for me.  I was left satisfied with the ending.  Which is always a worry when a novel is all about the suspense.

3 out of 5 pawprints.

Next - Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich

You know when...

... you open a book and the first thing you read is...



...that it's going to be interesting :-)

Book 52 of the 50 Book Challenge

No Off Switch by Andy Kershaw, 401 pages

Started July 19th, finished July 30th.

I heard Andy Kershaw being interviewed by Richard Bacon about this book.  As he's a local lad I decided to give it a go.

A lot of the sentiments expressed by the author are similar to my own.  I'm impressed by his vast knowledge and immense passion for his music.  His bravery in covering some of the world's most horrible hotspots is commendable.

The problem is the man's arrogance.  It oozes out from every page once he gets on his high horse about something.  The old fashioned case of 'You may be right but I can never condone a case put so smugly and so condescendingly'.  A little bit of charisma goes a long way to help your cause.  A bad attitude, borne before you had a point to make, does not.

Then there's his attitude to women.  It's terrible.  He seems to know this and yet does nothing to improve it through his adult life.  I'd love to like this guy, he has a lot to offer.  Sadly he just comes across as a gobby, chauvinistic, Northerner.  The book is still an interesting read.  Just be prepared for your hackles to frequently lift.

3.5 pawprints out of 5

Total so far, Books - 52, Pages - 15,374 Yeah, made it over 15,000 :-)  Next year I'm going to try a different challenge.  One to expand my horizons.  Maybe read some of those classics I never got around to.

WeightWatchers

As with many women I am no stranger to dietary regimes aimed at losing weight.  At one point in my life I lost 25% of my body weight.  Mainly through willpower, with a little help from a site called WeightLossResources.co.uk  That was an excellent site based on calorie counting.  The best part of the site was the forum community.  Always happy to help and great for tips to help you along.  The second best part was their insistence that you could not go down to silly levels of restriction on what you ate.  Unfortunately sticking to a safe level, without enough exercise was my downfall.  I'm very short and that means a smaller amount calories for me than most.  I couldn't lose more than a tiny amount per week without going beyond their 'safe levels'.  There was no accounting for height.

A couple of months ago I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen for a while.  I never thought she had weight to lose in the first place.  Apparently though she'd lost 1 1/2 stone.  As a group we were chatting about it and she'd done it online with WeightWatchers.  I liked the online idea but the WeightWatchers bit put me off.  Further into the discussion I learned that it had changed.  The 'points system' had been revolutionised.  Towards healthier eating rather than just restrictions.  The best bit I heard was that you could eat as much fruit and veg as you wanted.

I went home and looked it up.  Various newspaper reports gave their take on it.  Apparently the 'points' are now calculated differently.  Rather than just taking into account the calories, fat, etc they look at how your body digests the type of food group you're consuming.  The new version of Points is ProPoints.  It seems to me to be geared against Carb's as well as fat.  Bread, potatoes, etc seem quite high in ProPoints.  That means I just eat less bread at one sitting.  Apparently under the old system a Banana was the same points value as a Curly Wurly.  Guess what, this meant people picked the Curly Wurly.  Now a banana has no ProPoints value, it's free.

I've found I can still eat what I want.  Just a little less.  Portion control has been key.  With much less sugary snacks in my life.  The best bit is I can eat enough to still have the energy to go running.  Running is the only exercise I've found that gives back a fair number of ProPoints.  It's a good job it's my main exercise!  I am eating loads more fruit & veg.  Obviously you can't eat fruit all day long and not expect it to have an effect.  I'm eating a fair amount though on top of my ProPoints allowance and I'm still losing.  I'll always be wary of too many bananas.  I save them for a post run snack.

For the first couple of weeks I was getting to know the programme.  I had a few misjudgements on portion size and the like.  It's an easy system to use though.  There's a great App that means I'm never in the dark about what I'm eating if I've got 3G or wi-fi.  There are restaurant guides to average points for if you're eating out.  Overall I'm impressed.  I haven't spent any time on the forums really.  They seem quite new and I'm not feeling the need to chat with others.  They are there though and people are helping each other out.  I think that side of things will grow quite a bit.

Weeks two and three I had the opposite problem.  I'd found enough food low in ProPoints to ensure I never never reached my allotted amount.  I wasn't eating enough.  So I went out and bought some nice snacks to fill the gaps.  I think now I have it sussed.

I get 29 ProPoints a day that I cannot 'rollover' from one day to the next.  On top of that I have 49 weekly ProPoints for use whenever I feel like a treat or if I go out for a meal.  When I run, I get more ProPoints that can be rolled over.  Running is great for wine enabling ProPoints :-)

In the six weeks I've stuck to the plan my skin's improved and I've lost 7lbs.  Before I started the plan I was running but eating more than I'd earnt in compensation.  The Structure of this and the focus on healthy and filling foods has given just what I need to get healthy.  Without miserably starving myself for a fortnight, then splurging only to try again a month later.  This is by far the healthiest, most sensible of the big name diet plans I've seen.  Hopefully more will push towards this kind of lifestyle rather than limiting your food groups or starving yourself.

