.: Greetings, fellow Gerbils! :.

Greetings, fellow gerbils!
Hey there, it's Gerry here! As you may have gathered, I am a gerbil and this is a blog about my life on this planet. I appear to humans through a machine called the GerbilMaestro, which is an exact copy of my master. I control this machine and most of the time pretend to be my master in front of other humans.
I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Thanks a gerbillion!

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Saturday, 30 November 2013

Friday, 29 November 2013

The latest addition to the Book Blog

Here on this blog, we often reference Creative Writing Club. As it is becoming so popular, ConscienceSarah came up with the idea that, since we have Weekly News Round-Up over here, we should have a Creative Writing Club Round-Up on the Book Blog.

So, it is my greatest pleasure to announce to you that this fantastic idea will be put into practice starting from now. Every Friday, we shall have a new Creative Writing Club Round-Up post over on the Book Blog.

Head over right now to read this week's edition!

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Good luck guys!

Hope you have a good time in the Academy's history production, Wicks, DisneyLoverMolly, ConscienceSarah!

We'll be there to support you tomorrow night (well, maybe not ANT, 'cause we all know how ANT feels about History) ;)

Sunday, 24 November 2013

Weekly News Round-Up #41: 17/11/2013

Hello peeps! This has been a most interesting week, including fancy dress... ;p

But first of all, Monday turned out to be 'New Coat Monday', where Ruby and Wicks both had new coats. It has to be said that Wicks' coat carries a distinct 'Game of Thrones' vibe (the fur gives it that effect).

Now, last week we had an abundance of cake. This week, instead of cake, we had too much confectionary. If you're wondering why there were packets of eclairs and chocolate, it's because ArwaChihuahua, Ruby and Wicks took a trip to the cinema to see 'Thor: The Dark'. Indeed, if you're thinking "But surely Wicks has seen it twice", you'd be correct. This is why we chose her to review it for us! If you haven't read the review, click here :)

Speaking of 'Thor', DisneyLoverMolly was saying how she hadn't seen the first one, but Master offered to lend it to her. This prompted a discussion about Master being the type of person to start a film rental business, complete with loyalty cards etc. At one point, when DisneyLoverMolly and Master were discussing a new prank, Wicks asked what they were talking about. In reply, Master said "We're just negotiating a rental deal, it's private information, credit card info, like the last 4 digits of pin numbers etc." After thinking it over, it happens that there are only 4 digits in a pin number. I think it's fair to say that they had a good laugh afterwards about this pin number scam ;p

For the majority of the week, ANT had been absent, which lead to us wondering about where she could be. One possibility that arose was that she clearly didn't learn from the milk incident of last week.

All was well at the end of the week as ANT was back (she'd been ill)! It was also fancy-dress for the seniors at the Academy (this includes us). A few of us dressed up, here's the rundown on costumes:
ArwaChihuahua - Mountain goat (naturally)
ConscienceSarah - Dr. Who
DisneyLoverMolly - Army individual
Wicks - Fairy
ShoeLobber - Wally (from 'Where's Wally')
Cap. - Individual in a onesie
Master - Cowgirl (many thanks to ConscienceSarah for providing the hat, the main part of the outfit)

Other people that we spotted include: Wonder Woman, the Tardis, a dragon, a zebra, guy in dressing gown, guy with bow and arrow, Thor and Loki. The last two were rather controversial and faced some criticism from Wicks and ArwaChihuahua, who we all thought were a better set of Thor and Loki.

Throughout the day, we had multiple discussions about possible outfits for similar occasions in the future. At one point, ArwaChihuahua asked, "We'll do 'Raven', then can we do fruit?" The ideas just kept coming and by the end of the day, we walked away with an arsenal of ideas/themes for the next fancy-dress day, including contestants of 'Raven', fruit, stationery, Mona the Vampire, X-Men vs. Avengers, and many more.

To top it all off, we had a little discussion about online games. Master came away with more homework, which was to play 'Microlife'

Until next week, have a good one ;)

Sunday, 17 November 2013

Weekly News Round-Up #40: 10/11/2013

So, what happened this week? Well, let me tell you now, not much. Here goes...

