Busy researching comic-book hero movies for a feature in our teen magazine, and it hit me how many have been made (and remade) in recent years. And not just the biggies, starring our friends Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker and Clark Kent. Between Iron Man, Thor, Green Lantern, Hulk, Captain America and The Avengers (sort of Marvel's answer to DC's Justice League), it's like an all-you-can-eat buffet for comic book fans. And while I don't profess to know the name of every single member of SHIELD, and sometimes forget who's in which camp in the endless DC vs Marvel debate, I do enjoy a good comic book romp a lot more than, say, Valentine's Day (but then, who wouldn't, really?).

Anyway, all the spandex and superpowers got me to thinking about my very first crush. What can I say, I was that weird little girl who much preferred her brother's He Man and Ninja Turtle action figures to her own vapid-expressioned dolls. From the day my brother rented Batman Returns from the VHS store instead of Care Bears (like I'd asked) I was hooked.

And so, my first stirrings of underage adoration were not for Dominic Telo, like every other girl on the playground, but for this man, Remy leBeau, aka Gambit:

Who could resist a flaming playing card and headband in the Nineties?

Perfection, sheer perfection.

And yeah okay so he was shacking up with Rogue in X-Men the TV show (when she was a fully grown woman, not a teenager with a bad dye job), I still loved him dearly, and used to imagine him rescueing me from all sorts of dangers, like learning to write in cursive.

Sigh.

And no, poncey Taylor Kitsch, who played Gambit in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, just didn't measure up.

Sorry blog, and blog readers.

Clickity clicks for brickety bricks

Even I have to admit that there are some problems in our world that can't be solved with a cup of tea. Not many, mind you, but a few. One of these is not having a roof over your head, despite the fact that your government promised you one, or the fact that shelter is a basic human right.

Fixing the status quo is a a massive project, to be sure, but the good folks at Property24.com have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to take a step in the right direction and raise the R91 000 that's required to build a single home. That's a hefty total though, and they need your help.

But here's the best part – you don't have to get messy laying bricks or mixing cement. You don't have to get out your wallet. You don't even have to move from that chair you're sitting in. Here's what you need to do:

1. Click on the Clicks for Bricks banner on the side of this page. It'll take you to the Property24 Facebook page.
2. Like the Property24 Facebook page.
3. For every 'like' they get, they'll donate R5 to the grand total, and you get to watch the cool little infographic of the house getting built steadily day by day.
4. You can only 'like' the page once sadly, so after you've done that and patted yourself on the back, you need to get your friends involved, so shout it from any rooftops you have access to, and maybe we can get a family in need their own one.

Great so, I want to hear some clicking guys. And ... go!

Oops, I'm a little tardy...

Goodness gracious, busy busy busy.

How quickly did Monday go? Really, how quickly? Could be the sunshine, the afterglow of a lovely weekend ... either way, I think Mondays should always be in fast-forward. Who's with me?

Weekend in numbers très vite...

Number of sunny days: trois

Number of braais in the sunshine: deux

Number of shopping sprees: one. Was putting together the fabulous hamper of accessories Luxury Cape Town is giving away on their Facebook page. Spending someone else's money in all your favourite shops is rather enjoyable.

Number of glasses of wine on the couch on Saturday night with the lovely Boyfriend, watching XMen First Class on a, frankly, ridiculously large TV: can't remember. One of the bonuses of being in a committed relationship is that when you a) have cash flow problems because you accidentally went into Forever New and b) subsequently don't have exciting Saturday night plans, you can get drunk together on the couch and it somehow feels like an awesome party.

In other news, I had cake for breakfast this morning, and will be eating oysters live on air later. My life is starting to take on a somewhat surreal quality, but I can't say I'm not enjoying myself...

And as a completely unrelated aside, here's my favourite thing of this morning, via Miss Kris:

Everyone should have one of these buttons. Go here if you feel the need to push it.

 

Pink eye is the new black

ARGH! Not only is an eye infection super sexy (no, not really), but it also stops one from being allowed to look at a computer screen, and therefore from blogging.

Well, that's my excuse anyway for my blogabsenteeism this week. I was away from my laptop, being goddess-like (no, not really) with a red, swollen eye and having fun with my eye dropper and anything that didn't require clear vision, such as laundry and drinking wine.

Fun times.

On the bright side, I can legitimately go shopping for a new mascara now.