Since I don't seem to have anything else to post about these days, have some more Doctor Who links:
Dressing Doctor Who: An interview with Matt Smith, costume designer Ray Holman and producer Piers Wenger, with more than you probably ever wanted to know about the 11th Doctor's costume.
Doctor Who - Inside the New TARDIS: Pictures of the new TARDIS interior. (Don't look if you want to be surprised!) It's going to take some getting used to, but it's certainly interesting.
Doctor Who Series 5 Clip: A minute and a half clip from an upcoming episode titled, I believe, "Vampires of Venice." Looks promising!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Yeah, We're Back
And speaking of trailers that have me all excited and anticipatory:
(Video may not play outside the US, though -- sorry!)
| Futurama | Weeknights, 9p/8c | |||
| New Episodes on Comedy Central | ||||
| ||||
(Video may not play outside the US, though -- sorry!)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Trailers Galore!
Here's yet another Doctor Who season 5 trailer, this one from BBC America.
Now I'm really starting to get psyched.
Now I'm really starting to get psyched.
Once More Round The Sun
A very happy B-Day to my sister, Kathy! Who gets a shout-out on the blog instead of a phone call because, alas, I am working all day.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Hmm.
Now that I've got this blog all spiffed up to the point where I'm happy with it, I find that I don't seem to have anything to say.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
One More Change...
I've just changed the comment settings to take you to the comments section of the post page, instead of opening a popup. I think I like this a lot better. Objections?
Future Companions?
I almost forgot... I didn't take many pictures at the Doctor Who convention, but here's a mildly embarrassing one of my sister and me with the TARDIS. I'm on the left, looking, I dunno, kind of happily stoned or something. Very possibly that's the expression I'd have on my face if I ever did actually encounter the TARDIS.
Monday, March 15, 2010
But We Hate And Fear Change!
As you have very possibly noticed by now, this blog looks kind of... different. I've been playing around with the layout. I don't know that I'm entirely happy with it... Blogger kind of lies about how easy it is to customize things with their layout editor; the options are really quite limited unless you're somewhat more adept with HTML than I can claim to be. Still, I think there are some improvements, and it's definitely easier to tweak now than it used to be, at least in certain respects.
Let me know what you think.
Let me know what you think.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Speaking of Geeky...
All right. I've been asked -- more than once, now that I think about it -- to talk about my experiences at the Doctor Who convention last month. Well, your wish, dear readers, is my command! Actually, I did talk about it a fair bit to various people, just not on this blog. So much of this is lazily cut and pasted from e-mail or elsewhere:
First of all, yes, I enjoyed myself immensely and so did not want to return to the real world at the end of it all. I have to say, going with my sister turned out to be an excellent way to do it. The few previous cons I've been to, I went sort of on my own, and no matter how friendly and lovely everyone was, or how many good conversations I had, or how many folks I knew from online, I could never quite help feeling like a teeny bit of an outsider among people who all clearly knew each other very well and were busy being delighted to see each other in the flesh again. So it was great to have someone I knew very well and was delighted to see to hang out and experience the con with. (I also got along well with her friends, who we got together with off and on, mostly for meals.)
And the con itself was awesome. It's always great to be around fans, of course, and this con in particular seemed to have a great energy, a strong sense that everybody was having fun and was just incredibly happy to be there. That includes the con organizers and everybody involved in an official capacity, too. Those guys really know how to energize a crowd, and despite a few setbacks, they also seemed to be very organized and to really know what they're doing. (I guess after 21 years, you pretty much get this stuff down.)
The programming was great, too: the only problem was that there was too much of it, and there was no way to see everything I wanted to see! Since I hadn't been to a Who con before, though, and thus hadn't had the chance to see them in person before, I made a particular point of seeing as many of the guests as possible. (By the way, I like the format they used for the guest appearances, featuring an interviewer who would let them ramble as much as they liked and ask intelligent questions when they stopped.)
Unfortunately, they were missing a couple of guests, as Peter Davison (Doctor #5) had to bow out due to work commitments after they were forced to move the date of the con, and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) had to cancel at the last minute due to a family medical emergency. (I haven't heard how that turned out, but my good thoughts remain with her and her family.) The remaining guests were terrific, though. Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria) told funny stories about practical jokes they played on the set, and you could tell that that particular Team TARDIS really was as close-knit as they've been reported to be. They were very warm and funny and entertaining, and I'm glad they were willing to go into stories that they figured we'd probably heard a million times already, because I hadn't heard them. Georgia Moffett (Jenny) was absolutely delightful, and she and director Alice Troughton (also delightful) did a wonderful and hilariously funny live commentary on "The Doctor's Daughter" as a last minute replacement for Sarah's scheduled interview. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to watch that episode again without thinking about Moffett's fish-phobia and chuckling. Tommy Knight (Luke Smith) is absolutely and utterly adorable in person, and I just want to cuddle him and floofle his hair. John Levene (Sgt. Benton) is wonderfully charming and has an amazing ability to make the oldest, corniest jokes somehow incredibly funny. Katy Manning (Jo) is a cute little bundle of insane energy. And director Graeme Harper rambles entertainingly. (Unfortunately, I missed Nicholas Briggs (who does Dalek voices, plus Big Finish audio stuff), and only caught about half of Anneke Wills (Polly)'s interview. I also missed most of Andrew Hayden-Smith (Jake from "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel")'s talk, but did get to see a short interview with him at a podcast show taping later. He comes across as very cute and personable.)
