• Online Writing Workshops: workshops for aspiring writers
  Note to self – this could be handy.
  (tags: writing workshop support social community writer online)
• YouTube – Facebook Anthem
  Why I’m getting bored of Facebook … via Bowch. Probably not totally work or kid safe due to containing bad language.
  (tags: facebook video youtube fun social funny)

… guess what, it’s a duck!

Yes, it’s that time of year again where I have to come up with an idea for and Easter Bonnet for a boy.

I think nurseries run these things just to make parents scream in terror at the thought they might need to be creative (I know my heart sinks as soon as I find the letter).

Fortunately, the Internet came to the rescue yet again.

I came across a template for a duck hat over on Free Paper Toys and made it out of card with a few modifications. The eyes are a bit wonky, but hopefully that will add to the homemade charm.

Panic over, until nursery announce book day costumes again… *sigh*.

• Welcome to the Writer’s Resource Center! | Writer’s Resource Center
  Looks like a useful collection of articles and resources on writing. Filed for that golden day that will come when I’ll actually have more *time*.
  (tags: writing tips resources reference howto inspiration)

I’m now getting quite a collection of audiobooks thanks to the discovery of Audible.

I’ve found that iTunes stores them in a separate folder in the Library which I can choose to download onto my iPod Nano, but not pick individual books for download. It’s becoming a pain to find the book I am on at the moment, but I couldn’t find anything in the smart playlist options to filter out the ones I’ve already read.

Anyway, I’ve just discovered, that while it’s not shown as a column in iTunes, the genre for each is set to “Audiobook”. So all I’ve had to do is rate the ones I have read, then set up a smart playlist to collect anything with the genre Audiobook that has no rating. Ta da! Any new audiobooks I buy now get downloaded automatically onto my iPod.

I thought I’d share the cunning tip, even though I’m sure it was perfectly obvious to everyone else but me.

I did my bit again this year by participating in the Cancer Research UK’s Britain’s Biggest Breakfast by eating my way through this delicious full english breakfast plus two glasses of orange juice.

I’m so giving and selfless.

• Script Frenzy | Your ticket to creative adventure
  The scriptwriter’s version of nanowrimo!
  (tags: writing screenwriting screenplay nanowrimo script film movies)
• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content « Lorelle on WordPress
  With the explosion of content scraper sites being set up, everyone who has a blog should read this.
  (tags: copyright blogging blog content internet legal law)

According to the Telegraph, Lord Goldsmith wants British children to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen in classroom ceremonies similar to the US’s pledge to their flag. Apparently, this will “strengthen pupils’ understanding of what it means to be British”.

Bollocks will it.

Most of the Brits I know share my opinion that the Royal Family are a complete waste of space, good only for some extra tourist cash in the Summer and something to fill the Daily Mail with. I’d sooner my children pledged allegiance to Spongebob Squarepants.

I really don’t understand the logic – it’s not as though reciting the Lords Prayer in school every morning for decades helped the Church of England, is it?! Let alone the comedy value in all those children growing up thinking that God’s name was Harold or Howard.

How will repeating the same phrase over and over in monotone ennui do anything to help race relations?!

As regular readers will know, I have never been one to refuse free chocolate and it was with much anticipation that I received one of this year’s Extra Thick Egg creations from Hotel Chocolat.

Last year’s Signature Egg was absolutely divine, so expectations were running high on opening the parcel, and I have to confess to feeling slightly disappointed when I saw that mine was completely dark chocolate – The Serious Dark Fix Egg. Great for the dark chocolate connoisseur in your life, but I admit I’m more of a milk chocolate lover myself.

The packaging gives the impression of high quality – understated but attractive with a matte and shiny black pattern on the box.

Removing the lid revealed a slip with a guide to the contents. A cut out in the shape of a keyhole giving a tantalising glimpse of the foil-wrapped egg.

Simple but elegant.

