I like to play Scrabble. I also like to win games sometimes. These things are not compatible chez-listingslightly.
Exhibit A:
Not the world's most elaborate game - note the four-letter words at the bottom of the board (no, not that kind of four letter word, that is quite a different version of scrabble) - stem, sing, avid etc. So far, so dull. But there, look!
A 7 letter word. On a triple word score. That's 89 points right there for Mr Listingslightly. I'm not entirely sure why I took this photo at all, except it was a newish camera and it was a day when it snowed I think.
Still, things are looking up as today the Guardian published a list of 10 words that were on the finals board at the National Scrabble Championship. If only I can remember how to spell them...
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Monday, 12 October 2009
The cat that liked to be beside the seaside
There are many books of lists, but the best ever, I think, are those by David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace.
The 70s originals are full of amazing stories and intriguing facts, as well as weird insights into the time of writing For example, the joint third* most hated person in history 1975, according to visitors to Madame Tussaud's, was Richard M.Nixon, down from the top spot in '73. (Interestingly, although his hatedness peaked after Watergate, even in 1970 he was fourth...)
The 2005 version is just as good and includes "5 Body Parts Named After Italians", "33 Names of Things You Never Knew Had Names" and, marvellously, "The Cat Came Back: 9 Cats Who Travelled Long Distances to Return Home", which is the list I read when I can't sleep and need to think of nice things.
This is a truly cheery list, of cats that travelled up to 1500 miles to rejoin their owners who had moved, or to go back to where they used to live. My favourite is Gringo the cat who left his family in Paris and travelled 480 miles to the French Riviera in December 1982. “Wishing to escape the cold winter, he had made the journey south in a week and appeared at their summer home, where neighbours took care of him.” A cat that escapes winter to make for the coast is my kind of cat.
So there you have it – worth buying for the cat stories alone. It’s £5.99 on Amazon, so less than 67p per amazing cat journey story.
*with Dracula
The 70s originals are full of amazing stories and intriguing facts, as well as weird insights into the time of writing For example, the joint third* most hated person in history 1975, according to visitors to Madame Tussaud's, was Richard M.Nixon, down from the top spot in '73. (Interestingly, although his hatedness peaked after Watergate, even in 1970 he was fourth...)
The 2005 version is just as good and includes "5 Body Parts Named After Italians", "33 Names of Things You Never Knew Had Names" and, marvellously, "The Cat Came Back: 9 Cats Who Travelled Long Distances to Return Home", which is the list I read when I can't sleep and need to think of nice things.
This is a truly cheery list, of cats that travelled up to 1500 miles to rejoin their owners who had moved, or to go back to where they used to live. My favourite is Gringo the cat who left his family in Paris and travelled 480 miles to the French Riviera in December 1982. “Wishing to escape the cold winter, he had made the journey south in a week and appeared at their summer home, where neighbours took care of him.” A cat that escapes winter to make for the coast is my kind of cat.
So there you have it – worth buying for the cat stories alone. It’s £5.99 on Amazon, so less than 67p per amazing cat journey story.
*with Dracula
Labels:
amazing cat journeys,
animals,
other people's lists
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Additional notes
A recent ‘blog of note’ flagged by blogger is the excellent site Letters of Note, which is just marvellous and I recommend that you click here immediately and read everything on it (not as time-consuming as you might think as it’s been going for a month, although it’s certainly updated much more often than listingslightly...). Scanned copies and transcripts of interesting letters, memos etc, recent and not so, make for exactly the kind of blog I like to wander about in.
+
On Friday night I watched North by Northwest, which I feel I have seen many times, but in fact I think I’ve seen the whole thing about twice, and bits of it many times. Regular readers (hello, both) will know of my love for Cary Grant, and this is him at his classy best, being pursued and drawn into dark dealings in a fabulous suit (and note how gorgeous his shirt is also), and with the very lovely Eva Marie Saint.
=
I’ve been rummaging about in some shoe boxes and turning up various interesting bits of paper that have accumulated over the last 12 years or so. In June 1999 I was finishing my second year at university. I’m sure that there were all sorts of exciting things happening with the internet, but I was mostly unaware of them. In those days when interesting snippets of information seemed a bit more special, a bit harder to track down, but when we were just starting to realise the possibilities of email, a lovely friend sent me a list of all Alfred Hitchcock’s cameo appearances. I was interested enough to forward it from my university email to my home email, and then, a month later, to print it off to save, and have been moving it around with me ever since (9 house moves in 10 years). Now, of course, Wikipedia does the work for you. But this is a marvellous site, which not only lists the cameos, but also has fantastic stills with Sir Alfred highlighted.
+
On Friday night I watched North by Northwest, which I feel I have seen many times, but in fact I think I’ve seen the whole thing about twice, and bits of it many times. Regular readers (hello, both) will know of my love for Cary Grant, and this is him at his classy best, being pursued and drawn into dark dealings in a fabulous suit (and note how gorgeous his shirt is also), and with the very lovely Eva Marie Saint.
