redfiona99

This time, I was only a day late listening to the race. It was a nice sunny day out, so I thought I'd walk home and listen to it.

Did anyone else feel that, as a race, it was lacking? (Some wag on social media phrased it as "this race could have been an email, which is damningly true.)

It's a shame, because Suzuka is a good track.

A couple of years ago, someone, I think it was Mark Gallagher, made a joke that like the rest of us, F1 cars have developed a middle aged spread, and the cars are just too wide for the tracks. I was hopeful that having Ross Brawn involved might have made them fix that problem. Ross Brawn is a very smart man, and if I can see something is a problem, he must be able to too.

Obviously, the next wave of regs haven't come in yet, but all I'm hearing about them is about engine specs, nothing about width, and I'm worried that the increasing ERS/KERS/whatever the energy retrieval system is called this time requirements are going to make the cars even bigger and heavier.

The weekend after (so Bahrain Grand Prix for the F1 and Qatar for the MotoGP) I was reminded exactly how much that potential to have overtakes matters to racing, and how much of it is due to size.

Sure, MotoGP has gone back to being Marquez GP*, but there was definitely racing and overtaking (and the Moto3 boys were terrifying me by going 4 abreast into corners). That the bikes can overtake each other means that when I hear that there is a Jerez Grand Prix in the MotoGP, I am excited because "ooooh racing". The idea of an F1 Grand Prix at Jerez fills me with dread, because nothing would happen. There wouldn't be a single overtake, it would all be pit nonsense and DRS (the DRS button is not overtaking, and it kills joy).

No circuit designer can build around cars that can't go two abreast around corners!



*Nothing against either Marquez brother but I screamed when I heard Vinales has been booted to 14th for an infringement.

I had a whole post written up about next season's MotoGP roster but it has vanished into the ether. I will endeavour to reconstruct it.

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I, like everyone else, think that the Cal Crutchlow to Ducati thing might be a really bad idea for Cal. My logic is slightly different than everyone else's, but then again, I'm not a Brit so I remember Dovi smoking Cal on the same equipment last time they were in the same team together. And I think that was talent, not inexperience on Crutchlow's part. I think if he loses to Dovi again on the same bike, it'll do damage to Cal's chances of getting a decent bike* next time round.

I also think it's a boneheaded manoeuvre from Tech 3, I realise that they can't actually get rid of Bradley Smith (who is not as good as the BBC would have you believe) but Pol, bless him**, is only just coming up from Moto2 and how much can Bradley Smith teach him?

But, and this is where that impromptu interview the BBC managed to get with Cal Crutchlow at the British GP may have been slightly more revealing than Crutchlow had intended, where else could Crutchlow have gone. Basically, after the Honda and Yamaha factory teams, Tech 3 are the best. Ducati are the only other manufacturer team***. Gresini and LCR are good but satellite teams and I can see why they'd be less attractive than the team Ducati, even though I think either is a better option in results terms.

The other person this mucks about is poor old Aleix Espargaro (see the note that goes with **). I mean, if I were Herve Poncheral, I'd rather have had Aleix than Pol just for the experience edge.

* Because there are many things that Ducati is, and a decent bike is not one of them. And Cal is not Casey Stoner, he cannot, in the words of Charlie Cox "ride it like he stole it".

** Pol Espargaro is my baby. I am not reasonable on the topic of either of my adorable Espargaro boys.

*** Even if Suzuki come back, it'll be their first year, there are better places for Cal to be.

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In an amusing factlet for the Canadian French speakers on my flist - The "official" French TV transliteration for Vladimir Putin is Poutine. This may explain French/Russian relations at the minute.

If the Pol Espargaro to a Yamaha team for next year rumours are true, I will flail. I will make full-on dolphin noises. I will not be restrained in anyway. Just so we're clear. I am not sensible on the topic.

I do wish I could get through one qualifying session without squeaking "Dani!" when some disaster befalls our tiny hero.

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The Bank Holiday plan (after today got wasted by me going into work)

Sunday - food shopping, gym

Monday - electronics shopping (although thankfully I have found my mp3 player, my mother was right, tidying up helped), buy a black cardigan, museum hopping, movie monday.