I also did a bunch of other stuff, including attending a demo of the new Who RPG (which I then plopped down far too much money for, even though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, still), and catching a few random episodes of the new K-9 series (which I sort of wanted to dislike, because I look at the robot dog and can't help exclaiming, "That's not K9!", but which was actually pretty cute), and doubtless much more that I'm forgetting now.
Anyway, the upshot is that it was awesome, and I'm seriously tempted to show up again next year.
Also, I have been asked to answer the following questions:
1) Which actor(s) did you have yourself photographed with or get the autograph of?
I didn't get my picture taken with anybody, although I suppose it would probably have been easy enough to do so. Especially if I'd stuck closer to my sister's friend's wife, who had their six-month-old baby in tow. That kid was like some kind of magic all-access pass. You'd have thought the guests had come there to see her!
I did go to one of the autograph sessions, and got my program guide signed by Frazer Hines, Tommy Knight, Nicholas Briggs, and a number of other folks.
2) Were the talks as interesting as their descriptions?
I didn't get to hardly any of the panel talks. As I mentioned above, I mostly wanted to see the guest interviews, and there were always too many interesting things scheduled at once. I did catch the last half of one about adapting stories from one medium to another, as my sister was interested in it, but it was mostly comics-oriented, and not as interesting to me as it might have been.
3) How many fanboys/girls were walking around with big-ass scarves wrapped around their necks? (Bonus points if they were long enough to drag on the floor and everyone kept stepping on them.)
Answer: many. But these folks know how to wear a scarf, so I never saw any tripping.
There were also lots of people in costumes, some of which were extremely impressive. (Including, of course, the inevitable Dalek, who at one point was posing for pictures with the tipsy sorority chicks who were holding some kind of get-together down the hall.) There was also a big masquerade event, which was highly entertaining.
First of all, yes, I enjoyed myself immensely and so did not want to return to the real world at the end of it all. I have to say, going with my sister turned out to be an excellent way to do it. The few previous cons I've been to, I went sort of on my own, and no matter how friendly and lovely everyone was, or how many good conversations I had, or how many folks I knew from online, I could never quite help feeling like a teeny bit of an outsider among people who all clearly knew each other very well and were busy being delighted to see each other in the flesh again. So it was great to have someone I knew very well and was delighted to see to hang out and experience the con with. (I also got along well with her friends, who we got together with off and on, mostly for meals.)
And the con itself was awesome. It's always great to be around fans, of course, and this con in particular seemed to have a great energy, a strong sense that everybody was having fun and was just incredibly happy to be there. That includes the con organizers and everybody involved in an official capacity, too. Those guys really know how to energize a crowd, and despite a few setbacks, they also seemed to be very organized and to really know what they're doing. (I guess after 21 years, you pretty much get this stuff down.)
The programming was great, too: the only problem was that there was too much of it, and there was no way to see everything I wanted to see! Since I hadn't been to a Who con before, though, and thus hadn't had the chance to see them in person before, I made a particular point of seeing as many of the guests as possible. (By the way, I like the format they used for the guest appearances, featuring an interviewer who would let them ramble as much as they liked and ask intelligent questions when they stopped.)
Unfortunately, they were missing a couple of guests, as Peter Davison (Doctor #5) had to bow out due to work commitments after they were forced to move the date of the con, and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) had to cancel at the last minute due to a family medical emergency. (I haven't heard how that turned out, but my good thoughts remain with her and her family.) The remaining guests were terrific, though. Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria) told funny stories about practical jokes they played on the set, and you could tell that that particular Team TARDIS really was as close-knit as they've been reported to be. They were very warm and funny and entertaining, and I'm glad they were willing to go into stories that they figured we'd probably heard a million times already, because I hadn't heard them. Georgia Moffett (Jenny) was absolutely delightful, and she and director Alice Troughton (also delightful) did a wonderful and hilariously funny live commentary on "The Doctor's Daughter" as a last minute replacement for Sarah's scheduled interview. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to watch that episode again without thinking about Moffett's fish-phobia and chuckling. Tommy Knight (Luke Smith) is absolutely and utterly adorable in person, and I just want to cuddle him and floofle his hair. John Levene (Sgt. Benton) is wonderfully charming and has an amazing ability to make the oldest, corniest jokes somehow incredibly funny. Katy Manning (Jo) is a cute little bundle of insane energy. And director Graeme Harper rambles entertainingly. (Unfortunately, I missed Nicholas Briggs (who does Dalek voices, plus Big Finish audio stuff), and only caught about half of Anneke Wills (Polly)'s interview. I also missed most of Andrew Hayden-Smith (Jake from "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel")'s talk, but did get to see a short interview with him at a podcast show taping later. He comes across as very cute and personable.)
