The last one reached 52 pages.

Watching The Mist which was disappointing and I personally found the "twist" ending irritating. Reading Wolf's Honour which is a bit predictable but good solid 40K fun in the "classic" style.

Reading the latest National Geographic, which talks about the disastrous situation re. gorillas and people near Congo, plus an article about Bolivia.

When I was a kid, NG bored me, but I love it now--mostly because I realize I'm never going to go to most of the places it depicts.

Watching: Saw a historical documentary on Lord Baden Powell founding the scout movement earlier. Quite interesting. Though I suspect the fact that I'm a scout leader myself makes it more interesting to me than it would to you guys.

Listening: Disturbed have released a new album recently, and I bought it. Quite good. Track number one (indestructible) really makes me think of space marines in action...

Reading: The Wood Elf army book. I need to plan my new army...

All you gotta do is go buddy. The mate and cubs would love it too.

Mrs. Tiger doesn't like to go anywhere that doesn't have indoor plumbing. Her idea of an ideal vacation is a week at Disney World followed by a week in Germany. I can't even convince her to go to England, because she heard the food is bad.

Tigger Jr. is never going to go to South America because she's seen the size of the spiders there. The Littlest Cub wants to go with me to South America (and Australia, too) though, mostly because she *wants* to see huge, highly-venomous spiders in the wild.

Sheesh.

You know, I'd have a few things to say about that myself

Though I don't know much about WHFB, I been reading and re-reading the Ogre Kingdom army book that I picked up on a impulse awhile back. It's got a few good chuckles and I've been finding the background to the Ogres interesting; so much so that I have been pondering learning more about WHFB.

As far as the food in England: stay away from the eggs.

Yeah, lots of Brit food sucks but there's a ton of good stuff too. Trifle--mmm.

Next, there are tons of places that have been shown in the glossy pages of NG that also have indoor, flushable, private, clean toilets--ahh. Some places even have swimming pools...shopping malls as well.

All the places *I* wanna go *don't* have indoor plumbing. Who's up for hiking the Outback with me? Or a trip to Antarctica?

It gets even better than that Camby. Some places have heating as well

And I'm very sure that when I visited a larger city I found a place with air conditioning

Taking a break from the Dresden Files (wonderful brain candy) to read The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. It's the sequal to Old Man's War.

I'd go to the outback.

I want to go to Scotland right now, though. Finished Who Dies Fighting and am now working on Reavers, the final work of the late GM Fraser. It's zany, with deliberate anachronisms galore.

I never accept that, I gotta have my dreams.


Next summer I plan on taking a big trip as part of my transition to the civilian sector, just let me know when you want to go. Kenya, IIRC, has decent infrastructure and encourages eco-tourism. I haven't read the papers all week, but I think it's pretty stable, isn't it? Uganda is supposed to be pretty good now, as well, IIRC.


As for England, if bangers and mash don't do it for you, there's plenty of good take-away, just like in the US. Seriously, I had a lot of good food in England and Scotland. If all else fails , there's always the American Embassy, you know, the one with the Golden Arches.

A friend of mine is moving to Korea, now I have an opportuity to go there. It's "Texas-close" to China, Japan, Thailand, and Australia. Now I just need to make friends in South America, and fire a way to get the US Air Force or Coast Guard to get me to Antarctica. The Army won't send me there unless UBL shows of with Talibani penguins!

EDIT: Tigger's post got me distracted, but I am indulging on Gearheadapalooza on TV: Rides, Overhaulin', American Chopper, and Carrier. During the commercials, I watch this guy play guitar, these guys as well.

Reading: Feast For Crows
Watching: Nothing. Playing DDO, though...

GNOME

Just finished: Opening Atlantis by Harry Turtledove
Starting: The Killing Grounds by Graham McNeill (40k - Ultramarine novel)

I just re-read Feast for Crows last month. Excellent, and made me really eager for the next novel.

