Twitter Twatter #80

Almost catching up, here's February 2020 on the Twitter.

I think Camfield speaks for us all. https://t.co/IQS6ZSlB4j pic.twitter.com/Sgmlvq5PIy

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 2, 2020

Anyone unsure whether Priti Patel is as thick as a post needs to know that she thinks “counter-terrorism” means “terrorism”. It’s not just a momentary fluff. It’s not a one-off slip of the tongue. She says it nine times, clearly and insistently, in this minute-long clip. https://t.co/rurkNc8vSF

— Nicholas Pegg (@NicholasPegg) February 5, 2020

1. #DoctorWho
2. @BBC6Music
3. No ads
4. iPlayer
5. 42p a day#FiveThingsILoveAboutTheBBC

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 6, 2020

De-aging tech at work: Patrick Stewart's clock is wound back 52 years for the episode "Rascals." #StarTrek #TNG #StarTrekPicard https://t.co/93n4woxHIR pic.twitter.com/c2p7QB3BrD

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 10, 2020

pic.twitter.com/oeDFw7VA0Z

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 11, 2020

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science https://t.co/gU7AW7oB4a

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 12, 2020

Correct answer: Pulp pic.twitter.com/NTUDSpJdsP

— Pip (@pipmadeley) February 11, 2020

Sure Star Trek Picard is fine I guess, but when will the characters sing 'Allamaraine'?

— Sheer Ricking Hubris (@TrekfanRick) February 11, 2020

@NoNoiseChitChat pic.twitter.com/tbGKRMiX4Y

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 12, 2020

The way this silo collapses pic.twitter.com/pw7JjVDckt

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) February 12, 2020

NUN SHITE. pic.twitter.com/xgaX8u346I

— Crouching Tiger, Lying Dog-faced Pony Soldier (@misslucyp) February 14, 2020

Here he is singing: https://t.co/DFWceXUtw5

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 16, 2020

“The BBC should have it’s licence scrapped. It’s not providing good value for money.”

Be careful what you wish for. pic.twitter.com/Jk7GkbwAcu

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) February 16, 2020

To anyone who belives in "unskilled" work:

change 50 double duvet covers in an hour. Alone.

Help a man with Alzheimer's who is afraid of you and everyone to get dressed and take his medication.

And then remember 37 table locations and numbers, and when you went to them all.

— Alison Kate (@alisonkatebr) February 18, 2020

@2000AD, @dwmtweets, @StarTrekMag: how about this for your subscribers? https://t.co/Czcs4Nr0dv

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 19, 2020

Fantastic! Tharg has thrown down the gauntlet @DWMtweets @StarTrekMag

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 19, 2020

Mackey & Pesche remaster: pic.twitter.com/nLs8vKeYmW

— Acrylic Afternoons (@AcrylcAftrnoons) February 21, 2020

"The Irish Parliament! This conspiracy's getting bigger. You can't trust anyone these days. You've got the Doyle, Moriarty, the Irish Parliament, it's...On that bombshell..."

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 22, 2020

There's an international men’s day?

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 23, 2020

Rest in peace, Jens Knudsen. (1942-2020)

Thank you for inventing the LEGO figure. pic.twitter.com/Y9PaxslVnC

— Doctor Gamma (@Doctor_Gamma) February 22, 2020

Peak mansplaining. This is art. This is poetry. THIS is *everything*. pic.twitter.com/s5wD46alUO

— Snigdha (@snigskitchen) February 11, 2019

Donde todo el mundo sabe su nombre... https://t.co/Xsb9ulJiBF

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 24, 2020

We've no plans for one at the moment, sorry!

— 2000 AD Comics (@2000AD) February 24, 2020

We've no plans for one at the moment, sorry!

— 2000 AD Comics (@2000AD) February 24, 2020

Boris Johnson ‘privately agreed to sell off Channel 4’, Tory MPs claim

Prime minister continues to boycott publicly-owned broadcaster over election coverage

There has been no greater threat to our democracy since 1945 than this government. https://t.co/Jad6HFZKMl

— Nick Reeves #FBPE #RuleOfLaw (@nickreeves9876) February 24, 2020

The Denton's cleaning song in The League of Gentlemen

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 24, 2020

Swearing in your native language provides measurably more relief than swearing in a second language.

— Quite Interesting Facts (@qikipedia) February 24, 2020

Did anyone else find this hilarious rather than scary? Asking for a friend #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/1ynqyh6PQr

— Pip (@pipmadeley) February 24, 2020

"War of attrition, eh, only backwards. At this rate they're going to finish off with bows and arrows."

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 24, 2020

#IBlockedTheSun and it felt great.

