Purrfect Progress

I've been writing a lot tonight. I finally have a good character - his name is Dan Thorpe and he's pretty brilliant. He's a screenwriter, he has amazing stories from his childhood and the novel will follow his life as well as the growing plot of the film he is writing alongside each other. It's all about what he draws on for his ideas.

I was inspired a lot by Stephen King's On Writing. It might seem like I was inspired a little too much, but I actually had the basis of Dan already down on paper before I was recommended On Writing by my housemate, so it just seems like an amazing coincidence that King decided to share his experiences in a non-fictional way just like I will be sharing Dan's.

On Writing is an amazing book, even if you have no desire to write a novel.

I've been listening to Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry nearly non-stop for a week - and the combination of lovely story telling and Fry's amazing presence has inspired me a lot. For my Fiction class at uni I have to write 2,500 words of a novel by the end of the year. I'm currently at about 900 and About to ask my classmates and friends for my second round of critical feedback. It's all a bit scary, but always fun at the same time.

Here's a small extract:


It was only a few Christmases ago that Dan had learned what really happened to his beloved Spud, as his drunken mother had laughed out the story over carols and cake. Apparently the neighbourhood tramp had stolen the year old kitten from the back garden in broad daylight while Dan and Stu played in the shed. Their mother had glanced out of the kitchen window just in time to see the almost camouflaged man making his swift exit, Spud poking his fluffy head out of the front pocket of his trench coat. The police were called but the thief was never found, and was presumed to have eloped with his new companion to the next town. Stu had heard half of the truth a few days after while eavesdropping on a telephone call their dad was having with their travelling sister, and had taken it upon himself to drill the Kitten Eater firmly into Dan’s nightmares.



I recently submitted some short film ideas for my Screenwriting module and used the strange man with a kitten in his pocket as the basis of one of those. For some reason that man and that kitten will make it into something I publish one day, if I publish anything, I just know it.

Dear Ikea

I love you.

My latest trip was one of my favourites of all time, possibly because there were things I actually needed so there was less guilt about the money I was about to spend. I took photos of everything I'd want if I had a lot of money and a house to furnish.

(Just the gingham one)

(But not in pink or white)

So apparantly there would be loads of places to sit in my house. I love the big stuffed animals just before the tills - the shark is going on my Christmas wish list.

What I did end up getting is good enough though. Finally got some nice net curtains so I can keep my curtains open a lot more and not worry about people seeing inside my room. Pretty much fallen in love with my new mirror, and I painted my new desk's legs pink which matches one of my walls. The mouse cushion is supposed to be for pets - a cat I suppose - but in my experience cats prefer to sleep on something they can make their imprint in, like a warm little valley. So I bought it for my bed.




I actually made the stripey cushion next to the mouse one, I was really proud of it for a first attempt. My plan is to make everyone one for Christmas - they'd all be unique and tailored to what the person likes, I can't wait to get started!

The mini Dime bars, hotdogs and Kopparbergs are the higlight of any Ikea trip. And they've started doing fries now as well, or maybe they just never did them in the one nearest to Derby, but they're yum.

Batman = Party Man

It's not that I don't love the new Batman films - I mean I wasn't as keen on Batman Begins (2005) as I was on The Dark Knight (2008), but they are both rad - and it's not just because I'm a bit of a Burtonite, but I think I'll always be a bigger fan of the original Legacy.



I own this box set of Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997), and I think it's my most treasured out of my collection. I've just watched Batman for about the 10th time and I still love it - I mean what a film! Danny Elfman's score is spot on, but the added Prince hits just make me feel warm inside. The scene where The Joker and his cronies crash the museum is outstanding - when Prince's 'Party Man' gets blasted from the stereo and all the vandals are transformed into funky beat loving geniuses, it's one of those pieces of film that you just love to watch (there's a link to it at the end). I probably preferred the Bat suit in this film to all the others too.




Burton really made something beautiful when he made Batman Returns. Michelle Pfeiffer made me warm to Catwoman and really brought the character to life, in a dead looking menacing way. I've never been a big fan of the purring villainess but this film changed that and I gave her the benefit of the doubt (despite the Halle Berry incident we're all trying to block out). The sets and music are what really make this a work of art though - people may argue Burton has become samey, but at least when he does Gothic he does it well (despite the Corpse Bride incident most of you are trying to block out, but that I still love just because). I really can't get enough of the creepy haunting music that sees baby Penguin float off down the river, and the army of penguins emerging from the underground Santa's grotto style lair, not to mention the strangeness of that ear biting scene.




