The Lull... and much Egyptian hokum

For a quiet Christmas, there's been too much to do. Viz:

( The list )

Theme for this year's Xmas, most definitely Egypt. We bought LL a wooden pyramid complete with mummy, sarcophagus, treasure chests, gods, palm trees and sphinx. M found the ravens a reissue of Pharaoh for the PC. We watched and enjoyed both"The Mummy"* and "The Mummy Returns". Snooty comments in The Guardian notwithstanding, we liked the CGI in each of them (maybe, since we don't get to the flicks very often, we have not enough comparisons). The sequel was marred by presence of small child but improved by the talents of Alun Armstrong. Its plot was messy too. John Hannah fun too in both. [... pauses to clear up feline puke ...] And the gradually regenerating mummy (which resembled during its transformation various of the "exhibits"/"specimens" at von Hagens' Bodyworlds exhibition) becoming the rather fine-looking villain Imhotep (played by Arnold Vosloo). And the black-clad tattooed Ardeth Bay (played by Oded Fehr) was definitely our hero. Brendan who? we add.

What the ravens would really love to see would be pitched battle between the LOTR orcs and the massed ranks of jackal-headed warriors of the scorpion king. [ ... pauses to breathe in the scent of chai ... ]

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* Where the ravens found they were the reincarnation of Hamamat the beekeeper. And it's a pretty site that one.