Belated Happy New year and stuff...
Working my way through the 12 Days of Xmas stuff.

Open as usual for commissions & trades - note me to discuss

Requests at Artist's discretion - ask nicely and I will see if I have time.

I am way out of practice so I have decided to get some much needed drawing exercises in over the Holl's, I want to do 12 pieces (one for each day of Xmas).

So where is the free arts you wonder, I need characters to draw (I am concentrating on the drawing aspect rather than the creation), so if yo have a character or a 'sona you want a festive arts of comment below with links & preference for day If you have one.

Species is not an issue it'll be a challenge to adapt the carol to work around different characters.

Days of xmas to be filled: -

1[Partridge in a pear tree].
2[turtle doves].
3[French hens]. - Sval
4[Calling/Collie birds].
5[Gold rings].
6[Geese a-laying].
7[Swans swimming].
8[Maids milking].
9[Drummers drumming].
10[Pipers piping].
11[Lords a-leaping].
12[Ladies Dancing].

If people could pass this on to anyone they think would be interested, you would make me a happy bouncy Roo indeed .

[The terms and conditions bit: You are free to post/redistribute pieces that involve your character/fursona as you will as long as 1. You credit and link back to me (preferably the picture submission itself) 2. You do not use image for monetary gain on illegal/defamatory purposes]

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I am also open for commissions [link]

I'm opening for commissions: portrait or figure, no backgrounds (other than shading):

£3 pencil sketch &/or inked

£5 Color - Water color, color pencil or marker (be aware I have a limited range of shades in markers)

buyer pays postage.

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In other news You can now find me & my art here:

FurAffinity : [link]

Weasyl : [link]

So I finally got around to watching "Underworld: Awakening", and honestly I don't know why I bothered, it doesn't feel like it has been scripted and filmed by the same people, it was like watching a bad fan fiction written by someone who has only seen the trailers and the wiki page; the dialog was clunky and awkward, treating the audience like a child practically saying 'OK now this is the plot, got that? OK. Now enjoy these explosions'. there wasn't a sign of the franchise's previously under stated artful cinematography and minimal exposition based dialog. It completely ignored established organizations and entities from the other films opting to invent some baseless company for a convoluted 'twist' ending, an ending that shows the obvious assumption that they would get commissioned for another film, an assumption that in the face of this flogged dead horse is laughable.

I really wanted to like this film, I loved the first one and although the sequel was a little light on plot still had enough going for it that it is pleasantly re-watchable, "Rise of the Lycans" was a glorious return to form,  I had such high hopes when I heard they were shooting another Celine & Michal Underworld, but the doubt began to seep in when I saw the trailer, that which I had not guessed from the trailer I worked out from the first 20-30min in how it was going to end, not always a bad thing but the trite cliches and sappy crap they pulled makes me want to stab the person responsible in the eye with chopsticks.

The franchises under-riding theme in it's previous three incarnations has been romeo and Juliet with fangs, not original but well executed. This latest installment jarringly leaps to a hamfistedly over emphasized theme of parenthood and the separation of partners, I'm not even joking, every named character has some parent-child or separated partner dynamic as their motivation.

What the movie has going for it are some very good set pieces and some glossy Sfx, but that's all they are without a coherent or relate-able plot to tie them together. Ultimately I think the franchise has been a victim of its own success, the bigger budget for set and effects taking president over the skillfully woven scrips of its predecessors, nowhere is this more clear than the blatant open ending setting out a 'search for the partner' plot line for the next installment, an installment that I doubt will ever get off the ground, this rushed out aborted child of a plot to cash in on the popularity of supernatural films, completely missing the point of what about the others was popular, spectacularly murdering the established canon.

This film will be joining "Indiana Jones and the Crystal skull" on my 'Films that don't  exist (lest they destroy those that came before)' shelf.

In summery "Underworld: Awakening": Massive fucking let down, total waste of time and money.

Conclusion :- Popularity and money spoil everything.

So as some of you may have noticed Games workshop & Citadel have a shiny new range of paints.

