Ask me for "top five" lists of pretty much anything, and I will list you my top five of that thing or things - stolen from my entire flist with grateful thanks :)
I will eat pretty much anything with apple in it, provided it's not contaminated with stuff like currents and raisins and certain berries. These two desserts are what I make/buy when I want to cheer myself up or when I need comfort food, stat!
3) Cheesecake
Again, I'll scoff most kinds if not covered with icky berries (blueberries, red currents, blackberries, that kinda thing). Very partial to chocolate cheesecakes :D
4) Tartuffo
Pizza Express used to have this on their desserts menu, but it seems to have been taken off now. Bah! It's a dark, rich bombe of pure chocolate, flavoured with alcohol and sprinkled with half a pound of chocolate powder. Mmmmm!
5) Steamed pudding
Either jam, treacle or chocolate - I adore these! In fact, I have to make sure I don't buy 'em or I'd eat them all the time. Heaven in a tin. And they're microwavable now! To quote lithium_doll "it's like God loves me and wants me to be happy".
Okie then ... favoooouriiiite ... *ponderponder* locations. Country, city, chair - the size is irrelevent and you don't have to have been there personally *g*
Oooh that's a good one :) Okaaay *ponderponderthunkthunkthunk*
1) London I can sum this up by saying everytime I go to London and see one of the famous landmarks, it just makes me want to jump up and down waving a Union Flag with pride. Yes, I am that unashamedly patriotic :)
2) Washington D.C. / The Brickskellar D.C. is a fantastic city to visit, with loads to do, most of it free, and repays repeated visits. In fact, I'll be back there this September. The Brickskellar is a pub/restaurant that has a 20 page menu of beers and stocks the finest cider known to humanity (Woodchuck's Granny Smith cider). *sighs happily*
3) lithium_doll's sofa I'm not kidding, this is the comfiest sofa in the world. You don't sit on it, you sink into it and it claims you :) One day this sofa will be mine! Oh yes!
*hears knives being sharpened*
Err, what I mean is, one day a sofa just like it will be mine, not that I will have stolen lithium_doll's *sidles off out of knife range*
4) A sandy beach Any beach at all, so long as there's sand. *looks around furtively* I LOVE playing in sand, big kid that I am. I still build sand castles and I love digging holes. I never do anything except fill them in again, but I like digging 'em :) And if this beach has rock pools too, well, you'll never get me away, except at high tide :P
5) My bed Particularly when it's cold, and I have a hot water bottle to cuddle up with :) Or when I have a really good book that I wanna read, like recently with HP:HBP. *happy comfortable sighs*
1) When The Sacred Ginmill Closes - Lawrence Block Fantastic novel that was the first mystery I read where I could see, smell, hear and taste what was being described. Superb story, superb characterisations (even though most of the characters are not that loveable) and one of the finest depictions of alcoholism I've ever read. And the mystery ain't bad either :)
2) Jester Leaps In - Alan Gordon This series has been one of my finds - well, actually it was found by jenni411 who recommended them to me, for which I'll always be deeply grateful. I'm sure I've raved about these in my LJ before, but that's not going to stop me from plugging them again :) The premise is that many (if not all) Jesters belong to The Fool's Guild which is actually a medieval and international version of MI6. Feste/Theophilos, the hero of the series, travels to many locations where he is able to infiltrate to the highest levels and carefully influence events as best he can. Sometimes direct and dangerous action is called for. This book is the second in the series and contains some of the finest descriptions of Constantinople it's been my pleasure to read. Go read them all, at once!!
3) Venus in Copper - Lindsey Davis If you like historical mysteries, then I can't speak highly enough of Lindsey Davis's Falco series, set in Ancient Rome. Falco walks the mean streets in a different era to Sam Spade and Marlowe, but he is just as tough and has just as good a line in repartee as they do. However, these are not noir novels, but rollicking good reads set against a highly researched historical background. Choosing one book was really tough - any of the first five could have been here - but this is probably my favourite of the 17 (yes SEVENTEEN!) books in the series to date.
