Mia

Yes, it was okay... But it didn't make me want to read any more books by him. I remember finding some parts rather nasty too (but I am a sensitive little soul).

Well, the opening of the new series was another good one. Very enjoyable, and McKenzie Crook (or whatever he's called) was great. The only nitpick I have with the writers was Arthur and Merlin's relationship, which for no apparent reason seems to have reset to its starting point. By the end of the last series, Arthur and Merlin were virtually friends, trusting each other and saving each other's lives. For some reason, in this first episode they have gone back to the master/servant relationship they had at first, with Arthur being a bit of a pig to Merlin. This was probably just to allow Crook to shove his way into Arthur's service, but it didn't make any sense to me in terms of the show's progression.

So, did anyone watch this? And was anyone glued to their seat? I chickened out in the end, and videoed it, then didn't watch the film that was supposed to make you unable to get up. Derren was rather naughty though, because as he was saying that he was about to show the film, he was already flashing up subliminal images (which I spotted, so they weren't exactly that subliminal!). The first image was very quick, and I saw a black line drawing of a man sitting on a wooden chair, on a white background. The second time I saw it, it seemed to be on a bit longer and I saw that the man had coils of rope wrapped round his chest, tying him to the chair! I thought that wasn't really on, to tell people they had a choice of whether to watch the film and then start flashing the images before the film started. In the trick where the woman was trying not to choose the one "lose" t-shirt out of twenty, I saw what Derren was doing - the "lose" one was number 19, and he kept mentioning 19 over and over again, eg "You have to get rid of 19" etc. It obviously worked, as I wanted to pick 19 myself! I didn't twig how he did the Hamleys trick, until he went back and explained it. Though I had noticed a few things like the giraffe print around the store, I didn't put everything together. Overall, it was an interesting programme. Apparently, C4 have had a lot of complaints - half were complaining that the "glued to your seat" stunt shouldn't have been allowed, and the other half were complaining that it didn't work on them!

Ooh, good choice. I love this book (in fact, it's the only James Herbert book I've got through).

I really don't know why I watch this show, cos I get so annoyed at the unfairness of it all! The two worst dancers who should have been in the dance-off No, you're not! I didn't know him either, and didn't warm to him. He's like a block of wood. The judges seem scared to criticise him in case he hits them! Yes. You get some really strange music choices sometimes. And the godawful "singers" often murder your favourite songs. Well, after all that ranting I have to say that I did enjoy Strictly (believe it or not)! The best dancers were Ali and Jade. Jade's cha cha was really good, she had the hip action going (whereas most people's hips never moved at all *Lynda*). Ali was very elegant and did her dances well. I have to say that I don't think Alesha is judge material. She hasn't got the insight into technique to give a lot of constructive criticism like Arlene did. I like her as a person, and was glad she won when she was dancing, but she doesn't have the knowledge to judge others. Was it my imagination, or was Len completely ignoring her? I liked Craig's quote "I've got two words: rigor mortis"! Also Brucie's comment about Ola's "costume" - "That's my favourite outfit you're almost in"!

Not really, but maybe that's because I read a lot of fantasy, and that's a genre you don't really see much of on TV. Even though I loved Buffy and Angel on TV, I haven't read any of the novel tie-ins.

I'm going to watch it and take part at home to see if he can glue me to my seat! But I'm a bit worried - what if I can never get up again? Actually, I'm in two minds about this! I haven't a clue how he'll do it - hypnosis maybe? But I don't think that works through TVs!

I agree! Today, the fact that someone phoned to say that my hospital appointment next week has been moved from my local hospital (which is literally across the road from my parents' house) to the hospital 20 miles away. Great.

If we're going to allow graphic novels/comics, then Judge Dredd has to be mentioned as a terrible film. Other than that, I've always hated The Shining, for the same reason someone else gave, that my favourite parts of the book were left out.

I didn't know he was gay, but then I don't really read about celebrities' lives. He kind of gives me the creeps to look at him, but I find him fascinating. I still don't know if I believe the "wisdom of the crowd" thing. If that was how he did it, we can all put it to the test! All we need to do is get a crowd of people, possibly your syndicate, and practise some concentration and automatic writing. Then everyone will be winning left, right and centre! I think it's worth a go, myself! I don't believe what he said at the end, it was just another piece of misdirection. Ridiculous though it might be, I just can't shake the suspicion that he actually does have some kind of psychic powers, and gives us complicated explanations of how he did the tricks to put people off the scent. I think he's a very clever man. I'm looking forward to next week, where he's going to "glue people to their chairs" by the power of his mind. I want to see if he can do that to me!

Watched Episode 3 last night. It was good, but not as good as the first two. It is the one where Echo has to protect a threatened singer. Eliza Dushku can sing! I never realised! I'm finding the attitude of the people in charge towards the Dolls slightly confusing. Maybe all will become clearer!

Wicked! by Jilly Cooper deals with teachers and schools. Couldn't finish it myself.

No! It's mine, I tell you, mine. *Grabs Dollhouse DVD and runs away*

I got the season 1 DVD yesterday! I watched the first two episodes and I thought it was excellent. I'm totally hooked already. And I heard that the first few episodes weren't as good as the rest, so I've really got a treat in store! I'm really impressed so far - it completely held my attention and had a few shocks, like . The Joss Whedon name seems to be a guarantee of quality for TV series. Also, I noticed all the producers etc were names from Buffy and Angel, so I thought it should be good. Brilliant stuff!

It was only on for about 10 minutes, but I saw it! He correctly predicted all six numbers, which was impressive. I'm going to watch on Friday to see how he did it. It's got to be some kind of illusion as otherwise he would win every week and be extremely rich. Or maybe he already does and opts for "no publicity"! I find his shows very interesting, but he does give me the creeps to look at him.

Wow Lucybird! I didn't know that! Though it's not how I imagined it - I thought of stepping into a cubicle and warm air jets coming at you from all sides, not going into contortions under a wall-mounted dryer 6 feet off the ground. And perhaps this is being indelicate, but how exactly does it dry you all over if you sit down underneath it? :mrgreen:

I don't mind the showering part, it's the getting dry that really bugs me. I just wish they'd hurry up and invent something where you just step in and warm air blow-drys you, like a big version of a hand dryer! That would be great. It also bugs me that whenever I try to get a paperclip out of my jar at work, they are always joined together. And I never join them, so who does? The paperclip fairy?

Last night's made me laugh when Maisie had to help in the kitchen, and Moira said to her, "the orange pointy ones are the carrots and the round ones with the dirt on are the spuds". Her face was a picture!

I was annoyed with Faye tonight when she said she would burn the

I love The Eyes of the Dragon.

Y'know that I'm going to send you the second book in the trilogy for your birthday, seeing as you're enjoying this one so much.