Since I was a wee child, I've loved cats. I'm terrified of most dogs, but put me near any cat and I become a puddle of English pudding.

On that note, when I was in India last year, I was bemoaning the fact that I hadn't seen any cats on the streets (which wasn't terribly surprising -- feral dogs are intimidating to me! Let alone wee little felines). But talk about karma: on the night of my birthday, I saw my first Indian cat, a slip of a thing sleekly crossing the adjoining roof of a building adjacent to our hotel. Talk about a marvellous birthday present :D.

As for my personal feline friends, over the years, many cats have graced my door (and more about them in a later post), but for now, let me focus on the three felines that currently share my home.

( My menagerie ... )

Well, although I may have returned home chilled to the bone after unseasonal May weather, it was well worth it as I spent the day watching Bradley's Boys representing Team Merlin at this year's Soccer Six charity game. And what a Merlin line up it was!! Per the official programme, it was Bradley James, Tom Hopper, Alexander Vlahos, Adetomiwa Edun, Ross Machin, Rupert Young and Eoin Macken. But there was an extra player or two as well ...

Anyways, enough of that. Onto the pictures!! ( Skill, Brawns, and a Bare Chest under the cut ... )

So. Next weekend the Merlin lads will be taking to the football pitch at Soccer Six. (And yes, I have my ticket firmly settled in my wallet :D. And my camera's batteries are fully charged.)

And in anticipation of said event, here are five of my favourite Bradley James photos from the last couple of footie events ...

( Bradley playing footie ... )

Last night, 'twas the Finals of BGT and the winner was announced. Although I really enjoyed the act that ended up in second place, the winning act *did* touch my heart -- and I'm not the only one.

Overall, I have to say this was one of the best BGT's in a while -- definitely good to have Simon back and this group of judges just got along like a house on fire. I suspect they'll all be back for the next round. As for the winners ...

( Winner of BGT 2012 )

Well, we have a week to go until CBS apparently announces which pilots it's going to go with -- so we'll soon find out the fate of Elementary.

But in the meantime, there's a very interesting analysis of the script of Elementary here at Dan's Media Digest.

Frankly, it sounds like it's going to be what we're all expecting it to be -- your American cookie cutter crime procedural drama with some slightly quirky characters, one of whom happens to be named Sherlock Holmes. And as for the romance quotient, unless they make "Joan Watson" a lesbian, I fear it's inevitable in this type of pairing. With a larger ensemble/team show, there are more dynamics that can be played with (although Hawaii Five-0 seems to be failing at that game -- particularly in view of the confirmed new series regular next season); but when you've got two main leads of the opposite sex, I'm hard pressed to think of a show that hasn't turned to the UST game.

Oh well. Who knows -- maybe Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu will have such fabulous chemistry that they'll bring the show alive. Time will tell, but I wouldn't be surprised if the pilot is picked up; just the name "Sherlock" will bring in CBS viewers: the real question -- will they stay?

My parents live back in Canada in a gorgeous house my father literally built (he being a carpenter by trade -- and there will be photos of the house in an upcoming post) on the shores of Lake Superior. As I try to go back several times a year, I've had the privilege of seeing the lake at different times of the year. There's one particular vantage point I try and photograph each time I go back to visit my parents and over the years I've built up a wee bit of a collection.

( A stone pier on Lake Superior ... )

Hello all,

It's been a busy few weeks (just got back from a business trip to Istanbul on Thursday -- what a lovely city (other than the horrendous traffic!)) so I'm behind on my 100 Posts. But I couldn't resist this meme which circulated a few weeks back.

1. Comment on this post with I VOLUNTEER!
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Think of 5 fictional characters and post their names and your comments on these characters in your journal.

thegrrrl2002 gave me the letter "R".

( Characters under the cut ... )

On to part two of One Hundred Things. A month before I left for England in 2003, I travelled to New Orleans for the first time with a good friend of mine. She was actually my first fandom friend and in the late 90's we met through the Star Trek fandom (yes, the Original Series, and yes, I have been active in fandom for going on 13/14 years now.) In fact, when I became *active* in fandom, it was still the days of moderated newsgroups. ASCEM (alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated) was my first home and my first website was a GeoCities one. It's long since gone -- as is the small amount of fanfic that I actually wrote at the time. However, there are still a few people on my current LJ flist that I met during those days and that makes me smile. And, as to be expected, our paths do cross in various fandoms from time to time :D.

But, back to my fandom introduction. Isla introduced me to the world of cons and reignited a passion for travel within me. We went to Friscon (slash convention) and KiSCon (Kirk/Spock convention) and went with a group of friends to New Orleans in September of 2003 to enjoy the sights of Southern Decadence -- the "Gay Mardi Gras". I saw things I will probably never see again. Let's just leave it at that ;). (But it was *thoroughly* good fun!) I also have vivid memories of hearing the late Minotaur (famous for his Sex Tips for Slash Writers) speak at Friscon. And I have recollections of a cake with very adult decorations ordered for the KiSCon convention. You've gotta love fandom.

But as for travels, let me share a few photos of New Orleans. I had just gotten my first digital camera a few months earlier, so the number and quality of photos I had to choose from is somewhat limited. But hopefully this will give you a taste of what I love about the city.

( New Orleans... )

Mmmmmmmm. Where's the Star Trek Reboot AU fic (or maybe just dressing up/shoreleave fic in the RB verse) to go with this image. Chris Pine looking mighty fine!



Source for much larger image -- and loads of other pretty as well ...