=
I’ve been rummaging about in some shoe boxes and turning up various interesting bits of paper that have accumulated over the last 12 years or so. In June 1999 I was finishing my second year at university. I’m sure that there were all sorts of exciting things happening with the internet, but I was mostly unaware of them. In those days when interesting snippets of information seemed a bit more special, a bit harder to track down, but when we were just starting to realise the possibilities of email, a lovely friend sent me a list of all Alfred Hitchcock’s cameo appearances. I was interested enough to forward it from my university email to my home email, and then, a month later, to print it off to save, and have been moving it around with me ever since (9 house moves in 10 years). Now, of course, Wikipedia does the work for you. But this is a marvellous site, which not only lists the cameos, but also has fantastic stills with Sir Alfred highlighted.
Labels:
cary grant,
films,
letters,
other people's lists
Monday, 5 October 2009
And while you're at it, where's my cambric shirt eh?
Being a list of herbs which have so far survived in our front yard.
Parsley
Mint
Oregano
Chives
Bay
Purple Basil
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Tarragon
I'm particularly impressed with tarragon, which I hadn't knowingly eaten before a few weeks ago when we made this excellent recipe, with chicken though, not guinea fowl so far.
They are mostly thriving (or at least surviving), but we shall see how the rain and cold affect them. And at least the caterpillars haven't eaten them yet - they're too busy demolishing the broccoli which we have planted in unwisely small containers. Fortunately we live near some shops.
Parsley
Mint
Oregano
Chives
Bay
Purple Basil
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Tarragon
I'm particularly impressed with tarragon, which I hadn't knowingly eaten before a few weeks ago when we made this excellent recipe, with chicken though, not guinea fowl so far.
They are mostly thriving (or at least surviving), but we shall see how the rain and cold affect them. And at least the caterpillars haven't eaten them yet - they're too busy demolishing the broccoli which we have planted in unwisely small containers. Fortunately we live near some shops.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Fantasy Football
(Possibly the main fantasy aspect of this game for me being the belief that I will remember to update my team...)
Last year the performance of my fantasy football team was pretty mediocre. It was all going averagely until I stopped paying attention for a few weeks, forgot to substitute injured players and plummeted in the mini-league.
However, with renewed enthusiasm I have chosen my new team, and a strip that involves red and pink stripes. The listingslightly fantasy football team 2009-10 starts the season as:
Schwarzer
Bosingwa
Queudrue
Hreidarsson
Warnock
Benayoun
Wright-Phillips
N'Zogbia
Fellaini
Agbonlahor
Adebayor
And have been chosen by the following criteria:
1. Is their name pleasing to say and/or write?
2. Did they perform excellently in my team last year?
3. Do they collectively come from a range of teams, thus improving my chances of actually scoring some points?
4. Are they any good? (I am not entirely silly) And are they likely to play every match?
Will I remember to change the team when necessary? Will I regret the garish socks? Will I score at least enough points that it's not embarassing? And will I start wearing a large overcoat, pacing around the room and shouting at the TV during Match of the Day? Hmmm....
Last year the performance of my fantasy football team was pretty mediocre. It was all going averagely until I stopped paying attention for a few weeks, forgot to substitute injured players and plummeted in the mini-league.
However, with renewed enthusiasm I have chosen my new team, and a strip that involves red and pink stripes. The listingslightly fantasy football team 2009-10 starts the season as:
Schwarzer
Bosingwa
Queudrue
Hreidarsson
Warnock
Benayoun
Wright-Phillips
N'Zogbia
Fellaini
Agbonlahor
Adebayor
And have been chosen by the following criteria:
1. Is their name pleasing to say and/or write?
2. Did they perform excellently in my team last year?
3. Do they collectively come from a range of teams, thus improving my chances of actually scoring some points?
4. Are they any good? (I am not entirely silly) And are they likely to play every match?
Will I remember to change the team when necessary? Will I regret the garish socks? Will I score at least enough points that it's not embarassing? And will I start wearing a large overcoat, pacing around the room and shouting at the TV during Match of the Day? Hmmm....
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Things I have been doing instead of packing all our possessions into boxes (again)
1. Writing a long and involved letter to the Inland Revenue explaining the last two years of my tax-paying life. Not in a dodgy way, just overlapping part-time jobs tend to make things a bit complex. So complex that only avoiding packing has encouraged me to sort it out. Maybe they will send me a big(ish) cheque of the sort that has so far eluded me.
2. Looking at things and wondering how to pack them.
3. Buying vintage fabric from ebay to make things for the new flat.
4. Worrying about boxes.
5. Wondering how it is possible to have so many books.
6. Buying books. Yes, really. This will no doubt induce hilarity in anyone who has seen our bookshelves and despair in anyone who will have a hand in moving them.
In other news, I have found out that there is a china cat attached to the wall of a building in the Steine in Brighton, and I have now seen it. This is brilliant because it has been there all along without me spotting it and now it makes me happy every time I go past.
