Sooty Blog

So how good was Sooty!

He was a tiny orange puppet bear and yet he did so much. I watched Sooty and company from when I was very little till, well, yesterday when I looked him up on youtube. Although I loved Sooty and his many antics, my favorite was Sweep, a puppy puppet (ooo the alliteration) who used to communicate by squeaking. He was one of those soppy characters who is always doing something silly, but for me he made the show. This brings me to the important point I wanted to make in this blog. Why is it that Ricky Gervais is so much more famous than Steven Merchant?!

I have had a crush on Steven Merchant since he played the ogg-monster in the original Office, what can I say I like 'em tall and gangly. This was even before I saw him interviewed on the box-set extras, or on the million television shows that had the writing duo as guests. I was lucky enough to be in England when Stephen, Ricky and Karl were on Xfm and got to catch the hilarity that is Karl before the podcasts hit, and can I just say Stephen is hilarious. He is dry, and witty and you can tell his humor had a massive influence on the final dialogue in both The Office and Extras. I was glad when he cast himself as the hapless agent Darryn Lamb because he was finally getting some of the fame he so desperately deserved. It certainly irritates me that Ricky Gervais is tagged as the creator of the Office when it was something that emerged from a writing duo.

I guess watching Sweep, a vital character in the Sooty and Company ensemble, stand in the shadow of the far less vocal Sooty was just a reminder that sometimes the real stars don't get the credit they deserve. Before you think I've completely gone off in the deep end, I do realize that Sweep was a puppet and Steven Merchant is a live person, but puppets need credit too.

And with that I hope you guys have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend xx

The Raccoon Blog

So my favorite Kate in the whole world shared a story with me about Raccoons having a garbage ice cream party in her cabbage-town apartment. The saddest part was that the blighters didn't even invite her, it was a secret and exclusionary party held to spite her.

Normally I would tack something on to the end of that sentence, like 'well it wasn't' , but with raccoons you really can't tell. They seem all cute and cat like and then you realize they are wearing tiny zoro mask and are looking to scratch you. When Kate suggested I blog about raccoons I was worried that after being asked to blog about squirrels people were thinking this was a nature blog or if they weren't they might start to. But I cannot say no to Kate, she is so darn witty and thus today you are getting the Raccoon Blog.

When I first came to Canada people warned me of two things, raccoons and leaches. Not necessarily in the same conversation I should add. This has led me to freak out when I see a raccoon especially at night and has prohibited me from ever going in a lake. It isn't the actual raccoon that worries me, it is the whole 'don't back it into a corner it has rabies' panic people have instilled in me. If I am being perfectly honest, my natural instinct is not to back anything into a corner, unless it is a sofa, but now I feel I have to be double careful that I don't do it. Telling foreign people that leaches can only be removed from oneself by burning them off is just not good manners. Until I figure out how to take a lighter into the water, and still have it work, I'm sticking with foot dangling. A better piece of advice for newbie Canadians would be that dock spiders can swim, although that is a frightening thought also.

I think now I have been here a few years I am less worried about Raccoons, they really will leave you alone if you don't bother them. They also like to sleep, a lot, so it's not like you have to dodge them in the street. Because of the cartoon I was under the impression that they mostly work for the newspaper, reporting news from around the forest but that myth has been dispelled. I'm calm about it now but  I did freak out in my first year here when one followed me towards my house. I had one of those fight or flight moments, and I worried running away would only cause them to chase me. I think that is bears though? What I do know is that if you are being chased by a crocodile run in zig zags to confuse them.

Oh and don't play with stingrays they can be deadly - too soon?

Meryl xxx

The Beer Bistro Blog

This may be my new favorite place in the city. I'm not a food critic or a beer connoisseur, but I have eaten my fair share of food and have drank a couple people's share of beer, so I feel a review won't make me look like too much of a pompous arsehole right?

To start off I'm not going to review the food, it was good. It was very yummy, the end. What I am going to do is talk about the beer. Now they do a very clever thing down at the Beer Bistro, they let you have three mini beers off the menu rather than just one big one, which to be honest is the reason I decided to go. What I did learn was that this mini beer combo is called a flute. Or was it a flight? I think it was...maybe it wasn't, hmm...ok so I guess I didn't learn anything.

The three beers I tasted were:

1. Weihenslephaner Hefe Weissbier - From Germany (Which I nicknamed Fefershnefer)

2. Durham Hop Addict - From Ontario

3. Leffe Brune - From Belgium.

The Weihenslephaner Hefe Weissbier (try saying that three times fast) was definitely my favorite. It is described as 'A wheat beer that is light and fruity with notes of banana and clove'. It was really light and coloured like honey. It would be amazingly delicious on a hot day during the summer, I couldn't get enough of it!