I used to share paint with my house mates but since moving away I have had to rebuild my paint selection, as a result I have spent the last few weeks playing around with some of the new range and thought I'd share my first impressions (unless someone has a spare £300 and wants to buy me the whole range to review).

The last lot of Citadel paints were separated out similarly to the new range but were not as clearly labelled, there were your foundations, colours and washes; now known as bases, layers, and shades, additional to these there are the glazes, technical, Dry Brush and texture paints.

There is a nice range of metallics in gold, silver and bronze, but no sign of a return to coloured metallic's, still no sign of inks making a return either.  [Edit: having used the paints for a month or so I find the metallic paint dry out stupidly fast]

A notable change to this new range are the names, (I have heard this is because other paint manufacturers where using the same names, so the new names are Warhammer specific and copyrighted) there is a helpful chart on the Gamesworkshop web site: [link]. The colour range has over doubled, with graduating shades and tones useful for including light and shade on models, which dispenses with the problem of mixing colours only to find the paint has dried before you can get it on the model.

Now to get down to the important bit, the paints themselves:-

Bases-
As thick as the standard colour paints from the old series, the pigment quotient is a bit denser.

Layers-
On the GW page these are separated into Layer 1 & Layer 2 (but the pots are just labelled Layer), these are a bit thinner but the pigment density is still good.

Shades-
The pigment density is much better than in the old washes, use sparingly, build up slowly for best results.

Dry-
Now these are an interesting addition they are deceptively thick, you can tip the pot up and shake but nothing will come out, the texture is something like marshmallow fluff only less viscous, or eye shadow cream. You really need to jab the brush into the pot to get any on the brush (ne delicate swiping here), it applies a little like the liquid green stuff, like a cream that starts to crumble into a fine powder ad it dries on the brush, I have yet to master the application process.

Texture-
These come in a range of 6 shades, one for each type of terrain; mud, earth, snow, sand, cement and undergrowth, they are quite useful. Like the Dry paints you can tip a pot of this up and spill not a jot, basically some very thick paint with sand or grit mixed in, it is entirely possible to dip your brush in and get only paint, for best application you need a stiff brush and to scoop out rather than dip in, this produces clumps and scattered specs of sand. Another option is to use a clay or dental tool pallet knife style to spread the texture, this results in an affect normally produced by liberally coating in glue, dunking in the basing sand pot then painting over the top.

Glaze-
These come in red, blue, yellow and green, I have yet to acquire and experiment with these.

Technical-
Lahmian Medium; Matt finish & 'Ardcoat; Gloss finish: useful for making your own glazes.
Liquid green stuff: fill those little gaps and re surface areas (see this month's [August 2012] White Dwarf modeling workshop)
Imperial (black) primer: Interestingly as well as a black in the base range there is also a black primer in the technical selection, the primer is supposed to be glossier than the base (however I have not yet tested this).

Spray paint and purity seal remain unchanged and therefor shall not be reviewed here.

I hope this was useful, or at least mildly interesting, happy painting- PhoenixShaman

I had hoped this was going to be a happy blog, because things have been going quite well; the new place is nice (although I'm still waiting for someone to fix the blinds in my room), I got accepted into Uni and the learning support woman my brother sees wants to see me to process my claim before term starts to make sure I get the help I need for once.

On the downside the Sky box seems to have died and the inter-tubes seem clogged, more importantly the Job center haven't paid me in three weeks (I get paid every fortnight) I cant get through to them on the phone and I'm down to my last £20 in overdraft.

But all this seemed bearable because I had gotten an interview with the Jorvic viking center and it seemed to go really well... the operative word here is SEEMED.

I got a call back the day after the interview, unfortunately I was in a dead spot and it went to answer phone, where they left me a message asking me to call them back (no other information than that), they had rang 5 minuets before the office shut so all I got was the answer machine. No problem I rang back the next day only to be told that the person I needed to speak to was out of the office all day, a little frustrating but I can call tomorrow.
So today I rang for the third time, despite ringing me two days ago and speaking to me three days ago, he couldn't remember who I was and wanted to know why I was ringing, when I reminded him that it was him that asked me to call he left me on the line for several minuets while he wandered off to find paperwork. When he finally got back I was told (I'm paraphrasing here):

"We aren't employing you at this time. There were other people interviewed who talked about us more. Try researching the company and telling us more about us next time. We will be sending you an official letter at some point."

