Instructions by Neil Gaiman

"Instructions," by Neil Gaiman
Art by Jeanie Tomanek.

Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before.

Say "please" before you open the latch,

go through,

walk down the path.

A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted

front door,

as a knocker,

do not touch it; it will bite your fingers.

Walk through the house. Take nothing.

Eat nothing.

However, if any creature tells you that it hungers, feed it.

If it tells you that it is dirty, clean it.

If it cries to you that it hurts,

if you can,

ease its pain.

From the back garden you will be able to see the wild wood.

The deep well you walk past leads to Winter's realm;

there is another land at the bottom of it.

If you turn around here,

you can walk back, safely;

you will lose no face.

I will think no less of you.

Once through the garden you will be in the wood.

The trees are old.

Eyes peer from the under-growth.

Beneath a twisted oak sits an old woman.

She may ask for something;

give it to her.

She will point the way to the castle.

Inside it are three princesses.

Do not trust the youngest. Walk on.

In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve

months sit about a fire,

warming their feet, exchanging tales.

They may do favors for you, if you are polite.

You may pick strawberries in December's frost.

Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where

you are going.

The river can be crossed by the ferry.

The ferry-man will take you.

(The answer to his question is this:

If he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to

leave the boat. Only tell him this from a safe distance.)

If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe.

Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that

witches are often betrayed by their appetites;

dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always;

hearts can be well-hidden,

and you betray them with your tongue.

Do not be jealous of your sister.

Know that diamonds and roses

are as uncomfortable when they tumble from

one's lips as toads and frogs:

colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.

Remember your name.

Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found.

Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped

to help you in their turn.

Trust dreams.

Trust your heart, and trust your story.

When you come back, return the way you came.

Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid.

Do not forget your manners.

Do not look back.

Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall).

Ride the silver fish (you will not drown).

Ride the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur).

There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is

why it will not stand.

When you reach the little house, the place your

journey started,

you will recognize it, although it will seem

much smaller than you remember.

Walk up the path, and through the garden gate

you never saw before but once.

And then go home. Or make a home.

And rest.

Stephanie x(:

Jonathan Ross: Leaving the BBC

"Although I have had a wonderful time working for the BBC and am very proud of the show I've made while there, over the last two weeks I've decided not to renegotiate when my current contract comes to an end. I would like to make it perfectly clear that no negotiations ever took place and that my decision is not financially motivated."

Jonathan Ross broke millions of his fans' hearts across the country when he recently announced he will be leaving the BBC in July.

The Thing -- This one’s still in the script stages, where i hope it gets stuck!

My Tweets on Remake: The Thing ... *puke* ...\o/

Hahaha http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17011 ..I picked the wrong f-ing genre to be obsessed with... -_-

Oh no, here we go again... with the ever immortal Remake Money Monster rawr... these are sad times folks

I've been thinking about pitching a remake of Meet The Spartans lol ..anyone up for it? =P

If a Hollywood exec saw an original idea he'd hit it with a hammer!... Being a scriptwriter right now must be like being a lottery winner.

The Thing -- This one’s still in the script stages, where i hope it gets stuck! The original is a flat-out classic..

..but given how many John Carpenter movies are getting the remake treatment, suspect that it’ll get to the screen in the next three years..

Two Thousand and Ten or Twenty Ten...?

So whats it gonna be? Two Thousand and Ten or Twenty Ten...? I like the sound of Twenty Ten, it has it's charm...*wiggles eyebrows* =P

Movie Review: The Lovely Bones

*-&- I Love It..! It's poignant, gripping, emotionally alive and gorgeous. Though i feel i have to warn everyone who hasn't yet seen this film, that it's very distressing! I seriously never cry at films, EVER! I now know why you can 'never say never' in the end lol.. Since i cried all the way through. My tears never stopped, my face burned, i got dizzy and lightheaded (+ very heavy hearted) very quickly.. *bows head in shame* I got so encased in the film like no other film before.

It's weird isn't it? When you think you'll never find a romantic comedy funny or get angry with a film, get energetic from the adrenaline (or without shame weep over portrayed heartbreak) that's when you kick yourself in the teeth because 'that random pick of a film' broke you down and made you laugh, made you cry in the end.

'The Lovely Bones' broke my heart, it's my new tear jerker. Replacing my only other one in a million weepy film 'My Dog Skip'. Now don't laugh, i have a good reason, I'm a dog lover... (it's a animal thing) lol XP Please if you haven't had a chance to watch this film yet, you might get a surprise as it may 'haunt' you a little afterwards... :)

Stephanie x

Review:
Is there a filmmaker in history who’s made four bigger back-to-back movies than Peter Jackson? Fellowship, Two Towers, King, Kong… that’s a total of 30 words in the full titles, 745 minutes in running time (883 if we’re talking the extended cuts), $1.3bn at the box office and more spectacle, CG extras and horizon-stretching battles than a T-Rex could shake an Oliphant at.