Ranking 2nd on my favorite tiny beer list was the Leffe Brune. It tasted like figs, and if you don't like figs then I can't imagine how you could possibly be enjoying life in any real capacity. It was a dark bitter beer but the figs made it taste really fresh and fruity. I gulped it down pretty quick.

Third was the Durham Hop Addict. Maybe because I am not a Hop addict this didn't appeal to me. It was supposed to taste like grapefruit, which I'm not really a fan of anyway, but it tasted like an orange peel mixed beer. Despite it being my least favorite it really wasn't a chore to finish it, the waitress really had made some excellent suggestions.

That's why the beer bistro is so great, the staff are really into it. They know everything about the beer and the wine list. They are quick to recommend something to go with your meal and will tell you the history, and where you can get it from in the city. You are likely to forget everything you learned because you are about to get drunk, but just for a minute you imagine you could have a deep and meaningful beer conversation with someone in the future. The staff are self professed nerds, suggesting the more you learn about beer the more you seem to want to know. Just having someone take the time to find beers you might like is cool, and my dad, who very kindly took me for dinner, also ordered a flight so we had six mini beers to taste over dinner.

I only really went to the beer bistro after a recommendation from my friend Jen, and now I'm the first to recommend it to you, it's really fun and you'll have a great time. So go on, do it, all the cool kids are.

Peace and Love
Meryl xx

http://www.beerbistro.com/home.htm

Tuseday Blog

So I am feeling grumpy about a lot of different things today but seeing as this is not a confessional I thought instead I would talk about my favorite blog topic chocolate.

Yes ladies and gentlemans you heard right, chocolate news is upon us again. This time it's back with a vengeance. No it isn't, but I am sad to say it is not good news. I think this is one of those 'no news would have been good news kinds of moments' but who am I if not a loyal chocolate journalist.

Scientists (my favorite vague source) have suggested that chocolate actually makes people depressed. This was weird news as I was under the impression that for years scientists were saying that serotonin in chocolate made people feel happy. What they are now suggesting is that chocolate lovers are depressed people who eat chocolate in a sort of self medicating way to make themselves happy. After a while they get used to the intake and rely on it, making them more depressed over longer periods.  A little bit like crack cocaine right? I know I shouldn't be thinking it, but it is a little bit like being a crack addict.

This sent my brain into overtime, imagining people scoring chocolate on street corners, taking bites of it in bathrooms of ritzy clubs or sitting in dingy flats sharing chocolate wrappers. How terrible is this though? Essentially the more chocolate you eat, the more you need to eat to make you feel good. It is certainly going to change the way I look at a mars bar...no it isn't mars bars and bloody delicious. I even like mars bar ice-cream. Great now I'm hungry

I hope you are all well and having a great week. There is no episode of lost tonight which has contributed to my less than pukka mood. Thinking about it now I like chocolate, and I'm not in a good mood, Oh my goodness I'm a victim of chocolate depression, the truth was right there staring at me this whole blog and I never even saw it.

There is only one thing for it, I need another chocolate bar, I'll have to call my dealer

xxxxx m xxxxx

I can't do it

Yes these monstrosities are the new hit thing for the summer. While shopping with my friend Grace I realized that although yes these are about to become the hit item, they are just too ugly for me. She tried some on, and she loved them, and I made fun of her for at least twenty minutes but I couldn't put a dent in her desire to get them.

I have promised her that I will make fun of her when she comes out wearing them, but that has kind of barred me from ever being able to join the trend in the future. I honestly can't imagine myself regretting the decision, but then again today I am wearing pants my mum gave me in the 90s. See how fashion has swung itself around.

Just a short one today, a big shout out to my friend Joel on his birthday can't wait to see you later!

Hope y'all have a fantastic weekend (yes I said y'all what you going to do about it huh?)

xx m xx

The Backup Plan was to shoot myself

So I was a very lucky lady and was given tickets to a film premier which I attended last night. I wasn't sure what the film was going to be, but then I found out it was the new Jennifer Lopez film - The Backup Plan. Now i'm not really a 'chick flick' kind of girl they are all so terribly dull and predictable, but love actually turned out to be a great film, and I've got a soft spot for sex in the city so I went in trying my very best to be positive and believe it was going to be good.