2. Looking at things and wondering how to pack them.
3. Buying vintage fabric from ebay to make things for the new flat.
4. Worrying about boxes.
5. Wondering how it is possible to have so many books.
6. Buying books. Yes, really. This will no doubt induce hilarity in anyone who has seen our bookshelves and despair in anyone who will have a hand in moving them.
In other news, I have found out that there is a china cat attached to the wall of a building in the Steine in Brighton, and I have now seen it. This is brilliant because it has been there all along without me spotting it and now it makes me happy every time I go past.
Labels:
Brighton,
moving,
procrastination
Friday, 3 April 2009
I have seen lemurs and am very happy
A red ruffed lemur who has just woken up from a snooze.
Photo by Mr listingslightly, Wednesday 1st April, Bristol Zoo.
Photo by Mr listingslightly, Wednesday 1st April, Bristol Zoo.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons"
I love coffee. I love it even though it is probably very bad for me and I drink too much of it and sometimes it makes me a bit jumpy and sometimes I forget to drink water during the day and drink lots of coffee instead and sometimes I forget not to drink it too late on in the day and it keeps me awake and sometimes I remember and drink decaff which is odd stuff but is still coffee and I love coffee.
Here is a list by Benjamin Obler on the Guardian website about fictional coffee scenes.
Here is a list by Benjamin Obler on the Guardian website about fictional coffee scenes.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Who lives in a neo-Gothic, windswept, haunted, crumbling mansion like this.....
Time for a new poll. If you could live in any fictional house, where would you live?
I would like to live in the Moominhouse. Oddly, there is a real life version of this in Moominland, which really exists, in Finland. Instructions on how to make one out of gingerbread are here. Yum. The four-houses-in-one where the Beatles live in 'Help!' is pretty cool also.
Mr listingslightly would like to live next door to Barney Rubble, who he thinks is the best neighbour ever.
I'm not sure about sydthecat, but I suspect he'd like something like this. Or possibly this.
I suppose something to consider is whether the original inhabitants would be there or not. The Moominhouse would be much more fun if I could live with the Moomins, but I'd contemplate the Ewok village if they weren't there....
If you are interested in fictional property speculation, you can find a list (ha!) of the most expensive fictional houses here.
Vote now, or leave alternative suggestions in the comment box. They can be novel, film or TV houses. One film-knowledgeable friend would like to live in the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse from the 1960 film, for example.
I would like to live in the Moominhouse. Oddly, there is a real life version of this in Moominland, which really exists, in Finland. Instructions on how to make one out of gingerbread are here. Yum. The four-houses-in-one where the Beatles live in 'Help!' is pretty cool also.
Mr listingslightly would like to live next door to Barney Rubble, who he thinks is the best neighbour ever.
I'm not sure about sydthecat, but I suspect he'd like something like this. Or possibly this.
I suppose something to consider is whether the original inhabitants would be there or not. The Moominhouse would be much more fun if I could live with the Moomins, but I'd contemplate the Ewok village if they weren't there....
If you are interested in fictional property speculation, you can find a list (ha!) of the most expensive fictional houses here.
Vote now, or leave alternative suggestions in the comment box. They can be novel, film or TV houses. One film-knowledgeable friend would like to live in the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse from the 1960 film, for example.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Infrequently Asked Questions
In which I update my reader(s) and herald the dawn of a new era, or, at least, of Spring.
1. Would you like a coffee?
Why yes, thank you! But wait...... is it the afternoon? And I'm not out this evening? Then tea please.
2. Where are you and what have you been up to?
Hibernating.
3. What is the best way to stay cheerful in the winter months?
Plan A: Get hold of the biggest, fluffiest duvet possible, wrap yourself in it and wait for spring. Administer coffee at regular intervals. Dine on sausage and mash. Persuade a cat to sleep on your feet. Read.
Disclaimer - You may find this interferes unduly with your work and relationships. In which case:
Plan B: See the lemurs and marvel. Consider owls. Dine on sausage and mash. Read.
4. Aren't you a little bit obsessed with lemurs?
Yes.
5. Are you also obsessed with hibernation?
Yes. There will now be a ban on discussing this matter until Winter.
1. Would you like a coffee?
Why yes, thank you! But wait...... is it the afternoon? And I'm not out this evening? Then tea please.
2. Where are you and what have you been up to?
Hibernating.
3. What is the best way to stay cheerful in the winter months?
Plan A: Get hold of the biggest, fluffiest duvet possible, wrap yourself in it and wait for spring. Administer coffee at regular intervals. Dine on sausage and mash. Persuade a cat to sleep on your feet. Read.
Disclaimer - You may find this interferes unduly with your work and relationships. In which case:
Plan B: See the lemurs and marvel. Consider owls. Dine on sausage and mash. Read.
4. Aren't you a little bit obsessed with lemurs?
Yes.
5. Are you also obsessed with hibernation?
Yes. There will now be a ban on discussing this matter until Winter.
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