I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

So, its a new year... 2009. Many things are not as I thought they would be if you had asked me 6 months ago where I would be right now. My whole life has changed, not to mention the changes we have seen around here. Sadly, I have just visited FrakkingFrakker's blog and we have also lost a truly amazing and very special friend of mine, John. Ralph was really my first true friend on this site and he has been a huge presence for a long time... he will be sorely missed.

Last year I did a full New Year blog outlining the highs and lows of 2007, the milestones of the year, and what I wanted to achieve in 2008. You never know what life is going to bring and there is no way I could have been prepared for all the experiences of 2008, so this year all I want is to have a year that I can be proud of, where I made more good decisions than bad ones, where I made more friends than enemies, and where I actually achieve something, rather than ran around in circles for another 12 months.

I hope to keep seeing movies, and working on improving my review skills. I'm also going to try to keep up my reviews on here, by writing them as I watch the episodes, and loading them whenever I get a chance to log on to someone's internet. One thing that 2008 has really shown me is just how passionate I am about writing and reviewing films (and tv shows) and that is a positive thing that I want to take with me this year.

I received the first season of HEROES for Christmas and have watched the first 6 episodes. I am very very impressed and can't wait to get through the rest of the show. I find it to be very original and very intriguing, with the story unfolding with plenty of suspense and intrigue. Once I have been through the whole season I will go back and start rewatching to get my thoughts on paper.

Right now I am stuck in a very small country town where we are waiting for flood waters to go down to travel on to our next destination... a fairly funny story really, and not where I expected to be right now! I really do take the long way round...

That's all she wrote.

LLa xxx

For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

Standing out...

So you won't forget my name

Gone... but also forgotten? I guess time is all it takes to be forgotten in a big way! I made a huge move in my life 11 weeks ago, and moved cities to start a new job. Unfortunately, where I am now living I don't have any kind of internet access, which basically cut all my tv.com time from my world... which is something I never really came to terms with.

Life is fantastic, hugely challenging. I am now the fittest I have been in a long time, and my new job/path is working out well. I've fit it really well and made some very special new friends. I can't really say anymore about it, so I will just have to leave it at that.

I am back in my home town for Christmas, which is how I am online again. I thought seeing as I had some time I might write a quick Christmas blog, just to see who around this place remembers me!

2008 has been a crazy year. Lots of ups and downs. It has been the biggest learning year of my whole life. I feel like a different person, a much older person. My life has taken me in a lot of directions over the last few years, and I can only trust that it is all part of bigger plan that I am on.

The one real constant in my life has remained my music and Xena. I have had so much growth as a fan this year through the forum and my outside discussions with Ian, who has opened my eyes to so many possibilities. I look forward to another year as a fan.


I want to dedicate this blog to Rob and to Lindsey, two of the most important people in my life. I think about Rob so often and will never forget any of the time we spent together. Linds is one of the strongest and best people I've ever met, and after the year we have had, I know that nothing could bind us closer.

The next 5 months will be challenging, but I think I'm over the worst of it all now. Then next May will see another move, to another new town, and another new adventure. No one could ever say my life is boring!

So... for now, just reminding that I'm taking the long way round...

Merry Christmas to all of you in tv.com land... even though I've been gone for a while, the time I've spent here over the last 18 months means more to be than I can say.


That's all she wrote.

LLa xxx

I wished I was smarter
I wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way my wife does
I wish it had been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could have stood where you would have been proud
But that won't happen now
That won't happen now

There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world

I don't have to answer any of these questions
Don't have no God to teach me no lessons
I come home in the evening
Sit in my chair
One night they called me for supper
But I never got up
I stayed right there in my chair

There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world

I wished Id a known you
Wished Id a shown you
All of the things I was on the inside
Id pretend to be sleeping
When you come in, in the morning
To whisper good-bye
Go to work in the rain
I don't know why
Don't know why

cause everyone's singing
We just wanna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Wanna grab a hold of that little song bird
Take her for a ride to the top of the world right now

To the top of the world

Looking up the hill tonight
When you have closed your eyes
I wish I didn't have to make all those mistakes and be wise
Please try to be patient and know that I'm still learning
I'm sorry that you have to see the strength inside me burning

"THE DUCHESS" (2008 )

- "This will be the mistake of your life"

- "No, I made that many years ago"

Recently, as I am now finished up at work and am packing up my house in preparation to move on Saturday, I went to see the new Keira Knightley film, "The Duchess". It's just been released in Oz, and I hadn't heard a whole lot about it, other than that they are already talking potential Oscar nominations for Keira and Ralph Fiennes. While I enjoyed the film, I wasn't overly moved.

As a portrait of the life and triumphs of the Duchess of Yorkshire, to me it didn't delve deep enough into the person that Georgiana was. Other than wear some simply incredible costumes and wigs, and show us her 'wronged-but-stolid-in-my-duty' face, I didn't feel like we got to see the things that made the Duchess tick. Clearly her liberal views, including the peoples' right to freedom and the vote, were important to her, which is quite ironic considering the life of virtual imprisonment she ended up living, but I think they could have been more of a focus. Also, given that we only see a snippet of her life, very little extended development as a person over time is shown, which seems to me to be a waste of Keira's talent. The shy Georgiana went from an enthusiastic but lonely young bride, to a woman loved by all, and to a hardened and incredibly strong-willed woman and mother, prepared to protect her children and do her duty at all costs. But the movie just presents it all a little blandly, which is a real shame.

None of Georgiana's relationships, either with her husband, Duke William, her lover, Charles Gray, or her best friend, Lady Elisabeth, were really delved into in any great detail. While Ralph Fiennes performance was good, it would have been interesting to see more of what their personal relationship was actually like: why did this man find his own wife so unappealing, other than that she seemed unable to produce an heir? The aggression he has towards her must have come from somewhere. Similarly, Georgiana was betrayed by her best friend, and yet why did Bess throw away their friendship and choose the bizarre life of living as a mistress in the home of her lover and his wife? The fact that she ended up marrying the Duke proves that it was more than just for her children's sake.

Keira Knightley is really starting to establish herself as one of 'the' actresses of the moment. She is very good in this film, handling the role with a lot of dignity and quiet composure. I look forward to seeing her extend herself even further in some more diversified roles in the future.

Ralph Fiennes doesn't do anything for me. I've seen him in quite a few films now and I really just find him creepy. He has a very unusual presence, but it is more on the sleazy side, rather than sexy or appealing. He is very good in this restrained role as the emotionally inept but highly aggressive Duke, but I still can't say that I like him.

Hayley Atwell is really growing on me. I recently saw her in the small-ish film "How About You", and while the film was quite clichéd, she gave a good performance. She's also in the new film "Brideshead Revisited" which is a remake being released in Oz later in the year. I feel like she was quite underused in "The Duchess", but as an actress she just seems to be finding her feet, so she's got plenty of interesting roles ahead of her.

Overall, this one is not going to shake your world, but it is well shot and directed, and has a nice feel to it, if a little weakly presented. The performances are all solid, and the story is quite interesting, if a little disappointing in its overall content. It will be interesting to see what its competition proves to be for Oscar nominations, the what sort of reviews it continues to get around the place.

For now... That's all she wrote.

LLa xxx

Lookin' at you leaving...
I'm looking for a sign.