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 24, 2020

https://t.co/Fm1LNckL5X

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 25, 2020

What happened to Harvey’s Walker?????? IT’S A MIRACLE, JESUS! 🙏
https://t.co/cuuVRSQI0U

— RichieFed 🏳️‍🌈🇮🇹🇺🇸 (@RichieFed) February 24, 2020

It's a tradition he continued long after he left the show. Jon Pertwee would only eat food prepared by Troughton. pic.twitter.com/JqlYI6khTM

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 26, 2020

Androgum is also an anagram of Rug Nomad.

Coincidence?

— David Black (@Davetweetedthis) February 26, 2020

Stewart Lee's Toilet Books

Possibly to help in these days of self-isolation, every episode of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle has been made available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

I went to see this TV show being recorded with my sister. When we arrived at the venue, I took our coats to the cloakroom while she found us some seats. As we separated I said "don't sit at the front", I walked into the main auditorium and discovered that she had sat right on the front row. When the lights went I was still very much illuminated. I find myself featured far more prominently than I had expected.


I'll do posts on the later episodes, that lead to me putting this show on my acting CV, but in the meantime, I make a couple of very fleeting appearances in the first episode, Toilet Books. Thats's not why you should watch it though. You should watch because it's very well observed, very funny and really hasn't dated much in the eleven years since it was first broadcast. You can watch it here.

I have no idea about watching it places other than the UK.

Outside In: Harsh Realm

In this post, I stated that I had a piece for the first volume of ATB Publishing's Outside In book about The X-Files and that I was thrilled that Harsh Realm was getting some recognition.

In a brilliant confluence of events, I've now written an article for the second volume and it's about an episode of Harsh Realm.

It would be remiss of me not to point out that they are also putting together Outside In Makes It So Supplemental, a sequel to their book about Star Trek: The Next Generation covering the first season of Star Trek: Picard. I have made absolutely no contribution to this book, but I am looking to reading it enormously.

Thinking Aloud

Train Of Thought goes stationary. The audience could hear the thoughts of the characters on radios as they watched the action unfold.

I wrote for two of the characters in Thinking Aloud, the Train Of Thought-style site-specific show performed at the Institute Of Contemporary Arts twice on the 5th of April 2008, the artist performed by Jonathan Christie and the glass collector played by Ben Thompson.

Sadly, no recording exists. That's not the sort of thing you hear much in this day and age and seems more appropriate when related to The Power Of The Daleks, Episode Three. After the hard drive that it was stored on was lost in a burglary, all that was left was the script.

I'll try and find it, so I can post it here.

Outside In X Covers Revealed

ATB Publishing have revealed the covers for their Outside In volumes covering The X-Files universe.

They've used the same template as the covers for their previous Outside Ins, but with a different colour each time blue (20th century Doctor Who), red (21st century Doctor Who), yellow (the original Star Trek), purple (Star Trek: The Next Generation), orange (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), green (Angel) and now grey (The X-Files volume 1) and black (The X-Files volume 2). What will they do now they've seemingly exhausted the visible spectrum?

Virtual Reality

ATB Publishing has released this image to clarify the contents of their two Outside In volumes covering The X-Files...

The real takeaway here is that Harsh Realm is joining Millennium and The Lone Gunman and finally being recognised as part of The X-Files universe. Well, and that mine is one of the 156 essays in the first volume.

Insecure Writer's Support Group #3

Another month, another Insecure Writers Support Group.

This month's support group is co-hosted by Jacqui Murray, Lisa Buie-Collard, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre and Shannon Lawrence. A big thank you to them.

Since last month's post, writing really has taken a back seat. Between work and childcare and trying to get more work there hasn't been time for more than a couple of sentences here and there. The strangest thing is that whilst I haven't had time to commit anything to paper, I've been absolutely brimming with ideas.

Isn't that weird?

This month's (optional) question is: "Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?"

Not really. I once wrote a sketch about Scrooge and Marley from A Christmas Carol quibbling over the details of the ghostly night ahead.

MARLEY

Believe in me or not, it changes nothing. You will be visited by three spirits.

SCROOGE

Oh, let me get a pen.

MARLEY

It’s quite simple.

SCROOGE

Just a second. You can never find one when you need it, can you?

MARLEY

Where was I?

SCROOGE

I will be visited-

MARLEY

You will be visited by three spirits.

SCROOGE

(as he writes)

I will be visited by two more spirits.

MARLEY

Expect the first tomor- What? 

SCROOGE

Three excepting yourself leaves two, Jacob, you should know that. Arithmetic was always your strongpoint, in life.

And so on. They treat a supernatural experience with all the reverence of a contractual disagreement. They split hairs, argue and completely squander an opportunity for a reunion. I was quite pleased with it.

Carruthers Ten Years On: March 2010

March 2010 on the Carruthers Blog. It was a pretty boring month.

The best post is Non Sequiter. It's probably truer now, than it was then.

Satire.