(82) HOORAY IT'S FRIDAY!

If watching it wasn't enough, here's the proof Spielberg took too long on the Indianna Jones and the lost story script...




Have a great weekend!

(81) HOORAY IT'S FRIDAY!

What do you mean the rewrite took ages?



Have a great Holiday weekend!
Don't let the keyboard take over your life too much...
Take a walk, have a day out, watch a live band, see a movie (as in relax, enjoy and actually watch it - not study plot points, character arcs, etc), go down the pub...

or...

Catch up on some reading...

Some essential new posts of wisdom from those who know:-

Danny, Phil, Danny again, ( his blog is ALWAYS a must read) and again, (told you) Sir James Moran, Paul, Dom

Have a good 'un!

(80) WRITING UPDATE

Well, what a week that was! Writing wise lost the weekend (again), but this time to Pompey's F.A. Cup win and celebrations, so didn't really mind. Too much. The Beeb officially announced that the brilliant Steven Moffat will take over from the equally brill Sir Russell T. Davies on Dr Who.
And I actually knuckled down to some serious scriptwriting in the week!

Like James Moran on heat (but with fewer projects on the go and with less talent!) in a mad (and sadly all too rare) bout of keyboard frenzy I've resurrected the lost play for Bruntwood. It looks better, feels a tad fitter (trimmed some fat) but with only 20 days 'till the entry deadline the pressure is on. It still has a long way to go to live up to it's outline but I've got the "buzz", the excitement back for the project. I must admit I've struggled with this one, not only against the Evil computer, but also the restraints of the stage. That other Shakespeare fellow has certainly gone up a lot in my estimation!
After some serious dithering, procrastination and general failing to come up with any sustainable ideas, I've also made some in roads into a script for the Beeb's Sharps initiative . That 'the nation's health' remit had me stumped for a while.
And if all that's not all, for "relaxation"(!) and, mainly, to get me in the writing mood, I managed to translate some insane jottings from my scribble pad into a couple of funny (hopefully - but hey, comedy is a funny thing to write...) sketches for later use.

...Oh, and this time they're all saved on memory stick, sky drive and emails to my work's computer...

How's your projects coming along?

(79) Guess Who?

Guess Who's taking over as Showrunner on Dr Who?



Go on guess Who, as Russel T. Davies says farewell...and takes his special brand of genius to other projects


So long Russ, Thanks for bringing the magic back.

"BBC Wales and BBC Drama has announced that Bafta and Hugo Award winning writer Steven Moffat will succeed Russell T Davies as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who, which will broadcast on BBC One in 2010."



Moffat has written some of the best Who episodes, including fan favorite "Blink" and my personal all time fave episode "The Girl in the Fireplace"

"My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job," said Moffatt. "I applied before but I got knocked back because the BBC wanted someone else.
Also I was seven.
"Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say 'toughest' because Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."

The brilliant outgoing lead writer and executive producer Russell T Davies adds: "I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night."

Moffat's career began in 1989 with the landmark ITV children's drama "Press Gang", for which he won his first Bafta. "Coupling", the hugely popular and award winning sitcom that he created and wrote followed in 2000 and ran for four seasons.
"Jekyll" a six part comic thriller transmitted on BBC One last year.

As well as "Dr Who", the super talented Mr Moffat is a director on the board of Hartswood Films, (which produced Coupling and Jekyll), is working on new comedy "Adam & Eve" (with wife Sue Vertue) and has just delivered the screenplay for "Tintin" to Steven Spielberg, the first multi-million £ instalment of a planned trilogy.

For more info on Steven http://www.stevenmoffat.net/ is a site dedicated to the great man.

The future's bright - The Tardis is in safe hands!

(78) I was there!

200,000 fans line Victory parade route!
100,000 people together on Southsea common, all singing, chanting and cheering the victorious King Harry Redknapp dream team.
No writing done this weekend as Mrs S and I constantly celebrate as Pompey win the F.A. Cup and then have Victory Picnic with friends amongst a massive human sea of blue clad, proud, happy people!

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bbc video of parade including aerial shots

(77) The Boys done it! POMPEY WIN THE FA CUP!