We kicked off the week on a Tuesday.
At lunchtime, we were burdened with the task of eating the cake that Ruby brought on Saturday (there was no shortage of food that day). In all honesty, we had a little trouble consuming all the cake, where we had to almost reluctantly dish out second helpings. It just so happened that Master hadn't finished her salad yet, so there was a situation where the cake was piling up. At one point, having to eat cake became a bad thing, with ANT threatening to add to the cake pile if Master hadn't finished her salad in a set time.

On Wednesday, we had a nice assembly on student finance, but before that, we were at Creative Writing Club. It happened to be ANT's first time at the club, so DisneyLoverMolly and Master, naturally, took the opportunity to try and play a little prank on her. The tricksters managed to convince ANT that they were supposed to be working on a sci-fi piece, whereas they were really re-writing fairytales. They were rather successful, with ANT thinking that she had to do a sci-fi piece for quite a few days, until the topic was brought up again and Master told her about the prank.

You'd never think that ANT would be so easily convinced, but Master managed to trick ANT again. At breaktime, Master pulled out her Maths notebook, which was conveniently disguised as a pad of squared paper (when I say disguised, the cover just said 'squared paper', because that was what it was). Afterwards, the conversation continued as follows:

ANT: Is that your Maths book?
Master: ...no, I just use it to draw graphs and doodle and stuff...
ANT: Oh, ok.

No questions asked. ANT just accepted that doodling and drawing graphs were Master's hobbies.

On Thursday, ANT wasn't feeling very well and therefore went home during the day. Later, when asked what was wrong, she explained that she thinks it has something to do with the milk she had for breakfast...typical.

She made a quick recovery, though, and was back in action on Friday. On that lunchtime, it happened that Master could not join everyone, which was a shame. However, this meant that ANT could have salt on her chips without Master making remarks such as 'watch out for the salt sachet'. Oh, the salt incident... #goodtimes

Until next week, have a good one ;)

Monday, 11 November 2013

MouseMouseMonday #29: Wicks reviews 'Thor: The Dark World'

Hello there peeps!
On this most exciting Monday, we have a MouseMouseMonday post for y'all! Sorry for the inconsistency, but you're gonna love this one! After seeing 'Thor: The Dark World', Wicks has brilliantly written us a review. Take a look:

Thor 2 Review (it rhymes!)
By Simon Wicks

Original image: http://marvel.com/thor#/downloads/wallpaper

THOR 2!!! This has been my most highly-anticipated film, perhaps, ever. A consequence of which I have already seen it twice. Needless to say I was the obvious choice for blog reviewer.

I will try to keep this mostly spoiler-free, but the whole film is basically one big spoiler so I'll try to avoid any really big spoilers.

In a nutshell, the convergence is coming, the magical blurring between the worlds manifests itself as some pretty sweet sky portals. Now, any sort of huge cosmic event is going to draw some kind of evil-doer. With Loki imprisoned after the events of Avengers, the bad guy spotlight shifts to Malekith, king of the Dark Elves (mwah ha ha!) played by Christopher Eccleston, just about recognisable under all his layers of make-up.

Even the usual cast seems different; Thor is more serious, Odin less shouty and Dr Erik Selvig, well...more crazy. This change is not unwelcome though, things have changed post-Avengers and this gives the characters more depth. Much like the original Thor however, some of the more minor characters are largely forgotten - e.g. Volstagg, Sif, etc. But that does leave more room for Thor and Loki's dynamic duo.

All in all a very enjoyable film with action and equal amounts of laughter and heartbreak. A good follow-up to Thor and Avengers. But how long must we wait for a Loki film!?

11/12 Simon Stars!

P.S. How crowded is Asgardian prison?! 4 people/aliens/monsters (whatever) to a cell? Heck! If you're going to make so many enemies, build a bigger dungeon.

Want more Thor? Check out the trailer:

Remembrance Day

Let us remember.
Have a good Remembrance Day

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 7

"That tastes like kitten...?!"
- L.R. M.B.

Story behind quote:
Cap. said something about chicken, which we all seem to have forgotten, however DisneyLoverMolly heard something else...

Saturday, 9 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 6

"I miss my animals and my iron...I had a home back there."
- A.T.

Story behind quote:
After moving from one world to another on #Minecraft, ANT was feeling slightly home-sick.

Friday, 8 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 5

Master: "Are you going home now?"
ANT: "No. I've got a lesson now, then I'm going home."
- J.C. A.T.

Story behind quote:
ANT very much enjoys going home early on a Monday afternoon. Here's a typical conversation.