I'm hoping to use this to get me to a healthy weight and keep me there.  I'm too old to keep promising myself I'll get on it tomorrow.

Book 51 of the 50 Book Challenge

More Cat Tales from Moon Cottage by Marilyn Edwards, 282 pages

Started June 30th, finished July 29th

As the first book in this series was a perfect titbit book I opted for more.  It is just as says on the cover more tales about the author's cats.  If you're a cat lover you'll recognise plenty in this book.  If you're not a cat lover it's probably not for you.

I enjoyed reading it and I've ordered the next in the series.  There's not much to say other than what the title describes.  It's a quick, fun read.  I'm unsure I'll read it again but I'm glad to have discovered the series.

3.5 out of 5 pawprints

Total, Books - 51, Pages - 14,973 Just short of 15,000!

Next - No Off Switch by Andy Kershaw

Book 50 of the 50 Book Challenge

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré, 359 pages

Started July 6th, finished July 18th.

This read was brought on by the impending film adaptation.  I've long been meaning to watch the TV serial from the 70's.  As I'm one of 'those people' I needed to read the book first. 

I'm glad I have read the book before watching it.  I'm sure it's easier to grasp the beginnings of the tale in book form.  Learning who's who and from which department they're from.  Along with whether they are currently in favour or not.

The book gives a great sense of Cold War atmosphere.  Once you get into it and you're more familiar, it's much easier to follow the flow of the story.  It is a great story that I can't say isn't well told.  It just seemed to drag for me.  I'm not sure whether I was reading it too late at night or it was the author's style.  I haven't read anything else by le Carre.  I'm not in a rush to remedy this either.  I can't find fault, I just couldn't get a rhythm of reading that matched the writing.  I'll be interested to see how they adapt the story into just a film.  Hopefully they will do it justice.  I'm currently two episodes into the TV version and it's very well paced to match the book.  I have no complaints about this book but it's never going to be one of my favourites.

3.5 out of 5 pawprints

Total so far, Books - 50, Pages - 14,691  DAMMIT!  I failed to make the page count within the allotted number of books.  Never mind I'll keep going until I hot that 15,000.

Next - More Cat Tales from Moon Cottage by Marilyn Edwards

Book 49 of the 50 Book Challenge

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov, 276 pages

Started June 29th. finished July 6th

I don't think I've ever read any Asimov.  This makes me feel kinda lacking when I say I'm a sci-fi fan.  In fact it's really a disgrace as I grew up with his books on the shelves and never got around to any of them.  This one I borrowed from my dad with the promise it was one of his best.

Now as I sit trying to type about the book I'm at a loss on how to describe it without spoiling the experience of the book.  It would also be hard to explain what it's about.  That's where Asimov's skill seems to lie.  making something complicated easy to understand.  Unfortunately I lack the skills to relate it back.

This was a brilliant book.  You had the science, all in a believable, not magical state.  A glimpse of  a future world.  The biggest plus was real people.  People as we are now and always have been, imperfect, ambitious, not ambitious enough, bitch, sulky. No Dystopia or Utopia just a future I can believe could come around. It was definitely a strange read but a very enjoyable one.  You had to really immerse yourself in the tale.  Then you were repaid many times over.  I loved the other worlds he built as well as he portrayed our future one.

The life forms he invented drew me right in.  Whilst keeping me guessing on certain outcomes.  I definitely need to get more of his books read.  Any suggestions?

This is one I'll read again in the not too distant future.  I'm dying to see how much more I get from it second time around.

4.5 out of 5 pawprints 

Total so far - Books 49,  Pages 14,332

Next, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre 

Captain America, The Northern Quarter shines.

We took our nephew to see this last night.  He is a fan of 3D so the Avatar glasses came out of retirement.  I can't see how the 3D added to the experience but it didn't manage to spoil it either.

I have to admit I was most interested in seeing the scenes shot in Manchester and Liverpool.  I knew nothing of Captain America's story so I was quite happy to believe what I saw on screen.  I'm a fan of origin movies.  I find a character's development, if done well, to hit the right buttons with me.  Manchester was hardly recognisable.  Just the odd window frame or doorway stood out.  You'd think they were trying to disguise it or something.  Liverpool's Albert Dock was more obvious.  

This was big budget, summer blockbuster stuff.  It didn't disappoint.  I though the leads were great.  I don't seem to recognise any of them except for Hugo Weaving.  maybe that helped me sink into their characters quickly.  Big, pleasant surprise to find Mr Tucci on my screen.  He along with Toby Jones, Tommy Lee Jones and Dominic Cooper as support cast is pretty impressive.  The difference between weed to superhero was great.  I like the way they have little references in there without shoving them down your throat.  e.g.  Howard Stark.  The film looked very good.  Gave a good sense of the 1940's in a brighter more comic book fashion.  The surrounding cast were also very good.  This film won't be having you ponder its significance long into the night but it is good fun.

One bone I have to pick.  Every time Captain America put on a helmet I wasn't sure if it was him or Miles from This Life.  I've certainly never seen them in the same room.....