I also did a bunch of other stuff, including attending a demo of the new Who RPG (which I then plopped down far too much money for, even though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, still), and catching a few random episodes of the new K-9 series (which I sort of wanted to dislike, because I look at the robot dog and can't help exclaiming, "That's not K9!", but which was actually pretty cute), and doubtless much more that I'm forgetting now.
Anyway, the upshot is that it was awesome, and I'm seriously tempted to show up again next year.
Also, I have been asked to answer the following questions:
1) Which actor(s) did you have yourself photographed with or get the autograph of?
I didn't get my picture taken with anybody, although I suppose it would probably have been easy enough to do so. Especially if I'd stuck closer to my sister's friend's wife, who had their six-month-old baby in tow. That kid was like some kind of magic all-access pass. You'd have thought the guests had come there to see her!
I did go to one of the autograph sessions, and got my program guide signed by Frazer Hines, Tommy Knight, Nicholas Briggs, and a number of other folks.
2) Were the talks as interesting as their descriptions?
I didn't get to hardly any of the panel talks. As I mentioned above, I mostly wanted to see the guest interviews, and there were always too many interesting things scheduled at once. I did catch the last half of one about adapting stories from one medium to another, as my sister was interested in it, but it was mostly comics-oriented, and not as interesting to me as it might have been.
3) How many fanboys/girls were walking around with big-ass scarves wrapped around their necks? (Bonus points if they were long enough to drag on the floor and everyone kept stepping on them.)
Answer: many. But these folks know how to wear a scarf, so I never saw any tripping.
There were also lots of people in costumes, some of which were extremely impressive. (Including, of course, the inevitable Dalek, who at one point was posing for pictures with the tipsy sorority chicks who were holding some kind of get-together down the hall.) There was also a big masquerade event, which was highly entertaining.
Mmm, Pi(e)
At our regular Star Wars RPG session today, since it's March 14th, three separate people showed up with pie.
Also, one of the players couldn't make it, so they rigged things up so she could participate via webcam. She appeared life-sized on the TV.
I love my geeky friends.
Also, one of the players couldn't make it, so they rigged things up so she could participate via webcam. She appeared life-sized on the TV.
I love my geeky friends.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Currently, On Maximum Verbosity...
Current clothes: Black t-shirt from Mount St. Helens National Monument. Gray plaid flannel shirt over that. Blue jeans. White socks. Black sneakers.
Current mood: OK. A bit subdued and lazy in that "just want to lie on the sofa and read all day" kind of way. I've been sort of fighting against that this week, but today it might be winning.
Current music: Most recently, Transverse City by Warren Zevon, which has been holding its own as my Number One Heavy Rotation Album for a while now.
Current annoyance: I still have big old holes in my mouth. Although they are starting to fill in. At least, the lower left one clearly is. The lower right is less obviously healing, possibly because it's larger and deeper, possibly in part because it's easier to get food stuck in that one and harder to keep from poking it with my tongue. And it's difficult to tell how the top ones are doing, because even with a mirror and a flashlight they're hard to see. I do think they're all coming along, though for the moment I'm still experiencing every meal twice. Once when I eat it, and then again when I wash it out of the holes in my gums. Fun!
Current thing: I have perhaps been on a bigger-than-usual Doctor Who kick lately, what with the convention and all.
Current desktop picture: I finally got tired of looking at the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and have replaced them with the space shuttle Endeavour.
Current book: Different Seasons by Stephen King. This was a Christmas present from last year. I got a lot of books last Christmas, especially if you count the ones I bought for myself. I'm hoping to read them all sometime before next Christmas.
Current song in head: "K9's Lament" by Chameleon Circuit. It's about the robot dog from Doctor Who, and has pretty much the exact same effect on me as this xkcd cartoon. Stupid robot angst! It isn't like that at all! Stop making me sad!