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 4

"BP. A cool guy or an oil company?"
- S.A.

Story behind quote:
We all know it as an oil company, but ConscienceSarah discovered that if you tilt your head and see it as you would a :), it does indeed look like a cool guy.

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 3

"Would you like them wrapped?"
- Employee at 'The Codfather'

Story behind quote:
On the way back home from Cap.'s birthday bash, ArwaChihuahua, Wicks and Master stopped off at the ultimate fish and chip shop, The Codfather. The service there was unparalleled, but they truly exceeded expectations in the packaging department. ArwaChihuahua had her chips beautifully wrapped in paper (yes, they were, as Wicks put it, 'free-running' chips) as there is just no better way to have your chips.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 2

"You're making it sound as if it was a rumour..."
- C.P. A.N.

Story behind quote:
Alexis was telling us about how he cracked his head open in primary school, however he doesn't remember it happening and he only knows of the event because the teachers told him afterwards. Upon hearing this, Triangle thought it all sounded a little strange and somehow Master found this remark remarkably funny...

Happy Bonfire Night!

Stay safe and have a good night :)

Monday, 4 November 2013

Quote Week: November - Day 1

"All employees must be at least 6 foot tall..."
- H.W.

Story behind quote:
One lunchtime, Ruby had some massive Yorkie Buttons (chocolate buttons double the size of the usual type). Wicks contemplated the employee requirements...

Happy 3rd Birthday to the Blog!

So, 3 years ago this blog was created. It amazes me that we've been able to sustain it for this long, but then again, it's all because of you readers. You are oh-so-loyal and a lot of the time you are the motivation behind these posts.

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who's involved in this blog, whether it be directly or indirectly. You truly make my day :)

To celebrate this milestone, we've got Quote Week, which starts exactly one minute after this is posted (yes, it's been scheduled). Also, the blog design has been changed. What dya think? ;p

I hope you all have a fabulous day and continue to enjoy reading this blog.

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Report: Avengers Assemble Movie Marathon

On Saturday 2nd November 2013, we had an Avengers Movie Marathon over at Wicks'. This included dressing up as Avengers, watching Marvel movies and eating. Here are the highlights...

In the Food Department:
We went all out on the food and the proof for that was in the sheer quantity. Wicks provided an array of drinks and snacks (incl. chocolate, mango, honeydew melon with a pinch of cinnamon, and plenty more) and ArwaChihuahua and Cap. were in charge of crisps.
For our main meal, we had pizza (generously provided by Wicks) and Shawarma (reference to the end credits scene from The Avengers) made by Master.
Alongside the savoury, we had plenty of the sweet. The result of the Bake-Off was most impressive. Take a look...

ANT's beautiful Halloween Haunted House Cake
Master's Avengers Cupcakes - all assembled
And from that, ANT won Best Halloween Bake and Master walked away with Best Avengers Bake.
As if that wasn't enough, Ruby brought a wonderful traybake, however we never got round to eating it as there was just so much!

Movie 1: Iron Man

Iron Man: The Surround Sound Experience, brought to you by ANT
One of the best things about sitting next to ANT was that she enhanced the movie experience by providing surround sound (creating whooshing noises when Iron Man was in flight). At one point, Master remarked, "It's like I'm really there, in the movie!"

49 more lifetimes for Tony Stark
ANT also expressed her opinion on Tony Stark's suit, saying "Surely it would've taken him a lifetime to build that suit." However, Master referenced the movie, which states that the Arc Reactor has enough power to get him through 50 lifetimes, so the response to ANT was something like, 'well, he's got 49 more to go.'

The Ballerina Pose
We all noticed how gracefully Iron Man takes off and lands after flight. If you don't know what we're talking about, watch the film again.

The appalling amount of product placement
It has come to our attention that there is an incredible amount of product placement in these movies, including multiple car brands, Coca Cola (of course), Bvlgari, and many more. Sheesh.

Names in the credits
No one knows why, but we just all decided to watch the credits roll for Iron Man. It sounds pretty boring, but the names of the production team kept us well entertained. I think it's arguable that the Best Name award goes to Andy Grandy. Whatta guy.
The graphics team sounded pretty dark...The Orphanage...!? (no joke)
Then we looked out for the most insignificant role...and the award for that goes to the Second second assistant director (and no, I haven't just accidentally written the word 'second' twice. That's the actual job title).