However, lifting away the keyhole cut-out card uncovered a moulded plastic container keeping the egg in place – similar to any found with the cheapest Nestle supermarket egg. I have to say that this marred the impression of quality and expense a little.

Still, I didn’t lose sight of the goal – the chocolate!

But again, I was to be disappointed with the presentation. The innards of the egg were sealed away under black waxed paper, almost as if they were embarrassed by them.

Opening this revealed a handful of chocolates – a reasonably generous amount compared to most commercial Easter eggs, but not the bursting at the seams feeling that last year’s Signature Egg gave.

The finish on the chocolates inside didn’t feel quite as exquisite as previously either with some knocking of the edges – perhaps due to movement during transit?

Where the egg didn’t disappoint was the shell. I remarked on this last year, but the thing Hotel Chocolat really excels at is a decently thick egg – not one that disintegrates if you breathe too heavily near it. It was an effort to snap the chocolate, and in the end I couldn’t break a small piece off to try it, but ended up splintering the whole side as you can see in the photo.

As a result, you get a proper taste of the chocolate and it is good. As I mentioned at the start of the review, I am not a fan of dark chocolate, yet this is rather nice. Heavy in cocoa and no trace of sweetness, it still manages to avoid the bitter after taste you can get with some dark chocolate. It’s smooth and … I’m almost inclined to say creamy, yet I know no cream or milk has touched it. It’s also rich – a few mouthfuls and I’m satisfied.

On balance, I would still reach for the milk chocolate out of choice, but this isn’t going to go to waste.

Of course, the review wouldn’t be complete without taking a look at the chocolate selection inside. I wasn’t able to sample all in time for this post (eating that many in one sitting would be guaranteed migraine-city, and I’m hoping to save the rest for Easter itself) but I did try the Délice de Chocolat – a chocolate with pistachios and hazelnuts in a rich filling. It was pleasant… for a nutty chocolate.

Yes, in the interests of fairness, I should point out that one of my other dislikes is nuts… no, it hasn’t really been my day. So really, I should have chosen another centre. However, the choice is rather limited in this particular offering – pretty much all of them contain nuts or are just a plain chocolate shape (the latter not being very exciting when you have a whole plain chocolate shaped egg to get through first).

Even allowing for my nut prejudice, it would have been nice to have had more variety in the selection – I remember looking through the “menu” of last year’s egg and really not knowing what to try first – the range was so enticing. This time round, it looks like I’d better get used to hazelnuts fast. Oh well.

So in summary, this is a high quality egg that dark chocolate (and nutty chocolate!) lovers will appreciate – a cut above the usual Easter offerings. Those who prefer milk chocolate would be well served to browse Hotel Chocolat’s other products in their Easter Gift collection.

However, I do feel that at £20 for an egg, I’d like to continue to see the Wow Factor and Pizazz that we had last year – in packaging, presentation and variety/quantity of contents. Even allowing for the fact that reviewer preference and product don’t seem to have been quite so well matched this time around, I can’t help feeling that there was something missing in the experience…

Remember, that you still have the opportunity to try and win an Extra Thick Easter Egg of your very own. Only 8 days left to enter!

In a severe case of “damnit, I wish I’d thought of that first”, I am compelled to direct you to a rather stunning new blog: Can’t Backspace.

The design is absolutely gorgeous – handwritten entries in a journal with post-it note asides and all comments are left on a “whiteboard” with a different handwriting font used for each commenter. The attention to detail is very impressive.

It’s a project started by Sylvia, in an attempt to get herself to write regularly. The idea being that the page is only small, it’s using ink so she can’t backspace or accidentally go browsing around the web to procrastinate. When she’s done, it gets scanned in and uploaded to the blog. It has the effect of feeling a much more personal and intimate view into someone’s life and thoughts.

Definitely worth blogrolling.

• Phun – 2D physics sandbox
  This looks totally awesome – no Mac OS X version yet, unfortunately, but apparently it is imminent.
  (tags: physics science game education phun fun kids free)