What the actual fuck?

Ok first off chatting with my fellow interviewees apart from one person who volunteers with an affiliate company I knew the most about the company and the history, I never found an appropriate gap or question to spout about their company and in the preamble to the interview they actually said "you don't need to know about the history, we're looking for people" (paraphrasing again). Why the hell do you need me to talk about you anyway, don't you know what you do? You asked me what skills & experience I had and why I wanted the job, how does that lead in to telling them what they do? Even when they asked what attractions of theirs I'd visited they cut me off before I had finished and changed the subject.

Ignoring the fact that I was deemed 'unqualified', who the fuck asks people they are turning down to call back for the pleasure? And THEN to tell them that they will be notifying you that you haven't got the job after they made you waste time and money calling them?

You know what Fuck you!
I'm never applying to work with or for you again.

So yeh, I haven't really been active on here for a while have been in a bit of a slump, and my internet connection is dodgy at best.

As I said in my last blog I'm moving to York, hopefully in the new digs I'll be able to start working again as there wont be a hole in the floor where my desk is, and with a stable internet connection I will finally be able to up-lode all the deviations I've been sitting on.

For the last few years Bradford has done nothing but push me away and provide ample reasons for me to leave, now with a week to go before I shift the bulk of my stuff to the new place I find reasons to stay :\ it's amazing how people come out of the woodwork when you say your leaving.

I haven't had dreams for a long time, just recently I have started having quite vivid nightmares, and it makes me realize how much I have been in a kind of waking coma, as the prospect of moving to York moves closer I can feel myself rousing from stupor, (like when I visit York for the day), I hope when I get settled in the new digs the nightmares will become dreams. I have certainly been more creative these last few weeks than over the last Year and a half.

There's a bubble of nervous energy in the pit of my stomach, it hasn't quite decided whether it is anxious or exited yet.

I cant remember whether I mentioned it last blog, but I'm attempting to re enroll at Uni to do a BA in Film & T.V Production at York St John (from which my brother has recently graduated) and consequently moving from Bradford where I have been entrenched for around 7 years now (gah don't know where the time goes!) to York. Me and my Brother have been house hunting for a month or so and have found a comparative bargain (a little out of our projected budget but other property's of the like would normally cost much more to rent).

The weird thing though?
The house is on a street called Phoenix Boulevard!
It also turns out to be just down the road from a good mate's gaff.

There is much more space especially as it is just myself and my brother there, and there is no hole in the floor (oh yeh, that's why I haven't been too active on the painting front I cant use my desk as its over a hole in the floor), so until I start Uni & once we are moved across I may become much more active on the deviation front again!

I have just finished reading "A Monster Calls" By Patric Ness from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd. Patric Ness was asked to write what would have been Siobhan Dowd's fifth book, "She had the characters, a premise and a beginning. What she didn't have, unfortunately, was time" (From the Author's note), sadly she passed away from Cancer before she got a chance to write her story herself.

It is the most beautiful and terrible thing I have read in a long time.

I read it all in one sitting over what felt like days (but was actually around 4-5 hours), I had to because I knew I would be afraid to finish it it I stopped reading, in the best way possible it was like picking a scab; so much pain but with it a release.As soon as I read the first few pages I knew how it would end but that was the point, it is the pages in between that were important, and I cried my eyes out through every page.

The accompanying artwork is brilliantly understated as it intertwines through the text.

It is a story that at the heart of it is about dealing with loss, the justice and sometimes injustice of nature, how contradictory things can sometimes both be true, this is a story that harms to heal in every sense, suffice to say I will never view 12:07 or yew trees quite the same way again.This is Children's literature but it is in no way childish, its very adult treatment of the most difficult fats of in life, in such an understanding but straight forward frankness that puts to shame more 'mature' literature. This is a story for anyone who has ever experienced the loss of a loved one, or is struggling to hold one to one soon to leave.

