We have a film crew in Manchester at the moment for one of the new Sherlock Holmes films.

(Apologies, as ever, for patronising presenter and pointless vox pops and general lack of information.)

I can exclusively reveal lie that that giant doll in the background is going to be the scene of the final showdown.

If I can, I might head along to the Northern Quarter and see if I can see anything cool.

Probe your ports, madam? No? Oh well, have an asexuality article.

Despite this thing calling me an uneducated poor woman, guess why I like it.

(Written for work's newsletter.)

Frequently Barked Questions

18 July 2008

Thus far I've no sightings of hounds to report,
nor ominous howls in the night.
No shoes have gone missing, no threatening notes,
no relatives perished from fright.
I'll not move to Dartmoor; I'm not keen on bogs.
A city pooch still, after all—
and I keep my address, for my housemates have baulked
at restyling it "Baskerville Hall".

Eeeeeee, my album arrived! The Hound of the Baskervilles by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman. I'm listening to it for the first time and enjoying it, even though I don't normally like songs with talking over them.

Coincidentally, I was watching a Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes that I'd recorded off the telly. This had me shouting at the television. People were talking in the Diogenes Club! It wasn't too impressive in other ways, and anyway the PVR cut off the last few minutes, as is its wont. Huh.

Really liking this progressive rock. Also, I want a dog. I could pretend that attempting to inherit a mysterious curse just so I could have a doggie had nothing to do with recent naming events, but this would be stretching the truth to whining point.

Slen's just arrived and told me Clive Nolan did the keyboard solo on DragonForce's Disciples of Babylon. Very nice!

edit for coolness: Slen's just pointed this out. Guitars: Arjen Lucassen.

And another little piece of my life slides into my control...

I made a little gathering of it. It requires two witnesses, but I had three: two of my immediate family and Paul, my good friend since childhood. It was nice.

I was kinda surprised at the straightforwardness (relatively speaking!) of the legalese. I was expecting more "spinster of the parish" and stuff.

Further reading: club, tub.

My name is... Hi, I'm... Hello there. The name's...

Yes, this will take some getting used to—not having to hesitate any more before admitting my 'name', but instead self-confidently giving my name.

(There's another injoke in the picture. It's the typeface. Another nice thing about this DIY job.)

Dutch cat suckles abandoned red panda

That cat is suckling its DOOM. Pandas are so much cuter! We will prevail!

Ergonomics: not just for humans! Dog dinner time hits the big time

HugX ergonomic dog bowls (check out their expensive model. WTF?)

Dog choir forming to pay tribute to a dog. I HAVE to see this. And steal the idea, except I already had.

Worm-eating slug found in garden. This is so beautiful. Look, Thad, killer mollusc!

Flock shocked by 'tramp' minister - great story.

Brazil MPs reject abortion reform

Past science papers stump pupils

There is no doubt that the clever pupils are as sharp as they ever were, but most are being stifled by an educational system that does not encourage more detailed problem-solving and rigorous thinking.

RecycleBank - making waste pay. Do want.

Q&A: Anglican Church divisions

How to pronounce Anglican terminology. (If you want me to record these for you in my semi-posh English accent, vote here.)

Can one manufacture good character?

Put in purely for the photo.

How do you win a Booker prize? Be a worldbuilder, have a cracking story and tell it well!

And finally, the Iron Man actor is playing Sherlock Holmes. And apparently there are two films; Guy Ritchie is directing this, while the other is a mickeytake starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

If you want a good and unusual take on Holmes, try Hammer's 1959 Hound of the Baskervilles. Some dude called Peter Cushing stars as Holmes and plays up his irritating side wonderfully. You get a shrewd sense, as you don't when you read the stories in Watson's extremely partial narration, of how impossible the genius is to live with. And Watson, who is just as important (it's canon! Holmes said so!), is also well played by André Morell, who doesn't bumble at all. (I think this is a screengrab from the film. But I'm not sure, because it was definitely in colour.)

Also, there's a DOGGY and it's GORGEOUS and I want one. </frustrated dog-lover>

Sacha Baron Cohen to star as Sherlock Holmes

D: And the other guy is worse. That's no Watson.

Looking further, it seems Guy Ritchie is directing and The new Sherlock Holmes will be less stuffy and more adventurous than previous screen incarnations, so I don't even dare look up whether they'll be covering A Scandal in Bohemia.

Remember dude, you got through I, Robot by repeating to yourself "That isn't Susan Calvin, it's just some woman with her name". You can handle this.

Elephant beetle! Squeeee!

Hidden abuse of domestic workers in the UK

On-the-run skunk Pepe caught out

Mediaeval Colemanballs

Gallery of sawn-in-half cameras

Notes of one of the first forensic pathologists are being sold.

Floridian builds flying saucer—which is not a UFO, because it's clearly identified. This is awesome partly because, far from being a spaceship, it couldn't move itself anywhere in a vacuum.

Drunken Facebook scallies pwned by police.

What a waste of resources!

Awww, it's Da Vinci! Cute! (video)

'Super Spam Me' experiment (video)

Nellie named Heroic Hearing Dog

Pets saved from smoke-filled home

US tycoon left $8bn to dog welfare

(not news) "The 8 PG-Rated Movies That Should Not Have Been Rated PG"

That Wizards clip is bad. In every sense. It comes with every warning ever.

A journalist volunteers to be waterboarded. He says it's not much fun.

Muslims in the military