blamebrampton

I know what it's like. I remember a couple of years back, spending weeks thinking 'Surely no-one could be stupid enough to vote for Tony Abbott?'

But the tragedy is that yes, they could, and the predictable disaster was even worse than we'd imagined.

What we learned from this is to never underestimate the lack of thought people can put into their vote, nor the stunning duplicity some political figures will practice in the service of their own self interest.

And while it is tempting to just look at the plummeting pound and adjust shopping and travelling plans, all the while cackling ruefully at the Leave voters who have been all over the news saying 'But I thought it was just a protest! I didn't think it would happen!' we should all learn from today.

I'm looking at you, Australia and the US. Ignore lies, ignore comedy, look to the social and economic futures of your countries and make your vote count rationally. And when it comes to economics, don't listen to anyone's smug words; look at the records, look at the numbers, look to the IMF and World Bank and your respective Treasuries, who are boring and more conservative than I would like, but who know the value of infrastructure and education.

I can't even be funny about any of this today. I have never seen such an appalling case of the older generations fucking the future of the young out of fear, self-interest and ignorance.

And we're back! Brilliant opening with beautiful imagery (Sweden, you do this so well!) And a nice host banter intro complete with brief Petra pub chant. The hosts tell us that it's the first time China and the US have carried the telecast live, and all of us are left wondering just how people in small towns of both those countries are dealing with that, with the conclusion being that some will be stting there saying 'That Europe is a magical place of whimsy' and the rest saying, 'Kids, you are NEVER leaving home.'

And now it's time for a song from the hosts! Wherein they try to explain Eurovision 'We make music and friends with every nation, and bankrupt the hosting TV station!' It's classic Broadway, with more than a few stolen riffs (Mary Poppins, Sound of Music and Mame foremost) and a lot of comedy – 'And the interval act is their one big chance/ to fail to live up to Riverdance!' Well played, Sweden! Well remembered lyrics Petra and Mons!

Conchita is in the audience!

( And on with the songs )

Especially those in Brussels. I know that this is low on your priorities, but when you have a minute, if you could just drop a line to say if you're OK, it would be much appreciated. I know that from around the world, we are all thinking of you and holding you close in our thoughts.

I am not best pleased with the decline in the number of golden-voiced British men this year.

The Independent tweeted this link in a bid to raise spirits: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/alan-rickman-admits-editing-terrible-script-with-friends-in-pizza-hut-behind-backs-of-writers-on-10185726.html I find the whole scene so incredibly easy to imagine. Though I was never lucky enough to see Rickman perform live, I saw him talk about his performances at several pressers and Q&As and he was unfailingly delightful: courteous but sparky and not afraid to gently tell people that they were perhaps missing several essential points, such as writers being interested in words, actors being interested in writing, and women being people.

And, a fave Rickman moment on film:


While his Snape was unforgettable, his every performance was astonishing (admittedly the eyes very open variety in Robin Hood and Die Hard, but brilliantly mad in both) and his decency shone.

I know that we are all mortal, but it is more than a bit crap to see horrible people live seemingly forever while the talented and lovely ones go too soon.

2016 Book 2, The Noticeably Stouter QI Book of General Ignorance, read as a book, Christmas gift from Mr B

Edit: the lovely kayoko has reminded me that the main point of a book review is for the potential reader to discover whether or not they might enjoy the book. Which makes this one wholly useless (aside from the bunny anecdote) if you don't know what QI is. It's a British TV show hosted until now by Stephen Fry which looks at the 'facts' of the world and dissects them. For example, How Many Wives Did Henry VIII have? To which the classic answer is 6, but 2, 4 and 5 are also correct, since his 'marriage' to Anne of Cleves was very very tenuous, more of a flirty note, which would drop him back to 5. Or you could take out all the anullments, which would drop him back to 2. Or instead remove only the ones that had no lasting legal status, which would see Anne of Cleves off the hook again and Kathryn Howard's definitely out, poor wee muppet, which gives you 4, and leaves all the wives who produced heirs and the wonderful Katherine Parr who was married to him when he died.

The book is nearly 400 pages of such stuff, ranging across topics from natural history to technology, all treated with a pedantry that is in turns ridiculous and inspiring. Here ends the edit.

I very much enjoyed reading through this, but didn't learn a great deal. Which worries me. I know that, thanks to my job, my brain is filled with random crap, but I had hoped that in its darkest corners the technical details of sequences and series might still be lurking. Alas, it appears that of the familiarity of much of this material suggests that all ability to do maths is gone and that instead a pub's worth of trivia is taking up valuable space.

This is not to say it was a wasted read, even the stuff I knew was informative, engaging and at the very least, the sort of thing you feel very comfortable nodding and saying 'Yes, you see people just don't know that, but it's obvious once you do' to as you read. And there were new news! The paradoxical frog. I love it! And I did not know that Napoleon's greatest defeat was at the hands, sorry, paws of rabbits. Apparently he was invited to a shooting party. Wanting to make sure his honoured guests were successful bunny murderers, the owner of the country house ordered in thousands of rabbits. Hand-raised rabbits. Who thought Napoleon looked like the guy who fed them. And mugged him. That will never not be funny.

I had also forgotten that the first modern Olympics were held in Shropshire.

In all it was another great holiday book, easy, amusing and interesting. Will Keep in Loo for Guests.

Sometime very soon I need to post about my love for Bluestone 42. Which is epic.

The hd_erised poll is open! And I am failing at link insertion because my iPad hates me. It's here: http://hd-erised.livejournal.com/62396.html

I feel very confident of my one guess, though I've only read the first part of the story (too much to do!). I know one other, but no fair because I actually know it, and I read one other fic that has a familiar taste to it, but I couldn't place it (the first one posted, I think, where they are fake dating. Highly amusing!)