Pompey 1 Cardiff 0

As you might imagine, the whole town went into celebration overload as Good King Harry's merry men brought the F.A. Cup back to Portsmouth for the first time since 1939.
Just gotta win it for the next 7 years in a row to equal our '39 record...


All Hail King Harry!


Cycling down to Southsea Common now to join the estimated 200,000 others who will be lining the Victory route.

Blue Army! Blue Army! Blue Army!

(76) Play up Pompey!

Play up Pompey! Pompey play up!

Blue Army! Blue Army! Blue Army!

It's only been 69 years but Portsmouth are back in the F.A. Cup final!



On Saturday the finest, loudest supporters in Football will be cheering, chanting, drumming and singing for the Pride of the South.

Come on Boys! Bring it back home!

Saturday's final is the 127th since the competition began in the 1871-72 season.

We won it way back in 1939 when Portsmouth beat hot favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1.




Pompey actually has the unbeaten (and never could be beaten!) world record of holding on to the F.A. Cup for seven consecutive years, the longest any club has managed to keep the cup for.

Ok, it was last final to be played before a little thing called World War Two kicked off, and the competition didn't re-start until in 1945-46, but, come on, a record is a record!

Good luck Boys! Win it for the fans!

(75) HOORAY IT'S FRIDAY!

Been a mad, busy week.
Just about got time to share one of my holiday snaps with you...




Pompey for the cup!

Have a great weekend!

(74) HOORAY IT'S FRIDAY!

Global warming?

Scientist's discover the real reason for the polar ice caps melting..





Have a great weekend!

(73) WRITING UPDATE

Not a lot...

The computer's behaving, but work, as in the real job what pays the the real bills, and entertaining Mrs S for the holiday weekend (she works hard, bless her,) took up all my time.

No real scribing done, just some outlines for future use, really.

I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...
I must try harder this week...

(repeat 100 times and fade)

(72) HOORAY IT'S FRIDAY!

Get it made and Live the Dream...

At long last my fellow scribes/film makers...

A very low budget way to get those short movies made...

Backed by one of the UK's biggest companies...

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I present to you...




Have a great Holiday Weekend!

(71) Coming tomorrow!

Coming tomorrow!

A cheap, value way to make your own short movies!!!

Watch this space...

(70) History Mystery

I thought I'd share this with you. Cos I love you.
It came through on one of those emails that does the rounds.

Conspiracy theory?

Or are we really living in the Matrix and the machines binary whatnots pasted the dates/names etc?

The mind boggles...




Have a history teacher explain this----- if they can.



Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.


Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln 's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.


Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln , was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.





John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln , was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford.'

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.


A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was in Marilyn Monroe!

(69) WRITING UPDATE

Thanks to Rach & Dave for the shareware suggestions.

Unfortunately when I tried the recovery programmes they just kept "finding" what I had already restored from the stick.

So the play's lost.
I'll have to start it again.
I'm gutted but I'll treat it as a another rewrite. Only without the original crap script to go over and improve. And I've got a memory like one of those things with loads of holes in it...
A net?
No, the other thing, oh, wotsitcalled?
See, told you...

Still, mustn't be down. Part 1:

Two of Terry Nation's finest "Survivors" and "Blake's 7" are coming back as multi-million £ re-imaginations from the Beeb and Sky one respectively.
(loved the Sky commissioning editor Elaine Pyke quote "it is likely that Blake would be brought back as the central character."
Yeah. Ok. otherwise the title's kinda no good...)

Still, mustn't be down. Part 2:

Sir Daniel Stack's got a typically brilliant new post here to give you a bit of an uplift if you're suffering from a tad of a dose of writer's gloom.

Basically "Writers write. End of."
Great stuff.

Still, mustn't be down. Part 3:

And if you still need to let of steam, waste a bit more writing time, or just HATE YOUR COMPUTER have ago at this as kindly supplied by Dave.

Very therapeutic. And great fun. And strangely satisfying.

Anyway must go. Must write! (and remember to back it up STRAIGHT AWAY this time...)