I have been deliberately coy with the plot because it is so complex and so simple I fear I would do it a disservice in attempting to describe it, but here is a brief outline: Connor has had the same nightmare since his mother became sick, then one night a different monster comes for him, but not in the way he expects, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

.......................

"Wind filled the room, the air thundering with the monster's angry bellows.
"Shout all you want," Connor shrugged, barely raising his voice. "I've seen worse."
...
You really aren't afraid of me are you?
"No," Connor said "Not of you, anyway."
The monster narrowed its eyes.
You will be, it said. Before the end."

- Page 19 "A Monster Calls" - Patric Ness & Siobhan Dowd

Before I get to the actual bulk of the blog let me just address a few things:

. I am not dead just waylay-ed by crap
. Anyone I said I'd make things for, will receive them eventually.
. I am planning to move house in around 5 months, so will probably be fairly sporadic until then.
. Also planing to re-enroll in Uni, if successful this has an equal chance of positively or adversely affecting the amount of submissions, only time will tell.

Right On with the show!
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-In which I re-write "The haunted Mansion" and complain a great deal- OR -The Haunted Mansion: How it should have ended-

I have just finished watching "Disney's The Haunted Mansion", I was thinking how many opportunities the script writers missed to write a genuinely entertaining and challenging script, all by omitting one character.

Now don't get me wrong "The Haunted Mansion" is a decent enough film in its way, it ticked all the boxes required of it; positive racial stereotyping & the multi cultural element, Hard working couple still being adequate parents i.e. the positive side of "The American dream", cute relatable kids, enough 'mature' humor to hold the interest of adult viewers, generating fresh interest for a neglected Disney world attraction. Plot wise it has just enough character development to provide the journey of self discovery element that seems to have become pretty much a necessity in any kid's movie, (seriously what was wrong with the protagonist having an epic adventure and just having a blast without the need of some over arching moral lesson? But that is a whole other blog in itself); the father (surprise, surprise) concentrates on work too much and neglects their spousal and parental duties, the son needs to learn to overcome their fear, the mother needs to regain her faith as a wife (way to shake off the gender stereotyping accusations Disney), the daughter needs too, well nothing really she is the most stable member of this family. For the most part the whole journey of discovery is left to the men, while the women are the driving force of the movie, but done in such a way that they are almost entirely relegated to supporting characters throughout the whole affair, occasionally pointing out what the obvious things that the men have missed but taking none of the credit themselves (but this too is a rant for another day).

So what character would I remove? The father, not just because Eddie Murphy hasn't made a good movie since the glory days of "The Golden Child" and the "Beverly hills cop" franchise (but god is his performance grating in this film, quite often at odds with and detracting from the emotive direction of any scene you care to mention), but I must admit the idea of omitting him from the film is what started my thought progression, but without the central male roll it provides scope for some real emotional, moral and philosophical quandaries, who's inclusion would have made a merely adequate movie memorable.

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Let me start my explanation with a brief overview of the film as it stands:
Over the introduction credits we are shown disconnected glimpses into the past; a masked ball, couples, a note written and secretly delivered, a poisoned glass, an unmasked man rushes to the side of the glasses owner and cradles their corpse, the man's decent into despair and ultimate suicide by hanging.
The film opens by introducing us to an 'average' family; father works too hard at his real-estate job and consequently neglects his wife and children, nothing too severe some missed events and broken dates, the wife puts up with the neglect but voices her displeasure, so far so mundane. Their son is apparently afraid of spiders; the father inexpertly attempts to make his son more 'manly,' their daughter who is very matter of fact and straight spoken of one so young, deals with the spider for her brother but makes it clear that she thinks she shouldn't have to and he stop worrying about them.
One mystery phone call and an offer "Too good to miss" later and the family weekend away becomes a working holiday as the clan head up to a spooky mansion, to meet with the owner that purportedly wishes to sell up.
Of course everything is not as it seems and the owner is actually the spirit of the hanged man from the introduction montage, who has been awaiting the return of his lost love so he may "move on," and has decided that the mother is the reincarnation of her (as in traditional movie style, 'they look exactly alike'), while he tries to awaken his loves memories of the forgotten past, the butler does his best to get rid of the father, while the children follow a ghost orb around the building uncovering the place's tragic past, and their uncertain future. After some arbitrary trials in the form of simple fetch quests, the whole truth is uncovered, the children are captured and held hostage to blackmail their mother into marrying the Master of the house by the butler (I mean who did you expect to be the real villain?), after some cajoling (from yet another female authority figure) the father enacts a heroic rescue, unmasks the real villain, breaks the curse and saves the day. The master is reunited with his love, the helpful ghost orb, they leave the property to the family and ascend in a heavenly shaft of light.
The end.