If you think you know which fic I wrote (and aren't one of the handful of people who know the answer), leave a guess here. First correct answer wins a prize! And I have no idea what that will be. Maybe an 'extra', or a postcard, or violet crumble. Right now I have no idea what I am having for breakfast and it's 11.37am. I have definitely used up my planning brain!

Looking forward to reveals because I REALLY want to talk about some of the process of writing that bugger. I have useful writing knowledge to impart.

And on an unrelated note, I had to bin my toughest gardening gloves yesterday. A thing you do in Australia that you don't do in saner countries is shake out shoes and feel glove fingers before putting them on. TWO fingers with random inclusions yesterday! Cockroach in one and spider in another. The cockroach was dead and not budging, and the spider was alive and gnashy. Since the gloves were not expensive and were aged, I wasn't going to argue over who won that one!

My second toughest gardening gloves and I had a rewarding afternoon pruning flowers and potting on tomatoes. Now for the herb repotting this afternoon before my promised week of rain!

Normally, at year's end, I have a lot to say on politics. This year, there is absolutely nothing I can say aside from HOW HAVE WE ALL FOUND OURSELVES SURROUNDED BY SUCH AN ENORMOUS PACK OF TITS?? Honourable exemption for Canada who cleverly voted for someone who is not only a major hottie, but who explained the dominance of women in the cabinet with 'Because it's 2015.' Well played, Canadians.

Moving on. The best things of 2015: Marriage equality in Ireland (well done, chaps! Fingers crossed Australia FINALLY follows you next year, this is getting ridiculous) and the US Supreme Court decision on the same issue. For anyone who doesn't see why it's such an issue, as the daughter of a lesbian I can tell you in great detail of the problems families have when they are not recognised by the state. These laws protect children as well as provide basic fairness for adults.

The Paris Agreement. Years later than it should have been and at the end of yet another year of weather records toppling, but a giant step forwards from the 'it's someone else's problem' that major governments have been trotting out for years. It's a problem for all of us. And if you know a rampant ideologue who insists the science still isn't settled or goes on about a fictitious "pause", then remind them that tens of thousands of people die annually of the pollutants spewed out by coal and oil, so the economic case for renewables is inarguable. Ask Shanghai, Milano and Delhi what price breathable air.

Unity in the face of stupidity. From the strength of Paris in the face of repeated attacks, to the generosity of so many nations across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas in welcoming refugees (fail for Australia again), to most Australians managing to get their heads around the link between misogyny and violence against women thanks to the sterling work of Rosie Batty and hundreds of women and men who work in the sector (and yet, Tony Abbott. Sigh.).

I built a garden. It's still a work in progress, but I have pomegranates ripening, ridiculous amounts of tomatoes, fiendish amounts of acanthus, a lemon myrtle that's reaching for the top of the deck roof, bamboo that's gone above it and enough mulberries to make me and a three year old very purple. I'd missed having this much sun, and have been enjoying shading it out with trees and giant grasses in enormous pots. Have yet another magnolia that I am going to put into the small back garden bed (SO MUCH PAVING) once I've dug up the remaining third of the archaelogical mess in there (everything from Edwardian tiles to building rubble found in the first two thirds).

Worst things were mostly death and illness. Far too much of both. I am not a fan. Biology is crap. Too many friends, then thoroughly decent famous people like Sir Terry Pratchett and Malcolm Fraser, and yet Dick Cheney is fine. If you needed any reason to see why people are atheists, you need look no further.

Work was poo. I clearly need to find new work.

I finished writing zero novels. I did finish one fanfic. Probably would have been a better idea to have done the reverse, but what the hell. Currently posting fest so there'll be a link later.

Read many books. I had forgotten how much I enjoy just sitting down and having a read. Watched two films at the cinema. The Martian was the better of them. Walked along the river a lot. Did not threaten Johnny Depp's dogs. Sorry, politics again. That's most of it, really. Cats good, Mr B brill, friends lovely. Front garden soil rock hard.

Here's to a glorious 2016 for everyone. May those who had a good year this year have a better one next, and may those who had a bloody awful one spend all of the next twelve months exclaiming, 'Oh, this is SO much better!'

A ticker just rolled across the bottom of the morning news: 'JK Rowling joins actors in defending casting of black Hermione.'

HOW is this even a thing? We know three things about the way Hermione looks: she has bushy brown hair, she has large front teeth to begin with, and she probably has an epic side-eye given how clever she is and how much stupid she has to deal with when it comes to things like pure blood privilege. None of that says 'must be white' to me.

Can we not focus on the important things, such as get the chap playing Ron some red hair dye asap and HOW CAN IT BE that they have case YET ANOTHER actor as Harry Potter without looking for bloody green eyes??!!

As expected, my flist greeted the casting news with: 'Cool, awesome actor!' Because we have all actually read the books. One day, news producers will take their ticker notes from informed and engaged people, rather than the loudest knobends on Facebook. Alas, this is not that day,

Last day at work for the year!

Magazines sent on time: all of them!

Stories nailed: lots!

Typos missed: very few!

Collleagues murdered: zero!

SUCCESS!!

Tell them we had a bloody tornado in Sydney today.

My home and work fine, Mr B decided to take shelter during his lunchbreak in a shopping centre that had a roof collapse, but it was comparatively minor.

Seriously, I am going to bite the kneecaps off the next politician that tells me coal is good for humanity.

Back to writing! SO CLOSE to finishing the current thing! Alas, five important things queued behind it …