Henceforth, this shall be my new motto! Yes, one of the many delights of having Lucy round for the past few days has been my attempt to convince her that it’s OK to eat three desserts if they are sufficiently different. I think it’s fair to say I failed 
Seriously though, we had a rather wonderful time since Monday, including a mass pilgrimage to Camden and a night trek along South Bank which Lucy can describe far better than I can. She did leave out my glorious attempt at cooking though: it was pizza, which was fine, except that it was slightly out of date, which was slightly less fine, and especially since the end result was grey. Grey and stringy. Yummy student life awaits!
Oh and I’m going to throw in a 
, because it’s my blog I can, she deserves it and I’m in a good mood! As with Lucy, though, I have slightly lost track of time now. The first week of the Easter holidays has almost passed 
but it’s OK, because there’s plenty more time to get everything done. Oh, and Andy’s coming next week, hurrah! I’m thinking that we should go to South Bank at night, after going with Lucy made me realise how I should have done it a lot earlier – and show off London more – rather than just pointing at my school.
Over at the Self home, the head of the household (mother, of course… 
) has fractured her wrist 
which is now in a cast. Whilst ice skating, I believe, which I guess is something. Cause y’know, at least it’s exciting, and therefore gives you some kudos. So, why not be the first to comment this official ‘get well soon’ post? (Because it’s a cheap plot for comments, Dominic, and you know it. Still, be the first. The first! Or the second…)
And have been since Saturday. It’s just the feeling of waking up on Saturday and knowing that the holiday is finally finally finally here. Not to mention Doctor Who is back and ooh wasn’t it good? Isn’t Martha wonderful? Of course, one of the (many) joys that Who brings is not just the programme itself, but the fannish enthusiasm. The old forum haunt at Outpost Gallifrey brought me much joy today with the following ethical question:
Should the Doctor have done more to defend the Plasmavore? OK – she was a murderer who was prepared to wipe out half the earth. However she was fighting for her life and the Judoon were not a legitimate police force but a hired mercenary gang out to impose a ruthless form of capital punishment. And this Princess may have been part of a ruthless Autocracy denying the people basic rights and freedoms.
(All credit to ‘sparacus’ for the question. The answer, incidentally, is no he shouldn’t have. Obviously. Made me laugh though.)
- I’ve practically lost my voice
- Buttt… I’ve just printed final copies of my English and Maths coursework for this year! Double hurrah with sugar and spice and all things nice! (Though don’t use ‘nice’ in your coursework cause you’ll be shouted at.)
- Tomorrow is the final day of school before the Easter holidays! And I’m actually going to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight. Isn’t that swell?
- Daryl, who I respect immensely, e-mailed to say “I am very impressed with the level of discourse on your web pages”. Is it bad that I immediately scanned it several times for sarcasm?
- The Apprentice! Triple yay with bells and whistles! Hehe every Wednesday night is now a guaranteed well of deep amusement and joy.
- Never over-use exclamation marks! They make you look silly.
And then it’s the Easter holidays which I’m really looking forward to. Firstly as a rest from the constant late bedtimes and deluge of work, and as a suitable breathing space to really work on my Individual Assignment for History. By the time this week is over I’ll also have handed in my coursework for English and Maths: another two boxes ticked off the list before the end of school. The proper end of school! I’m also excited about visits from Lucy and Andy, too!
Maybe over Easter I’ll be able to sit down and write properly about the issues facing our group at the moment, too. At the moment it’s all too immediate – and I can’t write anything without imagining how certain people will take it. (‘Issues’… ‘certain people’… sound all very mysterious? Hardly, I’m sure most people reading this know exactly what I’m talking about, but it deserves more attention then I single paragraph.) In case you were wondering, I’m still happy if a little stressed and worn down by it all.
In the meantime you can all read Robert’s blog instead – he’s back at it now, hurrah! And other piece of good news – next week sees the return of The Apprentice and, of course, Doctor Who! 
Finally, Quote of the Day will come to an end on Saturday, 31st March, making it one complete year of quotes. I’ve never really known if anyone reads them – aside from my mother, who seems to have integrated it into her daily routine, and Alex Trafford has mentioned them once or twice. I’ve enjoyed doing it, but think the time has come to end it and move on to something new. The archive will, of course, remain in place
Kanj Morph!
As teasingly hinted at last time, I want to introduce you to Popims Animator. It’s a curiously designed free application which seems to be good for only one thing: face morphing! A quick demonsration appears on the left. Yes, apologises for the overly-large file size and reliance on the cliché that Mr Kanj = Ross from Friends. You can see how you can have fun with this thing though
Stunning
Hopefully it is also regarded as being in the spirit of Red Nose Day. The undisputed champion of Red Nose Day at our school, of course, is Mr Taylor, and this year was no exception. Alex Trafford has a better photo up, but I think Mr Taylor deserves the widest audience he can for his efforts Bravo!
I was also embarrassingly thrilled to have The Apprentice back, if only for Comic Relief. Of course, Piers Morgan had to be fired. It was just written in the stars. Sure, I happen to like Alastair Campbell and be slightly biased on this, but you simply cannot throw away an opportunity to fire Piers! It’s probably written in a bye-law somewhere. In the same way that I instantly recoiled in horror when Michael Winner turned up to their fair. (Update – it’s worth seeing Blair meeting Lauren Cooper too.)
Today (well, Saturday) was Emily’s very enjoyable birthday picnic in Queen’s Park. Featuring everything a picnic needs to be successful: bread, cheese, Pringles, cake, coke and… foam guns. Happy 14th birthday Emily! And since I’m in such a multimedia mood tonight, anyone care for a video of Saoirse leading a cheer for contraception? What’s that, you would? OK then!
Finally – I’ve made my final UCAS choices (Cambridge first choice, Birmingham insurance) after deciding I was really fed up with the whole application system. So I really have to pass my exams now
Oh, and! I’m rather touched by Alex’s comment on my last post that by mentioning planned posts in advance I’ll be building up “immense suspense” for my readers. So here you go then:
[voiceover]“Next time on The Musings of a Red Dalek! The family comes together for Mother’s Day, but will chaos ensue? Meanwhile, Dominic confronts a personal dilemma. And there’s disbelief at the Kings household when Andy wins a poetry prize. Followed by news & weather.”
[/voiceover]Happy Mother’s Day!
Rob Bell on Baby’s first blog: “Congratulations! Sounds like you are really enjoying the first few weeks which is great. Time flies!” Oct 13, 12:59
