Because distractogirl tagged me, here I go!

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag five other people to do the same.

Bath is something all Tourists crave for quite soon. After very few days of slogging along in all weathers and sleeping in your clothes, you will be ready to kill for a bath. You will crave to wash your hair.
The Tough Guide To Fantasy Land by Diana Wynne Jones

I had a pile of books on my desk with that on top, otherwise you'd have had dialogue from a Graphic Novel, a Star Wars book or How to Survive a Robot Uprising.

I heartily recommend Tough Guide to anyone, in particular gamers.

As for my tags: shadowranger, johnwordsworth, bell_de_tink, fivestargammbit and sattocs

I wanted a giant war death peace-keeping robot. I wanted one bad. I wanted one so bad that I placed an order with Amazon to get my hands on the LEGO Exo-Force "Striking Venom" mecha.

I thought maybe it could take pride of place on my newly cleaned desk at home, a sort of remember you are in it for the world domination trinket.

Today, I unpacked items from Amazon and Play. I got Real Ultimate Power, How To Survive A Robot Uprising and there was also my Mecha.

I then spent between 5 to 6 hours assembling the monster, and it was quite fiddly at times. It actually has some interesting features, including a disc launcher and a light pack that makes one of the smaller robots eyes glow a bright red. Some of the weaponry pieces and the canopy are held together by very small pieces, which require them to be handled delicately or they fall off completely. I found this a little difficult to assemble because of those joints, and it is had to envision how a child would be meant to play with one of these without it falling to pieces regularly.

However after much had labour, the end result was the LEGO Exo-Force "Striking Venom" is so large a model that once assembled I have nowhere it will actually fit. It required roughly double the surface space I have available on my desk.

Headed down to town this morning, and went in to Nigel's shop in Tudor Mall to take a peak through the second hand books for anything that caught my eye, I avoided nabbing Peanuts, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes, though I managed to pick up copies of Terry Pratchett's Witches Abroad and Sourcery.

I'm about to start reading this again. It's been about five months since I last finished it.

I love Crowley, he's gone native but is still that extra bit of a bastard that keeps him a demon. Nowhere near as evil as humans though.

Meme ganked from Latest Posts.

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.
2. Book #1 -- first sentence
3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty
4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred
5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book
7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph

Ok...
X-WING : Solo Command by Aaron Allston, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, X-WING : Wedge's Gamble by Michael A. Stackpole, Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

It reads :

Naval Lieutenant Jart Eyan looked rested and cheerful. One of his first assignments, back in 1982, had been to accompany John Hammond while the old man, then nearly seventy, put together the funding to start the InGen corporation. It was true that CorSec, like any other security force, made deals with a lesser evil to get rid of some greater evil. It was part of the background hum of the castle. And there never was an apple, in Adam's opinion, that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it.

That's either really deep, embracing so much metaphor (great evil and apples tied together, and the implication of getting involved in it; background hum of a castle being the sturdy foundation of big business) or else it's complete twaddle.

I always think these things are great for seeing glimpses into peoples lives, so give it a try folks.

Having saved some money this week I decided to look for some books in Nigel's shop when I was picking up the Hellblazer Dave had left for me this month, and amazingly I picked up some bargain Terry Pratchett second-hands : Lords and Ladies, Equal Rites, The Truth and Monstrous Regiment. All that for under a tenner, and about a tenner less than from my Amazon Wishlist - I was well chuffed.

Also finally got a bit more credit on my mobile, I still want to upgrade to one with camera facilities, but now I can call and send txt messages again. Go team me!

If anyone has heard the song Lola by The Kinks I would heartily recommend seeking out the recent Madness cover version, it truly is a nicely done track. There are so many tracks in my playlist that are getting repeatedly played, I could do with a scorecard, I think the most listneed to at the moment is Kaiser Chiefs with Everyday I Love You Less And Less.

( Subtlety thy name is...Everyday I Love You Less and Less )

Of course, this is alongside Matchbox 20, Madness, Wurzels, Avalances (Frontier Psychologist!) and so many more.

Yeah, I read it. Not quite in one sitting as the last one, this time I started at 01:00 for an hour and resumed reading this afternoon.

It was ok, actually. Now she just has to finish the series so that millions of grown men and women around the world can resume reading trashy romance or action novels.