It wasn't

Looking back I should have researched the movie before I went to see it. I'll try not to spoil the almost lazy ending of the film for you so I will give you an idea based only on information given in the trailer. What I will say is that ruining it so you couldn't see it may have been one of the best gifts I could give you this year but some people never listen so here we go. The Backup Plan is about a woman who can't find a man but wants to have a baby anyway. She goes to get artificially inseminated and exactly following the deed she jumps in a cab and some handsome stranger jumps in too, it is raining the end. Ok so i'm not doing a great job of curtailing my bitterness in this blog, but it was so painful to watch I feel I would be doing a public service if I stopped it being released in Canada full stop.

I have a problem with women being objectified as crazy commitment freaks, whose main life goal is to have a baby and fall in love. I don't care if it represents a majority, it's ruining it for normal people. I myself am surrounded by strong and intelligent women who mostly want to drink lots and lots and have fun. I'm not saying women don't want to have families, I'm just suggesting their priority is to be happy and if that involves children great but if it doesn't that's great too. The movie is a collection of cliches held together by moments of slip-on-a-banana style comedy. This kind of humour is like looking at the shadow of funny, you recognize it but it just isn't the real thing. I know this is what chick flicks are about, they are designed to show off the kind of love women think exist. It is that kind of, I hate you leave me alone, oh wait here you are at my house lets fall in love formula that could never really happen.

Please don't make the mistake of thinking I don't believe in love, or put me in some weird feminism box that I don't belong in. I'm a huge believer in love. I truly believe that people can care for one another and share a life together and be happy, I just think love should be an extra in your life not a necessity. You don't have a baby because you need something to love, you have one because you have love you can share.

Oh god I've gone mushy, if I carry on this way I'm going to end up writing a chick flick before the week is over. The best love story ever written has got to be between Tim and Dawn in the original office. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais had it just right. Here were two people who managed to find fun in the most tedious things, they were never going to have these huge dramatic lives, or fall into each others arms in the rain. They just knew if they were together they would be happy. It was beautifully written and executed so delicately, it felt so familiar.

So I guess my point is don't go see the movie, take the 15 dollars it would cost, go rent yourself the office on DVD and watch that instead, and don't worry about how much you owe me for this irrevocably good advise, you can just buy me a bottle next time you see me

hugs and kisses

xxx m xxx

Poem Blog

I can't go two minutes without someone asking what my favorite poem is. Ok so maybe no-one has ever asked, but in case you were going to here it is. It's by Spike Milligan but I always associate it with my friend Zina, as she loves this poem too. We actually wrote a poem together about our teacher when we were in Year 11. Poor Mr Thomas, I don't think it painted him in the best of lights. She read it to me quite recently and I laughed so hard I nearly pulled a muscle. It is amazing how much of your past you forget, makes me think keeping a diary isn't as sad and pathetic as I have always thought it was. I find diaries a little vain, she says as she continues to write her blog, and have never been able to get into the idea you should complain for pages and pages to a book each night. Hmm what do I know right? I also hate postcards so maybe I'm just genetically predisposed to bitterness and sarcasm?

On the Ning Nang Nong

On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!

Spike Milligan 

x m x

Thermometer Hand

So an old friend of mine, who will remain anonymous (for now) was commenting that my blog is a little all over the place topically. He is right, but I like that about it. More often than not I write about things that have come up during the previous day, or have featured in conversations during the week, and so in a very life-creating-art kind of way this blog is representative of the best things in life being both random and unplanned. Ok so yes I do have the attention span of a mentally deficient gold fish, which may explain part of the diverse array of topics covered, but his big suggestion for today's blog was to call it 'witty banter' so really I think I still reign supreme when it comes to the bloggywog.

Which brings me to today's topic - thermometer hand.

Yes, I realize even for me this is a weird topic, but my lovely co-worker told me the sweetest story yesterday and I had to share it with the world. When he was little and he used to get sick, his dad, like most dads, would place a hand on his head to check for his temperature. Now unlike the rest of us who understood this was an easy, but not hugely accurate, way to see if you had a fever, my co-worker believed his dad had a go-go gadget style thermometer embedded in his hand. It's so sweet, and kind of clever, and I immediately starting debating the pro's and con's of such an invention. It would mean that when you stuck your finger into coffee you'd truly know if it was too hot to drink, or if you wanted to see if the ocean was really cold you could get an exact reading. To be honest with you that's about all the uses I can think of, which gives me the feeling Apple aren't going to start working on a prototype anytime soon.

I really can't think of other uses for thermometer hand, but hey in the spirit of interactive technology why not tell me all the things you could use thermometer hand for in the comments box. - If you are wondering if this is a trick to get you to comment, then yes it is. If you aren't going to do it for me, then do it for thermometer hand.

xxx m xxx

Pot Noodle Blog

Why would I blog about Pot Noodle?