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Ok, so now think about the possibilities that open up when you remove the father figure, essentially the comedy foil, who puts the family into the dire situations they keep ending up in. He can still be the drive to the overarching plot, but with the comedy fall guy aspect removed the emotional heart of the film can blossom free from the choking vines of comedy slapstick and pride before a fall. His absence also gives scope for a more philosophical sub plot. The Ghost's side of the story is pretty much fine as it is, there could be more time given over to following the past events that lead to their deaths, perhaps develop their relationship and let their problems (racial prejudices & inequality of their time) be reviled through their struggles rather than some hasty exposition during the 'big reveal' of the dénouement.

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Ignoring the possible expansion of the ghost's story ark for the moment, and just concentrating on the altered family dynamic; This is how I see it going:
Introduction credits.
The mother works hard to run the business alone and balance this with being a single parent, dropped hints that the father is no longer around, clues given that business used to be run by a husband and wife team (old adverts, ignorant people asking where their partner is etc.), the father's picture made a feature of on the mantle. The daughter looks after her brother (the dynamic here pretty much remains the same, only there is a better indication that she does care about him even though she picks on him like a big sister does), the spider issue comes up she deals with it, but tells him he'll have to learn to do it himself eventually (allusions to his father dealing with them, the son being "man of the house" now, and the possibility to work a character flaw into the daughter in the form of an abandonment issue). The call comes and indeed the offer is too good to pass up, the holiday turns into a business trip. They arrive at the Mansion meet the master, they get stranded there, in separate rooms the children follow the ghost orb (as in the original), the mother is summoned to speak with the master he shows her round, tells her of the mansion's history and woos her (without the husband this now seems less creepy, and the mother can start to fall for him. There is scope [as long as it had been set up in the intro] for there to be an emotional need; her friends tell her to start dating, she makes excuses but still loves her husband, finally now someone has perhaps begun to catch her heart?). Meanwhile the butler works to foil the children's progress in discovering what really happened years ago and ultimately capturing them (thus making him seem more like a legitimate baddie, in control of events rather than being moved along with them along with the rest, more deserving of the manic rant at the end and less like a feeble inconvenience.).  Back with the master and the mother, when he reveals his true nature and intention he is up front about it rather than coyly nudging and hoping 'her' memories will suddenly come rushing back.

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At this point I need to break from the narrative to discuss the options available here. Having established the mother's position there are a number of motivations and questions that can be dealt with; She is genuinely taken with this amorous all be it spectral suitor and considers an eternity with someone they love an easy exchange for life, if she dies will she be reunited with her husband while breaking the curse and/or saving her children. The consideration for her children will weigh heavily on her decision and it allows a discussion about what is more important pining for a lost love (and effectively being dead, emotionally speaking), giving up a life and starting again with a new love (literally in this case), or dealing with the life you have and making it better.