By the end of the weekend I also have to tidy the flat to a reasonable state and hopefully finish the first draft of my lgbtfest fic. I fear neither of these is going to happen.

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Fanfic Meme - 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?

I prefer writing interesting characters.

Now before anyone accuses me of giving a cop-out answer, let me finish. The problem is the media I like tends to be genre-based. Sci-fi, comics, wrestling. And as a general rule (yes, I know there are exceptions), they don't give their female characters much to do* - looking at you so much wrestling - so there's not much I can write about. The minute I get something to write about I do. It's not just "action girls", all the Iron Man fic I write is Pepper fic, but I do need the canon to come up with something first.

*Or I can't access them. There's about to be a long post which is all about why I loathe the new Sky Drama model.

( Other Days )

( The Adventures of Tintin )

It's perfectly competently made, but it's absolutely lacking in anything that resembles heart or soul.

( TT : Closer To The Edge )

Definitely worth a watch.

Then I rewatched Games of Shadows, and still feel about it the same way I did when I first watched it and then the first half hour of the Sherlock Scandal in Bohemia/Belgravia. I will get round to writing about Sherlock's second season. I think I am finally capable of not flailing about the end of the third episode.

On the way back I watched Pirates: An Adventure With Scientists! which is a bit slow to get going but is lots of fun once it does.

I also watched the US version of ( The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo )

Virgin flights also have TV shows on now, so I got to try out

Smash: I got bored half-way through the first episode. I think I'd like it more if there was more of Anjelica Huston's character. And less wangst. Also, more realism. Because yeah, there's no way Megan Hilty's character wouldn't easily have got the role because Katharine McPhee's character hasn't the vocal power or presence. Not amount of Jack Davenport being a Cowell-esque bastard will make up for that.

Alcatraz: Didn't get further than the first six minutes of the first episode. I've figured out my problem with JJ Abrams and his productions, it's like Vince Russo, I know his kind of twists already and there's nothing behind the twists for me to enjoy.

Hit And Miss: Very good. But a bit too Tony Abbot making everyone suffer for a transatlantic flight. Because Abbot is a master at making the characters believably good, bad, horrible, nice, messed up and human.

Once Upon A Time: Which I didn't watch when it was broadcast because it was on on Thursdays and Thursday is fencing day and will not be interfered with. I liked it, and can see why everyone else enjoys it so much, and if they ever show it on normal TV not on Thursdays, I'm definitely giving this a go. If only to see what the hell Gold's deal is. And yes, I know, I'm focussing on the wrong thing, but 1) I love Robert Carlyle and have ever since Hamish MacBeth, 2) I have been primed to enjoy him being cranky, tormented and not so nice by Stargate Universe, 3) Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin is the kind of character I ping for.

I'm incredibly sad to hear about Neil Armstrong's death. He belonged to a time where we had fear and terror, of the cold war and nuclear war, but also hope, and he helped to bring that hope.

RL:

Things that are good - discovering, much to your surprise, that this is a Bank Holiday weekend.

Things that are better - because of this, you get paid a weekend early.

Challenge Cup Final:

I'm just hoping it's a good match, because while neither side are Saints, neither side are Wigan either. (They are the forces of good and the forces of evil respectively.)

Rugby is a lot less terrifying when it's not your team playing.

Why is Rat-boy on my TV when Wigan aren't playing. Once again the BBC are biased in favour of Wigan.

If Warrington win, we're not going to hear the end of the complaining about that knock on.

The Germans have taken to Rugby League. We will convert the world. I know there's an Austrian league already.

Interviewer: "At 30 minutes gone, a storm hit. That could have distracted you."
Lee Briers: "Do you mean Leeds or the weather?"

Adrian Morley is Northern. With a capital N.
Interviewer: "You being an old geezer, do you appreciate these more?"
Adrian Morley: "No. Because you know you've not got that many opportunities left." The famous Northern no that means yes.

It pleases me that Stephen Ratchford has got a shiny, because he's been very impressive in lots of teams that haven't won things.