So how’s this for a change of pace: an intimate family drama set in a small American town (one street, primarily) and faultlessly recreating the early ‘70s. It’s a lost world but there’s not a dinosaur in sight – though a beast does live across the street and Jackson gets to flex the fantasy once more by visualising a land so vast and fertile it makes Middle-earth look like a disused parking lot. Welcome to heaven.

Confused? Then you haven’t read Alice Sebold’s 2002 bestseller The Lovely Bones, to which Jackson and partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens cleave faithfully but not, wisely, reverentially. It tells the imaginative, heartfelt tale of Susie Salmon (“like the fish”), a 14-year-old who is raped and killed by Mr Harvey, her inconspicuous neighbour. Only she’s not ready to die, instead loitering around the gateway to the afterlife and peering back over her shoulder as the murder investigation unfurls below.

Sensitively cast - Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie’s parents, Susan Sarandon as vulgar Grandma, a bewigged, bespectacled Stanley Tucci as Harvey and Atonement’s Saoirse Ronan as poor, hurting Susie – Lovely Bones is a touching, at times distressing film. It deals with loss, grief, rage, familial breakdown and love, most of all love. But it’s also energetic and entertaining, the camera already moving whenever Jackson cuts into a scene and the horror/thriller elements given just enough fizz to recall the director’s early genre forays (minus the splatter) but not so comic book as to undercut the drama.

The Lovely Bones, both book and film, opens with a close-up image of a snowman trapped in a snow globe. The image reverberates around the entire movie. From Susie Salmon sitting on her heavenly gazebo narrating her own life following her brutal murder, to her father Jack (Wahlberg, good hair) building intricate model ships inside delicate bottles to her mother Abigail (Weisz) keeping Susie’s room in pristine untouched condition to her killer George Harvey (a terrific, meticulous, barely recognisable Tucci) carefully tending to his miniature doll house, these are characters looking to build ideal worlds but who eventually become ensnared by them, unable to move on, tethered by their pain. If this makes Lovely Bones sound like a draining downer, it shouldn’t: it is poignant, gripping, emotionally alive (but never sentimental) and gorgeous. All this from the man who brought you Meet The Feebles.

With its heady teen protagonist and themes of murder intertwined with the fantastical, on paper this felt like Jackson returning to the intimate, small-scale milieu of Heavenly Creatures (the fascination with the afterlife connecting with the real world also touches base with Jackson’s forgotten flick The Frighteners). Eschewing Sebold’s almost comic vision of the afterlife as a kitsch heavenly high school, Jackson’s vision of “the in-between”, a holding pen between Earth and Heaven, is a cornucopia of digitally enhanced vistas, flower iconography, quickly shifting landscapes and startling memorable images: a horrific bathroom vignette, a fleet of ships in bottles bobbing on a sea, a gazebo planted firmly in the middle of a midnight lake with the moon as a clock.

It defies most conventions and it defies most categories too. It is part ghost story, part romance and part murder mystery.

Release Date: Jan 29th 2010
Certificate: tbc
Genre:
o Drama,
o Horror,
o Thriller
Starring:
o Mark Wahlberg,
o Rachel Weisz,
o Susan Sarandon,
o Saoirse Ronan,
o Michael Imperioli
Director:
o Peter Jackson


===
The Lovely Bones (Novel)
by Alice Sebold





X

Girls Aloud: Let's get Untouchable by Girls Aloud into the Top 10

[-Link-]

Let's get Untouchable by Girls Aloud into the Top 10 is on Facebook...

Girls Aloud to The Top
Because Top 10 records are Untouchable

On May 3rd 2009 Girls Aloud’s 21st single, ‘Untouchable’ became the first to miss the UK top ten upon its official release, breaking a string of consecutive hits that ran back to their debut single Sound Of The Underground in 2002.

With its dazzling sci-fi inspired video, the most expensive produced by the band, and with many fans judging it not only one of the best songs of their Out Of Control album, but of their career as a whole, many were disappointed at the track stalling at number 11 in the charts.

The objective is to get Untouchable back in the top 10. But for that, we need your help.

To do this, we are going to choose a specific week when we will proceed to download the song and/or its remixes from any download site that counts towards the chart.

Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle herself has shown her support of the campaign on popular social networking site Twitter:

'Some very kind friends have an idea.. Go to http://www.tinyurl.com/untouchabletop10 what a supportive group we have!! Your the best!!'

http://twitter.com/NadineWorldwide/status/7310844515

Help make Untouchable top 10 in 2010!