While Tim and I went down to town to pick up his copy of Harry Potter we got stopped by a Market Researcher, I'm always happy to help and when it's about chocolate and the words 'free samples' are included in the sales pitch, I'm on it like a shot. Tim eventually conceeded to take part too, ewspecially when the MR said she could kiss him for being 30. We were taken away to the Winter Gardens and individually asked questions and shown slides where we had to point out as quickly as we could Twix bars and cans of Coca-Cola were, I got them all correct and when Tim did it he didn't manage my amazing feat. I am a consumer whore, witness my brand slutness!

A quick note on the people running it, my MR was very professional but also friendly and casual, whereas Tim had someone reading off the notes, I'm a firm believer that the behaviour from the subject is proportional to the behaviour of the stimulas - therefore, positive stimuli = good response, negative/neutral stimuli = weaker response - also I relish challenges. There was a young girl who was offering orange juice to participants, and she was ever-so charming and knew just the intervals to offer. The young guy at the projector was amusing as he was taking score even though it wasn't needed, he was even giving me non-verbal feedback on how Tim did, and he was joined by one freakin' gorgeous girl in a summer outfit with an amazing smile.

The main research was on Twix, and I know my Twix. I am so about the Twix.

Tim eventually got Harry Ptter from Ottakers while I went to get sun cream from Wilkinsons. I have new sun cream, but now my arms feel way too dry. I knew I should have gone to Boots and got something else.

My plan to rob Tim of the book failed, I think someone tipped him off - possibly me, because he reads this. Dammit, and damn him for his non-conspiratorial ways of getting information.

Had our workshop today, which was quite good. The apathetic people stayed away - their loss if the lack of knowledge stops them getting their jobs - and we that remained had a rather good time, quite a bit of fun with some of the stories from the investigations side, plus we had some management support in there which is also beneficial. We lost our team member today, which was rather sad, but there's always a chance she may return someday.

Andrew in Taunton revealed he's made a music CD, so hopefully I can listen to it and pimp it if it's any good. Seems his focus is a lot on my tastes, which should be interesting to hear. I whored out the Redoubt to him while I was at it.

Walking back through the Sovereign Shopping Centre, I passed Ottakers and saw that they are opening at 12:01 to 01:30 tomorrow morning, I am sorely tempted to go. Not to pick up the book, but to actually see the kinds of people who would be going at that time to get it. It's also opening at 08:00 tomorrow to let pre-order customers pick up, another temptation for watching the hardcore. They are doing a series of 'events' at Ottakers for kids too, including popping balloons made up to look like obese snitches and stuff.

I might be meeting Dave tomorrow and getting monthly comics. I'd like to start selling off old comics this weekend. I wont do it, I just want to. I'd really like to re-rip all my CDs onto PC this weekend, to get a better library system set up. I wont do it, I just want to. I'd really like to get Guise to Post-Searing in Guild Wars this weekend. Unless I have someone around in Pre-Searing I wont do it, I just want to.

This weekend I will be wasting time, then realising it has gone and I have work again.

I need a flipboard or whiteboard with dry wipe markers for this, but I have a plan for this Saturday. See, Tim will be buying the new Harry Potter book and returning here with it for his own personal enjoyment, he will spend the required currency to purchase this book and he will put in the effort to collect it.

I wish to read the book before he basically spoils it as he tries to do on nearly every book - unintentionally, I'm sure - he even read the Sirius bit before leaving the shop last time and dropping hints the entire walk home.

So, the plan. Between the time he gets up the fire escape to the time he gets to sit down and read I must liberate the book, as I see it I only get the opportunity in two instances:

• it is hot and he removes a light jacket, during that moment I can lunge for it
  
• it is raining and he removes a heavy jacket, during those few moments I can lunge for it

This is my non-violent approach. I will be practising my pouncing, lunging and manic flailing arms as a back up. I resist the urge to glomp, as that's way to much a fan thing.

It's not that I'm a Harry Potter fan - and I'm definitely not a Harry Potter fanfic fan - it's just I'm a book fan, and I hate having my interest piquing about a story and then having it left in the gutter like some discarded herpes-infested whore.

This plan will develop, I'm looking into antique bear traps, caltrips and 'jam sandwiches on a large mousetrap' - all of which I can probably find somewhere on eBay. Failing that, I'm sure I can find a ball gag or a bottle of chloroform.

The possibilities are endless...meaningless...useless...but I'd like to try all of them now. Mwehehehe.

Oscar Wilde: The Portrait of Dorian Gray. You are a
horror novel from the world of dandies, rich
pretty boys, art and aesthetics, and
intellectual debates between ethical people and
decadent pleasure-seekers. You value beauty and
pleasure but realize their dangers, as well.


Which literature classic are you?
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I'll add it to the list of books to read. Though the plot I know from LXG.