3 dead apples

So first, a month or two ago, I broke Cam's laptop (I spilled water on it in just the right way so that it looked like none had gotten into it but it was actually totally screwed). I felt REALLY bad about it, and thus reacted as I do to feeling really bad about something eg by talking and thinking about it as little as possible.

Cam got himself a new cheap small Eee PC laptop and an iPhone (he needed a new phone anyway)

And then Cam lost his iPhone. Which (unlike the laptop) was covered by insurance but he's still waiting on the replacement.

And just now? MY laptop has broken. It's been slowly dying for a while but it's gone from "a bit flakey" to "refusing to start for hours on end" so during a brief up-time I transfered across any files I wanted to keep and am now on my desktop machine in a rather unstable position on two chairs (Kira is not impressed. When I'm on the couch she gets a lap! My icon is no longer accurate :( )

ARGH. And of course with me not working any more our finances are WAY tighter than they were, so we can't just go out and buy a new one. Current plan is to buy a large-screen windows laptop (Cam sometimes gets sick of the teeny screen and processing on his Eee, and if I look at a small screen for more than about a minute I get a headache) and share it. But not for a while :(

Oh, and I had insomnia last night so feel all wierd AND a pigeon crapped on my bedsocks. Which I had been watching dryig on the line for a day or two with cold toesies. Luckily I manged to find two clean ones even if they don't match.

Anyway, as previously mentioned, I don't actually want to talk or think about it, I just needed to vent. Supportive comments will probably make me feel worse rather than better because I am odd like that, but if you really want to say something cheering give me a link to something happyfying.

To start you off: Dude watching with the Brontes.

Delicious easy no fat vegetables, plus turkey

Slice 2 potatoes into 5mm slices.
Cut the top off a bulb of garlic (but do not otherwise peel it)
Pack together, evenly and tightly spaced, on a paper-lined baking tray with a few mushrooms.
Sprinkle with lots of salt.
Put into a cold oven, put the heat up to 180C and bake for 45 mins.

It might be nicer if you sprayed the paper and then the top of the vegetables with oil, but I didn't (this might let you get away with not using paper, too). The mushroom and garlic juice mixed with the potatoes to make them Very Tasty. I haven't tried the garlic yet, I intend to freeze it and chuck it into other recipes.

Less successful or simple but still nice turkey and spinach:
Fry up some onion, celery and carrot. Mix with stock, wine, thyme, onion powder, tinned apricots and soy sauce, simmer until reduced.
Put a small turkey roll in a small dish, pack with spinach. Sprinkle with lots of salt and pepper, pour over the sauce, and cover.

Bake at 180C for an hour, at least if you haven't preheated the oven. You'll end up with a sauce which would probably make nice gravy (I intend to cook it with the leftover turkey tomorrow)

And yes, I was eating vegetables and typing up this entry during the 15 minute time difference *is now eating turkey*

DEBS and Skim

Movie (4): D.E.B.S
This is not a high quality movie I would recommend unreservedly. It's B-grade and patchy and enjoyable if and only if you like the premise: silly super-villain/spy lesbian romance-action-comedy.
I did like the premise (I'm a sucker for every aspect of it except action(*). There should be more movies with this premise! Good ones!), so I enjoyed the movie. It was also interesting after watching Chuck (another silly spy romance/comedy with Jordana Brewster)

Watching the special features it's cool seeing how the director originally wrote the story as a comic as a break from learning to be a screenwriter and only later got the inspiration and chance to make it into a film.

(*)The supervillain tries to seduce the heroine by asking her about her thesis. It's like it was written for me! Only not very well.

Graphic novel (22): Skim
This is one of those books which just lets the characters lives play out rather than forcing them into a narrative arc. I must admit I prefer my stories a bit more story-ish but it's very good for what it is, the understated story of a disaffected girl dealing with life and death and love and..stuff. It was nice seeing a realistic portrayal of a dumpy East Asian goth, since I and all my highschool friends tended to be at least one of those things and did not see ourselves reflected in mainstream fiction :)

The art is very expressive and flowing. Overall I'm not doing it justice, check out the link above to see the first few pages.