Oh yes indeed

Wow! That was hilarious! Sadly, as is so often the case with Eddie Izzard, I can't actually regale you with specific examples of his jokes... it doesn't work like that.

Suffice it to say, that I was crying with laughter at points and occasionally had to be reminded to breathe. Only kidding - I did remember for myself... but only when my vision started to blur and fade at the edges. ;)

Time to laugh

Off to see Eddie Izzard tonight with an old friend (who organised the tickets - thanks, Chris). Can't wait! *8^D

Sad old gits playing sad old games

Just discovered that DOSBox has been updated and now has "basic 386 protected mode support" and also "a virtual modem to dial to TCP sockets" - this is a really brilliant project on SourceForge that provides a "proper" DOS emulation (for those of us not running MS-DOS... which is probably all of us) and thus a way for us sad old gits to play sad old games that we remember from our childhood/youth.

The concept of built-in virtual modem drivers to allow network play on these old games is fantastic! Just think - Wacky Wheels as it was meant to be played... with friends! Across the internet! :)

What a fab weekend!

We had a full house on both Saturday evening and Sunday lunch time - it's what weekends (and friends) are for!

It was also a great opportunity to be proud parents, and Ted didn't let us down. He was as good as gold and slept remarkably well considering he was still suffering with his first cold. Ah!

Of films and babies

Was supposed to go and see Calendar Girls last night (for the second time of trying) but due to Ted's cold, we didn't want to leave him with a babysitter (also, we didn't think it fair on the babysitter just in case he "kicked-off"). So that's "strike two" for the film so far... maybe we'll be seeing on rental instead!

The first time we tried, having dropped our son off with friends (our first evening out together without baby since the birth) we were standing in the queue when an announcement came over the tannoy that the showing [we were queueing for] had sold out. Bother! So, instead, we saw Finding Nemo - which was brilliant but in different ways, I imagine.

Given that we failed to make it to the cinema this time, and not wanting to break with tradition, we instead watched Enigma on the Sky movie channel last night. Again, very entertaining... again, in very different ways. I wasn't as gripped as I had been by the book (by Robert Harris - he's written some cracking books) but it was rather good, nonetheless.

Another week gone, huh?

Where does it all go? I did actually try and blog something the other day but it coincided with a server down-time... and I lost the entry :( Can't even remember wot it was about now, tho, so doubt it was important!

Out son has his first cold! Aah! Poor chappie is all snuffly and snotty - thankfully he is taking it pretty much in his stride and he only woke up unahppy once last night (thanks, Ted).

Interesting how attitudes persist... my wife, her folks and my folks when we told immediately said "Aaah! Poor fellow... wouldn't u swap places if u could and take on his cold?" Which is lovely, to be sure, but not something that ever occurred to me to wish for... besides, given that he's living with us, chances are we've already had or will get the cold for ourselves soon enough ;)

Re-read yesterday morning's posting

*Sheesh!* That sounds trite now. Ah well - put it down to a lack of sleep (been catching up while my wife is away with our son) and rest assured that such earnest topics will probably be the exception rather than the norm.

All work and no play...

...makes Jack a management consultant - I can't remember who said that, but bearing it in mind (and with my wife away with our son staying with her folks) I felt a need... I need for... a dire film (more on the DFC another time). A quick trip to the local Showcase supplied the necessary fodder: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Ah... nectar of the gods of dire films!

Critically speaking, this film spent far too much time on the action and not enough on the storyline. Being a minor-league comic book fan I have encountered Alan Moore's work, albeit not this particular one. Surely he must have put more plot in the graphic novel than could be found in the film? Ah well. Still enjoyed it immensely, mind :)

A number of things have been on my mind recently

Perhaps unsurprisingly, our new son (now 11 weeks) has taken a fair proportion of my attention. But also, my continued Bible studies have expanded horizons far beyond anything I expected when I attended an Alpha course just 12 months ago. The challenge here is one of balance; I could quite easily spend all of my time (or free time, rather, but that's a whole other juggling act given that I am quite attached to our house and need to pay the mortgage) on either pursuit, but I want to do both.

To those of you who have children - isn't it incredible just how much time can be spent simply gazing and watching them absorb the world around them? Ted is a joy. It took him a while to get the hang of eating - I was worried he wasn't my son for a while ;) - but he's definitely on top of things now and has grown at an astonishing rate. Last weighed at 10 weeks, he was the length of an average 17 week baby (and the weight of a 16 week one). Even a slight lactose intolerance didn't put him off his stride, although his new lactose-free "formula" has made meal times far more relaxed.

On the other hand... Since I came into faith just over 12 months ago things haven't stopped developing in that arena, either. Admittedly the nightly Bible reading has suffered while Ted settles into our routine (and we into his), but between helping with the Alpha course this time around at St Michaels and joining a Bible study group I find myself constantly wanting to learn and understand more.

Shouldn't complain, I guess. There are worse dilemmas with which to be saddled.

For those wondering...

...why I use "the pseudonym of Fafhrd", I can do no better than to point you to Lankhmar - The Fritz Leiber Home Page and merely point out that I read the various "Swords ..." anthologies as a child. They obviously left an impression.

Good morning and welcome

Of all the reasons to start blogging, I'm not sure that inadvertently messing around with the Google toolbar and seeing the "blog this" option is the greatest. But still...

Welcome to my blog. I can't guarantee frequency, regularity or even any noteworthy content in these postings - but they will be my thoughts, fwiw.

Enjoy.