Contact Info

Email:

Website:

http://twitter.com/UntouchableTp10
http://girlsaloudblog.com/untouchable-to...

The Plan:

The objective is to get Untouchable back in the top 10. To do this, we are going to choose a specific week when we will proceed to download the song and/or its remixes from any download site that counts towards the chart.

Guide to Download

The sites that you can use to download the song/remixes that WILL count towards the official charts are:

* iTunes
7Digital
Play.com
Hmv
Amazon
*


If you want to buy the song more than once, don't buy it from the same shop. Ie. You want to buy 5 copies, buy one from iTunes, one from 7Digital, one from Play, one from HMV and one from Amazon. If you get the song 5 times into your shopping cart in the same shop, it will only count as ONE SALE and you will have wasted your money.

DON'T start downloading the song until we choose the week. If you download it now it won't have any effect, we all need to download the song at once on the same week.

IF YOU DONT LIVE IN THE UK THEN DONT BUY IT! Purchases out of the UK don't contribute to the charts.

TESCO DOWNLOADS MAY NOT COUNT! We are waiting for confirmation on whether tesco downloads contribute to the the charts or not.

For updates or if you want more information, follow the 2 main twitter pages:

@UntouchableTp10 - http://twitter.com/untouchabletp10
@HelpUntouchable - http://twitter.com/helpuntouchable

These sites have all helped promote the campaign:

Digital Spy - http://tinyurl.com/ya2d8rt
Girls Aloud Media - http://tinyurl.com/ykugf26
Sarah Harding Addicts - http://tinyurl.com/ylcst4r
Total Cheryl Cole - http://tinyurl.com/yz8qbec
Kimberley Walsh Online - http://tinyurl.com/y9ps3ow

Celebs that have helped promote the campaign:

Daizy from Girls Can't Catch - http://tinyurl.com/y9pmtu6
Rachel Adedeji from x Factor 2009 - http://tinyurl.com/yabll5l

Also a massive, massive thanks to Nadine Coyle and Anthony Kaye for showing their support for the campaign and helping out.

*I love this idea, for what reason i have no idea. It's a good song, but i honestly have no idea how this is gonna end. Actually, i think it will fail.

note:... i'm a little pessimist aren't i? ... lol ;)

Stephanie x

...The lyrics are cute XP

Girls Aloud - Untouchable Lyrics

Through wind and rain we got here
Now we’re flying babe with no fear
We’ve been doing pain for so long
When I stare in your eyes it’s all gone
Through wind and rain we burn bright
Learn to fly through flames and hold tight
With so many ways to go wrong
But when I look in your eyes they’re all gone

And in my dreams it feels like we are forty stories tall
When you’re around ooh we’re untouchable
And in my dreams it feels like we aren’t ever gonna fall
We’re safe and sound and we’re untouchable

It’s only real when you’re not around
I’m walking in the rain the sun goes down (oh, oh)
And only love can save us now
I need you hear again to show me how (oh, oh)

I know that love shouldn’t be so hard
And sometimes we’re standing in the dark
But you light up everywhere I go
And I know a heart shouldn’t beat so hard
And sometimes we’re swimming with the sharks
But you light up and keep me out the cold

And in my dreams it feels like we are forty stories tall
When you’re around ooh we’re untouchable
And in my dreams it feels like we aren’t ever gonna fall
We’re safe and sound and we’re untouchable

It’s only real when you’re not around
The candle in my head is burning out (oh, oh)
I know that love shouldn’t be so hard
And sometimes we’re standing in the dark
But you light up everywhere I go
And I know a heart shouldn’t beat so hard
And sometimes we’re swimming with the sharks
But you light up and keep me out the cold

And in my dreams it feels like we are forty stories tall
When you’re around ooh we’re untouchable
And in my dreams it feels like we aren’t ever gonna fall
We’re safe and sound and we’re untouchable

Whenever you’re gone, gone
They wait at the door
And everything’s hurting like a before
Without any meaning
We’re just skin and bone
Like beautiful robots dancing alone

Whenever you’re gone, gone
They wait at the door
And everything’s hurting like a bore
Without any meaning
We’re just skin and bone
Like beautiful robots dancing alone

And in my dreams it feels like we are forty stories tall
When you’re around ooh we’re untouchable
And in my dreams it feels like we aren’t ever gonna fall
We’re safe and sound and we’re untouchable

Song Information

Released 27 April 2009
Recorded 2008
Genre Electropop, Dance
Length 6:45 (album version), 3:49 (Single Mix)
Label Fascination Records
Writers Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Matt Gray
Producer Xenomania

Doctor Who: The End Of Time Part Two: The Verdict - digitalspy

The End Of Time Part Two: The Verdict

Saturday, January 2 2010, 16:40 GMT

By Ben Rawson-Jones, Cult Editor

The amount of tears being shed during the final half hour of David Tennant’s Doctor made Timothy Dalton’s saliva tsunami in Part One look like a drop in the ocean. The concluding chapter of Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who stint was rife with flaws, yet potent and powerful enough to milk dry the emotions of every faithful fan who has watched this wonderful show in recent years and decades.

