The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

Hmmm - come tomorrow, and it seems another step towards the completion of The Move may just be done. Exciting, yes?

What else is there? Oh, yeah - we are, scarily enough, closing in on the start of the football season! Go Redskins!

Just don't remind me about that email account that's closing. I know - and why should I pay a monthly fee to a company that just upped and decided to screw with me...?

Oh well, it's almost time to welcome 2013, but first...

REDSKINS BEAT COWBOYS 28-18 - WIN 1ST DIVISION TITLE SINCE 1999!!!!!

Damn, is Albert Morris, our rookie running back, GOOOOOD. The 'Skins now host a wild-card round game against resurgent Seattle.

Also in the news is something that has rather crept up on me - 2013 sees the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of the start of The Darkhawk Diaries! 2012's output hasn't exactly been copious: seven chapters of Brighthawk, thirteen chapter of Mane-of-Night (not including the two-part January 1st conclusion of last year's Christmas Special), and fourteen chapters of "To Be Continued". I need to do better than that.

In 2013, I will post a minimum of one hundred chapters (again, not including the conclusion of the latest Christmas Special). Oh, and each and every one will be dedicated to the memory of Gerry Anderson.

Okay, the bells are drawing near. Better get ready.

See you, Dear Reader, next year...

This is rumour control... The protestors are wanting to camp outside St Pauls Cathedral because if they were any closer to the Stock Exchange, they'd be too "out of sight" to draw attention to the police "heavy-handedness". They had a camp in Edinburgh too, and that was hardly on a bank's doorstep either.

I hope that, tomorrow morning, the protestors will be taking their silly masks off. Hallowe'en will be over by then.

Meanwhile, on the sensible side of town... Ooooh - I may just have a third potential cosplay prop in mind, for Task 88

88 - Create usable stage/screen/cosplay props of three pieces of costume or equipment from my own projects

True, it's an item that I only just designed this morning, but I just happen to have most of the necessary components already available.

Development News... Today, I have been doing some more Mane-of-Night type-up, following a good writing opportunity on the Edinburgh bus. MoN-302 Mane-of-Night And The Wild New World should be beginning full production very soon - I have one and a half Brighthawk chapters to complete first, however.

And finally... Bills 23 Redskins 0? Oh holy crap, it's one of THOSE seasons again, and we can't even blame Donovan McNabb this time...

It has been really hard to find any opportunities to create, or otherwise de-stress. Nearly every day has some kind of unwelcome distraction, most stemming from Parental trying to escape the perpetual ordeal of dealing with the ongoing stresses surrounding my great-aunt's medical situation, which seems to be getting steadily worse...

I just don't want to dwell on that. Granted, this isn't as much of a stress-bomb for me as my grandmother's final weeks, or "The Year Of Hell", but it's clearly going to impact on the whole family for the rest of the year, at least. Some arrangements are having to be made in a hurry to make the most out of the whole awful mess, and that impacts on me in particular, on the grounds of the "there's nothing I can't put down" policy I have in effect. What a great idea that was - sometimes, I don't even get the chance to pick things up in the first place.

As far as creativity goes, I have been rewriting the start of Chapter 12 of MoN-203 "Mane-of-Night And The Wayward Child", trying to inject a bit more urgency into the events therein. Tomorrow's Singapore Grand Prix should provide me with at least two hours of some kind of escapism that could help the creative process along - unless Parental feels the need to "offload", and guess who's the loyal recipient of that?

My own fault, I guess. I try to do whatever I can to ease the burden, and simply being there to listen is one of them. Every visit to the hospital is shared with me, in all its unhappy detail - but there's no-one for me to "offload" on. This will just have to do.

It would be really nice for a certain someone, not mentioned so far, to remember their obligations to me - hinted at earlier in the week. Some of what I'm owed would be a big help about now, and a help to Parental a whole lot more than me...

I'm a walking Krakatoa. Maybe it would be better all round just to blow my top, let off the pressure and let those concerned know just what bastards they're being -

Oh, for fuck's sake, they've even got me going all Emo. That I can do without.

Signing off. Tomorrow is my best chance for some peace and quiet, but somehow I don't think I'll get the whole twenty-four hours...

In Today's Episode: It's party time for Darkhawk in the latest chapter of The Darkhawk Diaries - but it isn't going to be all fun and games...

In The News... Andy Murray, Britain's Number 1 at Wimbeldon, has every right to support - or not support - whoever he frigging likes in the World Cup. He chooses not to support England, and his blog gets a whole bunch of quite simply racist remarks - bet those dry up in a hurry if he wins...

Scottish MSPs say they don't intend to support England either, and correspondants start bleating on about how they want an English parliament, and an end to Scottish MPs "passing laws on England". Fine - give Scotland full independence, which we currently do not have, and guess who gets the f**king oil, eh? Want a fight over it...?

I previously had no interest in the World Cup. I am now supporting Portugal.

Can't wait to see the massive riots that result when the drunken "Engerland" fans see their team go out. Here comes another ban from international competition, and very little in the way of sympathy.

Predictions - Portugal 2, England 1; 500 arrests...

Breaking News!

Redskins sign former Steelers WR Randle El



Guess Randle El's gonna earn himself back-to-back Superbowl rings with two different teams now...

In Today's Episode: Is the Skylance-X mission a success? See the latest chapter of The Darkhawk Diaries to find out!

I was going to spend today working on new chapters, but before I knew it, it was 4pm. Bugger...

Well and truly Farnhamed - see Douglas Adams & John Lloyd's excellent book "The Meaning Of Liff" to see what I mean!

In The News... Looks like the new Wembley Stadium won't be finished on schedule. Does that mean we won't be getting a regular season NFL game in London this coming season...?

Hunger striking Moors murderer Ian Brady has apparently written a letter to the parents of one of his victims, complaining about how he's being kept alive by force-feeding for "purely political reasons". Oh what a shame - would anyone object to him having copious amounts of electricity applied to his genitals to get him to reveal where he buried the children he murdered nearly half a century ago...?

And Finally... The Catholic Church in New Zealand are calling for a boycott of an "offensive" episode of South Park.

Oh shut up. Grow a sense of humour, and use your vast reserves of faith-generated energy to do some real good in the world for a change...

But then again, why change the habits that have served you so well for the past two thousand years?