That is a really good question. Strangely, I have written on my arm 'Pot Noodle-blog', but I can't for the life of me remember why I wrote it. I am assuming I had a kind-of Pot Noodle related light bulb moment, but I guess in my case it was one of those faulty light-bulbs where the filament is already broken.

Pot Noodle was amazing, It was very late 80s early 90s England, and my mum used to buy them as a treat. I wonder if we knew then how bad food in a cup truly is. Here in canada they have a similar version called a Mr Noodles, a little sexist but a similar concept. It doesn't taste the same though, it tastes a little healthier. It's funny, Pot Noodle totally embraced its non healthy status and started a commercial campaign suggesting that even though you knew it was bad for you it tasted so good you couldn't help yourself.

Its ballsy attitude towards the public must have made it more popular, it became funny to have a pot noodle, especially if you had been plastered just before consumption. Even now I could polish off a pot noodle no problem, aware of the ridiculous amount of chemicals and salt I'd be digesting.

Considering that I have no idea why I wanted to write a pot noodle blog, the last couple of paragraphs were incredibly easy to write.  Maybe the concept has been rattling around up there for a while and my subconscious was desperate to get it out. It could also be that I got pretty bladdered Saturday night, which was the fault of my friends, the cheap price of booze, and the unbelievable alcohol to soda ratios they were pouring the drinks at. Pot noodle would have been a logical next step once I had reached that level of drunk.

This weekend I also go to see Kick Ass, and to dive into the cheesy pun that's on everybody's lips, the film really did kick ass. I have never wanted to be a super-hero more than I did during the film. I wanted to fight crime, kick people's arses and re-lode my guns mid air. I also wanted rubber boots, rubber gloves a belt with my superhero name on it and a jet pack. The film is hilarious, I loved it, I would give it 5 stars, screw it I'd give it 6. It's going to be massive so see it now and you'll get to gloat about it when it's all popular. The other cool thing about the film is nearly all of it is filmed in Toronto. I was sitting in paramount theater watching the people in Kick Ass going to the cinema, and low and behold they were walking into the very same place. Everybody in the theater was mumbling it was kind of surreal.

So I hope everyone had a great weekend, and you enjoyed the beautiful weather we had on Sunday, I'm sending all my good wishes and happiness to all of you...except a little bit that I want to keep for myself

xxx Meryl xxx

Micro Pigs

Even my roommate who possesses enough cynicism in his heart to run a small country fell pray to how cute micro pigs are. They are so damn cute, I would sell my sister down the river to procure one. (sorry roo)

Pigs are actually super smart, and although dogs are the traditional lap pet, I have a feel micro pigs are about to take the crown. I know there are a lot of people who say that keeping a pig as a pet is a very bad idea, that it is cruel, and I'm sort of with them. I read Charlotte's web when I was very little and have always been under the impression pigs should be living in places where there are mud puddles around and spiders to talk to. I could also be talked out of getting a micro pig because I have a real problem with babe, you know from the movie. If you know me you probably know this is usually where I go on a rant about how babe was essentially a lying, manipulative little pig, but I'm trying to keep some of the crazy under wraps so i'll skip it for now. Stupid Babe.

Talking of farm animals I actually have a friend who is afraid of cows, like proper afraid. Poor Sian, I think it all started in a field somewhere after she was chased by a bunch of them. She is also afraid of mushrooms, which is making me laugh all over again just as I type it. I'll never forget she came out for dinner with me and my parents when I was little and ordered a veggie burger. When she opened it up, there was this massive mushroom inside. Oh my, her face was priceless, she didn't want to scream because it wasn't just the two of us, but she looked like she was about to. She grabbed her knife and fork, and using them like chopsticks extracted the mushroom from the bun, I think I may have wet myself trying not to laugh.
Sian is my traveling friend, I've talked about her before in this blog, mostly to admit to large amounts of jealousy I feel when she travels to the most amazing destinations. Unfortunately she got into a bit of a pickle tubing the other day and had to go to the hospital for her foot. She described it to me in graphic detail by e-mail and after I was done throwing up I e-mailed her back to wish her better. I really hope you are feeling much better baby girl I miss you lots!!

Last night I couldn't sleep, so I went into the living room and watched the Daily Show and most of the Colbert Report. They really are hilarious, political humour is just so very funny! Still it is important to remember the only reason these shows exist is because the politics in America is a little mental. I wanted to share a clip of one of my favorite comedians Dylan Moran,  this is his take on Barack Obama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbwhWulPj8

He is so funny, if you like him you should also check out his sitcom Black Books, it's old now, but it's brilliant.