Then there's the ultimate retro tackyness that is Mr. Freeze and his sweet puns in Batman and Robin. Schwarzenegger's accent is the icing on the cake (sorry) when he comes out with lines like 'You're not sending me to the cooler!', 'Ice to see you!', and the over-the-top epicness of his character is so brilliant with lines like 'Allow me to break the ice - my name is Freeze. Learn it well, for it's the chilling sound of your doom.' I don't care what anyone says about the cheese levels of this film, I love the bright cartoony colours and the camp Batman vs. Robin fights over Poison Ivy. Her character was always a favourite of mine and the two villains of the story work so well together - 'Adam and Evil' as Mr. Freeze puts it. It would be good to have the girl on guy pairing in the third installment of the newest Batman adventures on the big screen, but I don't think it'd go with the tone and would be out of place. It was perfectly done in the past though.




It's a shame they didn't ever make a proper Harley Quinn film - she is my ultimate favourite and I loved her in Batman: The Animated Series. In fact I loved everything about that cartoon - the union of Quinn, Ivy and Catwoman as The Joker's followers was a girly geek fest and I don't think Batman would be so popular today without the creative minds behind that show. The baddies in Batman own all other comic book baddies by far - it's probably why I do prefer it to Spiderman even though it's such a tough decision. I love Peter Parker and MJ, but the only nemesis I ever really enjoyed was Venom - and he hardly featured in the film trilogy. I love the neutral step back Batman takes in the plot that allows the Gotham City villains to show just how elaborately insane they are.



When Batman first came out in '89 people only really had the Adam West shenanigans to compare it with and it was like visiting the Haunted House after a ride on the under 10's Pirate Boat. With Begins we got taken that step further into an action thriller beyond cliche proportions, and The Dark Knight stands out on it's own as royalty across every genre in the blockbuster kingdom. Unlike a lot of film buffs (not that I'd class myself as a buff really) I'm a big fan of re-makes as long as they try to add something extra. I'd just never choose Zombie over Carpenter, or Nicolas Cage over Edward Woodwood - because you can't have the latter without the former. As it stands, Zombie's Halloween was a disaster and The Wicca Man shouldn't have been touched, but I did love Ledger's performance, and I was a fan of The Scarecrow, and I appreciate that this new Legacy went straight to the core, chewing up what we expect from a comic book adaptation and spitting something from a Graphic Novel in our faces. I'd just like the original Legacy to get a bit more respect, because it's extremely deserved.

I'm lucky my favourite hero has never been tarnished through film, and only allowed to grow and morph with the industry into the land mark he is today... poor Hulk fans.

Complete smackdown in the Hollywood sense, AMIRIGHT? Most bland of all comic book adaptations. At least Ed Norton half saved the day though in the more recent movie, and the excitement left with you after that ending beats everything. I can't wait to write about The Avengers.


Things you might like to watch:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1b5ov7PEcIA&feature=related - The Joker and his gang crashing the museum to Prince.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iHufrsP9XMA - that's an awesome video, it's The Dark Knight trailer set to clips of the Adam West TV series clips. Really funny and works really well.

Food that's to Thai for!

I love Thai food a little too much. Back in Derby we have a lot of really good Thai places to eat at, and I've been to some super yum ones in London too - one in particular that doesn't get enough appreciation in my opinion. It's The Royal Thai - you can see it's profile on London Online here http://www.londononline.co.uk/profiles/540279/ - it's the cutest little restaurant ever! There are only about 6 tables, and the food is SO nice and extremely good value for money. I will probably always get the vegetarian green Thai curry (or Gaeng Keow Warn) with tofu - I can never not get this dish when I go to a Thai place to eat. Here is a bad picture of my meal the last time I visited - I had my curry with egg fried rice and my friend Sally had a red Thai beef curry with coconut rice.



We also got starters - Sally had Gai Satay (chicken satay) and I had Pak Tod (deep fried vegetables served with sweet chilli dip). The satay sauce at The Royal Thai has to be the best I've ever tasted! The service is perfect, the drinks and puddings are a bit more varied than most Thai restaurants and did I mention the food is just absolutely yum!


The Royal Thai is on Caledonian Road, about a five minute walk from Kings Cross. Google it and go to it!