Land of the mildly insane

Am I really the only one currently hooked on the latest series of Lark Rise to Candleford? If so then bear with me, for this week I must squee over the latest ep. ( SPOILERS obviously... )

And back onto pretty boys in Camelot. Because you can never have too much of them now can you. It seems that the Beeb's approach to the Merlin DVD boxsets is that each country gets its own set of exclusive interviews for series 1. With the result that new vids keep popping up as places like Germany and Japan release their boxsets of slashy goodness. Japan was the one keeping me amused recently. Firstly it had Colin revealing that Bradley was the first person he met, secondly it gave us a chance to be juvenile and giggle over the pictures of Colin being all grinny over his co-star nibbling on a banana. Yes I have the humour of a 2-year-old today, what of it? :)

ETA: Oooh, I knew there was something I'd forgotten! Here be pictures of John Barrowman on Desperate Housewives. Apparently he was told not to dye his hair in preparation for the role, and I have to say I love how he looks in this; slightly peppered hair, lovely smile lines around the eyes, I hope he realises that actually he does seem to be one of those lucky folks who will age very very well.

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Quite a few folks at work are leaving and so the week nights have been filled with farewell dinners and glasses of wine. The weekends have also been filled with various friends coming down to visit and help me inhale most of season 1 of Glee and partake of more Seth Lakeman appreciation (they did a gig here recently). Yes mine is a hard life.

Passing on a few bits and bobs that particularly made me smile over the past fortnight.

x. Sarah Jane Adventures renewed for 2 more series - YAY! The third series of this was firmly back on track and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Clyde and Luke as their friendship is a joy to behold.
x. Old Spice Ad: 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' - I've never seen this before and it took me several minutes to stop laughing once I had. Found because someone had done a Merlin version of the same ad, but I have to admit the original is still my favourite.
x. John Barrowman in talks to appear in Season 2 of Glee - I do not have sufficient words to express how brilliantly fantastically wonderful this would be if it comes to pass. Barrowman singing in true Glee style, he'd be awesome :)

Eeee! Yes I am stupidly easy to distract and entertain; this will interest no-one but those with a soft spot for Colin Morgan.

Behold! a short little article about the 'You're A Star' auditions held in Belfast in 2002 where youngsters sang for a place in the next round.

It is only a throwaway line at the end, but if it is indeed the same Colin Morgan from Armagh then that surely has got to be one of the most darling and prophetic quotes I've read in a while :)

Greetings one and all. Hope you've all had a great Christmas and New Year's :)

I'm sure most have already seen this, but if not then let me flag it up.

AfterElton.com are currently holding a simple poll of 'Who is the Gay/Bisexual Man of the Decade?' It runs until midnight tonight, and at the moment the two front-runners are Neil Patrick Harris and John Barrowman.

A poll surely is just a poll, but no, not where these two are concerned. It seems to have turned into a twitter battle of epic proportions, in a good way in that the support for both men has been tremendous and includes many incredibly well-known names. It's worth reading the AfterElton post just to see what madness has been created over the past few hours.

Also, if you're so inclined, you could, you know go ahead and cast a vote yourself :)

F**king hell almighty.

I am aware this will make sense to no-one unless they have also been a fan of The Thick of It and like me thoroughly enjoying the current series. And in particular Malcolm Tucker. I was recently mildly crushed to find out that there was no Jamie MacDonald this time round, but having just seen the latest ep I have to admit I can see why the pitbull had to be kept at home.

( Cut for ep spoilers, because was there one hell of a cliffhanger... )

Apologies for the spam. You. Yes you fair folks of the Merlin cast. Can't you learn to pace yourselves just a little, for my sake at least, it's not that death by squee is a particularly bad way to go but, you know, death.