With one simple cry of “allons-y” aboard the Vinvocci spacecraft, The Doctor finally kicked the unevenly paced story into top gear and careered towards the home straight. A battle with The Master’s missiles, a thrilling leap from up high, a tender moment of self-sacrifice from two Time Lords and a touching visit to some familiar faces all combined to provide the necessary impact and thrills that the production team and cast deserved. If the Kleenex were still dry, then the Ood song should have changed that.

The strength of the climactic scenes had little to do with the opening ninety minutes of the story though, which was too padded out, convoluted, rehashed and uninspired to muster any sustained intrigue. It simply wasn’t a patch on the brilliant likes of ‘The Parting Of The Ways’, ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Journey’s End’. All the guff about prophecies, white diamonds, Naismith’s daughter and timelocking was far from compelling.

Instead, while the self-contained narrative faltered, the testing of the tear ducts was largely a culmination of the terrific work put in by Tennant and Davies over a number of years. Throw in some tearjerking performances from Tennant, Bernard Cribbins and John Simm, plus Murray Gold’s emotive score, and the physical effect is very much like chopping onions right beneath your eyes.

Davies’ script tapped into the emotional core of the show that he reinvented, with friendship, forgiveness and violence high on the agenda. The whole notion of The Doctor using the gun as a murder weapon was tensely conveyed and the bond between Wilf and The Doctor worked very well. Bernard Cribbins turned in an outstanding performance as the old warrior and the decision to elevate him to full companion status was an, erm, masterstroke.

Speaking of which, John Simm was consistently thrilling to watch – especially as his character exuded far more pathos in this episode, rather than the cackling impersonation of WWF wrestler The Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase, that he was approaching in Part One. Dalton also lent his commanding presence to Rassilon, in a role that would have been very one dimensional in lesser hands. It’s just a shame that he didn’t use his powers to send Gallifrey hurtling towards a certain pair of ‘cacti’ (sue me) aliens, who were two of the poorest characters in the show’s history and bereft of any non-human mannerisms.

The repulsion of the Time Lords from Earth, involving a gunshot to a machine, was as messy and groan-inducing as the circumstances of their arrival on Earth. Fortunately, a loud gasp was the only response to the shock revelation that Wilf was responsible for the fateful four knocks. The Doctor’s self-sacrifice in the chamber, in a surprisingly poorly directed scene, was brought to life by the great chemistry between Cribbins and Tennant.

The final scenes were undoubtedly self-indulgent as The Doctor took a trip down memory lane, but so what? The show has earned such moments and the cameos from Martha, Mickey, Rose and Sarah Jane were a rewarding pay-off to the hordes of loyal fans who have invested their time and faith in the series. For those casual viewers who tuned in expecting fireworks and were baffled by the significance of (the fittingly named) Verity Newman’s ‘The Journal Of Impossible Things’, then that’s their own fault for not watching regularly.

As for The Doctor’s matchmaking between Captain Jack and Alonso, it was a hilarious and swift kick to the balls of those who have whinged about a so-called ‘gay agenda’. The decision to leave the old woman, played by Claire Bloom, with an air of ambiguity was also a wise move and bound to lead to plenty of theories in the near future.

The Tenth Doctor’s final words left a lump in the throat and were perfect, forming a nice contrast to the fantastical and upbeat parting words of Christopher Eccleston’s previous Doctor. It wasn’t well conveyed, but presumably the damage caused on the Tardis by the regeneration was due to all the nuclear energy absorbed by The Doctor finally being unleashed. It’s too early to judge Matt Smith as The Doctor but the omens are very good indeed, and his brief performance was charismatic and exuded a joyous sense of adventure.

Despite some misgivings with the stretched-out storyline and the mangled plot exposition, it’s only fair to accentuate the positives of the second part of ‘The End Of Time’ given the nature and significance of the episode. An array of fine performances certainly helped to bolster events and ensure the RTD era was wrapped up in style. It wasn’t an easy journey at times during the swansong, but ultimately the sheer spectacle, humour and heightened emotion of the events were hopefully enough to win viewers over. After all, if The Doctor can still extend his hand of friendship to The Master despite all of his flaws, let’s try to do the same for ‘The End Of Time’. The outgoing Doctor Who team deserve a happy ending.