3.5 out of 5 pawprints

Book 48 of the 50 Book Challenge

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, 196 pages

Started June 28th, finished June 29th.

Another read whilst on holiday.  How I wish I still was....  I'm always unsure on Wyndham with what I've read, What I've seen and what I know the synopsis of.  I can only be sure that until I've read all his output I haven't read enough.

I definitely haven't read this one before, it was totally new to me.  I really feel that John Wyndham has been a tad overlooked on the science fiction scene.  I think he put a lot of big ideas into the mix and people don't realise they were his ideas.  If I hear one more time that The Walking Dead opening scene ripped off 28 Days Later I will scream.

This book seems to be set after an apocalyptic event.  The setting resembles the English countryside with what seem to be relics of the past.  Nothing is ever set down on the page though.  You are given pointers to what may have happened and where.  These are scattered throughout the story and give you a little more each time without giving you definite answers.

The story follows a young boy from a religious family.  A very religious family.  The religion they follow has decided that God hates 'mutants'.  Anyone not pure in form is a travesty and never seen again.  As the boy becomes older he starts to question what he has always been taught.  Especially when his life experiences call 'facts' into question. The story then takes the boy and those around him on a journey of discovery.

I loved this book.  It's was one of those where you're gutted you've finished it.  Wyndham tells a tale perfectly.  Revealing things at just the right rate and leaving enough to let you wonder.  This story is definitely sci-fi yet there was a touch of the scary tales of Boogie men.  With aspects of the wonder of exploration seen in old sea-faring tales.  Alongside a study of humanity.

I'm unsure on the author's thoughts on religion.  He's hardly giving it the two thumbs up here.  Whether he is against it I don't know.  Maybe he was just using it as a tool to progress the story.  It was definitely well suited to that purpose.

This is definitely a keeper I'll read again and again.

5 out of 5 pawprints

Total so far, Books - 48, Pages - 14,056

Next - The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov

Book 47 of the 50 Book Challenge

The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine, 385 pages

Started June 26th, finished June 27th

Another holiday read.  I love being able to bury myself in a book on holiday.  Too many distractions and things like work at home.

I have never been a Michael Caine fan.  From the little I'd seen of him he came across as cocky and that accent grated on me.  As for his films, every clips I'd seen had a heavily accented 'My name is Michael Caine' slant to it.  I prejudged.  The fact that my name was Kane growing up didn't help.  

I suppose you're wondering why I bought the book then?  It was a last minute, at the till, 3 for 2, Waterstones decision.  I'm glad I bought it.  It turned my opinion of Mr Caine mainly on his head.  He seemed a genuine bloke in print.  No bigging up of his achievements.  Gave thanks to the people who'd helped his career.  It was an often amusing, always interesting ride through his life.

He tells his story very well.  No gossiping or bitching.  He's done enough himself to easily fill a book without that kinda thing.  Reading this has given me the urge to go and see some of his films.  It seems I'm missing out.  Especially as I thought his performance in Is Anybody There? was so wonderful.

This is just the type of 'film star' biography I like.  I'd definitely recommend it to any Michael Caine fan, British Cinema fan or Hollywood fan.

5 out of 5 pawprints

Total so far, Books - 47, Pages 13,860.  Looks like I won't make the page count within 50 books.

Next - The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt 2

Off I trotted to Manchester's IMAX yesterday for my traditional HP watch with my sister.  I wanted to see this in 2D but that wasn't an IMAX option.

You've probably read reviews of this film that will be far more heartfelt than mine.  I've enjoyed the Harry Potter phenomenon very much.  Both the books and the films.  I haven't got that passion for them that most fans have though.

This seemed a fitting end to the franchise.  I found the first half dragged a little.  The same can't be said for part 2.  It whizzes along, tying up loose threads as it goes.  The effects were an addition to the film and enhanced it.  The plot took centre stage.  The performances were the best they've been.  Although I've never totally been convinced by Daniel Radcliffe.  My major problem was the 3D.  It was truly awful.  So awful that I would recommend people see this in 2D on a normal screen than follow my example.  Only the prime focus was clear.  Any faces in the background, you could only see the shape, no features.  These were people whose reactions we were supposed to be seeing.  Warner Bros, you should be ashamed.

I'd say Rowling created a wonderful world and story with the books.  I think the films were done as well as such a rich world and amount of plot can be in cinema form.  The only problem is that she created so many great characters that you can't see enough of them in the final outing.

I enjoyed this franchise but I am not upset that there won't be any more.  I'll probably see them all again and I'll definitely read the books again.  I don't need any more though.

(With 3D) 2 out of 5 pawprints.  

(Eliminating the negative effect of the 3D) 4 out of 5 pawprints.

What do you wanna be?

Some people wanna be free, They wanna be free to do what they wanna do, And they wanna get loaded, And they wanna have a good time...

If you wanna get deep down, go with them.

BUT, some have different goals in life.  They wanna be....

This post was inpsired by @emma_lou1983 posting about a crisp butty.  Ain't it funny how minds work ;-)