Dragon Age: Origins

Been replaying this fantastic game - such a rich stroyline, I can't get enough of it!
Well, I found a brilliant trailer on Youtube...




Enjoy!

Animal of the Day: The Binturong

The Binturong or Asian Bearcat. It is not actually a bear but belongs to the same family as the civet or genet.

Boy George vs Lady Gaga (Or People In Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones...)

Lady Gaga recently revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair that she occasionally uses cocaine. Not a clever thing to say, not a good message to send out to her fans, but she is a woman who sets out to shock - this is the kind of behaviour people have come to expect from her.

Now Boy George has lashed out at her for pretty much the reasons I have outlined above. But surely he isn't in much of a position to preach?

You might argue that as a recovering addict that Boy George is best informed to speak out about this subject. Then again, George was recently in the headlines after being found guilty of false imprisonment for chaining up a male escort. This is surely a greater crime than recreational drugs use?

I'm not saying that Lady Gaga hasn't done wrong - she has. Some of her fans are young and impressionable. But Boy Beorge is the last person to start throwing stones.

Geraldine 'Jerrie' Cobb

Since my last post was so very shallow, I felt the need to post something a little more highbrow. So here it is; I've chosen to write about one of my biggest heroes.

No, not Wonder Woman (who was my first hero, just as she was for many gay men), I'm talking about Geraldine 'Jerrie' Cobb. Haven't heard of her? Well shame on you!

Jerrie Cobb should have been the first woman in space.

Perhaps I should explain.
Jerrie was born in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1931. She learned to fly her daddie's 'plane at the age of 12. At 17 she had her private pilots license and was paying her way through school by dusting crops and teaching navigation. At 18 she recieved her commercial license, setting world altitude and speed records. She was a very talented pilot and her achievements brought her to the attention of NASA. She was recruited to become an astronaut trainee in 1959, the first woman to be selected for that role.

She helped NASA to select other candidates and they became known collectively as the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (or FLATs). Thirteen women completed the first round of training before NASA decided to pull the plug on their female astronaut training scheme. Jerrie and her team were denied the chance to fly any space missions.

Jerrie didn't let this setback get her down. She went on to set new world records for speed, distance and absolute altitude and has spent over 30 years performing missionary work in South America. In 1981 she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.

And that is why she is one of my biggest heroes; a woman who has rallied against her setbacks and come back stronger.

(The first woman who actually made it into space was the Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. In 1963 she spent 3 days in space, performing various tests on herself to see how the female body reacted to space flight. It was 19 years before another woman was selected for a space mission.)

My Top 5 Celebrity Crushes

Okay, I admit, I have a big ol' shallow side. Here are the five celebrities I find most drool-worthy.

1) Russell Tovey

(From left to right - Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow, Aiden Turner)

Russell Tovey is number one on my list of celebrity crushes. For those not in the know, he plays George Sands in the hit BBC3 show Being Human, the mild-mannered hospital porter who also happens to be a werewolf. He was also appeared on stage and film in film in The History Boys.

My ex recently met Russell and had his photo taken with him. Jealous, me? Well of course!

2) James Masters

Maybe it's the cheekbones. Maybe it's the bad boy vibe (he played Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Brainiac in Smallville and Captain John Hart in Torchwood). Or maybe it's the body.

James Masters pips his Buffy/Angel co-star to the number two spot...

3) David Boreanaz

Oh Angel! I feel a little guilty for relegating you to number three. It has nothing to do with your recent alleged infidelities or your appearance in a Dido video. You have been a real hottie in Buffy, Angel and Bones, always eager to show off your butt, and for that I salute you. But someone has to take third place, which has got to be better than not making the list at all, right? Right.

4) Ben Browder

Ben Browder, star of Farscape (Muppets in Space!) and Stargate SG-1, a vision in leather...

And he is 47 years old. Forty-seven!

I must confess to a certain attraction to his co-star Claudia Black as well - those two are the best case for bisexuality I have ever seen.

5) So I'm cheating here - Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki

The Winchester brothers from horror series Supernatural - I couldn't have one without the other (fnar!).

There should be some honorable mentions for those who didn't make it onto this list. Johnny Depp of course, Lawrence Dallaglio (got to love a rugby player), Nicholas Brendon, Brendan Frasier... too many to mention.

Proposition 8 Overturned!

Just seen the good news - Proposition 8 has been overturned!
Let's hear it for equality!