While I totally agree that Brett Hodgson deserves the Lance Todd, I would have given it to Richie Myler. It pleases me to no end to have Ian Millward agree with what I said.

Paralympics:

As I have been informed by the papers that this is the first time that any US channel is covering the Paralympics (even if it is only online), I feel I should put in an advert for Wheelchair Fencing.

While not as well known as wheelchair basketball and murderball (wheelchair rugby), both of which are stupid amounts of fun to watch - no lie, I prefer wheelchair basketball to the other one, it is fantastic to watch, and the true heir to schlager fencing.

The rules are the same as non-wheelchair fencing, except there is no moving back beyond the movement of the trunk.

So yes, definitely give it a watch if you can.

Moto GP:

You will all love Ben Spies. I mean, he's loveable enough anyway (it is not his fault he's riding against my beloved Texas Tornado and Dovi), but he speaks such sense on the topic of his mother. I feel I should explain. His manager, agent and general person of greatest advice giving is his mother. People occasionally suggest that this is odd, or label him a mama's boy. He points out that plenty of the other racers have their father's in this position and nobody bats an eyelid. He says it's because a lot of men are threatened when women break into areas that they consider to be men's areas. Also that people commenting doesn't bother him, because it doesn't bother his mother.

The Armstrong Affair:

Other than the question of actual evidence, when they've never been able to catch Armstrong on anything (to quote my mother, "you know if they could have done, the French would have"), and a lot of the people willing to testify against him are people who have previously been caught doping and how much you're willing to believe them. Personally, my line is "I believe what George Hincapie and Tyler Hamilton say", but I'm a huge fan of both men, so I may be biased.

There is another problem, other than actually, USADA, you can't remove Armstrong's titles, only the UCI can (never mind that the UCI don't actually run the Tour and would probably need the ASO's agreement*). It's not like anyone immediately behind Armstrong wasn't doping too. Seriously, reading the data here - http://www.brettluelling.com/post/3435612945/armstrongs-tdf-victories, you're having to go to the guys who finished 10-30th before you hit people who probably weren't doping. And that's only probably. From the evidence and testimony produced from questioning previous doping offenders, doping was team-wide and systematic, so if we asterisk anyone that was, in that given year**, on a team with anyone who has been caught, that drops us down to the people finishing 30th - 50th. If we're lucky. The French might get their Tour winner after all.

What I'd do is just asterisk everything after Indurain***, up to the one Contador won, and say we can't tell who won because they were all on something. Defeatist, yes, but it makes more sense than having to try to figure out who was and wasn't when it was mostly was.

* yes, cycling's governing body don't run cycling's blue ribbon event. No, it makes no sense. Yes, there have been many, many hilarious arguments.

** I'm being nice, for once.

*** Indurain may or may not have doped, but he never got caught and all of his old teammates aren't lining up to declaim he did. Possibly because Big Mig was slightly less abrasive. Fair, no, but it is what it is.

( Football: )

Anna Karenina:

The new Anna Karenina looks like it will be terrible, but given that Joe Wright couldn't get the social structure of Regency England right (Pride and Prejudice) when most of the books are in a language he reads, I have my doubts about him being able to do pre-Revolutionary Russia any justice. Also, Jude Law as sour-faced, rotten toothed Karenin?! Also, Aaron Johnston is ~10 years too young for Vronsky.

Big news first, once again, one of the British women's foilists has qualified by right to the Olympics. That's two Olympics in a row where they've managed that. Remind me again that we're the "worst" weapon.

Take that, the rest of British fencing, and suck it.

More reasonable response here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17808274

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In other sporting news, Stephane Guintoli won in the Superbikes. Yay!

Mark Allen, you know what, you too can go suck it. Well done Cao Yupeng.

A baby Belgian (well, he's 17) is also in this year's Snooker World Championships - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17805483 Unfortunately, he's playing an in form Stephen Maguire.