There are also a couple of different ways this could branch out  and end  especially if you include the notion of re-incarnation as an actual possibility, is she really the reincarnation of his love (in this case the ghost orb would be the husband), will she meet the master and/or her husband's re-incarnation at the end of the film, using the ever useful 'plot-onium' or 'narrative-ium' when the curse is lifted will the master gain a second chance at life (effectively being brought back to life), at the more grim end of the scale do they all choose to become ghosts?
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To stick to the 'short and sweet' nature of the original I have chosen to finish it with the simplest option:
The ghost orb is his lost love, and with the children's help and their mother's strength they are able to confront the butler and reveal to the master his true nature, there is a struggle the butler is pulled to hell (as in the original), he grabs the mother and drags her with him, the Master and his love are unable to get to her in time, but another orb appears and shoots down after them, as the orb nears the falling pair it resolves itself into her husband who pulls her free and saves her. There is a moment where they embrace and he tells her he too will always love her but she has to live on for them both, and to love again (hints that she may be meeting someone soon), he embraces the children dolls out the standard fatherly advice (most of which they will have already surmised for themselves throughout their ordeal, but who doesn't love a recap?), "Son It's ok to be afraid sometimes, but you can't let that stop you living your life.", "Daughter I'm sorry I never said goodbye but you have to accept that sometimes in life you won't be able to, but I'll always love you/be with you", They say their goodbyes, spirits ascend, the family becomes the owners of the property.

Some fluff showing the family getting on with their lives, the boy removing a spider himself, sister being nice to him etc.(Possibly over the credits) Some (nonspecific) time later as she is leaving work to spend time with the kids the mother will run into a charismatic stranger (possibility for a cheesy "have we met?" comment here), who looks suspiciously familiar to a certain Mansion dwelling ghost, he has just arrived in the area and is looking for a property, will ask about properties in the area, she will ask to see him tomorrow as she has to spend time with the family, he accepts this saying "family is important" he respects anyone who "knows the true value of family", looking at him more closely she asks which property in particular he was interested in, he replies the mansion, (she suppresses a grin)locks up and makes to leave, "Till tomorrow then" he calls watching he leave with a smile, "we open at 7" she calls back, "Seven it is then." He replies with the obvious implication that his interest is in more than just the house.

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And that's how the removal of one character can make a film much better, and stop me having to see Mr. Murphy smugly gurning and mugging his way through yet another film.

1. You no longer have to be mature (except when at work)
2. You decide when you go to bed ("")
3. You can set your own schedule ("")
4. All packages that com to your door are yours to open (unless you share a house or it is misdirected)
5. If you want to eat last nights curry for breakfast you can
6. You know that pointless doohickey you always wanted to get? Who's stopping you getting it now (apart from your bank balance)
7. If you want to buy a Sith robe you goram well buy a Sith robe...

By the way I just got a Sith robe in the mail *flees to spend rest of day being disturbed by everyone's lack of faith*

I had a dream last night which pretty much seems to sum up my life at present:

I am stood at a quay by a jetty, across an expanse of water a distant shore can just be glimpsed, this is where I need to go, and I'm in a hurry.
From here you can borrow boats as long as they come back here eventually, there are no boats although there are many spaces to contain them, so I wait.
There are some people sat on a ledge that leads straight town to the boat dock, and a path that leads around to them, the path is the way you are supposed to go.
I talk to the people sat on the ledge get friendly, someone else arrives and I mention I'm waiting for a boat, shortly two boats come back, one holds a couple the other has just one passenger, I move to the jetty to swap over with them, but instead of heading to the jetty where you hand off the boats to other people, the occupants row around to the spaces for the boats.
I hurry along the path, while the other person walks over the people on the ledge and takes the short cut.
Getting down to the spaces I see there is another boat pulled up on the shore nearby, two guys sit half in half out of it chatting, the couple has pulled their boat on to the shore too and sit leaning their backs on it making out.
The last boat has yet to make the dock.
The couple when asked if the boat can be taken as they are not using it refuse, they will still need it.
The men when asked if their boat can be used as they are going nowhere with it refuse, they are using it no-one said that they have to go anywhere with it, they continue drinking and arsing around.
The final boat approaches the guy who took the shortcut gets there just before me and takes the boat, he paddles off in the opposite direction to which I was going.

[this is is about where the symbolism ends but...]

I chase after him along the shore and jump in after him, I manage to wrestle the oar off of him just as we drift into fast flowing rapids, after some more struggling getting separated (whacking him with the oar) I manage to capsize the boat and he falls out, the boat gets washed away, we get separated, I lose the oar and head to the shore... And about here I woke up.

It's new year's resolution time!

