Including the end of Revolution and an ear update

[lathany]

I'm on holiday for slightly over two weeks, so this seems an excellent time to catch up on my LJ stuff.

First the roleplaying that's been happening.

• Revolution - bateleur finished his mini-campaign on Saturday. This was his "local group" game (chrestomancy, floralaetifica, wildrogue, shadowjon and me) and involved weird character sheets that looked rather like children's "pretty pattern" colouring sheets. Our characters (or at least some of them) had magic powers gained by channelling aspects of powerful historical people and the background was multiple "worlds" (various NPCs kept telling us there was one world). We completed the game by meeting our aims - sealing off our little "oubliette" of the world, gaining control of the (sealed) portal, staying alive and we Evelyn also saved Piers from his controlling aspect.
• Meteor - I finally held the double party session - the seven characters finally met. After hearing descriptions of What Had Gone Wrong, they then helped a number of Gods take on and beat two of the eight Corrupted Ones. This was followed by an email chat session of sharing plot, angst and cat feeding. I enjoyed it - and it went pretty much as I hoped.

There have also been three films.

• Notes on a Scandal - I enjoyed this, even though the story is rather grim. Both Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett make for good viewing and I thought it was the right length for the concept (about an hour and a half).
• The Ghost - A Polanski starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. It was a atmospheric, intelligent, well-constructed film (a thriller without action sequences) with a disappointing ending. We debated alternative endings for some time and while we could improve on the one in the film, we failed to find a satisfying one that didn't require at least another hour to carry out.
• Closer - A four person film about swapping relationships which I found watchable, but didn't like very much. My chief criticism is one I feel about many "relationship" films - I failed to like any of the characters (although I had some mild sympathy for Natalie Portman's Alice). And I don't understand why Clive Owen was nominated for all sorts of awards, I didn't think it was that good a performance.

We've also been meeting up with people.

• Brockwood Hall - Many years ago there was BadgerCon and the venue was the place that my parents used to take chrestomancy and me for Christmas back when we both lived at home. We went back with both sets of the duo's grandparents last week. I don't propose to write a long review as bateleur already has. However, I enjoyed it greatly - particularly the meal at the hall and the train/waterfall day - and will probably return in another nine or so years.
• _alanna and al_fruitbat - Yesterday evening featured an enjoyable meal (goats cheese, tomato and spinach and asparagus starters, Coq au vin and cheesecakes in cocktail glasses), lovely wine and an entertaining conversation of films, books and computer games. I also got to admire _alanna's bump which I hadn't seen before (and won't remain a bump for much longer).
• Fryer's Delight - Just before I went on holiday, I met up with some former work colleagues for drinks and food. One of the them recommended the Fryer's Delight as the best fish and chip shop in London. On the plus side - the meal was cheap and I enjoyed it. On the minus side, the business has changed hands and it isn't nearly as good as it once was (or so he and various on-line reviewers say). Perhaps still worth a visit - although be warned there are no toilets on the premises.

Finally, an update on my hearing. I went back to the doctor, he looked at both ears and we talked through the options. On the good ear, the wax is softening and generally responding to the oil. However, the bad ear still has a huge build up of wax (we've treated both the same with oil so somewhat surprising). He agreed that there was a small chance that syringing would be dangerous, but said that was also true of micro-suction (he used to work in ENT). He also agreed that the hole in the drum should have cleared up, but it was impossible to tell with the wax there and if there was a chance it was still there then neither syringing or suction were suitable anyway. What I agreed with him, given the progress the oil managed on the good ear, was to carry on with the oil, but if there was no further improvement I'd go back and he'd book me into ENT.

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

We went back with both sets of grandparents last week.

For the benefit of readers who don't already know, you might wish to clarify that you mean the twins' grandparents and not your own?

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Done.

[cuthbertcross.livejournal.com]

Cool On the ear front: that sounds like progress and if it doesnt sort with the oil, off to the nice ENT you go. Hope it all sorts without needing it though.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'm hoping it will quietly sort itself out too.

[quiet-dignitea.livejournal.com]

The Ghost - A Polanski starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan

That brings to mind an obscure movie that's very good — <a="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091647/">Nomads. Pierce Brosnan plays an anthropologist who dies right away. He's still one of the main characters, he's just dead.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec - we've added it to our list. When it comes round, I'll let you know what I thought.

[almostalady.livejournal.com]

To pick up on a key point: aren't the martini-glass cheesecakes amazing??? *puddingasm*