Watching: 4th season of the new Doctor Who, the two part season finale starts tomorrow in Britain and on the internet for those of us who don't want to wait for the sci-fi channel.

Listening: Last album I got was Hold On There, Youngster by Los Campesinos! A fun little dance/indie rock album by a septet from Cardiff, packed to the brim with witty lyrics.

Tigger: You need company to head to the South Pole, give me a call. I have no idea what it would ost of take, but Mt Terror and Mt. Erebus have fascinated me since reading "The Worst Journey In the World", Shackleton expedition.

The first bar I ever got into when I was underage was on Cape Cod. I didn't care about drinking, but it was the band I came to see. The bar is closed, the band broke up, but the memories live on.

I picked up the new Futurama movie and the first two series of Red Dwarf yesterday. The Beast With a Billion Backs, at first glance, is not that great -- I liked the first half, which had the return of Dr. Wernstrom, Kif Kroker and Stephen Hawking's cameo. Maybe the rest will grow on me. There are plenty of '50s movie references in the packaging.

Red Dwarf, on the other hand, is really kewl. I've seen these first two seasons, but there is a stunning amount of bonus material to sift through as well. I'm looking forward to it.

As tank mentioned there is plenty of "America" food in the UK. McD's, TGIFridays, Hard Rock Cafe just to name a few. Last time I went we ate at mostly local places but those three I mentioned were all hit up in our travels as well. We spent 10 days there in 2003. My wife picked the agenda for 8 of them. Then I got a day for Games Day UK and another for the Bovington Tank museum (though it happened to coincide with my wife wanting to go to StoneHenge which is relatively close).

As for the outback, I haven't been since 1992 but I'm game for going again.....when I can afford it.




I was disappointed with The Beast With a Billion Backs. Starts off strong and ends flat. Could be they are using it as the set up for the new episodes that will start on Comedy Central in the fall.

I haven't been to England or Scotland since 1990, and I never made it to Ireland. I hope to remedy that next year.

Stonehenge was impressive, but after seeing "This is Spinal Tap", it'll never be the same.

Red Dwarf IS awesome. One of my favourite comedues.

Watched the penultimate episode of Dr Who last night. Stump will be happy to know that it was fantastic (even better if you followed the spin off shows). I gotta wait for the finale on Saturday now...

Reading: DC comics are doing an event called Final Crisis. I'm on issue two, and enjoying it so far. It's not huge, but it's involving enough.

They brought back an old character in it though (my favourite of the old ones). I'm a little bit apprehensive, as theres so much space to annoy the older fans with him, but then again I'd like to see him done right, and DC have done a lot of good stuff recently, so I'm trying for 'cautious optimism' rather than apprehension.

Listening: My ipod is on random. Right now I'm listening to All Along, by the Offspring.

I have to admit, as a life-long reader of comic books and someone who remembers Crisis of Infinite Earths, I find myself not really caring about Final Crisis. Though I am reading it and hoping. I've pretty much concluded DC has really just lost its way.
New Avengers and Thor over at Marvel both totally rock, though New Avengers is completely tied up in the current Skrull Invasion cross-title story. The Skrull Invasion is interesting and I'm waiting to see where they take it. It could either be one of the best things Marvel has done in decades or totally fizzle.
And I am waiting with baited breath for Hellboy 2 and Dark Knight.

See I'm not expecting much from the invasion story arc. Civil war was bad enough for me.

Kudos to Marvel for shaking things up, but then if they'll just ret-con them right afterwards (a la Spiderman: One More Day) I'm not interested. I'd rather have my heroes fighting back to the way things were, as opposed to simply erasing character evolution after it's been introduced.

But then, I started out with Marvel comics. I've not been with DC long enough to be fully disillusioned by them yet

Skrull? The green guys in purple pajamas? ROM The Spaceknight fought their cousins the Wraith.

Watched Life After People on the History Channel over the weekend. Fascinating stuff.