4)Dolly and the Doctor Bird/Operation Nassau - Dorothy Dunnett Famous for her historical sagas, the much missed Dunnett also wrote seven adventures about Johnson Johnson, internationally famous painter, owner of the yacht "Dolly" and also a secret agent. I'm not cheating by choosing two books, btw, the original series all had "Dolly" in the title and the "birds" were the women that were the heroines of each book. (e.g. Dolly and the Starry Bird, Dolly and the Bird of Paradise). The books were retitled in the Nineties, presumably out of political correctness. Bleh. Some of the descriptions of clothing and culture have dated but the characterisations are still sharp, the locations superbly described and the stories are all absolute crackers. This one narrowly beat Starry Bird to make this list, but really the only one I'm not hugely fond of is the last one "Moroccan Traffic" - the lead girl in that was the least likeable of all the heroines, to the point where fans of the series rechristened the book "Dolly and the Dodo Bird" :P. If you want to know more, there's an excellent site here (http://www.angelfire.com/zine/azurite/dolly.html)
5) The Holy Thief - Ellis Peters If there's one criticism of Peter's Brother Cadfael novels, it's that her description of the 12th century is a little bit too pristine. However, you can forgive that when the stories are as good as they are. I don't think she wrote a duff novel out of the 20 Brother Cadfael books. This is my favourite of them all, but again it could have been two or three others. I love Brother Cadfael and his regular companions in his adventures. This, by the way, is that rare series where the later books are every bit as good as the earlier ones. This particular book was the 19th in the series :)
Honorable mentions: Sara Paretsky (last year at Bouchercon Toronto, I was able to get a book signed by Ms Paretsky during which I plucked up my courage and managed to tell her just how grateful I was to her for her work. Not only did she inspire me to read a whole new genre of mystery fiction, she inspired the generation of female authors writing strong female detectives who came after her), Sharon Kay Penman, Greg Rucka, Barry Eisler (*swoon* *THUD*) and Agatha Christie.
Top five roleplaying experiences! Top five recipes! Top five lists of top fives! Lessee... top five reasons everyone should read the Harry Potter series and top five worst puns you've ever heard. :)
Gack!! Ok, gonna have to think about some of these, but I'll do the easiest first :)
Top five roleplaying experiences
1) Attack of the Killer Mutant Sweater (http://www.jusnoctis.co.uk/index.php?jove=fiction&story=104) What can I say? I adore playing with lithium_doll and I know at least one other scene I've played with her will make this list, to her eternal embarrassment, but this scene will show you why. This was a very silly scene but we had lots and lots of fun with it. Narrowly pipped The Drinking Competition (http://www.jusnoctis.co.uk/index.php?jove=fiction&story=27) to the list
2) The Battle With Cromm The final episode of a year long metaplot on LbN, this was just an amazing and draining scene. Also one of the largest cross-system scenes on LbN to date. This was the culmination of a year's hard work by lithium_doll and the other STs on LbN. Sadly there's no transcript on line at the mo, so I can't share it but my character won best quote of the year from it!
Vic looks up...and up..and up at the monster. "I think...we need....a bigger boat..."
3) Star Trek: The Original Series - the adventures of the USS Ark. This was what got me into RP :) My flat mates during the second year of Uni were part of a table top RP group and this was what they played that year. I joined in eventually and we had some superb SLs. Time and my poor memory means I can't recall too many of them in detail, but I have enough fragments of memory to know that there was much laughter, many genuine WTF! and OMG!!! moments and lots and lots of fun :)
4) The Bet therealsherbs also has a mortal character, Nico, and we've played some wonderful scenes with our characters. It's equal odds as to whether our characters will get on or fight and even we, the players, often have no idea :) This was a two part scene where Casey suckered Nico into making a bet. Again, there's no transcript online but trust me, there was much evil snickering on all sides about this one.
5)Any scene involving Danzy I can't, and won't, answer this without mentioning Danzy's contribution to RP on London. She played several characters, most notably Dana the Mage, all of whom were an absolute joy to watch and play with. She was just a superb role player and it's just one of the many reasons I really miss her. *sniffs*
OK, consultation was needed on this one, because I really don't cook using recipes. The exception to this rule is the recipe I have for my Mum's Apple Pie, but that was the only one I could think of. So kemintiri agreed I could list five fave foods instead. And it's alliterative!! :)
1) Sausages I know you're not supposed to think about how they're made, but I don't care. I love 'em all, except really, really spicy ones. Everything else gets inhaled at vast speed :)
2) Roast chicken Piping hot and falling off the bone, with crackly crispy skin....*drools*
3) Cheese There are cheeses I won't eat, but mostly this is like the sausages - cheese ain't safe to leave around me :) Mmmm.