Current DVD in player: Disc 1 of season 3 of Third Rock from the Sun. Yay, I can watch DVDs on the treadmill again! And John Lithgow is still hilarious. Also, most recently in the other player was a Farscape season 3 disc; I was re-watching "Green-Eyed Monster." I love S3 of Farscape. It never gets old. Oh, and I've also finally started rewatching season 1 of Deep Space 9. I mean, I went out and bought the whole series, so I really ought to.
Current refreshment: Mango-passion fruit tea. Mmm!
Current worry: I am much less worried about things than I was this time last month.
Current thought: All right, who else besides Dad still needs to see the Doctor Who specials and has a birthday coming up that I might conceivably shop for? Captain C?
Current mood: OK. A bit subdued and lazy in that "just want to lie on the sofa and read all day" kind of way. I've been sort of fighting against that this week, but today it might be winning.
Current music: Most recently, Transverse City by Warren Zevon, which has been holding its own as my Number One Heavy Rotation Album for a while now.
Current annoyance: I still have big old holes in my mouth. Although they are starting to fill in. At least, the lower left one clearly is. The lower right is less obviously healing, possibly because it's larger and deeper, possibly in part because it's easier to get food stuck in that one and harder to keep from poking it with my tongue. And it's difficult to tell how the top ones are doing, because even with a mirror and a flashlight they're hard to see. I do think they're all coming along, though for the moment I'm still experiencing every meal twice. Once when I eat it, and then again when I wash it out of the holes in my gums. Fun!
Current thing: I have perhaps been on a bigger-than-usual Doctor Who kick lately, what with the convention and all.
Current desktop picture: I finally got tired of looking at the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and have replaced them with the space shuttle Endeavour.
Current book: Different Seasons by Stephen King. This was a Christmas present from last year. I got a lot of books last Christmas, especially if you count the ones I bought for myself. I'm hoping to read them all sometime before next Christmas.
Current song in head: "K9's Lament" by Chameleon Circuit. It's about the robot dog from Doctor Who, and has pretty much the exact same effect on me as this xkcd cartoon. Stupid robot angst! It isn't like that at all! Stop making me sad!
Current DVD in player: Disc 1 of season 3 of Third Rock from the Sun. Yay, I can watch DVDs on the treadmill again! And John Lithgow is still hilarious. Also, most recently in the other player was a Farscape season 3 disc; I was re-watching "Green-Eyed Monster." I love S3 of Farscape. It never gets old. Oh, and I've also finally started rewatching season 1 of Deep Space 9. I mean, I went out and bought the whole series, so I really ought to.
Current refreshment: Mango-passion fruit tea. Mmm!
Current worry: I am much less worried about things than I was this time last month.
Current thought: All right, who else besides Dad still needs to see the Doctor Who specials and has a birthday coming up that I might conceivably shop for? Captain C?
Saturday, March 06, 2010
How Is It Already 6:30? For That Matter, How Is It Already March?
You know what's really, really sad? Putting an item on your to-do list just because you're intending to do it anyway and want to be able to check something off... and then not even doing it.
Sprung
I have now seen two cockroaches in the house, and I woke up this morning sneezing. Whoo-hoo. Spring is arriving.
Note to self: buy more kleenex and bug spray.
Note to self: buy more kleenex and bug spray.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
March Of The Random Links
Reading cuts stress levels by 68%: See? I knew it was good for me! If only because I quickly discovered back in college that no matter how strapped for time I was, I needed at least half an hour of pleasure reading a day in order to remain anything remotely resembling sane.
Akinator, the Web Genius: Pick a real or fictional person, and Akinator will guess who you're thinking of with uncanny accuracy. These kinds of guess-the-whatever algorithms have been around for years, but they never cease to amaze and delight me, and this one, I think, is particularly good. Try giving it something really obscure!
New Doctor Who Trailer featuring the Doctor and Amy!: A sneak peak at the upcoming season of Doctor Who. In my opinion, the trailer's a little bit... I dunno, silly? Overdone? Something like that, anyway. But I'm really looking forward to seeing Number Eleven in action.
Codeorgan: Now you can hear what this blog sounds like if you translate it into music! Because I'm sure that's something you were wondering about.
Akinator, the Web Genius: Pick a real or fictional person, and Akinator will guess who you're thinking of with uncanny accuracy. These kinds of guess-the-whatever algorithms have been around for years, but they never cease to amaze and delight me, and this one, I think, is particularly good. Try giving it something really obscure!
New Doctor Who Trailer featuring the Doctor and Amy!: A sneak peak at the upcoming season of Doctor Who. In my opinion, the trailer's a little bit... I dunno, silly? Overdone? Something like that, anyway. But I'm really looking forward to seeing Number Eleven in action.
Codeorgan: Now you can hear what this blog sounds like if you translate it into music! Because I'm sure that's something you were wondering about.
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