Yeah, but it was the heroic Kree warrior, Mar-Vell, he really kicked their wrinkly butts. When he was killed off, I lost interest in comics. Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, the Titans, Eon, nothing else ever got my attention as much as this comic series did. Cosmic!

Oh they brought Mar-vell back during the civil war arc. I don't know if they're doing his stand alone comics yet, but they were going to...

Reading: Samurai: the Way of the Warrior by Turnbull, the Five Rings of Virtue and Hagekure, all mainly for research purposes.
Soul Drinker, again for giggles.
White Wolf by Gemmel, just coz Skilgannon is pure, unadalterated cool.
Starting to rework my way through the Ghosts
A handmaid's tale, because I like PD James
Berserk - awesome, but don't let kids or people with heart conditions read it
And Honoured Enemy, for a mix of research and coolness. Otherworldly samurai fighting druchii.... YAY!

Watching: Last bit of Dr Who of course (I'm bacckkkk!! Just goes to show, you can never get rid of us daleks)
Latest Battlestar Galactica again, even though they really annoyed me with the cliffhanger at the end
Firefly
Gundam Seed
Noir
Naruto
Full Metal Alchemist

Listening: Mostly the Pillows album I got last week

I want to visit China myself, but I seriously doubt I'd get the travel permits to go where I want. Or possibly Thailand or Japan again.

It must be said, most 'British' food that's decent is actually French, Chinese, Indian or Thai. That said, if you go to what I'd call a proper pub, as opposed to a bar so to speak, with a decent chef (more common than you think in the English/Scottish countryside), you can still get some nice traditional English roasts, pies and things.

If you ask for food in an Irish pub, they just look at you funny I've found. And the Welsh were intent on chasing me away for being too 'English'. My brother in law and I almost missed the rugby and all...

Ah yes, Welsh pubs, that brings back memories...

Funnily enough Davross, I'm working my way though 'The Swords of Night and Day' and completely agree on Skilgannon

Watching: I'm re-watching the first series of Battlestar Galactica. Having a great time with it, as I always do with this show. Impatiently waiting for the last episode of this series of Dr Who, and waiting for my copy of Battlestar Galactica: Razor to drop through my letterbox.

Listening to: Still got my ipod on random (I got lots of music). Right now the song is The Black Halo, by Kamelot.

Eating: A meat and potato pie. One of the finest forms of food on the planet

Finished The Reavers, and enjoyed it enough to go look up The Pyrates. I also reread an old classic of sci-fi, Asimov's Caves of Steel. I'm unsure, but I think it may have been the first SF to develop the idea of what 40K and Necromunda players call a hiveworld.

I've heard it argued that the Morloks underground cities were the first hives. But I think while Asimov invented the concept in fiction, it wasn't really properly developed until Gibson with Neuromancer and the like. Unless you count Lang's Metropolis. Old Fritzy was something of a visionary.

Gemmell passed away late last year so sadly no more books in the world of Druss the Legend. His last series was about the Trojan War (which his wife finished after his passing). Decent read.

Really!?! That's more than a little crappy. Damn...

I remember my good friend Mikes rant on the subject. He was very avidly reading the Trojan series, and was quite annoyed at the fact that it wasn't finished by Gemmell...

I love reading stories where real life is better than a Hollywood movie, 15 Hostages Freed in Colombia. Read the whole thing if you like to read about ingenious solutions to tight situations.

Watching American Chopper, always good for a laugh.

I haven't really been watching anything of great intrest lattly, but, I'm waiting for some dvds of Futurama, Bleach, and some awsome Japanese movies (japanese with english sub titales... I speak very, VEARY basic japanese) on them to arive... it's going to be great ! As for reading, I have started the Cain novels and have already read two out of five since begging summer vacation.

Emperor protect.

Catachin Devil signing off.

Are those Cain novels any good? A friend of mine keeps trying to get me ro read them...