Movie 2: Thor

Bill Anderson
ANT just couldn't take Dr. Erik Selvig seriously. From the first second that he appeared, she just thought of Bill Anderson from Mamma Mia (also played by Stellan Skarsgård).

ANT laughs in all the wrong moments
There was no stopping her. ANT just found some of the non-laughable points funny.

Thor with audio description
None of us ever knew until Saturday how enjoyable it is to watch Thor with the audio description on. I've written out part of the transcript for the beginning here (slight spoilers):
"Silver stars fly over a blanket of clouds and encircle the word 'Paramount', written in italics above a snow-capped mountain peak. Paramount. A Viacom Company. Multiple images from comic books and graphic novels flip by in quick succession. Marvel Studios.
...
Something crashes down onto the desert floor amidst the swirling typhoon-like column of dust. Darcy turns the truck away from the typhoon. Jane grabs the wheel from her and steers back towards the swirling column of dust. Lightning flickers within it. The shape of a man looms up out of the dust and collides with the truck. Darcy stamps on the brake and the truck spins to a halt. Inside, Jane, Darcy and Erik catch their breath before leaping out of the vehicle and going to the downed man."

Film 3: The Avengers

The issue of Phil Coulson
It's no joke that he appears in literally every film! This has irritated a few of us, including ANT, who decided to share with us her thoughts (as usual) by saying, 'he just has that face...' (not in a great way)

The incompetent guards
In every film, there's always loads of incompetent guards/soldiers. Whether they be on the side of good or evil, they need more fight training.

Loki's not turning on the charm
This being the second time round that ANT's seen The Avengers, she still thinks that Loki's not turning on the charm during his little chat with Black Widow.

2/7 of us go for the sequel, 'Thor: The Dark World'
Coming soon, a review by Wicks!

All in all, I think it's fair to say that we've all had a Marvel-ous weekend ;p

The final Quote Week of 2013...

Starting from tomorrow, we will be having our final Quote Week of the year (we have the Quote Advent Calendar in December, do not fear).

Don't forget to stay tuned for a week of fun :)

Weekly News Round-Up #39: 27/10/2013

Once again, I am very sorry for this incredibly late edition of Weekly News Round-Up! It's been pretty busy over here, but there's plenty of new content that will be coming very soon!
Monday was a slightly odd day in the sense that everyone was saying 'bye' at breaktime as many people didn't have lessons in the afternoon. And ANT just goes home at lunch anyway.

On Tuesday, ANT explained that she was a little worried as the computer that she was on wouldn't let her log out of her email account. We took some time to imagine all of the possible outcomes of this. At first, ANT didn't seem too bothered as the only emails that she gets are from the library, however the conversation took a turn as we pondered how it could lead to possible identity theft. Someone could be taking ANT's books out and this could result to possible fines... We hope that doesn't happen.

On a side note, at breaktime, Master had a cereal bar in one hand and her iPod in the other. There was a certain point where she had to stop herself from eating her iPod as she thought it was the cereal bar. After explaining this to ANT, ANT said that it would have 'made her day' if Master'd taken a bite out of the iPod.

I think it's fair to say that our table at lunch has turned into Candy Crush Central. Usually, ANT, DisneyLoverMolly and Master will all be immersed in games, whilst everyone else will ocassionally give advice. At one point, ANT remarked that she would surely get an 'A' if there was such thing as a Candy Crush A-level ;p

On that same lunchtime, we all had a moment of silence as ConscienceSarah had her last clarinet lesson. We shall forever remember it.

On Wednesday, we found Master in a newspaper. I think it's fair to say that we all had a good laugh at it ;p

Of course, Wednesday usually consists of a little dose of sport, so to complete our day we did some tennis with Alexis, Triangle and Paul. There was one point when we were trying to lock Triangle out of the court. This consisted of Paul trying to find the correct key in a 'Raven'-style challenge. #goodtimes

Towards the end of the week, Cap. made a revelatory discovery about the juice that she was drinking. It was marketed as a cranberry and raspberry juice drink, however it containted a higher percentage of grape than any of the previously mentioned fruits. This new information prompted Master to take a closer look at the ingredients list for her cereal bar. It turns out that the supposedly blueberry cereal bar contains blueberry-infused diced cranberries...!? What's going on??

Well that was this week for y'all. We'll end on this note: the Stats Strategy = Stategy #toomuchmaths

Until next week, have a good one ;)