This year I resolve to:

. Start looking after myself better
. Take time to paint and write
. Get out of this rut
. Move away from Bradford
. Fall for someone who loves me in return for a change

Hope you all have a good New Year's, have fun, play safe, and I hope when the bells chime you are with your special someone for the new years first kiss.

Lets have an outstanding 2012 and move past the trials of 2011, hey there's the Olympics to look forward to at least.

Blessed Be.
^Phoenix^

------------------------------

[link]

Nova - VNV Nation

I long to feel my heart burned open wide, til nothing else remains,
except the fires from which I came.
Like parted souls, divided for an age, awe and wonder I´d embrace,
and the world anew again.
But now, this picture from me fades.
From still´s cold hand there´s no reprieve, light the fire in me.

Shine, shine your light on me.
Illuminate me, make me complete.
Lay me down, and wash this world from me.
Open the skies, and burn it all away.
'Cause I've been waiting, all my life just waiting,
for you to shine, shine your light on me.

I dreamed the world, with my eyes open.
But time moved on and then, new worlds begin again.
Oh my heart, in this universe so vast.
No moment was made to last, so light the fire in me.

Shine, shine your light on me.
Illuminate me, make me complete.
Please shine, shine your light on me.
No hesitation, make me complete.

Lay me down, and wash this world from me.
Open the skies, and burn it all away.
'Cause I've been waiting, all my life just waiting,
for you to shine, shine your light on me.

So I'm back in Bradford, time to start organizing

On the upside once organizes I can craft

Has been an eventful year and I cant say I'm not glad to see the back of it.

Here's looking to a better 2012

Time to start deciding on new years resolutions...

Christmas tomorrow! Have a Happy holiday season whatever your belief, and a good new year!

Gods I've had a cruddy week; dentist, doctors, blood test and grandad ended up in A&E.
I'm ok but looking at what I'm being tested for I may end up on meds :\
And Grandad is back out of hospital, turned out he accidentally doubled up on his meds and is doing allot better now.

Thank the gods I only have to see certain family members once a year :@
Currently fighting cold no. 2

Here's hoping things pick up from tomorrow.

Soooo.... I am house siting my brother's flat and I may have woken the entire building at 4AM, setting the fire alarms off by setting fire to a pie in a microwave... awkward.

In other news:

. After soul searching, job searching, and a couple of wake up calls, I have decided to go back to University.
  
The job market is shot round here and having a BSc in Archaeology is worth less than a weeks worth of prior experience working retail, so I am applying for a Film and Media masters degree course at my Brother's Uni in York.

. To that end I am seriously considering moving to York.

. My mate has an uncanny ability to bake me smile at just the right moment, I'm so glad we are back in contact. Less than three you Trigger .

. I'm feeling inspired with this story idea for "In search of Zephyr" expect more from that.

. Currently adapting a glove patten to make long sleeve gloves.

. Every one is going to get their Xmas gifts sometime in January as I haven't had the time to make them.

. Still having trouble with my sleeping patten.

... 'S about it

Laters.

Winter blues are here again... of course it could just be because I am full of cold at the moment, and as a result of this missed Carpe Nocturn (once a month Goth night), that used to be held elsewhere but has just moved to my local rock club... oh well January then.

Have had Layla stuck in my head for a few days [link] it does kinda strike cord with me at the moment but again I'm putting it down to the end of year blues...

(Layla for those unfortunate enough to have never heard of it; it was originally written and recorded by Eric Clapton [although the better known, and my preferred version, was recorded by Derek and the Dominos] about his unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, wife of his friend George Harrison.)

{... Just a note due to feeling crappy this blog has been written over a few days so if it reads a bit fragmented... it is.}

Have become a bit addicted to Dragon age just recently.

Cant actually remember what else I was going to say... Still feeling cruddy.

Xmas is fast approaching and I am so unimpaired I haven't due to being unemployed and skint I haven't been able to sort prezzies, looks like I'm gonna be making lots of craft based gifts in a short space of time.

I may edit this if I can remember... anything...

I'll leave you with this first in a series of three awesome videos that my mate linked me to: [link]