4) Chocolate Chocolate is a food group, I don't care WHAT people say :P
1) Top Five Movies 2) Top Five Mystery Novels 3) Top Five Fave Foods 4) Top Five Movie Quotes 5) kemintiri's Top Five Favourite Foods (which she WILL post because I'm going to ask her the question in her LJ :) )
Geez, this is nearly as hard as Top Five Mystery Novels! You fiend!! :)
OK.
1) "You made a woman meow?!" - When Harry Met Sally
2) "Hell, after what happened to Luthor, I shouldn't be able to get more than two or three hundred guys!" - The Sting
3) "The farmers won. We lost. We always lose" - The Magnificent Seven
4) "Captain, my Captain!" - Dead Poet's Society *sniffles*
5) "I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him." - The Shawshank Redemption
Top Five fictional characters please, If it makes it easier, break it down into Top 5 Film characters, Top 5 TV characters and Top 5 Book characters...
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Go on then...
Re: Go on then...
2) Apple crumble
I will eat pretty much anything with apple in it, provided it's not contaminated with stuff like currents and raisins and certain berries. These two desserts are what I make/buy when I want to cheer myself up or when I need comfort food, stat!
3) Cheesecake
Again, I'll scoff most kinds if not covered with icky berries (blueberries, red currents, blackberries, that kinda thing). Very partial to chocolate cheesecakes :D
4) Tartuffo
Pizza Express used to have this on their desserts menu, but it seems to have been taken off now. Bah! It's a dark, rich bombe of pure chocolate, flavoured with alcohol and sprinkled with half a pound of chocolate powder. Mmmmm!
5) Steamed pudding
Either jam, treacle or chocolate - I adore these! In fact, I have to make sure I don't buy 'em or I'd eat them all the time. Heaven in a tin. And they're microwavable now! To quote
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1) London
I can sum this up by saying everytime I go to London and see one of the famous landmarks, it just makes me want to jump up and down waving a Union Flag with pride. Yes, I am that unashamedly patriotic :)
2) Washington D.C. / The Brickskellar
D.C. is a fantastic city to visit, with loads to do, most of it free, and repays repeated visits. In fact, I'll be back there this September. The Brickskellar is a pub/restaurant that has a 20 page menu of beers and stocks the finest cider known to humanity (Woodchuck's Granny Smith cider). *sighs happily*
3)
I'm not kidding, this is the comfiest sofa in the world. You don't sit on it, you sink into it and it claims you :) One day this sofa will be mine! Oh yes!
*hears knives being sharpened*
Err, what I mean is, one day a sofa just like it will be mine, not that I will have stolen
4) A sandy beach
Any beach at all, so long as there's sand. *looks around furtively* I LOVE playing in sand, big kid that I am. I still build sand castles and I love digging holes. I never do anything except fill them in again, but I like digging 'em :) And if this beach has rock pools too, well, you'll never get me away, except at high tide :P
5) My bed
Particularly when it's cold, and I have a hot water bottle to cuddle up with :) Or when I have a really good book that I wanna read, like recently with HP:HBP. *happy comfortable sighs*
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Cathy
Ack!!
1) When The Sacred Ginmill Closes - Lawrence Block
Fantastic novel that was the first mystery I read where I could see, smell, hear and taste what was being described. Superb story, superb characterisations (even though most of the characters are not that loveable) and one of the finest depictions of alcoholism I've ever read. And the mystery ain't bad either :)
2) Jester Leaps In - Alan Gordon
This series has been one of my finds - well, actually it was found by
3) Venus in Copper - Lindsey Davis
If you like historical mysteries, then I can't speak highly enough of Lindsey Davis's Falco series, set in Ancient Rome. Falco walks the mean streets in a different era to Sam Spade and Marlowe, but he is just as tough and has just as good a line in repartee as they do. However, these are not noir novels, but rollicking good reads set against a highly researched historical background. Choosing one book was really tough - any of the first five could have been here - but this is probably my favourite of the 17 (yes SEVENTEEN!) books in the series to date.