Ok hope you lovely peoples are having a great day, and have a great weekend planned

All my love (and goodness there is a lot of it) Meryl xx

Blog-ette

Today will only be a mini blog - or a blogette, which makes me think of baguettes, which makes me a little hungry.

I thought I would share with you some cool sites, places on the old internet I like to hang out - it is weird when people 'hang out' on the internet.

Anyway here is a top five style list

1. www.bakerella.com - not only does she make the most amazing things, she has stuff on there that even a baking idiot (like myself) can handle. A lot of you will recognize the chocolate truffles that I bring everytime I am supposed to contribute to a pot luck.
Ironically last night I was watching America's Next Top Model with the girls and Jen and Michelle launched into some proper baking trash talk. They were all like 'you think you know about apple pie with crumbly top but you have no idea' it was way better than regular trash talk

2. www.cakewrecks.com - Hilarious cake mistakes, and every Sunday they switch it up and show the most beautiful cakes I've ever seen

3. www.failblog.org - There is nothing funnier than people falling over, or signs that don't make sense...if you are looking for a giggle check it out.

4. www.google.com - So yes, it is an obvious one, but what can't google do. I need a definition, a correct spelling, a picture or even a website, google has it going on. The also provide the advertisements down the side of my blog, and I've mentioned numerous times how much they amuse me. My only gripe with google is that it has become a conversation stopper, people no longer debate and compromise on topics of discussion. Everything seems to end with 'let's google it'

5. www.bbc.co.uk/news - This is actually my homepage. It's hugely useful to have the news up when I open up my internet browser as it gives me ideas for my blog. The site also has a section called 'in pictures' which has some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. The BBC site links out to their radio stations, TV channels, sports and a hundred other things so it's a great place to check out whats on the up and coming in terms of new shows etc. It keeps me on my toes in terms of script writing, one day maybe I'll be on the website.

This list could go on forever, but I think essentially the rest are on the top ten sites visited in the world. Sites like Perezhilton, Lainey gossip, facebook etc. My only other internet surfing tends to be reading peoples blogs and I'm lucky enough to have very talented friends whose writing makes me laugh and keeps me up to date with what they are doing.

If you have any suggestions of websites you really like please leave them in the comments, I'm always looking for fun new places with interesting articles or artwork! Or if you have a friend with a great blog, leave that for me to, wow I've become demanding, I didn't even say please. That's just how I roll yo, - lol

Ok must dash, love to all of you...hugs and kisses meryl x

Bric-A-Brac Blog

So yes, this blog entry will be a little bric-a-brac as I have a lot of things to say and not very much to say about any of them.

First up, Perez Hilton stole my article from last week... So he obviously didn't, but 'Perez Hilton used the same clip as me' doesn't have the same ring to it. It seems the 'queen of media' also liked the robot who folded towels and put it up on his website, way after me might I add. This must mean my blog will be swept up like a hurricane and I will be an overnight success, I literally cannot wait.

Second on the list...iSpecs, so yes right now it is just talk, but my inner nerd got all revved up by the idea that apple will be releasing 3D glasses. I like 3D way more than is normal, I really wanted to be cynical about it, and talk about how it was just a fad,  but Avatar couldn't have utilized the technology better and now I love it. Part of going to the movies is being completely swept away by someone else's story, it is a small escape from reality, and a short period of time when your emotions are not guided by you, but by the directors and actors whose craft it is to story tell. Add a further element of surrounding you with the film, making you feel like you are physically part of the action and it's pretty spectacular. Now that Apple have decided to make the iSpecs and become part of bringing 3D into the home, I am very excited to get my hands on a pair. All I need now is for Doctor Who to Broadcast in 3D and my head can explode allowing me to die at a moment of true happiness, only to be buried in my barely used iSpecs.

Third, I overdid it at the gym yesterday and now my abs hurt, to add insult to injury I have also developed a small cough. This means everytime I cough my abs cramp up, and it hurts so much I giggle. This continues to hurt my abs and is also hurting my reputation at work, I'm starting to look like standard street crazy.

Finally, I really really want to go to Lollapolooza this year, the line up is incredible, and it would be so, so much fun. Obviously I have no money, and I don't seem to know anyone who lives in Chicago, but if you do, go to this website and book yourself a ticket, you will not regret it, it's going to be massive!

http://www.lollapalooza.com/

If you want to, you can book me a ticket too, some people don't like to accept 'charity' but I'm all for it, can't get enough free stuff to be honest. Oh well looks like it will be a summer in the T dot for me, fun will just have to be had here in the city.

Hope you are all well

meryl xx

PS: Click here to see Perez's take on the towel robot

http://perezhilton.com/2010-04-14-inefficient-awesome

You spin me right round baby right round.