It seems that the adorkability of A Night Less Ordinary and the priceless Children in Need sketch wasn't enough. Oh no. In the space of 24 hours they have added:
x. Merlin Behind The Magic BAFTA Event - in which there were photos, more photos, vids of Bradley and Katie sword-fighting, and just smallest insignifcant piece of news that apparently series 3 of Merlin has been confirmed. MY HEART! *clutches chest*
x. When Bradley said he'd spent 3 days driving in Wales, he failed to mention that said road trip had been with Colin Morgan. And that they'd been filmed. And that the result was a 30 min programme called The Real Merlin and Arthur, due to be shown next week on BBC Wales. Colin and Bradley. On a roadtrip. Investigating Arthur and Merlin. ♥♥♥

Ah, there has been much squee in my life recently, there has been Horbling, weddings, La Cage aux Folles, TV. The only exception has been my beloved The Thick of It which recently confirmed that there will be no Jamie this series. No, whhhhhhhhhhhy?!! *sobs*

But! That aside, life is being pretty decent right now, I'm trying not to notice too much in case it thinks it has to make up for lost time...

Anyway, something for the Merlin fans, and in particular anyone who's fond of Colin and Bradley. There's a scheme running (A Night Less Ordinary) which provides free theatre tickets to the under-26s. Bradley and Colin are amongst the most recent ambassadors and consequently were hauled in for individual interviews.

The results are priceless and just a little darling. Bradley's includes dating advice for theatre-loving lads or lasses, as well as the infamous David Bowie a la Labyrinth impersonation. Colin's includes his hopes for a Merlin blooper reel and whether or not spending large amounts of time in Wales means he can finally do a Welsh accent. ( Sticking the vids behind an LJ-cut so I can rewatch them at leisure... )

MWHAHAHAHA!!

When I last looked it was pretty tight between Pendragon and Black. This morning and a last minute surge of support meant Black was the one being carried out in the wooden box.

So here we are again. Two men enter, only one man leaves. It's the Instant Death aka Epic Showdown finale and we're down to Merlin or Arthur. Cast your vote now before the fat lady finally sings :)

Yep, still alive. Yep, life's still manic. Yes, I had noticed the lack of 'Merlin' this week and a;sdlkfjdf;lkjas YES I AM NOT AMUSED. Anyway, because I am me I am of course investigating alcohol on the internet and came across the following gem from, apparently, Dr Jim Swan’s Tasting Notes:

Rich, warming creaminess and fudge toffee is overlaid with the tingling aroma of fresh clean spirit. Gradually these give way to vanilla with hints of banana and exotic fruits and even rose petals all lingering gently in the background.

In the mouth the fruits are more intense and intermingle with the vanilla and a rich creamy texture. When swallowed the combination of fresh cream and complex spirit produce a mysterious depth which is difficult to describe but encourages the next mouthful.

See that, rose petals, oh yes rose petals. The fact this drink is actually called "Merlyn" only makes it all the more perfect in my eyes. I am ordering a shot of that the next time I find myself north of the border :)

Despite appearances I am still alive. And quite frankly I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks in terms of shows since it is set to include the weekly double whammy of Supernatural (hello, Cas, hello, invasion of personal space) and the still utterly-fabulous-even-though-it's-rubbish-but-shuttup-I-still-love-it Merlin.

I watched the series 2 Merlin première with princess_s and I think my reaction is best summed up by her two comments: 1) "I'm sorry what?!' and 2) "This is like the best cracktastic comedy filmed ever."

My reaction to episode 2 is that we have definitely found the new star of the series: The slow-mo camera. Get used to it, I have a feeling it'll be around for a while. (Also: awwwwwwwwww!)

Yes, Merlin if was a modern teenage girl he'd still be in his room listening to Evanescence, I laugh at and adore the wardrobe department and their decision to shamelessly pimp out certain characters with new costume choices, I am oddly hopeful about Morgana and frankly it is a joy to have this show back on my TV on a weekly basis.

Finally, yes, I have been lured back in by all this talk of 'serious angel on angel violence' and am enjoying thoroughly the new season of Supernatural. Yes I am shamelessly watching pretty much entirely for Cas and the whole Groped By An Angel vibe. Merlin gave us canon unicorns, Supernatural gave us canon wings. Fandom is good right now :)