Doctor Who Exhibition at the Kelvingrove.

Right. First of all, this isn't really an educational exhibition. Other than a few bits and bobs, most of the signage just gives you a synopsis of the episode that the character or props appeared in - it seemed to be pretty much for the dedicated fan, rather than the more casual watcher. However (bearing in mind that Matt and I fall into the former category), it is a lot of fun. I spent most of the time we were in there darting about and pointing at stuff, and squeaking excitedly. It was totally awesome.
Secondly, there was quite a bit of strobe lighting, which was a bit off-putting for me, but not too overwhelming.
Thirdly, it's not a very big exhibition, but they manage to pack quite a bit into it.

Here are some of my highlights.

Zu-Zana from 'Bad Wolf'.

Lady Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17. I love her, bitchy trampoline that she is.


Despite what it says here, in the episode 'New Earth', they discuss the apple grass.

These are all props from 'New Earth' - the Face of Boe, Novice Hame, and one of the cells containing a 'patient'.




Cybermen!


We tried not to Blink...


The drawing (the scary drawing) by Chloe Webber from 'Fear Her'. They had strobes on this, which made the eyes flash between red and dark.

Matt making friends with the Ood. (He was not actually touching the exhibit.)

They had an interesting display of the making of the Ood prosthetics.





A prototype of the Racnoss Empress.

Matt's scared by one of the Scarecrows from 'Human Nature' / 'Family of Blood'.

A Tritovore from 'Planet of the Dead'. I like these guys.

Sycorax. Actually quite intimidating, although I think the bone jewellery it's wearing is actually the same as the stuff that they used for the Sybilline Sisterhood in 'Fires of Pompeii'.


Costume detail from the Futurekind.

Hath!

Bubbling Hath goo!

Hey, who turned out the lights?

The library's computer from 'Silence in the Library' / 'Forest of the Dead'.

The Host.

Note: again, Matt wasn't actually touching the exhibit here.



Close-ups of a Dalek...




...which Matt sonic screwdrivered.

The part with the freaky mannequins from 'Rose' was a little too creepy for me. Especially since some of them move. Just a little, but they move.

Me with one of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.

There was a bit where you got to get inside a Dalek and wiggle its weapon bits and talk through a voice changer. It was pretty damn cool.

We're big nerds, so we had to pose in front of the Tardis with our sonic and laser screwdrivers.

A really nice member of staff saw us zapping each other (me with the sonic, Matt with the laser) afterwards, and offered to take a picture of us both in front of the Tardis.

This is the best exhibition we've been to in a long time, and we both loved it.

Sometimes where I live really saps my cynicism.

It does. Really and truly.
You get these days sometimes when it seems like Edinburgh goes out of its way to be gorgeous at me. I find it difficult to keep up my cynical, devil-may-care attitude on these days.













These tufted ducks were all paired off. Except for one - the dorky, fat little male one at the front of this picture. He's utterly adorable, and we couldn't work out why he wouldn't have a lady-duck-friend. We named him George. I hope he's found someone to love.

Happy Religious or Secular Celebration Weekend, Everybody!

Hello, you.

Right, well. First off, the depression obviously hasn't lifted 100%, but I am feeling somewhat better, thanks in no small part to my wonderful friends who make me laugh and take my mind off the bleakness (I feel so gothy right now, typing that). You know who you are. So thank you.

I'm not going to dwell on that-d-word-that-must-not-be-named, because it's not going to do anyone any good. It doesn't help me, and it's very, very boring for you guys to read about.

On to other things!

Matt is trying to explain the basic concepts of D&D to me, as a precursor to getting me to play it. I've got the elf/human/dwarf/halfling thing down, and the cleric/magic user/fighter/thief thing. I sort of understand the sub-categories. I think. (I remember the sub categories of magic user, by the way, by thinking of Derren Brown and Getafix the Gaul.)
We were discussing it last night, and I came to the conclusion that a cleric is pretty much like an admin assistant - no specialities, necessarily, but can do a bit of this, a bit of that, acts as backup, cleans up after the others...
Matt says that I could be a monk. He says that it would be a good character for me, as they can fall off cliffs and things and sustain less damage. He got pummelled for that. He then pointed out that it seems I'm reasonable at unarmed combat, too. I hit him with a cookbook.

Today I am baking stuff. It's the clan gathering tomorrow, even though we are definitely not a religious family, and I can't afford to buy anyone Easter eggs, so I thought some home baking would be appreciated (plus, it's cheap, which is always good).
And because I love you, and because I can, I thought I'd give you a recipe.
We already made what were supposed to be cookies, but they came out with a slightly cake-like texture. Because of this discrepancy, I will hereafter refer to them as 'tray bakes'. They're fucking delicious, though.
Recipe!

White and Dark Chocolate Tray Bakes
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
125g self-raising flour
2 tsp vanilla
100g chopped white chocolate
100g chopped plain chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease baking tray.
Cream together butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Sift in the flour and mix well. Then add the chocolate.
Dollop on to greased baking tray and cook for about 15 minutes.
Allow to cool before removing from the tray.
Try to stop Matt from eating them all, as they are supposed to be for sharing.

We're also going to make chocolate chip buns, and Mars bar cake. Oh, and I'm meant to be making chocolate brownie with ganache sauce tomorrow.
Everyone will die of fatness and happiness.

And now some pictures of My Kitchen: Tray Bake Aftermath.

Tea is very important in activities such as these.

As is Coke Zero. It's the caffeine, you understand.

As you can see, we used packets of chocolate chips/chunks instead of cutting up blocks of chocolate.


Oh yeah. The chocolate tends to sink to the bottom, and become a little gloopy, so we turned out the bakes upside down. Matt has already eaten half of this one. We chose to do them as two big bakes, but I'd imagine they would work as normal cookie-sized ones just as well.


So... yeah. Happy Easter, everyone!

Making a stand.

It's a funny thing, depression. It will hit you when you least expect it. Or when you might expect it. Or when you absolutely do expect it. It's an equal-opportunities sort of thing, depression.

I can't stand the word.
Depressed. Depressed. Depressed.
Blech.

I don't want to be depressed, nor do I associate the way I feel with that word.

Depressed.
Yeah, still not that.

What would I prefer it to be called?
It's a difficult question, with no easy answer.
But I am not pushed down, so I hate to say I am depressed. That I suffer from depression.

I often lie in bed and all I can think about are bad things. What-ifs. Not even future what-ifs, necessarily, either. Never-weres. "What if I'd said this to that person during that conversation? They'd have been terribly upset. I'd have been upset. That would have been horrible."
I can't think of the good stuff. Not how I have friends I love, a husband whom I adore, pets that make me happy. Not how we went for a walk and saw flowers blooming, that I cooked delicious foods, that I took beautiful photographs, that I read an awesome book. Not that we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, technology and books galore.

The not-depression is still the bubble, sure, but it's also a miasma. I feel it chilly against my thoughts, but I can also feel it clinging damply to my shoulders.

I deal with it as best I can, for as long as I can, but sooner or later it winds its way through too much of me. And this is when I withdraw. I don't talk to my friends, my family, the people who make me laugh. I stay at home. I hug Matt a lot, trying to get the image of him dead to disappear from my brain.

But this is my battle with the stupid little brain chemicals. They're not pushing me down without a fight. And that is what this wailing in the dark is all about.
It's my stand.