If you like the feeling of your internal organs trying their very best to burst out through your skin then you'd probably love spinning.  Or perhaps you like to pedal really fast without worrying about cars, either way it is a mad thing to do. Knowing it would be a room full of sweaty people,riding bicycles that aren't about to go anywhere, with the lights off, I still found myself getting ready for 50 minutes of agony at adrenaline gym on a Monday night.

I'm a convert, seriously, I hated it so much I actually kind of loved it. Spinning is a cardio workout fueled by crack, and it made my heart beat faster than a twilight fan bumping into Robert Pattinson in a moonlit medow. I haven't been in the gym for a long time anyway, and I thought seeing as I've gone all sugar cleanse-y I should start getting fit and healthy too.

It is day two of my sugar cleanse and it's going well, I have a bit of a headache but in general I'm feeling pretty energized. I went home yesterday and there was a massive cheese cake that my roommate made. I know this sounds mental but I think it actually winked at me, it gave me the 'you know you want a little bit of me' wink and it took all my willpower to eat a tuna salad instead. I just pretended it was cheese cake, which obviously didn't work, primarily because it was in fact a tuna salad.

So it is important to eat healthy and exercise, my only gripe is that it is very expensive to do both. I am starting to feel as if the government is making it harder to eat good food. What this has lead to me doing is measuring things in alcohol. It is a terrible habit I've picked up, but it is essentially when the price of something only has meaning in relevance to the price of booze. To give you an example, a membership at the gym is going to be 40 dollars a month, which is equivalent to a large bottle of Canadian Club or four bottles of cheap wine.
It's not that I'm an alcoholic, although I do like a drink. It's just that we are very frivolous when it comes to buying copious amounts of booze on a weekend, and it helps me put into perspective how little an amount it is to spend going to the gym to improve my health.

I like to call it alcho-math. No I don't, it didn't have a name until just that moment. I'm actually on a role today, my co-worker Dave was talking to another co-worker Michael and in the middle of the conversation Dave said something along the lines of 'I know who you need to call'. Anyway, I immediately chimed in and asked 'is it ghostbusters?' followed of course by singing the ghostbusters theme tune. yeah that's comedy gold that is. Well, comedy silver at least

Hare Krishna to all of you xxxx

Sugary Sweet

So today I have started at 21 day sugar cleanse, I'm trying to get my insulin back in whack. I love sweet things, with my whole heart. If stealing candy from babies didn't have the negative connotations it's known for, I'd be doing it left right and centre. Well until today.

It's actually going fine so far, I'm not craving anything sweet as yet. I have always found if I have a, low sugar/high protein breakfast and lunch I get less tired in the afternoon, and unsurprisingly that's where I'm at right now. I do have a feeling that tomorrow I will start having daydreams of giant donuts you can sit on, and cookies that sail you across chocolate milk rivers, but if nothing else it will provide good blog material.

Today is also the birthday of my very own roommate.  Happy Birthday Michael! Although that is a waste of time as he refuses to read my blog point blank. He says listening to me is a constant blog so he doesn't have the energy to read the internet version....as you can see we are very close.

No I'm just kidding I absolutely adore him, and deep (deep) down I know he loves me too. I hope this year brings him success, happiness and lots of money, like lots and lots of it.  His birthday being today means not only did we go out last night and get smashed, but Kate is in town. Kate is about to become a nurse, which is super useful if I get sick. She is also wicked funny, and due to popular demand is starting a website with some of the quips she usually saves for facebook. I will post the link as soon as it is up and running.

I just realized how ironic it is that I pledged this blog over to chocolate related news and now I'm not even allowed to eat any! I guess me not eating chocolate is some sort of news....some sort of news? news about chocolate?..I'm sensing this could be considered a paragraph containing chocolate news. Look at that... ever the journalist.

xxxx

It only ends once....

So Lost is continuing to blow my mind, and today I went on a forum to see what other people are saying about it, and it's good to know there are even bigger losers than myself out there.

Now I'm a devotee. I've been watching lost since the beginning and am more than happy to stick with it until the end, and as Jacob continues to say, it only ends once. I'm also a bit of a non-lost sympathizer because I get how completely ridiculous the series must seem if you just started tuning in now. I do however think it is one of those shows that is worth the effort. Lost is a show you've got to put work and thought into, not only do they slip in a hundred million references to past episodes, they lay traps for you to fall into making you second-guess every guess you actually make. It's fun really, to take a stab at what you think will happen and watch it crumble once the new episode is released.