Stephen Hendry managed not to suffer a bout of the yips and did win his match. He's through to the second round. Yay! - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/snooker/17809013

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I also love Terry Griffiths on commentary, he's such a little ray of sunshine. He and Willie Thorne were commentating on the start of the Gould vs Gilbert match, and Thorne said "they're both playing wonderfully well."

And Terry replied with "give them time, they'll fail like everyone else."

Because my friend L came down, I was actually watching the rugby but I turned over before the match and at half time to see how the MotoGP was going. I turned over again at full time, and it wasn't on, and Coast was a lot further through than it ought to have been. I assumed that the race had been delayed because of the rain which was pretty torrential. I had a look on the red button. Nothing. So we watched the rest of the afters from the rugby. L has a smart phone, and seeing as there was nothing on the red button and there was no news on anywhere, he checked what was going on using that. Apparently he had a moment of trying to decide whether he ought to show me or not.

I'd be upset if it were any of the riders, but everyone loves Simoncelli. Because he rode like a buccaneer and raced as hard when it was for 14th and 15th as when it was for first and second.

People always say it's silly to be upset by this kind of thing, because you don't know them, and that's true, but what I knew of him I liked and he had such potential. He was finally getting to grips with what the Gresini Honda could do and what it couldn't do, he'd got his first podium, he'd got his first second place, his first win had to be on the way. The Gresini team were doing amazingly well for a privateer(ish) team. There was him and Ben Spies and they were the future.

Part of it is that he was 2 years younger than me, and I'll always remember him being this tyro in the 125s, all too long limbs and wild hair. And such enthusiasm, like motorbike riding was the best thing ever. A lot of riders lose that moving up to MotoGP but he never did. I remember that kid and thinking, he's good, if he can get a decent 250 seat, and then if he can get a MotoGP seat, and then if he can get a decent one, and maybe, maybe, maybe.

My thoughts go out to his family, his team and the rest of the paddock.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motogp/15420069.stm

Or why I have no such fear.

(A minor TMI warning - for those who wish to avoid the TMI, skip the first paragraph)

Then again my Friday the thirteenth started quite badly on Thursday when my bowels decided to try to escape without warning. Not good times. Worryingly, this is the second time in two months this has happened the day before my period starts. Dear body, we are 26, new symptoms are not required or expected.

Anyway, so I have maybe 3 hours of sleep the night before my final corrections, which I'm expecting to be horrible. I catch the train, a different one than the expected on because the trainline lies.

During this I get a Red Bull shot drink freebie. Now I still say that Red Bull tastes worse than anything you should ever consume, unless you're taking a medicine, and we know that they all taste terrible, however, at five to eight in the morning, when you've been ill all night and you cannot cope with the idea of food, but you need sugar and caffeine, it's a life saver.

So I get to Leicester, and internal examiner is not in yet so I have to sweet talk my way into the building. Not a problem.

I get the corrections, they're done in a couple of hours, and I'm printed out by three, and fully submitted by four.

Silly hat day is go.

(Or, for those who haven't seen the headwear that PhD graduands have to wear, graduation is go.)

~~~~

CSI:NY -

Can't really get to liking Hawkes's new girlfriend in CSI:NY because she reminds me so much of ex-housemate's girlfriend. You know, my-fun-is-more-important-than-your-work girl. Argh!! Then again Sheldon being all 'can't say no dude' is not helping either.

I see the idiot writers are back. Half the characters are acting like themselves, and half of them are totally wrong. And Not-Stella is still a judgemental know-it-all.

Dude, Mac is now a chilled person. It's freaking wierd. Good but weird.

Bonus:

No CSI: Miami, atomic force microscopy does not work like that.

~~~~

Mostly for Twig, but the TV adverts for Blitz are starting showing (it's out the 20th of May). I am mostly unimpressed. I have no idea how you do that given that I <3 one of the actors in it, and am v. fond of another one, but fail, TV advert maker, fail!

Still not sure whether or not to go and see it, part of me says yes, because how am I supposed to resist, part of me says no, not least of all because I have no idea where the local cinema is.

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In terms of TV that's caught my eye, my Sunday night sleep-plan is presently being wrecked by 'The Shadow Line' which is brewing up nice and slowly into something complex.