4)Dolly and the Doctor Bird/Operation Nassau - Dorothy Dunnett
Famous for her historical sagas, the much missed Dunnett also wrote seven adventures about Johnson Johnson, internationally famous painter, owner of the yacht "Dolly" and also a secret agent. I'm not cheating by choosing two books, btw, the original series all had "Dolly" in the title and the "birds" were the women that were the heroines of each book. (e.g. Dolly and the Starry Bird, Dolly and the Bird of Paradise). The books were retitled in the Nineties, presumably out of political correctness. Bleh. Some of the descriptions of clothing and culture have dated but the characterisations are still sharp, the locations superbly described and the stories are all absolute crackers. This one narrowly beat Starry Bird to make this list, but really the only one I'm not hugely fond of is the last one "Moroccan Traffic" - the lead girl in that was the least likeable of all the heroines, to the point where fans of the series rechristened the book "Dolly and the Dodo Bird" :P. If you want to know more, there's an excellent site here (http://www.angelfire.com/zine/azurite/dolly.html)
5) The Holy Thief - Ellis Peters
If there's one criticism of Peter's Brother Cadfael novels, it's that her description of the 12th century is a little bit too pristine. However, you can forgive that when the stories are as good as they are. I don't think she wrote a duff novel out of the 20 Brother Cadfael books. This is my favourite of them all, but again it could have been two or three others. I love Brother Cadfael and his regular companions in his adventures. This, by the way, is that rare series where the later books are every bit as good as the earlier ones. This particular book was the 19th in the series :)
Honorable mentions: Sara Paretsky (last year at Bouchercon Toronto, I was able to get a book signed by Ms Paretsky during which I plucked up my courage and managed to tell her just how grateful I was to her for her work. Not only did she inspire me to read a whole new genre of mystery fiction, she inspired the generation of female authors writing strong female detectives who came after her), Sharon Kay Penman, Greg Rucka, Barry Eisler (*swoon* *THUD*) and Agatha Christie.
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Top five roleplaying experiences
1) Attack of the Killer Mutant Sweater (http://www.jusnoctis.co.uk/index.php?jove=fiction&story=104)
What can I say? I adore playing with
2) The Battle With Cromm
The final episode of a year long metaplot on LbN, this was just an amazing and draining scene. Also one of the largest cross-system scenes on LbN to date. This was the culmination of a year's hard work by
Vic looks up...and up..and up at the monster. "I think...we need....a bigger boat..."
3) Star Trek: The Original Series - the adventures of the USS Ark.
This was what got me into RP :) My flat mates during the second year of Uni were part of a table top RP group and this was what they played that year. I joined in eventually and we had some superb SLs. Time and my poor memory means I can't recall too many of them in detail, but I have enough fragments of memory to know that there was much laughter, many genuine WTF! and OMG!!! moments and lots and lots of fun :)
4) The Bet
5)Any scene involving Danzy
I can't, and won't, answer this without mentioning Danzy's contribution to RP on London. She played several characters, most notably Dana the Mage, all of whom were an absolute joy to watch and play with. She was just a superb role player and it's just one of the many reasons I really miss her. *sniffs*
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1) Sausages
I know you're not supposed to think about how they're made, but I don't care. I love 'em all, except really, really spicy ones. Everything else gets inhaled at vast speed :)
2) Roast chicken
Piping hot and falling off the bone, with crackly crispy skin....*drools*
3) Cheese
There are cheeses I won't eat, but mostly this is like the sausages - cheese ain't safe to leave around me :) Mmmm.
4) Chocolate
Chocolate is a food group, I don't care WHAT people say :P
5)Pizza
'nuff said?
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1) Fantastic universe that you wish were real
2) Characters you will come to care about a lot
3) Quidditch
4) Ongoing storyline that will keep you wondering what will happen next
5) Dammit, they're just bloody good stories, ok?!
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This is going to get me smited, I just know :)
1) A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."
2) What do you get if you throw a grenade into a French flooring factory? Linoleum Blownapart.
3) Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.
4) When a vulture flies, he takes carrion luggage
5)What hangs upside down on a tree and coughs? A hoarse chestnut.
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*blinks*
Err, ok...
1) Top Five Movies
2) Top Five Mystery Novels
3) Top Five Fave Foods
4) Top Five Movie Quotes
5)
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Jenni :-)
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Jenni :-)
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OK.
1) "You made a woman meow?!" - When Harry Met Sally
2) "Hell, after what happened to Luthor, I shouldn't be able to get more than two or three hundred guys!" - The Sting
3) "The farmers won. We lost. We always lose" - The Magnificent Seven
4) "Captain, my Captain!" - Dead Poet's Society *sniffles*
5) "I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him." - The Shawshank Redemption
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Jenni :-)
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