Series 4 and 5 of Lost were a slight let down, still excellent but a little frustrating. I think for a second people were unsure if the writers knew where they were going, but this latest series has more than made up for it. It is as if the entire six series were planned at the start, and there have been more twists and turns than a helter-skelter on Blackpool beach. The writing has been fierce, and the storyline immense, but there is this overshadowing worry that it may all go nowhere. What is so great about Lost is that you feel as if you are on the verge of understanding everything. You put all the stuff you don't understand in a box and trust that eventually every one of those items will become a 'kick-yourself' clue to the final conclusion. This does however mean that if the final reveal is not satisfactory it's going to be a let-down of gargantuan measure.

I don't really want to go into too much detail, as people get pretty upset about spoilers if they haven't watched the episode. Plus I've got friends who are desperately trying to catch up to the current episodes before it all ends. I will say that side flashes are amazing, and this most recent episode about Desmond has got to be my favorite. Plus Charlie was back, which made my week, he was always my favorite. I really hope it keeps being amazing, but I guess we'll just have to see.

To jump into a completely different topic, I went to see the Ryerson Fashion Show last night. Or the 'Mass Exodus: In Bloom' as they've named it this year. It was good, it was actually really good, the clothes were beautiful and the music was awesome. There is another show tonight and tomorrow, and I would recommend it highly to anyone that didn't get their fix during Toronto's LG Fashion Week. 

I also got completely soaked because in a Noah's ark type fashion it hasn't stopped raining all bloody day. It rained all day yesterday as well and I certainly didn't look as fashion savy as I had hoped when I arrived at the show. Maybe I will go all winnie-the-pooh on the situation and float my way home on an upside down umbrella.

Hugs and Kisses

Meryl xx

Techno Blog

Let me start this post by telling you that yesterday I saw an old woman feeding chesezies to a squirrel, and he was absolutely loving it, running up his tree and down again to get more. Who knew squirrels were so into chips? (or crisps) maybe there is a whole seedy underground crisp scene in the squirrel world, it would explain why most of the squirrels in the city look like they are on crack.

I was actually walking with my friend Grace back to her car when we saw the woman in question, she was in one of those wheelchairs for old people that are actually more similar to a go kart. All I'm saying is, if I saw one parked on the street I would be tempted to hotwire it and take it for a spin. Don't kid yourself, you'd want to as well.  It's funny because when she saw us, she hid the packet away, like she was doing something wrong. Hmm am going to keep my eye on all old people, have a sneaking suspicion they are up to something.

I am concerned that my blog had become a little too squirrel-centric, so thought I would change the subject to technology. The nice thing about this topic is that people seem pretty passionate about where they stand on new technology. Some people (like myself) are very excited by new technology, see everything as progression and find robots 'wicked cool'. Others are of the 'technology is eating our brains' camp and of course many people's opinions lie in between.

In terms of robots, today I got excited because of a clip I saw about a Robot that can fold towels, I am going to link to it in this blog. Now I realize that the problems encountered in I-Robot were not of the towel folding variety but I am definitely getting a 'this is the beginning of it all' feeling when I watch this clip.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8607538.stm

Although the robot folds the towels in a very mechanical way, the way s/he smooths them out before stacking them feels very human. It is amazing to think it was all the way back in 1495 that Leonard De Vinci very first designed a robot refering to it as a humanoid automaton, and here we are today with China bringing out a robot that can break dance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8383992.stm

It just feels like with the exponential speed that technology is changing in the next ten years things are going to go bonkers. Maybe I'll be blogging  inside my new space-house, from my space-computer operated by a space robot. Yeah but again maybe I won't. I do know that by then I will have an iPad. They are seriously cool, I tried really hard to avoid the hype, but I had a go on one, and in all seriousness, it's amazing. I even found myself cradling it in my arm like a new born baby, and they probably make an app for just that anyway.

I do like old school technology too, when I was on holiday I saw a guy selling plastic flowers that dance when you turn music on and if that doesn't make you smile then perhaps you are in the presence of a dementor who has sucked all the happiness from you, or your life is just devoid of sunshine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr3eDTRCSxQ

Love and hugs to all.

Tinkerbell

About a year ago, me and my little sister came up with an idea for a children's book about fairies. It was brilliant. We had fire fairies that lived inside light bulbs, and snowdrop fairies that encouraged clouds to burst into fluffy balls of white. We even had mini fairies that were born inside the eyes of tiny babies giving them that twinkle they always seem to have - well that one actually sounds a bit creapy, but anyway, long story short we started illustrating it. My little sister would sit for hours drawing potential fairies, and I would come up with story lines and new types of fairies and where they lived.