Listening: I got a C.D. by a band called Coranatus today. I'm putting it on my ipod as we speak. It's a gothic metal band, with two femalle singers (and that description alone intrigued me enough to buy it).

Watching: I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail last night. Fantastic film.

Reading: I seem to hae readers block right now. I can't seem to get through any books at all. Which happens to be a good thing for my painting...

@ the chosen gobbo: The Cain novels are excelent. There about a comisare that does everything he can to stay out of combat yet always seems to get stuck in teh worst of the fighting, earning him an unwanted reputation for being a hero (which he most certainly is). There funny too, this sounds really out of place in 40k it pulls it off, also he has an Inquisiter for a girlfriend. It's like the perfect blend of awsome battles and humer.. I can't do the books justice like this, you really have to read them!

Also the Holy Grail is one of the best movies ever made!

Emperor protect.

Catachin Devil signing off.

The Cain books are a 40K-takeoff on the late GM Fraser's classic Flashman series, about an English coward who meets every major figure and fights in every major conflict of the Victorian Era, and beds every woman he meets along the way. It also contains a nod to Fraser's excellent McAuslan short stories in the form of Cain's smelly aide, Jurgen. The series isn't bad for GW fiction, and atypically funny. But if you like it, you have to read Fraser.

Currently reading The Wild Green Earth, yet another jungle memoir by a Brit. Just as quotable. I am finding ample fluff material for my jungle Guard. Example: "No patrol will report any country impenetrable until they have penetrated it." -- Orde Wingate

Hmm, an eternal coward with a smelly sidekick. Makes me think of Edmund Blackadder...

Watching: Just saw the last episode of the current Dr Who series. Fantastic stuff.

Say nothing. I'm taping it on BBC3 tonight.

We have had a whole housefull of people lately and the night of the 4th we all climbed up on our roof to watch fireworks. We got to see a good half-dozen finales from all the different shows going on around us. Pretty cool.

Re-reading The Things They Carried. I got to see Tim O'Brien recently and have been diving back into his stuff.

With my brother in town we've been playing a ton of games: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Jungle Speed, Giza, 40K, and Guitar Hero (from which my left middle figer is still numb at the tip).

Watched Enchanted with Mrs. Tiger and the Littlest Cub; also watched 27 Dresses with Mrs. Tiger. Of the two, I prefer Enchanted.

Reading Saving Beauty from the Beast, about how to protect teenage girls from abusive dating relationships. So far, no mention of parental use of firearms and disposal of bodies, but I'm hoping there will be some advice for that later on.

You know, we did go over 'the perfect murder' in my criminal forensics module at uni. Plus apparently, I'm the first or second scariest person known to most of my friends. You want tips on how to protect your daughters virtue without getting caught Raja, just drop me a line.

Hmm, the best way to get rid of ALL evidence is an acid bath. Dissolves everything. No body=no murder.

On the other hand, explaining why you have an acid bath around the house would be a feat within itself.

Which brings us onto the bonuses of having a storage space away from home...


Watching: Saw Kung Fu Panda last night. Most enjoyable, but not as good as most of the Disney/Pixar stuff I've seen.

Reading: I'm going to another BB tourney this weekend, so I'm reading through the ruleset now.

Actually, they have been able to recover dna markers from acid tainted samples, so if recovered soon enough, an acid bath wouldn't work. I've no idea how they did this ('central core samples', if that means anything), but it's been done. And even with full immersion, it takes a comparatively long time to dissolve something the size and mass of an adult human, so you're looking at a 2 - 6 day window of potential discovery. You need to add ammonia, to rip the bonds apart.

You guys know waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much about this stuff.

And to lurking law enforcement types: I was only joking!

I gathered. However, as you're outside the jurisdiction of my compatriots and I, I wouldn't worry on that front.

As for knowing too much, a) I'm a lawyer, I'm supposed to, and b] I did mention most of my friends consider me to be dowbright scary, right?