It features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Ecclestone, and five hundred different you know, that guys.

The opening scene with David Schofield (or creepy guy from Pirates 2 as you might know him) basically monologuing was a work of genius.

I spent the whole of the first episode hoping something horrible would happen to Jay Wratten, played by Rafe Spall. Partly it's that Rafe Spall has the most unfortunately punchable face. Partly it's that his character is a little Caligula thinks he's so tough when he's really not, and he keeps getting into confrontations with people who are far more dangerous and they're not smacking him, for their own reasons and I think not smacking him is only going to rebound badly on them later.

( Spoilers )
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Comedians - Dave Fulton is looking old. I remember when he had long black hair.

As a general point, since I no longer have the time to watch late night tv the way I used to, I have to rely on Mock the Week and the other stand up shows to find out about the new, upandcomers, and mostly I'm not impressed, with the exception of Andi Osha.

The problem is, the way I see it, half of them have only one schtick and that's 'look, I'm posh and yet I swear', which is not funny to me. The other half are funnier but not much, including a fair few who are poor re-treads of other people's stuff.

(Honourable exception is Tommy Flanagan, who is funny, but just has a really unfortunate voice. My issues with him are not his fault.)

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Motorbikes - oh BBC commentators, how I love you. Calling Simoncelli Side-Show Bob is naughty but funny.

The trouble is that much like Ruben Xaus, there's a lot of Simoncelli so occasionally he takes stupid lines. (And he now has a reputation.)

It looks like there's going to be a punch up between a team manager and the stewards. I have seen that walk before.

Dani Pedrosa has pulled an Uncle Ste - my Uncle broke one collarbone, had it fixed, then broke the other one. I hope Pedrosa doesn't finish the cycle, because my Uncle then broke the first collarbone again but it only fractured and healed really quickly because it was in exactly the same place.

Other sports things I forgot to mention were that I saw quite a bit of motor racing over the weekend, formula 1, which though it's boring I still love with a slightly odd adoration, superbikes and moto gp. And I such a sad case that I can tell you what the difference is between moto gp and the superbikes.

While I might have prefered Colin Edwards to win, because I do love the Texas Tornado, I'm happy that Nicky Hayden won, because I can remember when he was only an up and comer, and because it means that Valentino has competition this year. Poor old Sete Gibernau really is cursed. I should explain - if a moto gp bike is going to go sproing, clonk or any of the 350 other noises it's not supposed to make, it will be Sete's bike that does it. He didn't get to ride this week because of a mixture of a concussion and a broken collar bone after a crash that also involved Melandri, Capirossi and Rossi, who all have breaks, fractures and assorted bumps and were riding with them. They're all mad idiots but how can you fail to love them.

In the superbikes, I was mostly just plain old happy to see Chris Walker, previous holder of Sete Gibernau's curse (seriously, broke a shin in training, came back, broke the other ankle, came back, caught Bell's palsy, came back, broke a wrist, then later that same season he was sacked because the team thought that if he carried on riding he'd end up killing himself in an accident) both riding and doing well. Same for Pierfrancesco Chili, who is back from an injury and still riding at the age of quite a lot. I was also really happy to see that Alex Barros hadn't had too many problems making the switch from moto gp to superbikes.

In the F1, other than Ralf Schumacher really deserving drive of the day for just finishing in that mangy heap of a car that didn't do corners, I found out that Red Bull and Toro Roso are not the same team despite looking exactly the same and both sharing the having of an unnerving amount of Austrian team owners/managers. Also long may Nico Rosberg continue to cause chaos and fear in the older drivers because, goodness knows, I can remember them doing it to their elders.

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Mostly I'm just rambling because I've not got a viva and therefore have nothing to do for 4 days and I'm worried and nervous because my life is not under my control any more because Pete only knows what I'm doing next year.

That's the only explanation of Valentino Rossi's victory in the British MotoGP and Vino winning the last stage of the Tour De France and, since he attacked twice, making up the seconds he needed to get into 5th overall.

I heart him so muchly. There will be pic-spam later.