Slowly but surely we came up with a bunch of story lines and a plethora of fairies, with the tooth fairy being a centralized character among the others. Little did we know, someone, somewhere inside the Disney empire was doing exactly the same thing, and before we knew it Disney Fairies was born. Now don't get me wrong, people have the same ideas all the time, and Disney kind of have a monopoly on Fairies after Tinkerbell became their mascot. However there are a tonne of similarities between their story and ours.

It's strange, I much preferred Tinkerbell back when she was a bit of a bitch. Trying to keep Wendy and Peter Pan apart, commandeering the thimble she gave him, not to mention trying to get the lost boys to shoot her to death. Then she seemed sassy and strong willed, now she just seems a bit of a moron. I literally watched her on the screen at the Disney Store in Covent Garden try and get out of a bottle for five minutes, and she wasn't even caught fully inside of it. She also fell off a branch, and got stuck in a spider web. I don't remember these being difficulties for her when she was fighting pirates and mermaids in neverland.

Fairies are such a cool part of childhood, they have wings and live in flowers and dance in the moonlight. A little bit of me still wonders if I was offered the chance to live in a massive flower if I'd say yes....what am I talking, about of course I would live in a massive flower if the chance arose. Who wouldn't? A bee maybe...no one likes to bring their work home with them.

Anyway, fairies are mythical and magical and all that, but I must turn my attention to something more reality based. My mum sent me another article she found in the Times. It is some woman complaining about Cadbury's being bought out by Kraft, I like it because she has taken the issue very seriously, she even brings up Nestle's choice to move production of Smarties from York to Germany claiming 'Smarties never tasted the same'. Ironically Nestle's biggest country of production is Canada, who knew right? I'm going to keep an eye out for a smarties factory I don't think I've ever seen one.  Anyway, I never fail to find people getting worked up about ridiculousness funny, and this article is a great example. The fact it came out the same day the UK prime minister announced an election date just helps to demonstrate one really shouldn't sweat the small stuff.

And that's chocolate news, I've been Meryl Goodnight.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/janice_turner/article7086092.ece

BFG and DW - its acronym city

So I casually referenced the BFG in my last post and had a bunch of people leave me messages wondering, to quote 'what the hell' I was talking about.

I can't believe there are people who haven't seen the BFG, it is such a Disney classic I just assumed it was part of everyone's childhood. It's a great film and I highly recommend you go watch it, it was made back in the day when all the cartoons were still hand drawn, so it has a really magical quality to it. If you do want to see it, without me ruining the end stop reading here, I guess even though the film was made in 1989 I should add a spoiler warning.

So BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant, and is based on a book by Roald Dahl. Just like The Witches, Dahl's books are a little scary and don't shy away from talking about evil which isn't something you see see often in the children's book genre. The BFG starts with the friendly giant walking the streets of London piping good dreams into little children's bedrooms.  Unfortunatly one little girl called Sophie is watching him, and when he sees her, he grabs her out her bedroom and takes her with him back to the land of giants.

Frighteningly, the land of Giants is full of these evil monsters who want nothing more than to eat human children, Roald Dalh gave them great names like bloodbottler. The BFG is the only good giant and eats cucumber-like things as part of his vegitarian diet. These are called snozzcumbers - starting to see the logic of my last post are you now?

Anyway long story short, all the BFG wants to do catch good dreams for little children and bottle away bad dreams that cause nightmares. With the help of Sophie, and rather weirdly the Queen of England, they manage to recruit the RAF to come to the land of the giants, tie up the children eating monsters, and give the BFG a job in the palace.

It's bizarrely sweet, magical and a little scary and I would highly recommend it. I'm actually tempted to go watch it again right now....but I can't.

Why? You ask - Because the brand spanking new, been waiting for it for weeks, Doctor Who is on the tele-box. I am going to watch it and I will let you know how it goes.

Wow, it was really good, really really good. It's always so weird when they change the doctor. David Tenant was so brilliant in the role, I was convinced I wouldn't be able to accept the change to Matt Smith. But he's great, he's really funny, and makes you honestly believe that this is the same man, with a different face. Yet different, that's whats amazing, he manages to maintain being the doctor while bringing a whole new, very comedic attitude to the role. I really like him.
I like Karren Gillan too, she plays Amy Pond. I always get a small amount of companion envy, I can't seem to help it, it seems like it would be such a fun character to play, but she's really pretty and really sassy and I think the two of them are going to be a great comedy duo. Plus there is a new Tardis and my inner nerd thought that was pretty cool.

Ok enough, I realize there are only a select group of people out there who share my enthusiasm for Doctor Who, although 8 million people tuned in to see the episode so maybe I just need to spread my net further. 

For those of you who do care, I have three words for you...Green Sonic Screwdriver

Hells yeah

Meryl xxxx