The Earth's Library - now on Amazon.co.uk

The Earth's Library - A Multidimensional Healing System (otherwise known as the book wot I illustrated) is now on sale at Amazon.co.uk.
Find it here.
I thank you.

Get Your Own House In Order

So Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is upset that his country has voted to allow same sex civil partnerships, the first Latin American country to do so.

Apparently he considers it 'a destructive pretension against the plan of God.'
'We are not talking about a mere bill but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.'

It occurs to me that the Catholic Church should get its own house in order. With the pope covering up incidences of child abuse, Bergoglio's homophobic attacks become much more than hypocritical. Perhaps the rights of same-sex couples in adult, consensual relationships aren't a cause for such concern after all?

Holiday in Cyprus

I'm fresh back from a holiday in Cyprus. The country is beautiful. I've been to Turkey, the hubby has been to Greece, both arid countries. Neither is as green as Cyprus. Wildflowers had bloomed across the mountains, a glorious display of colour.

And perhaps I was most excited by the lizards. They were everywhere! I spent many happy hours following them around with my camera.


This fella on the left is an agama (laudakia stellio cypriaca) that we found in the Troodos Mountains. He was only a few feet away from the path, bobbing his head in a warning display. At one point he fled up a tree, only to climb back down and threaten me some more.






There were many smaller specimens outside our villa. The colouration was slightly different, but I have done a little research and it seems that the juveniles of the species do have darker bands of colour.









There were a couple of other species on the island. The troodos lizard (phoenicolacerta troodica) was the most plentiful, a slender, quick-moving lizard that often ran across the path before us.


We weren't lucky enough to see any of the native species of snake (something my husband was very grateful for). Perhaps next time.





One of the biggest highlights of the trip was our days in the Troodos Mountains. At one point we were some 1,952 meters above sea level, passing through the clouds to reach the summit of Mt. Olympus. Our ears were popping due to the change in air pressure. The temperature dropped from a balmy 18 degrees at the coast to just 4 degrees at the summit!




The densely-forested mountains were beautiful, every turn in the road revealing another jaw-dropping vista.

Begging Kitties

The kitties are usually a bit more vocal than this. Guess they got camera shy...

Being Human Series 2 - Viral Ad Campaign

Loving the new series of Being Human.
There is a new viral ad campaign (which you can see here). It features The Centre for the Study of Supernatural Activity, shaping up to be one of the big bads of season 2.
If you haven't seen it already, check it out!

The Bigotry of Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is a successful author of science fiction and fantasy novels, genres I enjoy immensely, but you won't find me reading his books. And this is why.

Card is a bigot of the first order. He claims not to be a homophobe, but I think his words and deeds speak for themselves.

For a start, he claims that homosexuality is an acquired characteristic linked to childhood abuse or molestation. Well, I'm sure I'd remember. I find this argument insulting to say the least. Sexuality is not a matter of choice and to say that all homosexuals have been abused is just ridiculous.

He claims same-sex marriages are unnecessary as "any homosexual man who can persuade a woman to take him as her husband can avail himself of all the rights of husbandhood under the law." So I should make marriage a farce by marrying someone I do not love and have no sexual interest in? As Card is on the board of directors of the National Organisation for Marriage, you'd think he had a better view of marriage. But then this organisation seems to have less interest in preserving the purity of marriage and more to do with preventing same-sex couples claiming the same rights.

He also states that "laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society." So my "aberrant behaviour" makes me unacceptable within society?
Homophobia is well named, although I honestly cannot see what he is so frightened of...

And Card is supporting the National Organisation for Marriage with funding from his work. Not just his novels, from the Marvel comics adaptions and from the recent video game The Shadow Complex. Essentially, he is funding protests against the "potentially devastating social experiment" that is same-sex marriage.

So I won't buy his books or comics. I won't play the video games based on his works. And maybe I'll be missing out on some great fiction, but at least I won't be compromising my morals.

Jay and Liza

I got myself a new camera so have been chasing the cats around the house.
Jay is the flamepoint siamese, Liza the more usual siamese colouring.

Brett Hamilton-Forbes

My latest roleplaying character - Brett Hamilton-Forbes, a runaway from a wealthy family, now living as a rent boy. Fun, fun, fun!

Being Human

Anyone not seen Being Human? Season 2 will be airing soon on BBC Three - I can't wait!
Gotta love a series about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost in a house-share.
And... Russel Tovey! Rrrouwrrr! ;)

Tovey as the lovely George...



And here is Annie's chilling prequel...